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Feature Obituary
Feature obituary: Sandra Featherman, visionary former UNE president, dies at 84
Featherman was chief architect of the 1996 merger of UNE and Westbrook College in Portland.
By Melanie CreamerStaff Writer
Former University of New England President Sandra Featherman, who oversaw UNE’s merger with Westbrook College in 1996 to create its Portland campus, died Thursday, three months after being diagnosed with brain cancer. She was 84.
Featherman was president from 1995 through 2006. According to UNE, she oversaw multimillion-dollar renovations to academic and residential buildings on the Biddeford and Portland campuses, helped build UNE’s operating budget from $26 million to more than $100 million, and grew the endowment from $2 million to $24 million.
Feature obituaries from the Portland Press Herald
Featherman was the chief architect of the 1996 merger of UNE’s then 1,800-student school with the much smaller Westbrook College.
UNE President James D. Herbert said in a phone interview Friday that her vision for merging the two campuses laid the foundation for UNE as it exists today.
“She had the vision to see things come together,” Herbert said. “Thank God she did. Westbrook has become an incredibly vibrant campus. The Westbrook alumni are among the most loyal and engaged members of the UNE family. The university wouldn’t be what it is today without that merger.”
During her 11-year tenure, UNE added several academic programs and majors, significantly increased student enrollment, and enhanced the school’s national reputation as a leader in the education of health care professionals.
Featherman oversaw construction of the Harold Alfond Center for Health Sciences and the Marine Science Education and Research Center on the Biddeford campus, and the Parker Pavilion-Interactive Classroom buildings on the Portland campus.
Sandra Featherman on the Biddeford campus in 2005
She was made an honorary alumna of Westbrook College in 1998 and of the University of New England in 2004.
Herbert said Featherman will be remembered as a champion of the liberal arts. Her photo is displayed prominently in Alumni Hall on the Westbrook campus. A plaque acknowledging her contributions to UNE hangs at the Biddeford campus.
“I made sure to let her know her legacy is safe and secure and will go on,” Herbert said. “She was a lovely person. She was very gracious and very encouraging to me.”
Featherman stepped down as UNE’s president on June 30, 2006. A few days later, she took the reins of a blue-ribbon commission designated to assess Maine’s Dirigo Health program. In August 2007, she was appointed to the American Osteopathic Association’s Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation.
Throughout the years, Featherman served on dozens of boards and committees supporting a range of causes – from empowering young girls, to racial and ethnic equity in higher education. Those organizations include Girl Scouts of Maine, The Samuel S. Fels Charitable Fund, the Maine Community Foundation, Webber Hospital, and Hospice of Southern Maine.
“She cared deeply about our mission to improve the lives of all Maine people,” said Peter Lamb, chairman of the Maine Community Foundation board. “She was an extraordinary person. She really knew how to bring a group of people together around a common purpose. Not everyone can do that. … She was so committed to making Maine a better place.”
She was the wife of Bernard Featherman. The couple celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on March 29. They lived in Highland Beach, Florida, where he previously served as mayor. The Feathermans spent summers at a second home in Kennebunkport.
They had two sons, Andrew Featherman, formerly of Biddeford, and John Featherman of Philadelphia.
Andrew Featherman remembered his mother Friday as a strong and insightful woman who made a profound difference in the world.
“She spent most of her life empowering women and minorities,” including American Indian tribes, he said. “It was very important to her that minority groups and women have equal footing and equal opportunity, and she fought for that her whole life. That’s the legacy that really mattered to her.”
Featherman was the author of more than 50 professional papers and several books, including “Higher Education at Risk: Strategies to Improve Outcomes, Reduce Tuition, and Stay Competitive in a Disruptive Environment,” published in July 2014.
Her son said she was an active member of 44 different boards at one time.
“I don’t know how she did it,” he said. “She still had time to be our mother. I was very proud of what she achieved. I hope to do one-tenth of that. We intend to continue her legacy.”
Featherman became sick in January. She was diagnosed with glioblastoma, the most aggressive form of brain cancer, and decided not have to treatment.
John Featherman shared memories of his mother’s monthly visits to Philadelphia. He was holding her hand when she died Thursday.
“My mom had incredible courage. She exited on her own terms,” he said. “I’ll miss so many things. I’ll miss the door opening, hearing the wheels of her carry-on luggage when she came to visit me. She would say, ‘Hey Johnnio.’ She was larger than life. She was in many ways like a movie character – like Lois Lane. She was a transformational figure.”
Featherman’s services will be held at 12:30 p.m. Sunday at Roosevelt Memorial Park Cemetery in Trevose, Pennsylvania.
Melanie Creamer can be contacted at 791-6361 or at:
Twitter: MelanieCreamer
Celtics return to court with big win over Magic
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John H. Weiss, M.D., Ph.D.
Departments of Neurology; Anatomy & Neurobiology
2101 Gillespie Building
http://www.anatomy.uci.edu/weiss.html
A key focus of our laboratory is to examine molecular mechanisms of degeneration of brain neurons. Many of our studies are carried out in dissociated nerve cell cultures, a system that has the advantage over more complex systems of allowing precise control of the neuronal microenvironment and thereby facilitating determination of conditions that modulate neuronal behaviors (such as calcium accumulation or excitability) or survival. A current focus follows from the observation that neuronal death in certain degenerative diseases (including Alzheimer’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) is selective; certain populations of neurons die while others seem unaffected by the disease. What differentiates the vulnerable neurons from the others? Several lines of evidence have led us to suggest that vulnerable neurons might differ from other neurons in their sensitivity to damage produced by activation of AMPA/kainate subtypes of glutamate receptors, in part because of expression of calcium permeable AMPA/kainate channels.
Scholar Keywords
AMPA/kainate
Neuronal death
1992 Search Pew Scholars
Chris Bradfield, Ph.D.
Jerry R. Faust, Ph.D.
Jonathan M. Horowitz, Ph.D.
Maria Jasin, Ph.D.
Mark P. Kamps, Ph.D.
Adrian R. Krainer, Ph.D.
John M. Leong, M.D., Ph.D.
Roderick MacKinnon, M.D.
Timothy J. McDonnell, M.D., Ph.D.
Jeff F. Miller, Ph.D.
Marjorie A. Oettinger, Ph.D.
Susan M. Parkhurst, Ph.D.
Lorraine Pillus, Ph.D.
Ann M. Pullen, Ph.D.
Pradip Raychaudhuri, Ph.D.
Lee W. Riley, M.D.
Paul B. Rothman, M.D.
Didier Trono, M.D.
Jeffrey Wilusz, Ph.D.
Submit an update to this directory entry for John H. Weiss, M.D., Ph.D.
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C. Stuart Daw (2008)
For pioneering the application of chaos theory and nonlinear dynamics to energy technologies, including gas-fluidized beds, internal combustion engines, and pulsed combustion.
Amit Goyal (2008)
For pioneering research and distinguished contributions to the field of high-temperature superconductors, including fundamental materials science advances and technical innovations that enable commercialization.
Anthony Mezzacappa (2005)
For research in the fields of astrophysics and supernova science.
Russ Knapp (1998)
For international leadership in developing innovative therapeutic and diagnostic applications of radionuclides for nuclear medicine.
Richard F Wood (1983)
For theoretical research on the electronic and vibronic structures and optical properties of defects in ionic crystals, and for work at the forefront of the rapidly developing field of laser annealing of semiconductors, leading to advances in the photovoltaic conversion of solar energy.
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Bruce A Moyer (2016)
For his leadership in separations science and technology; for improving nuclear fuel recycling and waste removal; and for leading the development process that was instrumental in the cleanup of waste at the Savannah River Site.
Saed Mirzadeh (2016)
For his innovation in the production and application of medical isotopes; for advancing the separation and purification of actinides and heavy elements; and for his leadership in the use of alpha emitters to save the lives of cancer patients.
David J Wesolowski (2016)
For his broad scientific contributions and international reputation in aqueous chemistry and geochemistry; for his research into the structure, dynamics, and reactions at fluid–solid interfaces; and for his leadership and service to ORNL and the international scientific community.
Stan Wullschleger (2013)
For outstanding leadership and pioneering research in climate and the environmental sciences
Bobby Sumpter (2013)
For outstanding scientific impact in computational soft matter and nanoscience through cross-discipline collaboration to address materials problems and discover new functional materials
Michael K Miller (2010)
For his pioneering research in atom probe field-ion microscopy and atom probe tomography, most recently to understand the unprecedented properties and behaviors of nanostructured ferritic steels.
Stephen E Nagler (2007)
For his pioneering contributions to the study of nonequilibrium systems, quantum magnetism, and excitations in condensed matter.
Richard J Norby (2007)
For his research on the effects of elevated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide on terrestrial ecosystems.
Kenneth W Tobin, Jr (2003)
For outstanding contributions to the field of applied computer vision research and development that address important national interests in industrial and economic competitiveness, biomedical measurement science, and national security.
Emeritus Research Fellow (6)
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The San Francisco Twin Peaks at 922 feet in elevation, is second only to Mt. Davidson in height, offers spectacular views of the Bay Area, and is a world-famous tourist attraction. Originally called “Los Pechos de la Choca” (Breasts of the Maiden) by early Spanish settlers, these two adjacent peaks provide postcard views and a treasure trove of animal and plant diversity. Most visitors to Twin Peaks drive (or take a tourist bus) to the north peak parking lot to enjoy 180-degree views of the Bay Area.
Many miss an opportunity to experience the coastal scrub and grassland communities of this 64-acre park. Similar to the Marin Headlands, Twin Peaks gives us an idea of how San Francisco’s hills and peaks looked before grazing and then development changed them forever. The vegetation is primarily a mix of grassland and coastal scrub. Expect strong winds as you hike among plants such as coyote brush, lizard tail, pearly everlasting and lupine. The endangered Mission Blue Butterfly has adapted to the strong winds and flies low to the ground from lupine to lupine. Native plants provide habitat for brush-nesting birds like the white-crowned sparrow and animals such as brush rabbits and coyotes.
Twin Peaks is a must-see stop on your tour of San Francisco. Why? The view, the view, the view. This set of high peaks is located near the geographical center of the city, offering stunning 360-degree panoramic views of this beautiful city and the bay and ocean beyond. And you might be surprised to find that it offers a few other things to you as well.
The two peaks actually also have their own names: the North Peak is Eureka Peak and the South Peak is Noe Peak. This makes it an obvious choice for a scenic viewpoint. But it actually makes it an obvious choice for some more practical things as well, which is why you will find a handful of transmission towers up there. After all, it’s tough to get transmission signals in the lower hills of the area but those signals are nice and clear up there on the tall peak. You do notice them as you’re heading up to the peaks and you’ll see them up close while you’re up there but you’re honestly so distracted by the stunning views that they don’t take anything away from the aesthetics of the experience.
Christmas Tree Point lies some 70 ft (21 m) below the North Peak and offers vistas of San Francisco and San Francisco Bay. The view to the north extends no farther than Cobb Mountain 120 km away, but looking southeast down the Santa Clara Valley on a clear day, Santa Ana is just visible 143 km away.
To the north is one of the city's many reservoirs. It is owned by the San Francisco Fire Department, and supplies water to the Fire Department's independent HPFS water system for fighting fires, established after the 1906 earthquake and fire.
The top of Twin Peaks is undeveloped. It is part of the 31 acres (13 ha) Twin Peaks Natural Area, is managed and owned by the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department. These preserved areas are home to many natural resources and wildlife. As part of the Mission blue butterfly habitat conservation, Twin Peaks is one of the few remaining habitats for this endangered species. Many bird species, insects and vegetation thrive in these areas.
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Jack Maxson, Showco Founder, Dead at 76
John DeGolyer “Jack” Maxson, audio engineer and co-founder of legendary rock-era live sound provider Showco, died October 21 in Dallas, TX.
Clive Young ⋅ Published: November 18, 2016
Dallas, TX (November 18, 2016)—John DeGolyer “Jack” Maxson, audio engineer and co-founder of legendary rock-era live sound provider Showco, died October 21 in Dallas, TX.
Born March 11, 1940, Maxson became a recording engineer in the 1960s—a move that came from a life-long interest in electronics. Concurrent to this, in 1965, local concert promoter Jack Calmes founded an early version of Showco focused on presenting concerts, but shut it down after losing $100,000 on the Texas International Pop Festival, held on Labor Day Weekend, 1969. Realizing that the festival’s audio provider, Bill Hanley, was the only one on the production side to get paid, Calmes was inspired to create a new Showco focused on concert sound, and co-founded it with Maxon and college friend Rusty Brutsche in 1970.
While the team built the company and its gear through trial and error, Showco soon had Three Dog Night, Led Zeppelin and Steppenwolf as its first three touring accounts—a good start for an outfit that only had two sound systems and two trucks, all run out of Maxson’s garage.
Things only grew from there and in short order, Showco became one of the biggest sound providers in the world, providing audio for the likes of The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Sir Paul McCartney and Wings, and hundreds of others, many of whom Maxson worked with personally. Showco maintained its position as a premiere concert audio provider until 2000, when it was purchased by and merged with its chief competitor, Lititz, PA-based Clair Brothers (now Clair Global).
Maxon also co-founded Vari*Lite in 1984, which was an early pioneer in the field of automated color lighting systems. Over the ensuing decades, the company won Primetime Emmy Awards for technical achievement in 1991, 1994 and 2001.
Maxson was married twice, and spent later years looking after his wife, Sally Stocker, as she fought Alzheimer’s. He is survived by Sally; his daughter, Margaret DeGolyer “Peggy” Maxson; and three siblings, Virginia, Peter and Mary.
Jack Renner, Grammy-Winning Engineer/Label Founder, Dead at 84
Showco Founder Jack Calmes Passes at 71
Showco Founder Jack Calmes Dies at 71
Producer/Q Division Founder Mike Denneen, Dead at 54
Genelec Founder Ilpo Martikainen, Dead at 69
Doug MacCallum, Co-Founder of One Systems, Dead at 62
Jimmy Johnson, Engineer, Producer and Swamper, Dead at 76
Audio Precision Co-Founder Bob Metzler, Dead at 84
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Year 6 Teaching Jobs
Protocol Education works with primary and junior schools to find the best primary teachers to fill Year 6 teaching jobs and Key Stage teaching jobs.
Children are assessed at the end of the year as to whether they have met the expected national standards. The assessment tasks that all Year 6 pupils sit in May of each year. The results of these will determine whether pupils have met the ‘expected’ level in English and maths.
In both maths and English, there are a wide range of expectations for the children. Some of the content previously covered in Year 7 in secondary school has now been moved to Year 6.
Barnet is a borough of Greater London It forms part of Outer London and is the largest London borough by population with 384,774 inhabitants[2] and covers an area of 86.74 square kilometres (33 sq mi), the fourth highest. It borders Hertfordshire to the north and five other London boroughs: Harrow and Brent to the west, Camden and Haringey to the southeast and Enfield to the east. The borough was formed in 1965 from parts of the counties of Middlesex and Hertfordshire.[3] The local authority is Barnet London Borough Council, based in Hendon.
Protocol Education works with primary, secondary and special needs schools across Barking as well as day nurseries, children's centres and creches.
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You are here: Home / Agriculture / UN Secretary General to speak at World Food Prize event
UN Secretary General to speak at World Food Prize event
September 28, 2012 By Matt Kelley
The secretary-general of the United Nations will be paying a visit to Iowa next month. World Food Prize president Kenneth Quinn says Ban Ki-moon will address the World Food Prize laureate award ceremony on October 18 at the State Capitol.
“This is at the very top…to have the secretary-general of the United Nations come and speak here,” Quinn said. Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan spoke at the World Food Prize in 2010.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates delivered an address at the event in 2009.
“Now, to have (Ban) coming here and bringing a delegation of very senior United Nations leaders with him…we’re just thrilled,” Quinn said. The Des Moines based World Food Prize, launched in 1986, is often referred to as the Nobel Prize of agriculture. This year, the award is going to Daniel Hillel, a scientist who is credited with the development of “micro-irrigation” — bringing more efficient water usage to crops in some of the driest regions on the planet.
Quinn believes Hillel’s work may’ve been a factor in drawing Ban to the event.”The laureate this year, an Israeli who has done work in Arab countries and Palestinian communities, certainly reflects the kind of approach that the U.N. and the secretary-general have advocated in terms of development and promoting peace,” Quinn said.
Over 1,500 participants from more than 70 countries are expected to take part in the week-long World Food Prize events October 16-20.
Filed Under: Agriculture, News, Politics / Govt Tagged With: Food
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Rafail
What The U.S. Investment In Quantum Computing Means For Security
Posted on October 5, 2020 / by [email protected]_84 /
President and CEO of Quantum Xchange. Delivering quantum safety with Post Quantum Cryptographic algorithms and Quantum Key Distribution.
The internet as we know it is no longer safe. Being able to secure it — one way or another — is going to be paramount to business and national interests.
Over the past few months, there has been an uptick in activity on the quantum cryptography front. The good news? The U.S. is finally moving forward with serious government, academic and business backing. The bad news? We may already be too far behind.
In August, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Energy (DOE) announced the investment of more than $1 billion over the next five years to five quantum information science (QIS) centers. It’s a joint initiative, with $625 million of the funding coming from the government and $340 million from the private sector and academia. The QIS hubs are charged with bringing together a collaborative team that combines research from multiple institutions and scientific and engineering disciplines to focus on QIS topics like quantum networking, computing and materials manufacturing.
This was on the heels of the July announcement by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) of the next round of its Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) Standardization Process candidates, the technologies in the running to be selected as the standard for quantum-based cryptography.
Why Should You Care About Quantum Computing?
There are two main reasons quantum computing should be on your radar screen: big data and security.
According to a 2017 report from IBM, 90% of all the world’s data at the time was created in a two-year period, beginning around 2015. A 2012 IDC report also accurately predicted that the volume of data generated would double every two years to about 40 zettabytes in 2020 and a forecast of 165 zettabytes by 2025. The sheer numbers are astounding.
IDC forecasts that the big data and business analytics software and service spaces will grow to almost $275 billion by 2022, but no computer today — not even cloud-based data centers — can compute the data volumes at that scale with any degree of speed.
That’s why companies like Google, Honeywell and IBM are investing heavily in quantum computing. Quantum computing has the ability to not only compute today’s ever-growing datasets, but it also represents an opportunity to take the lead in quantum-based security.
Unfortunately, the U.S. isn’t leading in the race of quantum superiority.
China has made quantum computing a cornerstone of its last five-year technology plan, and it has been the first to hit key quantum milestones such as a quantum science communications satellite and a quantum-based network that connects Shanghai and Beijing, enabling secure “unhackable” communications between the two centers.
Other countries, notably Japan and South Korea, are also ahead of the American efforts.
But Is The U.S. Approach Really Flawed?
The U.S. may be late out of the starting gate, but the multidimensional approach taken by public and private organizations may ultimately prove successful.
Yes, there are flaws if individual approaches are taken at face value. For example, the NIST standards candidates are heavily weighted toward mathematical algorithms and crystal lattice-based cryptography. However, other mathematics like Shor’s and Grover’s algorithms have been able to break nonquantum encryption technologies. Who’s to say there isn’t another algorithm that won’t be able to break quantum encryption?
The announcement made by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI) of the blueprint for a new quantum internet shows the DOE, on the other hand, appears to be going at quantum encryption from the physics side.
Ultimately, there isn’t one security solution that’s going to ever be able to prevent, predict or protect companies’ critical data and other intellectual assets. Having multiple technologies working in concert can allow your defenses to fail in different ways — successfully.
The U.S. may finally be on the right track by focusing on defense in depth on multiple fronts in the battle for quantum security.
Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
Posted in science in the news Tagged Computing, investment, means, quantum, Security
What You Should Invest More In Computer Gaming Parts
Amazon Analysis announces app Apple Big Boost Business Camera COVID19 Data Day emerging Event Facebook Forecast Future gaming global Google Growth industry iPhone Latest launch launches market million NASA News Prime Science ScienceDaily Security Smartphone Space stocks Study Tech technologies technology TikTok Top Trends Trump
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Rabbit-Proof Fence
Rabbit-Proof Fence is a 2002 Australian drama film directed by Phillip Noyce based on the book Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington Garimara. It is based on a true story concerning the author's mother Molly, as well as two other mixed-race Aboriginal girls, who ran away from the Moore River Native Settlement, north of Perth, Western ...more on Wikipedia
Rabbit-Proof Fence is listed on
The Best Movies Set in Australia
The Best Action & Adventure Movies Set in the Desert
The Greatest Australian Drama Films, Ranked
The Best Survival Movies Based on True Stories
The 35+ Best Drama Movies About Survival
What to Watch If You Loved Get Out
The Very Best Survival Movies
The Best PG Action/Adventure Movies
The Best PG History Movies
Movies Distributed by Miramax FilmsList of All Movies Released in 2002
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Marta Heflin
...detailed bio
The King of Comedy (1983)
Rupert Pupkin (De Niro), a stage-door autograph hound, is an aspiring stand-up comedian whose ambition far exceeds his talent. After meeting Jerry Langford (Lewis), a successful comedian and talk show host, Rupert believes his "big break" has finally come. He attempts to get a place on the show b...
Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982)
On September 30, 1975, an all-female fan club called the Disciples of James Dean meets inside a Woolworth's five-and-dime store in McCarthy, Texas, to honor the twentieth anniversary of the actor's death. The store is 62 miles away from Marfa, where Dean filmed Giant in 1955. Inside, store owner ...
A Perfect Couple (1979)
An older man, played by Paul Dooley, tries romancing a younger woman, played by Marta Heflin. She is part of a travelling band of bohemian musicians who perform gigs in outdoor arenas around the country. He joins them on the road and tries to fit into their communal lifestyle. The film features m...
Esther Hoffman, an aspiring female singer/songwriter meets John Norman Howard, a famous, successful and self-destructive male singer/songwriter, whom, after a series of coincidental meetings, she finally starts dating. Believing in her talent, John gives her a helping hand and her career begins t...
Freebase: Marta Heflin, licensed under CC-BY
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Ken Burns : Documentary Filmmaker
June 12, 2011 By James Robinson
Award-Winning Documentary Filmmaker
Ken Burns Speech Video:
Ken Burns Topics:
Sharing The American Experience
Ken Burns Biography:
Ken Burns has been making documentary films for more than 30 years. Since the Academy Award-nominated Brooklyn Bridge in 1981, he has gone on to Direct and Produce some of the most acclaimed historical documentaries ever made. The late historian Stephen Ambrose said of Ken’s films, “More Americans get their history from Ken Burns than any other source.” A December 2002 poll conducted by RealScreen Magazine listed The Civil War as second only to Robert Flaherty’s Nanook of the North as the “most influential documentary of all time” and named Ken Burns and Robert Flaherty as the “most influential documentary makers” of all time.
Ken’s latest film, The War, was co-directed and produced with his longtime colleague Lynn Novick, and aired on PBS in September 2007. The War is a seven-part series that tells the story of the Second World War through the personal accounts of nearly 40 men and women from four American towns. The series explores the most intimate human dimensions of the greatest cataclysm in history and demonstrates that in extraordinary times, there are no ordinary lives.
His film prior to The War, produced with Paul Barnes, was Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson (on PBS in January 2005), the story of the first African-American heavyweight champion. Prior to Jack Johnson was Horatio’s Drive: America’s First Road Trip, a two-hour account of the first cross-country trip by automobile, co-produced by Ken’s longtime collaborator Dayton Duncan. It aired on PBS in October 2003. Mark Twain, a two-part, four-hour portrait of America’s funniest and most popular writer, was also co-produced with Dayton Duncan and aired on PBS in January 2002. In January 2001, Jazz, the third in Ken’s trilogy of epic documentaries, which began with The Civil War and continued with Baseball, was broadcast on PBS.
Co-Produced with Lynn Novick, this 19-hour, 10-part film explores in detail the culture, politics and dreams that gave birth to jazz music and follows this most American of art forms from its origins in blues and ragtime through swing, bebop and fusion. Jack Newfield of the New York Post said, “Jazz is the best American documentary film I have ever seen. Period.” Tom Brokaw wrote, “Jazz is a masterpiece of American television.” John Carmen of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote, “Jazz informs, astonishes, and entertains. It invites joy, tears, toe-tapping, pride, and shame and maybe an occasional goose bump.” Jazz premiered on PBS in January 2001.
In 1981, Ken Burns produced and directed the Academy Award-nominated Brooklyn Bridge. He has gone on to make several other award-winning films, including The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God; Statue of Liberty, also nominated for an Oscar; Huey Long, the story of the turbulent Southern dictator, which enjoyed a rare theatrical release; The Congress; Thomas Hart Benton, a portrait of the regionalist artist; and Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio. Ken Burns has also produced and directed three films, William Segal, Vezelay, and In the Marketplace (a trilogy entitled Seeing, Searching, Being), which explore the question of search and individual identity through the work and teachings of philosopher and painter William Segal.
Ken was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1953. He graduated from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1975.
To request Ken Burns to speak at your next event, contact:
Robinson Speakers | The Gold Standard For Keynote Speakers
646-504-9849 | info@robinsonspeakers.com
Filed Under: Colleges & Universities, Robinson Speakers, World Affairs Tagged With: brooklyn bridge, Director, documentary, documentary filmmaker, historian, historical documentaries, influential documentary maker, ken burns, lincoln, producer, race in america, sharing the american experience, the civil war, the national parks
Spike Lee : Extraordinary Filmmaker Erik Stolhanske : Comedian Actor Brian Grazer : Imagine Janine di Giovanni : War Correspondent
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Home » News » TEXEL Signs an Agreement with ASU to Move new Battery Tech Towards Commercialisation
TEXEL Signs an Agreement with ASU to Move new Battery Tech Towards Commercialisation
By Saur News Bureau/ Updated On Wed, Nov 25th, 2020
The battery technology development company, TEXEL Energy Storage (TEXEL), and Arizona State University (ASU) have signed a cooperation agreement with the purpose to bring a new battery technology towards commercialization in the United States. The new battery technology that is originally developed by Savannah River National laboratory (SRNL), is potentially much more cost effective than Lithium-Ion batteries in large scale and is 100% circular.
Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), one of US Department of Energy’s (DOE) seventeen national laboratories, and the laboratory behind the development of the Hydrogen Bomb, also considered as one of the world’s leading research labs on hydrogen related technologies, has developed a new battery technology, based on thermochemical Metal Hydrides. In 2018, SRNL and TEXEL signed an exclusive agreement with the aim to move the technology towards commercialization.
“The new battery technology is a huge step forward towards a fossil free future, both regarding cost effectiveness and the fact that the technology is 100% Circular. This will all be confirmed in a new report that will be released within a few weeks” said Lars Jacobsson, CEO of TEXEL Energy Storage
Arizona State University (ASU) and TEXEL has now signed an agreement where ASU will analyze the TEXEL technology, and evaluate the technology’s competitiveness to other energy storage technologies, like lithium-ion batteries, in different market applications in the US, like solar+storage peaker plants, microgrids, critical public infrastructure, and commercial and residential buildings.
“We are proud to announce the collaboration with Arizona State University as adding their independent expertise and experience is an important part and a step forward to evaluate the TEXEL technology. The ambition is to move the technology closer to the US market to create future cooperation and commercial agreements with the US energy companies” said Lars Jacobsson, CEO of TEXEL Energy Storage
An economically viable and circular energy storage technology is needed to be able to create the change in future energy production and distribution, to be able to reach the future goals and legislations in states like California. The company’s intention is to manufacture the technology in the United States.
“The technical innovation enables utilization of renewable energy and storage in new ways, and this allows development of new business models that will accelerate the global transition to a no-carbon, lower cost, and more resilient economy. We are pleased to work with TEXEL on both the innovation and the vision of a greener future” said Nathan Johnson, Associate Professor at Arizona State University and Director of the Laboratory for Energy And Power Solutions (LEAPS).
Tags: Arizona State University, energy storage, Lars Jacobsson, Savannah River National Laboratory, TEXEL, TEXEL technology
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Home » FPL
FPL Opens First Solar-Plus-Storage System in the United States
Updated On Mon, Feb 12th, 2018
The new system features a 4,000-kilowatt/16,000-kilowatt-hour storage capacity comprised of multiple batteries integrated into the operations of the FPL Citrus Solar Energy Center. Florida Power & Light Company has unveiled a new, cutting-edge solar-plus-storage system that is believed to be the first in the country to fully integrate battery technology with a major solar power […]
FPL To Add Eight New Universal Solar Power Plants Cost-Effectively By Early 2018
Updated On Tue, Feb 21st, 2017
The new solar power centers that FPL plans to build is projected to be cost-effective over their operational lifetime, producing millions of dollars in long-term net savings for FPL customers. Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) has announced the expansion of its near-term plans for new universal solar generation. FPL now plans to build new […]
FPL announces completion of three new universal solar energy centers
Updated On Sat, Jan 14th, 2017
FPL’s universal solar energy centers are virtually silent, operate autonomously and without water. Completed on time and under budget, the three new 74.5-MW universal solar power plants officially began generating power for all FPL customers on Dec. 31, 2016 Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) has announced that it plans to build on the successful […]
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indgår i serie The Clifton Chronicles
Bog 3-5 hverdage kr. 108,25
Captivating and suspenseful, Best Kept Secret is the third novel in international bestseller Jeffrey Archer's outstanding the Clifton Chronicles sees our hero Harry Clifton and Giles Barrington, brother of Harry's beloved wife Emma, become entwined in the fate of the Barrington family fortune.It is 1945 and the House of Lords' vote on who should inherit the Barrington estate ends in a tie, casting a long shadow on the lives of those involved.Author Harry begins to promote his novel, whilst Emma, after her father's mysterious death, searches for the girl found abandoned in his office on the night he died.Politician Giles defends his seat in the House of Commons and finds not only his future but his family's fortune at stake. Ultimately his fate is dictated by Harry's son Sebastian, even as Sebastian himself becomes embroiled in an international art fraud.As they move out of the shadows of war, a new generation of Cliftons and Barringtons comes to the fore, and a thrilling new episode of Jeffrey Archer's captivating family saga begins.
Bibliotekernes beskrivelse Best Kept Secret is the third spellbinding novel in the epic Clifton Chronicles series, from master storyteller Jeffrey Archer.
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Program Evaluation Theory and Practice, First Edition
A Comprehensive Guide
Donna M. Merterns
Amy T. Wilson
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Published May 23, 2012 by Guilford Press
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Format Paperback Hardback
Program Evaluation Theory and Practice, First Edition: A Comprehensive Guide
Book Description Table of Contents Author(s) Reviews Support Material
This engaging text takes an evenhanded approach to major theoretical paradigms in evaluation and builds a bridge from them to evaluation practice. Featuring helpful checklists, procedural steps, provocative questions that invite readers to explore their own theoretical assumptions, and practical exercises, the book provides concrete guidance for conducting large- and small-scale evaluations. Numerous sample studies—many with reflective commentary from the evaluators—reveal the process through which an evaluator incorporates a paradigm into an actual research project. The book shows how theory informs methodological choices (the specifics of planning, implementing, and using evaluations). It offers balanced coverage of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods approaches.
Useful pedagogical features include:
*Examples of large- and small-scale evaluations from multiple disciplines.
*Beginning-of-chapter reflection questions that set the stage for the material covered.
*""Extending your thinking"" questions and practical activities that help readers apply particular theoretical paradigms in their own evaluation projects.
*Relevant Web links, including pathways to more details about sampling, data collection, and analysis.
*Boxes offering a closer look at key evaluation concepts and additional studies.
*Checklists for readers to determine if they have followed recommended practice.
I. The Landscape of Evaluation
1. Introduction to Evaluation: Defining Terms and Ethical Considerations
2. Framing Evaluation: Paradigms, Branches, and Theories
II. Historical and Contemporary Evaluation Paradigms, Branches, Theories, and Approaches
3. The Postpositivist Paradigm and the Methods Branch
4. The Pragmatic Paradigm and the Use Branch
5. The Constructivist Paradigm and the Values Branch
6. The Transformative Paradigm and the Social Justice Branch
III. Planning Evaluations
7. Working with Stakeholders: Establishing the Context and the Evaluand
8. Evaluation Purposes and Questions
9. Evaluation Designs
10. Data Collection Strategies and Indicators
11. Stakeholders, Participants, and Sampling
12. Data Analysis and Interpretation
IV. Implementation in Evaluation
13. Communication and Utilization of Findings
14. Meta-Evaluation and Project Management
15. Perennial and Emerging Issues in Evaluation
Donna M. Mertens is Professor in the Department of Educational Foundations and Research at Gallaudet University, where she teaches advanced research methods and program evaluation to deaf and hearing students. She received the Distinguished Faculty Award from Gallaudet. The primary focus of her work is transformative mixed methods inquiry in diverse communities, with priority given to the ethical implications of research in pursuit of social justice. A past president of the American Evaluation Association (AEA), Dr. Mertens provided leadership in the development of the International Organization for Cooperation in Evaluation and the establishment of the AEA Diversity Internship Program with Duquesne University. She has received AEA’s highest honors for service to the organization and the field, as well as for her contributions to evaluation theory. She is the author of several books and is widely published in major professional journals. Dr. Mertens conducts and consults on evaluations in many countries, including Egypt, India, South Africa, Botswana, Israel, Australia, New Zealand, and Costa Rica.
Amy T. Wilson is Director of International Programs at the Mill Neck Family of Organizations, where she leads a team of deaf educational specialists who share their expertise, knowledge, and technical skills with parents, educators, and professionals in economically poor countries. Dr. Wilson was a professor in the Department of Educational Foundations and Research at Gallaudet University for 14 years. After living in developing countries and noting the poor assistance people with disabilities were receiving from U.S. development organizations, she developed Gallaudet’s MA degree in International Development. The degree, which is the only one of its kind in the United States, focuses on the inclusion of people with disabilities in development assistance programs and in nongovernmental, federal, and faith-based development organizations both in the United States and overseas. Dr. Wilson was Program Director of the International Development Program; she also taught deaf and hearing students research and evaluation, theory and practice of international development, micropolitics, community development with people with disabilities, multicultural education, and gender, disability, and development. Dr. Wilson evaluates and advises development organizations and agencies (e.g., U.S. Agency for International Development, the InterAmerican Development Bank, the World Bank, and the Peace Corps) about the inclusiveness of their programs, as well as their effectiveness with various disability communities.
"Written in clear, jargon-free prose, this is a coherent and pragmatic guide for students and practitioners in any discipline who are involved in evaluation theory and practice. Doing justice to the various branches and theories informing evaluation practice, the text presents real-world evaluation examples and lessons with an acute understanding of the limitations and politics that evaluators must navigate. Its strong pedagogical apparatus encompasses graphic organizers, application exercises, Web resources, and self-reflection questions, all grounded in concrete examples and applications from across fields and disciplines. Mertens and Wilson’s book is a boon for graduate students and teachers."--Sharona A. Levy, DPhil, Chair and Director, SEEK (Search for Education, Elevation, and Knowledge) Program, Brooklyn College, City University of New York
"I was pleased to see the broad scope of this book, which sets it apart from many others that focus on a single aspect of evaluation. The authors put evaluation in its proper historical context before moving on to methodology and the planning and implementation phases of this unique type of research. The book stimulates critical thinking while helping readers become more savvy producers and consumers of research."--Wendy L. Hicks, PhD, Department of Criminal Justice, Loyola University New Orleans
"This text provides a comprehensive, thorough presentation of program evaluation as an enterprise with a rich history, diverse perspectives, and widely varied applications. Among the best features of this text is the consistent use of well-conceived questions to transition readers' thinking between chapters and constantly challenge them to consider multiple perspectives. The text strikes a good balance between epistemological and theoretical understanding and practical applications."--Steven R. Rogg, PhD, Lesson Study Alliance, Chicago, Illinois
"Standing out in a sea of evaluation texts, this book takes evaluation training to another level. It provides a solid, coherent discussion of the field in the 21st century. Mertens and Wilson address step-by-step methodological considerations in conducting evaluations, with special attention to the transformative paradigm. Illustrating how mixed method evaluations are conducted in a variety of settings, the book goes beyond buzzwords to demonstrate concrete strategies that are used in the field. What really sets this book apart is the opportunity it affords students and practicing evaluators to think through their evaluation practices more deeply, considering not only the methods they use but also the general philosophy that drives every evaluation they conduct. A 'must have' for students, scholars, and practitioners."--Katrina L. Bledsoe, PhD, Education Development Center, Inc., Washington, DC
"A refreshing feature of this text is its coverage of philosophical perspectives and their relationship to evaluation approaches. The book makes an important contribution in helping readers understand their own views of evaluation and how paradigms shape the evolution of evaluation theory. The organization of evaluation paradigms into four branches--the methods, use, values, and social justice branches--offers a useful analytic lens that accurately represents current directions in the field."--Linda B. Schrader, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Florida State University
"Mertens and Wilson want students to think about and actively decide what theoretical and philosophical position they will take in their evaluation practice: post-positivist, constructivist, pragmatic, or transformative. Evaluation examples combined with provocative questioning will challenge what students think they know and how they know it. Preparation for undertaking an evaluation does not stop here--Mertens and Wilson continue to raise issues of politics, power, and privilege as they take students through planning and implementing an evaluation. As expected, Mertens and Wilson have provided an exposition of evaluation that has both style and worth."--Fiona Cram, PhD, Director, Katoa Ltd, New Zealand
Sample Chapter
Psychological Methods & Statistics
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What Makes “Scientific” Evidence Scientific?
Would you like to share?
Tags: parapsychology, philosophy of science, featured
Published: Dec.19.2019
Demarcating between science and pseudoscience often appeals to what is broadly called “scientific evidence.” Presumably, true science is justified by evidence that scientists widely agree counts as “scientific.” Pseudoscience, on the other hand, allegedly fails to meet those standards. “That particular discipline is clearly pseudoscience,” we might hear in objection to some claim outside the consensus view of science. “It doesn’t meet the standards of scientific evidence.” But this demarcation is notoriously hard to draw. Karl Popper famously considered both astrology and Freudian psychoanalysis to be pseudosciences, because both failed his falsifiability standard. Arguments can be made that certain “pseudosciences” meet or exceed the same expectations made of other, more accepted science. The fact that there seems no clear specification of what counts as scientific evidence fuels the ambiguity. When research is rejected as not producing evidence that is sufficiently “scientific," we can challenge that judgment with questions. "What, then, constitutes scientific evidence?", we might ask. Or, "How should we define scientific evidence?" A search of the literature turns up few hard and fast criteria. This presentation will attempt to fill the gap by offering seven qualities which could reasonably be expected of a body of evidence to consider it “scientific,” along with discussion as to why these should count as defining characteristics of scientific evidence and how they may apply to examples of parapsychology evidence.
Bio: Paul H. Smith, Ph.D. (Major, US Army, ret), is an alumnus of seven years with the Department of Defense’s Star Gate remote viewing (RV) program. A Desert Storm veteran, he retired from the Army in 1996 and is an author, a frequent conference speaker and interview guest. President of Remote Viewing Instructional Services (a commercial RV training company), he is also a founding director and past president of the non-profit International Remote Viewing Association. His book "Reading the Enemy’s Mind" was a Readers Digest Book Bonus Feature and Editors Choice selection. He is also author of "The Essential Guide to Remote Viewing" (Intentional Press, 2015) and has co-produced two home study courses. His Ph.D. is from the University of Texas at Austin in philosophy, focusing on philosophy of mind, consciousness, philosophy of science and philosophy of parapsychology. He also has a BA from Brigham Young University and an MS from the National Defense University (both in Middle East studies).
Recorded at the Society for Scientific Exploration Conference in Broomfield, Colorado 2019.
Special thanks to our Patreon Explorers for providing the support we need to keep our video content freely available online: Dr. CMC Toporow, Kathleen Erickson, Mark Crewson, Mark Urban-Lurain, Roger Nelson, Gene Thomas, and Sandy Wiener.
Want to support our commitment to open access scientific research? Become a patron yourself: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=23234339
Or take your support of our 501(c)(3) nonprofit even further by becoming an SSE member: http://www.scientificexploration.org/join
The SSE provides a forum for original research into cutting edge and unconventional areas. Views and opinions belong only to the speakers, and are not necessarily endorsed by the SSE.
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Proloud: Rebuilding
Rush meets Dream Theater with jazzy overtones on this eccentric yet lavishly packaged debut CD. Italy's Proloud, which has gone through numerous line-up changes since its formation as a covers band in 1996, play a complicated brand of progressive metal containing elements that don't always mesh. For example, the Geddy Lee-esque voice of singer (and chief lyricist) Giancarlo Mattei sometimes sounds out of place against a wall of shredding guitars and lush keyboards on the 10-minute "Fickle." On the other hand, Mattei's vocal techniques fit in perfectly on the acoustic "Shooting Star" and the heavy and dramatic "Last Inhabited Planet" � speaking in a distorted Italian tongue and backed by additional singers.
Despite the intricate dichotomy of voice and music, "Gethsemane," the lone instrumental (not counting the disconcerting 31-second "Self Destruction" noisebite that opens the album), stands out on Rebuilding. Opening with an exhilarating piano line, the piece quickly segues into intriguing chord progressions, defiant drums and majestic arrangements. Other highlights include the title track, which closes the album with a simple yet evocative acoustic song that showcases Proloud's harmonizing talents, and the Latin-tinged "Leave It To Nature," which takes a few cues from jazz.
Rebuilding's splendid packaging features an oversized gatefold that includes a CD jacket, booklet and nine postcards � one for each song � with surreal illustrations by renowned Italian artist Lorenzo Vergani on one side and lyrics on the other. It's a near-perfect match for Proloud's complex music and thoughtful words.
This is a finely crafted album that nevertheless takes some getting used to, despite Proloud's familiar influences.
Added: January 14th 2003
Related Link: Sublime Label
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Will Starlink satellites affect our view of the night sky?
Will SpaceX and other companies' satellites in low-Earth orbit ruin our enjoyment of the night sky?
By Ezzy Pearson, Chris Lintott, Lucie Green
Starlink is a megaconstellation – a network of satellites in low-Earth orbit. Its goal is to supply cheap internet access around the entire globe, particularly in rural and remote areas beyond the reach of traditional connections.
The ‘mega’ part of the name is certainly earned. When finished, Starlink will consist of over 12,000 satellites.
With other companies, including Amazon, UK-based OneWeb and several Chinese enterprises all aiming to launch similar constellations, the sky could soon be filled with tens of thousands of these satellites.
The initial brightness of the Starlink satellites surprised even SpaceX, though CEO Elon Musk was quick to reassure the public on Twitter:
There are already 4900 satellites in orbit, which people notice ~0% of the time. Starlink won’t be seen by anyone unless looking very carefully & will have ~0% impact on advancements in astronomy. We need to move telelscopes to orbit anyway. Atmospheric attenuation is terrible. pic.twitter.com/OuWYfNmw0D
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 27, 2019
The super bright phase, he asserted, would just be during the early stages of the satellite’s deployment. When they reached their final altitude and orientation they’d be much dimmer.
Over time, the satellites faded to around mag. +5.5 – faint, but still visible to the naked eye at a dark-sky site and bright enough to ruin any professional observation they happened to drift through.
“I felt Elon Musk’s comments were the wrong way to characterise this,” says John McDowell, from the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, who has created a simulation of what the completed megaconstellation will look like using magnitude measurements taken by amateur satellite observing community, SeeSat.
“Most of those 4,900 satellites are in higher orbits, or much smaller and so not contributing to the light pollution problem. These [Starlink] satellites are large and low – around 550km up.
“Both those things together mean they’re bright. Prior to the first Starlink launch there were about 400 large, low satellites: 12,000 compared to 400 is quite a big increase.”
McDowell used his simulations to mimic what the sky would look like at various different points on the globe, analysing how it would change the sky for both professional observatories and the average person looking up from a dark-sky site.
“The question is how many satellites can see the Sun when you can’t. If you can see the Sun it’s the middle of the day and you’re probably not doing astronomy, and if the Sun is below the horizon the satellites will be dark and you’re probably not that bothered,” says McDowell.
“The bad thing is when the Sun is a bit below the horizon so that the ground where you are is dark, but the altitude where the satellite is in space isn’t.”
Though satellites nearest to the horizon were most affected, more were seen at latitudes under the extreme top and bottom of their orbits, where the satellites linger longest. This latitude happens to be at 53º north and south – landing it right in the middle of the UK.
“If you’re in the UK in the north in summer when the Sun never really sets then the satellites are always going to be illuminated,” says McDowell. “You’re going to see a lot of these things all summer long and it’s going to be noticeable.”
While this isn’t welcome news for those observing from the UK, many professional telescopes are located closer to the equator. For those with a small field of view, the chances of a satellite drifting through any given frame are reassuringly low.
“There’s a lot of projects that require some (relatively achievable) mitigation to avoid the satellites. This amounts to an increase in observing time, which is expensive, but it’s not the end of astronomy,” says McDowell.
A 333-second exposure captured using the Blanco 4m telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) shows 19 streaks that astronomers attributed to Starlink satellites. Credit: NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory/CTIO/AURA/DELVE
Will Starlink satellites affect astronomy?
One major telescope that will be severely affected is the Vera Rubin Observatory (VRO), previously known as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope) being built in Chile.
“The observatory will survey the entire southern sky 1,000 times in six wavebands,” says Tony Tyson, chief scientist for the VRO.
“It’s a 10-year survey of the entire southern sky and it has an uncommonly wide field of view. You could fit 40 Moons inside a single snapshot.”
Such a wide field means that the telescope is the perfect machine for picking up satellite trails. Previously, this hadn’t mattered as most satellites are much dimmer.
“Something that bright saturates our detectors. It’s not something we can easily remove from the data because it leaves a lot of artefacts behind in the image,” says Tyson.
While it could be possible to plan out when a satellite will be going by and halt observations until it passed, the VRO takes images at such a rate that even a few seconds of delay could increase the survey time by several years.
As things stand, once the full constellation is deployed as many as 30% of all VRO images could contain a satellite trail. That is, of course, unless SpaceX changes its plans.
When it became apparent just how bright the satellites were – and how upset the public was about the potential of a sky filled with them – the company began working with astronomical institutions, including the VRO, to see what could be done.
Graphs showing how many Starlink satellites will be illuminated (and potentially visible) in the UK sky during the summer (left) and winter (right) once the constellation is fully deployed. Line A indicates mid-altitude satellites (550km), while line B shows those at high altitude (~1,200km) and line C at low altitude (~340km). The Total line reveals the sum of all three groups. The background shading highlights when the sky is in day, night or twilight. Credit: Paul Wootton.
“We’ve been working with them on several different ideas,” says Tyson. “The first one, called DarkSat, launched in March. They’ve blackened areas at the bottom of the spacecraft bus that looked bright in imaging.
“Meanwhile another solution SpaceX is working on is to create a sunshade that shades the bottom of the satellite, so it doesn’t reflect light, called VisorSat.”
While VisorSat has yet to be launched at the time of writing, early observations of Darksat show its brightness has dropped by as much as a magnitude, taking it below naked-eye visibility.
Now the question becomes ‘Will this be dark enough?’
Establishing that, however, is a challenge, says Robert Massey of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS). “Part of the problem is that we haven’t really, as a community, accepted what the maximum brightness of a satellite is,” he explains.
“Is it naked-eye visibility, mag. +6.0? Or fainter than that? Can we tolerate something brighter? Those discussions need to be had.”
To help those discussions along, the RAS ran a conference in January, bringing together members of the professional and amateur astronomical communities with representatives of SpaceX and OneWeb.
The goal of the meeting wasn’t to stop companies from their quest to bring internet access to everyone, but to ensure they were doing so without exacting a price the world wasn’t willing to pay.
“It’s hard for astronomers to argue against global internet,” says Massey, “but my particular view is that there is a shared ownership of the sky. There should be public input into that.”
The problem with shared ownership, however, is that there is no one organisation governing our view of the heavens.
“You can develop guidelines, but how do you make them enforceable?” says Massey. “That requires an international treaty and that may take a very long time.”
An asteroid passing by Earth (artist’s impression). Could illuminated satellites make it trickier to spot near-Earth objects? Credit: ESA/P.Carril
Currently, the only global governance comes from the United Nations Outer Space Treaty, a list of guidelines agreeing what it means to be a good citizen in space.
It’s then up to each individual country to make their own laws, usually using the Treaty as a template.
While there is little compelling nations to pick up these guidelines, a similar approach has been remarkably effective in tackling the problem of space junk.
We approached SpaceX for a comment for this article, but did not receive a response. However, everyone we spoke to agreed the company is at least interested in being a ‘good space citizen’ and fixing the problem.
One thing they are not doing, however, is slowing down the launches of their Starlink satellites. Over 300 satellites are already in orbit at the time of writing, only one of which has had any kind of measures to mitigate its brightness.
“Besides wanting to get revenue from the system as soon as possible, the licence to launch the first 1,584 satellites of the constellation is only for five years, so SpaceX is under some pressure to continuously launch, despite all these discussions,” says Massey.
“History confirms that a reliance on the benevolence of the business world has not been a great strategy for the public,” says McDowell.
“While it’s great that SpaceX and others are taking this seriously and trying to fix the problem, I think we need some level of regulation that’s not so onerous that it inhibits the development of space.
There should be a global governance of a resource that’s been important to humanity for millennia.”
Starlink Satellites seen in the night sky over Vladivostok, Russia, 27 April 2020. Photo by Yuri Smityuk\TASS via Getty Images
How will Starlink satellites affect amateur astronomy?
Amateur stargazers were one of the first groups to realise the impact of Starlink satellites
on views of the night sky.
“The first day of the launch I got loads of messages asking what was going on,” says astrophotographer Alyn Wallace. “They’d just seen the first train of satellites coming over the UK and were trying to work out what they’d just seen.”
For most visual observers, the effects shouldn’t be too bad. The satellites are currently only visible to the naked eye from dark-sky sites, and SpaceX seems committed to reducing their brightness below even that.
Meanwhile, for those looking through a telescope, a satellite drifting through the eyepiece should be a rare and momentary annoyance.
The community which will be worst hit, however, are astrophotographers, especially those taking long exposure, wide-field shots such as star trails.
Amateurs could even be more affected than professionals, lacking the precise orbit information and resources to remove any trails available to scientists.
“It’s going to ruin images,” says Wallace. “People are going to have to throw data away. It’s not something you can escape from.
“You can always escape light pollution and go to a dark place, but with Starlink it doesn’t matter where you are. You’ll always look up and see a sky full of satellites.”
Zdenek Bardon captured Starlink satellite trails while imaging Comet C2019/Y4 (ATLAS) from Rasošky, Czech Republic on 19 April 2020. Credit: Zdenek Bardon
Who else might be affected by Starlink satellites?
For astronomers, the reasons for keeping satellite light pollution down are obvious, but they are not the only one with an investment in the night sky.
“There are cultures around the world who may not be heavily involved with space, but who live in less urbanised environments and have a strong tradition associated with the night sky,” says John McDowell
“These people might be put out if the night sky was changed suddenly without them being consulted.”
One major scientific enterprise that could suffer is the search for near-Earth objects, as the conditions that are best for illuminating space rocks are the same for illuminating satellites.
With thousands of satellites moving across the sky, it will be difficult for surveys to pick out the motions of an asteroid, making it all too easy for a potentially dangerous object to slip through without detection.
Then there is the question of space junk. Low-Earth orbit is home to thousands of satellites and is already getting cluttered.
A computer-generated image of space debris orbiting Earth. Credit: NASA Orbital Debris Program Office, photo gallery
“With 10,000 satellites, they have to make sure they have decent traffic control,” says Robert Massey.
SpaceX has already come under question over this, when on 2 September 2019, ESA had to divert one of its satellites to avoid a collision.
“It’s important that SpaceX’s systems can be deorbited easily and reliably. Even a small failure rate will still amount to a reasonable number that aren’t under control.”
The potential benefits from the system are undeniable. Megaconstellations will supply internet to people who could never gain it through conventional means.
“Even if the final decision is, ‘Yeah, cheap internet is so important we’ll throw the night sky overboard’, it should be a matter for the global community to review,” says McDowell.
An expert’s view: The Sky at Night’s Chris Lintott
The initial plans for SpaceX’s constellations of Starlink satellites were for just over 1,500 satellites, but SpaceX has permission to launch as many as 12,000, and maybe many times that.
Starlink satellites – which are both large and low – already account for the majority of active large satellites in lower orbits, and a large proportion of the satellites that are visible to the naked eye.
If we’re heading for even only 1,500 Starlinks in the near future, four in every five bright satellites will belong to the constellation.
By day, Jonathan McDowell is an X-ray astronomer, part of the team who keep the Chandra space telescope running and productive, staring at some of the distant Universe’s most energetic phenomena.
In his spare time, he keeps track of objects much closer to home, cataloguing the population of satellites that clutter low Earth orbit.
He’s therefore the right person to weigh in on SpaceX’s rapidly growing constellation of Starlink satellites, and in a new paper he does just that.
Even with 1,500 in orbit, McDowell explains the effect will be dramatic. That might seem surprising.
There are, after all, nearly 5,000 satellites already in orbit, so the initial Starlink deployment accounts for only a small addition.
But to be bright – visible with the naked eye – you need a satellite to be both large and in low Earth orbit, and there just aren’t that many satellites for which this is true.
In higher orbits debris and defunct satellites can last a long time, but anything large that orbits under 600km above the surface will burn up in the atmosphere before too long.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the sixth batch of Starlink satellites stands ready for launch at Kennedy Space Centre, 14 March 2020. Credit: Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto via Getty Images
I’ve already spotted some of them myself, and as the paper makes clear, they will be visible for long stretches of the night.
Using real observations from a network of volunteer observers (satobs.org), the paper builds a model for how the constellation of satellites will look when deployed.
They’re typically between magnitudes 4 and 6 – in naked-eye visibility range from a dark site.
From almost any observatory location, hundreds are above the horizon at all times and, during the summer months, they will be bright throughout the night.
During winter, from most locations there are hours of respite either side of midnight, but much of the night will still be Starlink-streaked.
For the biggest surveys astronomers are planning, which use wide-field cameras to cover much of the sky, it seems possible that every image taken will have a satellite streak due to a Starlink satellite.
For casual observers, who may care more about the view near the horizon, or those hunting near-Earth asteroids by scanning the twilight sky, the situation is worse.
Can anything be done? SpaceX themselves have experimented with changing the design of the spacecraft, and one special, darkened satellite is currently in orbit.
Initial observations suggest that the changes might work, taking the satellite out of naked-eye visibility, but more careful monitoring is needed.
The warning from this paper is that our night sky might be changing, and fast – and if so it will never be the same again.
Expert’s view: solar scientist Lucie Green
Every project that carries the SpaceX name seems to be an audacious attempt to blaze a trail and leave other companies playing catch up.
Elon Musk himself is so prominent when it comes to space exploration that I sometimes wonder when the day will come that I am doing my research using data collected by his spacecraft.
But if he wishes to fulfil his dream of creating a human colony on Mars, he needs money.
That’s where projects like Starlink come in; a ‘megaconstellation’ of 12,000 satellites working together to provide a globally accessible internet system.
It could open up opportunities for people in hard to reach places, giving them access to knowledge, employment and facilities many of us take for granted – while also making a nice profit for SpaceX.
However, our skies are a site of special scientific and cultural interest and these megaconstellations represent a new form of light pollution that could irreversibly change them.
The Starlink project kicked off in May 2019 when SpaceX launched 60 prototype satellites to demonstrate that deploying such a large number in one go is feasible. Today over 400 are in orbit.
Rightly, there has been significant concern voiced across the astronomy community about this project.
The satellite ‘trains’ that I watched passing overhead from the early launches were an astonishing sight and they caused speculation that, in the end, thousands of Starlink satellites would be omnipresent, destroying our views, and the ability to do astrophotography and study large portions of the sky.
An artist’s impression of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory building on Cerro Pachón in Chile. Credit: Rubin Observatory/NSF/AURA
What I learned, though, is that the Starlink project is immensely complex. With engineers probably working under pressure to meet launch deadlines, the issue of light pollution, remarkably, seems to have been overlooked.
Authorisation of satellite launches takes place at a national level and there is no legal requirement to factor light pollution into the mission design.
This is why it has been so important that we astronomers speak up about the potential impact. It seems that we have been heard.
Experimentation with satellite coating and modification to design and orientation have all been tried with some success in reducing the satellites’ brightness to just below naked eye visibility once in their final orbit.
While this allayed my initial fears, it doesn’t solve the significant impact that will be experienced by telescopes carrying out sky surveys, like the Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile, which will scan the sky repeatedly to advance our understanding of dark matter and dark energy.
Starlink is happening and we can’t do anything about that, but thank goodness SpaceX is engaging. The lesson I learned is that we have a voice and we can make it heard.
So let’s use it and not give up stewardship of our night skies to private companies, but keep it for everyone.
This article was created using excerpts from the May, June and July issues of BBC Sky at Night Magazine.
Flying to the Northern Lights
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Gallery Chandra X-ray Observatory marks 20th anniversary with new astro images
Andromeda Galaxy’s last meal
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HON. JUSTICE MARVIC MARIO VICTOR F. LEONEN
LL.M, Columbia University, New York (2004)
LL.B, University of the Philippines (1987)
(Signed Roll of Attorneys, May 28, 1988)
LL.B, University of the Philippines
B.A., University of the Philippines
Marvic M.V.F. Leonen is currently an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. He is the Former Dean and Professor of Law at the University of the Philippines College of Law since 1989. He graduated with an AB Economics degree, magna cum laude, from the School of Economics in 1983. He obtained his Bachelor of Laws degree from the College of Law in 1987 ranking fourth. Later that year, he cofounded the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center, Inc, a legal and policy research and advocacy insitution which focused on providing legal services for upland rural poor and indigenous people’s communities. He served as the Center’s executive director for fifteen years. He also earned a Master of Laws degree from the Columbia Law School of the Columbia University in New York.
He first joined the faculty in 1989 as a professional lecturer in Philippine Indigenous Law. He became assistant professor during Dean Pacifico Agabin’s term and academic administrator under Dean Merlin M. Magalona’s term. In 2000, he was invited to act as the UP System’s University General Counsel. In 2005, he became the first Vice President for Legal Affairs of the UP System, and 2008, he became the Dean of the College of Law at the University of the Philippines.
In July 2010, He was named by Philippine President Benigno Aquino III as the Philippine government‘s chief negotiator with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. He successfully led the parties into a framework agreement on the Bangsamoro which was signed on October 15, 2012. He was appointed to the Court on November 21, 2012.
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KNIGHTHOOD FOR DAPHNE SHELDRICK IN NEW YEAR’S HONOURS LIST
News Updates KNIGHTHOOD FOR DAPHNE SHELDRICK IN NEW YEAR’S HONOURS LIST
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II appointed Dr Daphne Sheldrick to Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, in the 2006 New Year’s Honours List
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II appointed Dr Daphne Sheldrick to Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, in the 2006 New Year’s Honours List. Dame Daphne receives her honour for a life time of services to conservation in Kenya.
DAME DAPHNE'S RESPONSE:
I was amazed to have been elevated to Knighthood in the New Year's Honours List, something that was totally unexpected and a huge surprise! I am, however, very aware that we owe this accolade to the example set by David, whose exemplary dedication we have attempted to emulate, and to the very hard work of our dedicated team, all of whom labour beyond the call of duty for the cause. We must also acknowledge the wonderful support we have received from many caring people worldwide, who have financially empowered us to be able to make a difference and do what we can, when we can, and if we can.
Please click here to see the press announcement in PDF form.
DR. DAME DAPHNE MARJORIE SHELDRICK D.B.E. M.B.S. 1992 UNEP Global 500 Laureate
For over 25 years, from 1955 until 1976 ,Kenya born Daphne Sheldrick lived and worked alongside her late husband, David, the famous founder Warden of Kenya's giant Tsavo National Park. During that time she raised and rehabilitated back into the wild community orphans of misfortune from many different wild species, including Elephants aged two and upwards; Black Rhinos, Buffaloes, Zebra, Eland, Kudu, Impala, Duikers, Reedbuck, Dikdiks, Warthogs and many smaller animals such as civets, mongooses and birds. She is a recognized International authority on the rearing of wild creatures and is the first person to have perfected the milk formula and necessary husbandry for both infant milk dependent Elephants and Rhinos. The key to her success has been her life-long experience of wild creatures, an in-depth knowledge of animal psychology, the behavioral characteristics of the different species, and, of course, that most essential component, a sincere and deep empathy. For her work in this field Daphne Sheldrick was decorated by the Queen in 1989 with an M.B.E., elevated to U.N.E.P.’s elite Global 500 Roll of Honour in 1992, among the first 500 people worldwide to have been accorded this particular honour, and awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine and Surgery by Glasgow University in June 2000. In December 2001 her work was honoured by the Kenya Government through a prestigious decoration - a Moran of the Burning Spear (M.B.S.), and in 2002 by the B.B.C. when she received their Lifetime Achievement Award. In the November 2005 issue of the Smithsonian Magazine Daphne Sheldrick was named as one of 35 people worldwide who have made a difference in terms of animal husbandry and wildlife conservation. In the 2006 New Year’s Honours List, Queen Elizabeth II appointed Dr. Daphne Sheldrick to Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, the first Knighthood to be awarded in Kenya since the country received Independence in 1963.
Daphne Sheldrick’s involvement with wildlife has spanned a lifetime. Born in Kenya on the 4th June 1934, she grew up amongst animals, both wild and domestic. She was educated at Nakuru Primary School and the Kenya High School where she matriculated in 1950 with Honours and the possibility of a bursary for University Entrance in the Cambridge School Leaving Certificate, achieving the position of 8th in the Colony. Instead Daphne opted for marriage. Living as she did within a National Park, she had the opportunity to observe and study most species at both the field level and in a captive situation. Rearing their orphaned young has brought to her a unique and unparalleled understanding of the "inside story" of wild creatures. - knowledge of their minds and emotions, the role of instinct where it impacts on behaviour, the importance of scent and chemistry in their daily lives, telepathic capabilities, individuality, vocalizations, and the ability to interpret the subtleties of a complex body language.
Since the death of her husband in 1977, she has lived and worked in the Nairobi National Park, courtesy of the Kenya Government, her home duplicating as the Orphans' Nursery. It is here that she has successfully hand-reared over 70 newborn Elephant orphans, some from just hours old, the first time this has ever been achieved. Having completed their two milk dependent years, these orphans, along with the human family of Keepers who replace the lost elephant family, grow up in the Tsavo National Park, where they mingle freely and at will with the wild herds and eventually become fully integrated back into the wild community. Some of Daphne's orphans have now had wild born young, which they have brought back to show their human family. Daphne has also successfully raised and rehabilitated over a dozen Black Rhino orphans from newborn, some of whom have had wild born young which they have shared with their human friends. Her expertise has been instrumental in helping many other elephants Africa wide, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Zambia, Burkina Faso, Uganda and Cameroon to name a few as well as elephants in India, Thailand, and Siri Lanka.
