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structural engineers association of northern california
Structural Engineers Association of Northern California © 2019 5 . SEAONC was formed under the need for improving business practices and relationships with architectural clients. "Blue Book", first published in 1959, has since influenced the development of seismic analysis and design provisions in building codes nationwide. R.C. SEAONC incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1949. In 2015, SEAONC approved an initiative to explore the advancement and retention of women in structural engineering (ARWiSE). A similar organization had been formed in Southern California, and in 1932 the two groups joined to form the state-wide organization, the, In addition to code development, SEAONC has been involved in addressing issues of professional liability and litigation, the first example of which was by advocating for the requirement that structural engineers be professionally licensed. [1], SEAONC is the northern California section of the statewide Structural Engineers Association of California (SEAOC). SEAONC also assists the California Office of Emergency Services and local building departments in responding to earthquakes by organizing volunteer emergency building inspectors and establishing uniform criteria for post-earthquake inspections. Since the 1940’s, members have maintained direct involvement in the development of building code provisions, especially those dealing with earthquake-resistant design, by reviewing, writing, and updating the national building codes, local building codes, and various industry-sponsored code recommendations. Structural Engineers Association of Northern California 575 Market Street Suite 400 San Francisco, CA 94105 Phone: 415.974.5147 Email: [email protected] SEAOC's Recommended Lateral Force Requirements, a.k.a. The idea was well received by Northern California structural engineers, and SEAONC began operations that year with 39 charter members. The idea was well received by Northern California structural engineers, and SEAONC began operations that year with 39 charter members. This initiative broadened and evolved into the formation of the Structural Engineering, Engagement, and Equity (SE3) Committee. Arun Shah & Associates . SAN FRANCISCO . Structural Engineers Association of California 921 11th St., Suite 1100 Sacramento, CA 95814 Phone: 916.447.1198 Fax: 916.444.1501. [email protected] SEAONC was formed under the need for improving business practices and relationships with architectural clients. After the 1933 Long Beach earthquake, code committees formed under SEAONC helped bring standardization to structural code requirements across different political jurisdictions. EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES. R.C. The Structural Engineers Association of Northern California (SEAONC) is the largest association of structural engineering professionals in the world, boasting a membership of over 1,400 members. SOUTH BAY . The Structural Engineers Association of Northern California (SEAONC) is a structural engineering association established in 1930. With 17 active committees covering technical development, research, continuing education and outreach, SEAONC carries out its vision of a world in which structural engineers are valued by the public for their contributions to building a safer and stronger community. In 2016, this group administered their first national survey of over 2,100 structural engineering professionals. The committee’s work has led to the formation of the national SE3 Committee with the National Council of Structural Engineering Associations (NCSEA) and has started a national conversation regarding retention and equity of all structural engineers in our profession. Structural Engineers Association of Southern California (SEAOSC) 437 S. Cataract Ave., #4-B San Dimas, CA 91773 Phone 562-908-6131 Fax 909-305-9400 SEAONC was formed under the need for improving business practices and relationships with architectural clients. SEAONC contributed greatly to the production of the SEAOC Blue Book, or Recommended Lateral Force Requirements and Commentary, first published in 1959, that compiled earthquake design recommendations and incorporated lessons learned after seismic events. Initially a club for structural engineers to exchange technical information, it evolved into a professional organization advising on the development of building code requirements and California legislation related to earthquake hazard reduction such as the Field Act and Alquist Priolo Special Studies Zone Act. Buell, a structural engineer with the Portland Cement Association, suggested a forum-type organization to cope with such problems in 1930. © 2018-20 Structural Engineers Association of Northern California, The Structural Engineers Association of Northern California (SEAONC) is the largest association of structural engineering professionals in the world, boasting a membership of over 1,400 members. SEAONC has aided in the determination of standard specifications for new-to-the-market materials, such as lightweight concrete, wood glulam beams, pretensioned concrete, and much more. A similar organization had been formed in Southern California, and in 1932 the two groups joined to form the state-wide organization, the Structural Engineers Association of California (SEAOC), to help tackle the issues common among all structural engineers in the state. In addition to code development, SEAONC has been involved in addressing issues of professional liability and litigation, the first example of which was by advocating for the requirement that structural engineers be professionally licensed. SEAONC has also been pivotal in the passing of legislation such as the Field Act, Garrison Act, California Hospital Act, and the Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Act, as well as the defeat of the proposed Civil Service Act, which stated that only state-employed engineers and architects could work on state projects. The project began in 2015 when SEAONC (Structural Engineers Association of Northern California) funded a committee to study engagement and equity in the structural engineering profession.
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Super Netball: How Vixens will tackle Swifts for grand final berth
Sport Netball Super Netball: How Vixens will tackle Swifts for grand final berth
10:07pm, Sep 1, 2019 Updated: 8:27pm, Sep 1
Cait Thwaites shoots to help the Vixens to victory. Photo: Getty
Darren Snowden
Melbourne Vixens coach Simone McKinnis has backed her side to maintain their belief as they prepare to challenge NSW Swifts for a spot in the Super Netball grand final.
The third-placed Vixens appeared vulnerable heading into Sunday’s minor semi-final against Collingwood Magpies at the State Netball Hockey Centre after closing the regular season with three losses in a row.
But the Vixens rediscovered good form at the right time to eliminate their cross-town rivals 62-49 and advance to a preliminary final clash with the Swifts.
“Each time we have played them, they have come off a loss to the (Sunshine Coast) Lightning and are always ready to go,” McKinnis said about the Swifts, winners of both meetings with the Vixens during the regular season.
The Vixens celebrate after winning their way to the preliminary final. Photo: Getty
“I just think it’s a fantastic challenge and would love nothing better than to go up to Sydney and give it a real shake.”
The Swifts were no match for Lightning in Saturday’s major semi-final, the two-time defending champions flexing their muscle in the middle quarters to win 58-48 and qualify for the championship decider.
Like the Swifts, Collingwood had also defeated the Vixens twice during the regular season but as the Vixens demonstrated on Sunday, previous results are irrelevant when it comes to a winner-take-all finals clash.
“We will pull out what we need to from this, the good and not so good, because there are still areas that we want to improve on,” McKinnis said.
We’ve got to turn to Swifts and really have a look at the two games that we’ve played and come up with our game plan heading into next weekend – it will be a bit of a process.’’
McKinnis was pleased with the way her side bounced back from the previous week’s effort against the Magpies to dominate the elimination final, a match they controlled from the outset by shutting down Collingwood’s options in attack.
“The bottom line is at the start of the week, we are in finals and we’re going for it, so I thought we did that really well,” McKinnis said about the Vixens’ mindset.
“Last week was tough but when I woke up on the Monday, I was excited there was a way that’s there and we’re going to do it and I felt it all week.”
Despite the season-ending defeat, Magpies caretaker co-coach Nicole Richardson felt the club took a giant step forward by fighting through the loss to injury of Madi and Kelsey Browne to qualify for the finals.
“It has been a tough road for us, so from a club perspective we are very proud of what we’ve achieved. It was disappointing that it finished this way,” Richardson said.
Super Netball: Melbourne Vixens off to preliminary final after edging Magpies
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Why Financial Repression Will Fail
22 January 2019 14min read
PREVIOUS ARTICLE 5 Gold Miners for an Uncertain...
By Ron Hera, Hera Research, LLC
Excessive leverage and risk in the financial system, e.g., using customer funds to speculate, never ends well. Stock market crashes, bank and investment firm failures or economic recessions are all potential consequences. Following the failure of the United States to regulate over the counter (OTC) derivatives and the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act, U.S. banks became the largest financial business entities in history. The U.S. real estate bubble, sub-prime lending and mortgage backed securities (MBS), along with unregulated OTC derivatives, then lead to bank insolvencies, a historic stock market crash and a near collapse of the global financial system.
