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Texas' King ranch fights planned turbine power
Ill wind divides historic ranchesKing managers fight plans for more than 400 power turbines on Kenedy land
MARK BABINECK, Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
Monitors show a radar, left, that provides real-time display of bird activity on the Kenedy Ranch in South Texas, where plans are to build a wind farm. John Calaway, who is overseeing the project, says data show the threat to wildlife is not an issue.KAREN WARREN/Chronicle
SARITA — Johnny Vela, among the latest in a long line of Kenedeños who have worked for generations as coastal cowboys in South Texas, knows the friendly history of the legendary side-by-side Kenedy and King ranches.
"That's what we've always thought," said Vela, standing outside his modest home a couple of blocks from the Kenedy County courthouse.
Vela and other townsfolk also know that nearly a century and a half of peaceful coexistence has been shattered — and not because of rustling, fences or anything else that might have set neighboring ranches to battle in the Texas of yesteryear.
This modern fight is about wind-powered turbines, namely those the Kenedy's overseers want and the King's operators don't. And instead of duking it out on their vast expanses of largely unspoiled range, it's a war of words mostly waged in office buildings in Houston, San Antonio, Corpus Christi and even Portland, Ore.
"(King Ranch Chief Executive) Jack Hunt goes around telling lies and misquoting information and has no technical skill whatsoever, trying to mislead the public that wind energy doesn't exist and doesn't add any value, doesn't produce much and is a tax debacle," said John Calaway, whose company plans to build 157 turbines on a plot now owned by the John G. and Marie Stella Kenedy Memorial Foundation.
Calaway oversees the project from the 40th-floor downtown Houston branch of Babcock & Brown, an Australia-based investment firm.
The mere mention of Hunt's name might cause smoke to come from his ears if he weren't so opposed to carbon dioxide emissions.
'Last great habitat'
Likewise, at the King Ranch's 16th-floor headquarters in the Galleria area, Hunt gets agitated just thinking about 400-foot-tall turbines picketing the pristine coastal prairie of Kenedy ranch land, which is nearly surrounded by King parcels.
Hunt says Sarita Kenedy East, who until her death in 1961 was the last surviving descendant of ranch founder Mifflin Kenedy, would disapprove.
"People who knew Mrs. Kenedy said she'd be spinning in her grave if she knew these lands were being used for this purpose," said Hunt. "I don't think this use is consistent with what the Kenedys had in mind. This area is important environmentally — it's been called 'the last great habitat.' The King Ranch family feels very strongly about stewardship."
The other wind project is proposed by PPM Energy, which plans to have 267 turbines spinning on another section of the Kenedy Ranch owned by the John G. Kenedy Jr. Trust, which was established upon the death of his childless wife, Elena.
PPM Energy spokeswoman Jan Johnson, lacking the emotion of Calaway, calmly says her company's project is on course for operation in 2008.
"It's not uncommon to have a few highly vocal opponents," said Johnson, whose firm — a subsidiary of Scottish Power — is based on the seventh floor of a Portland building.
Both the foundation and the trust, while separate entities, give heavily to Catholic charities and see the projects as moneymakers for a variety of causes they support.
"We are satisfied that the proposed wind farm project helps advance Mrs. (Elena) Kenedy's express wishes to preserve the ranch for the benefit of future generations, both in terms of ensuring continued ranching operations, as well as protecting the environmental sensitivities of the area," according to a joint statement from the trustees, nephew Pablo Seuss and Frost Bank, which is based in a 21-story building in downtown San Antonio.
Marc Cisneros, a retired Army general who heads the Kenedy Memorial Foundation, rejects Hunt's claim that he and the trust are willing to sacrifice the unique South Texas environment for a quick payday from wind speculators.
"We at the Kenedy Foundation do not take a back seat to the King Ranch or anyone else in concern for wildlife," said Cisneros from his 17th-floor office in downtown Corpus Christi, adding that "what wildlife worries about is someone shooting at them," a swipe at the King Ranch's prominence as a hunting destination.
"We looked at (the wind proposal) very carefully. We were very cognizant of conserving wildlife. We have quantitative data that show it's not an issue."
That data is constantly flowing into Calaway's offices at Continental Center. A diesel-powered radar site, which sits on the lonesome Jaboncillos Pasture somewhere between U.S. 77 and the coast, has been taking continuous sweeps of the airspace since September, tracking every bird to see if dozens of spinning rotors would pose a threat.
"We're not seeing the 'river of birds' that Jack Hunt talks about," said Calaway, who holds research predicting minimal impact to bird populations. Plus, he said, the turbines practically stop on a dime if a major influx of birds does pour into the area.
Oversight at issue
Hunt admits he doesn't know whether the turbines will whack a single bird. His problem is that there's no regulation of building land-mounted turbines in rural areas, so no government body will vet the project.
And Hunt won't merely take wind operators at their word.
"We haven't seen any of that bird data," he said. "It's not peer-reviewed. How can you trust it when basically it's been done by the people they've hired to do it? ... If I wanted to build a feedlot down there, I'd have to have all kinds of permits."
The issue has been a struggle for bird advocates such as the Audubon Society, which also supports clean energy.
"On balance, Audubon strongly supports wind power as a clean alternative energy source that reduces the threat of global warming," Audubon President John Flicker wrote in December, outlining the organization's position."Location, however, is important."
About subsidies
Hunt also needles wind projects about federal, local and ratepayer subsidies they receive and successfully fought to prevent them from getting tax abatements in Kenedy County. In return, supporters of the wind projects note the King Ranch receives generous agriculture subsidies, which Hunt acknowledges.
"That's irrelevant. We participate in the national farm program, and we have to be competitive," Hunt said.
He noted that a natural gas-fired plant could be built on a smaller footprint without needing any government help.
Kenedy County Commissioner Anne Armstrong, herself a prominent area rancher, said the abatement issue is closed for now.
"As I understand it, and I'm not on the inner loop, (turbine construction) probably will go ahead anyway," she said, explaining the projects don't seem to need county help.
It wasn't always like this. Florida steamboat pilots Mifflin Kenedy and Richard King migrated to Texas to work the Rio Grande and built a fortune spiriting Confederate cotton through Union blockades in the Civil War.
The empty swath of coastal land they co-owned was amicably split and fenced off in 1868, allowing both men to build their own livestock empires while bringing the world to them via roads and rails.
"They were always friends, (Kenedy) and King," said Homero S. Vera, coordinator of the Kenedy Ranch Museum at the Kenedy Ranch headquarters in Sarita. "As a matter of fact, when King died, Mifflin was there with him at the Menger Hotel (in San Antonio)."
Ranching and more
The King Ranch remains a vital 825,000-acre cattle and horse operation on the fabled Wild Horse Desert that's co-owned by an array of descendants with varying surnames, Hunt said.
It has diversified broadly into oil and gas, farming in Texas and Florida, hunting, ecotourism and other interests.
The Kenedy legacy holdings are more modest — if you can call 400,000 or so acres modest — but the foundation and trust distribute millions of dollars to charities across Texas each year.
But Johnny Vela didn't have time to weigh all the talk of turbines, green energy, bird habitats and tax abatements.
He was more preoccupied with a newly headless chicken hanging by its feet from a nearby tree as it bled out prior to plucking.
The night's supper was Vela's main concern, not the people trying to build turbines on the range where generations of Kenedeños once rode.
"They've got the money. So if it's going to get done, it's going to get done," he said.
mark.babineck@chron.com
MARK BABINECK
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Let's tell TxDOT where to spend its $350 million
Let’s tell TxDOT where to spend its $350 million
DAVID CROSSLEY, HOUSTON CHRONICLE
May 20, 2011 Updated: July 25, 2011 4:05 p.m.
Let's say you found $350 million to do a great transportation project for the Houston region. Would you use it to build a 400-foot-wide, 15-mile-long segment of brand-new highway across the Katy Prairie wetlands where almost no one lives or works in order to enable a lot of sprawling development (and some new flooding) for future residents? Or would you use it to, say, build commuter rail service along U.S. 290 to serve nearly a million people who live there today?
The reason I ask is that there's a public meeting next week where you could go and tell the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) what you think would be a good (or bad) use of that money. The information about that is at the end of this article.
Maybe you would tell them to use it to do a whole bunch of projects that we don't otherwise have money for right now, like rebuild State Highway 6 and FM 1960 from I-10 to I-45? If you did all the proposals that are on the table for that corridor, you'd still have $315 million left. What then? Do 2920? 1488? Do all of them?
The unelected members of the Texas Transportation Commission (TTC) have decided to use the money to do the sprawling development thing. On April 26, in the midst of loud public handwringing about having no money for future projects, the commission found and committed $350 million of very scarce money to begin building all of the 186-mile-long State Highway 99 (branded as the Grand Parkway) around the netherlands of the Houston region, a $6 billion project that touches only three (Mont Bel-vieu, Alvin, Baytown) of the region's 134 towns and cities, which is where most of the people live. Nor does it approach any of the top 25 job centers in the region, where most of the people work.
Billy Burge, who chairs the effort to build it, told StreetsBlog that right now there isn't much need for the segment, in terms of traffic, and "it will increase sprawl, but that's really the reason people come to Houston." But Burge and the sprawl lobby, led by Parkway Investments CEO Ned Holmes (who is also a TTC commissioner), say this has to go forward right now because ExxonMobil wants it, and soon. The company is anxious to move its U.S. headquarters into unincorporated Harris County, and Harris County's elected officials are presumably thrilled about that.
It's exciting that TTC has found this $350 million, but it raises this ugly question: Is SH 99 the best way to spend it? The projected cost of the U.S. 290 commuter rail line is $348 million, so if you used it for that you'd have $2 million left over. Or how much would a new express bus service on Westheimer/Elgin from Cinco Ranch to Mykawa cost? Or Bus Rapid Transit service on I-10 from Katy to Baytown?
What would you do with that transportation money (and no fair using it for education)? Think about it. Then go to http://spend 350million.org and give us your ideas.
While you're at it, consider going to TxDOT's public meeting to talk about the 2011-2014 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) on Wed., May 25. The email I got says, "All interested citizens are invited to attend and express their views on the program."
Sorry, there doesn't seem to be anything about this meeting on the TxDOT website, but you can go here (http://www.txdot.gov/business/governments/stips.htm) to get deep information about the STIP. You will be amazed.
The meeting is from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m at the TxDOT–Houston District Auditorium, 7600 Washington Ave. Be sure to go and talk about how you would like TxDOT to spend that $350 million.
Or at least send some comments to Texas Department of Transportation, Attention: Lori Morel, 118 East Riverside Drive, Austin, Texas, 78704, or by email at Lori.Morel@ txdot.gov. Comments must be received by 5 p.m. Monday, June 6, 2011. Department officials will be surprised, I bet.
Crossley is president of Houston Tomorrow (http://houstontomorrow.org), an independent nonprofit with the mission of improving the quality of life for all the people of the Houston region through research, education and discussion, in order to achieve this vision: In 2036, when Houston is 200 years old, the region will be home to the healthiest, happiest, most prosperous people in the United States.
DAVID CROSSLEY
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Protesters hold silent vigil at Dublin nunciature
by Gregg Ryan, Ireland Correspondent
Silent wait: protesters stand outside the papal nunciature in Dublin PA
ANGER among Roman Catholic religious and laity in Ireland over the “silencing” of outspoken clerics led to a silent vigil by protesters outside the papal nunciature in Dublin on Sunday.
The vigil took place after it emerged during the week that one of the country’s most popular priests, the Revd Brian D’Arcy, had become the latest known priest to be censured by the Vatican for his views on church responsibility for child sex-abuse, and on women priests and homosexuality.
A prolific writer in an Irish Sunday newspaper, and a regular broadcaster on BBC Radio, he is the fifth priest to be so treated, and now has to submit his writings to a Vatican-appointed “censor”.
Fr D’Arcy said on Irish state radio RTÉ at the weekend: “Any system depends on the integrity of the person carrying out the system. And if the person carrying out the system is afraid to talk about this, or that, or question ‘why’ about that, then the secrecy veil comes in again, and children will not be protected.
“If people expect me, who was abused twice in my life, to be silent about issues and about the protection of children, I can’t do that.”
Sunday’s vigil was organised by the group We Are Church Ireland. Its spokesman, Brendan Butler, said that the authorities had been heavy-handed in their treatment of the clergy.
“The treatment of these priests goes against the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Church founded by Jesus. These are outstanding priests, and people are outraged by the disrespect that has been shown to them.”
Priest arrested again
Woodard school fails
Another traditionalist chosen for Chichester
AMiE declares it is ready to extend its ministry
Photo: Swans way
Laws on Sunday trading are suspended for the Olympics
WorldFaithComment
Southwark Cathedral has been a place of Christian worship for over 1400 years and now stands on the vibrant and exciting south bank of the Thames surrounded by tourist attractions and the head offices of major companies as well as the seat of London government.
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rating 5/10 spelling the dream
Let’s play some word association. I say Scripps Spelling Bee and one of the first things you’ll probably think of are Indian Americans, and with good reasons. Indian Americans dominate the circuit, with 7 out of 8 of the 2019 finalists being Indian American. Discriminatory narratives have come out that question how ‘foreigners’ can excel at something so inherently American. This is what Rega aims to explore with his documentary “Spelling the Dream.” It centers around number of Indian American hopefuls for the 2017 spelling bee, peppered with interviews and commentary by notable Indian Americans like Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Fareed Zakaria and comedian Hari Kondabolu. It’s adorable to see all their personalities, their families and their hopes and dreams, although not much is revealed about them outside of the spelling bee context. The culture of striving to make the most of American opportunities, as well as the importance of language for assimilation are two very important issues that are discussed. The actual bee kicks in around 50 minutes and honestly… it’s just a lot more exciting than watching the live televised version. It has the same steely faces of concentration, impressive displays of linguistic skills and intelligence. However, now you also know about the kids and their families, making every pause before a difficult word is spelt that much more electric. It’s absolutely heartbreaking to see the youngest contestant break down in tears when he messes up a word, a much needed reminder of their childhood and innocence. However, the whole documentary feels more like a set of clips stitched together. What’s missing is analysis. There’s no narrative voice, nothing questioning the immense pressures placed on Indian American kids and no explanation of the role of the bees in cultural assimilation. Therefore, even the short 80 minutes feel a little too long. This is definitely an interesting watch, especially if you tune in to watch the bee every year, but also requires you to ponder deep and unanswered questions. We don’t know, perhaps that was the intention
PRIVACY POLICY (c) 2020 WORDSCIENCES AMERICAS
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CoopTurTrips
Conde Francisco Matarazzo Municipal Historical Museum “Palacete Matarazzo”
The building was built in 1924 and is installed in the historic property of Count Francisco Matarazzo, has a valuable collection corresponding to the period of the entrepreneur's activity in the municipality, in addition to hosting a library with rare works and a historical archive.
Visiting hours: Monday to Friday from 8:30 am to 11:30 am
Cerrado State Park
The site represents the Cerrado forest in southern Brazil and is home to a wide variety of fauna and flora.
Created in March 1992 to conserve one of the last remnants of cerrado still existing in the State in an area of 420 hectares, it is intended to preserve flora, such as caviúna, barbatimão, and fauna, such as maned wolf, flag and the rook of the cerrado.
It presents sandstone rocks sculpted by wind and rain and dense riparian forest.
Because it has a landscape of twisted trees in an apparently arid and lifeless environment, the first impression is that there is no life in the place. a rich and expressive fauna, factors that guarantee to be the cerrado, the savanna of greater biodiversity
Visiting hours: Permanent, with guides
Capivari River Linear Park
Description of the attraction: It is an environmental project for the recovery of the Capivari River, in the center of the city, being considered one of the postcards of Jaguariaíva. Cachoeirão, a waterfall of rare beauty, which can be seen from a lookout in the park and by those who pass by the PR-151 highway that borders the Linear Park.
Visiting hours: Permanent.
Lago Azul Municipal Park
Set of waterfalls connected by a trail, the main one being the Lago Azul waterfall, known for its grandeur and crystal clear waters.
Did you find any wrong information? Let us know by clicking here
The information on this website was provided by the tourist offices and tourist attraction managers, therefore, we are not responsible for incorrect information.
© 2020 by Ponta Grossa Campos Gerais Convention & Visitors Bureau
Information: info@pontagrossacvb.com.br
Content: Yukê Comunicação
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SecurityAnalysis
America Locked in Cold War With China, Former Navy Secretary Says
Virginia Allen / @Virginia_Allen5 / October 02, 2020
J. William Middendorf, former secretary of the Navy, says America must be prepared to prevail over China and other adversaries. Pictured: The Chinese military's new DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missiles, which reportedly can reach the U.S., are part of a parade Oct. 1, 2019, in Beijing. (Photo: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)
Former Navy Secretary J. William Middendorf says America has entered a new cold war with China.
Middendorf, author of the new book “The Great Nightfall: How We Win the New Cold War,” joins the show to explain the threat that China poses to America’s interests. Middendorf, a member of The Heritage Foundation’s Board of Trustees since 1989, also outlines what the U.S. military must do to be prepared to stand against our adversaries.
Senate Democrats led by Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California formally ask Senate Republicans to postpone confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett until after the presidential inauguration.
The Trump administration proposes lowering the number of refugees allowed to settle in the U.S. to 15,000 during the next fiscal year.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoes a bill requiring ethnic studies for high school students.
Listen to the podcast below or read the lightly edited transcript.
“The Daily Signal Podcast” is available on Ricochet, Apple Podcasts, Pippa, Google Play, and Stitcher. All of our podcasts may be found at DailySignal.com/podcasts. If you like what you hear, please leave a review. You also may leave us a message at 202-608-6205 or write us at [email protected] Enjoy the show!
Virginia Allen: I am joined by the former secretary of the Navy, William Middendorf. Sir, thank you so much for being here today. We really appreciate it.
J. William Middendorf: Well, thank you very much.
Allen: Your bio is incredibly impressive. You served as the United States ambassador to the Netherlands before becoming the secretary of the Navy in the mid-1970s.
You also headed the CIA transition team for then-incoming President Ronald Reagan. And you served as the U.S. representative to the European Economic Community, now known as the European Union. We could go on and on about all of the various roles that you’ve served in.
You’ve also authored a number of books, including your latest, “The Great Nightfall: How We Win the New Cold War.” And you were serving in the Navy and positions of leadership in the American government, really all throughout the Cold War. Do you mind just taking a few minutes to tell us a little bit about what that was like to be serving on the front lines during the Cold War?
Middendorf: I was mainly in the shipbuilding side of that. Of course, the secretary of the Navy’s job is to provide the material and weapons and recruit the men and women for the Navy. So during the Cold War, I sponsored long lead time ships and planes that were needed to win the Cold War. Long lead time is about 10 years.
So, to build any weapon system, we began production on a Trident submarine, which is the Ohio-class submarine, which carries the CBM nuclear warhead, long-range nuclear warhead. It was the final shield of America, 70% of our entire nuclear arsenal was deployed on them.
We also started the Aegis Missile program, building a fleet of 60 ships, the early work class cruisers with advanced radar that could detect advanced weapon systems from the Soviet Union and shoot them down.
And then finally, we built the F-18 advanced aerial attack fighter. Ten years later, they were front and center at the apagoge of the Cold War and [with them], along with advanced weapons developed by the Air Force and Army, we were able to win the Cold War. The Soviets had to stand down.
Based on that experience, I wrote the book “The Great Nightfall: How We Win the New Cold War,” which is basically against China. China … is building some very advanced weapons systems and they pose a threat today that’s exponentially greater than the threat we faced at the end of the first Cold War.
Allen: Can you tell us a little bit more specifically about that threat? Because I think many Americans, we view China as a threat, certainly economically, certainly technology-wise. But specifically, how is China a threat to America militarily?
Middendorf: Several ways, both conventional and unconventional warfare. Their Navy now exceeds ours. They have built 350 ships and ours is 293. Most people are not aware of that. And they’re building their certain force carriers and they’re proposing a fifth carrier, which will be nuclear.
The missile capabilities they have are very advanced. They and the Russians have developed hypersonic cruise missiles, 4,000 mile. And we have no defense. As [former] Secretary [of Defense James] Mattis said, “We have no defense against these.” This could be a checkmate in a serious altercation. They built some very competent advanced submarines and anti-submarine warfare capabilities.
In addition to that, they’ve gone heavily into nonconventional warfare systems, the EMP threat, the electromagnetic pulse threat to America is vital because we lay naked, so to speak, as they set off a nuclear blast a couple of 100 miles over Omaha.
It would incapacitate most of our electrical grid for many months. And the Defense Department a few years ago said that we would lose 80% of the population in six or eight months before that could be fully repaired. We’re working hard to correct that imbalance, but we’re not there yet.
In addition to that, if you consider warfare, a new form of warfare, cyber warfare is just as important, in that it downloads our intelligence and then our top secrets.
Two years ago in a very drastic action, the Chinese downloaded our top secrets, our nuclear submarine top secrets from a submarine facility in Newport, Rhode Island. This was 600 gigabytes, I think, something like that. It was a devastating loss to us. That’s an act of war if there ever was one in a nonconventional warfare capability.
So, we are well into the second Cold War by that very act. Plus, the fact that they’ve stolen everything else we have that’s sitting around on the computers.
Their new attack airplane looks remarkably like our F-35 and probably has almost as many capabilities, probably because he downloaded our top secrets.
In addition to that, they’ve developed a tremendously capable anti-satellite capability in space where they can damage our entire GPS systems. So we would be traveling by, and if we had to fire our missiles and what have you … The Russians are with them on that. And they both have those capabilities.
We’re setting up a Space Force and we’re trying to catch up in that area, but we have a long way to go. It’s not only kinetic warfare—that’s still World War II, heavy weapons system against heavy weapons systems warfare—but the nonconventional where we face our greatest threats.
Allen: We are talking with former Secretary of the Navy William Middendorf about his latest book, “The Great Nightfall: How We Win the New Cold War.” And secretary, you’ve just laid out so clearly why China is such a threat to America today. What is America doing about this? How are we preparing to be able to meet the strength of China?
Middendorf: Well, unfortunately, if a football field was laid out, we would be on the minus 10 yard line starting a couple of years ago, because for eight to 10 years, two previous administrations had what they call a sequester, which reduced our military spending, especially for advanced weapons systems. And they took $800 billion out of our military budget and diverted it to other programs.
So we ended up in 2017 and ’18 behind the eight ball, really behind the eight ball, or should we say behind the goal line? And now we’ve added a couple hundred million dollars each year to the budget, but we have a long way to go.
And one of the advanced weapons systems … are really the Virginia-class submarines, which are very silent and have the Tomahawk and Harpoon missiles. We have to accelerate the development of those from two to three a year.
We have to build the Columbia-class submarine, which we can start production on that to take the place of the 45-year-old Trident submarine program. First one should start coming online in 2031 and we’d complete that program in the early 2040s. Then we could replace the Trident submarine, which would then be 56 years old. That’s the only choice we have.
And aboard that Columbia will be subject to 80% of our entire nuclear arsenal. And that’s of course, the great peacemaker. It’s an extremely silent submarine. It’s 6,000-plus miles range and these terrifically powerful nuclear warheads, which should neutralize any potential adversary.
Allen: At this point in time, is America on track? Have we recognized the true threat that China poses? You mentioned all of these actions that are sort of in the works, are we moving swiftly on these things or does America really need to pick up the pace in order to truly beat China in this Cold War?
Middendorf: As I said, we have to move much faster if we want to maintain power against China, and Russia, and Iran, and North Korea.
Also, remember this, there are 50,000 nuclear warheads, probably eight, 10 countries that have those capabilities. And there are a lot of flashpoints that I talk about in my book where nuclear warheads have been used—like India, China, Pakistan, and India.
The problem with nuclear warheads being used is that once it starts, it proliferates very fast. It wouldn’t be any time at all before retaliation occurs out of control. And in war time, all of morality sort of disappears pretty fast.
My father and uncle both served in World War I and they were told, we were all told that gas warfare would not occur. It was too devastating, but it was used instantly. Both sides were using it to devastating effect willy-nilly and it had … heavy, heavy, heavy casualties everywhere.
The same thing would be true once the nuclear war has started to be used and they will be used by some of these rogue countries, possibly, which will proliferate to the larger countries. Many of the big cities, for example, Beijing, or New York, or Los Angeles, could be reduced very quickly to ice skating rinks.
Allen: Well, sir, it’s incredible, I think, that you have chosen to take the time just with your perspective and the leadership roles that you’ve served in to write this book and to weigh in on this really pressing issue. Why do you feel so compelled to write this book?
Middendorf: I had my 96th birthday three days ago.
Allen: Happy birthday.
Middendorf: Oh, thank you. So I’m obviously about to drop dead, but I just wanted to make sure that all the experience, since I served in World War II and served in a number of other roles in public service, I wanted to make sure that I got the message out as a final thing. And I do feel that if we’re resolute and wise we can win with the new cold war.
Allen: Well, secretary, we thank you so much for your continued service throughout your entire life to this country, for your dedication to America. And we encourage all of our listeners to please visit thegreatnightfall.com to order your copy of “The Great Nightfall: How We Win the New Cold War.”
Secretary Middendorf, Thank you so much for your time today.
Middendorf: Thank you so much.
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Mogwai's 5 Best Biblical Songs
Kelly Dearmore
| Concerts |
Kelly Dearmore | April 23, 2014 | 9:05am
Scottish post-rock heroes Mogwai is the band most instrumental rock groups that have started in the past decade want to be when they grow up. Beginning with 1997's epic Young Team and continuing with the release of the group's eighth studio LP, last January's Rave Tapes, Stuart Braithwaite, John Cummings, Dominic Aitchison, Martin Bulloch and Barry Burns have found inventive ways to avoid the sonic monotony that many guitar-driven instrumental rock acts eventually suffer from. Loud, quiet, loud and back again is great, but Mogwai pushes the formula with each record, whether it is a proper studio album or a film score.
While lyrics in Mogwai numbers are really rare, the band still finds ways to convey a rather sharp, sometimes perplexing, sense of humor. The song titles are often employed as vehicles to simply give the band a giggle, and nothing more, though so many titles are thought provoking, especially the many songs bearing titles with seemingly religious connotations. Guitarist Cummings admitted as much to the Observer when we spoke to him recently over the phone.
"None of the song titles with religious terms are pointed at any particular form of spirituality," he says in his thick Scottish brogue. "Our song titles are decided on by what gives us a chuckle, really. It's really that simple much of the time; it's whatever makes us laugh."
With that in mind, what better way to prepare for Mogwai's Wednesday night show at the Granada Theater in Dallas than by offering up a few of the group's best biblically named compositions.
5. "Punk Rock/Puff Daddy/Antichrist" - C'mon. We all know it's either Oprah or P-Diddy. Mogwai seems to take a side in this short, moody track from their sophomore studio album, Come On Die Young.
4. "You Don't Know Jesus" - A fine example of the climactic scope of their overall identity from 2001's Rock Action LP.
3. "Repelish" - From this year's stellar Rave Tapes, a voice rants about Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" and Satan with a synthy, mid-tempo beat backing it up. A funky curveball on what is likely the band's most sonically diverse studio album.
2. "Devil Rides" - This melodic treat, featuring the hauntingly menacing vocals of a then newly re-discovered Roky Erickson from 2008's The Hawk is Howling is simply killer. Surely the Devil was impressed.
1. "Mogwai Fear Satan" - Don't we all? Also, it's fun to refer to ourselves in the third person. Oh, lest we forget, this is the grandest, most righteous track on the album that started it all for the band. Every second of the tune's 10-plus minute run time is worthy and whopping.
MOGWAI performs Wednesday, April 23 at the Granada Theater with Majeure. 8 p.m. $27. 214-824-9933.
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Huge staff, ad blitzes, free T-shirts: How billionaire Michael Bloomberg is campaigning for the White House
Nicholas WuUSA TODAY
RICHMOND, Va. – Sean Mee walked the streets of this city's trendy Fan District with a simple message: Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg will "get it done."
Mee, whose late wife spent 10 years battling cancer, said he was convinced that the self-funding billionaire Bloomberg could deliver on his highest priority of providing healthcare for those who need it.
The 63-year-old retiree was initially interested in Pete Buttigieg but after hearing the former South Bend mayor make a big fundraising appeal for his Super Tuesday push, Mee said he decided his campaign lacked the war chest needed to win the White House.
"I don't know how you can't take the fight to President Trump when you're struggling like that," he told USA TODAY.
Mee was among a handful of volunteers who spread out on Sunday from the Bloomberg campaign’s office in the Fan District, walking through the neighborhood lined with historic Victorian homes. On Monument Avenue, a main boulevard in the Fan District, statues of Confederate leaders like Robert E. Lee coexist with a statue of black tennis star Arthur Ashe.
Just a couple miles west of the city's downtown, the Bloomberg field office occupied a former dance studio on the city's busy Broad Street sandwiched between a cell phone shop on one side, and a dentist on the other. A boba shop sat just down the block from the office for staff and volunteers to get their fill of milk tea.
Democratic candidates and their supporters were in favorable territory in the heavily Democratic city, where Hillary Clinton won 78.6% of the vote in the 2016 general election.
Although Bloomberg has spent more than a half-billion dollars nationwide on digital, radio, and TV ads and offered high pay scales for staff, the campaign was running what seemed to be a traditional ground game in Richmond – every volunteer had a clipboard, a map, and a list of houses to knock on.
Bloomberg, who joined the presidential race in November, is staking everything on Super Tuesday, when a third of the delegates needed to win the Democratic nomination are up for grabs. With 99 pledged delegates at stake, Virginia is a state that could be crucial for him. Other large Super Tuesday states include California, Texas and North Carolina.
The former New York City mayor has had to scale up quickly. The Fan District office opened just two weeks ago, and three others in Arlington, Roanoke, and Charlottesville opened earlier in the month.
The campaign has since hired over 80 staffers, added three other offices in Manassas, Hampton Roads, and Danville, and deluged the state in at least $4.8 million in radio and television advertisements, according to ad-tracking firm Advertising Analytics.
According to analysis by the Wesleyan Media Project, of the 2,697 ad airings in the Richmond media market from Jan. 1 until Feb. 23, 87% of the ads were from the Bloomberg campaign.
Bernie Sanders, the Democratic frontrunner, has two offices in Virginia and has spent a little over $12,000 on ads, Advertising Analytics says. The Biden campaign announced a "six-figure" ad buy in eight Super Tuesday states on Wednesday, though his team had not aired ads before then.
Recent polling suggests Bloomberg’s strategy may have paid off, with a Monmouth University poll from earlier in February putting him and Sanders tied at 22% in the state among Democratic voters. Both Bloomberg and Sanders would beat Trump in head-to-head matchups, according to a Roanoke College poll released Feb. 24.
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney has endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden. But as the former vice president struggles to raise cash after weak showings in the early states of Iowa and New Hampshire, some residents were curious about Bloomberg.
'I like Mike!'
Like countless other volunteers who had given time to presidential campaigns, the Bloomberg volunteers knocked on doors, pitched their candidate, and then marked down the results of their conversations.
Over a couple of hours, Mee knocked on the doors of 11 homes where residents seemed receptive to Bloomberg’s message.
The backlash Bloomberg faced from protesters a week and a half earlier at the Virginia Democratic Party's Gala in Richmond was not evident as volunteers walked around.
“I like him too!” said some residents out walking their golden retriever who noticed Mee’s Bloomberg 2020 sticker and clipboard.
Another man shouted as Mee walked away, "we're old and have mortgages" to explain why he and others on his block would be supporting Bloomberg instead of Sanders.
Another man flashed his "I like Mike" yard sign after he opened his front door and saw the Bloomberg volunteer.
Every home was offered campaign brochures touting Bloomberg's record as New York City mayor and reducing gun violence, and if they wanted one, a volunteer offered to drop off a yard sign.
Kathey Moore, a 69-year-old retiree out canvassing to collect signatures for Virginia Democrats Sen. Mark Warner and Rep. Donald McEachin, said “I like Mike” as Mee passed by.
Moore told USA TODAY she viewed the former New York City mayor as a “problem solver” who would “assemble an excellent team” in the White House.
She backed Sanders in the 2016 election as a protest vote against Hillary Clinton, viewing her as too “corporate.” But this year, she's worried that candidates too far to the left might not be able to win in the general election on Nov. 3.
Bloomberg's support was tested in his first debate last week in Nevada where he faced an onslaught of criticism from the other candidates, but his supporters did not seem to mind.
Moore acknowledged Bloomberg's performance in the first debate was “horrible” to watch. Moore said, though, that Bloomberg had to explain his decisions to “one of the toughest audiences," and in her opinion, he did a "fabulous job as mayor”
Mee also said the Nevada debate was "hard to watch," but in his mind, the country wasn't looking to hire a "chief debater" but was "hiring a chief executive of the United States."
For the Bloomberg volunteers, their support for the former mayor came down to a test of electability against Trump.
Another volunteer, Sammie Hubbard, told USA TODAY he decided to support Bloomberg after a lot of research on the other candidates.
Walking back to the Bloomberg field office after canvassing, the 29-year-old EMT said he was a committed Democrat and a "fan of Bernie" but believes Sanders can't win.
An army of staff
Despite the candidate's wealth – which Forbes estimates at over $59 billion – the Richmond field office of the Bloomberg campaign was a spartan affair – the mirrors in the former dance studio had only recently been papered over.
Two tables laid out in the front of the office were covered in campaign paraphernalia and snacks like chips and Costco-brand sparkling water.
"I like Mike" signs covered the walls in the campaign's red-and-blue hue, and piles of neatly stacked T-shirts sat on shelves. All merchandise on the campaign website was sold at-cost, and shirts and lawn signs were free for the taking inside the office.
Because of Bloomberg's resources, he's been able to offer higher-than-average salaries, allowing him to amass an army of staff in almost all states.
A month after Bloomberg entered the race, the campaign said it had over 170 staff working across 20 states. Now, according to the Bloomberg campaign, they have over 2,400 staff, with 2,000 staff deployed in 43 states and territories, and 400 staff in their Times Square headquarters in New York City.
They have poured resources into other Super Tuesday states, opening 24 offices in California, 19 in Texas, eight in North Carolina, and seven in Tennessee.
A posting for a Bloomberg campaign field organizer position advertised a $6,000 per month salary – $72,000 on an annualized basis. The Sanders campaign advertised a $42,000 a year salary for a field organizer in Nevada, or about $3,500 per month.
Tom Manatos, who runs a prolific political jobs board, told USA TODAY in a phone interview the Bloomberg campaign was offering “far and above the best salary and accommodations for campaign staffers.”
Tavarris Spinks, who had been active in local Democratic politics and was the former Secretary of the Richmond City Democratic Committee, told USA TODAY the Bloomberg campaign had also been hiring "at least a few" people from the Richmond City Democratic Committee.
"He's really going hard in Richmond and Virginia," Spinks said, noting his home had already been canvassed twice by the Bloomberg campaign, though he supported Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
The campaign had made up for its late entry into the race by picking up talent from defunct campaigns, too.
Tyler Tucker, the deputy Virginia state director, had worked for Kirsten Gillibrand's campaign. Adnan Mohamed, the Virginia political director, previously worked for Beto O'Rourke and Seth Moulton. And Renzo Olivari, the Virginia communications director, previously worked for Kamala Harris.
Sanders' campaign did not allow USA TODAY to visit its field office in the city, but the campaign's presence is still felt.
Despite his lopsided loss to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 primary at both the city and state level, a building-sized mural of Sanders decorated the side of an art gallery off Broad Street, a main thoroughfare in Richmond. It was created after the 2016 Virginia primary by two muralists who wanted to show their support for the Vermont senator, according to RVA Magazine.
The wall used to have "Feel the Bern" painted next to it, but the block letters had since been painted over.
Richmond residents split
Despite the outreach and spending by the campaigns, other Richmond voters were still weighing their options.
Byron Hunter, a 36-year-old healthcare administrator walking along the city's waterfront, said he was still undecided, but he had followed the debates and was "slightly disappointed" by Bloomberg’s performance in the Nevada debate.
Hannah Kissel-Smith, a 27-year-old resident physician, told USA TODAY she was trying to vote from a “strategic point of view,” which led her to support Warren, because Kissel-Smith thought she could “win more moderate voters than Sanders.” She had supported entrepreneur Andrew Yang before he dropped out of the race.
The election still elicited excitement from other residents. Maya Blacken, a 20-year-old Virginia Commonwealth University student, said she was voting in her first presidential election – a "decent one to have as my first time, and it's important enough" she said.
She wanted to vote for a candidate who "I think has the best chance of winning since I don't want Trump to win" – which led her to both Biden and Sanders as potential choices.
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Enterovirus 71 (Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease HFMD)
Switzerland and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
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Avian Influenza A (H5N1)
Pandemic flu (H1N1)
Enterovirus 71 or HFMD regularly reapperas in various Provinces in China, usually during Spring season (last appearance: April 2010 and April 2009).
Infectious agent: Enterovirus 71 is one of the more than 90 enterovirus serotypes that have been identified up to date. It belongs to the family of the Picornaviridae, genus Enteroviridae. Poliovirus belongs to the same family and genus.
Reservoir: Humans function as the reservoir. Clinical presentation: After an incubation period of 3 to 7 days, symptoms start with fever, and general malaise. After 2 days, this is followed by the development of sores (blisters, ulcers) on the tongue, gums and inside the cheeks and a skin rash on the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet. Symptoms usually disappear after a week to 10 days. Young children are the most affected. A large proportion, more than two thirds of enterovirus 71 infected cases remain asymptomatic.
While enterovirus 71 infections are most frequently self-limited febrile diseases, they may cause severe neurological disease, including viral (aseptic) meningitis, encephalitis or acute flaccid paralysis. As illustrated during a recent large outbreak in Taiwan, death may occur, mainly in children below three years, as well as long-term neurological sequelae.
Transmission modes: Enterovirus 71 is mainly transmitted through direct contact with nose and throat discharges, fluid from the blisters, saliva or through faeco-oral route. In case of respiratory illness, transmission through droplets may also occur. There is no evidence of food- or water-borne transmission.
Epidemiology: Enterovirus 71 was first isolated in the United States in 1969, and is distributed worldwide. Related outbreaks may be small, with occasional fatalities, or more severe with a high case-fatality ratio. In Europe, such severe outbreaks have been reported in Bulgaria in 1975 with 44 deaths and in Hungary in 1978 with 45 deaths. More recently, severe outbreaks were reported from Malaysia (1997), Taiwan (1998, 1999, 2001) and Singapore (2000). In the 1998 outbreak in Taiwan, at least 130,000 cases were reported, with 78 deaths.
It is not known why the virulence and communicability of enterovirus 71 infections vary. It may be linked to decreased population immunity or mutations affecting the virus’ virulence.
Treatment: There is no antiviral treatment or vaccine for enterovirus 71. Only supportive treatment is possible in case of severe complications.
Prevention and control: Sanitation and personal hygiene are the most important and effective preventive measures, in particular when in direct contact with infected cases. These measures include hand washing, especially after going to the toilet or changing babies’ nappies. Contaminated surfaces and soiled clothing should also be disinfected.
World Health Organization: Enteroviruses – non polio
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· Posted on May 8, 2020
Here’s How Intensive Care Staff Make Sure COVID-19 Patients Don’t Die Alone
“It will be 4 in the morning and one of the nurses is just sat with her patient, stroking their hair or holding their hand."
by Patrick Strudwick
BuzzFeed UK LGBT Editor
Joel Saget / Getty Images
BuzzFeed News has reporters across five continents bringing you trustworthy stories about the impact of the coronavirus. To help keep this news free, become a member and sign up for our newsletter, Outbreak Today.
The image of separation in the final moments is among the cruellest of the pandemic. Families are kept away — stuck outside an intensive care unit or told to stay at home and await news, unable to be with their loved one at the very end. What this means for the coronavirus patient can cause the most distress.
But now, with daily deaths still in their hundreds, a student doctor on the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic has decided to speak out about what happens in the patients’ final days and hours — in an attempt to comfort those left behind. First he contacted BuzzFeed News by email. “Can you help me send a message to these loved ones?” he asked.
“They are not dying alone,” he said. “We are there with them, holding their hands, telling them about what is happening outside, talking to them, and reassuring them even when we aren't sure they're awake. It is breaking my heart that people think their loved ones do not have people who care for them with them in their last moments.”
He did not want to be named — to prevent his own family finding out what he has experienced, and because he wanted the focus to be on those we lose and those bereft. We will call him Luke.
The following night, after another shift in one of the three intensive care departments at St. George’s Hospital, south London, Luke spoke on Skype for hours. He described what the ICU is really like during this crisis for those being cared for, the messages passed between families and patients through staff, and the humanity that fills the units.
Weaved through this is, however, are details about what the clinicians are facing — and what they have to do to cope.
Luke began with the overriding approach taken towards coronavirus patients in ICU. In contrast to the cold isolation many fear, “Your loved ones are being cared for as much as they can by people who genuinely love them,” he said — it might not be the kind felt by a husband or a mother, but in the dedication and personal attention it is a love all the same; administered by those who are “there because they want to be”. He began to describe what that looks like.
First, with how staff connect with patients: the talking, day or night. Many are on ventilators, unconscious and sedated; some may not be aware what is happening. Others, like Boris Johnson in intensive care last month, are receiving oxygen and fully awake. Often patients will go between the two, sometimes waking up to see the machines and tubes.
This can be scary for patients but, “We’re there and we calm them down,” he said. “We talk to them and explain things. We say, ‘It’s OK, don’t worry. [The ventilator] is helping you breathe.’”
The staff try to normalise the situation. “When someone’s quite lucid we’re explaining things as we do them, like, ‘Don’t worry, just going to have to wash your bum! We’re narrating it so that they know what’s going on.’”
Neil Hall / Getty Images
The intention is for the patient to know there’s someone there. “It will be four in the morning and one of the nurses is just sat with her patient, stroking their hair or holding their hand,” he said. “Just talking to them, saying, ‘Oh, you’re not missing much outside. Don’t worry, everyone’s in lockdown so even though it’s sunny, nobody can enjoy it.’ Anything to explain what’s going on outside.”
It can involve offering praise or encouragement when a patient is regaining consciousness or showing signs of improvement, but not yet able to speak. On one occasion, Luke was buoyed by a patient’s condition and started saying, “Great work, you’re doing fantastic!” Shortly after, “I was told, ‘Actually that person’s a very established, very esteemed surgeon, so he definitely knows what’s going on.’”
Luke laughed a little at this, still embarrassed, but said the attempt to form a connection and to console with lightheartedness is common. “And if you make a joke and someone chuckles because it’s a terrible pun you know they’re with you a bit. We do that sometimes just to see how people are feeling.”
Other times, the staff can’t tell whether someone can hear them.
“We talk to them without any knowledge of whether they know what’s going on,” he said. For someone like him, only three years into witnessing how the ICU staff work, “it’s amazing to see the doctors and nurses engaging with these patients and to see how much they care. We’ve had some very young patients and so they talk to them like their own kids. They’re explaining things like, ‘Oh I know that’s horrible right now, don’t worry, we'll clean that muck out of your lungs.’”
Nurses and healthcare assistants comb their hair, too. “You’ll be saying, ‘Oh, you look lovely.’ Or, ‘You might have to have a hair dye after this but don’t worry everyone outside is struggling to get a hair dye too.’”
Often, before being intubated and sedated, patients are asked if there is anything they want to say while they still can. “It’s mainly, ‘Just let my wife know….’” he said before stopping himself. Only later in the conversation did he reveal that he has still not allowed himself to cry.
“The majority [of patients] have already had to have these discussions while they were in the ward so by the time you’re in the ICU most things have been said. They’ve spoken to family, and family aren’t allowed in anymore. The closest is the corridor or outside the department and even then we’ve asked people not to come in because we’ve got so many people coming in all the time. But we do make a point to ask [patients if there’s anything they want to say]. It’s mainly reassurance: A lot of our patients just want us to reassure their family.”
This can be regardless of how they feel themselves, however. Most patients are worried and simply want to be able to breathe properly again, he said. Once attached to oxygen or a ventilator, staff will still convey messages from loved ones. Sometimes family members will call all through the night.
“We do pass things on if we can,” said Luke. “We tell the patient whether they’re awake or not, when we’re changing them, when we’re putting in a drip or sorting out the ventilator.” He adopts the cheery, everyday tone he uses: “‘Oh, your wife called, she is worrying about you. You’re going to have to really get better soon.’”
The calls from family members can be practical, to help staff provide the most effective care: telling them their father or wife hates needles, for example, so nurses can keep that in mind when taking blood.
But it can involve delivering the most important message of all: that they love them. That always gets passed on, he said. “Any time that we have anybody call, we reiterate [to the patient], ‘We’ve had another call from your partner or your kids. They’re missing you. Hopefully they’ll see you soon so you’re going to have to hold tight.’”
Messages can travel the other way, too. If a patient’s condition is looking more hopeful, a member of staff will often let them know they’re going to tell their wife or son that they’ve come round.
Even the tiniest forward steps in treatment make all the difference to staff, he said — “when someone can squeeze your hand, when someone can respond to you”. And if a COVID-19 patient’s condition improves markedly, it uplifts the whole department.
“It’s the most insane kind of feeling for everyone in the ward,” said Luke. “It’s news the whole night – the whole week — that this patient might be able to leave. It’s something to cherish.”
He remembers one patient in particular who was being prepared for discharge. “The whole ward was on fire. It was palpable excitement. Every time their stats went up to a higher level and we could bring the oxygen down everyone was like, ‘It’s going to happen!’” He made a note of what the first person said when they made it out of ICU. “They were able to mouth it,” he said: “Thank you.”
But the reason for such excitement, at that point in late April, was simple. “We didn’t have a single person leave for weeks.”
The proportion of patients improving and leaving ICU is increasing now, he said. But every day, death remains the reality. Luke, like all the staff, will come into work after having cared for a patient for many days, sometimes weeks, and be told the news by a colleague: “They didn’t manage.”
The unpredictable trajectory of COVID-19 means sometimes this can happen quite quickly, even after showing signs of recovery — but either way, they do everything possible. “For the majority of people we keep going even though the signs are hinting that they’re not doing well, because people can pull through,” he said.
Without intending to talk about the effect of all of this on clinicians, Luke began to depict what life for him and his colleagues has been like since March. He spoke of the physical demands in the ICU, particularly for nurses, healthcare assistants, and junior members of staff.
“The shifts are hard,” he said, “You have to wear this [hazmat] suit, you’re hot, you’re trying to hold someone or move something.” They wear hazmat suits, he explained, because they ran out of surgical gowns. Some COVID-19 patients are on kidney dialysis and need bedding to be changed regularly. “So you’re desperately changing all the bedsheets but at the same time your gloves are so soaked in sweat that they're falling off and you’re trying to keep your visor on.”
Nurses in particular bear the brunt, physically, he said, with hours at a time in masks, goggles, double gloves, and visors, “drenched in sweat” doing the “very best they can” and trying to help each other. Their sheer practical skill has left him astonished. Early on, while attempting to wash and turn a patient while ensuring the lines and tubes didn’t become detached, a very experienced nurse intervened.
“She just grabbed something from me and did the most amazing manoeuvre of washing and holding the patient up and was like, ‘You need to hold this and you need to push as hard as you can!’” Luke obeyed as quickly as he could as the nurse turned to him again. “She said, ‘You need to realise this is wartime nursing now.’”
Antonio Masiello / Getty Images
The image stuck with him, ringing out over the following weeks as the peak of cases and deaths hit the unit in the middle of April.
“Watching everything that we’ve seen is very much like a war,” said Luke. “You don't know if your colleagues are going to drop, you don’t know if you are going to drop, and you don't know if actually the PPE is effective enough because nobody knows. So everyone has this baseline anxiety. A lot of the very senior doctors and nurses have been like, ‘I guess we’ve all got COVID’ because we really have no clue.”
Staff were not being tested, he said. They simply had to go home if symptoms developed. Then they started dropping “like flies” as they contracted the virus. Some ended up in the very unit that they had been working in — cared for by their colleagues. Many did not fit the demographics of many COVID-19 patients.
“We've had more people in the ICU who didn't previously have health conditions, who were young,” said Luke, “whether they be our staff or staff from other hospitals. That’s tough for a lot of our staff, to see that,” he said. “One of the cardiac nurses did die. It hits everyone like a brick.”
Support between colleagues has been incredible, he said, but “that’s not to say people aren’t scared because people really, really were. A lot of colleagues had quite dark conversations about ‘if and when I get sick I want x, y, and z treatment.’”
When the biggest wave of patient deaths struck just before Easter, the ICUs at the hospital were so overwhelmed there weren't even enough nearby rooms to talk with families and loved ones. “They had to put up makeshift kind of blockades in the corridors,” he said, in order “to have these private discussions. So there were a lot of discussions behind showcase stands, which had makeshift cubicles set up. We’ve managed to get more adequate bays now. But I remember one time it was pretty uncomfortable because students are taking food through but there’s a very significant discussion of ‘they’re not going to make it’ being had and it couldn’t be had anywhere else.”
It wasn’t that the discussions were not being conducted with the highest of sensitivities, he said, but rather that the basic practicalities were strained to the limits. And in the first few weeks, the rapid repurposing of theatres and rooms to accommodate the explosion of coronavirus patients meant the hospital even looked unrecognisable. “You’ve got handwritten signs pointing towards bits [of the hospital] saying, ‘COVID DON’T ENTER’,” he said. “It’s been surreal and now it’s hitting people more because [then] people were in survival mode.”
Exhaustion comes in waves. Staff are “trying to nap on chairs, but there’s nowhere to sleep,” he said. And when they try to take a break, ‘You’ve got staff-rooms full of people where people are trying to socially distance.” It’s almost impossible, he said.
Many are hungry, unable to grab a break or find food. In the first few weeks, in particular, panic-buying meant supermarkets were impossible to use, with empty shelves awaiting nurses and doctors — if they were even open in the hours that ICU staff needed to shop. In the middle of a night shift, in the comparative quiet, the physical and mental stresses swarm junior staff like him. Luke describes a typical thought process: “Am I shaking because I haven’t eaten or because I don’t know what’s going on because I’m so exhausted?’” Care packages for staff now get delivered, which helps, he said.
The strange collision of humanity, sterility, and disease remains. “You're in an environment which is really not very human but it's also perfectly human and the most human you can have,” he said. “Everyone’s dressed like an alien and you’ve got bleeping and weird lights and crash trolleys around but then you’ve also got people being the most that they can be.” It is this — people rising to the highest level of professionalism and compassion — that helps sustain him. “It grabs you,” he said, “and drags you back to the present.”
Ricardo Garcia Vilanova / Getty Images
At the end of a shift, “You come home and there’s no one around. You can’t go anywhere to disengage with it all. If you talk to anyone, it’s only to talk about COVID and the only people you can talk to you are your colleagues and they don’t want to talk about things.”
Domestic isolation is common because so many clinicians opted to not stay at home but to stay in an Air B’n’B, he said. “I live alone because all of my housemates have left. A lot of clinicians had to leave their families and are very worried about spouses or children or parents.”
Online mutual support groups, helpline, and crisis lines have been set up for NHS workers, said Luke, but the psychological fallout is now crashing ashore. A clinician friend phoned to ask for help. “She said, ‘I don’t know what to do, I’ve been crying every night and I have no clue how to approach this.’”
Senior clinicians have been extremely supportive of the less experienced, guiding the team through, despite their own pressures. “They’re supporting their patients, themselves and their families,” said Luke. “You have no idea the kind of inspiration they are to everyone — and everyone can see it. That’s what’s in the ICU. It’s not what you see in the movies where it’s just cold, grey, bleeping. There’s something else: these insanely inspiring people who are there to do everything they can and they will put themselves through hell and back to do anything they can — to be there for their patients. I’ll never forget that.”
One of the problems, he said, was how quickly everything happened, that there was no time to properly prepare nor manage the crisis when it struck. When asked if he has allowed himself to cry yet, Luke replied: “Very much not. A lot of people have, on the shifts, in the break rooms. But actually a lot of the time it feels more numb.”
Instead, anger surfaces in small, isolated ways. “Someone throwing their PPE off,” he said, “which is absolutely not what you’re supposed to do. It’s because they’re so angry at what’s going on and the fact they can’t do anything. People being frustrated at the futility of a lot of it.”
Questions are hardening about the lack of testing, the PPE, staffing levels, and the actions or inaction of the government, he said. Overall, “Only now people are starting to realise what it’s doing to them.”
But Luke doesn’t want the public to think of clinicians as angels or superhuman. Tensions have erupted into arguments, he said, sometimes over mundane matters like food packages being given to one department before another, or an email spat between doctors about what the future holds for their workers.
But mostly because each Thursday at 8pm there is the clapping: millions across the country standing outside or by windows, banging saucepans, drums, cutlery, hooting car horns, in praise at the NHS workers. Luke likes it, but not everyone does. He captures the concern among some colleagues: “Doctors and nurses being called heroes means that when they die it’s a sacrifice of war rather than something that could have been prevented.”
Aris Oikonomou / Getty Images
There is now an unspoken sense among staff that the worst could be over, he said, in terms of the numbers of critically ill and dying patients at any one time — but are afraid to admit it in case they’re wrong. And many are not expecting a return to normality this year.
“A lot of us are still in quite high anxiety states,” he said. “We’re all pretty sure there’s going to be another wave as soon as lockdown finishes — so nobody wants to let themselves relax.”
What is certain, said Luke, is that next time everyone will be more prepared.
Until then, he hopes only to reassure families. “It’s horrific to think that people are continuing on with their lives with the belief that their loved ones ended theirs with them not there,” he said. “That’s not the case.” He invokes again the way they talk to patients, telling them about their partners, children, and parents, and the messages of love — bringing the outside world in to soothe their last moments.
“It’s not a situation devoid of humanity,” he said. “Your loved ones are not alone.”
Patrick Strudwick is a LGBT editor for BuzzFeed News and is based in London.
Contact Patrick Strudwick at patrick.strudwick@buzzfeed.com.
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Karitos Worship & Arts Conference Podcast
Episode 8, Interview with Dave Ebert of Well-Versed Comedy
March 11, 2020 Karitos family Season 1 Episode 8
Mar 11, 2020 Season 1 Episode 8
Karitos family
Click here for show notes and other links on the Karitos Blog.
Susannah Francis' interview with Dave Ebert. Dave is the founder of Well Versed Comedy and creator of PureFest: Chicago's Faith-Based Improv and Sketch Festival.
He is a Chicago-land native who grew up in southwestern Virginia and was always a ham and jokester. Dave has loved entertaining people his entire life.
In the summer of 1992, Dave initially became saved at a camp prior to his sixth-grade year. Afterward, he drifted and lost his way. A long battle with depression finally turned in Dave's favor, when he answered God's call in January 2013. This led him back home to Chicago to pursue acting and comedy as his ministry.
Dave's performing experiences date back to the early 1990s when he performed in church plays. Dave's resume includes several years as an on-air deejay at a Top 40 station and a Country station; many years as a PA Announcer at basketball, baseball, and football games; eight years in pro-wrestling; and some comedy improv training at Second City and Gorilla Tango Theater.
In June 2015, Dave married his best friend and the love of his life, Bobbie. Together, they serve God through Well Versed and other ministries.
Website/Blog https://wellversedcomedy.wixsite.com/wellversed/blog
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/B9UhHTZAOyq/
https://www.instagram.com/wellversedcmdy/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/wellversedcmdy/
Twitter https://twitter.com/wellversedcmdy
Intro/Outro Music by Vivien Hibbert
Support the show (https://www.karitosnation.org)
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Download
All content © 2021 Karitos Worship & Arts Conference Podcast.
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Activist Alley
Dirtbag Momma
Liquid Gear
Off Yonder
Road Team
Type-A Fun
Velo Fixations
Tyra Sutak
Cannabis, weed, pot, ganga, dope, reefer, chronic, Mary Jane or marijuana—it doesn’t matter what you call it—Attorney General Jeff Sessions hates it with a fiery passion.
He’s even gone so far as equating the drug to heroin and publicly shaming Lady Gaga for allegedly boasting an addiction to it. While the so-called “War on Drugs” originated with Richard Nixon and ramped up in the ’80s as a broken campaign promise during election season, Sessions has been barreling along on his own decades-long crusade to snuff out the green stuff, and take down any of the “bad people” associated with growing, selling, buying, smoking or having thoughts about enjoying the substance. So when the announcement to rescind Obama-era policy regarding legalized weed was passed down from the Justice Department at the beginning of the year, it didn’t come as a surprise to anyone—not even Lady Gaga.
In a statement sent to federal prosecutors nationwide, Sessions formally encouraged the prosecution of marijuana at a federal level in every state, a revision of the previous administration’s stance on legalized weed which was shared through the Cole Memo—a 2013 memorandum by the Justice Department that served as guidance for law enforcement and prosecutors in states opting to legalize weed.
In a nutshell, the memo reiterated that at a federal level, marijuana would continue to be classified and treated as a Schedule 1 drug (characterized as an illegal drug with a high potential of abuse, unsuitable for medical use), but discouraged enforcement of the drug at a federal level in states where it had been legalized. The memo also offered suggested priorities that state-legal law enforcement should focus on like preventing trafficking, and pot growing on public lands, and banning stoners from lighting up on federal property.
The legal cannabis industry met Sessions memo on “Marijuana Enforcement” with one simple question: why now?
The Rocky Mountain High
On January 4, when Sessions’ memo hit the inboxes of law enforcement and prosecutors across the country, it came on the heels of November elections that resulted in four states passing ballot initiatives to legalize non-medical marijuana. Those publicly popular initiatives increased the number of states that have legalized recreational weed to nine and added another layer of growth in legal marijuana sales in the U.S. that topped $10 billion in 2017.
In fact, since Colorado voted yes on Amendment 64 in 2012, the state’s young cannabis industry has flourished under the guidance of the state government, most recently at the hands of Director of Marijuana Policy Mark Bolton. According to Bolton, the Office of the Governor has worked hard to build a strong and comprehensive regulatory system to monitor the marijuana industry in the state.
“While I would say our system is effective, we’re constantly in a state of evaluation and looking for ways to strengthen our approach and try to address any unintended consequences or abuses that have materialized,” said Bolton. He also added that Colorado relies on a collaborative relationship with the federal government to effectively regulate marijuana in the state.
While Bolton oversees the 12 agencies that have a role in legalized weed in Colorado, he also serves as the point person between the state and federal governments on marijuana issues. But perhaps the most rewarding aspect of Bolton’s gig is doling out a huge chunk of Colorado’s “pot tax” back into the state. In 2017, Colorado collected $247,368,473 in total revenue from the state’s medical and retail marijuana tax and fee collections.
Since it’s a heavily regulated industry, there are many layers of taxation on weed. There’s an excise tax on growers selling to retail shops; there’s a state sales tax, a state retail marijuana sales tax and in the majority of cities where retail or medical marijuana is sold, a local and special districts tax. It seems like a heavy price to pay for a little sticky icky, but the state is putting that tax revenue to good use.
At a state level, the first $40 million collected from the wholesale tax on pot is dedicated entirely to schools—yep, the same schools that only a few decades ago included a “Say No to Drugs” program taught by a cartoon bloodhound. That money is allocated to BEST—a program that funds competitive grants to school districts, school boards, charter schools and other school-related programs. Any tax revenue collected above the $40 million mark goes to a public school fund, and that number is generally in the millions. A portion of pot taxes also go to the Marijuana Tax Cash Fund which is used for drug regulation, enforcement, education, treatment and, most importantly for pot-friendly communities all over the state, ten percent of the gross revenue of marijuana sales tax is distributed to local governments overseeing recreational or medical marijuana sales in their cities.
Pot for Potholes
In Manitou Springs, the small town at the base of Pikes Peak, that windfall equates to a giant boost to the town’s Urban Renewal Authority budget. A town that boasts just over 5,300 residents, Manitou Springs is home to two recreational dispensaries along Highway 24—the city’s main travel vein that leads to the base of one of the state’s most popular fourteeners. Maggie’s Farm opened up shop first in 2010, followed by Emerald Fields in 2015. City-imposed sales tax revenue from the two shops has helped the city’s Urban Renewal Authority grow its budget from $100,000 to $2.5 million.
The increase in spending funds has allowed the city to focus on projects that improve the community, attract more visitors and boost the tourism economy in the tourism-driven town. Board members of the organization voted to allocate $1 million towards attracting more businesses to the downtown area and community improvement projects.
In southern Colorado, the town of Trinidad (population 8,200) has a new look since the legalization of marijuana. Once a nearly forgotten gas stop on the state line, Trinidad is now reaping the rewards of its location just 11 miles from New Mexico—a state that has yet to legalize marijuana. The once bustling coal mining town along the Santa Fe Trail had dwindled into a dilapidated cityscape dotted with abandoned buildings and rundown structures—that is until a dispensary moved into town in 2014.
Today, the city is home to 16 dispensaries and some recent much-needed upgrades throughout the town. Along with replacing the city’s 140-year-old brick streets, the local government also used the nearly $1 million in revenue taxes from recreational marijuana sales to purchase a new fire truck and a handful of eyesore buildings in the downtown area with the intention of transforming them into living spaces and art galleries.
Trinidad and Manitou Springs are not the only two local governments in the state of Colorado benefiting from tax revenue from dispensaries. Any city where a dispensary operates in the state will collect a portion of the gross revenue of marijuana sales tax. In fact, the more dispensaries that operate within a city, the larger the chunk of money the local government will receive, which means with approximately 150 legal dispensaries in operation, Denver’s feeling the love. The state’s capital also has a booming cannabis tourism scene. Anyone visiting the city can participate in a variety of marijuana-themed activities including dispensary tours, weed-and-food pairings, puff-and-paint classes and weed-focused vacation packages. Guests can even book a room a the Bud and Breakfast—a 420-friendly lodging accommodation in the city that advertises “wake and bake breakfasts,” “munchies + beer and wine all day,” and, you guessed it, a happy hour that kicks off at 4:20 every day with snacks and the “freedom to consume whatever recreational marijuana products you desire.”
Bum Session
Even though the industry as a whole is booming, it’s still getting on its feet and far from perfect. Bolton remains hopeful for a thriving cannabis future in the era of Jeff Sessions, but he continues to closely monitor the impact of the attorney general’s memo on the state’s marijuana industry.
“A fear that we have is that we put a ton of time and effort into trying to help businesses establish banking relationships, because that has been an obvious challenge for the industry as long as it’s been operable here in Colorado,” Bolton said. “One fear would be that banks would either freeze the number of accounts they’re offering, stop offering accounts or start canceling accounts, which would drive the industry back to a cash business. And I don’t think that’s a desirable outcome from anybody’s prospective.”
Although Sessions’ announcement has sparked a buzz throughout Colorado, Bolton says it won’t dissuade state officials from continuing to focus on putting better systems in place to continue to regulate the industry.
“Our focus is going to be continuing to demonstrate the strength of our regulatory system, the fact that it’s a model for the rest of the country, and then trying to help businesses maintain compliance,” he said. “This certainly isn’t a time to fall out of compliance with state law.”
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Expected to Visit Family in the UK in June
By Jennifer Drysdale 12:43 PM PST, January 10, 2021
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have set their sights on a visit to the U.K. this summer. A source close to the couple tells ET that the pair are eyeing a trip across the pond in June.
"There are lots of family events that the duke and duchess hope they can attend," the source says, before noting, "of course given the state of the world due to COVID-19, it is still early to be planning travel."
According to the source, Meghan, 39, and Harry, 36, are likely to attend events like Trooping the Colour and Queen Elizabeth II's ceremonial birthday parade. Many members of the royal family are looking forward to seeing Harry, Meghan and their 1-year-old son, Archie, ET's source adds.
It's been one year since Meghan and Harry announced their decision to step down as senior members of the royal family. In the months since, the pair have signed a multimillion-dollar deal with Netflix and various other business ventures. They also bought a $14 million Montecito mansion, paid for their own security and paid back British taxpayers for the renovations on Frogmore Cottage.
All this suggests Harry and Meghan are unlikely to return to the royal family in any official capacity, royal expert Katie Nicholl told ET. However, Harry's relationship with his family has improved.
"There were phone and video calls over the Christmas and New Year holiday and the Sussexes sent presents to the Cambridges and vice versa," she said of Harry and Prince William's families. "It was an opportunity in an otherwise very busy and chaotic year for both of the families to come together and connect, albeit virtually."
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Now, "the relationship is much better than it was," Nicholl said.
"For a start, they are on talking terms, and not only on talking terms, they do speak relatively regularly. They were very much in touch over the holidays," Nicholl explained. "But there is an ocean between them, there is a time difference and as Harry [has] said… they are two brothers on different paths."
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Democrats offer opposition to farm labor bill
BATH — The Officers and Board of Directors of the Democratic Rural Conference of New York State has issued a resolution opposing passage of the FFLPA as it is currently constituted.
The bill, better known as the Fair Farm Labor Practices Act, is a measure that would extend overtime and workers' compensation benefits to farm laborers in New York. It has drawn heavy criticism as it is debated in the state's legislature.
"We applaud the goals of this legislation. We support collective bargaining for farm laborers and understand that it is required under a recent court ruling. However, the bill as it is currently written simply does not adequately reflect the reality of agriculture in New York State, which is in a particularly precarious position this year. We hope that the laudable goals of this legislation can be accomplished through the budget process next year, when protections for farm workers can be combined with incentives and support for famers that will help the entire agricultural sector. We can find common ground here," said Judith Hunter of Livingston County, who is the Chair of the DRC.
"California is often mentioned as a state that implemented legislation similar to the FFLPA with no ill effects, but farmers in California usually don't have to deal with the weather conditions that can make agriculture so time-sensitive in rural New York. New York farms are also smaller, and many are family owned," Hunter continued.
"Any eventual legislation should protect our farmworkers, clearly, but it should also protect our farmers. They are unable to pass on higher production costs by charging higher prices, because those prices are set by market forces beyond their control. Already, dairy farmers find themselves getting less for their milk than it costs them to produce. New York agriculture also must be supported as it works to become more competitive, more sustainable, and more resilient in the face of climate change," Hunter said.
"Our rural economy depends on agriculture, and we are concerned that agriculture be able to recover from its current difficulties stronger than ever."
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City of Hornell disposing of excess sludge
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HORNELL — The City of Hornell is clearing out some excess sludge.
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The city rented a belt press to address the issue. The press solidifies the sludge and allows it to be trucked to the landfill. The belt press arrived last week as the the city plans to dispose of over 600,000 gallons.
“They’re filling the dump trucks up and sending them off to the county,” Department of Public Works chief Mitch Cornish told the Board of Public Works. “We’re hoping to have this all done by the eighth of next month. Then we should have enough room. It seems to be working well with no hiccups yet.”
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© 2021 www.eveningtribune.com. All rights reserved.
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Home > Legal Articles > Family Law and Divorce > Should You Secretly Record Your Ex- for Your Custody Case
Should You Secretly Record Your Ex- for Your Custody Case
One issue that frequently arises during custody litigation is the secret recording of one parent by the other, or of the other parent's conversations with a child. Sometimes a parent will ask if it's a good idea to record the other parent, but more often the lawyer does not find out about the recording until after the recordings have been made.
The question is then raised, "Can these recordings be used in court?"
Types of Recording
Reasons to Record the Other Parent
Reasons Not to Record the Other Parent
Is Open Recording a Better Idea
Assume You're Being Secretly Recorded
Having established that the recording is secret, recording breaks down first by whether or not the recording is of audio, video, or both:
Audio-Only Recording: Recording of voices only, whether in person or of a phone conversation or other electronic communication.
Video-Only Recording: Recordings of video only, as often occurs with security cameras and "nanny cams".
Audio-Visual Recording: The recording of both video and sound.
The recording of audio and video raise different legal issues, which is why:
Security cameras very often make video-only recordings so as to avoid accidental violation of eavesdropping laws, and
Audio-only recordings may potentially be permitted in certain private areas in which the secret recording of video would be inherently problematic, such as in a bedroom or bathroom.
Recording next breaks down by whether or not the recorded activity or conversation occurred in public or in private:
Recording Public Activity: Recording activity that is occurring in a public place.
Recording Private Activity: Recording activity that occurs in a private context.
Recording in Public
When people engage in public activity or public conversation that is loud enough for others to casually overhear, they have little and perhaps no expectation of privacy in their actions and conversations, reducing the legal concerns associated with recording without consent.
The more private the location, the greater the expectation of privacy and the greater the legal issues that are potentially raised by surreptitious recording.
Phone Messages and Voice Mail
When somebody reaches an answering machine or voice mailbox and leaves a message, there is no issue of privacy. The person knows that the message is being recorded.
If relevant to the issues before the court, the message can later be used without controversy in legal proceedings.
The parent who chooses to secretly record the other parent often believes that the recordings will provide a treasure trove of examples of the other parent's use of inappropriate language or behavior, misconduct, or other parenting issues, that a court will see as significant if not overwhelming proof that the recorded parent should not receive custody.
Despite that hope, recordings rarely turn out to have an impact on a case that is significantly greater than that which may be achieved through testimony based upon a parents' recollection.
Most of the case law that discusses secret recordings in custody cases does not involve their relevance to the court's custody determination, but instead involves discussion of whether the recording was conducted illegally, and whether the secretly recorded parent can sue the other parent over the recordings.
Within the context of cases in which recordings have at times proved particularly useful,
Sometimes a relationship breaks down over suspicions of child abuse, but due to the circumstances of the claim or the age of the children there's no clear evidence of abuse. Although mostly outside of the context of child custody litigation, there have been some high profile cases in which the abuse of children was caught on video through the use of a nanny cam, and even through cameras placed in a child's hospital room.
Within the context of family law, there have been a number of cases in which an incident of domestic violence or serious misbehavior during the exchange of children was recorded, or in which aggressive actions that seem to have been stopped only when the other person realized that a recording was being made.
The reasons not to secretly record the other parent are usually significant:
It May Be Illegal: In all states, it is unlawful to record a private conversation unless you're a party to that conversation, and it is broadly unlawful to secretly videotape people in locations where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as when they're using a bathroom. In some states,1 it is illegal to record a private conversation unless all parties to the conversation agree to be recorded. The act of secretly recording your conversations with your ex-, or your child's conversations, may be a crime in your state.
It Often Looks Manipulative: Even if legal, the judge is almost certain to recognize that people who secretly record others will be on their best behavior, often starting the recording only after engaging in statements or actions that will provoke the recorded person, or while goading the recorded person in ways that may not be immediately apparent.
You Can't Hold Back Evidence: If the other parent is represented, you can anticipate that you will be served with discovery that asks about recordings, and demands that copies of any recordings be turned over to the other parent's lawyer.
Custody Evaluations: In many high-conflict custody cases, the parents go through a custody evaluation process. If the parent admits to recording conversations during that process, the professional performing the evaluation will opine as to why the recordings were made and is likely to specifically discuss the question of manipulative recording. If the recordings are not disclosed, a later disclosure and attempt to use the recordings casts a shadow over the recording parent's honesty and candor during both the evaluation and during court proceedings.
Recording Conversations Between the Other Parent and Your Child
Some parents are tempted to record conversations between their child and the other parent, to document inappropriate statements or conduct by the other parent.
Some jurisdictions regard a parent as having vicarious consent to the recording of a conversation with a minor child, such that a parent can record their own child's conversations. However, that does not hold true in all one-party consent states, and is not the case in any two-party consent cases.
Further, although one federal circuit2 held that vicarious consent exists under the federal wiretapping law, should a prosecution be brought in other parts of the country, other federal courts may disagree.
Using Secret Recordings in Court
In most custody cases that involve the recording of the other parent, even if made lawfully, the tapes end up not being used in court. In addition to the previously mentioned issue, that the court may view the recording parent as manipulative, other factors include:
It is expensive to have your lawyer review all of your tape recordings to advise you about what portions may be useful in court, and how the other party may respond to the excerpts or use other excerpts in court to undermine your positions or otherwise impeach your testimony.
Upon recognizing that all recordings must be provided to the other parent if demanded during discovery, some parents decide that it's not likely to be helpful to try to convince the court that a few seconds, here and there, taken from dozens or hundreds of recordings are representative.
If a parent claims only to have made a small number of recordings, that just happen to contain the juiciest exchanges with the other parent, a court is likely to believe that other recordings were made and that the parent offering the recordings is withholding other recordings.
When a recording starts part-way into an exchange, questions may be raised about what happened before the recording was started.
When presenting recordings in court, it is helpful to offer a transcript to help the court follow along, but transcript preparation is time-consuming and, if you don't prepare transcripts yourself, expensive.
The content of recordings is not always clear, and disagreement over what word or words were used can result in extensive (and expensive) courtroom argument.
The use of recordings raises potential issues of whether the recordings were edited, with the potential for having to pay for expert analysis and testimony pertaining to the possibility of alteration.
Introducing a recorded conversation in court is not as simple as pulling out a tape recorder, queued up to a key point in a recorded exchange, and pressing play. Even if you assume that the other parent's lawyer will neglect to request recordings, that the case will go to trial, and that the other parent will testify to something that may be contradicted by the recording,
The other party may object to the use of the recording, and is likely to demand the opportunity to review the entire recording for context.
There may be disputes over the clarity of the recording and what words were actually used.
There are likely to be accusations that the other parent was previously provoked or was somehow set up.
If recordings were requested by the other party but not turned over, there could be considerable argument over the failure to provide recordings as a discovery violation and what sanctions might be appropriate.
Consult a Lawyer Before Recording
Due to the legal concerns that may be raised by the secret recording of others, it makes sense to talk to your lawyer about recording before you begin any practice of recording the other parent. Your lawyer can explain the laws of your state, whether or not it would benefit you from making a recording, and where and when it would be permissible for you to make a recording.
As an alternative to secretly recording somebody, you have the option of openly recording them. When you tell your ex- that you intend to record a conversation, they may end a conversation or withdraw from the situation.
Keep in mind that some people respond angrily to the production of a recording device. If the other parent has a history of abusive behavior, it is important to consider whether an attempt to openly record the other parent may result in explosive or violent behavior, including an attempt to take away the recording device.
If both parents know that a recording device is present, even if in the form of a security camera in a public location as opposed to a camera operated by or on behalf of a parent, both parents are likely to comport themselves better during the recorded exchange. If an openly made recording captures what appears to be dangerous aggression or an act of domestic violence, the recording may be a powerful tool to achieve pretrial settlement of a case.
If you're in a custody dispute, you should assume that your ex- may be secretly recording you. If you behave as if you're being recorded you will have two advantages going into court:
If recordings do exist, all they will show is that you treated the other parent with respect and courtesy, and were compliant with the court's order.
Even if no recordings exist, you'll have displayed a pattern of behavior that will make you look more responsible to the court than might otherwise have been the case.
1. The states in which all parties to a private conversation must consent before recording becomes legal are known as two-party consent states. Those states are California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington.
2. See Pollock v. Pollock, 154 F.3d 601 (6th Cir. 1998). The federal Sixth Circuit includes Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. The reasoning of the Pollock court was adopted by a Utah federal trial court, Thompson v. Dulaney, 838 F. Supp. 1535 (D. Utah 1993), but does not appear to have yet been adopted by any other federal appellate circuit.
This article was last reviewed or amended on Apr 12, 2018.
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NEW RESEARCH TO HELP SHAPE NHS OF THE FUTURE
in Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Dwyfor Meirionnydd, Health, Pembrokeshire, Powys
Mid and West Wales Regional AMs Joyce Watson and Eluned Morgan are encouraging constituents to take part in a new survey aimed at helping the NHS plan for the future.
The Health Wise Wales Survey is a confidential study that aims to track the health of people living in Wales.
Members of the public are being asked to provide simple information online via the Health Wise Wales website or over the telephone. The public will contribute their information for researchers to undertake health and social care Research and Development in Wales.
Residents can register to take part in the survey by visiting https://www.healthwisewales.gov.wales/homepage/ or call 0800 9 172 172 (08:00-19:00 Monday-Friday)
When they agree to take part, they will be asked to provide an email address and choose a password. Once people have joined, they will be asked to answer some questions about their lifestyle, health and wellbeing on the study website.
Joyce Watson said, “Accurate information on the state of people’s health in Wales is invaluable to our health service.
“I would urge all residents to check out the Health Wise Wales website – www.healthwisewales.gov.wales and take part in this innovative research”
Eluned Morgan said, “Building a clear picture of how patients’ needs are changing means we can start working now to ensure the NHS is ready to deal with the challenges of the future. We know that people are living longer but their health needs are more complex. This research allows us to accurately track health difficulties and inequalities and design services around people’s health needs.”