Daphne Sheldrick has tirelessly campaigned at an International level against the abuse of captive animals, most notably in securing the freedom of some of the Tuli elephant calves kidnapped from their living families in Botswana which were being subjected to brutal "training" in South Africa. Daphne Sheldrick is recognized internationally as one of the world authorities on both the African Elephant and the Black Rhinoceros, with a broad knowledge of Natural History and the interlocking role of different species within the environment.
Through four books, numerous articles, lectures and television appearances, she has promoted wildlife conservation worldwide. The BBC Documentary “Elephant Diaries” depicting her work with the orphaned elephants, filmed over a period of a full year, has received world-wide acclaim. The series will now go to America on the Animal Planet channel and thereafter world wide.
Currently Daphne is working on her Memoirs, the completion of which is anticipated by the end of 2006. Through the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, established after the death of her husband in 1977in his memory, she has made a further significant contribution to wildlife conservation in Kenya, supporting the Kenya Wildlife Service by meeting contingency needs during times of economic constraint; funding fuel for anti-poaching forces, electric fencing on sensitive boundaries, operating 6 antipoaching teams de-snaring Park boundaries, along with a signaficant community outreach program and mobilizing a fully equipped Mobile Veterinary Unit to deal with the sick and wounded in the Tsavo ecosystem as well as Amboseli , the Shimba Hills and Chuyulu National Parks promptly and unobtrusively responding whenever possible, just as David would have wished.
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Highlights of the 2019 CEA National Issues Conference
SMACNA contractors joined forces with other specialty construction groups at this year’s Construction Employers of America (CEA) National Issues Conference, held May 7-9 in Washington, D.C.
The first day of the program featured policy experts on multiemployer pension plans, pharmacy benefit issues, and paid family and sick leave. SMACNA members were then invited to a legislative dinner, where members and chapter executives were recognized for their contributions to SMAC PAC. The evening included a speech by SMACNA President Nathan Dills.
On the second day, legislators shared their views on infrastructure, energy efficiency, procurement, paid leave, and other issues important to the industry. The day opened with Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO), followed by Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA), Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN), and Rep. Gerry Connelly (D-VA).
Speaking on infrastructure investment, Rep. Stauber said, "let's get an infrastructure package together that is bold and responsive." He closed his speech noting, "I'm privileged to be here today and work with both sides of the aisle and labor is going to be a huge part of it."
Rep. Connelly noted that “infrastructure does not happen by fairy dust. You have to fund it...if we do not heed the warning of America’s crumbling infrastructure, we are handing our competitiveness over to China. It is a lack of political will to make that investment, an investment that we should have made yesterday.”
Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) followed with speeches on energy efficiency and investing in America’s future. Tonko stated, “we have the incredible opportunity to invest in America’s infrastructure and put our people to work. Roads and bridges are not enough. We have to include broadband and make that system run more efficiently. We also need additional investments in water systems infrastructure.” He closed his talk with a rallying cry, “I still believe most optimistically in the pioneer spirit of this country. As we go forward let us commit to investments that brings us back to a country that “builds” and moves forward.”
Markey focused on the Green New Deal, a bill he introduced in the Senate, and building a climate resistant future. "We're talking about jobs," he said. "The Green New Deal will be the single largest creator of blue collar jobs."
The final session featured Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-IL) who spoke on lowering the price of prescription drugs and noted that she believes "we will pass a meaningful infrastructure package."
Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) discussed paid leave and his commitment to ensuring that our workforce is a focus of the conversation. “I want to stress the importance of guaranteed pay," he said. "The lack of guaranteed pay relief costs a family so much. It is outrageous that a worker should have to choose between a sick family member or themselves and a paycheck.”
The legislative conference is all about advocacy and more than 60 SMACNA members from 20 states took part in more than 100 meetings with their legislators to discuss ramifications of these issues on their businesses, their employees, and the industry.
In the evening, members were invited to an all-association reception, hosted by Rep. Steve Stivers (R-OH), with special guest Rep. Lou Correa (D-CA). Stivers welcomed members, noting that "the economy is doing pretty well but our infrastructure needs a boost."
The final day focused on apprenticeship and labor with speakers Anirban Basu, chairman and CEO of the Sage Policy Group. Nicholas C. Geale, chief of staff to the secretary, U.S. Department of Labor, and Reps. Rodney Davis (R-IL), Donald Norcross (D-NJ), and John Katko (R-NY).
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Browse the Guide
Mar 11 - 12 , 2021
2021 Association Leadership Meeting
Las Colinas, TX
College of Fellows Virtual Meeting
2021 Collective Bargaining Orientation
Apr 18 - 20 , 2021
2021 Planning Your Exit and Business Valuation Program
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Coastin'
Curious SouthCoast
[UPDATE] 17-year-old killed in double shooting ID'd
Linda Roy @LindaRoy_SCT
Oct 20, 2019 at 7:19 AM Oct 23, 2019 at 3:32 PM
NEW BEDFORD -- The 17-year-old teen shot and killed Saturday evening has been identified as Paul Collazo-Ruiz, 17, of New Bedford, said the Bristol County District Attorney's office in a Sunday evening press release. The other man, age 20, who was also shot and in serious condition at Rhode Island Hospital is not yet being identified.
Shortly after 7 p.m. Saturday evening, New Bedford Police responded to the intersection of Ashley Boulevard and Tallman Street in the North End of New Bedford for reports of an apparent shooting involving two victims.
When police and paramedics arrived on scene, they located Collazo-Ruiz and a 20-year-old New Bedford man, both of whom had sustained apparent gunshot wounds. Collazo-Ruiz was pronounced deceased at the scene by paramedics, while the 20-year-old was rushed to the hospital, the DA said.
Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to the DA's office, along with New Bedford Police and Homicide Unit prosecutors are actively investigating the homicide.
Assistant District Attorney Matthew Friedel is coordinating the investigation for the district attorney's office.
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Suggest a Walk
Aldeburgh Food and Drink Festival
Suffolk artist's lasting impressions
PUBLISHED: 17:04 24 January 2011 | UPDATED: 20:32 20 February 2013
Suffolk artist Clare Curtis has produced work that will last for a long, long time
Clare Curtis is a professional printmaker and illustrator working in Felixstowe, Suffolk. As a member of the Suffolk Craft Society she regularly shows her work in exhibitions in the county, including at the Societys permanent gallery at the Town Hall Galleries in Ipswich. In 2010 she has seen her designs blasted on to concrete panels and displayed on a new road bridge in Stowmarket. Clare tells us about her ideas and this new public art work:
I feel a real part of a very strong and long tradition of British printmaker/
illustrators. My approach is that of a designer and crafts person, using traditional tools and methods. I hand cut printing blocks from materials such as lino, wood and cardboard and then print them using a hand press dating from the 1950s. A lot of my personal work reflects my love of plants and I am heavily influenced by my environment. In particular the structures, flora and fauna that dot the Suffolk coastline. My linocuts are published, exhibited and collected nationally.
I was first asked to become involved in the Stowmarket project at the beginning of 2007. Suffolk County Council and Stowmarket Town Council were looking for a way to personalise and decorate 17 cast concrete parapet panels that would run along the length of two new road bridges that were to cross the River Gipping. The council had already come to conclusion that shot blasting the concrete with a design was the most suitable method and I was approached because my linocut prints where bold and graphic enough to suit this process.
After meeting the Town Council I established that there was a need to commemorate the river and the industry that had built up around it. With the help of archive photographs I was able to imagine scenes and design a series of illustrations. There were many aspects I could have chosen but I decided that the small bridge, near to what was once the Atco works, would tell the story of the original foundry and the lawn mower manufacturer. The large river bridge was more problematic, being of such a length. I decided to recreate an imaginary scene of the river when it was still in use as a busy highway moving goods from and to Ipswich.
Once the designs were agreed on I produced lino cuts from my drawings. Then I printed them in black and white so that they could be easily converted into a digital format. They then were enlarged and stencils were made.
The whole process from start to finish took a very long time and sometimes I did wonder if it would ever be completed. So when I finally got a glimpse of the finished panels I was quite overwhelmed. It was oddly satisfying to see the artwork I had made using such fine tools become something on such a monumental scale!
Clare regularly exhibits in galleries throughout East Anglia and further afield in Edinburgh, Bath and Yorkshire. Clares original prints can be seen in Suffolk Craft Societys Gallery 2 at the Town Hall Galleries on Ipswichs Cornhill and are also available as reproductions sold as greetings cards. To find out more about Clares work visit her website, www.clarecurtis.co.uk
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What Bobi Wine’s dare means to the youth
Bobi and his wife Barbie
I think I am one of the few, (if not many), sober Ugandans who took some time to ponder about the possibility that Hon. Kyagulanyi Ssentamu aka Bobi Wine could at one time be a threatening factor to Museveni’s grip on power. Upon his election as Kyadondo East legislator, I wrote an article in a local newspaper, wherein I cautioned Bobi Wine against his overly raised political ambitions especially at an early stage of his political career.
Forgive my short-sightedness then, perhaps my doubts in the singer-turned-politician were fairly justifiable in a sense that those who were born after 1986 have never experienced or witnessed any transfer of power from one President to another.
The above anecdote reminds me of some of our childhood recollections especially when asked to share what our future dreams were. If I can reminisce very well, majority of us boldly dreamt of becoming Presidents and that was reflected in the way we mimicked some of the inspirational Presidents (at the time), both locally and internationally.
However, as time went on, the once renowned liberator, through gratification transformed into a self-crowned-life President. Certainly, I am not sure whether it is even safe for one to bear the dream of becoming President-in the now politically hostile Uganda. Of course, those within the corridors of power don’t need to inform us that President Museveni’s appetite for power is bigger than Uganda itself.
Surprisingly, in the evening of Museveni’s rule, there erupted a nascent political voice roared by a young man in his mid-30s. Notwithstanding the fact thatBobi Wine is a political novice, he has been able to chart a new wave of political trajectory which many youths can identify with. This has therefore won him popular support among the youth thus christening him all sorts of titles including the “new face of the struggle.”
I have however heard selfish voices within opposition circles claiming that Bobi Wine is new in the struggle and hence cannot be fronted as the face of the struggle. With all due respect, I find the intellect of such opposition politicians wanting and therefore they need to be reminded that Bobi’s contribution to struggle dates back, more than a decade ago, when he attempted to speak against the excesses of those in authority. What better way could people have appreciated his message than through his music?
Whether Bobi Wine is able to leverage his increasingly growing political capital to assume thehighest office in the country or not, he has already set pace for many young people, probably in our generation to shape their dreams and make a meaningful contribution to their country however minute it could be.
Needless to say, Bobi Wine has become a saint to very many young people who not only yearn for political change but would also want to directly take charge of their destiny. What Bobi’s tormentors have deliberately failed to grasp is that he [Bobi Wine] comes with an ideology which is saleable to the masses and therefore fighting him is like chasing after the wind.
Bobi Wine’s multi-faceted background coupled with his resilience offers a big lesson to our generation especially tomany struggling young people out there, that despite the circumstances, one should not be deterred from speaking up against injustices in society. What therefore needs to be done is to show our importance as a generation, even if it means turning all of us into political prisoners like thecurrent regime has decided with Bobi.
Through his “people power” sloganeering, we have for the first time seen the youth make appearance on the political scene to protest against the regime’s excesses. Although, there were existing political structures for the youth, these were indirectly influenced and controlled by mainstream political parties and or politicians.
In addition,those youth political structures are characterized by co-option and as such are impotent to actively engage the youth into reclaiming political power. Therefore, Bobi’s take-over should revitalize pro-activeness among the youth to defy the status quo and ensure that they are the new managers of the country they want.
By and large, Bobi Wine is treading where angels fear to tread and, on that note, I am aware that the regime is likely to frustrate his ambitions and is well equipped to defeat his dreams. However, even if the regime opts to go that direction, no amount of defeat can be administered against the spirit of “Kyagulanyi effect” that has been inculcated in us.
By BadruWalusansa
Commonwealth Correspondent
Anger driving Ugandans to commit treason for fun
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Dr. Penny Jeffcoate
Head of Research and Development
Dr. Penny Jeffcoate is the Head of Research and Development at Sustainable Marine. She leads the performance testing, both in lab and field, and also runs the Research and Development programmes with the company’s academic and commercial research partners.
Following the completion of her PhD in tidal barrage engineering from University of Manchester, Penny undertook a postdoctoral research position in tidal energy at Queen’s University Belfast. During her PostDoc, Penny managed the testing of both an in-house tidal energy platform (TTT) and the first generation SCHOTTEL Instream turbine at Strangford Lough, working with a wide selection of international clients and partners. This research produced many significant peer-reviewed papers, including the award for Best Journal Paper in the International Journal for Marine Energy 2015.
Since joining Sustainable Marine in 2015, Penny leads the team during tank testing, site evaluation and field performance assessment, including assessing PLAT-I in Connel and Grand Passage field trials. She also coordinates and manages the in-house and collaborative research projects that the company has with world-leading universities and research institutions.
Penny also holds the post of Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor at University of Southampton in Marine Energy Technologies at the University of Southampton (2018-2021). Within this post Penny works with the students to discuss engineering practices and methodology such as designing to client briefs, critical design analysis, and presenting design ideas. She also discusses gender diversity in engineering, and has hosted Women in Engineering events.
Penny is an avid sailor and has competed at an international level in both yachts and dinghies, and she now regularly races in the Solent in England and also volunteers on Cowes Lifeboat, a volunteer search and rescue lifeboat with the RNLI, based on the Isle of Wight.
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Suzanne Methot
Writer · Editor · Educator
Suzanne Methot is the author of the non-fiction book Legacy: Trauma, Story, and Indigenous Healing (ECW Press, 2019), co-author of the Grade 11 textbook Aboriginal Beliefs, Values, and Aspirations (Goodminds/Pearson Canada, 2011), and a contributor to Scholastic’s Take Action series of elementary classroom resource books. She is a social historian and speaker on pedagogy, Indigenous literatures, Indigenous worldviews, Indigenous approaches to health and wellness, trauma- and healing-informed practice, and decolonization. Suzanne also works as an editor, curriculum writer, and program developer for the education, health care, and museum sectors, where her work often includes facilitating change-making sessions for staff teams and program participants.
Suzanne has 30 years of experience creating and applying equity and anti-oppression frameworks, beginning as an adult literacy and skills training practitioner (since 1991) and then as an elementary classroom teacher specializing in social justice education (since 2007). She has also worked in advocacy and direct–service positions at Indigenous organizations since 1992, serving community members who are marginalized by racism, poverty, homelessness, health status, addictions, mental-health challenges, crime, and victimization.
Suzanne was principal editor for Ningwakwe Learning Press for over a decade, creating Indigenous culture-based literacy resources. She was also an Education Officer for school programs at the Art Gallery of Ontario, where she facilitated gallery and studio activities for students from K-12. From 2014 to 2019, she was an appointee to the Royal Ontario Museum’s Indigenous Advisory Circle, assisting the ROM Learning Department in building authentic and sustainable relationships with Indigenous communities. Suzanne also served on the Program Advisory Committee for Durham College’s Faculty of Journalism and Mass Media from 2016-2019.
Suzanne has lectured on Indigenous literatures at the University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Education, and was a guest lecturer in the Indigenous Journalism program at the First Nations Technical Institute at Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. She has also been a guest speaker, presenter, and panel moderator at Concordia University, the York Region District School Board, Jane Goodall Institute, Tamarack Institute, Columbia University, Toronto Reference Library, Ryerson University, the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine, the Ontario Library Association Super Conference, the Hot Docs Film Festival teacher professional development conference, and the Halton District School Board’s 2018 Human Rights Symposium. Suzanne has also appeared on CBC Radio One, KALW San Francisco, and ELMNT FM.
Suzanne’s fiction, non-fiction, and poetry has been published in several anthologies, and her feature articles, guest columns, and reviews have appeared in the Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, Quill & Quire, Windspeaker, and Canadian Geographic.
Born in Vancouver in 1968 and raised in Peace River, Alberta — which is known as Sagitawa (“where the rivers meet”) in the Nehiyawak language — Suzanne is Asiniwachi Nehiyaw (Rocky Mountain Cree) of mixed Indigenous and European heritage. She lived for 29 years in Wendat–Haudenosaunee–Anishinabeg territory in Toronto, and now makes her home on the unceded territory of the Snuneymuxw Nation in British Columbia.
Suzanne is currently working on several books for children and young people, and a novel set in northern Alberta. She also manages The Legacy Project website, which offers information and resources on intergenerational trauma and trauma-informed practice. Suzanne is represented by Stephanie Sinclair of CookeMcDermid Literary Management.
Connect on Facebook @SuzanneMethotAuthor, LinkedIn or check out Suzanne’s latest:
Copyright © 2021 Suzanne Methot, All Rights Reserved
Connect with Suzanne:
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HomeCapitalism and MarxismTactics after 1968 uprising in France
Tactics after 1968 uprising in France
January 24, 2019 Sam Marcy
When is it correct to boycott rigged elections?
The year 2018 marked the 50th anniversary of the May 1968 uprising of workers and students in France. In light of the Yellow Vests protest movement shaking France today and the continued relevance of the lessons of 1968 for anti-capitalist struggles, Struggle ★ La Lucha is publishing a series of articles written at that time by Sam Marcy, one of the leading Marxist thinkers of the second half of the 20th century. This piece originally appeared in the July 5, 1968, issue of Workers World newspaper.
It seems only yesterday that the entire structure of capitalist France was tottering and on the verge of utter collapse. The ruling class was reeling under the blows of the student rebellion as well as the most massive and most widespread general strike in Western European history.
Has the so-called landslide election which gave the Gaullists a sweeping majority changed all this? Indeed not! Only those who are victims of parliamentary cretinism, only those who view the truly great revolutionary significance of the May-June class struggle of the French workers as some sort of psychological aberration can take the election figures for good coin or as a true reflection of the living reality of France today.
None of the deep-seated economic issues have in any way been resolved, nor is there any reason to believe that they will be in the future. The so-called “massive” wage increases, which everyone is talking about, are of purely nominal character and are at the mercy of a galloping rise in the cost of living (which, of course, [Prime Minister Georges] Pompidou promises to “control”). The acute class antagonisms which are at the bottom of the struggle and which broke violently through the surface in May can at best be muffled for a short period of time but can never be eradicated or resolved.
Of course, the massive majority whipped up by the Gaullists has significance, but only if it is properly understood in the light of the living struggle of class forces. Gaining a parliamentary majority became the issue in France only because the Communist Party of France—General Confederation of Labor (CGT) leadership permitted de Gaulle to take the initiative of calling for elections without a struggle. Naturally, the bourgeoisie would triumph in an election rigged by the Gaullists.
However, the issue should not have been whether the police dictatorship of de Gaulle could muster a majority of the electorate to vote for his regime, but whether it was proper for the leadership of the CP and CGT to urge the masses to participate in a farce whose outcome was a foregone conclusion.
But was there an alternative choice left open to them? Yes, indeed. A boycott of the elections, even if it went badly, could scarcely have caused as much damage as did the participation in the electoral fraud in which the masses were dragooned to cast their votes for de Gaulle. To begin with, the CP-CGT leadership and its allies among the masses had every legal right to boycott the election and disrupt the election machinery.
Election held under military threat
Why? First of all, this was not a general election in accordance with the constitutional provisions. It was a special election decided upon by de Gaulle himself. Moreover, and this is far more important, the election was called and arranged by de Gaulle under duress and the threat of the use of force. Nothing could fly in the face of bourgeois legality more than the threat of the use of force on the eve of an election. Such an election is considered rigged. Participating in such an election is validating a fraud.
It is instructive to recall the manner in which de Gaulle prepared for the election while the events are still fresh in the minds of the millions. At a time when the revolutionary strike wave was at its height with the economy virtually in the hands of the workers, de Gaulle suddenly disappeared. Where did he go? He went to confer with one of his principal co-conspirators in the military, Gen. Jacques Massu. He is the general who commands the French forces in Germany and who worked with de Gaulle during the Algiers period as a captain. De Gaulle’s departure to meet Massu and other fascist generals was deliberately leaked to the press to threaten and intimidate the leadership as well as the masses with military force.
The holding of an election under these circumstances is constitutionally illegal. The CP-CGT leadership and its bourgeois allies among the politicians pride themselves on standing for “law and order.”
Well, the conspiracy of de Gaulle and his military chiefs in Taverny was a most flagrant breach of bourgeois legality. Why didn’t the CP-CGT leadership take advantage of that? This breach became open and most impudent when he began to move tanks toward the capital. If this is not conducting an election under duress, then nothing is. From then on the CP-CGT leadership had every right, on the basis of elementary bourgeois law, not to submit to military threats by a conspiracy of the fascist generals with de Gaulle at its head.
The case for denouncing de Gaulle’s election maneuver will be more easily understood by U.S. readers who know contemporary American labor history and the struggle of workers to win collective bargaining rights. It has now become well settled law governing U.S. labor relations that a collective bargaining election which takes place during a period when the employer uses threats, coercion, intimidation and duress is invalid and the union has every right not merely to boycott the election but to call a strike to avoid casualties and demoralization in the plant.
Employers do not want collective bargaining elections when the spirit of the workers is high. Rather they seek to dampen that spirit by the use of all foul methods including bribery and intimidation of the leaders to demoralize the workers and then have a rigged election. How many times has this been repeated in contemporary labor history in the U.S.?
Lenin and 1905
Marxist tactics and strategy governing boycotts of parliamentary elections were discussed by Lenin almost fifty years ago in his famous book “Left-Wing Communism” and are considered ABC today. Lenin gives two pertinent examples from Russian history relating to parliamentary elections: when to boycott and when not to boycott.
The boycott of the parliament in 1906, said Lenin, was a mistake because no extraparliamentary struggle of great dimensions was taking place at the time. On the contrary, there was a definite recession of the struggle. However, says Lenin, the boycott in 1905 was correct.
“When, in August 1905,” says Lenin, “the Czar announced the convocation of an advisory ‘parliament,’ the Bolsheviks — unlike all the opposition parties and the Mensheviks — proclaimed a boycott of it.” What was the objective situation in 1905 according to Lenin? It was “one that was leading to the rapid transformation of mass strikes into a political strike, then into a revolutionary strike and then into insurrection.”
Commenting on this later, Lenin says: “We see that we succeeded in preventing the convocation of a reactionary parliament by a reactionary government in a situation in which extraparliamentary, revolutionary mass action (strikes in particular) was growing with exceptional rapidity.”
Of course, the situation in Russia in 1905 and the situation in France in May-June 1968 are different in many respects. However, the essential characteristics of an objective situation making a boycott not only desirable but obligatory prevailed in France in May-June 1968 just as in Russia in 1905.
In other words, the Czar, like de Gaulle, decided to convene the parliament in the midst of a revolutionary situation. The Bolsheviks, even though they felt that the revolution might not be successful, decided to boycott the elections because the main struggle was in the street and around the factories. All the other parties, including the Mensheviks, participated, thereby showing their preference for bourgeois parliamentarism over revolutionary struggle.
Had the CP-CGT leadership tried “to prevent the convocation of a reactionary parliament” by the reactionary de Gaulle government in a situation in which there was so much absolutely unprecedented revolutionary mass action, de Gaulle would not be where he is today.
Part 1 – Revolutionary situation in France 1968: Which road for the mass struggle?
Part 2 – Decisive question in France 1968: Revolutionary or reformist leadership?
Part 3 – Lesson of France 1968: Workers must declare themselves in power
Labor and strikes
What is Marxism?
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Mad About The Boy: the new Bridget Jones book
Bridget's back!
The new title from Helen Fielding's massively popular diary series has been revealed today as Bridget Jones: Mad about The Boy.
When asked what boy in particular Bridget was mad about, Fielding "merely raised one eyebrow enigmatically," according to publishers Jonathan Cape.
The book, out in October, sees the return of everyone's favourite chain-smoking heroine, as she faces a modern world rife with hazards such as drunken texting and social media typos.
An extract reads:
11.27 p.m. Just presss d SEND. Iss fineisn’t it?
You see, this is the trouble with the modern world. If it was the days of letter-writing, I would never even have started to find his address, a pen, a piece of paper, an envelope, a stamp, and gone outside at 11.30p.m. to find a postbox. A text is gone at the brush of a fingertip, like a nuclear bomb or exocet missile.
DATING RULE NO:1
DO NOT TEXT WHEN DRUNK
Published 14 years after the last sequel (Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason), Mad about The Boy will focus on "a totally new phase in Bridget’s life."
She's older obviously and still keeping a diary, but whether or not giant pants and the ever-gorgeous Mark Darcy still feature remains to be seen - let alone Daniel Cleaver and the colourful likes of Uncle Geoffrey and Una Alconbury.
Helen Fielding’s first book, Bridget Jones’s Diary, was an international bestseller on publication in 1996 and sold over 15 million copies, along with the sequel.
It was made into a hit film starring Renée Zellweger, Hugh Grant and Colin Firth (and a particularly memorable - read, rather endearing - street fight scene).
Both the book and the film came to define certain aspects of 90s pop culture, with Bridget heralded for being a different kind of ditzy female lead, one that all women could relate to.
ABOVE: Author Helen Fielding
Dan Franklin, Jonathan Cape Publishing Director said: "As a comic writer, Helen is without equal. Over fifteen years ago she gave a voice to a generation of young women with the original Bridget book; now they’ve grown up and she’s doing it again in Bridget Jones: Mad about The Boy -- this time with all the joys and complications of social media."
What do you think? Are you excited about the latest Bridget Jones sequel? Let us know on Twitter or in the comments below.
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How this teenager’s ovarian cancer diagnosis is inspiring women everywhere
It’s easy to dismiss ovarian and other female-specific cancers as something to worry about when we’re older. But there’s been a sharp increase in the incidence of ovarian cancer in women in their early 30s, and over half of the 7,000 UK cases diagnosed a year occur in women under 65.
And that’s why 16-year-old Peyton Linafelter is sharing her story with the world.
The model was just 15 when she began experiencing a series of unusual symptoms, just days after being scouted by Kate Upton’s agency.
“I couldn’t keep anything down,” she told Fox News. “My stomach was a little expanded and I just thought I was eating a lot of carbs. But, each week, my stomach got bigger and bigger.
“By the time it was April, I looked like I was five months pregnant. My lower back hurt a lot and my abdomen was in pain.”
Linafelter visited her doctors and told them about her symptoms, and they began running a series of tests. On her 16th birthday, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 ovarian cancer.
“I was in disbelief,” she said. “I thought they were in the wrong room or it was a mistake.
“My mum seemed to know something was wrong, like a bigger scale than just ovarian cysts. I guess, deep down, I did too – but I wasn’t thinking cancer.”
Read more: Two thirds of us wouldn’t recognise ovarian cancer symptoms
Days later, Linafelter began chemotherapy treatment. She was given a 17% chance of survival, and yet, by December 2016, the cancer had cleared up completely.
However the aspiring young model was, of course, worried at the physical effects that come hand-in-hand with chemo – particularly losing her hair.
“Another thing that went through my mind was that ‘I’m not going to be able to model. I’m going to have a big scar. I’m not going to have much hair’,” she said. “But everything has worked out fine. (My agent) contacted my mother in June/July after chemo treatments.”
The teenager has been documenting her experiences on Instagram alongside a series of body positive quotes (“Love your melon, love your body, love your life”), inspiring women everywhere to share their own stories.
And now Linafelter has now teamed up with University of Colorado Hospital’s UCHealth to promote even more awareness and conversation around the topic of ovarian cancer.
Via a series of televised appearances, the teen has been urging women all over the world to be in tune with their bodies and go to their doctors if they experience any unusual symptoms.
“Even if you think it’s something very simple, there could be long term effects,” said Linafelter. “Look after your health and don’t just push it aside.”
She adds: “I definitely have a new normal now. It's definitely the normal I'm going to be seeing more often. But I'm hanging out with friends, I'm out and doing this."
20 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer every day in the UK, of which 60% are diagnosed late.
Feeling bloated most days for three weeks or more can be a symptom, explains the NHS, which is why it’s so important to see your doctor straight away. Early detection makes it far easier to treat.
Feeling full quickly or loss of appetite
Pelvic or stomach pain
Needing to pee urgently or more frequently than normal
Changes in bowel habits
Extreme fatigue
Swotting up on the signs is paramount for women, not least because it’s currently Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. The majority of stage one cases can be successfully treated.
Read more: “I’m so sorry – I didn’t get it”: oncology nurse pens apology to her patients after own cancer diagnosis
The NHS adds: “If you have any of these symptoms, see your GP as soon as possible. If you know anyone who has any of these symptoms, insist they see their doctor.”
Here’s some further advice on when to seek help from your GP if you experience the symptoms mentioned above.
Images: instagram.com/peytonlinafelter/
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NPC's
The entire collection of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. goods in the official store
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. world » Timeline
April 12, 2006, 02:33 p.m.
Chernobyl zone was lit by an intolerably bright light. The clouds were evaporating in the silver bright sky with a thunder and earthquake to follow. People fell on the ground facedown closing their bleeding eyes and ears. The glow spread over an immense territory which was subsequently called the Zone. People ran away saving their lives.
It looked like a radioactive explosion at the nuclear plant occurred. The army sealed off the Zone... The explosion epicenter was a kilometre away from the nuclear plant. Obviously, some tests had been held there and they caused the disaster.
Presumably, the entire personnel died within seconds, but still there was a probability of survivals among the staff. It appeared impossible to arrange a rescue operation, as the Zone was characterized by strange energy disturbances posing mortal danger to the explorers. Attempts to use robots were unavailing. Several months after the accident the crisis situation peaked when the Zone abruptly grew five kilometres bigger.
People from nearby towns and villages were urgently evacuated, and the peril of a difficult-to-imagine scope loomed over the world.
The Zone exploded, radioactive clouds covered vast territories. A dreadful amount of people, animals and forests perished. Thirty kilometres of the area got cordoned off by the army, scientists failed to explain what had happened.
The Zone grew, various death-bearing anomalies were spotted inside. Some invisible force tore living beings apart, inflicted awful blood-sputtering wounds. Expeditions faced mutant animals, unlikely to have appeared in the Zone through natural course of evolution. The catastrophe, mutants, anomalies, contamination? Everything appeared to be a consequence of some eerie phenomenon?
First expeditions can enter the Zone several kilometers deep without mortal danger. Amateur researchers, marauders and poachers, called stalkers, show up. They move around the Zone searching for various anomalous formations, i.e. artifacts, they would sell to various organizations.
Despite serious hazards, the human interest towards the Zone does not wane. Ever more adventurers tresspass the perimeter in hope to enrich on the mysterious treasures. The growth of s.t.a.l.k.e.r.s of any kind and origin encourages groups and clans pursuing their own interests to appear in the Zone.
Such a process, alongside the growing popularity of s.t.a.l.k.e.r.ism inevitably leads to inter-clan conflicts which soon turn into a merciless war. War for territories and spheres of influence involves practically all the s.t.a.l.k.e.r. forces in the Zone. It will take months for the gun heat to subside and the main factions finally occupy the territories captured.
Amidst the war, in the theater of operations there suddenly shows up and disappears a new faction, named Clear Sky. As rumor says, the founders of this faction are directly involved in the experiments to have led to creation of the Zone. Their traces, though, vanish in the depth of the Zone, just as many others.
Our time. S.t.a.l.k.e.r.ism has established itself as a phenomenon. The influence zones have been split, an underground artifact trade is organized, much has been discovered, yet even more is still to be explored and understood. If anyone would be able to understand the Zone at all...
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Blood & Gore,
Intense Violence,
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SMB, Winning sign deal with Guinea for alumina refinery
A consortium of the Societe Miniere de Boke (SMB) and Singapore’s Winning Shipping signed an agreement on Monday with Guinea’s government to build the country’s first refinery of alumina, which is used to make aluminium.
The 1 million tonne per year refinery is part of a $3 billion project to develop Guinea’s bauxite industry, the largest in Africa.
The West African nation is home to about a third of the world’s bauxite reserves, and output of the aluminium ore more than doubled last year to about 50 million tonnes on the back of investments by aluminium giant Alcoa , Rio Tinto Alcan and private investment gorup Dadco.
But the country has no facilities to transform those reserves into higher-grade alumina, which can fetch higher prices on world markets.
In a statement on Monday, the consortium said it had signed three agreements with the Guinean government for construction of the project, which is due to start next year and is expected to be completed in 2022.
In addition to the refinery, the agreements include access to new mining areas and the construction of a 135 km (83.89 miles) railway line in a corridor connecting SMB’s bauxite mines in Boke to reserves in the northwestern region of Boffa.
Production is projected to reach 10 million tonnes in the first year of operations, rising to 20 million tonnes in 2023 and 30 million tonnes in 2024, said the statement.
The bauxite industry has taken on greater significance for the economy in Guinea, where the development of huge iron ore deposits in its forested interior stalled due to a slump in global commodities prices in 2014.
But the industry has been rocked by riots and strikes in the mining town of Boke over a perceived failure of the mining sector to raise living standards.
SMB - owned by Guinea, China’s Winning Shipping Ltd, Shandong Weiqiao and UMS International Ltd - lost between 1 million to 1.2 million tonnes of bauxite production following a nearly two-week strike in May this year.
Source: reuters.com
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Shannon beats Baker in Portage Co. judge race
Chris Mueller
STEVENS POINT - Robert Shannon will keep his job as judge in Portage County.
Shannon received 12,537 votes and Trish Baker received 10,505 votes in Tuesday’s election for judge in the county. With the most votes, Shannon will serve a six-year term as one of three judges in Portage County and fill a vacancy left by Judge John Finn, who retired last summer after serving more than 27 years.
Baker and Shannon won a four-way primary election in February.
Shannon is a retired attorney who was appointed by Gov. Scott Walker in August to serve as judge in an interim role after Finn retired.
Baker started working as an attorney in 1996 and spent years as a prosecutor and handled a variety of different cases in her private practice. She became clerk of courts in Portage County in 2011, then helped implement the state’s online record keeping system in the county.
The results of the election will not be made official until a canvass is completed April 12 and any provisional or late-arriving absentee ballots have been counted.
Chris Mueller: 715-345-2251 or christopher.mueller@gannettwisconsin.com; on Twitter@AtChrisMueller.
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An Unhappy Proximity:
Cults, Cultism And Gwen Shamblin’s Remnant Fellowship
by Rev. Rafael Martinez, Spiritwatch Ministries
An executive plan book appeared on the teacher's kitchen table, and he began tossing around terms like "worldwide ministry" and "market share" when he referred to his new project. Yet he continued to tell us every week, "I have no interest in worldly things. I have no desire to be famous."
Blind Faith, p. 9
Remnant Fellowship (RF) is a new religious organization that began to form in 1999 as the outworking of the convictions of Gwen Shamblin, the well-known dietician who created the "Weigh Down Diet", a dietary program first outlined in her 1997 book by the same name. First circulated among Christian churches across America, and achieving runaway success in secular diet circles as well, the Weigh Down Diet's core philosophy is based upon Shamblin's unique melding of Christian teaching on personal sanctity with an emphasis on dietary moderation. Tens of thousands of "Weigh Down Workshops" (WDW) across the nation sprang up and attracted hundreds of thousands of men and women from a broad cross-section of Christian denominations, providing Shamblin a massive, attentive audience for her teachings.
In the late 1990's, Shamblin's evolution of thought led her to conclude that Christianity in the closing years of the 20th century was largely apostate, due to her belief it "coddled" sin and idolatry, a chief sign of this being obesity among churchgoers and what she called a "false grace" message. This teaching began to color all of her Weigh Down conferences and writings, as well as her belief that impending judgment upon America by God for these grave sins was coming, and that her hand "was the sword that would separate the wheat from the chaff," (1) a self-perception that viewed herself as appointed by God to bring this message to the world.
In the year 2000, a year after starting her Remnant Fellowship movement at her Franklin, Tennessee corporate headquarters, Shamblin began to openly use her WDW venues as a bully pulpit to recruit churchgoers to her new church organization, having come to the highly controversial conclusion that the "institutional church can be defined as the counterfeit church the Apostle John warned about in Revelation - 'The Mother of Prostitutes' (Rev. 17) .. a place that says it is Christ's church and yet .. has insidiously allowed its members to rebel against Christ" (2). Viewing the small groups of people who hearkened to her message as being a true remnant of true believers, Shamblin's Remnant Fellowship now openly urges all like-minded people to abandon Christian churches and affiliate with her band. Drawing upon the contacts and influence that Shamblin and her Weigh Down Workshop business enterprise managed to build among the Christian churches before revealing her separatist vision and anti-Trinitarian stand in 2000 that led to a massive exodus out of her organizational orbit, Remnant Fellowship has now incorporated itself as a church ministry, drawing upon a war chest of tens of millions of dollars of WDW corporate wealth to finance and publicize itself. A Remnant Fellowship sanctuary an obvious "mother church" for the movement was completed in 2004 guaranteeing that it will be forty acres worth of "New Jerusalem" harbor for the far smaller Remnant Fellowship chapters across the country. It has become the venue of choice for Shamblin's movement for their religious festivals and pageants. For the moment, that is essentially where Remnant Fellowship has come from and its future, while increasingly clouded by uncertainty, seems poised for growth to some degree, thanks in part to media irresponsibility and the failure by prospects to look beyond the superficiality of their claims of "permanent weight loss.".
Gwen Shamblin and I both reside in America. Our country constitutionally protects and safeguards diverse opinions on matters of religion, and if she wishes to believe herself to be a member of a special class of people commissioned by God to safeguard a special revelation as the Gospel truth, she is certainly free to believe this. I however, do not, and my opinion is shared by thousands of former WDW participants and a new and growing number of disillusioned former members of Remnant Fellowship. Many have found their brief foray into Shamblin's organization become an excursion into nothing less than outright cultism. Complete with authoritarian leadership and a viciously antisocial dogmatism tinged with false doctrine denying essential Christian truths, it uses cultic mind control in a religious culture that spiritually abuses those who find themselves unable to meet up with all of its ideals.
That is the contention which we wish to explore and document in this article. What I am about to share will be disturbing and yet compelling as it is based upon first hand observation and testimonial of ex-RF members and others. As a Christian minister who has labored in the discernment ministry field of countercult evangelism and restoration for the past 17 years, I have sought to be fair and objective in the gathering of my thoughts here on Gwen Shamblin’s writings and teachings, which, in effect, comprise those of Remnant Fellowship’s, since she started and leads this organization. Sources of objective information authored by Shamblin and RF were gathered from the Internet, internal Remnant e-mailings, in her book "Rise Above", her Weigh Down Advanced (WDA) course materials, and from copies of the Remnant Fellowship's "Rebuilding The Wall: Foundational Beliefs" handbook. My observations and research have led me to take a very definite and unequivocal position on both Gwen and Remnant Fellowship International: it is a deceptive cult organization led by a cult leader with an antisocial and heretical agenda that fosters both unhealthy and unbiblical spirituality, physical misery and psychologically damaging religious abuse. We take no pleasure whatsoever in making such a bold contention, yet we would be sorely amiss if the essential truth about this remains undefined and unheralded. This article is an attempt to explore, from a Christian perspective, the main reasons why Remnant should be considered an aberrant cult that should be avoided and to provide an orthodox Christian framework for understanding its' central claims and subsequent abuses of power at the expense of a balanced and Christian lifestyle.
If Gwen and RF still plead ignorance of Remnant's cultism, we believe it will be forever dispelled if they were to study this article, something we hope that will happen, but have no illusions that it will. However, if they are serious in wanting to dialogue with the Christian Church at large, we offer this article as a summary of the concerns that millions of people will likely have in regards to their skewed interpretation of Christianity, in an effort to help them understand the real reasons why the Christian Church rejects their overtures (and to cease viewing this rejection of their claims as the great apostacy prophesied in the Bible in Matthew 24 - the truth on this point, as I see it, is vastly different but outside the scope of our discussion here). It is also our hope that those who may be considering joining with Remnant or who may have made this decision will at least consider the perspective we bring, understanding it to be an alternative view that may help them make better-informed decisions about the choices they have made to continue association with it.
What Is Cultism? A Generic Review
We wish to briefly review our contentions about the so-called "C" word - cults - so as to provide a necessary context to our ongoing discussion. You will find these discussed in other articles on our site here. "Cults" are social groupings formed within the larger societies of mankind that are in an active tension with the existing social order out of which they come. Abusive cults exhibit 3 traits in general: an 1) abuse of power and authority by 2) manipulative, unscrupulous leaders who 3) control followers by fear and deception to fulfill their agenda at followers’ expense. But the actual human property of cultism itself can be understood along psychological and social lines, and must not be mistakenly identified solely by doctrine. Cultic groups can be said to be following one man or the group’s teachings which denies essential orthodox Christian doctrine and claims to be the "only way" to God, salvation, fulfillment, enlightenment, etc., but cultism involves more than doctrine. We contend that the manipulative depravity of human nature coupled with human desire for community and a human search for authority all but guarantees that cultism can and will occur in all walks of global human life.
Cult leaders abuse an authority that isn’t theirs while cult followers offer "blind" trust without accountability and this misguided zeal (encouraged by the leaders) always results in bitter fruit often hidden to outsiders' eyes. In dangerous cultism, you will find unethical forms of manipulation, deception and mind control to compel a member’s submission to the group’s authority by involuntary/voluntary means, and the consequences of involvement with such a toxic community of faith usually include religious abuse, psychological damage and social disruption both within and outside the group. Several types of cultism are prevalent in human society today, the most well known being religious groups of many varieties. But cultism can take the form of dyadic personal relationships, political movements, business organizations, psychotherapy groups, and aberrant churches (of which Remnant Fellowship, as we shall see, are a part).
While the theology, belief and practice between different cult recruiters may be quite different, there are several fundamental commonalities they share which make cultism of any shape both observable and predictable, these being how they recruit and retain members. We remember the remarks of a leader of a political activist group that was essentially a cultic organization when once asked by an admiring outsider how she kept the group so disciplined and focused. She leaned forward and told them "with a little carrot and a lot of stick." Her remark speaks volumes about how cults drive people forward in their involvement and integration into the cultic movement even when they at some level may not want to, just as the proverbial horse pursues the proverbial carrot on the proverbial stick dangled just ahead of his reach. Dr. Paul Martin describes this process as one in which cults "use methods that deprive individuals of their ability to make a free choice by the use of deceptive recruitment techniques .. to recruit and assimilate members and to control members’ thoughts, feelings and behavior as a means of furthering the leader’s goals" (3).
Pieces of this cultic carrot are literal steps to control of the mind, and they take very familiar shape among those who monitor the recruitment tactics of cults. There will be appeals to felt needs, in which cult recruiters make their appeals and invitation to involvement on the basis of potential recruit's desires for meaning, purpose and spiritual community (all very legitimate and healthy needs of all people). A drawn out and intentional process called "love bombing" is then set in place, which involves the smothering of prospects with insincere attention and lavish amounts of positive regard that draw recruits into the group by apparently loving and caring group members. There then comes what we call "isolation through indoctrination," a period of time in which gradually intensified social activity, service and study is brought to bear upon new recruits, and is aimed at isolating members from their past beliefs and to create dependence upon the group's ways of thinking and doing. A free usage of misinformation, implanted phobias, Scripture twisting and outright falsehoods will be used to support the creation of a new mindset in the member.
At this point, the full scale initiation of the recruit to "insider doctrines" begins in earnest, which further accelerates a profound change and reordering of their values, goals and even their personality. "Insider doctrines" are the unique core beliefs of a cultic group that give cohesion and standardization to their belief system that is not meant to be shared outside the group except in a highly qualified, even deceptive way which misrepresents their actual teachings and shield the group from being seen as aberrant and unorthodox. Changes in diet, clothing, friendships, and even family relationships are usually inevitable, and while this varies in degree from person to person and among cult groups themselves, it regularly takes place.
Part of this misinformation about cults is perpetuated by cultic group themselves. Some of the myths and misunderstanding about cults and cultism itself are circulated by these same sectarian groups, using definitions of cultic spirituality and practice cleverly contrived to draw sharp distinctions between the really "crazy kooks out there" and their noble, balanced examples of true spirituality. The "real cults" are described as freaks on the fringes of society with bizarre and secretive rites and beliefs, of which, of course, the actual cultic group can then piously cry has nothing to do with what they truly believe and practice. In fact, by setting forth to describe these "real cults," the cult's "spin doctors" actually attempt to turn the tables on those who would question them by noting how far they themselves are from this "real cult" model, and point out how such descriptions are a typical sample of the hateful accusations those religious groups and critics outside their circle would circulate about them in obviously jealous envy over their cutting-edge success and outright hateful spite! This clever table turning convinces many people that many cultic groups get bad press and unfair criticism and actually serves, with a strong dose of underlying postmodern relativism, to assist a significant and powerful bloc of academics and religious scholars whose "value free" approach to the cultism of modern society has become a major ally in their deceptive and destructive cause.
The Power Of Cultic Mind Control
The culmination of this campaign of internal and external misinformation that a cult circulates about itself ultimately bears a stupefying harvest of bitter fruit in the hearts and minds of the indoctrinated recruit. All of this eventually comes down to cult mind control, a process that compels the change of an individual’s behavior, thought and emotional patterns by the intentional control of their thought by subtle, deceptive and damaging means by unethical group leaders. Independent thought is sinful, carnal, demonic while submission to a group’s ideals and mindset is seen as the highest good. This does not mean that the members so controlled become mindless zombies, either for cult members influenced by cult mind control can think for themselves but are persuasively taught not to question the cult group leaders through various forms of socialization and indoctrination that lead them to take issue with everything and everyone in the world, except their group leaders!
Research psychologist and professor Dr. Robert J. Lifton studied the way in which people can be compelled to embrace new beliefs that evoke new behavior many years ago and called the process "thought reform" .. today, it is also called "mind control" and it is a process all abusive cults use in one way or another. These are patterns of group behavior that are seen all over the world in cultic situations: we need to take time to explain these to you so as to give you what we have found to be a good working understanding of how cults control the thoughts of their members, using the descriptions of what are called "Lifton's Eight Points Of Thought Reform (Mind Control)":
1. Milieu Control – simultaneous isolation/ rejection of external influences and creation of new world order of group’s vision
2. Demand For Purity – pressure to engage in a continual process of self-purification from all the group deems impure and unholy
3. The Cult Of Confession – communal exercises to compel confession of failures, reinforce submission to authority, and discipline through shaming, fear and guilt
4. Mystical Manipulation – an exaltation of the group’s authority through an allegedly spontaneous, yet staged event aimed at inspiring or evoking awe/wonder
5. The Sacred Science – group claims, authority and wisdom of which establish "new truth" never before achieved & available exclusively only to group members
6. Loading The Language – unique group vocabulary meant to directively evoke and condition thought and practice by conveying specific meanings
7. Doctrine Over Person – resolving of tension between group truth claims and personal experience at the group member’s expense, regardless the cost
8. Dispensing Of Existence – belief that group authority is so absolute that it can infallibly determine the right of people, relationships and even cultural institutions to exist or not exist, and thus given any actual recognition
These are eight observable traits of the process of mind control that Lifton first described and we have amplified (4), and while it seems rather incredible to believe that people can be changed by them, the sobering truth is that millions of people have been affected by them in one way or another as they became involved with cultic groups across the world. Testimony after testimony from family and friends of loved ones who became ensnared by the persuasions of a cultic group continually point to the radical personality changes, the almost overnight reordering of their value systems, a complete rejection of the world around them as evil and hopelessly tainted along with an equally complete obsession with association with a group's philosophy or theology as if their very lives depended upon it. Friendships, family relationships and personal goals are among the first casualties of this change, and these behaviors can be seen through careful examination of any destructive cult group; cults use them well to transform those who submit themselves to the authority and teaching of the group that uses it.
And, in the case of pseudo-Christian groups claiming to be the latest restoration of the Kingdom of God, throwing in twisted interpretations of Scriptural mandates on submission and obedience and the human mind control dynamic gains a powerful and almost irresistable leverage in the pretensive form of divine authority. Worse of all, when this deceptive and abusive perversion of spiritual authority arises within a Christian congregation or setting, the potential for chaos, confusion, religious abuse and naked manipulation of people's lives at their whims rises astronomically.
To help illustrate how all of this works in a cult’s efforts to recruit and retain a controlled and loyal following, we would like to invite you to screen an online short film made by an independent film maker that is called tongue in cheek “Mind Control Made Easy: How To Become A Cult Leader.” Following the film’s expose of a fictional cult group called Emerge, it will vividly explain with relentlessly black humor how cults enslave and ensnare people through the most basic and the mundane of human existence. Click here to view the Real Video clip (it requires a RealPlayer).
The Cultism Of Remnant Fellowship - Doctrinal Considerations
We will now consider how these generic descriptions of cultism - found universally in cult groups around the world - can be identified in Remnant Fellowship. Based upon first hand observation, the testimonies of ex-members, the claims of Remnant members and the writings and teachings of Gwen Shamblin found in her WDW and RF materials, we will now present the documented evidence that we feel proves that Shamblin is what many have been calling her - a genuine cult leader developing a new religion that is dangerously cultic to the core. There are three general dimensions of Remnant's cultism and they may be described in terms of doctrinal and structural considerations, as well as a review of it's parallels with other cultic groups currently active. It is along these lines that we will conduct our discussion.
Doctrinally speaking, Remnant Fellowship's teaching and preaching are quite questionable from an orthodox Christian perspective. While there is much stated concern for the purity of Christian truth in Remnant, and hours upon hours of teaching through endless chapters of Scripture, the fact remains that the group's stated fidelity to the authority of Scriptural truth is a sham. The Bible has essentially been made a proof-texting source that is used deceptively to "support" the doctrinal positions of Remnant's teaching, even called a "employee's manual" by Shamblin in her unbiblical attempt to draw parallels between the Fatherhood of God and the CEO of an organization. Her illustration of Remnant members being likened to "employees" of God rather than His children subtly colors the intimate positional relationship Christians have long affirmed and trusted (John 1:12, Romans 8:14-17) (5). While their citation of Biblical content is voluminous, a careful examination of how these Biblical passages are used often reveals that the plain Biblical meaning of the verses is often completely wrested out of context in persuasive, compelling yet erroneous ways. We don't have time to fully explore this point but we will cite a few examples of this in reference to the most central doctrine of orthodox Christianity, the doctrine of salvation.
In Shamblin's book Rise Above, on page 227, she teaches that "true repentance means a change of mind brought about by godly sorrow that leads to a change of life (2 Cor. 7:10). Repentance is the major foundation of bearing any fruit. When you repent, the spirit of Jesus can come into your life(emphasis hers)." She then goes on to define this "spirit of Jesus" in terms of the well known list of the "fruit of the Spirit" in Galatians 5:22-23. She equates these good character traits as the signs of a changed life, but while this would appear to be true, one will find that her emphasis is not upon the transforming power of the Spirit of God in the life of the believer (an orthodox Christian perspective) but upon a conduct that the person themselves must conform to purely in the context of their own effort. Remnant Fellowship leader David Martin's testimony, as given in a WDA promotional video, emphatically declares that the course teaches people to commit to "total obedience" to God and to demonstrate it by "building a wall of righteousness" by using "your brick, your stone of obedience to God." To exhibit the "fruit of the spirit," therefore, is directly dependent how one is able to control and purge themselves of sin; in essence, this is a works-righteousness position that compels the person to do his best to "do right", when the Bible itself makes it clear in Titus 3:3-7 that it is the "washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost" that transforms a repentant person - not his personal act of self-denial or repentance.
We don't want to sound as if we are downplaying the absolute and utter necessity for repentance in the Christian life. The Biblical context of true repentance is a whole-hearted decision of a person convicted of his sin to literally recognize his sinfulness and to intentionally decide to forsake and put behind him his sinful ways so as to reach up to God for the forgiveness of that sin in his life that is freely available only by faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21). Jesus Himself made it clear that He "came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:32). And Paul, recognizing the merciful and yet sovereign will of God, emphasizes that the paths in our lives that draw us to repent before God are entirely under His Lordship, and not our own" .. the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?" (Romans 2:4 and 2 Timothy 2:25: ".. if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth..") Hebrews 6:1 makes clear that a genuine Christian foundation for true spirituality is "repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God," these dead works being the sinful and rebellious acts they have done which they must consciously turn away from.
Again, however, this initiative of divine mercy is still under God's power - yet one's repentance is a choice that all can choose to make or reject as 2 Peter 3:9 reveals: "The Lord is .. longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (Jonah 3:4-7 shows how the ancient and wicked Near Eastern city-state of Nineveh chose to believe God and in so doing, received His mercy). Repentance is as much a frame of one's mind as well as state of their heart, and is a spiritual tempering that Shamblin rightly observes is largely absent in the Christian church today to it's spiritual detriment. Led by God's Spirit to repent of sin after His revelation to them of their sinfulness, all of humanity may also turn to God and receive His saving mercies by exercising faith in Jesus Christ alone. But repentance alone cannot save without the sovereign work of God's Spirit that would prompt a sin-blinded person to forsake their self-centered will and submit to God's Son, the Lord Jesus Christ as a personal savior. Our contention is that Remnant Fellowship teaching emphasizes just the opposite and renders a well-intended yet misguided self-controlling renunciation as Shamblin demands it as "repentance."
This grave error is further reinforced in Remnant Fellowship's doctrinal teaching. In the Remnant handbook, Shamblin forcefully emphasizes that "what REMNANT is all about" (emphasis hers) is "starting all over and teaching people how to be saved. .. We cannot wait to tell you more about this New Testament Christianity that is totally life changing .. We are convinced that the gospel has not been taught in full." Since, as she believes, the essence of Bible-based Christianity has been corrupted by "false messages or fellowships", her conviction is that Remnant has been commissioned by God to save men and women from judgment: "The Remnant Fellowship teachings have been led by God and are based on a concern that many people will face Jesus on judgment day and discover that they have missed the foundational teachings of a saving relationship with Christ." So what are these crucial, soul-saving teachings as Shamblin would have us understand so as to redeem ourselves from eternal punishment? "To understand the foundational teaching, we must realize that we are not equal - even 'Christ, being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped' (Phil. 2). Not only do many attempt to grasp equality with God, but many have been led to believe that God has resigned himself to man always sinning ..to letting you be God" (6).
This reference here to Philippians is said by Shamblin to reveal the nature of subjection Jesus had in relation to God as an example of how true believers are to submit to Christ in their own lives, to fully surrender to His Lordship. But while submission to God is the fruit of the Gospel, it is not the Gospel itself. Realization that we are not equal with God is not a saving truth but is found in receiving the Gospel that "Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures" as 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 explains. Shamblin's emphasis is not upon the saving act of God in Christ's sacrifice as applied by the Spirit of God in the repentant heart but upon her view that one must "be eager to do what is good and to be holy and to say 'No' to sin." Again, the emphasis is upon what one does and not is. This may seem to be a fine distinction, but a vital one: if one can simply do well to prove their salvation, then one can be saved by what they do. Scripture, however, trumps this Remnant emphasis on external morality and impeccable character as a sign of salvation in Ephesians 2:8-9: "For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast."
It is by the grace of God that He has done all that can be done, according to orthodox Christian teaching, for the salvation of man from his sin through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and it is by faith alone in this that anyone can receive salvation. For all that Remnant's teachings may say about Jesus, less is said in them about saving faith in Christ and more about "doing the will of God" than anything else. We agree that saving faith should be manifest in holy living, but disagree with their strong emphasis on works (holy living apart from a foundational faith in Jesus alone). These subtle spins and reinterpretations of Scripture passages shape much of Shamblin's teaching and the two examples we share here don't begin to reveal the full extent of her unbiblical views.
Aside from Remnant's heretical reintepretation of Christian orthodoxy on the doctrine of salvation, other denials are a matter of record and are becoming more and more pronounced. Shamblin's now infamous rejection of the Biblical revelation of God as a Triune Being of Father, Son and Spirit is part of what she is actually referring to in her teachings on Philippians.we have just looked at. Much has been written about this aspect of RF's unbiblical teaching and we would invite you to check out the list of links at the end of Adam and Maria Brooks' article to examine these articles. RF's rejection of the doctrine of the Trinity is also accompanied by their free redefinition of the Christian doctrine of salvation (which we have briefly examined above), the doctrine of the nature of the church (claiming all churches apart from RF are the Whore of Babylon described in Revelation 17, the "counterfeit church"), and distortions of the doctrine of sin (rendering weight control struggles, failure to uphold RF teachings on diet and "food idols", close relationships with non-RF members and even reading critical articles - such as this one - as actual moral failures God will judge). These warped reinterpretations of Christian belief have long been advanced by cultic groups other than Remnant: for example, the LDS Church, the Watchtower Society and the International Churches of Christ make the same claim of being "His true church working toward Zion", "Jehovah's clean organization" or "God's modern day movement" with the same certainty Remnant Fellowship exercises when it bills itself to be the exclusive restoration of the New Testament church. This abusive theology can only be created when the Bible itself is twisted out of context, and not properly interpreted (2 Peter 3:16-17 concisely describes how this happens).
A continuing multi-part analysis on Gwen Shamblin's "Essence Of God" statement that directly addresses her position on the nature of God is on this website: to access them, click here.
We anticipate that these and other twistings by Shamblin and the Remnant Fellowship will continue in other areas as well. Certainly this will possibly involve new spins based upon their views on the doctrine of last things - endtime teachings - evident in Shamblin's revisionist "historical cycles" view which culminated in the spawning of her grotesque belief that she had prophesied the horrors of September 11, 2001. To what degree this may happen, however, remains to be seen. What has been seen already, however, is evidence of a cult's ideology that is very much in process, with an inevitable doctrinal and practical flexibility that assures many more twists and turns to come.
The Cultism Of Remnant Fellowship - Structural Considerations
Cultic Recruitment Patterns: We have already reviewed how cultic movements reach out to prospective recruits in very intentional, interpersonal ways. This is done so as to personally engage them in a persuasive socialization that draws them into the group centered around the recruit's desire for belonging, self-improvement and community. Remnant Fellowship's efforts are no different than those of the ingratiating overtures made by groups such as the Watchtower, the Latter Day Saint (LDS) Church, the Unification (Moonies) movement and the International Churches of Christ (ICC).
Creative forms of recruitment are not new to cultic groups. They exploit every means their unified organizational command of modern technology and public relations savvy can acquire. LDS missionaries will call upon visitors to various Mormon visitor centers around the world often within 24 to 48 hours after returning from the visit. Jehovah's Witnesses utilize weekly contact with prospects directly at their door steps, and often will attempt to provide services, advice and transportation to those needing it, as well as free "Bible studies" (which are actually studies of Watchtower magazines and publications).. The rebirth of the Unification Church among minority churches involves attracting a hearing (and a following of Sun Myung Moon's dangerous political and spiritual agenda) with lavish gift-giving, sponsoring of minority causes and outright bribery through lotteries, drawings for Rolexes and the hiring of Christian musicians like Phil Driscoll, Vickie Winans and the Mighty Clouds of Joy to perform at their "ecumenical" functions. The International Churches of Christ will send their recruiters to actually enroll in or live near college campuses for visitation purposes utilizing anything from free cookouts to "Christian service" activities to volleyball tournaments, hoping to exploit young men and women's zeal and desire for belonging and purpose when out on their own for the first time of their lives (this, however, doesn't begin to reveal the ICC's missionary zeal). Public service announcements by the Church of Scientology, the Latter Day Saints ubiquitous ad campaigns, and the Bahai religion tug at hearts and hope to draw moved seekers via toll free numbers with offers of "inspirational" videos. And of course, the power of the Internet is used by cult recruiters in chat rooms and bulletin boards, not to mention online websites dedicated to providing their groups a Web presence, a global outreach for only $19.95 a month or less.
The attendees of Weigh Down Workshops are usually the primary target of Remnant recruitment efforts. "Love-bombing" of potential recruits by Remnant members is often quite intensive. Contact information such as phone numbers and e-mail addresses of attendees gathered through formal workshop registrations are usually turned over to RF staff at their Franklin, Tennessee offices - which, not too surprisingly, share the same building as the Weigh Down Workshop corporation itself. Expressions of loving concern for WDW attendees struggling to process the rapid fire Workshop delivery of Shamblin's dietary and theological positions are intermingled with invitations to visit a Remnant Fellowship chapter for spiritual support. This "outreach" comes at a most vulnerable time of their lives in which WDW attendees are being engaged in a process of self-evaluation in deeply personal and overlapping areas such as weight-loss, personal spirituality and self-esteem. This utilization of e-mail, phone and personal work among prospects who are often completely ignorant of the RF agenda and who interpret it as genuine and loving care is, as most cultic recruitment is, highly unethical and manipulative since the full RF agenda is not disclosed all at once and recruits are forcefully urged by zealous RF members to fully commit themselves to it. Testimonies abound to the persistent and never-ending attempts made by them to recruit in this manner: one ex-Remnant member put it this way in a recent personal e-mailing I received:
What did attract me to RF initially was the informality and the music. Growing up in the Church of Christ, I must admit that worship services are fairly structured, formal, and of course there is no instrumental music. I was very much into the music, and I gladly would lift my hands in praise there .Everyone I met at RF was friendly, including Gwen. .. Everyone seemed to want to be Gwen's "new best friend". Men, women and teens flocked around her just wanting to be noticed or spoken to, it appeared to me. As I said, she was always friendly to me but since she and I are about the same age, I think it was easier for me to see through a lot of what was going on there. I was seeing things which to me seemed more like "Gwen worship" than anything else. For a while, David Shamblin was there a good bit of the time, playing guitar during the services. But then I saw him less and less and eventually not at all. To me, that was kind of strange. .. For a while, it was meeting my needs spiritually, however, things began to change. The assemblies grew longer and longer, with the same Bible texts used over and over. Very rarely was anything mentioned about God's love and grace. Very rarely were New Testament scriptures read. So much of the readings were from the major prophets and were all "doom and gloom" to me. This depressing mind-numbing message eventually became too "heavy" for me and I realized that I was not being encouraged or uplifted in any way.
As we have said, the overall goal of cultic recruitment is to draw new members to cultic organizations on the basis of appealing to commonly felt needs. Accompanying such appeals are other emotional ploys aimed at inspiring a poignant and almost painful romanticism. They are intended at inspiring a longing for community with like-minded souls called out by God yet drifting apart from one another in an exile among the darkness of a sinful world and seeking to "come home" to the group's safe harbors. This is a very cunning exploitation of the plain Biblical truths that actually define Christian believers as real pilgrims who "declare plainly .. they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly", the "few" that are on the "narrow way to life" (Matthew 7:14). The motif of the lonely pilgrim, wandering the earth, seeking others as they journey and battle homeward is a common one cults zero in on and often exploit in their recruitment. And like them all, Remnant's spin subtly creates an elitist exclusivism that sharply contradicts the true nature of the Body of Christ as a chosen generation and a holy nation found around the world, glorifying God as "strangers and pilgrims .. among the Gentiles" (2 Peter 2:5-11 with Ephesians 2:19-22).