Central banks and governments intervened to prevent systemic collapse but governments were saddled with enormous debts due to bank bailouts, lost tax revenues and massive social welfare costs. Rather than systemic collapse, and perhaps another Great Depression, the post crisis period came to be characterized by (1) market interventions, (2) direct government control over the economy, and (3) ongoing monetization by central banks. Longer term solutions that would have allowed a return to putatively free markets failed to emerge and government debt, particularly in Europe, became a crisis in its own right.
Measures that began as emergency interventions became routine suggesting a new economic paradigm. In the new paradigm, big banks, politicians and academics would decide what market outcomes, e.g., bankruptcies, interest rates or bond yields, would be permitted, as well as when to apply accounting rules, regulations and laws. Despite increased centralization of decision making and greatly expanded powers, however, policymakers were unable to repair the financial system. Instead, mounting government debt led to de facto financial repression.
Financial repression occurs when governments channel funds into their own sovereign bonds in order to reduce debt levels through mechanisms such as directed lending, caps on interest rates, capital controls, debt monetization, or by other means. Economist Carmen M. Reinhart, et al., brought the term back into popular usage in 2011 after a long hiatus. Past examples of financial repression include several South American countries, such as Argentina. The promise of financial repression is that it will hold down government borrowing costs and reduce government debt levels, but critics argue that financial repression merely targets the producers of society, i.e., the middle class, and therefore harms the economy.
The Liquidation of Government Debt, Carmen M. Reinhart and M. Belen Sbrancia (NBER 16893, 2011)
Debt monetization, which can be a tool of financial repression, destroys savings while a zero percent interest rate policy (ZIRP), which reduces government borrowing costs, deprives savers and pensioners of interest income and can lead to inflation. What is more important, however, is that financial repression prevents capital formation. Of particular concern in the U.S. is the link between capital formation and new business creation, which is primarily a middle class phenomenon. The vast majority of corporations in the U.S. are small businesses and they account for the majority of jobs. By preventing capital formation, financial repression short circuits the engine of new business creation, increases unemployment and threatens to bring down the middle class.
Governments cannot supply entrepreneurship or innovation in the marketplace, nor can they effectively replace savings (genuine capital derived from surplus production) or private investment with bank credit or with public funds, which represent debt and a transfer of wealth, respectively. The deployed capital, inventions, products and services of new businesses drive innovation, fuel competition, provide jobs and increase the wealth of society. In contrast, financial repression can only produce economic stagnation and result in a net loss of wealth to society.
Crisis and Consequence
Substantially as a consequence of the financial crisis and global recession, Europe was engulfed in a sovereign debt crisis characterized in the European periphery by austerity measures and Great Depression levels of unemployment. In the U.S., the real estate collapse and stock market crash represented a direct loss of household wealth while bank bailouts represented a transfer of wealth from proverbial Main Street to literal Wall Street. Deficit spending, debt monetization and the Federal Reserve’s purchases of MBS and U.S. Treasury bonds expressed a radically inflationary monetary policy and, although much of the money is idle in the banking system, the overall increase in the supply of U.S. dollars is concerning.
Despite the 2008 financial crisis, global recession and inflationary policies, confidence in the U.S. dollar, the U.S. stock market, the U.S. federal government and the U.S. economy remained largely intact. Inflationary policies reduced certain risks, such as the risk of a deflationary collapse, and increased liquidity from central bank monetization lifted financial markets, but the effects were only temporary. Confidence was also boosted in Europe by the European Central Bank’s (ECB) outright monetary transactions (OMT) program and in the U.S. by the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing III (QE3) program. In Europe, the risks of sharply rising sovereign bond yields, sovereign defaults and the potential breakup of the euro were muted by OMT while European leaders putatively moved toward a permanent solution, such as a fiscal union. Thanks in part to the Federal Reserve’s ZIRP and ongoing “operation twist,” U.S. Treasury yields remained near historic lows.
On the surface, the fallout of the 2008 financial crisis was effectively managed, but the basic causes of the crisis were never addressed. The lines between depository institutions and securities firms, erased in the U.S. by the final repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act in 1999, were not restored and the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (FASB) mark-to-market rule was never reinstated.
Although bank capital ratios have improved, leverage remains excessive, bank balance sheet assets remain troubled and economic conditions have deteriorated compared to the pre-crisis period. Banks deemed “too big to fail” in 2008 have become bigger and the gross credit exposure associated with high risk OTC derivatives is roughly as large as it was before the financial crisis. By the end of 2013, the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet will have exceeded $3.4 trillion. At the same time, the U.S. federal government faces a so-called “fiscal cliff.”
The Road to Stagflation
For 2012, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects GDP 2.2% growth in Japan and the U.S. and 3.5% globally. Based on the Baltic Dry Index (BDI), which reflects the price of moving major raw materials by sea, the global economy has slowed in 2012. Nonetheless, there has been some improvement in comparison to the depths of the global recession in 2009.
The BDI is a leading indicator of economic growth because it reflects the demand of manufacturers for raw materials. A decline in the BDI signals falling global demand for manufactured goods. In the U.S., rail carloads also indicate falling demand.
In contrast, removing potentially optimistic projections, the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) liquid fuels consumption data suggests an anemic recovery in the U.S. on a par with 2011.
Despite the recent uptick in U.S. manufacturing, manufacturing currently accounts for only 11.7% of U.S. GDP. In the past few decades, U.S. corporations moved production offshore, eliminating domestic jobs. Credit expansion masked the lost income of U.S. consumers but the process inexorably reached its logical conclusion in 2007. The shift of U.S. workers to often lower paying service sector jobs was counterproductive because debt levels rose while income flowed out of the U.S. following on the heels of jobs.
Although policymakers, including Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, deny it, in fact, U.S. unemployment is a long term, structural problem linked to the still ongoing outflow of U.S. consumer incomes to net exporter countries such as India and China.
The current surplus of U.S. labor, abundant capital and somewhat less expensive energy (partly due to advances in hydraulic fracturing that have increased U.S. domestic oil production) are insufficient to stimulate a broad-based economic recovery. In addition to the U.S. federal government’s growing debt and need for increased tax revenues, U.S. consumers remain burdened with high debt levels.
A U.S. manufacturing renaissance, for example, is unlikely to take hold unless the U.S. dollar weakens significantly and global demand also rises. In a global slowdown it remains unclear where new customers might come from for new U.S. products or services.
Although the financial system has continued to function due to massive infusions of liquidity, economic activity, with some exceptions, has not generally recovered or has continued to deteriorate, e.g., the shrinking number of U.S. citizens participating in the official workforce. Ignoring improvements in the unemployment rate related to the shrinking size of the workforce, much of the U.S. economic recovery in the post crisis period can be attributed to government deficit spending.
U.S. GDP has been boosted by government deficit spending in excess of $1 trillion per year. Removing the temporary effects of extraordinary deficits, U.S. GDP remains negative. Compounding the problem, loose monetary policies, rather than spurring lending to consumers or small businesses, have created inflationary pressures and have lead to stagflation.
Rather than putting Americans back to work, inflationary policies have helped to push prices higher. Based on U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI), the official inflation rate in the U.S. is roughly 2%, but the CPI does not accurately measure the cost of maintaining a constant standard of living. Using the same methodology as in 1980, the CPI should be 9.3% currently.
Inflationary central bank policies support government borrowing and the banking system but increased liquidity resulting from low interest rates, central bank asset purchases or debt monetization can have destabilizing effects. Excess liquidity can result in price inflation, fuel financial speculation or asset price bubbles, or provoke competitive devaluations (currency wars). Asset purchases and debt monetization by central banks alter the distribution of money, thus of purchasing power over the economy and therefore redistribute wealth. Monetary inflation erodes the value of savings replacing genuine capital distributed throughout the economy with credit concentrated in banks. In the U.S., one of the Federal Reserve’s policy assumptions is that asset purchases will help small businesses by making more credit available. While it is true that small businesses rely on bank credit for operations and expansion, it is savings, not credit that fuels small business creation and therefore job growth. Since most U.S. jobs are in small businesses, QE3 and similar policies destroy jobs by redistributing wealth from savers, entrepreneurs and investors to banks and stifling new business creation. The combination of reduced new business creation, continuing high unemployment and inflationary price pressures set against a backdrop of high debt levels precisely defines stagflation.