If residents would prefer not to take part online they can call 0800 9 172 172 (08:00-19:00 Monday-Friday)
Labour Women launch ‘Purple Plaque’ campaign on International Women’s Day to recognise remarkable Welsh women
Wales could build an “economic strategy” to help improve social care
Wales could build an "economic strategy" to help improve social care
Eluned Morgan is Wales’ new Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing
Covid-19 Press Conference 4/11/20
Great Daffodil Appeal
© 2020 Eluned Morgan MS
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Questions We Ask Ourselves After Losing a Loved One
Death hurts, plain and simple. When someone who has touched your life passes away, it can feel like you’ve just lost a small piece of your world. The journey of grief has many points along the way. From time to time during that journey, it’s natural to find yourself wondering or asking yourself questions.
Oftentimes, these questions can be split into two groups: the “whys?” and the “hows?”.
Why did this happen to us/me
Why didn’t I do something sooner?
Why did God let something like this happen?
How can I start to feel better?
How would s/he want me to move on?
How do I find the positive in all of this?
If you find yourself asking questions like these, rest assured you’re not alone. Asking yourself questions like these is completely normal and a part of the journey of grief. Understandably, everyone faces different questions. Grief is something that we don’t respond to in a uniform way.
However, in our experience helping families grieve, we find these are the five most common questions people face.
1. I don't know if I'll ever get over the death of my spouse (or child, sister, friend) what should I do? When someone dies, death is not something to try and overcome. This is because death is not something you can fix. But rather, it’s something you learn to adapt with and move forward. 2. I just feel alone, all the time. Even at my support group, it feels like no one can understand me. What’s wrong with me? Nothing. Grief is personal, and unique to say the least. Everyone will react to grief in their own way. Even if you’ve experienced a similar loss to someone, how they are coping and feeling may be drastically different than you. Grief can be isolating and often feel like a mix of emotions. You could be watching a movie and laughing one minute, and then sobbing the next. Even if it feels like no one can understand you; talking about your feelings can help you cope with grief and let your feelings out. 3. I feel like some of my friends are becoming distant. Why aren’t they trying to support me? When you lose someone, it changes your world. Unfortunately, your friends may feel like you no longer relate. Another possibility is that they might simply feel uncomfortable. Some people don’t handle being around grief or the thought of it. If you feel like your friend may becoming distant, don’t be afraid to reach out. Maybe having a heart to heart conversation can help them understand that although it’s difficult, you need them to be there for you.
At the same time, you need to understand something important as well. They can say no. Although it may be painful and unfortunate, they may want to stay distant. Hopefully they don’t. But understand this could happen; and most importantly, don’t let it stop you from speaking up if you want to. 4. Why doctor/therapist is trying to prescribe medication but I don’t feel comfortable with that. How do I tell them no? Tell them that. Let them know you’re unsure about that and feeling uncomfortable. You can also ask them what they see that makes them feel like medication is a solution. You can also ask what may happen if you don’t take it. In either case, don’t be afraid to speak up and say no. 5. It’s been months/years since my loved one passed away. Why don’t I feel better yet? Grief is not like spraining your ankle or breaking your wrist. There’s no prescribed length of time it takes to heal fully. Healing often takes place in milestones. Over time, you slowly reach these milestones and begin to feel a little better.
It’s also important to be compassionate towards yourself. It’s easy to be critical of yourself for not feeling better. However, rather than overthinking and hurting yourself, try to find pleasure in the little things you enjoy. Slowly but surely, you’ll start to realize that every laugh or smile, however brief, is another milestone along the journey.
How to Celebrate the Holidays When You're Grieving a Loss
It’s the season of twinkling lights, gift-giving, delicious food and quality family time. But for those grieving a loss, the holidays may be the most difficult time of the year. Enduring the holidays without the physical presence of a loved one who helped make this season special may be especially painful in the first year without them.
While it’s healthy to acknowledge that feelings of grief may be intensified during the holidays, there are ways to cope this season and even spark a sense of holiday joy.
Set realistic boundaries and expectations.
The holidays are often met with obligations that may be too difficult to handle while you’re mourning. Be transparent with your family and friends about how much stress you are willing to take on this year. For instance, if the weight of cooking an entire Thanksgiving dinner normally falls on your shoulders, don’t be afraid to ask another family to cook the turkey this year.
While you should not feel guilty for turning down invitations to holiday events that may be especially triggering, it is important to find a healthy balance in order to ensure that you aren’t isolating yourself. Instead of automatically saying, “no” to every get-together, try planning ahead in case the event is ultimately too much for you to handle. For instance, planning to drive yourself to the event so you know that you can leave at any time may provide a sense of comfort and control.
Manage your emotions.
The holidays can bring on a variety of emotions in the wake of the loss. While the absence of a loved one may be especially magnified during the holidays, like when there’s an empty seat at the dinner table, it is important to avoid ignoring your emotions; sometimes, allowing yourself to experience grief is the best way to get through it. On the same token, it is also important to manage unfounded emotions, like guilt following a moment of excitement or joy. Remember, this season is meant for celebrating, and your loved one would want you to feel happiness during these times.
Create new traditions.
Although they may not be physically present this year, commemorating your loved one’s legacy by creating new traditions that honor them may help you feel their presence and bring a sense of comfort to the whole family. There are many creative ways to celebrate the one you’ve lost in the holidays, like playing their favorite board game, baking a dessert they loved or putting together a centerpiece with their favorite flowers. Simply devoting time to telling stories and reminiscing on the best memories of your loved one may be cathartic for everyone.
There’s no denying that the first holiday season without a beloved family member or friend may be the hardest. But by taking special care, you can find ways to make this season easier on yourself while honoring the one you have lost.
This month, have the talk of your lifetime
November is Have the Talk of a Lifetime Month. Created by the Funeral and Memorial Information Council (FAMIC), Have the Talk of a Lifetime is an initiative aimed at advocating for individuals to have meaningful conversations with their family members about their life stories and the ways in which they would like to be memorialized.
This month, try setting aside a time to plan for your family’s future while discussing important moments in your history. By sharing your life’s journey and struggles while reminiscing on the people and places that mattered most, your family can walk away with a deeper understanding of you.
So how do you have the talk of your life?
While it may be meaningful to plan the conversation in a place that is significant to you, like a park where you often took your children or the church where you got married, you can have the talk any place you feel comfortable.
It may be helpful to compile a list of talking points beforehand, but you should let the conversation flow naturally. This time should be devoted to talking about your favorite memories, recounting important historical events that happened in your lifetime and reminiscing about your life’s biggest moments. Try discussing your family lineage and sharing advice to be passed along to future generations.
While it may be uncomfortable to talk about death, discussing your preferred funeral arrangements with your loved ones in advance can ease the burden on them later. Dedicating part of this conversation to speaking about how you wish to be remembered is the best way to ensure your life is celebrated in a way that honors you best after you are gone. We offer a free checklist that may aid in the discussion of your final wishes.
Visit talkofalifetime.org for more conversation starters, tips and activities.
bereaved parents awareness month
The month of July is designated for honoring those who have suffered the most inconsolable grief imaginable: the loss of a child. Although the grieving process is highly personalized, we have compiled a list of three ways you can support those who have been confronted with this inconceivable tragedy. Additionally, we have provided resources for those who have suffered the ultimate loss.
1. Say the child's name.
Sharing your favorite memories of the child, reminiscing on their unique personality traits and providing meaningful anecdotes may help validate the impact that the child left behind. It is important to ensure the bereaved that their child will never be forgotten.
2. Offer a helping hand.
Extending sympathy in the form of acts of service can help bereaved parents feel supported, especially in the days following the tragedy. Helping with basic tasks, like grocery shopping, cooking and babysitting the other children may lift added stress from the parents' shoulders.
3. Listen.
It can be difficult to find the right words to comfort those coping with this loss. In truth, there are no words that can take the pain away. Instead, provide support to the bereaved by being present and offering a non-judgmental, listening ear.
“What works is your presence," said Dr. Gordon Livingston, psychiatrist and co-founder of National Bereaved Parents Awareness Month. "There’s no set of words that will work each time, but being there for someone in a supportive way is what provides the most consolation."
For those grieving in the wake of losing a child, we have compiled a list of helpful resources.
Compassionate Friends is a nonprofit organization devoted to providing comfort and support to grieving families.
National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children provides valuable resources for therapists and bereaved loved ones.
Still Standing Magazine is an online publication written by and for those who have lost children.
Breakthrough.com provides online mental health therapy.
History of cremation: urns through the ages
Cremation has been performed throughout human history, and the practice’s popularity has waxed and waned over time. Within the past century, cremation has become more widely accepted, and decorative urns are now regarded as beautiful, timeless keepsakes.
Neolithic Period
The earliest archaeological evidence suggests that cremation was practiced in the Stone Age (circa 3000 BC) in Europe and Japan, where simple pottery cremation urns have been discovered. Because these urns were fashioned using primitive tools, they weren’t very ornate.
Cremation practices became widespread in North America, Britain, Hungary, Italy, Spain and Portugal between 2500 - 1000 BC. During this time, cemeteries specifically devoted to housing cremated remains were established.
Mycenaean Age
In war-torn Ancient Greece, cremation became the preferred method of disposing soldiers' bodies because it was regarded as hygienic. During this era, urns evolved to become more intricate and were a quintessential component of elaborate burial ceremonies.
Between 27 AD and 395 AD, the practice of cremation became customary among Romans, particularly those in the upper class. Cremated remains were stored in highly decorated urns and housed in large, communal vaults.
Age of Constantine the Great
Early Christians considered cremation to be a pagan tradition, so by 400 AD, the practice was discouraged and earth burial became customary. For the next century and a half, this sentiment was upheld by a majority of the population.
By the early 1900s, modern cremation came to rise, specifically in North America. The Cremation Association of North America was established in 1915, and by the turn of the century, nearly 25% of all deaths resulted in cremation. Today, 50.2% of individuals opt for cremation for themselves or their loved ones.
Cremation has evolved so much so that there are currently a plethora of options to store cremated remains, including our "Blooming Bio-Urns," which are designed to grow into twelve different types of wildflowers.
Additionally, we offer a wide selection of decorative urns that make beautiful keepsakes. Visit our online catalog to learn about our reasonably priced urn options or call us anytime at (850) 466-5440.
How to write an honorable obituary
"It's counterintuitive, perhaps, but obituaries have next to nothing do with death and absolutely everything to do with life," said Margalit Fox, the New York Times' obituary writer for upwards of 15 years.
While obituaries serve a variety of purposes, like spreading a notice of death to loved ones, they should focus on the impact of a life above all else. Because most of us don't have a memoir or a biography, our obituaries paint the most vivid pictures of our professional accomplishments, relational ties, significant life events and essence of our personality.
Whether you are preparing your own obituary in advance, or you are writing an obituary for a deceased family member, it is important to acknowledge the positive, lasting impact of the life lost.
Most obituaries start with the basics, like the individual's name, age and place of residence at the time of their death.
Instead of simply stating that the individual died, there are several ways to soften the impact. These phrases include:
• passed away
• crossed over
• went to be with his/her Lord
• departed
• passed peacefully
• departed this earthly life
• entered into eternal rest
• earned his/her way into heaven
• left this world
• was called home
Include significant events and important accomplishments
Often listed chronologically, obituaries mention individuals' birthday and place of birth, details about spouse and date of marriage, as well as significant educational and professional accomplishments.
Paint a picture of a life well-lived
In addition, acknowledge the specific contributions and designations the person made in life. It is also important to capture the essence of their personality. According to Catherine Garcia, a seasoned obituary writer, "When done right, obituaries have a way of making even the most ordinary person seem interesting."
Along with naming the family members who preceded the individual in death, as well as their survivors, the obituary should express the impact of their life and the pain of their loss. One of the best ways to accomplish this is to convey their character through the tone of your writing. For instance, if the deceased was popular for being funny, it would not be inappropriate to write the obituary in a lighthearted tone. Additionally, including a a sentence that illustrates a person's passions, like a cook's favorite recipe, can succinctly embody important aspects of their personality.
Announce memorial information
The best place to mention visitation, burial, funeral and memorial service details is through one or two sentences toward the end of the obituary. Additionally, many individuals list whether the deceased should be honored with flowers or charitable donations.
Finally, include a heartfelt message
If desired, you can include a special message from a loved one, a statement thanking medical staff, or a short prayer or quote as the last line in the obituary.
For a simple, complementary obituary template, click here.
For information on other ways to pre-plan, click this link or call us anytime at (850) 466-5440.
family-funeral & cremation honors veterans
"Our flag does not fly because the wind moves it. It flies with the last breath of each soldier who died protecting it." -Unknown
Those who have sacrificed their lives in the line of duty deserve prestigious honor. At Family-Funeral & Cremation, we pledge to dignify veterans while respecting the wishes of their loved ones.
By providing discounted pricing and special touches for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice and their family members, we are dedicated to ensuring members of the armed forces receive the honorable funeral ceremony they earned by serving this country. We have fostered an extraordinary relationship with the Department of Veteran Affairs and offer many benefits and honors fit for service members' funerals.
These benefits include:
a military funeral honors ceremony, which is conducted by two or more uniformed service members, with at least one member of the veteran’s branch of service.
folding and presenting of a burial flag to the next of kin
a headstone or cemetery marker at no cost
the playing of the Taps
Additionally, service members are entitled to a burial at a national veteran's cemetery or a monetary benefit towards burial at a private cemetery.
Family-Funeral & Cremation is proud to orchestrate many burial ceremonies at the Barrancas National Cemetery, which encompasses 94.9 beautiful acres within the Naval Air Station Pensacola.
Burial at Barrancas National Cemetery is open to:
all members of the armed forces who have met a minimum active duty service requirement and were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable
A Veteran's spouse, widow or widower, minor dependent children*, and under certain conditions, unmarried adult children with disabilities
Members of the reserve components of the armed forces who die while on active duty or who die while on training duty, or were eligible for retired pay
*Eligible spouses and children may be buried even if they predecease the Veteran
Our funeral staff is trained with a deep understanding of proper methods to create a dignified memorial service for members of the armed forces, and honor veterans based on traditions ingrained by their unique military branches.
For more information on how we can assist you and your family, please call us anytime at (850) 466-5440.
3 funeral etiquette tips
When preparing for the funeral of a loved one and a friend, it is important to keep manners and decorum top of mind. While the occasion is meant to help you process your grief, behaving offensively may interrupt the process for others.
To avoid stepping on any toes, it may be helpful to adhere to the following guidelines.
Although the black is the symbolic color for mourning and the customary color for funerals, times have changed. It has become less taboo to venture into other color schemes. However, it is important to keep your outfit subdued, with minimal patterns and a neutral color palette.
It's not the appropriate time to make a fashion statement, and it's certainly inappropriate to dress casually (i.e. baseball cap, tennis shoes). Your attire should reflect your feelings of sympathy, dignity and respect for the deceased and the bereaved.
When in doubt? Go the traditional route and wear a simple black dress or suit.
What to say when you're at a loss for words.
When speaking to close loved ones to the bereaved, you may feel pressure to say the exact right thing. Take this pressure off and focus on being sincere. When you overexert condolences, you may appear ingenuine and more insensitive than if you had not said a word.
Instead, share a fond memory of the deceased and make it short and sweet. The more you say, the more room you make for mistakes, inadverdantly saying something that comes off as insensitive.
Keep it simple! Stating something like, “My thoughts are with you,” or “I’m sorry for your loss,” shows your support without overdoing it.
What to do with the children.
If your child had a relationship with the deceased, and they have an interest in attending the funeral, there is no reason to believe they wouldn’t benefit from the closure that the service may offer. Make sure you prepare them for the experience by telling them what to expect, how to act, etc.
This may be an ideal opportunity to teach your child about the cycle of life. If you're worried about your child's behavior, pick a seat near an exit for a quick escape to the nearest foyer.
For information on funeral planning, click here or call us anytime at (850) 466-5440.
3 Reasons to choose cremation
Family-Funeral & Cremation is proud to be Pensacola's premier affordable cremation service. Today, nearly 40% of individuals opt for cremation for themselves or their loved ones. We have compiled a list of three benefits for choosing cremation over traditional burial.
1) Cremation is cost-effective
With today's average funeral costing upward of $10,000, it's no wonder cremations have risen in popularity. Because cremation eliminates the need for a casket or vault, a burial plot and embalming services, the total cost for funeral services is decreased.
At Family-Funeral & Cremation, we offer transparent, up-front pricing for our cremation services at a fraction of the average cost.
2) Cremation offers endless possibilities for memorializing
In recent years, there has been an influx of unique options meant to memorialize those who have been cremated. Along with having cremated remains buried, scattered in a meaningful location or displayed at home in an heirloom urn, individuals can also opt to have their ashes planted as a memorial tree, grown into a coral reef, locked into an hourglass, displayed as a firework show, mixed with paint to create a beautiful portrait, or even launched into space!
3) Cremation is more environmentally-friendly
Including saving land space, electing to be cremated can reduce your ecological footprint in other ways. First, there are less harmful chemicals, like formaldehyde, emitted into the environment from the embalming process. Cremation also saves trees by eliminating the need for wood used in caskets.
To learn more about cremation options, contact Family-Funeral & Cremation at (850) 466-5440.
5 most popular funeral flowers and their meanings
In the wake of a death, it can be challenging to adequately encapsulate deep feelings of sympathy and sorrow in words. Sending flowers to the bereaved is a tried-and-true method of expressing love and support, but it is important to be aware of the messages that specific flowers symbolize.
We’ve compiled a list of the five most popular funeral flowers and their meanings, so you can express the emotions that are hard to put into words.
On May 12, 1907, Anna Jarvis, the founder of Mother’s Day, distributed 500 white carnations to the mothers at St. Andrew’s Church in Grafton, West Virginia in honor of her beloved, late mother, who favored carnations.
“The white carnation is preferred because it may be thought to typify some of the virtues of motherhood,” Anna said. “Whiteness stands for purity; [the carnation's] lasting qualities: faithfulness; its fragrance: love; its wide field of growth: charity."
Red carnations represent deep, profound love, while purple carnations symbolize spontaneity.
Hyacinth, which is known for its sweet fragrance, is another popular choice for sympathy arrangements.
Due to stories in Greek mythology, purple hyacinth has come to symbolize deep sorrow and sincerity.
Blue hyacinth represents deep and loyal friendship, while white hyacinth represents sincere prayers being sent.
According to Celtic legend, daisies were strewn across the Earth in the wake of an infant's passing in an act of God, who wanted to cheer the parents up. This is how daisies have come to represent innocence, purity and new beginnings.
The meaning of the daisy depends on its species. For instance, the Michaelmas Daisy symbolizes a final goodbye, while the English Daisy symbolizes motherly love.
Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of Love, was depicted with roses in her hair, which is partly how the flower came to symbolize deep and enduring love.
For funerals, black roses are popular, as they symbolize a final farewell. Dark pink roses represent respect and gratitude, while light pink roses stand for admiration. White roses symbolize purity and innocence and yellow roses represent friendship.
The strongly aromatic lily has been alluded to in historical texts as a symbol of God's beauty.
In particular, white lilies represent a soul being restored to innocence after death, while pink lilies symbolize purity and feminity.
The peace lily plant is the most popular funeral plant because it is known for its ablity to live for an extended amount of time.
Welcome To Our Funeral Home Blog!
THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO CHECK OUT OUR FUNERAL HOME BLOG. HERE YOU WILL FIND A SELECTION OF HELPFUL ARTICLES AND POSTS SURROUNDING A VARIETY OF FUNERAL RELATED TOPICS. OUR BLOG GIVES US THE UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE FUNERAL HOME NEWS AND UPDATES WITH OUR fLOIRDA GULF COAST FAMILY .
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From ultralight transponders strapped to the ankles of cross-country skiers to photo-beam units designed to withstand temperatures of -30 degrees, Seiko’s timing technology is the most advanced and innovative ever used at the Olympic Games.
By Anni Layne Rodgers 6 minute Read
Talk about fast company. On the first day of Olympic competition in Salt Lake City, Dutch wunderkind Jochem Uytdehaage overpowered 31 other athletes — all traveling around a frozen oval with razor-sharp skates and just inches to spare — to capture the gold medal in speed skating. Along the way, Uytdehaage also set an all-time world record by completing 5,000 meters in 6 minutes and 14.66 seconds — that’s 3.32 seconds faster than silver medalist Derek Parra and roughly 30 MPH. Without a helmet.
On the alpine hill, the luge chute, and the slalom snowboarding course, speed wins. One-hundredth of a second makes all the difference in the world. And absolute accuracy is critical in every measurement. That’s where Seiko comes in.
The official timing company of the 2002 Winter Games, Seiko worked for more than four years to develop, create, and implement the timing and scoring systems at work in Salt Lake City. From ultralight transponders strapped to the ankles of cross-country skiers to photo-beam units designed to withstand temperatures of -30 degrees, Seiko’s timing technology is the most advanced and innovative ever used at the Olympic Games.
“Olympic speeds are absolutely breathtaking — much higher than those of any other nonmotorized sport,” says Robert Wilson, a London-based Olympic project coordinator for Seiko. “So our tolerance and accuracy levels in timing have to be equally high, simply because of the speeds at which these lunatics do their thing.”
Indeed, the 2002 Winter Games are shaping up to be one of the fastest Olympics ever, with records already broken in the men’s 5,000-meter speed skating, the women’s 3,000-meter speed skating, and the women’s single luge. That velocity is due, in part, to Salt Lake City’s location at roughly 4,500 feet above sea level, where the air is thinner and the ice is faster. But improvements in speed also stem from Seiko’s timing and scoring technology, which has been in place since Olympic trials began in Salt Lake City last year. Since then, athletes and coaches have been analyzing Seiko’s performance data and making adjustments in ski wax, snowboarding stance, and cross-country pacing to take advantage of the conditions in Utah.
“In a certain sense, the Olympics happened a year ago with the test-event process; that’s our deadline,” says Wilson, who worked with Seiko on the 1998 and 1994 Olympics in Nagano, Japan and Lillehammer, Norway. “The Olympic Games themselves are just a rerun for Seiko.”
Well, not quite. In the weeks preceding Salt Lake City’s opening ceremony, Seiko shipped in 150 engineers and a support staff of 250 volunteers. Their job: to oversee each of the 90,000 measurements taken on the biathlon track, the speed-skating oval, and elsewhere throughout Olympic Park. Even in less time-sensitive sports like figure skating and ice hockey, the Seiko team plays an integral role.
In response to demands from the media, Seiko has developed supercharged scoring mechanisms that broadcast athletes’ official times to spectators, commentators, and judges just one-tenth of a second after they cross the finish line. That instantaneous scoring is difficult enough in straightforward racing sports like speed skating; it’s much more challenging in cross-country skiing, for example, where the athlete who finishes first is not necessarily the winner.
“Cross-country skiers can incur time penalties as they complete the course,” Wilson explains. “It used to take forever for results to get processed with those penalties factored in. But now, as soon as athletes cross the finish line, we know exactly where they stand in relation to the other competitors. The speed by which we broadcast those results has drastically improved since Nagano.”
Scores appear on one of fourteen full matrix scoreboards that display more data — including finishing times, athlete statistics, and other information for spectators — than ever before exhibited at the Olympic Games. “The information economy is a demanding customer,” Wilson jokes.
Among the sports most heavily affected by technological advancements this year are short-track speed skating, the biathlon, the Nordic combined, cross-country skiing, and alpine skiing. On the short track, speed skaters travel up to 26 MPH and often finish within milliseconds of each other. Here, Seiko has installed two photo-finish cameras that snap 2,000 images per second and allow judges to view a high-definition-TV image of the finish line that can discern time resolutions of up to one-thousandth of a second.
Competitors in the biathlon, Nordic combined, and cross-country skiing events will introduce transponder technology to the Olympics. “Finally, radio transmitters are small and light enough for athletes to wear one on each ankle,” says Wilson, who works as Seiko’s director of marketing for Europe during the off-season. “This marks the first time transponder-based timing will be used as an official Olympic time.”
Athletes wearing the wireless transponders pass over antennae buried under the snow, which pick up athletes’ radio signal and transmit information about their identity and time to timing central. At a given moment, more than 100 athletes may pass over 20 timing and pretiming points. The stream of continuous times helps keep spectators engaged in a sport that is otherwise difficult to watch from a distance, Wilson says.
On the Alpine run, skiers pass through at least one “speed trap” and five intermediate timing points. Data collected at each point is broadcast to spectators and coaches, who constantly analyze it to see how athletes can shave time off their next run. Certainly, technology is transforming Olympic sports, though Wilson insists high-tech advancement was never Seiko’s goal or priority in creating its systems for the 2002 Winter Games.
“The most important thing is not to be innovative; it’s to be right,” Wilson says. “Seiko will take 90,000 measurements in Salt Lake City — and the majority of them will decide who wins and who loses. We have people’s lives in our hands. It might be fun to innovate with new, sexy technology, but none of that means anything if we aren’t right.”
Being right also means taking unprecedented precautions to ensure that no data collected during any sport is lost due to mechanical breakdown, natural disaster, or foul play. Seiko’s “hot” backup system, for example, kicks in automatically and seamlessly in the event of a cut cable or other accident. Another backup system synchronizes printing timers at course intervals to ensure hard-copy duplicates of all data. A final backup system protects the information that spectators and the media receive via scoreboards.
“There is one simple reason why we have four levels of backup,” Wilson says. “In most winter sports, each individual time matters. It’s not like the 100-meter dash, where the time of the guy who finishes last doesn’t matter. Here, every time of every athlete is absolutely critical. That, to say nothing of the weather and outdoor conditions, imposes a lot of discipline on us.”
But, for Seiko, the payoff is huge. The timing technology introduced in Salt Lake City will set new standards not only for future Olympic Winter Games, but also for sports outside the Olympic sphere, as well world cups and world championships leading up to the 2006 Winter Games in Torino, Italy. Though Seiko will not power the timing and scoring in Torino (the Swatch Group — the only other company in the world with the technology required by the Olympic Committee — won that contract because of its proximity to the host city), Wilson says that he expects greater technological advances and greater accuracy with each passing Olympics.
“The reason we all go slightly gray but love it is that what we do makes a difference,” Wilson says. “Let’s imagine we mess up and miss an athlete. Well, that’s some kid’s life. That’s the difference between winning and losing — between gold and nothing. The responsibility is just awesome. That’s what keeps us up at night.”
Anni Layne Rodgers (arodgers@fastcompany.com) is the Fast Company senior Web editor. Learn more about Seiko’s work in Salt Lake City.
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Guestbook + Contact
Felix Reyes is one of those rare people in this world with a natural gift for inspiring the next generation of musicians. He has always approached his music with the highest standard of excellence. His recent successes include penning the title track for Susan Tedeschi’s Grammy Nominated “Wait For Me” album.
He’s also shared the stage with B.B. King on five different occasions, as well assJimmie Vaughan,
Gregg Allman, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, ZuZu Bollin, Little Joe Blue, Sam Lay, Eddie Cleartwater, Susan Tedeschi and the list goes on. And, he was mentor to the late Sean Costello.
Bands he has either led or been a part of over his career include: The Weebads, The Joy Drops, The Maceos, Felix and The Cats, Lotssa Poppa and The Down To Earth Blues Band, the Grady “Fats” Jackson Band and The Sil Austin Band.
Felix has been playing guitar, singing and songwriting professionally for more than 30 years. He hails from Dallas, TX, and over the years has also lived and played in Atlanta and now in the Chicago area. In addition to playing with the band, he produces at his studio, the House of Tone, in Oak Park, IL.
Currently, Felix is with Dave Herrero & The Hero Brothers Band. He's been collaborating with Dave for a long time. Their first record produced together was "Austin To Chicago" (2008), and they will be officially releasing a new album — Corazón — in 2012, after an exclusive kickoff tour of Europe.
At Buddy Guys Legends Sept 2012
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Shwartzman and Fuoco to drive SF1000 at the Abu Dhabi Young Driver Test
Maranello 19 November 2020
Robert Shwartzman and Antonio Fuoco will take part in the Abu Dhabi Young Driver Test for Scuderia Ferrari on Tuesday 15 December. This morning, the Russian and Italian were at the Scuderia factory for a seat fitting in the SF1000, which they will drive two days after the final Grand Prix of the season.
Brilliant debut. This will be Robert’s first appearance at an official F1 test, following on from his debut in a Formula 1 car at Fiorano as part of the #RoadToF1 programme run by the Ferrari Driver Academy (FDA). Having won the Formula 3 championship in 2019, Shwartzman has had a brilliant first season in Formula 2 this year, taking his maiden win after just three races, in the Feature Race of the second round at Spielberg. The Russian followed that up with wins in Hungary and the Spa-Francorchamps Sprint Race.
Fourth test. Antonio Fuoco is a specialist in the simulator for Scuderia Ferrari as well as working to support the young FDA drivers. The Abu Dhabi test will be his fourth with the team, having already driven in 2015 at Spielberg as well as in 2016 and 2019 at the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit. To date, the Italian has completed 309 laps, or around 1415 kilometres at the wheel of a Ferrari. This will be an excellent opportunity to reacquaint himself with a Formula 1 car at a time when on-track testing is extremely limited.
Callum with Alfa Romeo Racing. Callum Ilott will also be taking part in the Abu Dhabi Young Driver Test: the English FDA talent, currently lying second in the Formula 2 championship, with three wins, four pole positions and two additional podium placings, will be at the wheel of one of the two Alfa Romeo Racing C39 cars. This will be a second Formula 1 outing for the 22 year old from Cambridge, after he completed 41 laps or 191 kilometres of the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit last year.
Robert Shwartzman
It’s exciting to know that I will be driving the SF1000 in Abu Dhabi immediately after the end of the Formula 1 season. I was able to try the SF71H at Fiorano at the end of September and it was incredible, even though that car is almost three years old now.
I can’t wait to jump into the 2020 car and get out on track alongside so many of the drivers I’ve been racing against in Formula 2. I plan to enjoy every single minute of this great experience.
Antonio Fuoco
I’m very happy to get back behind the wheel of a real car, having done so many virtual laps in the SF1000 in the simulator. It’s very useful for someone in my position, to be able from time to time to get into a car and check the correlation between the tools I usually use and how the car actually behaves on track.
On top of that, it’s an honour to put on the red race suit and drive a Ferrari on track, a feeling that is always hard to put into words.
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Kurt Angle On His Favorite Match In WWE, Who He Thinks Is The G.O.A.T., And If There's A Chance For One More Match
2017 WWE Hall of Fame inductee Kurt Angle was a guest on Off The Top Rope with Jonathan Coachman on ESPN last night.
He spoke about how he got the news of his Hall of Fame nod. Triple H called him out of the blue, and as Angle puts it: "I was blown away. I didn't know it was going to happen this soon; I was really surprised and very honored."
He spoke about "getting banged up" and "getting into a rut with painkillers," and that leading to his departure from WWE in 2006. "I just needed to get away .. And I felt like I was a liability to Vince McMahon and it wasn't fair to (him) and it wasn't fair to me. ,,, I really wish I didn't depart, I really wanted to stay, but my body just wasn't holding up at that point in time and I just knew it was probably the right thing for me to leave." But there was never any animosity between himself and Vince, he said, even though they didn't speak for years after he left. "We have a great relationship.... It was sort of a mutual departing; 'you go your way, I will go mine, we had a lot of fun.' And we did have a lot of fun. It was a great experience. It was the best time of my life, and I do miss it, but being inducted into the hall of fame is the best thing I could ask for right now."
Coachman then brought up how Angle "appeared for a variety of different promotions" which is a funny way of saying "TNA Impact Wrestling," but we'll let it slide. Angle talked about how when he started in the WWE in 1999, he "didn't really know what I was doing for a couple years," and that he got a lot better as a professional in the ten years away from the company. "I think I was more in my prime in those years than I was prior."
Coachman asked Angle if he had one particular match in WWE that he could point to as his favorite, and after mentioning the matches he had at Wrestlemania vs Shawn Michaels and Brock Lesnar, he also brought up another match from his resume that people might have forgotten: "The match I had with Undertaker at No Way Out in 2006 was every bit as good as those (Mania) matches." Angle also brought up a regret that still haunts him--he had feuds with guys like Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H and The Rock before he was ready. "I wrestled them early in my career, so I wasn't as good as I was the last few years in WWE."
Coachman, for one, thinks that's all poppycock. He sent out a Tweet when the news broke about Angle's HOF selection which you can see here:
I have said this many times. @RealKurtAngle is the most talented in ring performer I have ever seen. EVER and there have been great ones. https://t.co/u92Ym95uSQ
— Jonathan Coachman (@TheCoachESPN) January 17, 2017
Angle said he saw the Tweet, and it was evident that he was humbled by it.
“It’s an honor, and I’m not gonna complain about it, but I will tell you this: It’s all opinions,” Angle said, making sure to point out that Coachman’s opinion “means a lot” to him, “but there are a lot of people out there who think that Triple H or Stone Cold Steve Austin or The Rock or even John Cena is the greatest of all time. Do I believe I’m the greatest of all time? No. I look at guys like Shawn Michaels that really paved the way for me, and being in the ring with him, he showed me what it’s all about, especially wrestling someone for the first time. Shawn and I wrestled our first time at Wrestlemania. I think that shows how good both of us really are, but I wish I could have wrestled these guys later on in my career, 2007,-8,-9,-10,-11, when I was really in my prime. Guys like AJ Styles that I wrestled in my prime: I wish people could see those matches, those were incredible matches.”
He's right. They were.
Coachman concluded the interview by asking Kurt if we might seem him wrestle again in a WWE ring. Angle, who mentioned that he "wasn't planning on retiring" earlier in the interview, said he wasn't sure about one (or several) more match(es), but if the opportunity came along, he wouldn't say no.
“I cannot say. Right now, I’m only focused on the Hall of Fame, I can’t say what I’m going to do after that. Would I like to, eventually? Yes, but right now, I’m just going to enjoy this Hall of Fame induction and go from there.”
We'd all like you to go back into the ring from there, Kurt, for one more match. At least.
Angle also spoke about his painkiller addiction and recovery in more detail. You can watch the entire interview in the videos below.
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WSC-CA-OR - Extension of State Emergency Declarations - 10-14-2020
WSC-CA-OR - Extension of State Emergency Declarations - 10-14-2020 .pdf
Western Service Center
12600 West Colfax Ave., Suite B-300
EXTENSION OF STATE EMERGENCY DECLARATIONS UNDER 49 CFR § 390.25
No. 2020-005
CALIFORNIA AND OREGON
The Field Administrator for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Western Service Center hereby declares that an emergency exists that warrants extension of the State Emergency Declarations, and continuing the exemption granted in accordance with 49 CFR § 390.23(a)(1) from Parts 390 through 399 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs), except as otherwise restricted herein.
On August 18-19, 2020, as a result of widespread wildfire activity and critical fire danger due to hot, dry windy conditions and dry thunderstorms, the Governors of the States of California and Oregon issued State declarations of emergency finding the conditions posed an imminent threat to the safety of persons and property. FMCSA issued an extension to the State declarations on September 10, 2020. Because emergency conditions have not abated in these States, FMCSA is again extending the Emergency Declarations and associated regulatory relief in accordance with 49 CFR § 390.25. This Extension of the Emergency Declarations addresses ongoing emergency conditions creating a need for immediate transportation of supplies, goods, equipment, fuel and persons and provides necessary relief. Affected States included in this Extension of the Emergency Declarations are: California and Oregon.
By execution of this Extension of the Emergency Declarations, motor carriers and drivers providing direct assistance to the wildfire emergency in the Affected States are granted emergency relief from Parts 390 through 399 of Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations except as restricted herein.
The Extension of the Emergency Declarations provides regulatory relief for commercial motor vehicle operations while providing direct assistance supporting emergency relief efforts transporting supplies, goods, equipment and fuel into the Affected States, and transporting persons into and from the Affected States, or providing other assistance in the form of emergency services during the emergency in the Affected States from the wildfires.
Restrictions & Limitations
By execution of this Extension to the Emergency Declarations, motor carriers and drivers providing direct assistance to the emergency in the Affected States are not granted emergency relief from, and must continue to comply with, the following Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) and conditions:
49 CFR § 392.3 related to the operation of a commercial motor vehicle while a driver's ability or alertness is so impaired, or so likely to become impaired, through fatigue, illness, or any other cause, as to make it unsafe for him/her to begin or continue to operate the motor vehicle.
49 CFR §§ 392.80 and 392.82 related to the prohibitions on texting while driving and using a hand-held mobile telephone while driving.
A motor carrier whose driver is involved in a crash while operating under this Extension of the Emergency Declarations must report any recordable crash within 24 hours, by phone or in writing, to the FMCSA Division Office where the motor carrier is domiciled. The carrier must report the date, time, location, driver, vehicle identification, and brief description of the crash.
Drivers are required to comply with the portions of 49 CFR Part 395 related to the preparation, retention and accuracy of a driver's record of duty status (RODS). Drivers are directed to note "Emergency Declaration" in the remarks section of the RODS to identify that their operation is in direct assistance to the emergency relief.
Nothing in the this Extension of the Emergency Declarations shall be construed as an exemption from the controlled substance and alcohol uses and testing requirements (49 CFR Part 382), the commercial driver’s license requirements (49 CFR Part 383), the financial responsibility (insurance) requirements (49 CFR Part 387), the hazardous material regulations (49 CFR Parts 100-180), applicable size and weight requirements, or any other portion of the regulations not specifically exempted under 49 CFR § 390.23.
Motor carriers or drivers currently subject to an out-of-service order are not eligible for the relief granted by this Extension of the Emergency Declarations until they have met the applicable conditions for its rescission and the order has been rescinded by FMCSA in writing.
Direct assistance terminates when a driver or commercial motor vehicle is used in interstate commerce to transport cargo or provide services that are not in support of emergency relief efforts or when the motor carrier dispatches a driver or commercial motor vehicle to another location to begin operations in commerce. (49 CFR § 390.23(b)). Upon termination of direct assistance to emergency relief efforts, the motor carrier and driver are subject to the requirements of 49 CFR Parts 390 through 399, except that a driver may return empty to the motor carrier’s terminal or the driver’s normal work reporting location without complying with Parts 390 through 399. When a driver is moving from emergency relief efforts to normal operations a 10-hour break is required when the total time a driver operates conducting emergency relief efforts, or a combination of emergency relief and normal operations, equals 14 hours.
In accordance with 49 CFR § 390.25, this Extension of the Emergency Declarations is effective immediately and shall remain in effect for the duration of the emergency (as defined in 49 CFR § 390.5) or until 11:59 P.M. (ET), November 19, 2020, whichever is sooner.
Scott G. Hernandez, Regional Field Administrator
Last updated: Wednesday, October 14, 2020
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Why donate to the National Folk Festival?
The National Folk Festival is a not for profit, volunteer driven organisation and a registered charity that receives very little in the way of public funding.
The National is a much loved and anticipated event every Easter where generations have been inspired, enlivened and entertained by some of the best folk performers from around the country and the world. Many of our home-grown talent first found voice at the National before going on to make their own careers.
There are many ways to support us, we are a registered charity and all donations over $2 are tax deductible. From donations to sponsorship and partner packages, to philanthropic giving and bequests every contribution big and small makes a difference. Your donation will help us plan for the future, deliver a thought provoking artistic program and provide a creative platform for our artists.
If you would like to make a Donation please use the account below:
National Folk Festival
BSB: 062900
A/c: 10011916
NB: Please include your email address so we can forward your receipt.
Donations of $2.00 or more are tax-deductible, greatly appreciated and contribute the Festival's ongoing development ensuring the Festival remains culturally relevant, creative, diverse and enduring.
© National Folk Festival 2021
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Take a closer look at the car, and you should see why. The livery reproduces the comics with painstaking accuracy and attention to detail. The tuner itself boasts that it is “more detailed than some Marvel movie plots,” and far be it from us to argue.
The exterior has plenty of other features that help it stand out from the crowd even more, such as a major suspension lift, new bumpers, lighting and radiator grille, and 30-inch DUB wheels. Rounding things off are Lamborghini-style doors fitted with a display each.
Marvels continue inside the car, where there is a Cadillac SRX top, a unique curved dashboard, bucket seats, and plenty of modern tech. The rear seat row is gone, its place occupied by a humongous audio system comprising 28 satellites, 14 amps and 4 subwoofers measuring 14” (36 cm) across.
You might find this hard to believe, but The Hulk is no garage queen, either. Pop up the hood to reveal a no-nonsense 7.0-liter V8 boosted to 512 PS (505 hp / 377 kW) and 637 Nm (470 lb-ft) of torque. The engine is mated to a Borla exhaust system for a virtually unlimited selection of exhaust tunes.
Spade Kreations claims an art car like this would cost over $200,000 USD to create nowadays. It remains open why it is on sale for a small fraction of that amount.
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Motorhome tour to Småland in Astrid Lindgrens footsteps
by FREEONTOUR
Author: Claudia Rothkamp, Header image: Claudia Rothkamp
Motor Home Trip
Also available in the following languages:
Sweden highlight for camping holidays with children: a visit to Emil, Pippi Longstocking & other beloved characters
You don't have to be an expert on Sweden to have heard of Vimmerby in Småland: it is the small town where Astrid Lindgren spent her childhood and youth and which very often is mentioned in her stories. If you want to follow the traces of the author and her popular characters with your caravan or motorhome, Vimmerby and the surrounding area are the right place for you. The inimitable heroes from the beloved stories come to life in the theater park Astrid Lindgren's World. If you are planning a camping holiday with the family in southern Sweden, you simply cannot avoid this town.
Why Vimmerby?
In the small town of Vimmerby, everything revolves around Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002) and her world famous and beloved stories even though Astrid Lindgren "only" spent her childhood and youth in Vimmerby: At the age of 18 she left her place of birth in order to give birth to an illegitimate child in Denmark. Thereafter, Astrid Lindgren spent most of her life in Stockholm. But of course, she occasionally returned to Vimmerby to visit parents and siblings.
And this cozy town with all its small wooden houses, hilly alleys and cobblestone streets also keeps popping up in Astrid Lindgrens stories and novels: policeman Björk patrols the summer streets in "Kalle Blomkvist Master Detective". Mardie and Alva go shopping here. Here Pippi Longstocking strolls through the shops with her large bag full of gold coins. Emil comes to the market here and buys his horse. And this also is where the Red Roses and the White Roses fight their never-ending battles. Although Astrid Lindgren did not always clearly name the location of her stories Vimmerby, they all bear the familiar features of her hometown. Here you will find tips on what not to miss in Vimmerby and the surrounding area.
In Vimmerby you can still find many small streets between the old houses.
Photo: Claudia Rothkamp
Tip 1: Walk through Vimmerby in the footsteps of the film and novel characters
More than 100 years have passed since Astrid Lindgren's childhood and of course a lot has changed in Vimmerby - and again not. By walking through the small city center, many houses and buildings from that time can still be seen today, which Astrid Lindgren fans will recognize from the books and films. Standing on the large market square, the Stortorget, the Stadshotellet, which is known from the Mardie stories, will catch your eye on the right hand side. Here the maid Alva dances during the autumn ball with the chimney sweep. On the left hand side of the Stortorget you will see a corner house, which housed a pharmacy in the 1920s. It is said that Astrid Lindgren, who was friends with the pharmacist's daughter, climbed out of the window on a fire line here when she was a teenager and plunged onto the street. Apparently her father's comment on this was something like, "what a good thing that you fell down right in front of a pharmacy."
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In the small alley Båtsmansbacken, which during that time was considered a dangerous quarter, the author chose to send Kalle Blomkvist and the members of the White Roses and Red Roses on their hunt for criminals. The house with the candy store, where Pippi Longstocking buys several kilograms of sweets, is not far away either: it's located right next to the toy store, where Pippi buys cuckoo whistles for all children of the village. In the next side street you will also find house where the scenes of Emils visit to the doctor in Mariannelund were filmed on the occasion when his head got stuck in the soup bowl. At the end of the Storgatan you will also find the former mayor's house, which probably served as a kind of model for Emil's appearance on the mayor's party by horse.
The small house in Vimmerby, where Astrid Lindgren grew up, can be visited on guided tours during the summer months. Photo: Pixabay
Tip 2: Astrid Lindgren's Näs - childhood home and exhibition center
Also worth a visit is the birthplace and childhood home of Astrid Lindgren on the former vicarage of Näs. Here she was born on November 14, 1907 and was named Astrid Anna Emilia Ericsson. The vicarage Näs is about 1.2 km from the center of Vimmerby. If you look closely, you will find numerous small details that served as inspiration for Astrid Lindgren's stories, for example the large elm in front of the former rectory, which became famous as Pippi's lemonade tree. Even inside the small red house, which Astrid Lindgren herself filled with childhood memorabilia many years ago, during a guided tour visitors can learn a lot about many details which inspired the stories. During the summer months, guided tours are offered here in English, Swedish and German. Since the small house only is suitable for small groups you should register in advance for the visit. Visiting the house is unfortunately not possible for visitors with wheelchairs or prams. Here you can find information about Astrid Lindgren's childhood home .
Information about the 5-star family campsites in central and northern Sweden - Part 2 of...
Right next to the birth house there are a wood shed, the former rectory, which now serves as a study center for Astrid Lindgren's work, and the exhibition center, which presents Astrid Lindgren's life and work from her childhood at Näs to her life as a celebrated and world-famous author. Here you will find sufficient parking space for cars and motorhomes. In contrast to the childhood home, this cultural center is accessible for disabled persons. Here you can learn more about Astrid Lindgren and her life in various exhibitions. The permanent exhibition "The whole world’s Astrid Lindgren" actually addresses all age groups. It presents the life of the author from childhood to her death and exemplifies the important turning points in her life - using unusual perspectives and a lot of humor. The audio guide is available in English and other languages. The exhibition center, which also houses various temporary exhibitions, usually is open from mid-April to the end of September (please check website when it comes to opening times during 2020). Incidentally, there also are beautiful themed gardens all around Astrid Lindgren's Näs, which you should not miss. Here you can find more information about Astrid Lindgren's Näs .
Most children are not satisfied with doing Pippi's "don't touch the ground"-trail just once. Photo: Claudia Rothkamp
Tip 3: Astrid Lindgren's World Theater Park
As a child, Astrid Lindgren played and romped a lot in the fields and meadows west of the vicarage Näs. And this is exactly where the "Astrid Lindgren's World" theater park has been located for almost 40 years now. It's definitely a highlight for every child during a camping holiday. The focus here is not on rides or the like, but on playing and romping. Most popular examples for this are Pippi's "don't touch the ground"-trail, jumping in the hay in the hayloft by Rasmus’s barn or climbing around on the rocks at Matt's Fort. Many of the locations known from the stories were recreated in "Astrid Lindgren's World" and in summer different stories are brought to life on stage every day.
It's easy to romp and climb on Pippi's pirate ship.
Photo: Örjan Karlsson / Astrid Lindgren's World
There is also improvisation theater spread across the entire park that encourages all ages to participate. And it actually does not matter for the children that the plays and role plays take place in Swedish language: it really only takes a few minutes for the children to play and sing along enthusiastically even if they do not speak a word of Swedish. For familys, a visit to Astrid Lindgren's World is not exactly easy on the budget, but definitely worthwhile. On the bright side: in addition to various restaurants and snack bars the park also offers numerous picnic areas where visitors are allowed to bring and consume their own drinks and snacks. In addition, there is of course a shop that offers all sorts of products related to Pippi, Emil and all the other beloved characters, e.g. soft toys and sweets, costumes, books, films and audio books.
It's not only the performers who dance with Ronja on Matt's Fort, usually the audience also is fully involved. Photo: Claudia Rothkamp
By the way, right next to the park there is also a campsite with huts as well as an area for caravan and motorhome pitches. The park owners do have good reasons for that: very few children are satisfied with just one day in the park once they have experienced it. Prepare for a lot of nagging for at least a second day.
Our freeontour tip: During the Swedish summer holidays from late June to mid-August, there usually are the most visitors at Astrid Lindgren's World. If you have the option, plan your visit for the first weeks of June or the second half of August. There also are far less visitors in the second half of May, but during that period only a small number of actors are on site. Buying online tickets shortens the waiting time at the entrance in high season. Here you can find more information about Astrid Lindgren's World .
Most of the Emil films were filmed on this farm. Photo: Claudia Rothkamp
Tip 4: Visit Katthult in Gibberyd
When the Swedish director Olle Hellbom ventured into the filming of the "Emil" books in the early 1970s, he was said to have visited almost 100 different farms in Småland until he finally found Emil's "Katthult" family farm. The choice fell on the Astrid Johannsson Gård in Gibberyd about 30 km west of Vimmerby. Most of the "Emil" films were shot here since not only the buildings, but also the surrounding landscape still harmonize wonderfully with Astrid Lindgren's description in the stories. Although the farm is still privately owned so that the main house can only be viewed from the outside, "Katthult" is still worth a visit: Emil's woodshed with his wooden figures, the wolf trap and other remains of the film shootings are freely accessible. The farm nowadays even is signposted as Katthult. Here you can find information on the opening times of Katthult. Another tip for everyone interested in the Emil films: Only about 10 kilometers from Katthult, in Mariannelund, you can learn a lot about the film making of the Emil films in Barnfilmbynhuset.
The three houses of Sevedstorp served as a template for the books about the children of the Noisy Village. Photo: Claudia Rothkamp
Tip 5: Make a detour to Noisy Village
About 15 km from Vimmerby is the small village of Sevedstorp, where Astrid Lindgren's father Samuel August grew up. Sevedstorp was the template for the "Noisy Village" and also the location for the making of the corresponding films. The three well-known red and white houses can only be viewed from the outside, as they are privately owned. But in the main season in summer there is a small café in the former stable, animals to stroke and a huge swing. But much more important than the three houses is the surrounding nature, in which the "Noisy Village" children played. And of course the haystack that children can throw themselves into during the summer months. On the way to Sevedstorp you will also pass the historical wooden church in Pelarne, in which Astrid Lindgren's story began, so to speak: Here, in one of the oldest wooden churches in Sweden with roots from the 13th century, Samuel August from Sevedstorp married his wife Hanna.
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Suitable campsites and pitches
Astrid Lindgrens Värld Camping & Stugby
59885, Vimmerby, Sweden
Vimmerby Camping
Nosshult 108, 59893, Vimmerby, Sweden
Spilhammars Camping
Spilhammarsvägen 2, SE-598 97, Mariannelund, Sweden
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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, OHIO NATIONAL GUARD AND AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, LOCAL 3970, AFL-CIO
FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY OALJ 18-13
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, OHIO NATIONAL GUARD
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, LOCAL 3970, AFL-CIO
CHARGING PARTY
MAJOR GENERAL MARK E. BARTMAN, IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS THE ADJUTANT GENERAL OF THE OHIO NATIONAL GUARD
INTERVENOR-RESPONDENT
THE OHIO ADJUTANT GENERAL’S DEPARTMENT
Case Nos. CH-CA-17-0248
CH-CA-17-0249
Alicia E. Weber
Greg Weddle
For the General Counsel
Lt. Col. Christopher Stallkamp
Cpt. Adam H. Leonatti
For the Respondent and the Intervenors
William R. Kudrle
For the Charging Party
Before: RICHARD A. PEARSON
The facts of this case are complex, but the crux of the case is simple: after 45 years of collective bargaining with the union representing its dual status technicians, under the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (the Statute) and the Executive Orders that preceded it, management at the Ohio National Guard decided that it was not covered by the Statute after all, and that the Federal Labor Relations Authority had no jurisdiction over its employees or its Adjutant General. Management and the Union had negotiated a series of collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) over this period, but when negotiations to replace the agreement expiring in 2014 became stalled, management made two fateful decisions: first, that the expired agreement was now null and void; and second, that the Ohio Adjutant General never had any obligation to comply with the federal law that he and his predecessors had been following for decades. Having made these decisions, everything else in this case flowed naturally from that point.
In short, this is a case of “union busting” in its purest form. If the Agency’s legal claims are valid, then it will drastically disrupt the course of labor relations for National Guard dual status technicians – not just in Ohio, but in nearly every state in the country where unions bargain collectively under the Statute. None of the tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of technicians will have any federally protected bargaining rights, and state adjutants general will have unfettered control over the technicians’ conditions of employment. Fortunately, the Agency is wrong in its legal analysis, and the purpose of this decision is to correct the Agency’s errors before they metastasize.
This case presents several issues, but the first and foremost question is whether the Authority has jurisdiction over the Respondent. Because the Respondent acts as a federal agency in its role as an employer of federal employees, and because the Authority’s jurisdiction over state National Guards has been upheld by numerous federal courts as well as the Authority, the answer to this question is yes.
The next question is whether a series of written communications by Agency officials – telling employees that they were not protected by the Statute and that the Agency would no longer be bound by the CBA – violated § 7116(a)(1) of the Statute. Because the Agency coercively interfered with employees’ rights, including employees’ right to use the contractual grievance procedure and their right to assist the Union without fear of reprisal, the answer to this question is yes.
The third question is whether the Agency violated § 7116(a)(1) and (5) of the Statute by refusing to be bound by specific terms of the expired CBA. Because the Agency demonstrated in a series of communications that it did not consider itself to be bound by any provision in the CBA, and because it refused to follow the negotiated grievance procedure or to grant official time, the answer again is yes.
The fourth question is whether the Agency violated § 7116(a)(1) and (8) of the Statute when it terminated union dues deductions for 89 employees. Because § 7115 of the Statute permits an agency to terminate dues deductions for only two reasons, and the Agency’s action was for neither of these reasons, the answer to this question is yes.
The fifth and sixth questions are whether the Agency violated § 7116(a)(1) and (5) of the Statute by unilaterally implementing new policies regarding union dues deductions and merit promotions. Because the Agency implemented these changes without providing adequate notice to the Union or an opportunity to bargain under the Statute, the answer to these questions is also yes.
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
This is an unfair labor practice (ULP) proceeding under the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute, Chapter 71 of Title 5 of the U.S. Code, 5 U.S.C. §§ 7101-7135, and the Rules and Regulations of the Federal Labor Relations Authority (the Authority or FLRA), 5 C.F.R. part 2423.
On March 8, 2017, the American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3970, AFL-CIO (the Union or Local 3970) filed four ULP charges (Case Nos. CH-CA-17-0248, CH-CA-17-0249, CH-CA-17-0251 & CH-CA-17-0252) against the Ohio National Guard, Adjutant General’s Department. GC Ex. 1(a). After investigating the charges, the Regional Director of the FLRA’s Chicago Region issued a Consolidated Complaint and Notice of Hearing on April 13, 2017, on behalf of the General Counsel (GC), alleging that the U.S. Department of Defense, Ohio National Guard (the Respondent or Agency) refused to negotiate in good faith, in violation of § 7116(a)(1) and (5) of the Statute, by (among other things) telling employees that it was no longer bound by the mandatory terms of the expired collective bargaining agreement and that it was not obligated to comply with the Statute, and by unilaterally implementing new policies regarding union dues deductions, grievances, official time, and merit promotions. GC Ex. 1(b). The Complaint further alleged that the Respondent failed to comply with its obligations under § 7115(a) to honor dues withholding authorizations and make appropriate allotments to the Union, in violation of § 7116(a)(1) and (8) of the Statute. Finally, the Complaint alleged that by engaging in this conduct, the Respondent interfered with, restrained, and coerced employees in the exercise of their § 7102 rights, in violation of § 7116(a)(1) of the Statute. Id.
On April 20, 2017, the Union filed an additional ULP charge (Case No. CH-CA-17-0336) against the Respondent. GC Ex. 1(a). After investigating, the Regional Director issued a second Complaint and Notice of Hearing on May 4, 2017, and he consolidated the new case with the four earlier cases. GC Ex. 1(c). The new complaint alleged that by sending letters to employees stating that it would recommend the termination of employees’ union dues deductions because the collective bargaining agreement had expired, the Respondent had failed and refused to comply with its obligations under § 7115(a) of the Statute, in violation of § 7116(a)(1) and (8), and that it had interfered with, restrained, and coerced employees in the exercise of their § 7102 rights, in violation of § 7116(a)(1) of the Statute. Id.
The Respondent filed an Answer to the first Complaint on May 8 and an Answer to the second Complaint on May 30, 2017. In both pleadings, the Respondent admitted certain factual allegations but denied violating the Statute. GC Exs. 1(d) & 1(h). In this regard, it admitted that it had first recognized the Union in 1971 under Executive Order 11491, and that the Authority had certified the Union as the exclusive representative of a consolidated bargaining unit of its employees on February 12, 1990; but it denied that it is an “agency” or that the bargaining unit employees are “employees” within the meaning of the Statute. GC Exs. 1(b) & 1(d) at ¶ 4. It further admitted: “Starting on or about November 14, 2016, the Respondent sent notices to the majority of the bargaining unit employees who had authorized Union dues allotments. The Respondent gave the employees sixty (60) days to complete a new SF 1187 or send in a copy of their old form.” Id. at ¶ 17. It also admitted: “Starting in or around January 2017, the Respondent . . . completed a new SF 1188 for the employees who did not return a fully executed SF 1187. . . . [and] terminated the dues of the majority of the bargaining unit employees then paying dues to the Union and stopped remitting dues to the Union.” Id. at ¶ 18.[1]
On July 25, 2017, counsel for the Respondent filed a motion to intervene for Major General Mark E. Bartman, in his official capacity as Adjutant General of the Ohio National Guard, and for the Ohio Adjutant General’s Department. GC Ex. 1(aa). I granted the motion on July 26, 2017. GC Ex. 1(bb). Additionally, both the General Counsel and Respondent filed motions for summary judgment along with evidence in support thereof, and opposed each other’s motion. GC Ex. 1(i), 1(m), 1(q) & 1(r). I denied both motions for summary judgment on July 26, 2017, because there were numerous genuine issues of fact in dispute. GC Ex. 1(bb).
A hearing was held in this matter on August 1 and 2, 2017, in Columbus, Ohio. All parties were represented and afforded an opportunity to be heard, to introduce evidence, and to examine witnesses. The GC, Charging Party, and Respondent filed post-hearing briefs, which I have fully considered.
Based on the entire record, including my observations of the witnesses and their demeanor, I make the following findings of fact, conclusions of law, and recommendations.
FINDINGS OF FACT
As I will explain in more detail later, the Respondent is an agency within the meaning of § 7103(a)(3) of the Statute. The Union is a labor organization within the meaning of § 7103(a)(4) of the Statute. As noted above, the Respondent recognized the Union in 1971, and the Union was certified by the Authority in 1990 as the exclusive representative of general schedule and wage board technicians employed in the Air National Guard and the Army National Guard in the State of Ohio. GC Exs. 1(b) and 1(d) at ¶ 4; GC Ex. 7. These employees are primarily “dual status technicians” – federal civilian employees who, as a condition of their employment, must become and remain military members of the National Guard of the state in which they are employed. Tr. 29-30; see also 10 U.S.C. § 10216; 32 U.S.C. § 709. As civilians, technicians do a broad range of work, from administrative to blue collar work; they may perform vehicle or aircraft maintenance, logistics, or finance. GC Ex. 1(i), Ex. 21 at 2 (GC Motion for Summary Judgment (GC MSJ)). They perform in their military (i.e., non-civilian) role during weekend drills, during their two weeks of training per year with the National Guard, and when deployed. Id. When in military status, a technician takes leave from his or her civilian job. Id. at 2-3.
Bargaining unit employees can have their union dues deducted from their pay by submitting Standard Form 1187 (SF 1187) to the Agency.[2] GC Ex. 12 at 2; Tr. 38. The union dues deducted from an employee’s pay are reflected on the employee’s pay stub. Tr. 38. Bargaining unit employees can cancel these deductions by submitting another form, Standard Form 1188 (SF 1188), to the Agency. GC Ex. 12 at 1.
The Ohio National Guard is administered by the Ohio Adjutant General’s Department, which is commanded by the Adjutant General, Ohio National Guard. The Adjutant General is appointed by the Governor of the State of Ohio and is employed by the State of Ohio. Tr. 270, 341. While adjutants general are state employees, they administer the technician programs in their states in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of the Air Force. GC Ex. 1(i), Ex. 21 at 2 (GC MSJ); Tr. 301; see also GC Ex. 1(m), Dernberger Affi. at 2 (Resp. Cross Motion for Summary Judgment (Resp MSJ)) and Aukland Affi. at 3-4.[3]
The National Guard Bureau is a federal agency within the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), comprising the Air National Guard and the Army National Guard. 10 U.S.C. § 10501; see also Tr. 170-71, 180. The National Guard Bureau provides federal money and property to the Ohio National Guard and owns property used by the Ohio National Guard. Tr. 180, 271. In addition, the National Guard Bureau issues Technician Personnel Regulations (TPRs), which govern the employment of technicians. Tr. 275-77. The payroll functions within the National Guard are performed by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, which is frequently referred to as DFAS. Tr. 257-58.
The Collective Bargaining Agreement
On December 17, 2010, the Ohio Adjutant General and the Union executed a collective bargaining agreement which was submitted to DoD for agency head review, as required by § 7114(c) of the Statute. GC Ex. 9. On January 11, 2011, DoD informed the Adjutant General and the Union that the agreement was disapproved because several provisions did not conform to law, rule, or regulation. See First Attachment to GC Ex. 9. The parties revised the agreement and resubmitted it for agency head review, and on February 24, 2011, DoD advised the Adjutant General and the Union that the revised CBA had been approved. Id. With that, the CBA went into effect, and it was to remain in effect for three years. GC Ex. 9 at 19. It was signed by Major General Deborah Ashenhurst, the Adjutant General at that time, and by Jeffrey Tanner, then the Union President. Id. at 20.
Article 7 of the CBA, Hiring and Promotion, defined the “initial area of consideration” and created a Joint Partnership Executive Council (JPEC), consisting of bargaining unit employees and management, to address selection procedures for bargaining unit positions. Id. at 5, 6. Soon after the CBA went into effect, the parties negotiated several JPEC policy letters, expanding on the language of Article 7. See Attachments to GC Ex. 9. Article 11 of the CBA, Official Time, provided that official time would be granted “in the amount necessary to accomplish union obligations and responsibilities,” with the Union President on 100% official time. Id. at 8; see also Tr. 334.
Article 15(b), Discipline, provided: “Before a supervisor initiates any disciplinary action or a letter of counseling, the affected employee and a union representative will be given the opportunity to informally discuss the problem and the basis for the action with the supervisor.” GC Ex. 9 at 11. Article 16 established a five-step grievance procedure, culminating in arbitration, except that arbitration was prohibited for those issues reserved by 32 U.S.C. § 709(f) for final decision by the Adjutant General. Id. at 15. Article 18 established a joint union-management procedure for coordinating the deduction of union dues and specified that such deductions could be “terminated for loss of membership due to promotion or transfer to a non-union position, retirement, death, or separation from technician employment.” Id. at 18.
Beginning in 2012, the Agency and the Union attempted, but failed, to negotiate a successor agreement prior to the expiration date of the CBA. See GC Ex. 10 at 1. On January 24, 2014, Colonel Homer Rogers, the Agency’s Human Resources Officer, advised the Union that when the CBA expired on February 24, the Agency intended “not to be bound by certain permissive subjects of bargaining currently included in our CBA.” Id. at 2. Rogers identified several articles that would no longer apply, including provisions relating to union-management partnership, details and temporary promotions, and several JPEC policy letters, but he indicated that other permissive subjects would continue in effect. He continued: “The Agency intends to continue to honor those agreements that are mandatory subjects of bargaining to include the grievance process, seniority, and dues withholding.” Id. Finally, the letter stated that while union representatives would continue to be granted a reasonable amount of official time, he wished to renegotiate the provision granting the Union President 100% official time. Id.
The Agency’s New Understanding of its Duty to Bargain
In June 2015, Duncan Aukland became a Labor Relations Specialist for the Adjutant General’s Department. Tr. 268. Aukland’s “prime directive” was to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement with the Union. Tr. 294. He stated in his March 2017 affidavit that although he was working to negotiate a new agreement, he and others in management had come to believe that the expired CBA was “null and void in its entirety.” GC Ex. 1(r), Aukland Affi. at 4. Management also had “objections” to the notion that the Adjutant General’s Department was bound by the Statute, or that the FLRA had any jurisdiction over the Adjutant General’s Department. Id. He reiterated these views at the hearing. Tr. 282, 299, 332. Aukland communicated his views on these matters to both Union President Tanner and to his successor, but he told them that the Agency would “waive [its] jurisdictional and statutory arguments for the duration” of a successor agreement, in an attempt to bring the Union to the bargaining table. GC Ex. 1(r), Aukland Affi. at 3; see also Tr. 299-300. But according to Aukland, the Union was unwilling to bargain, “because we were telling them that we had defenses to jurisdiction.” Id. at 3.
In March 2016, the Adjutant General and the Union entered into a memorandum of understanding settling a ULP charge concerning a performance grievance. GC Ex. 11. In the MOU (signed by Tanner for the Union), the Agency agreed to comply with the grievance procedures (including arbitration) set forth in Article 16 of the CBA until a successor agreement was reached, “because grievance/arbitration is a mandatory subject of bargaining under the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute.” Id. The Agency also asserted that it “does not waive or concede any jurisdictional arguments and may raise other arguments concerning the merits of the grievance before an arbitrator.” Id.
In approximately August of 2016, Tanner retired from the National Guard and notified the Agency by email that Mike Dohrmann would be the new Union President.[4] Tr. 324-25; see also GC Ex. 1(r), Aukland Affi. at 4-5. During this same general time period, Colonel William Giezie was taking over as the Agency’s Director of Human Resources, and he was instructed by the Adjutant General to do everything he could to negotiate a new CBA with the Union. Tr. 149, 342-43. Initially, Dohrmann and Giezie communicated regularly, and in August Dohrmann sent an email to Giezie, outlining a variety of labor-management issues he wanted to resolve. Tr. 348, 357-58. Colonel Giezie responded to Dohrmann’s concerns in an email of his own, and he further indicated his interest in resuming CBA negotiations, but he didn’t get an immediate response. Tr. 348. In early September, Colonel Giezie ran into Dohrmann and reiterated that management wanted to resume negotiations; Dohrmann replied that his workload at that time was too busy, but that he would like to begin negotiations at the beginning of 2017. See Tr. 349-50, 392.
On September 13, 2016, an arbitrator issued an award finding that the Ohio National Guard violated the CBA with respect to two employees’ temporary details. GC Ex. 1(i) (Ex. 10 of GC MSJ at 22-23). According to Aukland, the arbitrator rejected the Agency’s argument that the CBA had expired and had no effect, because the Agency had not previously notified the Union that it had expired. GC Ex. 1(r), Aukland Aff. at 4. The Agency saw the arbitrator’s finding, in Aukland’s words, “as an invitation to inform the Union that the CBA is null and void in its entirety, which we did on September 20, 2016.”[5] Id. In this regard, Colonel Giezie, in consultation with Aukland, wrote a letter to the Union, addressed to Dohrmann and dated September 19, along with a cover letter signed by Aukland on September 20. Tr. 314; Resp. Exs. 3 & 4. In the letter, Colonel Giezie wrote:
The Agency no longer recognizes the existence of any portion of the former Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). As has been previously stated, the Agency is willing to waive its jurisdictional defenses only in and for the duration of an acceptable new CBA. Until a new CBA is in effect, the Agency will continue to assert those jurisdictional defenses to the Federal Services Labor Management Relations Act.
It remains the Agency’s hope that we can proceed to discuss the scope and scheduling of; and participation in, collective bargaining sessions. If the Union will not come to the table and seriously negotiate, the Agency reserves the right to pursue other remedies. . . .
Resp. Ex. 4. Although the Agency had difficulty serving this letter on the Union, Giezie acknowledged at the hearing that it was reasonable to expect that his September 19 letter would be communicated to bargaining unit employees. Tr. 413.
Almost immediately after sending the September 19 letter, Colonel Giezie (again in consultation with Aukland) wrote a memo dated September 28, which was distributed to a wide range of people in the Ohio Army and Air National Guard. GC Ex. 2; see Tr. 281-82. The memo read:
MEMORANDUM FOR SEE DISTRIBUTION
SUBJECT: Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)
1. No Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). The Ohio National Guard has informed Local 3970, American Federation of Government Employees, that the Ohio National Guard is not bound by any provision of the CBA between the parties that expired in 2014.
2. Federal Services Labor Management Relations Act (FSLMRA), 5 USC Chapter 71. The Ohio National Guard has also communicated to Local 3970 that it questions the applicability to National Guard Technicians of the statutes in the FSLMRA that have historically underlain the collective bargaining relationship between Local 3970 and the Ohio National Guard. The details of this jurisdictional dispute are unimportant here; but until this dispute is resolved in a satisfactory, new CBA or by some other means, the Ohio National Guard does not consider itself obligated to abide by the FSLMRA.
3. Guidance. Pending a new CBA or some definitive determination that the FSLMRA applies to the Ohio National Guard, the interim guidance to supervisors for management of their National Guard Technician workforce is as follows with the understanding that any requirements of the following publication which are dictated either by the expired CBA or by the FSLMRA may be waived at the option of the Human Resource Office (HRO), on behalf of The Adjutant General.
a. Hiring will continue IAW Technician Personnel Regulation (TPR) 430 and
the Ohio National Guard’s Merit System Promotion Plan.
b. Compatibility, a statutory requirement, will continue to be governed by
TPR 303.
c. Realignment, Reorganization or Reductions in Force will be governed by
d. Awards will be governed by TPR 451 and ONG Policy.
e. Classification will be governed by TPRs 500 and 511.
f. Absence and Leave will be governed by TPR 630.
g. Non-adverse actions will be governed by TPR 715.
h. Disciplinary and adverse actions will be governed by TPR 752 and ONG
i. Pending the creation of a State Alternative Dispute Resolution Plan . . . ,
grievances will be forwarded to the HRO for ad hoc resolution.
4. Not all-inclusive. The guidance documents mentioned in para 3 above, are
not intended to be all-inclusive; but to be representative of matters formerly
the subject of the CBA.
5. Questions. Questions should be directed to Duncan Aukland, Labor
Relations Specialist, at 614-336-7475.
FOR THE ADJUTANT GENERAL:
WILLIAM K. GIEZIE, PE, Col., OHANG
A, D
GC Ex. 2. According to Aukland, the September 28 memo was written to resolve “confusion among our employees and supervisors over the status of where we are in labor relations, and it was thought that some communication to the field was appropriate to try to clarify where we were.” Tr. 282. Colonel Giezie testified that he intended the memo to be “an internal management document[]” going only to managers and supervisors. Tr. 368. But it ended up being sent to hundreds of bargaining unit employees, as well as supervisors. Tr. 368; see GC Exs. 18, 19 & 22. Witnesses at the hearing testified how this happened.
On September 28, 2016, Colonel Giezie asked Pamela Tabler, his human resources assistant, to send the memo by email to all supervisors of technicians in the Ohio National Guard. Tr. 132, 369-70. Tabler told Giezie that she didn’t have a distribution list for supervisors, but that she always sent things out to the “A” and “D” distribution lists, and Colonel Giezie replied, “okay.” Tr. 142. Colonel Giezie acknowledged that he permitted Tabler to send the memo to the “A” and “D” distribution lists even though he was not familiar with the make-up of the “A” distribution list. Tr. 370.
Tabler testified that she regularly uses the “A” and “D” distribution lists to distribute documents that go out broadly to everyone within the Ohio National Guard. Tr. 138. The “A” distribution list goes to most of the Ohio Army National Guard, including bargaining unit employees, while the “D” distribution list goes mostly to managers and supervisors in the Ohio Air National Guard. Tabler noted, though, that recipients on the “D” distribution list “push it [email] out to the base for us.” Tr. 135, 137-38. Tabler further testified, “[W]hen I send things out, I send out ‘a’ and ‘d,’ because that’s the Army and the Air, and that’s who we send all of our correspondence to.” Tr. 135. As a result, Tabler sent the September 28 memo (GC Ex. 2) as an attachment to a blank cover memo, to recipients on the “A” and “D” distribution lists at 9:31 a.m. on September 28. GC Ex. 17; see Tr. 134.
Later that same day, at 3:14 p.m., Tabler sent an email letter written by Colonel Giezie with the subject heading “Operations without a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).” GC Ex. 20. This email, which included the September 28 memo as an attachment, was also sent to the “A” and “D” distribution lists, i.e., the same people who received the September 28 memo. Tr. 139. In this second document, Colonel Giezie wrote:
The Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the Adjutant General of Ohio and the AFGE, Local 3970 expired in January 2014. At that time, the agency was working with the union to negotiate a new CBA which was progressing in a positive manner. Therefore, the agency elected to keep certain articles of the old CBA in effect until a new CBA could be negotiated and agreed upon. Since that time the negotiations for a new CBA have essentially stopped. The HRO is currently working with the union to get the process started to negotiate a new CBA for the agency and we are hopeful this will begin in the near future. However in the interim, the union has been notified that the agency no longer recognizes any portion of the previously existing CBA. Therefore, the attached guidance is provided to agency supervisors on how to operate without a CBA until a new CBA can be negotiated and finalized. . . .
GC Ex. 20.
As it turned out, 284 of the 2,190 people on the “A” distribution list receiving the September 28 memo, and 2 of the 84 people on the “D” distribution list receiving the September 28 memo, were bargaining unit employees.[6] At the hearing, Colonel Giezie accepted the likelihood that bargaining unit employees received the memo (Tr. 154-55), although he testified that he did not know it had been sent to bargaining unit employees until he was so advised, in April 2017, by counsel for the GC. Tr. 411. Aukland similarly testified that the September 28 memo was supposed to be sent only to supervisory personnel, although that did not turn out to be the case. Tr. 335.
The Impact of the September 28 Memo
Roberta Craigo, a dual status technician in the bargaining unit and a Union steward since 2006, received the September 28 memo by virtue of being on the “A” distribution list. Tr. 122-25. She testified that she understood the memo to mean that “there was basically no Union anymore and we didn’t have a collective bargaining agreement.” Tr. 127. Craigo also forwarded the memo to Union President Dohrmann and to Vice President Charles Higginbotham. Tr. 90-93, 128-29. Higginbotham said he understood management to be saying in the memo “that they were no longer going to be dealing with the Union. They didn’t have an agreement and didn’t have the need to deal with us.” Tr. 92. Higginbotham added that the Agency has not notified the Union that the September 28 memo has been rescinded. Tr. 93. In the wake of its distribution, “a couple of” bargaining unit employees who received the September 28 memo asked Higginbotham “what was going on, or if the Union was still in existence or had been dissolved . . . .” Tr. 94.
Higginbotham testified that no grievances had been filed since the Sept. 28 memo, “[b]ecause everyone felt that there was no longer a Union, there was no – that we had just been shut down. There was nothing going on.” Tr. 105. He added, “[W]hen they said that there’s no longer a collective bargaining – we’re no longer recognizing 3970, you know, I felt that it was higher than me at that point.” Tr. 106. Nonetheless, a couple of employees in his unit made him aware of problems they had, and Higginbotham was able to resolve the issues informally with the immediate supervisors, so that formal grievances did not need to be filed. Tr. 105-07. With regard to disciplinary actions, Higginbotham testified that before the September 28 memo was issued, “it wasn’t uncommon for a supervisor to call us if he had a problem with an employee, to involve us during the proceedings of disciplinary actions.” Tr. 95. But after the September 28 memo, “it pretty much went quiet. I didn’t get hardly any calls from anybody, other than maybe an employee. That was it.” Tr. 96.
Dan Wayble, who was also a Union Vice President until he became President in early 2017, first saw the September 28 memo when he returned from active-duty deployment in late December 2016. Tr. 27-29. He understood it to mean that management had “left the employees and our Union without a means to resolve a conflict outside of the Agency itself.” Tr. 34. This made him concerned that he no longer had protection under the Statute. Tr. 34-35. Wayble understood the memo’s reference to ad hoc resolution of grievances by the HRO to mean that the Agency “would not recognize our negotiated . . . grievance process that we had already been using,” including the use of binding arbitration that could be used to appeal decisions of the Adjutant General. Tr. 33, 37-38. Wayble testified that in one instance, some employees came to him with a problem in filling some vacant positions; when Wayble asked why past practice was not being followed, the selecting official told him “that negotiating it with the Union, they weren’t doing that anymore, they were relying on HRO’s guidance from now on out.” Tr. 48-49. Nevertheless, Wayble was able to work out a satisfactory solution directly with the employees’ supervisors. Tr. 49.
Shortly after the September 28 memo was issued, Higginbotham asked for official time from his supervisor. Tr. 94. According to Higginbotham, his supervisor called the Human Resources Office on the speakerphone in front of him, and the person on the other side of the line said that “official time wasn’t being recognized at this time.” Tr. 95, 103. He testified that he did not file a grievance about this, because “I did not feel like a grievance would do us any good at all.” Tr. 103-04.