The Watchtower's literature is filled with references to "honest truth seekers" who seek entrance into the "ark" of "Jehovah's organization" (7) as well as that of the Mormon Church whose "prophets have sent missionaries into the four corners of the world to gather scattered Israel into the fold of God" (8). Such evocative language leads recruits toward the acceptance of the group's exclusive claims to being the only true spirituality on the face of the earth, and it is precisely this sort of wording that Shamblin's Weigh Down Workshop uses in their Weigh Down Advanced materials. The picture above, taken from from their videos, is a prime example of how the faithful "remnant" idealism is cleverly inserted into the WDA programming as a rather bold attempt of impressing it upon the minds of WDW attendees and those moved by such word pictures. Other uses of this manipulative form of recruitment conditioning are Shamblin's frequent attention given to the early church's martyrs, pointing to the stand for their Christian testimony they took as an example of total commitment to God, and therefore, an example for WDW participants and RF members to hold fast to the truths she "restores" in her own teaching (even to the point of publishing it with her own introduction and a CD of music and teaching).
Authoritarian Leadership: Another characteristic of abusive cultic movements is their imbalanced obsession with power and control as embodied in a leader or leadership caste within them that wields supernatural or divine authority that is virtually infallible, speaks exclusively for God and cannot be questioned. The creation and exercise of this claimed power among cultic groups is a trait shared among them that typically is manifest in the life and work of a divinely commissioned messenger who expounds a special revelation or insight that will revolutionize the progress of mankind in some profound manner. And the cultworld is filled with charismatic individuals who represent themselves in that same great manner. According to Unification lore, Sun Myung Moon's "warfare" in the spirit world, interaction with Jesus, Buddha and other spiritual sages there and his personal sufferings at the hands of earthly authorities such as the Communists of North Korea and the Internal Revenue Service have helped to achieve spiritual breakthroughs for the world. The leader of the occultic Eckankar group, the "Living ECK Master" Harold Klemp, is the only spiritual guide said by "ECKists" to be able to lead humanity back to God - primarily through the "Mahanta", the spiritual essence of the Master "available to all at every moment" (9). Long before the Branch Davidians engaged in their ultimately fatal standoff with the FBI at their Mount Carmel compound in Waco, Texas, they had concluded that their leader David Koresh was the Seventh Angel spoke of in Revelation 3, a prophet raised up to declare the true message of God (10). The same could be said about the self-promotion of cult leaders such as L. Ron Hubbard of Scientology, Shoko Asahara of Aum Shin Rykyo, Marshall Applewhite of Heaven's Gate and others, but we don't need to belabor the point.
Remnant Fellowship's teachings on its' self-identity as "the Remnant" (11) - penned by Gwen Shamblin - forcefully assert the emergence of a God-sent prophet commissioned by God to warn a rebellious world blinded by sin and the "false grace message" of a backslidden church that has fallen into sin over centuries of time. While quite careful to not directly call herself a prophet here or in the other references to this true prophetic office, it is abundantly clear that Shamblin expects others to recognize her as such. She writes in the Remnant handbook on page 42 that "God sends prophets to warn but the people do not listen," and makes the connection clear on the Remnant Fellowship website: "Very few have recognized my warnings over the past 10 years for what they are; a desperate and timely warning from God." Such writings have not gone unnoticed by the Remnant rank and file, particularly its' leadership: this revealing passage from a widely circulated e-mailing to all Remnant Fellowship members shows just how genuinely exalted Shamblin and her daily lifestyle has become for them:
This past weekend, we the Martins had the honor and incredible privilege to travel with the most righteous family that any of us knows-the Shamblins-to New York, NY, to spend a weekend with Remnant Manhattan, Tedd and Candace Anger and Greg and Rene Heck. What a blessing from God! First of all, hearing this generation's prophetic messenger Gwen Shamblin deliver the message of the Gospel and the warning to flee FALSE TEACHERS is always a humbling experience. The message gets stronger each and every day. Gwen offers no apologies for God's Truth. She speaks it with the urgency as if it were the last 24 hours on this earth for all of us (12, emphasis mine).
The role of the prophetic brings with it a compelling mantle of authority in any religious context, one that preaches and prognosticates with the full weight of divine power around it. But Gwen Shamblin’s role as a "prophetess" functioning under "lines of authority" creates a strongly centralized hierarchy of power accountable to no one that is qualitatively no different than the cultic power structures we have mentioned. Her prophetic posturing is effectively exalted so highly in Remnant that her very word has become the standard of truth for the group as the writer of the above e-mail, David Martin, goes on to affirm:
As she shared, completely pray out, confront, and destroy any spirit that wells up in you or your group that has any anti-authority, disobedience, or self-focus. With the love of the Lord, keep praying and keep clearer minds than you have ever had or asked for. KNOW that this is THE TRUTH! Obedience unlocks the door to God's salvation. Any other teaching is NOT from God.
Martin highlights a principle Shamblin relentlessly pushes in her teaching. The concept Shamblin terms "total obedience" at first glance seems orthodox enough, yet it is only deceptively so. She describes obedience in very concrete, black-and-white terms she calls "doing the will of God." While obedience to God's will is certainly a principle of Christian living no true believer could object to, the skewed principle Gwen advances is a "doing" that is defined very narrowly after how Gwen believes it should be done, based upon her convictions of how the world, the church, and life should be defined. This is what dangerous authoritarianism is in leadership, and Shamblin's worldview is explained as derived squarely and completely from God's perspective. On pages 171 and 172 of Rise Above, this self-exalted perspective is made quite evident:
God has led me through many experiences since those early days that have helped me to learn about the heart of man and the heart of God. I had already experienced being a child under authority of parents, a wife under the authority of a husband, and employee under the authority of employers, and a student under the authority of teachers - and as those of you who have pursued higher education know, you sometimes have to submit to some pretty strange characters. On the other hand, I had also experienced being a mother who had authority over her children, and being an instructor who had authority over college students. With Weigh Down, God gave me a new experience over coordinators of classes and authority over adults at work. .. My heart goes out to God and there have been several times that I have wept with Him over how painful it must be to supervise this wild group of people who have varying levels of devotion down here on earth. .. God wants us to understand why He is in authority and to become accustomed to lines of authority. He is testing us to see if we can recognize His genius behind this setup and to see if we can joyfully get with the program. Truly submitting means that you are a team player, you think the Coach is great, and even if the assignment seems unusual, you obey it.
To Shamblin, what she calls the "mysterious link" between "authority and devotion" shows how one's level of obedience and submission to God-ordained "lines of authority" in personal relationships demonstrates one's actual righteousness before him, even citing Romans 13:1 to support her case (13, see footnote). As one called by God to be a prophet, raised up by Him to lead God's "remnant" in restoring the New Testament church, Shamblin's dictates cannot, for all practical purposes, be viewed as anything but God-inspired, if not equal in authority with Scripture itself. How can one possibly then question or even dare to consider that her authority and teachings could be questionable or at least subject to debate? These truths she preaches must be heeded and obeyed - she states continually throughout her WDA video series just how life-changing and essential they are! Such iron-fisted absolutism regarding her personal authority is clearly cultic in tenor and direction.
In other words, to call Jesus Lord is to also essentially acknowledge Shamblin's precepts compelling one to accept her own views. Hence, complete and absolute submission to her views become the test of orthodoxy within Remnant and the "plumbline" of judgment upon all outside of it. Dedicated to this concept of "total obedience" to Gwen’s infallible exposition of the "will of God", all RF members must submit to it and in so doing, contribute to and reinforce her authoritarianism, her unbiblically biased worldview, and the circular reasoning that wobbily supports it: "The state of the church is connected to our struggle with our weight loss. This series has been approached with much prayer and humility and concern, and though penned by one, had been endorsed and confirmed by many and has borne much fruit" (14). Click here for an alternative view of the WeighDown Diet itself.
Shamblin's authority is confirmed by the "amens" of those who accept her claims to authoritative teaching, which in turn advance the many unwarranted claims she makes about the church, the heart of man, and her own position. The fruit of changed lifestyles is said to be a compelling authentication of her teaching (in a "proof test" cited by many other cultic groups, a pragmatic review of how following their dogma healed the sick, restored a marriage or brought peace of mind), but it doesn't begin to answer the fundamental question we ask of it: is this "fruitful teaching" actually, legitimately true? Healings, marital restorations and claims of deep inner serenity are testimonies shared by spiritual rebels from Asatru to Zoroastrianism, and are nothing new. The ethnic groups globally involved in Hinduism alone could say the same thing, and since there are millions upon millions of them, why do we not then embrace Hindu claims of fruit? How then can Remnant Fellowship's table tops of "good fruit" stack up with generations of false religious harvest fields drawn therefore from all times and all cultures? Great signs and wonders are a stock in trade device of deceptive spirituality as Mark 13:22 points out, so the question remains - is Remnant's teaching actually true? For deception to actually be deceptive, there must be elements of truth present to lure the unsuspecting (Romans 15:17-19). And for all of the worthy admonitions to self-denial, personal purity and attention to Scripture that Remnant may creatively and engagingly deliver, the truth in them is more than twisted, perverted and even denied by the far greater errors we have already discussed. Therefore, we conclude that their teaching is largely false.
Cultic Mind Control: Virtually all of Lifton’s eight components of mind control can be seen in Remnant literature and practice. Loaded language (a vocabulary of buzz words and cliches unique to Remnant's social circles and teaching) is indeed present as is the dispensing of existence of the non-Remnant world (the belief that God has found all but Remnant outside his concern except for divine judgment and destruction). The other elements are also present, but we will briefly expand only upon three of these components of cult mind control as advanced by Remnant teaching. Bearing in mind Lifton's definitions as we have concisely described them above, we can now examine how these thought reforming principles are evident in Remnant's philosophy, self-identity and practical application. In each of the following cited examples, we are directly citing Shamblin's own thought and precepts.
1) The Cult Of Confession
You would like to think the closest people to you are your family, but Jesus said that his mother and brother and his sisters were those that did the will of God. Start with getting a Weigh Down Advanced saint who will tell you the truth, not falsely flatter you. Pray and God will lead you. Judgement is coming and we’re all going to need pure and holy fellowships of sold out Christians to make it through the terrible day (15).
"What do you mean that you are not good enough or a leader enough to open you home up to read scriptures each week and talk about how you are going to give your all to God and that you are not going to wear the pants in this relationship with God any longer? Of course you can open your home and offer a cup of cold water to the weary Saints that are not sure how to find their way. Weigh Down Advance can be your Wednesday or Sunday lecture time and you concentrate on all of the "obedience" and "do" scriptures until your little group has "purified themselves by obeying the truth" (I Peter 1:22) (16).
Trust and truth can only be found within the discipline and fellowship of the group – not even among’s one own family members. To survive a coming spiritual holocaust of judgment, one must cling to and totally identify with the group. Such identification extends to even being ready to offer one's personal resources and homes up as a place to hold weekly meetings at, using WDA materials to reinforce Shamblin's teachings on the "obedience" and "do" Scriptures . To remain spiritually pure and to ensure one is "doing the will of God" (measuring up to Shamblin's standards), one should readily submit to the censure and admonition of a "Weigh Down Advanced saint" who "will tell you the truth." One's family cannot be trusted to be the closest or most important relationships one would have; the "doers of God's will" would so qualify, ones found only in "pure and holy fellowships." This is a shameless plug for turning to a local Remnant Fellowship to submit oneself to: the communal dimension said to be necessary for seeking holiness and righteousness can be attained only among their spiritual leadership.
Other cultic groups find using the cult of confession principle quite handy in their own attempts to force conformity upon their own. The "sin sessions" conducted by ICC disciplers with their "disciples" are times in which they literally demand them to confess to personal weaknesses and character flaws. Such details are also extracted from LDS bishops in their "interviews" with LDS Church members to ascertain their "worthy" status, as well as in the feared "judicial committees" that Jehovah's Witness elders will assemble when needing to provide "public reproof" to Witness congregation members who are not found meeting their standards. Detailed records of these proceedings are kept on file by cult bureaucracies and become a permanent record by them which will follow them in one way or another the rest of their lives (or time in the group). A broad variety of punitive measures are then meted out by the cult leaders: such confessional sessions in which members are demanded to "come clean" are part of the flow of cultic life, and needless to say, are alien to the Biblical forms of Christian discipline as detailed in 2 Thessalonians 3:15 which enjoin continuous admonition of Christians struggling with sin or rebellion in the same manner as one would deal with their own brother (we will discuss this later in the article).
2) Doctrine Over Person
"So we will be either in the category of those who hate God or in the category of those who love God. There is no middle ground. If you love the food, you will automatically despise suggestions for eating less food, much like the undevoted employee who despises his supervisor. .. For example, you will continually ask 'What is hunger?' and 'I'm still not sure where food is.' .. You will ask questions like, 'What does Gwen really mean by "empty"?' or "What does she mean by "being submissive to your husband" or "dying to your will"?' Since you love food and reject or despise God, you cannot comprehend how to serve Him" (17).
“Some people turn to antidepressants for comfort, and that desire usually occurs when they are still in Egypt enslaved to the false god. Once you are truly in obedience to God in the desert, you drop your dependence on the world’s remedies because you are so joyful to be under the enslavement of righteousness and out from under the enslavement of food" (18).
Shamblin’s central lifestyle principles (concerned at first with diet, then overlapping quickly into lifestyle issues related to personal holiness, self-esteem, and "strongholds" such as depression) are exalted as the only proper, even righteous, way to live and act. If you fail on them in any point, you simply cannot be considered acceptable before God, and of course, Gwen herself. The rigidly exalted valuing and enforcement of a doctrinal position - at whatever the cost of those who are compelled to follow them - is fundamental to the cultic manipulation they must heartily submit to. There is no middle ground – only a typically black and white worldview that leads Shamblin and Remnant to view the struggling as somehow spiritually deficient, sinful, evil and even Satanic ally bound by character flaws seen as actual idols and idolatry. A disturbing instance of this is how quickly and coldly Shamblin depicts the usage of antidepressant medications as an act of idolatry and a stronghold of evil unbelief. This has truly troubling implications for men and women who use antidepressants for legitimate medical conditions such as chemical imbalances or therapeutically to help the abused with the psychological trauma they may have suffered in instances of family dysfunction or personal weaknesses preventing them from coping with life. Such an astonishingly calloused position utterly and contemptuously rejects long established medical and mental health sciences regarding mental illness and the necessity to view at as a physiological condition needing professional attention in an area Shamblin has no authority in. And this is not a claim we've misrepresented Shamblin with either, using an isolated quote taken out of context. From pages 242 to 251, Shamblin's Rise Above book severely discourages and condemns the usage of antidepressants with horrifically twisted logic said to be Biblical counsel, contradictory claims and a harsh, almost brutal characterization of such drug usage as "substance abuse" and the need to seek "reasonable progression for decreasing your dependence. Clinging to worthless idols causes depression."
And if possible, even more disturbing examples of "doctrine over person" are now surfacing in reports of children of Remnant members being compelled to limit their own diets and to avoid any food intake until their stomachs literally growl at the cost of feeling condemned by God to hell for eating earlier in "rebellion." Brilliant young people with their lives ahead of them now labor in menial tasks related to Remnant or Shamblin herself at the cost of their college, vocation and spirituality. Many Remnant members themselves, in following Shamblin's demands for centering their attentions only upon close association with authentically holy people (of which only the Remnant qualify), have distanced and even cut off ties with parents, spouses and loved ones. Families and marriages are being submitted to illegitimate stresses and division based upon her authoritarian demand for "death to self" at the expense of relationships with loved ones whose "unholy" nature often is simply disagreeing with Gwen's spin on spirituality. Testimonies of this are becoming more and more frequent, but in order to keep whatever desperately heart-rending relational equilibrium they've managed to sustain, many of those who have shared with us out of this personal pain cannot go on record for fear of losing contact with their loved ones. This forced silence aids in the continued cloaking of Remnant's abusive nature.
We have rarely read or heard of more convincing and alarming examples of Lifton's "doctrine over person" observation than what we share here. But it isn't news to many in the cultworld today. The Watchtower's unbiblical prohibition against blood transfusions have caused the untimely deaths of untold thousands of Jehovah's Witnesses for many years, while LDS Church members often find themselves under enormous stresses in juggling family and personal responsibilities along with the demands of their church "callings" (supposedly divinely mandated roles of service in their local congregations). The demands of cutting all of one's ties with the world in a quest for enlightenment and union with Hindu and Buddhist deities, even to the point of completely abandoning families and gainful employment have always been made by scores of Eastern mystical cults devoted to gurus such as Sai Baba, Maharaj Ji and organizations like the Hare Krishnas since the 1960's counterculture emerged. All of these extreme measures and others like them are routinely demanded by cultic groups as a means of establishing personal submission from their members and to reinforce their ultimate control over them by compliance no matter the personal cost to those expected to adopt them as lifestyle choices.
In only the most tragic of ways, Remnant Fellowship travels in familiar territorial wakes already churned up by other cultic mariners slashing through the sea of humanity with their icebergs of illusion. It is a spiritual pirate ship masquerading as a heavenly cruise liner sailing toward a celestial Club Med - ultimately, it will leave more and more travelers marooned in their own personal desert islands, tongues severed, minds beaten down with terror and abuse, with water and rescue in plain sight being rejected as "counterfeit."
3) Milieu Control
"You must surround yourself and your family - if you really love your family - with a pure fellowship. You cannot believe that you will go back in to your old church and change your existing fellowship. .. As Gwen has said many times already in this series, judgment is here and it is now. To maintain this purity, holiness and righteousness .. you must fellowship with people of exactly the same mindset. And you’ll be worshipping in Spirit and in truth" (19).
“The true message of Jesus will not bring peace but a sword, and it will divide friends and family. (Matt 10:34-36) Likewise, if this church is devoted to true Kingdom work, it will have Jesus’ words that separate the wheat from the chaff, the obedient from the disobedient, the saint from the mocker - the mocker who scoffs at people like me who long to obey God - THE CREATOR of all” (20).
David Martin’s unblushing absolutism here shows just how firmly Remnant Fellowship is committed to demanding a degree of control over its members by cutting them off from any external influences, so as to disrupt and divide people from their cultural ties of family and church supposedly for their own good. The goals being the supposed purity and unity of Holy Spirit-led truth found only in the milieu of Remnant Fellowship socialization, it practically is what we have called "indoctrination through isolation," the social segregation of a group of people from the larger cultures they have previously been a part of by their own intentional withdrawal from them. While again appearing to meet the Biblical mandate for sanctification and avoidance of sinful cultural influences, it is apparent that what Shamblin is advocating Remnant Fellowship members to do is to cut all ties from church associations, family and friends who do not agree and even question her authority. Such relationships are seen as part of a Satanic world order with influences so corrupting as to render them entirely worthless and even evil institutions, laboring under a last-day "powerful delusion .. sent out by God" (21). And like many cult leaders before her, Shamblin cites Matthew 10:34-36 as a command from Jesus to separate one from family who resist a Re mnant member's determination to pursue their group's agenda. But such action is actually meant to isolate members from any outside perspectives that might bring critical, independent thought and information that might lead them to reflect seriously upon the choices they've made to follow Shamblin and Remnant Fellowship.
Using the pretext of keeping a group of believers spiritually pure by limiting, qualifying or avoiding contacts with people outside it as a means of controlling the flow of alternative information about it is unethical, dishonest and an outright manipulation of the hearts and minds of those involved. And this has led to the painful and agonizing realities that scores of family and friends of Remnant members have had to grapple with. They have been forced to behold their loved ones move from a concern with weight loss toward a vibrant clinging to Remnant social circles and a simultaneous distancing, if not rejection of formerly close and intimate bonds with loved ones and friends both in and out of church circles. The terrible division of husbands from wives, of mothers from daughters, of grandparents from grandchildren is a social scourge all cults scar their communities with. And such relational disruption has nothing to do with the spirit of Jesus' words in Matthew 10:34-38, which are concerned with His admonition to testify in one's faith in Him (verses 32-33) even at the cost of opposing a loved one's rejection of Christ (35-38): "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me." For most, if not all of the non-Remnant family involved, a rejection of Jesus Christ's authority was never the case - but Shamblin, like other cult leaders, reads into Jesus' intent her own megalomaniacal belief that any opposition to her teaching was the equivalent of opposing God in Christ Himself.
Cults universally recognize the need to divert any information critical of their group away from their recruits in fear of the impact it would have upon them, since an alternative perspective based upon freedom of thought is the greatest enemy of the cultic mind control they have been laboriously placed under. In many instances, reading and possession of such material in various forms of media (print, audiotape, video, computer files, tracts) is often considered a major transgression displaying one's disloyalty, a mental pornography, contempt for the group authority and even spiritual backsliding. For years, Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses have severely punished their rank and file who were unwittingly caught reading books or viewing videos that criticized their origins, doctrine or policies even to the point of discipline and even expulsion from the group as "apostates" or "antis" who have lost their place in the Kingdom of God. Other cult members are then enjoined not to speak with or interact with them at all, typically citing a distorted set of Scriptural mandates regarding non-association with sinful people and teaching that any discussions with them are forbidden. Other cults usually proceed along the same lines, and have the same blatant disregard for the personal relationships involved, often setting brother against sister, father against son, and old friend against friend.
An anonymous rhetorical question raised by the sibling of two Remnant member families in another recent e-mailing brings the issue even greater clarity: "Line up 50 family members of Remnant Fellowship who do not know each other and what would their response be to the question as to whether the claim is true or false that Remnant Fellowship members separate themselves from their own personal family?"
Thought-stopping cliches are frequently used in cults to summarily and immediately stifle any spontaneous emergence of a subversive thought in the mind of cult member to quash any critical thought. These are canned statements, phrases or words used within a group that immediately send a clear communication that completely qualifies a given situation to end any discussion or thought about it that may undermine the cult's perception about it (and threaten their control of the member's thinking). For example, we've heard someone say to us, upon seeing some one not liked, "boy, that guy is a JERK, isn't he?" That is a thought-stopping cliche. We are told that the guy is a JERK, so therefore, we are confronted with the choice to accept that insulting qualification as objective reality or to reject it and live like it isn't the truth (in other words, we will say "you are wrong and I'm going to say hello"). Since cult group authorities - like Gwen Shamblin - have the final say upon what objective reality consists of, when she speaks, her followers immediately listen and act accordingly to reinforce that establish truth and ruthlessly extinguish any other thinking going beyond that. And in Remnant, the thought stopping cliches abound. Words and phrases like "idols", "strongholds," "false grace", "counterfeit church," "death walk", "repentance" and others come up frequently as conversational and directional shorthand in the interactions of Remnant members, communicating very specific, unique, and preexisting meanings to the group's members. This is also what "loading the language" will result in, and is still another example of how "doctrine over person" exacts a terrible price in cults today.
Time simply will not allow me to go into the other components of mind control that are very evident in Shamblin’s movement. But they are there, and very pronouncedly so. At this stage of our study of Remnant group dynamics, we see strong evidence that suggests that all eight of these components are actively engaged in their recruitment, indoctrination and retention strategies. We have yet to conduct exhaustive post-cult involvement interviews with former Remnant members, but in our informal interactions with several of them in face to face, online and phone settings, we believe our observations to be sound, verifiable and supported by Remnant produced evidence that is irrefutable.
Abusive Discipline and Excommunication: Those who "walkaway" (Remnant members who intentionally decide to break off association with the group) or become "castaway" (Remnant members who are abusively cast out from the group with what has most aptly been called the "right foot of fellowship") are demonized as carnal, self-seeking spiritual rebels who bear the "mark of the Beast" leaving the "ark of salvation." There is no honorable way to leave without being labeled a Satanic apostate bound by the "Cain syndrome" of fleshly bondage. At this point in time, it is difficult to gauge from those who we know are leaving Remnant Fellowship the exact proportions between walkaways and castaways but early indications suggest that walkaways are far more prevalent. It would appear that more and more people are simply leaving Remnant Fellowship because of it's high demand environment of coercion. Of course, Remnant's spin on their departure usually results in a characterization of defectors as who "have pulled off from Remnant Fellowship due to their strong desire to keep their strongholds" and their departure as a "recent purging that God has done," misquoting Scripture as the framework to understand it in: "Ezekiel 20:38 says, 'I will purge you of those who revolt and rebel against me.' ” (22).
Go to the Remnant Fellowship-operated websites containing the glowing testimonies of Remnant members who attribute their successes to their submission to Shamblin's defined "lines of authority", and one could easily assume (thanks to the ability of the Internet to create alternative worlds supported by the bells and whistles of glitzy browser displays) that it's social circles are filled with love, grace and truth found among zealous Christians.. However, the stark reality of another side of Remnant's existence in real-time, three-dimensional, flesh-and-blood living becomes abundantly clear when one considers the voices and testimonies of former Remnant members. In their quest to find a home among "a group of people - the called out - a remnant willing to move their will aside" (23), they found quite another abode, a dark cultworld where they endured the unique horror of experiencing religious terrors at the hands of their trusted. Our article now shifts to hearing first-hand testimonies as to how Remnant's social dynamics contain not only its' claimed light but a darkness so tangible it can be felt, and seen, and heard.
One of the major issues we have seen Gwen Shamblin and Remnant Fellowship raise in their vicious condemnations of the Christian church relate to the need for strong Christian discipline of those within Christian fellowships who persist in sin. No one can argue against the need for the Christian church to "reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine" (2 Timothy 4:2) all those within itself who may yet persist in sinful behavior. For several years prior to her Remnant start-up, Gwen has had free access to the personal lives of many of those who have sought spiritual counsel through Weigh Down Workshop venues. This contact has exposed her to the some of the struggles of men and women in churches across America have had with not only sinful habits but sinful "Christians," many who may actuall by deacons, pastors and bishops. She alludes to this again and again in her writings and teachings. We are convinced that in this sharing with her, they conveyed to her their own testimonies of how they were involved in various kinds of sinful activity. In traveling to church after church, her organization's counseling activity exposed a side of the Christian church that unquestionably has convinced Shamblin it is largely corrupt. Sadly, it is easy, therefore, to understand why Shamblin and the Remnant membership can feel so justified in blasting the Christian church as the "Great Prostitute," but it doesn't excuse her persistence in openly hateful antagonism toward it and to unjustifiably characterize it as such.
There are three dimensions to true Biblical discipline. First of all, it is relational: it is lovingly administered in the context of the Christian congregation as one would deal with a beloved family member (2 Thess. 3:14-15). Secondly, it is redemptive: it seeks to reclaim the fallen from their wandering, saving those bent for separation from God (Jude 20-23). And thirdly, it is restorative: the applied discipline will provide for rehabilitating and rebuilding the life shattered by sin (2 Cor. 2:6-8). True Biblical discipline should lead the sinful to submit to the promptings of God's Spirit that He has sent upon them to lead them into true repentance (John 16:7-11 sheds more light upon this sovereign reproval of the world by the Spirit of God seeking to lead it from the judgment to come). Hebrews 12:6-11 demonstrates that ultimately, the discipline of the Christian congregation is used by God as His chastening that is meant to bring the Christian through a process of purification making them "partakers of his holiness" (v. 10).
However, in the sharpest contrast, Observe how this was accomplished in the lives of ex-members of various cultic groups:
Erica Lukins, ex-Jehovah's Witness: " A few weeks later I started to have doubts. Why are the 144,000 so special? Why is it wrong to take communion? Why can't I have a nose ring or four earrings in each ear? Why do we have to have a different Bible? Why must we go door to door? Why do I have to study two books before I can get baptized? And then why do I have to take a test before the Elders? Why is there no Trinity? So on and so forth. Soon after that my "mom" (an elderly Witness "pioneer") moved a thousand miles away. It shook me to the core. I lost her and then started to realize that if I stopped studying (with the Jehovah's Witnesses), I would lose all the rest of them too. My "family" would be gone. So I started to go to meetings and have studies again. But it was a chore and I did it with a heavy heart. I didn't want to be there but it was the only way to keep the people I thought loved me close. Well, my marriage started to suffer. I thought because he was a jerk but I now realize that it was a slow wall coming up because he did not support me in my choice of religion. The J.W.'s were telling me not to worry about him and that I should pursue my study on my own. I always had their support! They always claimed that they do not split up families but they do. They do it in a way you don't see. If it was in your face then you would see them for what they are and they would lose you as a recruit. .. "
"I am slowly picking up the pieces of my naive life and nearly ruined marriage. I have lost all contact with the young girl I loved so much because her mother thinks that both my husband and I aren't suitable role models for her child. Unfortunately because of the lie that I have been living for the last two years, I will not be so quick to get sucked into another church. That is going to hurt my relationship with God. You need people to be there to give you supso much because her mother thinks that both my husband and I aren't suitable role models for her child. Unfortunately because of the lie that I have been living for the last two years, I will not be so quick to get sucked into another church. That is going to hurt my relationship with God. You need people to be there to give you support and build you up in your faith. But unfortunately right now I can't trust any church or religion. It will take time and a lot of prayers to heal the open wounds that the Jehovah's Witnesses have created!" (24)
Jana, ex-Mormon: "I kept asking questions of friends and family. I would pose questions to them of the literature I found on the net and they could not answer, would give me their own answer that could not be backed up, or they
would tell me that I needed to have faith and pray. My bro-in-law told me that if I prayed about the church being true and received any answer but a positive one, that I would be wrong. He also told me that if I left the church, I would be unhappy the rest of my life. Then, at the beginning of December, we were told by a friend that the bishop was going to call us in and he had talked about excommunicating us. We were shocked and got in contact with him and went to his office for a meeting. He had the Relief Society President and his 1st counselor join us in this meeting. We were told that three sisters had called the RS pres and reported us as having distributed anti-mormon literature. One of these sisters would not even give her name. We knew the other two. We were also told that several of the friends that we had gone to with questions, had been reporting us, saying that we were asking questions about the church doctrine. The bishop told us that these accusations were very serious and could lead to excommunication. We were in shock. How could anyone say this about us? It wasn’t true! We assured the bishop that we were not distributing anything but told him that we had serious questions about the church history and doctrine. With these false accusations, we had doubts about returning to church."
"We left that night and I went home to find out were this lie had started. My husband called one of these sisters (sis H) and asked her if she had said anything about us and she told us no, that she would never do that. One of the friends, sis B, who was helping us with our questions, had moved from our ward to Idaho. I had sent to sis B the story about the Mountain Meadow Massacre, because this was one of the things I was questioning. This story had been sent through e-mail and had our name at the top. When she was done with it, she had thrown it away. Sis H. had gone to visit her a month before this meeting with the bishop. I found out that while she was there, sis H had taken that
story that out of her garbage can. She brought it home and then told another sis in the ward ( the other one who reported us) that we were distributing anti-mormon literature. NOW I was paranoid. I wondered about everything I had said to anyone and how they would twist it around to find us guilty. I felt I could no longer trust anyone. We made the decision, and sent in a letter to have our names removed from the records. I would NOT be excommunicated for lies, for something that I did not do." (25)
Thomas Simmons, ex-Christian Scientist: "In her diaries, which came to her children after she died, my mother writes, about a year before her death, of her escape plan. At some level she had never lost her desire for freedom. It stayed with her despite all that her parents did to rid her of it, and despite everything her church told her about her misconception of freedom. .. She had been free to choose a life within a rigidly defined context; she had been free to make choices within a highly stable, highly structured universe. When she made those choices they brought her obligations - a husband, children, church duties - and because she was a profoundly loving and kind person, she took those obligations to heart for most of her life. In the end, however, she looked back to a more instinctual universe, an unstable realm where she could make choices not only within once context - the reality of Christian Science - but within several contexts. In fact, she could choose her context; beyond the world her religion defined for her lay an open terrain. What she planned to do, then, was make real choices, choices which began to clarify her life. She would leave house and husband, she would travel, she would study the art she so long neglected. .. "
"As she was making these plans, in 1979, my mother noticed an odd swelling in her back. This was accompanied by wracking pains that awakened her in the middle of the night, and other symptoms that led her to believe that she had cancer. Though she did not think God was punishing her, she streaked back to her religion like a frightened fawn: she had to behave perfectly, she had to have perfect faith, or she would die. Ironically, there is some evidence to suggest that the kind of cancer she contracted has a very high rate of cure when treated medically. But she would have no doctors. .. The Christian Science practitioner who prayed for my mother came infrequently, preferring to offer her prayers by telephone. When she did come, she arrived like a small whirlwind, asking my mother why she was not up and around, why she had not eaten, why she did not get dressed. My mother, who reported this to me, took these exhortations to mean that she had failed once again." (26)
Joe Kellet, ex-Transcendental Meditation teacher: "As a teacher I frequently lied to people 'for their own good' because 'they weren't ready yet' to receive the full truth, and so did my friends who were teachers. We didn't think of it as 'lying.' We thought we were giving the people as much truth as they could handle. We thought it would be wrong to tell them more than they could handle since they might 'misunderstand' and not start or continue with TM, which would be bad for them. We did a lot of 'spin doctoring.' We deceived people by deliberately using words that would be misunderstood by the audience."
We said 'TM is not a religion' even though we knew that insider TM doctrine as a whole was incompatible with all major religions (including mainstream Hinduism in large part). But we didn't think of ourselves as 'lying' because we were mentally using a very restrictive definition of 'religion,' using the word to mean something like 'an organization that demands faith in a doctrine.' Even though we were teaching doctrine incompatible with other religions we weren't demanding faith so TM was 'not a religion.' We ignored the fact that people could be and were kicked out of the Movement for openly disputing TM doctrine -- we didn't consider this as 'demanding faith,' rather it was 'protecting the purity of the teaching.' "(27)
Deborah David, ex-Children of God and daughter of COG's founder David Berg: "My turmoil intensified. I did not know that my life was being consumed by sin. In the Children of God sin did not exist: 'to the pure, all things are pure.' The idea of sin had been carefully removed and set aside by the doctrines of Moses David. .. Intoxicated by absolute power, Dad calculated that he could introduce the doctrine of sexual 'sharing' among the members of his immediate family .. My mind flipped into a state of utter confusion and disillusionment. I was overwhelmed by doubts about Dad, about God, about my whole state of existence. .. 'If you had perfect love as the Bible speaks of,' he said, 'and were living totally within the love of Christ, you would understand that with other members of the body who also live within this perfect love, we can share freely with one another and there are no boundaries, not even sexual ones ..' "
"This was Dad's 'All Things' doctrine, a takeoff from Paul's statement in 1 Corinthians 6:12, which states, 'All things are lawful unto me ..' Because I refused to go along with Dad's concept of mandatory sharing, I was consigned to the class of the unspirituals. .. Consequently, a conflict developed within me. From that moment on, I believed that because I could not accept this doctrine of sexual freedom, I therefore did not have a close relationship with the Lord. I lacked that 'perfect love' and was simply not as spiritual as the rest. Throughout my remaining years in the Family I felt great condemnation because of this." (28)
Anna, ex-Holy Order of Mans (now defunct): "Every waking moment I was occupied .. There was morning Mass at 5:30 and then Bible study, group meetings, or something else every night of the week. For seven years the community became my whole world. I completely dropped out of my former life. .. I was the shadow, a scapegoat for the order .. In our group, one woman was more of a scapegoat than I was, and everybody projected their anger onto her. She couldn't keep a job, she was always physically in pain, and she had no money. I was the victim, she was the crazy. Whenever I did anything to pull out of the victim stance, they put me back in my place. Yet we all professed brotherly love." (29)
Cultic Phobia Indoctrination: Along with the control of information, the advocating of unethical relationships and deceptive claims, and the firm rejection of any independent thought that questions the group, we also see a very common pattern arising here also, that of phobia indoctrination, the deliberate conditioning of a cult member's heart and mind to develop a deep personal aversion to a set of fears stemming from being recognized within the cultic group as not living up to its' high-demand lifestyle standards. The fear of being seen as disloyal, critical, sensual (or too inhibited), ungrateful, rebellious, or ignorant is a potent way to demand conformity in a cult group, and training people to fear certain actions or associations ensures this punitive dynamic will keep them "in line." When the fear of being expelled from the only source of truth in the universe and the subsequent loss of intimate relationships and personal salvation or enlightenment are then combined with these other profound fears, the creation of literal phobias within the controlled minds of cult members is then possible. And it is this indoctrination by the usage of phobias that fuels the power of the cult group over its membership, a horrible interpersonal dynamic best hidden by them of all of their "dark sides."
Fear is perhaps the most powerful way to forcefully, and abusively, control someone's thinking, and therefore, their behavior, but it is an abominable antithesis to Christian love as a motivation for spiritual living. The use of fear to make someone serve God is a gross perversion of the Christian "law of love", the ethic of godly love and compassion that all Christians are to live their whole lives out in expressing through the power of God's Spirit (Romans 5:5): "If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well" (James 2:8). Love for God and love for man are the reasons why any Christian would desire to reach into another's life and admonish them to turn their struggles and troubles to His care. But in the case of cults, the love of God is shortcircuited by the counterfeit expressions of "godly love" made by their membership out of their own human nature quite apart from the divine influence of God's Spirit and power. Human affection is substituted for God's love, and as anyone knows, the human capacity to consistently express loving attitudes is so changeable, finicky and mood-oriented. It can shift subtly almost instantaneously to a "love" tainted by questionable or ulterior motives, driven by bad information. Reinforced by personal biases, manipulative natures and old grudges or memories of past slights and offenses, this kind of love is a far cry from the pure regard of Godly love supplied from a Godly perspective. And it is this kind of "love" that is used to justify the phobia indoctrination and a coercively fear-driven lifestyle cults demand of their follwoers.
In Remnant, fears of failure to live up to RF standards are used to compel comformity to them; being found "coddling sin" or "birthing flesh" leads to public shaming and rebuke meant to chastise those who are struggling with "strongholds." And the "loving on" by Remnant leadership of those not meeting their party line reveals most clearly just how unchristian and abusive RF actually is. After carefully reading and even re-reading the ex-cultist testimonies we've just shared with you (and here are more insights if you need additional context), we now invite you to compare them qualitatively with these following four testimonies of three former members of Remnant Fellowship and a former WDW coordinator who nearly joined RF as we have received them:
Behind The Scenes: The Other Side Of Life In Remnant Fellowship
Heather Patterson, ex-Remnant member: Complaining was forbidden, as was investigating any negative information on Remnant Fellowship or Gwen. In keeping in line with authority (the plumb line), we’d lose our obsession with our idols in our lives (e.g., overeating, money, TV, etc.), therefore also losing weight but gaining joyfulness. Submission to authority (children to parents, wives to their husbands, Remnant Fellowship members to Remnant Fellowship leadership) was a rule as this represented our submission to God’s authority. .. I began to doubt that I was worthy of God’s love, especially since I wasn’t losing any more weight and my work situation seemed to go from bad to worse. What was I doing wrong?
My situation was obviously very serious to the others in Remnant Streator as they convinced me to leave work on May 3, 2002, and drive to Streator to have a private conference call with Robie Bass, a member of authority in Remnant Nashville. .. On May 20th, I attended Weigh Down Advanced at the leader’s house of Remnant Streator as she started a new 10-week session. .. This was also the first of seven times that she confronted me about my continual sinning, lack of weight loss, and obvious rebellion to authority which seemed only obvious to her and the other adult female member besides myself and my mother. I was asked if I thought some people placed Gwen too high on a pedestal and gave her too much praise. My answer was, yes, which was then labeled as my uncertainty of Gwen’s message, which was essentially God’s message, therefore I was rejecting God, the ultimate sin. ..
On May 26th, I drove my mother and Remnant Streator’s leader back from Kokomo, Indiana, where we had spent the weekend with the local Remnant group for fellowship and worship. As I drove, we were listening to one of the Christian worship CD’s I had burned. The song Above All came on, and our leader started in on how horrible the song was because it has one line that says, "You [Christ] took the fall and thought of me/Above all." This is, in Gwen’s opinion, a "false grace message," and is, in essence, what the "counterfeit" church preaches. Therefore, this song was the first one my mother and I were informed we were never to listen to again. When I asked why, my question was answered over the next four hours. Again, I was accused of rejecting Gwen’s authority (I was questioning, which was forbidden), therefore I was rejecting God. ..
On July 8th, 2002, I drove to Streator after work as I had done for the previous eight weeks to attend Weigh Down Advanced class. Since the Passover celebration, we had been having Bible studies instead of our normal class because there was only one “student” who wasn’t a member of Remnant Streator, and she hadn’t shown up lately. As a result, these Monday night “Bible studies” turned into courtroom trials where my mother and I were constantly placed on the witness stand and all of our sins were laid bare in front of the rest of Remnant Streator. We were still being accused of doing things that we hadn’t done, and when the leader and the other adult female in the group were done with those sins, they’d bring up sins that they had forgiven us for weeks and months before. They were constantly telling us that we needed to learn from our past sins and to keep them fresh in our minds so that we would be reminded how horrible we had been and would not do those things again. ..
Then I received the shock of my life. My mother and I found out that the leader and the other adult female called each other every Monday night after Weigh Down Advanced class to discuss how the night went (a.k.a. “What do you think of what Heather and her mother said/did tonight?”). In order to save them the time spent calling each other when we got back to town this night, they informed us that they were going to “have their discussion right there in the car” – in front of us! It was horrifying to hear the two of them go back and forth about how horrible they thought we were and how sure they were that we were purposefully sinning because we still wanted to be a god. My mother interjected at one point asking if she could say something and the 14-year old daughter of the other adult female snapped, “No, don’t you get it? They’re having a conversation and you’re not really here.” The girl’s mother thanked her daughter for explaining this to my mother, and the they went on belittling my mother and I for another five minutes. (30)
Laura Nichols, ex-Remnant member: .. The next day, David Martin, Don, Joe, Robie and other men from Leadership called to talk to Mark. David Martin told Mark that if he didn't cut off financial ties to Stacey (Laura and Mark's daughter who was causing trouble with them) that we would be engaging in her sin! He quoted us the verse in Proverbs 19:18 "Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to his death." You see, according to the belief in Remnant, Stacey was dead in hideous rebellion to God and to us and out from under all authority. They told us that if we didn't take her car and cut all financial ties with her that we were engaging ourselves in her sin. He told us that God would judge us as harshly as He would Stacey .. . Mark decided that he would obey Remnant Leadership and no longer talk to his child. It was a tough decision but we were so deceived and didn't know it. We just did what they told us to. They were the authority. ..
I also want to add here that through the ordeal with Stacey, Mark's wrecks, stress in general, I was late for my period. I also had valid reasons to think that I was pregnant. I was freaked out because I'm 45 years old! My weight had jumped up 10 lbs in one week and I was real concerned since I was still pretty much eating 3 bits per growl! On occasion I might eat 6-7 bits but for the most I tried to keep my eating to 3 bites per growl. I called the WD office cause I was desperate to find out if I was in fact pregnant could my weight jump like that. Jenny answered the phone and I had met her at camp and she recently had a baby. She told me that yes the body does so many things when we conceive a child and not to worry. I told her about my conversation with leadership and how they wanted my weight to be coming off at 3-5 lbs a week and I was scared to have to tell them that I was up 10 lbs. Jenny just encouraged me to go get a home pregnancy kit and do it but call her and let her know what was happening and that she would be praying for me. ..
The phone rang and it was Gwen and David Martin. They wanted to know if Mark was at home and I told them that he wasn't that he was out doing his job. I offered them his cell phone number. Gwen said, "No, there is just a few things that we need to get straight with you guys and we want to see how things are going." I again told her that they could call Mark on his cell phone and she then started questioning me what time would be a good time for them to call back cause they wanted to talk to both of us. We agreed that they would call Thursday morning around 8:30 or so. ..
Gwen finally got on the phone and addressed us very kindly. She asked Mark about the previous night of worship and they talked for a few minutes. Then Gwen turned to me... The next few lines are all that I can remember of our conversation. This is all that I remember. It has no sequence because when she started she put me in such a state of shock.
Gwen starts by "Laura, I'm really scared about some things that I have been hearing about you. You call the office and talked with Jenny and something about being pregnant and that you did not want to report your weight to Leadership...Let me tell you Laura that I was shock when I saw you in Houston that you had not lost any more weight that you have since this past summer. Your body just can't go on in this state.... I need to have Charlie Crossland call and counsel you cause he lost 330 lbs in 18 months.... There is no reason why you not lost your weight.... Your weight should be coming off at nearly 10 lbs per week, Laura...I'm scared for you...Now remember Laura I could not be saying this to you if I didn't love you so much.... I heard David say, "Amen, Laura we do love you” Gwen continues "Mark, you ought be getting after her every time she is disobedient. You ought to love her enough and be scared enough to understand that if she dies, she is lost and you should be doing all that you can do not to let this over-indulging with food continue.... Mark I want you to put Laura on the scales every week and call me with her weight loss.... Laura I want you to get up in front of that Houston Remnant and confess your sin of greed of food the them and tell them that you are going to step down in leadership and show them who your God really is. Laura, get the weight off. I also want you to find someone in your WDA group to take over your class and you step down as a coordinator.... Laura, I should have put a stop to you 5 years ago and I didn't. You should have never had this weight on your body this long...but I love you and I want to help you.... please understand Laura that I could only say these things to you because I love you! I want the best for you.... (Another Amen from David Martin) ..
I just want to say that for the next 4 hours or so I was very suicidal over all of this. I could not even get my mind to think right. I scared Mark to death. He was scared to even leave me that day. I would get in the bed and cry and cover my face with the sheets, get up and just sit and stare. It was awful! It was more than awful!!!! It is a state that I pray that I will never ever experience in this life! That afternoon as Mark was getting ready to go out and do the outside portion of his job (he is an insurance adjuster) he was scared to death to leave me. He wanted me to go with him and I wouldn’t. I just laid in bed and begged God to let my next breath be my last. (31)
Maria Brooks, ex-WDW coordinator: I had gone to Desert Oasis 2000, Gwen's annual meeting she had before she started the Rebuilding The Walls tours, and it was also the first meeting when she introduced Remnant Fellowship. .. One of the things David Martin said right at the very beginning of the conference was "this is the most important place in the world to God right now." I remember saying to myself "my husband's back in New York and I hope that's an important place for Him, too." I remember thinking "that is weird that somebody would say that." I would understand that this is one of the most important places but not THE most important place as if God was only looking at this particular spot in Nashville, Tennessee. .. It was a long, intense meeting. We got there early in the morning and stayed there late. The conference lasted a couple days. I remember coming home so emotionally exhausted and feeling like I had just gone through finals, my brain was so packed with information, but not really able to yet sort through what I felt was right and wrong. So I couldn't really articulate what I was feeling to others when asked how the conference went I kept thinking maybe something's wrong with me because my fellow coordinator seemed to think everything was ok.
So when I came back and continued conducting WD classes. There was definitely conviction upon me about eating "one bite past full," and I began to feel guilty about even thinking about food when I wasn't hungry, as a result I began dropping more weight. "One bite past full" or to "lust after" a meal that had not yet been given to me was disobedience. Sometimes, in the middle of a meal I wasn't sure if I was full or not and I'd take a bite and then realized "wait a minute, I was full!" and then it's too late, I took that bite! I had disobeyed. So I cut my food in half again, and then I started cutting my half in half and by that time I was cutting my fourth in half .. the portions were getting smaller and smaller because the guilt was getting more and more. .. while I may have been feeling guilty, people started seeing me dropping weight and would say, "oh wow, what's going on?" and then a new zeal would start.
I think at that point I had almost ignored the voice of the Holy Spirit, sticking my fingers in my ears to Him and not really wanting to hear what He wanted to say because I was losing weight, so “this must be o.k.,” but in my heart feeling like there just wasn't any peace. I started getting anonymous e-mails about the firings at Weigh Down and I would call down to the Weigh Down Headquarters to ask questions about the articles being written about Weigh Down. They'd then tell me there was no religious discrimination at Weigh Down and that the writers were liars and disgruntled employees. I'd then naively say "oh, o.k," instead of taking the responsibility of actually call the woman in the articles to say "o.k, let me hear your side of the story." I started getting more and more pulled in as I was calling them to ask other questions and I began building a relationship with someone there at the WD counseling department. ..
There were participants of our group that would come to me and say "Maria, do you realize that what she (Shamblin) is saying and what you're saying she's saying are two different things?" People would come to me and say "I'm not going to continue to come to the group anymore because I feel condemned by this teaching" or would say that I made them feel condemned. I didn't understand. I would hear that and it would of course hurt because I didn't want to think that I was that kind of condemning, judgmental person that people were telling me I was being. People kept leaving the group. At one time it was a very effective group but the groups kept getting smaller and smaller. People whom I thought genuinely had a heart for God didn't want anything more to do with it.
The next year, my husband, Adam, was fighting to understand and sort through the truth by testing the spirits of different parties there in Nashville concerning the new Remnant vision we heard about at the June 2001 Remnant Fellowship weekend. Whenever he would ask questions of Gwen, her response was often an attack on Adam. I felt afterward as time progressed that she might have been trying to put division between us by constantly having people ask me questions about what was going with Adam, how are my feelings about this, what do you think about that, and I would just blithely write my honest responses in e-mails to them. One time, Adam and I had a conversation in the kitchen of our home and then the next day I talked about it to the other two wives we knew who were also exploring Remnant. I mentioned how upset I was over a question Adam had about a particular doctrine or article he'd read. The next thing we knew is when he would go to ask them about it, our friends were already armed and dismissing about the question of his I raised with them the day before. He never tried to hurt Gwen, he just wanted to get to the truth. We as Christians have nothing to hide, right, so why not answer the questions? What is Gwen hiding from?
I felt that WD counselors, particularly two of them I had built a relationship with, were trying indirectly to cause me to doubt Adam and Adam's integrity and who he was even to the point of making me wonder if he was truly evil, for they began to then talk to me about the difference between asking a question sincerely and being a mocker. They never labeled him as a mocker, but the timing of their counsel always implied that Adam might be one of these mockers and a son of the devil, and that mockers are evil and God says you shouldn't entertain them. I knew in my heart Adam wasn't this person they were describing, and I kept thinking, “Are they trying to cause division in our marriage? Why not try to encourage me or help me to be a better wife to him?"
We had a conversation with Gwen, David Martin and a few other RF leaders on September 12, the day after the terrorist attacks here in Manhattan, and Gwen tore into both me and Adam and made it clear that she thought Adam was a mocker and that I was manipulative, pushy and cared more for my husband then I did for God. We were just a bit overwhelmed and later, we got a phone call from the other two couples we know who told us that they had decided to join Remnant Fellowship; they said, "this isn't going to affect our friendship at all because this is what we felt God leading us to do." I could tell from the voice of one of the women I was closer to that there was something she wanted to say and couldn't say it. In a later call, she would tell me that the leadership at Remnant was very upset with Adam and didn't wanted to deal with him anymore. At that point we felt really abandoned by our friends but were still not sure if Remnant was a cult or not .. We left the city and while we visited my brother's home in Virginia, we went round and round on what was going on - we definitely believed God was humbling us to repentance, we just didn't understand what we were to repent of . . We thought we needed to repent of arrogance toward Gwen, but in actuality, we were feeling some guilt about how arrogant we had been towards our home congregation. Our friends called and asked us to come back early as they had some things they wanted to talk to us about, one of the things being an apology letter Adam had sent to Gwen. He'd apologized for questioning, but they told us that they found a lot of arrogance and pride in Adam's letter and that RF leadership didn't want to deal with us anymore, and our friends needed to make a decision on how they wanted to handle it. ..
When we got to the apartment where we were to meet with them, they received us without a smile, no lights on in a dark afternoon, no loving Christian hugs as before. They began to lecture us for twenty minutes about every sin we'd ever committed. We used to confess our sins mutually with one another in accountability as our personal spiritual confidantes and they had heard us share our weaknesses with them, and these all came out in recriminations. It was as if they were saying to us, "See we knew you were evil, because we knew this about you." They'd even take our humorous stories about our newly married spats (or even more recent ones) and used them against us as evidence of our "rocky marriage." Things that were perceived as sin were twisted as being sin even if that wasn't the truth at all. There were old e-mails brought up in which I had written to the WD headquarters to get help in situations that came up in the workshops I was coordinating which had been supplied to them and used against me; my friends said "see, even then, you were trying to cause Weigh Down to view us badly." After they had done that, (which can only be described as "spiritual rape") they said "you can leave now, as far as we are concerned, this meeting and friendship is over. Please never contact us again." We asked if we could say something. We wanted to begin telling them about what had happened to us that weekend and how God had revealed to us that we had been arrogant and needed to apologize. They didn't seem to care or want to hear it. It was too late for a repentant heart.
I then asked them, "There's only one true church, right?" I had believed that my whole life but knew what they meant was that Remnant Fellowship was that church. "I can't go back to the counterfeit church because its' counterfeit, and the one true church won't take me, so what happens to my soul?" I literally did not know, because I kept thinking, "Never have I ever been rejected from the church." And they looked at me, after literally sitting there for 20 minutes, listing every sin and condemning me, and they said, "We are not your judge." At the time, I felt like going, "What a cheap way out of that, you're just going to leave me here to die." Now I look at that and believe that they didn't know the answer to my question for themselves. It never crossed their minds. I think that the person who responded to that didn't know what to say, not realizing that she had judged and condemned me for the last 20 minutes. That's why I can now say I forgive them. They truly did not know what it was they were saying or doing. That night, going back and forth, back and forth with these thoughts in my head, not knowing if even the counterfeit church would take me back, I knew I had to have somebody to give me some stability, but I didn't feel that I was even worthy of that; what I did feel was that I had really let God down. I had come to the point in my spiritual walk that I had experienced this burning passion for Him, and now I had let Him down. How could He possibly use me again - why would He want to use me again? That was probably more devastating than anything.
I figured "Well, if I am obviously not accepted back into "THE church", which means I'm going to hell, so what's the sense of living through this agony any longer? Why not end it?" I wanted to look at my Creator's face and see if it was true that He didn't love me anymore. That His grace no longer covered me. Thoughts of ending my life filled me as we drove from the meeting back home. It was going through my head all the way home. I just wanted to take care of the people I felt responsible to because if I was condemned the last thing I wanted was for anyone else to be condemned with me. I felt that I would gladly give up my life in heaven for them. I didn't want to bring anybody else down with me and I knew that what was happening was wrong but ... what if I was the one in the wrong? It was so confusing. I wanted to at least do whatever I could to make my judgment easier, so I wanted to ask forgiveness from people I had hurt.
The events of September 11 had just occurred five days before that night's meeting - one of the scariest days of my life. It was a week in which so much personal innocence had died; the towers in Manhattan had fallen due to terrorist attacks and now my spiritual innocence had perished due to the attacks made upon Adam and me by our dearest friends. I never thought Christians could do to each other what we had just experienced at the hands of our closest friends. God had made his presence so unbelievably real, so tangible in our lives in the city in general that I had no doubt in my mind that He existed. I had no doubt in my mind that He was very upset with what I had done but I had doubts that He would ever want me back. And that was planted in my head through the five years of the indirect WD message of "You're unworthy if you don't do this, this and this." It was so subtle at first, and then all of a sudden, that unfair accusation and rejection was the crack in the dam holding back all that irrational and unspiritual guilt. All of a sudden, the unworthiness and guilt came flooding in. (32)
Tim Smith - ex-Remnant Fellowship: THE FOLLOWING IS MY VIEWPOINT AND MY OWN TRUTHFUL, PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH GWEN SHAMBLIN AND THE REMNANT FELLOWSHIP. MY AGENDA IS TO INFORM, WARN AND ENLIGHTEN, NOT HARM. ANY OPINIONS STATED ARE MY OWN.
My wife and I were one of the first families to be involved in the RF. I'm not sure exactly, but I do believe it was the Spring of 1999. When we started, there were maybe 10 or 12 people. We left in the fall of 2001, shortly after the September 11th tragedy. There are a number of reasons for leaving RF, and I will bring to light just a few important ones.
In the fall of 2000, she and I had a conversation in her office. I expressed to her my concern that WD and Remnant materials, teachings, etc. were getting too closely related and that I was afraid that the two would become so close, that one would or could be the downfall of the other. Gwen responded by telling me that all this was inevitable. She said she had had this "vision" of her church many, many years ago, and it now looked like it was all coming to fruition. She said she believed that the WD programs made it necessary and possible for her to gain the credibility with the institutional churches so she could begin teaching what she believed needed to be taught. She said she's been planning this for a long time, and now I see she had to make sure she had an audience.
David Shamblin is a great guy, and very well versed in the Bible. He started attending RF right after Desert Oasis 2000. That was in August. Even after then, his involvement was spotty, at best. He would come around for a while, then be absent for many weeks. He was playing bass in the praise band too. Even then, it was good for awhile, then he wouldn't come for quite awhile. Prior to that, I know for a fact (related to me by both Gwen and David Martin), that he wanted nothing to do with Remnant Fellowship. He was quite adamant against Gwen's leadership role in this situation and there was much turmoil in the Shamblin household. Gwen likes to equate the beginnings of Remnant (4 Shamblins, 4 Martins) with the eight left on the Ark. That was part of her "vision." In fact, it's part of the explanation given to inquiring callers asking about the inception of RF. This is an insult and a falsehood. Since we know that (husband) David wasn't involved in the beginning, she seems to be one shy. In fact, I'm personally appalled by the scriptural comparison when fact states it is simply not true.
Gwen is the pastor or preacher (or whatever you want to call it) of the Remnant Fellowship, though for awhile she would not own to the label. By now, however, she has embraced this "religious leader" tag quite willingly. According to most in the group, however, she is a heavenly-sent prophet, and she believes it, too, but you probably won't hear her say it openly herself. There is no real evidence of her being a true prophet, especially if you realize all the 9/11 nonsense is just propaganda. She definitely has done nothing to squash or curb any talk of her prophet status.
There is a board of appointed (by Gwen) deacons and deaconesses. This was formed only after she came under fire as a result of her "Trinity" views. The case against her was that there was no accountability and she was just free to say anything without any meaningful accountability. It was formed just to (hopefully) "shut her critics up." The board consists of husband and wife teams over whom she has complete control and influence. They all believe she is a prophet, so at the same time submit completely to her authority. So realistically, they aren't much more than mouthpieces for her direction and desires for the church. She controls it all. I never once saw any authoritative action or decision displayed by any "church leader" that wasn't pre-approved by Gwen. Accountability? Not possible with this arrangement. They literally "hang" on every word she speaks, and believe each one, so any meaningful accountability is impossible nor desired!
A prime reason was we really felt the need to find better teaching and instruction for our young child. Neither my wife nor I "grew up in church" so we didn't have a great bible based foundation. We just didn't know enough to pass on to our child. As time passed, we saw that there was no "age appropriate" teaching at Remnant, and no plans to implement any. And while we did (at the time) fully support Gwen's teachings, we felt the need for more diverse methodology. I tried, as well as my wife, to address this situation a number of times. I am a degreed educator, and I believe strongly in age level instruction on any subject. It's just common sense that you wouldn't approach a first grade math class with the same methodology and material you would high school level. Unfortunately, this logic was not logical to Ms. Shamblin. Once though, at a parents' meeting, we actually did have a conversation that ended up with Gwen saying she would start to develop a kids program and/or series of teachings. But that never happened and was never discussed again. Gwen does not believe in Sunday school. She and other members close to her would consistently make fun of other church's VBS and Sunday schools saying it was nothing but a bunch of stories with puppet shows and "watered down" meanings. While offering no viable alternatives, it was just blatant criticism.
We would sit on Sunday mornings for two, three hours while Gwen spoke and preached and ran us through reams of Bible verses and piles of justification as to why we needed to believe every word she said. Most weeks, it was "repentance, repentance, repentance." All well and good, but that was pretty much it, along with a plethora of verses to support and prove her viewpoint. But my point is: for all of the young children, who had to sit through all of this, it was quite boring and a good number of them were fast asleep or fidgeting or coloring or reading or staring off into space. From where I sat, there wasn't much these children were gleaning from all the talk. There are parents who will support the idea that the children are learning by sitting there and hearing Gwen speak, that they DO pick up things. Yes, the children do hear things and will remember some. They're aren't stupid, but I will strongly favor the practice of focused, age appropriate teaching instead of Gwen's "osmosis" theory of learning.
Another reason we felt the need to leave was we saw that there was no community outreach of any kind. The outreach was totally performed and realized within the group. Again, the subject was never taken seriously. The mention of sponsoring a needy family at Christmas time or even donating to an "Angel Tree" type program or (God forbid) going down to serve meals to the homeless at a shelter were met with scoffs and "waste of time" attitudes. It only took one Christmas season for my family to see the growing self-focus of the group. We never brought it up again.
More and more time went by in 2001, and by then, we were increasingly uncomfortable with the strong words Gwen would preach each week. Her open and frequent criticism of other churches, pastors, priests became sharper and more cutting as time passed. She mentioned them by name and made no bones about her negative opinions. And while preaching the negative Biblical affects of slander, she felt no hesitation about doing just that against other religious institutions and leaders. It seemed to be an attempt to make her teachings more justified by degrading and finding fault with others. It really became obvious that she was attempting to convince anyone and everyone willing to listen that hers was and is the only "true church" and God himself has appointed her the spokeswoman to spread her message and follow her line of thinking and Biblical perspective. If you weren't in RF, you were in a counterfeit church and you needed to get out. She came right out and said she doesn't believe in any sort of "Godhead" or "Trinity." She teaches that God's will is what is really comprises the Holy Spirit. Not an entity, deity, person (whatever) but certainly not the 3rd person of a Godhead.
She then started to teach that God was a God of "conditional" love. In other words, you had to "do" something to earn His love. Her outlook was that if you turn from God, He will turn from you. That statement is scriptural and by itself, might hold up. But she was putting God in a box and scaring people into only viewing that narrow, one dimensional perspective of what God's temperament was all about. Any mention of the countless scriptures describing God's love as enduring and endless and forever and the concept of grace never seemed to enter her picture or teaching. Consequently, it was more and more of this kind of teaching and (I believe) twisted Biblical perspective that made our decision to leave necessary.
Other people who dared to leave RF were cut off. They were branded as those who "didn't get it" and the overall word from Gwen (and supported by church "leadership" and others in the church body) was to not associate or have anything to do with them. This brings me back to what I said earlier about the parents who contacted us. I thought it amazing that a group who looked upon others outside of RF (those who left or weren't interested) as outcasts. I always thought a true church (a loving and caring church, a compassionate church) is a place to nurture and bring those along towards the life filled with Christ. Not once, not ever would they entertain the slightest notion that these people had left because there might be something wrong in their church or it's teaching or leadership. Everyone else and their viewpoint was wrong.