Reign of Repression
The stagflationary environment in the U.S. is a mild example of financial repression. Countries in the European periphery, e.g., Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Ireland, where high taxes and austerity measures are already in place, are more pointed examples. In the case of Greece, which has descended into an economic depression, the natural market outcome would have been a Greek default and an exit from the European Monetary Union (EMU) accompanied by losses for European banks and quite probably a number of European bank failures, along with the systemic impact of associated OTC derivatives, such as Credit Default Swaps (CDS). To prevent bank losses and failures, however, policy decisions replaced market outcomes. The normalization of market interventions, direct government control over the economy and ongoing monetization by central banks represented a transition from a market based status quo to a policy based status quo which maintained or increased otherwise unworkable government debt levels. Maintaining the status quo, however, requires financial repression.
Like the emergency measures that preceded it, financial repression has become a fixture in a new economic paradigm, but it is no more likely to provide a permanent solution. Financial repression will remain in place as long as bank failures and sovereign defaults continue to be prevented, e.g., through bailouts, asset purchases or debt monetization by central banks. Overall economic conditions in Western countries can therefore be expected to remain stagnant or to deteriorate. The continued debasement of major currencies, such as the U.S. dollar and the euro, will reduce the real value of debts but monetary inflation cannot create a genuine economic recovery as long as bank balance sheets and government finances remain impaired. Without robust economic growth, however, both the banking system and the finances of Western governments certainly will remain impaired. In other words, financial repression in the U.S. and in Europe is set to remain in place indefinitely.
Under an ongoing regime of financial repression, savings, jobs, economic opportunity and living standards will all suffer. The middle class will be reduced as generations of socioeconomic progress are gradually reversed. Younger people, mired in stagflation, will be left behind in terms of income and economic opportunity, which will have a long term negative impact. Since U.S. banks stand to profit from financial repression, it will increase income disparity and the concentration of wealth. The destructive forces set in motion by financial repression will greatly increase the burden on government social welfare programs. Thus, financial repression will fail to alleviate government debt unless tax increases and austerity measures follow, which could turn the United States into another Greece. In theory, financial repression, together with other measures, can liquidate government debt but, in practice, it is a destructive and highly destabilizing approach that will result in a net loss of wealth to society.
>> Click here to read other articles from this week’s newsletter
About Ron Hera
Hera Research, LLC, provides deeply researched analysis to help investors profit from changing economic and market conditions. Hera Research focuses on relationships between macroeconomics, government, banking, and financial markets in order to identify and analyse investment opportunities with extraordinary upside potential. Hera Research is currently researching mining and metals including precious metals, oil and energy including green energy, agriculture, and other natural resources. The Hera Research Newsletter covers key economic data, trends and analysis including reviews of companies with extraordinary value and upside potential.
Articles by Ron Hera, the Hera Research web site and the Hera Research Newsletter (“Hera Research publications”) are published by Hera Research, LLC. Information contained in Hera Research publications is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. The information contained in Hera Research publications is not intended to constitute individual investment advice and is not designed to meet individual financial situations. The opinions expressed in Hera Research publications are those of the publisher and are subject to change without notice. The information in such publications may become outdated and Hera Research, LLC has no obligation to update any such information.
Ron Hera, Hera Research, LLC, and other entities in which Ron Hera has an interest, along with employees, officers, family, and associates may from time to time have positions in the securities or commodities covered in these publications or web site. The policies of Hera Research, LLC attempt to avoid potential conflicts of interest and to resolve conflicts of interest should any arise in a timely fashion. ©2012 Hera Research, LLC.
How to value a share like a company analyst
Where To Find The Stocks To Buy And Sell
Chief ratios for stock hunters
Strategy that finds value stocks before they soar
Paid off in dividends
By Ron Hera, Hera Research, LLCExcessive leverage and risk …
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James Reid – Fil-Aussie Heartthrob
Robert James Reid, more popularly known as James Reid, was born in Sydney, Australia on May 11, 1993. When he was 2 years old, his parents separated and he was left to the care of his Australian father. When he turned 15, James and his father moved to the Philippines due to financial issues and to address his father’s medical needs. Due to cultural differences and language barrier, James had a hard time adjusting to local schools, prompting his dad to enroll him in an Australian distance-learning center based in New South Wales, Australia.
James Reid started his showbiz career as one of the housemates in the hit reality TV show Pinoy Big Brother: Teen Clash in 2010. Despite being almost force evicted twice due to health issues, James was still was named the Big Winner.
After winning PBB, James signed a 2-year contract with Star Magic and was seen in several ABS-CBN programs including the teen-oriented show Shoutout!, the teen dance musical drama anthology series Good Vibes and the daytime drama series Precious Hearts Romances Presents: Pintada. However, Jame’s didn’t quite make a mark.
It was in 2012, after becoming a talent of Viva Artists Agency and being launched in the film Diary ng Panget together with Nadine Lustre, that James started to get noticed. The film, which was based on a Wattpad novel, was a box office success, earning at least 119.5 million pesos during its 4-week run. In 2014, James and Nadine reunite in Talk Back and You’re Dead which also became a hit. Also in the same year, the JaDine love team signed a two-year contract with ABS-CBN and was officially launched as Kapamilya via the weekend series Wansapanataym Presents: My App #Boyfie.
Earlier this year, James and Nadine starred in the Star Cinema and Viva Films co-production, Para sa Hopeless Romantic alongside Julia Barretto and Iñigo Pascual. On August 10, 2015, their first teleserye, the romcom On The Wings of Love, premiered on the Kapamilya Primetime Bida.
It was also confirmed that JaDine will reprise their roles in the upcoming sequels of their hit movies, Diary ng Panget and Talk Back and You’re Dead. James will also join Luis Manzano and Alex Gonzaga in the movie adaptation of Gonzaga’s best-selling book, Dear Alex, Break na Kami, Paano?! Love, Catherine.
Apart from acting, James is also a noted recording artist and has released several albums which included songs that he wrote himself.
CategoriesCelebrity Profiles
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Next PostNext Enduring Love Teams of Philippine Showbiz
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Director Of Feminist Film ‘Dollhouse’: ‘I Actually Didn’t Feel As Exploited Being A Stripper As I Do As A Screenwriter’
By Paulina Enck
Nicole Brending wore many hats on the set of “Dollhouse: The Eradication of Female Subjectivity from American Pop Culture,” a tale of the rise and fall of fictional child pop star Junie Spoons. Brending wrote, directed, edited, and produced the film, voiced many of the characters, and designed the dolls that are used in place of actors.
Brending and I spoke about her film, its feminist messages, the mid-2000s pop culture satirized, and creating a film with dolls in place of actors.
Junie goes through not just the typical rise and fall of a child star, but through some remarkably heightened issues. What inspired you to take her story to such highs and lows?
There’s a number of things. One of the things that the film is satirizing is how the media is always topping itself. After each episode that Junie goes through, it had to get worse, or crazier, or just more extreme. That was the part of the concept of the film, but also the challenge of the film was to see, like, how much more insane can we get? How can we take it to a place that is inevitable but that’s also unexpected?
The ending of the film was a phenomenal twist. It was simultaneously shocking and yet felt like the only logical conclusion to the story. How did you decide to end her story in such a way?
That way this movie is looking at how we destroy women and dismantle them and take from them and so, like, that’s a part of it. So it was kind of like the only thing to do eventually is to discard her when she’s no longer useful, but I don’t want to give away the ending.