Colonel Giezie denied that the Agency stopped complying with the CBA after September 28. He testified, “[W]e have addressed everything using the grievance process that was established in the expired [CBA]. I have recommended that to all the supervisors and that’s the procedures we have followed, if anybody has been interested in filing one.” Tr. 383. Asked how anyone reading the September 28 memo would understand it to mean that the CBA grievance procedure would be followed, Colonel Giezie answered, “They don’t. When they come to me and ask how [are] we going to resolve this, the answer is we’re going to follow the grievance procedure in the [CBA].” Tr. 384. Asked whether that included binding arbitration, he stated, “We would be happy to do that.” Id. He acknowledged, however, that he has not communicated this to the Union or to bargaining unit employees, nor has the Agency rescinded the September 28 memo. Tr. 410-11. He further acknowledged that no grievances had been filed since September 28. Tr. 383.
In contrast to Colonel Giezie’s stated willingness to continue following the CBA, Aukland testified unconditionally that by virtue of the September 28 memo, the CBA was no longer in effect, and its mandatory terms were no longer recognized. Tr. 282. He said, “[W]e were going to operate under the application of the Statute, and the Statute requires at 709(a) that there be some Army or Air Force Regulation that mandates this process.”[7] Aukland elaborated on this in his March affidavit: “I do not view us as having a grievance procedure per se. We have a willingness to entertain grievances, but we’re not going to process them under the five-step process under the expired CBA.” GC Ex. 1(r), Aukland Aff. at 8. Aukland further indicated that managers have not stopped notifying the Union of proposed disciplinary actions. Tr. 286. But he acknowledged that in issuing the September 28 memo, the Agency changed conditions of employment with respect to grievances and arbitrations under the CBA. Id.
With respect to official time, Aukland testified that by issuing the September 28 memo, the Agency would no longer comply with the CBA provision that entitled the Union’s president to 100 percent official time, but it would grant official time to Union representatives “where it’s appropriate.” Tr. 285; see also Tr. 333-37. He said the CBA provision for 100% official time was “illegal,” as it violated the DoD FMR. Tr. 334. Aukland acknowledged that the Statute permits agencies and unions to negotiate reasonable provisions for official time, but he countered, “[W]e had determined that was not reasonable. We were no longer in partnership with the Union. . . . There was no intent to have anyone be on 100 percent official time. We could not get the Union to bargain on official time, so we repudiated that.” Tr. 334-35. But he further testified that he has been asked to grant official time since September 28, and he has granted it “where it was appropriate to grant it,” under the DoD FMR. Tr. 285-86. Agreeing with Aukland, Colonel Giezie testified: “I have specifically identified [to supervisors] that we believe Mr. Wayble, Mr. Reynolds, Mr. Higginbotham and Mr. Rice to be officers of AFGE Local 3970 and that they are, as such, entitled to use official time for representational functions” Tr. 379.
The Agency’s Attempts to Contact and Negotiate with the Union Leadership
Between March 2016 and the hearing in August 2017, Local 3970 has undergone three transitions in its presidency: from Tanner to Dohrmann to Gaven Reynolds to Wayble. Dohrmann reached out to Agency management in August 2016, around the time he took office, and expressed his interest in resolving a variety of pending issues. Tr. 348-50. The parties appeared to be looking toward resuming CBA negotiations at the start of 2017. Tr. 350. But problems seem to have arisen (for both employees and management) when Dohrmann relinquished his position with the Union, sometime in the autumn of 2016.
The circumstances of Dohrmann’s departure were never explained at the hearing, but both Higginbotham and Craigo alluded to difficulties in communicating with him after the Agency distributed the September 28 memo. Tr. 94, 103, 125, 128. Craigo forwarded a copy of the September 28 memo to Dohrmann, and while Dohrmann forwarded it in turn to an AFGE national representative and signed the email as “President” of the Union, he didn’t respond to Craigo. Tr. 125, 128; GC Ex. 16. Simultaneously, management was also having difficulty in reaching Dohrmann.
On September 20, 2016, Aukland mailed to Dohrmann Colonel Giezie’s September 19 letter, which notified the Union that the Agency “no longer recognizes the existence” of the CBA and that it disputed the Statute’s jurisdiction over the Agency. Resp. Exs. 3 & 4. He sent the letter by certified mail and addressed it to the Union’s P.O. box, but repeated attempts to deliver it, to two different addresses, were unsuccessful. Tr. 315-24. The certified letter was returned unclaimed, as was a second mailing to a different address. Id.; Resp. Exs. 5, 6. This process dragged on from September 20 to November 30, when Aukland finally had Dohrmann’s commander hand-deliver the letter to him at his workplace. Tr. 320-23, 351, 357-58; Resp. Ex. 7. At that time, Dohrmann told his commander that he no longer had anything to do with the Union and refused to accept the letter. Tr. 321, 351; GC Ex. 1(r), Aukland Affi. at 5. The same day, Dohrmann emailed Colonel Giezie that he was no longer Union President, and that the Agency should send Union correspondence to the AFGE regional office in Indianapolis. Tr. 358-59. There is no evidence that the Agency actually forwarded the September 19 letter to the AFGE.
According to Colonel Giezie, he next heard from the Union just after New Year, 2017, when he received a letter from the AFGE’s national office identifying Gaven Reynolds as the new President of Local 3970. Tr. 359. Rather than responding to Mr. Reynolds, however, Aukland sent an email to AFGE National Representative Chon Jung, at the AFGE’s Indianapolis office, on January 10, 2017, questioning the legitimacy of Reynolds’s selection as President and asking for “further assurances of the bona fides of Mr. Reynolds as President.” GC Ex. 3 at 1. Citing the Union’s constitution, Aukland further asserted that the AFGE national union had no authority to act on behalf of Local 3970. Id. Notwithstanding this assertion, Aukland went on to address the status of labor relations at the Agency:
It is the Agency’s position that the CBA has ceased to be applicable to the Agency’s employees under 5 USC 7115(b)(1). Further support for the Agency’s position i[s] found at . . . [the DoD FMR.] . . . Paragraph 110202 [s]tates that dues allotments automatically terminate when the “(CBA) between the Agency and the labor organization ceases to be applicable to the employee.” Thus it is not only the right but the duty of the Agency to terminate the allotments, with no “additional requirement for the employee to submit a cancellation form.” Para 110202.A.3.4.
Id. at 1-2. Responding to AFGE’s apparent claim that the Agency was violating the rights of employees under the Statute, Aukland denied that the Statute applied to National Guard technicians or “that the FLRA has some lawful authority over The Adjutant General of Ohio.” Id. at 2. He concluded:
Finally, it is the Agency’s position that until there is a CBA, no employee should be paying dues to AFGE consistent with the DoDFMR. While the Agency plans to start with those employees not having SF 1187 on file, the Agency reserves the right to terminate all union dues allotments until there is a CBA. The Agency welcomes any assistance AFGE can provide in obtaining SF 1187s from Ohio National Guard Technicians desirous of having dues withheld from their pay[.]
At the end of February or the beginning of March 2017, Wayble became the Union’s President. [8] Tr. 55. Wayble testified that he notified his local chain of command in person that he was the Union President, and that he informed state officials of this shortly thereafter, by email. Tr. 55-59. Colonel Giezie testified that he learned from the AFGE national office in March 2017 that Wayble was the Union President.[9] Tr. 363.
During the same period of transition in Union leadership in early 2017, the Agency also sought to implement two changes in personnel policies: a new merit promotion plan and a new performance appraisal system. Tr. 359-60. Development of the merit promotion plan actually began in July 2016 with internal meetings with managers, and Giezie testified that once management was satisfied with the plan, Aukland “reach[ed] out” to Reynolds in mid-January 2017 to obtain the Union’s reaction. Tr. 360, 387-88. However, Respondent offered into evidence no documentation of its effort to notify the Union about the plan, and its witnesses’ description of that effort is ambiguous, contradictory, and generally not credible.[10] Aukland acknowledged that Reynolds was attending a work-related school, out of state, during the time he was trying to contact him. Tr. 330. With regard to pursuing bargaining in general, I asked Aukland whether he could have gone to the workplace to talk face-to-face with Dohrmann, Reynolds, or Wayble; he responded: “That’s about a 25-mile drive each way, yes.” Tr. 331.
Wayble was asked whether management offered to bargain over the new merit promotion plan. He replied, “I can’t answer – I don’t have that answer, sir.” Tr. 79. However, he did not become President until early March, about two months after the Agency had allegedly reached out to the Union regarding the plan.
The Respondent implemented the new merit promotion plan on February 6, 2017, replacing the plan adopted in 2014. GC Exs. 4, 21. Both the 2014 and the 2017 plans require that job announcements be published on the USA Jobs website, but the old plan provided that announcements generally would be posted for thirty days, while the new plan provides that announcements generally will be posted for fifteen days. Compare GC Ex. 4 at 14 and GC Ex. 21 at 13. With respect to the area of consideration, the new plan retains language from the old plan, stating: “The area of consideration for each technician position vacancy announcement will be determined by the selecting official, subject to the approval of the HRO, to ensure the receipt of sufficient numbers of qualified candidates.” Compare GC Ex. 4 at 16 and GC Ex. 21 at 15. Wayble testified that under the old plan, the area of consideration was “statewide to on-board technicians[,]” but this assertion is not corroborated by the documents in evidence. Wayble also testified that when the new plan was implemented, Union President Jeff Tanner filed numerous grievances concerning positions advertised under the plan (Tr. 79-80), but this is difficult to credit, since Tanner had retired long before 2017 and had long ceased to be Union President. While it is possible that Wayble may have meant to identify Reynolds as filing the grievances, the lack of any documentation in evidence makes it impossible to credit that possibility.
With regard to the selection process utilized in the old and new merit promotion plans, Colonel Giezie outlined significant differences in how applicants are evaluated and scored. While the old plan only looked at how an applicant performed in the interview, without considering his or her past experience or references, the new plan allows for the consideration of many additional factors and reduces the influence that any single member of the selection board can have on the determination of a candidate’s score. Tr. 385-87.
In contrast to the lack of documentation of its attempt to negotiate the revised merit promotion plan, the Respondent offered specific evidence regarding a new performance appraisal system. On March 2, 2017, Colonel Giezie sent Gaven Reynolds a memo offering the Union an opportunity to bargain over the implementation of a new appraisal program, with the proposed plan attached. Resp. Ex. 9. Giezie noted that his offer to bargain “in no way[] waives the longstanding objections of The Adjutant General’s Department to the applicability of the [Statute] to Ohio National Guard Technicians.” Id. Similarly, the Agency did not “concede any contractual rights under the now-expired former Collective Bargaining [Agreement]. This offer to bargain is solely in the spirit of conciliation between the Department and Local 3970.” Id. Colonel Giezie testified that he did not get a response from the Union. Tr. 362. The Agency prepared to implement the new plan on April 1, 2017, but that has been suspended on orders from the National Guard Bureau. Id.
On May 5, 2017, new Union President Wayble contacted the Adjutant General and requested the resumption of CBA negotiations. Colonel Giezie responded to Wayble on May 9, accepting the Union’s bargaining request, while adding certain conditions.
GC Ex. 28. In his memo, Giezie agreed to bargain only with members of Local 3970, explicitly refusing to meet with any officials of AFGE’s regional or national offices or to allow them on State-owned property. He also asked that Wayble provide him with a list of the Union’s officers and evidence that they are authorized to act on the Union’s behalf. Id. at 1-2. Finally, he enclosed copies of seven of the ULP charges filed by the Respondent against the Union, and he concluded: “If the FLRA’s complaint is dismissed, this Department is willing to dismiss its ULP charges and open negotiations provided the other conditions outlined above are met.” Id. at 2.
The Agency’s Termination of Union Dues Deductions
Colonel John Dernberger is the United States Property and Fiscal Officer for Ohio, a position within the National Guard Bureau. Tr. 167, 271-72. Colonel Dernberger is responsible for issuing federal funds and property to the Ohio National Guard and for overseeing assistants who manage payroll functions. Tr. 169. He is not within the chain of command of the Ohio Adjutant General. Tr. 170. As part of his ongoing responsibility to make the Agency’s financial records “audit ready,” his office discovered in 2014 or 2015 that “there were missing [SF] 1187s in the files.” Tr. 175, 183-84. That is, the Agency had been withholding union dues for a large number of bargaining unit employees, but the Agency had SF 1187s, authorizing those deductions, for only some of the employees. Nonetheless, the Agency continued to deduct dues from those employees for an additional two or three years, while management officials decided what to do to correct the problem. Tr. 175-76, 183-84. Asked to explain why the Agency permitted this, Colonel Dernberger testified that management was “working on this for a long time to get this corrected,” and that “it’s been an ongoing process.” Tr. 183-84. It was not initially known how many 1187s were missing. Tr. 353.
In the fall of 2016, the Agency’s Human Resources Office – primarily Colonel Giezie and Aukland – worked with Colonel Dernberger to develop a policy for dealing with the missing 1187s. Tr. 184-85, 189-90. Colonel Dernberger’s office conducted an audit to determine exactly how many bargaining unit employees were having union dues deducted from their pay without an SF 1187 on file. Captain (now Major) Daryl Scott, a Technician Branch Manager in the HRO, assisted in these efforts. Among other things, Scott created a spreadsheet listing bargaining unit employees whose union dues were being deducted from their pay. Tr. 216, 239-40; GC Ex. 26. Using that spreadsheet, Dernberger had local comptroller offices around the state search their payroll files for SF 1187s for those employees. Tr. 205, 371-72. They identified thirty to forty Army technicians and forty to fifty Air Force technicians for whom the Agency had no SF 1187 on file. Tr. 227.
The Agency’s witnesses were at a loss to explain why so many SF 1187s had disappeared. Tr. 193, 257. Scott stated that the loss of so many documents was unprecedented. Tr. 256. While Colonel Dernberger could not say for sure what happened, he did have a theory. “Speculating,” he testified, “there has been rules in the past of 6 years 3 months is your normal record retention policy. Speculating, could during normal reviews anything older than 6 years 3 months be removed? And those items might have been pulled.” Tr. 198. Colonel Giezie similarly testified that while he was not sure how long SF 1187s were retained, it was standard for the Agency to retain documents for six years and three months. Tr. 402.
Agency officials believed that they could not continue to deduct dues from a bargaining unit employee whose SF 1187 was not on file. In this regard, Colonel Dernberger testified that if an employee is having union dues deducted, “there should be the supporting 1187 in that file to do that. If . . . one of those actions that’s on a payroll document does not have the supporting document, then that’s basically a glitch and says, no, that’s a failure of the audit and it needs to be corrected.” Tr. 177-78. He cited Department of Defense Financial Management Regulation, Volume 8, Chapter 11 (DoD FMR), in support of his position. Tr. 179-80; see Resp. Ex. 1. Colonel Giezie agreed, stating that under the DoD FMR, the Agency is liable for any unauthorized deductions that are made from an employee’s salary. Tr. 377.
To address their concerns regarding the missing SF 1187s, Colonel Giezie, Aukland, and Colonel Dernberger decided that a new policy was needed for the deduction of union dues. Tr. 175-76. The policy provided that if an employee was having union dues deducted and did not have an 1187 on file, then the Agency would contact the employee and give him or her sixty days to submit a copy of the original SF 1187 (if he had one) or to submit a new one. If the employee failed to submit a new or original 1187 form, the Agency would terminate the employee’s dues deductions. Tr. 287; Resp. Ex. 8.
Colonel Giezie testified that he sent Dohrmann (whom he believed to be the Union President at that time) an email in “[e]arly October [2016], because we gave him over 30 days of sending it out before we acted . . . .” Tr. 392. Giezie said he wanted to alert the Union that the Agency was “having issues with auditability[]” and that they planned to implement this new policy to address those issues. Tr. 352. Further, Giezie testified that he provided Dohrmann a copy of the proposed policy and offered to meet with him to bargain over the impact and implementation of the change. Tr. 351. He added that he reached out to Dohrmann because “union dues collection policy or procedures are what I understand to be a mandatory term of negotiation for the collective bargaining agreement.” Tr. 354. Colonel Giezie did not hear back from Dohrmann until November 30, when Dohrmann told him he no longer represented the Union. Tr. 354, 358.
On November 14, 2016, Colonel Giezie sent another letter to Dohrmann, informing him that the Agency would be implementing its new policy. The letter stated:
The Agency has audited the allotments of dues from [Ohio Army National Guard] Technicians to Local 3970. For unknown reasons . . . in many cases, there is no SF 1187 on record to show when the dues allotment was requested. Without a record of a request for an allotment, the Agency can’t continue indefinitely to withhold union dues from an employee’s pay. Accordingly, I would be appreciative if any documentation Local 3970 has on file for those whose allotment documentation is lacking could be copied and furnished to the Agency within 60 days. I have also asked each Technician for whom there is no SF 1187 on file to request a new allotment; but if you have information on file that you will provide, this would alleviate the need for new allotments to be executed. An audit of [Ohio Air National Guard] Technicians paying dues to Local 3970 will follow soon.
I want to make it clear that the Agency is simply trying to clean up its payroll records and not to discourage union dues-paying. But we simply cannot continue to withhold dues from the pay of any employee whose SF 1187 is unavailable in Agency files.
Finally, you were asked to advise me of any Impact and Implementation concerns about a previous draft of the Union Dues Allotment Policy. Since you have not communicated any such concerns in a timely manner, you will
find enclosed a new Agency policy for Union Dues Allotments. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Mr. Aukland at your earliest convenience.
Resp. Ex. 8 at 7 (Fourth Attach.).
A memorandum from Colonel Giezie explaining the new policy, which was dated November 15, 2016, was attached to the November 14 letter to Dohrmann. As relevant here, the policy states: “If no SF 1187 or other record is available . . . and no new SF 1187 is initiated, the dues allotment will be terminated for lack of documentation [no later than] 30 days after the lack of documentation is determined.” Id. at 3. Also attached were blank, sample copies of an SF 1187 and an SF 1188; both forms provide a space for employees to list their Social Security number or employee identification number. Id. at 4-5. The forms advise that providing an employee’s Social Security number is “voluntary,” but “failure to provide it, when it is used as the employee identification number, may mean that payroll deductions cannot be processed.” Id. Attached as well was a sample of a memo, which an employee desiring union dues to be deducted was supposed to send to Local 3970, releasing his Social Security number in order to effectuate that action. Id. at 6.
Also on November 14, 2016, the Agency sent out the first group of letters (SF 1187 letters) to bargaining unit employees who had authorized union dues to be deducted from their pay but whose SF 1187 was missing (or whose dues withholding anniversary date was absent from the DCPS system). GC Ex. 13; Tr. 39-40, 222-23, 247-48; see also
GC Exs. 1(b) & 1(d). The majority of bargaining unit employees who had Union dues deducted from their pay lacked an SF 1187 on file, so a majority of dues-paying members of the bargaining unit received an SF 1187 letter (either on November 14 or in subsequent mailings). GC Exs. 1(b) & 1(d); Tr. 222.
The SF 1187 letters, which were prepared by Captain Scott and signed by Colonel Giezie, stated, in pertinent part:
2. Union dues withheld. Recently, an audit has been completed of Ohio . . . National Guard Technicians whose pay records reflect that union dues are being withheld from their pay. Technician pay records reflect that you are such an employee.
3. Lack of documentation. Technician pay records do not reflect an authorization to withhold union dues from your pay as required by [the] DoD FMR . . . . Therefore, the agency lacks the authority to withhold union dues from your technician pay in the absence of this documentation. This notification is not a suggestion that you should continue or discontinue paying union dues but, if you want to continue to have dues withheld from your pay, you must either provide a copy of the original SF 1187 or AFGE 1187, or you must execute an authorization for dues withholding on a new SF 1187, Request for Payroll Deductions for Labor Organization Dues.
4. Time limit. Your current dues withholding will cease unless a copy of the original SF 1187 or a newly-executed SF 1187 is received in the Human Resource Office within 60 days of the date of this memorandum.
Captain Scott testified that if a bargaining unit employee failed to provide either the original SF 1187 or a new SF 1187 within sixty days, then he signed an SF 1188, with his own signature, on behalf of the employee and sent the SF 1188 to a payroll office to be processed, terminating the deduction of union dues from the employee’s pay. Tr. 178-79, 231-32; GC Ex. 23. GC Exhibit 24 shows that in September 2016, the Agency deducted union dues from 126 technicians, while in June 2017 it deducted dues from only thirty-seven technicians. Based on this information, corroborated by Captain Scott’s rough estimate (Tr. 227), I find that the Agency terminated dues deductions for at least eighty-nine bargaining unit employees during that time period.
Scott received responses to the SF 1187 letters from about five employees. Tr. 228. “[I]t was telephone calls asking what the letter meant and what they needed to do, and various other questions,” he testified. Id. One of those employees was Roberta Craigo, who emailed a new SF 1187 to Captain Scott on November 30. Resp. Ex. 2. (This was the same day that Dohrmann advised the Agency that he was no longer Union President, and that the Agency should send Union-related correspondence to the AFGE regional office.) Scott responded to Craigo the next day, advising her that the SF 1187 was incomplete because, among other things, it lacked a signature from a Union official authorized to certify the dues amount. Id. Scott told her that he would certify the form once Craigo supplied the necessary information. Id. Over a month later, on January 10, 2017, Scott followed up with Craigo, advising her that he had learned that Gaven Reynolds was the new President of Local 3970, and that Craigo should get Reynolds to sign her SF 1187. Id. (January 10 was the same date that Aukland had sent a letter to the AFGE regional office, advising AFGE that the Agency needed proof that Reynolds was authorized to represent Local 3970. GC Ex. 3.) Scott did not hear back from Craigo, nor did he follow up on the matter with her, and on January 13 (exactly 60 days after the first SF 1187 letters were mailed) he signed his name in the “Signature of Employee” block of an SF 1188, terminating Craigo’s (as well as 32 other employees’) dues deductions. Tr. 229-30; GC Ex. 23 at 8. Asked why he did not give Craigo the benefit of the doubt until she furnished the missing information, Scott testified that Craigo’s SF 1187 was incomplete, and that “[s]he has some personal responsibility to make sure that she touches base with the Union and the Union knows that she’s going to be contributing, and they have to do their part.” Tr. 252. Scott admitted, however, that the absence of a signature from the Union president did not bar him from accepting Craigo’s SF 1187. Tr. 265.
On December 19, 2016, Colonel Giezie sent an SF 1187 letter to Wayble, who was deployed overseas at that time. Tr. 39; GC Ex. 13. When Wayble returned from deployment to his civilian position in late December or early January, he learned that the Agency was going to terminate his dues deductions unless he provided a new or original copy of his SF 1187. Tr. 39, 68-69. Wayble testified that he raised concerns about the SF 1187 issue with his supervisors and his commander, telling them that he “felt like it was a target against me as a union member.” Tr. 71. He also testified that when employees contacted him to discuss the matter, the employees told him that they were “afraid” to submit new 1187s, because the Agency’s letter “specifically stated . . . that an audit was conducted only on the technicians who paid dues, and they were afraid . . . they were singled out as dues-paying members[.]” Tr. 44.
Wayble had no desire to have his union dues deductions terminated, but he refused to submit a new SF 1187. Noting that he had originally submitted an 1187 in 2003, he explained, “I already had filled one out. I had dues withheld prior to this date for years.” Tr. 38-40, 66. He further stated that he did not submit a new or original SF 1187 because he did not want to “legitimize a new process or a new form.” Tr. 73. In February 2017, the Agency terminated the dues deductions for Wayble and forty-four other technicians without their consent. Compare GC Ex. 23 to GC Exs. 24 & 26. The Agency also terminated the dues deductions for John Williamson, a bargaining unit member, in March 2017, even though the Agency had his SF 1187 on file. Compare GC Ex. 23 at 36 to GC Ex. 26 at 5.
In December 2016, the Agency sent an SF 1187 letter to Shawn Rice, a dual-status technician in the bargaining unit who served as a Union Vice President for five years before becoming its Secretary-Treasurer in March 2017. Tr. 110-11, 117; GC Ex. 24, GC Ex. 26. Although Rice submitted an SF 1187 in 2005 and had never sought to rescind it, he did not submit a new or original SF 1187 in response to the Agency’s SF 1187 letter. Tr. 117-20. Asked why, Rice testified, “I talked it over with Mr. Wayble and he stated that this was a bullying tactic that was coming from HR to try to union bust. So he said that the grievance was already filed, so it wasn’t in our hands essentially, it was pretty much up to the national organizer and [the FLRA].” Tr. 118. Rice further stated that he believed the Agency would not have honored a new SF 1187 if he had submitted one. Tr. 114-15.
On February 23, 2017 (approximately sixty days after receiving his SF 1187 letter), Captain Scott signed an SF 1188 terminating Rice’s union dues deductions. GC Ex. 5. Rice was notified by email the next day that his dues deductions would be terminated effective March 5. GC Ex. 15. The next work day, Rice responded, objecting that he had not signed the SF 1188 that had been issued in his name, and insisting that “[d]ues should not be cancelled unless the employee has signed the . . . 1188.” Id. Aukland responded to Rice on March 1, stating:
1. No SF 1187, no Allotment. Financial records were rigorously examined and you . . . did not have the authorizing document, SF 1187, on file. According to the memo you received, you were given 60 days in which to submit a SF 1187; yet you did not do so. Since your dues allotments were un-auditable, it was terminated per the memo you received.
2. DoD Financial Management Regulation (DoDFMR) on dues cessation. This regulation covers how dues allotments are to work. The DoDFMR amplifies the statute, stating that dues allotments must be terminated by the agency when the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) “ceases to be applicable” to the employee. It is the Agency’s view that the now-expired CBA cannot be applicable to an employee who does not have SF 1187 on file. For this reason, your dues allotment was terminated. Also, according to the DoDFMR, the dues allotment must be terminated “with no additional requirement for the employee to submit a cancellation form.” Thus you did not have to sign the SF 118[8] as you say.
3. New SF 1187. It is your right to submit a SF 1187 at any time. However, I must advise you that the above-cited language, from the DoDFMR, calls into question whether members of a union, not having a contract, may have dues withheld from their pay. Thus, since I am not a policy maker, I can’t say whether the Agency will honor a new SF 1187 without a new CBA.
4. Grievance. You should also understand that under former Union leadership, Local 3970, refused to come to the table to negotiate a new CBA unless the Agency waived legally-valid defenses just to get the Union to the negotiating table. The Agency rightly refused this demand and countered with an agreement to waive those defenses in a CBA for the duration of the CBA and no longer. The Union never budged, instead choosing to arbitrate a management directed reassignment. Although, the Arbitrator did not agree that the entire contract had expired . . . he invited the Agency to tell the Union the entire contract had expired. The Agency has done so. The entire contract is a nullity, including the contractual grievance process, because it has expired. You may, if you wish, file a grievance; but the process used will be the process deemed appropriate by the HRO Director or his designee, since your grievance is apparently against him.
GC Ex. 6 at 1-2.
On April 4, 2017, Colonel Giezie sent a form letter (the April 4 letters) to at least forty-eight bargaining unit employees. GC Exs. 8 & 14. Forty-one of those employees (including Higginbotham) had SF 1187’s on file and continued to have union dues deducted from their pay.[11] Compare the names on GC Exhibits 8 & 14 with the information regarding those employees on GC Exhibits 24 & 26; Tr. 98. In these letters, Colonel Giezie wrote:
1. I am advising you that pursuant to [the DoD FMR], The Adjutant General will recommend the termination of your Union Dues Allotment by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) because there is no collective bargaining agreement with AFGE Local 3970. If DFAS accepts this recommendation then your dues deductions will terminate 60 days from the date of this memorandum.
2. The Adjutant General has no intention of preventing you from paying Union dues; but cannot lawfully ask that they be withheld from your pay without a collective bargaining agreement. If you wish to continue to pay dues to AFGE Local 3970, please either pay your dues to the Local by check; or set up an electronic fund transfer from your bank account.
GC Ex. 8.
Colonel Dernberger and Colonel Giezie both acknowledged that if an employee’s union dues were being deducted from his pay, it is likely the employee had previously submitted an SF 1187 to initiate those deductions, though Giezie added that he knew of instances where deductions had been made without authorization. Tr. 189, 403. Dernberger also stated that it was the Agency, rather than the employee, who is responsible for maintaining the SF 1187s in its files. Tr. 186. Asked whether the Agency would act similarly with respect to other types of missing documents, such as documents pertaining to health insurance, Colonel Dernberger testified, “I’m going to say I don’t know . . . .” Tr. 214-15. Aukland also affirmed that the Agency is responsible for maintaining SF 1187s. Tr. 303. He acknowledged that while Paragraph 110202 of the DoD FMR states that an SF 1187 must be submitted to initiate dues deductions, it does not state that SF 1187s must be maintained. Id.; see also Resp. Ex. 1 at 11-5.
Wayble testified that he has tried, unsuccessfully, to have the Agency initiate new requests for union dues deduction on behalf of three employees. Tr. 76. He said the Agency’s Finance Department refused to process their SF 1187s, after which the
employees came to Wayble, who approached the employees’ commanders directly. The commanders said they would look into the matter, but SF 1187s were never processed. Id. Subsequently, employees received Colonel Giezie’s April 4 letter, notifying them that he was recommending the cessation of dues deductions even for employees with SF 1187s on file. GC Exs. 8 & 14. Nevertheless, Colonel Giezie testified that if an employee submits an SF 1187, the Agency would process it. Tr. 378. Aukland testified that while the Adjutant General’s Department is “prepared to make a recommendation that 1187s not be recognized when the collective bargaining agreement has expired[,]” it has delayed such an action while this ULP case is pending. Tr. 297.
POSITIONS OF THE PARTIES
As a threshold matter, the General Counsel argues that the Authority has jurisdiction over the Respondent. National Guard dual status technicians are employees, it insists, and the Respondent is an agency, within the meaning of § 7103(a)(2) and (3) of the Statute. GC Br. at 19 & n.10. These principles were affirmed most recently by the Authority, and endorsed by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Mich. Army Nat’l Guard, 69 FLRA 393, 395 (2016) (Mich. ANG), pet. for review enforced as modified sub nom. FLRA v. Mich. Army Nat’l Guard, 878 F.3d 171 (6th Cir. 2017) (FLRA v. Mich. ANG). Other federal courts have echoed this position in a variety of contexts. In P.R Air Nat’l Guard, 156th Airlift Wing (AMC) Carolina, P.R., 56 FLRA 174, 179 (2000), aff’d sub nom. AFGE, Local 3936,
AFL-CIO v. FLRA, 239 F.3d 66 (2001) (Puerto Rico ANG), the court held that that technicians have the same rights and privileges as other federal employees, except where specifically limited by law. In Ass’n of Civilian Technicians, Wichita Air Capitol Chapter v. FLRA, 360 F.3d 195, 196 (D.C. Cir. 2004) (ACT Wichita v. FLRA), the court ruled that dual status technicians may engage in collective bargaining over the civilian aspects of their employment. And in N.J. Air Nat’l Guard v. FLRA, 677 F.2d 276, 281 (3d Cir. 1982)
(N.J. ANG), it clearly stated that technicians fall within the coverage of the Statute. The consistent theme of all these cases, according to the GC, is that while the Technicians Act exempts technicians from a few specific provisions of the Civil Service Reform Act, it does not exempt technicians from coverage of the Statute. GC Br. at 21 (citing 32 U.S.C. § 709(g)(1)). As a result, dual status technicians are unionized in nearly every state, in about 100 different National Guard bargaining units. GC Br. at 19-20 & n.9.
With regard to the Respondent’s status as a federal executive agency, the GC points to the fact that § 7103(a)(3) of the Statute explicitly lists those entities that are excluded from its coverage, and the state National Guards are not listed there. Id. at 19. Accordingly, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Lipscomb v. FLRA, 333 F.3d 611, 617 & n.6 (5th Cir. 2003) (Lipscomb), cert. denied, 541 U.S. 935 (2004), found it “incontrovertible” that the Adjutant General of Mississippi was an agency of the Executive Branch of the federal government. The court explained that while the adjutants general of the states are state officials, the state National Guards are a “hybrid entity that carefully combines both federal and state characteristics.” 333 F.3d at 614. The duties of the adjutants general include a significant federal component, and in their capacity as the employer of federal employee technicians, this renders them, and the national guards they oversee, “agencies” within the meaning of the Statute. GC Br. at 23-24 (citing 333 F.3d at 620).
The GC acknowledges that in Merit Sys. Prot. Bd. v. Singleton, 244 F.3d 1331, 1337 (Fed. Cir. 2001) (Singleton), the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals held that an order of the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) was not enforceable against the Ohio Adjutant General or the Ohio National Guard. However, the GC emphasizes that Singleton involved only the MSPB, and its reasoning did not implicate the Statute or the Authority. GC Br. at 22-23. Moreover, the GC argues that Singleton was superseded by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, Pub. L. No. 114-328 (2016), which modified the Technicians Act to clarify that technicians have appeal rights with the MSPB. GC Br. at 22-23 (citing S. Rep. No. 114-255, at 139 (2016); H.R. Conf. Rep 114-840, at 1016-17 (2016)).
Moving to the substantive unfair labor practice allegations, the GC argues that by communicating repeatedly to employees and to the Union that the Agency no longer recognized the CBA or the coverage of the Statute, the Agency coerced employees in the exercise of their statutory rights and chilled protected activity, in violation of § 7116(a)(1) of the Statute. GC Br. at 25-26. The Authority has consistently held that an agency violates § 7116(a)(1) when it makes statements that would tend to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of their rights protected by the Statute, and that statements are unlawful if they would cause a reasonable employee to “think twice” before exercising a statutory right. AFGE, Nat’l Border Patrol Council, Local 2595, 67 FLRA 361, 366 (2014); U.S. Air Force, Lowry Air Force Base, Denver, Colo., 16 FLRA 952, 960 (1984) (Lowry AFB)). Similarly, an agency violates § 7116(a)(1) when it communicates that there would be no point in filing a grievance. Dep’t of the Air Force, Scott AFB, Ill., 34 FLRA 956, 966 (1990) (Scott AFB); Dep’t of the Air Force, 35th Combat Support Grp. (Tac), George AFB, Cal., 4 FLRA 22, 22-23 (1980) (George AFB)).
The GC asserts that the written and oral statements of Colonel Giezie and Aukland conveyed to employees that they were not protected by the Statute, and that there was “no point in exercising any of their protected rights,” such as consulting with a Union representative or asserting their Weingarten rights. GC Br. at 26. Further, since the Agency considered the CBA void, there was no point in complaining of contract violations or filing a grievance. At best, going to the Union would be “ineffectual,” and at worst it could subject them to “unreviewable reprisal.” Therefore, the Agency’s communications “objectively chilled” the exercise of employees rights, in violation of § 7116(a)(1). Id.
Next, the GC alleges that the Agency violated § 7116(a)(1) and (5) by failing to abide by the mandatory terms of the CBA. GC Br. at 27, 31. The Authority has repeatedly held that when a collective bargaining agreement expires, mandatory subjects of bargaining continue in effect, absent agreement to the contrary or unless modified in a manner consistent with the Statute. Indep. Union of Pension Emps. for Democracy & Justice, 68 FLRA 999, 1004 (2015) (IUPEDJ); NTEU, 64 FLRA 982, 985 n.4 (2010)). In this regard, the Agency’s September 28, 2016 memo made “an unqualified statement that no provision of the contract will be followed,” and management then proceeded to change employee working conditions regarding several mandatory subjects of bargaining. GC Br. at 27 (citing Tr. 305). Specifically, it: (1) replaced the grievance and arbitration provisions of the CBA with an “ad hoc” process administered by the HRO; (2) admitted, through Aukland, that it repudiated the official time provisions of the CBA, a fact supported by Higginbotham’s testimony; (3) stopped providing the Union with advance notice of disciplinary actions; and (4) failed to properly notify and bargain with the Union before implementing the new merit promotion plan and the plan for terminating employees’ union dues deductions. GC Br. at 28-30, 39.
According to the GC, the Authority has found the types of changes made by the Agency here to be mandatory subjects of bargaining: George AFB, 4 FLRA at 22-23 (grievance procedures); Ass’n of Civilian Technicians, Del. Chapter, 3 FLRA 57, 57-60 (1980) (procedures for filling vacant positions); Dep’t of Health & Human Servs., SSA, 44 FLRA 870, 879-81 (1992) (SSA) (areas of consideration); AFGE, AFL-CIO, Local 3732, 39 FLRA 187, 211-13 (1991) (procedures for imposing discipline); U.S. Dep’t of the Air Force, HQ Air Force Materiel Command, 49 FLRA 1111, 1119 (1994) (Materiel Command) (official time); Army & Air Force Exch. Serv., Dall., Tex., 35 FLRA 835, 838 (1990) (dues deduction procedures). Therefore, the Agency committed unfair labor practices by making these changes without properly bargaining with the Union.
While the Agency claims that it notified the Union of its proposed changes to the merit promotion plan and to its new procedures for union dues deductions, the GC disputes that notice was given at all, and argues further that any notice given to the Union was inadequate. GC Br. at 30-31, 39. The GC notes that the Respondent did not offer into evidence any letter to the Union offering to bargain over the merit promotion plan, and the GC asserts that the accounts given by management witnesses on this issue were “ambiguous and inconsistent . . . .” GC Br. at 30-31 (citing U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Memphis Dist., Memphis, Tenn., 53 FLRA 79, 82-83 (1997) (Corps of Engineers). Moreover, the GC insists that the Agency’s offers to negotiate throughout the period after September 28, 2016, were contingent on the Union accepting the Agency’s assertions that the CBA was null and void, that the Statute did not cover the Agency or its technicians, and that AFGE national and regional officials could not negotiate with the Local Union. GC Br. at 32-34 (citing Bureau of Indian Affairs, Isleta Elementary Sch., Pueblo of Isleta, N.M., 54 FLRA 1428, 1438 (1998), and Griffin Inns, 229 NLRB 199 (1977)). Thus, what the Agency offered was not bargaining within the meaning of the Statute, but rather a process in which management set the rules and the Adjutant General was the final authority on all disputes. GC Br. at 32-33.
With regard to the Agency’s termination of union dues deduction, the GC contends that the Agency violated employees’ personal rights under § 7115(a) of the Statute, in addition to violating its duty to bargain with the Union over the change. Id. at 34-39 (citing Fed. Emps. Metal Trades Council, AFL-CIO, Mare Island Naval Shipyard, 47 FLRA 1289, 1294 (1993) (Mare Island). Under § 7115, the employee alone controls the decision to deduct his union dues; the agency’s “obligation to honor dues check-off authorizations is mandatory and nondiscretionary.” GC Br. at 35 (citing AFGE, AFL-CIO, Local 2612 v. FLRA, 739 F.2d 87, 89-90 (2d Cir. 1984)). Absent the employee’s consent, § 7115(b) permits agencies to terminate those deductions in only two situations: when the collective bargaining agreement ceases to be applicable to the employee, such as when an employee is promoted out of the bargaining unit or leaves the employ of the agency; or when the employee is suspended or expelled from the union. GC Br. at 36 (citing the legislative history of the Statute, H.R. Rep. No. 95-1403, 95th Cong., 2d Sess. 48 (1978)).
Contrary to the Respondent’s claim, the GC insists that the CBA does not “cease to be applicable” to employees when it expires. The CBA’s expiration is irrelevant to an agency’s obligation to continue deducting union dues, because the Authority has repeatedly held that an agency is required to honor employees’ authorized union dues deductions even in the absence of a CBA. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., 40 FLRA 775, 786 (1991); Def. Logistics Agency, 5 FLRA 126, 129-30 (1981). The GC further contends that the Agency’s audit of employee records and SF 1187s was undertaken as a pretext, “to weaken the Union, not clean up the Respondent’s pay records.” GC Br. at 38.
To remedy the Respondent’s unfair labor practices, the General Counsel requests both traditional and nontraditional remedies. In the former category, the GC urges that the Respondent be ordered to recognize the mandatory subjects in the parties’ CBA, including the grievance-arbitration procedure, hiring and promotion, discipline, and official time. Further, the Agency should restore the status quo concerning conditions of employment that existed before September of 2016 and make any employees whole who suffered losses as a result of changes in mandatory subjects of bargaining. Accordingly, the Agency must reinstate dues withholding for all bargaining unit employees who were removed from withholding since September 28, 2016, and reimburse the Union for all dues it should have received from those employees. GC Br. at 40. The GC contends that such remedies are standard for this type of violation (see U.S. Army Materiel & Readiness Command, Warren, Mich., 7 FLRA 194, 199 (1981)), and that they do not violate the doctrine of sovereign immunity (see U.S. Dep’t of Justice, Fed. Bureau of Prisons, Fed. Corr. Complex, Tucson, Ariz., 66 FLRA 517, 520-21 (2012)).
In addition to these traditional remedies, the GC contends that the severity of the Agency’s ULPs require more extensive remedial actions. The GC submits that the Agency has “significantly chilled union activity, causing employees to question whether they have collective bargaining rights at all or a Union.” GC Br. at 41. Utilizing the Authority’s reasoning in U.S. Penitentiary Leavenworth, Kan., 55 FLRA 704, 718-19 (1999) (USP Leavenworth), the GC asserts that the Respondent’s “widely disseminated egregious anti-Union statements” require the Respondent to retract those statements by reading the Authority’s Notice to Employees aloud at meetings of employees around the state.[12] And because managers and supervisors received the same unlawful statements from the Respondent’s HRO, the GC contends that managers and supervisors should also receive the Notice and be required to attend those meetings. U.S. Penitentiary, Florence, Colo., 53 FLRA 1393, 1394 (1998) (USP Florence).
The Union agrees with the GC that the Respondent violated the Statute and that the FLRA has jurisdiction over the Respondent. Specifically, the Agency violated the Statute by refusing to be bound by the mandatory terms of the CBA and by unilaterally implementing the new merit promotion plan. CP Br. at 16. The Union notes that the Agency continues to refuse to be bound by the Statute, as seen in Colonel Giezie’s refusal to bargain on Agency premises with AFGE national or regional officials representing the Union. Id. at 14.
The Union describes the Agency’s contention that it could not reach the Union to initiate negotiations as “laughable,” since Union officers “work for the Agency at the Agency’s facilities.” Id. at 16-17. Management “knows where the union officer[s’] workstations are,” and Aukland could have met with Wayble or any other Union official at his workplace to discuss any of the issues in dispute; instead, the Agency chose to implement changes unilaterally. Id.
With respect to union dues deductions, the Union asserts that the Agency admitted that all of the employees who received SF 1187 letters had previously authorized dues deductions. The Union argues that the Agency’s audit of dues deductions was a “thinly veiled and unlawful attempt to financially weaken the Union.” Id. at 20. In this regard, the Union notes that Colonel Dernberger could not say who came up with the idea for the audit, and that the Agency “seemed not to have its story straight” as to why employees needed to
submit SF 1187s: while Dernberger asserted that SF 1187s needed to be submitted for “audit readiness,” Aukland asserted that SF 1187s needed to be submitted to comply with the DoD FMR, even though Aukland could not show where that requirement was listed in the regulation. Id. Another sign the audit was pretextual, the Union argues, is that Scott was unaware of any other type of documents that had been lost the way the SF 1187s had.
The Respondent begins by asserting, “The FLRA does not have jurisdiction over the Adjutant General of Ohio, his department, the Ohio National Guard, or the Technicians he administers . . . .” Resp. Br. at 19. In this regard, it argues: (1) under the U.S. Constitution, Congress and the President have authority over state militias only when called into the service of the United States;[13] (2) the Governor of Ohio is the commander in chief of the state’s military and naval forces except when they are called into the service of the United States;[14] (3) the Adjutant General is appointed by the Governor of Ohio;[15] (4) the Adjutant General is a paid employee of the State of Ohio;[16] and (5) the Ohio National Guard is “an element of the organized militia of Ohio.”[17] Id. at 19-20. Respondent further asserts that § 7103(a)(3) of the Statute’s definition of an agency “does not include a state adjutant general, his/her department, or a state national guard organization.” Id. at 20. The Respondent adds that under 32 U.S.C. § 314, the Adjutant General is “required to perform the duties required of him under State law[]” and that 32 U.S.C. § 314 “does not . . . ascribe federal employee status to The Adjutant General.”[18] Id.
According to the Agency, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals recognized these principles in its Singleton decision, where it ruled that federal agencies have no authority to give orders to the Adjutant General of Ohio. Specifically, the court stated:
The adjutant general of the [Ohio National Guard] is not a federal employee, as the term is defined in Title 5. Therefore, no order of the [Merit Systems Protection] Board may be directed to the adjutant general. The Governor of Ohio similarly is not a federal employee, and consequently no order of the [Merit Systems Protection] Board could command the Governor to order a corrective act to be taken by the adjutant general.
Singleton, 244 F.3d at 1336-37.
The Agency acknowledges that in Lipscomb, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Adjutant General of Mississippi “was an ‘Executive Agency’ for purposes of the . . . Statute, and therefore could be ordered by the FLRA to permit a union election among its technicians.” Resp. Br. at 21. But Respondent insists that Lipscomb is flawed, because the court itself admitted that the language of the Statute (specifically § 7103(a)(3)) does not explicitly list the state national guards or adjutants general within the definition of “agency,” and because the court “never squarely addresses the Constitutional question of how a federal agency can assert authority over a state militia officer and gubernatorial appointee . . . .” Id. (citing Lipscomb, 333 F.3d at 618). The Agency also cites Fisher v. Peters, 249 F.3d 433 (6th Cir. 2001) (Fisher) for the proposition that technicians are “irreducibly military in nature.” Based on Fisher, the Respondent argues that the Statute “does not apply to [technicians], and they may not unionize.” Resp. Br. at 24.
With respect to the ULP charges, the Respondent asserts as an initial matter that the September 28 memo was intended for management only. In any case, the statements made by Aukland and Colonel Giezie did not violate § 7116(a)(1) of the Statute. Id. at 24-25. Respondent contends that its officials are entitled to “[p]resent[] legal theories that the Union and GC do not like . . . .” Id. at 34. Giezie and Aukland were simply asserting that the National Guard Technicians Act of 1968 “may have the effect of limiting the bargaining rights of [t]echnicians,” a point that the Authority itself made in U.S. Dep’t of Def., Nat’l Guard Bureau, 55 FLRA 657, 663 (1999) (National Guard Bureau). Resp. Br. at 25-26. In addition, the Respondent points to the 2016 MOU to show that the Union and the Agency “agreed” that the Agency “‘does not waive or concede any jurisdictional arguments’ regarding the applicability of the [Statute] to Respondent.” Id. at 34. The Respondent further contends that while it has “raised its jurisdictional concerns,” it has done so “while still performing under all the terms in the CBA,” and the Union “is still getting what it wants under the CBA.” Id.
The Respondent denies that it violated § 7116(a)(1) and (5) of the Statute by failing to abide by mandatory terms of the CBA. See id. at 27-28. With specific regard to grievances, it argues that it “did not refuse to process grievances in accordance with the CBA and did not refuse to participate in final and binding arbitration.” Id. at 27. Wayble and Higginbotham testified that they were able to resolve grievances with supervisors, and Colonel Giezie testified that management would continue to follow the grievance procedure in the CBA. Id. at 27. In addition, the Respondent argues that it was “always willing to grant appropriate official time,” and that Higginbotham’s claim to the contrary is unsubstantiated. Id. at 25, 27. Similarly, the Respondent asserts that it has not stopped providing the Union with advance notice of disciplinary actions, and managers have been advised to tell bargaining unit employees facing discipline that they have a right to be represented by the Union. Id.
The Respondent argues that it attempted to bargain with the Union over the new policy regarding union dues deductions, pointing to Colonel Giezie’s attempt to serve the Union with a copy of the proposed policy and his offer to engage in impact and implementation bargaining with Union President Dohrmann in October 2016. Tr. 351; Resp. Ex. 8 at 8. Additionally, employees and Union officials were sent letters advising them of the policy in November 2016 and subsequent months. GC Ex. 13. Respondent contends, therefore, that it did not violate § 7116(a)(1) and (5) of the Statute in implementing the dues policy. Resp. Br. at 29.
The Respondent similarly contends that it complied with the Statute in implementing the new merit promotion plan. Id. at 32. In this regard, it argues that there was no material change between the old merit promotion plan and the new one, and that in any event it provided the Union with notice of the change. Specifically, Respondent asserts that “the plan” was mailed to union officials at their official addresses of record but “none of the union members would receive mail” there. Resp. Br. at 32-33; see Tr. 290-91.
The Respondent argues that it did not violate §§ 7115 and 7116(a)(1) and (8) of the Statute by terminating dues deductions for employees whose SF 1187s were missing from Agency files. Resp. Br. at 29. It insists that an SF 1187 “must be on file to justify a union dues allotment” and that an agency is “responsible to reimburse an employee if a deduction occurs without one.” Id. (citing DoD FMR ¶ 110202). It adds that union dues deductions were canceled to comply with “stringent audit readiness requirements established by the Department of Defense and monitored by the USPFO.” Id. at 30-31. Citing Rice’s testimony, Respondent asserts that the Union acknowledged at the hearing that the “notification process was fair.” Id. at 30. Even Union officials Wayble and Rice refused to submit new or original SF 1187s for themselves, despite receiving notice of how to continue to have their dues deducted. Respondent argues that it was “legally required” to terminate Union dues deductions for employees without an SF 1187 on file, and that it was not a ULP for Aukland to say as much to Jung in his January 10, 2017 letter. Id. at 31.
Finally, the Respondent argues that it did not violate the Statute by advising employees that it reserved the right to terminate all Union dues deductions until there was a successor agreement. Id. at 31; see GC Ex. 8. With respect to Aukland’s statement to Jung that “until there is a CBA, no employee should be paying dues to AFGE consistent with the DoDFMR,” the Respondent asserts that Aukland was expressing “a reasonable interpretation of the DoD FMR, which Mr. Aukland can legitimately air.” Id. at 32. To support this claim, Respondent asserts that the regulation provides that union dues allotments automatically terminate when the applicable CBA “ceases to be applicable to the employee,” and that the CBA was not applicable to employees because it had expired. Id. At the same time, the Respondent notes that it is still processing Union dues deductions for employees who have SF 1187s on file, and that it has “suspended its intent to recommend . . . that all Union dues allotments be suspended, pending resolution of the issue” in this case. Id.
ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSIONS
The Authority Has Jurisdiction over the Respondent
Stepping briefly away from the factual minutia of this case, and looking first at the big picture of what has been happening within the Ohio National Guard in the last two years, it is breathtaking to contemplate how completely the Respondent has tried to divorce itself from history, from its own organizational structure, and from the legal precedents of the past fifty years. It seeks to ignore everything that its own leadership had done for decades, in order to pursue a legal theory that has been consistently rejected by the Authority, by the courts, and by Congress.
In 1971 (prehistoric times for the FLRA), a predecessor of the current union became the exclusive collective bargaining representative of a unit of Ohio Air National Guard technicians.[19] See Adjutant General, State of Ohio, Ohio Air Nat’l Guard, Worthington, Ohio, 21 FLRA 1062, 1079 (1986) (Ohio ANG). The parties negotiated a series of collective bargaining agreements, one of which expired in 1981, triggering a dispute over whether the agency could refuse to continue to be bound by certain permissive subjects such as uniforms. By that time, Congress had passed the Statute and created the Authority to adjudicate such disputes, and the Authority ruled that some of the subjects in dispute were indeed permissive – thus entitling the agency to stop observing them – while others were mandatory and must therefore remain in effect, even after the CBA expired. Id. at 1065-72. Accordingly, the Authority ordered the Adjutant General to cease his unlawful conduct, bargain over mandatory subjects, and pay per diem and travel expenses that he had previously denied. Id. at 1073. The Adjutant General did not appeal this decision,[20] and it appears that he complied with the Authority’s order – yet, somehow, neither the Constitutional fabric of our federal system nor the space-time continuum was destroyed.[21] Instead, the parties continued to engage in collective bargaining under the regulatory structure of the Statute for another 35 years, until certain agents of the Respondent recently got the idea that the Statute never actually covered its technicians, and that the Adjutant General had no obligation to abide by federal laws he doesn’t like.[22]
Concurrent with the events in Ohio, unions have been representing dual status technicians in nearly every state and territory in the country, dating back at least to the late 1960s, under the regulatory oversight of the Authority and the Executive Orders which preceded the Statute.[23] Although there are a few cases of state National Guards unsuccessfully challenging the jurisdiction of the Authority and the Statute over them, there is not a single instance in which a state National Guard agency has been successful; on the other side of the ledger, there are hundreds of published cases in which all parties have acknowledged the statutory role of the Authority in regulating labor relations between civilian technicians and state adjutants general.
Congress passed the Technicians Act in 1968 and the Statute in 1978, and it is through the interplay of these two statutes that the case law governing labor relations in the state National Guards has evolved. In its early years, the Authority ruled that state National Guards were obligated to bargain over “broad scope” grievance-arbitration procedures, even those which required outside arbitration of disputes concerning discipline and reductions in force. NAGE, Local R12-132, 5 FLRA 201 (1981) (Local R-12-132); AFGE, AFL-CIO, Local 3486, 5 FLRA 209 (1981). The Authority considered the legislative histories of the Technicians Act (particularly 32 U.S.C. § 709(e),[24] which prohibits appeals of disciplinary actions and certain other matters beyond the state adjutant general) and the Statute (particularly 5 U.S.C. §§ 7103 and 7121) and concluded that Congress intended to give employees who are subject to other personnel systems (such as the Title 32 system) the same grievance and appeal rights as Title 5 employees. Local R-12-132, 5 FLRA at 206-07. But the Third and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeal quickly reversed the Authority’s decisions in those two cases and held that Congress intended the Technicians Act, rather than the Statute, to govern in situations relating to appeals of adjutant general decisions in specific areas. N.J. ANG, 677 F.2d at 277-78; see also Cal. Nat’l Guard v. FLRA, 697 F.2d 874 (9th Cir. 1983).
The reasoning of the court in N.J. ANG, in upholding the final authority of adjutants general in certain matters, is important, as it directly affects our current dispute. First, the court recognized the role of the state National Guards as the Constitutional successors to the early state militias. 677 F.2d at 278. Yet it explained that the Guard
does not fit neatly within the scope of either state or national concerns;
historically the Guard has been, and today remains, something of a hybrid.
Within each state the National Guard is a state agency, under state authority
and control. At the same time, the activity, makeup, and function of the Guard
is provided for, to a large extent, by federal law.
677 F.2d at 278–79. Similarly, it said that the Technicians Act recognized the “sui generis” military-civilian status of technicians, as they were “declared to be federal employees, and were thereby afforded the benefits and rights generally provided for federal employees in the civil service. 32 U.S.C. § 709(d).”[25] Id. at 279. Simultaneously, however, the Technicians Act limited the rights of technicians in certain respects: for instance, matters relating to their discipline were to remain within the final discretion of the adjutants general. Id. The court summarized:
[W]e . . . hold that the provisions of section 709[(f)] of the Technician Act remain as exceptions to the terms of the [Statute]. . . . It bears emphasis that, under the [Statute], the Guard still must engage in collective bargaining with a union representing Guard technicians: the dispute here is not over coverage by the Act, but over the applicability of a few, concededly important, provisions of the Act.
Id. at 286. See accord, Ind. Air Nat’l Guard, Hulman Field, Terre Haute, Ind. v. FLRA, 712 F.2d 1187, 1191 (7th Cir. 1983) (holding that “§ 709[(f)] of the Technicians Act is a narrow exception to the Labor Management Act, thereby exempting the Guard from negotiating union proposals containing binding arbitration provisions which cover matters listed in §709[(f)].”)
The Authority acceded to the courts’ reasoning, and since that time it has enforced this fundamental accommodation between the Statute and the Technicians Act: technicians are accorded all rights to unionize and bargain collectively that other federal employees have under the Statute, except insofar as explicit provisions of the Technicians Act limit those rights. Accordingly, the Authority has recognized the responsibility of state adjutants general to control the military aspects of technician employment. See, e.g., AFGE, AFL-CIO, Local 2953, 7 FLRA 87, 90 (1981) (Technicians Act rendered nonnegotiable a union proposal limiting management’s ability to consider technician’s military performance in RIFs of civilian positions); NFFE, Local 1623, 28 FLRA 633, 643 (1987) (Local 1623) (proposal limiting management’s ability to find a technician’s civilian position “incompatible” with his military position was nonnegotiable, because matters relating to the military aspects of technician employment are not “conditions of employment” under the Statute). When the latter decision was reviewed and affirmed by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, the court agreed that the subject of compatibility was a military matter, which is left entirely within the Adjutant General’s discretion by the Technicians Act. NFFE, Local 1623 v. FLRA, 852 F.2d 1349, 1352 (D.C. Cir. 1988). The court concluded:
The combined effect of the Labor-Management Act and the Technicians Act is to give National Guard technicians a limited right to negotiate over conditions of employment: But that right is circumscribed by the reality that a technician's military status will often impinge on his civilian status and that, when this happens, the needs of the military must prevail.
Id. at 1353. Similarly, the Authority stated in Div. of Military & Naval Affairs, State of N.Y., Albany, N.Y., 15 FLRA 288, 291 (1984), “while these technicians were granted status as Federal civilian employees by the Technicians Act, it is clear that Congress intended to organize and administer the technician program within the military framework of the National Guard.”
On occasion, the Authority has erred in the opposite direction, by unduly restricting a technician’s bargaining rights. Based on the language of 10 U.S.C. § 976(c)(2), which makes it a crime for any person “to negotiate or bargain . . . on behalf of members of the armed forces, concerning the terms or conditions of service of such members,” the Authority held that the National Guard could not bargain over union proposals relating to the assignment of training duties to technicians, even while they were in a civilian status. Ass’n of Civilian Technicians, Wichita Air Capitol Chapter, 58 FLRA 28 (2002). The appeals court disagreed. Starting from the premise, under 5 U.S.C. § 7102, that “[t]echnicians may engage in collective bargaining,” the court noted that the criminal prohibition was an exception to that general right, and should be construed narrowly. ACT Wichita v. FLRA, 360 F.3d at 196, 199. “When the Guard chooses to assign military training duties to technicians in their civilian capacity, those duties also become terms or conditions of civilian employment.” Id. at 198. Thus the bargaining proposal did not violate 10 U.S.C. § 976.
The consistent theme that emerges from the decisions of both the Authority and the courts is that the Technicians Act and the Statute must be construed together. While the Statute gives technicians broad rights to engage in collective bargaining (and imposes corresponding obligations on the state National Guards), those rights are limited by explicit provisions of the Technicians Act regarding the discretion of the state adjutants general over the military aspects of technician employment. Patrolling the border between the civilian and military aspects of technician employment is the difficult but essential job of the Authority,[26] and sometimes it produces difficult results.
This was never illustrated more clearly, or painfully, than in Puerto Rico ANG, cited earlier by the GC. In that case, the union representing civilian technicians announced that it would engage in informational picketing to protest working conditions. The base commander issued an order prohibiting them from picketing and told employees that they would be photographed if they did so. After the picketing began, the commander suspended the security clearances of twenty-five technicians who participated in the picketing and terminated a union official for organizing it. Notwithstanding the agency’s contention that the Authority had no jurisdiction over it (because it was a state, not a federal, agency) or the dispute (because the entire controversy was a military matter), the Authority upheld its jurisdiction and concluded that the commander’s order, his threats of surveillance, and the suspensions of security clearances all constituted unfair labor practices; therefore, it ordered the agency to take a broad range of remedial actions. 56 FLRA at 182-83. But the Authority also held that § 709(e) (now § 709(f)) of the Technicians Act deprived it of jurisdiction to review the retaliatory termination of the union official, because the Technicians Act prohibits appeals of adverse actions beyond the adjutant general. Id. at 181-82. While the majority recognized that this result leaves technicians with no protections against what was a clearly and flagrantly unlawful action, it held that the Technicians Act left them no choice. Id. at 182. The union, but not the agency, appealed the Authority’s decision; the First Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the Authority’s decision that it could not review the union official’s termination, but it refused to examine Puerto Rico’s claim that the Authority lacked jurisdiction of the entire case. AFGE, Local 3936, AFL-CIO v. FLRA, 239 F.3d 66, 69 n.1, 72 (1st Cir. 2001).
Thus we see that since the passage of the Statute in 1978, the Authority has been exercising jurisdiction over state National Guards and their adjutants general; regulating collective bargaining between the state National Guards and federally-certified unions; and developing a detailed case law that recognizes the limitations imposed by § 709(f) of the Technicians Act on the bargaining rights of technicians. We also see that the federal courts have uniformly recognized the Authority’s jurisdiction in this area and enforced the federal statutory bargaining rights of technicians. When state National Guard officials violate these rules, the Authority and the courts have ordered state adjutants general to take remedial action, and they have complied. In most of these cases, the state officials did not directly raise a challenge to the Authority’s jurisdiction, but the decisions of the courts were nonetheless clear that the Statute gave technicians federally enforceable rights. And in the few cases where the agencies did raise jurisdictional challenges, the Authority’s jurisdiction has always been upheld.
The jurisdictional challenge to the Authority was most clearly and extensively addressed in the Lipscomb case, which was litigated initially in a representation proceeding at the Authority and then collaterally in a separate action brought by the Adjutant General of the Mississippi National Guard to enjoin the election ordered by the Authority. Miss. Army Nat’l Guard, Jackson, Miss., 57 FLRA 337 (2001) (Miss. ANG); Lipscomb v. FLRA, 200 F. Supp. 2d 650 (S.D. Miss. 2001), aff’d 333 F.3d 611 (5th Cir. 2003), cert. denied sub nom. Cross v. FLRA, 541 U.S. 935 (2004). The Authority reiterated points that it had recently made in its Puerto Rico ANG opinion: that the National Guard has both state and federal functions; that dual status technicians are federal employees; that when the state National Guards administer the technicians program they act in their federal capacity and thus are federal agencies; and that the Authority has jurisdiction over collective bargaining disputes involving technicians and state National Guards. 57 FLRA at 339-40. Additionally, it rejected the agency’s argument that technicians are soldiers and their work is inherently military in nature. It noted the extensive case law showing that there is both a civilian and military component to technician employment, and the Authority has full jurisdiction to regulate the civilian aspects of that employment. Id. at 340.
After the Authority issued its decision, the Mississippi Adjutant General sought to have the U.S. District Court enjoin the election and declare that the Authority had no jurisdiction over him and his employees. Both the District Court and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected all of the agency’s arguments and agreed with virtually everything that the Authority had stated in its decision. The appeals court summarized its decision at the outset:
We hold that the civilian technicians, clearly federal employees by virtue of the National Guard Technicians Act . . . are included under the terms of the FSLMRA as federal employees of an Executive agency. We further find that the [Adjutant General] – as an employer of these federal employees – along with the MSNG and MSANG, which organizations operate under the AG’s authority and direction, are federal agencies for the purpose of the FSLMRA, and consequently are subject to the jurisdiction of the Authority.
333 F.3d at 613. It then proceeded to shred the Adjutant General’s arguments one by one.
Taking up the AG’s constitutional argument first, the court stated that the modern-day National Guard is widely recognized as a hybrid entity combining both federal and state characteristics, a recognition that has been shared by the Supreme Court. Id. at 614. Congress embodied the dual nature of technician employment in the Technicians Act, § 709(e) of which “explicitly granted federal employee status” to technicians. Id. at 614, 616-17. The court next rejected the AG’s assertion that even though he employs these “federal employees,” he and the Mississippi National Guard are not federal Executive agencies under § 7103(a)(3) of the Statute, due to the purely state character of his office. The court cited Chaudoin v. Atkinson, 494 F.2d 1323, 1329 (3rd Cir. 1974), a case not involving the FLRA, to reject this notion: “Section 709 ‘charges the adjutant generals with employment and administration of the civilian technicians who are federal employees. In view of the foregoing there can be no doubt that the Adjutant General of Delaware is an agency or an agent of the United States . . . .” 333 F.3d at 618.[27] The Lipscomb court concluded that there was “no doubt that the hybrid character of the AG includes a federal component, which in his capacity as employer of the technicians renders him an ‘Executive agency’.” Id. Accordingly, the court agreed with “decades of settled practice and the decisions of our sister circuits, which have upheld the organizational rights of national guard civilian technicians under the FSLMRA.” Id. at 620.
This brings us to the most recent judicial statement on this issue, FLRA v. Mich. ANG, supra. The Authority found that the National Guard violated technicians’ rights under the Statute when the agency told the technicians’ union that it could communicate with employees regarding the proposed termination of two technicians only through the agency’s lawyer. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals enforced the Authority’s decision. The agency argued that § 709(f) of the Technicians Act prohibits the Authority from reviewing actions taken by the agency in a termination proceeding, as the Adjutant General has unreviewable discretion in this area. 878 F.3d at 177. But the court responded that “the Technicians Act will only insulate the Guard’s communications ban from review if the ban was in fact a regulation of termination proceedings” – a premise the court rejected, because it also banned communications having nothing to do with the termination of the two technicians. Id.
More fundamentally, the Michigan National Guard argued that the Authority could not intervene in the case, because dual status technicians “operate in a capacity that is ‘irreducibly military in nature.’” Id. at 178. Reviewing the language and legislative history of the Technicians Act, the court reaffirmed the principle, articulated in Lipscomb and N.J. ANG, that dual status technicians are federal employees and have the right to engage in collective bargaining protected by the Statute. Id. at 174, 177. It held that while Congress took steps in the Technicians Act to protect the authority of state adjutants general regarding the military aspects of technician employment, it also required those officials to comply with the Statute’s requirements concerning collective bargaining. It concluded: “Military status, in short, does not flatly deprive dual-status technicians of their statutory right ‘to form, join, or assist any labor organization, . . . freely and without fear of penalty or reprisal,’ 5 U.S.C. § 7102.” Id. at 178-79.
Now that I have retraced the case law regarding collective bargaining in the state National Guards, there is very little left to say about the jurisdictional arguments raised by the Respondent in this case. For all intents and purposes, their arguments have already been rejected by the Authority and every federal court to date. The few court decisions they cite in their favor have involved agencies other than the FLRA and laws other than the Statute, and even those decisions appear to have been superseded by recent Congressional action.
Respondent claims that the Authority lacks jurisdiction over technicians because they are “irreducibly military in nature.” Resp. Br. at 24 (citing Fisher v. Peters, 249 F.3d 433, 439 (6th Cir. 2001). The problem with this argument is two-fold. First, the premise has been consistently rejected by the courts, in the context of the Statute and the FLRA’s jurisdiction. As I have already discussed, all federal courts that have addressed the coverage of the Statute to National Guard technicians have examined the constitutional structure and history of the National Guard, recognized the hybrid military-civilian nature of dual status technicians, and concluded that technician employment is not “irreducibly military.” See Lipscomb, 333 F.3d at 614-15, and cases cited there; N.J. ANG, 677 F.2d at 286; see also Local 1623, 28 FLRA at 643, where the Authority ruled, and the DC Circuit agreed, that union proposals connected to the military aspects of technician employment are not negotiable. The D.C. Circuit’s statement in ACT Wichita v. FLRA, 360 F.3d at 198, which I quoted earlier, similarly reflects the view of all the courts that the military and civilian aspects of technician employment can indeed be separated, and that technicians have the right to bargain collectively over the civilian aspects, under the jurisdiction of the Authority.
Second, the court which authored the Fisher decision cited by Respondent has expressly held that the rationale of that case is not applicable to the Statute. FLRA v. Mich. ANG, 878 F.3d at 178. In Fisher, the Sixth Circuit had referred to the “irreducibly military” nature of technician employment to bar lawsuits by individual technicians under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and it cited similar language in Leistiko v. Stone, 134 F.3d 817, 818
(6th Cir. 1998), which barred individual lawsuits under the Rehabilitation Act.[28] Despite the Michigan National Guard’s insistence that the cases were indistinguishable, the court cited the widespread judicial application of the Statute’s collective bargaining system to state National Guard technicians as evidence that the military and civilian aspects can be separated. 878 F.3d at 178-79. And while the court did not make this point, I would add that (unlike the case law regarding dual status technicians under Title VII and the Rehabilitation Act) the Authority has developed an extensive body of law recognizing the distinction between a technician’s military and civilian duties, and it has given considerable deference to the adjutants general in identifying matters that are essential to the military preparedness of the National Guard. This belies the Respondent’s contention that technicians’ duties are irreducibly military.
The specific issues in our case illustrate how the Respondent’s alleged ULPs relate only to the civilian aspects of technician employment. To take one example, the Respondent has admitted that it stopped deducting union dues from employees’ pay. Whatever the factual or legal justifications it may have had for that action, this subject had nothing whatsoever to do with the technicians’ military duties; it was not based on the Adjutant General’s responsibility for ensuring the military preparedness of his technicians. Furthermore, pursuant to § 7114(c) of the Statute, the Department of Defense had reviewed the CBA negotiated by the parties in 2011, to ensure that it was “in accordance with the provisions of [the Statute] and any other applicable law, rule, or regulation . . . .” If any of the negotiated terms related to the military duties of technicians or interfered with the Adjutant General’s military responsibilities, DoD had the opportunity at that time to disapprove those provisions. Indeed, DoD did disapprove some portions of the CBA and returned it to the parties for renegotiation, after which the revised CBA was approved. See First Attachment to GC Exhibit 9. The Respondent is now arguing, in effect, that both the Adjutant General and the Department of Defense negotiated or endorsed a contract that was unlawful in its entirety, as it compromised the “irreducibly military” nature of technician employment. I find this to be a wholly untenable position, both factually, legally, and equitably.
Next, the Respondent claims that the Authority lacks jurisdiction over “the Adjutant General of Ohio, his department, the Ohio National Guard, or the Technicians he administers,” because they are state, not federal, officials or agencies. Resp. Br. at 19. But Lipscomb and several of the other cases cited earlier refute this theory. The court in N.J. ANG, 677 F.2d at 278, discussed the hybrid state-federal nature of the National Guards and noted that while they are state agencies, “the activity, makeup, and function of the Guard is provided for, to a large extent, by federal law.” Respondent’s witnesses at the hearing acknowledged that they and the Ohio Adjutant General are governed by regulations and instructions issued by the Department of Defense and the National Guard Bureau. Tr. 179-81, 270-73, 275-77; GC Ex. 2; Resp. Ex. 1. Although the state National Guards are not in the same command structure as the National Guard Bureau, DoD and the Bureau own much of the state agencies’ property and control most of their financing. Despite admitting that they are bound by this complex web of DoD regulations – regulations that they obey – the Adjutant General insists that he is not bound by the Statute. This is a claim that smacks of convenience, not law. It certainly has not garnered any judicial support.
Most importantly for our purposes, § 709(d) of the Technicians Act provides that the Army and Air Force secretaries “shall designate the adjutants general . . . to employ and administer the technicians authorized by this section.” In other words, the state adjutants general carry out their functions in employing technicians, and receive their legal authority to do so, through the direct order of the service secretaries. Both the Authority (in Puerto Rico ANG, 56 FLRA at 178, and in Miss. ANG, 57 FLRA at 339) and the Fifth Circuit (in Lipscomb, 333 F.3d at 613) pointed to § 709(d) as proof that when the state National Guards act as employers of dual status technicians, they do so in their federal capacity. The Lipscomb court found this conclusion to be “incontrovertible.” Id. at 617. See also NeSmith v. Fulton, 615 F.2d 196, 198 (5th Cir. 1980), and cases cited there. So do I.
Essentially, the only case the Respondent can cite in its favor on this matter is Singleton. There, an Ohio National Guard technician claimed at the Merit Systems Protection Board that he had been denied a promotion in reprisal for his protected activity. The MSPB ruled, and the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals agreed, that even if he could prove unlawful reprisal, it could not provide him with any effective relief, because an order of the MSPB is not enforceable against the Ohio National Guard. 244 F.3d at 1336-37. The court reasoned that even if Singleton were to prevail in his reprisal claim, a remedial order could not be directed to the Ohio Adjutant General, who is not a federal employee. The MSPB could possibly order the Ohio National Guard to take corrective action, since the MSPB has ruled that a state National Guard is a federal agency, but the Guard can act only through its adjutant general, and the MSPB lacks any authority to order the adjutant general to do anything. Id.
With all due respect to the Federal Circuit, this reasoning sounds both circular and defeatist. Even though the court acknowledged that the Ohio National Guard may indeed be a federal agency – against which both the Board and the Authority, under their separate statutes, can issue remedial orders – it refused to entertain the possibility of issuing an order against the Guard itself. Federal courts issue orders to federal agencies all the time, but the Singleton court offered no explanation for passing over that avenue of relief and singling out the adjutant general as the only entity to whom the order must be issued. And then, as for the possibility of ordering the adjutant general to take action, the court simply threw up its hands and concluded that the MSPB had no authority to order the AG to take any action. Id. at 1337. But the case law is replete with examples of courts and federal agencies ordering agencies to take actions, as well as ordering the heads of those federal agencies to do so. None of the federal circuit courts that have enforced orders under the Statute have expressed the slightest difficulty in issuing such orders in cases against state National Guards, and the Lipscomb court was quite emphatic that the Mississippi Adjutant General himself and the Mississippi National Guard were federal agencies, subject to orders issued by the Authority or the court. 333 F.3d at 613, 617-18; see also cases cited by the Authority in Miss. ANG, 57 FLRA at 339. The Authority has similarly ordered state National Guards, as well as state adjutants general, to take specific actions in far too many cases to list,[29] and circuit courts have enforced those orders, when called upon.[30]
Regardless of the merits of the Singleton decision, it was a decision of the Federal Circuit, which does not handle FLRA cases or deal with the Statute; it analyzed the particular statutory language regarding the jurisdiction and remedial powers of the MSPB, not the FLRA. When the Sixth Circuit (which does have jurisdiction over the Respondent and the FLRA) addressed this same argument in FLRA v. Mich. ANG, it ruled that it (and the Authority) could order the state National Guard to remedy its unfair labor practice. 878 F.3d at 180. The Lipscomb court addressed this point in greater detail, finding that the Authority could order the state adjutant general, and the state National Guard, to take a wide range of actions. 333 F.3d at 617-20. Thus the Singleton decision sheds no light whatsoever on our current case.
Moreover, it appears that recent Congressional action has further narrowed, if not eliminated, the applicability of Singleton, Fisher, and Leistiko. On December 19, 2016, Congress amended the Technicians Act, including § 709(f) and (g). National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, Pub. L. No. 114-328, 130 Stat. 2000, § 512 (2016). Through these amendments, Congress now bars appeals of personnel actions such as RIFs and adverse actions beyond the adjutant general only “when the appeal concerns activity occurring while the member is in a military pay status, or concerns fitness for duty in the reserve components[.]” 32 U.S.C. § 709(f)(4) (2016). In other words, technicians are free to challenge adverse actions beyond the adjutant general (for instance to an arbitrator in a negotiated grievance procedure, or to the Authority), if their claims arise from their civilian duties. A new paragraph (f)(5) also permits many technicians to appeal RIFs and adverse action to the MSPB and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. 32 U.S.C. § 709(f)(5) (2016). As Congress noted, these amendments were not intended to create new rights for technicians, but simply to “clarify” their existing rights and protections. See S. Rep. No. 114-255, at 139 (2016); H.R. Conf. Rep. 114-840, at 1016-17 (2016). By virtue of these amendments, it is clear that Congress recognizes that the civilian and military aspects of technician employment can indeed be separated, and that many personnel decisions of adjutants general can be reviewed by courts and other authorities. Because § 709 now expressly permits technicians to appeal certain matters to the MSPB, and because these appeal rights make sense only if they can result in enforceable MSPB orders, Singelton’s conclusion that MSPB orders cannot be enforced against the National Guard is almost certainly wrong. And if Singleton was wrong about the obligation of an adjutant general to obey the order of a federal agency, then the Respondent has no support whatsoever in its argument.
Applying this precedent, I conclude that the Adjutant General of Ohio, as an employer of federal civilian technicians who are employees within the meaning of the Statute, is an agency within the meaning of § 7103(a)(3) of the Statute. Further, because the Ohio Adjutant General’s Department and the Ohio National Guard are entities that operate under the authority and direction of the Adjutant General, I find that they too are agencies within the meaning of § 7103(a)(3) of the Statute. Accordingly, the Authority has jurisdiction over the Respondent.
I will now consider the unfair labor practices alleged in the complaints. These allegations fall into three general categories: the independent violations of § 7116(a)(1), the termination of employee dues allocations, and the unilateral changes in conditions of technicians’ employment.
The Agency’s Communications Interfered with and Restrained Employees
in the Exercise of their Rights
I will first address the allegations that the Respondent committed independent violations of § 7116(a)(1) of the Statute, because those allegations are relevant to many other aspects of this case. The Agency’s communications to employees – the September 28 memo and several other written statements thereafter – cast a shadow over the Agency’s subsequent relations with the Union and with employees, and they affect my consideration of the other alleged unfair labor practices. In essence, the September 28 memo and its frequent reaffirmations poisoned the atmosphere in which labor-management relations could occur.
Under § 7102 of the Statute, an employee has the right to form, join, or assist any labor organization, or to refrain from such activity, freely and without fear of penalty or reprisal. In addition, it protects the right to “engage in collective bargaining with respect to conditions of employment through representatives chosen by employees . . . .” Id. Section 7102 protects (among other things) employees’ right to file and process grievances under a collective bargaining agreement. Scott AFB, 34 FLRA at 965.