Upon our departure from the group, we sent a "blanket" e-mail to the entire congregation at the same time. We felt it necessary for everyone to receive the same information at the same time. It was very positive, short and definitely non-critical. We just presented the fact that we had different viewpoints and philosophy as it pertained to certain issues and it was time to go. We also stated that we still considered everyone in the group to be our friends, but we really didn't care to discuss this issue any further. In the two weeks directly following our letter no one from the group spoke to anyone in my family. Except for Robie Bass. He immediately e-mailed me back to tell me that he was in support of what I said, and how good of a job I did in my wording and non-threatening manner, as well as the way I separated "method" from "teaching content." He later changed his mind. At work, I received an occasional "hi" or wave and I was only spoken to in the context of WD related issues by others who basically had no choice but to talk to me. It was very strange and uncomfortable. What really bothered me overall, was the fact that there were two gentlemen in the group whom I considered my best friends. I saw them socially, went to sporting events with, played music with…things like that. To this day, neither one has attempted to contact or speak to me. After about two weeks, David Martin came to me and made the excuse that the reason that no one had gotten back to me concerning the letter was that they were just too busy with WD work issues. He assured me though, that he spoke for everyone and that the whole church was in support of our decision and respected how we felt and wished us nothing but the best. At the same time, however, he was very insistent in trying to tell me that no one had spoken to me because that was what I wrote in my letter. I told him that's not what I wrote, nor what I meant. I made it very clear that only the issues concerning our departure from the church did that apply to. My explanation fell to deaf ears. Again he insisted on "putting words in my mouth" and trying to tell me what I meant. It became clear that he was trying to simply place the blame on me for their inability to address that fact that someone may have actually had a legitimate reason for leaving Remnant. That same afternoon, Gwen caught me in the hall and asked if I would walk her to her car and we could "talk." I did, and she assured me that she "loved" me (and my family) and wished us the best and she will pray for us in finding a new church. Things felt fairly good at that point until later that evening. I received a call from a church member (still attending at that time) who told me that the Sunday following our letter (now almost 3 weeks ago), Gwen got up in front of the group and told everyone that "once again, a letter had been sent to the church, and once again, she and they were under attack." The member told me that it was obvious to everyone, she spoke of my letter, and went on to portray the author as criticizing and from "Satan" and someone not to be associated with. She spoke of us as ones who wanted to follow our own selfish desires and attend the counterfeit church. After being labeled as such, I now understood why no one had contacted us.
The last and final straw which solidified our decision to leave was following the September 11th attacks. On that morning, not even before the second tower had collapsed, we (all the WD employees) were huddled in front of a TV, staring in disbelief. We were all asked to be there so we could (or so we thought) pray. After we were assembled, Gwen came in. She went over to the screen and after watching a minute or so, started shouting at the TV. She kept wagging her finger at it saying (paraphrasing), "See? I told them something like this could happen. They wouldn't listen to my warnings, they wouldn't listen to me. Now look! America's an arrogant nation, and God has brought His judgment down. And I told you all this could happen!" Well, a prayer was said, and she left. David Martin then went on to reinforce the notion that we all just witnessed a true prophet from God confirming her own prophesy. It was a very frightening moment. Apparently, a couple of months prior, during a taping session for WD Advanced, she said that yes, America was a place that could be attacked by a foreign country and that it shouldn't take for granted our security measures. (I've actually heard the same thing on CNN for years) They have apparently decided that this was prophesy, and the September 11th events were its' fulfillment. Biblical prophets and prophesies were VERY specific in detail about where, when and what the events were about. Ms. Shamblin's so-called September 11th "vision" was anything but.
The next Sunday, she got up and heavily criticized President Bush for his lack of leadership and for not mentioning God in a stronger context when he addressed the nation. She blamed a lack of meaningful spiritual guidance (Billy Graham & company) on the President's response and explanation to the country. She even went so far as to give us the "if I were President" speech. I knew then I was dealing with someone very far from being a prophet and a group of people who worshipped the very ground she walked on. It was time to go. The following week was one of what I thought was an understanding of her and her reasoning. I contacted a church deacon, and I went through what I believed (at the time) to be correction and enlightenment. It was just the beginning of my real understanding. I was given much scripture (by asking God) as to what I need to be learning. He brought me many, and all leaned on following Jesus. I then asked Him to reveal to me if my initial reaction to Gwen's self proclaimed prophet status was warranted or if I was missing something that they (RF) were not. He immediately led me to Ezekiel 16: 1-34. At that instant, my head completely cleared. There was no doubt, no hesitancy, no confusion. It all made perfect sense. The power, the influence, the money, the houses, the cars. It was really time to go now. I prayed for deliverance heavily, and mercifully I was gone from Remnant and WD within one month. (33)
Each of these testimonies are a stark personal documentation of the practical consequences of involvement with Remnant Fellowship. Above all, they reveal how Remnant's doctrine has so warped the Christian ethics and sensibility of its' membership with the pride and arrogance of judgmental self-righteousness that the members can only react to dissent with the hammers of abusive criticism. The grace-informed conscience and heart of a truly Spirit-controlled life is almost entirely absent; only an external application of a Remnant code of ethics seems present. To what extent this is evident behind the closed doors of Remnant Fellowships is uncertain, but these three reports, coming from entirely different individuals from across the country argue that it is not at all uncommon.
In presenting these testimonies, we feel that stark parallels between Remnant Fellowship and other cultic groups such as the Watchtower Society, the LDS Church and others have been made crystal clear. Their abusive treatment of members is no different from one another, their strategies of the crushing of disharmony are the same, and their leaders lambaste and rail against those who disagree with them as agents of Satan in like manner. Such abuse is intolerable and immoral in any Christian community and yet is sanctified by Shamblin as a "purging" that pleases God. It is instead the smoke signal of a flaming house filled with people who are so blinded and deafened as not to see the inferno they rest in as the "New Jerusalem," even beating off rescue workers who try to pull them out of the deathtrap.
We don't judge if Remnant members are believers or not or have apostasized and leave that question up to the Bema Seat of Christ to make the great final and eternal call on them. However, the mandates of Matthew 7:18 and James 3:11-12 provide a sobering perspective all of them would do well to consider: "A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit." "Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh."
However, I would like to send a purely personal note to Gwen Shamblin and every other Remnant leader: I would admonish you to re-read the Scriptures and realize that the legalistic and judgmental religious terrorism of Remnant theology regarding idolatry, "last bites" etc. that is poisoning your membership is an evil thing of the flesh that has nothing to do with the love of God. No one has ever successfully transformed themselves into the Holy Ghost, able to discern hearts and judge them as hell (or heaven) bound on the basis of an observation of their diet. Where is the chapter and verse for such a thing? Only God's Word is the standard for discerning the heart (Hebrews 5:12). A good place to start your restudy would be in the New Testament:
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;
And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you:
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour’s service without wages, and giveth him not for his work;
But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!
Where Is Remnant Fellowship Going?
Remnant Fellowship will likely continue to grow at the expense of the Christian Church due to its dynamic appeal to very felt needs that is well-packaged and marketed during a time in which Christian discernment is at an all time low. The growth and attrition rates of Remnant Fellowship, depending upon just how paranoiac the leadership gets, have yet to be seen and the last few years of their fortunes and disasters do not accurately give a picture of just how much potential they have to both survive and stumble. However, in the past few years, RF growth in Tennessee has provided some invaluable clues as to how RF is growing and developing.
First of all, RF will continue to enjoy the usage of its sizable financial resources drawn straight from the cash flow of the Weigh Down Workshop. Although the WDW is a functional business, it's firm connections to RF are no secret and by virtue of the church being a registered non-profit organization, enormous tax benefits are routinely being enjoyed by both corporations. Throughout the mid to late 1990's and at least through 2000, tens of millions of dollars were dutifully invested in various money market funds and investments which Remnant has nursed to provide operational income, as well as tapping into the tithes and offerings RF members give to also support it.
Secondly, free usage the newly revamped versions of WDW curricula as their fulltime form of "outreach" demonstrate that RF's recruiting efforts is now starting to reach new waves of prospective members. For example, the new "Exodus Change" series and how it is marketed to prospects shows that RF has gained a serious appreciation for the cultic art of incremental disclosure about it's teachings and positions. In a departure from previous practice, the "Change" series is being offered as a combination of personal study, discipline patterned after WDW principles and participation in online chatrooms led by "counselors" who have successfully arrived in their own private "Promised Land" of "permanent weight loss." Through study of WDW curricula and frequent online and phone interaction with counselors and group members, WDW participants can be targetted with personalized recruitment efforts that often lead them to seek out fellowship with Remnant groups near them where feasible. This has led into what has best been described as a mentoring experience called "shepherding" which essentially compels new recruits to join RF as the logical outcome of their study and reflection on the series.
Another clue is seen in how Remnant's membership have responded to Shamblin's "Zion" vision. RF chapters on a national scale have undeniably shrunk, down from the numerous chapters at one time scattered across the nation. This has occurred primarily because of Shamblin's encouragement of RF members out of state to move to Tennessee to become active members in her Remnant Fellowship "mother church" in Franklin. There has literally been a mass exodus of member families selling businesses, lands and homes to live in the Nashville metro area to reestablish themselves there. Those RF members leave behind churches, families and social circles in places all across our nation, with other RF members at various chapters still digging in and seeking to continue to proselytyze for RF. Ultimately, they will likely feel the pull to join the rest of "Zion" in Franklin. The creation of an economic collective system there in which Remnant actively networks to channel resources has been in full swing for at least 3 years now. RF members in HR positions at local firms and RF business owners actively assist their Remnant brethren to find jobs and means to live as they move in. Other cooperative ventures to support this move, including weekly newsletters used to coordinate collaborative efforts to swap, sell and barter within the group have been ongoing. What we are seeing here the consolidation of a new and abusive religious movement in one geographical area that relentlessly promotes itself on national venues where ever it can.
That leads to yet another important development: while it curses the outside world as being Satanic, Remnant's leadership has no problem in seeking to exploit the media within it to advance its claims. Various articles found in the lifestyles sections among newspapers nationwide sing the praises of the Weigh Down philosophy and feature glowing testimonies of RF members. Shamblin's marketing department has been actively seeking recruits in college campuses across the nation through direct appeals, as well as booths set up in women's expo shows in which RF members enthusiastically gush about their passion for God and "the message." Her theologically twisted program even ended up in at least one seminary (PDF file) as of spring, 2005.
The WDW's marketing department, led by Candace Anger, energetically seeks the attention of network TV producers to find new audiences and the "Oprah" show was the target last December of a letter-writing campaign hoping to get the WDW featured there. In August, 2005, the producers of the CBS Early Show fell for their ploy and featured Shamblin and a group of her followers in Atlanta in a TV piece. This past summer, 2006, the producers of NBC's Today Show and the Fox Network morning show Fox And Friends fell for WDW's image-driven seduction and gave them national air time talking about their "permanent weight loss" program. In the midst of all of the high-energy, breezy patter Shamblin and her associates pour forth on camera, nothing is ever said about Gwen's belief she's a prophet who thinks the whole world is an evil and demonic wasteland which she is morally and spiritually superior to - and neither do her "success stories" volunteer that side of their "testimony."
Clearly, RF's never ending campaign of deception and misrepresentation aimed at exalting Shamblin as the "prophet" God sent to the world to show us "the way" is not going to stop any time soon.
The average WDW adherent generally isn't been exposed to the full fury of the "global authority" of Gwen's beliefs initially. When they move to the far more hardline "Weigh Down Advanced" and "Exodus Change" materials, they are often jarred seriously as the "Remnant" gears try to engage the slower turning WDW cogs in the minds of WDW audiences. Another example of Remnant's uncontrolled zeal was seen on the Newschannel 5 Nashville bulletin board in response to an unflattering expose on Shamblin and her organization:
But, wait..Gwen has pointed out that it is because of the 'faithful Manhattan Remnant' that New York was spared..and only the WTC fell. WE should all be grateful for the Remnant in Manhattan and for Gwen as she has been pure..100% obedient..as has her family..the HOLY family. That's God's grace....because of these Remnant folk..9/11 wasn't as bad as it 'SHOULD HAVE BEEN'!!!!!!!
This anonymous Remnant member's bizarre post is based upon a Remnant "insider doctrine." In this case, the doctrine held by the group was the quietly adopted perception within RF that Shamblin had predicted judgment coming to America, and that the monstrous act of September 11's terrorist acts in New York City was a horror she had actually seen coming. This public presenting of this "insider doctrine" is so baldfacedly brazen that the sheer madness of it demonstrates how completely out of touch and over the top Remnant teaching really is and illustrates an ignorance of the cultic principle of "incremental disclosure" as well (showing increasingly more unorthodox, even fanciful, teachings a bit at a time and not all at once).
Lee Suddeath, described in a January, 2001 interview as "one of Shamblin's chief lieutenants" who, in listing what he had eaten that day, indicated that he was in a "lifelong program" (a reference to the WDW philosophy) and asked the interviewer "Who couldn't live with having some of those little candy bars every day for the rest of their life?" (34). Despite Suddeath's presence as a testimonial to the effectiveness of Shamblin's teaching as a representative "success story," his attitude in discussing his diet struck the interviewer, Rebecca Mead, as if he was "bragging about his chocolate intake." Noting that "pride is a sin" (yet another apparent citation from Shamblin's teaching), she raises an interesting question about just how really free Remnant members actually may be in regards to their food "idols" and "strongholds." While wanting to appear liberated from attachments to food, it could be argued that Suddeath's quip betrays just how thoroughly "ensnared" he may be to chocolate candy bars: this can arguably be interpreted as the existence of a food "idol" in his life (mind you, that's not our judgment, but the logical conclusion to the practical application of Shamblin's dietary doctrine on food "idols"). This is probably good evidence that, if he can keep such a conviction in Remnant, others can as well in a convenient double standard in the group. The hypocrisy.of such a position that is blithely glossed over by the steadfast insistence by Remnant members that this is part of their "freedom" achieved by their superior passion for God. However, a rose by any other name is still a rose, and the double standards of Remnant teaching here imply that others do exist (and they do).
When addressing such contradictory tensions, older and more seasoned cult groups know how to creatively enjoin members to "keep this to yourselves," but not all in Remnant, it would seem, have this wisdom, from Gwen Shamblin on down. Their zeal will overthrow everything they seek to establish. These factors are only a few of the several things that go on which will affect Remnant's future. It is indeed a story to watch.
Remnant Fellowship’s intentions, however good, are fatally flawed with a legalistic judgmentalism that will become more difficult to hide due to Gwen’s increasingly paranoiac and contentious direction. The WDW movement may have peaked due to this, and slowed RF’s growth substantially, but it has not stopped. It will attract a small, yet continual trickle of people who want a regimen of structure and a system of believing that offers the safety of rules and codes of conduct all framed in a pattern of vibrant Christian living, worship, teaching and activity that seems loving and accepting, meeting them "where they are." The vast majority of these are women, who usually are the center of a family's spiritual life, and whose transformation into vibrant, slimmed-down women is used as a powerful means of compelling their more religiously lax husbands to "get with God's program" or be confronted with warning after warning of facing God's judgment for not following or at least not resisting the total obedience of their newfound spirituality.
Such people fill churches everywhere and never stop to think just what such a lifestyle actually is, at best, a blind, benevolent legalism that has nothing to do with the Gospel of Jesus and the truly abundant life He gives by the Spirit. We believe that a small number of these people will somehow look past Gwen's most abrasive and polarizing commentary and see how this "fits" in their lives. In terms of numbers, they may be quite small, but that is even smaller comfort to families who will discover their wives, or husbands, or children, or best friends, or neighbors suddenly changing into judgmental, divisive people who scorn Christian churches, railing against the supposed "whoredoms" within them, and cutting themselves off from any who disagree or try to reason with them. But it will, after all of this, continue to seek to aggressively infiltrate the church and will attract those seeking structure and order in their personal chaos.
Gwen's descent into authoritarian leadership seem to have begun long before her WDW achievements. The carnal rush of national recognition, unbelievable success in her diet workshops, as well as the press of the throng about her led Gwen, I believe, to start believing that she really did have THE answer to all of the ills of the church and the world. She got a massively inflated view of herself and her philosophy and began to believe it was a divine message God had entrusted her to give to purify and cleanse the church (what it was turned out to be an all too familiar cultic legalism and judgmentalism). And her attacks and "sheep-stealing" she engages in show no signs of stopping. Such attacks continue to extend to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Christian Church He died for (Eph. 5:25) and promised would stand victoriously against all of the assaults against it (Matthew 16:18) - in light of our Lord's promises, we stand secure in our faith in His Word and Truth and know that she will utterly fail. While Gwen will ultimately find her movement bog down and falter, it will still command an audience and seek the souls of sincere and trusting Christians seeking a Christian solution to their weight loss and who will instead find themselves bowed over with Shamblin's false and deceptive teachings.
For this reason, we believe Remnant Fellowship to still be dangerous and divisive. Only by prayer, patience, and intentional efforts to warn the Body of Christ by loving outreach and careful dialogue with family and friends affected by it can Remnant’s advances be slowed or arrested. But one thing is abundantly clear and absolutely certain: the stark Biblical perspective God has upon how those claiming to be His appointed shepherds of His flock - His children - and who abuse, exploit and misuse them for their own selfish agendas and fancies is both sobering and cautionary. Since Gwen Shamblin and Remnant Fellowship leadership boldly stand forth with such claims and demand submission to their pastoral authority, they stand squarely in the bullseye of God's judgment for what they do:
Ezekiel 34:10-13, 15
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.
11 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.
12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.
13 And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.
15 I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD.
The day will come and perhaps sooner than we think, according to God's Word, in which Remnant Fellowship will be seized by a divine act of God's providential Lordship as He extends His hand out to take control from the prideful clutches of Gwen and delivers His suffering, blinded sheep from her control. The stewardship she arrogantly usurped will be reclaimed from her. This Biblical insight is without question a divine principle of God's truth even the prophetess cannot ignore or escape.
The best outcome would be for Gwen Shamblin and Remnant leadership to repent of its hateful condemnation of churches as evil, to meet with Christian leaders for an objective Biblical examination of their teachings and to at least recognize how unfair and unwarranted their divisive and heretical attitudes have been. I personally would be glad to be part of such an effort, as others. But given the history of the vast majority of cultic groups who consist of those who apostasized from Christian orthodoxy, I am not going to be holding my breath, so to speak. Still, the story of the Worldwide Church of God, a cultic group that miraculously turned toward Christian orthodoxy and now has largely repented of its' decades of antichristian activity is an example of how it could happen (35).
We truly do pray and long that such a day will come, that God's unbound Spirit will blow where He wills into the very hearts and minds of Gwen Shamblin and her organization and shake them to their core with a work of His power that cannot be done by man. We ask God that she realize that despite all of the distance she has created between herself, her congregations and the larger world that she is still loved and sought and desired back among those of her old family and friends who have withstood her, and that the Body of Christ, the very entity she has damnated, is where her zeal and passion belongs, informed by a real understanding of God's amazing grace. May it come quickly, Lord Jesus!
To the Remnant Nation:
Do you have comments or criticisms you want to leave with us?
Are there questions you'd like to ask in the strictest confidence?
if so, CLICK HERE!
(1) http://hometown.aol.com/cbarnella/myhomepage/index.html. This is the testimony of a former WDW coordinator named Cathy Barnella who was an eyewitness to Shamblin's first public invitation to joining with her Remnant Fellowship organization at the annual WDW convention called Desert Oasis 2000.
(2) Remnant Fellowship Handbook, p. 4
(3) Paul Martin, Cult Proofing Your Kids, page 22
(4) http://www.csj.org/studyindex/studycult/study_lifton2.htm. This is a link to an article written by Lifton in which he defines these eight criterion. Our summaries as given above are honest attempts to concisely and accurately describe these.
(5) Remnant Basics, audiotape, Tape 2: "This group of people we want to announce to the nation here in Nashville,. Tennessee is looking for opportunities now that we have gotten through the blood of Christ back into under this kingship, under this lordship. We are looking for ways that our will and the Bosses' will - because we've been, we've been flipping through the employee manual very diligently for hours on end. We spend two hours to three hours on Sunday morning, two to three hours on Wednesday night and we are in the Bible daily looking for ways of what our dear employer wants, because, my goodness, there's only two businesses out there, and we've checked it out. The other one is a lie. It's a deceit, and we are flipping through the employee manual, the Bible .." This seems to imply that the blood of Christ, in keeping with Remnant's skewed view of grace, would be the equivalent of a new employee's orientation session, with the real work of conforming to the employer's work structure ahead, based upon mandatory attention to the "employee manual." The whole feel of the talk is again works-oriented and utterly unbiblical.
(6) Remnant Fellowship Handbook, pp. 9 -10
(7) Knowledge That Leads To Eternal Life, p. 168-169: "But those who are a part of Jehovah's organization are presently enjoying the security of a spiritual paradise. Concerning them, Ezekiel prophesied: 'They will actually dwell in security, with no one to make them tremble.' - Ezekiel 34:28. Psalm 4:8." Again, this is the same kind of claim made by Remnant in it's "Rebuilding The Wall" and "New Jerusalem" themes, quoting Ezra 9:8-9.
(8) "Apostasy And Restoration", p. 14. This LDS pamphlet also assumes, as does Remnant, a massive apostacy of the Christian Church necessitating , of course, the divinely ordained emergence of the LDS Church to head up the effort to "restore his true church on earth."
(9) Eckankar: Ancient Wisdom For Today, pp. 106-108.
(10) Prophets Of The Apocalypse, p. 37. Koresh's deviant lusts and bizarre dreams filled with polygamous and abusive overtones became sanctified by his preaching as part of God's last days message. What is important to consider is not so much his scandalous and evil behavior but how he was able to convince the Branch Davidian movement around the world to accept it as part of a divinely ordained "new light"- at a time in which it was listlessly dying out in the aftermath of a failed false prophecy that God's Kingdom would emerge in 1960 given by the Branch Davidian's first leader, Benjamin Roden. The bold, brazen nature of Koresh's claims and cunningly twisted use of Bible prophecy and history became authoritative pronouncements of divine wisdom to a weary, disillusioned and essentially Biblically illiterate sect which brought them new hope and energy, and for David himself, an obedient flock and a harem of teenage girls called "queens."
(11) Remnant Fellowship, ibid, 42-45
(12) RF e-mailing on file, dated January 15, 2002
(13) Rise Above, pp. 171-177. David Shamblin, Gwen's husband, has exhibited an incredible ambivalence concerning Remnant Fellowship by his deeds and words. While not openly undermining her own authority, he displays very little to none of it according to many reliable reports of those who have interacted closely with Remnant's "mother church" in Franklin, Tennessee. We know of no articles, teachings, or instances in which David actually confirms any kind of spiritual authority over Gwen. He actually appears to have very little to no actual control or say in the operation and teaching of Remnant at all, even if given by Gwen a very nominal acknowledgment as her "authority" (p. 171). A reliable eyewitness report of family contentions in the Shamblin household over his lack of participation has been related. His support has always seemed forced, tentative and hesitant. Interestingly, Gwen writes that "God gives us the husband-wife experience so that we can once again know how passionate He is for us .. explains our covenant relationship with him .. (and) .. can be the best university or schooling of all," (173), but never really expands upon this marital pattern in her book or teaching that we are aware of to any degree at all.
(14) Weigh Down Workshop Advanced video, Week 10: "Total Obedience: The Best Of The Best" This one hour video, compiled of clips taken from the previous 9 weeks of video teaching, is essentially a review of the central truths Shamblin wants workshop attendees to grasp and walk away with. It is probably the most telling of them all, since Shamblin's passion for "doing the will of God" by "dying to self" is unmistakably revealed through the clip vignettes. One comes away from this video with the explicit challenge, even demand, to accept her beliefs - at pain of being found in spiritual rebellion - that Christianity is apostate due to sinful lust, that God is calling for a new restoration of the Church through a "remnant" and that Shamblin's "moderation" principles of "doing" must be carried over and adopted as a Christian lifestyle that merits God's grace. It is a summary that reveals just how seriously she takes herself to being a prophetic reformer or iconoclast, smashing the idols all around that she says offend God, and how far she has come from being the humble Memphis dietician she claimed to have been.
(15) ibid, Week 1: "Orientation"
(16) RF e-mailing on file, from November, 2001.
(17) Rise Above, p. 180
(18) ibid, p. 144
(19) Weigh Down Advanced video, Week 10: "Total Obedience"
(20) http://remnantfellowship.org/TheNewJerusalem.asp. This article evidently was authored by Gwen Shamblin herself, for the thought and tenor of the writing is far too much like her writing and thinking as seen in her Rise Above book and Remnant handbook.
(21) Remnant Fellowship Handbook, p 7.
(22) RF e-mailing on file, dated February 2, 2002
(24) E-mailing on file, dated August 8, 1998
(25) E-mailing on file, dated March 26, 1998
(26) The Unseen Shore, pp. 141-142
(27) http://www.trancenet.org/personal/kellet.shtml.
(28) The Children of God, pp. 10, 99-102
(29) Blind Faith, pp. 87, 102
(30) Patterson testimony on file: her story may also be accessed at http://www.geocities.com/heather_patterson7/testimony.htm
(31) Nichols testimony on file
(32) Brooks testimony on file
(33) Smith testimony on file
(34) http://www.rebeccamead.com/2001/2001_01_15_art_slim.htm. Some revealing and cautionary information about Shamblin and her worldview is noted by Mead, who writes for The New Yorker magazine - one particularly interesting portion concerns how her WDW teaching is directly related to her denial of the Trinity: " .. observers expressed the hope that Shamblin, who has had no theological training, simply didn't realize that her view of the Trinity amounted to heresy. Shamblins says that she meant exactly what she said. 'There is a hierarchy, absolutely,' she told me. 'Look at Jesus on the Cross. Who did he cry out to when he said, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me" -- himself?' Indeed, the inequality of God and Jesus is the basis of the Weigh Down philosophy: 'The only way that I could talk people into not going into the pantry at ten o'clock at night was to help them see that even God's son was so humble and knew that God was so great, and that we are to follow him.'"
(35) For the entire wonderful story, read Joseph Tkach's Transformed By Truth (Multnomah 1997). Tkach was the son of the handpicked successor to Herbert Armstrong, founder of the cultic movement, Joseph Tkach senior, and it is indeed encouraging to know that such miracles can yet happen today.
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Red Hat Extends EMEA Partner Program with New Premier Level
Open source leader refines structure of its EMEA Partner Program; Redefines Advanced and Premier-level accreditations to better match market demand
ミュンヘン — 2008年 10月 22日 —
Red Hat, Inc. (NYSE: RHT), the world's leading provider of open source solutions, today announced that it has expanded its successful Partner Program in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) with the launch of a new membership level, the Premier Business Partner. With the addition of this partner level, the Red Hat Partner Program in EMEA is now a three-tiered program designed to offer partners the resources to grow their open source practices and business opportunities in the EMEA region.
The redesigned Red Hat Partner Progam has been organized to meet both the needs of the channel business in EMEA and the expectations of Red Hat's growing customer base in the region. For customers, the three membership levels will greatly simplify the identification of Red Hat partners offering certified expertise and a track record of success. The three membership levels are:
● Red Hat Ready Partner - Entry level into the partner program, or for partners with opportunity-driven Red Hat / JBoss business.
● Red Hat Advanced Business Partners - Qualified partners with Red Hat certified expertise and a track record with successful Red Hat / JBoss projects.
● Red Hat Premier Business Partners - Expert-level business partners with a significant focus on Red Hat/JBoss-related projects. Red Hat Premier Business Partners are well-trained and highly committed to working closely with Red Hat on business opportunites. They lead with top-level services and customer satisfaction.
In addition to the three levels of membership for the Red Hat Partner Program, there are two areas of partner specialization - "Infrastructure" and "Middleware" - designed to allow customers to easily identify Red Hat Partners that hold the desired subject matter expertise.
"With the new additions to the program, we are providing our partners across EMEA with a good partnering environment based on objective criteria and a motivational structure that justifies gradual and reasonable investments into their Red Hat related business," said Petra Heinrich, director, Channels EMEA at Red Hat. "Eventually, we expect that these program changes will result in an increasingly qualified partner base and therefore a strong Red Hat channel, meeting market demands."
Red Hat's Partner Program is based on benefits and requirements for each level of membership. As partners demonstrate increased committment, contribution and competence, more benefits are made available and higher membership accreditation can be achieved. The three-tiered program structure means that partners can gradually increase their skill set, as their Red Hat / JBoss-related business grows.
To learn more about Red Hat's partner program in EMEA, visit www.europe.redhat.com/partners.
For more information about Red Hat, visit www.redhat.com. For more news, more often, visit www.press.redhat.com.
Red Hat, the world's leading open source solutions provider, is head quartered in Raleigh, NC with over 60 offices spanning the globe. CIOs have ranked Red Hat first for value in Enterprise Software for four consecutive years in the CIO Insight Magazine Vendor Value survey. Red Hat provides high-quality, affordable technology with its operating system platform, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, together with applications, management and Services Oriented Architecture (SOA) solutions, including the JBoss Enterprise Middleware Suite. Red Hat also offers support, training and consulting services to its customers worldwide. Learn more: http://www.redhat.com.
Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including: risks related to the integration of acquisitions; the ability of the Company to effectively compete and the ability to market successfully acquired technologies and products; the inability to adequately protect Company intellectual property and the potential for infringement or breach of license claims of or relating to third party intellectual property; risks related to data and information security vulnerabilities; ineffective management of, and control over, the Company's growth and international operations; adverse results in litigation; and changes in and a dependence on key personnel, as well as other factors contained in our most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (copies of which may be accessed through the Securities and Exchange Commission's Web site at http://www.sec.gov), including those found therein under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations". In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes, and results may differ materially because of more general factors including (without limitation) general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic conditions, and governmental and public policy changes. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of the press release.
LINUX is a trademark of Linus Torvalds. RED HAT® and JBOSS® are registered trademarks of Red Hat, Inc. and its subsidiaries in the US and other countries.
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Rare look at stockpile handouts shows which states got ventilators, masks amid coronavirus
Dinah Voyles Pulver and Erin Mansfield USA TODAY Network
More than half the nearly 8,000 ventilators the federal stockpile sent to states to fight the coronavirus pandemic went to New York, while the rest were split among 14 other states and territories, a report from the federal government shows.
The report was released Wednesday by the U.S. House Oversight Committee amid criticism from its chairwoman that states with the biggest COVID-19 problems didn’t get enough supplies.
It gives the nation its closest look yet at how the Strategic National Stockpile distributed much-needed ventilators, N95 respirators, surgical masks and other protective equipment across the country since the pandemic began.
The stockpile, which is operated within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, distributed the ventilators based on requests from areas with high case counts.
New York received 4,400 ventilators. The remaining 3,520 went to places like New Jersey, Washington, Michigan, Illinois and Florida.
Shipments of other personal protective equipment — like masks, gloves, face shields and gowns — were allocated on a per capita basis after hospitals reported critical shortages. States with the fewest cases of coronavirus got the biggest per capita distributions of supplies, a USA TODAY Network analysis found.
Alaska and Wyoming, for example, each received more than 70,000 of the N95 respirator masks thought to be the best protection for medical workers, the report shows. Neither state had more than 230 cases by Thursday, according to the latest figures by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s more than 300 respirators for each COVID-19 patient.
Meanwhile, the state of New York — with upwards of 150,000 people testing positive and hospitals desperate for supplies — received just seven N95 masks per coronavirus patient.
New York had more cases than 40 other states combined, Thursday’s CDC data showed. Those states got a total of more than 7.6 million N95 masks, while New York received around 1.1 million. New York City alone had requested double that number from the stockpile.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has repeatedly begged the federal government for more supplies, estimating his state would need 30,000 ventilators. U.S. President Trump has questioned that number.
"We’ll need what we need," Cuomo said at a briefing last week. "I have no desire to acquire more ventilators than we need."
Although the pandemic sparked the demand for medical supplies, hospitals can use them to treat all patients, not just those infected with the coronavirus.
In total, the federal government sent the following supplies to U.S. states and territories between mid-March and early April:
11.7 million N95 masks 26.5 million surgical masks 5.3 million face shields 4.4 million surgical gowns 22.6 million gloves 7,920 ventilators
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The numbers of what was actually distributed have raised fears among stakeholders that states and medical providers will continue to face shortages of critical equipment to keep patients and medical workers alive.
The distributions depleted about 90% of the stockpile’s supplies of personal protective equipment. The remaining 10% is reserved for the protection of federal workers.
“It appears that the administration is leaving states to fend for themselves, to scour the open market for these scarce supplies, and to compete with each other and federal agencies in a chaotic, free-for-all bidding war,” New York Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, said in a statement Wednesday.
Health and Human Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency distributed supplies in the “most equitable way possible for a nationwide response taking into account population and need for areas of high transmission,” said a department official who declined to be identified without authorization.
Efforts to procure additional supplies are underway, according to Health and Human Services, which received $16 billion in the federal coronavirus relief plan to restock critical supplies including masks, respirators and pharmaceuticals.
The department has awarded contracts to buy another 600 million N95 respirators over the next 18 months and has ordered additional ventilators and protective suits.
First-of-its-kind peek at stockpile
This is the first time such an accounting of the stockpile has been made publicly available. Even members of Congress have struggled to obtain such a list.
Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, who chairs a House appropriations committee subcommittee overseeing the stockpile’s annual budget, said she tried for weeks to get a list of supplies available from and distributed by the stockpile.
Instead she learned about the list from a USA TODAY Network reporter on Wednesday.
“It has been an unending series of stonewalling, obfuscation and essentially not a willingness to give us any report about what’s happening,” said DeLauro, a Democrat.
What’s in the stockpile and where it’s going should be “very simple questions,” DeLauro said. “I don’t want you to give me proprietary information. Tell us what you have and what you needed and where it’s going. These are very simple questions.”
In late-March, hospitals across the country were running out of the crucial respirators and other supplies they needed not only to protect staff while treating coronavirus patients, but also to protect other patients with infectious diseases, immune disorders, undergoing chemotherapy or being treated in an emergency room.
Supplies had plummeted nationwide, in part because companies had shipped supplies to other countries hit first by coronavirus and in part because imports dropped as manufacturers in China were hit by the coronavirus. Meanwhile demand skyrocketed as countries across the globe scrambled to stock up.
That’s when the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology surveyed more than 1,100 health care facilities in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. More than 20% reported having no N95 respirators and another 28% said they were almost out. The survey also noted shortages of face shields and other masks.
Ann Marie Pettis, the association’s president elect, said the flow of supplies had “not functioned how one would expect and how it needed to function.”
“When this is over, it’s going to be a huge focus,” she said. “We really need to get to the bottom of how we could have improved that."
Funding woes
In addition to DeLauro, Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole, a Republican, also expressed concern this week about the stockpile’s available supplies and distribution. Both serve on the subcommittee on labor, health and human services, education and related services.
“We need to have a rational way to distribute limited resources in times of crisis,” Cole said. “Americans are actually pretty good in a crisis but it would help to have more of a system in place.”
The pandemic has raised the question of what’s in the stockpile and whether it was enough, Cole said, adding that the issue “needs to get more attention at all levels.”
Consistent increases to the stockpile’s budget over the past five years have been completely bi-partisan, he said.
The stockpile’s budget reached a high of $596 million in 2010, then dropped year after year until reaching a low of $477 million in 2013. Much of the funding was restored the following year, but the budget stayed flat at about $575 million through 2018 – the same year it was transferred from the CDC to the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response.
The 2020 budget appropriation was $705 million.
“There is never enough money there for everything,” said Deborah Levy, chair of epidemiology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, who oversaw the stockpile as acting division director under the CDC in 2013-2014, in an interview with the USA TODAY Network last week.
“You need to decide what the threat is, what the cost is, what can be negotiated with companies,” Levy said at the time.
Both Cole and DeLauro said they have questions about the distributions to the states.
DeLauro said one of her constituents had called her Wednesday — one of the many expressing fear about the inadequate supply of personal protective equipment. This time it was a local fire chief asking if he could “just vent,” she said.
“He said ‘I can’t get any of this protective equipment, and my people are going in and out of facilities,’” DeLauro said. He told her he was at his “wit’s end.”
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Joshua W. Newman
Home Professionals Joshua W. Newman
Multimedia, Perspectives, News & Events
Josh is a member of the firm's Intellectual Property Litigation Group. His experience involves advising clients in matters relating to copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets. He assists clients in developing and maintaining their intellectual property rights, both foreign and domestic, with special emphasis on trademark clearance and availability, filing and prosecution of trademark applications, preparation of trademark license agreements, opposition proceedings, and trademark infringement. Josh also assists clients in protecting their Internet brand identity through trademark enforcement activities directed to domain name issues, privacy policies and website terms of use.
University of Iowa College of Law, J.D., Note & Comment Editor, Journal of Corporation Law
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2005, B.S., highest honors
Professional Admissions & Qualifications
Court Admissions
U.S. District Court - Northern District of Illinois
Chicago Bar Association Illinois State Bar Association International Trademark Association
Selected to the Illinois Super Lawyers Rising Stars list for Intellectual Property, 2020
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pig...
Apparently, French football legend and president of UEFA, Michel Platini is risking the anger of the major European leagues by suggesting that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is held in winter rather than in the spring.
As the BBC reports:
The Frenchman's stance puts him in direct opposition to some of Europe's biggest leagues and clubs, who want the event to be staged in May. The World Cup is usually held in June and July, but Fifa has been told that Qatar's searing summer temperatures will put players' health at risk. Platini said: "It'll never be in April, May or June. It will be in winter." He added the 2022 Champions League semi-finals and final could be moved to June if necessary, saying the clubs would accept whatever decision was made. "It's not the clubs that are playing, it's the players and it's not possible to play in May when it's 40 degrees," said Platini, 59.
This is the same Michel Platini who was a steadfast advocate of Qatar's bid for the Summer World Cup in the first place. This is also the same Michel Platini who has refused to return the £16,000 watch that was gifted to him by the Brazilian Football Confederation that even FIFA decided that the gift breached it's code of ethics. Yes... apparently FIFA does have a code of ethics, and apparently even they thought a line had been crossed. Platini disagreed.
"I'm a well-educated person. I don't return gifts."
Well, that's alright then. I'm glad we cleared the ethics of that all up.
Of course, the real question in all of this is how a country with no football infrastructure or tradition, an appalling record in human rights and summer temperatures in excess of 50C was awarded the World Cup in the first place..... but we all know the answer to that, don't we? It's apparently now a given that the tournament can't be played in the summer, but not that it should be moved somewhere more sensible. The fat cats are prepared to turn the football calendar on its head rather than reverse their absurd decision that put them in this position in the first place.
Platini is apparently amongst the preferred candidates to succeed Sepp Blatter when that greedy, money-grubbing snake finally shuffles off this mortal coil,
But of course he is. It sounds like he'll fit right in with his snout in the biggest trough in world football. Champagne! Champagne for everyone!
He was some player though, eh?
This. The strange tale of Chuck Blazer.
"With the case of the former Fifa executive Chuck Blazer, happily, there is no such disappointment. The FBI appears to have verified that the erstwhile ExCo member and Concacaf general secretary retained two luxury Trump Tower apartments: one for himself and one for his cats". This man also ran up a $29m AmEx bill all in service to football and whilst zooming around on a mobility scooter made necessary by a fat cat diet of rich food in high end restaurants. You couldn't make it up.
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Making 100 cities more resilient: Swiss Re supports Rockefeller commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative
Published on: 24 Sep 2013 Estimated time to read this article: 5 min read
Pledge will support at least 100 cities in building resilience to natural disasters and other risks.
President Bill Clinton announced during the opening plenary of the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting on 24 September in New York that Swiss Re, the Rockefeller Foundation and two other partners will launch a commitment to support 100 cities around the world to become more resilient.
A part of the 100 Resilient Cities Centennial Challenge, the goal is to support at least 100 cities in the next three years to appoint Chief Resilience Officers (CRO), create resilience strategies, and establish a CRO support network to share information and best practices.
The commitment will be realized through a new not-for-profit organization established by The Rockefeller Foundation, which will coordinate the network of cities and the platform of services offered to network members.
Building resilience city-by-city
Powered by a USD 100 million pledge to build urban resilience from the Rockefeller Foundation, the 100 Resilient Cities network will, over time, grow to include at least 100 cities from around the world. 500 cities have been invited to apply. 20-25 cities will be invited to join the network in December of this year, as part of the first round.
The four commitment partners, The Rockefeller Foundation, Swiss Re, AIA/Architecture for Humanity, and software company Palantir will contribute. Swiss Re's contribution will consist of practical risk management insight, and access to risk assessment and risk financing tools. This includes CatNet®, a state-of-the-art risk assessment software, which will be offered to the cities free of charge. We will also bring our expertise to bear in helping to define the role of the Chief Resilience Officer, and support the development of the CRO network.
Addressing the risks
The launch of the 100 Resilient Cities commitment follows Swiss Re's launch of the publication Mind the risk, adding to the dialogue at Climate Week and other forums. Martyn Parker, Chairman Global Partnerships, representing Swiss Re at CGI said, "The 100 Resilient Cities commitment can be described as an answer to the risks outlined in the report. This challenge is an exceptional vehicle to work with these cities to identify their risks and deliver insurance solutions reducing the financial exposure of their citizens while making their communities more resilient."
Swiss Re Global Partnerships Chairman Martyn Parker (3rd from right) with President Bill Clinton
Open slide in overlay
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Home/Brisbane Boatbuilders
Brisbane BoatbuildersNeville Turbit2020-10-25T09:43:35+10:00
The Early Queensland Boatbuilders
While they may have been derided as lacking in spectacle, the skiff-type 18s had flourished.
NSW builders, in particular, W.J.Douglass of Narrabeen and Billy Fisher of La Perouse had kept a steady stream of new boats coming into the League, but many of the better boats still came from those Queensland builders whose boats had dominated the interstates in both the 16-footer and 18-footer classes since the 1920s.
Queensland actually had a long history in 18-footers and regularly raced 18-footer types as far back as 1885.
One of the better builders of the 1890s was Hugh Anderson of Kangaroo Point who produced many fine craft such as the 18s Victoria (1894 renamed Inez1895), the inter-colonial champion Britannia (1895) and Imperial (1898). His influence was not as great as it might have been. He sustained injuries while launching ‘Mowey’ Earle’s new rater M.P.E. in September 1899 and died aged 39 in October the following year.
J.H. ‘Jack’ Whereat had begun building in the 1880s and produced a number of boats in all classes that challenged NSW yachtsmen. As well as his champion 22s and 24s which is another story altogether, he had built many crack 18s, notably, Vera (1893) Ou-la-lah II (1923) renamed Marjorie 1924, Defiance (1925) and Kiwi (1929).
Ron Wright, Norman R Wright and Norman J Wright
Jack Whereat’s son Alf (Toby) Whereat had revolutionised the 16s when he produced the first no-heel 16-footer and later built the revolutionary Aberdare but did not live long enough to see the cause and effect of her career. He caught pneumonia shortly after returning from Hobart where he sailed in a bitterly cold 16-footer championship and died on 29 December 1932 aged 46. A memorial to him stands outside the Brisbane Sailing Squadron near Vic Lucas Park Bulimba.
Much had been made of Aberdare and several attempts were made to replicate her but with no plans, or half-models to work from whatever input he’s put into her was lost. The Whereat’s firm carried on and produced the Aberdare copies. The Mistake (1933) built by Lance Watts, Fourex (1934), a boat funded partly by brewers Castlemaine Perkins and Valora (1935) but no one was sure how close they were to the original. In 1944 lines were taken off her hull and Aberdare Too was built. which met with some success, but nothing like the impact of the original. When Jack Whereat died in 1938, the business folded.
Whereat’s foreman Charlie Crowley then set up and produced several excellent 18s the pick of them being Malvina (1937) for Joe Mercer and St George (1938) for Stan Sheldon, both of the NSW League and Ardath (1938) for Brisbane owner Bob Dath.
Most influential of all was Norman R Wright and later his sons Ron and Norman Jnr. Wright Snr has served his time with J.H.Whereat and had set up on his own account in 1909. He soon made a reputation for building fast yachts of all types. Among many fine 18-footers was Thelma III built in 1919 and sold the following year to Lan Taylor who raced her with the Sydney Flying Squadron under the name Keriki. The first ‘modern’ 18-footer to come out of the Wright yard was Joyce III (1937) later purchase by Mark Foy and renamed Flying Fish., followed by the champion Taree (1937) for Bill Scahill of the NSW League and Joyce IV (1938). The success of Taree kept the order for 18s flowing into Wright’s yard for the next two decades. His input into Norman Wright Jnr.’s post-war 6-foot beamers cannot be underestimated.
Lance Watts and Alec Wright, younger brother of Norman R Wright, traded as Watts and Wright from around 1934. Watts reputation as a helmsman was second to none and the boats he produced were always competitive. They built a lot of excellent 12-footers and 16-footers and like most other Brisbane builders were heavily involved with the prestigious 21-footer Restricted class. Their first 18-footer was Marjorie (the third), the Australian champion in 1940 and 1941. The firm also built her Sydney owners another Marjorie known as Marjorie Too in 1948.
Their most prolific period was post-war when their revolutionary small 18-footer Culex II (1947) and Culex III (1949) proved so competitive. They also built three Alstar’s (1947, 1950 and 1955), J.M.H. (1950) and with Harold Watts and Eric Wright, Lance’s and Alec’s sons, two named Buccaneer (1950 and 1955).
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CDK4-linked Melanoma
Cdk4 Linked Melanoma
The CDK4 gene encodes for cyclin-dependent kinase 4, an enzyme involved in cell cycle regulation. Germline mutations of the CDK4 gene have been associated with an increased susceptibility to cutaneous malignant melanoma. In this context, the term CDK4-linked melanoma has been defined. Furthermore, the vast majority of melanomas is characterized by dysregulations of the CDK4 pathway. They are not usually referred to as CDK4-linked melanoma, but they certainly highlight the relevance of cyclin-dependent kinase 4 in the pathogenesis of melanoma and make it an interesting target for molecular-targeted therapies.
CDK4 mutations are associated with a predisposition to melanocytic skin lesions, which may or may not be malignant [1]. While the majority of affected individuals is diagnosed with a single malignant lesion and several atypical nevi, about 40% of all patients develop multiple primary melanomas [2] [3]. Accordingly, patients often present with numerous skin lesions. They may also report that additional nevi or tumors have previously been removed.
CDK4-linked melanomas may develop on any area of the skin but are most commonly found on the limbs and trunk. Most are superficial spreading melanomas, which appear as flat, slowly growing lesions with irregular pigmentation and borders. They tend to enlarge in a radial manner [4]. While CDK4-linked lentigo maligna and nodular melanoma have also been reported, acral lentiginous melanoma has not yet been observed in carriers of CDK4 mutations [3]. Nevertheless, these epidemiological data suggest a wide variety in the presentation of CDK4-linked melanoma and point out that a clinical diagnosis of the disease is not feasible.
The skin may blister and scab over. Your health care provider may take a sample or culture from your skin or do a blood test to identify the bacteria causing infection. Treatment is with antibiotics. [medlineplus.gov]
However, until you see your doctor, you can wash the injured area with soap and water and place a cool, damp cloth over the affected area for relief. [mayoclinic.org]
Make sure it heals over the next few days. Some injuries are at greater risk for cellulitis than others. [webmd.com]
The first symptoms of cellulitis are redness, pain, and tenderness over an area of skin. These symptoms are caused both by the bacteria themselves and by the body’s attempts to fight the infection. [merckmanuals.com]
This may be helpful to show changes over time. Any suspicious moles or other skin changes should be removed by a doctor so the tissue can be analyzed under a microscope. [cancer.net]
Skin Lesion
CDK4 mutations are associated with a predisposition to melanocytic skin lesions, which may or may not be malignant. [symptoma.com]
Medical Center HOW THE EXPERTS TREAT HEMATOLOGIC MALIGNANCIES More information Clinical characteristics Skin Cancer Fernando Vega, MD Seattle Healing Arts Clinical characteristics Precancerous lesions Common skin cancers ACTINIC KERATOSIS Precancerous skin [healthdocbox.com]
The gene is located on the long arm of chromosome 12 and comprises about 8.2 kb and eight exons. [symptoma.com]
A detailed personal and familial history should be obtained to recognize the patient's predisposition to melanoma development and the genetic component in it. In this context, it should be noted that the penetrance of pathological CDK4 mutations is incomplete: The results of genealogical analyses may not indicate clear-cut Mendelian inheritance. Additionally, carriers of CDK4 mutations may not have been diagnosed with cutaneous melanoma but rather present with numerous atypical nevi, and intrafamilial differences regarding the age at onset of skin cancer may not allow for the unequivocal classification of living family members as affected or unaffected. While CDK4-linked melanoma is defined as an early-onset disease, with most patients being diagnosed in mid-adulthood, first melanomas have been reported to develop as late as in the ninth decade of life [3].
It is of major importance to realize a thorough dermatological examination. The presence of multiple clinically atypical nevi and/or primary melanomas should raise suspicion as to a genetic predisposition. Atypical nevi are asymmetric macular or maculopapular lesions that measure >5 mm in diameter, show irregular pigmentation patterns and ill-defined borders [2] [3]. Microscopic and immunohistochemical analyses are required to characterize single lesions, with diagnostic criteria applied to identify malignancy and histological subtypes not being different from those set in the general melanoma classification of the World Health Organization [4]. Nevertheless, these findings don't shed any light on the genetic causes of melanoma development.
Thus, in order to confirm the diagnosis of CDK4-linked melanoma, molecular biological studies have to be carried out. Due to the rarity of CDK4 mutations, most patients are initially tested for mutations of the CDKN2A gene. CDKN2A-linked melanoma is phenotypically indistinguishable from CDK4-linked disease but is much more common. In the absence of CDKN2A mutations, the CDK4 gene should be sequenced [2].
While the standard therapy of CDK4-linked melanoma continues to be the surgical resection of the tumor, distinct compounds are currently on trial for their efficacy in treating the disease [1] [5]. In detail, inhibitors of cyclin-dependent kinase 4 are developed to specifically downregulate the overactivated pathway involving cyclin-dependent kinase 4, its inhibitor p16, and retinoblastoma protein. Compounds that solely acted on cyclin-dependent kinase 4 have not yet been identified, but several inhibitors of cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6 have been extensively characterized. Three - ribociclib, palbociclib, and abemaciclib - have been approved for cancer therapy. They are used to treat breast cancer; evidence regarding their efficacy in melanoma patients has yet to be provided. The results of preliminary studies are encouraging, though, and whenever possible, members of families known to harbor CDK4 mutations should be included in clinical trials [6] [7].
Otherwise, recommendations for the treatment of CDK4-linked melanoma correspond to those given for cutaneous malignant melanoma in general [8] [9].
Causal treatment is not available, and patients carrying pathological CDK4 mutations are likely to develop additional skin lesions, even if a single tumor can successfully be removed. New malignancies have to be diagnosed early in order to prevent tissue invasion and metastasis, and to improve the outcome in affected individuals [10]. They should undergo regular follow-ups and preventive dermatological examinations, and be informed about the relevance of these measures: CDK4-linked melanoma has been reported to form metastases and lead to death [2].
The CDK4 gene encodes for cyclin-dependent kinase 4, the catalytic subunit of a serine-threonine kinase involved the regulation of the cell cycle. The gene is located on the long arm of chromosome 12 and comprises about 8.2 kb and eight exons. So far, all mutations related to an increased susceptibility to melanoma affect an arginine residue at amino acid position 24: In almost two-thirds of families known to carry pathological mutations of the CDK4 gene, the respective arginine residue is replaced by the amino acid histidine. In one-third of affected families, a lysine residue replaces arginine at position 24 [3]. Finally, a substitution of arginine by leucine, a non-basic amino acid, has been detected in a single family [1]. Genealogical analyses suggest an autosomal dominant inheritance of CDK4-related melanoma [2].
Malignant melanoma is a common type of skin cancer [10]. It has been estimated that 5-10% of all cases occur in a familial setting, and three genes have been identified as major contributors to increased susceptibility. One of them is the CDKN2A gene. CDKN2A mutations have a high penetrance and account for 20-40% of the aforementioned familial cases [11]. By contrast, germline mutations of the CDK4 gene have only been detected in a total of 18 families with an increased incidence of melanoma [1] [3]. The results of haplotype analyses argue against a common founder but rather suggest independent mutational events in families originating from different geographical regions [2]. With regard to the latter, the respective families reside in distinct European countries, Australia and the United States. In total, 62 of 89 family members who tested positive for CDK4 mutations were diagnosed with melanoma, and at the time of the first diagnosis of skin cancer, they had a mean age of 40 years. These data may suggest pathological variants of the CDK4 gene to have a penetrance of about 70%, but a large proportion of the remaining 27 individuals had clinically atypical nevi. Thus, the overall penetrance is likely >70% [3]. Of note, the third gene presumably implicated in increased susceptibility to melanoma is the MC1R gene [11]. Contrary to CDK4 and CDKN2A, MC1R is classified as a low-risk susceptibility gene [3].
Cyclin-dependent kinase 4 is required for the progression through the G1 phase of the cell cycle. Cyclin-dependent kinase 4 is the catalytic subunit of a complex formed with D-type cyclins, which fulfill regulatory functions. In order to avoid an accelerated progression through the G1 phase - which would be favoring tumor development -, cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p16 binds to this complex and lessens its activity. However, CDK4 mutations predisposing to melanoma are associated with an alteration of the p16 binding site of cyclin-dependent kinase 4 [12]. This results in an increased activity of the cyclin-dependent kinase 4/D-type cyclin complex [13].
p16 is encoded by the CDKN2A gene, which is another high-risk susceptibility gene for melanoma. Pathological mutations of the CDKN2A gene result in the inability of p16 to induce G1 cell cycle arrest, much like CDK4 mutations do. What's more, p16 depends on retinoblastoma protein, a tumor suppressor which is phosphorylated and deactivated by cyclin-dependent kinase 4. Overactivation of the pathway is thus avoided by a negative feedback loop comprising:
The phosphorylation and deactivation of retinoblastoma protein by cyclin-dependent kinase 4
The suppression of the inhibition of p16 by retinoblastoma protein in case of its phosphorylation
The inhibition of cyclin-dependent kinase 4 by p16
Any interruption of this feedback loop favors the cell's progression to the S phase of the cell cycle. It has therefore been postulated that activating mutations of CDK4 as well as inactivating mutations of CDKN2A and RB1 trigger a common pathway of cancerogenesis [13]. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that CDK4-linked melanoma is phenotypically indistinguishable from CDKN2A-linked skin cancer [3].
It should further be noted that the CDK4 pathway is dysregulated in about 90% of all melanomas, regardless of mutations of the CDK4 gene [13]. Common driver mutations in malignant melanomas affect the BRAF and NRAS genes, and eventually cause an overexpression of D-type cyclins. The latter enhances CDK4-mediated signaling as depicted above. Consequently, the mechanisms described in this paragraph are of pathophysiological and therapeutic relevance not only for CDK4-linked melanoma but also for more common types of malignant melanoma.
Members of families known to harbor CDK4 mutations should be offered genetic testing. In case of positive results, they should be included in surveillance programs designed to detect skin cancer long before they reach the required age. CDK4-linked melanoma has been diagnosed in an 18-year-old patient, so regular dermatological examinations should be offered from adolescence [3]. Additionally, affected individuals should receive skin self-examination education [10].
Neither genetic nor environmental factors that increased the likelihood of developing cutaneous malignancies in case of pathological CDK4 mutations have been identified so far. Nevertheless, it may be assumed that excess exposure to sunlight and ultraviolet radiation may induce DNA damage that eventually potentiates preexisting disorders of cell cycle regulation [8] [10]. Carriers of pathological variants of CDK4 should therefore be recommended to use sunscreen, to wear long-sleeved clothes and wide-brimmed hats, and to avoid the full midday sun.
Both personal and familial medical histories affect an individual patient's risk to develop cutaneous melanoma. The risk augments by 5-8% in case of a previous diagnosis of skin cancer and further increases in those with a positive family history [11]. The latter may due to the presence of high-risk susceptibility genes like variants of CDK4: Germline mutations of the CDK4 gene strongly predispose to cutaneous melanoma [12]. The respective type of skin cancer may be referred to as CDK4-linked melanoma or cutaneous malignant melanoma 3, and is a very rare disease. The clinical presentation of CDK4-linked melanoma is non-specific, so genetic studies have to be realized to confirm the diagnosis.
Malignant melanoma is a common type of skin cancer. Both environmental and genetic factors are implicated in the development of this type of cutaneous malignancy: On the one hand, people with fair skin, blonde or red hair, and freckles have an increased risk of developing melanoma. Exposure to sunlight and ultraviolet radiation further augments an individual person's risk. On the other hand, patients may be genetically predisposed to cutaneous malignant melanoma. Families residing in Europe, Australia, and North America have been shown to harbor mutations in the CDK4 gene, to pass the respective gene from generation to generation, and to thereby inherit an increased susceptibility to skin cancer and non-cancerous dermatological lesions. In detail, affected family members are prone to develop clinically atypical nevi, which measure >5 mm in diameter, show irregular pigmentation patterns and ill-defined borders, and malignant tumors of the skin. The latter typically appear as flat, slowly growing lesions with irregular pigmentation and borders, but they may also grow as rapidly expanding, ulcerating nodules.
The diagnosis of CDK4-related melanoma requires genetic analyses and the identification of the causal mutation in the CDK4 gene. Beyond that, the characterization of single lesions is realized by means of histological studies. It is of major importance to recognize malignant lesions during early stages, so carriers of CDK4 mutations should participate in surveillance programs and learn how to self-examine their skin. This way, it is possible to reduce the likelihood of tissue invasion, metastatic spread, and death from skin cancer.
Bottillo I, La Starza R, Radio FC, et al. A novel germline mutation in CDK4 codon 24 associated to familial melanoma. Clin Genet. 2018; 93(4):934-935.
Molven A, Grimstvedt MB, Steine SJ, et al. A large Norwegian family with inherited malignant melanoma, multiple atypical nevi, and CDK4 mutation. Genes Chromosomes Cancer. 2005; 44(1):10-18.
Puntervoll HE, Yang XR, Vetti HH, et al. Melanoma prone families with CDK4 germline mutation: phenotypic profile and associations with MC1R variants. J Med Genet. 2013; 50(4):264-270.
Scolyer RA, Long GV, Thompson JF. Evolving concepts in melanoma classification and their relevance to multidisciplinary melanoma patient care. Mol Oncol. 2011; 5(2):124-136.
Mahgoub T, Eustace AJ, Collins DM, Walsh N, O'Donovan N, Crown J. Kinase inhibitor screening identifies CDK4 as a potential therapeutic target for melanoma. Int J Oncol. 2015; 47(3):900-908.
Martin CA, Cullinane C, Kirby L, et al. Palbociclib synergizes with BRAF and MEK inhibitors in treatment naïve melanoma but not after the development of BRAF inhibitor resistance. Int J Cancer. 2018; 142(10):2139-2152.
Patnaik A, Rosen LS, Tolaney SM, et al. Efficacy and Safety of Abemaciclib, an Inhibitor of CDK4 and CDK6, for Patients with Breast Cancer, Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, and Other Solid Tumors. Cancer Discov. 2016; 6(7):740-753.
Rozeman EA, Dekker TJA, Haanen J, Blank CU. Advanced Melanoma: Current Treatment Options, Biomarkers, and Future Perspectives. Am J Clin Dermatol. 2017.
Ward WH, Farma JM, eds. Cutaneous Melanoma: Etiology and Therapy. Brisbane (AU): Codon Publications; 2017.
Potrony M, Badenas C, Aguilera P, et al. Update in genetic susceptibility in melanoma. Ann Transl Med. 2015; 3(15):210.
DE Simone P, Valiante M, Silipo V. Familial melanoma and multiple primary melanoma. G Ital Dermatol Venereol. 2017; 152(3):262-265.
Zuo L, Weger J, Yang Q, et al. Germline mutations in the p16INK4a binding domain of CDK4 in familial melanoma. Nat Genet. 1996; 12(1):97-99.
Sheppard KE, McArthur GA. The cell-cycle regulator CDK4: an emerging therapeutic target in melanoma. Clin Cancer Res. 2013; 19(19):5320-5328.
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Convergence: Housing, Race and Black Lives Matter
Last updated: August 13, 2015 – 9:27 AM
To begin with, working to end police violence against Black men and women is the right thing to do. The killings of Tamir Rice, Rekia Boyd, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray, Walter Scott and hundreds of other Black men and women by police are an intolerable outrage. They require us to take action.
John Bartlett, Author
Housing activists should be joining hands with Black Lives Matter because their work cuts to the core of the role that race plays in defining how one is treated in society. Race is an inescapable and unjust factor that determines the housing environment in which you live, or whether you need to fear being shot by the police. If we truly want to work for housing equity and make housing a human right, then racial disparity must be confronted.
In Chicago, the Marshall Field Garden Apartments (MFGA) is but one example of the role race plays in housing in America. The apartment complex, which has about 625 units, receives support from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
It is an island, inhabited by mostly low-income Black women and their children, located in a sea of White wealth on the Northside of Chicago. Its location is one of opportunity in an area many dream of living.
But for the residents, it is a nightmare. MFGA’s security system acts to shackle and control its residents. The two-square-block complex has but one entrance that all the residents and their guests must pass through. Upon entering the entrance, the door closes and locks in residents and guests.
Chicago’s Marshall Field Garden Apartments, which are home to many Black and working families, have an entrance with an elaborate security screening system. Photo courtesy of Metropolitan Tenants Organization.
A security guard directs residents to pass through a body scanner and then to pass their hand through a biometric finger print machine. It is only then that residents or their guests are “free” to enter. To leave, residents and their visitors have to double back to the entrance and enter a code to open the locked door.
Observes Paul Burns, an organizer with Metropolitan Tenants Organization: “As a Black man, I am appalled by this treatment. Entering these apartments is so dehumanizing. It’s as if Marshall Field Garden Apartments is a practice field for prison.”
The MacArthur Foundation recently released a report that found Black women in Milwaukee are being evicted from their homes at the same disproportionate rates that Black men are being imprisoned. Black men in the U.S. are three and a half times more likely to be killed by police than White men. Black women in Milwaukee are three times more likely to be evicted than White women.
The fact that Black men are being locked up and Black women are being locked out is not unrelated. Both poor housing and police misconduct thrive in segregation. Both eviction and incarceration work together to keep communities of color poor and disenfranchised.
A family, which is forcibly displaced by eviction, often experiences a sense of despair as well as a feeling of injustice. In Chicago, according to a study by the Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing, the average eviction takes just 90 seconds. Tenants rarely are able to tell their story, let alone inform the court of the impending harm the eviction will cause.
Tenants are assumed to be at fault. Most families will end up seeking a place to stay in a relative’s home or a shelter. In either case, the overcrowded living situation and loss of dignity mean hardship, particularly on children. Parents often lose jobs and kids miss school.
In the same way that evictions result in a sense of despair and feelings of injustice, the incarceration of Black men result in identical feelings. The court system is stacked against them. Many people of color are represented by overworked and underpaid attorneys.