There are obvious practical reasons for animating this story — the sexual escapades of a 12-year-old are not something that can or should be filmed with actual actors. The stylistic choice to use the creatively designed and eerie dolls was a really interesting workaround. What made you choose the specific doll-based animation for this film? Did you ever consider other animated forms?
I worked dolls and puppets before, and one of the things that I really love about them is, more than traditional animation, people really seem to connect with them. There’s kind of a living quality to them that a regular animation wouldn’t have. I had this one film some years back called “Operated by Invisible Hands” that was this love story between these two dolls. At first, people are laughing, and they think it’s funny.
Then there’s a point at which they get quiet, and you realize it’s not because they’re not engaged; it’s because they’re so engaged with the love story. I think there’s something there’s that aspect of them that I really wanted to bring to the project. It’s important that people connect to the story.
I also think, like you said, for the purposes of satire, there’s a lot of stuff you can’t do with real people or it would be unpalatable. You could, but it would be unpalatable, like the sex tape, like literally all of the film. In order to really get across the truth of I’ve what I’m trying to explore in terms of misogyny in our perspective on women, I wanted to do it in a satirical way, and I wanted to do it in a way that people could watch and get the meaning from and really, really take some truth from it, but not feel like they were being preached to, and not feel like they were being alienated.
With static dolls, there is an added benefit of style and it contributes to the doll motif throughout the film. However, you do lose facial expressions and body language. Did you ever fear the effect of losing this form of storytelling? As a director, how did you work around that? And how did it factor into your design of the dolls?
One of the things that I enjoy doing with puppets is finding an expression that really captures the essence of that character. That came through the story, and then through the directing of them, the way that we shoot. I’ll get certain angles and certain kinds of staging. It actually really changes your perception of their expression.
And then of course there’s the voice acting, but I’ve had actors say to me, after seeing some of my puppet movies, “Yeah, it really means you don’t have to do much as an actor.” There are tricks to dealing with that, and I kind of prefer it and having the mouths move. It cheapens the effects of them being toys.
One of the other reasons I think viewers like the dolls is that they seem like toys. There’s this idea that you could maybe be doing this at home. To have things that are professionally made, or that were made for them to be on film, cheapens the effects.
For the latter third of the film, the film is hijacked by a new character from seemingly out of nowhere, and that is Trans Junie. What was the inspiration behind that character, and what were you trying to get across to audiences?
What we’re trying to get across to audiences in that part is the eradication of female subjectivity from American popular culture. One thing that I thought about just in terms of the structure of the project was that, eventually, Junie would need to be eliminated from her own story.
I thought about different ways to do it. We always hear about these rooms, you know, of white men making decisions about women’s bodies, but I think there’s another way that women are being silenced right now. And I think that’s through gender politics, actually, which is kind of surprising. Their perspectives are being eliminated. I want to look at the logic behind trans ideology, and then see how that logic was being used to silence women.
I think there’s also just an aspect of, like, looking at how we don’t really even respect women’s talents. It doesn’t matter that Junie’s talented. She just is something that we feed off of, and then we get rid of her. It’s just the image of her that Trans Junie takes on. There’s a lot going on in that.
I would say, generally speaking, when we’re talking about the controversial aspects of the film, it’s definitely this part of it. What I’m trying to really demonstrate, because it’s really happening, is how trans ideology is being used to silence women, and it’s unacceptable. I think as women, we are entitled to define what it means to be women.
The film has a clear message against the commoditization and sexualization of young women in the music industry. How do you want audiences to relate the themes of the film into their own lives?
I don’t see this movie as actually being about a pop star. I think women [have] everyday experiences like this, where they are being silenced or they are being ignored. To me, Junie’s story is very much about trying to look at various ways that we deny women their own subjective perspective. I’ve had many women come up to me after a screening and say, “This is what my life is I feel like. I relate to this, like, entirely.”
I definitely think it has broader applications than just the pop world. I’ve also been really pleased with how a lot of men have said, “You know, I really love this movie.” I feel like it’s a way that men can be a part of the conversation about the subject because it’s not vilifying them; it’s looking at how everybody’s culpable.
I think that’s a really important thing to think about, is that we’re all culpable in misogyny and the silencing of women. It’s a lens, so misogyny is a way that we perceive people. It’s not just a group of people acting upon another. I want people to be thinking about that in their daily lives. Even my manager is said, “It’s actually changed the way that I interact with my wife.” That’s really cool. I think that’s like the best thing you can hope for. It starts conversations.
When I was at Slamdance, a filmmaker came up to me in the filmmaker lounge, and he said, “So what movie did you do?” I said, “I did that one with the puppets.” He responded, “You know, I’ve been hearing conversations about that movie, just like overhearing conversations that I couldn’t stop listening to, because people are talking about that subject matter in a way that I’ve never heard people talk about it.” It’s really exciting. I mean, that’s the best you can hope for. I think it does inspire conversations. I also hope people find it funny, and they can have a laugh at the same time.
Real-life pop culture, especially mid-2000s, clearly inspired lots of the aesthetics and events of the film. What was the intention behind that choice? Was it contemporary pop culture or was it more to sort of couch it in a sense of reality, or both?
It’s a little of both. I was thinking of the Britney Spears video “…Baby One More Time.” She’s super sexualized, in a Catholic school uniform, but like she’s like 15. I mean, she’s a child. When I was working on the songs, we were trying to go through an evolution of the music, but then also how the music videos might change as well, with them based on the kind of videos that I’ve seen. To both, not mock them, but satirize them, but also to give people a sense of “this is the world that we live in and this is really happening.”
The songs they felt like music that I grew up on, that early-mid 2000s pop. I was at a party a few months ago and parties were still happening and people playing throwbacks, when we collectively realized how some of the lyrics that we would scream at age like eight, nine, ten. Things like Rihanna’s S&M, or Britney Spears lyrics, that we didn’t understand at the time. Your film did a great job with highlighting like these innocuously shocking lyrics for children…
So funny, it was like, you have that one Christina Aguilera song, “Genie in a Bottle,” and it’s so dirty. They would do interviews with her, and she’d say, “No, it’s not about sex. It’s about respect.” It’s funny how people will try to buy into the marketing even though they know deep down that the messages are there. “Genie in the Bottle” is like, “You got to rub me the right way.” Not all about sex. But you can tell people it’s a metaphor, and for some reason people buy it for a while. I find it fascinating how over and over again, the marketers with the labels try to deceive you that something blatantly sexual is not sexual.
Speaking of that era in pop culture, what is your opinion on the #freeBrittney movement? That whole story seems like something straight out of your film.
Yeah, #FreeBritney certainly feels like an episode straight out of Junie’s life. We’ve even adopted a #FreeJunie hashtag. I haven’t been following too closely, but Britney’s conservatorship certainly looks to be a way for some people to profit off of her. Conservatorships are really only for people in comas or who are so severely mentally ill, they can’t function on a daily basis. Since the conservatorship went into effect, she’s had a Vegas show and was on “The X-Factor,” working the entire time.
Again, I think we are getting back to this principle that women are a kind of property and not autonomous, conscious people. Britney has suffered from a very classic method of control, which is to permanently label a woman as crazy if she acts out. The fact that it’s led to conservatorship and control over her assets is a symptom of how little we regard women and their ability to manage their own lives, and how easily their assets can be taken from them.
If she’s so mentally ill that she needs constant care, then she shouldn’t be working. She should be getting care. But if she’s still capable of making the kind of money she makes, then it would follow that she is capable of managing her own life. Instead, she’s a cash cow for others while she has to ask permission to go to Walmart to spend her own money. It’s disturbing. But, unfortunately, not surprising.
In a film with several unsettling aspects, I found the PhD character to be the one that got under my skin the most. I didn’t really know what to make of him until the ending. What was the purpose of his character, and what did he represent?