Under § 7116(a)(1) of the Statute, an agency commits a ULP when it interferes with, restrains, or coerces employees in the exercise of their rights protected under the Statute. Mich. ANG, 69 FLRA at 396. For instance, the Authority has held that an agency violates § 7116(a)(1) by indicating that “there would be no point” in filing a grievance,[31] or by asserting that an employee had no rights or recourse under the negotiated grievance procedure because the agreement had expired.[32] Additionally, an agency’s violation of § 7115 can interfere with an employee’s right under § 7102 to form, join, or assist any labor organization. AFGE, AFL-CIO, 51 FLRA 1427, 1438 (1996).
The test for determining whether a statement or conduct violates § 7116(a)(1) is an objective one. Mich. ANG, 69 FLRA at 396. Although the circumstances of each case are taken into consideration, the standard is not based on the subjective perceptions of the employee or on the intent of the employer. Rather, the question is whether, viewed objectively, the agency’s action or statement would tend to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of their rights protected under the Statute, or whether the employee could reasonably have drawn a coercive inference from the action or statement. U.S. Dep’t of Transp., FAA, 64 FLRA 365, 370 (2009). A statement can be coercive if it would have a “chilling effect” on protected activity, or if it would cause a reasonable employee to “think twice” before exercising a protected right. See Lowry AFB, 16 FLRA at 960. Violations of § 7116(a)(1) can pertain to interference with the rights of a union as well as of an individual. U.S. Dep’t of the Air Force, 62nd Airlift Wing, McChord AFB, Wash., 63 FLRA 677, 679 (2009). And an agency can violate § 7116(a)(1) in its dealings with a union representative, even if the representative is not an employee of the agency. See U.S. Dep’t of the Army, Army Corps of Eng’rs, Portland Dist., Portland, Or., 60 FLRA 413, 417 (2004).
With these rules in mind, I evaluate the General Counsel’s allegation that the September 28 memo interfered with, restrained, and coerced employees in the exercise of their protected rights. It is important to understand the context in which Colonel Giezie made the statements in that memo. It was sent a few days after Giezie and Aukland had sent a letter to the Union, notifying it that “[t]he Agency no longer recognizes the existence of any portion of the former [CBA]. . . . Until a new CBA is in effect, the Agency will continue to assert . . . jurisdictional defenses to the Federal Services Labor Management Relations Act.” Resp. Exs. 3 & 4. In the September 28 memo, Giezie indicated that he had already notified the Union that management would no longer be bound by the CBA and would challenge the applicability of the Statute to technicians.[33] Therefore, the memo was sent to provide “guidance to supervisors for management of their . . . Technician workforce.” GC Ex. 2, ¶ 3. Giezie advised recipients that the Agency “is not bound by any provision of the CBA” and “does not consider itself obligated to abide by the FSLMRA.” Id., ¶¶ 1, 2. In the absence of the Statute and the CBA, “grievances will be forwarded to the HRO for ad hoc resolution.” Id., ¶ 3. Other “matters formerly the subject of the CBA” (including absence and leave, awards, and discipline) would be governed by internal personnel regulations. Id., ¶¶ 3, 4. Moreover, while Giezie testified that he intended the memo to be sent only to supervisors and managers, in fact it was sent – at his direction and by his assistant – to over 2,000 people, including 284 bargaining unit employees.
The objective meaning of these statements is clear: technicians would no longer have any of the legal protections given to federal employees under the Statute; neither technicians nor their union would be able to utilize the CBA’s grievance procedure to enforce any of the conditions of employment contained in the CBA; and management would be guided only by its own regulations in dealing with employees. And while the memo did not explicitly spell out the consequences of the Agency’s disavowal of the Statute, those consequences were equally clear: the FLRA would (at least in the Agency’s view) no longer be able to utilize any of the procedures contained in the Statute to regulate collective bargaining at the Agency. In other words, bargaining impasses would no longer be resolved at the FSIP; negotiability disputes would no longer be resolved by the Authority; contract disputes could no longer go to arbitration; and if management retaliated against a technician for engaging in union activity, the Authority would not be able to protect him. Employee witnesses at the hearing confirmed that they understood the memo in this manner, but I do not need their personal impressions to understand both the explicit and implicit meaning of Giezie’s words.
Without question, Colonel Giezie’s statement that grievances would no longer be resolved through the CBA’s grievance procedure, but instead through an “ad hoc” process administered by the HRO, was likely to coerce employees and interfere with their right to file grievances. This conclusion is most directly illustrated by the George AFB case. There, when an employee sought to file a grievance, she was told that because the agency’s CBA with its union had expired, there was no negotiated grievance procedure. The judge stated, and the Authority affirmed, that “any action by an employer which discourages or interferes with an employee's filing of a grievance pursuant to a negotiated agreement inherently interferes with the rights assured employees under Section 7102 of the Act.” 4 FLRA at 29-30. He further concluded that the agency official’s “statements to the employee that she had no rights or recourse under the negotiated grievance clause, clearly discouraged or interfered with Crocker's filing of her grievance” and violated 7116(a)(1). Id. at 30. It follows, therefore, that Colonel Giezie’s statement in the September 28 memo – that the negotiated grievance procedure would no longer be followed – discouraged technicians from filing grievances and violated 7116(a)(1). See also U.S. Dep’t of Labor, Emp. & Training Admin., S.F., Cal., 43 FLRA 1036, 1039-40 (1992) (finding that § 7102 protects an employee’s assertion of a right emanating from a CBA).
But as I have already noted, the September 28 memo did not simply eliminate the negotiated grievance procedure; it also advised employees that the entire CBA was null and void. In other words, none of the multitude of contract provisions negotiated by the Union over many years, concerning all sorts of conditions of employment, had any validity whatsoever, and employees were subject entirely to the dictates of the Agency. None of the rules regarding leave, hiring, promotion, safety, seniority, RIFs, and discipline, which technicians had become accustomed to following, could be relied upon any more. But the memo went even further: not only was the Union powerless to protect employees regarding the conditions of their employment, but so was the FLRA. Asserting their rights would not only be a futile act for employees, but a dangerous one. Technicians would be totally at the mercy of the Adjutant General and his HR office. I can think of nothing that would have a greater chilling effect than statements like these. Once employees have been told that the Union and the federal government are powerless to protect them in their dealings with the Agency, they understand that both their civilian and military careers can be jeopardized by challenging a supervisor’s or an HR official’s directions.
The Respondent argues that Giezie was merely expressing the Agency’s legal opinion on the jurisdiction of the Statute. Resp. Br. at 24-25. This claim is both disingenuous and dangerous. It is one thing for an agency to pursue a legal theory in court or before me; it is another thing entirely to publicly advise managers and employees that employees have no legal right to bargain collectively, file grievances, or engage in union activity, or that a negotiated agreement will no longer be complied with. The Respondent (citing National Guard Bureau, 55 FLRA at 663) correctly notes that the Authority itself has often stated that under the Technicians Act, the collective bargaining rights of technicians are more limited than most other federal employees. But that is a far cry from telling technicians they have no federally enforceable rights whatsoever, as the Agency did here. In National Guard Bureau, and in numerous other cases already discussed, the Authority and the courts have ruled that National Guard technicians have a wide range of rights under the Statute, even though their rights are more constrained than those of other federal employees. See, e.g., N.J. ANG, 677 F.2d at 286.
The Agency reiterated the coercive message of its September 28 memo on several occasions. Hours after the memo was sent, Colonel Giezie and Tabler sent the same recipients another email in which Giezie asserted, “[T]he union has been notified that the agency no longer recognizes any portion of the previously existing CBA.” GC Ex. 20. This email also contained the September 28 memo as an attachment. The coercive message was reiterated by Aukland in his January 10 letter to Jung and in his March 1 letter to Rice. In the January 10 letter, Aukland repeated Giezie’s earlier assertion that the CBA was null and void, and he denied “that the FLRA has some lawful authority over The Adjutant General of Ohio.” GC Ex. 3 at 2. He further asserted that “until there is a CBA, no employee should be paying dues to AFGE.” Id. Aukland went beyond Giezie’s prior comments by stating further that “[w]hile the Agency plans to start with those employees not having SF 1187 on file, the Agency reserves the right to terminate all union dues allotments until there is a CBA.” Id. On March 1, after Rice objected to the proposed termination of his union dues allotment and threatened to file a grievance (GC Exs. 6 & 15), Aukland told Rice that he could not file a grievance under the CBA because the CBA had expired and was therefore a “nullity,” and that Rice could only use “the process deemed appropriate by the HRO Director or his designee.” GC Ex. 6 at 1-2. By asserting that a contractual grievance could not be filed because the CBA had expired, Aukland interfered with, restrained, and coerced Rice in the exercise of his right to file grievances pursuant to a negotiated grievance procedure. George AFB, 4 FLRA at 29-30.
The letters sent to employees on April 4 compounded the Agency’s interference with employees’ right to assist the Union, by telling them that the Agency “will recommend the termination of your Union Dues Allotment by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) because there is no collective bargaining agreement with AFGE Local 3970.” GC Exs. 8 & 14; Tr. 98-99. This was a fulfillment of Aukland’s earlier promise to Rice to terminate all employees’ dues allotments. The April 4 letters were sent to 41 technicians whose SF 1187s were still on file with the Agency; nevertheless, the Agency told these employees that it would seek DFAS approval to stop their dues allotments. While the Agency subsequently deferred acting on this plan, it has not rescinded its notices to the 41 technicians, and the coercive effects of the April 4 letters linger unabated. These letters communicate not only to the 41 affected employees, but to the Union and the entire bargaining unit, that the Agency will utilize the lack of a CBA as the basis for cutting off the Union’s financial support – an action that would impair the Union’s ability to represent dues-paying and non-dues-paying employees alike.
Most recently, the Agency interfered with employee rights in its May 9 letter to current Union President Wayble, by telling Wayble that while the Agency was willing to negotiate a new CBA with officials of Local 3970, it would not permit officials of the AFGE’s national or regional offices to participate in such negotiations, and it would not allow those officials onto state property. GC Ex. 28. Additionally, it indicated that it would resume contract negotiations only “[i]f the FLRA’s complaint is dismissed . . . and . . . provided the other conditions outlined above are met.” Id. at 2. Section 7102 of the Statute “encompasses a union’s right to designate its representatives, including a non-employee who will have access to an agency’s premises to conduct representational activities.” Bureau of Indian Affairs, Isleta Elementary School, Pueblo of Isleta, N.Mex., 54 FLRA 1428, 1438 (1998); see also Phila. Naval Shipyard, 4 FLRA 255, 266-68 (1980). The May 9 letter clearly violates the Union’s right to designate regional or national officials to assist them in negotiations.
I reject the Respondent’s argument that, because the September 28 memo was intended only for supervisors and managers, the Agency should not be held liable for it. This claim simply is not credible, given the facts of this case. Although the record is unclear whether Ms. Tabler (the HR assistant who distributed the memo) was an agent of the Respondent, it is undisputed that she worked directly for Colonel Giezie and sent the memo (twice in one day) at his direction. She told Giezie that she had no management-only distribution list, and Giezie told her to go ahead and use the “A” and “D” lists. As the director of this department, it is clear that Giezie sent out considerable correspondence to both employees and supervisors, and even if he did not explicitly understand who would be receiving the memo, he certainly should have. His willful ignorance of that fact does not excuse the reality that the memo was directly received by nearly 300 bargaining unit members, and subsequently passed on undoubtedly to hundreds more. Giezie admitted as much at the hearing. Tr. 412-13.
Even if Colonel Giezie intended the September 28 memo to be distributed only to management officials, the contents of the memo make it clear that the “guidance” contained in it was meant to be passed on to the entire bargaining unit.[34] He was telling supervisors that the Agency was no longer bound by the CBA, and that it didn’t consider itself obligated to comply with the Statute. Giezie told his supervisors that until these disputes were resolved, the terms of the CBA and the negotiated grievance procedure would not be observed, and the HRO would set its own rules on conditions of employment that had previously been the subject of the CBA. GC Ex. 2. Thus, the Agency was not merely “expressing its opinion” or exercising its freedom of speech: instead, the Agency was directing all supervisors to ignore the CBA and submit all labor relations problems to the HRO for unilateral resolution. If a technician were to approach a supervisor with a potential grievance, and the supervisor told him he had no right to file a grievance, the supervisor would be acting fully within the scope of the memo’s “guidance.” If a supervisor or investigator were to question an employee about an incident that might result in disciplinary action, it would be perfectly understandable (in light of this memo) for the interrogator to refuse a request for union representation. If a union representative were to request official time to meet with employees or management about a problem, his supervisor would be acting fully within the scope of the September 28 memo if he told the representative he was no longer entitled to official time. Thus it is preposterous for the Respondent now to claim that it bears no responsibility for the fact that hundreds of technicians received a copy of a memo that was intended to be applied to them anyway
Finally, I note that the Agency has never retracted the contents of the September 28 memo. At some point in the weeks after September 28, it was inevitable that word spread back to supervisors and HR officials that the memo had been sent to technicians. There was ample time for Colonel Giezie to advise all technicians, publicly and in writing, that the Agency would continue to observe the terms of the CBA and the Statute until its legal claims were resolved, but he did not do so; instead, he and Aukland doubled down on the September 28 memo and continued to assert publicly that the CBA was void and that the Statute didn’t cover them. The Agency must, therefore, accept the legal liability for the unlawful statements it has made.
For all of these reasons, I find that the Respondent’s statements in the September 28 memo; the January 10 letter to Jung; the March 1 letter to Rice; and the April 4 letters interfered with, restrained, and coerced employees in the exercise of their rights under the Statute, in violation of § 7116(a)(1).
The Respondent Violated § 7116(a)(1) and (5) of the Statute by Refusing to Be
Bound by Mandatory Terms of the CBA, including Provisions Concerning the
Grievance-Arbitration Procedure and Official Time
Now that I have established the unlawfulness of the Agency’s ongoing communications with employees between September 2016 and at least May 2017, we can better evaluate the GC’s allegations that the Agency repudiated mandatory terms of the CBA, thereby refusing to negotiate in good faith with the Union, in violation of § 7116(a)(1) and (5) of the Statute.
The GC alleges that the Agency refused to comply with the CBA’s grievance procedure, as well as CBA provisions regarding official time and discipline.[35] The Agency insists that it continued to “perform[] under all the terms in the CBA” despite raising its “jurisdictional concerns[.]” Resp. Br. at 34. Colonel Giezie testified that he instructed supervisors to follow the CBA grievance procedure, although no grievances had been filed. Tr. 383. While the GC’s evidence of explicit refusals to comply with some of the CBA provisions is vague, evidence of other refusals is convincing, and all of the evidence must be evaluated in the context of the Agency’s repeated announcements that the CBA was void and would not be honored.
Over the years, the Authority has reversed itself and modified many of its interpretations of the Statute, but one rule has remained constant. In one of its earliest cases (which actually drew upon precedent under the Executive Order), the Authority stated: “the existing personnel policies and practices and matters affecting working conditions – including negotiated grievance and arbitration procedures – must continue as established upon the expiration of a negotiated agreement, absent an express agreement by the parties to the contrary or unless modified in a manner consistent with the Statute.” George AFB, 4 FLRA at 23. That rule has been consistently applied in the ensuing forty years, most recently in IUPEDJ, 68 FLRA at 1004. Along the way, this same rule was applied in a case involving the Ohio Adjutant General, in the Ohio ANG case, 21 FLRA at 1087. Therefore, it is somewhat perplexing that a labor relations professional such as Mr. Aukland, who served as General Counsel of the Ohio National Guard for twenty-five years and has since worked as a labor relations assistant there, could issue legal pronouncements, such as the September 28 memo, which fly in the face of longstanding precedent.
In applying this rule, the Authority has specified that while terms and conditions of employment resulting from permissive bargaining may be unilaterally terminated by either party when the CBA expires, conditions of employment involving mandatory subjects of bargaining must be maintained. U.S. Dep’t of Justice, INS, Wash., D.C., 52 FLRA 256, 260 n.3 (1996); see also U.S. Food & Drug Admin. Ne. and Mid-Atl. Regions, 53 FLRA 1269, 1275-76 (1998), for discussion of what constitutes a permissive subject. In accordance with this principle, the Agency’s Human Resources Officer notified the Union in 2014 that it would stop complying with certain permissive terms of the soon-expiring CBA, while continuing to follow the remainder of the agreement. GC Ex. 10. Among the issues that have been held to be mandatory subjects of bargaining are: matters pertaining to negotiated grievance and arbitration procedures;[36] official time;[37] procedures for discussing potential disciplinary matters informally;[38] consultation with a union prior to changing the area of consideration;[39] and procedures for deducting and remitting union dues.[40] After a CBA has expired, an agency that unilaterally terminates a contractual provision (or provisions) that constitutes a mandatory subject of bargaining violates § 7116(a)(1) and (5) of the Statute. SSA, 44 FLRA at 881.
In stating that the Agency “is not bound by any provision of the CBA,” the September 28 letter clearly repudiated those CBA terms involving mandatory subjects of bargaining. GC Ex. 2. These terms include the grievance and arbitration procedure in Article 16, the official time provisions in Article 11, and the provisions concerning discipline in Article 15 of the CBA.
Not only did the September 28 memo repudiate the CBA in general, but it specifically imposed a new, “ad hoc” grievance procedure, to be administered by the HRO. GC Ex. 2 at 2. This corroborates what Aukland stated in his March affidavit, in which he said: “I do not view us as having a grievance procedure per se. . . . [W]e’re not going to process them under the five-step process under the expired CBA.” GC Ex. 1(r), Aukland Affi. at 8. This was clearly done unilaterally, without notifying or bargaining with the Union. Although Colonel Giezie claimed at the hearing that his office has instructed supervisors to observe the CBA and the negotiated grievance procedure (Tr. 382-84), there is no evidence that employees have been advised of this, and I find it incredible. Giezie himself acknowledged that the September 28 memo gave employees the impression that they had no grievance rights under the CBA, and that employees would only learn otherwise if they spoke directly to him. Tr. 384. The testimony of Wayble and Higginbotham, that they were able to resolve a few employee complaints informally with supervisors (Tr. 49, 107), does not establish that the CBA grievance procedure was being followed, but only that some supervisors continued to meet with Union officials. The overwhelming evidence shows that the Agency made it clear to employees that their only recourse was to follow an ad hoc procedure under the final control of the HR director. Accordingly, I find that the Respondent unlawfully changed the technicians’ conditions of employment by imposing a new, ad hoc grievance procedure and by repudiating the negotiated procedure.
With respect to official time, Higginbotham testified that he approached his supervisor after September 28 about a problem that required his attention as a Union steward, and he requested official time to handle it. His supervisor called the HRO while Higginbotham waited in the room, and when he got off the phone the supervisor told Higginbotham that official time was no longer being recognized. Tr. 94-95, 102-03. Aukland confirmed that after September 28, the Agency no longer accepted the provision in Article 11 entitling the Union President to 100 percent official time, but he was ambiguous as to whether management granted official time to other Union officials. Tr. 335-36. No management witness offered any specific evidence showing that it continued to grant official time. In light of the sweeping language of the September 28 memo, and the above-cited testimony of Higginbotham and Aukland, I find that the Agency told at least one Union steward that official time was no longer being granted, and that the Agency renounced its contractual obligation to grant 100 percent official time to the Union President. Accordingly, the Respondent violated § 7116(a)(1) and (5) by changing its policy regarding official time.
However, the GC has not established that the Agency changed its policy or practice regarding disciplinary actions. I note first that the GC offered no evidence of specific instances in which an employee was disciplined and the Union was not allowed to discuss it with the supervisor. Higginbotham’s testimony was quite vague, saying only that after September 28 “I didn’t get hardly any calls from anybody, other than maybe an employee.” Tr. 96. Compounding the difficulty, Article 15 of the CBA is similarly vague as to the supervisor’s duty in such situations. It requires that before disciplinary action is initiated, “the affected employee and a union representative will be given the opportunity to informally discuss the problem . . . with the supervisor.” GC Ex. 9 at 11. Whether this means the supervisor has an affirmative obligation to notify the Union, or whether the supervisor simply is obligated to meet with the Union on request, is unclear, and the hearing testimony did not shed light on this issue. While I recognize that the Agency’s repeated statements that the CBA was void, and that the Statute didn’t protect them, likely deterred employees from seeking Union assistance in disciplinary situations, I have already found that those statements constituted independent violations of § 7116(a)(1) of the Statute. I don’t believe that the evidence supports a further finding that the Respondent changed its policy regarding disciplinary actions.
The Respondent Violated § 7116(a)(1) and (8) of the Statute by Terminating
the Union Dues Allotments that Employees had Authorized
Section 7115 of the Statute provides, in pertinent part:
(a) If an agency has received from an employee . . . a written assignment which authorizes the agency to deduct from the pay of the employee amounts for the payment of regular and periodic dues of the exclusive representative of the unit, the agency shall honor the assignment and make an appropriate allotment pursuant to the assignment. . . . Except as provided under subsection (b) of this section, any such assignment may not be revoked for a period of 1 year.
(b) An allotment under subsection (a) of this section for the deduction of dues with respect to any employee shall terminate when--
(1) the agreement between the agency and the exclusive representative involved ceases to be applicable to the employee; or
(2) the employee is suspended or expelled from membership in the exclusive representative.
Section 7115(a) imposes an affirmative duty on an agency to honor current dues assignments of unit employees by remitting regular and periodic dues deducted from their accrued salaries to their exclusive representative. U.S. Mint, 35 FLRA at 1098. The legislative history of § 7115 indicates that the employee alone controls the manner of dues payment and that an agency’s obligation to honor dues check-off authorizations is mandatory and nondiscretionary. Id. While agencies and unions may negotiate procedures for deducting and remitting union dues, Congress intended the Statute, and not the collective bargaining agreement covering a unit, to govern the subject of dues withholding. Id. at 1099; see also Mare Island, 47 FLRA at 1292 (“The initiation and termination of dues withholding is controlled by section 7115 of the Statute, not by a dues allotment agreement between the parties.”); Readiness Command, 7 FLRA at 199 (“[S]ection 7115(a) of the Statute does not make dues assignments dependent upon a written agreement between the parties but rather permits an employee in an appropriate unit to authorize dues allotments if he so desires.”). Accordingly, an agency is obligated to honor the dues assignments of unit employees and make allotments even if no agreement is in effect at the time. See U.S. Mint, 35 FLRA at 1099-1100.
An agency’s failure to comply with the requirements of § 7115 of the Statute violates § 7116(a)(1) and (8) of the Statute. U.S. Air Force, 2750th Air Base Wing, Headquarters, Air Force Logistics Command, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, 16 FLRA 872, 875 (1984). Remedies for an agency’s violation of § 7115 may cover an employee who did not submit a dues assignment if the agency’s actions indicated that it would have been futile for the employee to have submitted the assignment. See U.S. Mint, 35 FLRA at 1100.
An agency is permitted to terminate an employee’s dues deductions only when it follows the requirements set forth in § 7115(b) of the Statute. Mare Island, 47 FLRA at 1293. Section 7115(b)(1) provides that allotments shall terminate “when the agreement between the agency and the exclusive representative involved ceases to be applicable to the employee.” 5 U.S.C. § 7115(b)(1). Examples of what it means for an agreement to “case to be applicable to an employee” can be seen in Authority precedent, legislative history, and administrative opinions. In this regard, the Authority has noted that § 7115(b)(1) requires the termination of an employee’s union dues deductions when the employee ceases to be part of an established bargaining unit. U.S. Air Force, 2750th Air Base Wing Headquarters, Air Force Logistics Command, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, 16 FLRA 872, 874-75 (1984).
Looking at the legislative history of § 7115, the House Report stated:
Subsection (b) . . . requires that an allotment terminate when . . . the existing collective bargaining agreement between the agency and labor organization ceases to be applicable to the employee (the employee is promoted to a management position or leaves the employ of the agency) . . . .
H.R. Rep. No. 95-1403, 95th Cong., 2d Sess. 48 (1978) (emphasis added).
The Comptroller General has adopted this interpretation of § 7115(b), stating: “Section [7115](b)(1) applies to situations where the employee is promoted to a management position or leaves the employ of the agency.” In re Margaret Jackson – Withdrawal of Allotment of Union Dues, B-196978, 1980 WL 18062 (Comp. Gen. Aug. 14, 1980). Similarly, and as noted above, the DoD FMR states that a collective bargaining agreement ceases to be applicable to the employee when: (1) the employee is separated from the employing agency; (2) the employee is promoted or reassigned to a supervisory position; or (3) the labor organization loses eligibility for exclusive recognition. Resp. Ex. 1.
There is no serious dispute that the Agency stopped deducting union dues for at least 89 bargaining unit employees – including Craigo, Rice, and Wayble – who did not have SF 1187s on file, even though the employees had initially authorized the deductions,[41] and even though the employees had not asked the Agency to terminate the deductions. See GC Exs. 1(b) & 1(d); Tr. 227. These terminations were valid only if they met one of the criteria set forth in § 7115(b). One of those two criteria – termination when the employee is suspended or expelled from union membership – clearly does not apply here. Thus the Agency’s only justification for terminating these employees’ dues allotments is that the CBA “cease[d] to be applicable” to the employees when the CBA expired. 5 U.S.C. § 7115(b)(1). However, the above-cited examples of when § 7115(b)(1) applies – an employee becomes a supervisor, the employee leaves the employ of the agency, and the union loses eligibility for exclusive recognition – are not present in our case. Moreover, because the Authority has indicated that an agency must honor dues assignments even if no agreement is in effect at the time, it follows that an agreement’s expiration cannot be a basis for terminating an employee’s authorized deductions.
This interpretation is bolstered by the fact that § 7115(b) refers to the contract no longer being applicable to a single “employee,” rather than a group of employees, which would be the case if dues could be terminated upon the expiration of a contract. For these reasons, the phrase in § 7115(b), that an allotment shall terminate when the agreement “ceases to be applicable to the employee,” does not mean that an allotment terminates when a collective bargaining agreement expires. See U.S. Mint, 35 FLRA at 1099-1100.[42] Continuing dues deductions post-expiration is consistent with the statutory purpose of providing a greater measure of union security, thereby fostering stability in federal labor-management relations. See Readiness Command, 7 FLRA at 198-99. This same interest in fostering stability was the basis for the George AFB rule that mandatory conditions of employment must be continued after a CBA expires. 4 FLRA at 23. For all these reasons, the Agency’s termination of employees’ authorized union dues deductions was unlawful.
The Respondent’s justifications for its actions are unconvincing. It contends that 110202 of the DoD FMR requires that an SF 1187 be on file to justify a union dues allotment. Resp. Br. at 29. But this provision requires only that SF 1187s be submitted to initiate dues deductions, a requirement that was satisfied in our case. Resp. Ex. 1 at 11-5, -6; see also Tr. 186, 189, 403. Nothing in ¶ 110202 requires that SF 1187s be maintained in order for dues deductions to be continued. Resp. Ex. 1 at 11-5, 11-6; Tr. 303. Accordingly, this justification does not withstand scrutiny.
Citing ¶ 110202, Respondent also argues that it would have been responsible for reimbursing an employee if a deduction occurred without an SF 1187 on file. But the FMR requires reimbursement only when an agency has failed to terminate dues deductions for an employee who has left the bargaining unit, a situation that did not occur in our case. Resp. Ex. 1 at 11-7. Moreover, ¶ 110201 indicates that an agency “has no liability in connection with any authorized allotment,” and the allotments at issue in our case were authorized. Resp. Ex. 1 at 11-5; GC Exs. 1(b) & 1(d); see also Tr. 186, 189, 403. Additionally, an agency’s potential liability is not in itself a basis for terminating an allotment, as set forth in § 7115 of the Statute. Therefore, this argument also lacks merit.
The Respondent contends that it terminated the technicians’ dues deductions to comply with “stringent audit readiness requirements” established by the U.S. Department of Defense and monitored by the USPFO. However, it has not provided any documentary evidence to substantiate this claim. In particular, Respondent offered no documentation defining the “audit readiness” requirements or stating that an agency must terminate an employee’s authorized union dues deductions if the agency loses the employee’s SF 1187. Further, while Colonel Dernberger, Colonel Giezie, and Aukland testified that it was necessary for the Agency to maintain employees’ SF 1187s on file, they did not cite a law or regulation specifically requiring an agency to terminate an employee’s authorized union dues deductions when the employee’s SF 1187 is lost. See Tr. 171-72, 177-80, 287, 377. And I doubt that such a strict requirement exists, given that the Agency permitted dues deductions to continue even though it knew for years that some employees’ SF 1187s were missing. It was also unreasonable for the Agency to put the burden on employees to rectify the problem of the missing SF 1187s, given that it was the Agency’s responsibility to maintain those forms, and given that it was most likely the Agency’s document retention policy that caused the loss of the forms. See Tr. 186, 198, 303. 402. Finally, and ultimately most importantly, an agency’s internal audit requirements are not a reason listed in § 7115 justifying the termination of an employee’s authorized union dues deductions.
The Respondent counters that Wayble and Rice refused to submit new or original SF 1187s for themselves. But again, the language of the Statute is a brick wall that will not yield to the Respondent’s self-created paperwork exigencies. There is nothing in § 7115 or in the case law that permits the Agency to punish an employee’s refusal to provide such documentation by terminating the employee’s previously authorized dues deductions. As already noted, Congress has stated that the employee alone controls the matter of dues payment. These employees had previously told the Agency that they wanted their union dues deducted, and the Agency had received nothing from them to indicate that they wished to revoke that authorization. Accordingly, the Agency was required to continue the deductions.
Moreover, while the Agency invited employees to submit a new or original SF 1187, an employee could reasonably conclude, as Rice did, that submitting the form would be pointless, in light of the Agency’s oft-stated position that it was not bound by the CBA or the Statute. See Tr. 114-15. The futility of submitting a new SF 1187 seems to have been demonstrated by the Agency’s response to Craigo’s submission of a new 1187. Resp. Ex. 2; Tr. 252. Although Craigo had clearly told the Agency she wanted to continue having her union dues deducted, the Agency refused to carry out her request, simply because her form lacked the signature of a Union official. In light of the Statute and the case law, this response is simply unacceptable, and it demonstrates a predisposition on the Agency’s part to eliminate employee dues allotments whenever possible. The futility of cooperating with the Agency was further demonstrated: (1) by Aukland’s March 1 letter to Rice, stating that he could not ensure that the Respondent would honor a new SF 1187 “without a new CBA” (GC Ex. 6 at 3); (2) by the April 4 letters (GC Ex. 8) sent out to dozens of additional employees, telling them that the Agency was recommending that all dues allotments be terminated; and (3) by Wayble’s testimony that he was unable to get the Agency to process an employee’s SF 1187 (Tr. 76-77). Finally, the Agency’s repeated statements to employees regarding the Agency’s refusal to accept the Statute or the FLRA’s jurisdiction reasonably justified a fear among employees that they would be subjected to retaliation if they submitted an SF 1187. In light of these facts, the Agency can hardly shift the blame to employees or the Union for refusing to submit additional documentation. See U.S. Mint, 35 FLRA at 1100.
Based on the foregoing, I find that the Respondent violated § 7116(a)(1) and (8) of the Statute by terminating employees’ authorized allotments of union dues.
Respondent Violated § 7116(a)(1) and (5) of the Statute by Unilaterally
Implementing the New Policy Regarding Union Dues Deductions
I have already addressed the allegations that the Agency unilaterally stopped complying with provisions in the CBA concerning grievances, official time, and discipline, in violation of § 7116(a)(1) and (5). In this section and the next, I will consider the related allegations that the Agency violated its duty to bargain in good faith by changing its dues deduction and merit promotion policies. Unlike its actions regarding the grievance procedure and official time, however, the Respondent argues that it implemented the dues deduction and merit promotion changes after notifying the Union of its proposed changes, and after the Union waived its right to bargain. Therefore, it is necessary here to confront the unexplained turnover in Union leadership and the Agency’s difficulties in notifying the Union of changes in conditions of employment.
In the previous section, I discussed how the Agency’s termination of dues allotments for at least forty-eight technicians violated §§ 7115(a) and 7116(a)(1) and (8) of the Statute. As I noted there, the termination of those allotments violated the individual statutory rights of those employees. The 7116(a)(1) and (5) allegations, on the other hand, concern the Agency’s obligations to the Union. But regardless of whether the Agency violated its statutory duty to bargain with the Union over these actions, it has violated the rights of the technicians and must remedy those violations.
Prior to implementing a change in conditions of employment, an agency is required to provide the exclusive representative with notice of the change and an opportunity to bargain over those aspects of the change that are within the duty to bargain, if the change is likely to have more than a de minimis effect on conditions of employment. U.S. DHS, U.S. Customs & Border Prot., El Paso, Tex., 70 FLRA 501, 503 (2018) (Customs El Paso); U.S. Dep’t of the Air Force, AFMC, Space & Missile Sys. Ctr., Detachment 12, Kirtland AFB, N.M., 64 FLRA 166, 173 (2009) (Kirtland AFB). Adequate notice of a proposed change triggers the union’s responsibility to request bargaining over the change. U.S. Penitentiary, Leavenworth, Kan., 55 FLRA 704, 715 (1999). Failure to request bargaining in response to adequate notice of a proposed change in conditions of employment may be construed as a waiver of the union’s right to bargain. Id.
Notice of a proposed change must be sufficiently specific and definitive to adequately provide the union with a reasonable opportunity to request bargaining. U.S. Dep’t of Def., Def. Commissary Agency, Peterson AFB., Colo. Springs, Colo., 61 FLRA 688, 692 (2006) (Peterson AFB). The notice “must apprise the exclusive representative of the scope and nature of the proposed change in conditions of employment, the certainty of the change, and the planned timing of the change.” Corps of Engineers, 53 FLRA at 82. A union may waive its right to bargain over a proposed change, either explicitly or implicitly through inaction. AFGE, Local 3974, 67 FLRA 306, 309 (2014). Where an agency asserts a waiver of bargaining rights as a defense, it bears the burden of establishing that the union received adequate notice of the change. USP Leavenworth, 55 FLRA at 715. A union does not waive its right to bargain over a change when the change is announced as a fait accompli. U.S. DHS, U.S. Customs & Border Prot., 64 FLRA 916, 921 (2010) (CBP).
Determining whether an agency’s action changed conditions of employment requires an inquiry into the facts and circumstances of the agency’s conduct and the employees’ conditions of employment. 92 Bomb Wing, Fairchild AFB, Spokane, Wash., 50 FLRA 701, 704 (1995). As applied by the Authority, the term “conditions of employment” means an issue that pertains to bargaining unit employees and has a direct connection to their work situation or employment relationship. Antilles Consol. Educ. Ass’n, 22 FLRA 235, 237 (1986); see also U.S. Dep’t of Justice, U.S. INS, El Paso Dist. Office, 34 FLRA 1035, 1040 (1990). In determining whether the impact of a change is more than de minimis, the Authority looks to the nature and extent of either the effects, or reasonably foreseeable effects, of the change on bargaining unit employees’ conditions of employment at the time of the change. Kirtland AFB, 64 FLRA at 173.
The evidence demonstrates that the Agency changed its procedures and rules for continuing to deduct union dues on November 14, 2016, when it began sending SF 1187 letters to dozens of technicians. Resp. Ex. 8 at 7-8; GC Ex. 13. Indeed, the Agency does not seem to dispute this, as Colonel Giezie testified that he understood the new dues collection procedures to be “a mandatory term of negotiation . . . .” Tr. 354. His November 14 letter to Dohrmann referred to “a new Agency policy for Union Dues Allotments.” Resp. Ex. 8 at 7. The case law confirms that the procedures an agency will follow in deducting and remitting union dues are subject to the duty to bargain. U.S. Mint, 35 FLRA at 1099. Thus the Authority held that a change in the amount of union dues an agency collected had greater than de minimis effects on conditions of employment. See Army & Air Force Exch. Serv., Dall., Tex., 35 FLRA at 838 (respondents had duty to bargain over collecting dues from employees in an amount higher than the previous amount). It is thus apparent that the new policy constituted a change in conditions of employment. Further, Craigo’s difficulty in submitting an SF 1187 illustrates that the requirements imposed by the Agency here constituted more than a trivial burden on employees; indeed, the requirements could spell the difference between an employee’s dues deduction request being accepted or rejected. The real dispute here is whether the Agency provided the Union with adequate notice of the new policy before implementing it. See Corps of Engineers, 53 FLRA at 82-83.
Colonel Giezie testified that prior to adopting the new dues policy in November, he sent Dohrmann an email on approximately October 6, enclosing “a previous draft” of the policy, asking for his “comments and feedback,” and offering to “negotiate impact and the implementation” of the policy. Tr. 351, 392. Dohrmann did not respond to Giezie, so the Agency proceeded to implement a revised version of the policy.
The first problem that arises from these events is the turnover in the Union’s leadership, and Dohrmann’s refusal to accept any documents on behalf of the Union. The Agency had only recently sent another letter to Dorhmann, on September 20, notifying the Union that the CBA was void and that management would pursue its “jurisdictional defenses” to the Statute. Resp. Ex. 4. The Agency made numerous attempts to serve the September 20 letter on the Union, without success, until Dohrmann told them on November 30 that they should send such correspondence to the AFGE regional office. Thus, for a critical two-month period, there was essentially a void in Union leadership. At a time when the Agency was renouncing its obligations under the CBA and the Statute, nobody at the Union was accepting responsibility or stepping up to respond.[43]
In most situations like this, I would say that the absence of Union leadership was the Union’s problem, not the Agency’s. If a union expects to receive notice of changes in conditions of employment, it needs to have an office or address that will receive and respond to those notices. The problem with the Agency’s waiver defense, however, is that its offer to “negotiate” is contradicted by its own words and actions. First, the Respondent failed to introduce Giezie’s purported October 6 email to Dohrmann into evidence; thus we don’t really know what Giezie told Dohrmann about the proposed dues policy in October, and we can’t properly assess whether he accurately apprised the Union of the scope and nature of the proposed change, or the certainty or timing of the change. And as I have previously noted, the testimony of both Giezie and Aukland regarding their attempts to communicate with the Union is so frequently ambiguous and inconsistent that I cannot accept their testimony at face value, without documentary corroboration.[44]
We do have Giezie’s November 14 letter to Dohrmann, however, and it does corroborate that Giezie had previously sought the Union’s input regarding the dues policy. Resp. Ex. 8 at 7. But it tells us nothing about the substance of the earlier proposed policy or its timing, making it extremely difficult to assess the legal adequacy of the notice. Moreover, the November 14 letter uses the phrase “impact and . . . implementation” to describe Giezie’s offer to bargain, and this reflects a misunderstanding on the Agency’s part of its duty to bargain. The changes to the Agency’s dues allotment policy were not an exercise of its management rights under § 7106(a) of the Statute; rather, they were changes that were fully and substantively negotiable. The Agency was required to bargain over the changes in their entirety, not merely on their impact and implementation. And more to the point, the Agency was not actually offering to negotiate within the meaning of the Statute at all.
As I have said before, the Agency’s implementation of its new dues allotment policy must be understood in the context of all the events starting in September of 2016: specifically, the September 20 notice to the Union that the Agency was repudiating the CBA in its entirety and its own obligations to comply with the Statute; and the September 28 memo, advising technicians and supervisors of what it had just notified the Union, and announcing that the Agency would thereafter apply its own policies on all matters formerly the subject of the CBA. In this light, how can Colonel Giezie’s request for “comments and feedback” from the Union be taken seriously as a request to bargain under the Statute? If he disagreed with the Union about the negotiability of a proposal, would the Agency have submitted itself to the Authority’s negotiability procedures? If the parties had reached an impasse on the policy, would the Agency have allowed the dispute to go to the Impasses Panel? Clearly not. The Agency was offering only a pale imitation of bargaining, as it had repeatedly and emphatically asserted that the Statute itself did not apply to the National Guard or its technicians, and that it would not comply with the Statute until a CBA was negotiated.
Therefore, while the absence of any Union leadership in the autumn of 2016 certainly made it difficult for the Agency to engage with the Union regarding its loss of the SF 1187s and the Agency’s proposed solution to that issue, the Union did not waive its right to bargain over all aspects of that subject, because the Agency never properly made an offer to fully bargain with the Union. Accordingly, I conclude that the Respondent failed to negotiate in good faith with the Union over the dues policy, in violation of § 7116(a)(1) and (5) of the Statute.
Implementing the New Merit Promotion Plan
The Agency implemented its new merit promotion plan on February 6, 2017. GC Ex. 4. The old plan (GC Ex. 21) provided that job announcements would normally be posted for thirty days, while the new plan reduces that posting time to fifteen days. The new plan also utilizes a new process for scoring candidates; specifically, it incorporates a “full soldier-airman concept” in evaluating applicants and promotes the Agency’s diversity and inclusion goals by allowing the selection board to consider additional factors, including past experience, resumes, and references, and by reducing the influence that any single manager has on the determination of an applicant’s score. Tr. 385-87.
The changes encompassed in the new merit promotion plan – specifically, a reduction in the number of days for which technician job announcements, including promotions, were posted, and a new process for scoring candidates – involved changes to employees’ conditions of employment. Taking into account the distinction between “working conditions” and “conditions of employment,” as articulated recently by the Authority in Customs El Paso, 70 FLRA at 503-04, the changes were not routine modifications of employees’ work routine, but rather were policies incorporated in an agency-wide personnel regulation designed to reduce the time applicants would have to apply for a vacant position and to enable the Agency to select better-qualified applicants. The changes therefore could directly affect an employee’s ability to apply for a position and the employee’s likelihood of being selected. See Dep’t of Def., Dep’t of the Navy, Naval Ordnance Station, Louisville, Ky., 4 FLRA 760, 776-77 (1980) (requirement that vacancy announcements be posted for five days is negotiable as a procedure; procedure for rating and ranking candidates is negotiable).
Further, I have no doubt that these changes – which could affect whether an employee had enough time to apply for a promotion and whether the employee would receive the promotion – had greater than de minimis effects on conditions of employment. See U.S. Dep’t of the Treasury, IRS, 66 FLRA 528, 530 (2012) (noting that changes affecting an employee’s earning potential are greater than de minimis). The Agency claims these changes were not “material,” but it cites no case law to support that claim, and Aukland’s assertion that there were no material differences between the old and new merit promotion plans is contradicted by the documents themselves. Tr. 293. While the new plan retained the bulk of the old plan, the changes directly affected the ability of technicians to move laterally and upwards at the Agency. Therefore, the Agency was obligated to provide the Union with adequate notice of the planned change.
The Agency insists that it met this requirement. It asserts that it mailed copies of the new merit promotion plan to Union officials at their addresses of record but that “none of the union members would receive mail” there. Resp. Br. at 32, citing Tr. 290. Therefore, the Agency argues that the Union waived its right to bargain. But this defense runs into the same problems that I discussed regarding the change in the Agency’s dues deduction policy.
First, I am not convinced that the Agency ever sent the Union a copy of the proposed merit promotion plan, much less offered to negotiate over it. Aukland’s and Giezie’s testimony on this point was vague and contradictory, and there is no documentary evidence to corroborate it. (See my discussion of this at footnote 10.) I credit Colonel Giezie’s testimony that he had Aukland “reach out” to the Union’s then-President Reynolds in January 2017, but I do not believe that the Agency ever sent a written notice of the proposed plan to the Union, and we certainly have nothing to show what might have been contained in such a document, even if it existed.
Second, even if the Agency had mailed the Union a copy of its proposed changes to the merit promotion plan prior to its implementation, that still is not sufficient to demonstrate that it gave the Union adequate notice of the change. We have no evidence indicating that the Agency explained its intentions to the Union, advised the Union about the planned timing of the change, or even invited the Union to bargain. Merely sending the Union a copy of a proposed change, without any specific explanation of the change, its certainty, or its timing, is not enough to provide the Union with adequate notice of the planned change. See Corps of Engineers, 53 FLRA at 82-84. And in the particular facts of this case, sending the Union a copy of the new plan without an explanation of the proposed changes or an invitation to bargain, in the wake of the Agency’s repeated statements that it was not bound by the Statute or the CBA, suggests that the Agency was announcing the change as a fait accompli. Finally, as I noted regarding the change in dues deductions, any purported offer by the Agency to “bargain” was not an offer to bargain within the meaning of the Statute.
Therefore, I find that the Respondent violated § 7116(a)(1) and (5) of the Statute by unilaterally implementing the new merit promotion plan.
The Respondent has committed a wide range of unfair labor practices: it has made numerous coercive statements to the entire bargaining unit, telling them that they have no legal protections under the Statute, and that the terms of the CBA are void; it has refused to abide by specific provisions of the CBA, including the grievance procedure and official time; it has unilaterally implemented changes in conditions of employment; and it has improperly terminated union dues deductions to at least eighty-nine employees and threatened to terminate deductions for all other employees. Moreover, it has committed, and repeated, these actions over several months.
The Authority has developed a variety of traditional remedies for these types of violations, which the GC endorses and asks me to order. I agree. The GC also requests two nontraditional remedies: that the Authority’s notice to employees be distributed to managers and supervisors, as well as employees, and that Agency officials be required to retract its coercive statements by reading the Authority’s notice aloud at meetings around the state attended by both employees, supervisors, and HR staff. I agree with the first of these remedies, but not the second.
Most of the Respondent’s unfair labor practices can be adequately addressed by one or more of the traditional remedies. The Agency’s refusals to comply with all or some of the provisions of the CBA can be remedied by ordering it to comply with, and abide by, all mandatory provisions of the CBA, and to make whole any employees adversely affected. See U.S. Dep’t of Justice, Fed. Bureau of Prisons, 68 FLRA 786, 790 (2015) (ordering compliance with an agreement the agency had repudiated); Ohio ANG, 21 FLRA at 1079 (ordering agency to cease refusing to give effect to a CBA); George AFB, 4 FLRA at 22-23 (agency ordered to stop refusing to process a grievance under the negotiated grievance procedure in an expired CBA). The Authority recognizes that a central objective of its remedial authority is “to recreate the conditions and relationships that would have been had there been no [ULP]” and to restore, as far as possible, the status quo that existed before the ULPs. U.S. Dep’t of VA, VA Med. Ctr., Martinsburg, W.Va., 67 FLRA 400, 402 (2014). When a ULP causes employees or unions to suffer monetary losses, the Authority requires the offending party to pay backpay, restore leave, or otherwise reimburse them. U.S. Dep’t of Labor, Wash., D.C., 37 FLRA 25, 39-41 (1990). And when agencies have violated the dues deduction requirements of § 7115, the Authority routinely orders them to reinstate the dues allotments of individuals in the unit whose dues allotments were unlawfully terminated, and to reimburse the union in an amount equal to the amount of dues it would have received, but for the agency’s unlawful conduct. See, e.g., U.S. Mint, 35 FLRA at 1100; Def. Logistics Agency, 5 FLRA 126, 131-33 (1981).
With respect to the Agency’s unilateral changes to its dues deduction and merit promotion policies, the appropriate remedy depends on whether the change involved an issue that is substantively negotiable, or whether it required only impact and implementation bargaining. When an agency refuses to bargain over the substance of a matter that is within the duty to bargain, the Authority orders a status quo ante remedy, including rescission of the new policy, absent special circumstances. Air Force Logistics Command, Warner Robins Air Logistics Ctr., Robins AFB, Ga., 53 FLRA 1664, 1671 (1998); Veterans Admin., West L.A. Med. Ctr., L.A., Cal., 23 FLRA 278, 281 (1986). However, when an agency exercises a management right and is obligated only to bargain over the impact and implementation of the change, the Authority applies the criteria set forth in Fed. Corr. Inst., 8 FLRA 604, 606 (1982) (FCI) to determine whether or not a status quo ante remedy is appropriate. These factors include: (1) whether, and when, an agency notified the union concerning the change; (2) whether, and when, the union requested bargaining over procedures for implementing the change or appropriate arrangements for employees adversely affected by the change; (3) the willfulness of the agency’s conduct in failing to bargain; (4) the nature and extent of the impact upon adversely affected employees; and (5) whether, and to what extent, a status quo ante remedy would disrupt the agency’s operations. U.S. Dep’t of Energy, W. Area Power Admin., Golden, Colo., 56 FLRA 9, 13 (2000).
As I stated earlier, the procedures an agency follows in deducting and remitting union dues are substantively negotiable; as such, and since the Respondent has not offered evidence of any special circumstances regarding the dues deductions, I will order the Respondent to rescind its policy adopted in November 2016 regarding the deduction of union dues for employees whose SF 1187 is missing, and to bargain with the Union, on request, before making any changes in the previously existing procedures for dues deductions.[45]
For purposes of evaluating a remedy, I will presume that the new merit promotion plan involved the exercise of management’s rights under § 7106(a), and I will apply the FCI criteria to the facts of this case. All of the factors support a status quo ante remedy here. As I have already discussed, the Agency failed to give the Union adequate notice of the change, and the Union was thus excused from a requirement to request bargaining. Moreover, the Agency acted willfully. By the time it sought to implement its dues deduction policy, it already knew that it could not reach Dohrmann at his post office box, but it made no additional effort to contact him personally at his work site. I consider the Agency’s effort to “reach out” to the Union to be half-hearted at best, and more likely a convenient excuse for the Agency to act unilaterally, in light of Colonel Giezie’s September 28 memo and the Agency’s numerous announcements to employees and managers that the CBA was void and the Statute inapplicable. As I have also noted, the Agency’s concept of “bargaining” with the Union after September 28 was not the process required by the Statute; therefore it cannot be credited with any good faith here. For these reasons, the first three factors support a status quo ante remedy. With respect to the fourth factor, employees were adversely affected by having fifteen fewer days to apply for positions. And while there may have been many valid reasons for the Agency changing the way it scored candidates, such changes inevitably result in “winners” and “losers,” and the Union should have had a say in addressing the potential adverse effects of the new process. As for the fifth factor, there is no evidence that a return to the old merit promotion plan would disrupt or impair the efficiency or effectiveness of the Agency’s operations. As the Respondent has itself pointed out, the new plan did not radically alter the regulation that had been in use for many years. Returning to the earlier merit promotion plan will also serve to encourage the Respondent to engage in good faith negotiations to implement a new plan. For these reasons, a status quo ante remedy is warranted.
The GC also requests nontraditional remedies. The Authority discussed the legal and factual parameters for both traditional and nontraditional remedies in F.E. Warren AFB, Cheyenne, Wyo., 52 FLRA 149, 161 (1996) (Warren AFB):
[A]ssuming that there exist no legal or public policy objections to a proposed, nontraditional remedy, the questions are whether the remedy is reasonably necessary and would be effective to “recreate the conditions and relationships” with which the unfair labor practice interfered, as well as to effectuate the policies of the Statute, including the deterrence of future violative conduct.
These guidelines were applied more recently in Fed. Bureau of Prisons, Fed. Transfer Ctr., Okla. City, Okla., 67 FLRA 221, 223 (2014) (BOP), with regard to the electronic posting of notices. The questions highlighted in Warren AFB are essentially factual. 52 FLRA at 161.
Nontraditional remedies are not warranted merely because they would further a salutary objective; rather, they are appropriate only when traditional remedies would not adequately redress the wrong incurred by the ULP. Moreover, remedies for ULPs may not be punitive. BOP, 67 FLRA at 223-24.
The GC requests that the “Notice to All Employees” – which is always sent to bargaining unit employees – also be sent to supervisors and management officials. This is a nontraditional remedy. USP Florence, 53 FLRA at 1394. Nonetheless, I believe it is a remedy that is particularly suitable to the circumstances of our case, as it would directly refute the contrary message the Agency sent to supervisors, managers, and employees on September 28. While the September 28 memo was inadvertently disseminated to employees, it was primarily intended to provide guidance to supervisors and managers on how to handle personnel matters in the absence of a CBA and Statute. By sending today’s notice directly to managers and supervisors, the Authority would begin to alleviate the unlawful message that the Agency sent them on September 28, in a manner that could not be accomplished by a notice sent only to bargaining unit employees. Sending the notice to managers and supervisors would promote compliance, ensure a uniform understanding throughout the Ohio National Guard, and reduce the risk that the Order would be misinterpreted or ignored. Given the erroneous theories that the HRO has espoused (not only in the September 28 memo but in many other communications as well), it is especially important to give managers and supervisors a clear explanation of their duties under the Statute. By widely educating managers and supervisors about the Respondent’s obligations under the Statute, the remedy will deter future violations of the Statute. In addition, the knowledge that notices will be sent to managers and supervisors will give employees confidence that they will not be ignored, second-guessed, or retaliated against when asserting rights under the Statute. Finally, the Respondent has not cited any legal or public policy arguments against imposing this remedy, and none are apparent. For all of these reasons, I believe this remedy is warranted.
The GC also requests that the Agency be ordered to read the notice aloud at meetings around the state, and cites USP Leavenworth for support. In that case, the Authority found that the agency, through the warden, violated the Statute over the course of a seven-month period by, among other things, making threatening, anti-union statements at a mandatory meeting of all employees. The Authority determined that because the warden made these “egregious, anti-Union statements at a mandatory meeting,” it was reasonably necessary to “require those statements to be retracted, via a reading aloud of the notice, at another meeting of all employees.” 55 FLRA at 719. In finding this remedy appropriate, the Authority noted that the action it ordered would reach “the same group of employees that witnessed the offense” and thus was “calculated to have a countervailing impact similar to the initial offense.” Id. The Authority added that because the warden called the mandatory meeting and made the unlawful comments in his “representational capacity as the warden of the penitentiary,” it was appropriate to require either that the warden read the notice at the mandatory meeting, or that the warden be present while the notice was read by an Authority agent. Id.
Like the agency in USP Leavenworth, the Respondent in our case has acted egregiously. However, I believe that the remedies I have already recommended are sufficient to recreate the conditions and relationships with which the Respondent’s violations interfered. The Respondent’s most egregious and harmful violations were carried out through written messages, so it is appropriate to remedy the violations by sending managers and supervisors, along with bargaining unit employees, copies of the Notice. Further, while a notice read aloud by the warden (or an Authority agent with the warden present) was a fitting punishment designed to counteract the statements the warden made to employees at a large, mandatory meeting, there was no similar type of meeting in our case. Requiring management to perform public readings of the notice would be superfluous, if not an attempt to humiliate management officials, a remedy which borders on being punitive. Additionally, because the Respondent’s employees work at disparate locations around the state, and HR and management officials do not necessarily work there, attempting to organize such meetings with bargaining unit employees and managers would present unnecessary logistical challenges. For these reasons, I deny the GC’s request for this remedy.
Based on the foregoing, I recommend that the Authority adopt the following order:
Pursuant to § 2423.41(c) of the Rules and Regulations of the Authority and § 7118 of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (the Statute), the U.S. Department of Defense, Ohio National Guard (Respondent), shall:
Cease and desist from:
(a) Failing and/or refusing to recognize and comply with the mandatory terms of the expired collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3970, AFL-CIO (Union) and the Respondent, including those terms regarding grievances and arbitrations, official time, and hiring and promotion.
(b) Failing and/or refusing to maintain existing personnel policies and practices and matters affecting working conditions to the maximum extent possible.
(c) Unlawfully removing employees from union dues withholdings, or threatening to do so.
(d) Informing employees, supervisors, and managers that the Respondent does not consider itself bound by the Statute, and that the CBA between the Respondent and the Union, including the grievance procedure, is a nullity.
(e) In any like or related manner interfering with, restraining, or coercing employees in the exercise of their rights assured by the Statute.
Take the following affirmative action in order to effectuate the purposes and policies of the Statute:
(a) Post at its facilities where bargaining unit employees are located, copies of the attached Notice on forms to be furnished by the Federal Labor Relations Authority. Upon receipt of such forms, they shall be signed by the Adjutant General of the Ohio National Guard, and shall be posted and maintained for sixty consecutive days thereafter, in conspicuous places, including all bulletin boards and other places where notices to employees are customarily posted at Respondent’s facilities statewide. Reasonable steps shall be taken to ensure that such Notices are not altered, defaced, or covered by any other material.
(b) Disseminate a copy of the Notice signed by the Adjutant General through the Respondent’s email system to all bargaining unit employees and to all managers and supervisors in the Ohio Army and Air National Guard.
(c) Reinstate to dues withholding status all bargaining unit employees removed from dues withholding since September 28, 2016, who did not fill out dues revocation forms in the anniversary month of their allotment.
(d) Reimburse the Union for the dues it would have received had the Respondent not removed employees unlawfully from dues withholding.
(e) Rescind any changes to the mandatory terms of the CBA and to any existing personnel policies and practices and matters affecting working conditions since September 28, 2016, including restoring the CBA’s grievance and arbitration procedure, rescinding the February 2017 changes to the Merit Promotion Plan, restoring reasonable amounts of official time, and making employees whole for any other losses resulting from the Respondent’s unlawful changes.
(f) Upon request, bargain with the Union to the extent required by the Statute.
(g) Pursuant to § 2423.41(e) of the Rules and Regulations of the Authority, notify the Regional Director, Chicago Region, Federal Labor Relations Authority, in writing, within thirty (30) days from the date of this Order, a report regarding what compliance actions have been taken.
Issued, Washington, D.C., June 18, 2018
RICHARD A. PEARSON
NOTICE TO ALL EMPLOYEES
POSTED BY ORDER OF THE
The Federal Labor Relations Authority has found that the U.S. Department of Defense, Ohio National Guard (the Ohio National Guard), violated the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (the Statute) and has ordered us to post and abide by this Notice.
WE HEREBY NOTIFY EMPLOYEES THAT:
The Statute gives dual status technicians of the Ohio National Guard the following rights:
To form, join, or assist any labor organization;
To act for a labor organization in the capacity of a representative;
To present the views of the labor organization to heads of agencies and other officials of the executive branch of the Government, Congress, or other appropriate authorities;
To engage in collective bargaining with respect to conditions of employment through representatives chosen by employees under the Statute; and
To refrain from any of the activities set forth above, freely and without fear of reprisal.
The Ohio National Guard will not violate any of these rights.
More specifically:
WE RECOGNIZE and will comply with the mandatory terms of the expired collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3970 (the Union) and the Ohio National Guard, including the provisions concerning grievance and arbitration procedures, official time, and hiring and promotion.
WE RECOGNIZE that our employees have the right to file grievances under the CBA, bring unfair labor practice charges, and seek and receive Union representation.
WE RECOGNIZE our obligation to honor the dues withholding allotments of bargaining unit employees, even after the CBA has expired.
WE WILL maintain the personnel policies and practices and matters affecting working conditions that were in effect on September 28, 2016.
WE WILL restore the mandatory terms of the expired CBA and the preexisting personnel policies, practices, and matters affecting working conditions to the maximum extent possible.
WE WILL rescind the February 2017 changes to our Merit Promotion Plan.
WE WILL grant Union officials reasonable official time to carry out their representational responsibilities.
WE WILL reinstate to dues withholding status those employees who were unlawfully removed from that status and reimburse the Union for the dues it would have received, but for our unlawful actions.
WE WILL give the Union notice and an opportunity to bargain prior to making changes to existing personnel policies, practices, and matters affecting working conditions.
WE WILL NOT fail and/or refuse to maintain the mandatory terms of the CBA and the existing personnel policies, practices, and matters affecting working conditions to the maximum extent possible.
WE WILL NOT refuse to grant union officials reasonable official time.
WE WILL NOT unlawfully remove employees from dues withholdings without their authorization.
WE WILL NOT tell employees, verbally or in writing, that the CBA is a nullity, or that the Ohio National Guard is not required to comply with the Statute.
WE WILL NOT, in any like or related manner, interfere with, restrain, or coerce bargaining unit employees in the exercise of their rights assured by the Statute.
(Ohio National Guard)
Dated: ________________ By: ____________________________________________
(Signature) (Title)
This Notice must remain posted for sixty (60) consecutive days from the date of posting, and must not be altered, defaced, or covered by any other material.
If employees have any questions concerning this Notice or compliance with its provisions, they may communicate directly with the Regional Director, Chicago Region, Federal Labor Relations Authority, whose address is: 224 S. Michigan Avenue, Suite 445, Chicago, IL 60604, and whose telephone number is: (312) 886-3465.
Catherine Turner
Dated: June 18, 2018
[1] Between May 15 and July 6, 2017, Respondent filed ten ULP charges against the Union, and on July 7, 2017, Respondent filed a motion asking me to consolidate its charges with the instant proceeding, despite the fact that the Regional Director had not completed its investigation or acted on the Respondent’s charges. Respondent argued that consolidating all the charges would give me “a broader context in which to evaluate the contentions made by all parties to this case.” GC Ex. 1(s) at 2; see also attachments thereto. I denied this motion on July 18, 2017, noting that only the FLRA’s General Counsel, through its regional directors, has the authority to issue a complaint, and that I can act only on cases that have been submitted to me upon issuance of a complaint. GC Ex. 1(u).
[2] Union dues deductions (or withholdings) is the informal term I use in connection with the process of assignments, deductions, and allotments described in § 7115(a) of the Statute, which states, in pertinent part:
If an agency has received from an employee . . . a written assignment which authorizes the agency to deduct from the pay of the employee amounts for the payment of regular and periodic dues of the exclusive representative of the unit, the agency shall honor the assignment and make an appropriate allotment pursuant to the assignment. . . .
[3] Mr. Aukland gave two affidavits, which were attached to different prehearing motions. The first affidavit, dated March 27, 2017, is an exhibit attached to the GC’s opposition to the Respondent’s MSJ, GC Ex. 1(r). The second affidavit, dated June 15, 2017, is an exhibit attached to Respondent’s MSJ, GC Ex. 1(m).
[4] At the hearing, Aukland speculated that Tanner may have retired as early as December 2015 (Tr. 324-25), but that seems to be rebutted by Tanner’s signature on the March 2016 settlement agreement (GC Ex. 11) and by Aukland’s own, more precise account in his March 2017 affidavit. GC Ex 1(r), Aukland Affi. at 4-5.
[5] Having read the arbitrator’s award in full, I see nothing there that even suggests that the Agency could repudiate the CBA once it so notified the Union. Ex. 10 of GC Ex. 1(i). But for purposes of this case, it doesn’t matter whether the Agency interpreted the arbitrator’s decision correctly or not; what is relevant is that the Agency’s subsequent actions were at least partly based on this interpretation.
[6] These numbers were hand-counted by comparing GC Exhibit 22 with GC Exhibits 18 and 19. GC Exhibit 22 lists all bargaining unit employees, both Army and Air Force, as of September 28, 2016. Tr. 155. 284 of those employees were listed on GC Exhibit 18 as having received the September 28 memo from the “A” list, and 2 of those employees were listed on GC Exhibit 19 as having received the memo from the “D” list. While this methodology is inherently susceptible to human error, I am confident that these numbers are quite close, if not exact.
[7] By “Statute,” Aukland was referring to the National Guard Technicians Act of 1968, 32 U.S.C. §§ 709 et seq. (which I will hereafter refer to as the Technicians Act), not the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (which I refer to as the Statute). See Tr. 282-83.
[8] Wayble said that the Union Executive Board selected him as president without an election. Tr. 55-56. Higginbotham testified that he and others were appointed to the Union’s executive board because there was an “emergency situation” and that elections would be held “as soon as we get everything straightened out,” probably within a year. Tr. 102.
[9] Agency counsel proffered that the Agency received this notice on March 3, 2017. Tr. 59-60.
[10] Aukland seems to have conflated his attempts to serve Giezie’s September 19 letter on Dohrmann (Tr. 315-24) with his attempts to serve notice of the merit promotion plan on Reynolds (Tr. 290-91, 325-27). In describing the latter, Aukland said that correspondence sent to Reynolds was “repeatedly returned,” and he cited a letter he had sent to Reynolds in July 2017 that was returned to him, unopened, two days before the hearing. Tr. 326-27. These events occurred long after the Agency had already begun dealing with Wayble as Union President, and several months after the merit promotion plan had been implemented. As a result, I do not credit Aukland’s testimony that he actually attempted to notify the Union of the merit promotion plan or that he offered to bargain over it.
[11] Three bargaining unit employees (Jeffrey Blazer, Brian Hennig, and Shawn Rice) received April 4 letters (see GC Ex. 8) but did not have SF 1187s on file and had already had their Union dues deductions terminated (see GC Ex. 23); see also data regarding these employees on GC Exhibits 24
& 26. Four employees who received April 4 letters (Keven Eberts, Brandon Harris, Michael Harris, and Ricky Hutchinson) had SF 1187s on file, but the Agency stopped deducting their union dues in May of 2017. See GC Ex. 26, which shows that dues were deducted for these employees from September 2016 through April 2017, but not thereafter. According to GC Exhibit 25, one of these four employees (Michael Harris) had submitted an SF 1188 to terminate dues deductions, but not the other three. Four other bargaining unit employees (Scotty England, Richard Ford, Jr., George Megimose, and Cara Rothe) received April 4 letters (GC Ex. 8), but they were not on the list of bargaining unit employees (GC Ex. 22), nor were they on the list of employees whose dues were deducted between September 2016 and July 2017 (GC Ex. 24).
[12] Alternatively, the GC would agree to having an FLRA agent read the notice. GC Br. at 41 n.22.
[13] Respondent quotes from the U.S. Constitution, art. I, § 8, cl. 15 (empowering Congress to provide for “calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress insurrections and repel Invasions”); id. cl. 16 (empowering Congress to provide for “organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress”); id. art. II § 2, cl. 1 (providing that the President is “Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into actual Service of the United States”); id. amend. X (“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.”).
[14] Ohio Constitution, Article III, § 10.
[15] Ohio Constitution, Article IX, § 3.
[16] Ohio Revised Code §§ 124.15, 141.02. Pursuant to § 141.02(e), I note that in addition to any state compensation, the Adjutant General of Ohio may retain “any federal pay, allowances, and compensation received because of any federally recognized officer status.”
[17] Ohio Revised Code § 5923.01.
[18] As relevant here, 32 U.S.C. § 314 states:
There shall be an adjutant general in each State . . . . He shall perform the duties prescribed by the laws of that jurisdiction.
(d) The adjutant general of each State . . . and officers of National Guard, shall make such returns and reports as the Secretary of the Army or the Secretary of the Air Force may prescribe, and shall make those returns and reports to the Secretary concerned or to any officer designated by him.
[19] This unit apparently was consolidated with Army National Guard technicians in a statewide unit in 1990. See GC Ex. 7.
[20] While I believe it is unnecessary for me to resolve the question, since none of the parties has raised or litigated it, it is arguable that the doctrines of equitable estoppel and res judicata might apply here, as additional bases for the Authority’s jurisdiction over the Respondent and its employees. The Ohio Adjutant General acknowledged the FLRA’s jurisdiction in the 1990 certification proceeding cited above, as well as in numerous ULP and arbitration proceedings; it has both won and lost cases before the Authority, and employees and Agency officials alike have acted in reliance on the Respondent’s actions. Is it equitable for the Respondent to claim now that those decisions were invalid, or to argue that the actions of his own predecessors were improper?
[21] See also The Adjutant General, State of Ohio, 17 FLRA 957 (1985), and The Adjutant General, State of Ohio, 17 FLRA 360 (1985), in which the Authority ruled in the Agency’s favor regarding the duty to negotiate on wearing uniforms.
[22] Mr. Aukland testified that he was General Counsel of the Ohio National Guard from about 1990 to 2014, so he presumably is well aware of these events and precedents. Tr. 268-69, 279-81. He even referred to a 1990 “decision” that he considered res judicata, but that case was never identified, either in his testimony or in the Respondent’s brief. See Tr. 280.
[23] As an example of the Respondent’s compliance with Executive Order 11491, see Ohio National Guard, Worthington, Ohio, 77 FSIP 36, 1977 WL 5332 (1977).
[24] Pursuant to subsequent amendments, § 709(e) of the 1968 statute is now § 709(f).
[25] Similarly, § 709(d) is now § 709(e). Hereafter, I will refer to the sections of the Technicians Act in their current form.
[26] Only recently, the Authority had occasion to reiterate this principle:
The Authority has explained that “[t]he two worlds [technicians] simultaneously inhabit are understandably governed by very different rules of employee-employer relations. As members of the Guard, technicians are subject to military authority; as civilian employees, they are covered by the . . . [Statute], which permits them to bargain over conditions of their employment.”
Laborers Int'l Union of N. Am., 70 FLRA 392, 392 (2018) (citation omitted) (Member DuBester dissenting on other grounds).
[27] On this same point, the Authority, in its decision in the representation proceeding of this case, quoted the language of § 709(d) of the Technicians Act (“The Secretary of the Army or the Air Force, as the case may be, shall designate the adjutants general . . . to . . . employ and administer the technicians authorized by this section.”) as the basis for concluding that when the state National Guards administer the technicians program, they act in their federal capacity. 57 FLRA at 339. Or, as the District Court stated in its opinion, the adjutants general act explicitly as the designees of the federal service secretaries pursuant to § 709(d), and thus for purposes of compliance with the Statute, the adjutants general are, by federal law, the “duly authorized representatives” of the service secretaries. 200 F. Supp. 2d at 661.
[28] As I will explain shortly, recent amendments to the Technicians Act likely overrule the legal basis of the Fisher and Leistiko decisions, even within the narrow confines of the Civil Rights and Rehabilitation Acts.
[29] See, e.g., Mich. ANG, 69 FLRA at 397; Office of the Adjutant General, Mo. Nat’l Guard, Jefferson City, Mo., 58 FLRA 418, 422 (2003); Ohio ANG, 21 FLRA at 1072-73.
[30] See, e.g., FLRA v. Mich. ANG, 878 F.3d at 180; Ass’n of Civilian Technicians, Wichita Air Capitol Chapter v. FLRA, 353 F.3d 46 (D.C. Cir. 2004). In most cases when the Authority has ordered a state National Guard or adjutant general to take specific actions, the order has not been challenged in court.
[31] Scott AFB, 34 FLRA at 966.
[32] George AFB, 4 FLRA at 23, 29-30.
[33] Although the September 19 letter was not actually delivered to the Union until November 30, the September 28 memo effectively informed everyone of the contents of that letter.
[34] The fact that the memo was sent to over 2000 people in all, is somewhat mind-boggling in itself. The number of supervisors and managers in the Ohio National Guard is certainly nowhere near 2000; thus it appears that the memo was sent not only to those supervisors and to 284 bargaining unit technicians, but also to hundreds of nonsupervisory, nonbargaining-unit employees.
[35] The GC also alleges that the Agency unilaterally changed conditions of employment regarding union dues allotments and merit promotion, but I will discuss them in subsequent sections.
[36] IUPEDJ, 68 FLRA at 1004. [36]
[37] Materiel Command, 49 FLRA at 1119.
[38] Local 3, Int’l Fed’n of Prof’l & Tech. Eng’rs, AFL-CIO, 25 FLRA 714, 720 (1987).
[39] SSA, 44 FLRA at 880-81.
[40] U.S. Dep’t of the Treasury, U.S. Mint, 35 FLRA 1095, 1099 (1990) (U.S. Mint).
[41] It is important to note that while the Agency contends that it couldn’t find SF 1187s for this group of employees, it never claimed that the employees did not initially submit 1187s. We have affirmative testimony that some of the employees had indeed filed 1187s many years ago, and that the Agency had been deducting their union dues for many years; conversely, we have no testimony or other evidence that the Agency had been deducting dues from employees against their wishes. Thus, while the Agency may have lost or inadvertently destroyed their SF 1187s, it is clear that these technicians were (to paraphrase the language of § 7115(a)) employees from whom the Agency had received written assignments authorizing the deduction of union dues from their pay.
[42] What the Authority stated there is equally applicable here:
[O]nce the temporary employees were included in the bargaining unit, the Respondent was obligated to honor dues assignments from those employees and make appropriate allotments notwithstanding the terms of the parties’ collective bargaining agreement. Indeed, even though the procedures that an agency will follow in deducting and remitting the regular and periodic dues to a union are matters subject to the duty to bargain, the Respondent would have been obligated to honor the dues assignments of unit employees and make allotments even if no agreement had been in effect at the time.
U.S. Mint, 35 FLRA at 1099–1100 (citation omitted).
[43] The possible chilling effects, on Union officials, of the Agency’s statements that technicians were not protected by the Statute, cannot be discounted here. But since I find that the Agency’s notice was inadequate for other reasons, it is unnecessary to consider that issue.
[44] The Respondent’s failure to offer the October 6 email into evidence stands in contrast to its submission of a new, proposed performance appraisal policy. Resp. Ex. 9. Its inability to produce a document that might support its testimony makes me doubt whether the document exists, much less whether the document constituted legally adequate notice.
[45] Regardless of whether the changed dues deduction policy violated the Union’s rights under § 7116(a)(1) and (5), it violated the employees’ statutory rights under § 7115; as such, the dues policy would need to be rescinded anyway.
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Jose L. Contreras-Vidal
University of Houston, United States
Kazutaka Takahashi
University of Chicago, United States
Melanie G. Urbanchek
Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan, United States
Data Availability Statement
Open Supplemental Data
Brief Research Report ARTICLE
Front. Neurosci., 17 June 2020 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2020.00600
Longitudinal Case Study of Regression-Based Hand Prosthesis Control in Daily Life
Janne M. Hahne1*, Meike A. Wilke1,2, Mario Koppe1,3, Dario Farina1,4 and Arndt F. Schilling1
1Applied Rehabilitation Technology Lab, Department of Trauma Surgery, Orthopedic Surgery and Hand Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
2Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Applied Sciences (HAW) Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
3Global Research and Innovation Hub, Ottobock SE & Co. KGaA, Duderstadt, Germany
4Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
Hand prostheses are usually controlled by electromyographic (EMG) signals from the remnant muscles of the residual limb. Most prostheses used today are controlled with very simple techniques using only two EMG electrodes that allow to control a single prosthetic function at a time only. Recently, modern prosthesis controllers based on EMG classification, have become clinically available, which allow to directly access more functions, but still in a sequential manner only. We have recently shown in laboratory tests that a regression-based mapping from EMG signals into prosthetic control commands allows for a simultaneous activation of two functions and an independent control of their velocities with high reliability. Here we aimed to study how such regression-based control performs in daily life in a two-month case study. The performance is evaluated in functional tests and with a questionnaire at the beginning and the end of this phase and compared with the participant’s own prosthesis, controlled with a classical approach. Already 1 day after training of the regression model, the participant with transradial amputation outperformed the performance achieved with his own Michelangelo hand in two out of three functional metrics. No retraining of the model was required during the entire study duration. During the use of the system at home, the performance improved further and outperformed the conventional control in all three metrics. This study demonstrates that the high fidelity of linear regression-based prosthesis control is not restricted to a laboratory environment, but can be transferred to daily use.
Losing a hand has a dramatic impact to a person’s life. Myoelectric hand prostheses can reduce the repercussions and help the person to conduct activities of daily living with less restrictions. Conventionally, two electrodes placed on antagonistic muscles are used to control a single degree of freedom (DOF) of the hand (Muzumdar, 2004), i.e., opening and closing the hand. Mode-switching techniques, such as co-contraction are used control a second DOF such as a wrist rotation or other functions, such as different grip types sequentially, which is cumbersome and limits the benefit of additional functions (Amsuess et al., 2014).
To overcome the limitations, classification techniques (Englehart and Hudgins, 2003; Oskoei and Hu, 2007; Peerdeman et al., 2011; Scheme and Englehart, 2011; Hahne et al., 2012) have been applied that compare the current electromyographic (EMG) with training-patterns with known motion. The classifier decides for the most similar class, allowing for directly accessing all functions, although typically only in a sequential manner. Recently, classification based control approaches have become clinically available (Coapt-LLC, 2019; Ottobock, 2019).
In the past years also regression algorithms have been applied in prosthetic research (Jiang et al., 2009; Ameri et al., 2014; Gijsberts et al., 2014; Hahne et al., 2014). The fundamental difference to classification is, that a regressor does not decide for a particular motion class. Instead, a regressor estimates activity levels for all DOFs simultaneously. This allows not only performing two different functions at the same time but even to control their velocity independently. Since the output reacts to any changes of the EMG input, the user can more easily compensate for disturbances, which increases the reliability (Hahne et al., 2017).
The relatively high classification/regression performance shown in laboratory conditions may not necessarily translate into good functional recovery in real prosthetic use (Jiang et al., 2012). Factors such as changes in arm position (Fougner et al., 2011; Khushaba et al., 2016; Beaulieu et al., 2017), small electrode displacements (Young et al., 2011; Hwang et al., 2017), sweat, mechanical load to the socket (Cipriani et al., 2011), or time between training and application of the algorithm (Amsuss et al., 2013; Vidovic et al., 2016) can degrade the performance and lead to an unreliable control in daily life.