A prevailing view is that if arrested they must have done something wrong. Even the bail system is biased against low-income people of color. Unable to meet bail demands, they are stuck in the crowded institution called prison, miles from home. Many lose their jobs and their children lose a parent.
The “locked up and locked out” syndrome described in the MacArthur report creates a feedback loop that produces a crushing incidence of generational poverty. All of this devastates communities.
Having either an eviction or a criminal record makes it difficult to rent a decent apartment or find a decent job. It forces families to rent in highly-segregated neighborhoods where jobs are scarce, educational opportunities are rare, and crime is high.
People who can leave do so, which further erodes the community fabric and economic vitality. The only people left in these communities are those who can go nowhere else.
A history of racial injustice breeds false stereotypes and shapes the basis for this nation’s current state of affairs. It is a social order that is unjust and unacceptable.
This is why housing activists need to support Black Lives Matter. Black youth are leading a struggle for equality while defining the role race plays in the denial of basic human rights. A human rights approach is a key to success, as it focuses on the broader rights of the community and the dignity of its residents.
Human rights are the social rights which allow everyone to enjoy life, liberty, equality, a fair trial, freedom from slavery and torture and freedom of thought and expression. A society based on human rights not only offers hope for survival but a genuine path toward a society that values and supports every life in the community.
The way to win our human rights is through struggle. As Frederick Douglass said, “It is not the light that we need; but the fire, it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind and the earthquake.”
Today’s young leaders are taking the movement for human rights into the streets. It is time to demand massive investment in communities of color so that everyone has a decent home, a decent job, a good education, good health and are free from the fear of state violence.
Black Lives Matter is a struggle for Human Rights that we all must support.
This piece was originally published August 12, 2015 by Equal Voice News
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Tapjoy research: When do people play mobile games?
A recent Accenture study found that 87% of consumers use a mobile device while watching TV, and we now know that many of those consumers are using their second screen to play mobile games.
That was one of the findings from our “Changing Face of Mobile Gamers” research report, which looks at everything brands need to know to connect with today’s 1.9 million mobile gamers. We’ve been diving further into each of the report’s section here on the Tapjoy blog (you can read more about Who, What and Why in previous installments), and today we’ll answer the question of “When do gamers play?”
Many gamers play while watching TV
Our survey revealed that consumers tend to play mobile games most often while watching television, with 70% of respondents admitting that they play games while sitting in front of the TV. Women are even more likely to play games while watching TV (73%) than men (62%), while the behavior remains fairly consistent across all age ranges.
Wealthier gamers seem to play games in front of their TVs more than lower income gamers do, with 75% of those whose household income is more than $100,000 playing while watching TV compared to just 64% of those who make less than $25,000.
Nighttime is more popular than the morning for gaming
Mobile gamers are more than twice as likely to play games at night right before they go to bed than in the morning right when they wake up, 59% to 27%. Women are even more likely than men to play at night, with 66% of them reporting they play right before they go to sleep at night. Meanwhile, only 22% of men report playing games right when they wake up in the morning.
Millennials are 24% more likely to play games before they go to sleep at night than older players and 42% more likely to play right when they wake up in the morning as well. In fact, Millennials seem to play more consistently throughout the day, over-indexing for just about every activity.
Gamers play at home more than at work
Consumers are more than twice as likely to play mobile games while relaxing at home than they are while at work or commuting. Women, in particular, are likely to play while relaxing at home — 70% compared to 62% for men. On the other hand, men are more likely than women to play while at work — 21% compared to 15% for women.
Younger generations are also more likely to play games at work than older gamers, with those in the 25–34 age range the most likely to play at work. Those between 18 and 24 are the most likely to play during their commutes.
There are no significant differences on this measure related to household income.
What should advertisers do with this research? The first step is to target mobile gamers with cross-screen or multi-screen ads as they conduct “second screen” activities on both their televisions and mobile devices. Another action item is to consider day-parting campaigns to target mobile gamers at night, when they are more active. And yet a third actionable insight is to incorporate creative and calls to action that take into the account the fact that the audience is most likely at home as opposed to being in an office or on the road.
To learn more about how Tapjoy can help you engage with mobile gamers, contact us today for a free consultation.
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Corporate tax senior manager
£85000 - £90000 per annum, Benefits: Bonus, wide range of bens
Does this describe you? You can be reluctant to put yourself forward for a promotion opportunity when it arises, while a less talented peer has no such hesitation.
In other words, you sometimes feel that talent does not always get recognised when it should.
I am recruiting for a fast-growing corporate tax consultancy team that has a track record of advancing its staff.
The prospects at this firm are some of the best I have encountered. Partners view it as a personal failure if you have to ask for a promotion, as they feel that they should be the ones to recognise and reward talent. In other words, advancement should be the natural consequence of doing a good job.
The firm is a tax-focused practice with a verifiable track record of success. The past may not be an absolute predictor of future success, but its certainly a good place to start.
The tax practice has grown rapidly but has always recruited ahead of the curve to ensure its staff are not overworked and to be in a position to maximize client wins.
The clients range from sizeable SME’s to large UK corporates and international businesses.
The typical work the tax team undertakes includes: M&A work including tax-efficient structuring and due diligence; corporate reorganisations including demergers and reconstructions; Transfer Pricing, double tax treaties, Property taxation, EMI, ESS, shares plans and share valuations.
You will take on responsibility for delivering high quality, proactive tax advice to your clients and building relationships that will stand the test of time. This is a growing team in need of senior people who can also contribute to the direction of the team and come to the table with ideas.
The interview will involve the partners asking you what you would like to do and how you would like to develop. If there are areas you want to explore and do more of, you can.
Want to find out more? Let me know and I can send you some more details.
At Creative Tax Recruitment, we work with our candidates to solve their problems - the true meaning of consultancy.
Know someone who would like to talk to us? Refer a friend and receive £500 when we place them in a new job
Creative Tax Recruitment is acting as an employment agency in relation to this role. Creative Tax Recruitment is committed to equal opportunity and diversity.
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Home » Future Leaders Program » About the program
Program details and eligibility criteria
Preparing you for the next step in your career as a school leader
Specifically designed for teachers working in regional and remote schools facing educational disadvantage, the Future Leaders Program prepares you for the next step in your career: the challenging, yet rewarding, roles of school leadership.
Our vision is of an Australia where education gives every child, regardless of their background, greater choice for their future. For over a decade, Teach For Australia has offered leading development programs to many levels of teachers working in schools facing educational disadvantage. The Future Leaders Program supports early career teachers in regional and remote schools in particular, by developing the next generation of school leaders in those communities and improving access to high quality teaching and learning.
The program offers you the opportunity to develop and receive targeted feedback, in an environment with:
Individualised coaching – building on your unique strengths and aspirations
Contextualised support – focusing on your school and region’s particular opportunities and challenges
Peer network – matching you with other teachers who share particular strengths and work in similar contexts, so you can grow together throughout the program and beyond
You will build skills, capabilities and mindsets in:
Building relationships and influencing others
Duration: 1-year, commencing in early 2021
Mode: Blended learning, with national and regional face-to-face sessions and live and self-directed online modules
Location: The program is open to teachers in outer regional and remote schools in Western Australia and the Northern Territory. However, if you are based outside of these locations we do encourage you to express your interest as we aim to expand the jurisdictions we operate in for 2022.
Fees: A full scholarship is offered to all participants. Schools are offered a stipend to allow for time release.
Applications for 2021 are now closed. Express your interest in future cohorts here.
To be eligible, you must be a K-12 teacher who:
Is a classroom teacher with at least 2 years experience
Works in an outer regional or remote school in Western Australia or the Northern Territory* with ICSEA** below 1000; and
Aspires towards a school leadership role
Additional measures may be considered in order to determine eligibility, therefore if your school has a current ICSEA of 1000 or above, and you believe should be eligible, please contact us at info@futureleadersprogram.org.au or call +61 3 8640 4500.
While we are currently accepting applications from teachers in regional, rural and remote Western Australia and the Northern Territory, if you are an early career teacher working in another non-metro state or territory, we encourage you to get in touch! The program may expand to additional regions.
*Other jurisdictions coming soon – watch this space and let us know you’re interested
**The Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA) was created by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) specifically to enable fair comparisons of National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) test achievement by students in schools across Australia. A value on the index corresponds to the average level of educational advantage of the school’s student population relative to those of other schools. Click here for further information.
The Future Leaders Program is delivered with the support of the Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment.
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The OnePlus 7 Pro Pop-Up Front Camera exceeds its durability test with a good note
Varun Kesari Mobile May 16, 2019, 12:24 pm
The OnePlus 7 Pro has been presented this past Tuesday as the most advanced device of the Chinese company. Thanks to its 90Hz screen and its configuration of the triple rear camera. However, a factor that many looks at is when buying a phone, it is resistant to present in the most adverse conditions, but the new device can boast this too.
The OnePlus 7 Pro is one of the two smartphones that Chinese technology revealed this Tuesday. This model is a flagship, bigger than the standard version, but it stands out by the display, which, by suppressing all the frames, forced the front camera to migrate to the other side. This time, OnePlus chose to place the lens in a small ejectable tray, which is at the top edge of the equipment. However, despite being an ingenious solution to the problem of lack of space, the fact of integrating moving parts may alienate some more skeptical consumers, who fear for the durability of the component. And it was for them that the Chinese brand made a very special video.
With the help of a block of cement weighing more than 22 kilos, the company has been able to prove that the camera does not break without more or less. To do so, it attached the end of a rope to the block and rolled the other end around the camera chamber. Then, with the help of a machine, the phone was erected, taking the block right behind.
The camera in question has a 16-megapixel sensor and has been tested to support more than 300,000 movements, so it is designed to last more than five years, even if the user gives it intensive use. Note that the camera is able to automatically collapse when the phone detects a fall.
Although impressive and shareable, it is important to note that tests like this are highly controlled and manufactured for a very specific purpose. The Samsung Galaxy Fold is perhaps the best example of how these durability tests are not enough to prove the robustness of an equipment. Remember that the South Korean technology recorded a video where several Folds showing to be opened and closed successively, to prove the durability of the screen and the hinge.
However, shortly after they came into the hands of journalists, the first test units began to break, albeit on account of a protective film that would have been ripped off by users. In this case, there is still the risk of dust or liquid being trapped in the inner camera chamber. It remains to be seen how this can impact it.
GalaxyNewsOnePlus
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E-mails, Charges, Probes! Chris Christie? No, Scott Walker
Fallout from release of emails of convicted aides damages Wisconsin governor’s presidential prospects.
By John Nichols
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker speaks in Madison, WI in 2011. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)
The political and pundit class loves to identify “outsider” candidates for the presidency, looking in particular to governors who have not been tarnished by the compromises and corruptions of Washington. But the trouble with being an “outsider” candidate is that, eventually, you face the same sort of scrutiny as the insiders.
Just as New Jersey Governor Chris Christie suffered a blow when the media started to examine the extent to which he mingled politics and governing, so Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is now taking a hit that will inspire serious doubts—even among his admirers—about whether he is ready for the political prime time.
The release of 27,000 pages of e-mails from the seized computers of a former Walker aide who has since been convicted of political wrongdoing, along with more than 400 documents from the first of two major probes into scandals associated with Walker’s service as Milwaukee County executive and his gubernatorial campaigns, is shining new light on the extent to which the controversial governor’s legal, ethical and political troubles will make his transition to the national stage difficult.
The e-mails offer a powerful sense of how Walker and his aides appeared to have blurred the lines between official duties and campaigning when he was seeking the governorship in 2010—taking actions that would eventually lead to the convictions of key aides. Walker, who has steered hundreds of thousands of dollars from his campaign account into a legal defense fund, has not been charged with wrongdoing himself. But the e-mails and legal documents paint a picture of an elected official who was so focused on political positioning that he felt it necessary to order daily conference calls to "better coordinate" between aides in his Milwaukee County Executive office and campaign staff.
Walker’s county aides used a secret e-mail routing system to coordinate campaign events and fundraising, and to trash the woman who would eventually serve as Walker’s lieutenant governor as “the bane of your existence.” They circulated crude, sometimes racist messages. And as news outlets sifted through the e-mails, they found one from a top Walker appointee, administration director Cynthia Archer, telling another aide who had accessed the secret network that she was now “in the inner circle.” “I use this private account quite a bit to communicate with SKW…” wrote Archer.
Scott Kevin Walker identified himself on e-mails as “SKW.” Indeed, among the thousands of e-mails released Wednesday was one from a top Walker aide—Tim Russell, who has since been convicted and hailed. In it, he forwards a link to video of Chris Christie yelling at a reporter with the line: "skw should talk like this."
The largest paper in Wisconsin, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which endorsed the governor in the past, featured a banner headline on its Thursday edition that read: "Records Link Walker to Secret Email System."
Walker—who the e-mails reveal thought “9 out of 10 requests [from reporters] are going to be traps” and ordered his county aides to generate “positive and bold stories”—was scrambling Wednesday to dismiss the download of e-mails and legal documents as “old news.” A particularly defensive governor griped about all the attention to the e-mails and documents, saying, “these people are naysayers who want things bad to happen in Wisconsin so they are going to be circling again today. It’s exactly what’s wrong with the political process that they’re hoping for something bad to happen in Wisconsin. It’s not.”
At the same time, the Republican Governors Association—which is chaired by Christie—made a six-figure television ad buy in Wisconsin to protect the governor’s position in a 2014 re-election race where polls show him leading but with support levels below 50 percent.
The e-mails and documents—which media outlets have sought for months—were released by a judge dealing with ongoing legal wrangling over the conviction of former Walker aide Kelly Rindfleisch for misconduct in public office.
Rindfleisch did not just work for Walker before he was elected governor. She was also associated with him after he took his state post, as a key fund-raiser who traveled with the governor while he raised money nationally. And her name has been linked to a new John Doe probe that reportedly has focused on wrongdoing by individuals and groups that backed the governor’s 2012 campaign to beat a recall vote.
That’s not exactly “old news.” And it comes at a particularly unfortunate moment for Walker, who cannot have been happy with a Wednesday Washington Post headline that read: “Scott Walker, eyeing 2016, faces fallout from probes as ex-aide’s e-mails are released,” and “E-mails may spell trouble for Scott Walker.” Or a Thursday New York Times report that said the emails and documents portray Walker as "having presided over an office where aides used personal computers and email to conceal that they were mixing government and campaign business."
There’s no question that Walker wants to be considered as a contender for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. Even as he seeks re-election this year, he has been busy touring a new book that conservative commentators say “reads like one gigantic presidential trial balloon,” making the rounds of the same talk shows once frequented by Christie, and maintaining a relentless schedule of national appearances to aid Republican candidates and raise money.
With one-time GOP front-runner Christie mired in scandal, pundits who don’t know much about Walker like to imagine that he might be the next “shiny penny” for Republicans seeking a candidate from outside Washington.
But Walker’s national prospects have never looked as good as his admirers imagine. Even after Christie’s downfall, the Wisconsinite was wrestling with Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal for last place in most state and national polls of likely Republican caucus and primary voters.
Now, just as Christie faces fallout from an aide’s revealing e-mails, so Walker faces fallout from an aide’s revealing e-mails. The circumstances may be different, and Walker has certainly tried to present himself as a less politically contentious figure than the governor of New Jersey. But when the headlines in Washington are talking about a governor facing “fallout from probes,” and the governor in question is not Chris Christie, there’s a good chance that even the most ardent Republicans will start noticing the tarnish on their shiny penny.
John NicholsJohn Nichols is a national affairs correspondent for The Nation and the author of the new book The Fight for the Soul of the Democratic Party: The Enduring Legacy of Henry Wallace's Anti-Fascist, Anti-Racist Politics (Verso). He’s also the author of Horsemen of the Trumpocalypse: A Field Guide to the Most Dangerous People in America, from Nation Books, and co-author, with Robert W. McChesney, of People Get Ready: The Fight Against a Jobless Economy and a Citizenless Democracy.
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Politics and Activism ›
I'm A Survivor And A Millennial, And I Will NEVER Support The #MeToo Movement ›
I'm A Survivor And A Millennial, And I Will NEVER Support The #MeToo Movement
Sexual assault is not a joking matter.
sjwallace
Teresa Lawrence
Fair warning to anyone choosing to read this, it's controversial and hits a bunch of sensitive spots.
I'm choosing to write about the "Me Too" movement that's been happening, along with the most recent case of three women accusing Judge and Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault years ago.
I can't stand the women who are doing this.
There is no doubt in my mind that some of these situations are very truthful and accurate, and that the women in these cases are putting it out in the open to help protect others. I support these women 100%, however, I believe that many of these women are doing this for their own personal gain and the information they are giving is false.
That is something I will not support.
If you have been a victim of sexual assault, I am so sorry you had to suffer through that and I pray for you every day. I've been there. As a child, I was a victim of sexual assault. I was, in fact, sexually assaulted by someone very close to me. I want to make it known that the person who assaulted me has a mental disability. This by no means condones his actions, but please remember this as you are reading my story. The emotional pain I've dealt with because of that has been extremely rough. I didn't actually tell anyone about it until I was 17, around 10 years after it happened. It was a time I had blocked out so well, and when I finally spoke to someone about it, the emotions were overwhelming at first.
The first person I told acted like it was nothing, so I shut it back in for two more years. At the age of 18, I told my now-husband. He was furious. He wanted to confront the one who had done it, but I didn't want to, so he respected my wishes. A year later I told my now mother in law. She had been through a similar situation so talking to her about it helped tremendously. She did open my eyes to the fact that, as much as I didn't want to, I needed to tell two more people before I could close it back up again. I had to tell these two because of a special little girl who I care deeply about and wanted to protect her.
More than likely no one else will ever know my story in-depth, simply because I don't wish to share it any more than I already have. I'm doing great now. I have a very supportive husband who understands what's wrong on my bad days and helps me overcome them. For that, I am very thankful.
The reason I hate the "Me Too" movement so much is because most of the women involved have no idea what it is like to be sexually assaulted, and how to deal with the emotions of it afterward. These women think it's a way they can get their way in their industries, and get the men they don't like locked up or out of their lives. That's wrong and manipulative. Most of these women are feminists who want to be above these men, or just want the men out of the picture completely. They make up these stories or exaggerate things, to make the men get in trouble. Personally, I don't know how someone who has been through a sexual assault can support this movement.
As I said in the beginning, I fully support any woman, or man for that matter, who has been sexually assaulted to let someone know about it. I will never support the ones who are doing it for their own benefit, though. Do it because you are protecting others. Do it because you are trying to get justice for what they did to you. Never make a false statement on someone claiming they sexually assaulted you. This is a very serious matter, not one that should be joked about. Don't exaggerate something. Remember there are real people out there who have suffered through this, and they don't want to see fake stories on the news of another sexual assault victim that really is not a victim.
Coming from someone who has been through it, it really doesn't make me feel better. In fact, it makes me angry. Angry that someone has the nerve to claim something so serious for their own benefit.
Falsely claiming sexual assault needs to stop. It shouldn't have ever happened in the first place. The "Me Too" movement is a joke, and it's something I will never be able to support.
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see more from Career
Haven’t Gotten Your Extra $300/Wk Jobless Benefit Yet? Here’s What’s Going On
by Adam Hardy
An employee of the Mississippi Department of Employment Security WIN Job Center in Pearl, Miss., left, assists a client fill out paperwork, Monday, Aug. 31, 2020. Rogelio V. Solis / AP Photo
For the vast majority of states, the boosted jobless benefits program — authorized by President Trump — ended before the enhanced payments reached any wallets.
But that’s not to say you won’t be seeing some additional relief if you’re unemployed and living in one of those states.
On Aug. 8, Trump unveiled the Lost Wages Assistance program, which boosts state unemployment benefits by $300 per week for a limited time. According to the executive order, those payments are backdated to Aug. 1.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which oversees funding for the program, recently told the Associated Press that it has enough money to only cover an estimated six weeks of enhanced payments. The clock started ticking Aug. 1.
Due to the limitations in funding, the Lost Wages Assistance program will only boost payments for the weeks of Aug. 1, Aug. 8, Aug. 15, Aug. 22, Aug. 29 and Sept. 5.
According to an analysis by The Penny Hoarder, 39 states and Washington D.C. did not roll out the enhanced payments by Sept. 5, the final week eligible for FEMA funding.
Those 40 locations include: Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
See if you’re eligible for the federal unemployment boost and find answers to FAQs in our guide to the Lost Wages Assistance program.
If you’re an eligible resident of one of those states, your enhanced unemployment payments will come — just not on a week-by-week basis like your typical unemployment benefit. Instead, the program works retroactively.
How States Are Handling Retroactive Payments
All states and territories participating in the president’s Lost Wages Assistance program will have to issue at least some retroactive payments due to the program being backdated to Aug. 1.
For the 39 states and D.C., mentioned above, the program is entirely retroactive because they weren’t able to pay out the boosted benefits by Sept. 5.
Whether your state has begun making boosted payments or not, those funds are still available for the weeks of Aug. 1 to Sept. 5. What the LWA program running out of money means is that the federal funds are unavailable for any weeks after Sept. 5.
Possible payment methods include:
Mixed — retroactive and up-to-date weekly payments
Fully retroactive with multiple lump-sum payments
Fully retroactive with one lump-sum payment
Early adopters of the program made mixed payments, some retroactive and some up-to-date weekly payments.
Take Arizona. On Aug. 17, it became the first state to implement LWA payments. The state’s unemployment agency had to issue the first two payments retroactively, for Aug.1 and Aug. 8. Then it switched to a week-by-week payment method.
The program for 39 states and D.C. will be fully retroactive. The payments will not come on a week-by-week basis. Instead, those unemployment agencies are issuing lump-sum payments which include the funds for several weeks.
Depending on your state, you may receive one lump-sum payment, accounting for all six weeks. Or you may receive multiple lump-sum payments that combine some of the six weeks.
New Hampshire is an example of a state issuing one lump-sum payment retroactively. The one-time payment includes all eligible weeks, according to the state’s unemployment agency. If you are an eligible resident of New Hampshire for all six weeks, you should receive a deposit or check with an extra one-time payment of $1,800 ($300 x 6).
Alternatively, California will split its lump-sum payments. The state’s unemployment agency announced Sept. 10 that it will issue at least two retroactive, lump-sum payments. The first payment includes three weeks (or $900) and covers Aug. 1 through Aug. 15. The state plans to issue a similar lump-sum payment for the remaining three weeks.
Other State-By-State Differences
Retroactive payments aside, you may still be wondering: How much extra is my state paying? And when will those payments hit my bank account? The Penny Hoarder analyzed all 50 states and Washington, D.C. to answer those questions.
The interactive map below provides specific information about the LWA program in each state, including:
Whether each state is paying out an extra $400, $300 or zero dollars each week.
An estimated start date of enhanced payments, if available.
Each state’s average weekly unemployment benefit — with and without the additional LWA enhancement.
Not every state has released an estimated payment date, and South Dakota decided not to use federal funds to boost weekly payments at all. It’s the only state to do so.
The Lost Wages Assistance program that has taken shape bears little resemblance to the program as it was announced on Aug. 8. But if you’re eligible, hang tight. Help is on the way — it’s just likely to be in the form of a small cash windfall rather than weekly payments.
Adam Hardy is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. He covers the gig economy, entrepreneurship and unique ways to make money. Read his latest articles here, or say hi on Twitter @hardyjournalism.
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by Kari Faber
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Unions must change quickly to survive, says secret report by CEP/CAW
By Tony Van AlphenStaff Reporter
Thu., Jan. 26, 2012timer4 min. read
Unions must overhaul themselves dramatically — and fast — or face a slow death, says a secret report by the two groups contemplating the biggest merger in Canadian labour history.
In a surprisingly blunt assessment of organized labour’s current difficulties, the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers (CEP) union say in a discussion paper that they must become a lot more relevant to working people, not only in contract bargaining, but for social change.
The paper, titled “A Moment of Truth for Canadian Labour,” says the economic pressures of globalization, growing employer aggression, hostile government policy and public cynicism have weakened unions significantly during the past two decades.
“If unions do not change, and quickly, we will steadily follow U.S. unions into continuing decline,” says the paper, which is marked “confidential.”
“We must reverse the erosion of our membership, our power and our prestige.”
Statistics show union membership in the private sector in Canada has slid from about 30 per cent in the early 1970s to 17.4 per cent — or 1.92 million employees — excluding farm workers. Public sector unionization remained at about 75 per cent in the same period.
U.S. union membership in the private sector has plunged from 30 per cent to 7 per cent over the past four decades. Public-sector unionization south of the border has stayed at about 37 per cent.
In Canada, employers such as Vale, U.S. Steel and Caterpillar have taken a hard line and demanded major concessions that has bruised organized labour and left workers wondering whether unions can be effective.
To help turn the trend around, the paper calls for the CAW, which represents 190,000 members, and CEP, which has another 130,000 members, to create a “brand” and “visibility for a new kind of national Canadian industrial unionism.”
“This improved brand image will be essential for attracting more individual workers to want to join a union,” says the paper, written by key strategists in the two unions and distributed at the highest levels of both groups.
The paper, which has received the support of CAW president Ken Lewenza and CEP president Dave Coles, is the springboard for talks between the two unions for a possible merger next year. The two unions announced the formation of a “proposal committee” and an extensive consultation process this week.
“We have to be thinking outside of the box,” Lewenza said in an interview Wednesday.
The paper says unions are experiencing a significant generational change as senior workers who fought for improvements retire and organizers struggle to appeal to younger employees.
Furthermore, the public perception of unions has grown more negative, with many believing that unions are primarily self-interested and outdated, according to the paper.
The paper says that if organized labour wants to reverse its demise in power and influence, unions will have to be innovative in how they organize workers and provide and improve services for them.
“The formation of a new union must be founded on a desire to and willingness to modernize our practices, to innovate with new models of organizing and servicing, and to rebuild our image with workers,” the paper adds.
“A new union would aim to spark a ‘culture shift’ among staff and local union leadership, to go beyond ‘servicing’ and view their work as movement building.”
Organized labour has not adapted well to changing workplace circumstances in the pursuit of people in industries such as the media and technology sectors. In response, unions could resort more to the “hiring hall” concept that’s used in the construction industry, where contractors contact a central agency for organized workers when they need skilled labour, said one insider familiar with the paper.
CAW and CEP insiders say a new union would look at new ways to open its doors so people like laid-off workers could join or become affiliated, to become more effective in pushing for better employment opportunities and social programs. Workers in non-unionized plants could also be more welcome in a union that’s pursuing social change in a community.
Unions also need to use new technology and social media to “educate, agitate, organize and mobilize,” said CAW economist Jim Stanford, who helped write the paper.
“The overall challenge is to reboot the ‘brand’ of unions in the minds of workers, so that we are seen once again as a movement that fights for fairness and security for all working people,” he noted.
The hard-hitting paper acknowledges that the labour movement has failed to restructure or to address the longstanding issue of too many unions and locals. It also points to the movement’s inability to initiate and lead effective campaigns or co-ordinate services.
Alluding to the Canadian Labour Congress and some provincial labour federations, the paper also criticizes umbrella union groups for “paralysis and dysfunction.”
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https://www.thetelegraph.com/news/article/St-Charles-10th-year-for-Working-Women-s-12634622.php
St. Charles 10th year for Working Women’s Survival Show
Published 12:00 am CST, Thursday, February 5, 2015
ST. CHARLES, Mo. — Gals and their pals have come to anticipate the winter weekend in February when they can get together to see what’s in store for them at the Working Women’s Survival Show.
That weekend is almost here for the 28th annual St. Louis Working Women’s Survival Show Friday, Feb. 20, through Sunday, Feb. 22, at the St. Charles Convention Center in St. Charles, Mo. Expected long-time favorites and exciting new entries are on tap for this year’s show that is celebrating its 10th anniversary at the St. Charles Convention Center. Show organizers will be gifting one lucky person a diamond pendant since 10 years is celebrated as the diamond anniversary.
First famous for ABC’s “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” Melissa Joan Hart currently appears on the ABC Family series, “Melissa and Joey,” and will headline the show’s lineup of attractions on the Missouri Lottery Main Stage. She will appear at 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21.
The “Sabrina” series inspired two “Wonderful World of Disney” movies, “Sabrina Goes to Rome” and “Sabrina Down Under,” both of which Hart produced and starred in. Additionally, a soundtrack, “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” was made, featuring songs by Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys and Hart herself singing the Blondie hit, “One Way or Another.”
The series, “Melissa and Joey,” tells the story of Mel (Hart), who coping with the care of her niece and nephew and a job, hires Joey (Joey Lawrence) to move in with her and become the family’s “manny.”
The Missouri Lottery Main Stage also offers exciting new attractions this year, including St. Louis Premium Outlets, Cabela’s, renowned Los Angeles hair stylist Michael O’Rourke, Christopher and Banks, Goodwill and fan favorites Trixie LaRue and her Diamond Divas.
Specialty stages Firm, Fit and Feminine and the Cooking Class Stage once again offer up the latest in their respective fields. The Firm Fit and Feminine Stage will highlight Piloxing, a cardio fusion of standing pilates, boxing and dance; self-defense instruction, dance routines; booty shaping and yoga; Zumba; and cardio kickboxing.
Chefs from around the St. Louis area will demonstrate their specialties on the Cooking Class Stage, including bakers from Sweetology, who will demonstrate techniques for icing cakes, cupcakes and cookies in a very creative way; a chef from Mama Campisi’s on the Hill in St. Louis, who will serve up pork spedini; Milagro’s Modern Mexican restaurant will create Tex-Mex favorites and Diane Slater from the Missouri Pork Association will create her specialties.
“Inspired Chef Cook Off” is a two-day culinary competition for amateur chefs who can earn valuable prizes for their recipes. The winner is crowned “Inspired Chef.” More information is at www.wwssonline.com.
Other features of this year’s show include Pampered in Paradise, which will offer all services free. With soothing music in the background, guests can enjoy a brow waxing or a warm and rejuvenating paraffin dip and hand massage. Then hop over to the Nail Bar for a coat of polish, from playful pink margarita to racy red daiquiri.
Origins cosmetic line at Macy’s will demonstrate its natural, earth-based products that give skin a radiant glow. It’s an opportunity for them to give a fast facial, a fresh new look and a fun photo with a friend when finished.
Once you’ve pampered yourself, stop into the Wine Garden to sip some of Missouri‘s finest wines. Taste several and find the ones that most appeal, which you can purchase by the bottle. Wineries represented are St. James, Stone Hill, Les Bourgeois Vineyards and Winery, Serenity Winery, Cedar Lake Cellars and Laszlo Corporation’s Hungarian wines.
Fun is fun, but remember to take the time to educate and inform yourself by sitting in on seminar discussion groups. At 11:30 a.m., and at 1, 2:30, 4 and 5:30 p.m. Friday you can drink creatively with the assistance of an artist/teacher,. While unleashing your inner “Picasso”enjoy a glass of wine as you learn to paint your personal canvas. Each session is one hour long and there is no charge for materials.
With 25 show seminars in all, topics include “Quick Tips to Financial Power After Divorce;” “Organize My Student;” “Eating On the Go—Lifestyle Changes that Create Results;” “Size Matters: Home Chaos Prevention and Response;” “How to Protect Yourself From Identity Theft” and a panel discussion titled “No One Gets Out Alive: Life, Death and Everything In Between,” which will address how to be prepared for each stage of life.
In addition, the show features its third annual 5K Race with its Glitter edition. The Glitter edition marks the 10th, or diamond anniversary, at the St. Charles Convention Center. There’ll be a costume contest for participants to select the best and most creative costume, makeup or clothing, as long as it glitters. Top winners receive cash rewards. Sign up at www.wwssonline.com
A Sack Sitters station will be located on the lower level of the convention center at the base of the escalator to check coats and packages. Attendees can check in as many times as they want. Sack Sitters makes it easier to move more freely around the show and participate in many hands-on activities. There is no cost for this service.
Free parking is available at the convention center. A free shuttle bus sponsored by American Family Insurance will run from the Ameristar Casino Hotel lower parking lot to the show every 10 to 15 minutes. Buses will run beginning one half hour before the show opens and end one half hour after the show closes.
Presented by the Missouri Lottery, co-sponsors of the show are American Family Insurance, McDonald’s, Goodwill, Missouri Pork Association, Dierbergs Markets and Macy’s. Dierbergs is the official outlet for discounted Show tickets, which are available at all 24 metro-area stores.
Visit www.wwssonline.com for more information.
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Ted Danson Comedy From Tina Fey and Robert Carlock Ordered at NBC
“Good Place” star will play a wealthy businessman who becomes the mayor of Los Angeles
Tim Baysinger | July 18, 2019 @ 2:06 PM Last Updated: July 18, 2019 @ 2:35 PM
Photographed by Corey Nickols for TheWrap
Ted Danson is already lining up his next project after “The Good Place” ends, starring in an untitled comedy from Tina Fey and Robert Carlock.
The comedy was given a straight-to-series order by NBC. Danson stars as a wealthy businessman who ends up becoming mayor of Los Angeles. Danson current NBC show, “The Good Place,” is set to return for its fourth and final season this fall.
“We are thrilled to be back home at NBC and writing for one of the network’s greatest stars of all time, Mary Steenburgen’s husband, Ted,” Fey and Carlock said. The two are behind “30 Rock,” NBC’s Emmy-winning comedy which starred Fey, as well as Netflix’s “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.” They were also executive producers on the short-lived NBC comedy “Great News.”
Also Read: 'AP Bio' Gets Revived for Season 3 at NBCUniversal's Upcoming Streaming Service
The project will be produced by Universal Television, Little Stranger, Bevel Gears and 3 Arts Entertainment. Carlock, Fey, Jeff Richmond and David Miner will executive produce. Eric Gurian, President, will oversee for Little Stranger.
“We are so excited that this is the first NBC show we get to greenlight straight to series,” George Cheeks and Paul Telegdy, co-chairmen, NBC Entertainment, said. “It’s with talent that we know and love and who have worked on some of the most beloved shows in our network’s history. We can’t wait.”
Here is the official description of the show from NBC:
The series is about a wealthy businessman who runs for mayor of Los Angeles for all the wrong reasons. Once he wins he has to figure out what he stands for, gain the respect of his staff, and connect with his teenage daughter, all while controlling the coyote population.
Chrissy Teigen Accidentally Posted the First Episode of Her New NBC Show ‘Bring the Funny’
By Jennifer Maas | July 9, 2019 @ 1:39 PM
NBC Denies Andrew Yang’s Mic Was Cut Off at Democratic Debate
By Sean Burch | June 28, 2019 @ 11:58 AM
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SLAVERY AND THE MAKING OF AMERICA
Episode 4: "The Challenge of Freedom"
Lawrence Rowland: The moon was up, the tide was right for the escape of the Planter. It was a dramatic event.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: In the early morning of May 13th, 1862 a slave named Robert Smalls led his wife, children and fellow enslaved sailors on a daring escape attempt from the Charleston harbor.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: Just one year before, Confederates had captured Fort Sumter, gaining control of the harbor. North and South were now locked in a Civil War -- a war that would become the bloodiest in the nation's history. The conflict had erupted just a few miles from where Robert Smalls and his fellow crewmen were attempting their escape.
Andrew Billingsley: They had a little rowboat and once the families were loaded on to the boat the men took their posts. Smalls dressed like the captain and they set out from the harbor past first Fort Johnson
Bernard E. Powers Jr.: They had to give the appropriate signals and one single mistake would have alerted those who were watching that something was amiss and they would have held up the ship and possibly fired on it, blowing it out of the water.
Lawrence Rowland: Well, because Robert Smalls was a helmsman he knew those things. And he simply demonstrated what the passage code was.
Andrew Billingsley: And after a few seconds, which he said later seemed hours, he got the response pass on Planter. And so he sped on. And then they were approaching Fort Sumter and Smalls said a prayer. "Oh Lord, we entrust ourselves into thy hands. Like thou didst for the Israelites in Egypt, guide us to our promised land of freedom." And some of the men said to him, "let's don't go close to the fort, let's cut a wide berth around it so they won't see us." Smalls said we want them to see us. We don't want them to think we're sneaking around. So they went got close to Fort Sumter.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: Robert Smalls was born in Beaufort, South Carolina in 1839, just down the coast from Charleston. His mother, Lydia was born enslaved on the McKee Plantation.
Lawrence Rowland: Robert Smalls mother Lydia was a household servant so she was probably more literate and better educated than most of the general slave population in the Sea Islands. She imparted, or at least tried to impart as much as that education to her son as she could.
Andrew Billingsley: He absorbed from his mother a sense of pride, self worth, dignity -- and he learned from his owner a set of skills. He taught him all sorts of things but he did not teach him to read and write. When Smalls becomes 12 years old instead of sending him out to the fields the owner, McKee, took the boy himself into Charleston and deposited him with his sister-in-law.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: Charleston was a whole new world for the young boy. And now, like many of the other enslaved, he found himself hired out by his owner to work in the city.
Bernard E. Powers Jr.: In the urban environment it was not unusual someone who owned several slaves to hire the slave's time out to other persons and that would represent a mechanism that would continue to allow the, the owner to reek the profits of the, the slaves labor.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: For the next few years Smalls worked at various jobs around Charleston and learned many new skills. Eventually he found work on the docks.
Andrew Billingsley: By the time he was 15 years old Smalls was captain of the crew on the docks. Most of these men were twice his age. And he earned 15 dollars a month, which belonged to the owner McKee. And whenever he got his 15 dollars McKee gave Smalls one dollar. Well Smalls saves his dollar and he purchased things like tobacco and candy and sold it to the other men on the docks and made more money and he saved it.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: But Smalls was ambitious. He asked McKee if he could hire himself out. Then he would pay McKee fifteen dollars a month, and keep any additional money he earned. McKee agreed.
Bernard E. Powers Jr.: This happened frequently, actually, that owners often times allowed their slaves to work for other persons, accumulate wages as a result and to then purchase their freedom. This was a unique opportunity that was afforded especially by urban life. And it was very important for individuals such as Smalls because often times they were also given the opportunity to live away from the people who owned them.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: Robert Smalls would soon ask if he could live on his own as well.
Andrew Billingsley: When Smalls turned 17 he fell in love with a young lady named Hannah Jones who was almost twice his age. 29 I believe she was. But they got married
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: McKee gave his permission for them to marry and he also gave the newlyweds permission to live in Charleston.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: But Smalls knew that the few freedoms he now enjoyed existed at the whim of his master. Robert Smalls wanted real freedom.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: With the help of his wife, Smalls studied maritime charts and was promoted. As he made more money, Robert and Hannah began to talk about buying their freedom.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: Then everything changed.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: The Civil War broke out on Robert Smalls' doorstep.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: For decades, North and South had been dividing between free and slave labor. In 1860, as the country expanded into the west, Southerners wanted the new western territories to be slave states. But most Northerners saw these new territories as places for free white men to work their own small farms. The battle over the future of slavery was destroying the Union.
Jim Horton: By the time of the presidential election of 1860 Southern democrats break off and they are pushing quite strongly towards the possibility of succession and the center of secession during this period is South Carolina.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: With the Democratic Party divided, a free-labor Republican from Illinois was elected president with less than 40 percent of the vote. Abraham Lincoln did not carry a single Southern state.
Jim Horton: Immediately after the election of Abraham Lincoln there are a series of meetings in South Carolina particularly. And before Christmas of 1860 South Carolina announces to the world that it is withdrawing from the United States of America -- it is seceding.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: Less than a month after Lincoln took office Fort Sumter fell to the Confederates.
Jim Horton: Abraham Lincoln issues a call for federal troops to put down what he now is referring to as a rebellion. The civil war is underway and, you know, it's like this rock rolling downhill.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: In late 1861, the Union regained control of some of the Sea Islands that stretched along the South Carolina coast.
Lawrence Rowland: Robert Smalls could have seen the Union fleet offshore. Throughout the war the Union fleet was visible from Charleston harbor so the sense of the impending possibility for freedom was in the mind of all of the slaves of the low country.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: When the war began, Robert Smalls' ship was called into confederate service and he was forced to continue working on board.
Andrew Billingsley: So for a year he was fighting with the Confederacy against the Union. They laid mines in the harbor, they carried ammunition from one place to another, they carried troops. They were fighting a war. Smalls figured that he was fighting the war on the wrong side. Smalls and his wife had been talking about freedom for a long time. And Smalls began to speak with some of the other black men who were working with him on the ship, they began to talk about how to escape.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: One night, the enslaved crewmen of the Planter dared meet at Smalls apartment to finalize their escape plans. They went over the scheme in detail.
Bernard E. Powers Jr.: They decided that they would in the wee hours of the morning -- they would load the members of their families on the vessel and sail it out then into the harbor and beyond the confederate battle stations, taking a tremendous risk.
Andrew Billingsley: One man said, you know, I'm not afraid of any of this for myself but I'm afraid of what they will do to my wife and family back here if I participate. Smalls was very generous, he said "ok on the condition that you not tell anybody about our secret we'll let you go." So they let the man go. And then he said, "this is very dangerous and we may be captured by the confederates, and if they capture us they will put us to death." So he said to them, "I suggest that in case we are captured we set dynamite to the boiler on the ship and blow it up blowing up ourselves at the same time. Better [he said] to take our lives into our own hands than to turn ourselves over to the confederates." They all agreed.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: On the night of May 13th, 1862, as they often did, the confederate crew went home and left the black crew on board to guard the ship. This night, conditions were right. The Planter had just been loaded with ammunition, more than enough to blow it up if necessary.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: With their families huddled below, the Planter, with Robert Smalls impersonating the captain, approached Fort Sumter. He gave the signal and was allowed to pass.
Andrew Billingsley: And then the century on the Fort Sumter noticed that the boat had sped up and he thought that was funny. So he called to the boat to halt. But by now Smalls was out of the range of the confederate fire and so he didn't stop. But now he was in real trouble because he was headed toward the Union fleet. Although he was sailing toward them to deliver the ship to them they did not know he was coming. So what to do? Well apparently Hannah, his wife, had brought a white bed sheet along. So Smalls orders his men to take down the Confederate flag take down the state of South Carolina flag and put this white bed sheet up on the flagpole which they did.
Bernard E. Powers Jr.: The union naval blockade didn't fire on the ship and, ah, did allow it come into it's midst. And was very surprised to see this confederate vessel now in the possession of enslaved African Americans who turned it over to them.
Andrew Billingsley: Smalls stepped up and said to the union ship captain, "I'm Robert Smalls. I brought you the Planter. I thought it might be of some use to uncle Abe." That's how the Planter became a union ship and Smalls became free.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: Robert Smalls' capture of the Planter was a sensation. It was reported from New York to London.
Lawrence Rowland: Robert Smalls very quickly became a major celebrity. Lots of slaves escaped during the civil war. None of them escaped with as much enterprise or with as much confederate property in their possession as Robert Smalls and the crew of the Planter.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: The union navy quickly learned that they were getting much more than just a new ship.
Andrew Billingsley: When Smalls was, um, taken into, um, union custody and debriefed they were overjoyed. They knew that the ship was valuable. As they debriefed Smalls they learned how much he knew about the confederate defenses and that was even more valuable than the ship.
W. Scott Poole: Robert Smalls really challenged the whole theoretical basis of slavery because here was someone who was intelligent enough, who was courageous enough, who was confident enough to engineer, really, this dramatic and extraordinary escape right out from under the noses of the superior race. So there's this feeling that you know there has to be some sort of, of retribution for that. And so the state of South Carolina actually places a, a 50,000 dollar bounty on his head.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: The bounty did not frighten Smalls. He was prepared to fight and joined the union navy as a non-commissioned pilot.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: As the war entered its second year, most Southern white men had been called into the army. Many of the enslaved took this opportunity to flee.
W. Marvin Dulaney: It clearly revealed that without the patrol system in the South, which basically dissipated when the war started, there was nothing to restrain them and keep them from running away. And so, as a result, they ran away by the hundreds and then eventually by the thousands.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: As thousands of escaped slaves made it to union lines some field commanders put them to work in non-combat jobs. Unlike the navy, which had a few African-American sailors, the army would not permit blacks to fight.
Ira Berlin: From Lincoln's perceptive, or from the perspective of most Northerners, ah, this is a white man's war for union. This war has nothing to do -- nothing to do with slavery, and it has nothing to do, ah, with black people.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: From the time he took office Lincoln's policy was focused on keeping the four slave-owning Border States in the Union. Lincoln believed that without Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri the north was doomed. "I hope God is on our side," the president told a reporter, "but I must have Kentucky."
Jim Horton: In fact there's this very interesting conversation between Fredrick Douglas and Abraham Lincoln in which Fredrick Douglas says that, ah, you know you're fighting this war with, with a strong right hand behind your back. Even though you're concerned about maintaining the loyalty of the Border States the United States would be better off to accept the service of thousands, tens of thousands of African-American troops.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: And by 1862 the relentless movement of fleeing slaves into union lines and their insistent demand to be allowed to fight made the issue unavoidable. In August the federal war department authorized mustering an army of five thousand black men in South Carolina.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: Robert Smalls volunteered to help recruit the first South Carolina colored troops. Within the year black regiments were being created all across the union. The response was overwhelming.
Nell Irvin Painter: Wherever it's possible you have masses of men volunteering for the army. It's people all over the north coming to Massachusetts to volunteer for the Massachusetts 54th and 55th -- in South Carolina for the first colored infantry.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: Now officially allowed to fight, they had to fight not only the confederate army, they had to fight within the union ranks as well. Racism was rampant. At first, black soldiers received only half pay. But still they came.
Ira Berlin: It's important to understand that from the beginning of the war black people have a commitment to their own freedom and determination to seize what they see as a critical opening, ah, which will change their lives and the change the lives of their descendants forever.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: The influx of new soldiers was having an impact, but Lincoln wanted to choke the Southern resistance. Despite opposition within the Republican Party, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1st, 1863. It sent shock waves through the South.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: Although the Proclamation only freed slaves in the rebel state that were beyond the control of the union army, to African Americans it meant freedom was on the horizon.
Bernard E. Powers Jr.: Those enslaved people who heard about the Proclamation -- often times they placed the broadest possible interpretation on it. And, and even if, and even if the literal words did not apply to them because of geographical limitations they applied the Proclamation to themselves.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: All over the South, African Americans took up the cause of freedom. Even soldiers who had already freed themselves by making it to the union lines gathered to hear the words read aloud.
Voice of Reverend French: ...shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: The call for freedom had been sounded.
Music: [My Country Tis of Thee, Sweet Land of Liberty of Thee I sing.]
Jim Horton: By issuing the Emancipation Proclamation Abraham Lincoln was able to change the war from simply a war to keep the union together, a war to crush a rebellion -- into a holy war, a fight for freedom.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: For African Americans, it was the dawn of a new day.
Music: [Let Freedom Ring!]
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: But the war was far from over.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: In the North, anger over the Proclamation caused enlistments by white men to fall off. The federal government responded with an unpopular draft.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: As the 1864 election neared, Lincoln feared defeat because of the Proclamation. But union victories in Virginia and the capture of Atlanta transformed the national mood. The President won with 55 percent of the vote.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: Then on April 9, 1865, with his army down to less than 8,000 men, Confederate General Robert E Lee surrendered. The war was almost over.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: Five days after the surrender, exactly four years to the day after the civil war had begun, a celebration was held at Fort Sumter to raise the American flag once again over the fort.
Bernard E. Powers Jr.: And there was tremendous rejoicing on that day as throngs of people gathered and journeyed out to, to Fort Sumter.
Lawrence Rowland: By the time that celebration in Charleston harbor occurred Robert Smalls fought in 17 battles in which he risked his life for the union cause. So he was a military hero, ah, at the end of the war. And when this occurred he was one of the celebrities who was included in the ceremony.
Bernard E. Powers Jr.: This celebration was terribly consequential because what it did was to confirm that the war was over with, and that this was a new day -- a new day in South Carolina and a new day throughout the length and breath of the South.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: All over the country African Americans rejoiced.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: But their joy would not last. That same night, Abraham Lincoln was shot in a Washington theatre. Within hours the great emancipator was dead.
Andrew Billingsley: Smalls said he cried like a baby and prayed "Lord have mercy on us all."
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: The country wondered, "what now."
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: Lincoln hadn't finalized his plans to reintegrate the Union, but with the South in shambles, the region needed reconstruction.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: Every level of society had to be rebuilt.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: Now free, African Americans were faced with many challenges, but their greatest challenge was freedom itself.
Bernard E. Powers Jr.: African Americans, although greatly desirous of, of freedom were not really sure what exactly would be entailed by that concept.
Nell Irvin Painter: In a world built on slavery -- to say you are not enslaved anymore, what does it mean? Who's free? Does that mean you're gonna become white person? Ah, does that mean you're gonna be able to own property?
Bernard E. Powers Jr.: It's an abstract kind of a concept that really could only be determined by what people did.
Jim Horton: And if you read accounts of life in the South in the immediate aftermath of the war what you, what you will read over and over again is about large numbers of African Americans who are traveling the roads. It's very interesting because the former slaveholders say that these people are just wandering around aimlessly. They weren't wandering around aimlessly they were looking for friends and relatives that had been sold away.
Nell Irvin Painter: One of the most heartrending sites in, ah, and after the war publications is columns called "lost friends" in which people are looking for their families. People trying to get together.
Jim Horton: They were by their actions giving the lie to this notion that family didn't mean anything -- that these connections had been broken, that they didn't care anything about these people who had been sold away. And that's precisely what they did care about and what they're trying to do is to reconstitute families to find mothers and fathers and relatives and friends.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: All over the South, African Americans set out to become part of the new society. With the help of the Federal Freedman's Bureau, churches in the North and South, and individuals, worked together to open schools for the newly freed slaves. Freed people of all ages wanted one of the most basic rights denied them during slavery -- to learn to read and write.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: Many others opened businesses or sought work for pay. For former slaves it was the first time they could negotiate work contracts and buy land.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: They knew that owning land was the key to inclusion in the new America.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: Still others turned their attention to becoming part of the new political system.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: But, the new president was a Southern democrat named Andrew Johnson.
Jim Horton: In the first weeks after he takes office he sets about providing almost wholesale pardons for many of those who have been the major leaders of the confederacy.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: The former Confederates had only one major requirement before being readmitted to the Union. They had to accept the Thirteenth amendment abolishing slavery and all would be forgiven. Republicans in Congress were outraged.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: They impeached President Johnson, who escaped removal by a single vote. Then Congress took over Reconstruction and immediately made changes to the Constitution.
Jim Horton: The 14th amendment to the Constitution said that your right of citizenship is not dependant on race. And the 15th amendment said that you could not deny a person the right to vote because of the person's race.
Bernard E. Powers Jr.: By the time you get to the spring of 1867, African Americans have a new sense of government, a new sense of what, of what government means. After all, it was government that would in fact take steps to incorporate African American men into the body of politic.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: With the ability to vote and enter politics many African Americans, who had fled the South returned home.
Andrew Billingsley: At the end of the war Smalls came back to Beaufort where he purchased the house where he'd grown up as a slave, where his mother had worked as a slave. His mother was now presiding over the house as a freeperson. She'd been presiding over it for a long time for the McKees now she was doing it for her son. Then Smalls went fairly quickly into politics.
Lawrence Rowland: The Beaufort republican club became the base of Robert Smalls', ah, political career. And Robert Smalls went all over the county canvassing -- as they say, but campaigning. He proved himself to be a very clever orator. Um, great at repartee and ah dramatic in his oratory and often aggressive and colorful and all those things. The black population of the Sea Islands responded immediately to Robert Smalls. And so this was the beginning of his political career.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: In the spring of 1868 Robert Smalls was elected to the South Carolina State House of Representatives where he joined the black majority in the legislature. It was the only state in the Union to be dominated politically by African Americans. South Carolina, where the Civil War had begun, would become a major proving ground for Reconstruction.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: Across the country African Americans entered political life at every level of society.
Jim Horton: If you make this comparison between 1860 when 90 percent of black people were slaves and 1868, 1870 when you've got African Americans who are in State Legislature they are black mayors and police chiefs. There are blacks in the U.S. Senate in the U.S. House of Representatives -- they are literally revolutionizing American politics.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: Although their overall numbers were small, their mere presence was too much for the old Southern establishment.
Lawrence Rowland: That was very radical. I mean white folks they just couldn't imagine that. I mean social equality, political equality oh my it was just, ah, beyond their comprehension -- that such a radical thing could occur so fast.
W. Scott Poole: And so when the social fabric begins to rip from the perspective of white Southerners. What they know to do is to respond with overwhelming violence. And they do. The Ku Klux Klan emerges throughout the South.
Jim Horton: They do unspeakable things. They do the things that you would think of terrorists doing. They blow things up, they kill people, they do all kinds of other things that you would normally associate with political terrorism.
Bernard E. Powers Jr.: These were very dangerous times. These white terrorists -- really because that's, that's what they would properly be called -- were committed at stopping at nothing to eliminating the black body politic.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: No republican was immune -- black or white. And the thousands of federal troops stationed in the South were not enough to stop the violence.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: In South Carolina, state representative Robert Brown Elliott, spearheaded hearings to investigate Klan activities.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: Elliott's success in getting some of the Klan to confess to their tactics convinced him that he could do something about the intimidation. He once said, "we have suffered much and may suffer more. Let us not be driven from our position by any threats."
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: In November 1870, Elliott was elected to the U.S. Congress. He took his crusade against the Klan with him.
Bobby Donaldson: Elliott wants to, um, convince the federal government that more work needs to be done to protect the rights of citizens. And he particularly wanted to catch the ear of president Ulysses Grant.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: But Grant's only major Reconstruction plan was an attempt to annex the Caribbean Island of Santo Domingo in the hopes that African Americans would want to relocate there.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: Despite Grant's plan, Elliott, along with other Republican leaders continued lobbying the president. In April of 1871, their efforts paid off. Grant signed a Ku Klux Klan Act aimed at giving the federal courts the power to jail the Klan's leaders. In October, Grant declared martial law in nine South Carolina counties due to the "condition of lawlessness." It would be the only time the military power of the Act would be used.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: By 1874, when Robert Smalls was elected to Congress, the Klan Act had been effective, but now there was a new problem.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: Groups called Rifle Clubs had taken their place. In South Carolina the Red Shirts Rifle Club became notorious.
W. Scott Poole: The Red Shirts essentially were the confederate army recidivist. They command structure of the Red Shirts' regiments preserve the command structure of actual confederate regiments. These were confederate veterans who were now under, in many cases, the very same officers that they had served under during the American civil war. And so the organization of the Red Shirts was really a way to bring resistance out into the open.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: In 1876, just eight years after the first inter-racial elections, violence against Southern republicans was out of control. Smalls took to the floor of Congress to urge his fellow Congressmen to keep the pressure on the South.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: He told them about a letter he had received testifying to the level of violence. The letter began:
Voice of Robert Smalls: These were facts, which I vouch for entirely, and are not distorted in any degree. It's a plain unvarnished narration of painful and horrible truths.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: On July 4th, 1876 a local plantation owner drove his buggy down a public road in Hamburg, South Carolina where a black militia troop was drilling.
W. Scott Poole: The local plantation owner insisted on being allowed to drive right through this, ah, -- field. The black militia refused to move. They almost come to blows.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: After a few tense moments, the troop leader, Doc Adams, ordered his men to break ranks and allowed the carriage to pass.
Bernard E. Powers Jr.: All along whites in that area had been waiting for kind of a provocation that they could use to rally their forces. And so local democratic leaders rally white democrats in that area and when the local black militia found out what was happening they, they held up in a, in a building. And the whites began to lay siege to that building. Ultimately the black militiamen were forced to surrender.
W. Scott Poole: When they surrender, particular members of Doc Adams' militia are picked out. They call them out one by one and they shoot them in the head. Then they tell the rest to flee -- as they begin to flee into the woods many of them are shot in the back.
Bobby Donaldson: That was a turning point because not only did it scare African Americans but it showed white democrats this is the moment, this is the trajectory you could take if you really wanted to turn the clock back on Reconstruction.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: In the South, the days leading up to the presidential election of 1876 became even more violent. In the North, republicans grew weary of the plight of the freedmen. When the governor of Mississippi asked for federal troops to halt widespread violence against black voters, Grant said there was no use saving Mississippi if it would cost the republicans Ohio.
W. Scott Poole: There was sort of this general feeling that 'let's just give the white ssouth what they want.' Which the white south said 'what we want is to be left alone to shape our own social institutions.' Which is a very polite, very Southern way of saying we want to be able to control our former slaves.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: At great personal risk African Americans held political meetings to get out the vote. But the Democrats smelled victory.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: On November 7th, 1876 everyone who dared went to the polls. The day after the election, there were accusations of vote tampering in three Southern states -- Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina.
W. Marvin Dulaney: In fact there's two returns coming from all three of these states. Ah, ah -- one set of returns say that the democrats have won the election. Another says, says that the republicans have won the election. And this of course leads to, an impasse and they decided to appoint a commission.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: As the commission argued whether the Republican Rutherford B. Hayes or the Democrat Samuel L. Tilden should become president, the March 4th inauguration deadline loomed.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: Robert Smalls spoke about the continued violence against republicans in his state.
Voice of Robert Smalls: The Democratic Party pursued a policy calculated to drive from the state every white man who would refuse to join them in their attempts to deprive the Negro of the rights guaranteed him by the Constitution of the United States.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: The debate dragged on. The struggle for freedom was in jeopardy.
Ira Berlin: And hence the basis of a bargain. A bargain which will allow Rutherford B. Hayes to assume the presidency.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: On the evening of February 26, 1877, just six days before the inauguration deadline, a clandestine meeting between representatives of both candidates took place at the Wormley Hotel in Washington, D.C.
W. Marvin Dulaney: They sort of come up with an agreement where we're no longer concerned about the rights of African Americans as voters. And to put the Negro question on the back burner and not worry about it anymore. They literally turn African Americans over to, to the South.
Jim Horton: In other words to remove the final, ah, forces of the federal government providing protection in the South for black and white republicans. Well the deal is struck.
W. Marvin Dulaney: And so this is the infamous compromise of 1877.
Bernard E. Powers Jr.: The message that goes out to African Americans was that the destiny of African Americans was not at all connected to the destiny of the nation. This is a very different situation than the situation which developed during the Civil War because one of the things that, that we understand and understand very clearly is that when the Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Lincoln, Lincoln was saying that the destiny of African Americans was linked directly to the destiny of the nation. We would rise or fall together. And now with the rise of Rutherford B. Hayes as republican President, now republicans were essentially saying that the country can get along very well without you.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: After the Compromise of 1877, African Americans found themselves increasingly forced out of politics.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: Across the South black republicans were simply removed from their posts. Roberts Smalls, a U.S. Congressman who could not be removed, was charged with corruption, jailed and eventually pardoned.
Lawrence Rowland: They did to Robert Smalls what they did to a lot prominent black politicians at that time. Those charges haunted Robert Smalls for the rest of his life. But Robert Smalls was a very brave man. Not just stealing the planter but his whole -- fighting in 17 battles in the Civil War he wasn't afraid of gunfire he wasn't afraid of standing up to people who were armed when he was not. He had immense personal courage.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: Robert Smalls never gave in. To the disdain of the democrats, he continued to run and be re-elected from his predominately black district for nine more years. His leadership would give hope to his people in the years of uncertainty to come.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: Across the South, democratic leaders did all they could to erase Reconstruction from their minds and from the law.
Jim Horton: Gradually African American voters are intimidated to the point where they all but cease to be allowed to vote.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: Mississippi passed a series of laws that allowed legal discrimination against African Americans in almost every phase of life. State after state in the South followed suit.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: As the old slave system was turned into a new system of servitude, many African Americans stayed to fight on the soil they had always called home. Others took their fate into their own hands and joined the movement west.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: Black churches became more than ever the political cornerstone of their communities. Through them, African Americans kept faith in the American dream. Ministers preached, as they had during slavery, that liberation would come.
Jim Horton: The period of Reconstruction is a very instructive period in American society. It is America, in some ways, at its racial worst. But there are glimmers of America at its racial best.
W. Scott Poole: This moment when people with everything in the world including history against them had exercised both democracy and political power. Real political power.
Morgan Freeman, Narrator: Their attempt at the first inter-racial democracy was stalled, but the groundwork had been laid. Although it would be almost a hundred years until the second Reconstruction, their struggle would not be in vain.
Jim Horton: Out of Reconstruction come the basic tools that allow the modern civil rights movement to establish important victories in the 1960s. Without the 14th amendment, without the 15th amendment the civil rights movement would have had very little foundation upon which to build. So Reconstruction really does have an important impact on all of the generations that follow. It would be too simple to say that Reconstruction was a total failure -- it wasn't a total failure. There was a period of time when America provided a ray of hope.
© 2004 Educational Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved.
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Universal Orlando reveals names of budget hotels
By Danny King
Two-bedroom suites at the Surfside Inn will go for as low as $111 per night.
Universal Orlando Resort, which last November announced the construction of two budget-priced hotels, will name them the Surfside Inn and Suites and the Dockside Inn and Suites. Together, the two hotels will comprise Universal's Endless Summer Resort.
Loews Hotels & Resorts will manage the properties. Universal said both hotels' daily rates will be as low as $73.
The Surfside Inn and Suites is slated to open in 2019 with 1,450 rooms. More than half of those rooms will be two-bedroom suites that can accommodate as many as six people and will have kitchenettes and dining areas. Rates for the two-bedroom suites will start at $111 a night.
The Dockside Inn and Suites is scheduled to open in 2020. Both hotels will offer what Universal calls a "relaxed and easy vibe, and fun surf and beachy details."
More than half of the 1,450 guestrooms at the Surfside Inn will be two-bedroom suites.
Endless Summer Resort guests will be able to enter the theme parks in the mornings before they open to the general public. The will also get free shuttle service throughout Universal Orlando.
Loews operates five hotels at Universal Orlando: Loews Portofino Bay, the Hard Rock, Loews Royal Pacific, Loews Sapphire Falls and Cabana Bay Beach. Loews is slated to open the Aventura Hotel in August.
https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Hotel-News/Universal-Orlando-reveals-names-of-budget-hotels
Hotel NewsUniversal Orlando reveals names of budget hotels
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Transportation company acquires Marion Industrial Center
Micah Walker
Marion Star
A manufacturing hub in Marion recently gained a new owner, as well as a new name.
According to a news release, transportation and logistics service company Jaguar Transport Holdings acquired the Marion Industrial Center on Oct. 30. The company also plans to change the name of the facility to Marion Industrial Rail Park, to emphasize a focus on the rail infrastructure.
Headquartered in Joplin, Missouri, Jaguar owns and operates railroads, terminals and transloading facilities throughout North America.
MIC owner Ted Graham declined to give the Star the cost of the sale.
"There are two very appealing aspects to this opportunity," Jaguar CEO Stu Towner said in the release. "First and foremost are the addition of great team members that will continue the tradition of safely taking care of customers and focusing on continuous improvement. They will be setting the bar across our company and they have already embraced our 'oneteam' culture. The second key aspect is the great partnership with the park's customers. We have had the opportunity to get to know these customers as we developed the relationship with the Marion team and we are committed to continuing the emphasis on customer service and value creation for existing customers and welcoming new customers."