He’s the kind of guy who says he’s a feminist but doesn’t actually respect women. He represents a man who thinks that studying feminism entitles him to certain kinds of attention from women. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the SNL skit where these guys try to pick up a woman at a bar, and when she says no, they’re like “Screw you, b-tch.”
He’s a creepy guy. I mean that’s kind of his deal, that he uses academia, he uses all of this rationalization. You see that a lot of those who commit sex crimes against women have a way of thinking, they’re treating her as if they were, you know, gentlemen.
So in the setting, I don’t think there really is a character other than him that really represents a kind of hostility towards women in deeper, sexual kind of way. He is sort of obsessive, thinking women are objects, women are things to be controlled, really in a basement dungeon kind of way.
What’s up next for you?
I have a couple projects. I’m working on a feature based on my experience when I was a stripper. I think it…ought to be a totally other debate that we have, but I read about how radical feminists tend to be really anti-sex work. I don’t consider myself a radical feminist, but I don’t disagree with that.
However, there are men who make money out of their bodies too, like as construction workers. I actually didn’t feel as exploited being a stripper as I do as a screenwriter. I also have a something in the pipeline on a woman mathematician.
Paulina Enck is an intern at the Federalist and current student at Georgetown University in the School of Foreign Service. Follow her on Twitter at @itspaulinaenck
Dollhouse feminism feminist film review film reviews Interview movie review movie reviews
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The Red Sox need a Blast from the Past
Posted on December 6, 2009 by benweinrib
Boston Red Sox fans certainly aren’t happy after a first round exit from the playoffs and watching the Yankees win their twenty-seventh World Series. The Sox are aging quickly and they’ve lost their identity from when they won it all in ’04 and ’07. Gone are the characters of year’s past: Pedro, Millar, Johnny Damon, and the man who must go unnamed. Now they are down to Victor Martinez and the fiery Dustin Pedroia. No more Cowboying up for this group of idiots. So how do the Red Sox get back on the winning track? They need a blast from the past.
The Red Sox have a big off-season coming up because they need to make a statement to counter what the Yankees did this year. Given John Lackey and Matt Holliday are no CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira, but big moves can still be made. At the Trade Deadline, they inquired on Roy Halladay, Adrian Gonzalez, and Felix Hernandez, but now it appears that only Halladay is for the taking. In order to land Doc, they will have to give up their two top pitching prospects Casey Kelly and Clay Buchholz, which is way too much for one year of Roy Halladay. Recently, the Padres said that they weren’t going to move Gonzalez and the Mariners are in no mood to move Hernandez. But there is one trade that Boston needs to make.
If there was one need for the Red Sox in the playoffs and late in the year, it was a power bat in the middle. Over the past year and a half, the Red Sox have been missing “that guy” who will always come up in the clutch. They need a clean up bat that hits above .300 for his career and averages over 30 homers and 100 RBIs per year. A player who, when he comes up late in the game with the bases loaded, puts the Fear of God in the opposition and their fans. A guy who can and will keep the clubhouse loose with his antics. To be more specific, a Latino slugger who has worn the number 24 for most of his career. The player on my mind is Miguel Cabrera, and not Manny Ramirez.
As most people know, Detroit is in the lowest point of the valley that is our current economic recession. Tigers’ ownership would love to cut their payroll, which would include trading high priced players like Curtis Granderson, Magglio Ordoñez, and Cabrera, along with players who are owed a big pay raise, such as Edwin Jackson. Cabrera is owed $126 million over the next six years, so the Tigers would love to get rid of that contract, and the Red Sox could certainly take it. Plus, he is only 26 years old.
Boston probably doesn’t want to go forward with just Martinez, Kevin Youkilis, and David Ortiz in the middle of their order. Cabrera is an elite talent who Theo Epstein should never pass up. Boston’s brass needs to do everything in their power to get Cabrera because if he can be had, they can’t let another contender such as the Angels or Yankees land him and he will make a gigantic impact in the middle of their order. Even if it will cost them a combination of hitting prospects such as Lars Anderson, Ryan Kalish, and Ryan Lavarnway, along with pitchers such as Clay Buchholz, Michael Bowden, and Felix Doubront, the trade needs to be done. Cabrera commands the highest respect from opposing pitchers, when he’s not getting beat up by his wife while drunk. He will be a staple in the middle of the Red Sox’ order for the next six plus years sandwiched between Martinez, Youkilis, and potentially another slugger or two.
After acquiring Cabrera, the next step for the Red Sox will be to fill the gap in left field left by Jason Bay. They currently have a decent option, in Jeremy Hermida, slated to start in left, but not an impressive one all the same. The top free agent options are lead by Matt Holliday and Jason Bay before there is a drop off to the likes of Vladimir Guerrero, Jermaine Dye, Johnny Damon, and Rick Ankiel. To me, Bay’s time in Boston is over. He didn’t accept Boston’s $60 million extension offer over the summer, and they didn’t make much of an effort to up his offer. This makes Matt Holliday their number one free agent target of this off-season.
Of course adding a top of the rotation starter like John Lackey would be great, but signing Holliday would be a better use of Boston’s money and draft picks. Holliday is another player who has career averages of nearly 30 home runs and over 100 RBIs and .300 batting average. One knock on the slugger is that he had a very unsuccessful stint in the AL, but the answers to his struggles are that he had very little talent around him in a poor hitter’s ball park and he changed his batting stance for the first five weeks of the season, and when he switched back, he was his old self. Holliday’s agent, Scott Boras, compares his client to Mark Teixeira and wants a deal close to Tex’s 8 year $180 million contract. But most people around baseball believe that he will land a deal around $130-$110 million.
If the Red Sox’s negotiations with Holliday fall short of Boras’ needs, the player they should look at next is, believe it or not Johnny Damon. Damon will provide some speed and power to the Sox’ order and will act as a bridge to prospects Josh Reddick, Kalish, and Ryan Westmoreland. Boston fans will eventually forgive Damon for his “wrong doings”, but in return will likely ask for his beard back. Sure, Damon’s arm isn’t great, but he is great in the lockerroom and a great guy. He still has some speed and some pop. He set a career high in home runs last year and is far from done. He wasn’t offered arbitration by the Yankees, and it’s not like there are teams lined up to sign Damon.
Cabrera is the closest thing resembling a shortstop the Red Sox have had since '04, so why not bring him back?
The next order of business for the Red Sox is short stop. Jed Lowrie hasn’t been what they expected since they called him up because of injuries, in fact, no short stop has been up to snuff since they traded away Nomar Garciaparra at the 2004 Trade Deadline. They have gone through Orlando Cabrera, Edgar Rentaria, Alex Gonzalez, Julio Lugo, Jed Lowrie, Nick Green, and Gonzo again. There are no young studs on the free agent market, so they will most likely be signing a veteran to bridge to highly touted prospect Jose Iglesias. but there are solid veterans Miguel Tejada, Marco Scutaro, and Orlando Cabrera. So far, Scutaro has been the most closely linked with the Red Sox, but he is the worst of the three. Scutaro is 34, and until two seasons ago, he had never had more than 455 at bats in a season, hit above .270, double digit homers, 45 RBIs, or 5 steals. He is just a utility man who picked up some slack recently. The Red Sox nearly acquired Miggy two years ago and Cabrera played on the ’04 World Series team. All three shortstops are type A free agents, which if signed will cost their new teams a first round pick, but because of a clause in his contract, the Twins can’t offer him arbitration. This puts the Red Sox in prime position to bring back their former teammate who can don his number 44 no longer worn by Jason Bay.
At this point, The only things left for Boston would be to acquire some pitching depth and bench help. For the pitching depth, and more specifically starting pitching, the Red Sox have recently looked at injury prone veterans like Brad Penny and John Smoltz. Why do that again when the Sox can turn to old friend Pedro Martinez? Ben Sheets and Rich Harden would also be nice aditions, but they have can never stay an entire year healthy. The Red Sox don’t really need to spend big bucks on a starter when they have a rotation of Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Clay Buchholz, and Tim Wakefield. Pedro is a cheap low risk-medium reward option for the Sox that they should consider.