Recently, we have shown a relatively high robustness of the regression approach in five prosthetic users during advanced clinical tests in the laboratory that involved challenging arm positions and the application on a second day without retraining (Hahne et al., 2018). The purpose of this eight-week case study was to test a research prosthesis controlled by linear regression (LR) under fully uncontrolled conditions in the daily life and compare it with the participant’s own prosthesis with a conventional control (CC).
The participant of this case study was a 58-year old man, who got his left hand amputated on trasradial level, 35 years before this study. Since that time he has been actively using conventional myoelectric prostheses controlled with two EMG channels. Until approximately 12 months before the beginning of this study he was wearing only single-DOF prostheses without rotation. Then he was provided with an Otto Bock Michelangelo hand and used conventional slope-control to access grasp and rotation and co-contraction to alter between the two grip functions. He had moderate experience with both classification- and regression-based control approaches from earlier experiments and was familiar with the functional tests conducted in this study. Due to his participation in our previous laboratory study (Hahne et al., 2018) with a similar system, he was already familiar with the control concept and was able to generate suitable training data. A chronologic overview on the participant’s prosthetic history and this study is provided in Figure 1E.
Figure 1. Prostheses hardware used in this study. (A) Michelangelo hand owned by the participant and used as a baseline with conventional two-channel control in this study. (B) Research prosthesis controlled by eight channels and linear regression. (C) Components of the research prosthesis: rotation unit (upper left), outer socket with battery holder, power-switch and strap with hook and loop fastener to adjust the fit (lower left), inner socket made from silicone with eight integrated electrode modules (lower right), customized controller. (D) Use of the regression based prosthesis in uncontrolled conditions, in daily life. (E) Chronology of this case report indicating prosthetic use, functional assessments (stopwatch), and adjustments period (tool icon). Michelangelo hand was used already since 12 month at the study period and before the participant used single-DOF prostheses for around 35 years.
The research prosthesis used in this study was an Otto Bock VariPlus Speed hand with electric wrist rotator. A customized socket was built for the participant (inner socket high temperature vulcanization silicone incl. eight Otto Bock 13E200 electrodes, outer socket laminated carbon fiber). It included a customized controller, a battery pack and an easily accessible power-switch and allowed for simultaneous and proportional control of the two DOFs with LR.
The system and the training procedure were similar to those described in Hahne et al. (2018). First, four suitable phantom-limb motions were selected based on visual inspection of the EMG (phantom flexion/extension for closing/opening, pronation/little-finger flexion for rotation). The latter gave a relatively strong and clear pattern and was chosen instead supination to increase the robustness.
For the algorithmic training, data with known movement association was recorded. Therefore, the participant was asked to follow trapezoidal contraction profiles for all four motions (2 s rest, 3 s ramp-up, 3 s static contraction, and 2 s ramp-down). The entire training dataset consisted of only one repetition of each motion in neutral arm position, corresponding to a total of 40 s of data for training the algorithm (data in Supplementary Material).
A linear mapping model W from the eight-dimensional EMG envelopes x to the two-dimensional control signal y^ (Eq. 1) was established by ordinary LR (Eq. 2), where X and Y are matrices with the collected training data and labels based on the visual cues:
y ^ = W T x (1)
W = ( XX T ) - 1 XY T (2)
Algorithmic training of the regression model was conducted with a customized MATLAB framework on a standard PC (I7, 2 × 2.5 GHz, 16 GB RAM, and Windows 7). As previously shown (Hahne et al., 2014), a linear regressor on EMG can estimate simultaneous activations of two DOFs with a clinically feasible number of electrodes, even when trained on non-combined motions only. Following the training of the algorithm, a real-time control of a cursor in a two-dimensional coordinate system was established in position-control mode to verify proper control.
As in CC, the prosthesis was operated in velocity-control mode. The stronger the participant contracted, the faster the prosthesis moved and at relaxation, the prosthesis did not move back. The envelope output of the active EMG electrodes could be directly utilized without windowing or feature extraction.
To suppress unintended motions and fine-tune the velocity of the prosthesis, two thresholds were individually adjusted for each of the four prosthetic functions that determined the level of activation and the level for that the maximal speed is reached. Additionally, the customized controller contained a real-time clock and a micro-SD card that was used for continuous recording of the EMG envelopes to allow for quantitative usage evaluation. For the analysis, we considered only reconstructed motions with speed larger than five percent of the maximal speed and a duration larger than 200 ms. A motion that included a phase with both DOFs active was counted as one multi-DOF motion. The results of this analysis were averaged over periods of 1 week of the home phase.
As a baseline, we compared our research prosthesis (controlled with LR) with the Michelangelo hand owned by the participant and used daily before this study for approximately 12 months. It was controlled by two EMG channels on the residual flexor and extensor muscles and a CC technique based on the initial EMG slope (Muzumdar, 2004). Slowly increasing EMG amplitudes would open/close the prosthesis while quickly raising contractions would rotate the hand with a velocity proportional to the EMG amplitude and a co-contraction was used to change between lateral and palmar grip.
Functional and Subjective Assessment
The functional performance of the LR-controlled research-prototype prosthesis was assessed with three standardized tests during laboratory sessions performed at the beginning of the study, 1 day after the training with the new system, and at the end of the 2-month home phase. The CC-controlled Michelangelo hand was evaluated with the same functional tests at the beginning of the study only. Since the participant had already used this fitting for 12 months in daily life, we assumed that the training with this prosthesis was finished and the performance already saturated. The functional tests performed were the Box-And-Blocks Test (Mathiowetz et al., 1985), the Clothespin-Relocation Test (Hussaini and Kyberd, 2017), and the Southampton Hand Assessment Procedure (SHAP; Kyberd et al., 2009).
The Box-And-Blocks Test requires to transfer as many wooden blocks as possible from one box into another within 60 s. The Clothespin-Relocation Test assesses the time needed to relocate three pins (10 N grip force) of the Rolyan Graded Pinch Exerciser from a horizontal to a vertical bar. For the SHAP test times for a broad spectrum of activities of daily living are measured and compared with a normative database of young healthy people (Light et al., 2002). A SHAP-score of 100 corresponds to normal and 0 to minimal functionality.
The Box-And-Blocks Test and the Clothespin-Relocation Test were performed ten times in each laboratory session, in order to reduce the scatter and test for statistically significant differences within the participant. Statistical comparisons were performed with a Wilcoxon rank-sum test with Bonferroni correction and a threshold of p = 0.05.
Beside the functional tests in the laboratory, we aimed to gather information regarding the reliability in other daily life situations, where disturbing factors that were not present in the laboratory tests appear. Also, we were interested in the personal opinion of the participant regarding the new control approach. Therefore, he was asked to fill in customized questionnaires for the first and the last week of the home phase (one pencil paper form covering both prostheses, not-validated). He had to grade different aspects of the research prosthesis and his own Michelangelo hand on a scale from 0 to 10 (questions in Supplementary Material).
The study was conducted in accordance with the declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the local ethic commission (approval number 23/4/16) and written, informed consent was obtained.
Summary of Home Phase
During the home phase of this study the participant was motivated to use the LR-controlled research prosthesis as much as possible, but he was allowed to use his own Michelangelo hand. His previous single-DOF prosthesis was not used and he reported to wear a prosthesis most of the time.
In the first two weeks of the home phase, problems with the socket fitting including electrode lift offs required several iterations of corrections (Figure 1E). Therefore, he visited our laboratory several times and was visited by a technician once in that time. Adding a strap adjuster system to the outer socket finally allowed the subject to control the tightness of the socket to ensure proper fixation and comfortable fit and to compensate for stump volume variations.
No retraining of the regression model that transforms the eight EMG-envelopes into control signals was required during the entire study. Only the thresholds that were used as a post-processing after the regression step to fine-tune the speed and to reduce the risk of unintended activations were adjusted as the participant experienced the sensitivity of the control as too high in the first week at home. On day 13 all thresholds were therefore increased by 75%, followed by corrections for the upper thresholds for hand open and supination. These were the only adjustments made on the controller during the home phase. After these mechanical and parametrical adjustments, the participant reported to be very satisfied with the control for the rest of the study. No further laboratory visits were required during the home phase but we called him occasionally to verify that everything was ok. He used the LR prosthesis in any activity of daily life, such as cooking, eating, cleaning, dressing, or fastening his shoes (Figure 1). He further reported that the LR control was very intuitive and that he could easily change from CC to LR. In contrast, when changing back to CC, he always needed some time of familiarization to the slope-control. He reported unintended rotations with his Michelangelo hand, especially in situations when he was in a rush and therefore generated quickly rising EMG amplitudes; a problem that was already present before this study. Being unsatisfied with his CC, he requested that the rotation function to be removed from his Michelangelo prosthesis by his prosthetist during the time of this study. We did not modify the control of the participant’s Michelangelo hand and no other changes beside removing the rotation were made externally during this study.
Despite satisfaction with the control, he, however, did not constantly wear the research prosthesis. He explained this choice with a preferred esthetic appearance of his Michelangelo hand over the VariPlus Speed hand and a more comfortable socket. He did not report any injuries, blisters, muscle aches, headaches, or similar issues related to the prostheses during the study. Overall, he indicated that he would prefer the LR control algorithm to be embedded in his own Michelangelo prosthesis and socket.
Data Log
The average amount of time the participant was wearing the research prosthesis increased within the first weeks and remained on a relatively high level between five and seven hours per day until week four (Figure 2A). In the second half of the study the average wear time decreased to 1–4 h per day. The wear-time of his own Michelangelo hand was not tracked as this was not possible with the commercial hardware, however, one can assume that it behalves complementary to the research prothesis, as the participant stated to wear a prothesis all day long. The number of motions he conducted per hour while wearing the research prosthesis was relatively high at the beginning of the study, with approximately 100 single-DOF motions and 80 multi-DOF motions, and decreased after the final adjustments in the end of week 2 to approximately 70 single-DOF and less than 20 multi-DOF motions per hour (Figure 2B). The amount of single DOF motions increased in the second half of the study to reach 120 motions per hour toward the end of the study. The multi-DOF motions on the other hand remained low in number until the end of the study. When considering the frequency of single DOF motions for each DOF separately, both DOFs were almost equally often active in the first two weeks. After week 2, however, the use of rotation decreased to approximately 10 motions per hour and remained at this level until the end of the study. The number of motions in the open/close DOF did not change in the first weeks and increased in the second half of the study from less than 60 to 80–100 motions per hour. The duration of single-DOF motions was shorter than multi-DOF motions and rotations wereshorter than motions of the DOF hand open/close (Figure 2C). There is a small trend towards decreasing duration for all motions over the time of the study.
Figure 2. Data log of the regression prosthesis during the home phase of the study. (A) Daily wear time, average per week. (B) Counts of single and multi-DOF motions per hour of wear time. (C) Average duration of each individual motion. In all plots, the dashed vertical line indicates the time, when final adjustments to the socket and the parameters were finalized.
All three functional tests were performed with the participant’s own Michelangelo hand (in beginning only) and the research prosthesis (before and after home phase; Figure 3).
Figure 3. Results of the functional tests. Box-And-Blocks Test (A), Clothespin-Relocation Test (B), and SHAP Test (C). All tests were conducted with the conventionally controlled Michelangelo hand owned by the participant (CC) and the regression-based research prosthesis (LR before) in the beginning of the study. The regression control was evaluated a second time after the 8-week home phase (LR after). For Box-And-Blocks and Clothespin-Relocation Test 10 repetitions were conducted each time to apply intra-subject statistics. Statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) are marked with asterisks.
In the Box-And-Blocks Test the participant performed significantly better with LR prototype than with CC (p < 0.05) already before the home phase. The performance in this test did not further improve after the home phase but remained significantly better than CC in the second evaluation. Performance of the Clothespin-Relocation Test with the LR control was not significantly different with respect to CC before the home phase. However, after the home phase, the control with the regression-based control (LR after) improved significantly compared to both methods prior to training. Also, while in the initial session, one and three pins were dropped in total with CC and LR, respectively, after the home phase no pin was dropped with LR. In the SHAP Test the participant reached higher SHAP score with the regression (score 53) with respect to CC (score 45) already at the beginning of the study and further improved after the home phase (score 62).
Subjective Assessment
At the beginning of the study, the participant graded the reliability of the regression control higher than the one of his own prosthesis (Figure 4A). In the end both prostheses got full scores. This evaluation followed the longitudinal experience and final adjustments of the socket and the threshold parameters in LR and the deactivation of the rotation function for the Michelangelo hand. The naturalness of the control and the perception of the prosthesis as own hand were rated with maximal scores in the beginning and the end for LR while CC got only moderate scores, slightly increasing in the end (Figures 4B,C). The frequency of dropped items during the home phase was rated higher for CC. This score further improved with LR at the end of the study (Figure 4D). The participant graded a moderate advantage of LR in comparison with CC, slightly increasing at the end (Figure 4E).
Figure 4. Questionnaires. The participant graded for the first and last week of the home phase the reliability (A), naturalness of control (B), to which extent he perceived the prosthesis as his own hand (C), and the frequency of dropped or unintendedly released items (D) for both prostheses. In these metrics, LR scored better than CC at each time point. He reported a moderate advantage of LR compared to CC (E).
We evaluated a regression-based controller for simultaneous and proportional control of a 2-DOF prosthetic hand for 8 weeks in daily use. The regression model was trained with data recorded in less than 1 min and no retraining was required during the 2 months. In the first two weeks we encountered some reliability issues (mainly unintended rotations), that were fixed by modifications on the socket and final adjustments of the thresholds. The participant was then very satisfied with the control and did not report any further reliability issues. The strong decrease of rotation and multi-DOF motions after the adjustments in the second week (Figure 2B) could be an indication that many of these motions during the first two weeks were unintended activations.
As expected, the motion counts after week two revealed that the hand DOF (open/close) was more important than the wrist rotation for the participant. Hand use occurred 5 to 10 times more often than wrist rotation. Nevertheless, the participant reported to find the rotation useful, especially due to the simultaneous and intuitive control. The control of his own prostheses was in contrast perceived as so unphysiological and slow that he decided to remove the rotation there.
Multi-DOF motions were as frequent as rotations. This could be an indication for a physiological use of the hand, where in preparation of a grasp rotation is, e.g., combined with opening of the hand. In this light, the longer duration of multi-DOF motions could be explained by including the whole preparation movement in one Multi-DOF motion. Such more natural motions are not possible with current commercial control systems, where the user has to activate the individual functions sequentially. After the adjustment of the thresholds the participant reported that he did not notice any false activations of prosthesis functions in daily life. However, there is no final proof that all recorded multi-DOF motions were intended by the participant of the study.
The average daily wear time of the prosthesis decreased toward the end of the study, which could be a sign of dissatisfaction with the control. However, at the same time, the number of grasp motions per hour increased. Together, this could indicate that the participant used the prosthesis especially for physically active tasks and changed to his Michelangelo for less active phases, as he preferred its visual appearance and the more comfortable socket. The trend of decreased motion duration toward the end of the study could indicate an increased confidence, i.e., a more precise control of the velocity leading to a faster execution of the task. It would be interesting to record also the number motions per hour for CC and compare them with these of LR. However, this was technically not possible in this study and could be subject of future investigations.
It is not possible to conclude that the functional improvements of the regression-based control between the two assessments were only due to user learning (Hahne et al., 2017), as parameters were changed during the home phase of the study. However, we believe that progressive learning was indeed the main reason for improved performance, as the increase in threshold values that we have made would potentially, if at all, decrease the speed of the motions.
The subjectively reported larger frequency of dropped items in daily life with CC (Figure 4D) seems to be in contradiction to improved reliability rating and the higher number of dropped pins within the functional assessment of LR in the beginning. However, the participant explained that these item drops in daily life were not related to the control, but rather to the geometry of the lateral grip of the Michelangelo hand. The use of different prostheses to compare control algorithms is a limiting factor. On the other hand, we previously compared CC and LR with the same prosthetic hand in laboratory conditions (Hahne et al., 2018), and found a higher performance for LR. In the present work we decided to use the system the participant was wearing in daily life before the study as baseline to compare with the system he is most familiar with. Additionally, the maximal speed of the Michelangelo hand (325 mm/s for open/close, 25 rpm for rotation) is larger than the VariPlus Speed hand (300 mm/s, 17 rpm). So a potential bias due to the speed of the prosthesis would be in favor of CC. In the direct comparison (Figure 4E), the participant rated the advantage of the regression-controlled research prosthesis with 8 out of 10 points. This evaluation includes a combination of different aspects of the prosthesis, such as controllability, socket comfort, esthetic appearance of the prosthesis, that may confound each other. The research socket was constructed by a professional orthopedic technician with an inner socket of soft silicone, similar as the socket of the participant’s own Michelangelo hand. However, the eight electrode modules for the research prosthesis had to be pressed against the skin with a certain pressure to ensure a good contact, which made the socket less comfortable. This is a clear shortcoming of the study. A possible way to mediate this problem in future experiments may be to apply small conductive inserts (Hanson, 2008) that directly integrate into the inner socket or prosthesis liner to improve the comfort for control approaches that require a larger number of EMG-channels.
In (Kuiken et al., 2016) a classification-based approach was evaluated in three participants before and after home-use. While with their system a higher number of functions could be controlled, it required a frequent retraining during the home phase. Comparing the functional performance, our participant performed better than all three participants of the classification system in the SHAP, Box-And-Blocks, and Clothespin-Relocation Test already before the home phase. After the home phase the performance generally improved in both studies. Our participant using regression still outperformed all three participants of the classification-study in almost all metrics, emphasizing the daily-life suitability of our system.
In conclusion, this eight-week home trial demonstrates in a case study that a simultaneous and proportional control of two DOFs based on LR is reliably applicable in daily life. After final adjustments of the socket and parameters in week two, the control was robust and the participant was highly satisfied with the system. For this participant, the regression-controlled prosthesis outperformed the conventionally controlled one, which the participant used daily before this study in all functional metrics. The regression model was trained with data recorded in less than 1 min, with no retraining of the regression model being required over the entire study. This suggests a practical feasibility and potential clinical relevance of the presented approach, although tests with further prosthetic users are required to show whether a regression is useful for a broader range of users.
The datasets generated for this study are available on request to the corresponding author.
The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by Ethikkomission der Universitätsmedizin Göttingen. The patients/participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.
JH developed the controller, and the MATLAB framework, planned and executed the laboratory experiments, supervised the home phase, analyzed the data, and wrote the manuscript. MW, DF, and AS planned and supported the experiments, analyzed the data, and revised the manuscript. MK build and improved the socket and revised the manuscript.
This work was supported by the German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) under grant agreement number 16SV7657 (project INOPRO) and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement number 687795 (project INPUT). This work was also partly supported by the European Research Council Synergy under the grant number 810346 (project Natural BionicS).
MK was employed by company Ottobock SE & Co. KGaA.
The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2020.00600/full#supplementary-material
Ameri, A., Kamavuako, E. N., Scheme, E. J., Englehart, K. B., and Parker, P. A. (2014). Support vector regression for improved real-time, simultaneous myoelectric control. IEEE Trans. Neural Syst. Rehabil. Eng. 22, 1198–1209. doi: 10.1109/TNSRE.2014.2323576
Amsuess, S., Goebel, P., Graimann, B., and Farina, D. (2014). Extending mode switching to multiple degrees of freedom in hand prosthesis control is not efficient. Conf. Proc. IEEE Eng. Med. Biol. Soc. 2014, 658–661. doi: 10.1109/EMBC.2014.6943677
Amsuss, S., Paredes, L. P., Rudigkeit, N., Graimann, B., Herrmann, M. J., and Farina, D. (2013). Long term stability of surface EMG pattern classification for prosthetic control. Conf. Proc. IEEE Eng. Med. Biol. Soc. 2013, 3622–3625. doi: 10.1109/EMBC.2013.6610327
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Gijsberts, A., Bohra, R., González, D. S., Werner, A., Nowak, M., Caputo, B., et al. (2014). Stable myoelectric control of a hand prosthesis using non-linear incremental learning. Front. Neurorobot. 8:8. doi: 10.3389/fnbot.2014.00008
Hahne, J. M., Biessmann, F., Jiang, N., Rehbaum, H., Farina, D., Meinecke, F. C., et al. (2014). Linear and nonlinear regression techniques for simultaneous and proportional myoelectric control. IEEE Trans. Neural Syst. Rehabil. Eng. 22, 269–279. doi: 10.1109/TNSRE.2014.2305520
Hahne, J. M., Graimann, B., and Muller, K.-R. (2012). Spatial filtering for robust myoelectric control. IEEE Trans. Biomed. Eng. 59, 1436–1443. doi: 10.1109/TBME.2012.2188799
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Jiang, N., Englehart, K. B., and Parker, P. A. (2009). Extracting simultaneous and proportional neural control information for multiple degree of freedom prostheses from the surface electromyographic signal. Biomed. Eng. IEEE Trans. 56, 1070–1080. doi: 10.1109/TBME.2008.2007967
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Kyberd, P. J., Murgia, A., Gasson, M., Tjerks, T., Metcalf, C., Chappell, P. H., et al. (2009). Case studies to demonstrate the range of applications of the southampton hand assessment procedure. Br. J. Occup. Ther. 72, 212–218. doi: 10.1177/030802260907200506
Light, C. M., Chappell, P. H., and Kyberd, P. J. (2002). Establishing a standardized clinical assessment tool of pathologic and prosthetic hand function: normative data, reliability, and validity. Arch. Phys. Med. Rehabil. 83, 776–783. doi: 10.1053/apmr.2002.32737
Mathiowetz, V., Volland, G., Kashman, N., and Weber, K. (1985). Adult norms for the box and block test of manual dexterity. Am. J. Occup. Ther. 39, 386–391. doi: 10.5014/ajot.39.6.386
Muzumdar, A. (2004). Powered Upper Limb Prostheses: Control, Implementation And Clinical Application. Berlin: Springer.
Oskoei, M. A., and Hu, H. (2007). Myoelectric control systems—a survey. Biomed. Signal Process. Control 2, 275–294. doi: 10.1016/j.bspc.2007.07.009
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Peerdeman, B., Boere, D., Witteveen, H., Hermens, H., and Stramigioli, S. (2011). Myoelectric forearm prostheses: state of the art from a user-centered perspective. J. Rehabil. Res. Dev. 48:719. doi: 10.1682/JRRD.2010.08.0161
Scheme, E., and Englehart, K. (2011). Electromyogram pattern recognition for control of powered upper-limb prostheses: state of the art and challenges for clinical use. J. Rehabil. Res. Dev. 48, 643–659.
Vidovic, M. M. C., Hwang, H. J., Amsuss, S., Hahne, J. M., Farina, D., and Muller, K. R. (2016). Improving the robustness of myoelectric pattern recognition for upper limb prostheses by covariate shift adaptation. IEEE Trans. Neural Syst. Rehabil. Eng. 24, 961–970. doi: 10.1109/TNSRE.2015.2492619
Young, A. J., Hargrove, L. J., and Kuiken, T. A. (2011). The effects of electrode size and orientation on the sensitivity of myoelectric pattern recognition systems to electrode shift. IEEE Trans. Biomed. Eng. 58, 2537–2544. doi: 10.1109/TBME.2011.2159216
Keywords: Myolectric control, prosthesis, regression, simultaneous control, clinical evaluation
Citation: Hahne JM, Wilke MA, Koppe M, Farina D and Schilling AF (2020) Longitudinal Case Study of Regression-Based Hand Prosthesis Control in Daily Life. Front. Neurosci. 14:600. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2020.00600
Received: 03 July 2019; Accepted: 15 May 2020;
Published: 17 June 2020.
Jose Luis Contreras-Vidal, University of Houston, United States
Kazutaka Takahashi, The University of Chicago, United States
Melanie Gay Urbanchek, University of Michigan, United States
Copyright © 2020 Hahne, Wilke, Koppe, Farina and Schilling. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Janne M. Hahne, janne.hahne@med.uni-goettingen.de
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News & Events »
Accuracy of "WHOIS" Internet Database Essential to Law Enforcement, FTC Tells Congress
Database Contains Registration Information About Web Site Operators
The Federal Trade Commission today highlighted the importance of accurate information in the Whois database, saying that law enforcers fighting fraud on the Internet rely on the integrity and accuracy of the database's registration information about Web site operators.
J. Howard Beales, III, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, told the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property that when the information is accurate, it can ". . . help law enforcers quickly identify wrongdoers and their location, halt their conduct and preserve money to return to defrauded consumers. Inaccurate Whois data, however, help Internet scam artists remain anonymous and stymie law enforcement efforts."
The number of adults with access to the Internet has grown from approximately 88 million in mid-2000 to more than 174 million by March 2002, according to the testimony. The growth in e-commerce has created "fertile ground" for fraud. "There is real danger that the benefits of the Internet may not be fully realized if consumers identify the Internet with fraud operators," Beales said. "We need to act quickly to stop fraud, both to protect consumers and to protect consumer confidence in e-commerce."
The FTC has brought more than 225 Internet-related law enforcement actions against 688 defendants since 1994, stopping consumer injury estimated at more than $2.1 billion, according to the testimony. Tools the FTC has used in fighting Internet fraud include:
The FTC's Consumer Sentinel database, which helps law enforcers identify trends and target fraudsters quickly and efficiently;
Cooperation with multinational groups such as the 30-member International Marketing Supervision Network and consumer protection cooperation agreements with Canada, the U.K., and Australia;
Coordinated law enforcement "Surf Days," with international, federal, state, and local partners targeting types of claims likely to violate the law. More than 250 law enforcement agencies and consumer organizations around the world have participated in 33 Surf Days that have identified more than 6,000 Internet sites making dubious claims. A significant percentage of site operators who receive warning letters either take down their sites or modify their claims;
"Sweeps," which coordinate law enforcement actions by both domestic and international partners against Web-based scams;
Training other law enforcers in effective methods to pursue Internet fraud. Since FY 2001, the FTC has trained more than 1,750 law enforcement personnel from more than 20 countries, 38 states, 23 U.S. federal agencies, and 19 Canadian agencies; and
Special law enforcement tools, such as the FTC's Internet laboratory.
The testimony notes that another critical element in pursuing Internet fraud is the Whois database.
"It is hard to overstate the importance of accurate Whois data to our Internet investigations," Beales said. "In all of our investigations against Internet companies, one of the first tools FTC investigators use to identify wrongdoers is the Whois database. We cannot easily sue fraudsters if we cannot find them. We cannot even determine which agency can best pursue them if we are unable to figure out the country in which they are located."
Beales cited examples of FTC and international law enforcement efforts that were hampered because of inaccurate names, addresses, and telephone numbers listed in the Whois database. He noted that the FTC has called on the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the body that governs assignment of Internet names, ". . . to work with registrars to implement and enforce the provisions of its Registrar Accreditation Agreement that ensure the completeness and accuracy of Whois data." The FTC endorses the elimination of blank or incomplete registration forms and false information, and requiring registrars to suspend domain registration for failure to correct inaccurate contact information. Noting that Web sites operating from the two-letter code domains, such as .uk for the United Kingdom and .jp for Japan, are not subject to uniform rules on the collection and publication of contact information, the testimony states it would be useful for law enforcement purposes if country code domain registry managers would implement measures to improve the accuracy and accessibility of Whois data.
During the testimony, Beales noted that there are tradeoffs between the transparency of domain registration information and personal privacy. For commercial Web sites, Beales noted that ". . . the balance weighs in favor of public disclosure of basic registrant contact information." There are different considerations to balance, however, for Web sites registered by individuals or Web sites registered for non-commercial purposes. On the one hand, these individuals and Web site operators have legitimate privacy concerns. On the other hand, a fraudster should not be permitted to hide from law enforcement authorities simply by claiming registration as an individual or by claiming registration for non-commercial purposes," he said. In conclusion, Beales noted that the FTC is continuing to work ". . . through international organizations, businesses, and consumer groups to develop workable solutions that balance the privacy interests with the interests in transparency of Whois data."
The Commission vote to approve the testimony was 5-0.
Copies of the testimony are available from the FTC's Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC's Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580. The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To file a complaint, or to get free information on any of 150 consumer topics, call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357), or use the complaint form at http://www.ftc.gov. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
(FTC File No. P99-4101)
Claudia Bourne Farrell
STAFF CONTACT:
Maneesha Mithal
Related Actions
Prepared Statement of the Federal Trade Commission On WHOIS Datebase
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PRE COLONIAL HISTORY
INFORMATION ABOUT GUANCHES AND PODOMORPHS
Fuerteventura, like the rest of the Canary Islands prior to their colonisation by the Europeans, was inhabited by primitive aboriginal people most likely descended from North African Berbers, which most islanders today refer to as "Guanches", although strictly speaking this refers to a specific tribe from Tenerife. The specific aboriginal inhabitants of Fuerteventura were called "majos" (which is where the name of the current people of Fuerteventura, "majoreros", comes from)
Fuerteventura was known as Erbania or Herbania (sources use one word or the other), possibly a reference to it’s abundant plant-life in ancient times (this may now be hard to believe taking into account its barren landscape), however it is more likely related to the Berber word "bani", meaning wall. A low wall used to span the narrowest width of the island over to the east coast where the modern settlement of La Pared ("The Wall" in Spanish) is located. This wall no longer exists, but what we know is that in the Middle Ages it split the island into two kingdoms: Maxorata in the north, which at the time of the Europeans arrival was ruled by the king or "guanarteme" Guise, and Jandía in the south, ruled by their king Ayose. Although ostensibly ruled by these two kings, they in turn took advice and guidance from a mother and daughter team of two priestesses, Tibiabin and Tamonante.
It is thought that it was a polygamous society, with each woman having on average three husbands.
Their people lived on fish and shellfish, goat meat, milk and cheese, and "gofio", a finely ground toasted barley flour made from wheat, corn or other starchy plants like beans or fern roots. Gofio has been an important ingredient in Canarian cooking ever since, and in modern times Canarian emigrants have spread its use to many other Spanish-speaking countries like Cuba, Puerto Rico and Western Sahara.
The majos lived in caves or semi-subterranean dwellings a few of which have been discovered and excavated, uncovering some examples of early tools and pottery. They were a highly spiritual people who were known to have had a polytheistic pagan religion and practiced a variety of interesting rituals and ceremonies. Engravings or "podomorphs" of religious symbols found on Mount Tindaya in La Oliva are proof of these ceremonies and indicate that this was one such sanctuary or ritual ground.
Guanche statues in Tenerife
Artist's impressions
Podomorphs - Mount Tindaya
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“Election Directions: A Conversation with Dr. Christoph von Marschall” (November 9)
Elections Directions: Christoph von Marschall, © Der Tagesspiegel
Join our post-election analysis with the Chief Diplomatic Correspondent of Der Tagesspiegel.
Friends of Freiburg University presents:
With more Americans voting by mail than ever before, it will likely take days (or even weeks) for the official results of the US election to be finalized. We’ll breakdown the available data — and discuss the implications for the US and beyond — with Dr. Christoph von Marschall, an Uni-Freiburg alumnus and one of the most prolific reporters on the transatlantic relationship. Join this webinar as we examine what’s next for Washington from the perspective of Berlin, in the second event of our “Election Directions” mini series.
Dr. Christoph von Marschall is Chief Diplomatic Correspondent of Der Tagesspiegel, the leading daily in Berlin, a frequent guest on TV shows and radio commentator.
2017/18 he was the inaugural Helmut Schmidt Fellow of the Zeit Foundation and the German Marshall Fund of the US, based in Washington DC with access to the White House. He wrote a book about the future of Transatlantic relations focusing on the expectations of France, Poland, the EU and the US towards Germany’s role: Wir verstehen die Welt nicht mehr. Deutschlands Entfremdung von seinen Freunden, Herder Verlag 2018 (We don’t understand the world anymore. Germany’s estrangement from its friends).
From 2005 to 2013 he served as US Correspondent and Washington Bureau Chief. During the Obama presidency he was a member of the White House Press Corps. He wrote biographies of Barack and Michelle Obama and a book on differences in political culture between the US and Germany.
Born October 8, 1959 in Freiburg, he studied East European History and Political Science in Freiburg, Mainz and Cracow (Poland), concluding with a PhD on Polish history in 1988 at Freiburg University. In 1989/90 he covered for Süddeutsche Zeitung the peaceful regime changes in Central Eastern Europe. Since 1991 he works for Der Tagesspiegel, Berlin, first in the newsroom and 1995 to 2005 as Editorial Page Editor.
Please RSVP via Zoom: here.
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Fahouse Fantasy
Tucked away in the wooded outskirts of Montreal, this whimsical home by architect Jean Verville awakens a familiar sense of child-like wonder. The graphic, geometric silhouette is pulled straight from the pages of a storybook and establishes an imaginative aesthetic that continues within. Adult and adolescent are physically divided — connected by a short set of stairs — while cleverly placed nooks and crannies allow the occupants’ two children to explore and make the space their own. To complement the property’s elongated shape, the house has been designed with a promenade along the first floor’s “blind wall.” Outside, a wide staircase follows the natural slope down to the sheltered entrance beneath a cantilevered upper floor. In some places, glass walls are the only boundary standing between interior and exterior, “allowing nature to…slip inside.”
The so-called “Fahouse” is both playful and serious at once; contrast between material, color, and transparency establishes a fundamental visual interest while the drama of such details begins to tell a story – and invites the viewer to do the same. Verville’s concept renderings evoke a sense of mystery and excitement that can rarely be found in modern architecture; dark shadows and leafless branches envelop the angular roof as the home glows through a scattering of square windows. The building demonstrates the inherent creative potential of simplicity, that the absence of detail invites participation on the part of the observer. Indeed, Verville hopes his creation may inspire a “colorful world of unbelievable adventures.”
string(13) "Lizzie Wright"
Lizzie Wright is an aspiring artist and designer with a passion for the written word. While she works on her BFA in Industrial Design at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), she spends her (rare) spare time riding around Providence on her trusty Cannondale and drinking lots of coffee. She is especially fascinated by the dichotomy between aesthetic form and function, which has an immense influence on her work. As a lover of the natural world, Lizzie plans to focus on Nature, Culture, and Sustainability Studies to pursue a more efficient future for design. Read more by visiting her website
Tags: a-frames, cabins, Jean-Verville
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80 hours of music over five days 'is just too much to take' - police want to axe Medicine Festival
The new festival would take place in Wasing Park and attract around 2,000 people
Alex Seabrook
Police are concerned about noise (Image: Getty)
A festival attracting around 2,000 people would cause too much disruption, according to police.
Thames Valley Police want to axe the Medicine Festival in Wasing Park, which is due to take place from Thursday, August 27, to Monday, August 31.
The wellness festival would be held for the first time this year and has a focus on physical, mental, environmental and social health. About 2,000 people are expected to attend.
Its website invites guests to “share the power of music and ceremony, the coherence and insights of ancestral wisdom, … the nourishment of food, and the inspiration of visionary thought.”
But Thames Valley Police and West Berkshire Council have have objected to the application for a premises licence.
The licence would be needed to run the event.
Councillors were due to decide whether to grant the licence at a meeting on February 25, at the licensing committee at West Berkshire Council. But this was cancelled at the last minute, to allow further time for discussion between the police, council and festival organisers.
In a report to the council's licensing sub-committee, Russell Davidson, a council environmental health officer, said: “Live and recorded music will be occurring on site for nearly 80 hours over five days.
“Events with live music — electronic dance music, similar to the music proposed for this event — have occurred previously in this location, notably in 2006 and 2008. This resulted in a huge number of complaints and led to a review of the premises licence.
“This licence was subsequently surrendered.”
Take a look round Reading Farmers' Market
Gary Clarke, a police licensing officer, said in a report to the same meeting, that the festival’s website “gave some details of the events to be held during the festival, and under music there was reference to early morning raves. This has since been removed.”
He said: “Wasing Park itself has its own premises licence, and restrictions were placed on that licence in August 2015, following noise complaints from the venue.
“As a result of this, licensable activities outdoors finish at 10pm, with the exception of late night refreshment [meaning selling hot food or drink] which is licensed to 3.30am.
Today's top stories on BerkshireLive
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“This is my primary reason for objecting to the proposed licence as it stands.”
Jenna Ansell, the event’s general manager, said: “We’ve been having positive discussions with the local authorities in regards to licensing, and we’re hopeful that we’ll secure the required licence for Medicine festival.
“This new gathering promises to be an exciting and pioneering event, and of great benefit to the local area on many levels, including economically.”
A spokesman for the festival added that:
There will be no personal allowance of alcohol permitted
Bars will be serving no alcohol whatsoever
Sound levels will be monitored at all time to ensure strict compliance with licensing conditions
The festival is working closely with the police to make sure it runs “as smoothly and safely as possible”
ldrcontent
ReadingBaby ends up in hospital after spending months in freezing Reading flatHer angry granddad says his daughter and her children need to move "now"
Berkshire weather: When is it likely to snow or sleet in Reading, Slough, Windsor and other Berkshire towns
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In Brett Brown, the Philadelphia 76ers have found a coach who embodies their team
By Mark Deeks
The NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement is an agreement between the NBA and the world of basketball players, pertaining to all that which relates to the players. It involves a very wide array of topics, including everything from how big of a per diem players are given every day for food ($129, apparently) to the rules surrounding first class travel (teams have to guarantee first-class travel on any journey longer than an hour...unless you’re a two-way contract player receiving a call-up from the G-League or being sent back down to it, in which case, ask nicely).
Perhaps most importantly and certainly most famously, it handles all the rules related to the salary cap, the formation of new playing contracts, and the options available with incumbent ones.
However, in no way has the CBA inhibited a team's ability to spend on its off-court product. There are no limits to what teams can pay to coaching staffs and front office executives, and there have never been.
In recent years, NBA franchises have begun to increase the amount they spend on their coaching and front office staffs, perhaps more greatly understanding the exploitable market inefficiencies it opens up.
Coaching and executive salaries are far more difficult to verify than player salaries. There is an internal NBA database of player salaries; there has to be, as the exact figures involved matter for the purposes of meeting specific CBA provisions and roster management. Executives of rival teams still need to know the salaries of another team's players lest they seek to acquire them, for the salary they earn determines how they can do so. For front offices and coaches, however, the information is much harder to come by. They are things that only the relevant parties need to know. Nevertheless, hearsay and media reports allow for a picture of the NBA coaching salary market.
The increases to coaching salaries are not commensurate with those of the players, but they are increasing. Culminating in some reported eight-figure annual salaries for some coaches, including Doc Rivers and the transcendent Gregg Popovich, coaching salaries have been on the rise for a while.
Not all teams desire to spend big in this way, though. In keeping with the principles espoused by The Process, and ones axiomatic to their playing roster, the Philadelphia 76ers went cheap and went young when they hired Brown back in the summer of 2013.
While not young in the traditional sense – being aged 52 at the time of his hiring – Brown was young in the sense that he had never been a head coach at the NBA level before. Brown had spent a decade and a half with the San Antonio Spurs in various roles, including six years as an assistant coach. At the time of his departure, Brown was being offered another promotion, that of the lead assistant coach job after Mike Budenholzer departed to become the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks. He declined it to join an unclear future in Philly.
To bring in a coach who embodies the playing staff that the team was trying to put together was a deliberate strategy. Just like so many of Sam Hinkie’s minimum salary contracts, Brown signed a four year deal, for what was at the time one of the lowest head coaching salaries in the league, if not the outright lowest. It was certainly far below the annual salary of what he has since signed an extension for, one which now brings him back to the middle of the pack. From worst to average, Brown's salary is again mirroring the progression of his team.
Unlike all the four-year player signings, however, Brown's deal was fully guaranteed. He reportedly insisted upon it, needing guarantees that he would be given the opportunity to develop the team (whoever was on it) in his vision over a period of some years. Equally committed to the long-term over short term impatience, the Sixers agreed. And nearly five years later, Brown is still here.
Due to the extremely unique circumstances of the team into which he was hired, Brown's career win-loss record is pretty terrible. With a 94-272 record all-time, Brown is 284th out of 324 head coaches all time (including interims) with a .257% winning percentage, rising to tenth-worst if only coaches with at least 82 games coached (equivalent to a full regular season) are included. Brown joined a team with every intention of not winning, and could not make them win.
Let us never confuse that, however, for poor coaching. Brown was brought in to do a specific job. He was brought in to implement the very things that the Sixers, once they had the talent to actually get somewhere, would want to define them.
Specifically, that is defence, the foundation around which pretty much every coach wants to be based. It is a universally held if not universally true belief that players need to be encouraged to play defence more than they do offence, and that implanting principles and effort was imperative from day one. Brown was charged with the task of doing that.
The results were not there initially. In Brown's first season, Brown's 76ers had a 109.9 defensive rating, 3.2 points worse than the league average and the fifth-worst mark in the league. This improved to a 104.8 rating the following year, 0.8 better than average and good for 13th in the league, but regressed in 2015/16 to 109.2 the following year, once again fifth-worst. Having to give 2,000 minutes to each of Nik Stauskas, Hollis Thompson and Isaiah Canaan will do that to a man's rating.
As any shooting coach, life coach, parent, teacher, dog trainer or stop-motion clay animator can attest to, change needs time. And in Brown's case, he was trying to teach principles to many players who would not be around to be the beneficiaries of it down the road. The aim was incremental improvements and instilling good practice for when the time is right.
That time is now. This year, Philadelphia has a 106.2 defensive rating, 1.8 points better than the league average and the seventh-best mark in the league. Their endlessly-turgid offensive struggles are being eradicated, too, with a 106.8 offensive rating that ranks 18th best in the league. This is still not great - however, compared to the sub-100 rating of Brown's first three years, it is a marked improvement.
Any coach needs talent, and Brown is no different. If he wants a scheme in which the big man contains both halves of the pick-and-roll, lurking in space between the screener and the ball-handler while being able to switch into whichever becomes the scoring threat, then he needs players with the length, mobility and smarts to do that. Joel Embiid is that player. Nerlens Noel at one point was that player. Richaun Holmes can be that player. Jahlil Okafor cannot.
Similarly, offensively, the right pieces are needed. Brown's teams move the ball and always have, yet without shot-making threats at every position, or talented ball movers, this movement often did not mean much. Players such as T.J McConnell can have the best intentions in the world, but need a talent level around them to work with. Now, however, the 76ers are starting to find that. In Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, Philadelphia has two excellent scorers with a strong understanding of team basketball and the vision to do something about it.
And Markelle Fultz is still to come, of course.
The Process in its very foundation seeks to be seen as the bastion of patience and long-term strategy over the impulsivity that too often rules the roost in professional sports, especially at the ownership level. It only works, though, if the same long-term measured approach can be adopted at the coaching level. Hitherto, it has. The look now is to the future.
To truly test Brown's limits, more talented is needed. Simmons and Embiid are shot creators, and McConnell will give it a darn good go, but beyond them, offensive creation is not currently to be found. J.J Redick, Robert Covington, Amir Johnson, Trevor Booker, Justin Anderson and Richaun Holmes are finishers not creators, as is Dario Saric when he is at his best. Only Simmons can create regularly off the bounce, and only Embiid is a threat with deep post touches that the opposition want to guard against. And both Simmons and Embiid - the latter in particular - are turnover prone.
The next test for Brett Brown, then, is in how he will incorporate Markelle Fultz when he is back and healthy again. Fultz is the theoretical answer to all these offensive questions. An extra ball-handler, a tremendous shot creator, a shooter and a Kyrie-type, Fultz's return will mean three above-average creators alongside two finishers. At that point, Brown's offence will be properly examinable.
Brown passed the patience test, the defensive test, the temperament test. Now, he needs to evidence that he too can do enough to be a part of the journey to the next level.
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Financial Overview Property in Vietnam
Survey of Vietnam
Thu Duc
Financial Overview: Property in Vietnam
Where to buy property in Vietnam
Vietnam is a fascinating country. But thanks to Hollywood’s take on the Vietnam War, many people are content with what little they know, or rather don’t know, about it. Some hold a mighty skewed view of the small “S”-shaped nation lying on the eastern edge of the Indochinese peninsula, connecting it with Communism and negative stereotypes of Vietnamese men and women that were perpetuated during the war.
But these ideas do not accurately portray Vietnam, and certainly do not capture the interesting complexity of the country and its people. Vietnam is a vibrant, culturally rich country with a colourful history. It has an equally rich landscape, with a long coastline that stretches from the Gulf of Tonkin in the north and gently winds its way to the Gulf of Thailand in the southwest.
Vietnam’s 2,700-year-old history has been wrought by struggle. For much of its history, Vietnam was a tributary state of China, and grappled with its strong military, political and cultural influence.
In the 19th century, France colonized Vietnam. It was part of French Indochina until 1945 when Japan ousted the French administration and set up the Empire of Vietnam. The “Empire” lasted only a few months until Japan surrendered to the Allies later that year.
The power vacuum that followed spurred the political rebel group Viet Minh to try to seize power, as did the British when they landed in October 1945 and the French who tried to re-establish their rule the following year. The Viet Minh grew in power with the aid of China, and the French finally surrendered in 1954.
But rather than gaining peace, a split occurred between North and South Vietnam. The country entered the Vietnam War, which would go on for the next 21 years. North Vietnam was controlled by the Communist regime of the Viet Minh with the support of China and the Soviet Union, while South Vietnam established itself as the Republic of Vietnam in 1955 with the aid of the U.S government.
The war finally ended in April 1975 with the Fall of Saigon to the North. Though Vietnam was technically unified, it was internationally isolated due to the ongoing Cold War. In 1986, the Communist Party of Vietnam changed its economic policies, slowly opening its doors to foreign markets. Since then, Vietnam has undergone a substantial growth in its economy, luring visitors to experience its wonderful culture.
Vietnam is a country of 86 million people. While the Kinh (the major ethnic Vietnamese group) make up most of the country’s population, there still exist some 54 groups that live in isolated corners of the country. Each has its own cultural identity and language, but all have been united over the course of years by their constant battle against foreign invaders. Vietnamese overall is most commonly spoken language. Many of the older generations still speak French, though the foreign tongue has lost its popularity over the years. What has been rising in popularity is English, now almost obligatorily studied in most schools. This has helped boost tourism tremendously. Most Vietnamese in the tourism sector speak English well.
Vietnam is also a melting pot of many different religions. Buddhism remains the most widely practiced religion with temples and pagodas present in almost every village and district. Some of the more famous pagodas are Chua Hương or the Perfume Pagoda in Ha Tay and the Chùa Một Cột, or the One Pillar Pagoda in Hanoi. These large architectural masterpieces receive millions of visitors each year, whether for religious or simply sightseeing purposes.
Roman Catholicism was first introduced to Vietnam in the 16th century, and churches are not an uncommon sight in Vietnam.
Unique to Vietnam, Cao Dai is a mix of dogmas borrowed from Catholicism, Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism. Followers worship God and Buddha and follow saints that count Sun Yat Sen, Victor Hugo and Shakespeare among their number. Their temples can be found in many cities, particularly in Ho Chi Minh City.
Vietnam’s cuisine centres on the ubiquitous noodle soup, or pho. Many of its recipes use the country’s abundant seafood and sweet and exotic tropical fruits.
A sizeable percentage of Vietnam’s agricultural land is used for permanent crops. It is the largest producer of cashew nuts and second largest rice exporter in the world after Thailand. And although new to the game, Vietnam is one of the largest oil producers in Southeast Asia.
Vietnam has varied climate zones. Northern Vietnam has very specific seasons: cold winters and hot and humid summers. The Central Region, on the other hand, has a very dry atmosphere, with the driest months running from June to October. The coastal lowlands are tropical while towns like Da Lat down south and Sapa up north offer cooler climates. Towns like these in particular are popular due to the sweet-smelling pine forests, brilliant flowers, and waterfalls that surround the wooden cottages that sit on foggy mountaintops.
Vietnam has a 3,260-kilometre coastline with stretches of pristine white sand beaches. It has a diverse landscape made up mostly of rolling hills swathed in lush greenery and jagged mountains enveloped in dense forests. The majority of northern Vietnam is highlands while the south is a mix of mountains, forests and coastal lowlands.
As tourism is not as developed in Vietnam as it is in neighbours like Thailand, expensive water sports facilities are harder to come by. Nonetheless, beaches in Nha Trang and Da Nang are popular for their white sand and warm waters. Resorts such as Cat Ba Island and Pu Quoc Island are also popular vacation spots.
Vietnam is working hard to boost its tourism industry. Serious crimes against foreigners are uncommon, as the punishment for them is severe. Nonetheless, big cities like Ho Chi Minh are infamous for thieves who speed past on motorbikes and snatch purses, cameras and mobile phones from the hands of less-than-watchful sightseers.
One of Vietnam’s prize gems is Ha Long Bay. This UNESCO World Heritage site is a collection of islands scattred throughout the bay with hundreds of limestone caves, grottoes and rock formations of all sizes and shapes.
Vietnam’s two great cities retain much of their Old World charm even after suffering damages and trauma during the war. Hanoi is the capital, and Ho Chi Minh City, is Vietnam’s largest city. Both also have a modern, urban appeal that appeals to young backpackers from all over the world.
With its exciting past, vivid culture and natural beauty, its ancient temples, fog-topped mountains and sunny beaches, it is no surprise that Vietnam continues to attract the adventurer and the romantic.
Find properties for sale in Vietnam
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New Delhi’s ambivalent attitude toward RCEP
By Huang Dekai Source: Global Times Published: 2020/11/12 21:33:40
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will soon reach the long-awaited agreement, as 15 participant countries that include 10 ASEAN member states and China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand are to hold a virtual summit and sign the deal on Sunday.
If everything falls into place, the RCEP will be the world's largest trade pact, even without the inclusion of India, which pulled out last year. It will also give a boost to the region's economic and trade vitality and integration. It will be a major achievement of economic integration of East Asia in the past two decades.
For India, not joining the RCEP means it will miss big markets such as China, Japan and ASEAN. Especially against the backdrop of the global COVID-19 pandemic, all countries need foreign markets to help revitalize their own economies that are hit hard by the pandemic. Meanwhile, India lacks the capital and technology to develop its economy. Joining the RCEP can make up for this shortage.
India's refusal to join the pact comes as a result of its worries that its domestic manufacturing and agricultural industries will take a hit by imports from China which may jeopardize Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Make in India" agenda. Although manufacturing products from China and Japan may come to the Indian market, but these products are actually high-end, which can complement India's products which are usually at the low end, thus not posing as a major issue for India's manufacturing industry.
The real reason behind India's refusal is geopolitical considerations. As China and Japan are regional economic major powers, they will have more say in the RCEP. Now India is obsessed with its pursuit to be a major power and hopes to play a dominant role in regional and global cooperation. Therefore, it does not want its role to be overshadowed by other countries.
Nonetheless, India's ambition cannot be supported by its strength. India, on the one hand, wants to play a leading role in the region, but refuses to join regional blocs such as the RCEP, on the other. This reflects India's contradictory mindset.
Cooperation under the framework of the RCEP is economy and trade-centered, which India has refused to engage in. But India is actively promoting cooperation under the framework of QUAD, a security grouping comprising the US, Japan, India and Australia, that is centered on politics and security. When it comes to future regional economic cooperation, other countries would wonder if India would play the political card.
Japan used to jitter about joining the RCEP, but now it has become a strong advocate for signing the deal. Japanese government sources said India will be exempted from a stipulation that RCEP signatories will not accept new entrants to the framework for a certain period of time.
For one, Japan has invested a lot in India. For another, political ties between India and Japan are getting closer these years. The warming-up of US-India relations also signals the closeness of India and Japan.
There have been scholars exploring how Japan, India and Australia can construct a middle power coalition in the Indo-Pacific. In September, the three countries agreed to launch an initiative to achieve supply chain resilience in the Indo-Pacific region, in an apparent bid to reduce trade dependence on China.
If India joins the RCEP, it may provide a chance for India and Japan to balance China's influence in the group.
But India is not likely to join in the next few years. On the one hand, India is not confident of its economic strength. In the past two years, economic reforms promoted by the Modi government are not that successful. This year, it quietly pushed forward new reforms, indicating a failure of its previous endeavors.
On the other hand, India will look for alternatives such as sub-regional economic cooperation, e.g. the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation and the Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal Initiative.
But indeed, India needs to think big. As a rising power, India should think about its role and the long-term development in Asia and beyond. This should be the attitude for India to develop its economy and diplomacy in a steadfast manner.
The author is a scholar at the Sichuan Police College. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn
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RCEP poised to be signed at weekend
RCEP expected to be inked during upcoming leaders’ meeting: Chinese commerce official
RCEP agreement to be inked in November: Thai ministry
Posted in: VIEWPOINT,ASIAN REVIEW,CHINA-INDIA
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Call of Duty Zombies - the accidental creation of a glorious gaming monster
By Andy Hartup 20 April 2016
“My job is to kill you.” So says Jason Blundell, Director of Zombies at Treyarch, the team that makes the Black Ops arc of Call of Duty games, and the creators of the now legendary Zombies mode. “My job is to make a game that is brutal for you. I grew up with games like Gradius, where if one bullet would hit you… it’s game over, right?” We’re discussing the origins and philosophy of Call of Duty’s most playful and passionately enjoyed mode ahead of Black Ops 3's latest slice of DLC - and Blundell is clearly loving his job as the man who marshals the virtual undead. And he owes it all to a dead Nazi solider.
Eight years ago I was a magazine editor tasked with creating a premium, 148-page celebration of the Call of Duty series. It was 2008, and the COD of that year was World At War, the tricky follow-on from what is now regarded as one of the greatest shooters ever made, COD4: Modern Warfare. It was Treyarch’s second gig, and it’s fair to say that their first stab at the series wasn’t exactly a rousing success - COD3 is widely seen as one of the poorest in the franchise. I sent a writer to Treyarch’s Californian studio to spend a few days with the team, chatting about the new game, which would form the bulk of the magazine. When she came back there was all the usual talk about ‘brutality’ and ‘historical accuracy’ and ‘flamethrowers’ and, oh yeah, she’d been told - strictly off the record - that there were zombies in the game. Not only that, but the team was really, really bubbling with excitement about it.
Given the rather serious nature of Call of Duty, and the subject matter it had always portrayed to that point, this was cause for a figurative drink-spitting moment. “Are you sure they weren’t teasing you?” I had to ask. Quite simply, there was no precedent for something like this, nor had Treyarch particularly marked itself out as a team that would be maverick enough to so radically play with Call of Duty’s DNA. But, sure enough, it happened.
“There was a real worry about it,” explains Blundell. “Because we were making a very serious World War 2 Pacific campaign story, which - in true Call of Duty historical fashion - had a dark edge to it. It was one of our first mature games so there was a lot of blood and dismemberment and that kind of stuff, and we were dealing with a serious subject matter. But we also had this Zombie thing that people can’t stop playing in the studio, even after working long hours on all that great campaign stuff.”
The studio was clearly nervous about the beast it had created, but how did it all come about? Well, it all started with a German soldier. Who was on fire. “World at War was a very strained development. We had a lot of very passionate, talented people working very hard to make stuff, and it was always going to be right down to the wire. There were a couple of scripters who started playing with the on-fire animations that we had, because in World At War we introduced the flamethrower. There was this kind of (Blundell flails his arms and makes noises) “Rawwwwgghh!” You know, like the 80s movie thing when people are on fire and fall down. And they took that and that was the basis of the beginnings of the zombie stumble and movement.”
Look back at World At War and you’ll see that anyone you torch with the flamethrower holds their arms out and flails like a shambling zombie from a Romero movie. That was the spark that ignited the creativity of an entire team. Soon, everyone was getting involved during their spare time.
Blundell continues: “And we then took a bit of geo – we got one of the levels and cut it out - and that kind of basis became Nacht, which was the first map that was in World of War. We were working very, very long hours, but people started to pop their head around and have a look; people from each department. So Sound would be like ‘I can give you a (Blundell does a very convincing Zombie moan) “Mwaarrrghh!” ’, and then Characters were like “Well, I can give you a zombie head or two”. If you look back at the original stuff, it’s very much made from pieces. And that spirit I think is pervasive all the way through all the way up to Black Ops 3. But the original zombie mode was made from the leftover pieces and bits from peoples’ spare time”.
"The studio director said 'How the hell are we going to... we surely can't do this"
Jason Blundell
This was a secret game. A mini-mode. An Easter Egg - whatever you want to call it - crafted from the passion and creativity of a team with little free time. And yet they believed in it utterly. So much so, in fact, that Treyarch decided to present it to Activision, to see if they could include it in the game. Let’s pause for a second here and consider how bold a move that actually was. During the late 00s, Activision had a reputation - and whether this is fair or not, I can only speculate on based on my dealing with them as an editor - of being a commerce-driven publisher. Ok, everyone who publishes video games wants to make money, but Activision’s rep was about mega-franchises delivered to a set schedule, regardless of what it took to meet these deadlines. And Call of Duty was the crown jewel of these franchises, more so than ever after Modern Warfare. The conversation about introducing a rather frivolous ‘zombie mini-game’ into a multi-million dollar franchise is… well, a very careful one.
Blundell explains: “It got shown to the Director of World At War at the time, and he was like ‘It’s great and I can’t put it down… but how the hell are we going to… we surely can’t do this?’ And so we had to bring Activision executives over one at a time and just say ‘Sit down, have a play, don’t get worried – the game’s doing great but have a look at this thing...’”. By this time Zombies was a very playable experience, but still utterly basic. The animators had taken the new mantle animations from the main game, which then allowed zombies to pour in through undefended windows, and UI guys had worked up a proper scoring system and ‘wave counter’. It was, however, more or less the game that finally shipped with World At War.
The team only really knew it’d happen when Activision execs started sending emails back and forth about how far they’d managed to get through the mode. “We got to the point where they were sending emails about what round they got to,” says Blundell “And that’s when we knew we could do this, we could get away with this”. Getting away with it was one thing, but turning it into the phenomenon it became was quite another. Activision was sold on its inclusion, but still clearly worried that it would distract players from the core campaign and multiplayer on which COD built its sturdy foundations.
Blundell explains: “The deal – interestingly enough - the deal that got struck about it was: ‘OK, you can put it in, but don’t talk about it. We’re not going to promote it, we’re not going to market it’. It was going to be ‘We will put it in at the end, and see what turns out’.” The result is a series that has been getting stronger and bigger for the past eight years, and now boasts stars like Jeff Goldblum, Heather Graham, and Danny Trejo among its alumnae. But there was no guarantee that it would even be allowed to continue when the team started work on their next Call of Duty project, Black Ops.
After the initial release of World At War, the buzz around Zombies mode spread around the community like wildfire, and COD players really took it to heart. I remember playing it with friends who I’d known since university - friends nowhere near as immersed in the world of video games as me - who absolutely adored it. We played for hours on end, late into the night, pushing to access the whole level, working out strategies (“Leave the last one alive, but legless, so we can barricade all the windows again”) and praying to the God of COD that our next spend at the Random Gun box would be an Alien Blaster and not another stupid sniper rifle. Turns out, the rest of the community was taking things even further, inventing stories for the characters and working out justifications for zombies to even exist inside the Call of Duty universe.
“The thing that people don’t remember today is – there was no voice-over. We didn’t have any V/O because we didn’t have any money for V/O actors or any of that stuff,” says Blundell. “The community started to write: why were you there, what the intro was about, who these people were (essentially those heroes were just character models from the World At War campaign – so the American, the Japanese, the Russian and the German). And only when we got to the DLC season, it was decided: let’s put a little bit more resource behind this. ‘OK, let’s put a zombie map in… Let’s see if this community follows this.’ And they just loved it and they were eating it up”.
And what about that Random Gun box? The first piece of magic that later spawned teleporters, Pack-A-Punch machines and ability-altering bubble gum? Blundell claims it was a joint decision from several members of the team, and it was included as that element of risk that shooters such as Destiny are now making their bread and butter. “It’s beautiful in its simplicity,” enthuses Blundell. “It was a wooden box with question marks on it, and the weapon just changes over as it’s raising up, right? It was the definition of beauty through simplicity”.
It was also a cruel mistress too. “That was the other thing as well; letting it just be penalising. And this is something that – as I took over the mantle in doing Zombies maps - I’ve said very clearly that my job is to kill you. My job is to make a game that is brutal for you. You’re going to die. It’s just a matter of time”.
"It all got put on ice, and I remember thinking at the time: ‘Uh-oh...’ "
With a lively community and DLC plans (which meant putting a man - Blundell - in charge of Zombie development at Treyarch) the future looked bright for the mode. But it was by no means a done deal. Blundell explains: “So we did De Riese, and we started working on DLC 4. And then it was stopped because again, it’s about resources and back then the studio was a lot smaller. It all got put on ice, and I remember thinking at the time: ‘Uh-oh...’”.
However, this halt in development was simply to make way for Zombies in Black Ops. “Interestingly enough every single one of those maps got turned into another map going into Black Ops. So Kino was one of them, and what turned into Call of the Dead – which was the lighthouse level - these were all levels that were actually going to be in DLC 4 technically for World At War. But we never throw away bits, we keep all the bits that we’ve got so far”.
It’s true, and very fitting. Zombies mode has always been about pieces - stealing elements from elsewhere in the game, adding little clues that run through the various iterations, bringing concepts through from the solo story (who can forget playing as JFK in the Black Ops Zombie mode?) - but it’s far from a random set of maps, included for players to have fun with. There’s an overarching story, told in various forms, that runs throughout the whole mode. In the same way that Black Ops games are inexorably linked, so too is Zombies. You just need to dig a little deeper to find the clues.
“Initially, we were making one map pack to the next in terms of ‘OK, we’ve done that one. There’s these threads that we kind of want to play with more – let’s do another narrative’,” explains Blundell. “However, just before Origins, we sat down and I said: ‘OK, well let’s plan out a story, an arc that we’re going to talk about as DLC 4’. Everything was kind of written down then, so I’ve actually had to wait to do each one: Shadows of Evil, The Giant, Der Eisendrache and now Zetsobou… they were all planned before we started Origins”.
But this posed a problem. The consistent story was only really added late in the Zombies mode lifespan (to date). Which meant there was a need to tweak certain aspects of the new maps to tie together the story from the older ones. Essentially, Treyarch is now explaining what happened in World At War, Black Ops, and BO2 by dropping clues into Origins, Shadows of Evil, and all that followed. Blundell explains: “Some people will say ‘Oh, you’re rewriting history at this point’ and I say ‘Absolutely not’. There’s no such thing as a one-off map in Zombies. Like Call of the Dead, Mob of the Dead, Shadows of Evil – all of those things and all the way back to Nacht are all part of a singular story, and that’s what took so much time when we sat down before Origins. It was like ‘OK, let’s make sense of everything prior, and then forward as well’. And I’m very happy to now be realising that at this point”.
Although the series has been running for eight years now, with over 20 maps available, people are still hunting for the Easter Eggs hidden inside them. It’s the stuff that links together all the Zombie narrative - the weird, and slightly pieced-together story that explains why the undead are in a Call of Duty game at all. To this day, there is still stuff in original map - Nacht der Untoten - that remains hidden. “I shouldn’t really admit this but I got cheesed off at the online community because someone was saying ‘Oh no there’s nothing else, we’ve got everything’. And so I was like ‘OK, what about the one in World at War’ - and I gave them a reference. Then, suddenly, there were loads of YouTube videos saying ‘Oh we found one now after six years!’. When we make Easter Eggs in Zombies, they’re graded Easy, Medium, Hard and then the next category is Impossible. Often, I’ll hear the community say ‘Well, we’ve not got the impossible ones yet’. And I reply ‘Guys, you haven’t found half the Hard ones, let alone the Impossible ones! Don’t worry about that!’. Because for us, it’s a labour of love. I’ll have staff members come up and say ‘I’ve got this thing and I put it in there and can you check it over for me?’ And that’ll stay in there for two years before anyone sees it!”
Another facet of the series that has become increasingly loved is its use of celebrities. It all started with Danny Trejo - a natural choice for a zombie-killing tough guy in Call of the Dead - and has now reached peak fame with the likes of Heather Graham and Jeff Goldblum in Shadows of Evil. It seems remarkable that Zombies mode has raised its profile so high that it can now command the attention - and admiration - of such premium Hollywood talent. So, I have to ask, who the hell made the inspired decision to get Jeff Goldblum involved?
"If I was going to get killed by anyone, I’d like Heather Graham to kill me"
It was clearly Blundell, who beams at the opportunity to talk about the Jurassic Park star. “If I was a kid and I got my pick of any Hollywood talent, I’d pick Jeff Goldblum!” he says. “Who do I pick as my sexy woman who’s going to kill someone in their bed? I pick Heather Graham! Right? And I’ve been very blessed in that we’ve asked for these people and we’ve got them. They don’t disappoint – you hear these horror stories of Hollywood talents being divas, but every single one of them has come in and delighted us.
“Just to use Jeff as an example – I was splitting my sides. Any time you’ve seen that guy in a film – that’s a quarter of his raw energy. He came in at 9am, read all his lines, everyone else’s lines and ad-libbed on top of it and bounded out of the studio like at 4pm. We were exhausted and he was just... I don’t know how he does it. A lot of coffee? Heather’s just a wonderful... if I was going to get killed by anyone (like her character in the game), I’d like Heather Graham to kill me. Ron Perlman? He’s terrifying. He’s awesome! He’s a boxer you don’t want to meet down a dark alley and he sat down during the first recording session and said ‘Why have you picked me?’ and I said ‘Well, because if there’s a zombie apocalypse I’m coming round to your house.’ And he’s like ‘Good point. Good point’.
There’s little doubt that COD Zombies is now at the peak of its relatively short existence. That’s not to say it’s downhill from here, but snagging talent like Jeff Goldblum and Ron Perlman for the latest version is something Blundell and his teammates wouldn’t have dreamed of back in 2008. It’s a testament to the passion and persistence of a creative team that found a way to express its individuality in what many see as the strictest of environments. If you’re making a Call of Duty game there’s an enormous expectation to deliver a certain level of quality, a certain type of experience. That’s felt both internally and externally. So it’s remarkable how something so indulgent and off-piste has flourished to the extent it has.
In some ways, I feel like I’ve shared the Zombies journey too, on the other side of the controller. I still play Nacht with friends, although have far less time to burn (zombies) nowadays. Thinking about that memory, I’m compelled to ask Blundell one last question - where do they go from here? Zombies have visited the moon, plagued the second World War, over-run an entire city, and bothered Jeff Goldblum… how can Treyarch top that?
Blundell initially jokes: “I’m glad you asked – we’re going to an Island in Zetsobou No Shima, out right now!” Ok, fair enough. Personally, I’m looking forward to digging into the latest Zombie map, once this epic feature is finally published. However, Blundell knows what I’m really asking, and adds: “All I see is twinkling stars at that point, which is where do we want to go? How do we go? There’s this wonderful thing now which is consistent. It makes sense as a connected entity, and you can pick any one of those threads and move into the next thing.”
He then adds: “And I think that’s the thing that’s so exciting about it: Zombies mode is boundless, and it’s one of the things I’m probably thinking about after I finish talking to you!”
It seems there’s plenty of life left in that burning Nazi soldier.
Andy Hartup
The best board games - find a new favorite in 2021
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lawsuits Aug. 10, 2017
The ‘Pink Slime’ Debacle Cost Disney and ABC at Least $177 Million
Unappetizing. Photo: ABC News
In June, it became clear that Beef Products, Inc.’s Draconian $5.7 billion “pink slime” lawsuit wasn’t going to bankrupt ABC’s news division after all. The two sides settled very rapidly, just three weeks into the South Dakota meat producer’s case, and ABC’s official statement calling it “an amicable resolution” was conspicuously devoid of an apology or retraction.
But parent company Walt Disney had to release its latest earnings report yesterday, and that means the world finally gets to see what the investigative series (which blasted “lean finely textured beef” as borderline unsafe and scarcely meat by definition) cost them. The grand total seems to be “at least” $177 million.
Disney relegated the disclosure to a small-font footnote on the report, describing a mysterious $177 million loss “in connection with settlement of litigation.” There is no denying that’s a lot, but the “at least” is because, as CNN Money explains, it’s probably not the full amount to which BPI is entitled. In fact, BPI’s lawyer says the amount was definitely “worth even more,” but wouldn’t specify how much beyond calling it “extraordinarily favorable.” The extra, whatever it comes to, is presumably being covered by ABC’s insurance.
Regardless, $177 million is “historically large” — likely the most ever paid in a media defamation lawsuit. CNN estimates it’s on par with a whole year’s worth of advertising revenue for World News Tonight. ABC still stands by its reporting, though, and the 2012 report remains as prominent as ever on the ABC News website.
Reuters CNNMoney
pink slime
beef products inc.
The ‘Pink Slime’ Debacle Cost ABC at Least $177 Million
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Accenture Provides BT with F&A Services
5 Sep 2007 12:00 AM | Kerry Hallard (Administrator)
Accenture is providing BT with finance and accounting (F&A) services under a five-and-a-half-year business process outsourcing (BPO) contract.
Under the terms of the contract, Accenture is providing services related to management reporting, financial planning and analysis, month-end close activities and budgeting/forecasting to BT’s operations, initially focused in the UK. The services are being delivered through Accenture’s Global Delivery Network using delivery centers in India. “Outsourcing higher-end finance functions allows us to provide enhanced business support internally, so that BT can better focus on bringing real value and innovation to customers," said Andrew Kemp, BT director of Reporting, Planning and Analysis. “Accenture’s knowledge of our business and proven ability to support complex finance and accounting processes around the world were the key factors in our decision to forge this agreement.” “As one of the world’s leading providers of communications solutions and services, BT recognizes that high-performing businesses achieve improved business outcomes and cost efficiencies by leveraging outsourcing providers with deep industry skills and extensive process experience,” said Mike Salvino, managing director for Accenture’s finance, procurement and customer contact BPO services. “This engagement with BT illustrates the market demand for strategic, high-value finance and accounting outsourced services across a broad range of industries, including the telecommunications sector.” This contract complements three current BPO agreements between the two companies, which include a contract to provide a full range of finance processes to BT Global Services in the United States, Europe and Asia, and contracts to provide BT with a range of human resources and learning services on a global basis.
Record number of new HR deals boosts profits for outsourcing company Northgate
The profits of the HR division of software and outsourcing company Northgate have been boosted due to record number of new deals.
Six new contracts worth over £1m, including a shared services payroll deal, has led to profits reaching £35.5m, according to the company's annual report.
To add to this, Northgate also grew its profits through recent acquisitions. The company bought a controlling stake in international HR services group Arinso in May 2007.
Revenues for the year increased by 6% to351.7m, with post-tax profit up 18% to £25.1m.
Accenture signs BPO deal with United Utilities
31 Aug 2007 12:00 AM | Kerry Hallard (Administrator)
Accenture is helping United Utilities, which manages and operates electricity distribution and wastewater networks in northwest England, improve its customer service performance through a nine-year business process outsourcing agreement.
Accenture is responsible for delivering all services across back-office functions related to income, debt recovery and billing operations.
“By using a series of initiatives based on our utilities industry successes in North America, Accenture is helping United Utilities improve its operations, with a specific focus on those related to customer service,” said Keith Mueller, managing director of Accenture Business Services for Utilities.
As part of its customer-service initiative, United Utilities has brought its call center operation back in-house, with operations concentrated in Whitehaven, Cumbria. The center had previously been outsourced to Vertex.
“I’m delighted to have teamed up with Accenture,” said Charlie Cornish, managing director at United Utilities. “We are serious about continually improving customer service, and our agreement with Accenture will not only help us deliver on this promise but will do so at a lower cost-to-serve. The journey will take a number of years, but we — and we hope our customers — have already begun to see the benefits in a number of areas, including improved call handling.”
Allianz Global Investors and Xchanging plc announce Retail Investment
Allianz Global Investors Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH and Xchanging, the international, pure play BPO company, have signed contracts to establish an enterprise partnership to provide retail investment account management services. Subject to competition clearance, Xchanging, through it’s Financial Markets business, will hold a 51 percent share in the Hof-based Fondsdepot Bank GmbH and will take over the operational control of this unit effective from 1 November 2007 at the latest.
The strategic goal of the partnership is to strengthen and grow the position of Fondsdepot Bank as the high-capacity, neutral provider in retail investment account management and to generate third-party business for the cost-effective platform. The partners will focus on expanding their business with independent financial consultants and broker pools and on exploiting the business potential arising from the growing trend towards the outsourcing of administrative processes.
The partnership will provide Allianz Global Investors with guaranteed cost savings through a multi-year service agreement with clearly defined service targets.
“With this partnership we are offering exciting future prospects for both Fondsdepot Bank and the operations in Hof. Moreover, we are leading the way for the consolidation of an essential part of the asset management value-added chain”, Dr. Thomas Wiesemann, CEO of Allianz Global Investors KAG, comments.
The partnership endorses Xchanging’s strategy as an international pure-play BPO company and brings a modern technology platform for retail investment account management services. Furthermore, it allows Xchanging to enter the European growth market of asset management and gives the outsourcing specialist the scale to provide new customers with attractive retail investment account management services to add to those offered in securities processing.
David Andrews, Xchanging CEO said, “we are delighted to partner with such a prestigious international organisation as Allianz Global Investors. This, together with our other partnerships signals our leadership in processing for the financial services industry.”
As a result of the partnership with Xchanging, Fondsdepot Bank will gain additional momentum in the areas of process optimisation and efficiency improvement. This will significantly increase Fondsdepot Bank’s productivity. The partners stress that operational stability during the transition phase is assured as the business will remain on the same secure platform. With continuity of both management and staff, the Fondsdepot Bank customers will see continued high levels of service standards.
The 8 year service agreement has an initial contract value of €400m. Supporting this, Xchanging, through it’s Financial Markets business, will acquire 51% of Fondsdepot Bank for a cash payment of €13m and has granted a put option to Allianz Global Investors for the remaining 49% for €13m exercisable after 4 years. At 31 December 2006 the net assets of Fondsdepot Bank were €26m and the gross assets were €38m. At completion there is expected to be in excess of €10m cash in the balance sheet. This is an important investment for Xchanging to extend its balanced onshore/offshore strategy with a high quality, near-shore facility in Hof. Fondsdepot Bank is regulated by the Bundesbank and BaFin, has a partial banking licence and employs more than 400 people.
Indecomm Global Services acquires Brainvisa Technologies
Indecomm Global Services, a leading international business process outsourcing and services firm, has acquired Brainvisa Technologies Private Limited, a leading global eLearning solutions company. This is the second acquisition done by Indecomm Global Services this year after it recently acquired US Recordings, a US-based leading provider of mortgage recording solutions.
Welcoming Brainvisa to the Indecomm Group, Naresh Ponnapa, President and CEO of Indecomm Global Services, said “eLearning is the answer to the global resource crunch for skilled workers and will help the transformation of traditional business models into the e-Business paradigm. Leading companies worldwide are resorting to technology based training solutions to keep their workforce skilled, productive, innovative and competitive. We believe that having Brainvisa in our fold will be the perfect complement to our business goal of optimizing our clients’ business processes, improving productivity and powering their competitiveness in the knowledge economy.”
Commenting on this development Supam Maheshwari, Brainvisa's co-founder and CEO, said “In just over six years, Brainvisa has matured into an integrated end-to-end learning solutions provider. In Indecomm, we have an organization that understands the value that we can create for our customers through well-designed and delivered learning solutions. Indecomm’s innovative and forthright approach to business, its strong relationships with its clients, and its substantial resources will help Brainvisa consolidate its position as a global learning solutions provider. We expect to gain a lot from Indecomm’s global execution model, with its blended onsite, onshore and offshore delivery structure. This association will also will help Brainvisa embark on the next phase of its journey where we expect to see aggressive expansion, both organically and inorganically.”
Brainvisa is one of the largest global Learning solutions companies and helps businesses around the world to increase learning effectiveness by designing and delivering customized learning solutions aligned to specific business objectives. Brainvisa’s key competencies are its instructional design and end-to-end learning solutions. Brainvisa, one of the fastest growing learning solution company, currently has a 450-strong development team in two state-of-the-art development centers in India. Brainvisa offers end-to-end blended learning solutions which includes Consulting & Training Needs Analysis, Design and Development, Deployment and Maintenance in aviation, logistics, pharmaceutical, BFSI, telecom and technology verticals. It has presence in the United States, UK, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia. Brainvisa’s client roster includes leading Fortune 500 companies, who have benefited from Brainvisa’s solutions in achieving a competitive advantage through increased sales, improved productivity, reduced time to market, improved employee retention, and reduced training time.
Mouchel Parkman eases council staff job fears following outsourcing buy-out
Local government HR staff have been reassured about their jobs following a £46m deal which will target council back-office contracts.
Mouchel Parkman and HBS already work together on a £300m, 12-year strategic partnership in Oldham through the Unity Partnership. It also recently won preferred bidder status for a 10-year partnership with Somerset County Council.
The business process outsourcing market in the UK is currently worth more than £4bn, growing at nearly 10% per year.