Graham put the facility up for sale in May after 45 years of ownership. He bought the former Army Engineering Depot located along Ohio 309 on the east side of Marion in 1975. Over the last four and half decades, he’s turned the former World War II facilities into a modern distribution, third party logistics, and manufacturing center.
MIC has eight miles of rail infrastructure, 1.55 million square feet of distribution facilities, rail switching and railcar maintenance services, 3PL services, transloading operations, and over 511 acres of industrial zoned land with 200 additional acres zoned industrial ready for further development.
The property currently hosts 50 companies, including Boise Cascade with lumber storage; Sika Corporation, specialty chemicals; Mills Company, maker of commercial bathroom fixtures; Wyandot Inc., snack foods; Saddle Creek, a distributor of Mexican beers; and on-site trucking company, Depot Express.
In addition, the Marion Industrial Center provides customized rail service with two locomotives and two Tracmobiles onsite.
Graham told the Star Thursday that all of the existing businesses will remain at MIC, as well as the 100 employees at the depot. He will be part of the transition team for the "forseeable future."
"The many team members over the last 45 years have seen tremendous growth with the tenant base as well as development of the property," said Graham in the release. "Now with the introduction of Jaguar, the property already has started its growth to the next level through the expansion of the rail, building utilization, and property development."
More:Marion artist creating veteran-themed mural inside county building
More:Marion City Council approves deferment of loan for Harding Centre owner
© 2021 www.the-daily-record.com. All rights reserved.
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Former Employees of Future TV Protested For Their Overdue Salaries Outside of Hariri’s House
Souad Lazkani·
· May 2, 2020
On international Labor Day, employees of Future TV gathered under the house of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s home in Beirut.
Founded by the Hariri family, the network has not paid the salaries of its employees for two years before its closure in 2019. It also laid off its employees without compensation
The anger is also coupled with the alleged fact that, in 2019, Saad Hariri gave $16 million to a South Africa model, a scandal not easily forgotten.
It is a worldwide knowledge that the Hariri family possesses enormous combined wealth.
Bahaa Hariri made it to Forbes Magazine’s billionaire list, again in 2019, with a net worth of $2.1 billion. His brother Ayman as well with a net worth of $1.3 billion, and his brother Fahd with a net worth of $1.2 billion.
Future TV ran for 26 years before closing. Its former employees are still fighting for their basic rights, which have now become a luxury in a Lebanon crippled with debt and financial corruption.
خافوا الله.. صرخة لموظفي تلفزيون المستقبل الذين يطالبون بحقوقهم في #عيد_العمال pic.twitter.com/1aKf2wuTV8
— Salman Andary (@salmanonline) May 1, 2020
Lebanese Revolution (Thawra)
Award-Winning Chinese Film Director Is Shooting In Lebanon And Recruiting Lebanese Talents
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A Public Park in Australia Was Just Named After a Lebanese
Maria Zakhour·
· February 29, 2020
Earlier this month, 95% of Darra citizens agreed to the Municipality’s suggestion of having the local public park’s name changed in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland in Australia.
This park was named “Shafik Torbey Park” because the city’s citizens wanted to honor a Lebanese man who left a big positive imprint on the state as well as in the people’s hearts.
Shafik Tarabay was born in Deir el Ahmar in Lebanon in 1925, before migrating to Australia in 1952.
He lived in Sidney till 1959, then moved to Brisbane where his charity and social work positively impacted both the Lebanese and the Australian communities. He was an ambassador of Lebanese generosity and hospitality.
Even though Shafik’s career was a big success in Australia being a store owner, he remained loyal to his origins and to his fellow Lebanese-Australians throughout his lifetime, and until his death in 2018, at 93 of age.
In fact, one of Tarabay’s 7 children, lawyer Anthony Tarabay, is the Honorary Consul in Queensland. Shafik met his wife abroad, the Australian-born Joanne Khoury, a Lebanese from the north.
Those who were acquainted with Shafik Tarabay would say that his good and humanitarian work was limitless.
He always looked after the Lebanese community in Australia, provided a lot of people with scholarships, and was an active member for 50 years in the Mar Mansour De Paul Charitable Society.
Wait, we’re nowhere near done yet. Shafik had a major role in activating the social and sports club ‘Cemento Club’ in Darra, in addition to being elected several times as a member of the Municipal Council of the Darra district in the western suburbs of Brisbane.
Shafik was the first president of the Lebanese Australian Association in Queensland and won the Order of Australia medal in 1988.
For all of those reasons, Mr. Mathew Bourke took the initiative to honor Shafik Tarabay’s life and death. With the help of the council, he named the city’s public park after this admirable man.
Shafik never forgot his Lebanese traditions and manners, as his son says: “My father always told me about his house that was kept open in Deir El-Ahmar, and he insisted that his house here in Queensland also remains open to the people and the community.”
In a celebration attended by more than 150 people from all political and religious sects, as well as members of the community, the curtains dropped to reveal the park’s new name: Shafik Torbey Park
Shafik Torbey, a person who gave so much to Lebanon and Australia, and who never gave up on his origins nor on his good nature and humanitarian drive, shall be always remembered for generations to come.
Lebanon Launches Service That Lets People Go Out During Mid-Lockdown Emergencies
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Meet Pratyaya Amrit, the Inspiring IAS Officer Who Has Placed Bihar Firmly on the Road to Success
Post author:Sanchari Pal
Post category:Bihar / Changemakers / Inspirational
UPDATE: Ably guided by its power secretary Pratyaya Amrit, Bihar has just completed its target of 100% electrification of willing households in the state. This will be almost two months ahead of the national deadline of December 31, 2018, fixed by the Centre for completing the target under the Saubhagya scheme.
The walls were dank, the chairs broken and the curtains tattered. By no stretch of imagination did the place look like it was the office of a major state corporation about to embark on the onerous responsibility of creating a bridge infrastructure in one of the poorest states in the country.
“It did not look like an office at all. I did not know where to begin,’’ Pratyaya Amrit recalls.
When the reticent IAS officer took over as Managing Director (MD) in 2006, the turnover of the Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam (BRPNN) stood at a measly Rs. 47 crore, with the state government having made up its mind to close it down. Within two years, the turnaround took everyone, including the government, by surprise. The defunct organisation was in a position to donate Rs 20 crore to the Chief Minister’s relief fund during the Kosi floods.
Not only had IAS Officer Pratyaya Amrit single-handedly saved a government organisation from the brink of bankruptcy, he had taken it to the forefront of the construction business.
As the MD of Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam (BRPNN), he had overseen the completion of around 300 major bridge projects in three years. This was akin to moving mountains in a state where even a stone does not budge easily!
Amrit, a 1991 batch IAS officer, was on central deputation in New Delhi when he received a call from a bureaucrat from the Bihar government, asking: “Would you mind returning to your home state? There’s plenty to be done here.” The state government wanted to entrust him with the responsibility of reviving a dying institution. When Amrit returned to Bihar, cutting short his scheduled deputation by six months, he became the first IAS officer to head the BRPNN.
The huge losses that BRPNN had been incurring for almost a decade had pushed it to the brink of liquidation. The first thing Amrit targeted was the completion of pending projects, some of which had been pending for almost 17 years, to revive the Corporation. But this was easier said than done. The system in place lacked basic amenities and the morale of the employees was low.
An able administrator and HR expert, Amrit ensured that the staff got a congenial environment to work in and the basic facilities to carry out their jobs.
For instance, he provided them with GPS-enabled phones, making it easier for them to monitor the progress of work. Opting for out-of-the-box solutions to encourage his engineers, Amrit got professional motivators to give encouraging talks to his dispirited engineers, while rewarding the best performers with ample administrative freedom.
The engineers responded to this show of confidence by rising to the occasion. BRPNN, which had completed 314 bridges during the first 30 years of its inception, successfully executed 336 bridge projects in just three years.
A lot of importance was given to quality, monitoring and field visits and Amrit himself travelled more than 40,000 km in three-and-a-half years. He also got a state-of-the-art engineering lab for the organisation and computerised everything. Thanks to his initiatives, by July 2009, BRPNN was an ISO 9001, 2000 and 1410:2004 certified company and its turnover had surged to Rs 768 crore.
Prior to appointment as the MD of BRPNN, Pratyaya Amrit’s work and ability to get things done as a District Magistrate (DM) had also earned appreciation from the public. As the DM of Katihar, he implemented, for the first time, a public-private-partnership for the district hospital where he asked local NGOs to take responsibility for a ward each. This changed the condition of the hospital – it went from being in deficit to having surplus funds. As the DM of Chapra, he put an end to sleaze shows at the famous Sonpur fair (Asia’s largest cattle fair) by making it compulsory for CCTVs to be installed in theatres.
In February 2011, Pratyaya Amrit, as MD of Bihar State Road Development Corporation (BSRDC), stepped in to help destitute girls in Patna find better futures for themselves.
He made the organisation literally adopt the destitute girls, instead of just providing them monetary assistance. The BSRDC would not only bear the entire education costs of these girls till college, but would also provide them with job-oriented training to help them start working. Now, besides the monthly stipend that BSRDC deposits in the bank accounts of these girls, the organisation has also parked Rs 50,000 each as fixed deposits in favour of the girls. The money, taken from Corporation profits, will be available to the girls after they turn 18.
So effective was Amrit’s management style in improving Bihar’s roads that it earned him praise from other countries and the World Bank too.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) rated the road work in Bihar as one of the best. Amrit was invited to attend the Urban Planning and Economic Development Programme in the US in 2011. He was also awarded the Prime Minister’s Excellence in Public Administration award in 2011 – the only IAS officer to get it that year. His facilitation certificate reads:
“Bridging the gap: For turning around a dying Bihar State Bridge Construction Corporation into a profit-making unit.”
In 2014, Amrit was given charge of Bihar’s rural electrification programme. His first target was to cover partially electrified villages. To ensure this work would happen seamlessly, he held meetings with engineers and power companies every fortnight. He coupled these meetings with intensive field visits, travelling across the state for more than 15 months at a stretch.
Amrit was also instrumental in accomplishing the crucial task of getting politicians like MLAs on board and giving them lists of all the villages in their constituencies where electrification was taking place, including the names and numbers of contractors. He also had a web-based app made so that MLAs could access updates on the state of electricity in their area. In addition, spot billing centres (to increase convenience) and meters in every household (to minimise power theft) were installed.
You May Also Like: How a Doctor Turned IAS Officer Organized India’s First Green Swearing-In Ceremony in Kerala
The difference this effort made was visible in less than a year. More than 20,000 burnt transformers were replaced in two months and transmission jumped from 2282 MW to 3500 MW. A strong back-end support system was also created, which helped resolve breakdowns when they happened within 30 minutes. Amrit’s next goal is to electrify all villages by October 2016 and set up a separate agriculture feeder that will increase the availability of power to agriculture from 4% to 18%.
On the personal front, Amrit keeps his feet firmly on terra firma. A simple, unassuming man, he enjoys playing cricket, is an ardent Steve Jobs fan, and likes reading. His favourite book is Who says Elephants Can’t Dance? (a fascinating story of IBM’s turnaround scripted by Louis Gerstner Jr., the Chairman and CEO of IBM).
Known for his ‘get it done and now’ attitude and his attention to detail, Pratyaya Amrit can be called one of the main architects of Bihar’s turnaround story. His parents, both college lecturers, had always told him to do what he felt good about; Amrit made his never-say-die attitude and dedication to the nation his biggest strength. It is due to innovative and pro-active officers like him that a positive change in Indian governance is finally rolling in.
Also Read: How a Young IAS Officer Used Education to Transform the Naxal-Affected District of Dantewada
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National Guard Warned of Possible IEDs in D.C. Ahead of Inauguration
Stefani Reynolds/Getty
The National Guard has been instructed to brace for improvised explosive devices being used at the Capitol in the days leading up to Joe Biden’s Jan. 20 inauguration, Politico reported on Wednesday. During Jan. 6’s pro-Trump insurrection in the U.S. Capitol, IEDs were found at the headquarters of the RNC and DNC. The Daily Beast reported on Wednesday that the Secret Service had received a bulletin warning of violence from the far-right Boogaloo Boys group in Washington D.C. and state capitals nationwide. Authorities have not yet identified who planted the IEDs on Jan. 6. About 20,000 National Guardsmen are expected to flood into the nation’s capital, as security concerns remain high in the lead-up to inauguration day.
Read it at Politico
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German police tackle social media hate speech with series of raids
By Gillian West-16 July 2016 10:12am
German police have carried out raids on 60 addresses, targeting those suspected of posting hate content on social media sites including Facebook and Twitter.
The series of coordinated raids across the country aimed to tackle what police described as a "substantial rise in verbal vandalism" and is the first time authorities have acted in such a way.
Holger Munch, president of the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA), Germany's federal criminal police authority, said the action "makes it clear that police authorities of the federal and state governments act firmly against hate and incitement on the internet."
Typical crimes included "glorification of Nazism [and] xenophobic, anti-Semitic and other right-wing extremism" which, according to Munch has increased significantly in the wake of the European refugee crisis.
"Attacks of refugee shelters are often the result of radicalisation which begins in social networks," he added.
In Germany Facebook, Twitter and Google have all been criticised for failing to remove hate speech. Pressure from the German authorities led the firms to agree to delete hate speech within 24 hours at the end of last year.
Facebook also agreed to work with multimedia services to solve the problem; launch a task force to deal with the issue and to work with experts to develop ways to combat racism through discussions on social media.
The raids took place across 14 German provinces and involved 25 different police departments.
Under German law a person can be jailed for up to five years for inciting "hatred against a national, racial, religious group or group defined by their ethnic origins."
This article is about: Europe, Facebook, Twitter, Hate Speech, Social Media, Digital
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OpinionLockerbie plane bombing
We still need a Lockerbie inquiry
Pamela Dix
The families of those killed in the bombing have not given up hope of an inquiry to help us learn the lessons of this tragedy
Mon 26 Oct 2009 07.00 EDT
For 20 years, UK Families Flight 103 has been campaigning for a full independent inquiry into the events leading up to and after the Lockerbie plane bombing. In the request for an inquiry, the families group has clearly identified the areas of concern and the questions that need to be answered. This request is separate from the need for an independent, criminal investigation to bring to justice those responsible.
The fact that so far the outcome of the criminal investigation has not been conclusive is disappointing. Widespread concern around the safety of the conviction of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi has raised a number of issues. There are also issues about the division of responsibility between Westminster and Holyrood and whether it was right to release Megrahi on compassionate grounds. But everyone is in agreement that whether or not he is guilty, others must have been involved. We hope that the fact that the criminal investigation is to continue will contribute to our quest for the truth.
The circumstances of the trial, the appeal and the Scottish judicial process have prompted calls for a separate inquiry. There is an argument that any such investigation is the responsibility of the Scottish parliament, with the powers to call upon the UK government, and its officers, to explain its position.
However, this is quite separate from the families' continuing call for an independent, wider inquiry. Some of the issues that we wish to see included in such an inquiry relate to national security, foreign policy and transport safety – all responsibilities that since devolution remain within the remit of the UK government. It is galling to listen to David Miliband's off the cuff response to our request for an inquiry: that the biggest mass murder in the UK had nothing to do with his government. If this were the case, why did Robin Cook, Jack Straw and Tony Blair have ongoing discussions with us about a possible public inquiry, both before and after devolution? At no stage was it suggested that this was a matter for the devolved Scottish parliament.
Underpinning our request for this inquiry is our belief that unless we understand and acknowledge the complicated series of events that led to the decision to put a bomb on Flight 103, no lessons will be learned. The fact that Straw told us personally that he would have instigated an inquiry at the time if he had been in a position to do so does not lessen our frustration in failing to get ministers to accept what must be done.
Governments need to understand the tenacity of relatives involved in such tragedies. There have been numerous occasions when we could have caved in under the lack of interest, political pragmatism or sheer ignorance of those in authority. Yet nearly 21 years after the explosion that killed 270 dearly loved people, we have not lost heart that finally – surely – the fourth prime minister to hold that office since the disaster will do the right thing. This is why relatives of those killed on Pan Am 103 stood at the gates of Downing Street to hand over a letter requesting the prime minister, Gordon Brown, to instigate a full public inquiry into the circumstances of the destruction of the aircraft.
Lockerbie plane bombing
Abdelbaset al-Megrahi
UK security and counter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism policy
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Season 3 of ‘Hell on Wheels’ Moves Forward with New Showrunner
Hell on Wheels, News
A little over a month the future of the acclaimed AMC western drama Hell on Wheels was looking a bit uncertain, as we reported here, but that isn’t the case any longer because a new executive producer and showrunner has been selected. The man of the hour is John Wirth, whose credits include ‘Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles’, ‘V’ and ‘The Cape’). With the installment of Wirth, ‘Hell on Wheels’ can now move forward with season three, receiving an order for ten, one-hour episodes that are expected to premiere starting in the latter part of 2013.
The series centers on the lawless town known as “Hell on Wheels,” that travels with and services the construction of the first transcontinental railroad, examining the railroad’s institutionalized greed and corruption, the immigrant experience and the plight of the newly emancipated African-Americans during reconstruction.
Susie Fitzgerald, the Senior VP of scripted development current programming at AMC, had this to share, “As we gear up for season three of ‘Hell on Wheels’ we are pleased to have such an accomplished showrunner as John Wirth join our team. With the help of our partners at Entertainment One, Endemol and Nomadic, we look forward to a new season of the poetic and pulpy adventures of Cullen Bohannan and the other characters as they build the railroad across the US”.
The series stars Anson Mount as former confederate soldier Cullen Bohannan, who is struggling to escape his demons from the recently fought Civil War. Colm Meaney stars as Thomas “Doc” Durant, a greedy entrepreneur taking full advantage of the changing times, and musician/actor Common is Elam Ferguson, an emancipated slave working to achieve true freedom in a work entrenched in prejudice.
‘Hell on Wheels’ was created by Joe and Tony Gayton, who will continue to serve as consultants on the series; which, again, will return for its third season on AMC in the fall of 2013.
AMCHell on WheelsJohn WirthNews
Using her favorite online handle, Rueben is an East Coast-bred gal who is now a permanent Californian and a lifelong tv-oholic. She watches at least 25 TV shows a week, goes to the movies twice a month (if not more), listens to music every waking moment, reads every day and "plays" on the internet every chance she can.
‘The Walking Dead’ Season 8 Winter Finale: Down the Rabbit Hole
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‘The Walking Dead’ Season 8 Episodes 2-5: All-Out War
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Coronavirus: As California’s hospitalizations…
Coronavirus: As California’s hospitalizations decline, COVID-19 deaths persist at a staggering rate
California's eight highest daily death tolls have come in the past 16 days
Coronavirus Update: California statewide
By Evan Webeck |
PUBLISHED: August 13, 2020 at 9:14 a.m. | UPDATED: August 13, 2020 at 9:15 a.m.
Deaths from COVID-19 continued to come at a rate of well over 100 per day in California and more than 1,000 each day nationwide, while California appeared to be close to eliminating its recently discovered backlog of tests.
After two days of 12,000-plus reported cases — more than all but one other day, according to data compiled by this news organization — the number of new cases across the state fell to 8,346 on Wednesday.
The influx of cases from the data logjam, which state officials estimated had impacted 300,000 tests, sent the seven-day average soaring back to 8,847 per day. As recently as a week ago, it had fallen to a low of 6,744 cases per day.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday about half the surge of cases from the day before could be attributed to previously unreported tests. Even with the backlogged cases, the new seven-day average was lower than its peak of more than 9,800 in mid-July.
Pointing to hospitalization data, Newsom also said the state was “turning a corner” in its battle with COVID-19.
The number of patients currently hospitalized Tuesday was its lowest since July 1, while there were fewer patients being treated in intensive care units than any time since July 3. The 5,442 active hospitalizations were 24% fewer than at its peak on July 21 and had fallen 12% in the past week, while the 1,699 intubated patients was 17% below its peak, which also came July 21, and about 7% lower than a week ago.
There were, however, another 161 deaths from the virus reported around the state Wednesday, which kept that seven-day average above 130 per day for going on two weeks. There were about 7.5% fewer fatalities in the past week than during the state’s deadliest seven-day period, which ended Aug. 6, when 1,016 Californians perished from the disease. There were 939 deaths across the state in the past week, or about 134 per day — still 33% higher than this time last month.
Los Angeles County, the largest in the nation with a population of 10 million, has accounted for the largest share of those deaths. including 52 on Wednesday. Two of its neighboring counties, Riverside (29) and Orange (11), were the only other others to report double-digit death tolls Wednesday.
The state has reported its eight highest daily death tolls since July 28 — 16 days ago — including the 161 Wednesday and 178 Tuesday.
When deaths began to rise about two weeks ago, epidemiologists warned California could be in for multiple weeks of daily death tolls in the triple digits. The death curve for COVID-19 can lag the case curve by two to four weeks, and the state experienced a plateau of about 9,000 cases per day for close to a month, meaning it could be another week or two still before California begins to see its daily death tolls decrease.
In a sign of how the pandemic has shifted, LA’s slice of the statewide deaths is shrinking, while the Central Valley’s is growing.
About 25% of the state lives in Los Angeles County, but it accounts for about 47% of the state’s deaths from COVID-19 to date (5,109). In the past week, however, LA’s share is more in line with its population — about 30%. Meanwhile, the eight-county San Joaquin Valley, home to about 4.3 million people or a little more than 10% of the state’s population, has accounted for 20% of the state’s deaths in the past week. Its share of the total deaths, about 11%, is more in line with its population.
The Bay Area reported its second consecutive day of double-digit deaths, led by seven in Alameda County and three in Contra Costa County, but it has continued to largely stave off the worst of the virus. It has seen fewer deaths than the San Joaquin Valley, both since the start of the pandemic and in the past week, despite the Bay Area’s population being nearly double the size. The region has accounted for fewer than 1 in 10 deaths and just over 1 in 10 cases statewide since the pandemic began.
The actual death toll from COVID-19 may be even higher, according to excess death data analyzed by the New York Times. Their analysis shows at least 200,000 more people have died than usual nationwide since March, about 60,000 more than have been directly linked to COVID-19.
That includes 14,400 deaths in California between March 1-Aug. 1, or about 5,000 more than had been linked to COVID-19 at that time.
On Wednesday, the nationwide death toll climbed to 165,000, while it neared 11,000 in California. The state’s case count was expected to cross 600,000 on Thursday, more than any other state, while the country had already exceeded 5.2 million cases, more than anywhere else in the world.
Evan Webeck | Contributor
Volunteers and heroes in Mendocino County
Coronavirus: California records third-deadliest day but hospitalizations decrease
Coronavirus: California details plan to track school cases, reopening
California school officials push for standardized testing waiver amid COVID-19 spike
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Will Pizza Express Go Bust?
Personal Insolvency Levels Near Ten Year Highs
Almost One-in-Three Expect Finances to Worsen in 2020
Debt charity polling reveals that twice as many Brits believe that their financial situation will get worse, rather than better, over the next 12 months.
Around one-in-three Brits (29%) think that their personal finances will get worse in the next year, while only 14% think that their situation will improve, according to the polling conducted by YouGov for StepChange.
Uncertainty in the wider economy was the top concern for 38% of people who said they thought they would be worse off, with issues like Brexit and international trade wars ongoing.
StepChange, the debt charity which was contacted by more than 330,000 people in the first six months of 2019, has launched a new campaign encouraging people to speak out about their debt problems.
The ‘We Hear You’ campaign targets those that are suffering under the weight of their financial problems in silence, urging them to reach out for free and confidential debt advice.
The polling shows a split in how people deal with money problems. Nearly two-fifths of respondents said that they would want to deal with financial difficulties privately, while 52% said that they would talk to their partner or family.
Men are more reluctant to share money concerns than women, with 42% preferring to deal with them privately compared with 34% of women.
Those who expressed a preference to act privately also showed more reluctance to discuss money with their partner or close family members, with 45% saying the never or rarely discussed the subject, compared to 30% of all respondents.
The poll also highlighted the different methods of support preferred by Brits, a third said they would be most comfortable with online advice, rising to 42% of under-50s. Others, meanwhile, prefer to seek face-to-face or telephone support.
Tom Fox, Licensed Insolvency Practitioner with Umbrella Insolvency, said: “Money is difficult to discuss, especially when we are struggling and occasionally with people that we love the most, but there are a range of different debt advice services out there and you will always be able to find a level of support that suits you. What matters is that you take the first step and reach out.”
For more information about personal insolvency solutions, speak to a member of the team today. Call: 0800 611 8888.
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Substance Abuse Rehab Centers in Dover Foxcroft, ME
Community Health and Counseling Servs Adult Child and Family Services
Community Health and Counseling Servs Adult Child and Family Services is an alcohol and drug rehab based at 1093 West Main Street in Dover Foxcroft, ME.
The primary treatment approaches at this program include Individual Psychotherapy, Couples and Family Counseling, Cognitive Behavior Therapy. The facility also offers its services in different settings, including Outpatient Rehab.
Community Health and Counseling Servs Adult Child and Family Services also offers a number of programs that are tailored to address the needs of specific individuals such as: Court Ordered Outpatient Addiction Treatment. Lastly, Community Health and Counseling Servs Adult Child and Family Services accepts the following forms of payment, including Self-Payment or Cash Payment, Insurance Through Medicaid, Medicare for Alcohol and Drug Treatment.
Mayo Regional Hospital Psychiatry and Counseling Services
Mayo Regional Hospital Psychiatry and Counseling Services is an alcohol and drug rehab based at 69 High Street in Dover Foxcroft, ME.
The primary treatment approaches at this program include Individual Psychotherapy, Couples and Family Counseling, Group Addiction Therapy. The facility also offers its services in different settings, including Outpatient Rehab.
Mayo Regional Hospital Psychiatry and Counseling Services also offers a number of programs that are tailored to address the needs of specific individuals such as: Drug and Alcohol Rehab for Persons with Co-Occurring Substance Use and Mental Disorders, Court Ordered Outpatient Addiction Treatment. Lastly, Mayo Regional Hospital Psychiatry and Counseling Services accepts the following forms of payment, including Self-Payment or Cash Payment, Insurance Through Medicaid, Medicare for Alcohol and Drug Treatment.
Care and Comfort is an alcohol and drug rehab based at 1073 West Main Street in Dover Foxcroft, ME.
Care and Comfort also offers a number of programs that are tailored to address the needs of specific individuals such as: Court Ordered Outpatient Addiction Treatment. Lastly, Care and Comfort accepts the following forms of payment, including Self-Payment or Cash Payment, Insurance Through Medicaid, Private Insurance for Alcohol and Drug Treatment.
© Copyright 2020 | www.tulsabusiness.com | All Rights Reserved.
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Home / Publication Library / Architecture, Mysticism and Myth
Architecture, Mysticism and Myth
By W.R. Lethaby
The perfect temple should stand at the centre of the world, a microcosm of the universe fabric, its walls built four square with the walls of heaven. And thus they stand the world over, be they Egyptian, Buddhist, Mexican, Greek, or Christian, with the greatest uniformity and exactitude.-from "Chapter III: Four Square"With a wide-ranging scholarship that is astonishing, a prominent figure of the Arts and Crafts design movement explores the "esoteric principles of architecture," the global, interconnected myths that underlie all the structures we build. Through his architect's eye, Lethaby looks at such diverse traditions as the ancient Norse and ancient Egyptian and at the inspiration provided by everything from the sea voyages of the Phoenicians to the astronomy of the earliest Persians, demonstrating how they inform and inspire such wonders as St. Paul's Cathedral, the Taj Mahal, the Palace at Versailles, and others. This 1891 work is a masterpiece of architectural symbolism and an essential foundation for understanding and appreciating "classical" design.British architect WILLIAM RICHARD LETHABY (1857-1931) was the first professor of design at the Royal College of Art. He also wrote Greek Buildings (1908), Mediaeval Art (1912), and Architecture (1912).
Chapter I. The World Fabric
Chapter II. The Microcosmos
Chapter III. Four Square
Chapter IV. At the Centre of the Earth
Chapter V. The Jewel-Bearing Tree
Chapter VI. The Planetary Spheres
Chapter VII. The Labyrinth
Chapter VIII. The Golden Gate of the Sun
Chapter IX. Pavements Like the Sea
Chapter X. Ceilings Like the Sky
Chapter XI. The Windows of Heaven and Three Hundred and Sixty Days
Chapter XII. The Symbol of Creation
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The Lost Picture Show
After embracing magnetic tape storage, Hollywood archives struggle to keep pace with technology.
By Marty Perlmutter, from IEEE Spectrum
If technology companies don’t come through with a long-term solution, it’s possible that humanity could lose a generation’s worth of filmmaking, or more.
Photo from "The Red Shoes" (1948) Collection at Alina Dance Archives
When the renowned cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki began planning to shoot the wilderness drama The Revenant, he decided that to capture the stark, frozen beauty of a Canadian winter, he would use no artificial light, instead relying on sunlight, moonlight, and fire. He also planned to use traditional film cameras for most of the shooting, reserving digital cameras for low-light scenes. He quickly realized, though, that film “didn’t have the sensitivity to capture the scenes we were trying to shoot, especially the things we shot at dawn and dusk,” as he told an interviewer.
The digital footage, by contrast, had no noise or graininess, and the equipment held up much better in the extreme cold. The crew soon switched over to digital cameras exclusively. “I felt this was my divorce from film—finally,” Lubezki said. The film, released in December 2015, earned him an Academy Award for cinematography two months later.
Lubezki’s late-breaking discovery of digital is one that other filmmakers the world over have been making since the first digital cameras came to market in the late 1990s. Back then, digital moviemaking was virtually unheard of; according to the producer and popular film blogger Stephen Follows, none of the top-grossing U.S. films in 2000 were recorded digitally.
These days, nearly all of the films from all of the major studios are shot and edited digitally. Like Lubezki, filmmakers have switched to digital because it allows a far greater range of special effects, filming conditions, and editing techniques. Directors no longer have to wait for film stock to be chemically processed in order to view it, and digital can substantially bring down costs compared with traditional film. Distribution of films is likewise entirely digital, feeding not only the digital cinema projectors in movie theaters but also the streaming video services run by the likes of Netflix and Hulu. The industry’s embrace of digital has been astonishingly rapid.
Digital technology has also radically altered the way that movies are preserved for posterity, but here the effect has been far less salutary. These days, the major studios and film archives largely rely on a magnetic tape storage technology known as LTO, or linear tape-open, to preserve motion pictures. When the format first emerged in the late 1990s, it seemed like a great solution. The first generation of cartridges held an impressive 100 gigabytes of uncompressed data; the latest, LTO-7, can hold 6 terabytes uncompressed and 15 TB compressed. Housed properly, the tapes can have a shelf life of 30 to 50 years. While LTO is not as long-lived as polyester film stock, which can last for a century or more in a cold, dry environment, it’s still pretty good.
The problem with LTO is obsolescence. Since the beginning, the technology has been on a Moore’s Law–like march that has resulted in a doubling in tape storage densities every 18 to 24 months. As each new generation of LTO comes to market, an older generation of LTO becomes obsolete. LTO manufacturers guarantee at most two generations of backward compatibility. What that means for film archivists with perhaps tens of thousands of LTO tapes on hand is that every few years they must invest millions of dollars in the latest format of tapes and drives and then migrate all the data on their older tapes—or risk losing access to the information altogether.
That costly, self-perpetuating cycle of data migration is why Dino Everett, film archivist for the University of Southern California, calls LTO “archive heroin—the first taste doesn’t cost much, but once you start, you can’t stop. And the habit is expensive.” As a result, Everett adds, a great deal of film and TV content that was “born digital,” even work that is only a few years old, now faces rapid extinction and, in the worst case, oblivion.
To understand how the movie studios and archives got into this predicament, it helps to know a little about what came before LTO. Up until the early 1950s, filmmakers shot on nitrate film stock, which turned out to be not just unstable but highly flammable. Over the years, entire studio collections went up in flames, sometimes accidentally and sometimes on purpose, to avoid the costs of storage. According to the Film Foundation, a nonprofit founded by director Martin Scorsese to restore and preserve important films, about half of the U.S. films made before 1950 have been lost, including an astounding 90 percent of those made before 1929.
It wasn’t just that film was difficult to preserve, however. Studios didn’t see any revenue potential in their past work. They made money by selling movie tickets; absent the kind of follow-on markets that exist today, long-term archiving didn’t make sense economically.
In the 1950s, nitrate film was eclipsed by more stable cellulose acetate “safety film” and polyester film, and it became practical for studios to start storing film reels. And so they did. The proliferation of television around the same time created a new market for film. Soon the studios came to view their archives not as an afterthought or a luxury but as a lucrative investment—and as an essential part of our collective cultural heritage, of course.
The question then became: What’s the best way to store a film? For decades, the studios took a “store and ignore” approach: Put the film reels on shelves, placed horizontally rather than vertically, at a constant cool temperature and 30 to 50 percent humidity. Ideally, they’d have redundant copies of each work in two or more of these climate-controlled vaults. Remarkably, the industry still uses film archiving, even for works that are born digital. A master copy of the finished piece will be rendered as yellow-cyan-magenta separations on black-and-white film and then preserved as traditional celluloid, on polyester film stock.
“We know how long film lasts,” says the USC archivist Everett. “And archives were designed to store things. They’re cool, they’re dry, and they have shelves. Put the film on the shelf, and it will play in a hundred years.”
One big problem with this approach is that to preserve the work, you must disturb it as little as possible. Dust, fingerprints, and scratches will obviously compromise the integrity of the film. Archive staff periodically check the stored masters for signs of degradation; occasionally, a master will be used to make a duplicate for public release, such as a showing at a repertory cinema or film festival. But otherwise, the archive remains pristine and off-limits. It’s like having a museum where none of the art is ever on display.
Maintaining such a facility isn’t cheap. And as chemical film stock becomes obsolete, along with the techniques used to create and manipulate it, relying on a film-based archive will only grow more difficult and more costly.
“The sad truth is that film images are ephemeral in nature, kept alive only by intensive effort,” David Walsh, the head of digital collections at London’s Imperial War Museum, has written. “Apart from anything else, if you are storing film in air-conditioned vaults or running digital mass-storage systems, your carbon footprint will be massive and may one day prove to be politically or practically unsustainable.”
The movie industry executives I interviewed would argue that the current system for digital archiving is already unsustainable. And yet when LTO storage first came along 20 years ago, it seemed to offer so much more than traditional film. Magnetic tape storage for computer data had been around since the 1950s, so it was considered a mature technology. LTO, as an open-standard alternative to proprietary magnetic tape storage, meant that companies wouldn’t be locked into a single vendor’s format; instead they could buy tape cartridges and tape drives from a variety of vendors, and the competition would keep costs down. Digital works could be kept in digital format. Tapes could be easily duplicated, and the data quickly accessed.
And manufacturers promised that the cartridges would last for 30 years or more. In an interview, Janet Lafleur, a product manager at Quantum Corp., which makes LTO cartridges and drives, said that LTO tape may still be “perfect” after 50 years. LTO came to be widely used for data backup in the corporate world, the sciences, and the military.
But the frequency of LTO upgrades has film archivists over a barrel. Already there have been seven generations of LTO in the 18 years of the product’s existence, and the LTO Consortium, which includes Hewlett Packard Enterprise, IBM, and Quantum, has a road map that specifies generations 8, 9, and 10. Given the short period of backward compatibility—just two generations—an LTO-5 cartridge, which can still be read on an LTO-7 drive, won’t be readable on an LTO-8 drive. So even if that tape is still free from defects in 30 or 50 years, all those gigabytes or terabytes of data will be worthless if you don’t also have a drive upon which to play it.
Steven Anastasi, vice president of global media archives and preservation services at Warner Bros., therefore puts the practical lifetime of an LTO cartridge at approximately 7 years. Before that time elapses, you must migrate to a newer generation of LTO because, of course, it takes time to move the data from one format to the next. While LTO data capacities have been steadily doubling, tape speeds have not kept up. The first generation, LTO-1, had a maximum transfer rate of 20 megabytes per second; LTO-7’s top rate is 750 MB/s. Then you need technicians to operate and troubleshoot the equipment and ensure that the migrated data is error free. Migrating a petabyte (a thousand terabytes) of data can take several months, says Anastasi.
And how much does it cost to migrate from one LTO format to the next? USC’s Everett cited a recent project to restore the 1948 classic The Red Shoes. “It was archived on LTO-3,” Everett says. “When LTO-5 came out, the quote was US $20,000 to $40,000 just to migrate it.” Now that the film is on LTO-5, it will soon have to be migrated again, to LTO-7.
For a large film archive, data migration costs can easily run into the millions. A single LTO-7 cartridge goes for about $115 , so an archive that needs 50,000 new cartridges will have to shell out $5.75 million, or perhaps a little less with volume discounts. LTO drives aren’t cheap either. An autoloader for LTO-6 can be had for less than $3,000; an equivalent for LTO-7 is double that. And archivists are compelled to maintain and service each new generation of LTO drive along with preserving the LTO cartridges.
Lee Kline, technical director at Janus Films’ Criterion Collection, regards data migration as an unavoidable hassle: “Nobody wants to do it, but you have to.” Archivists like Kline at least have the budgets to maintain their digital films. Independent filmmakers, documentarians, and small TV producers don’t. These days, an estimated 75 percent of the films shown in U.S. theaters are considered independent. From a preservation standpoint, those digital works might as well be stored on flammable nitrate film.
Meanwhile, the motion-picture studios are churning out content at an ever-increasing rate. The head of digital archiving at one major studio, who asked not to be identified, told me that it costs about $20,000 a year to digitally store one feature film and related assets such as deleted scenes and trailers. All told, the digital components of a big-budget feature can total 350 TB. Storing a single episode of a high-end hour-long TV program can cost $12,000 per year. Major studios like Disney, NBCUniversal, Sony, and Warner each have archives of tens of thousands of TV episodes and features, and they’re adding new titles all the time.
Meanwhile, the use of higher-resolution digital cameras and 3D cameras has caused the amount of potentially archivable material to skyrocket. “We went from standard definition to HD and then from HD to UHD,” Peter Schade, NBCUniversal’s vice president of content management, said in an interview. Pixel resolutions have gone from 2K to 4K and soon, 8K, he adds. Codecs—the software used to compress and decompress digital video files—keep changing, as do the hardware and software for playback. “And the rate of change has escalated,” Schade says.
Computer-animation studios like Pixar have their own archiving issues. Part of the creative process in a feature-length animated film is developing the algorithms and other digital tools to render the images. It’s impossible to preserve those software assets in a traditional film vault or even on LTO tape, and so animation and visual effects studios have had to develop their own archival methods. Even so, the sheer pace of technological advancement means those digital tools become obsolete quickly, too.
When Pixar wanted to release its 2003 film Finding Nemo for Blu-ray 3D in 2012, the studio had to rerender the film to produce the 3D effects. The studio by then was no longer using the same animation software system, and it found that certain aspects of the original could not be emulated in its new software. The movement of seagrass, for instance, had been controlled by a random number generator, but there was no way to retrieve the original seed value for that generator. So animators manually replicated the plants’ movements frame by frame, a laborious process. The fact that the studio had lost access to its own film after less than a decade is a sobering commentary on the challenges of archiving computer-generated work.
Another problem for archivists is that digital camera technology has allowed productions to shoot essentially everything. In the past, the ratio of what’s shot to what’s eventually used for a feature film was typically 10 to 1. These days, says Warner archive chief Anastasi, films can go as high as 200 to 1. “On some sets, they’re simply not turning the camera off,” he says.
All that material will typically get saved and stored for a while. But at some point, somebody will have to decide how much of that excess really needs to be preserved for posterity. Given the huge expense of film preservation, archivists are being ruthless about what they choose to store. “There’s no way we can store it all,” says USC archivist Everett. “We’re just going to store the bare minimum.”
At Warner, Anastasi has taken a triage approach. Four years ago, when he took over the studio’s archives, he faced two distinct challenges: First he had to “stop the bleeding” by figuring out how to save those assets that were most vulnerable to being lost. Those on two-inch videotape, the medium of choice for network TV shows in the 1970s and 1980s, “were the most at risk. We captured that material on digital as uncompressed JPEG 2000 files.” That part of the triage is now nearly complete.
The second challenge was finding a way to affordably maintain the studio’s archive for more than a generation. He set the goal at “50-plus years.” He also decided that rather than operating an in-house archive, the problem would be better handled by outsourcing it. And so in 2014, Warner signed a long-term contract with USC Libraries to maintain the studio’s archives.
Sam Gustman, associate dean of the USC Libraries, says that the Warner archives are now part of 50 petabytes of archived data at USC, which also includes nearly 54,000 video interviews with Holocaust survivors gathered by the USC Shoah Foundation. For 20 years of storage, including power, supervision, and data migration every three years, USC charges $1,000 per terabyte, or $1,000,000 per petabyte. That works out to a relatively affordable $2.5 million per year for its current 50-PB holdings. It’s not a money-making business, Gustman adds.
The USC archive maintains copies of each tape at several locations. The aim is to “touch every tape” every six months, using an automated system, Gustman explains. A robotic arm selects a tape from a rack and loads it into a reader, which plays it back while a computer checks for aberrations. Any tape that isn’t perfect is immediately trashed, and the archive makes a replacement from one of its remaining copies of the tape. The archive migrates to the latest version of LTO as it becomes available, so no tape is more than three years old.
Warner also began classifying its 8,000 feature films and 5,000 TV shows into two categories: those it will “manage”—that is, preserve for the long term—and those it deems “perishable.” Managed assets include not just the finished work but also marketing materials and some deleted scenes. Perishable material may include dailies for features or unused footage; it will be stored for some time in the archive but may not be migrated. To decide what’s perishable and what’s not, the studio considers things like how successful the film has been, how popular its stars are, and whether the film could have enduring (or cult) appeal.
The manage-or-perish scheme is by no means perfect, Anastasi admits, but he sees it as buying the studio a little time until a truly long-term digital storage technology comes along. If one ever does.
For now, he says, “We’ll keep it, and there’ll be time to rethink the strategy. But after 10 years, we can’t guarantee access” to any of the material that hasn’t been migrated to managed storage.
Everett says Warner’s strategic thinking about digital archiving is pioneering. All of the studios, he notes, “are in a realm where there is no policy.” Meanwhile, they’re waiting for an archival technology that is better than LTO. “Originally, we went all digital because it’s so much cheaper,” Everett notes. “But is it? Really? We haven’t solved the storage problem.”
If technology companies don’t come through with a long-term solution, it’s possible that humanity could lose a generation’s worth of filmmaking, or more. Here’s what that would mean. Literally tens of thousands of motion pictures, TV shows, and other works would just quietly cease to exist at some point in the foreseeable future. The cultural loss would be incalculable because these works have significance beyond their aesthetics and entertainment value. They are major markers of the creative life of our time.
Most of the archivists I spoke with remain—officially at least—optimistic that a good, sound, post-LTO solution will eventually emerge. But not everyone shares that view. The most chilling prediction I heard came from a top technician at Technicolor.
"There's going to be a large dead period," he told me, "from the late '90s through 2020, where most media will be lost."
Marty Perlmutter is based in Southern California and has worked in interactive video and new media for four decades, including early work designing immersive technology hardware, building exhibits, and exploring artistic and commercial uses of image control. Reprinted from IEEE Spectrum (May 2017), a monthly magazine for the technology insider.
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BEST OF MOTHER EARTH NEWS: GARDENING A-Z CD-ROM
Gardening A-Z brings you the best in vegetable gardening tips and instructions. With this handy, informative guide, you can choose the right varieties for your particular garden and discover new options you’ve never considered before. Our expert and time-tested advice will help you grow healthy, beautiful vegetables, which includes:
Seven steps to growing superior asparagus spears
Sweet beets, one of the sweetest and most nutritious of all vegetables
Beautiful and bountiful broccoli
Grow your own corn with the freshest flavor
Start a cold-hardy crop of kale now for sweet soups and salads this winter
Discover which types of onions are the best choices for your garden and kitchen
Parsnips the ivory jewel of the root vegetables
Fresh peas from the garden are a sweet and nutritious treat
Peppers are easy to raise and as versatile as they are various
Dozens of different varieties of potatoes you can grow in your garden
You’ll also learn to control pests naturally, plant to improve your soil, and find out when and how to harvest for the best flavor. Also check out seed sources, preservation methods and seed saving techniques. Whether this is your first foray into gardening or you have decades of experience, you’re sure to find helpful tips and instructions in these pages. Happy gardening!
*PC requirements: CD-ROM drive, Adobe Acrobat Reader (available from Adobe.com.)
MOTHER EARTH NEWS ARCHIVE 1970-2017: CLASSIC USB DRIVE
In 2003, we introduced an archive of all Mother Earth News' issues from the 1970s on CD-ROM, presenting a new way of accessing past issues of the magazine in a digital environment. Thousands of readers responded to the notion of being able to sift through our first decade at the click of a mouse, and to the ability to search for what specifically interested them.
Following that success, we continued to expand the archive to cover more of the magazine's past issues on disc. Also available is the Multiplatform Edition, which makes the magazine content available not just on desktop and laptop computers, but also via smartphones and the multitude of portable reading devices that have become so ubiquitous. Now, we are pleased to reintroduce the classic version of the archive, for the first time with enhanced search functionality across Mother's entire 48-year history. With this version of the archive, you can search for articles about earth-sheltered homes, cheap solar power, organic gardening techniques, raising chickens, beekeeping, do-it-yourself projects and much more.
Mother Earth News has also published hundreds of healthy, down-to-earth recipes, and the archive includes all the delicious directions we've published in the magazine. From strawberry jam and homemade jerky to hummus and morel mushroom quiche, you'll find something to satisfy every appetite.
Find almost every story, tip and technique published in the magazine and online from 1970-2017 … more than 21,000 articles!
Confused about the difference between our two archive products? These are the key distinctions:
The Multiplatform Edition contains files for each year of the magazine in a format that can be transferred for viewing and searching on multiple devices. The content can only be viewed and searched year by year.
The Classic Edition provides a browser-based interface for accessing the archive on your desktop computer or laptop. You can do advanced searches and view content from the entire 48-year archive, all at once!
The archive content is now available on USB flash drives. Increasingly, computers and laptops are sold without DVD drives but with USB ports. With the archive available on a USB flash drive, you can upload and access Mother Earth News articles without needing an external DVD drive. Note: Some tablets and mobile devices are equipped with USB ports, allowing access to archive content without having to first upload the flash drive's content to a computer.
The Classic Archive Edition on USB may also be used on tablets equipped with USB ports (Android or Windows tablets). At least 1.6 GB of storage space is recommended for it to run the most efficiently on these devices.
Please Note: We recommend using the Firefox Web browser to view this USB. You can download Firefox here.
MOTHER EARTH NEWS ARCHIVE 1970-2017: MULTI USB DRIVE
Pre-order today! Orders will ship by March 9, 2018.
You can now access Mother Earth News from anywhere, on any device. The Mother Earth News Archive 1970-2017: Multiplatform USB Flash Drive contains more than 21,000 articles and web posts, published from 1970 to 2017, in an all new format that can be viewed on your PC, Mac, iPad, smartphone, Kindle and more!
Mother Earth News has been the leader of sustainable and wiser living for more than 47 years, and with this archive, you'll quickly see why. The magazine has been publishing articles about homesteading, real food, sustainability and alternative energy since 1970.
Find articles about earth-sheltered homes, cheap solar power, organic gardening and raising chickens … plus do-it-yourself projects and much more.
Mother Earth News has also published hundreds of healthy, down-to-earth recipes, and the archive includes all of the recipes we've published in the magazine from 1970 to 2017. From strawberry jam and homemade jerky to hummus and morel mushroom quiche, you'll find something to satisfy every appetite.
Find almost every story, tip and technique published in the magazine from 1970-2017: more than 21,000 articles that you can access from anywhere, on any device, without the need of an Internet connection.
To enable users to view this archive on as many devices as possible, we provide it in the MOBI format (for most Kindle devices) and the EPUB format (for computers and all other mobile devices). There are dozens of options for viewing, and we have included detailed instructions on the USB Flash Drive for viewing on a computer, electronic reader, smartphone or tablet. Once the desired reading software has been established, the content can be accessed with or without an online connection.
Readers who plan to view the archive on their computer without an online connection will need an e-book management application. Two applications we recommend are Adobe Digital Editions and Calibre. Both of these are free but require an Internet connection to download the application. Once installed, you no longer need an Internet connection.
Mother Earth News Archive Instructions For Use
We are pleased to reintroduce the classic version of the archive with enhanced search functionality across Mother's entire 49-year history. With this version of the archive, you can search for articles about earth-sheltered homes, cheap solar power, organic gardening techniques, raising chickens, beekeeping, do-it-yourself projects, delicious recipes, and much more. Find almost every story, tip and technique published in the magazine and online from 1970-2018 … more than 22,000 articles!
The Multiplatform Edition contains files for each year of the magazine in a format that can be transferred for viewing and searching on multiple devices. The content can only be viewed and searched year by year. The content on the Multiplatform archive appears as the magazine itself, so you can simulate flipping through each page.
MOTHER EARTH NEWS ARCHIVE 1970-2018: MULTIPLATFORM USB DRIVE
We are pleased to reintroduce the multiplatform version of the archive featuring all of Mother's entire 49-year history. You'll find articles about earth-sheltered homes, cheap solar power, organic gardening techniques, raising chickens, beekeeping, do-it-yourself projects, delicious recipes, and much more. Find almost every story, blog post, tip and technique published in the magazine and online from 1970-2018 … more than 22,000 articles!
ULTIMATE GARDENING CD-ROM
This simply organized, completely searchable digital resource is packed with our most useful and unique information on organic gardening to help you grow in the most natural, non-toxic way possible.
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DOJ Watchdog Debunks Trump's Favorite 2016 Conspiracy Theory
The inspector general's report will reportedly destroy multiple GOP talking points about 2016, including Trump's claim that the FBI spied on his campaign.
By Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.
As President Donald Trump and his campaign have faced ongoing questions and investigations into their dealings with Russia during the 2016 election, Republicans have focused their 2016 efforts on a dueling conspiracy theory, which posits that the FBI's counterintelligence operation concerning the Trump campaign and Russia—which evolved into the Mueller investigation—was driven by political bias. Unfortunately for the president and his allies, several of their most salacious claims are reportedly about to get debunked. The New York Times reports that a soon-to-be-released report from the Justice Department's Inspector General regarding the FBI's counterintelligence operation (code-named Crossfire Hurricane) is expected to undercut some of the GOP's biggest talking points—including their accusation that the FBI spied on the Trump campaign.
Per the Times, Inspector General Michael Horowitz found “no evidence that the FBI attempted to place undercover agents or informants inside Donald J. Trump’s campaign in 2016.” The intelligence agency did undertake some covert steps as part of their investigation, which the Times describes as “typical law enforcement activities,” including the use of an FBI informant, academic Stefan A. Halper, who met with Trump campaign advisers Carter Page and George Papadopoulos. The agency also had an undercover agent meet with Papadopoulos, posing as Halper's assistant. (The FBI's “Crossfire Hurricane” operation was spurred by Papadopoulos being offered dirt on Hillary Clinton's campaign by a Russian intermediary, Joseph Mifsud.) But crucially, the Times notes, Horowitz “found no evidence that Mr. Halper tried to infiltrate the Trump campaign itself,” and that no FBI informants had ever been directed to gather information on the campaign. The findings will debunk a major talking point on the right that the FBI “spied” on the campaign, which has been propagated by U.S. Attorney General William Barr, and—of course— by Trump himself, who's referred to the conspiracy theory as “the biggest & worst political scandal in the history of the United States of America.” “The fact is that the phony Witch Hunt is a giant scam where Democrats and other really bad people, SPIED ON MY CAMPAIGN!” the president tweeted in June. (Trump has also claimed without evidence that then-President Barack Obama wiretapped his phone as part of the supposed anti-Trump effort, which the Times suggests has also been debunked.) Current FBI Director Christopher Wray, for his part, has already said there's no evidence to back up the spying theory, telling Congress in May that he doesn't “personally have any evidence of that sort.”
And the spying claims aren't the only Trumpworld conspiracy theories on the verge of getting debunked. According to the Times, whose Wednesday report builds on previous previews of the I.G. report from the Times and Washington Post, Horowitz has also dismantled several of the GOP's other spurious 2016 claims, including the suggestion that Mifsud, who offered Papadopoulos dirt on Clinton, was himself an FBI informant. Papadopoulos, who was convicted for lying to FBI agents about his conversations with Mifsud, helped spread that claim himself, alleging that the FBI and CIA had intentionally used Mifsud to set Papadopoulos up and damage Trump's campaign. Horowitz is also expected to report that the FBI did not, as Republicans like to claim, rely on information from the controversial dossier compiled by Christopher Steele to open their investigation.
But Horowitz's report will also include details that Republicans will appreciate. The I.G. reportedly found that the FBI was “careless and unprofessional” in how it pursued a wiretap for Page (after the adviser left the Trump campaign), and the report will reportedly include an entire chart detailing the mistakes FBI officials made during that process. Horowitz reportedly also referred criminal charges regarding low-level FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith's alleged alteration of an email, which officials used to seek court approval for Page's wiretap to be renewed. While the Steele dossier didn't inspire the FBI to open their investigation, it was used as part of the wiretap application for Page, and Horowitz is expected to criticize the FBI for “failing to tell the judges who approved the wiretap applications about potential problems with the dossier.” But the top-line findings suggesting the FBI's investigation wasn't the political hit job the Trump team claims are sure to be a blow to the president and his allies—and its release probably won't be the “historic” event Trump claimed it would be in a recent interview on Fox & Friends. (Or at least, not in the way he wants it to be.)
Luckily for the Trump team, the president has a second chance to get some better results. Trump's sycophantic attorney general Barr has also ordered another DOJ investigation into the 2016 election and the origins of the FBI probe, which is being headed up by U.S. Attorney for Connecticut John Durham and has so far seen Barr and Durham travel around the world to solicit dirt from foreign officials. Whether that investigation will prove more fruitful for the president remains unclear—Democrats and former colleagues have praised Durham as a “straight shooter” and “fierce and fair prosecutor”—but Trump, for his part, is already putting stock in what the attorney general has to say. “Perhaps even more importantly, you have Durham coming out shortly [after Horowitz's report]. He’s the U.S. Attorney, and he’s already announced it’s criminal,” Trump said on Fox & Friends. “We’ll see what happens.”
— Here’s why Kellyanne Conway is caught in the cross fire of the West Wing
— Why do Dubai’s princesses keep trying to escape from their families?
— Republicans’ attempt to smear a decorated war veteran promptly blew up in their faces
— After the collapse of WeWork, Adam Neumann talks of himself as a martyr
— Trump continues losing his mind as impeachment witnesses reveal more details
— From the Archive: Going behind Bernie Madoff’s affable façade to reveal his most intimate betrayals
Russia Investigation
Justice Department Opens Criminal Probe Into Its Russia Investigation
The Untold Tale of Young William Barr Among the Manhattan Liberals
By Marie Brenner
What George Papadopoulos Taught Me About Trump’s Counter-Theory of Collusion
By T.A. Frank
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Governor Northam Announces Expansion of Innovative Workforce Program to Help Get Virginians Back to Work
Virginia to invest $1.7 million to scale up Network2Work initiative connecting job seekers to high-quality careers, wraparound supports
RICHMOND—Governor Ralph Northam today announced that Virginia will invest $1.7 million over the next two years to expand the innovative Network2Work program, a unique workforce development initiative established by Piedmont Virginia Community College (PVCC) that connects job seekers with local job networks and support services. The Commonwealth will work in partnership with the Virginia Community College System to scale up the Network2Work model in the Shenandoah Valley, Hampton Roads, and Greater Richmond regions.
“People across our Commonwealth are facing unprecedented and far-reaching impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and challenging times like these call for innovative solutions,” said Governor Northam. “Network2Work uses a proactive approach to workforce development, leveraging community-based networks to connect job seekers with the skills and resources they need to find employment despite barriers that might include lack of childcare, transportation, or other necessities. With the expansion of this program, we will get more Virginians back to work, help employers secure the talent they need to thrive, and put our economy in a strong position to rebound from this crisis.”
The program works with employers to post jobs with family-sustaining wages through an app-based database. Network2Work then reaches out to community-based connectors, who are well-respected individuals at the center of social networks in their neighborhoods, local organizations, schools, places of worship, and immigrant communities. Connectors help identify and refer job seekers who are a good match for the available opportunities. The program’s staff then help the job seeker chart a pathway to securing the job by tapping into work skills, life management, or health resources and additional wraparound supports through a network of nonprofit organizations and local human services agencies. This innovative, community-based framework helps families become self-sufficient by identifying employment opportunities in their reach and positioning them to secure and excel in those jobs.
“Our framework is built on a simple premise: a community thrives when its residents thrive,” said Ridge Schuyler, who first developed the Network2Work model and will lead efforts to expand the program in the three pilot areas. “With this exciting expansion, we will be able to help more Virginians realize their full potential by providing them with the connections and support services they need to be successful in the workforce and in their communities.”
To date, 85 percent of Network2Work job seekers have found jobs, and 59 percent of those jobs pay more than $25,000 annually. About 40 percent of the program’s participants are single mothers. More than 70,000 families that live within the three pilot sites are the focus of Network2Work’s expansion, including families whose employment has been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.
“The new Network2Work pilot program will help ensure that every Virginian is able to access high-quality employment as we recover from the COVID-19 crisis,” said Chief Workforce Development Advisor Megan Healy. “By tapping into local networks of employers, service providers, and community-based connectors, the program will demonstrate its ability to meet job seekers where they are.”
“The Network2Work framework is the most innovative approach to connecting job seekers with high-quality jobs that I have seen in my 42 years of community college work,” said PVCC President Dr. Frank Friedman. “I have been proud to witness the program’s growing impact, which served 19 job seekers in its first year and has now reached more than 900. Our employer network has grown from four to over 90 employers, offering a total of over $9 million in income to our program participants. We look forward to building on this strong foundation and sharing what we have learned with others to help improve the well-being of families across the Commonwealth.”
Network2Work was first developed through a partnership between the PVCC and the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce to make sure all residents in the region had support to get a job. In 2016, the program was the recipient of the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation’s inaugural Strengthening Systems Grant. To learn more about Network2Work, visit pvcc.edu/network2work.
View the release on the Governor's website
Governor Northam Takes Action to Protect Businesses from Increasing Cost of Unemployment Insurance
Office Closings and Delayed Openings for December 16, 2020
Governor Northam Directs $30 Million to Support Workforce Training for Unemployed Virginians
November 2020 Local Unemployment Rates
Virginia’s Seasonally Adjusted Unemployment Rate Decreased to 4.9 Percent in November
October 2020 Local Unemployment Rates
The Virginia unemployment rate fell to 5.3 percent in October while total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 34,000
VEC Notified of End of Extended Benefits Program
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Exclusive: Interview with Kumari Suraj
We've been following the beautiful and talented Kumari Suraj's dance career for a while now. Suraj has been traveling all over the world teaching and performing her very own fusion "Bollywhack!" She was finally back in LA so we knew we wanted to reach out and connect with her. We met up for lunch and chatted about everything from her unique childhood, her love of dance, music, fashion and all things PRIDE!
What was it like growing up in a multiracial household?
I was born into a multi-cultural military family. Both parents were in the military. My mother is Native American and European. My father is West Indian, Desi and Sikh. He had special permission from the military to keep his turban, full beard and long hair. Because of the military my parents lived in Korea. I grew up with my parents speaking Korean phrases and eating Korean food. Both my parents are musicians. My dad use to have a recording studio in our basement. My dad was a musician and he had every instrument. My mom is a pianist. So I grew up around music. It was just apart of who we were. My parents split up when I was 4 and my mom did her best to keep us connected to all of our cultural roots so we could understand our own mixed identities. I was obsessed with Bollywood films when I was a kid. We only had the IFC channel at that time which would play item numbers from Bollywood movies at 2 in the morning. So I'd stay up and watch them and that was like my only exposure at the time. As a kid I always use to feel really excited watching them because it was like, oh this is a part of my blood, but also kind of sad because I didn't look like any of them. That was another journey of self acceptance. Because I'm a person of color with no color. People can't really place me anywhere. I have a very strong West Indian, East Indian, Native American, and European background. It's been an interesting journey.
When did your passion for dance first start?
I started dancing because I watched the movie Flash Dance when I was 3. I also found out later that Jennifer Beals, the lead in the film was mixed race as well. I had an obsession for a while of finding people of color who didn't have any color so I could figure out who I was. I was obsessed with that film and her. I even had the hair and wore leg warmers. I've been dancing for 32 years this July. I started with ballet when I was 3 years old and I got boobies at 8 and realized I'd never be a skinny ballerina. My dreams were crushed. So I moved on to hip hop. When my parents split, my mom reintroduced us to Christianity so we grew up in the church. We had a really cool church and we had a youth group that was like MTV for Jesus. It was filled with bboys, graffiti artists, and MCs. I got to perform on tv with them.
We were taught that it was okay to be yourself and you can worship God with your art.
After high school I just wanted more. I was determined to learn as many dance styles as I could. I got into breaking and was a Rock Steady crew member in New York. From the breaking scene I got into the popping and locking scene, house, vogue, and whacking. I learned from the people who created these dance styles. I wanted to learn everything I could about street dance. My Dadi Ma (dad's mother) is West Indian so along the way I learned dance styles of the African Diaspora. It wasn't until I moved to LA at 25 that I took my first Indian dance class. I started a crew called The Waackers and one of the girls from the crew was a classical Indian dancer. So I taught her Whacking and she taught me Bharatanatyam. She was actually the muse for Bollywhack. I went on to study Bhangra, Classical Indian dance and Bollywood.
The more dance styles I learned and the more I got into music, fashion and art the more I realized how connected we all really are.
What was it like competing on Dance Plus in India?
It was the most amazing experience because I wanted to learn more about Production. It was like production bootcamp. It was intense. Introducing Bollywhack to India was really cool. In India sexuality was so fluid pre-colonialism. Whacking is a queer dance. It comes from the queer LA club scene in the 70's. Putting it out into an audience that may have preconceived notions with the LGBTQ+ community was a really big deal and we did it with glitter and smiles so everybody fell in love with it. It raised a lot of questions for people there - "Like where does Whacking come from?" "What is queer?" "Is it ok?" "Is my kid queer?" Bollywhack isn't just a cultural fusion of dance it's also the LGBTQ+ inclusion into the Indian community.
What does Pride mean to you?