Lastly, for a look at their bench, the Red Sox are pretty deep at the moment. If they sign Holliday and trade for Cabrera, they will have proven starters Jeremy Hermida, Mike Lowell, Jed Lowrie, Jason Varitek, and Casey Kotchman off the bench. If the situation arises that they can move one of them, specifically Lowell and Kotchman, there are several players who would be great replacements. Since back-ups won’t make a major impact, it’s a good idea to take a big swing on a high risk medium reward player, such as Sox legends Kevin Millar and Nomar Garciaparra. Nomah and Millah are free agents with no compensation required if acquired and. They both can play first and Nomar is more versitile, as he can play just about every position in the infield.
Here is a look at what the Red Sox 2010 man roster should end up looking like:
CF: Jacoby Ellsbury – $450K
2B: Dustin Pedroia – $3.5m
C: Victor Martinez – $7.7m
1B: Miguel Cabrera – $20m
LF: Matt Holliday – $18m (est)
3B: Kevin Youkilis – $9.1m
DH: David Ortiz – $12.5m
RF: J.D. Drew – $14m
SS: Orlando Cabrera – $6m (est)
OF: Jeremy Hermida – $3.5m (est)
3B: Mike Lowell – $12m
SS: Jed Lowrie – $415K
1B: Casey Kotchman – $4m (est)
C: Jason Varitek – $3m
SP: Josh Beckett – $12m
SP: Jon Lester – $3.8m
SP: Daisuke Matsuzaka – $8m
SP: Clay Buchholz – $415K
SP: Tim Wakefield/Pedro Martinez – $3.5m/$2m (est)
CL: Jonathan Papelbon – $10m (est)
RP: Daniel Bard – $400K
RP: Hideki Okajima – $2.5m (est)
RP: Ramon Ramirez – $1.5m (est)
RP: Manny Delcarmen – $1m (est)
Payroll: $169 million
These moves could very well lead the Red Sox to their 9th championship, but they could also lead to a missed playoff appearance. I’m sure Theo Epstein has a plan in mind whether that is mortgaging their future to land Roy Halladay or another stud, or they could sit back and wait for Lowell and Ortiz’ contracts to come off the books. Either way, nearly all sports fans know that the Sox will have a bright future for years to come.
Categories: MLB | Leave a comment
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Nov. 25, 2014 - Nearly a hundred years ago a… more
Nov. 25, 2014 - Nearly a hundred years ago a stream was covered over and diverted into an underground culvert in Northwest Washington, D.C. Now environmentalists are taking steps to restore the stream to a more natural flow and revive the native flora and fauna. The idea isn't unique to Washington: Around the world, people are working to give similar streams a second life, a process known as daylighting. National Geographic followed the year-long project.
Click here to read more about daylighting
Steve Saari
District of Columbia Department of the Environment
[00:07] What we're trying to do is take a stream that really never needed to be piped, where no construction occurred, and bring that stream back to the surface.
We are in Northwest Washington D.C., we're about 3 miles from the White House, we're about a mile from the border of Maryland.
Steve Dryden
Environmental Advocate
[00:29] The idea back in the distant, not-so-distant past actually, was that you had to get rid of storm water, and you had to get rid of the potential of flooding, and people didn't really understand about stream ecology or they didn't really consider that to be that important. So in our urban areas and in our suburbs a lot of streams were just put into pipes, they just buried them and put them into pipes. And this fundamentally altered the way the stream workes, and made it not work very well.
Keith Underwood
Underwood and Associates
[01:06] When we build these projects we start by filling the channel with that clean sand, we use that as the working platform, as the construction haul road.
[01:20] And that haul road itself doubles as the area where the stream bed will eventually be. So we start at the downstream end where the water flows to, and build structures moving upstream to the end of the project. And once we get to the end of the project we break open the pipe and the water will begin to flow through the whole project area.
[01:45] A conventional approach to this kind of restoration would be to cut the banks back and disturb a lot of the riparian zone. This approach is called regenerative stream channels. And they're quite different from that old approach in that they are bent on spreading the water out to slow it down and filter it through sands and gravel.
[02:10] It's not going to be exactly like it was 90 - 100 years ago, so what we're trying to do is make it natural a system as we can. So we're doing adaptive management, we'll be doing here and there for about three to five years after the project is completed to make changes to either take a little less storm water in or change the structures a little bit to make sure everything is flowing smoothly and that we don't have any erosion problems, we don't have any flooding problems.
[02:40] Piping of streams is something that happens across the world and it's not DC specific, we do have a lot of streams that have been piped. Unfortunately only a few streams have been day lighted, once they're buried, oftentimes they're gone forever.
Chasing Rivers, Part 2: The Ganges
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Review of Golan the Insatiable (2013)
According to the season 1 opening title sequence, evil overlord Golan was ousted to our dimension by unnamed heroic-fantasy adventurers. This is retconned in season 2, a.k.a. the reboot, where Golan is actively summoned to our dimension by a hateful grade-school kid and that kid no longer has a father. Golan is not from the Golan Heights in either version.
Sitcom. Even eight years after Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005), American animators seem to feel the need to make shows like this deliberately ugly. Most adult characters just have a circle for hips. It’s admittedly prettier than The Ren & Stimpy Show (1991), and the subject matter is certainly grotesque, mixing dark fantasy with dark 1980s sitcoms like Married... with Children (1987), but as usual, the writers soon succumb to idiot-balling and life-affirming family moments, making the ironic sitcom merely a sitcom with dismemberment.
References here: Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid (2017).
animation fiction moving picture series
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Visit Martha's Vineyard
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Island Information
Submit an Obituary ↓
Johnny (Seaview) Perry Will Be Missed
Julia Wells
Johnny (Seaview) Perry, an iconic Vineyard character, home-grown philosopher and friendly street-walker in a cowboy hat, died Dec. 12 at a care...
Chuck Phillips, Professor of Economics
Charles F. Phillips Jr., the Robert G. Brown Professor of Economics Emeritus at Washington and Lee University, former mayor of Lexington, Va., and...
5:27 pm, November 29, 2012
Man of Many Hobbies, Benedict Paul Was 91
Benedict Paul of New Haven, Conn., died peacefully on Nov. 8, surrounded by loved ones at his West Tisbury home. He was 91. Ben was one of seven...
Mike Pease Thoroughly Enjoyed Long, Happy Life
Born on July 18, 1922 and although named after his father, Maurice Henry Pease, he was for the rest of his life called simply “Mike.” Mike grew up...
Shirley Ruth Pachico Was Owner of Ritz Cafe
Shirley Ruth Pachico died peacefully at her home in Oak Bluffs on Sunday Nov. 18. She was born in Oak Bluffs on Dec. 15, 1930, the daughter of Bertha...
Shirley Pachico
Shirley R. Pachico, owner of the Ritz Café, died peacefully on Sunday, Nov. 18, 2012 at her home in Oak Bluffs. She was 81. She was predeceased by...
Nancy Muir
Nancy Muir Pearce of Old Lyme, Conn., New York and Edgartown died on Nov. 9. She was born in New York city in 1921. A lifelong abstract painter and...
Mike Pease
Mike Pease of Chilmark died peacefully last Saturday at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital after a prolonged illness. He was 90 years old.His family was...
Charles Phillips Jr., 77, Was Professor and Mayor
Charles Franklin Phillips Jr. of Lexington and Chilmark died Wednesday, Oct. 17 at Stonewall Jackson Hospital in Lexington, Va. He was 77. Born Nov....
12:07 pm, October 23, 2012
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Tag: Comic Books
The persistence of the hero
May 24, 2019 Categories Articles, Hot Takes, Inspirations, UncategorizedLeave a Comment on The persistence of the hero
We often look for media that is grounded and “relatable”, glossing over the millennia of personal drama present in our founding stories, and the way our existence prepares us to believe, relate to, and enjoy them.