Softtek acquires I.T. United
Softtek, the largest private IT service provider in Latin America, announced today that it has completed the acquisition of I.T. UNITED, a leading China-based provider of software development and outsourcing services. This strategic deal will significantly boost Softtek’s capabilities to serve the global needs of its clients by leveraging I.T. UNITED’s existing capabilities and China market positioning.
With this acquisition, Softtek adds the eighth Global Delivery Center to its network of centers in Mexico, Brazil and Spain. Softtek has gained a strong reputation in the IT & BPO global sourcing industry through its trademarked Near Shore model, which pairs world-class execution with global proximity to fill the gap left by India-centric outsourcing models.
“Our clients are increasingly looking for ways to leverage a true global delivery model by which they can take advantage of a strong network of multi-sourcing alternatives,” said Beni Lopez, CEO of Softtek Near Shore Services. “I.T. UNITED has been the recipient of numerous recognitions in China and abroad, and by adding their capabilities, we are taking our value proposition one step further.”
Cyrill Eltschinger, founder and CEO of I.T. UNITED, will continue in his position. Eltschinger has worked in the IT services industry for nearly 20 years and in China for almost 15 years. Prior to I.T. UNITED, he spent eight years with Electronic Data Systems (EDS) on various assignments in Europe, the United States and the Asia-Pacific region. “As a result of this integration, our clients will gain a competitive advantage from Softtek’s global proximity edge,” said Eltschinger. “Softtek’s Near Shore model, serving to and from the Americas, Europe and now Asia, represents a very compelling solution of choice in terms of quality, scalability and cost competitiveness in a complete follow-the-sun model.”
“China not only represents a huge and strategic market for our clients, but also is a place that has the skills, quality and scale required by today’s dynamic outsourcing market,” said Blanca Treviño, president & CEO of Softtek.“With this acquisition we are uniquely positioned to bring value by combining the outstanding customer experience of our Near Shore model with a robust network of global resources. We call it Global Near Shore.”
UK Visas slammed over security hole in outsourced web site
9 Aug 2007 12:00 AM | Kerry Hallard (Administrator)
An investigation into a security bug on a UK visas website has painted a damning picture of “organisational failures” by a government agency and its contractor.
The online UK visa application website for people in India, Russia and Nigeria was provided by VFS Global, a commercial partner of the joint Foreign Office and Home Office agency, UKVisas.
The report, conducted by independent investigator Linda Costelloe Baker slams UKVisas’ outsourcing of the online service to a firm that is not an IT specialist, the contractor’s performance and the failure to respond adequately when the security hole was first revealed.
Siemens strike threat boosts pay deal at BBC
Around 3,400 IT and business processing staff employed by outsourcing firm Siemens have secured 4% pay rises after threatening strike action.
Two separate pay deals cover 1,400 staff working for the BBC under its £2bn IT outsourcing deal with Siemens and 2,000 other staff working on a range of other contracts – including those at National Savings and the Identity and Passport Service.
ASDA outsources to Global Expense
ASDA has chosen to appoint GlobalExpense to manage its employee expense process.
Approximately 2,500 colleagues that claim expenses on a monthly basis will be able to use the service: mainly store managers from across the UK and head office colleagues based at Asda House in Leeds and George House in Leicestershire.
Mike Hazelgrave, Asda Reward Manager, said: “We estimate that we will save approximately £200,000 a year by using GlobalExpense's employee expense management process.
The contract was signed in March 2007, but GlobalExpense has worked with ASDA since October 2006 on a pilot scheme. The GlobalExpense system was rolled-out in March 2007, first to colleagues in ASDA House and George House, and will be rolled out to all store based colleagues by end of August.
“We were still 100 per cent paper based when it came to colleague expense management,” said Mike Hazelgrave. “Colleagues were unhappy with the manual system especially colleagues who travel extensively overseas.
“Before GlobalExpense, we processed colleague expenses via the payroll function and claims were reimbursed with colleagues’ salaries. Colleagues sometimes had to wait up to five or six weeks before being reimbursed. Being a global company, colleagues that travel regularly are often out of the country for between six to eight weeks and for them, the delay between making a claim and receiving payment was often much longer. Now colleagues can claim expenses online, anytime, anywhere and be reimbursed directly into their bank account within a week.
“The new system allows our audit team to track more easily what’s been claimed for, check it against the company policy and even change the policy if they see that it is unrealistic or leading to waste.”
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Robert F. "Bob" Reynolds
Born: Sun., Sep. 1, 1935
Died: Mon., Mar. 30, 2020
Memorial Service to be held at a later date
Robert "Bob" F. Reynolds, 84, of Murrysville passed away peacefully on March 30, 2020. He was born September 1, 1935 in Pittsburgh, son of the late Michael and Ann (Bridge) Reynolds of Squirrel Hill. He was the beloved husband of the late Marilynn (Weimer) Reynolds, father of Linda Giles (Greg) and Julie Reynolds (Chris Tyler), brother of Michaela (John) Humphrey and the late Marianne Reynolds, and grandfather of Eric (27), Kyle (25), Tyler (22), Nolan (12) and Reese (9). He graduated from Central Catholic High School in 1953 and earned his Bachelor degree at the Carnegie Institute of Technology, now Carnegie Mellon University. Bob spent most of his career as a systems analyst for Westinghouse and traveled around the world helping to bring steel mills online. After retirement, he and Marilynn traveled around the country in their Bounder motorhome. After 50 years in Monroeville, Bob and Marilynn moved to Redstone Highlands in Murrysville. A member of Alcoholics Anonymous in recovery since 1977, Bob was known for his quiet perseverance and keen wit. He will be deeply missed by many. A private burial will be conducted, and a memorial service will be scheduled later this year when family and friends can gather in remembrance. Anyone who would like to be notified of the memorial arrangements should email bob@themang.net. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Redstone Highlands Employee Appreciation Fund, the Redstone Highlands Benevolent Fund, or the American Heart Association.
www.hartfuneralhomeinc.com
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Establishment of the "Republic of the Seven United Islands" (Septinsular Republic, Eptanissos Politeia)
Following the Russo-Ottoman Alliance (January 1799) and the Ionian Islands' occupation by the Russian-Turkish fleet, the Republic of the United Ionian Islands was established with the Treaty of Constantinople (21 March 1800). The islands were under French rule until 1799. The Ionian Republic (Eptanissos Politeia) is the first semi-autonomous state on Greek land. Territorially it fell under the control of the Sultan, while religiously, it belonged to the Russian Orthodox Church. "Klephts" and Souliotes, defeated by Ali Pasha of Ioannina, took refuge in this state formation. The "Byzantine" Constitution, approved in Istanbul, made provisions for the state's federal status, the establishment of a Senate and Higher Council, and the reinstatement of privileges and titles of nobility by reestablishing the authority of local noble families. In 1807 the Republic would surrender to Napoleon's France, which caused a British operation to take control of the islands.
Remarkable advancements in formal Greek education
Michail Soutzos hegemon of Moldavia
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White Rock Copper Works, Swansea
In a new BBC History Magazine book 100 Places that Made Britain, David Musgrove has asked historians to nominate key sites in Britain's story. In this extract, Chris Evans, professor of history at the University of Glamorgan, puts forward the White Rocks Copper Works in Swansea: ‘Where you can see an early stage of the Industrial Revolution’
Sandwiched between the centre of Swansea and the city’s Liberty sports stadium is a little haven of greenery. A couple of centuries ago it was more hive than haven, and more smoke and industry than green space. It’s the former site of the White Rock Copper Works, where, says Chris Evans, “you’ll find one of the few visible remains of an aspect of early British industrialisation. The copper and brass industries really emerge in the late 17th century, a hundred years or so before what we conventionally think of as the Industrial Revolution in Britain.”
The rise of the copper industry in Swansea was an astonishingly rapid one. “Britain moved from being on the absolute margins of this industrial sector in a European perspective to being its most dynamic centre within the space of just a generation,” notes Evans, and it was all about Swansea. “Wales as a whole by 1820 accounted for over 50 per cent of the world output of smelted copper, and the Swansea district accounted for pretty much all of that.”
Why Swansea? It was all about geography and geology, and specifically about the development of coal power, over wood fuel, to smelt the copper ore. Coal-smelting technology was in its infancy in the 17th and 18th centuries, and the process demanded coal and ore in the ratio of three to one. It therefore made sense for the smelting process to be nearer the coal than the ore.
There was a lot of coal in the Swansea–Neath district, and there was a lot of copper ore in Cornwall. In between the two was open sea, which happily afforded the easiest way of transporting goods at the time. So the copper was shipped from the Cornish mines to Swansea, the coal was brought from nearby pits, and the smelting furnaces were set up along the banks of the river Tawe, in the most accessible site to receive both products.
From the 1770s through to the mid 19th century, Swansea was ‘Copperopolis’. It went from being a small seaside town with a little porcelain production to a sprawling centre of industry, where the farmers lodged court cases against the owners of the works for ruining their once-fertile soil. As geography was the key factor in deciding the location of smelting furnaces, all the copper works were hemmed into a tightly confined area. You could have walked across this globally important industrial area in a day, reckons Evans, and you can do the same now, though you have to use your imagination a little to conjure up what was once there.
“Wales as a whole by 1820 accounted for over 50 per cent of the world output of smelted copper”
You should start your visit at Swansea’s newly built Waterfront Museum on the quayside. Pop in for a look around and you can get a bit of background on the Industrial Revolution in Wales. While you’re in the museum, see if you can spot a print of the painting of the White Rock Copper Works by Henri Gastineau (c.1830), which gives you a taste of the what the landscape you’re about to stroll into once looked like. Then set off alongside the river, heading north towards the city; cross over at the Sail Bridge and walk a little way along the side of the Tawe on cycle route 43. It’s a pleasant woody stroll that will shortly take you to the remains of the White Rock works.
Now be warned: although the place has been designated an Industrial Heritage Park by Swansea Council, there is precious little in the way of signage or interpretation boards. If you get to the car park by the roundabout with the Liberty Stadium looming up in front of you, turn around – you’ve just missed it.
Evans explains what you can see: “There are the ruined wharves, which pretty much date back to the foundation of the works, and there are old abandoned kilns and storage works. There’s also a massive ramp that used to carry the slag up to Kilvey Hill. If you gaze up Kilvey Hill and run your eye across the contours, you can see patches of slag where it’s still recovering from the very toxic nature of copper smelting.”
The works closed in 1929 because by then it was more economic to smelt the ore where it was mined, but the waste tips were not cleared away until 1967. Now it is a pleasant place for a historical mooch around – grassy, quiet and with a view down the Tawe. Perhaps the most atmospheric site is the old dock on the river, where it doesn’t take much imagination to picture the copper barges bringing in the ore and shipping away the finished copper products.
You might be wondering what the finished copper was used for. It was ubiquitous in a domestic context in Britain, in terms of pots and pans and suchlike, but it also had a darker side. “You could buy human beings with copper,’ says Evans. “Copper and brass articles were important as trade goods on the Guinea coast of Africa, either in the form of copper rods, wire or ingots, or as ready-made semi-decorative items, such as manillas (bracelets), that eventually acted as an African currency.”
The White Rock works were started by a Bristol company in 1737, and the leading figure was Thomas Coster, an MP, a mine adventurer, and a dealer in copper and brass. Bristol was, at the time, the main focus of copper production in the country (some evidence remains along the banks of the Avon in east Bristol), but it was also Britain’s premier slaving port.
The Coster family were partners in the 1730s with some of the leading slaving houses in Bristol, and they were interested in expanding their production of copper because it was such an important commodity in the slave trade. The White Rock works, from the very outset, were fully integrated into this. Says Evans, ‘The first-known print of the works, from 1744, clearly identifies one of the structures as the Manilla House, where these objects for the slave trade were produced or stored. It takes Welsh industrialisation from a parochial setting into a hemispheric one.’
White Rock was but one of the smelting works along the Tawe, and you can see further evidence of the industry by continuing a little further north along the river, crossing over just before the stadium and doubling back to the Hafod Copper Works buildings. At the moment, all these remains of Swansea’s industrial past are perhaps a little unloved, but that’s all the more reason to pay them a visit and spread the word about this early stage in Britain’s industrial history.
Dave Musgrove
Nominated by Chris Evans, professor of history, University of Glamorgan
White Rocks Copper Works
National Waterfront Museum, Oystermouth Road, Maritime Quarter, Swansea SA1 3RD
www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/swansea
This is an extract from the BBC History Magazine book 100 Places that made Britain, by David Musgrove, published on 2 June 2011.
More on: United Kingdom
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Cowdray, West Sussex
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The taste test
This week’s Friday funny, brought to you as ever by author and journalist Eugene Byrne, takes a look at an old joke especially popular with medical students, which actually has its roots in a true story involving Joseph Bell and Arthur Conan Doyle
The joke
The eminent surgeon was about to give an important lecture to his medical students. Before the lecture he prepared, in a laboratory flask, a concoction of paraffin, mustard, castor oil and some other choice ingredients, in order to create the vilest-tasting liquid he could contrive.
“Ladies and Gentlemen,” he addressed his students at the start of the lecture, “today I want to talk to you all about the importance of observation.”
He produced the flask and said: “Now, I would like you all to pass this liquid around and I would like each one of you taste this liquid, and tell me everything you can about it. Let me demonstrate.”
He dipped his finger into the liquid, and then sucked on his finger. He then handed the flask to the first student.
The wretched medics each dipped a finger into the mixture, then tasted. By the time the much-depleted flask returned to the surgeon, many of the students looked quite ill.
“And that ladies and gentlemen, is the point I wish to make. As doctors you will have to make far, far better use of your powers of observation than you did today. If you had been observing properly, you would have noted that the finger which I dipped into the flask was not the same finger which I put into my mouth.”
This is a hairy old story, which is still told to this day (particularly by medical students). According to the Internet, it even makes an appearance in one of Richard Gordon’s ‘Doctor’ comic novels from the 1950s or 60s.
Modern versions are rather more icky; in some, the surgeon is suggesting the students taste a urine sample by way of diagnosing diabetes. Yet another version concerns veterinary students and a dead cow, but let’s not go there. But the interesting thing is that this joke began as a true story.
Dr. Harold Emery Jones, writing in the 1930s, told of how when he was a student, Edinburgh surgeon Joseph Bell (1837-1911) presented them with a mysterious liquid: “This, gentlemen, contains a very potent drug. To the taste it is intensely bitter. It is most offensive to the sense of smell. But I want you to test it by smell and taste; and, as I don’t ask anything of my students which I wouldn’t be willing to do myself, I will taste it before passing it round” Here he dipped his finger in the liquid, and placed it in his mouth.
The tumbler was passed round. With wry and sour faces the students followed the Professor’s lead. One after another tasted the liquid; varied and amusing were the grimaces made. The tumbler, having gone the round, was returned to the Professor. “Gentlemen”, said he, with a laugh, “I am deeply grieved to find that not one of you has developed this power of perception, which I so often speak about; for if you watched me closely, you would have found that, while I placed my forefinger in the medicine, it was the middle finger which found its way into my mouth.”
Oh but (assuming you didn’t already know this) it gets better … another of Joseph Bell’s students back in the day was a young Arthur Conan Doyle. Dr Bell, Conan Doyle later wrote, “would sit in his receiving room with a face like a Red Indian, and diagnose the people as they came in, before they even opened their mouths. He would tell them details of their past life; and hardly would he ever make a mistake.” And Conan Doyle happily admitted that Bell had been a major inspiration for the great detective Sherlock Holmes.
More on: Social history
The price of smoke
French Republican Calendar
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Rachel Maddow on Trump, Record Ratings and a Possible Roger Ailes Meeting: "I’ll Buy You Breakfast" (Q&A)
3:00 AM PDT 4/13/2017 by Marisa Guthrie
David Needleman
MSNBC's progressive star has seen her ratings double as she trains her wonky focus on the Trump White House: "They do not say true things."
Rachel Maddow, marker in hand, is contemplating a whiteboard on the wall of her show's newsroom. It's 2:20 p.m. on April 5, and on the board is a long list of topics: the removal of Steve Bannon from the National Security Council; sexual-harassment allegations encircling Fox News' Bill O'Reilly; an investigation into possible ethics violations by President Trump's EPA chief, Scott Pruitt.
“We have Putin’s ex-wife up here?” says Maddow, surveying the room. Lyudmila Putina, rarely seen in public since her divorce four years ago from Vladimir Putin, has re-emerged with a new husband 21 years her junior and a villa in the French seaside town of Anglet. Turning back to the board, Maddow picks up the eraser. “I’m going to go ahead and delete Ivanka and Jared and the things they say about things,” she says, as she erases the names of the president’s daughter and son-in-law.
The discussion among Maddow and her 20-some producers, including executive producer Cory Gnazzo, turns to Trump's evolving flexibility on military intervention into Syria after a chemical attack in a rebel-held town killed nearly 100 civilians. A producer suggests collating Trump's tweets on Syria that came when he was a private citizen: "We should stay the hell out of Syria"; "What will we get for bombing Syria besides more debt and a possible long term conflict?"; "Stay away and fix broken U.S."
“He’s starting to identify Syria on a map,” says Maddow dryly, noting that this is not the first time Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has used chemical weapons against his own people. “You can see the proud ignorance of his early statements,” she continues. “It’s like, ‘Now I see!’”
Like virtually every day since Trump moved into the White House, the news cycle is spinning at warp speed. And Maddow — in her eighth year on MSNBC and long the network's most prominent progressive star — is attracting her biggest audience ever, averaging 2.7 million viewers a night in March, a 100 percent gain year-over-year. In the 25-to-54 demographic, Maddow even beat Fox News rival Tucker Carlson. Her highly touted (and mocked) March 14 program, in which she revealed a small portion of Trump's 2005 tax return, drew an eye-popping 4.1 million viewers, making The Rachel Maddow Show the most-watched program on cable for the night and beating scripted programming on ABC and Fox. "This administration is Chaos, Incorporated, and that means you can't plan ahead, ever," notes Maddow, 44, who spends weekdays in New York and weekends with her partner, photographer Susan Mikula, in Massachusetts. "That's exciting. But being at work takes more energy than it ever has."
Are you writing up until almost 9 p.m. when the show begins?
Through the show. Almost every night something changes during the show that modifies what is on the air that hour, whether it's a last-second booking or throwing something out or an ad-libbed segment or "Add these questions on x to our previously booked person and see if they can talk about it."
The Trump administration has prompted a not-my-president resistance. Do you view yourself as a leader in that movement?
Ha! Am I the leader? No. I'm not the leader of anything except the 9 o'clock show on MSNBC. But I do think that there is an equal and opposite reaction in the country to what Trump represents. It'll be interesting to see how sustained it is.
As a progressive, is it ever depressing to cover this stuff every day?
I don't operate that way, really. I do not see my job as advocating for what's important to me. If I did, it would be a very different show. I see my job as explaining what's going on in the news. With this administration, regardless of how I feel about anything they’re doing, there is so much that needs explaining. We've put a lot of effort into the Russia scandal and I don't regret that, and I intend to be as aggressive as I possibly can on that story because here is a scandal that is of transcendent, historic importance and is existentially about whether or not this presidency should exist or whether it is the product of a crime. And if that's the case then how much is it worth it to talk about Tom Price's corruption and Carl Icahn’s inappropriate regulatory role? If you plagiarized your whole book are we going to diagram the sentences in it or should it just be pulled off the shelf? And as somebody whose job it is to explain the news, and to explain what is most important in the news, that is a real tension for me. With an existential crisis looming, how do you contextualize non-existential crises alongside that? Or do you ignore everything except that? I think it's a hard question, every day.
If you had a sit-down with Trump, what's the first question you would ask him?
I do not want to give that away because I am hoping to be able to interview Trump.
How does Maddow get an interview with Trump?
I thought that I had an interview with him during the primaries. I spoke with him, and the people who supposedly speak for him told me it was a go. The problem with dealing with this administration internally as well as the way they talk to the country is that there is no reason to believe anything they say.
So you haven't had a conversation with him since then?
Since the election, no, I have not spoken with him. Although I fully expect to. He likes cable news, he likes mixing it up with people whom he has differences of opinions with, he likes making examples of people whom he sees as bad for the country. He's got every reason to talk to me, don't you think?
You did get his attention by revealing his 2005 tax return on TV. They said you were "desperate" for ratings.
Do you know the funny little backstory about that? That line in the statement, the "desperate for ratings" line, was not in the statement that they gave us. So they gave us the statement, we read the whole statement on the air, and then they subsequently put out that statement, plus the "desperate for ratings" line. And then told everybody that we were too afraid to use that line in the statement, which they had not given us until after we had already released the statement that they gave us. I was like, "That is some junior high stuff."
You endured some criticism for the way you handled the build-up and the preamble to the tax return. Stephen Colbert did a widely shared parody of it on Late Show. Any regrets?
I think the Colbert thing was spectacular. Corey [Gnazzo, Maddow’s executive producer] came in and was like, "I have to show you something." He was very worried. So we pulled it up and watched it and I immediately responded [on Twitter]. I thought it was freaking spectacular! I was like, "Who told you this was bad news? That means he has watched the show, you guys!"
People who know you say you're a perfectionist. In hindsight, is there anything you would have done differently?
No. And I recognize that people don't like the way I did it or don't like the way I do TV generally. But I have been doing the same thing all this time. We've always had that mantra: Try to increase the amount of useful information in the world. I'm not reading the news, I'm explaining the news — and that means explaining what's important about it, what's not important about it, where it comes from, how you ought to see it in light of other news that's being discussed. I'm not the leader of the resistance. I'm not the opposition party. I am a person who is trying to increase the amount of useful information in the world.
Roger Ailes wrote a blurb for your 2012 book, Drift. Have you spoken to him recently?
I tried to reach him around Christmastime. I just tried to reach out just to reconnect and was not able to get in touch. But Roger, if you're reading this and you want to have a conversation, I'll buy you breakfast.
A version of this story first appeared in the April 13 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
Marisa Guthrie
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Is VH1's Hip Hop Honors Insulting Southern Rappers?
Shea Serrano
| Screwston, Texas |
Shea Serrano | June 1, 2010 | 10:00am
Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Every Monday (that isn't a national holiday) Rocks Off will have some of them hear discussing issues relevant to their culture. This Week's Panel: Chamillionaire, Paul Wall, Chalie Boy, Hima Sneed, Thurogood Wordsmith and Church. Not Invited: J-Bar. Have you heard his "Daze" song? Yuck. It's awful. He makes Soulja Boy look like Rakim. Of course, Soulja Boy is on the song too. This Week's Prompt: VH1 has chosen to honor "The Dirty South" at this year's Hip Hop Honors, airing next Monday, June 7. The best sound bite we've heard so far came from Scarface. Here's a bit from his interview:
"I'm hip-hop, man. I'm not going [to the Honors] because I feel slighted. Even though it was a nice gesture, I feel like it's just a pacifier. They're like, 'Let's give these niggas down there a pacifier so they can stop feeling left out. We'll make Luke and all these niggas down there look funny,' you know? 'Let's put a plate of fried chicken and some watermelon and let's just do some nigga-ass shit.'"
So, is the fact that VH-1 is honoring only the South at this show like a teacher having a separate awards ceremony for all of her ESL kids because they wouldn't have won anything if they were measured against the entire student body? Or should this be viewed as a cementing of the ever-increasing role the region is playing in the continuing history of hip hop? Paul Wall: I wonder if this means there won't be any other artists from the South that get honored after this? But what if they didn't honor any artists from the South at all? I'd be more pissed about that. I'm really excited that they're honoring Rap-A-Lot. J Prince gave everybody the blueprint on how to run an independent record label. Everyone, not just the South. He definitely deserves it. And I'm so honored to be involved at all, I still can't believe I'm a part of this. So I'm not in any position to complain about the South getting honored, and not worthy to question why. Scarface is one of the original gangster rappers that ever did it. He's somebody I admire and look up to, and somebody I've always been a fan of. So I feel like he has every right to say and feel however he wants. It seems like VH1 has been honoring a lot of artists from different regions, and rightfully so; it's been mostly the pioneers from New York. I'm just honored to be a part of it, and proud that they're honoring the Houston culture and music scene. Church: I think it is messed up if you look at it from Face's perspective, since he is one the vets in the game. But from a newer MC standpoint, I'll take anything they give us. Honor is honor at the end of the day. I think the south is getting a lot of burn and it's not a big secret, so if it was measured against the entire student body it's a good chance of winning also. Thorogood: I understand where Face is coming from. If you feel that you are going to be portrayed in a negative light then why would you voluntarily be that guy? And let's face it, VH-1 is not known for producing tasteful programming. Let me remind you of a few VH-1 favorites: Basketball Wives - this should be called Unmarried NBA Gold Digging Leaches - Real Chance Of Love, The T.O. Show, Breaking Bonodouchebag and countless others. So is it that farfetched that Brad Jordan thinks the producers may go with a "fried chicken and some watermelon" theme? Justifiably, he doesn't agree with that creative direction. While he was laying down the foundation for Southern hip-hop, there were many opportunities that he missed for the simple fact that he was from the south. In my opinion, he still carries a chip on his shoulder towards those record execs responsible and his latest actions are a reflection of that chip on his shoulder. At the very minimum, Face is expressing his thoughts and it's got people talking. When it's all said and done, the people being honored in this presentation deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as every other hip-hop legend, no matter the region. Regardless, Scarface is a hip-hop legend/icon and will never need any sort of honor from VH-1. If this presentation is done in taste, then he may have missed out on the benefit of being on television but, from what I can gather, Scarface doesn't give a fuck what VH-1 thinks. And I admire that. Hima: I am gonna have to agree with 'Face on this one. I mean, I feel the same way that he does when it comes to the Gospel Dove Awards or Stellar Awards. It's just like slapping [a] gospel artist in the face and saying that they are not good enough to appear on the Grammys. I mean, don't get me wrong, the gospel awards show is nice, but it's like they are putting us in a special genre. Many gospel artists win Grammy's but you rarely see them perform or receive their awards on the show. The Grammy's should include al music categories on the show. Chalie Boy: I think is cool that the South is being recognized this year. Anytime props are given, I think it's a positive thing. The South has been overlooked and undervalued for many years while contributing a lot to hip-hop, so I think the acknowledgment is well deserved. Some may feel that it is overdue, but I think it's definitely better late than never. Everything happens in its right time and for a reason. I'm just happy that it's happening this year. Chamillionaire: I look at this argument from the position that the glass is half full rather than half empty. Fact of the matter is that if no one gets up there to represent the Dirty South at the VH1 Hip Hop Honors then the voices of so many influential people from the South will probably never get a chance to be heard. VH1 has spent years developing a brand that is now in the households of millions of people and I look at that outlet as a gateway into the homes of millions of Americans that might or might not know their Southern history. This isn't about East coast based people making a show about Southern people to me. This is about East Coast people that have built a brand that reaches into the homes of millions across the globe and me having an opportunity to speak through them to people across the world who love music just like I do. There are definitely good points on the other side of this argument, but I feel like as Southerners we hold ourselves back from a lot of opportunities because of pride. A wise man once said to me that the word "poor" is an acronym for Passing Over Opportunities Repeatedly, and until some forward-thinking person from the South creates his own network and builds it up to millions in viewership, then we will be forced to tell our story through the best outlets we have available. If the story is gonna be told, I would rather it come from out of my own mouth instead of someone else's. I can't be at home mad that my name wasn't pronounced correctly if I passed at the opportunity to get involved.
Screwston, Texas
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The Damn Quails Frantically Seeking Missing Tour Manager [Updated]
| Current Events |
Chris Gray | March 22, 2016 | 4:00am
UPDATE (3/23, 11 a.m.): Colin Deyalsingh has been located in Colorado Springs, Colo., according a Facebook message from the band posted Tuesday night:
He has spoken to members of the team and we have a person with him at this point. He is currently safe and without injury. We wish to thank every single one of you who helped us during this difficult time. The outpouring of support and love was overwhelming. We would like to thank all of the law enforcement agencies and members of the press who did everything in their power to get the word out to help us find our friend. We do not know any of the circumstances that led Colin to Colorado and we do not know anything further at this time. This is not our story to tell, and any further information about this will have to come from Colin and his family. Thank you all again for lifting us up in our time of trouble. We will never forget it. We are happy our friend has been found.
Oklahoma’s The Damn Quails, a popular act on the Red Dirt circuit, are frantically searching for their tour manager after he disappeared during the band’s gig last Saturday night at the Firehouse Saloon. According to a message posted Monday morning on the Quails’ Facebook page, Colin Deyalsingh was last seen around 11 p.m. as the Quails were taking the stage. He left behind his belongings, and has not been seen since.
We are all extremely worried about Colin. If anyone at the show or in the area has any idea about where he may be, or if anyone saw him anywhere in the Houston area, please let us know as soon as possible.
Comments on the group’s two Facebook posts Monday offered a steady stream of prayers for Deyalsingh’s safe return, as well as several promises to contact friends in Houston-area law enforcement. The band noted that, to their knowledge, Deyalsingh had not wound up in any local jails or hospitals. According to the Firehouse’s Kim Imber, the venue’s staff is at a loss as well.
“All we know is that he was last seen at 11 p.m [Saturday],” she said via email late Monday. “Our manager looked through our surveillance videos but was not able to find anything of note to report. Could not actually pinpoint anything out of the ordinary.
“Sure hoping for a good outcome,” Imber added.
By Monday evening, the news had been shared statewide and into Oklahoma, with no sign of Deyalsingh. In a second Facebook post Monday night, the band thanked fans for all the messages of support, and noted, “every possible piece of information has been given to the authorities, and we are using every avenue possible to locate Colin.”
Discouraging speculation about “what may or may not have happened,” the message added, “We ask that you please remember that some people in this situation are missing a father, son and brother.”
Formed in 2010 as a partnership between singer/songwriter/guitarists Gabe Marshall and Byron White, the Norman, Oklahoma-based Quails debuted with 2011's Down the Hatch and became a sizable draw throughout the region thanks to songs like "Fool's Gold," "Me and the Whiskey" and "So So Long." Their most recent album, Out of the Birdcage, was released last September.
"The police haven't told us much of anything," said Michael Krug at the Quails' management company, CTK Entertainment, this morning.
The band urges anyone with information on Deyalsingh’s whereabouts to call CTK at 512-312-9350, as well as the local authorities.
Texas Music
Chris Gray has been Music Editor for the Houston Press since 2008. He is the proud father of a Beatles-loving toddler named Oliver.
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Bitcoin ATMs Are a Mixed Bag in Houston
Four Thoughts on Nick Caserio's First Meeting With Houston Media
James Dinkins: Justice of the Peace Charged with Hurricane Ike Fraud
Richard Connelly
Richard Connelly | May 8, 2012 | 10:00am
A former longtime Justice of the Peace in Montgomery County has been charged with fraud in connection to receiving Hurricane Ike relief funds, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.
James W. Dinkins, 64, got $120,000 in relief funds by falsely claiming his primary residence was in Galveston County, prosecutors say.
Dinkins was a JP for many years, and in 1986 served as the president of the Justices of the Peace & Constables Association of Texas.
A five-count indictment charges him with defrauding the Small Business Administration.
"The SBA Disaster Loan Program stems from the American public's concern for and generosity toward people who have experienced tragic loss of a home or business as a result of a natural disaster," said SBA special agent Scott Dennis. "Fraud in this program is reprehensible and an affront to the kindness of a giving public. The SBA-OIG Investigations Division will continue to be ever vigilant when investigating allegations of loan fraud such as this."
The indictment came down Wednesday and Dinkins was arrested yesterday, the USAO says. He faces a maximum of 30 years and a $250,000 fine.
Follow Hair Balls News on Facebook and on Twitter @HairBallsNews.
The Main Difference Between the Capitol Insurrection and the...
Trump Supporters Storm U.S. Capitol, Halt Electoral College...
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Brexit Threatens Entire European Economy
07/12/2016 01:53 pm ET
Italy’s banks are on the brink of collapse, but the E.U. is forbidding a bailout.
By Daniel Marans
Pacific Press via Getty Images
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi (L) appears along side German chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande. Italy's banking crisis is a problem for them all.
When United Kingdom voters chose last month to leave the European Union, the popular wisdom was that it was an act of economic self-harm for Britain.
Now it appears that the U.K. may be taking down the continent along with it.
The so-called Brexit, or British exit from the EU, has provoked uncertainty that is hastening the crisis facing Italian banks. That, in turn, has European leaders worried about another continent-wide financial crisis.
Italy’s major banks, including UniCredit and Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, are teetering under the weight of the 17 percent of their loans that borrowers have stopped repaying. For some perspective, just 5 percent of Americans’ loans had gone bad at the height of the financial crisis in 2008-2009.
As the Associated Press explains, the Brexit prompted concerns that a “slowdown in trade with Britain would only increase the bad loan problem” in Italy.
The Wall Street Journal noted the Brexit “has compounded the strains on Europe’s banks in general and Italy’s in particular,” threatening to “spark a crisis of confidence in Italian banks.”
As one expert told the outlet:
“Brexit could lead to a full-blown banking crisis in Italy,” said Lorenzo Codogno, former director general at the Italian Treasury. “The risk of a eurozone meltdown is clearly there if Brexit concerns are not immediately addressed.”
Having exhausted more conventional tools, including a “bad bank” to absorb the non-performing loans, the Italian government wants to bail the banks out. But the European Union, led by the continent’s powerhouse, Germany, has warned the Italian government that doing so would violate EU rules. They want Italy to do a “bail-in” instead, wherein banks take from borrowers’ deposits to shore up their balance sheets. But such a move risks provoking a run on banks, which would require even more extraordinary stop-gap measures.
The crisis in Italian banks is not just about narrow economics. It is about whether the EU will continue to function as a political entity ― or if the Brexit is the first pulled thread in a slow unraveling of the world’s largest single market for goods and services.
So far, Northern European nations have handled the Italian situation the way they dealt with the 2008 financial crisis and its aftermath ― treating issues as the come up in a series of seemingly endless miniature emergencies. Germany, in particular, has been intent on disciplining the financially distressed Southern European nations to avoid future misbehavior, whether it’s the practical course of action or not.
For example, the E.U deferred dramatic intervention in Greece’s debt crisis until the last moment in 2010, when the problem finally became unavoidable. Since then, it has pursued a policy of forcing Greece to take out new loans to pay off its old loans on steeper terms, with only a prolonged recession to show for it.
Many observers in Greece last week said they think the Italian banking crisis is another breaking point for the old approach to punishment and austerity. The rise of various far-right movements across Europe suggests that this approach is not especially popular, they noted with a hint of vindication.
Daniel Marans
Reporter, HuffPost
Brexit European Union Austerity Matteo Renzi Italian Banks
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Reality Submerged by Myths on Immigration
Viewpoint by Roberto Savio
The writer is publisher of Other News, an eminent proponent of "information that markets eliminate" and founder of IPS-Inter Press Service News Agency. This article is being reproduced courtesy of Other News with the writer's permission. He can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and his articles and comments can be read on Facebook @robertosavioutopia
ROME (IDN) – The latest statistics show that the total flow of immigrants so far in 2018 is 50.000 people, compared with 186,768 last year, 1,259,955 in 2016 and 1,327,825 in 2015. The difference between reality and perceptions is so astonishing that we are clearly witnessing one of the most brilliant manipulations in history.
The latest survey carried out of 23,000 citizens of France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States shows an enormous level of disinformation. In five of those countries, people believe that immigrants are three times higher than they actually are.
Italians believe they account for 30 percent of the population when the figure is actually 10 percent, an average which is lower than the media of the European Union. Swedes are those closest to reality: they believe immigrants account for 30 percent, when in fact the figure is 20 percent.
Italians also believe that 50 percent of the immigrants are Muslim, when in fact it is 30 percent; conversely, 60 percent of the immigrants are Christian, and Italians think they are 30 percent.
In all six countries, citizens think that immigrants are poorer and without education or knowledge, and therefore a heavy financial burden. Italians think that 40 percent of immigrants are jobless, when the figure is close to 10 percent, no different from the general rate of unemployment.
Meanwhile, the 7th report on the economic impact of immigration in Italy from the Leone Moressa Foundation, which based its research on Italian Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) data, has presented some totally ignored facts.
The 2.4 million immigrants in Italy have produced 130 billion Euros, or 8.9 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) – an amount larger than the GDP of Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia. In the last five years, out of a total of nearly 6 million Italian companies, 570.000 – or 9.4 percent of the total – were started by immigrants. Tito Boeri, president of Italy's national pension agency INPS, has told Parliament that immigrants give 11.5 billion euro to the system, more than what they cost. He also stressed that Italy is going through a demographic crisis, with only seven births for every eleven deaths.
Well, Matteo Salvini, the emerging Italian leader, who has based all his political success on making immigrants the greatest threat facing Italy, answered on Twitter: Boeri lives on Mars. And that was the end of the story. For more than 50 percent of Italians, Salvini's tweet was more conclusive than real statistics.
The same happened with the outgoing Director General of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), William Swing, who quoted a study conducted by the IOM and McKinsey Global Institute which “determined that although only 3.5 percent of the world’s population are migrants, they are producing nine percent of the global wealth measured in GDP terms, which is more than four percent than if they stayed at home”. This made no impact on Trump electors, white rural and red collars, who are convinced that immigration is a threat to the country, even though they all have immigrant roots.
In other words, facts are irrelevant. Perceptions count more.
Let us take Germany, where Chancellor Angela Merkel is being weakened by the immigration issue, barely escaping a revolt of her Minister of the Interior, Horst Seehofer, who is leader of the Christian Social Union (CSU), the Bavarian sister party of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Merkel’s party.
The shy and timid Trump was glad to come to Seehofer’s help, tweeting that the people of Germany are "turning against" their government over the issue of migration, which has led to an increase in crime. The fact that Germany has witnessed a strong decrease in crime is, of course, irrelevant for someone who has made more than 3,750 false statements over his 38.187 tweets (as of July 14).
Now, Trump's tweets have 53,111,505 followers (as of July 15). The total circulation of the 1,331 dailies newspapers in the United States is close to 62 million, but the total circulation of the 100 largest dailies is below 10 million copies. So, whatever they write is massively overwhelmed by Trump's tweets.
Trump is not alone in his campaign … he has allies in Hungary's Viktor Orban, Italy's Matteo Salvini, Poland's Jaroslaw Kazynscky, Austria's Sebastian Kurz, Slovakia's Peter Pellegrini and the Czech Republic's Milos Zeman, all in power. Then, in the wings, we have Marine Le Pen in France, Nigel Farage in Great Britain and so on for nearly every European country, with the exception of Spain and Portugal. All together, they have been using immigration, nationalism and xenophobia as the tool of the new “alternative right” for success.
Let us go back to the case of Germany. Bavaria, which is threatening Berlin’s government, is the richest state in Germany, with a population of 12.2 million people. Munich is the third largest city, after Berlin and Hamburg, with 1.4 million people, is the second largest employer in the country, and has attracted immigrants, which are all together less than 200,000. The local daily, Suddeutsche Zeitung, estimates Muslims at 32.000.
Alternative for Germany (AfD), the extreme right-wing party that won 13 percent of the vote (and 92 seats in parliament) in the last elections, is essentially based on an anti-immigrant platform. In a poll in March it narrowly surpassed the centre-left Social Democrats for the first time in history. The poll, by INSA and commissioned by the newspaper Bild, showed AfD support at 16 percent compared with the SPD's 15.5 percent – a new low for what has traditionally been one of Germany’s largest parties.
In the last polls, AfD appears to win over CSU in Bavaria, where Muslim immigrants are rare. But the main base for AfD comes from the old East Germany, where immigrants are one-quarter of those in West Germany. So, there is no rational link between reacting to the presence of immigrants and votes. AfD wins more votes where there are fewer immigrants.
The CDU is now running frantically towards extreme right-wing, xenophobic positions in order not to lose out to the AfD. It will probably lose anyway since history shows that voters always prefer to vote the original than copies. But Germans, and Bavarians, are thought to be rational people.
The statistics are clear. Each year there are 300,000 less working people. Of the 80.6 million Germans, only 61 percent is of working age. In 2050, this will shrink to 51 percent, and those older than 65 will increase from 21 percent to 33 percent. The birth rate in Germany is 1.5 percent, while a birth rate of 2.1 percent is necessary to keep the population at the same level. The huge influx of immigrants has increased the birth rate to a modest 1.59 percent. Immigrants tend to imitate local trends and do not have many children.
Therefore, it is clear to all that within two decades productivity will decline dramatically (some say by 30 percent) because of less people working, and there will be not enough payers to keep the pension and social security systems going. It will be the end of the German locomotive.
The same consideration applies throughout Europe, which has a statistical birth rate of 1.6, meaning that it will lose close to one million people each year. The UN Population Division considers that Europe should have an influx of 20 million immigrants just to maintain its course. This is clearly impossible in today's political system.
With impeccable observation, Spanish philosopher Adela Cortina has noted that football players, artists and rich people, even those who are Muslims, like princes are most welcome in Europe. Those who are not welcome are the poor. So, she wrote a book on why we are not faced with real xenophobia. What we face, she wrote, is aporofobia, a term she coined using the word 'apora', the Greek word for 'poor'. In fact, this defence of European civilisation is an updated version of colonialism.
And yet we have plenty of data about the positive impact of immigration. The last is a very complex study over 30 years of immigration, carried out by the very respected French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and published by Science Advances, on the 15 European countries which received 89 percent of demands for asylum in 2015, the year of the great influx from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
After four years, partly due to the length of the bureaucratic process, GNP rises by 0.32 percent. Impacts on the fiscal system are also relevant. Prof. Hippolyte D’Albis, one of the authors, observes that initially immigrants are of course a cost, but this public money is reinvested in society, and for ten years they produce more wealth than the general population. After ten years they melt into the general statistics.
It is obvious that the dream of people who come in Europe to escape hunger or war is to find a job as soon as possible, pay taxes and contributions to ensure their stability and future, and work hard. At least for a decade.
And it is interesting to see the difference between the new right and the old right. The old right was not against immigrants, also because they provided cheap labor. It was mildly nationalist but was never xenophobic (Jews apart). The alternative right is not interested in statistics and economics. It is interested only in stirring fear, to get to power.
Reality is fake news. Trump has claimed that the 250,000 demonstrators opposed to his visit to Great Britain and kept him out of the centre of London, were in fact his supporters. You need not be only a narcissist, you also need to reverse reality.
The question, therefore, is what has happened to people? Trump's changing the intention of 250,000 demonstrators would once have attracted ridicule. Not now: for Trump's supporters, his tweets are undisputed truth.
His meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un brought the vaguest of results, He walked out of the Iran deal, which had several pages of agreement, saying it did not address issues. At the July NATO summit in Brussels, he attacked everybody, and then said that all had engaged to increase to their military budget to 4 percent (the United States stands at 3.6 percent). In his visit to the United Kingdom, he scolded beleaguered Prime Minister Theresa May, defended a hard Brexit and saluted resigning Minister of Foreign Affairs and hard Brexiter Boris Johnson as his favorite. He told May that he had not come to negotiate, but to obtain what he wanted.
He then met Russian President Vladimir Putin, said that the United States was responsible for the bad relations between the two countries, that Putin was to be believed when he said that there was no Russian meddling in the 2016 US elections, and that the intelligence agencies and the Department of Justice, with the probe into those elections by special counsel Robert Mueller, were an American disgrace.
When in US history has a president scolding his allies and praising enemies of the United States raised not even an eyebrow from the Republican US electorate, which is now Trumpian over and above anything else?
The fact of the matter is that, as a survey released in June last year by Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) shows, the concept of democracy itself is in danger.
The survey asked more than 3,000 scholars and country experts to evaluate each of 178 countries on the quality of core features of democracy. At the end of 2016, most people lived in democracies. Since then, one-third of the world population, or 2.5 billion people, have gone through “autocratisation”, in which a leader or group of leaders begins to limit democratic attributes and rule more unilaterally.
Four of the most populous countries – India, Russia, Brazil and the United States – have been affected by autocratisation. Other large countries in democratic decline in the past !0 years include Congo, Turkey, Ukraine and Poland.
The United States fell from 7th to 31st place in just two years. The US Congress does not like to be able to put reins on the president, the opposition party appears unable to have any influence over the governing party, and the Judiciary is becoming much more partisan than balanced. The US Supreme Court looked like a counterweight to the Executive, but now its ranking has slipped to 48th place.
A poll by the McKinsey Institute found that today a full 41 percent of Americans would not mind not living in democracy if the leader they liked were to remain in power beyond the constitutional term.
It is fact that people elect those they like, and therefore any country has the leader its voters elect, be it Putin, Erdogan, Orban, Trump … and not centuries ago Mussolini and Hitler. If they want to listen to saviours sent by God, who care nothing about reality, that is their right. We can only mourn the growing somnambulism of people.
The serious problem is that this view of the world will only bring with a disaster in the not too distant future. It is really urgent, for example, to create an immigration policy, to establish criteria for those that the industrialised countries need to be able to to remain in global competition.
This will not happen. All immigrants are presented as a threat, just as a cynical road to power, regardless of reality. Africa’s population will double in the next few decades. Nigeria will grow to 400 million, the present population of Europe. Sixty percent of Africa’s population is now under 25, compared with 32 percent in the United States and 27 percent in Europe.
Are Europeans going to machine gun the immigrants, (as some xenophobes are already asking) and decline to a region of old people, with little if no pension and a non-existent social system? Is Europe going to lose its original identity, and the values that are enshrined not only in the European constitution, but also in those at national level?
The French Parliament has eliminated the term “race” from its constitution, and the Portuguese government will give Portuguese citizenship to immigrants who have a stable job after one year.
On the other hand, the government of the Netherlands, with the support of parliament, has decided that will refuse to allow children born by Dutch parents enrolled with ISIS to return on the grounds that those children have been born and raised in a climate of hate and violence, and thus constitute a danger for Dutch society.
The Netherlands was once a symbol of tolerance, and for centuries refugees went there, fleeing from religious or political conflicts. Today, the Netherlands has a population of 17.2 million people, with a high standard of living. How many such ISIS children are there? The astounding number of 145! Would it not be possible to find 145 families where those children – who have no responsibility for their situation – could forget the horrors they went through and enjoy the benefits of their nationality which, by international law, is considered inalienable? Meanwhile, the United States is separating more than 5.000 children from their immigrant parents.
Under this unprecedented face of the West, is this the new Europe and United States that their citizens want? [IDN-InDepthNews – 19 July 2018]
Photo: A global overview of migration and migrants. Credit: IOM
Roberto Savio
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No. 2: Sato Wins Indy 500 for Second Time Takuma Sato became a cult hero among Indianapolis 500 fans in 2012 despite finishing the race climbing from a crumpled Rahal Letterman Lanigan race car against the SAFER Barrier in Turn 1. Read More December 31, 2020 Paul Kelly, Indianapolis Motor Speedway
INDYCAR Race Winner, Indianapolis 500 Veteran Paul Dies at 60 INDYCAR race winner and Indianapolis 500 veteran John Paul Jr., widely considered as one of the most gifted and versatile drivers of his generation, died Dec. 29 after a long, valiant fight with Huntington’s disease. He was 60. Read More December 30, 2020 Paul Kelly, Indianapolis Motor Speedway
No. 3: Race for Equality & Change Opens New Doors As the owner of a multibillion-dollar global transportation business and the incomparable Team Penske racing teams, Roger Penske makes important decisions affecting many people every day. Read More December 30, 2020 Paul Kelly, Indianapolis Motor Speedway
No. 4: Marco Andretti Wins Indianapolis 500 Pole Ask any member of the Andretti family, and they’ll tell you there’s no such thing as an “Andretti Curse” at the Indianapolis 500. They’ll sincerely say it’s an honor and a privilege to even compete in the world’s greatest race. Read More December 30, 2020 Paul Kelly, Indianapolis Motor Speedway
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Kristen Stewart Is Reckless Behind The Wheel In The Rolling Stones’ ‘Ride ‘Em On Down’ Music Video – Watch
The indie darling finishes off one of her best years yet with this freewheeling new music video for The Rolling Stones.
Kristen Stewart had a 2016 that will long be remembered as one of the best years of her career. She surprised as a charming romantic foil in Woody Allen’s “Cafe Society,” stole Kelly Reichardt’s “Certain Women” from Michelle Williams and Laura Dern and gave another Olivier Assayas film her trademark magnetism (“Personal Shopper”). So what’s left for Stewart to do with just one month left in the year? The answer is be the star in a new music video for The Rolling Stones.
READ MORE: Kristen Stewart Talks Directing Her First Film: ‘I’ve Never Been Happier Doing Anything’
The band is releasing their acclaimed blues album “Blue and Lonesome” today, and they’ve celebrated with a freewheeling new video set to the song “Ride ‘Em On Down.” The clip finds Stewart cruising around an abandoned Los Angeles in a blue Ford Mustang. Accompanying her is a six pack of beer and a pack of cigarettes (which she smokes at a gas station, because she’s badass). Seriously, be more cool K. Stew.
Stewart also starred in “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” and “Equals” this year. She’s currently filming an untitled Lizzie Borden drama, and she’s set to make her directorial debut with a brand new short film that should premiere sometime next year. Watch the Stones’ music video below.
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This Article is related to: Film and tagged Kristen Stewart, Music
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Home News & Analysis Deals DBAG raises €434m for fund V
DBAG raises €434m for fund V
The Frankfurt Stock Exchange-listed private equity firm has held a final close on its fifth fund, ahead of its €375 million target.
Frankfurt-based private equity firm Deutsche Beteiligungs AG (DBAG) has held a final close of its fifth buyout fund on €434 million ($532 million).
DBAG launched the fundraising process for DBAG Fund V in November of last year with a target of €375 million. The new vehicle’s predecessor, DBAG Fund IV, closed in September 2003 with €228 million in commitments, below its original target of €250 million.
Wilken von Hodenberg, spokesman for the board of management at DBAG, told PEO that the new fund was heavily oversubscribed. “We had a hard cap of €430 million and could have done much more,” he said. “The market is very different from three years ago [when fund IV was raised]. Then, GPs were chasing LPs, but now it’s much more of a GP-friendly market.”
Von Hodenberg said that the German mid-market focus of the firm’s funds also helped attract investors. “We’ve been very focused and we have a clear niche in the mid-market in Germany, which investors like and that’s helped us to go through the process in such a short time.”
The fund received commitments from 26 institutional investors, of which around two thirds were international investors, said von Hodenberg.
DBAG was advised on the fundraising process by International Private Equity Limited in London and German law firm Pöllath + Partners, according to a company statement.
DBAG Fund V will continue its predecessors’ strategy of taking majority stakes in German businesses with typical annual sales of between €50 million and €750 million. The firm said that it will invest equity from its own balance sheet alongside the fund in each transaction, in a 1:4 ratio.
DBAG Fund IV has so far made eight acquisitions through management buyouts, one of which, power plant service business Babcock Borsig Service, was sold last March. The sale of axel and suspension system manufacturer Otto Sauer Achsenfabrik was agreed in December but is not due to complete until March. Von Hodenberg said that the fund was now 73 percent invested and has returned 71 percent IRR to investors to date.
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At this festival, it takes everybody to tango
by Ellen Dunkel, Staff Writer, Posted: May 18, 2016
They call it a "tango trance."
It's the meditative state, like a runner's high, when tango dancers are listening to the music, improvising in sync with their partners, and feeling the energy of other dancers in the room.
"Argentine tango is improvised beyond the level that almost any dance is improvised," said Meredith Klein, director of the Philadelphia International Tango Festival, to be held this weekend at Christ Church Neighborhood House. Events include lessons, workshops, and performances, going into the wee hours of the morning. Some of the biggest names in tango will be teaching.
In tango, "every single movement is communicated from the leader to the follower," who must decipher the next step from countless possible combinations," said Klein, who also directs the Philadelphia Argentine Tango School in Fishtown and who is one of the festival teachers.
"Dancers move counterclockwise around the room, like on lanes in a racetrack," Klein said. "Everybody around the room is hearing the music in a similar way." The music can also offer hints of which steps to dance, for example, "move onward, stop, and turn in place. When things are really working, there's a kind of chemistry around the whole dance floor.
"That's what the festival offers above any other tango class. When you get this many people together dancing for this many hours at this level of inspiration, it makes people want to travel to dance. It keeps people dancing after they can't feel their feet anymore."
Every Thursday, we'll send you ways to help you live better and stay connected while we’re social distancing.
Never danced? There's a beginner track, and you can pay at the door.
Now in its sixth year, the Philadelphia International Tango Festival is expected to attract 500 to 700 dancers from all over the United States, England, the British West Indies, and Austria.
Of the eight teachers, Klein is the only one not from Buenos Aires, where the dance began. She grew up in Narberth, went to Episcopal Academy, and then to Amherst College in Massachusetts, where she discovered tango. From there, she moved to Boston and then to Buenos Aires for three years. In her first week in Argentina, she met her dance partner, Andrés Amarilla, with whom she founded the Philadelphia Argentine Tango School.
After living in Argentina, Klein and Amarilla wanted to bring their art back to the United States. Some cities already had larger tango communities, so Klein turned her eye back to her hometown, where now there are several tango schools.
Klein teaches, organizes tango tours, and with Amarilla performs and leads workshops around the world. She estimates they have toured 75 cities. Both will teach at the festival.
Tango began as an urban dance in Buenos Aires, but it lost traction when rock 'n' roll came to town. It slid even further into obscurity during the 1976-83 military dictatorship in Argentina, when cultural expression was repressed.
Gustavo Naveira kept tango alive during that time and helped bring it back to the Argentine culture.
"He is an encyclopedia of tango history," Klein said, crediting him "single-handedly for the resurge in interest in tango."
Naveira will teach and perform at the Philadelphia festival, along with his partner, Giselle Anne, who performed in many famous tango shows all over the world and started a school and several other tango organizations. Gustavo and Giselle have been dancing together since 1995 and teaching tango seminars since 2003.
Alejandro Larenas and Marisol Morales, also teaching at the festival, have danced together since 2005 and made 15 tours around the world to perform and teach. Other teachers include Inés Muzzopappa, who has been dancing tango since childhood, and Marcelo "El Chino" Gutierrez, who has spent 10 years perfecting his tango teaching system.
The festival includes classes, seminars, and 26 hours just for dancing Thursday through Sunday. Altogether, there are about 40 hours of events, going to 2 a.m. every day. Performances begin every night at 10:30 or 11, featuring the teaching staff and a 10th anniversary performance from the spoof dance company Tango Cheeseballs.
On Saturday night, "if they can survive," Klein says, there's an after party at her studio in Fishtown, with more dancing until 6 a.m.
"People suffer a lot the next day," she says, "but it's worth it."
edunkel@philly.com
@edunkel
Posted: May 18, 2016 - 1:03 PM
Ellen Dunkel, Staff Writer
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To do this week: Take care of yourself and others
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Arqiva and Intelsat Renew International Distribution for Premium Sports
By JASON BATESSeptember 09, 2016
Companies to deliver live broadcasts to football fans in the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific regions
Luxembourg, 9 September 2016 – Intelsat (NYSE: I), operator of the world’s first Globalized Network, powered by its leading satellite backbone, announced today that Arqiva has extended its relationship with Intelsat to distribute premium sports content to viewers in the Americas, Europe and the Asia Pacific region via multiple Intelsat satellites.
Under a multi-year agreement, Arqiva is using services on Intelsat 34 and Intelsat 20 to broadcast content to millions of sports fans located in the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific regions.
“Intelsat’s premier video neighborhoods on Intelsat 20 and Intelsat 34 allow us to seamlessly and cost efficiently reach millions of sports fans outside of the UK,” said David Crawford, Managing Director of Arqiva Satellite and Media. “The combination of our distribution network and Intelsat’s satellite solutions makes it possible to view premium sports content worldwide, making Arqiva a trusted partner of choice to our customers.”
Jean-Philippe Gillet, Intelsat’s Regional Vice President, EMEA Sales said: “The renewal of this multi-satellite service to our longtime customer Arqiva is evidence that our Intelsat 20 and Intelsat 34 satellites offer maximum cable headend penetration, maximizing the potential audience for sports programming around the world. Intelsat’s Globalized Network has the reach and reliability that Arqiva needs.”
The Intelsat 20 satellite, located at 68.5°E, hosts the region’s premier cable neighborhood that serves as a transcontinental hotspot from Europe, with a particularly high viewership in India. Launched in 2015, Intelsat 34, orbiting at 304.5°E, is one of Intelsat’s three satellites hosting pan-regional video distribution neighborhoods in Latin America, complementing Intelsat 11 and Intelsat 21. Intelsat 34 includes a C-band payload which delivers media distribution services to Latin American cable systems for blue chip media powerhouses including Fox Sports and HBOLA.
Intelsat will be exhibiting at the 2016 IBC Conference in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, from September 9-13, 2016. You can visit Intelsat at the Intelsat Stand located at Hall 1, C71 for more information about Intelsat’s media services and Globalized Network solutions.
About Intelsat
Intelsat S.A. (NYSE: I) operates the world’s first Globalized Network, delivering high-quality, cost-effective video and broadband services anywhere in the world. Intelsat’s Globalized Network combines the world’s largest satellite backbone with terrestrial infrastructure, managed services and an open, interoperable architecture to enable customers to drive revenue and reach through a new generation of network services. Thousands of organizations serving billions of people worldwide rely on Intelsat to provide ubiquitous broadband connectivity, multi-format video broadcasting, secure satellite communications and seamless mobility services. The end result is an entirely new world, one that allows us to envision the impossible, connect without boundaries and transform the ways in which we live. For more information, visit www.intelsat.com.
About Arqiva
Arqiva is a leading UK communications infrastructure and media services provider dedicated to connecting people wherever they are through the delivery of TV, radio, mobile, WiFi and the Internet of Things (IoT). We are an independent provider of telecom towers, with over 8,000 sites across Great Britain, and are also the only supplier of national terrestrial television and radio broadcasting services in the UK. Our advanced networks support the exponential growth of connected devices and the ever-increasing demand for data from smartphones to tablets, connected TVs, smart meters, cars and medical devices.
Customers include major UK and international broadcasters such as the BBC, ITV, Sky Plc., Turner Broadcasting, the independent radio groups, major telco providers – including the UK’s four mobile network operators – and retail, leisure, energy and water companies.
For more information, news and insights from Arqiva, please visit the website at: www.arqiva.com.
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Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) TV Commercials
Track Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) Ads!
Sign up to track nationally aired TV ad campaigns for Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU). Competition for Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) includes BTN LiveBIG, ITT Technical Institute, Liberty University, Grand Canyon University, Southern New Hampshire University and the other brands in the Education: Colleges & Universities industry. You can connect with Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) TV Spot, 'Medical Marijuana: Rules in Florida'
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Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University TV Spot, 'Medical Marijuana'
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All The DeetsEverything You Need To Know About The Upcoming ‘Hunger Games’ Prequel Movie
Updated: May 13, 2020 3:26 pm
By Shelby Stivale
Lionsgate/Color Force/Kobal/Shutterstock
By now, it feels like fans have watched and read the Hunger Games trilogy a million times and, to be honest, it never gets old! It’s safe to say that the world Suzanne Collins created when the first novel was published in 2008, will live on as one of the greatest of all time. Now, the 57-year-old author is writing a new book to add to her fictional world of Panem, and fans literally cannot contain their excitement!
Yep, that’s right, get ready to be transported right back into the world of Katniss and Peeta because it was confirmed that a Hunger Games prequel is being released this year! Although it might not include fan-favorites like Gale and Primrose, the novel will introduce a group of brand new characters that fans are sure to fall in love with all the same. And get this, you guys — not only will the book be out soon, but a movie is coming too!
So, when will the novel and the flick be out? What’s it called? What will the prequel be about? Who will star in it? No worries, because J-14 has you covered! We did a major deep dive into all things Hunger Games and we have all the details on sure-to-be amazing film. Scroll through our gallery to uncover everything you need to know about the Hunger Games prequel.
Snap Stills/Shutterstock
When will the movie be released?
At this time, there’s no release date set. According to Deadline, production on the upcoming film is set to begin after the current coronavirus pandemic. But get ready, people, because the prequel novel is coming soon! Scholastic revealed that the novel will be released on May 19, 2020.
To celebrate the book’s release, fans are able to check out the first 11 minutes of the novel and get a taste of what’s to come as Frozen star Santino Fontana narrates the audiobook.
Murray Close/Color Force/Lionsgate/Kobal/Shutterstock
What will the movie be called?
Just like the book, the movie is set to be named The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. On October 4, 2019, Scholastic unveiled the book’s name at New York Comic Con.
Will it take place during the Hunger Games?
Yes and no. The the flick and its accompanying novel are set to take place during the 10th annual Hunger Games, but the actual events in the plot will have taken place 64 year prior to the events in the Hunger Games trilogy.
Moviestore/Shutterstock
What will the the movie be about?
According to The Hollywood Reporter, “The Hunger Games prequel film will focus on Coriolanus Snow at age 18, years before he would become the tyrannical President of Panem. Young Coriolanus is handsome and charming, and though the Snow family has fallen on hard times, he sees a chance for a change in his fortunes when he is chosen to be a mentor for the 10th Hunger Games, only to have his elation dashed when he is assigned to mentor the girl tribute from impoverished District 12.”
For those who missed it, this character — otherwise known as President Snow — was known in the original trilogy as the dictator of Panem who spends most of the movies attempting to kill Katniss, but now, he will apparently be seen as a hero. Previously, when Entertainment Weekly published an exclusive excerpt from the soon-to-be released novel, some people expressed their skepticism on social media about reading an entire book about a man they hated. So, it’ll be interesting to see how he’s portrayed in the movies.
Photo by Lionsgate/Kobal/Shutterstock
Who is starring in the film?
As of now, there has been word on who’s set to star in the film, but we’re hoping the cast gets announced soon!
Despite the lack of cast, the movie does have a director! Francis Lawrence, the genius behind the original Hunger Games trilogy will return, so there’s no doubt that it’s going to be amazing.
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Home » Blog » Hidden Injury: Military Device Diagnoses Potential for TBI
Brain Injury / 04.08.14
Hidden Injury: Military Device Diagnoses Potential for TBI
Advocates for veterans suspect that 10 to 20 percent of Iraq veterans have some form of traumatic brain injury. That means 150,000 to 300,000 veterans are living with this condition. The source of these disabling injuries among veterans often is traceable to improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that service members encounter at war.
The full effects of a traumatic brain injury aren’t always known at the time of impact. Furthermore, there has not been an objective measure of the severity of such brain traumas. A federal agency is now addressing this problem.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has created a device called a blast gauge to be worn by soldiers. The tool measures the effects of an explosion. It also can provide critical warning signs in the event that a blast has caused severe brain trauma.
The blast gauge, which is about the size of a thumb, has three colored lights and a dome of metal mesh to protect the microprocessor inside. It is designed to be strapped to body armor on the chest or shoulder or to the back of a helmet.
When a soldier is struck by an IED, the gauge immediately gathers information. One of the lights is activated depending on the severity of the explosion. When the soldier returns to the fire base or outpost, the gauge is inserted into a laptop through an USB cable. All of the available data are then translated into detailed waveforms that tell the soldier whether the blast was serious enough to cause concern about a possible TBI.
Even if a colored light indicates a mild blast, soldiers are encouraged to seek medical attention if they suspect a brain injury has occurred. The gauge contains essential information that can help doctors at field hospitals diagnose issues and perform triage.
Unfortunately, people who have brain trauma aren’t always able to give doctors the facts of what happened. So the gauge provides details that help medical caregivers choose an effective treatment without delay.
In addition to collecting information about blast waves, the gauge can reveal the terrain where the explosion took place and the presence of nearby walls or ditches, including their sizes. The gauge may even record whether vehicles were in the vicinity and whether their doors were open at the time of the event. Once the gauge is connected to a computer, this device offers a simulation of the actual explosion in full detail.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency continues to make improvements to the sensor. Scientists plan to give the gauge the capacity to protect soldiers from exceeding certain training and wartime blast standards. Military leaders can reassign soldiers to other positions if the safety threshold is reached. That would reduce exposure to blast dangers among those most at risk of injury.
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Not Your Father's Asteroid
On the left is a radar image of asteroid 1998 WT24 taken in December 2001 by scientists using NASA's the 230-foot (70-meter) DSS-14 antenna at Goldstone, California. On the right is a radar image of the same asteroid acquired on Dec. 11, 2015, during the asteroid's most recent Earth flyby.
The radar images from 2001 (on the left), have a resolution of about 60 feet (19 meters) per pixel. The radar image from 2015 (on the right) achieved a spatial resolution as fine as 25 feet (7.5 meters) per pixel.
The 2015 radar image was obtained using the same DSS-14 antenna at Goldstone to transmit high-power microwaves toward the asteroid. However, this time, the radar echoes bounced off the asteroid were received by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's 100-meter (330-foot) Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia.
The next visit of asteroid 1998 WT24 to Earth's neighborhood will be on Nov. 11, 2018, when it will make a distant pass at about 12.5-million miles (52 lunar distances).
More information about asteroids and near-Earth objects is at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroidwatch. More information about asteroid radar research is at http://echo.jpl.nasa.gov/.
More information about the Deep Space Network is at http://deepspace.jpl.nasa.gov/dsn.
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Social networks provide clues to natural selection
Meet the Beetles: Forked fungus beetles, like other insects and animals, have their own societies.
By UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
Forked fungus beetles 390
(photo credit: Journal of Evolutionary Biology)
Think of them as a group of guys, hanging out together, but not spending much time with the ladies, nor getting much "action." Except these "guys" are forked fungus beetles.
Forked what? Yes, forked fungus beetles. Like other insects and animals, they have their own societies. Most are highly social, but some hang out in small guy groups.
It turns out, maybe not surprisingly, that the cliquish ones – the small groups of male beetles that live on the fringes of society with their buddies – are less likely to meet up with females, copulate and pass on their genes to offspring.
Why does it matter? Because social interactions likely are the products of evolution by natural selection – Charles Darwin's description for nature's process whereby characteristics that help individuals to survive and propagate are spread through the population.
And so forked fungus beetles and their activities are of immense interest to Vince Formica and Butch Brodie, evolutionary biologists in the University of Virginia's College of Arts &Sciences. They study the beetles in a remote forest near U.Va.'s Mountain Lake Biological Station in southwest Virginia.
"Forked fungus beetles are not pretty – they look like tree bark – but they're helping us better understand the evolution of social behavior," Formica said. He is the lead author on a paper about the study published in the January edition of the Journal of Evolutionary Biology.
Formica and his team wanted to know if an individual beetle's place in society is related to its reproductive success.
"In the world of evolutionary biology, we are interested in how natural selection can shape traits or characteristics of organisms," he said. "Studying social networks are a way of analyzing the structure of animal societies. In this case, we were asking if an individual's position in a social network is a trait or characteristic of an individual that can experience natural selection. Apparently it is."
Formica said there are essentially two parts to evolution by natural selection: The first is a trait related to the number of offspring produced, and the second is the ability to pass that trait on to offspring, what scientists call heritability.
"We've shown that the trait of sociability is under natural selection, but we don't know yet if it's heritable," he said. "This is one of only a few studies that has shown that position in a social network is a trait that can experience natural selection and therefore has the potential to evolve. It's clear in this study that being central in a large social network is key to high reproductive success. If a trait – such as an individual's position in a network – is related to reproductive success, you can say it is experiencing natural selection and has the potential to evolve."
Formica chose forked fungus beetles as his study models partly because they are easy to capture, tag and observe.
"We can sit and watch their whole universe," he said.
But the beetles are nocturnal, so researchers spend long nights in the forests watching them.
"We drink a lot of espresso," he said.
The biologists tag the beetles with extreme-miniature ID numbers that glow when scanned under ultraviolet lights. The researchers then are able to watch their social activities – everything from fighting to eating to mating, to just sitting there like bark on logs.
Formica's team, made up mostly of undergraduate students, observed that some of the beetles are very social and have a large network of friends. These active beetles also have a lot of sex. But the male beetles that have small social networks – just a few male friends – tend to spend little time with females and copulate rarely.
"Do individual behaviors cause their position to evolve, and does it cause the society to evolve as well? That's what we're attempting to answer," he said.
While Formica is hesitant to draw direct connections from his findings to the romantic lives of humans, he does believe that uncovering how social networks operate, even in a tiny bark-shaped beetle, is vital if we want to understand how all societies evolve.
This article was first published at www.newswise.com
Tags Social
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Jerusalem Post Health & Science
The researchers observed the galaxy ejecting almost half of the gas it uses to form stars.
By SARAH CHEMLA
The spiral galaxy NGC 4845, located over 65 million light-years away in the constellation of Virgo in NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image
(photo credit: NASA/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)
For the first time ever, astronomers witnessed a very far away galaxy starting to die in a potential major breakthrough, according to CNN.
Galaxies die when the stars that live in them stop forming.
Known as ID2299, the galaxy's extinction was most likely caused by a collision with another galaxy, which eventually merged to create ID2299, the study reported.
The telling evidence that a collision may have led to a loss of gas is a tidal tail, which is a long stream of gas and stars that extends out into space after two galaxies come together in a collision, CNN said, citing the study.
The researchers observed the galaxy ejecting almost half of the gas it uses to form stars, losing some 10,000 Suns-worth of gas each year, meaning that it is running out of fuel to make new stars by removing 46% of the galaxy's total cold gas so far.
It has now lost nearly half of that gas, and because it is still creating stars at a rate hundreds of times faster than our own Milky, ID2299 will likely take a few tens of million years to die.
The study, led by Annagrazia Puglisi, a lead study researcher and postdoctoral research associate from Durham University in the UK and the Saclay Nuclear Research Centre in France, was published on Monday in the journal Nature Astronomy.
"This is the first time we have observed a typical massive star-forming galaxy in the distant Universe about to 'die' because of a massive cold gas ejection," Puglisi said in a statement, according to CNN.
"Our study suggests that gas ejections can be produced by mergers and that winds and tidal tails can appear very similar," said Emanuele Daddi, study co-author and astronomer at Saclay. "This might lead us to revise our understanding of how galaxies 'die.'"
The astronomers captured this rare observation using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array of telescopes in Chile.
According to the study, the light from this galaxy has taken about nine billion years to reach Earth, meaning that, since the universe is 14 billion years old, astronomers are observing how it appeared when it was only 4.5 billion years old.
Tags space galaxy Milky Way research
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On the Battlefield and Off, Satellites Serve the Warfighter
By INTELSAT CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONSBlog - Satcom FrontierNovember 23, 2016
Soldiers calling home over SATCOM
Like sentries, satellites never sleep. Commercial satellites are always ready to support the soldier, the pilot, the seaman with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as Global Positioning System data to paint a picture of the enemy and of assets available to defeat it.
“You can use space to find targets, analyze movement and do all this litany of stuff that you only dreamt about when you watched the Discovery Channel as a kid. It’s pretty amazing,” said Maj. Matthew Orlosky, an A-10 pilot, in a recent Space Command video.
But soldiers need time away from war, and commercial SATCOM is also there to aid in physical and mental recovery with telephone, instant messaging, email, Facebook and other social media connections to friends and family. Keeping up with events away from the battlefield, as well as other leisure activities require SATCOM. Where once communications from the front involved letters that took weeks and months in transit, satellite-aided transmissions are instantaneous.
That capability has changed the way the warrior lives in a war zone. The Pentagon long resisted uncontrolled Internet access to the warfighter but has come to understand that before donning a uniform, soldiers were civilians who used smartphones as part of their daily lives. They see no reason that should change in a war zone.
Once it understood that paradigm, the military relaxed restrictions and instead aided in social communications as part of Morale, Welfare and Recreation programs. Soldiers have been able to use MWR buildings constructed in Forward Operating Bases in Iraq and Afghanistan to keep up with the ball scores, take online college classes, monitor bank accounts and play video games, all under an umbrella of commercial SATCOM.
The desire to stay in the family loop moves with the warfighter to remote locations around the world. Commercial SATCOM is global, making it the most reliable means to guarantee that link back home.
Through technology such as Skype, the warfighter is able to see children born, grow up, monitor their development, celebrate birthdays and anniversaries and help solve family problems, even from half a world away.
Also, “close relationships with civilians help the American public understand our Army, and it allows our soldiers to understand the society they serve,” writes Army aviator Crispin Burke in a September 21 blogpost in Defense One. “Most importantly, it opens soldiers to contrary viewpoints.”
One of the most important relationships a soldier has is with the person next to him or her under fire. They have a responsibility for each other that doesn’t end when it’s time to go home or to the next duty station.
“Soldiers are bonding and keeping in touch with one another through their smartphones,” Burke wrote. “They share links on Facebook and send each other messages on Snapchat,” all with the help of commercial SATCOM.
That bond continues with friendships earned throughout a military career of packing and unpacking. “We spent the first 18 years of our lives as civilians, and after a 20-year military career, we’ll be civilians again,” he wrote. “Social media can make that transition much easier as we reintegrate with our civilian friends while staying in touch with our friends-in-arms.”
As the holiday season begins, commercial SATCOM will be there to help the military through a difficult time of being away from family and friends. It’s a 24-hour-a-day task, but satellites don’t sleep – in war zones, or away from them.
IGC Enters Cooperative R&D Agreement with U.S. ACCDC C5ISR Center June 09, 2020
Why Commercial SATCOM Integration Funding is Critical to the U.S. Air Force December 19, 2019
Advancing Ground Force Missions Around the Globe with FlexGround December 13, 2019
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Home Small Business Teresa Wilson Joins the Internet Big Leagues
Teresa Wilson Joins the Internet Big Leagues
By Barry Elad | March 02, 2001
The latest Seattle talent to be picked up by the Internet big leagues is Huskies Softball Coach Teresa Wilson. Wilson has signed an exclusive deal with California-based TheSportsCoach.com to become an expert content provider to its amateur-sports Web site.
TheSportsCoach.com offers a unique program providing exclusive sports training and educational content from professional athletes and coaches, combined with a fundraising service for youth leagues and high schools.
"TheSportsCoach.com is a great forum for those of us who have lived our lives in the world of sports to pass on the knowledge we have attained to young athletes," says Wilson. "I'm looking forward to working with TheSportsCoach.com to make a contribution to tomorrow's players."
As part of the agreement with TheSportsCoach.com, Wilson will contribute exclusive articles, essays and training presentations to the site, and will regularly host chat sessions at TheSportsCoach.com to speak directly with amateur players and coaches.
Wilson will be joining a pretty impressive team of other coaches such as 2000 NCAA champion Oklahoma Sooners softball head coach Patty Gasso, UCLA head coach Sue Enquist and San Diego Padres star Tony Gwynn.
Wilson's softball career has included successful stints as both player and coach. As a pitcher for the University of Missouri, Wilson set numerous records and became an All-American. As a coach, she has built successful teams at Minnesota and Oregon -- where she was named NCAA Coach of the Year.
In her seven years at the helm of the University of Washington softball program, Wilson has led the Huskies to an incredible .719 winning percentage, six straight berths in the NCAA tournament and a No. 1 ranking in the USA Today/NSCA poll. Go Huskies!