I come from a queer household. My grandma on my mom's side is queer. So I grew up in a family that was accepting of gay, lesbian, transgender, drag queens and bi-sexuals. My grandma was super Christian. She was very very religious and her whole ministry was about getting people to understand that God is love and your sexual orientation doesn't matter. My grandma was really slick and I didn't realize it until I was older. She was a pastor and she use to be a pastor in both gay and straight churches. When she was in straight churches she would keep it under the radar until they completely fell in love with her. Once she was integrated into the ministry she would sit down with the pastor and be like, "listen I'm gay." They would usually choke at first, but they already loved her and continued to love her and her contributions to the Church. The beautiful thing was that her whole mission was to show people that God is love and orientation doesn't matter, that gay people are normal too and can be a healthy part of a community. I'm grateful for the way I grew up. I've known what my sexual orientation was since I was 5. I'm Pansexual. I'm attracted to everybody - men, women, trans. I'm attracted to people as humans. My companionship in my heart is with women. I definitely don't feel like it's a choice at all. I don't even know how that argument is still circulating. I felt overwhelmed at Pride in Los Angeles this month. It made me miss my grandma a lot. Walking around and seeing everyone live their truth is such a beautiful thing.
Pride to me is the ability to be yourself freely and share your identities and preferences while also accepting everyone else's identities and preferences.
The queer space is spreading more and more. I like the progress that's being made and how there's more safe spaces for the queer community and there's more of an understanding. Parents aren't just kicking their queer kids out of the house like before. I think a lot of my grandma and how she went through hell to be who she was and she did it proudly. She always gave love no matter what. I loved listening to her stories so I know what older generations have gone through. Their struggles have made it easier for us to openly live our truths.
Has there been a moment that you felt inspired by someone else being inspired by you?
I'm blessed to have many of these moments. It's overwhelming every time, but also so humbling. I have really amazing and powerful students all over the world. I think the most recent one would be Ridy Sheikh. She left an opportunity to be in a movie to study Waacking & Bollywhack under me and be apart of the team from Dance Plus. She was part of the team for Dance Plus. Watching this very conservative Russian-Bengali girl become an even more powerful force was inspirational.
For the past decade I've been a dance educator. I want to do more choreography for film and television. Also, plus size modeling and possibly acting. I have been accepted into FIDM in LA and am going back to finish my degree for fashion design. I started fashion design when I was a teenager, but never finished it because my dance career took off. My love for fashion came from my parents. The way they dressed in the 70's and 80's was impeccable. Both of them wore body suits and fur coats. My dad had a man purse - they were just both so hip. They looked like rock stars. My grandparents on both sides were also very fashionable. I think it's the standards on both sides of the family that's continued. With all this fashion influence my generation, my brother, my cousins and I all love to dress. My grandma taught me how to sew. All of the women on my mom's side made their own clothes and did a lot of DIY projects in general. I've been doing a lot of creative direction. That's what I really want to lean on. I love storytelling. I love the whole aesthetic of Artistic direction. It's lights, camera, action, fashion, dance - it makes people feel something. When I moved to LA that's all I wanted to do. I wanted to get paid to make people feel; getting paid for it was a bonus.
Kumari is an important creative in our community. Her message of spreading love, light and art was so clearly evident as we were getting to know her! We're so exited for what our sister has in store for the future! Make sure you follow Ms. Suraj and check out her awesome videos online!
Kumari’s socials:
https://www.instagram.com/kumarisuraj/?hl=en
https://www.youtube.com/user/KumisciousWebo
https://twitter.com/kumarisuraj?lang=en
Check out Kumari's videos below!
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Marking the tenth anniversary of the 7/7 London attacks, Victim Support staff members remember the charity’s involvement in helping people affected.
Four Al Qaeda-affiliated suicide bombers targeted London commuters on 7 July 2005. 52 people were killed and 700 more were injured.
Pat Green, a current Victim Support manager, was at the time in charge of a Victim Support branch, just a mile from the Aldgate bomb. Recalling the charity’s immediate response after being brought in by police, he says: “We helped establish a central point within the Royal Horticultural Hall, where those that had been caught up in the bombings could come and receive whatever support they needed.”
The centre was set up in partnership with a number of organisations, including the British Red Cross and Salvation Army, where those who had been affected by the attacks could access the help they needed. Victim Support offered emotional support and practical information to anyone who had witnessed or been injured in the blasts, as well as those who had tragically lost loved ones.
Ayse Hassan, Victim Support’s London Services Manager, was based at the centre. She supported a number of victims affected by the blasts, including one injured on the bus bombed at Tavistock Square. The victim shared their fear of using public transport again and was equally scared of their children using it too.
Ayse listened to the victim’s feelings and worked with them on coping mechanisms, to help the victim regain their confidence using public transport again. Like the victim, Ayse was also anxious of using public transport again, but helping others enabled her to cope with her own fears.
Beyond the pain caused on the streets of London, the terrorists’ influence also stretched country-wide – something demonstrated in the sudden rise in anti-Muslim hate crime across the UK.
Ayse supported a person from the Muslim community whose family member had been injured on the tube. They were upset the attack had happened, yet also angry that they and their loved ones were being further victimised as anti-Muslim sentiment rose in the UK.
Pat recalls: “The number of hate crimes committed against Muslims immediately after the bombings rose by around six times.
To help tackle this, Victim Support set up regional support centres, and kept in close contact with local Muslim groups to track the extent of the problem throughout the period. The charity sent many messages of reassurance to them, letting them know they could come to us no matter what the circumstances – whether they’d decided to report something as a crime or not.
Victim Support continues to help people affected by terrorist atrocities and has set up a helpline for victims and witnesses from the Tunisia attacks. If you have been personally affected by the incidents in Tunisia and would like emotional support, please call the helpline on 0808 28 111 36. The number is free and calls are confidential.
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The Anti-Tax Governor’s Tax Haven
by Wayne Barrett
On January 29—the same day George Pataki unveiled the most punishing budget in state history—he also made the biggest purchase of his life, buying a dairy farm off lake champlain in upstate Essex County for $1.2 million. The acquisition was seamlessly consistent with his budgetary no-tax mantra, ostensibly timed to avoid paying capital gains taxes on the simultaneous sale,at a windfall price, of a Florida citrus grove partially owned by his wife Libby.
The governor, who was so broke that he had to take bank loans to meet expenses shortly after his 1994 election, signed closing papers as a “managing member” of a new corporation, South Farm LLC, when he acquired the 369-acre dairy farm that borders the lake. The seller, a local realtor named Donald Duley, took back a $980,000 mortgage, meaning the Patakis only had to put up $220,000. That is $380,000 less than their likely proceeds from the Florida sale, giving them a tax-free nest egg to cover both living costs and mortgage payments.
It is not possible from public documents to determine Libby Pataki’s precise earnings on the 1430-acre Florida property. Disclosure forms indicate that she acquired an 8 percent interest in Old Blue LLC, which joined another small investment firm in forming Sunrise Boys LLC and buying the groves. Assuming that Old Blue and the other firm are 50-50 partners in the ownership of Sunrise, the Pataki proceeds on the grove sale would be $600,400. IRS regulations permit taxpayers to pay no taxes on real estate gains if they move to buy a similar investment property within 45 days of a sale, and close within 180 days.
The Florida bonanza has all the earmarks of a politically wired transaction, orchestrated by land preservation officials in Jeb Bush’s administration. A week after both Bush and Pataki were re-elected in November, the South Florida Water Management District, a state corporation whose members are appointed by the governor, voted to approve paying $15 million for the Pataki parcel, which Libby and her partners had acquired in 2000 for $4.4 million. The price was three times what the state offered in 1999 and $360 more per acre than it simultaneously paid for pristine wetlands next door, even though the adjacent parcel contained what government documents described as “the bulk of the environmentally sensitive portion of the tract.”
The financing was supposed to come primarily from the state’s Department of Environmental Protection, but on December 12, the water district decided it could complete the deal quicker if it used its own money. “This is the most fast-tracked environmental land purchase we’ve ever had,” crowed Michael DiTerlizzi, the top official in Martin County, which also participated in the acquisition. The financing switch meant that Bush and his cabinet did not have to personally sign off on the transaction, which they would have had to do if DEP bought it.
That was the second time in the recent history of the deal that the Bush team made a sudden switch. State conservation officials had rejected the site for acquisition after touring it and the adjacent parcel in October 2000, when the Pataki group did not want to sell it. But after canker swept through 150 acres of the groves in the fall of 2001, the group suddenly wanted the state to buy it. Last February the same state officials agreed to re-visit the tract, which borders the Loxahatchee River, partly in Martin and partly in Palm Beach counties. The second visit in April launched the quick-as-a-wink acquisition process.
Skipping final state approvals also allowed the deal to be completed by December 30, 2002, when Richard Hayden, the wealthy Oregon attorney who formed the three-person Pataki partnership, signed the closing papers. A Yale and Columbia Law School classmate of the governor’s, Hayden has also paid Mrs. Pataki $285,000 as a consultant to a Long Island-based medical technology firm he owns. By concluding the deal in 2002, the Patakis may derive additional tax benefits, taking a capital loss on the sale last year of another farm they owned in Salem, near Lake George in Washington County. They sold the farm for $199,000—$61,000 less than they bought it for in 1995, though they did retain some of its vacant acreage.
Pataki moved to sell the Salem property in early 2002, just as Florida officials began considering acquisition of the Pataki parcel. The Salem deal closed in June, just as the Bush administration designated the Florida parcel as a top priority for preservation purchase. The governor’s spokesman said then that he and Libby “reluctantly decided it was time to sell a portion of the farm” because he “simply hasn’t been able to spend much time there,” though it is only 40 miles from Albany. The same spokesman said in January that the the Patakis “love it” at the Essex farm and “look forward to spending time there,” though it is 135 miles from Albany and 237 miles from Garrison, where the family lives in a 25-room mansion along the Hudson River.
In fact, the Patakis engaged in a very similar Section 1031 tax swap when they bought the Garrison house in 1986. They and two partners sold a vacant investment property in Putnam County on the same day that the Patakis acquired the sprawling Victorian home. Though the Patakis made a $401,666 capital gain on the sale, they paid no taxes at all that year, buying the Garrison home for $700,000. Then an assemblyman whose meager state and law firm earnings for the 14 years before he became governor averaged $64,000 (Libby was unemployed), Pataki was able to live on the untaxed Putnam gain.
Since these swaps are largely restricted to what the IRS calls “like properties,” the Patakis rented the Garrison house, at least in part, before fully occupying it. Their use of it as a residence, like their announced plans now to “spend time” in Essex, may raise questions about the legality of their exploitation of this loophole.
** Not only did the governor find time on budget day to sign the final documents to get this farm, he championed a new $10 million tax cut for renovating historic houses that might actually apply to his new property. Even as his budget savages one social or educational program after another, he proposed this new preservation tax break, just as he did, unsuccessfully, last year. He’s also already steered through the legislature both a tax credit and grant program that could aid any restoration he might attempt of the “historic barn” he’s bought in Essex, where the entire town is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The ex-state senator who helped him find the farm and whose law firm did the early legal work on the deal, Ron Stafford, has also recently been named by Pataki to head a state Olympics committee and to serve on the SUNY board.
That’s how neatly the country-boy governor’s life fits together. It’s not that he’s proposing the historic housing credit for himself, nor did he push the barn grant program so he could grab one. His agenda and his lifestyle mesh effortlessly. His barn grants, which began in 2000, go to those whose properties “enhance scenic drives or agricultural landscapes,” practically a prophecy. His tax breaks for farm fix-ups cost almost as much as the state gains, under his budget, by freezing cost-of-living payments to the needy blind and disabled, many of them people with AIDS. Those are his persona-as-policy priorities—especially his current obsessive refusal to tax wealth.
It’s Pataki’s choices that make us poorer as a state, even while his life gets one mansion richer.
Research assistance: Cathy Bussewitz, Alexa Hinton, Felicia Mello, Solana Pyne, E.B. Solomont, and Steven I. Weiss
This article from the Village Voice Archive was posted on February 11, 2003
More:FloridaJeb BushLibby PatakiPoliticsSalem (Oregon)
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still the 80s Oct. 25, 2016
Why the Golden Age of TV Was Really Born in the 1980s
By Matt Zoller Seitz
Photo-Illustration: Maya Robinson/Vulture
All week on Vulture, we’re examining ‘80s pop culture, and how it lives on today.
One of the problems with talking about the Golden Age of Television is figuring out which Golden Age you’re talking about. Thanks to recency bias — the fallacy that whatever artistic developments you happened to grow up with represent the Greatest of All Time — there’s a tendency to assume that scripted TV consisted largely of cavepeople yelling through square-shaped rock formations until the late 1990s, when Oz, The Sopranos, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the like came along. Sure, the advances of that era were substantial and undeniable; if nothing else, the tighter degree of control exercised by 21st-century creators means we’re much closer to being able to talk about TV as the work of artists with a vision (like cinema, theater, pop music, or literature), as opposed to widgets churned out by a faceless machine that mainly cares about selling ads, yet occasionally lets something interesting slip through. If you say “Golden Age of Television” around somebody in their 60s or 70s, they might think of their own youth in the Eisenhower era. Back then, the grid consisted of three channels. There was plenty of dreck, just like today, but gems, too, including original plays performed live (on venues like Playhouse 90 and Philco TV Playhouse) and innovative comedy and variety series like The Honeymooners, I Love Lucy, Your Show of Shows, The Jack Benny Program, and The Twilight Zone.
But if you ask somebody my age (I’m in my 40s) you’ll hear about another Golden Age: the 1980s. It’s that decade that I’ll make a case for today, because much of what we value in contemporary television was devised or perfected there.
The ‘80s bridged the gap between the medium’s tumultuous birth — when it seemed as if it couldn’t decide whether to be vaudeville, legitimate theater, radio with pictures, or free-form video art — and its Peak TV maturation, a period of increased artistic sophistication and overwhelming quantity, literary pretensions, and cinematic effects. You don’t get to The Sopranos or Buffy, much less proceed toward the likes of American Crime Story, Better Call Saul, Atlanta, Westworld, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and The Americans, without passing through the era of MTV and Max Headroom, New Coke and Ronald Reagan, skinny ties and shoulder pads. Many of the developments that critics now praise as if they sprang fully formed from the heads of David Simon or Bryan Fuller are refinements of notions cooked up in the ‘80s.
Let’s start with the A-word: auteurism.
While directors have been described as the auteurs, or primary authors, of films since the mid-20th century — at least for convenience’s sake — the authors of TV weren’t as easy to label. Given the high-pressure, quick-turnaround, assembly-line nature of most TV production, directors were just one type of participant, and usually not the masterminds; the real power to shape material lay in the hands of others. Some were producers who imprinted their personalities on the medium by choosing and shaping material: The giant of giants is still Norman Lear, whose run of popular, socially aware sitcoms (All in the Family; Maude; The Jeffersons; Good Times; Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman; Fernwood 2 Night) remains unmatched in variety and cultural prominence. There were stealth auteurs behind the scenes: network executives with adventurous taste who gave writers and producers a chance to do something other than the usual, and tried to intervene when a promising series was being targeted for cancellation due to low ratings. Then there were popular actors who asserted their stardom to gain creative control of a show (like Alan Alda, who pretty much took over M*A*S*H in the late 1970s and transformed it from a raucous but kindhearted shenanigans-fest into an avatar of Carter-era liberal sensitivity). And there were people who did double-duty as performers and producers. Mary Tyler Moore is among the most important of the bunch: She used the clout she’d gained as co-star of The Dick Van Dyke Show in the ’60s to co-found MTM Productions with her husband, Grant Tinker; the company’s output included The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show, WKRP in Cincinnati, the Mary Tyler Moore spinoff Lou Grant, and two juggernauts of ‘80s TV that we’ll discuss in more detail later: Hill Street Blues and St. Elsewhere.
The ‘80s auteurs were a bit like the movie auteurs: front and center, sometimes giving network executives headaches, just as ringleader-impresario filmmakers like Francis Coppola and Michael Cimino had done in the ‘70s. A lot of them were baby boomers: Michael Mann (who brought a Zen hepcat feature-film slickness to series television with Miami Vice, Crime Story, and Private Eye, and who issued the famous dictum to the Vice crew, “No earth tones”); Steven Bochco (Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law); Bruce Paltrow (St. Elsewhere), and The Rockford Files’s creator Stephen J. Cannell (who made fluffy but wildly popular buddy-driven action comedies like The A-Team, Hunter, and Riptide before graduating to the darker, often masterful Wiseguy). On the comedy side of things, former Bob Newhart Show writers Glen and Les Charles teamed up with director James Burrows to create Cheers, which premiered in 1982, ran 11 glorious seasons, and begat a classic ‘90s spinoff, Frasier. Then there were brilliant flameouts like Glenn Gordon Caron, whose Moonlighting (1985–89) made a star of Bruce Willis, rejuvenated Cybill Shepherd’s career, and remains the only significant American series whose production troubles were acknowledged in network promotion. Caron’s perfectionism resulted in so many blown deadlines that ABC was occasionally forced to air repeats in what should’ve been a debut time slot; one ad showed a group of network executives waiting on Caron to deliver a new installment. The idea of the brilliant-but-difficult auteur reached its apex in 1989, when ABC green-lit the production of David Lynch and Mark Frost’s surreal melodrama Twin Peaks, which debuted the following spring and made countless TV writers and producers — future Sopranos creator David Chase among them — gape at the screen and think, “I had no idea you could do that.”
It’s that last sentiment — “I had no idea you could do that” — that matters most when discussing the relationship of ’80s TV to what we watch today. If you take a hard look at the best and most striking ’80s TV, what you see is a group of artists bucking against the limitations of the medium and mostly losing. They were literally ahead of their time.
The ’80s were rife with indications that TV was no longer content to be thought of as a vast wasteland filled with time-wasters that did the same damn thing every week, and that were determined never to upset or puzzle the viewer. Bochco’s Hill Street Blues (1981–88) — which gave Deadwood creator David Milch his start as a writer — was a landmark in this respect. The series drew equally on the daytime soap opera, the nightly news, the community-focused stage play, and the multicharacter, community-driven ensembles of Robert Altman (who got his start in TV). It was the forerunner of every so-called Quality TV series. You can detect traces of its creative DNA in everything from the hard-edged cop and hospital shows of the early ‘90s — E.R., Homicide: Life on the Street, Bochco’s NYPD Blue — to pay-cable dramas like The Knick, The Wire, and Deadwood, which were equally concerned with failing institutions and the diverse communities they served. Like most cop shows before it, Hill Street was driven by gallows humor and the threat or reality of violence. But it spent the bulk of its time observing the peculiarities of characters who evolved slowly but profoundly, pairing them off in surprising configurations that let us seem them from new angles each week, and weaving their personal stories in with cases (incidents, more often) that seemed drawn straight from crime blotters and newspaper editorials: racism, inter-ethnic rivalries, civic corruption, homophobia. The show was also notable for its style: A roving camera (that often seemed handheld even though it wasn’t) tracked groups of characters through the precinct house in a series of unbroken long takes as intricately choreographed as a True Detective showstopper. Hill Street was so unabashed in its desire to be taken seriously as mainstream art for grown-ups that film critics Roger Ebert, Gene Siskel, Neal Gabler, and Jeffrey Lyons debated its merits in a 1983 panel discussion. Ebert didn’t like it — he accused it of ripping off Altman — and Siskel seemed puzzled by it. “I thought the whole thing with television was revisiting familiar characters as opposed to watching them change,” he said. “That’s not the case with Hill Street Blues,” Gabler replied.
Bochco was responsible for another innovative ’80s series, L.A. Law (1987–1992), an alternately outrageous and grim legal comedy-drama notable for its sexual frankness and its pioneering deployment of out-of-nowhere “Oh, shit, I can’t believe they did that!” plot twists, of a sort that would later fuel many a 21st-century Twitter-baiting drama (the show hit peak audacity when it killed off Diana Muldaur’s antagonistic attorney Rosalind Shays by dropping her down an elevator shaft). Bruce Paltrow’s oft-cited 80s landmark, St. Elsewhere (1982–88) — a mordant, touching, pop-culture-obsessed hospital soap — added medicine and magical realism to the Hill Street formula, and ended its run with an image that has served as an organizing metaphor for many a TV think piece: The whole show was revealed to have been the fantasy of a minor character, autistic teenager Tommy Westphall (Chad Allen), who imagined it taking place inside a snow globe. (If you want to dive deeper into this rabbit hole, check out the Tommy Westphall Universe, which posits that 419 past and future series are also taking place inside Tommy’s imagination.) Later in the decade came Bochco’s equivalent of a film maudit, Cop Rock (which started production in 1989 and debuted in 1990), a musical police show that borrowed from Dennis Potter’s fantasy-driven British musical mini-series The Singing Detective; it was cancelled after one season, but Glee, Flight of the Conchords, and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend would be unthinkable without it.
Other ’80s touchstones were stylistically conservative but told unusual, often daring stories; some of these programs were so provocative that they spilled off entertainment pages of newspapers and made their way into the news and editorial sections. The most famous of these was Cagney & Lacey (1981–88), starring Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless as TV’s first female buddy-cop duo. Its content was startling for the time. Network executives kept warning creators Barbara Avedon and Barbara Corday not to make the tough-talking, single Cagney (Gless) too hard-edged, for fear that viewers would assume she was a lesbian. The series was denounced and its advertisers boycotted for daring to show its lead characters sympathizing with the staff of an abortion-clinic bombing and revealing that Cagney was pro-choice and had an abortion in the ’60s before they were legal.
Like Cagney & Lacey, most ‘80s network sitcoms made waves with content rather than form. Seinfeld (which debuted in 1988) and The Simpsons (1988–present, astonishingly) made deconstruction and self-awareness hip and marketable: Both shows’ escalating conceptual complexity eventually drew big ratings numbers, paving the way for such meta-sitcoms as The Bernie Mac Show, Malcolm in the Middle, and Community. Fox’s Married: With Children (1987–97), the network’s first big hit, was a slap in the face to Leave It to Beaver–style sitcom propriety, depicting matrimony and parenthood as hellscapes filled with bitter, self-loathing, often openly hateful people who couldn’t express affection unless it was dragged out of them.
Many of the popular sitcoms brought the 1950s and ’60s family comedy into the Reagan decade while adding topical touches that often played like Norman Lear with sugar in place of vinegar. Three-camera comedies like The Cosby Show, Family Ties, and A Different World snuggled “very special episode” dramatic plots about drug addiction, racism, class conflict, and teen sex inside family bonding and goofy shtick. Their influence can be felt in ABC’s family-sitcom bloc, in particular Black-ish, Modern Family, Fresh Off the Boat, The Goldbergs, and The Carmichael Show (perhaps the only current sitcom equally indebted to Cosby and Lear).
Roseanne Barr’s Roseanne (1988–97) carried the Lear torch more defiantly, and became a breakout hit despite the skittishness of network executives who’d figured out that if you kept Lear’s harsh language and risqué situations but dropped the political content, you could get big ratings without all the angry letters and phone calls. Barr and her writers proceeded as if it were still 1974, building story lines around economic distress, depression, sexual dysfunction, and gay rights (Barr insisted that Sandra Bernhardt’s character, Nancy, be openly lesbian, because Barr’s brother and sister were gay).
These shows and others walked a hard road, trying to connect to life’s rougher edges without bruising everybody, and many of them didn’t last long. Dabney Coleman starred in two of them, playing deeply unpleasant characters in both. He was a raging narcissist of a talk-show host on Buffalo Bill (1983–84), a forerunner of sorts to Shandling’s ’90s hit The Larry Sanders Show; its caustic scripts dealt with sexism, racial tension, the nuclear-freeze movement, and abortion. The Slap Maxwell Story (1997–88) cast Coleman as a crusty newspaper reporter who filled his column with unsourced rumors; in every episode he got slapped or punched for being such a jerk, thus the title.
There were many game attempts to move the sitcom beyond the three-camera, shot-before-a-live-audience template, but audiences weren’t ready for them, and network executives tended to want to cut them at the first sign of ratings weakness. The Blair Brown vehicle The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd (1987–91) now feels like a crucial bridge between two classics about single professional women, The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Sex and the City; it was consistently one of the most intelligent and charming sitcoms of its type, but its subtle performances and movie-style production values (single camera, shot on film, no laugh track) made it a tough sell, and it only lasted one season on NBC before moving to the then-new cable channel, Lifetime.
An even sadder example is Frank’s Place (1987–88), a sitcom from WKRP creator Hugh Wilson starring former WKRP cast member Tim Reid, about a college professor who leaves the north to take over his late father’s bar in New Orleans. Handsomely photographed, scored with blues, jazz, and soul, steeped in regional atmosphere and cultural references, and unafraid to let silence and music carry a moment, the series gave network viewers a rare glimpse of a multiracial urban community living in relative harmony. It was canceled after 22 episodes and has never been made available in any other form, but there are fragments of it on YouTube; if you watch either Frank’s Place or Molly Dodd, you’ll see the roots of many critically acclaimed recent half-hour dramedies, including Louie, Atlanta, Better Things, and You’re the Worst.
It seems miraculous, in retrospect, that some of these touchstones got made at all. There was still a mandate from network executives to tell self-contained stories that wrapped up in a half-hour or an hour, rather than serialized tales that stretched out over one or more seasons. The vast majority of viewers still watched TV in pieces, in a slow-motion linear way, often while doing other things. Writers knew that if you expected people to watch every single episode of a show in order and keep every narrative detail at the forefronts of their minds while they did it, they tended to bail out. Yes, in the ‘80s, home-video recording systems became increasingly common in U.S. households, but they weren’t as convenient as today’s programmable DVRs and scrollable Netflix and Hulu menus. You had to put a plastic tape in the machine, set it to record at a particular time, and try not to accidentally record over something you meant to save. Most preferred to watch the TV the old way — a way that horrifies my children when I tell them about it: You had to find out when a show was on, sit down in front of the TV during that time slot, watch the thing, then come back again the following week, and if you missed one episode, you had to wait several months for the rerun.
These factors all combined to limit the potential of serialized storytelling, at least the kind that stretched out for three or five or eight seasons. American television sometimes got around the anti-serialization sentiment by embracing one of today’s most popular forms — the mini-series — which required more concentration from viewers, and earned it by trumpeting itself as an “event.” But mini-series were necessarily outliers on the schedule because to achieve maximum audience attention and keep the ratings steady, you had to schedule them on consecutive nights, preempting regular programming in the process. A lot of network executives and advertisers disliked mini-series for precisely that reason, because they threw a wrench into the programming works (they were also very expensive; The Winds of War and War and Remembrance, two of the biggest mini-series of the ’80s, had a combined budget of about $80 million).
You couldn’t produce a tonally tricky or narratively complex series like The Sopranos, Lost, Westworld, Fargo, Atlanta, or Mad Men under such conditions and expect it to succeed for long. That’s why only a few foolhardy production companies tried to make shows that were more than one-off escapist trifles, and even fewer network executives wanted to risk their jobs by recommending a green light for anything that smelled of ambition. The problem wasn’t lack of will, but the absence of a way.
TV auteurs who preferred serialization, or who wanted to build complex universes with their own mythologies and rules, couldn’t win for losing. Sometimes you’d see ongoing, multi-episode arcs on regular series; the two-parter was common, and once in a while you’d get a four-episode arc, such as the one that followed corrupt Hill Street Blues detective Sal Benedetto (Dennis Franz) as he systematically destroyed himself. But when Mann, for example, tried to do another cop show that told one very long story — Crime Story, a 1960s Chicago potboiler starring Dennis Farina as a major crimes detective and Anthony John Denison as his mobster quarry — NBC and its viewers couldn’t deal with it. Although the network’s decision to relocate Crime Story to a time slot opposite the more popular Moonlighting damaged it, a greater problem was its dense and detailed narrative architecture, which often played like a shotgun wedding of The Untouchables and the Godfather pictures. The weekly “previously on” montages took up more and more real estate; near the end of season one, the narrator was talking like an auctioneer and rattling off more names than the Chicago phone book. Cannell’s Wiseguy (1987–90), starring Ken Wahl, as an undercover cop infiltrating a new criminal organization each season, struggled for many of the same reasons.
But neither program died in vain: The long-form crime story began to thrive in the late ’90s and early ‘00s, with series as diverse as The Sopranos, The Shield, Sons of Anarchy, and The Wire (an intriguing merger of the police procedural and the social-problem show). Crime Story and Wiseguy’s contributions can be seen mainly in the unifying device of building a season-long story around a single villain (or target of a police investigation) who ends up dead or in prison eventually. Denison’s Ray Luca from Crime Story and the charismatic criminals played by Ray Sharkey and Kevin Spacey on Wiseguy are the ancestors of Richie Aprile, Stringer Bell, Gus Fring, the hoodlums-of-the-year that used to give Steve Buscemi’s Nucky Thompson agita on Boardwalk Empire, and various temporary Game of Thrones pot-stirrers, including Jonathan Pryce’s High Sparrow and Pedro Pascal’s Oberon.
It also seems clear with hindsight that popular 1980s nighttime soaps like Dallas and Dynasty (and their spinoffs, Falcon Crest and The Colbys) were helping viewers get used to following complicated ongoing plots from week to week. Granted, neither the characterizations nor the storytelling on these shows was especially complex. But those programs bear as much relation to efforts like Lost, Fargo, and Game of Thrones as basic arithmetic does to algebra. To paraphrase Siskel’s comment about what TV used to be, the ‘80s nighttime soaps tended to spotlight characters who didn’t change, or who changed a little bit and then changed back; and the point of the show was never to ask “What are we made of?” and “Why do we change, or not change?” but, “What can we show you that will keep you watching?” The great triumph of post-millennial TV has been figuring out how to fuse the addictive audience-baiting characteristic of soaps to the storytelling audacity and psychological acuity of good novels, plays, and films: high and low, together at last.
The advent of more sophisticated and responsive home-viewing systems — DVDs first, then DVR and on-demand video — is the biggest contributing factor to scripted TV’s willingness to go deep and wide. Writers and producers are now free to construct alternate worlds replete with callbacks and foreshadowing, obvious and obscure symbolism, confident that if the show catches on, it’ll be watched in first run (and live-tweeted and Facebook-scrutinized) by first-time viewers, then pored over again during the next six days, or else binge-watched at some later date.
The atomization of audiences has removed a lot of the pressure once placed on TV storytellers to make everything neat and bland, flat and colorless. You don’t have to reach gigantic numbers of viewers, only the right ones. A former ’80s network powerhouse who now works for an independent TV-production company recently told me that in order for most current dramas to be considered profitable, they need only draw three million viewers per episode across a variety of platforms, and not all at once.
Those are much lower stakes than TV producers faced in the ’80s, when a weekly audience of less than 15 million viewers per episode was considered grounds for cancellation. If it were possible to travel back into the ’80s and bring some of its short-lived wonders into the present, we could be looking at Frank’s Place, season five, or The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, season ten.
Now that talent and vision have become values to be cultivated instead of irritations to be managed or stamped out, the personalities of individual creators have become much stronger. Networks, cable channels, and streaming services have figured out that if you turn creativity into a cult of personality, you can get the audience interested in the storytelling as well as the story. They’ll second-guess what just happened, compete to guess what’ll happen next, and speculate on how all the pieces fit (or don’t). Storytellers as aesthetically and temperamentally dissimilar as Louis C.K., Noah Hawley (Fargo), Donald Glover (Atlanta), Kenya Barris (Black-ish), Pamela Arlon (Better Things), the Duffer Brothers (Stranger Things), Ryan Murphy (every other show on TV, seemingly), and Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy (Westworld) can all be discussed now as artists and storytellers who are very much in charge of the worlds they devise, executives’ notes notwithstanding.
And they are creating worlds: some hermetically sealed, others connected to life, but distinct, varied, no one quite like any other. A constellation of snow globes. Tommy Westphall would be thrilled.
it's still the 80s
still the 80s
prestige tv
golden age of tv
The Golden Age of TV Was Born in the 1980s
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Home » NCC offers comments on cell-cultured foods to USDA, FDA
Industry News & Trends / North America
Dr. Ashley Peterson, senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs, National Chicken Council | Benjamín Ruiz
NCC offers comments on cell-cultured foods to USDA, FDA
Each agency must leverage its knowledge, expertise when coordinating regulatory efforts, National Chicken Council says
The National Chicken Council (NCC) recently submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), stating its emphasis on the importance of coordinating regulatory efforts between the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and FSIS to leverage each agency’s knowledge and expertise on the subject of cell-cultured meat products.
“While FSIS has the statutory authority, relevant experience, and robust regulatory frameworks to regulate the labeling and safety of these products, FDA also may have appropriate expertise to fill a role within a comprehensive regulatory framework,” Ashley Peterson, PhD, senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs, wrote. “We recognize that FDA has long played a role in ensuring that ingredients used in meat and poultry products are safe for use in food through FDA’s authority over food additive safety.
“Additionally, NCC recognizes that FDA has experience with similar food production technologies, such as microbial, algal, and fungal cells generated by large-scale culture and used as direct food ingredients. This may lend itself to FDA addressing the technical safety of the cell-culturing technology used to create cell-cultured meat products and to determine whether the results of this technology are or are not approved food additives. It may be appropriate that shared regulatory jurisdiction draw on both FDA’s and FSIS’s respective expertise.”
Peterson further wrote that NCC ultimately believes that the following four core tenets are essential for ensuring that cell-cultured meat products are marketed in a safe, orderly, and truthful manner for consumers:
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) should regulate the labeling and safety of these products.
It is not appropriate to refer to these products using terms such as “clean meat,” nor should these products be named or described in a way that disparages conventional animal proteins.
These products should be named or labeled in a manner that clearly discloses the process by which they are made.
Claims that these products are superior to conventional animal proteins should be prohibited unless such a claim is substantiated by scientific evidence.
NTF statement on USDA, FDA agreement to regulate animal cell-cultured protein
NCC says USDA must take part in regulation of cell-cultured meat products
USDA, FDA reach agreement to regulate cell-cultured food
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Home About Staff Nina Acco Weston
Nina Acco Weston
Nina Acco Weston is an Associate Director at the Wellesley Institute. She has dedicated over 20 years to fostering mental health and well-being through public policy, system planning and community development.
Prior to joining Wellesley Institute, Nina held management and director roles at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, and the Canadian Mental Health Association Ontario. During her tenure with these organizations, Nina led multi-sectoral initiatives, advanced community and system change and advised all levels of government on social policy including mental health, health care reform, income security reform, housing and homelessness, as well as equity and population health approaches.
Nina holds a Masters of Health Science in Health Promotion, Public Health Science from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. Passionate about making the lives of children, youth and families better, Nina is a dedicated volunteer and served as Vice President on the Peel CAS Board of Directors.
In the About section
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Photo credit: Photo obtained from William Schneider, owner of Vestige Press. Photo features Cleveland Avenue in Wellington, Colorado.
The Town of Wellington, Colorado
“NORTHERN COLORADO’S GATEWAY”
The town of Wellington was an oil, coal and agricultural hub throughout the 1800s and became a stopping location for wagon trains, travelers and military movement between Cheyenne, WY, and Fort Collins, CO. The town was founded in 1902, incorporated in 1905 and named after C.L.Wellington, an employee of the Colorado and Southern Railroad. Wellington is 10 minutes north of Fort Collins and 30 minutes south of Cheyenne. Wellington straddles the intersection of Interstate 25 and Highway 1 in the northeast corner of Larimer County making access to
Wellington quick and convenient for visitors, residents and business needs. Wellington is located north of the City of Fort Collins which is home to a world-class research university (Colorado State University), over 400 restaurants, cultural centers, small specialty shops, large shopping malls, and many other resources and programs.
Wellington is located in a semi-arid zone at an elevation of 5,201 feet above sea level. The climate offers four distinct seasons, where the average annual precipitation is approximately 14 to 17 inches and the growing season is 145 days in length. The summers in Wellington are warm and pleasant, the nights are cool and comfortable with an average year-round humidity level of 35 percent. The average summer temperature (April -September) is 76 degrees daytime and 48 degrees nighttime. Average winter temperature (October -March) is 50 degrees daytime and 23
degrees nighttime. The average winter snowfall averages about 8 inches per month.
Wellington maintained a population of approximately 500 residents until the early 1990s. The population grew from 2,600 in 2000 to over 10,500 in 2018. The potential growth of Wellington is depicted in the graph and considers possible scenarios for growth ranging between 5 and 15 percent. The growth rate from 2015 through 2017 averaged 10% per year.
New housing provides a large diversity of living facilities from single family homes on large lots to multifamily units. Median single-family homes are approximately $321,000 while Town Homes/Condos are approximately $207,000. Families with children are a large part of our growth due to the affordability of housing and the great family environment in Wellington.
Wellington is still maintaining a small-town atmosphere with its agriculture
perimeter and “Old Town” center. Residents comment on the great feel of the Town with its many parks and trails, businesses and activities. The schools in Wellington have an exceptional reputation, both locally and nationally, for the quality and results of their programs. A new high school is planned to be built by 2022. Residents can enjoy this town and still have quick access to Cheyenne, Wyoming north and Ft. Collins, Loveland, and points south, local open space and the mountains without significant traffic delay.
Community activities sponsored by the Town, Wellington Colorado Main Streets Program, Wellington Area Chamber of Commerce and local businesses keep the residents and visitors engaged throughout the year. The entire list of activities is outlined within this Community Guide.
Currently, the town covers approximately three square miles, with one-third of that area undeveloped. There is potential for Wellington to grow an additional 13 square miles in the future. The long-range plan for Wellington includes a nucleus of small-town amenities, residential regions, a relatively large area of commercial and light industrial, surrounded by rural housing and agricultural land. The community has an “old town” surrounded by affordable housing.
Businesses are critical for long term sustainability of Wellington from the standpoint of jobs, tax income and meeting the personal needs of the residents. The commercial development in Wellington is growing along with the residential growth. Within the Town limits, four commercial parks totaling approximately 100 total acres, are in various stages of infill. Two of these parks have I-25 visibility. In the last twelve months, approximately 80,000 square feet of commercial floor space has been sold or leased. There are approximately 70 acres of vacant land in the four business parks. A cement railroad siding is two miles away.
Our welcome mat is out for new entrepreneurs and those needing expansion space for their growing business. The Town of Wellington and the Wellington Area Chamber Of Commerce are very business-orientated and supportive to new and existing businesses. The new Town Administrator and his staff are dedicated to making new business development as short and smooth as possible. If you are looking for a location that is accessible and welcoming for both businesses and their employees, you need to look no further. Join us in Wellington!
Wellington, the offspring of a railroad and irrigation company.
Photo credit: Photo obtained from Arlene Ahlbrandt’s book History of Wellington, Colorado and the Boxelder Valley, 1864-1996. First Depot was very small. This Train Depot was built in 1916, demolished about 1959.
(The article was written by Annie Lindgren, Executive Director of Wellington Main Streets Program | January 15, 2019)
Wellington, the offspring of a railroad company and an irrigation company
Wellington was named after Charles L. Wellington, who was the traffic manager for the Colorado & Southern Railway in 1902 when plans began for bringing the railway north of Fort Collins. The area that would become Wellington, previously known as ‘Section 33 in Township 9 North-Range 68 West’, was used for farming and livestock, thanks to the water supply brought to the area by North Poudre Irrigation Company, the owner of the land as of 1901. At the time, the only way to get crops to market was via horse-drawn vehicles and unpaved roads. Beet farming was the biggest of these crops, and the completion of the railroad in October of 1903, allowed the first train to carry sugar beets from Boxelder Valley farms to the Fort Collins sugar factory. With the convenience, the railway added, and the increase in agricultural land, a real estate boom sparked, and led to the founding of a town that would serve as a local market center. The plat for the town of Wellington was filed with Larimer County in January of 1903, with the railway and depot bordering the West end of town. It was a rectangular grid of twelve blocks, with Cleveland Avenue as the main route in and out of town. The other east to west streets were given presidential names Garfield, Harrison, McKinley, and Roosevelt Avenue, while First, Second and Third Streets ran north to south making up the boundaries for the original townsite. The rest of Section 33 in this area known as Boxelder Valley, was called ‘Wellington Place’ and was divided into 10-acre parcels. North Poudre Irrigation placed an ad in the Fort Collins Courier in January of 1903, advertising the new town of Wellington and the beautiful suburb of Wellington Place, covering 40 acres in the heart of the fertile Boxelder Valley. All the land in Wellington Place was sold by 1905, and in this same year, the town of Wellington expanded to the east towards Fourth and Fifth Street, for a downtown closer to what we know now.
What started as a twinkle in the eye of a railroad traffic manager and an irrigation company, grew into the 116-year-old downtown we know today. Beginning in 1903, businesses and homes popped up all around town. Among the first businesses, even before the completion of the railway, was the Duncan & Hackleman Blacksmith Shop and the Corbin-Black Lumber Company, buildings still standing today on First Street. Next to follow was a general store, a post office, a schoolhouse, and the Colorado Telephone Company. Gravel was hauled from Boxelder Creek to grade the streets, and 400 shade trees were planted around town, for the first downtown beautification project. The 16 room Wellington Hotel opened for business in August of 1904, accommodating overnight guests and space in the dining room for special occasions. The first Mayor was elected in 1905, and the first town hall was built in 1909. The first water system was installed in 1907, with a filtration system made of gravel and charcoal. Electricity came to Wellington in 1916, which is also when downtown got its first street lamps, and it wasn’t until 1925 that plumbing came to town. The First National Bank of Wellington was open for business in September of 1905 (in the building now owned by North Poudre Irrigation), and John Cusack, the owner of said bank built a beautiful Victorian home on the east side of town, that we now refer to as Drohmans Salon Day Spa. In 1905 the buildings that now house Soul Squared Brewing and Owl Canyon Coffee were built as a restaurant and retail shop. The Hager Harness shop built in 1909 is now the Polished Nail Spa, though you can still see the ghost sign for the Harness shop on the north side of the building. Wellington’s history is laced throughout downtown, in the many brick buildings and old houses that line Cleveland Avenue and First Street, and the information above only captures pieces of the first decade of Wellington’s history.
In 2016, the Wellington Main Streets Program, in conjunction with the Wellington Area Chamber of Commerce, applied for grant funding from the History Colorado State Historical Fund grant, to fund a historical survey of 25 downtown Wellington buildings, hiring Ron Sladek with Tatanka Historical Associates to provide the service. This project was completed in 2018, and the survey results can be found on the Wellington Main Streets website at www.wellingtonmainstreet.org/resources or at the Wellington Public Library. The above information was obtained from the Downtown Survey Cultural Resources Documentation & Analysis report written by Mr. Sladek. Stay tuned for more stories regarding the history of Wellington.
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A new law to reform bus services in Wales to ensure they meet the needs of the travelling public will be one of the Welsh Government’s legislative priorities in the year ahead, First Minister Mark Drakeford will announce today.
As part of the commitment to create a more equal Wales, the First Minister confirmed the Welsh Government will introduce a public transport bill to reform the planning and delivery of local bus services.
The bill will seek to reverse some of the negative impacts of de-regulation by enabling local authorities to franchise or run bus services directly.
It will be a key part of wider reforms to bus services and will help Ministers achieve their ambition of creating a truly integrated public transport network.
Ministers also will legislate to give the vote to 16 and 17-year-olds in local government elections as part of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Bill.
The bill will also strengthen local authority democracy, accountability and performance and establish a consistent mechanism for collaboration and joint working, including arrangements for transport.
This will empower local authorities to deliver modern, accessible, high-quality public services for – and with – the local communities they serve.
The Welsh Government will also legislate for:
A GP indemnity bill, which will complement the current scheme introduced in April. The Bill will ensure all clinical negligence claims, whenever they are reported or incurred are covered
A curriculum and assessment bill will set in statute the principles, freedoms and structures for Wales’ ground-breaking new curriculum, which will be rolled out from September 2022
A tertiary education and training bill, which will set up the Tertiary Education and Research Commission to replace the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW). This will ensure the post-compulsory education and training system is better placed to bring the sector together to provide genuine life-long learning and skills development.
The Welsh Government will also introduce a bill to place social partnership on a statutory footing, to enshrine the current social partnership model in law and ensure the agreements reached are clearly enforceable. The bill will be introduced by the end of the current Assembly term.
Last week, the Housing Minister launched a consultation setting out a series of proposals to extend the notice period landlords have to give before they can take back possession of a property. Depending on the outcome of the consultation, a bill to address no fault evictions could be introduced.
Ministers will continue to work on plans to modernise the licensing system for taxis and private hire vehicles – but the Welsh Government will not legislate in this area during this Assembly term.
First Minister Mark Drakeford said:
The Welsh Government I lead has a firm commitment to creating a more equal, fair and just society in Wales.
This final chapter of our legislative programme will help us tackle inequality, promote collaboration in the delivery of public services and deliver significant improvements to our education system.
This is a legislative programme which delivers progressive, positive change for the people of Wales.
If the UK leaves the EU, further legislation may be needed to support the transition.
But specific bills, in agriculture and environmental principles and governance will not be taken forward in the final year of this legislative programme:
A Welsh agriculture bill will be most effective if it is prepared in this Assembly term but introduced in the next Assembly term. This is an opportunity to be ambitious and wide-ranging, going further than simply legislating for farm support schemes.
The Rural Affairs Minister launched Sustainable Farming and Our Land last week, which sets out ambitious proposals for the future, including paying farmers for the actions they take to respond to the climate emergency, reducing emissions and capturing carbon.
Using the results of this consultation, ministers will bring forward a white paper before the end of this Assembly.
Ministers have consulted on environmental principles and governance in the event of the UK leaving the EU. This is an important but complex area and the Welsh Government is committed to addressing the governance gaps, which will arise post-Brexit. The government is in ongoing dialogue with the UK government and the other administrations about the best way to achieve this – whether at a UK or Wales level.
It is important that whatever approach Wales takes, it must complement the existing accountability mechanisms, maintain and enhance Wales’ environment and respect Wales’ devolution settlement.
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New Hurricanes owner says team might use Hartford Whalers logo
(WTNH)–The Hartford Whalers are coming back! Well, kind of.
New Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon told ESPN Radio in Raleigh, North Carolina, that he plans on using the old Hartford Whalers logo, which despite the 21-year absence of the Whale, remains one of the most popular merchandise sellers in the NHL.Related: Connecticut DMV unveils new Hartford Whalers license plate
“I think we should have a store that sells that Whalers merchandise online and we should explore playing games in that jersey and selling that gear. It’s part of the legacy,” Dundon told ESPN Radio. “I just like cool stuff. If we don’t, it will mean something went wrong.”
The Hurricanes jointly own the logo with the NHL.
The Hartford Whalers left for Carolina in 1997. Since then, the logo has gained popular culture status, and hats, jerseys and t-shirts have become fashionable with celebrities and athletes, even those with no Connecticut connection.
The Whalers uniform has been a jersey option for the Hurricanes in some NHL video games as well, though it hasn’t seen on-ice time since the team left Hartford.
What do you think? Would you like to see the Whalers’ uniforms on the ice in an NHL game? Vote in our poll below.
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Published: Jan. 14, 2021 at 6:57 AM CST
WUHAN, China (AP) — The WHO team of international researchers that arrived in the central Chinese city of Wuhan on Thursday hopes to find clues to the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The visit has been shrouded in secrecy, with neither China nor the WHO revealing exactly what the team will do or where it will go. The search for the origins is likely to be a years-long effort that could help prevent future pandemics.
WHY WUHAN?
The industrial and transportation hub on the Yangtze River is the first place the coronavirus surfaced in the world. It’s possible that the virus came to Wuhan undetected from elsewhere, but the city of 11 million is a logical place for the mission to start.
People began falling ill in December 2019, many with links to a sprawling food market that dealt in live animals. The growing number of patients triggered alarms that prompted China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention to send a team to investigate.
FILE - In this Jan. 27, 2020 file photo, workers in protective gear carry a bag containing a giant salamander that was reported to have escaped from the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan in central China's Hubei Province. A 10-member team of international researchers from the World Health Organization hopes to find clues as to the origin of the coronavirus pandemic in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus was first detected in late 2019.(Chinatopix via AP, File)
The disease would ravage Wuhan before it was brought under control in March. The city was locked down on Jan. 23 with little or no warning. The hardships endured and lives lost became a source of both sorrow and pride for residents once the 76-day lockdown was lifted on April 8.
WHAT IS THE TEAM’S AGENDA?
First they have to quarantine for 14 days, during which they will work with Chinese counterparts via video conference. Possible visits after quarantine are the Huanan Seafood Market, the site of the December 2019 cluster of cases, and the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Scientists initially suspected the virus came from wild animals sold in the market. The market has since been largely ruled out but it could provide hints to how the virus spread so widely. Samples from the market may still be available, along with the testimony of those involved in the early response.
The Wuhan Institute of Virology maintains an extensive archive of genetic sequences of bat coronaviruses built in the wake of the 2003 SARS pandemic, which spread from China to many countries. WHO team members would hope for access to lab logbooks and data, both junior and senior researchers and safety protocols for sample collection, storage and analysis.
WHY THE SECRECY?
China has firmly rejected calls for an independent outside investigation. The head of the WHO recently expressed impatience with how long China took to make necessary arrangements for the expert team’s visit.
The ruling Communist Party keeps a tight hold on information and is particularly concerned about possible revelations about its handling of the virus that could open it up to international criticism and financial demands.
China stifled independent reports about the outbreak and has published little information on its search for the origins of the virus. An AP investigation found that the government has strictly controlled all scientific research related to the outbreak and forbids researchers from speaking to the press.
State media continue to play up reports that suggest the virus could have originated elsewhere. In announcing the experts’ visit, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said “the tracing of the virus origin will most likely involve multiple countries and localities.”
The Latest: TSA says some people could be barred from planes
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Syria attacks were 'acts of political terrorism,' says envoy
The twin attacks were among the best coordinated against government security offices, killing at least 32 including a senior officer of the feared Military Intelligence Services
By: Jomana Karadsheh and Eyad Kourdi
Syria's envoy to the peace talks in Geneva says he demands that the opposition delegation denounce the attacks in the central city of Homs as terrorism, saying it is a test of their commitment to finding common ground. Bashar al-Ja'afari, Syria's ambassador to the U.N., says the Saturday attacks were a message to the talks in an attempt to derail them. He called them "act of political terrorism." The attacks were claimed by al-Qaida -linked coalition in Syria. Al-Ja'afari said the condemnation wouldn't bring back lives, but that it would be a "test" to the opposition to prove it is a moderate one. He says those who refuse to condemn the attacks will be considered partners in terrorism, not talks. The twin attacks were among the best coordinated against government security offices, killing at least 32 including a senior officer of the feared Military Intelligence Services. Syria's SANA news agency quoted Barazi on the number of casualties and the nature of the targets. State-run Syrian TV cited its reporter on the ground as saying six suicide bombers carried out the attacks. Three of the attackers sneaked into the city's Ghouta neighborhood and the other three into its Mahatta neighborhood while clashes were underway, the channel said.
Syria's envoy to the peace talks in Geneva says he demands that the opposition delegation denounce the attacks in the central city of Homs as terrorism, saying it is a test of their commitment to finding common ground.
Bashar al-Ja'afari, Syria's ambassador to the U.N., says the Saturday attacks were a message to the talks in an attempt to derail them. He called them "act of political terrorism." The attacks were claimed by al-Qaida -linked coalition in Syria.
Al-Ja'afari said the condemnation wouldn't bring back lives, but that it would be a "test" to the opposition to prove it is a moderate one. He says those who refuse to condemn the attacks will be considered partners in terrorism, not talks.
The twin attacks were among the best coordinated against government security offices, killing at least 32 including a senior officer of the feared Military Intelligence Services.
Syria's SANA news agency quoted Barazi on the number of casualties and the nature of the targets.
State-run Syrian TV cited its reporter on the ground as saying six suicide bombers carried out the attacks. Three of the attackers sneaked into the city's Ghouta neighborhood and the other three into its Mahatta neighborhood while clashes were underway, the channel said.
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Myrtle Beach is the nation’s first autism-friendly vacation destination. Here’s what that could mean for the off-season
Beachgoers crowd the beach near the Garden City Pier during the coronavirus pandemic in Garden City south end of Myrtle Beach, S.C., Thursday afternoon, July 16, 2020. (Josh Bell/The Sun News via AP)
MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) — Summer in the Grand Strand can be a nightmare for someone with autism. It’s busy. It’s crowded. It’s bright and hot and loud and generally overwhelming for those who are sensitive to light and sound.
But the winter could be the perfect solution for families of someone on the spectrum — and a boost to the Grand Strand’s economy.
At least, that’s what one local organization is hoping.
“That is really the goal, and to make our autism families happy,” said Becky Large, the executive director of the Champion Autism Network (or CAN), an organization that aims to make the area more welcoming to those with the developmental disorder.
Large’s work in the autism community began after she relocated in 2012 to the area from New Jersey. Large, who has a child on the spectrum, soon learned there weren’t many autism resources in the area, and were even fewer that supported families.
Her efforts led to the start of sensory-friendly movie events in 2013, which includes lights being adjusted, sound lowered and an environment where viewers are welcome to get up and move around.
In 2014, the organization received a grant to begin training restaurants on being autism-friendly. Municipalities started declaring themselves as “autism friendly” a couple of years later, and today, CAN has about 2,000 families in its card program, which allows families to show the card at participating locations and be bumped to the front of lines, get expedited service and discounts.
Large said that those who have a child with autism want to have those traditional family experiences.
“The top thing that our families want to be able to do is just to go out to a restaurant,” she said.
Trainings the organization has done at restaurants including teaching how to recognize if someone with autism is on the property and teaching about potential behaviors they might encounter. The CAN cards, Large said, allow families to discreetly let a business know someone in the family has autism. CAN also hopes that discounts will encourage families to share their situations with businesses instead of keeping them hidden.
“They rarely want to admit that they have somebody on the autism spectrum because there is so much judgement involved,” she said.
After working with restaurants, Large turned her attention to resorts and attractions.
“I started to realize we live in this fabulous tourist destination, this gorgeous beach area, and if we want to support families with autism, why not invite the autism world to come play with us at the beach?” she said.
Trainings have now branched out to resorts. CAN has also created online, on-demand training.
It’s all in the hopes that families with children on the spectrum can have less stress about vacations and having to educate everyone around them.
“There are a lot of those situations that are really challenging,” she said.
Quiet rooms, or areas where a child can decompress in stressful situations, can go a long way toward helping families.
“The potential for a tantrum or a meltdown is huge the minute you leave the house,” Large said.
At resorts, being autism-friendly can include placing families in rooms away from elevators and ice machines or avoiding the ground floor.
As word spreads in the autism community, Large expects more visitors and businesses to participate in the program.
Being autism-friendly, she said, can be easy.
“It doesn’t cost anything to turn down the lights and turn down the music and have kind staff who are open and not judgemental,” she said.
About 1 in 54 children will be diagnosed with autism, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. With diagnosis rates continuing to rise, autism-friendly travel has become an important and growing trend, according to Karen Riordan, the president and CEO of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce and the Myrtle Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Riordan said Myrtle Beach was the first — and she believes only — vacation destination to be autism-friendly.
“Because Myrtle Beach has always been a family-friendly destination, it’s vital that we recognize the challenges autism families may face when taking a vacation and help to alleviate those barriers,” Riordan said in an emailed statement. “We want everyone to feel welcome in our destination, and obviously we want them to come back again and again. The feedback from families who have taken advantage of our autism-friendly offerings has been positive.”
Riordan points to the Myrtle Beach International Airport’s quiet room, attractions that offer noise-canceling headphones and Project Lifesaver, which is a tracking wristband available at the Myrtle Beach Welcome Center that can be used within the area.
Ripley’s Aquarium of Myrtle Beach offers sensory-friendly events once a month during its slow season. About 25 families attend each event, according to Jera Wunder, the assistant manager of admissions and photo.
Although its admission numbers decrease in the winter, the traffic at the events stays steady. Wunder said the aquarium is looking into expanding how often they do the events and are looking at hosting nighttime, autism-friendly events, as well.
The aquarium began researching how to be more autism-friendly more than three years ago.
“We want to make sure that everyone who comes has a great time,” she said.
That included having employees watch a video that shows what a child with autism might experience going into an environment with loud noises, bright lights and packed crowds.
“We wanted staff to take a look at that video and just imagine,” Wunder said.
At the autism-friendly events, the aquarium turns off the sounds, adjusts lights in most areas, adds paper towels around touch tanks and turns off the moving walkway.
“Although it is extremely fun to ride, it is very overwhelming and extremely stimulating,” Wunder said.
Throughout the year, the aquarium has a quiet room available and offers free noise-canceling headphones during the visit. Wunder said other accommodations can be made by visiting the aquarium’s service desk.
More South Carolina News Stories
by Jason Raven / Jan 15, 2021
COLUMBIA, SC (WSPA) -- According to the South Carolina Department of Public Safety, the South Carolina State House will be closed from January 16th to the 20th.
Officials with the Department of Public said they are working with the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED), City of Columbia Police Department and Richland County Sheriff’s Department to ensure the safety and security of the South Carolina State House complex and surrounding facilities following a warning issued by the FBI about the potential for armed protests at the U.S. Capitol and State Capitols around the nation leading up to the Inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden on January 20.
(WJBF) - South Carolina state Senator, Tom Young tells NewsChannel 6, the Palmetto State has reached out to Augusta University for assistance when it comes to vaccine distribution in Aiken.
We reached out to AU about Senator Young's comment and they tell us: Vaccine allocations are made by each state for the residents that live there, and once AU receives approval as well as vaccine from the state of South Carolina, they will readily assist with the inoculating of South Carolina residents.
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Wreaths Across America back on after threat of cancelation
by: Kellie Meyer
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — An annual holiday event honoring our nation’s fallen veterans was at risk of being canceled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, but is back on after weeks of negotiation.
“It’s a go and we’re very happy,” Wreaths Across America Executive Director Karen Worcester said.
Every December, Worcester and the team at Wreaths Across America place thousands of wreaths at veterans’ graves at Arlington National Cemetery. It looked for weeks like the event would be canceled this year due to the pandemic, but supporters wouldn’t let that happen.
“I’m glad that they heard us – from the volunteers and the hearts of the volunteers to the very top,” Worcester said.
And at the very top – it was the secretary of the Army and President Donald Trump. Both ordered the event to go on.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) was skeptical about the way the Trump administration got involved.
“When I see the people who are in charge of it saying we don’t think we can do it safely but then they’re sort of countermanded,” Kaine explained.
But Alabama Republican Rep. Bradley Byrne said it was important to find a way.
“I think there needs to be some healing in this country after all that we’ve been through,” he said.
The organization developed a plan to safely place the wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery in person and virtually. The cemetery will close for an entire week so soldiers can place most of the wreaths. A small group from Wreaths Across America will place wreaths in a designated section of the cemetery.
“We’re gonna embrace those families of the fallen and hopefully in embracing them, we can help hold each other back up a little bit,” Worcester said. “So we’re really excited to be able to carry on.”
More Washington D.C. Bureau Stories
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New provincial for Society of Mary
News Marist fathers and brothers in New Zealand have elected David Kennerley as their new provincial. Born in 1955 in Clive Hawke’s Bay, David enjoyed family life with his parents,…
Marist fathers and brothers in New Zealand have elected David Kennerley as their new provincial.
Born in 1955 in Clive Hawke’s Bay, David enjoyed family life with his parents, Harry and Val, and his brothers, Philip and Peter.
Educated at St Joseph’s Hastings and Napier Boys High School, he joined the Marist seminary at Greenmeadows in 1975. He was professed a Marist three years later and ordained in Hastings by Bishop John Rodgers in 1982.
For a number of years David was on the staff at St Patrick’s College, Silverstream, during which time he qualified with a Masters in Guidance and Counselling. He also has a BA from Victoria University and a Bachelor of Sacred Theology from the Angelicum University, Rome.
At an early stage he was selected to be the Marist Fathers and Brothers Novice master which saw him form young men as Marists in Hawke’s Bay and Fiji.
In 1999 while based in Boston Massachusetts he became the first Society of Mary international English language novice master. After another period as the international English language novitiate master, this time in Sydney, David returned to New Zealand in 2006 to live and minister at St Mary of the Angels, Wellington.
In 2009 he joined the Marist spirituality ministry at Pa Maria, Thorndon, where he is engaged in retreat work and reflection days for individuals and groups. He is also part of the Cenacle Retreat in Daily Life Team. David is also engaged in ministry with Rachel’s Vineyard.
In 2011 David was elected to the Society of Mary New Zealand provincial council and he now becomes the New Zealand province’s Provincial-Elect.
A new Provincial Council will be elected to work with him and together they will begin their ministry in February 2014.
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Tangiwai disaster remembered
Feature March 2014 Fr Bernie O’Donnell On a dark Christmas Eve, 2013 a group of people met at the Tangiwai Memorial by the Whangaehu River to remember those who died…
Fr Bernie O’Donnell
On a dark Christmas Eve, 2013 a group of people met at the Tangiwai Memorial by the Whangaehu River to remember those who died tragically there 60 years earlier. The weather was similar to the light rain on that night in 1953 when the Wellington-Auckland Express train went into the swollen river and 151 passengers met their death.
As in past years, the evening was poignant with memories – waiata were sung and prayers offered, stories told of the accident and of the searchers, army personnel and medical personnel who were involved. Understandably some who lost loved ones could not face the remembrance.
With the reading of some of the names of those who died, a wreath was laid and a freight train rumbled across the short bridge that had been swept away and whose re-construction took a further victim from the Maungarongo Marae.
Silently, those who had come to remember, moved back to their vehicles and away to their respective homes. It is wonderful that such remembrances are kept alive in communities.
The tragedy was caused by around two million cubic metres of water from nearby Mt Ruapehu’s crater lake surging down the Whangaehu River carrying water, ice, mud and rocks in a six metre high wave which hit the bridge’s pylons six to 10 minutes before the train crossed at 10.21pm. The engine plunged into the river with all five second-class carriages. The lead first-class carriage teetered for a time before following but the remaining three carriages were safe.
This is said to be the result of the driver’s applying the emergency brakes about 200 metres before reaching the bridge. An early-warning system resulted from this tragedy so lessons were learnt, at the cost of those who died and those left behind to mourn them. We might as Christians see it as the new life arising from all that suffering, the death and resurrection being continued on the Central Plateau.
Click for more information about the tragedy.
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How COVID-19 Has Changed Consumer Behavior and the Future of Retail
U.S. retail sales suffered in the spring of 2020 due to safety concerns, government-mandated lockdowns, and economic uncertainty wrought by the coronavirus pandemic. Sales — including purchases at stores, restaurants, and online — plunged from $483.95 billion in March to $412.77 billion in April, a record 16.4% drop.1
Fortunately, retail sales rebounded sharply after the economy began to reopen in May, matched pre-pandemic levels in June ($529.96 billion), and continued to rise steadily from July through September. But sales softened in October, ticking up just 0.3% to $553.33 billion.2
The arrival of an effective vaccine could inspire some holiday cheer, though it probably won’t be widely available until next spring.3 Until then, consumers will likely spend more time at home.