Hercules might’ve been strong, but that didn’t stop the gods from ruining his day.
It’s easy to dismiss the fantastic. Especially in the era of information, poor-quality media surrounds and drowns us. The rise of fan fiction, the heaps of second-rate fantasy authors flooding the market, and the omnipresence of the Marvel blockbuster seems like it should be a great source of fatigue. Why, then, do we continue to eat this shit up? The answer is twofold. Firstly, the myths that modern pulp derives from are far more “relatable” than anyone wants to give them credit for, and secondly, modern popular and genre entertainment, from sci-fi to fantasy to comic books (and their movies), is simply the latest iteration of the same few stories being adapted and rehashed, ad nauseam.
Think for a moment about Hercules. Sure, he’s the son of Zeus, god of thunder. Your dad isn’t. But he probably thinks he is, and has acted like the dickhead Zeus we know from the myths at one point or another. Hercules is in your spot. His dad is an ass. Sure, he’s super strong. Insanely strong. He held the sky up for a spell. But Herc lives in a world of gods. The tasks he undertakes can’t be solved by strength alone. He has to use his wits. In that way, he’s the classic underdog, the shrimpy kid on the playground who has to pit the bullies against each other and hope he doesn’t get caught in the crossfire.
You know when life deals you a shit hand? Well Herc was playing at a table with a deck of twos and threes. Zeus’s wife, Hera, tried to kill him repeatedly from the moment he was born, and when he beat the odds and grew up, got married, and had kids, she couldn’t stand it, so she drove him mad and had him kill his family. Now stricken with grief, the gods sentence him to the famous Twelve Labors to atone for Hera’s crime. So Hercules, the underdog, still gets crushed underfoot, even though technically, he’s the best of us. Doesn’t that make you feel a little bit better about where you’re at knowing a demi-god had to basically earn a Medal of Honor, then win every major sports championship, and earn a Nobel Prize in every category just to break even? We aren’t just bugs getting smashed by metaphysical toddlers on a playground, we’re a bunches of Herc‘s.
Now tell me that Hercules isn’t still around. He was actually in a pretty recent movie. He went by Steve Rodgers in it, but I’m pretty sure that was our boy Herc. Think about it. Steve is the underdog. He’s the literal shrimpy kid on the playground. So he’s strong for a slightly different reason. Oh well. He does the hero thing, and fights for his country in World War II, eventually making the ultimate sacrifice. Well guess what? That’s not enough, because just like in Ancient Greece, life likes to throw curveballs at the undeserving.
Steve wakes up in a modern world he doesn’t recognize or particularly like. Everyone needs something from him, and he isn’t really allowed to say no. He must fight the good fight, often for people he doesn’t particularly agree with, like Nick Fury in The Winter Soldier, or Tony Stark in any film, because those people, the powers that be, won’t let him rest until there are no more bad guys, according to their definitions. And all he wants is to rest.
There’s a recipe to all this, you see. The strong man can’t get by on just his strengths. This is a tale that’s been rehashed more times than can be counted, and every new iteration adds another version to the canon that we are all raised to know. Steve Rodgers didn’t come straight out of Hercules, and Hercules wasn’t even the first. Before him, there was Gilgamesh, who had to learn to be a wise king and not just a mighty warrior. Steve Rodgers isn’t even the first American version of the tale. Remember all of the weird feats attributed to George Washington and Abraham Lincoln? What about John Henry, the strongest, fastest steel-driver ever to work for the railroad? He had to work faster than the damn steel-driving machine just so the company would leave him alone and allow him to collect his paycheck. We’ve been through this cul-de-sac many times, and we will return to it many more.
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Meghan Markle + Prince Harry Just Had a Baby, And It’s A…
Matt Donnelly
It's time for some royal revelry: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, who announced in October 2018 that they were expecting their first child together, have officially welcomed a baby boy into the famed family, The New York Times has confirmed.
The lovebirds officially made a statement on the newly launched @SussexRoyal account, from which they noted that the babe — officially born May 6 — weighs 7 lbs., 3 oz. The couple also noted that more details will come soon, though they've made it clear in recent weeks that they intend to make the child's life more private than have previous royal parents. It's likely the public won't see a photo of the child until the family returns to Windsor Castle.
“We are pleased to announce that Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Sussex welcomed their firstborn child in the early morning on May 6th, 2019," a caption read. "The Duchess and baby are both healthy and well, and the couple thank members of the public for their shared excitement and support during this very special time in their lives.”
And royal family-fanatics went wild over the latest addition to the family.
"Can’t breathe can’t deal," one of the account's followers wrote, while another noted "Congratulations! Enjoy every second, it goes by too quickly."
Harry, Queen Elizabeth II's grandson, married Markle almost exactly a year ago in May 2018 at Windsor Castle. Prince William served as Best Man, and the brothers' father, Prince Charles, walked Markle down the aisle.
Stars Who Performed While Pregnant
Source: Meghan Markle + Prince Harry Just Had a Baby, And It’s A…
Filed Under: Meghan Markle
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We Are Social’s Monday Mashup #497
Ryan Dubras | 29 June 2020 Go To Blog Homepage
TikTok launches TikTok For Business
TikTok has announced that it is officially introducing a new brand platform called TikTok For Business, which will serve as the home for all its current and future marketing solutions for brands. The site will include access to TikTok ad formats - including its marque product, TopView - along with a new e-learning centre aimed at helping marketers learn about TikTok and its ad offerings.
Instagram expands Shopping to more businesses
Instagram has said that it's opening Instagram Shopping up to more businesses, including creators who want to sell their own merchandise. As part of the expansion, Instagram has introduced some new 'Commerce Eligibility Requirements', outlining a set of guidelines that interested businesses must adhere to in order to sell on the platform. These requirements will go into effect on July 9th in all the markets where Instagram Shopping is supported.
Facebook responds to #StopHateForProfit campaign
Last week, Ben & Jerry's joined the likes of Patagonia, REI and The North Face in their public boycott of Facebook, as part of a collective #StopHateForProfit campaign. In response, Mark Zuckerberg attended a client council meeting with brands including Anheuser-Busch InBev, Nestlé and Unilever, during which he is reported to have acknowledged advertisers' concerns and insisted that Facebook is reviewing its policies and decision-making processes.
Following this meeting, on Friday evening, Zuckerberg took to his own platform to announce that the social network would begin labelling content from elected officials that it deems newsworthy, but that would otherwise violate its policies. During his live stream, Zuckerberg said, “We’re going to take that content down, no matter who says it. There are no exceptions for politicians in any of the policies I’m announcing here today.”
TikTok kicks off #MyPride celebrations
TikTok kicked off its week-long Pride celebrations last week, and named its 2020 LGBTQ+ TikTok Trailblazers - a list of 25 up-and-coming creators using its platform to make a positive impact on the LGBTQ+ community. As part of the celebrations, the platform announced that it will be donating $3 million to several LGBTQ+ organisations and, along with a number of other activations, host #MyPride - a virtual event on June 25th, which was due to see over 500 LGBTQ+ creators join online sessions, panels and digital celebrations. However, the platform was forced to abruptly call off its event when uninvited intruders flooded the Zoom event with hateful comments.
Today's #MyPride event was meant to be a celebration of our community & of authenticity, self-love, & inclusivity. Unfortunately, some bad actors - who were not invited to the Zoom event - interrupted the start of the celebratory event with extremely hurtful, harmful comments.
— tiktokcreators (@tiktokcreators) June 25, 2020
Brazil suspends WhatsApp’s payments service
Less than a week after WhatsApp launched its new payment service in Brazil, the country's central bank has moved to suspend the service. The bank has even gone so far as to request that Mastercard and Visa, among the payments partners for WhatsApp in Brazil, suspend money transfer on the app. In a statement, the central bank suggested that it hadn’t had the opportunity to analyse WhatsApp’s payment service prior to its rollout.