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Harassment Essays
Harassment In Workplace
Latisha Williams March 14, 2018 Human Resource Professor Sexual Harassment at the workplace What comes to mind when you think of sexual harassment? Most people picture an individual grabbing another individual unwillingly in attempt of committing nonconsensual sex. c According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protect individuals from sexual harassment at those laws includes: Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and
Essay On Sexual Harassment
deal with sexual harassment in the workplace. Definition of sexual harassment will also be looked at and the two types of sexual harassment. Student Sexual Harassment policy states that sexual harassment as unwelcome conduct and the request for sexual favours, other physical and verbal conduct of a sexual nature. The programs put in place for the employer or employee to heal from the sexual harassment experienced in the workplace. 2. TYPES OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT There are two types
Harassment In Pakistan
1.1 Harassment is one of the genuine preposterous & unpardonable conducts which are routinely rehearsed at numerous working environments. Despite the fact that this uncovering truth is intense to be assimilated, yet it is the impression of the current condition of working ladies on the planet. A research was done in Europe gauges that up to half of female workers in European Union nations have encountered sexual badgering (UNISON, 2008). As per Parveen (2010), an aggregate 24119 of brutality against
The Importance Of Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment is commonly found in the workplace; however, it can be seen and almost every social environment. Sexual harassment is the unwanted and unwarranted sexual attention from another person. Typically seen in the workplace, sexual harassment creates an environment that is hostile and unsafe. This paper will examine three article that will cover the current understanding of the ethics behind sexual harassment, current laws in place to help protect against sexual harassment, and examine
Sexual harassment is an unwelcome sexual advance, unwelcome request for sexual favors or other unwanted conduct of a sexual nature having the effect of verbal, non- verbal, visual, psychological or physical harassment. Sexual harassment will makes a person feel offended, humiliated and intimidated, where a reasonable person would anticipate that reaction in the circumstances. Sexual harassment in the workplace is a phenomenon that affects working conditions of employees, a serious problem that is
Sexual Harassment Assignment
on the Handling of Sexual Harassment, sexual harassment is defined as: ‘…unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that violates the rights of an employee and constitutes a barrier to equity in the workplace, taking into account all of the following factors: Whether the harassment is on the prohibited grounds of sex and/or gender and/or sexual orientation; The grounds of discrimination to establish sexual harassment are sex, gender and sexual orientation. Same-sex harassment can amount to discrimination
Proposal On Sexual Harassment
Introduction: Sexual harassment is an unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature. Harassment do not have to be of a sexual nature, however, can include offensive remarks about a persons sex. A victim of sexual harassment can be a man, woman or even a child. The victim can be of the same sex as the harasser. The harasser can be a supervisor, co-worker, other Department employee, or a non-employee who has a business relationship
Public Harassment Theory
Gender (Male/Female) based public harassment is harassment that occurs between strangers in public or semi-public places, is usually directed by men to women, and can be verbal or non- verbal. This form of harassment often has a sexual nature and includes multiple forms of harassing behaviors, such as insults, innuendo, and shouting. It cannot be predicted by age, race, or social class (Gardner, 1995). Street harassment consists of unwanted image, whirling-whistles, get catcalling, other actions
Sexual Harassment Ethics
Sexual harassment and sexual assault are very serious issues happening today in the workplace. Women or men have suffered from unsolicited sexual behaviors that are typically provoked by someone “higher” in position. “Sexual harassment especially has been a fixture in the workplace since women began to work outside their homes” (Fitzgerald, 1993). It is solely the responsibility of the employer to ensure that all employees within are aware and are very cautions of laws, misconduct, and liabilities
Sexual Harassment Proposal
seeks to explore the actual situation of sexual harassment of men at workplace. There are myths relating that sexual harassment occurs mostly to female employees because of their inferior gender. (Kim and Kleiner, 1999). But in last few decades due to competitive corporate environment and granting of more rights to women to ensure women empowerment there has been steep rise in the number of male sexual harassment case. It is also true that sexual harassment is not necessarily limited to sexual desire
INTRODUCTION This chapter reviews literature on research findings related to the sexual harassment. It explores the different demographic factors that can affect perception of sexual harassment including race, gender, age and marital status. This chapter also investigates the attempts that have been done to prevent the incidents of sexual harassment in the workplaces. In additionally, the definition of sexual harassment varies from country to country and from individual to individual. So far, there is
Harassment is one of the most frequently-discussed topics in employee relations today. There is good reason for that: no other kind of claim has quite the scare and shock value that a sexual harassment claim carries. Harassing and abusive behaviours at the workplace have deterimental effects on employees and organizations (Fitzgerald, Drasgow, Hulin, Gelfand, & Magley, 1997; LeBlanc & Kelloway, 2002). With the increasing diversity of the workforce, harassment on the basis of race and ethnicity has
Against Sexual Harassment
Against sexual harassment: In legal terms, sexual harassment is any unwelcome sexual advance or conduct at work, which creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive. In real life, in the workplace sexual harassment ranges from offensive jokes or repeated contempt for a place full of attacking pornography (creating a hostile work environment) to work a full assault. Although sexual harassment usually takes the form of men harassing women, it can happen to men and women, gay and straight - in other
Sexual Harassment In Education
Sexual harassment is any unwanted or inappropriate sexual attention which includes touching, comments or gestures. It is also usually one sided and unwanted. It is one of the biggest challenges that we are facing in a number of places. A great number of educational institutions are being affected by this as sexually harassing behaviors can interfere with ones educational opportunities. Sexual harassment works in different ways in educational institutions, it ranges from the student being harassed
The Dangers Of Sexual Harassment In The Workplace
Sexual harassment arises when an employee makes continually unwelcome sexual advances or sexual favors and other physical or verbal behavior of a sexual nature to another employee against his or her will. According to a report from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), sexual harassment occurs, "when submission to or rejection of this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance or creates an
Examples Of Sexual Harassment In The Workplace
This essay will discuss Sexual Harassment in the workplace. First off, Sexual harassment occurs when the behavior of a person is inappropriate involving the making of unwanted sexual remarks or advances. According to Statistics 1 in 3 women has been sexually harassed at a workplace. Sexual harassment has become an often occurrence in the workplace. An example of sexual harassment in the workplace is making sexual comments about appearance, or body parts. There have been various celebrities who have
Sexual Harassment In The Workplace Essay
In the workplace, women and men often become too frightened to speak out about sexual harassment because of the consequences that could conceivably transpire. (Introductory prepositional phrase) Sexual harassment, a critical issue in every business, due to the fact that it rises more than others think. Any unwanted type of interaction with another person also considered sexual harassment. Sexual harassment has shown, it affects a person physically and can cause them to not function properly in an
Essay On Sexual Harassment In The Workplace
and uncomfortable? Worldwide, sexual harassment in the workplace is an issue, which disrupts the work environment. Although women are considered to be the primary victim, men are also victims of sexual harassment in workplaces. In Suriname, sexual harassment in the workplace often occurs. Despite the increasing cases of sexual molest, many companies, organizations, and even the government do not have a clear policy to protect employees from sexual harassment. Due to the lack of policies within the
Sexual Harassment Case Study
Sexual harassment can be defined as an unwilling sexual act, demand some sexual favour from other individuals. (What is Sexual Harassment, 2013) There have 2 different forms of sexual harassment are described by the law of the United States there are sexual coercion and sexual annoyance. First and foremost, sexual coercion as known as ‘Quid pro quo harassment’, for a simple definition, it means an employer or managerial level exchange their sexual favour needs and wants with those employees with
Sexual Harassment Issues
Introduction and Problem Statement: The reality of the matter is that no occupation or calling is protected from sexual harassment. Sexual harassment keeps on being a pervasive issue in workplaces. The recurrence demonstrates the reality of the issue furthermore the dire need to dispose of it. Distinctive studies have demonstrated that women are more inclined to sexual harassment. There may be a few clarifications in connection to this statement. Long prior, women were viewed as peons. They were victims
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Iran: Saudi support for US demand to extend arms embargo a ‘bitter irony’
By Islam Religion Guardian On Jul 1, 2020
Saudi Arabia’s support for American efforts to extend the arms embargo imposed by the United Nations on Iran is a “bitter irony”, Iran’s official IRNA news agency quoted the country’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi as saying.
Mousavi added that it was surprising that “countries such as Saudi Arabia, which is in itself a source of terrorism and extremism in the region and has for years acted to destabilise the region by supporting terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda and Daesh, have made baseless accusations against Iran.”
American and Saudi officials urged the international community to extend the UN-imposed arms embargo on Iran, which is scheduled to expire on 18 October.
READ: Saudi, US officials call for extending UN arms embargo on Iran
US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo said yesterday in his remarks at the UN Security Council that “lifting the embargo would have major implications for regional security and stability.”
Urging the council to extend the embargo, Pompeo added: “Don’t just take it from me or from the United States; listen to countries in the region. From Israel to the Gulf, countries in the Middle East – who are most exposed to Iran’s predations – are speaking with a single voice: Extend the arms embargo.”
A day earlier, Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Abel Al-Jubeir said during a joint news conference with US Iran envoy Brian Hook in Riyadh: “Despite the embargo, Iran seeks to provide weapons to terrorist groups, so what will happen if the embargo is lifted? Iran will become more ferocious and aggressive.”
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Prophet Muhammad is being used in the Saudi-Israeli normalisation process
By Islam Religion Guardian On Jul 23, 2020
The catastrophic news that war is possible between Egypt and Turkey in Libya passed almost without notice, not least because Saudi Arabia is using the name of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, in its frantic struggle to win the race to be the Arab country which is most normalised with Israel. I am not talking about an amateur blogger looking for fame or a free holiday in the Holy Land from the Zionists. Nor am I talking about a retired general competing for an advanced position in the Saudi-Israeli normalisation market that was initiated officially with Donald Trump’s visit to Riyadh in 2017 and Mohammad Bin Salman’s political escalations.
This is not personal normalisation by unofficial amateurs who can, when needed, be denied by officials as not representing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This is an official move that takes normalisation a step further, as it involves the first public higher education institution in Saudi Arabia, King Saud University in Riyadh, taking the lead in the approach to the occupation state.
Professor Mohammed Ibrahim Alghbban is the head of Near Eastern Languages and Civilisations and Hebrew Studies at the Department of Modern Languages and Translation at King Saud University. He has had an article in Hebrew published in an Israeli university magazine, Kesher, a move described as “unprecedented” in Israel. The Saudi academic’s article was celebrated by Tel Aviv University last week as a way to improve the image of Prophet Muhammad in the eyes of the Jews. That, says Alghbban, was the intention.
READ: The deal of the century is unpalatable for both Israel and Palestine
Israeli media highlighted the article, in which Alghbban claimed that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) had good relations with Jews and only disagreed with them on political, not religious, matters. Israel Hayom quoted Professor Raanan Rein, head of Tel Aviv University’s Shalom Rosenfeld Institute, saying, “I hope that this academic cooperation is another step towards economic and political cooperation.” The newspaper noted that, according to Rein, “The article’s primary importance isn’t its content, but rather the fact that a senior Saudi researcher chose to publish an article in an Israeli academic journal as a means to bring the two nations closer.”
There is some academic deception at play here. The Saudi professor is falsifying history in the name of the Prophet, peace be upon him. Stating that Prophet Muhammad was keen on good relations with the Jews is historically accurate, but that fact has been used with the intention of boosting political falsehood and wrongdoing. The Jews in the Prophet’s day were not occupiers usurping Islamic or Arab land; they were part of the original demographic of the Arabian Peninsula. It is, surely, fraudulent to use this as the basis for justifying reconciliation and normalisation of relations with the current political entity called Israel, embodied by the Zionist military occupation, which is built upon the calamity of the Nakba in occupied Palestine, a land known as such for centuries. Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, only came into existence in 1932, just 16 years before the Zionist state. The Palestinians have deep roots in their land; the Saudis don’t in theirs.
Moreover, Prophet Muhammad did not ally himself with colonial occupiers who stole other people’s land, killed the people and burned their crops in order to establish a usurper political entity on the corpses of the indigenous population. On the contrary, he stood up for the poor and oppressed in society. Moreover, he signed treaties with the Jews of Madinah and would stand when a Jew’s funeral passed by, out of respect for a fellow soul, not out of some social or political hypocrisy. The treaties ended when the Jewish tribes broke the terms and plotted against the Prophet and the early Muslims. Such incidents are recorded in detail in his biography.
READ: Saudi professor publishes article to Israel academic journal
This is what the youngest school pupil in the Middle East knows and understands about the Prophet of true Islam, not the “moderate Islam” that Bin Salman wants to impose as a religion based on Zionist specifications. His is a relentless pursuit to be the first normaliser in line and the first under Israeli sponsorship. That status has become the top priority for the stability and survival of the ruling despots and their thrones in the region.
This article first appeared in Arabic in Al-Araby Al-Jadeed on 22 July 2020
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Gagarin's Start
Launch site at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan
Soyuz TMA-3 is launched from Gagarin's Start
45°55′13″N 63°20′32″E / 45.920278°N 63.342222°E / 45.920278; 63.342222
LC-1/5
Soviet space program, Roscosmos
Total launches
Launch pad(s)
Orbital inclination
Launch history
First launch
Last launch
Soyuz-FG / Soyuz MS-15
Soyuz (active)
Gagarin's Start [1] (Russian: Гагаринский старт, Gagarinskiy start), also known as Baikonur Site 1 or Site 1/5 is a launch site at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, used for the Soviet space program and now managed by Roscosmos.
The launchpad for the world's first human spaceflight made by Yuri Gagarin on Vostok 1 in 1961, the site was referred to as Site No.1 (Площадка №1, Ploshchadka No. 1) as the first one of its kind. It is also sometimes referred to as NIIP-5 LC1, Baikonur LC1, LC-1/5, LC-1 or GIK-5 LC1.
On 17 March 1954, the Council of Ministers ordered several ministries to select a site for a proving ground to test the R-7 rocket by 1 January 1955. A special reconnaissance commission considered several possible geographic regions and selected Tyuratam in the Kazakh SSR. This selection was approved on 12 February 1955 by the Council of Ministers, with a completion of construction targeted for 1958.[2] Work on the construction of Site No.1 began on 20 July 1955 by military engineers. Day and night more than 60 powerful trucks worked at the site; 15,000 cubic metres (20,000 cu yd) of earth were excavated and removed per day, with the total volume estimated to be 750,000 cubic metres (980,000 cu yd). During winter explosives were widely utilised. By the end of October 1956, all primary buildings and installation of infrastructure for R-7 tests were completed. The Installation and Testing Building (Монтажно-испытательный корпус, Montazhno-ispytatel'nyj korpus) named "Site No.2" was built and a special railway completed from there to Site No.1 where the launch pad for the rocket was located.[3] By April 1957, all remaining work was completed and the site was ready for launches.
The R-7 missile made its maiden voyage from LC-1 on 15 May 1957. On 4 October 1957, the pad was used to launch the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1. Manned spaceflights launched from the site include Yuri Gagarin's flight, Valentina Tereshkova's flight, and numerous other human spaceflight missions, including all Soviet and Russian manned spaceflights to Mir. The pad was also used to launch Luna program spacecraft, Mars probe program spacecraft, Venera program spacecraft, many Cosmos satellites and others.[4] From 1957 through 1966 the site hosted ready-to-launch strategic nuclear ICBMs in addition to spacecraft launches;[4] by the 2000s there were more than 400 launches from the site.[5] The 500th launch from this site was of Soyuz TMA-18M on 2 September 2015.
In 1961, the growing launch schedule of the Soviet space program resulted in the opening of a sister pad at Baikonur, LC-31/6. LC-1 has been the primary facility for manned launches, with occasional Soyuz flights from LC-31/6. LC-1 was damaged several times by booster explosions during the early years.
As of 2016, the most recent accident to occur on or around the pad was the attempted launch of Soyuz T-10-1 in September 1983 ended disastrously when the booster caught fire during prelaunch preparations and exploded, causing severe damage that left LC-1 inoperable for almost a year.
In 2019, Gagarin's Start hosted its last two crewed launches in July and September before its planned modernisation for Soyuz-2 rockets with a planned first launch at 2023.[6] In place of Gagarin's Start, crewed missions will use the new Soyuz-2 rocket which is launched from Site 31. The first crewed mission from Site 31 since 2012 was Soyuz MS-16 on 9 April 2020.
The last flight from Gagarin's Start was the Soyuz MS-15 flight to ISS, launched 25 September 2019.
Soyuz TMA-16 launches from Gagarin's Start on 30 September 2009, on its way to the International Space Station.
Sunrise at the launch pad prior to the rollout of Soyuz TMA-13, 10 October 2008.
Progress M-13M launches on 30 October 2011.
The flame trench for Gagarin's Start
A Soyuz on Gagarin's Start, 2018, satellite photo
Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 31
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14, the equivalent for the United States' first manned spaceflights
^ "As Suffredini spoke, a Soyuz TMA-5 spacecraft was being hoisted onto Russia's Baikonur launch pad, named "Gagarin's Start" after the first man in space. ", http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-10/13/content_381791.htm , China Daily, 2004-10-13 on Soyuz TMA-5 launch
^ Origin of the test range in Tyuratam at Russianspaceweb.com
^ (in Russian) Creation and Launch of the First Earth's Satellite by V.Poroshkov Archived 29 October 2005 at the Wayback Machine
^ a b Baikonur LC1Archived 15 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine
^ Gagarin's pad
^ https://ria.ru/20190808/1557281344.html
J. K. Golovanov, M., "Korolev: Facts and myths", Nauka, 1994, ISBN 5-02-000822-2
"Rockets and people" – B. E. Chertok, M: "mechanical engineering", 1999. ISBN 5-217-02942-0 (in Russian)
«A breakthrough in space» - Konstantin Vasilyevich Gerchik, M: LLC "Veles", 1994, - ISBN 5-87955-001-X
"Testing of rocket and space technology - the business of my life" Events and facts - A.I. Ostashev, Korolyov, 2001.[1]
"Baikonur. Korolev. Yangel." - M. I. Kuznetsk, Voronezh: IPF "Voronezh", 1997, ISBN 5-89981-117-X
"Look back and look ahead. Notes of a military engineer" - Rjazhsky A. A., 2004, SC. first, the publishing house of the "Heroes of the Fatherland" ISBN 5-91017-018-X
"Rocket and space feat Baikonur" - Vladimir Порошков, the "Patriot" publishers 2007. ISBN 5-7030-0969-3
"Unknown Baikonur" - edited by B. I. Posysaeva, M.: "globe", 2001. ISBN 5-8155-0051-8
"Bank of the Universe" - edited by Boltenko A. C., Kiev, 2014., publishing house "Phoenix", ISBN 978-966-136-169-9
Coordinates: 45°55′13″N 63°20′32″E / 45.92028°N 63.34222°E / 45.92028; 63.34222
Vostok programme
Uncrewed
Korabl-Sputnik 1
Vostok-1K No.1
Crewed
Vostok 1
Vostok 7 to 13 (incorporated into Voskhod programme)
Gagarin's Start (launch pad)
First Orbit (2011 documentary)
Gagarin: First in Space (2013 docudrama)
Baikonur Cosmodrome launch sites
LC-1
LC-31
R-7 rockets
R-7 family
R-7 Semyorka
R-7A Semyorka
Launch systems
Polyot
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Molniya-M
Molniya-L
Soyuz/Vostok
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Soyuz-U
Soyuz-U2
Soyuz-2
Soyuz 2.1a / STA
Soyuz 2.1b / STB
Soyuz 2-1v
Launch sites
Baikonur
Ensemble de Lancement Soyouz
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Site 1S
Korolyov Cross
Soyuz at the Guiana Space Centre
RD-107 (engine)
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Frankfurt trains halted briefly after nearby bank robbery
Posted: Aug 2, 2019 / 08:31 AM MDT / Updated: Aug 2, 2019 / 09:45 AM MDT
An ICE train is seen on track 7 is seen in the main train station in Frankfurt, Germany, Tuesday, July 30, 2019. An eight-year-old boy was pushed on the rails there and died on Monday, July 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Trains at Frankfurt’s main station, one of Germany’s busiest, were halted for about an hour on Friday after a robbery at a nearby bank set off a major police deployment.
Police tweeted than an unspecified number of people gained “unauthorized access to deposit boxes” at the bank and set off an alarm. They fled, and police fired at least one shot.
All trains to and from the station were halted. Police said later Friday that they had arrested three people, and railway operator Deutsche Bahn said that services were resuming.
No one was hurt at the bank, police said, and they also had no information that anyone was injured outside.
The incident comes four days after an 8-year-old boy was killed when a man pushed him and his mother in front of a train that was pulling into the station. An Eritrean man who lived in Switzerland is in custody in that case.
More World Stories
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Jeff Potrykus
SAN JOSE, Calif. – Trevor Anderson knew he wasn’t going to make it to the finish line in his first season playing for Wisconsin.
His right knee told him he was living on borrowed time.
“After every practice and every game, it was getting more and more sore,” Anderson said last week before UW’s NCAA Tournament game with Oregon. “I could tell the end was going to come sometime.”
Anderson, who sat out the 2017-18 season after transferring from UW-Green Bay, lasted just eight games.
A ligament he partially tore in preseason workouts, which forced him to wear a protective brace, gave way in the Big Ten opener Nov. 30 at Iowa.
A night earlier, he had been with teammates Kobe King and Walt McGrory and predicted his demise.
“I turned to them and said: ‘I think it is going to go tomorrow,'" Anderson said.
“It just felt weird. Sure enough, at Iowa, I landed and I immediately looked at the bench. I could tell it was time to shut it down.”
Anderson was moving better thanks to a less cumbersome brace and appeared to be more comfortable after spending the previous season working on the scout team.
The injury robbed UW of a player who started 20 games as a freshman at UWGB before a back injury ended his season. He averaged 9.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game and shot 37.6 percent from three-point range.
Anderson realizes UW should return four guards next season – Brad Davison and D’Mitrik Trice, Brevin Pritzl and Tai Strickland.
“I’ll definitely fight for a position,” he said. “That is how I’ve always been as a basketball player.
“The rehab process is going well. We’ve been doing it every day, about three or four hours a day. I’ve got to keep at it and when my time comes I will be ready.”
According to Anderson, he is on schedule to participate in summer workouts. Full-contact work, however, won’t come until at least September.
“You’ve just got to be careful,” he said. “By summer I will be able to shoot and work out and try to get right.”
Anderson briefly pondered undergoing surgery after he first injured the knee. But that would have meant sitting out a second consecutive season.
“It was a blessing I was able to play eight games,” he said.
Anderson, who was redshirt sophomore this past season, is hopeful he can come back to play next season and that he will eventually get a season of eligibility back because of multiple injuries.
“It sounds like I could get a medical,” he said. “So I’ll be in college for another year. Nothing wrong with that.”
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Juniata Course on Making Books as Art Goes Beyond Chapter and Verse
(Posted February 23, 2009)
HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Most colleges or universities will have a course or even an entire major devoted to learning how to write a book. Juniata College offers a course on the art of making a book.
Although its title sounds like a discarded song from "Guys and Dolls," the course "The Art of Bookmaking" gives Juniata students a chance to redefine how they perceive books. "The students can play with traditional notions of what a book is, and what art is, and combine the two," says Bethany Benson, assistant professor of art at the college. "Making a book as art can break down the idea of art (existing only) on the wall, where people don't interact with it."
"The students can play with traditional notions of what a book is, and what art is, and combine the two."
Bethany Benson, assistant professor of art
Benson, who teaches most of Juniata's ceramics courses, conceived the course as an exploration of three-dimensional art that combines sculpture, papermaking, fiber art and other media.
Benson, who taught the book-making course last year, decided to concentrate on creating books in this course because she had a lot of experience at tearing books apart. Well, actually she had a lot of experience at conserving books, having worked as a book conservator at the University of Southern Illinois-Carbondale. In book conservation, it's often necessary to deconstruct a book to preserve it.
So, the first project for every one of the 15-plus students is to conserve a damaged book. Benson has the students fix and repair damaged books from Juniata's Beeghly Library. "The students love ripping the books apart," Benson says. "But, putting them back together is a delicate process."
After the class learns to think deeply about how to repair a traditionally constructed book, Benson begins the process of getting the would-be bookbinders to expand their notions of what a book is.
Her first assignment asks the artists to create a 24-page book out of single sheet of paper. "It gets across the idea that a book does not have to be 300 pages long," she explains. "It can communicate an idea or a metaphor."
She then teaches the students how to make their own paper, a process that, explained simply, asks the students to tear paper into small pieces, add water, and blend in a blender. The resulting slurry of paper pulp is suspended in the water and students dip screens into the pulp and let the material dry into paper. Benson says artists can also incorporate other materials into the paper as part of the project. "One student used peanut shells in the paper for her book, which was a story of going to a baseball game," she says.
The course doesn't end with a large project, say, creating a 200-page book of Japanese calligraphy. Instead Benson has the students create a book that has a cover that suggests what the story inside is. For example, a student wrote a story about visiting McDonald's and used a Chicken McNuggets container as the cover. Another student used refrigerator-magnet letters on a metal book cover so readers could make their own covers.
Another project asks students to create a book out of a camera. Past projects include books made from a discarded Polaroid camera and a book that is read by advancing the film knob in a Kodak throwaway camera. "It allows people with many levels of artistic talent to make a book," Benson says.
In addition to the book work and papermaking, Benson asked a local printmaker, Chris Drobnock, to allow students to create more intricate designs for their paper and book cover art using Juniata's antique printing press in Beeghly Library. She's also requiring students to hand-make a box to act as a portfolio for their various book projects.
If indeed readers can't tell a book by its cover, Benson at least believes that Juniata students can communicate ideas and creativity by creating their own covers, as well as their own books. Will they be best sellers? Benson wouldn't make book on it, but she thinks students will enjoy thinking outside the dust cover.
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Vancouver home to Canada’s most pampered pets, according to Amazon
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The city of Vancouver has the most pampered pets in Canada, according to data released by Amazon.ca.
Amazon’s fifth annual pampered pets list was compiled using sales data for pet related items from Amazon.ca from August 2016 to August 2017 on a per capita basis in cities with more than 100,000 residents.
Sales data was collected from products for dogs, cats, birds, fish, reptiles and small animals.
Along with Vancouver at No. 1, three other Lower Mainland centres — Burnaby (5), Richmond (13) and Surrey (17) — cracked Amazon’s list of top 20 most pampered pets cities in Canada.
According to Amazon, Vancouver has the most mollycoddled mutts.
“The city of Vancouver was top dog in the pooches’ category, purchasing the most accessories, grooming products, toys and treats,” Amazon said in a release.
Burnaby, meanwhile, has the most pampered cats in the country.
“Not only did Burnaby make its return to the top 20 this year after falling out last year, but residents ranked the highest in purchases for cat products. From beds to grooming to litter, they were all about the cattitude this year,” the release said.
Vancouver also ranked first in the small animals category as well, which includes products for everything from guinea pigs to hamsters.
The top 20 most pampered pets cities in Canada are:
Gatineau, Quebec
Original Source: http://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/vancouver-home-to-canadas-most-pampered-pets-according-to-amazon
Publishing Information: 02 Oct, 2017 By Scott Brown
Vancouver home to Canada’s most pampered pets, according to Amazon2017-10-052017-10-05https://www.kennel.directory/wp-content/uploads/design_a_logo__feefyou01.jpgKennel Directory - Find a Puppy or Dog Breederhttps://www.kennel.directory/wp-content/uploads/dog-days-of-summer17.jpg200px200px
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Sofia 1000, Khan Kroum Street 25
officelf@legaldl.com
Environment and Utilities
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Katerina Gramatikova gramatikova@legaldl.com
(+359 2) 980 46 59
01_The New Competition Protection Act_febryary, march_2009_KG
The new Competition Protection Act (CPA) entered into force at the end of 2008. Its main objective was to harmonize the Bulgarian legislation with the latest developments in the acquis communautaire and to ensure more effective protection of competition rules. In accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No. 1/2003, the law defines the status of the Competition Protection Commission as the national authority entrusted with the application of both the national legislation and the Community law in the field of competition. Besides, the law lays down detailed provisions on the powers and forms of cooperation of the Competition Protection Commission with the European Commission and the other national competition authorities of the EU Member States with a view to ensuring the uniform and consistent application of the competition law.
The new law, just like the old one, contains a general ban on agreements, decisions and concerted practices of two or more undertakings which have as their object or effect the prevention, restriction or distortion of competition. It reproduces the definition of the agreements of insignificant effect to which the ban will not apply, whereby the new wording specifies the market shares at which it is considered that the agreement, decision or concerted practice of insignificant effect comply with the EU law (those in which the participants have less than 10 percent of the respective market if they are competitors and 15 percent of each of the markets if the participants are not competitors).
In accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No. 1/2003, the law specifies also the circumstances under which agreements, decisions or concerted practices are automatically exempted without any need for the undertakings to notify the Commission for the purpose of obtaining individual exemption. The effective application of competition rules and the remedies available to the parties are guaranteed in the new CPA by shifting the burden of proof to the undertakings or associations of undertakings seeking exemption.
As far as the regulation of the abuse of dominant position is concerned, the new law has eliminated the refutable presumption of dominant position (a market share exceeding 35 percent) as the lawmaker has accepted that the high market share per se does not prove dominant position.
The law has changed also the threshold above which the participants in concentrations are required to notify the Competition Protection Commission. Previously it was BGN 15 million, whereas the new law has increased it to BGN 25 million. A new criterion has been added: the turnover of each of the two or more undertakings participating in the concentration or the turnover of the acquired undertaking within the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria has to exceed BGN 3 million for the preceding financial year. This implies that subject to notification will be only concentrations which are related to the Bulgarian market and may affect it.
The new CPA deals also with unfair competition issues. It has retained almost all provisions of the earlier law, adding some entirely new provisions on the imitation of a domain or a website. Another novelty is the regulation of misleading and comparative advertising in full compliance with the requirements of Directive 2006/114/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council.
The efficiency and lawfulness of proceedings at the Competition Protection Commission are guaranteed in the new law through the extensive powers of its representatives in the investigation. They are in full conformity with the powers of the other competition authorities of the EU Member States and of the European Commission. The law ensures the efficiency of the decentralized system of application of the Community law. There are detailed provisions on the powers to perform on-the-spot checks of undertakings and associations of undertakings, which are important tools for detecting and proving violations of competition rules.
Another substantial change is the new method to establish the amount of the sanctions imposed for violations of the law. It is calculated as a percentage of the turnover of the undertakings in the preceding financial year rather than as a maximum amount which was the approach of the old law. It is also possible to impose periodic sanctions so that to ensure the timely enforcement of the decisions or the rulings of the Competition Protection Commission and to discontinue the unlawful actions or omissions observed by the Commission.
There are some new whistleblower provisions which make it possible for the Competition Protection Commission to offer reduction or removal of the sanction to undertakings which collaborate with it on a voluntary basis to detect and prove the existence of cartels.
The other new powers of the Commission are related to the right to undertake provisional measures and to approve the takeover of debt proposed by the undertakings. The provisional measures are intended to work in urgent cases to avoid the risk of serious and irreparable damage to competition.
The Competition Protection Act envisages the possibility of filing claims for damages as a result of distortions of competition. All natural persons and legal entities are entitled to compensation even when the violation has not been committed directly against them.
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Home/Featured/Little Big Town
Richard Send an email June 11, 2012
Obviously, this is a site all about cars and related activities. When we are in the garage there has to be music playing or a race on the TV. If it is music we have on it is either oldies Rock and Roll or Country. Living just outside of Nashville means that Country Music is everywhere and concerts are a big part of the life here. Last week was the annual CMA Music Fest with Country Music fans here from every State and 23 Countries; nearly 100,000 fans.
Although not much of a fan of large crowds Katrina and I decided to take advantage of an opportunity provided by SiriusXM Satellite radio and attend a free Little Big Town concert during the CMA Music Festival. The tickets were free and we both love Little Big Town and the weather was great so why not? It turned out to be a once in a lifetime experience that we will remember for years to come.
When we arrived at the theatre and picked up our passes we were ushered into a very small broadcasting studio in the top of Bridgestone Arena in downtown Nashville. There were only 50 seats in the room and we could literally reach out and touch the performers! Little Big Town entered the room to a greatly excited and very small crowd for “our private show” that was recorded and broadcast on the The Highway XM Channel 50.
Not only did the band give us a private performance, they had a small gift for everyone in attendance, took questions from the audience and performed for us like we were relatives.
From now on we will have more Little Big Town music on our MP3 player for sure!
CMA Music Festival Little Big Town Nashville
I grew up and lived in Iowa for a good portion of my life before moving to Southern California. After 20+ years we now live outside Nashville Tennessee. I have been into cars since I was old enough to remember. I don't have a brand loyalty although I do prefer American Muscle especially the 1969/1970 NASCAR Aero Cars. (Check out our other web site at www.TalladegaSpoilerRegistry.com site) As long as it has four wheels and an engine I get excited. Few men are lucky enough to be able to share their passion for cars with the woman they love. Fortunately, my wife, Katriana, is also a gear head and many of our activities revolve around the cars. We have a small collection that includes at least one car from each of the Big Three. It includes a Best of Show winner, a survivor, a driver with lots of patina and several others. Katrina prefers all original cars while I like to modify them so we have a few of each. When we aren't playing with cars we are out working with or showing our miniature donkeys. You can see more about that part of our lives at http://www.LegendaryFarms.com.
Legendary Collector Cars TV; Episode 7: Nashville Good Guys
Legendary Collector Cars TV Episode 8: AMX Barn Find
Automobile Collectables
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Swimmers prepare for the ‘plunge’
It’s an annual wintertime rite of passage: La Jolla Swim Club’s Polar Bear Swim on Jan. 1.
Join in — if you dare.
“Start the new year out with a dip in the cold ocean,” implored well-known long-distance swimmer Anne Cleveland, past Cove Swim Club president. The noncompetitive social event at La Jolla Shores starts with a 10 a.m. swim followed by lunch on the beach.
Club members and guests gather at the Shores lifeguard tower.
Why do it?
“It’s a ritual conducted throughout the world,” answered Bob West, another former Cove Swim Club president. “We have an ocean. We have swimmers. We admire the people in Chicago who break threw the ice and jump in — we just love being part of that ritual.”
It’s all in fun, noted retired lifeguard Joe Barnett, who said the “polar plunge” has been going on in the Jewel since the ‘60s with upward of 100 swimmers participating. “Some dress in seasonal characters, everything from Santa Claus to Hawaiian characters with grass skirts,” he said.
“Everybody has the day off,” he added. “What they do is follow the absolute laws of nature: live, eat and die in the ocean. Other people watch TV, get fat and die of a heart attack. We celebrate life from day to day.”
West agreed participants often like to do the plunge in style.
“Some people wear maybe a tux or a top hat or some other goofy little thing,” he said.
The celebration is mostly geared toward swim club members, but the general public is invited. The barbecue afterward is a potluck.
“The food of the day is chili,” said West, who added the feed generally runs until 12:30 or 1 p.m.
“Guests are most welcome and there will be good food and warm drinks to share,” noted Cleveland, stressing the event is primarily a social occasion. “All of it is free,” she added.
Swim club members point out the water temperature is likely to be about 58 or 59 degrees, so dress accordingly.
“People who swim regularly, we allow them to go where they want,” said West about the New Year’s swim, adding people who aren’t “winterized” and just showing up New Year’s Day are encouraged not to get out past the break line or the buoy 300 yards offshore.
“We advise people to stay within their limits and that they do so at their own risk,” he added.
West encouraged people to bring a positive attitude. “It’s a festive occasion,” he said.
The members of Canadian and American “polar bear clubs” do outdoor bathing or swimming in the middle of winter. “Polar bear plunges” are conducted as fundraisers for charity, notably the Special Olympics.
The oldest ice swimming club in the United States is the Coney Island Polar Bear Club of Coney Island, N.Y., which holds its annual polar plunge on New Year’s Day.
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The Policyholder Perspective
Updates & thoughts on the full range of insurance coverage issues affecting commercial policyholders
By: Reed Smith LLP
Latest from The Policyholder Perspective - Page 3
Ten important steps a cannabusiness should consider when purchasing insurance
By Mike Sampson
Purchasing insurance for a cannabusiness can feel like a daunting task, but it does not have to be one. In addition to grappling with many of the same issues and questions that any business confronts when seeking insurance, a cannabusiness encounters certain additional, unique challenges due to the industry in which it operates. That is no reason to panic, however. And, it is certainly no reason to avoid purchasing insurance. There are a number of…
Should the Cannabis Industry Fear the Sixth Circuit and K.V.G.?
Although any case has the potential to go sideways, the appeal in K.V.G. Properties, Inc. v. Westfield Insurance Company – which involves a policyholder’s right to insurance coverage for property damaged by a third party’s marijuana growing operation – should not be cause for alarm in the cannabis industry. As driven home by the opening briefs recently filed by both parties in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, any potential outcome of…
Recent New York decision offers hope for long-overdue end to Resolute’s free pass
By Mike Sampson, Ann Kramer, Paul Breene & George L. Stewart, II
In a promising development for policyholders, a New York state trial court recently signaled a potential end to the free pass courts often have provided to third-party claims administrators (TPAs), such as Resolute Management, Inc. (Resolute), that has enabled TPAs to act with near impunity when handling or adjusting claims on behalf of their insurer clients. Previously, courts have demonstrated an unwillingness to hold Resolute and other TPAs responsible for breaches of insurance policies…
Lloyd’s of London report forecasts multibillion dollar losses due to cloud outages
By Andy Moss & Jim Barbuto
On Tuesday, January 23, Lloyd’s of London and AIR Worldwide co-published a report regarding the financial fallout that could occur if a cyber incident or shutdown of a cloud computing provider happened in the United States. The report noted that losses could be around $19 billion with only about $3 billion being covered by insurance.[1] The report also reveals that “[g]iven the state of the cyber insurance industry today, a cyber incident that…
“Myopic” ruling limits policyholders’ ability to recover for common law bad faith in West Virginia
By Mike Sampson & Jorge Rojas
The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia has made it harder for policyholders to prevail on claims of common law bad faith against insurers in that state. In State of West Virginia ex rel. State Auto Property Insurance Companies v. Stucky, No. 17-0257, 2017 WL 4582607 (W. Va. Oct. 10, 2017), West Virginia’s highest court held that an insurance company cannot be held liable for bad faith regardless of its dilatory conduct, so long…
Marijuana and the “Illegal/Dishonest Acts Exclusion”: Making Sense of K.V.G. Properties, Inc. v. Westfield Insurance Company
A recent federal court decision in “a property loss insurance case” involving the unauthorized growing of marijuana could have a negative impact on the enforceability of insurance policies sold to legitimate marijuana-related businesses. How much of an effect remains to be seen, but there is reason to think it should be minimal. At issue in K.V.G. Properties, Inc. v. Westfield Insurance Company, No. 16-11561 (E.D. Mich. Nov. 8, 2017), was an insurer’s denial of a…
Beware the Fine (Thumb) Print: Insurance Coverage for Class Actions Under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, and Similar Biometric Privacy Statutes
By Andy Moss, David Cummings, Robert Deegan & Michael Galibois
Since July 2017, national, regional and local businesses operating in Illinois have been hit with a virtual storm of class actions under the Illinois Biometrics Privacy Act (“BIPA”), 740 ILCS 14 et seq. BIPA regulates how businesses may record and store biometric data from customers or employees, and these actions create the potential for significant losses, including the costs of defending class action litigation and potential awards of statutory damages. Defending, settling and paying judgments…
Insurance Recovery Tips for Companies Suffering Damage after Recent Disasters: 2017 Hurricanes (Harvey, Irma, Maria, Nate), Earthquake (Mexico City), and Wine Country Wildfires (California)
By John Shugrue, James M. Davis & Kevin Dreher
Companies are facing operational and logistical challenges in recovering from the widespread destruction caused by these natural disasters. They will be looking to property damage and business interruption insurance to get them back on track. The time and cost to return to normal operations could be unusually long given the widespread destruction and the lack of labor and resources. Multiple causes of loss impacted many properties, while others endured more than one disaster event. Service…
In Wake of Disasters, Do Not Just Assume No Coverage Available for Cannabis-Related Losses
By Mike Sampson & Cristina Shea
As reported extensively in the media over the past week, the cannabis industry has been hit hard by recent natural disasters. While companies doing business in this industry may face some unique challenges in purchasing insurance, and when attempting to obtain coverage for losses, insurance coverage – contrary to certain media reports – nevertheless may be available to them. As such, cannabis-related companies should not just pass on submitting claims to their insurers when they…
“Smoking Gun” Still Not Necessary To Prove Insurer Violated Pennsylvania’s Bad-Faith Statute
By Mike Sampson, George L. Stewart, II & M. Patrick Yingling
In Rancosky v. Washington National Insurance Company, No. 28 WAP 2016, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court confirmed that, to prevail on a claim pursuant to Pennsylvania’s bad-faith statute, a policyholder does not have to prove that an insurance company acted with a “motive of self-interest or ill-will.” While the Pennsylvania Superior Court had reached the same conclusion more than 20 years ago, the Supreme Court had never addressed the issue until just recently. Proving that an…
Newer PostsOlder Posts
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X-Rays Reveal 'Lost' Portrait by Edgar Degas Behind 19th-Century Painting
By Tom Metcalfe 04 August 2016
The "hidden portrait" of Emma Dobigny by the painter Edgar Degas, revealed by advanced X-ray flourescence and image processing techniques by researchers in Australia.
(Image: © David Thurrowgood)
A hidden portrait of a mysterious woman has been found under a painting by the French artist Edgar Degas, according to a new study.
Researchers used X-rays to peer through the layers of one of Degas' paintings, uncovering the "lost" work, which the artist later covered with another painting.
The researchers made the discovery by scanning the painting with X-rays to map metallic elements in the pigments on the canvas. Data from the scan were used to build a 31-megapixel image of the hidden portrait in almost photographic detail. [See Photos of the Hidden Portrait Found Behind Edgar Degas' Painting]
"There has been a long-running question about what was underneath this picture," study lead author David Thurrowgood, a conservator at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery in Australia, told Live Science. "The question has been asked since the 1920s, and we are pretty excited to finally give the answer."
Edgar Degas' "Portrait of a Woman" was painted over top of an earlier, upside-down portrait on the same canvas. By 1922, parts of the original painting were visible as a discoloration across the later portrait. (Image credit: Edgar Degas/National Gallery of Victoria)
The new research centers on "Portrait of a Woman," which Degas painted sometime between 1876 and 1880, the researchers said. The painting was purchased in 1922 by Australia's National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) in Melbourne, Australia. A discoloration, caused by the older painting showing through the later portrait, was already visible at that time, and more of the outline of the hidden painting has been emerging, Ted Gott, a senior curator at the NGV, wrote in a 2008 article published in the Art Bulletin of Victoria.
Infrared and conventional X-ray photography revealed the ghostly image of a woman — one that was noticeably different from the female in the final portrait — who had been painted upside down on the same canvas. But the details of the hidden painting and the identity of its subject remained unknown until now.
To solve the mystery of the painting, Thurrowgood and his colleagues secured the artwork in a moving cradle in front of a stationary X-ray beam and X-ray detector at the Australian Synchrotron in Melbourne.
It took 33 hours to scan the painting pixel by pixel, and to build detailed maps of metallic elements on the canvas that corresponded to specific pigments used by the artist — for example, from the mercury compounds used in some red pigments, or from cobalt compounds used in some blue pigments.
Secret sitter
The details revealed in the new composite X-ray scan of the hidden image enabled the researchers to make a positive identification of the woman in the hidden portrait as Emma Dobigny, an artist's model who sat for Degas and other painters in the 1870s, Thurrowgood said. [Gallery: Hidden Gems in Renaissance Art]
In fact, the hidden portrait appeared to be a different version of another portrait of Dobigny by Degas.
"It is a quite famous painting by Degas that isn't seen very often — it's held in a private collection, and unfortunately, it's only been shown a few times," Thurrowgood said. "So I think there's going to be a lot of interest as people discover there is another version of that painting."
The new research into the hidden portrait has also revealed signs of Degas' technical processes, including the difficulty he faced with drawing ears, which appear to have taken him several attempts before he settled on the final shape.
The researchers scanned the painting with a beam of intense X-rays at the Australian Synchrotron in Melbourne, Australia. They then used the data to build detailed maps of metallic elements in the different pigments used by Degas. (Image credit: David Thurrowgood)
"By layering different element maps and introducing false colors into the image to highlight how different parts of the painting were built up with different layers of pigment, you can get a real sense of how the artist might have been mixing [pigments] and working," Thurrowgood said.
Future applications of the new research could include creating a timeline of snapshots of a work as it was painted, particularly with oil paintings, where each layer of paint is typically left to dry before further layers are added, he said.
Although X-ray fluorescence has been used to examine other paintings, until now, the process typically took several days to produce low-resolution maps of just two or three metallic elements used in pigments.
But the new techniques developed by Thurrowgood and his colleagues allowed the researchers to scan the Degas portrait in just a day and a half, and to generate high-resolution image maps with data from 10 or more target elements.
New tech for old art
Thurrowgood said a key breakthrough was the development of new software to handle the data produced by the scanning process, which makes simultaneous measurements of several kinds of responses to X-rays for each pixel-size area of the painting.
"When we do something like this, we produce huge quantities of data, and one of the bigger challenges is to de-convolute that data and turn it into meaningful information," Thurrowgood said. "By being able to deal with the individual elements and overlay the images, particularly by adding false color, it gives us a lot of information about how the painting was constructed, such as if there were any alterations over time." [9 Famous Art Forgers]
With conventional methods of analyzing paintings, “you use just a single paint chip, whereas this gives us data across the whole painting," he added.
Just one thing is missing from the new image of the hidden portrait: Dobigny's clothes. Only her face is visible in the new recreation.
"We're pretty sure it's close to what it really looks like, but we think the reason we're not getting the garments around the figure is that they've been painted with a blue pigment based on organic dies that won't respond to an X-ray treatment," Thurrowgood said.
"There are very faint hints of it in the data we do have, from the trace elements that are there," he said. "But if we could pick that up, then we would actually have a picture which was almost identical in composition and color to the other known painting of Emma Dobigny by Degas."
But Degas' use of an organic blue pigment was an interesting detail in and of itself, he added.
"The fact that we have found the absence of data there does support the fact that Degas was using these vibrant new colors very early on, because they had only recently been created for the market," Thurrowgood said. "So it is actually quite useful in understanding the artist and the painting."
The new findings were published online today (Aug. 4) in the journal Scientific Reports.
Original article on Live Science.
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The Hammersmith & City Line
The Hammersmith & City line is represented on the London Tube map by a pink line. It connects West London's Hammersmith station with Barking in the East end and was originally part of the Metropolitan line, including the world's oldest underground railway.
The original Hammersmith station moved from another location in 1868, four years after the line opened. Ever since, it has been one of the least-used lines on the London Underground and is currently 10th out of the 11 lines by passenger number. Almost half of the stations on the Hammersmith & City line are cut-and-cover underground stations.
The line has no unique stations - every single one of the 29 stations is shared with another tube line. The last few, between Liverpool St and Hammersmith, joined the Circle line in 2009.
The name of the line is from the Hammersmith and City Railway - a 3 mile section from Westbourne Park through to Hammersmith which opened in 1864.
Map Colour Pink
Year Operated 1863
Year Opened 1858
Year Named 1988
Length 16.5mi (26.4km)
Journeys 50,000,000
Stations Aldgate East
Bow Road
Bromley-by-Bow
Euston Square
Goldhawk Road
King's Cross St. Pancras
Ladbroke Grove
Shepherd's Bush Market
Stepney Green
Westbourne Park
Wood Lane
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Catching On
Shahidul Alam Ratan, Capital Kids Cricket, London (known as Ratan)
The Kia Shahidul Alam Ratan Oval
Ratan at the Oval
London-based charity, Capital Kids Cricket, aims to help disadvantaged children and young people living in the most deprived areas of the city.
Over lockdown, their CEO Shahidul Alam Ratan, known simply as Ratan, brought in virtual sessions that allowed kids to stay active at home and keep in touch with each other socially.
The project is just one of the many inspiring grassroots organisations that receive support from the £30m raised for good causes by National Lottery players every week.
Ratan says: “As soon as we found out about going into lockdown, I had a call with our coaches and said we must make sure we keep things going. We have three or four clubs we look after and we told our coaches to help set up activities within a home environment showing the kids what they could do to practice batting, bowling and fielding within their home – in their living rooms, small backyards or alleyways between houses. We created lots of activities to try and sent them out in a WhatsApp group.
“After two weeks, we thought they were getting bored so decided to introduce a challenging and competitive element. It was very simple challenges like keepy-uppies with the bat and ball, seeing how many times they could keep the ball up in the air, or juggling with two or three cricket balls.”
At first the group were sharing videos and competing with each other, so Ratan decided to get them to challenge other groups: “It was very interesting – parents and siblings started getting involved! We included all the other clubs we knew – in the first week we had about 10 different clubs - then we opened it up and had clubs from Yorkshire and Sussex taking part. We have extended invitations to known clubs out of the UK and we had clubs from India, Singapore, California and Lebanon in the refugee camp joining.
“That competition helped us establish a connection with clubs around the world, so we wanted to do something simple to connect with those clubs and even more countries and people and we came up with the idea of a simple throwing and catching of a cricket ball with all these clubs from around the world.
“Someone would record me, catching a ball and we would give out a small message to “stick together and beat Covid-19” before nominating the next catcher. We had clubs from California and then, in Australia, former England ODI captain Adam Hollioake, got involved as he was on the Gold Coast, former England player Alex Tudor also joined. Then we had clubs in South Africa, Kenya, in the Middle East, Holland, Italy, Sweden, Malaysia, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan even a Chinese national team player. We ended with a celebration on Zoom for everyone who had taken part.”
Ratan adds:” Our whole team was very happy on the last day of the global ball passing challenge with the celebration. It felt so good to have done something to bring people together during this difficult time. It was something we as a group built very well. We did a lot of challenges with the refugee camp in Lebanon. In 2018, we introduced cricket to the Syrian refugee camp. I went twice, first to introduce the game and then to teach the teachers on how to coach the game. We have nearly 300 kids who play cricket on a regular basis in the camp.”
Ratan will be celebrated this week as The Kia Oval is renamed in is honour The Kia Shahidul Alam Ratan Oval – the dedication is in celebration of his work supporting the most vulnerable in communities during the coronavirus crisis.
He says renaming will be a huge honour, not only here in the UK, but in the wider cricketing world.
“It is brilliant news and it means a lot,” Ratan says. “I hope it may bring some light to the charity and people like me who want to make a change, who want to go the extra mile to help people who need it. I must thank Capital kids Cricket for giving me the opportunity to come over here and work in this environment and also The National Lottery for running this campaign.
“The National Lottery are a very generous funder and we are very grateful for their help. We are a delivery charity – if the National Lottery gives us a grant for £10,000, the vast majority of that goes back to the grassroots as we don’t have any sub-contractors.”
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Ashland rolls over Lexington
Bob Fisher
LEXINGTON - Ashland sewed up a share of the Ohio Cardinal Conference championship Friday night by halftime, building a 32-0 lead over Lexington, eventually holding on for a 38-6 win over the Minutemen.
The Arrows, now 9-1 on the season and 6-1 in the OCC, now will wait to see where they will play next week in the state playoffs.
Ashland scored five touchdowns in the first half and then saw the second half start with a running clock because Ashland’s lead was more than 30 points.
The Arrows’ opening drive of the game ended with an interception by Lexington’s Joey Vore, but Ashland scored on five of its next six possessions.
Quarterback Grant Denbow threw 57 yards to John Wolfe for the Arrows’ first touchdown of the game with 5:31 to play in the opening quarter.
On the next series, Denbow raced 43 yards up the middle to make the score 13-0.
Alonzo Dampier scored on a 2-yard run with 4:28 to play in the second quarter and the Arrows were in front, 19-0.
Bryke Williams came up with an interception for Ashland, giving the Arrows the ball at the Lexington 11-yard line where Dampier quickly scored his second touchdown of the game on an 11-yard run. That gave Ashland a 26-0 lead.
Lexington turned the ball over on downs and Denbow threw a 20-yard score to Cole McQuate, giving the Arrows a 32-0 advantage with 23 seconds left before halftime.
At the half, Ashland had 260 yards of total offense while holding Lexington to 44 yards of total offense, 13 yards rushing and 31 yards passing.
The second half began with the Minutemen receiving and saw their best drive of the game, a 14-play, 62-yard effort ending with a 3-yard touchdown run by Vore. That cut Ashland’s lead to 32-6 with 2:59 remaining in the third quarter, and ended the running clock for the time being.
After a Lexington fumble, Ashland scored again. Dampier recorded his third touchdown of the game, a 6-yarder with 5:39 to play. That made the score 38-6 and saw the return of the running clock.
Ashland threatened one more time when McQuate intercepted the ball and returned it all the way down to the 12-yard line. Ashland then proceeded to run out the clock.
The Arrows did not attempt a pass in the second half and wound up with 148 yards passing and 162 yards rushing, good for 310 total yards. Dampier finished with 78 yards rushing on 15 carries and scored three touchdowns. Denbow gained 53 yards rushing. John Wolfe caught three passes for 89 yards.
Lexington, now 6-4 on the year and 3-4 in the OCC, was led by Hunter Biddle’s 85 yards rushing on 22 carries. A.J. Nickoli caught 7 passes for 33 yards and Vore completed 9 of 13 passes for 42 yards.
Coming into the season, Lexington was on an 18-game losing streak so they can now go into the off-season feeling good about a 6-4 record. Ashland now will get ready for a playoff game next week.
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Tag: city-panama city
9 Awesome Reasons to Book a Cruise Through the Panama Canal
Posted on November 8, 2016 October 8, 2020 Author: Kathryn Casna
The idea of creating a passage that allows ships to cross from the Atlantic to the Pacific without braving the icy waters of Cape Horn has been alive and kicking since Charles V of Spain ordered a survey of the best options in 1534. From conception to the first completed passage of a single vessel, it took 380 years, 27,000 lives, and the excavation of 170,000,000 cu yards (129,974,326 m3) of earth to accomplish. It’s a modern world wonder, and for most people, seeing it for themselves is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. There are lots of options for visiting the Panama Canal, but booking a cruise is one of the best, and here is why:
9. Luxury Amenities and Incredible Food on Board
Who doesn’t love trying new cuisine when they travel? For many, food is a primary reason to travel. Unfortunately, the human digestive system isn’t set up to handle the introduction of new foods without a little indigestion. Add in foreign bacteria, unpurified water, and new eating schedules, and your gut might be in for an unpleasant shock. The plus side? Travelers who book cruises have access to plenty of familiar cuisine on-board, included in the price of passage. Keeping more familiar foods in your diet can help your stomach handle new foods more easily, and cruise ships help keep that in balance. I would never recommend ignoring local cuisine completely for the tried and true staples found on-board a cruise ship, but I don’t advise indigestion and food poisoning either. Enjoy the local fare, but when you need a break, cruise cuisine is there.
8. To Fully Understand How it Works
Wrapping your mind around just how the locks in the canal work can be tough if you haven’t experienced them for yourself. There are three sets of locks: 1 on the Atlantic side, 1 on the Pacific side, and 1 connecting Gatun and Mira Flores Lakes. The purpose of the locks is to raise and lower the water level in each chamber using water from the lakes, and thereby allow ships to pass through what used to be solid earth. The sheer amount of water it takes to get just one ship through the canal – 26,700,000 US gal (101,000 m3) times 12 lock chambers – is staggering. All of the water comes from natural runoff into the lake and empties out into the ocean through the process. In wet, winter months, there’s plenty of water to go around. In the dry season, however, Gatun Lake may experience a shortfall.
7. See the Bridge of the Americas and Centennial Bridge
The Bridge of the Americas, or Puente de las Américas in Spanish, was built in 1962 at a cost of $20 million USD. It was the first permanent bridge to cross the canal, and it is located right at the Pacific locks. It’s a cantilever bridge, which allows it to extend across the canal without any structures holding it up in the middle. The Centennial Bridge is a gorgeous cable-stay design, much like the Brooklyn Bridge in New York and the Jiang-Shaoxing Sea Bridge in China. The Centennial Bridge was completed in 2004, and completes the Pan-American Highway today. Reading about these two monumental bridges here is nothing compared to the thrill of sailing underneath them. The gorgeous harp design of the Centennial Bridge is simply stunning from any angle, and the Bridge of the Americas is imposingly impressive as well.
6. Learn About the History of Such a Feat First Hand
Reading about the canal’s history on the web or in a book really leads to missing out on understanding the accomplishment of such a feat. It’s hard to understand the difficulty of cutting and blasting through tons of rocky terrain that reached 360 feet above sea level to create a water-bearing canal. Or the disaster that malaria and yellow fever presented for the workforce charged with creating this monumental achievement. Nearly 28,000 people – nearly a third of the total workforce – died creating this engineering masterpiece. Much of the Panama landscape and culture was effected by the canal as well. The builders agreed to lend a hand to create lasting infrastructure in the country, like schools and hospitals, which visitors can see in person. Visitors can also meet some of the locals and talk to them about how the canal’s history has changed Panama.
Tiago Lopes Fernandez / Shutterstock.com
5. Cruisers Get to See Other Great South American Destinations
What’s the best South or Central American Country to visit? Can you really know without visiting them all? One of the best thing about booking a cruise, any cruise, is that passengers get a little taste of several, if not many, destinations on their floating hotel. Popular ports of call for Panama Canal cruises are Cartagena, Colombia; Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; Puntarenas, Costa Rica; and Montego Bay, Jamaica. A trip that includes all of these locations is rare indeed, especially when you consider the travel time and cost of booking flight after flight (or passage after passage) between these ports. For around $150 USD per night (the cost of many hotels), travelers literally cruise to their next destination in their sleep. While spending just a day in these ports of call isn’t enough to sate every travelers’ curiosity, it’s a great way to help them figure out which ports they’d like to return to later for more exploration.
4. The Mind-Blowing Size of Ships Allowed to Pass
Most people in the world only ever see the Panama Canal on a map or hear about it from other travelers during a slide show presentation of their vacation photos. As with most adventure tales, however, something always gets lost in translation. For the canal, that thing is the mind-blowing size of the ships that are allowed to pass through. The canal is a mere 110 feet wide and has a usable length of just 1,000 feet. Cruise ships traveling through the canal can be as large as 106 feet wide and 965 feet long. Believe it or not, this length actually has an industry-created name: Panamax. And you better believe both shipping and cruise companies use every inch! Standing on deck and gazing down at the measly 2 feet of space between the ship and the concrete edge of the canal is enough to awe any seaman, not to mention the average vacationer.
Fotos593 / Shutterstock.com
3. Booking Passage
The average fee for a passenger ship passing through the Panama Canal is a whopping $54,000 USD. These fees can quickly skyrocket even higher if you want to cut in line. The Panamax tanker Erikoussa once bypassed 90 other ships to avoid a 7-day delay, turning a fee of $13,430 into a jaw-dropping $220,300. To avoid priority passage fees, ships normally snag a spot in line a year or more in advance. These astronomical fees usually only apply to large vessels, like freighters and cruise ships. For travelers looking to book passage on a small vessel for themselves, fees start at $1,300 – about the cost of passage on a 10-day cruise that includes food, stops at several ports, and maybe a few excursions, too. Plus, cruise passengers don’t have to own or rent their own boat or worry about booking so far in advance. The cruise line takes care of it all.
2. Monkeys, Birding, Boating, and More
Along with incredible views of the canal, Gatun and Mira Flores Lakes, and an inside view of the locks, there’s plenty to explore in Panama off-ship. Walking tours and hikes are plentiful in the area for anyone who wants a close-up view of Colon, Panama City, or the surrounding jungles. Historical and educational tours of the locks are also available. There are even small passenger boat tours, where monkeys will literally climb into the seat next to you from branches that hang over the water for a slice of banana. The best part? All tours booked through the cruise company are booked with vetted, quality tour companies. Cruise passengers don’t have to worry about scheduling tours in a foreign language or getting ripped off. Rest assured, bad tours don’t generally make it onto the itinerary, and if they do, they don’t stick around for long.
1. The Perfect Trip
What’s the number one reason to book a cruise to the Panama Canal? Why, to enjoy the canal, of course. Let’s face it: travel can be expensive, complicated, and stressful, especially if you like to have a certain level of luxury on your trip. The point of travel is not to throw away money or stress yourself out so that you need a vacation after your vacation. Travel should be simple, and, above all, enjoyable. And for many adventurers, it is. If you’re not a seasoned traveler, or only have a limited time to experience both adventure and relaxation, book a cruise. You get all the staples, like food, lodging, and transportation for one, uncomplicated price. You get an on-board spa and pool-lounging time, plus the chance to explore numerous destinations, led by some of the best guides in the business. So the only real question is, why wouldn’t you book?
Author: Kathryn CasnaPosted in DestinationTagged city-panama city, country-panama, region-south america, slideshowLeave a Comment on 9 Awesome Reasons to Book a Cruise Through the Panama Canal
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15 Amazing Film Locations From the James Bond 007 Franchise
Posted on December 15, 2015 October 8, 2020 Author: Sara Whitford
Since 1962, the suave secret agent known as Bond has been thrilling cinema-goers with his climatic action sequences, high-tech gadgets and steamy romance scenes. Everyone loves a good action movie (after all, these films have been in production for over 50 years) but one of the best parts of any 007 film is seeing all the magnificent scenery on the screen as Bond tours around the world chasing evil villains. But did you ever wonder where exactly were these amazing films shot? In fact, these beautiful locations do exist in real life. Here are 15 amazing real life locations featured in the Bond films:
15. Altausse Jagdhaus Seewiese, Austria
Aston Martins. Designer suits. The rugged beauty of the Austrian mountains in the background. High stakes espionage never looked so good. In Spectre, follow James Bond (Daniel Craig) on his globetrotting adventures across Europe. As he tracks down an international criminal conspiracy, he finds himself at Altausse Jagdhaus Seewiese for a daytime spy rendezvous. The historic mountain cottage is nestled in a small village with a stunning backdrop of the Austrian mountain range. Dating back to the Triassic and Jurassic periods, the hills of the quaint mountain town are dotted with houses for postcard perfect surroundings. The cozy log cabin is a favorite spot for hearty food and beer with a view of the waterfront and surrounding mountains. A bit of fresh mountain air, a high-speed chase through the forest, and a snack at this gastropub is the perfect combination to keep 007 in top form.
Photo by: Mi6 Community
14. Blenheim Palace, United Kingdom
As 007 suits up and jet sets his way across the globe, he stops by the Blenheim Palace in hot pursuit of dangerous villains. In Spectre, he dodges bullets and combats criminals at the Blenheim Palace, an Oxfordshire country house in the United Kingdom. Built in the early 1700s, the palace is a rare example of English Baroque architecture and is considered one of England’s historical treasures. Over the centuries, it has been home to dukes of Marlborough, a prestigious group of aristocrats whose family still owns the revered palace. Plan for an unforgettable day in the English countryside at the World Heritage Site, which consists of an impressive 12,500 acres of grand estates, gardens, and ancient forests. While touring the exquisite and well-preserved grounds of the palace, get ready to imagine the dukes and ladies of the Old World sipping top shelf brandy in the parlor while the butlers and maids did the dirty work.
Amra Pasic / Shutterstock.com
13. Vauxhall Bridge, London
In the world of high stakes espionage, James Bond (Danile Craig) returns to his old stomping grounds of London in his latest feature Spectre. In between high-speed chases and sniper rifle shootouts, we catch a glimpse of the historic Vauxhall Bridge, a steel and granite arch bridge situated along the River Thames. Built in 1906, the historic bridge stands out with its original ornate detailing and bright red color. Often used in establishing shots for films set in London, the bridge is featured in a daytime establishing shot right before 007 gets entangled in a deadly spy tryst. Formerly known as Regent Bridge, Vauxhaull Bridge still retains its early 20th century splendor and continues to serve as a main artery of London’s highway system, carrying the A202 over the Thames.
12. Church of San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice
Follow in the footsteps of the legendary 007 as he suits up for a dangerous mission in Casino Royale. First stop is the historic Church of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice, Italy, for a spy meeting and deadly combat, because in the world of espionage, anything could happen. In this case, the setting is the ancient and revered water city that contains some of the world’s best-preserved buildings, including the San Giorgio Maggiore that dates back to the 16th century. While Bond gets entangled in a deadly showdown with international criminals, the cherished church sits in the background with its unique Renaissance architecture. Get ready to travel back in time to the Old World in a city that still retains its original magnificence of centuries past. Venice is also rare in that it is one of the few remaining walking cities in the world.
kavalenkau / Shutterstock.com
11. Kaiserbad Spa, Czech Republic
Set in a world of backstabbing, deadly combat, and death-defying stunts, James Bond (Daniel Craig) heads to the heart of Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic for the final showdown at Casino Royale. Standing in for the exterior of the high-end gambling palace is the Kaiserbad Spa, the lavish and opulent former spa that is considered the crown jewel of the historic village. Although it is now closed to the public, it is worth seeing its preserved neo-Baroque architecture up close on a stroll down the nearby Goethova stezka and Marianskolazenska near the Tepla River. Once inside the high stakes casino, Bond has one chance to take down Le Chiffe as he hedges his bets on the poker game of a lifetime. In this deadly game, Bond either wins or dies, but for travelers to the spa town of Karlovy Vary, it’s a leisurely stroll through a charming old-world village.
Photo by: Panoramio/Sergey Brandys
10. Venetian Lagoon, Italy
After completing his death-defying mission in Casino Royale, James Bond (Daniel Craig) follows up with M (Judi Dench) with his latest espionage intel while cruising around the Venetian Lagoon on a luxury speed boat. Travelers to the historic water city of Venice, Italy can opt for a more traditional tour of the famous lagoon in an authentic gondola ride. Making up part of the Adriatic Sea, the enclosed bay stretches from the River Sile in the north of Venice. Visitors have the option of booking a tour of the Lagoon or making their own trip in a rented speedboat. Another option is hopping on a cheap water taxi mostly filled with locals who work or live on one of the islands. With hundreds of islands in the Lagoon, get ready to explore the glass-making center of Murano, the cemetery in San Michelle, and the colorful painted houses of Burano.
9. Grand Hotel Pupp, Czech Republic
In the next generation of the Bond Franchise, 007 (Daniel Craig) puts on his best dinner tux and gathers his high tech spy gadgets for the final showdown between Le Chiffre, a deadly arms dealer. In Casino Royale, the dangerous mission takes him to the historic spa village of Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic. In between combat with deadly assassins, the luxurious old world Grand Hotel Pupp stands majestically in the background. Dating back to 1701, the hotel is a unique example of neo-Baroque architecture in all its well-preserved splendor. Today, the luxury hotel offers vintage style opulence and world-renowned spa treatments in the heart of the popular spa village. After some rest and relaxation, wander around the historic town full of ancient gems like the famous hot springs, the Thermal Spring Colonnade, and Church of St. Mary Magdalene. Bond may fight dirty, but he does it in style.
Irina Burmistrova / Shutterstock.com
8. Santa Maria della Salute, Venice
Top secret missions, spy rendezvous, exotic locales. Looks like James Bond is back to take out some deadly assassins in Casino Royale, the latest installment of the blockbuster franchise. Along the way, he makes a stop at the Santa Maria della Salute, a well-preserved historic landmark. Situated in the celebrated water city of Venice, Italy, the Roman Catholic Church dates back to 1681 and is quite an impressive structure with its domed ceilings, intricate and opulent Baroque details, and exclusive works by Titian, a celebrated artist of the Italian Renaissance. Designed by Baldassare Longhena, the church was built as a dedication to Our Lady of Health in the desperate hope that it would end the devastating outbreak of the plague. Although the holy structure didn’t curb the deadly disease, Venetians continued to pray and offer sacraments to the saints on the steps of the magnificent Santa Maria della Salute, the gem of Venice.
7. Big Ben, London
For international secret agent James Bond, London is spy headquarters in the 1964 Goldfinger, a classic of the blockbuster franchise. As 007 (Sean Connery) gears up for a risky espionage mission involving an international criminal conspiracy, the Big Ben is featured in a daytime establishing shot. One of the most iconic and recognizable symbols of London, Big Ben is the nickname for the clock situated at the north end of the Westminster Palace. Established in 1858, Big Ben holds the honor of being the world’s largest four-faced chiming clock. The best way to get an up close look of the clock tower is a walk on the footpath of Westminster Bridge where you’ll get a breathtaking view of Big Ben, the House of Parliament, and the Lambeth and Vauxhall Bridges nearby. It might be a classic from the 60s, but the historic icons still retain its original splendor.
6. Fontainebleau, Miami
In the classic 1964 Goldfinger of the James Bond franchise, the first scene opens up to a sky view of Miami Beach and an establishing shot of the Fontainebleau, one of the most iconic and recognizable hotels in the world. Established in 1954, the hotel has seen stars like Jackie Gleason, the Rat Pack, and other celebrities throughout the decades come through its doors, lounging in swanky jazz clubs and oceanfront cabanas. In the 50s, Miami experienced an economic boom and quickly became the Hollywood hotspot for celebrities on vacation. The hotel has also been featured in several movies, and in the case of Sean Connery’s 007, he’s busy getting some massage action with a cute blonde, and with the pool and a martini close by, of course. After a cocktail and a swim, Bond is ready to talk shop with Felix before suiting up for his next mission.
Fotoluminate LLC / Shutterstock.com
5. Swiss Alps, Switzerland
Channel your debonair spy swagger and head for the hills, literally. In Spectre, Bond (Daniel Craig) finds himself speeding in his vintage Aston Martin along winding roads of the Swiss Alps in pursuit of deadly international criminals. After arriving in Zurich by train or a direct international flight, hop in a rental car and head to the Klausen Passis, the first large alpine pass and also the passageway directly into the heart of the Central Alps. Another benefit of the Klausen Pass Highway is that it isn’t typically busy, just a few locals, driving enthusiasts, and the occasional suave secret agent. Once inside the Alps, get ready for breathtaking scenery, including ancient forests, and granite plateaus and peaks typical of the Swiss Alps. Along the way, there are several waterfalls, which are the most powerful in the spring and early summer.
4. Barbican Center, London
Set in the glamorous but deadly world of international espionage, 007 (Daniel Craig) makes a stop at spy central in London. In Quantum of Solace, the Barbican Center is featured in a daytime establishing shot right before James Bond meets with his MI-6 handlers for intel on his next mission. Standing in as the main office of the Secret Intelligence Service is the Barbican Center, a major cultural venue located on Silk Road. Home to the London Symphony Orchestra, plus several art galleries, theaters, a concert hall, and cinemas, the Barbican Center is a popular hotspot for upscale shopping and entertainment. One of the largest culture centers in Europe, it is easy to spend a day and evening filled with films, concerts, and art exhibitions that are offered almost every night of the week.
Claudio Divizia / Shutterstock.com
3. Instituto Nacional de Cultura de Panama
Standing in for the Andean Grand Hotel and the setting of James Bond’s showdown is the Instituto Nacional de Cultura de Panama, a popular building in San Felipe. As he battles deadly assassins with spy gadgets and designer suits, you might catch a glimpse of the San Felipe neighborhood in a high-speed chase sequence in Quantum of Solace. Housed in a white colonial style mansion, the institute is located in the old courthouse and is responsible for promoting arts and culture of the Republic of Panama. The building is also home to the Anita Villaluz theatre, a popular space for film exhibitions and performances relating to the history of Panamanian tradition and the voices of the future. In the case of 007, it’s just another day of espionage in paradise.
«Instituto Nacional de Cultura Panama» por Mel Ortega – http://www.flickr.com/photos/melortpanama/4294352559/in/set-72157618470965651. Disponible bajo la licencia CC BY 2.0 vía Wikimedia Commons.
2. The Langham Hotel, London
Get ready to enter a deadly world of the elite class and James Bond in hot pursuit of criminal masterminds. In Golden Eye, Pierce Brosnan has a license to kill but first he needs a relaxing evening with a femme fatale. In this case, he finds himself at the Langham Hotel in London, one of Europe’s finest historic hotels. Since 1865, the grand hotel has attracted royalty, celebrities, and high-class villains of 007 fame. Feel like an English aristocrat in the same hotel where Charles Dickens, Prince of Wales, and high society of the Victorian era flaunted their wealth and prestige. If you’re feeling especially extravagant, splurge on The Sterling Suite, an opulent palace fit for a king.
“Langham london” by The Langham, London – The Langham, London. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons.
1. Regent Street, London
In the mid 90s, the Bond franchise was still going blockbuster with non-stop action, and Golden Eye (1995) was no exception. Follow Pierce Brosnan’s James Bond as he tracks down an international criminal conspiracy on a high-speed chase through Regent Street, a major shopping area in the west end of London. He’s driving his BMW 73 at lightening speed but visitors can take a more leisurely stroll to get a closer look at the streets bustling with locals or tourists who are busy shopping or lounging in stylish cafes. Close by the Picadilly Circus and Oxford Circus underground stations, the historic neighborhood dates back to the early 1800s with its well-preserved Georgian architecture as a magnificent piece of old London. Although it took a few centuries to break ground, the result was Regent Street and its stately elegance of Neo-Georgian style.
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Author: Sara WhitfordPosted in DestinationTagged borrowed images, city-london, city-miami, city-panama city, city-venice, country-austria, country-czech-republic, country-england, country-italy, country-switzerland, slideshowLeave a Comment on 15 Amazing Film Locations From the James Bond 007 Franchise
10 Things to See and Do in Panama
Posted on July 17, 2015 October 8, 2020 Author: Lindsay MacNevin
This stunning country has been opening its arm to tourists for centuries, but is just starting to become one of the hottest countries to visit in Central America. Packed into this little country is an amazing amount of diversity from its hip nightlife scene to tropical rainforests to mountain reserves to thousands of islands featuring white sand and stunning azure waters. Take a visit to one of the villages of indigenous people or scuba dive in a marine national park. Whatever it is you are after; Panama is where you will find it. Here are 10 amazing things to see and do in this country.
10. Canoe to Embera Indian Village
Visiting an authentic Indian Village in the luscious jungle should be at the top of your list of things to do in Panama. These agricultural people live in small communities deep in the jungle and have survived by growing their own crops, fishing and hunting. There are many guided tours that are being offered out to these tribes who welcome tourists with warm arms. Groups will take a canoe ride through the jungle to the shores of the communities where you will have the chance to immerse yourself into their culture. Learn about the history of these indigenous people, learn about their way of life and enjoy lunch with the community. Visiting an Embera Village is not only a fun experience, but gives visitors the chance to understand this culture and its values.
Anton_Ivanov / Shutterstock.com
9. Surf in Santa Catalina
This quiet fishing village located off Panama’s Pacific Coast may just be its best kept secret, but probably not for long. As of now the village is remote and unspoiled, drawing surfers and divers from all over the world to explore its landscape. You won’t find shopping malls or famous landmarks here though; instead visitors will be privy to a laid-back atmosphere, sandy beaches and some of the most regular and best surf breaks in all of Central America. You will have your choice of surf camps here as a number of them have sprung up in the last several years, as well as your choice of many restaurants. The surf here is best for experienced surfers as the bottom is rocky and the waves roll in all year round ranging from four to 20 feet. If you are looking to catch a wave in Panama, this is where to do so.
8. Hit the Beach
Panama is home to hundreds of kilometers of coastline, both on the Pacific and Caribbean sides and it should come as no surprise that hitting the beach should be one of the first things to do when you arrive. The key to finding a good beach in Panama though is to head to one of the many islands, you will have your choice with over 1,500 islands in total. The Pearl Islands offer white-sand beaches, excellent snorkeling conditions and calm waters. They also happen to be relatively un-crowded, a major bonus if you are looking for some privacy. San Blas is a paradise unlike any other and boast an archipelago of over 100 islands, some just rings of white sand. The atmosphere here is relaxing and think relaxing in a hammock while sipping a tropical drink.
7. Visit the Museum of Biodiversity
If you want to learn more about the history of Panama and the diversity of nature in this country, the Museum of Biodiversity should be one of your first stops. This museum was built in 2014 and designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry who donated his design to the people of Panama. The result is a brilliant colored building placed right near the water, offering an extraordinary learning experience for all. Visitors to this museum will find a plethora of exhibits in place, as well as many more on the way as this museum develops over the years. For now you will learn about the biodiversity of Panama through an audio guide, a rainforest and nature centre and an aquarium. Part of the admission price goes back into developing the museum and while the architecture is truly marvelous, make sure to go inside and educate yourself.
Photo by: BioMuseo Panama
6. Summit Volcan Baru
It is one of the only places in the world in which you can see both the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea at the same time with the naked eye. This dormant volcano is no easy mountain to summit though and hikers who make it their goal to be on top will need to be prepared. Perhaps that is why this feat is one of the most rewarding things to do in Panama. The hike itself will last anywhere from four to six hours and is a combination of gentle slopes and steep inclines. The best time to start your hike up this volcano is midnight as it offers the best chance of seeing both oceans from the summit. Many times just after the sun has risen, the clouds roll in making it impossible to see much of anything from the summit. The sight of both oceans, from the naked eye is something you will never forget.
Photo by: Ariel Rodriguez-Vargas via Wikimedia Commons
5. Dive or Snorkel at Coiba National Park
Located 30 miles off the Panamanian coast in the Gulf of Chiriquí lay the incredible Coiba Marine National Park. There is a total of 800 marine species that call this area home and therefore offers some of the best diving along the Pacific Coast. Because of its remoteness most visitors rely on a tour operator to get them out to the Island where beautiful beaches and warm waters await. Diving and/or snorkeling here is absolutely breathtaking. From schools of colorful fish to coral to rays, dolphins and turtles; the marine life is plentiful in every direction. If you want to spend the night on the island the only place to do so is at the ranger station in a rustic dorm style room with bunk beds. Staying overnight will give visitors the chance to explore the hiking trails on the island and the many exotic bird species that call this place home.
4. Bike Along Amador Causeway
Located at the mouth of the Panama Canal the Amador Causeway is a four km biking and running path that links the Canal Zone neighborhood of Balboa to Flamenco and Perico Island. The causeway offers some of the greatest views of the Panama City skyline and the Pacific Ocean entrance of the Canal. The easiest way to enjoy the views is to rent a bike from one of the nearby bike rental shops. Along the causeway are numerous restaurants, shops, the Museum of Biodiversity and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute which is home to a few animals and numerous species of fish. Biking along here at sunset is one of the best times to do so as the views get even more incredible. Along the way expect to see other tourists walking and biking, fisherman hauling in their lines and locals enjoying ice-cream. A true taste of what Panama really stands for.