U.S. consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of all economic activity, so it’s good news that many businesses and consumers have adapted quickly to the new normal created by the pandemic.4 Here’s a look at recent changes in consumer behavior, the state of the retail industry, and what these trends could mean for the broader U.S. economy.
Stay-at-Home Spending Shifts
Some workers with stable incomes have been able to save money they would normally spend on transportation, gym memberships, restaurant meals, and expensive “experiences” such as vacations, concerts, sporting events, and other live shows. On the other hand, many households are spending more on home improvements, household goods, fitness equipment, and other lifestyle purchases that make sheltering in place more tolerable.5
For example, huge demand for bicycles resulted in surprising shortages.6 And with offices closed and most special events cancelled or postponed, a preference for casual and comfortable clothing has decimated consumer demand for more formal attire like business suits and dresses.7
A swift expansion of e-commerce was also unleashed. New online habits were created in the first three months of the pandemic, accelerating the adoption of digital technologies that might have taken 10 years to achieve otherwise.8
When lockdowns and social distancing measures were put in place, many consumers were compelled to shop online and use other digital services (e.g., video chat, virtual doctor visits, and online classes) for the first time. Surveys suggest that a vast majority of new users found online services to be useful and convenient; many said they will continue to use them permanently.9
But anxious consumers have also been boosting their savings. The personal saving rate — the percentage of disposable income that people don’t spend — hit a record 33.6% in April before falling to 14.1% in August, far above February’s 8.3% rate.10 When consumers prioritize saving, it may help individual households build financial stability and prepare for retirement, but it can also hold back the nation’s economic growth.
Traditional Retailers on the Ropes
Big-box retailers that sell groceries and other goods in one place and home-improvement stores were deemed “essential” in the spring. Regardless of local virus conditions, these businesses have remained open for a steady flow of customers eager to stock up on food and other necessities. As a result, they have generally been able to book healthy profits.11
Meanwhile, temporary closures, capacity limits, and a drop-off in overall customer traffic have taken a toll on nonessential retailers that couldn’t offer a convenient online shopping experience with home or curbside delivery. The pandemic may land the blow that knocks out some familiar brick-and-mortar retailers, many of which were already buckling under excessive debt and fierce competition from e-commerce giants.
Retail bankruptcies and store closings are on track for a record year in 2020. By mid-August, 29 U.S. retailers had filed for Chapter 11 protection, including several long-standing department-store chains. More than 10,000 permanent store closings have already been announced in 2020, vacating roughly 130 million square feet of physical retail space.12
A Holiday Season Like No Other
Higher unemployment and wage cuts might have had a more severe impact on consumer spending from March to October were it not for the expanded unemployment benefits and stimulus checks delivered to consumers by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. At the time of this writing, Congress had not passed a follow-up stimulus package, and consumers were facing new challenges going into the holiday season.
More than 11 million U.S. workers were still unemployed in October, before a nationwide surge in virus cases and hospitalizations sparked a new round of business restrictions and closures in mid-November.13–14 CARES Act provisions that offer financial support for affected consumers and small businesses expire by the end of December.
Holiday sales figures are often considered an economic barometer, reflecting consumer confidence and funds for discretionary spending. In 2019, holiday spending in November and December rose 4.1% over 2018, suggesting that economic growth was picking up steam.15 But holiday shoppers were blissfully unaware that a pandemic was on its way.
Black Friday holiday deals are designed to create a frenzy and lure throngs of shoppers into stores. But retailers seemed to agree that a different approach was needed in 2020: Promotions were offered online and earlier; store hours were shortened and capacity was limited; and unlike in past years, most stores stayed closed on Thanksgiving.
The prospects for holiday retail sales in 2020 are murky, but consumers are expected to purchase more gifts online than ever before — and possibly too many for shipments to be delivered on time. To be on the safe side, the National Retail Federation is recommending that consumers get their shopping done early and take advantage of curbside pickup.16
1) The Wall Street Journal, May 15, 2020
2) U.S. Census Bureau, 2020
3) The New York Times, November 17, 2020
4) U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2020
5) The Wall Street Journal, November 17, 2020
6) The New York Times, June 18, 2020
8–9) The Wall Street Journal, November 15, 2020
10) The Wall Street Journal, October 25, 2020
12) The Wall Street Journal, September 29, 2020
13) U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2020
14, 16) Associated Press, November 11 and 17, 2020
15) National Retail Federation, 2020
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GE's Accounting Draws Fresh Focus On News of Improper Sales Bookings
By Kathryn Kranhold
July 28, 2007 12:01 am ET
General Electric Co. 's accounting practices are again in the spotlight after GE revealed that employees had improperly booked locomotive sales in 2000 through 2003.
The dollar figures involved were relatively small for a company of GE's size. In 2002, for example, the changes reduced revenue by $158 million and net income by $22 million, less than 0.2% of GE's net income, according to a quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. GE said the differences were so small that it wouldn't restate its financial results.
GE said it is firing a handful of employees and is cooperating with the SEC's investigation.
But the matter leaves open the possibility that the SEC could find additional accounting issues. According to the filing, the locomotive problems were uncovered by GE's board audit committee during an unrelated SEC investigation into derivative transactions. GE said the SEC staff continues to review "our use of hedge accounting for derivatives, the rail transactions and other accounting practices and procedures, including revenue recognition matters," according to the filing.
GE said the rail unit had accelerated revenue in each of the fourth quarters from 2000 to 2003, shifting revenue that should have been recorded in the first quarter of the next years.
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Journal Reporters Among Winners of Polk Awards
a Wall Street Journal Staff Reporter
NEW YORK -- A team of Wall Street Journal reporters was among the 1997 winners of the George Polk Awards for excellence in journalism.
Reporters Barbara Carton, Laura Johannes, Robert Langreth, Richard B. Schmitt and Steve Stecklow won the award for medical reporting for their coverage on the misuse of diet drugs dexfenfluramine and fen-phen.
Ms. Carton, 47 years old, joined the paper in 1994. She is a general assignment reporter in the Journal's Boston bureau. Ms. Johannes, 33, a Boston-based medicine and health reporter joined the Journal in 1993. A drug industry and science reporter for the Journal since 1995, Mr. Langreth, 29, works out of the New York bureau.
Mr. Schmitt, 42, a Journal reporter since 1981, specializes in legal affairs in the paper's Washington bureau. Deputy chief of the Boston bureau, Mr. Stecklow, 43, is also the Journal's national education reporter. He has been with the paper since 1993. The Journal is a publication of Dow Jones & Co.
The Pittsburgh Courier, a newspaper published by closely held black-owned Sengstacke Enterprises Inc., is the recipient of the 1997 career achievement award. It's the first time the prize has gone to a publication rather than to an individual.
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Never Steady, Never Still (2017)
Watch Never Steady, Never Still (2017) Online
A mother struggles to take control of her life in the face of advanced Parkinson’s disease, while her son battles his sexual and emotional identity amongst the violence of Alberta’s oil field work camps.
Director: Kathleen Hepburn
Actors: Hugo Ateo, Jared Abrahamson, Mary Galloway, Nicholas Campbell, Shirley Henderson, Théodore Pellerin
Unbreakable (2000)
An ordinary man makes an extraordinary discovery when a train accident leaves his fellow passengers dead — and him unscathed. The answer to this mystery could lie with the mysterious…
Silence (2016)
Country: Italy, Japan, Mexico, Taiwan, UK, USA
The Legend of Tarzan (2016)
Country: Canada, UK, USA
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
White Nights (1985)
An expatriate Russian dancer is on a plane forced to land on Soviet territory. He is taken to an apartment in which a black American who has married a Russian…
Battle of the Year (2013)
A down-on-his-luck coach is hired to prepare a team of the best American dancers for an international tournament that attracts all the best crews from around the world, but the…
The Last Rites of Ransom Pride
When Juliette (Lizzy Caplan) sets out to bring her slain lover — outlaw Ransom Pride — home to Texas to be buried, she knows the journey won’t be easy, but…
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Western
The Santa Clause (1994)
Scott Calvin is an ordinary man, who accidentally causes Santa Claus to fall from his roof on Christmas Eve and is knocked unconscious. When he and his young son finish…
The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (1987)
A penniless middle-aged spinster scrapes by giving piano lessons in the Dublin of the 1950s. She makes a sad last bid for love with a fellow resident of her rundown…
God’s Own Country (2017)
A young farmer in rural Yorkshire numbs his daily frustrations with binge drinking and casual sex, until the arrival of a Romanian migrant worker.
A sheriff sees his state senate bid slide out onto the ice when his daughter begins to date the son of a charming but psychologically disturbed woman with whom the…
Basic Instinct (1992)
A police detective is in charge of the investigation of a brutal murder, in which a beautiful and seductive woman could be involved.
The Flamingo Kid (1984)
Brooklyn teenager Jeffrey Willis, thoroughly unhappy with his modest homestead, embraces the other-world aspects of his summer job at the posh Flamingo Club. He spurns his father in favor of…
Trailer: Never Steady, Never Still (2017)
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We at American Achievement Corporation (“AAC,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) have created this privacy policy (this “Privacy Policy”) because we know that you care about how information you provide to us is used and shared. This Privacy Policy applies to information collected when you visit any of our websites, which include, without limitation, http://www.balfour.com/, http://www.artcarved.com/, http://gradgowns.us/, http://www.delavoy.ca/, https://www.gaspard.ca/, https://www.buildagrad.ca/, https://buildagrad.com/, https://www.keepsakebowling.com/, http://www.balfoursports.com/, http://www.universityphoto.com/, https://www.artneedle.com/, http://willsieco.com/, http://gradgowns.com/, http://mygraduationstore.com/ and http://www.gradimages.com, (“Websites”), access our mobile app, which may be accessible through mobile devices and tablets (the “Mobile App”), access and use our services provided through the Websites and the Mobile App (“Services”), or purchase our products (“Products”). The Websites and the Mobile App are collectively referred to as the “Online and Digital Properties.”
By visiting our Websites, accessing our Mobile App, accessing and using our Services, and/or purchasing our Products, you are agreeing to the terms of this Privacy Policy and the accompanying Terms of Use. Capitalized terms not defined in this Privacy Policy shall have the meaning set forth in the Terms of Use.
What Information We Collect/Receive
We collect and/or receive the following categories of inf ormation:
When you contact us through the “Contact Us” page, or sign up to receive special offers & promotions, or sign up to become a Registered User, you will be asked to provide certain information which may include your name, e-mail address, phone number, and student’s name if you are registering on behalf of a student (collectively, the “Contact Information”).
If you sign in using your Facebook or any other social media account, you are authorizing AAC to collect, store, and use, in accordance with this Privacy Policy, any and all information that you agreed that Facebook, Inc., or such other social media company could provide to AAC through its Application Programming Interface. Such information may include, without limitation, your first and last name, username, profile picture, unique social media identifier and access token, and e-mail address.
In order to submit orders through the Online and Digital Properties you will be required to provide certain information in addition to the Contact Information noted above. Such information may include PayPal, Payflow account information, debit card number, credit card number, billing address, and similar information (collectively, the “Billing Information”). For orders submitted through the Online and Digital Properties, the Billing Information is collected, stored and processed by our third-party payment vendors.
You may also submit orders by using our paper order forms. If you submit orders using our paper order forms, you will be required to fill in the Billing Information on our paper forms. Once we receive your paper order forms, our customer service representatives will enter your Billing Information through our Websites in order to allow our third-party payment vendors to collect, store and process such information. All paper order forms are also scanned by our third-party service providers into encrypted files which are stored on our servers. The encrypted files do not contain the Billing Information. We also store your original paper order forms in locked cabinets until your order is processed. Once your order is processed, your original paper order forms are destroyed.
If you wish to purchase our Products, you will also be required to provide us with certain additional information such as your name, shipping address, and the Products you wish to order (“Order Information”). If you place an order as a guest (without creating an account as a Registered User), we will use your Order Information solely as necessary to process your order.
Geolocational Information
Certain features and functionalities of the Online and Digital Properties are based on your location. In order to provide these features and functionalities while you are using a mobile device, we may, with your consent, automatically collect geolocational information from your mobile device or wireless carrier and/or certain third-party service providers. Such information is collectively called the “Geolocational Information.” Collection of Geolocational Information occurs only when the Mobile App is running on your mobile device. You may decline to allow us to collect such Geolocational Information, in which case we will not be able to provide certain features of the Mobile App to you.
In addition to the Contact Information, Order Information, and Geolocational Information, we may collect and/or receive additional information (collectively, the “Other Information”). Such Other Information may include:
From your Activity. In an ongoing effort to improve our Online and Digital Properties, we automatically collect certain information when visitors visit the Websites and Registered Users use the Online and Digital Properties, such as your IP addresses, browser type and language, referring and exit pages and URLs, date and time, amount of time spent on particular pages, what sections of the Websites visitors visit, similar information concerning your use of the Online and Digital Properties, information about a mobile device, including universally unique ID (“UUID”), App type and version (e.g., iOS or Android), carrier and country location, hardware and processor information (storage, chip speed, camera resolution, NFC enabled, and network type (WiFi, 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G). If you use the “Shop Your School” feature on the Online and Digital Properties, we will collect the zip code that you use to use this feature, together with your IP address and school information.
From Cookies. We may use both session cookies, which expire once you close your web browser, and persistent cookies, which stay on your computer until you delete them and other technologies to help us collect data and to enhance your experience with the Online and Digital Properties. Cookies are small text files a website can use to recognize a repeat visitor to the website. We may use cookies for various purposes, including to authenticate users, personalize your experience, analyze which portions of the Online and Digital Properties are visited most frequently, and measure and optimize advertising and promotional effectiveness. If you do not want us to deploy cookies in your browser, you can opt out by setting your browser to reject cookies or to notify you when a website tries to put a cookie in your browser software. If you choose to disable cookies in your browser, you can still use the Online and Digital Properties, although your ability to use some of the features may be affected.
Third-Party Analytics. We also use third-party analytics services to evaluate your use of the Online and Digital Properties, compile reports on activity, collect demographic data, analyze performance metrics, and collect and evaluate other information relating to the Online and Digital Properties and Internet usage. These third parties use cookies and other technologies to help analyze and provide us the data. By accessing and using the Online and Digital Properties, you consent to the processing of data about you by these analytics providers in the manner and for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy. For more information on these third parties, including how to opt out from certain data collection, please visit the sites below.
For Google Analytics, please visit https://www.google.com/analytics For Magento, please visit https://magento.com/legal/terms/privacy For Crazy Egg, please visit https://www.crazyegg.com/
The Information Collected/Received from Your School
We may receive certain information about you from your school. Such information may include your name, and the Products you would like to order (“School Provided Information”). The School Provided Information shall be provided by your school in accordance with all applicable laws, including but not limited to Family Education and Privacy Act (“FERPA”).
The Information Collected/Received from our Sales Representatives and Through Paper Order Forms
We may receive your Contact Information, Billing Information and Order Information if you place your order with our sales representatives and/or using our paper order forms.
The Information Collected by or Through Third-Party Companies
We may share Other Information about you with third parties, including but not limited to, advertising companies, and our brand partners, for ad distribution and ad optimization (defined as the tailoring, targeting (i.e., behavioral, contextual, and retargeting), analyzing, managing, reporting, and optimizing of ads). These third parties may use cookies, pixel tags (also called web beacons or clear gifs), and/or other technologies to collect Other Information for such purposes. Pixel tags enable us and these third-party advertising companies to recognize a browser’s cookie when a browser visits the site on which the pixel tag is located in order to learn which advertisement brings a user to a given site. In addition, we may receive Other Information from advertisers, brand partners, and/or their service providers such as advertising identifiers, IP addresses, and post-conversion data.
How to Opt Out of Third-Party Interest-Based Advertising
If you wish to opt out of third-party interest-based advertising, please visit http://www.networkadvertising.org and http://www.aboutads.info/choices for details on how to do so.
How the Information is Shared
You authorize us to use your Contact Information, Order Information, Geolocational Information, School Provided Information and Other Information (collectively, the “Information”) to provide and improve our Online and Digital Properties, Services and Products, to fulfill your requests and purchases; to send order notifications and marketing communications, to provide personalized and more convenient onsite shopping experience, to solicit your feedback, to inform you about our products and services and those of our promotional partners. We will use your phone number to send you updates about your order and marketing notifications via SMS. If you would like to opt-out of receiving such SMS, please contact us at privacy@balfour.com.
You also authorize us to use and/or share Information as described below.
We may employ other companies and individuals to perform functions on our behalf. Examples may include providing technical assistance, customer service, marketing assistance, billing, and administration of our promotional programs. These other companies will have access to the Information only as necessary to perform their functions and to the extent permitted by law.
In an ongoing effort to better understand our users, the Online and Digital Properties, and our Products and Services, we may analyze your Information in anonymized and aggregate form in order to operate, maintain, manage, and improve the Online and Digital Properties and/or such Products and Services. This aggregate information does not identify you personally. We may share this aggregate data with our affiliates, agents, business and promotional partners, and other third parties. We may also disclose aggregated user statistics in order to describe the Online and Digital Properties and our products and services to current and prospective business partners and investors and to other third parties for other lawful purposes.
We may share some or all of your Information with any of our parent companies, subsidiaries, joint ventures, affiliates or other companies under common control with us.
As we develop our businesses, we might sell or buy businesses or assets. In the event of a corporate sale, merger, reorganization, sale of assets, dissolution, or similar event, the Information may be part of the transferred assets.
To the extent permitted by law, we may also disclose the Information: (i) when required by law, court order, or other government or law enforcement authority or regulatory agency; or (ii) whenever we believe that disclosing such Information is necessary or advisable, for example, to protect the rights, property, or safety of AAC or others.
We may share your Contact Information and Order Information with your school to determine your eligibility to receive the Products you order.
We may share your Contact Information, Order Information and School Provided Information with our sales representatives. All of our sales representatives will only use the consumer’s information consistent with the purposes described in the policy.
We may also share your credit card information in an anonymized manner with our business partners to create profiles to help us better market to our users.
We may share your Contact Information with your school counselors who will use the information to message you about your order.
Information we may Contribute to Cooperative Databases
We may contribute your Information to cooperative databases which give third parties subscribing for such databases access to your Information for the purposes of confirming viability of e-mails and fraud protection. If you do not wish to have your Information contributed to cooperative databases, please send an e-mail to privacy@balfour.com.
Accessing and Modifying Information and Communication Preferences
If you have provided us any Contact Information and/or Order Information, you may access, remove, review, and/or make changes to certain elements of the same by logging in to your account. In addition, you may manage your receipt of marketing and non-transactional communications by clicking on the “unsubscribe” link located on the bottom of any AAC marketing e-mail. We will use commercially reasonable efforts to process such requests in a timely manner. You should be aware, however, that it is not always possible to completely remove or modify information in our subscription databases. You cannot opt out of receiving transactional e-mails related to the Online and Digital Properties.
We take commercially reasonable steps to protect the Information from loss, misuse, and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. Please understand, however, that no security system is impenetrable. We cannot guarantee the security of our databases or the databases of the third parties with which we may share such Information, nor can we guarantee that the Information you supply will not be intercepted while being transmitted over the Internet. If you send us an email, we cannot guarantee the security of any information contained therein because we do not have control over the security of incoming emails.
Important Notices to Non-U.S. Residents
The Online and Digital Properties and its servers are operated in the United States and elsewhere. Please be aware that your Information may be transferred to, processed, maintained, and used on computers, servers, and systems located outside of your state, province, country, or other governmental jurisdiction where the privacy laws may not be as protective as those in your country of origin. If you are located outside the United States and choose to use the Online and Digital Properties, you do so at your own risk.
The Online and Digital Properties may contain links to third-party websites. (“External Sites”) AAC has no control over the privacy practices or the content of these External Sites. As such, we are not responsible for the content or the privacy policies of these External Sites. You should check the applicable third-party privacy policy and terms of use when visiting any such External Sites.
The Online and Digital Properties are not intended for children. No one under age 13 may provide any personal information on the Sites. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are under 13, do not use or provide any information on the Sites. If we learn we have collected or received personal information from a child under 13, we will use reasonable efforts to refrain from further using such personal information or maintaining it in retrievable form. If you believe we might have information from or about a child under 13, please contact us at privacy@balfour.com.
Furthermore, if you are under eighteen (18) years of age, then you (or your parent or legal guardian) may at any time request that we remove content or information about you that is posted on the Online and Digital Properties. Please submit any such request (“Request for Removal of Minor Information”) to privacy@balfour.com, with a subject line of “Removal of Minor Information”. For each Request for Removal of Minor Information, please state “Removal of Minor Information” in the e-mail or letter subject line, and clearly state the following in the body:
whether such content or information if found on the Sites;
the location on content or information on the Sites (e.g., providing the URL for the specific web page the content or information is found on);
that the request is related to the “Removal of Minor Information”;
your name, street address, city, state, zip code, and e-mail address; and
whether you prefer to receive a response to your request by mail or e-mail.
We are not responsible for failing to comply with any Request for Removal of Minor Information that is incomplete, incorrectly labeled, or incorrectly sent.
Please note that the aforementioned removal does not ensure complete or comprehensive removal of such content or information posted on the Online and Digital Properties.
Also, please note that we are not required to erase or otherwise eliminate, or to enable erasure or elimination of, such content or information in certain circumstances, such as, for example, when an international, federal, state, or local law, rule, or regulation requires us to maintain the content or information; when the content or information is stored on or posted to the Online and Digital Properties by a third party other than you (including any content or information posted by you that was stored, republished, or reposted by the third party); when we anonymize the content or information, so that you cannot be individually identified; when you do not follow the aforementioned instructions for requesting the removal of the content or information; and when you have received compensation or other consideration for providing the content or information.
How Can You Manage Personal Information You Submit?
Managing Communications With You. If you no longer wish to receive emails from us on a going-forward basis, you may opt-out of receiving such emails by following the "unsubscribe" directions on the e-mails. Updating or Correcting personal information. If you would like to review, correct, update or remove personal information about you that you previously provided to us, you may do so by sending us an e-mail at privacy@balfour.com , by calling us at 1-800-BALFOUR (800-225-3687) or by writing to us: American Achievement Corporation
Attn: Privacy Officer 1550 W Mockingbird Lane Dallas, Texas 75235
For your protection, we will only implement such requests with respect to the personal information associated with the particular email address that you use to send us your request, and we may need to verify your identity before implementing your request. We will endeavor to comply with your request as soon as reasonably practicable. Please note that we are not responsible for correcting, updating or deleting any information in the databases of third parties with whom we have already shared your personal information.
For Nevada Residents Only: Effective October 1, 2019, Nevada law gives consumers in Nevada the right to restrict certain businesses from selling certain personal information to third parties if those third parties will license or sell such personal information to additional third parties. To exercise this right, please send an email to privacy@balfour.com. Provide the requested information (e.g., your complete name, street address, city, state, zip code, and email address).
Your California Privacy Rights. If you are a California resident, California law may provide you with additional rights regarding our use of your personal information. To learn more about your California privacy rights, visit
https://www.balfour.com/HelpCenter/Legal/CCPA%20Privacy%20Notice
This Privacy Policy is effective as of the date stated at the top of this Privacy Policy. We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any such changes will be posted on the Online and Digital Properties. By accessing the Online and Digital Properties, accessing our Services, and/or ordering our Products after we make any such changes to this Privacy Policy, you are deemed to have accepted such changes. Please be aware that, to the extent permitted by applicable law, our use of the Information is governed by the Privacy Policy in effect at the time we collect the Information. Please refer back to this Privacy Policy on a regular basis.
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us in one of the following ways:
Email: privacy@balfour.com
Phone: 1-800-BALFOUR (800-225-3687)
Or write to us at:
American Achievement Corporation 1550 W Mockingbird Lane Dallas, Texas 75235
PRIVACY STATEMENT-CALIFORNIA
This PRIVACY NOTICE FOR CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS supplements the information contained in the American Achievement Corporation Privacy Policy, which is incorporated by reference herein. This supplemental Privacy Statement-California applies to the Online and Digital Properties, but solely as to visitors, users, and others who reside in the State of California (“consumers” or “you”). We adopt this notice to comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”) and other California privacy laws. Any terms defined in the CCPA have the same meaning when used in this notice.
We collect information that identifies, relates to, describes, references, is capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular consumer or device (“personal information”). In particular, we have collected the following categories of personal information from consumers within the last twelve (12) months:
A. Identifiers.
Example: A real name, alias, postal address, unique personal identifier, online identifier, Internet Protocol address, email address, account name, Social Security number, driver's license number, passport number, or other similar identifiers.
Collected?: YES
B. Personal information categories listed in the California Customer Records statute (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.80(e)).
Example: A name, signature, Social Security number, physical characteristics or description, address, telephone number, passport number, driver's license or state identification card number, insurance policy number, education, employment, employment history, bank account number, credit card number, debit card number, or any other financial information, medical information, or health insurance information. Some personal information included in this category may overlap with other categories.
C. Protected classification characteristics under California or federal law.
Example: Age (40 years or older), race, color, ancestry, national origin, citizenship, religion or creed, marital status, medical condition, physical or mental disability, sex (including gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy or childbirth and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, veteran or military status, genetic information (including familial genetic information).
Collected?: NO
D. Commercial information.
Example: Records of personal property, products or services purchased, obtained, or considered, or other purchasing or consuming histories or tendencies.
E. Biometric information.
Example: Genetic, physiological, behavioral, and biological characteristics, or activity patterns used to extract a template or other identifier or identifying information, such as, fingerprints, faceprints, and voiceprints, iris or retina scans, keystroke, gait, or other physical patterns, and sleep, health, or exercise data.
F. Internet or other similar network activity
Example: Browsing history, search history, information on a consumer's interaction with a website, application, or advertisement.
G. Geolocation data.
Example: Physical location or movements.
H. Sensory data.
Example: Audio, electronic, visual, thermal, olfactory, or similar information.
I. Professional or employment-related information.
Example: Current or past job history or performance evaluations.
J. Non-public education information (per the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g, 34 C.F.R. Part 99)).
Example: Education records directly related to a student maintained by an educational institution or party acting on its behalf, such as grades, transcripts, class lists, student schedules, student identification codes, student financial information, or student disciplinary records.
K. Inferences drawn from other personal information.
Example: Profile reflecting a person's preferences, characteristics, psychological trends, predispositions, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, and aptitudes.
personal information covered by certain sector-specific privacy laws, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FRCA), the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) or California Financial Information Privacy Act (FIPA), and the Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994.
Directly from our customers.
Directly and indirectly from activity on the Online and Digital Properties. For example, from submissions through portals on our Websites or website usage details collected automatically.
From third-parties that interact with us in connection with the services we perform.
To fulfill or meet the reason for which the information is provided. For example, we may use personal information about you to respond to your requests, fulfill your purchase requests, send you publications or other information, and to answer your questions.
To improve our Online and Digital Properties and present their contents to you.
For our internal business purposes, such as data analysis, audits, enhancing the Online and Digital Properties, identifying usage trends and determining the effectiveness of our promotional messaging.
Category A: Identifiers. Category B: California Customer Records personal information categories. Category D: Commercial Information Category F: Internet or other similar network activity Category G: Physical location or movements
In the preceding twelve (12) months, we have not sold any personal information.
Calling us at 1-800-BALFOUR (800-225-3687) Sending us an e-mail at privacy@balfour.com; or Writing to us:
American Achievement Corporation
We cannot respond to your request or provide you with personal information if we cannot verify your identity or authority to make the request and confirm the personal information relates to you. Making a verifiable consumer request does not require you to create an account with us. We will only use personal information provided in a verifiable consumer request to verify the requestor's identity or authority to make the request.
We endeavor to respond to a verifiable consumer request within 45 days of its receipt. If we require more time (up to 90 days), we will inform you of the reason and extension period in writing. If you have an account with us, we will deliver our written response to that account. If you do not have an account with us, we will deliver our written response by mail or electronically, at your option. Any disclosures we provide will only cover the 12-month period preceding the verifiable consumer request's receipt. The response we provide will also explain the reasons we cannot comply with a request, if applicable. For data portability requests, we will select a format to provide your personal information that is readily useable and should allow you to transmit the information from one entity to another entity without hindrance.
We reserve the right to amend this privacy notice at our discretion and at any time. When we make changes to this privacy notice, we will notify you by email or through a notice on our website homepage.
If you have any questions or comments about this notice, our Privacy Statement, the ways in which we collect and use your personal information, your choices and rights regarding such use, or wish to exercise your rights under California law, please do not hesitate to contact us through one of the following ways:
Calling us at 1-800-BALFOUR (800-225-3687) Sending us an e-mail at privacy@balfour.com; or Writing to us: American Achievement Corporation
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Michael King grew up in Upstate New York & attended college at RIT, for Illustration. During college, he did an internship at Walt Disney World, where he discovered his passion for the performing Arts. He knew then that he wanted to move to LA & pursue his new found dream of becoming an actor. He never had a dream of being famous, he just w... Show more »
Michael King grew up in Upstate New York & attended college at RIT, for Illustration. During college, he did an internship at Walt Disney World, where he discovered his passion for the performing Arts. He knew then that he wanted to move to LA & pursue his new found dream of becoming an actor. He never had a dream of being famous, he just wanted to be able to influence others the way his favorite actor had influenced him. He wanted to touch people through his work & make a difference. Show less «
Michael King's FILMOGRAPHY
as Actor (33)
Scorpion - Season 1
NCIS: New Orleans - Season 5
Grimm - Season 5
CSI - Season 1
Sistas - Season 1
Stalker - Season 1
CSI - Season 11
Stitchers - Season 1
CSI: NY - Season 6
Last Resort - Season 1
[16+]Eating Out 5 The Open Weekend
Warfighter
Bruh - Season 1
Dollhouse - Season 1
Michael King'S roles
Kevin Hawkes
Tornado Movies - Watch Free Cinema Movies Online
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The BBC has obtained a video which shows an Israeli tank in Jenin firing, at close range, at a group of civilians who were running away from the tank. They killed 6-year-old Ahmad Abu Aziz and his 13-year-old brother Jamil. In their defence, the Israelis claim that the tank crew opened fire to deter Palestinians breaking a curfew and approaching them. I won't ask about the unbelievable injustice of the curfew and the imposition of military rule over the Palestinians. I can't even be bothered to comment on the specifics of this latest slaughter (although perhaps the international community can start to see the fruits of letting the Israelis get away with the earlier massacre at Jenin). This sort of outrage is now so common from the Israelis, who fall all over themselves telling us what 'humanitarians' they are, that it is no longer worth even bothering to remark about. It's no worse than we expect from them. I do, however, have one question for the Israelis. In time, the violent punks who are in these tanks, who gratuitously brutalize the Palestinians at the military checkpoints, who easily steal from and vandalize the homes of the Palestinians they arbitrarily decide to take over, and who generally act like a roving street gang of thugs, are going to grow up. These are exactly the type of psychopaths who will end up running Israel (if you want to see what they look like when they 'grow up', just look at Sharon). What is Israel going to look like in twenty or thirty years when all its government and all its businesses are run by characters who might have come right out of "A Clockwork Orange"?
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ZonesCorp
Why Abu Dhabi
World-class Infrastructure
Excellent Business Environment
Administrative Efficiencies
Our Zones
Zones Under Development
Workers’ Accommodation
Register as a Consultant/Contractor
iSupplier
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Emirates Float Glass
Exporting glass to the world, in partnership with ZonesCorp.
Emirates Flat Glass (EFG) operates the largest float glass manufacturing facility in the entire UAE. Capable of an output of up to 200,000 tons of glass annually, EFG’s state-of-the-art plant within the Industrial City Abu Dhabi became operational in 2009, and since then the company has gone on to export their products to more than 60 countries throughout the world.
As well as being recognised internationally, and picking up numerous global awards for their work, EFG has prospered significantly from the huge surge in construction work across the UAE, the GCC and the MENA region.
Demand for high quality float glass continues to grow in the Middle East, particularly within the construction and automotive industries, and the reputation EFG has carved out for itself based on product quality, location and reduced lead times has meant less dependence on international imports for some of the region’s most important projects.
EFG was able to become established and operational within the UAE in record time with support from ZonesCorp, and can rightfully claim to be a significant contributor towards the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030. The company was recently handed a special award of appreciation for its contribution to the improvement of non-oil export from Abu Dhabi, by the Department of Economic Development.
Al Jaber Group (AJC)
Investor Portal Account Registration
Page last updated on : 1/5/2021 3:43:13 PM
© 2021 ZonesCorp, all right reserved.
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See full analysis Learn more
WHAT'S NEXT?: The global population is expected to reach 8.5 billion in 2030, up 1 billion from 2016. Western economies are declining in numbers and emerging economies witnessing burgeoning growth.
[New] With the world's population predicted to reach approximately 9.1 billion by 2050 - translating to +70% food availability - sustainable packaging can make a difference, helping mitigate impact while ensuring access to safe food.
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[New] With the global population expected to grow by roughly two billion people by 2050, improving access to affordable and healthy food will be critical in reducing malnutrition and the associated health-care costs.
[New] As the population of America ages, nursing homes will house more people than ever in the coming years.
[New] By 2024, at least half of the world's population is expected to use digital wallets for transactions that will be valued at more than $9 trillion annually.
[New] If current levels of migration continue, the Muslim population of Austria is forecast to reach around 20% of the total population by 2050.
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Nearly half the world's population, around 3.6 billion people, face water-scarcity for at least one month per year, and it is expected that over 5 billion people will suffer some water shortage by 2050.
The aging population in the U.S. means that more Medicare patients will require spine care in the coming years, with the case mix continuing to shift away from commercial payers.
During the next decades, global population and economic growth will continue to increase groundwater demand and accompanying groundwater depletion and, when exacerbated by droughts, will probably increase land subsidence occurrence and related damages or impacts.
Over the coming decades, the agricultural food system will undergo an accelerated transformation to provide access to enough food for a growing world population.
The total transaction value of digital payments is expected to reach nearly $4.8 trillion, and in fewer than five years, half the world's population will be armed with a digital wallet.
Suriname, like most countries across the world, has faced significant economic and social disruption in 2020 brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
By the end of 2022, Deutsche Bank expects sports betting to be legal in states that account for 45% of the US population.
Almost a quarter of the global population will not have access to a vaccine until at least 2022.
The population in the Sahel is on target to hit 330 million by 2050 - seven times its population in 2000, a growth rate which, if applied to the UK, would have seen that country's population soar from 59 to 413 million.
By 2100 Nigeria at 733 million people would be the third most populous country in the world after India and China.
Sao Tome and Principe has not escaped the COVID-19 related disruption experienced by most of the world in 2020.
Namibia has not escaped the COVID-19 related disruption experienced by most of the world in 2020.
Would you like a quick online demo of our service from an experienced member of our team?
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Thursday Abstract Presentations
Friday Abstract Presentations
Venue & General Information
Kieran Borgeat
BSc BVSc MVetMed CertVC MRCVS DipACVIM DipECVIM-CA Clinical Lead in Cardiology, Langford Vets
Dr. Borgeat worked in general practice for 6-years after graduation, where he became interested in cardiology and gained an initial post-graduate qualification in the subject. In 2011, he undertook a cardiology residency and Masters degree at the Royal Veterinary College in London.
He is an American and European college Diplomate in Cardiology, and an RCVS Recognised Specialist in the subject. He works as Clinical Lead in Cardiology at Langford Vets, University of Bristol, where he treats all species and works alongside two other Diplomates and two residents in training.
Alongside a busy cardiovascular interventional caseload in dogs and horses, he works with the feline centre to treat cats with heart disease. He has published widely on a variety of topics, but has a particular passion for feline cardiomyopathy and congenital heart disease.
AVA Dublin 2020
Donal Buggy
MSc, MD, FRCPI, FRCA, FFSEM, FCAI, DME
Donal Buggy is UCD Full Professor of Anaesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine and Consultant in Anaesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at Mater University Hospital, University College Dublin.
As an elected member of Council of the College of Anaesthetists of Ireland, he chaired the CEPD-Education committee and was Convenor of Irish Congress of Anaesthesiology 2015-19.
He is editorial board member of British Journal of Anaesthesia (BJA) and has served an extended term on the ESA Research Committee 2015-19. A clinician scientist in perioperative interventions’ on postoperative patient outcomes, he is Chairman of EU COST Action 15204, Euro-Periscope, a collaborative network of researchers in the Europe, investigating the potential influence of anaesthesia and analgesia on cancer outcomes.
Daniel Davies
BVMedSci (Hons), BVM BVS (Hons), DipECVDI, MRCVS. European Specialist in Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging. University College Dublin.
After graduating from the University of Nottingham in 2012 Daniel worked for 2 years as a first opinion mixed practice vet in South West Wales. He returned to the University of Nottingham and undertook a 16 month small animal rotating internship based in Pride Veterinary Centre, Derby.
Following 7 months working as an out-of-hours veterinary surgeon in the Midlands of England, in September 2016 Daniel began his residency in Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging at UCD Dublin.
He is a Diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging and is currently a professional doctorate student at University College Dublin.
Íde Delargy
MB BCh, BaO, Dip Obs, MICGP, FRCGP, Substance Misuse Cert. RCGP
Dr Delargy is GP and is on the Specialist Register of the Medical Council of Ireland. She has been practising as a General Practitioner since 1986 and have been in practice partnerships in both the UK and Ireland. Dr Delargy is a Fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners in London (FRCGP Lon) and a Member of the Irish College of General Practitioners of Ireland (MICGP). She has contributed to many National expert and policy groups in the area of alcohol and substance misuse.
Her current roles include: GP practice principal in Blackrock, Co Dublin as well as being Director of the Substance Misuse Programme at the Irish College of General Practitioners since 1998. Dr. Delargy is also a national GP Co-ordinator for the HSE Addiction Service and a Medical Director Practitioner Health Matters Programme (formerly the Sick Doctor Scheme) which provides assessment, treatment and support for doctors, dentists and pharmacists who have addiction or mental health problems. She is the medical Director of the PHMP.
Daniel J. Fletcher
PhD, DVM, DACVECC Associate Professor of Emergency and Critical Care Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine
Dr. Fletcher joined the faculty of the Cornell Veterinary College in 2006. After receiving a BS in Electrical Engineering from Drexel University, a PhD in Bioengineering from the University of California, and a DVM from the University of California, he completed his internship and ECC residency at the University of Pennsylvania.
He is co-chair of the RECOVER Initiative, which published the first evidence-based veterinary CPR guidelines. He is past-president of the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care and the Associate Chair for Teaching and Clinical Service of the Department of Clinical Sciences at Cornell.
His research interests include disorders of fibrinolysis and the use of immersive simulation in teaching.
He started building simulators for veterinary education in 2009 and developed Open VetSim, an open source veterinary simulation platform. He opened the Tetlow and Roy Park Innovation Lab, an immersive simulation center at Cornell in the fall of 2015.
Blánaid Hayes
Blánaid Hayes, MB, MD, FRCPI, FFOM, Consultant Occupational Physician (Beaumont Hospital),
Blánaid has worked as an occupational physician in the health sector for over 2 decades.
She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (FRCPI), former Dean of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine (FFOM) and former president of the Irish Society of Occupational Medicine (ISOM).
She has been involved in training young doctors as specialists for over a decade both as a supervising trainer and as National Specialty Director. She has contributed to the development of national guidelines on MRSA, hand hygiene and blood borne viruses.
Her research interests include doctors’ wellbeing, needlestick injury and influenza immunisation in healthcare workers. Her exploration of workplace and personal wellbeing measures in hospital doctors, as well as lifestyle behaviours, has helped to inform policy and curricular developments within medical post-graduate training bodies.
Matthew McMillan
BVM&S, DipECVAA, AFHEA, MRCVS European & RCVS Specialist in Anaesthesia & Analgesia Royal Veterinary College
Matt qualified in 2003 from the R(D)SVS Edinburgh before working in general practice for three years.
After an internship at the RVC he worked as an emergency vet for a year before starting his residency in anaesthesia at the University of Cambridge. He became a diplomate of the ECVAA in 2012.
After his residency he worked at the University of Cambridge first as a clinical anaesthetist and then as the Principle Anaesthetist, and is now working as a clinician at the RVC. Matt’s main interests include patient safety, error and clincial decision making, ethics and education.
Matt chaired the AVA subcommittee that developed the Anaesthetic Safety Checklist, he co-authored the book "Error in Veterinary anesthesia" with Prof John Ludders DipACVAA, has written numerous articles on safety and has published articles on adverse event reporting and safety incidents.
Tom Pierce
Cardiac Anaesthetist at University Hospital Southampton
After completing his undergraduate in medicine in Southampton, Dr. Pierce moved to Derby and Nottingham to undertake SHO general medical training and then SHO training in anaesthesia. Returning to Southampton in the late ‘80s he completed his registrar anaesthesia training before moving to Groningen in The Netherlands to undertake a fellowship in cardiac anaesthesia.
After senior registrar training I was appointed to the post of consultant cardiac anaesthetist in 1992.
Following a successful 5 years running the Wessex Final Fellowship course for the FRCA examination Dr. Pierce became an examiner with the Royal College of Anaesthetists in 2006 and in 2013 and he became the inaugural Environmental Advisor to the RCoA.
The years since have been heavily involved developing and subsequently widening the knowledge of the environmental impact of healthcare and clinical care pathways including the relative differences between different anaesthetic agents working towards the inclusion of sustainability within the examination syllabus.
Antonella Puggioni
DrMedVet, CertDVI, DipECVDI, DipUTL
Dr. Antonella Puggioni graduated cum laude from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Sassari in 1999.
She started her residency in Diagnostic Imaging in UCD Dublin in 2002. Dr. Puggioni was awarded the Certificate in Diagnostic Imaging of the RVC in 2005 and the ECVDI European Diploma in 2006.
Since 2007 Dr. Puggioni has been an Associate Professor and clinical radiologist at UCD University Veterinary Hospital.
She has been invited as speaker in several national and international congresses (SCIVAC Italy and AVEPA Spain), courses and CPD ( SCIVAC Italy, XLvet/PVN/VICAS/Kildare vet soc Ireland), and as a visiting Professor at Italian (Faculties of Sassari and Teramo) and Estonian (Eesti Maaulikool Tartu) Universities.
In 2009 Dr. Puggioni was awarded the Professional Diploma in University Teaching and learning by UCDUTL.
Amongst other academic roles she is a resident supervisor and stage coordinator for Stage IV and module coordinator.
Robert Shiel
MVB ProfCertBiostatistics ProfDipUTL PhD DECVIM-CA (Internal Medicine) University College Dublin
Robert Shiel qualified from University College Dublin (UCD). After several years in small animal practice in the United Kingdom, he returned to UCD to undertake a residency in small animal medicine and obtained the Diploma of the European College of Veterinary Internal Medicine - Companion Animals (Internal Medicine) in 2007.
He completed a PhD at UCD in the area of canine thyroid function in 2011. After four years working as a lecturer at Murdoch University, Western Australia, Robert returned to UCD and is currently an Associate Professor in Small Animal Medicine.
Research interests include small animal endocrinology, neurology, cardiology and genomics. Robert teaches small animal cardio-respiratory medicine in the undergraduate veterinary curriculum.
Emma Tobin
MVB MVM CVR Dip ECVDI
Emma Tobin is a European Specialist in Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging. She works part-time in the UCD Veterinary Hospital as a clinical radiologist and part-time taking referral ultrasound cases in Cork and Dublin.
Her main interests in veterinary diagnostic imaging include abdominal ultrasound in cancer staging, musculoskeletal ultrasound in dogs and echocardiography in all small animals.
Emma enjoys teaching ultrasound to colleagues and is looking forward to this course.
Association of Veterinary Anaesthetists Spring Meeting 11-13 March 2020, Dublin, Ireland.
c/o Keynote PCO, Suite 26, Anglesea House, Carysfort Avenue, Blackrock, Co. Dublin Ireland Tel: +353 1 400 3611
registration@avadublin2020.ie
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BlackBook gallery presents ‘Movement’ in Dumbo, Brooklyn
Renee Minus White | 6/13/2019, 6:58 p.m.
Art by ThankYouX (aka Ryan Wilson)
Los Angeles artist ThankYouX (aka Ryan Wilson) will debut his solo exhibition at the BlackBook Presents gallery in Dumbo, Brooklyn Thursday, June 20, 2019. ThankYouX began his artistic journey on the streets of Los Angeles, spray-painting stencils in homage to Andy Warhol. Those stencils were his initial calling card; the work gained him a significant cult celeb.
As his notoriety grew, the scope of his expression evolved to contemporary abstract images that stand in striking contrast to the more conventional graffiti-inspired street-art paradigm. ThankYouX went on to exhibit paintings and sculptures in London, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and Hong Kong.
Today, his artwork is highly recognized by the art world. His mixed media cube paintings and large-scale abstract work are inspirational. This “Movement” series is the best.
“The cube patterns had me feeling that rush again,” stated Wilson enthusiastically. “Change is good, it was fresh—it was important for me to challenge myself, and so I moved on from the image based focus point.”
Notably, ThankYouX was the official artist of the 2016 Global Citizen music festival in New York (curated by Coldplay’s Chris Martin). He recently completed an artist residency at Soho House in West Hollywood in 2018.
In 2019, the artist introduces his work to entirely new audiences. Indeed, he’ll be in Biarritz, France June 12 for his collaboration with Indian Motorcycles, along with fellow artists including Risk and D Face. “I have done a few group shows in New York,” he explained, “and I felt like now was the time to do a proper show. So I was thrilled when BlackBook called about the solo exhibition; they really listened to my vision and were just as excited as I was to do it.”
In California, he gained a significant cult, celebrity following and a multifaceted identity. ThankYouX’s art is collected by Elon Musk, Zedd, Paul McCartney, Wiz Khalifa, Drew Taggert (The Chainsmokers), Evan Spiegel (CEO, Snapchat), Lil Jon and Miley Cyrus, amongst others.
ThankYouX is looking forward to his next solo exhibition and reception, on June 20, 2019, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the BlackBook Presents gallery in Dumbo, Brooklyn, New York.
Ed Clark retrospective at Mnuchin Gallery thru Oct. 20
Artist provocateur Jasmine Murrell sees beauty in the forbidden and familiar
Brooklyn Museum presents ‘Soul of a Nation’
Hand-signed screen prints at Martin Lawrence Galleries
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Pencase with six reed pens
© BA Antiquities Museum/E.Omar
CGCatalogue général des antiquités égyptiennes du musée du Caire
A series of scholarly publications, which groups objects by subject in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. 69008
JEJournal d'Entrée du Musée Égyptien du Caire
The numbering system and accession log created by the French, which has been used most consistently throughout the Egyptian Museum’s history. It is a continuous, sequential numbering system. 32745
SRSpecial Registers of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo
Numbers developed based on the division of sections within the Egyptian museum. 287
Tools and equipment, writing and drawing equipment, pens, reed pens
Tools and equipment, writing and drawing equipment, pencases
Ancient Egyptian period, New Kingdom (1550-1069 BCE)
Upper Egypt, Giza, Saqqara (found in 1898 by V. Loret)
Organic material, fiber (from plants/animals), reed
0.8 cm;
27.5 cm;
Ancient Egyptian Antiquities, showcase 2
The pencase we have here is of the type used from the fifth dynasty until the Late Period. It's rectangular in shape; it has two shallow wells for black and red pigments, the traces of which are still visible, and a central slot with a sliding cover to hold the reeds (usually 15-25 cm long). As some signs show, the palette has worn out from long usage.
We can estimate that less than one percent of the Egyptians could read and write. The question of literacy remains, however, open. For certain places and periods, we can postulate a higher and more certain percentage of literacy; this is especially true for Deir el-Medina during the New Kingdom, where literacy probably reached 5 to 7 percent.
Egyptian Scribes
Professional scribes were very important for the operation of the Egyptian state, which was ruled by an efficient administration, organized into various departments, all of which employed scribes. For this reason, the profession was considered one of the noblest and was recommended to young people.
The scribes were involved in activities, ranging from recording the different phases of rural activities and cattle counting to important tasks in the administration of justice and the engagement in the funerary cults of kings and private persons.
Scribes’ Education
We can infer from indirect evidence that the scribal elite tended to pass on their profession from father to son, thus enabling power to be retained in the same family group over long periods. Proof of the existence of schools appears in the Middle Kingdom, and much of the work and training of the scribes is thought to have taken place in an institution known as the House of Life (Pr Ankh). Basic education included some knowledge in geography, arithmetic, and geometry. The study of foreign languages was limited, but it surely existed, since we possess bilingual texts, especially from the New Kingdom. Nonetheless, scribes had to be at least familiar with the most common foreign words and names of places.
Most scribes did not learn to read hieroglyphs which was the sacred script confined to works of art in offering-chapels and temples. Instead, they learned the cursive hieratic (and later Demotic) which they used in their routine tasks.
Scribes’ Prestige
The prestige attributed to the scribal profession is indicated by the popularity of the "scribe statue" which portrayed members of the elite in typical cross-legged scribal pose. These statues can be found in temples from the Middle Kingdom to the Late Period. They sometimes appear in burials of men bearing scribal titles, but often the tombs were owned by officials who had never served as professional scribes. This was to imply the literacy of the owner and the importance of writing in the afterlife.
Scribes’ Equipment
To prepare colours, the scribe used a mortar and pestle. Naturally occurring raw pigments were finely ground and then made into cakes by addition of some binding agent like Acacia gum or size (made from animal waste) and then placed in the palette receptacles. The scribe cut out and bruised one end of the reed to maximize absorption of pigment; to write he moistened the cut end with water and brushed over the cake of pigment, much as a water colour artist works with paints. The most common pigment was black (prepared with soot, boneblack, or charcoal) with highlighted sections such as headings and dates in red (made of ochre).
Throughout the Pharaonic Period, scribes wrote with a fine rush, the Juncus Maritimus, which is found in abundance in Egypt. Brushes for less fine work were made of fibrous materials like palm-rib and fibrous wood.
As a writing material, the scribe used wooden tablets, ostraca (limestone and pottery Chippings), and papyrus which was the typical writing surface of all periods. Individual papyrus sheets (48 cm to 43 cm at full size) could be divided into small pieces with a paper cutter for short documents (such as letters or accounts) or even joined together to create rolls for long religious, funerary and literal texts.
T. G. H. James, Egyptian Painting (London: British Museum Press, 1985).
Naissance de l'écriture: Cunéiformes et hiéroglyphes: [Exposition], Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, 7 mai-9 août 1982 (Paris: Edition de la Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 1982).
Patrizia Piacentini, “Scribes”, in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, edited by Donald B. Redford, vol. 3 (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2001): 187-192.
Stephen Quirke and Jeffery Spencer, eds., The British Museum Book of Ancient Egypt (London: British Museum Press, 1992).
Mohamed Saleh and Hourig Sourouzian, The Egyptian Museum, Cairo: Official Catalogue (Mainz: Verlag Philipp von Zabern, 1987): cat. no. 233.
Mona Serry, ed., Bibliotheca Alexandrina: Antiquities Museum, introduction by Ismail Serageldin (Alexandria: Bibliotheca Alexandrina. Antiquities Museum, 2015): 55, 316.
Ian Shaw and Paul Nicholson, The British Museum Dictionary of Ancient Egypt (London: British Museum Press, 1997).
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Antonian Health | Mexicans choosing S.A. for medicine
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Mexicans choosing S.A. for medicine
23 Sep 2013, Posted by admin in News
Dermatologist Vivian Bucay examines Sergio Mendez Torres, who lives in Mexico City, in her Stone Oak office. Bucay treats many patients from Mexico.
Dermatologist Dr. Vivian Bucay examines a skin blemish on Sergio Mendez Torres, who lives in Mexico City, in her Stone Oak area office on Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2013. Bucay treats many patients from Mexico.
Dr. Francisco Arredondo, medical director of RMA of Texas World Class Fertility Care, is seen in the clinic’s waiting area. The facility is one of many area clinics and hospitals that are marketing to Mexican nationals.
By Lynn Brezosky
When executive Sergio Mendez Torres escapes his fast-paced life in Mexico City for some laid-back time in the family’s second home in North San Antonio, catching up on doctor appointments is as high on his to-do list as golf outings and trips to Costco.
“Here it’s more comfortable, easier — I don’t have to deal with all the traffic,” he said in Spanish as he and his wife waited to see a dermatologist in a newly built building in Stone Oak.
“I feel like the doctors here are always a step ahead,” he added. “Here it’s standard to have the latest equipment.”
The doctor, Vivian Bucay, entered, greeting the couple as old friends as she scanned their charts, examined Mendez Torres’ worrisome skin spots.
“Every one of my patients today has come from Mexico,” she said.
Down the road, fertility specialist Dr. Francisco Arredondo estimated that 18 percent of his clientele is coming from Mexico.
Medical tourism — going outside one’s country for medical care — is a global phenomenon, with a recent study pegging its value at about $100 billion for 2012, up from about $40 billion in 2004. Americans are among the biggest consumers, seeking procedures like hip replacements in Brazil, in vitro fertilization in Russia and angioplasties in Singapore.
Inbound tourism — foreigners paying top dollar, and usually cash, for care in the United States — is a small but highly competitive segment of the market.
Houston’s Texas Medical Center has long been a dominant player, attracting more than 10,000 international patients a year and sporting buildings named for Arab sheiks who donated heavily after receiving care there.
Among the first to study the phenomenon was David Vequist, founder and director of the Center for Medical Tourism at the University of the Incarnate Word.
San Antonio, he said, may never be a Houston, which over the years has developed a coordinated approach, with the International Affairs Advisory Council devoted to courting foreign patients.
But there are things doctors, institutions, and the city itself can do to raise San Antonio’s medical profile, he said.
“My humble belief is we could get more engaged,” he said.
Doctors Bucay and Arredondo say San Antonio’s proximity to Mexico, its recent surge of wealthy Mexican home buyers fleeing drug violence, and strong familial and business connections to Mexico give it a natural advantage over other U.S. cities.
Both Bucay and Arredondo are native Spanish speakers. Arredondo grew up in the northern Mexican border city of Matamoros. Bucay and her husband, a Mexican-born cardiologist, spent about eight years practicing medicine in Mexico City.
They say they understand the cultural norms of medicine south of the border.
The “personal touch” is key, Bucay said, and U.S. physicians have a reputation for being detached. “There’s nothing like face to face.”
When she and her husband decided to return to the United States, they picked San Antonio over Houston.
“It was closest to Mexico, (there were) nonstop flights, and the area needed dermatologists who spoke Spanish,” she said. “We also said, ‘Houston’s going to be very cutthroat.’”
They rely heavily on word of mouth and personal contacts with doctors in Mexico. The doctors provide direct referrals to their San Antonio counterparts, and in return may provide follow-up care.
Medical concierge services, a niche industry led by doctors such as Mexican-trained Andres Ibarra, have opened another steady stream of patients.
Ibarra’s describes his Antonian Health as “an agency for the coordination of logistics.”
“My clients say, ‘You guys are like the GPS of the Medical Center,’” he said.
The agency’s Spanish-language brochure is packed with advertisements from doctors offering weight-loss surgeries, robot-assisted urological procedures, plastic surgery and cancer treatment, with at least one touting a discount for international patients.
Ibarra’s company makes patients’ appointments and transfers their records, picks them up at the airport, provides hotel discounts and will even pick up tickets for family members to go to SeaWorld or other attractions.
Attracting first-time clients to San Antonio was a challenge, he said, because they automatically thought of Houston.
“They all think about Houston, MD Anderson (Cancer Center) as the best of the best,” he said. “The thing is that probably about three years ago we started having a lot of migration of doctors from Houston, MD Anderson. Now we have like six big facilities of hematology and cancer treatment and research here in San Antonio. And it’s growing fast, fast, fast.”
Of the region’s major hospital systems, the Methodist Healthcare System probably has been the most active. Methodist representatives join the city’s Convention and Visitors Bureau on their periodic trips to Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey to promote the city to travel agencies and media.
The effort dates back 20 years, before Mexico toppled into an economic crisis in 1994, said hospital representatives Mario Pastrana and Palmira Arellano.
“The value for us doing this is basically economical and strategical,” Pastrana said. “When you’re talking about getting international patients, you don’t compete locally … you compete against systems in Houston, New York, Boston, Miami.
“What we wanted to do was send a message that here in San Antonio we also can take care of international patients,” he said. “And definitely we’re an alternative — sometimes better than other systems.”
lbrezosky@express-news.net
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International Jury
Annabelle Ténèze
A former student of the Ecole nationale des Chartes and the Institut national du Patri- moine (Paris), Annabelle Ténèze is chief curator and Director of les Abattoirs in Toulouse, France (Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art – FRAC Occitanie Tou- louse) since 2016. Annabelle Ténèze was first curator of the graphic arts cabinet at the Picasso-Paris National Museum (2006 to 2012). She then heads the museum of con- temporary art in Rochechouart until 2016. She has organized the solo exhibitions of Jules de Balincourt, Eduardo Basualdo, Tomaz Furlan, Raoul Hausmann, Folkert de Jong, Kent Monkman, Laure Prouvost and Carolee Schneemann. She has also co-or- ganized several exhibitions dedicated to women artists (Paint, she Said and Lucy’s Iris. Contemporary African Women Artists in partnership with the MUSAC in León and the CAAM of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria). Since her arrival at les Abattoirs, the follow- ing exhibitions have been presented: Daniel Spoerri: les dadas des deux Daniel, Autour du Nouveau Réalisme (in partnership with the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris), Sus- pended Animation (in partnership with the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington DC), Medellín, A Colombian Story. From the 1950s to the present (in part- nership with the Museo de Antioquia Me- dellín), Zero Gravity. An artistic Approach of the Space Adventure (in partnership with CNES), Picasso and the Exodus. A Spanish History of Art in Resistance (in partnership with the Musée national Picasso-Paris), the programme of exhibitions I am a Native Foreigner, as well as several monograph- ic projects (Joël Andrianomearisoa, Edu- ardo Chillida, David Claerbout, Béatrice Cussol, Hessie, Marguerite Humeau, Re- naud Jerez, Jacqueline de Jong, Presence Panchounette, Maya Rochat, Vivien Rou- baud, Judit Reigl, Kevin Rouillard, Car- olee Schneemann, Gisèle Vienne, etc.). She teaches at the Ecole du Louvre where she has been in charge of the specialty course «the art of the twentieth century» (2012-2016). Her work has also focused on Pop Art and its connection to art history; she has published in several catalogs on Pop art, and is currently workin on an exhibition project with Peter Saul.
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Carolyn Sampson
Equally at home on the concert and opera stages, Carolyn Sampson has enjoyed notable successes in the UK as well as throughout Europe and the US.
On the opera stage her roles have included the title role in Semele and Pamina in The Magic Flute for English National Opera, various roles in Purcell’s The Fairy Queen for Glyndebourne Festival Opera (released on DVD) and both Anne Truelove The Rake’s Progress and Mélisande Pelléas et Mélisande in Sir David McVicar’s productions for Scottish Opera. Internationally she has appeared at Opéra de Paris, Opéra de Lille, Opéra de Montpellier and Opéra National du Rhin. She also sang the title role in Lully’s Psyché for the Boston Early Music Festival, which was released on CD and was subsequently nominated for a Grammy.
Carolyn’s numerous concert engagements in the UK have included regular appearances at the BBC Proms, and with orchestras including Britten Sinfonia, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, English Concert, Hallé, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, The Sixteen, and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
In Europe her many appearances have included concerts with Bergen Philharmonic, Freiburger Barockorchester, Gürzenich Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, and WDR Symphony Orchestra.
In the US Carolyn has featured as soloist with the Boston, Cincinnati, Detroit, and San Francisco Symphonies, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the St Paul Chamber Orchestra, and is a regular guest at the Mostly Mozart Festival. Most recently she performed and recorded Mahler Symphony No. 4 with Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra. In October 2013 she made her Carnegie Hall recital debut to a sold-out audience in the Weill Recital Hall, and has given recitals at the Lincoln Center, New York, and San Francisco Performances.
Carolyn works with conductors such as Sir Mark Elder, Harry Bicket, Ivor Bolton, Riccardo Chailly, Harry Christophers, Philippe Herreweghe, Andris Nelsons, Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Louis Langrée, Trevor Pinnock, and Donald Runnicles.
A consummate recitalist, Carolyn Sampson appears regularly at the Wigmore Hall where she was a “featured artist” in the 14/15 season. She has given recitals at the Oxford and Leeds Lieder, Saintes and Aldeburgh Festivals as well as at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Barcelona, Freiburg, Oper Frankfurt, Vienna Konzerthaus, and recently her debut recital tour of Japan.
Carolyn has developed a partnership with the pianist Joseph Middleton over recent years. Her debut song recital disc with Joseph, ‘Fleurs’, was released early in 2015 featuring songs by composers from Purcell to Britten, and was nominated in the solo vocal category of the Gramophone Awards. Since then they have gone on to release ‘A Verlaine Songbook’ exploring settings of the poetry of Paul Verlaine, ‘Lost is my Quiet’ – a duet disc with the countertenor Iestyn Davies, ‘A Soprano’s Schubertiade’, ‘Reason in Madness’ and most recently ‘The Contrast – English Poetry in Song’, all for the BIS label.
Alongside her longstanding relationship with the BIS label she has released multi award-winning discs for Decca, Harmonia Mundi, and Hyperion, receiving accolades including the Choc de l’Année Classica, Gramophone Magazine Editor’s Choice, BBC Music Magazine’s “Record of the Month”, an ECHO Award, and a Diapason D’or. Her recording with Ex Cathedra for Hyperion, ‘A French Baroque Diva’ won the recital award in the 2015 Gramophone Awards. Carolyn was also nominated for Artist of the Year in the 2017 Gramophone Awards, and her recording of Mozart’s Mass in C minor and Exsultate Jubilate with Masaaki Suzuki and Bach Collegium Japan won the Choral Award.
Recent and future highlights include tours with Freiburger Barockorchester, Bach Collegium Japan, concerts with the Boston Symphony, Philadelphia, and Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestras, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and at the Salzberger Festpiele. Recital highlights include those at Wigmore Hall, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, de Singel, Antwerp and Pierre Boulez Saal Berlin.
"freshness of tone, superb control and subtle sensuality"
“A brilliantly assembled exploration of how female madness has fascinated male poets and composers. Their programme takes in responses to Shakespeare, Goethe and others by composers including Strauss, Schumann, Brahms, Koechlin, Wolf and Duparc, all performed with Sampson’s wonted freshness of tone, superb control and subtle sensuality, with Middleton offering vibrant support.”
Erica Jeal The Guardian
credit:Marco Borggreve
Stories about all emotions
Tiny becomes grand in The Recital Hall. Great lyrics describing the undescribable, an enchanting melody and a heavenly voice who brings it all together. Filmed at The Concertgebouw, Amsterdam.
Nicki Wenham
Senior Artist Manager
Maxine Robertson Management
nw@maxinerobertson.com
Thoroughly Good Digital
jon.jacob@thoroughlygood.me
Excellent Photography Ltd
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