3. Discover Panama City
One of the best ways to explore Panama City is to take a self-guided walking tour, a guided walking tour or hop on a sightseeing bus. Panama City is actually comprised of three cities, the ruins of the 16th century original city Panama Viejo, the Spanish colonial city Casco Viejo, and the modern skyscraper city. The favorite of the three happens to be Casco Viejo, the city built in 1671. This vibrant and colorful neighborhood recently went under renovations and now features many restored hotels and restaurants that lie side by side with crumbling buildings. This city also offers the hottest nightlife scene and enjoys sweeping ocean and city bay views. The ruins of Panama Viejo on the other hand are extensive and incredibly remarkable. There is a small museum with a number of displays but it is recommended you take a Spanish guide along with you as many of them are not in English.
2. Visit the Bocas del Toro Archipelago
It is Panama’s most visited eco-tourism destination featuring nine main islands, 52 cays, and thousands of islets along with being one of the most biologically diverse places on earth. It is here where you will find natural raw beauty in cloud forest mountains, palm lined beaches and clear waters teeming with colorful fish and coral. The activities here are endless from zip lining through the jungle canopy to horseback riding along the beach to discovering indigenous communities. This destination offers the rare combination of premium accommodations set in a lush tropical paradise. Whether you are coming here to explore the Home to a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Panama’s first National Marine Park or to relax on one of the beautiful Caribbean beaches; this archipelago has it all.
1. See the Panama Canal
The best way to see the Panama Canal, which stretches 80 km, is to head to the Miraflores Locks. Here there is a very informative visitor’s center which is home to a theatre, three observation terraces, gift shop, restaurant and four exhibition halls. For history and engineering buffs the sight is truly spectacular, a system of locks that was built over 100 years ago, yet operates as it were just built yesterday. Watching the water rush in to fill the locks and lift the ships is simply remarkable to watch and this canal is responsible for providing passage for nearly 14,000 ocean vessels a year. We suggest grabbing a beer and sitting at one of the bars and watching the huge ships pass by, as well as checking out the museum and 3D movie. It wouldn’t be a trip to Panama without exploring the Canal.
Author: Lindsay MacNevinPosted in DestinationTagged city-panama city, country-panama, slideshowLeave a Comment on 10 Things to See and Do in Panama
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The 15 Coolest New Tourist Attractions for 2015
Posted on March 5, 2015 October 8, 2020 Author: Lindsay MacNevin
The year of 2015 is promising to take monumental steps forward in technology, science and innovation and tourist attractions are benefitting from this trend. With more people traveling than ever before, older attractions are reinventing themselves and offering visitors new exhilarating experiences. From the new floor in the iconic Eiffel Tower to a bicycle path turned glow-in-the-dark; tourism imagination is at its fullest. Besides the revamped tourist attractions are a number of fabulous brand new attractions including state of the art museums focused on helping our planet, sustainable distilleries and skyscrapers and cable cars that can whisk visitors up mountains at lightning speed. From an ice tunnel in a large glacier to what feels like the top of the world in New York City; visitors around the world have no shortage of epic and cool new tourist attractions to explore. Join us in discovering the top 15 coolest new tourist attractions in 2015.
15. Shanghai Tower -Shanghai, China
Set to be the second tallest tower in the world, the Shanghai Tower could not be left off this list of coolest and most amazing attractions of 2015. Towering over the Huangpu River with 125 stories the shape of the tower is most unique. With a curved façade and a spiraling form the tower provides nine indoor zones for public visitors offering 360 degree views of the city. Each zone is home to its own atrium with gardens, cafes, restaurants and retail space.
Sustainable design is at the heart of the Shanghai Tower and at the center of its design is the second skin that wraps around the building creating the atriums that help reduce the heating and cooling efforts needed for the building. Other features include water conservation practices, wind turbines and extensive landscaping. The tower truly represents the future in the way cities are being created and is redefining the role of skyscrapers in big cities. The building is set to be the second tallest only for a short while as the Ping An Finance Centre in Shenzhen is set to surpass it in 2016. Regardless of whether it is the second, third or tenth tallest building in the world, the Shanghai Tower features unique components and a breathtaking design that can only truly be appreciated in person.
TonyV3112 / Shutterstock.com
14. Eiffel Tower Glass Floor -Paris, France
One of the attractions on our list that has been re-vamped into one of the coolest new attractions of 2015 is the infamous Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. To celebrate the 125th anniversary of Paris the Eiffel Tower went through a 40 million dollar face lift and includes a new museum, solar panels and a dizzying glass floor. The museum tells the story of the history of the museum through seven screens while the solar panels will help produce hot water and energy for the tower.
The main new attraction here and the one that has everyone talking is the glass floor located on the first floor, almost 200 feet above the ground. Visitors will feel as they are literally walking on air as the non-slip coating applied to the see through panels allow people to walk, lay, sit and take “selfies”. If you didn’t think you were scared of heights take a jaunt up to this unique twist on an already iconic tourist attraction and step out onto the glass floor; this addition only makes us want to visit the Eiffel Tower even more.
13. Flyway Taiwan -New Taipei City, Taiwan
One of the most exciting attractions on our list takes place in New Taipei City in Taiwan, amongst the rolling green hills and breathtaking landscapes. Flyway, a company founded by a man from California is set to open in spring of 2015 offering a two hour zip-line canopy tour. With over ten cables to whiz down through the forests and over valleys as well as swings, rope ladders and “free fall” experiences there is no shortage of adrenaline rushing activities.
Located on the eastern edge of Taipei, Taiwan this is not for the faint-hearted. Visitors that have done zip-lining before should think twice about skipping this tourist attraction as the varying landscapes, professional commitment and interesting course offers something very different than the typical jungle zip-line experience. The trend-crazy island of Taiwan is full of beauty, lush green rolling hills and the perfect choice to go flying through the air Tarzan Style at one of the coolest attractions set to open in 2015.
12. Bombay Sapphire Distillery -Laverstoke, United Kingdom
When one of the most iconic gin brands in the world creates a distillery with a visitor’s center it promises to be amazing and out of this world. Bombay Sapphire has managed to transform a 300 year old paper mill that sits amongst a conservation area with over a thousand years of history into a state-of-the-art sustainable distillery. The renovated Laverstoke Mill showcases the natural beauty and heritage of the site while letting visitors see the unique Vapour Infusion distillation process.
The two giant greenhouses showcase the botanicals that Bombay uses in their gin and are composed of 793 individual pieces of glass. The Dakin Still House lets visitors get up close and personal to the distillation process while the Botanical Dry Room will invigorate your senses and uncover your preferred tastes. The Mill bar is where the tasting happens and all the drinks can be tailored individually depending on your botanical preference. A combination of incredible history, beautiful glass architecture and some of the best gin in the world makes this our number twelve coolest attraction of 2015. Discover the village of Laverstoke; home to the Bombay Sapphire Distillery.
lev radin / Shutterstock.com
11. Whitney Museum of American Art -New York City, USA
The largest column-free museum gallery in New York City is set to open in spring 2015; The Whitney Museum of American Art has packed up its collections and moved to its new location. Situated in the meatpacking district between the High Line and Hudson River in Manhattan the building promises to include approximately 50,000 square feet of indoor galleries and 13,000 square feet of outdoor exhibition space. The special exhibit section is set to encompass 18,000 square feet making it the largest column free gallery in NY.
The cantilevered entrance creates a large public space where visitors can see views of the Hudson River, the park, industrial structures and mingle with others that are passionate about art. The education center that is part of the Museum includes classrooms, a 170-seat theater, conservation lab, reading room and black box with adjacent outdoor gallery for performances, film and video. Combined with a retail store and choice of restaurants; the new and improved Whitney Museum of American Art looks to be one of the coolest attractions of 2015.
Stuart Monk / Shutterstock.com
10. One World Observatory -New York City, USA
The tallest building in the Western Hemisphere is the size of six statue of liberty’s stacked one on top of each other and is set to open in the spring of 2015. The One World Observatory occupies floors 100-102 at One World Trade Center spanning 120,000 square feet. Not only does the observatory offer a spectacular 360 degree view of New York City, surrounding waters and iconic landmarks but offers dining options, a gift store and interactive exhibits.
Visitors will first experience a multimedia gallery of the construction and engineering of this fabulous attraction. They are then whisked upwards 102 floors in just 60 seconds; the fastest elevator ride in the world. The observatory includes the “See-Forever” theater which shows a film celebrating the city of New York. A fun fact about this building; architects and designers built the tower to the specific height of 1,776 feet, to represent the year the US Declaration of Independence was signed. One World Observatory promises to be one of the hottest tourist attractions of 2015 and should be on your list of places to visit.
Felix Lipov / Shutterstock.com
9. Sapa Cable Car, Sapa -Vietnam
The world’s longest and highest cable car is set to open in Vietnam in 2015. The three rope cable car system is designed to take people from the foot of Fansipan Mountain to the top in just 15 minutes. In the past only avid hikers could make the two to three day trek to the top. The summit of the mountain is described as the roof of Indochina and offers stunning views across the landscapes below to those who have been unable to view it from the top in previous years.
The sleepy hill station of Sapa will be transformed into a high attraction tourist spot making some residents uneasy about the number of visitors trekking through their culturally diverse environment. Other residents however are looking forward to it; some residents have never been to the top as the trek is too hard while others plan to open restaurants and markets for the visitors. The cable car will be able to carry a maximum of 2,000 people per hour up the mountain with 35 people per car; that is the same amount of people that stood atop the mountain last year, total. The longest and highest cable car is set to open in time for National Day in the fall of 2015 and is certainly going to be a unique attraction.
Hoang Cong Thanh / Shutterstock.com
8. Springfield at Universal Studios Hollywood, -Los Angeles, USA
For anyone who has watched the legendary TV show “The Simpsons”, this new attraction coming to Universal Studios Hollywood is sure to be one of the coolest attractions on the list for you. The town of Springfield is being re-created in Hollywood, modeled after the already popular Simpsons attraction in the Orlando Park. Universal Studios Hollywood is home to the very popular Simpson’s ride which is a medium-level thrill ride with gut busting humor and outstanding displays.
The new attraction promises replica eateries including Krusty Burger, Luigi’s Pizza, Phineas Q. Bufferfat’s 5600 Flavors Ice Cream Parlor, along with Moe’s Tavern and the Duff Brewery. Slide up to the bar at Moe’s Tavern and grab a Duff Beer and make a prank phone call. Or visit the Kwik-E-Mart and indulge in a Squishee frozen drink. Other attractions include Mr. Burn’s mansion and the nuclear power plant. It seems as designers have stuck to the true essence of the show and have worked hard to make the iconic TV show come to life. Whether you spent years watching the show or have only watched one episode this attraction is sure to delight any visitor to the park.
Supannee Hickman / Shutterstock.com
7. TITLIS Rotair -Engelberg, Switzerland
Whether you visit Switzerland in the winter or the summer this brand new attraction is going to be something you want to do. The TITLIS Rotair is one of the world’s only revolving gondolas and it transports visitors to the summit of Mount TITLIS. Passengers load onto the gondola at the middle station located in the town of Engelberg and take a short five minute trip up to 9,926ft; the top of the summit. Passengers are provided with 360 degree views of the surrounding landscape; steep rock faces, snow covered mountain peaks, and deep glacial crevices.
There is no bad place to stand as the gondola does a full rotation up to the top and offers great views from any position. At the top another adventure awaits visitors as the Glacier Cave is free to walk through, as is the adrenaline pumping suspension bridge that is Europe’s highest suspension bridge and offers breathtaking lookouts into the abyss. The Glacier Park is also accessible from the summit and one should try the quick and slippery snow tubes or minibobs that take you down the hill; while a magic carpet waits to pull you back up. A chocolate shop, a watch store and a breathtaking Mountain view; what more could you want?
prosiaczeq / Shutterstock.com
6. Langjökull Ice Tunnel in Langjökull Glacier – Iceland
Deep in the heart of the country’s second largest ice cap; Langjökull Glacier near Reykjavik an underground tunnel is being dug for the sole purpose of letting visitors get up close and personal to the ice and educating them on such matters as global warming. Set to open in June 2015 visitors will be privy to exhibitions, information, restaurants and even a small chapel for those wishing to marry in the midst of the dense ice. Make sure to bundle up in this tourist attraction though!
Visitors will get a chance to walk through the tunnel and observe the varying ice levels and colours. From the newer white ice to the colder blue ice visitors will get a better understanding of how the glacier formed. The size; 200-300 metres long at 30 metres below the surface makes it the largest man made ice structure in the world. Lights are installed on the walls of the tunnels and numerous nooks and dens will house information about the glacier and global warming. Guided tours will be available and will require a short trip aboard an 8-wheel truck across the glacier to reach the entrance to the tunnel. Discovering the layers of ice, finding out how they formed and witnessing a truly spectacular man-made creation is what awaits you at Langjökull Ice Tunnel.
5. Starry Night Bicycle Path -Nuenen, Netherlands
One of the most unique tourist attractions created for this year is located in Nuenen, Netherlands. Dutch designer Daan Roosegaard has created a glow-in-the-dark bike path with swirls of patterned lights that are based on Vincent van Gogh’s painting The Starry Night. The pattered lights look remarkably like the falling stars in the painting. This kilometer long stretch was made in tribute to the artist who passed away 125 years ago. Van Gogh was born and raised in the Dutch County of Brabant and spent a couple years working and living in the city of Nuenen.
The glowing path is created with a combination of special paint that gathers light through the day and LED lights that charge throughout the day from a solar panel. The result is a breathtaking display that is entirely self-sufficient and remarkably poetic. The path is part of the 335-kilometer Van Gogh Cycle Route that is free to use and open to the public all year round. Discover this beautiful piece of art that pays tribute to the great artist while you wander the breathtaking country of the Netherlands.
Photo by: Ferdinand van Oostrom
4. BioMuseo -Panama City, Panama
The BioMuseo or the The Biodiversity Museum: Panama Bridge of Life as it’s actually called is located in Panama City, Panama and is number four on the list of the coolest attractions of 2015. The museum was designed by Frank Gehry, world-renowned architect whose works have been cited as the most important works of contemporary architecture of our time. The building is brilliantly colored with each panel painted a different color and overlooks the Pacific Ocean at the front and the entrance to the canal from the back.
Inside visitors will find a plethora of exhibits to explore. Keep in mind that as of January 2015 the museum was open but still not fully completed. An overview of the biodiversity of Panama starts you off and there is an audio guide available in Spanish and English to guide you along. The movie theater boasts screens on the floor, ceiling and three sides taking you into the rainforest and nature. Visitors should look forward to the aquariums that are set to open in 2015 and will offer a look at the difference in the Pacific and Caribbean Oceans. A beautiful piece of architecture loaded with education on Panama this is one spot you shouldn’t miss out on.
3. The Yellow Submarine -Península Valdés, Argentina
One of the newest and coolest attractions of 2015 has taken an older attraction and turned it into something new and exciting. Whale Watching is a popular activity for tourists to do in certain parts of the world but there is often the complaint that only the backs of the whales can be spotted as they breach up for air. Lucky visitors will watch as the spectacular mammals jump and play but this is rare and unseen most times. A company in Argentina has solved this problem and taken whale watching to a new level with a chance for visitors to go underwater.
Yellow Submarine is the first company to build a semi-submarine specifically designed for watching whales and sea lions. The submarine offers visitors the chance to walk around on the outdoor upper deck or go down to the underwater lower viewing area. Watch as the whales and sea lions glide right past the viewing windows and feel as if you are truly diving amongst them. You will want to head here from September-December for the high season where the whales are in abundance. As you watch the enormous majestic whales glide right beside you it will be easy to understand why this attraction made our top 15 list.
Photo by: Yellow Submarine
2. Museum of Tomorrow -Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Brazil’s “Marvelous Port” program is revitalizing Rio’s urban waterfront district and at the forefront of this project is the Museum of Tomorrow. The museum’s focus is on science and the sustainable and ecological future of our planet. Set on the highly prominent Pier Maua, the gleaming white sculptural structure extends 300 m into the sea and is surrounded by water on three sides. A recreation area, park and 5-and-a-half acres of gardens along with pools of recycled rainwater also surround the building.
The roof is made with huge steel structures shaped like wings that help control the climate and act as solar panels. This sustainable museum has a floor space of over 5,000 square meters with four main areas of exhibits, interactive games, and projection screens. The idea behind the museum is to connect science with everyday life and to recognize that we must be proactive in environmental practices. This breathtaking piece of architecture promises to dominate the downtown waterfront while offering a unique look at our planet and the history of humankind in regards to it. Just in time for the 2016 Olympics, this museum is a treat for the eyes and mind.
Photo by: Museum of Tomorrow
1. Markthal -Rotterdam, Netherlands
The first covered market hall in the Netherlands has opened after five years of construction and promises to be something unique and special. Starting with the design, the building is a massive arch that was designed by Dutch architects MVRDV. It houses a public market with 96 fresh produce stalls, 20 hospitality and retail units and 228 apartments. The breathtaking building holds the biggest piece of artwork in the Netherlands inside of its arches; a colorful mural consisting of oversized images of the produce one will find inside, flowers and insects.
The motto of Markthal is “work, live, shop and enjoy it” and it certainly offers visitors the chance to do all of that. From well-known bakeries to local producers to a cookery school this extraordinary piece of art and retail space is truly one-of-a-kind. A staircase in the center of the market offers visitors the chance to learn about the history of food and witness the artifacts that were found during the excavation of the site. Open 7 days a week with over 1,200 underground parking spots anyone is welcome to enjoy this space at anytime. The quality and uniqueness of the design coupled with the endless amounts of choice for food, drink and shopping makes this our number one coolest destination of 2015.
Gerard Koudenburg / Shutterstock.com
Author: Lindsay MacNevinPosted in Trending TravelTagged city-los angeles, city-new york city, city-panama city, city-paris, city-rio de janeiro, city-shanghai, country-argentina, country-iceland, country-netherlands, country-switzerland, country-taiwan, country-united kingdom, country-vietnam, slideshowLeave a Comment on The 15 Coolest New Tourist Attractions for 2015
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Prague Film Insitute
We are PFI, the Prague Film Institute - a top film school with a unique history and family-like atmosphere. While studying at PFI, the only school that offers direct connections with industry professi ... और अधिक पढ़ें
We are PFI, the Prague Film Institute - a top film school with a unique history and family-like atmosphere. While studying at PFI, the only school that offers direct connections with industry professionals, students have created a number of exceptional student films and cooperated on many professional film projects. कम पढ़ें
दुनिया भर से हजारों ग्रेजुएट डिग्री ब्राउज़ करें।
MASTERSTUDIES ग्रेजुएट छात्रों के लिए सही डिग्री खोजना आसान बनाती है। दुनिया भर के डिग्री और कैरियर राहों के बारे में जानकारी प्राप्त करने के लिए हमारी वेबसाइट का उपयोग करें और आप जिन स्कूलों और विश्वविद्यालयों में रूचि रखते हैं उनके दाखिला अधिकारियों से सीधे बात करें।
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Respiratory Disease News
Novel Healthcare App Decreases COPD Symptoms
by Iswarya on October 31, 2020 at 12:31 PM Respiratory Disease News
E-health app supported care could improve COPD outcomes compared to usual treatment, according to a new study. The findings of the study are published in the journal Nature Digital Medicine.
In the UK COPD accounts for over 140,000 hospital admissions and one million bed days at a major cost to the NHS.
At a time when fewer people are able to access face-to-face consultations with their GPs and elderly patients with conditions such as COPD need are shielding, these are very encouraging findings for the future of digital health services.
‘COPD is a common respiratory disease and one of the top causes of hospital admissions each year, especially during winter months.’
In this new study, 41 patients admitted to hospital with severe exacerbations of COPD were allocated into two groups, with one group receiving their regular treatments and the second group of patients set up with access to the MyCOPD app as well as receiving treatment as usual.
MyCOPD gives patients access to a broad range of services wherever they are in the world, without the need to travel to clinics or join waiting lists. These services include receiving education from medical experts, information on how factors such as pollen, pollution, and the weather in their area could affect their condition, and videos that demonstrate how to use inhalers correctly. Users also complete daily diaries of their symptoms and medication, which allows the app to help them identify when they are deteriorating and provide advice on appropriate courses of action.
The results of this latest trial, published in the journal NPJ Digital Medicine, showed that over the course of three months, the number of further exacerbations within the group using the app was nearly half that for those who just received treatment as usual (18 compared to 34). Incorrect use of inhalers was also reduced by around 80% for MyCOPD users, compared to a fall of around 30% for the control group.
Significantly, the average age of participants using the app was over 65, and despite no
t being regular web users, all were able to adapt to the technology.
MyCOPD, developed and hosted by my mhealth, is one of the largest apps of its kind and one of a small number of digital health apps with NICE approval. The Department for Health and Social Care highlighted it in their 2019 review into digital healthcare because of its potential to deliver better outcomes for patients and improve NHS productivity. Now, this latest peer-reviewed trial provides further evidence of its benefits.
Professor Tom Wilkinson of the University of Southampton, who developed the app and led the trial, said, "COPD has a significant impact on peoples' daily lives, so we wanted to develop a means of healthcare that is like having an expert in your pocket; giving you advice whenever you need it.
"The transition towards digital healthcare has been taking place for some time but has accelerated since the outbreak of COVID-19. Patients with conditions such as COPD can be particularly vulnerable now, so it is important that we have evidence of the effectiveness of these technologies.
"Hopefully, the success of this will lead to further use and the development of similar products that allow patients to manage other conditions to improve their wellbeing further and reduce the burden on the NHS."
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COPD includes respiratory tract disorders that cause obstruction to airflow. These are chronic bronchitis, emphysema and small airway disease.
Emphysema is a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, marked by alveolar damage, and reduced air flow to lungs, leading to breathlessness and cough.
World COPD Day: ‘All Together to End COPD’
World COPD Day will be celebrated on 20th November 2019. Globally, COPD is observed on every third Wednesday of November It raises awareness about COPD and its deadly complications. It lays stress on prevention and treatment strategies to reduce the ...
New COPD Management Guidelines from National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) UK has expanded current criteria for referral of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients for lung volume reduction due to recent availability of new endobronchial valve ...
Awareness about Healthcare Insurance in India
A basic awareness about Indian health insurance for any layman for quick reference presented in a crisp format.
Chronic bronchitis is a type of chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder that causes obstruction to airflow and makes breathing difficult.
Healthcare Insurance-Common Terms and Definitions
The key to understanding health Insurance is to become an informed consumer by knowing its definitions, terms and conditions before you plan to buy it.
Pneumoconiosis is a group of lung diseases caused by inhaled dust particles. It causes inflammation of the lungs leading to fibrosis.
It can be a serious condition affecting the heart. It is defined as mean pulmonary arterial pressure >25mm Hg at rest and >30mm Hg on exertion.
Awareness about Healthcare Insurance in IndiaHealthcare Insurance-Common Terms and DefinitionsPneumoconiosisPulmonary Arterial HypertensionChronic Obstructive Pulmonary DiseaseEmphysemaPneumonectomyChronic Bronchitis
Modeling SARS-CoV-2's Progress Through the Ages State Laws Promoting Flu Vaccination for Hospital Workers may Help Prevent Deaths from Flu and Pneumonia: Study New Study Helps Explain Why Severe Virus Attacks on the Lungs Inflammatory Compounds Present in Cooked Meat Connected to Childhood Wheeze High Levels of Cadmium Increase the Severity of Respiratory Infections
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Melanson Law Office P.C. February 16, 2015
Is Mental Health Needed for Murder Confession?
After 12 hours of interrogations, Warney finally confessed to a murder he did not commit, providing chilling details of the crime. Prosecutors used this damning confession to convict Warney. Police and prosecutors completely dismissed Warney’s history of mental illness. After serving more then nine years in prison, DNA evidence cleared Warney of the murder he confessed to committing.
The Innocence Project is an organization that works to exonerate wrongfully convicted persons. They have helped exonerate more then 300 wrongfully convicted persons so far. In cases where one has implicated themself falsely, 30 to 40 percent were mentally ill or mentally disabled. Peter Neufeld, co-director of the Innocence Project, says there’s a much higher incidence of false confessions among individuals who have a history of mental illness. In the Warney case, an appeals judge wrote that the wrongful conviction pointed “strongly to the conclusion that the police took advantage of Warney’s mental frailties to manipulate him into giving a confession.”
Many states have now passed laws requiring police to videotape entire interviews. These recordings can show how an investigator may have manipulated a suspect into a confession, whether it was done on purpose, or inadvertently by feeding details of the crime. According to the law, confessions must be voluntary. Without a full record of the interrogation, defense attorneys and juries cannot see how a confession came about, if a confession was truly voluntary, or if police took advantage of a mentally impaired suspect.
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Fallon, Johnny
Johnny Fallon grew up in Newtowncashel, Co. Longford, in a family that were staunch supporters of Irish politics. He grew up serving at elections from the age of 10. He believes that politics taught him all he knows of life and people. Having attended St. Mels College in Longford, Johnny went on to study Business Management at Dundalk IT. A former member of the Fianna Fáil National Executive, Johnny holds an honours Diploma in Public Relations from the Public Relations Institute of Ireland and works as a Government Affairs Analyst with A&L Goodbody Consulting. He is married to Annette and lives in Lucan, Co. Dublin although he still dreams of representing Longford... at anything.
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Rainbow Hand Sanitizers to Fight the Pandemic
|Jul 21| 15 min read
BROOMFIELD, Colo., July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In a continued effort to help combat the global pandemic, Ball Aerosol Packaging Devizes (UK) has taken action to support local communities during the COVID-19 lockdown. Taking the initiative, Ball reached out to collaborate with renowned manufacturers Reabrook Ltd and the Lindal Group. The three companies worked together to design, produce and fill 25,000 cans of Rainbow hand sanitizer.
A lot of work went into the development of the aerosol itself, including 12 weeks of stability testing, conducted after the successful formula was developed. The result confirms the efficacy of the product and supports the claim that the product is effective against all enveloped viruses. The hand sanitizer is packaged in Ball's aluminium aerosol cans, and accommodates Lindal's valve and actuator technology. It is to be filled on one of Reabrook's high-speed filling lines and safety checked with leak detection and pressure testing to ensure the product is safe for consumer use. The products will be divided equally between the three groups, allowing the companies to distribute cans to each of their local communities.
During these very trying times, the proactive partnership and quick decision making between these three companies allowed this project to be executed with impressive expediency.
"At Ball, we are committed to supporting our communities with meaningful and impactful actions throughout the COVID-19 pandemic," says Natalie Cox, senior key account manager at Ball Aerosol Packaging. "The communities where we live and work are an integral part of who we are, and during this time of great need, we want to share our expertise to fight the virus and protect those near and dear to us."
She concludes, "We are delighted to work in partnership with Reabrook and Lindal to produce a concrete product to stop the virus from spreading in our communities."
The slim, lightweight design of Ball's eco-friendly cans are printed using Eyeris® HD printing technology, and vibrantly communicate how to stay safe in the pandemic and fight the virus. They are produced from infinitely recyclable aluminium, which allows them to be easily and safely disposed of, minimizing any risk of contamination. This environmentally conscious solution by Ball is both a wonderfully positive step in fighting the virus and a testament to its commitment to sustainability.
About Ball Corporation
Ball Corporation (NYSE: BLL) supplies innovative, sustainable aluminum packaging solutions for beverage, personal care and household products customers, as well as aerospace and other technologies and services primarily for the U.S. government. Ball Corporation and its subsidiaries employ more than 18,300 people worldwide and reported 2019 net sales of $11.5 billion. For more information, visit www.ball.com, or connect with us on Facebook or Twitter.
This release contains "forward-looking" statements concerning future events and financial performance. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "believes," "targets," "likely," "positions" and similar expressions typically identify forward-looking statements, which are generally any statements other than statements of historical fact. Such statements are based on current expectations or views of the future and are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied. You should therefore not place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements and any such statements should be read in conjunction with, and, qualified in their entirety by, the cautionary statements referenced below. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Key factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to be different are summarized in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Exhibit 99 in our Form 10-K, which are available on our website and at www.sec.gov. Additional factors that might affect: a) our packaging segments include product capacity, supply, and demand constraints and fluctuations, including due to virus and disease outbreaks and responses thereto; availability/cost of raw materials and logistics; competitive packaging, pricing and substitution; changes in climate and weather; footprint adjustments and other manufacturing changes, including the start up of new facilities and lines; failure to achieve synergies, productivity improvements or cost reductions; mandatory deposit or other restrictive packaging laws; customer and supplier consolidation; power and supply chain interruptions; potential delays and tariffs related to the U.K's departure from the EU; changes in major customer or supplier contracts or a loss of a major customer or supplier; political instability and sanctions; currency controls; changes in foreign exchange or tax rates; and tariffs, trade actions, or other governmental actions, including business restrictions and shelter-in-place orders in any country or jurisdiction affecting goods produced by us or in our supply chain, including imported raw materials, such as those related to COVID-19 and those pursuant to Section 232 of the U.S. Trade Expansion Act of 1962 or Section 301 of Trade Act of 1974; b) our aerospace segment include funding, authorization, availability and returns of government and commercial contracts; and delays, extensions and technical uncertainties affecting segment contracts; c) the company as a whole include those listed plus: the extent to which sustainability-related opportunities arise and can be capitalized upon; changes in senior management, succession, and the ability to attract and retain skilled labor; regulatory action or issues including tax, environmental, health and workplace safety, including U.S. FDA and other actions or public concerns affecting products filled in our containers, or chemicals or substances used in raw materials or in the manufacturing process; technological developments and innovations; the ability to manage cyber threats and the success of information technology initiatives; litigation; strikes; disease; pandemic; labor cost changes; rates of return on assets of the company's defined benefit retirement plans; pension changes; uncertainties surrounding geopolitical events and governmental policies both in the U.S. and in other countries, including policies, orders and actions related to COVID-19, the U.S. government elections, stimulus package(s), budget, sequestration and debt limit; reduced cash flow; interest rates affecting our debt; and successful or unsuccessful joint ventures, acquisitions and divestitures, and their effects on our operating results and business generally.
+++ We are looking forward to a copy of your magazine or a link to an online story, if you release our information. +++
View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rainbow-hand-sanitizers-to-fight-the-pandemic-301096906.html
SOURCE Ball Corporation
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Oil-on-canvas painting of Connemara Patch by Wilbur Hausenur, ca. 1935.
Connemara Patch began as a community of Irish immigrants on St. Paul’s East Side in the early 1880s. An unintended result of Bishop John Ireland’s Catholic colonization efforts and a victim of 1950s freeway construction, it was a small, swampy neighborhood on the banks of Phalen Creek. Despite its short and oft-forgotten existence, Connemara Patch was home to several generations of Irish working-class families and later immigrant groups.
Between 1876 and 1881, Bishop John Ireland secured 369,000 acres of farmland along the expanding railroad in rural Minnesota. There, he resettled thousands of Catholic immigrants—most of them Irish. During this time, Graceville in Big Stone County emerged as a commercial center among Ireland’s Minnesotan colonies.
After devastating crop failure in western Ireland in 1879, Bishop John Ireland sponsored fifty poor, starving families from the Connemara region of County Galway, Ireland. He arranged for them to settle in Graceville among earlier Irish immigrants to the region. The 309 newcomers, called “Connemaras,” arrived in Minnesota in June 1880. Ireland gave each family 160 acres of land, clothing, farming supplies, seed, and credit for food.
Ireland expected the families to farm their land and ultimately pay it off. The Connemaras, however, were not familiar with large-scale farming techniques. They hardly spoke English and preferred to find work as day laborers on the nearby railroad or on established farms. Already suffering and arriving too late in the season to plant their first crops, the Connemaras were wholly unprepared for the winter of 1880–1881, one of the worst in Midwestern history. Bishop Ireland, persuaded by the Connemaras’ worsening condition and growing public sympathy, decided to move the families to St. Paul, where they were likely to find greater financial stability. The situation received national attention, and Ireland believed the move to St. Paul would preserve his reputation and not further demoralize his colonization efforts.
Most settled in an area that became known as Connemara Patch, a neighborhood at the base of Dayton’s Bluff. It was roughly bounded by East Seventh Street on the north, Third Street on the south, Hoffman Street to the east, and Commercial Street to the west.
Like Swede Hollow across Seventh Street and other poor neighborhoods built along the river flats, Connemara Patch was a working-class ethnic enclave. Its proximity to commercial activity in downtown St. Paul offered a range of employment opportunities. Residents found work as teamsters, tinsmiths, dressmakers, blacksmiths, and conductors.
Many Connemara Patch residents attended St. John’s Parish on Dayton’s Bluff. The twelfth Catholic Church in St. Paul, St. John’s was established in 1886 to serve English-speaking Catholics new to the area. Existing Catholic parishes in the area catered to German speakers.
A 1902 St. Paul Globe article paints one of the most vivid pictures of Connemara Patch, “a little settlement that lies at the foot of Dayton’s Bluff like sediment in the bottom of a big pool.” It was a small, rather hidden neighborhood. The writer visited on a sunny spring day and described the streets as crooked and the houses—or “huts”—as awkwardly built. Children played happily in the mud and sunshine, wearing tattered clothes.
Opportunities to move away from the banks of Phalen Creek and make the metaphorical climb up the bluff represented upward social mobility and prosperity. As families moved in and out of the neighborhood, its identity evolved. Over time, Irish names like Connelly, Leahy, and McDonough became less common. Former residents like Rick Cardenas, interviewed in a 2007 St. Paul Pioneer Press article, never referred to it as Connemara Patch. By the mid-twentieth century, when he lived in the area he called “below the bridge,” most residents were Mexican American. All were cleared out by 1956 during the construction of Interstate 94. In 2005, the City of St. Paul created Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary on the former site of the neighborhood.
Heneghan, Natalie. "Connemara Patch." MNopedia, Minnesota Historical Society. http://www.mnopedia.org/place/connemara-patch (accessed January 15, 2021).
Boxmeyer, Don. “Homes Gone, but Memories Sweet Growing Up Under Bridges’ Shadows in Connemara Patch.” St. Paul Pioneer Press, November 15, 2015.
https://www.twincities.com/2007/10/15/homes-gone-but-memories-sweet-growing-up-under-bridges-shadows-in-connemara-patch
Diebold, Susan M. “The Mexicans.” In They Chose Minnesota, edited by June Drenning Holmquist, 92–107. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1981.
Regan, Ann. Irish in Minnesota. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2002.
——— . “The Irish.” In They Chose Minnesota, edited by June Drenning Holmquist, 130–152. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1981.
Shannon, James P. “Bishop Ireland’s Connemara Experiment.” Minnesota History 35, no. 5 (March 1957): 205–213.
http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/35/v35i05p205-213.pdf
“St. Paul’s Most Unique Settlement.” St. Paul Globe, March 16, 1902.
https://newspapers.mnhs.org/jsp/viewer.jsp?doc_id=mnhi0031/1HMADF5A/02031601&page_name=20
Trimble, Steve. “St. Paul's Most Unique Settlement.” Saint Paul Historical.
http://saintpaulhistorical.com/items/show/9
Connelly, Bridget. Forgetting Ireland. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2003.
Swede Hollow
Minnesotanos: Latino Journeys in Minnesota
Ireland, John (1838–1918)
In 1881, Bishop John Ireland resettles Irish immigrant families in the Connemara Patch, where they establish a small community of laborers.
More than 20 percent of Minnesota’s foreign-born population is Irish.
In June, the Connemaras arrive in Minnesota from County Galway, Ireland, and settle on farms in Graceville.
Bishop John Ireland resettles the Connemaras on St. Paul’s East Side, creating the Connemara Patch neighborhood.
St. John’s parish is built on Dayton’s Bluff, and many Connemaras join the congregation.
Minnesota’s Irish population reaches its peak at 28,011, or 6 percent of the state’s foreign-born population.
Roughly one-third of first- and second-generation Irish workers in St. Paul are craftsmen, foremen, and skilled laborers. This proportion nearly matches the citywide average for skilled labor.
Mexican immigrants begin to move to St. Paul’s West and East Sides. Neighborhoods like Swede Hollow and Connemara Patch see spikes in their Mexican American populations.
Construction of Interstate 94 begins, wiping out neighborhoods throughout St. Paul and Minneapolis, including Connemara Patch.
The City of St. Paul creates Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary on the former site of Connemara Patch.
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Beloved Country
South Africa has embarked on a brave and hazardous land reform programme
By George Monbiot. Published in the Guardian 19th July 1995.
The people of Rust de Winter are in no hurry. Though they’ve been told that the well-watered farmland which surrounds their settlements is once again theirs, they have decided to wait until it is mapped and zoned before anyone moves in. They are hiring agricultural consultants, engineers and town planners to survey it for them. “Otherwise,” a village chief told me, “life won’t be any better than it was before – we’d be living like squatters even though it’s our own land.”
The villagers display a confidence in their government’s land reform programme that, in
any other nation on earth, would be misplaced. But in South Africa, a country whose very nationhood emerged from the repeated seizure of land from its owners, they can afford to relax a little. For the government’s land reform programme is perhaps the most realistic scheme of its kind ever attempted.
In visiting South Africa’s Department of Land Affairs, you are constantly aware that something is missing. If you ask to see the minister or a senior civil servant, no one tells you he’s unavailable for comment or out to lunch till Tuesday. There are no flags, no mahogany desks, no pictures of dignitaries on the wall, no silk shirts or gold watches, no hour-long calls to “friends” in Geneva. Instead, crisp, informal young men and women discuss subjects hitherto the preserve of Oxfam – participation, gender, food security – in terms which show that their implications are wholly understood. The documents they produce are concise, modest and immediately comprehensible. All told, it is hard to believe you have entered a ministry at all for, unlike almost every government department on earth, this one exists not to enrich its employees while intimidating its petitioners, but to fulfil the task it has been given.
It is certainly an urgent assignment. The department estimates that some three and a half million South Africans have been forced off their land this century, while many of those still working in the countryside are treated in much the same way as Britain’s feudal serfs. South Africa’s Land Act of 1913 and apartheid laws of the second half of the century did for the country’s rural population what the Highland Clearances and Parliamentary Enclosures did for ours.
They tore thousands of communities from their land, forcing them to concentrate, underhoused and underfed, in squatter camps and homelands. They destroyed the centuries of local knowledge and cultural engagement which enabled people to put their resources to good use. They allowed the country’s natural wealth to be squandered for the most ephemeral of gains. They ensured that South Africans became dependent for their survival on paid labour, in an economy which can never deliver full employment. And they eliminated the sense of place which lies at the heart of personal identity, without which people are deprived even of the notion that they belong to themselves. Exclusion from the land lies at the heart of South Africa’s crisis. Without reform, promises of a nation made for all of its people, rather than just a lucky few, would be a cruel deceit.
To the people running the programme, land reform is, as it should be, a complex and flexible process. It must, they say, be “demand-driven”: responsive, in other words, less to ministerial directives than to the requests of its beneficiaries. It must attend not only to the needs of those who have lost their land and want it back, but also to those who have no clear historical claim. Above all, it must ensure that, once they are on the land, people have the ability to stay there.
This is where so many land reform programmes – including our own wretchedly ill-conceived Land Settlement Scheme of 1919 – have fallen. Without start-up capital, credit, transport, schooling and healthcare, no rural producer can keep him or herself afloat. Where land reform in South Africa has started, more money has been set aside to meet these needs than for the acquisition of the land itself.
Without security of tenure – the assurance, in other words, that the land will not be arbitrarily snatched back – no one is prepared to make the investment of either labour or cash which ensures that their enterprise survives. South Africa’s land department is among the handful of institutions which recognizes that individual private property is not the manifest destiny of all forms of ownership, and that securing, for instance, common rights is just as important as upholding individual titles.
Without local autonomy, the programme would succumb to disasters like those which attended collectivisation in Eastern Europe or subsidy-driven intensification in the West. In South Africa, as long as they can demonstrate that their efforts are well-planned, sustainable and acceptable to their community, new owners will be able to use the land as they wish.
Importantly, female empowerment has become central to the land reform programme. In many parts of South Africa, it is women who work the land yet men who decide what the work should be. They are, moreover, traditionally barred from owning land of their own. As so many households are now effectively run by women – the men having moved to the towns to find work – these traditions impose a terrible constraint on self-improvement.
But perhaps the programme is most remarkable for attracting so little opposition. Conservationists have expressed some concern, but this seems to be dissipating. In one of the first land reform areas, a biologically-important part of Kwazulu Natal, the settlers have chosen to use their new property for conservation and ecotourism.
Even the agricultural unions – representing the people whose land stands to be redistributed – have so far protested only against a bill enabling their serfs to buy the land they live on. The land reform programme is premised on both handing out the territory which stayed in the government’s hands after expropriation and buying out private owners at the market rate. As many South African farmers are close to bankruptcy, they are only too happy to sell.
This, of course, highlights the programme’s two big problems, only the first of which has been considered by the land department. The government has to decide how to find the money it needs, which, if the programme is to work, will inevitably run into billions of pounds. It must also find the means of protecting small farmers from a distorted and increasingly penetrative global agricultural economy. Were it to do so effectively, it would almost certainly fall foul of the World Trade Agreement and the cartels intent on enforcing it. To succeed, South Africa will need all the international help it can get. It deserves it, for in its earnest attempts to do something real for its people are lessons from which all the world’s governments have much to learn.
SOUTH AFRICA AND BRITAIN
– Both countries have had massive dispossessions of rural people
– Both, partly as a result, have long-term housing crises
– Both have high concentrations of land ownership. Britain’s is probably the higher.
– The South African Defence Force and Britain’s Ministry of Defence are both major landowners with uncooperative attitudes
– Both have campaigns called The Land is Ours
– Many of South Africa’s enclosures took place within living memory
– The Trespass and Illegal Squatting Acts were dropped in South Africa at about the same time as the Criminal Justice Bill was first mooted in Britain
– South Africa is drawing up a comprehensive register of landownership. In Britain a census has been successfully resisted by landowners since 1875.
– South Africa recognizes that landlessness and homelessness cannot be solved by market forces alone.
Posted in foreign affairs, landrights & planning
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Mother, daughter face charges in infant's death
Marty Roney
Montgomery Advertiser
WETUMPKA — An Elmore County mother and daughter are facing charges in the death of an infant.
Tracey Goldman, 50, and Addison Morgan, 20, each face charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, said Sheriff Bill Franklin. The women were out on bond from the Elmore County Jail on Saturday and could not be reached for comment. Courthouse records show they do not have an attorney.
The infant was 2 months old, Franklin said. The women were operating an unlicensed day care center and the infant was under their care at time of his death in October, said Chief Assistant District Attorney C.J. Robinson.
The charges came from indictments handed down Friday by the Elmore County Grand Jury, the sheriff said..
An autopsy shows the baby had a fatal amount of an allergy medicine in its system, Franklin said. The compound was similar to the over the counter drug of Benadryl, he said.
"The autopsy report said that the baby was too young for Benadryl at all, much less such a large dose," he said.
State law is complicated as to what constitutes a daycare center, and whether or not a license is required, Robinson said.
"We certainly urge parents to carefully check out anyone who is responsible to the care of their child or children," he said.
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Rwanda and Uganda deny deal to take African migrants from Israel
Last month, senior Israeli officials said that Israel would pay $5,000 for every African asylum seeker to be deported to Rwanda and $3,000 to every individual who agreed to leave voluntarily
January 6, 2018 at 11:57 am | Published in: Africa, Israel, Middle East, News
Eritrean migrants protest for their rights in Tel Aviv, Israel on 11 July 2011 [Physicians for Human Rights/Flickr]
Rwanda and Uganda have denied claims of an agreement with Israel to receive African migrants that the Zionist state plans to deport, Arabs48.com reported on Friday. "Rwanda has no deal whatsoever with Israel to host any African migrant from that country," insisted the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Olivier Nduhungirehe on Twitter. "This story is no news. It is fake news."
In a previous report for Israel Hayoum, both Rwanda and Uganda had been mentioned as "third countries" which had agreed to receive African asylum seekers for possible economic and military gains. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Rwandan leader Paul Kagame in Nairobi last month, Turkey's Anadolu news agency reported, and the two are said to have talked extensively about such a deal.
Last month, senior Israeli officials said that Israel would pay $5,000 for every African asylum seeker to be deported to Rwanda and $3,000 to every individual who agreed to leave voluntarily. Israeli Channel 2 TV claimed further that Kagame had agreed to accept more asylum seekers from Israel as his country needs workers but, in return, he asked for financial aid from Israel to facilitate the absorption of the migrants.
Opinion: Is Israel's right wing waging a war against Africans?
On Wednesday, Israel launched a programme to force some 38,000 migrants, mainly Eritreans and Sudanese, to leave the country. According to Haaretz, informed sources said that an "extremist" scenario is being prepared in Israel in this regard, noting that migrants would be removed against their will. The sources also pointed out that Rwanda is unwilling to cooperate with this Israeli plan.
On Thursday, the Israeli migration authority told the government that it does not have the power to deport African asylum seekers. Such a plan, added the sources who spoke to Haaretz, needs complicated logistical services, an agreement with several parties, a lot of financial investment and the training of a large number of personnel to carry out the plan.
Read: Israel tells African asylum seekers: leave or face prison
AfricaIsraelMiddle EastNews
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MIDPOINT Shorts 2020-2021 projects selection is here!
MIDPOINT Shorts 2020-2021 starts online!
MIDPOINT Shorts: Masterclasses with Jeremy Comte, Celine Held and Logan George
MIDPOINT Shorts: final workshop and pitching online!
Emilios is a member of the Director's Guild of Cyprus, a First Films First and Torino Film Lab alumnus. He holds a diploma in Audio-Visual Communication, a BSc in Media Technology, and a Digital Compositing certificate. He has worked on many productions as an editor, and visual effects artist, from TV commercials, short and feature films screened in prestigious film festivals. He directed many music videos, written/directed two short films that screened in many film festivals around the world, including Oscar-qualifying festivals, and have won multiple awards. He wrote, directed, and produced a lockdown short film funded and distributed by the Cyprus Ministry of Culture. He is currently developing the short film “Boys of Summer” through the script and project development program MIDPOINT Shorts 2020-2021. He is also in the development of his debut feature film “Smaragda” with the support of the Cyprus Ministry of Culture.
Director, Writer
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DEREK ADAMS NAMED AS NEW SHRIMPS MANAGER
Morecambe FC is delighted to announce Derek Adams as the club’s new manager.
The 44-year-old, who arrives with a proven track record and an excellent reputation within the game, has signed a two-and-a-half-year deal at the Globe Arena up to the end of the 2022 season.
Derek will be at the Shrimps’ FA Cup tie with Blackpool on Saturday but Kevin Ellison and Barry Roche will manage the team on the day.
Adams played professionally for six clubs, including Ross County and Motherwell, where he made more than 100 league appearances for both teams.
He became manager of Ross County in 2007, winning promotion from the Scottish Second Division in his first season, before reaching the Scottish Cup Final two years later.
He joined Hibernian as assistant manager in 2010 before returning to Ross County the following year, where he won the Scottish First Division and was voted PFA Scotland Manager of the Year for the 2011–12 season.
Having left County in 2014, Adams became manager of Plymouth Argyle in June 2015.
In his first season in English football as a manager he guided Plymouth Argyle to the League 2 Play-Off Final at Wembley for the first time in 20 years, which they lost to AFC Wimbledon.
In the following season, Adams guided them to a second-place finish and promotion to League One.
In the 2017–18 season, Plymouth just missed out on a promotion play-off place as they finished seventh in League One.
Derek Adams
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Mangino column: Trump’s pardons reveal extraordinary abuse of power
Matthew T. Mangino More Content Now
The worst fears of the framers of the U.S. Constitution have come to realization 233 years after the document was drafted, debated, revised and submitted for ratification. President Donald Trump, in an attempt to shield himself from potential prosecution, just pardoned Paul Manafort and Roger Stone. He pardoned Michael Flynn on Nov. 25.
Stone was convicted last year of making false statements, obstruction and witness tampering as revealed in the Mueller investigation. The Justice Department initially recommended a 7- to 9-year sentence, but reduced the recommendation after the attorney general intervened.
Manafort was convicted of eight felonies in Virginia in 2018 and entered into a plea agreement in a separate case to 10 charges, including three counts of failing to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts, and seven counts of bank fraud and bank fraud conspiracy.
Flynn admitted to twice lying under oath. He pleaded guilty in December 2017 to lying to FBI investigators about his communications with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak before Trump took office.
The drafters of the Constitution were concerned that a president could use his pardon powers to protect himself or maybe worse, set in motion illegal conduct by subordinates with the promise of a pardon.
Paul Rosenzweig, a prosecutor during the Clinton Whitewater investigation, wrote in The Atlantic that during the Constitutional Convention the president’s pardon power was hotly contested. George Mason from Virginia was strongly opposed to granting the president such an imperial power. Mason worried that the president “ought not to have the power of pardoning, because he may frequently pardon crimes which were advised by himself. It may happen, at some future day, that he will establish a monarchy, and destroy the republic.”
Erick Trickey of Boston University wrote in The Atlantic that special counsel Robert Mueller wrote about the possibility of Trump pardoning Manafort and Flynn.
“Evidence concerning the President’s conduct towards Manafort indicates that the President intended to encourage Manafort to not cooperate with the government,” the report states. “The evidence supports the inference that the President intended Manafort to believe that he could receive a pardon,” Mueller adds, “which would make cooperation with the government as a means of obtaining a lesser sentence unnecessary.”
Trickey continued that the Constitution doesn’t allow the president to abuse his pardon power. Mueller’s continued, “Congress has the authority to prohibit the corrupt use of anything of value to influence the testimony of another person which would include the offer or promise of a pardon to induce a person to testify falsely or not to testify at all.”
James Pfiffner, a professor at - ironically - George Mason University, wrote in The Hill that Mueller believed the president dangled pardons over the heads of Manafort and Flynn “intend(ing) to shape their conduct in the future and encourage them to provide false testimony or otherwise obstruct justice.”
Mason is also known for a key addition to the impeachment provision of the Constitution. Trickey wrote in The Smithsonian, that Mason asked his fellow delegates why treason and bribery were the only grounds in the draft Constitution for impeaching the president? Treason, he warned, wouldn’t include “attempts to subvert the Constitution.”
After a heated exchange with fellow Virginian James Madison, Mason came up with another category of impeachable offenses: “other high crimes and misdemeanors.” The very grounds used to impeach Donald Trump.
Trump’s impeachment did not result in his removal from office. A second attempt at impeachment is impossible with less than four weeks remaining in his term. That leaves the only limits on his power, public scorn and his legacy - neither of which Trump seems to care anything about.
Ken Gormley, a Constitutional scholar and President of Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, recently wrote in the Washington Post, “If President Trump makes the ill-advised decision to try to pardon himself ... incoming president Joe Biden should respond with another unprecedented step: He should ‘un-pardon’ his predecessor.”
I would take it one step further - if the pardons of Stone, Manafort and Flynn were provided to obstruct justice, in other words to protect Trump from criminal liability “un-pardon” them as well.
Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly & George P.C. His book “The Executioner’s Toll, 2010” was released by McFarland Publishing. You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and follow him on Twitter at @MatthewTMangino.
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International Activity Report 2017
Four-year-old Victoire was brought to the cholera treatment centre in Bukavu, South Kivu, by his mother after he had been vomiting all night.
© Marta Soszynska/MSF
IAR Home Foreword Year in review Countries 2017 in figures Voices from the field
Performing trauma surgery in the public eye – and in the world’s forgotten wars
Difficult choices: providing healthcare in detention centres in Libya
South Sudan without Borders: MSF efforts to help the displaced
Easy to treat and prevent, yet cholera ravages communities in 2017
Hepatitis C: pushing for access to the cure
2017 in figures
Voices from the field
Back to Regions
MSF in DRC MSF is running some of its largest programmes in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where 4.1 million people were internally displaced in 2017 alone due to longstanding crises in the east and new emergencies developing in other parts of the country.
العربية English العربية Français Español 한국어 Português, Brasil
1,772,
outpatient consultations
patients treated for malaria
patients admitted to hospital
patients treated in feeding centres
births assisted
patients treated for cholera
major surgical interventions
patients treated for HIV
patients treated after incidents of sexual violence
Millions of people were displaced in the DRC in 2017 as new waves of violence erupted.
Conflict in Tanganyika province has intensified over the last couple of years, which has led to the displacement of over half a million people. In 2017, MSF stepped up its response, providing emergency assistance in Nyunzu and in makeshift camps in Kalemie and the surrounding areas. Many of the displaced are living in and around the town of Kalemie with host families, in makeshift camps or in school compounds. Some are sleeping on the ground with only a mosquito net for shelter. MSF activities included measles vaccinations, mobile clinics offering primary healthcare, as well as reproductive health services and mental health consultations, support to health centres and paediatric inpatient care. Teams also distributed water and built latrines and showers in some of the camps.
More than 1.3 million people fled extreme violence in Greater Kasai region, with some escaping into the bush and hiding for weeks despite dire medical needs, unable to access care due to insecurity. MSF teams were able to treat some who had suffered severe injuries such as deep machete or gunshot wounds. The conflict triggered an acute nutrition crisis in rural areas and a sharp increase in sexual violence. Teams treated war-wounded patients in a rehabilitated wing of Kananga city hospital, performing 1,204 surgical interventions and provided care for victims of sexual violence. In Tshikapa, MSF supported care in a hospital, three health centres and the prison. On the outskirts of both cities, where many of the health centres had been looted, destroyed or burned, MSF ran mobile clinics.
Assistance for refugees and host communities
In September, MSF started to assist people who had fled conflict in Central African Republic by supporting hospitals in the northern towns of Gbadolite and Mobayi-Mbongo. Mobile clinics also provided care to some 67,400 refugees and their host communities.
Tens of thousands of South Sudanese refugees have settled in the north of DRC. MSF ran mobile clinics in the villages of Karagba and Olendere, in Ituri province, offering refugees and host communities access to basic healthcare, mental health support, sexual and reproductive health consultations, and referrals. A team also supported the regional hospital.
A severely malnourished child is measured at an MSF-supported health centre in Bukama, Masisi, in North Kivu.
© Gwenn Dubourthoumieu
Providing comprehensive care in the Kivu provinces
The Kivu provinces are still reeling from the devastating Congo Wars of the 1990s and are plagued by ongoing fighting. More than 1.5 million internally displaced people live in the Kivus, where the humanitarian and medical needs only intensified in 2017 as the situation in the provinces deteriorated. Overall, MSF provided almost 1.5 million outpatient consultations and admitted more than 95,000 patients to its facilities in North and South Kivu.
Teams continued to manage four comprehensive projects in Masisi, Walikale, Mweso and Rutshuru in North Kivu. Each supported a hospital, as well as health centres and community treatment sites. A new project was also set up in Bambo.
When violence broke out again in South Kivu in July, MSF treated the wounded, while continuing with its regular activities. In Lulingu, Kalehe and Mulungu, the team focuses on care for children under 15, sexual and reproductive healthcare and treatment for victims of violence. Teams also implement a community-based approach to treat malaria and malnutrition. The main activities in Baraka and Kimbi are paediatric care, HIV and tuberculosis (TB) treatment, sexual and reproductive health, and care for victims of sexual violence.
Response to epidemics
Due to poor access to healthcare, the average life expectancy in DRC is around 58 years. One in 10 Congolese children dies before the age of five.
Emergency response is a core activity for MSF in the country. Five teams are dedicated to monitoring health alerts and deploying a rapid response to outbreaks of violence, population displacement and epidemics across this vast country. In 2017, MSF launched 62 emergency interventions. During the first half of the year, most were in response to multiple measles outbreaks. In total, teams vaccinated 1,050,315 children against measles, and treated 13,906 for the disease.
From mid-2017 MSF switched its focus to a cholera epidemic that started in the Kivus, where cholera is endemic. It spread to the rest of the country, becoming one of the biggest outbreaks in DRC of the last two decades. Overall, MSF cared for 19,239 cholera patients nationwide.
MSF also responded to an Ebola outbreak in remote Likati province in May; four people died during the outbreak, which was quickly contained.
An MSF doctor examines a child brought to the cholera treatment centre in Kihumba, on the northern tip of Idjwi island in Lake Kivu.
Addressing longstanding health issues
Malaria is endemic and the main cause of death in DRC. MSF teams treated 856,531 patients for the disease in 2017, more than for any other illness. MSF experimented with new models of care that can be adapted to local settings to improve treatment, for example the introduction of large-scale community-based projects. These are currently running in Baraka and Kimbi, and teams in Bili, Mweso and Walikale are exploring this option.
Women’s health remains an important component of most MSF projects. This includes treating patients who have had unsafe abortions and care for people who have suffered sexual and gender-based violence, especially in Kasai, the Kivus and Mambasa in Ituri.
In 2017, MSF intervened in the Kivu provinces, Uélé and Kasai regions to address high levels of malnutrition among children.
MSF continues to provide comprehensive medical and psychosocial care for people living with HIV and AIDS in Kinshasa, Goma, Baraka and Kimbi, and works with the national HIV programme, partner organisations and patient groups to improve access to testing and treatment. In 2017, 7,185 patients received antiretroviral treatment at MSF-supported health centres in Kinshasa, Goma, Mweso, Baraka and Kimbi. Over 2,990 patients with late-stage HIV were treated in MSF’s AIDS unit in Kinshasa alone.
In Maniema province, an MSF mobile team tested over 18,000 people for human African trypanosomiasis, also known as sleeping sickness, 42 of whom required treatment. While the prevalence of this neglected disease has decreased in the past decade, there are still many presumed hotspots that are difficult to access.
Project closures
In March, MSF closed its Shabunda project in South Kivu. In seven years, 927,000 outpatient consultations were carried out. In April, MSF closed the project in Manono, where teams had worked in the regional hospital’s paediatric department and health centres.
At the end of the year, activities in Rutshuru, Boga and Gety were handed over to the Ministry of Health. During its 11 years in Gety, MSF undertook 573,200 outpatient consultations and assisted almost 13,500 births.
Our missing colleagues
On 11 July 2013, four MSF staff were abducted in Kamango, in the east of DRC, where they were carrying out a health assessment. One of them, Chantal, managed to escape in August 2014, but we are still without news of Philippe, Richard and Romy. MSF remains committed to obtaining their liberation, including through the mobilisation of a crisis management team. On 30 September 2017, a member of the crisis management team was sentenced to 10 years’ jail for his involvement in trying to solve the crisis. MSF is working to resolve this situation in the best possible way.
No. staff in 2017
101.7 M
Expenditure (in Euro)
Year MSF first worked in the country
BM’s* two children, aged four and two, were admitted to the emergency room of Masisi general referral hospital with gunshot wounds.
“We live in a village in Walikale territory. One night I saw armed men in my house – I don’t know how they got in. As soon as I saw them I grabbed my two youngest children and tried to take cover under the bed. My eight-year-old son tried to do the same, but the men shot him. The bullet hit him in the chest and he fell next to the bed, dead.
They fired towards the bed where we were hiding. My two-year-old and four-year-old sons were hit by bullets. I shouted, ‘You’re killing me and all my children’, and they replied, ‘All you have to do is die!’
I walked for an hour with my children to a health post and then the MSF ambulance took us to Masisi general referral hospital where they were treated. They are a bit better now. I hope they can forget about this tragic incident. So far they haven’t talked about it.”
*Patient’s name changed
Surgeons at the hospital in Masisi, in DRC's North Kivu province, prepare to operate on a patient with gun-shot injuries.
© Sara Creta/MSF
@MSFcongo
MSF RDCongo
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Poets and Cash
20 NIS banknote (Bank of Israel – Public Domain)
United States banknotes feature presidents and founding fathers. On the front of every UK banknote is Queen Elizabeth II, and on the reverse side are British giants, such as Charles Darwin and Adam Smith. In Canada, Queen Elizabeth II and previous prime ministers grace most bills. So, whose face would you expect to find on Israel’s banknotes?
Since Israel’s inception, banknotes have featured a wide spectrum of Jews: founders of the state, including politicians and pioneers; arts and sciences titans such as Nobel laureate Shai Agnon and physicist Albert Einstein; philanthropists Edmond de Rothschild and Moses Montefiore; and philosopher and scholar extraordinaire, Maimonides.
Over the past few years, new banknotes were introduced that honor poets Rachel Bluwstein, Shaul Tchernichovsky, Leah Goldberg and Natan Alterman. All four are cultural icons, evidenced by the fact that numerous streets across Israel have been named in their memory.
The red 20 NIS bill features Rachel Bluwstein, known as Rachel Hamishoreret (Rachel the Poet), and streets in Jerusalem, Petach Tikva, Kfar Saba, Ra’anana and Rosh Ha’ayin have been named for her. A beloved national poet – and considered the “founding mother” of modern Hebrew poetry – her writing impacted future generations of Israeli poets, evidenced by the dozens of books featuring her poetry and other writings that have been published posthumously. Many of her poems, among them Zemer Nogah, Gan Na’ul and Kineret, have been set to music and have become an integral part of Hebrew culture.
The green 50 NIS bill features Shaul Tchernichovsky, and streets in Jerusalem, Rechovot, Hod Hasharon, Afula, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Ramla, Kfar Saba and Netanya were named for him. Tchernichovsky was trained as a physician and practiced medicine throughout his life. Strongly committed to the idea of a national and cultural revival of the Jewish people, Tchernichovsky’s work traces Zionist aspirations through the vicissitudes of Jewish history in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Unfortunately, he did not live to see the birth of the State of Israel, but many of his works have been widely celebrated in modern songs that use his poetry for its lyrics.
The yellow 100 NIS bill features Leah Goldberg, and streets in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Lod, Mazkeret Batya and Be’er Yaakov have been named for her. Goldberg’s poetry – many of which have been set to music – addresses themes such as love, artistic creativity, speech versus silence, and the shadows of death. Her most famous novels included Ve’Hu ha’Or (And He Is the Light) and Pegishah im Meshorer (Encounter with a Poet). Goldberg wrote hundreds of imaginative poems and books for children, which include Yedidai mi’Rehov Arnon (My Friends from Arnon Street) and Dirah le’Haskir (A Flat to Let). She was also an editor, playwright, gifted translator, scholar (lecturer in Hebrew University), and literary and theater critic.
The blue 200 NIS bill features Natan Alterman, and streets in Herzliya, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Hod Hasharon, Kfar Saba, Gan Yavne, Rechovot, Ness Ziona, Ashdod and Rishon LeZion have been named for him. Known primarily as a poet, Alterman also wrote plays, theatrical sketches, children's literature, and lyrics for several hit songs, and was a distinguished translator. Considered the literary spokesman of the nationalist movement, he expressed the people's longing for independence and some of his lyrics, censored by the British, became anthems of the struggle. Following 1948, Alterman tackled social and political issues, and in the aftermath of the Six Day War became a proponent of the Greater Land of Israel ideology. Some of his poems, such as P’gisha L’ain Ketz (A Meeting with No End), have been turned into popular songs.
From time immemorial, the Jewish nation has been called the Children of the Book. These new banknotes confirm it.
Gedaliah Borvick is the founder of My Israel Home (www.myisraelhome.com), a real estate agency focused on helping people from abroad buy and sell homes in Israel. To sign up for his monthly market updates, contact him at gborvick@gmail.com.
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Justin Original Work Boots Men’s Stampede Square Toe Work Boots Review
The Justin Original Men’s Stampede Work boots have been designed and crafted with high shaft measures. The
Work Boot has been designed not just to protect the feet from contamination or soil but also ensures health and safety for the workman. The work boot is highly functional and does not serve merely as an accessory. It contributes to the well-being and health of the individual who wears it. This work bot is especially useful for those people who have to work very long hours in a day or for those whose work environment is not very safe, and it can result in damage to not just their feet but also to their lower part of the legs. As such, it is well-suited for such unsafe work environments where it is important to protect the legs in the shin and the calf area from any possible harm or damage. There are many companies all over the world who have such unsafe environments and who have made these work boots mandatory for their employees, and they have to wear this kind of work boots. The American Safety Guidelines also mention these work boots and consider these to be necessary and obligatory. These work boots have been designed for those workers who carry out extensive work for long hours and whose work requires a lot of power and boisterous weight on their feet. The design of the work boots is such that it does not let the knees and the joints of the workman suffer any agony or pain.
Design and Materials
The work boots have been constructed out of 100% leather. The upper in these work boots are made out of full-grain leather, and this material allows these work boots to be very tough and stable. The full-grain leather is also breathable and allows an air current to develop within the work boot that wicks away sweat and moisture away from the work boots. This enables the feet of the workmen to remain cool and dry, and the environment inside the work boots keeps him very comfortable. The shaft is approx. 10-inches from the arch, and as such, the work boots are quite tall, and they provide perfect protection to the ankles of the workman as well. The inner part of these work boots has been designed to include a steel shank, which results in a great amount of strength to the worker’s footing. The soles of these work boots are also made out of very high-quality materials. The soles are made out of rubber, which allows the work boots to have a firm grip on the ground. This enables the workman to be balanced
and stable while working. It also provides confidence to the workers while they work as they are not worried about slipping or falling as a result. Falls and slippage cause a lot of injuries to workers throughout the United States every year, and this feature helps to prevent such damage and harm. The work boots have a firm grip, and the sole provides very good traction on the ground as well.
The soles are also removable. This design property helps to keep the work boots odor-free as air circulation is enhanced, and there is no bacterial build-up inside the work boots. Both bad odors, as well as the possibility of infections, are thus prevented from happening and the workman also feels neat and clean at all times inside these work boots. The outer sole is very thick, and there are flexible grooves in the front of the feet. This feature enhances the firmness of the grip on oily or wet floors. While the work boots allow for good traction and a firm grip on such stories, the workman is nonetheless required to exercise maximum caution on such oily and wet floors. The work boots have been designed with the J-flex system, which is responsible for making these very comfortable and flexible.
Comfort and Fit
The work boots boast the J-Flex Flexible Comfort System®, which is a patented system developed by the manufacturer of these work boots. This system allows the work boots to become highly comfortable, and the workman will feel that it is the most comfortable work boot ever worn by him. The work boots return the energy to the wearer in an incredible way, and this high level of performance is produced by the use of the leather-covered insole, which is also cushioned. It contains a triple density insole board as well. This insole board gives the feeling to the workman that the manufacturer has already broken the boots in for him. The J-flex system varies in terms of components in different Justin work boots according to the design and the intended use. However, in each of the work boots designs, it provides a high level of comfort, regardless of the differences in the designs.
The high level of breathability also ensures perfect comfort as the use of full-grain leather enables the swat and moisture to be wicked away. The resulting evaporation produces a cooling, and the worker’s feet stay in a very serene and dry environment. This way, foot fatigue or any other type of discomfort is avoided. The comfort level resulting from both excellent cushioning as well as high breathability enables the worker to spend long working hours at the workplace without his feet getting tired. The work boots are also water-resistant; however, the waterline should not go above the ankles. As such, they are not 100% waterproof.
The work boots fit snugly and securely to the worker’s feet. They are available in a range of sizes from 7 to 14 wide. Half, as well as, wide sizes are available. The high shaft measures enable very easy and stress-free pulling as they
have got pulling straps as well. The straps provide support to both the feet as well as the ankles and, as such, enhance the comfort level. The shape of the toe is square, and as such, the comfort level is very high as well due to this design, especially for people with wide feet. The square toe, combined with the softness of the leather, enables a high degree of comfort.
The work boots are durable as a result of the materials employed in their construction. The quality and the longevity of the work boots are interrelated, and both go hand in hand. As these work boots have been made out of 100% leather, they are not just comfortable and soft, but they are also very robust and durable as well.
The work boots also contain a soft mesh fabric linen, which allows for a cozy feeling when the work boots are worn. The metal shank being solid gives a sense of strength and also enhances durability. Thus, the durability does not come at the cost of comfort and vice versa. The work boots are both durable and comfortable.
Proper maintenance and cleaning of the work boots with the help of a leather cleaner also increase the lifespan of the work boots. The leather cleaner can be bought from any leather shoe shop.
The work boots boast the J-Flex Flexible Comfort System® for comfort.
The work boots protect6 the ankles and the feet.
They have tall shaft measures and are water-resistant as well.
The work boots are soft but very durable.
The rubber sole enables a firm grip and very good traction.
The work boots are well-suited for an unsafe work environment where the lower part of the legs, like shin and calf, are prone to damage or harm. The use of 100% leather in the work boots and full-grain leather in the upper
ensure softness, breathability, and toughness. The manufacturer’s patented comfort system ensures that the worker will not get foot-fatigue even if he spends very long hours working in these work boots. The sole gives a good grip on wet and oily surfaces and protects the worker from slippages and falls. The singles are al; so removable, so the work boot stays odor-free, and the feet remain infection-free.
Justin Boots was founded by H.J. Justin, who had initially moved to Spanish Fort, Texas as a boot repairman in 1879. His son started Justin Boots and started serving cowboys. Later, he moved to Nocona, Texas. By 1908, the company was a true family company as his two sons Earl and Avis, joined him. By 1910, the company was selling in 26 states in the United States and also in other countries such as Canada, Cuba, and Mexico. In 1918, when H.J. Justin died, the company moved to Fort Worth, Texas. The company manufactures original work boots even 130 years after its founding and portrays the hard work, authenticity, and independence of the cowboys. The company has been named ‘Standard of The West Since 1879’. Its work boots are renowned for the comfort they provide as a result of having the patented J-Flex Flexible Comfort System®. The components of this system are different in the different work boot designs and vary according to the requirements of the work boots.
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Copyright © 2021 | My Work Wear
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Fantastic finds: Santa Claus is coming (by mail)
In the immediate post-World War II years, the Postmaster-General’s Department was determined to deliver Christmas cheer on time.
The Caterpillar Club
Thousands of WWII service people joined the Caterpillar Club: an exclusive organisation for people who had bailed out of an incapacitated aircraft.
Future past: Australia at Expo 67
Talking chairs, a floating glass building and a self-driving railway that whisked 50 million people above the rooftops of 64 nations. Step into the past (or was it the future?) at Expo 67 in Montreal.
An engineer at war: William Veale
William Veale served in two world wars and helped shape the city of Adelaide.
Deadline 2025: the race to future-proof our audiovisual collection
Thousands of important videotapes in our collection are at risk because the VHS machines needed to play them are no longer being manufactured.
Fantastic finds: Jack Sheedy's 'My Football Life'
Beer, biff and legends – we look back at how Aussie Rules footy used to be, as told by Western Australian football legend Jack Sheedy.
Mr Squiggle, the man from the Moon
Iconic TV puppet Mr Squiggle is at the National Archives for the Out of this World exhibition. We take a look at how the ‘man from the Moon’ delighted generations of Australian children.
Seal steaks and braised seabirds: feeding the crew in Antarctica
The diary of an Antarctic cook gives an insight into the dining habits of Australia’s first expeditioners.
The war's last drama: Japan's surrender in World War II
2 September 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of Japan’s surrender, ending World War II. Australia’s perspective on these events is captured in the National Archives collection.
Empty shelves: rationing in Australia
A few generations ago, food and other commodities were so scarce that the Australian Government had to impose rationing to ensure that everyone had a fair share.
Empire of the air: the dawn of international aviation in Australia
International flights were unavailable to Australians until 1935, when a new airline called Qantas Empire Airways launched the first regular flights between Australia and Europe.
'Equal rights for Aborigines': Indigenous activism and constitutional reform
The 1967 referendum – in which over 90% of voters agreed that First Australians deserved equal constitutional rights – remains the most successful referendum in Australian history.
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Hamida shewed to Mr Cracroft who said it was no grant. In her requesting the Grant again Abdulrahmin said he could not give her the grant which was in his name as he had built the House unknown to Mr Caunter but that if she wanted it she must acknowledge to have bought the house making a Grant in the name of Sree [Pano] who would be unwilling to let his name be made use of if it was mentioned that the House was pledged, but he said that he would pay the money afterwards. The Mother of Raja Hamida did as he desired and on asking him to pay the expense of drawing out the Grant he said he had no money but requested her to pay it to be repaid also when the House was sold. The Mother of Raja Hamida then paid him
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News Gaming News
Sony pulls ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ from PlayStation Store, offers refunds
Players can request for a refund now
By Surej Singh
Cyberpunk 2077. Credit: CD Projekt RED
Sony has removed CD Projekt RED’s Cyberpunk 2077 from the PlayStation Store and is offering refunds to players who bought the game through their platform.
READ MORE: ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ review: a brilliant role-playing experience that rises above its controversial marketing
In a statement on its official website, the gaming giant announced that Cyberpunk 2077 would be pulled from its digital storefront “until further notice”. The game has already been removed from the PlayStation Store, as noted by The Verge and Kotaku, and although a couple of older online links still lead players to the game’s store page, it is unavailable for purchase.
“SIE strives to ensure a high level of customer satisfaction, therefore we will begin to offer a full refund for all gamers who have purchased Cyberpunk 2077 via PlayStation Store.” Sony said in its statement. “SIE will also be removing Cyberpunk 2077 from PlayStation Store until further notice.”
Sony then explained that the refunding process will begin once it has confirmed players’ digital purchase of the game through the PlayStation Store. It also noted that “completion of the refund may vary based on your payment method and financial institution”.
Sony’s statement comes just a day after it was reported that CD Projekt RED had told players to “please wait for us to get back to you” instead of contacting Sony directly about a refund.
Prior to that, CD Projekt RED had apologised for the lacklusture quality of Cyberpunk 2077 on last-gen consoles and offered refunds to players. However, despite CDPR’s promise of refunds, users soon reported facing difficulties in obtaining refunds from Sony, in accordance with the PlayStation Store’s policies.
Earlier this week, during an investor Q&A, CDPR acknowledged that it “did not spend enough time” looking at last-gen versions of Cyberpunk 2077 during the development process.
The game’s controversial launch also led to a loss of US$1billion (£734 million) for CD Projekt Red’s four founders. According to reports, the aftermath of Cyberpunk 2077’s launch caused their stock value to drop from $4 billion (£2.9 billion) to $3 billion (£2.2 billion).
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News Film News
Justin Timberlake is a former school football star in ‘Palmer’ trailer
Coming to Apple TV+ in January
By Ella Kemp
Justin Timberlake (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/FilmMagic)
Justin Timberlake is set to play a former high school football star in Palmer for Apple TV+, you can check out the trailer below.
The upcoming film, directed by Succession actor Fisher Stevens and written by Cheryl Guierriero, follows Timberlake as the titular Eddie Palmer who returns home to Louisiana after 12 years in a state penitentiary.
READ MORE: Justin Timberlake – Man of the Woods review
Palmer sees Eddie move in with his grandmother and start working as a janitor, and eventually take care of a seven-year-old gender non-confirming child, Sam.
Check out the trailer for Palmer below.
The film will also star Alisha Wainwright (Shadowhunters), Juno Temple (Ted Lasso) and June Squibb (Godmothered), alongside newcomer Ryder Allen.
Earlier this year, Justin Timberlake revealed how he was inspired by David Bowie’s ‘Rebel Rebel’ while writing ‘Sexyback’.
“I was listening to ‘Rebel Rebel,’ which essentially is about a cross-dresser,” the musician told Zane Lowe.
“And so I was picturing guys, girls, all iterations of that in a club, singing this to each other. And I said, ‘This has to be so simple and a vibe and just like an attitude.’
“And I was like, ‘What’s the most audacious thing you could possibly say?’ And that was the first line of the song.”
Describing his upcoming film on social media, Timberlake said “This story is really important to me and I’m proud to be part of it” while sharing the trailer.
Palmer is set to premiere exclusively on Apple TV+ worldwide on January 29, 2021.
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Paul McCartney says he still wonders if The Beatles would’ve reunited if John Lennon had lived
"The question is: would we have ever got back together again?"
John Lennon and Paul McCartney (Picture: Getty)
Paul McCartney has said that he still wonders about whether The Beatles would’ve ever reunited had John Lennon lived.
The 40th anniversary of Lennon’s death fell earlier this month. The musician was shot and killed outside his apartment building in New York on December 8, 1980.
READ MORE: Every John Lennon solo album ranked in order of greatness
Speaking to CBS’ Sunday Morning programme over the weekend to mark the release of his latest solo album ‘McCartney III’, McCartney reflected on the tragedy of Lennon’s murder (“it was just so senseless”) and gave his view on whether Lennon would still be making music if he were alive today.
“Yeah. He was showing no signs of slowing up. You know, he was still making great music,” McCartney said in regards to Lennon’s successful solo career at the time of his death 40 years ago.
“The question is: would we have ever got back together again?” McCartney continued. Pressed for an answer, the musician replied: “I don’t know. We don’t know.”
McCartney previously spoke about the former possibility of a Beatles reunion in 2012, telling Rolling Stone that there “was talk of reforming the Beatles a couple of times” when all four members of the band were still alive.
“But it didn’t gel – there was not enough passion behind the idea.”
The new video for McCartney’s song ‘Find A Way’ was released last week. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Roman Coppola, the video shows McCartney playing every instrument on the song – including guitar, drums and piano – in a collage of footage taken by 46 cameras.
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