Facebook kills off its cheapest VR headset
Just two years after it first launched, Facebook has announced that it’s discontinuing the Oculus Go. Alongside the announcement of the Go’s discontinuation, Oculus also shared that it's working on a way to open up the app's ecosystem to give developers an easier path toward distributing apps.
Chipotle hosts Pride "Lunch & Listen' on TikTok
On Friday (June 26th), Chipotle teamed up with activist and television personality, Karamo to host a 'Lunch & Listen' session on its official TikTok channel. Karamo was joined by TikTok creators Isabella Avila, Eva Gutowski and Collins O. to share their experiences as prominent voices in the LGBTQ+ community. Chipotle said it would donate $1 for every viewer, up to $50,000, to the Center for Black Equity.
Social media users share more and show off less during Covid-19
A new piece of research, conducted by us in partnership with GlobalWebIndex, has found that - as a result of lockdown and the global pandemic - less than a quarter (23%) of social media users still feel the need to post content that portrays a more "polished" version of their life. Nearly half (46%) of males also said that they have been more open on their public social channels about the struggles they are facing, compared with just under a third (31%) of women. Check out the full write-up in Campaign magazine for more info.
Instagram is expanding its TikTok competitor, Reels, to users in France and Germany; Facebook tests Forecast, an app for making predictions about world events (such as Covid-19), and has also added a new notification screen that alerts users who are about to share articles that are over 90 days old.
Snapchat introduces Spotlight, Twitter verification to return, and more in our Monday Mashup.
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Wilfrid Laurier University appoints new deans for the Faculty of Social Work and Faculty of Human and Social Sciences
Waterloo – Wilfrid Laurier University has appointed new deans to lead two of its faculties. Beginning July 1, Lauren Eisler will become dean of the Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, based at Laurier’s Brantford campus, and Dawn Buzza will become dean of the Lyle S. Hallman Faculty of Social Work, which has programs in Kitchener and Brantford.
Both Eisler and Buzza have served as the acting deans of their respective faculties and were chosen following extensive search processes. Their new terms will last three years.
“I am pleased to announce the decanal appointments of two highly capable administrators and scholars,” said Paul Jessop, vice-president: academic (acting). “Both Dr. Eisler and Dr. Buzza are already well respected as leaders within the university. With these appointments, they will continue to lead their faculties in achieving long-term visions.”
Lauren Eisler served as acting dean of Human and Social Sciences from 2015 to 2017. During her tenure, she successfully shepherded Laurier’s first fully online program, the BA in Policing, through its initial years, and led the development of several new program initiatives in the faculty such as the Master of Public Safety.
Eisler joined Laurier’s Brantford campus in 2004 as one of four professors to develop and teach in the new Criminology program. She became the program’s first program coordinator in 2005, serving multiple terms until 2012 – during which time enrolment increased significantly. She also oversaw the development of certificate and diploma options for Criminology and an MA program in Criminology.
Eisler holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Saskatchewan. She continues to supervise graduate students and is a manuscript reviewer for the Wilfrid University Press and the Journal of Youth and Society. She recently completed the third edition of her book, Crime and Criminology: An Introduction, published by Oxford University Press. She maintains an active research program, including projects in partnership with the City of Brantford and the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Legal Clinic.
Dawn Buzza has been acting dean of the Faculty of Social Work since 2016. She also served as acting dean of the Faculty of Education in 2013/14, as well as associate dean of Education for five years. As interim dean of the Faculty of Social Work, Buzza led development and approval of a new online, part-time Master of Social Work program. She also supported the creation of Laurier’s Centre for Indigegogy and created a visiting scholar-in-residence program to support Indigenous and non-Indigenous relationships within the faculty.
Buzza joined Laurier in 2007 as an associate professor in the Faculty of Education after having held leadership roles at the University of Victoria, University of Waterloo and Simon Fraser University. She holds a PhD in Educational Psychology and an MA Education (Counselling), both from Simon Fraser University.
As a researcher in educational psychology, Buzza focuses largely on self-regulated learning – how students can become more strategic and self-motivated learners. Some of her current work involves collaborating with secondary school teachers to develop and test classroom innovations that incorporate self-regulated learning strategies within regular instructional activities.
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Invasive tick new to East Tennessee found on animals
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — There’s a new kind of creepy-crawly to look out for in East Tennessee this summer. The invasive Asian longhorned tick, which can reproduce without mating, has been found on animals in Union, Roane and Knox counties.
The parasite was first discovered about two years ago on sheep in New Jersey.
“We kind of found the tick accidentally, and that’s led a lot of people to question what ticks are here and if there are others missing from what we know of ticks in the country,” said Dr. Rebecca Trout-Fryxell, a medical and veterinary entomologist at the University of Tennessee Institute of Entomology and Plant Pathology.
Trout-Fryxell is part of a team of multiple agencies studying the tick: University of Tennessee Department of Agriculture, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, the state Health Department, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“We got together and said well, we’re just going to check all the ticks we can,” she said. “What we’re really trying to do is get a general assessment of what ticks are present in Tennessee.”
There are no reports of the tick farther south than Tennessee. It has also popped up in Arkansas, Connecticut, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Outside of the United States, the ticks have been shown to carry multiple infections and viruses, but to date, no infectious agents have been identified in the Asian longhorned ticks found in the United States.
The Centers for Disease Control has started colonies of the ticks to test whether or not they are able to carry and transmit pathogens found in the United States, like Lyme Disease or Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.
So far, only two people have been bitten in the United States, and Trout-Fryxell said she has found the ticks crawling across her body while collecting them in the field, but has never been bitten.
“They’re feeding on other things; it doesn’t seem like they’re really choosing to feed on humans,” she said, adding that many arthropods feed on specific species, but the Asian longhorned tick has been found on a hawk and 17 different species of mammals, though on very few humans.
Dogs, cattle, white-tailed deer and small ruminants like sheep and goats may be at risk of being bitten though.
Scientists don’t yet know how the invasive tick will survive in Western hemisphere habitats or how the tick moves to new areas, though Trout-Fryxell said it’s likely they came in on an infested animal.
“We don’t know where it came from, though it’s suspected to be from one of the areas the ticks live now, like southeast Asia,” said Trout-Fryxell. The ticks are also found in New Zealand and Australia.
So far, the University of Tennessee has only recovered female ticks in the field, but the females collected have both male and female reproductive organs.
Most ticks can lay between to 2,000 to 4,000 eggs per year, though it takes each egg two to three years to develop into a reproducing adult. But, Trout-Fryxell said, the Asian longhorned tick has been known in other parts of the world to develop from egg to adult much faster.
“And because it doesn’t have to find a mate to reproduce, the population can expand really quickly,” she said, adding that scientists don’t know if an explosion of the invasive ticks in the hemisphere could displace native tick populations.
“It will likely be a thing where when we find one in a location, we’ll find a lot of them.”
Trout-Fryxell said if you find a tick outside or on an animal, you can participate in the study by sending it to the University of Tennessee.
To do so, place the tick in a zip-close bag labeled with the date, location it was found and the animal the tick was found on, and mail it to 370 Plant Biotechnology Building, 2505 E.J Chapman Drive, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996.
You can also submit it to your local county extension agent. Entomologists analyze each tick presented with the proper information, but only respond to submitters if the tick is indeed an Asian longhorned tick.
If a tick is found on a human, Trout-Fryxell said after removing the tick with its mouthparts, it’s best to keep the labeled zip-close bag in your freezer to present to a medical professional if you begin to have symptoms of tickborne illness.
“Again, it’s important not to be an alarmist on this,” she said. “This tick is not very common right now. Ticks like the lone star tick are more common.”
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Trump takes no responsibility for riot, visits Texas
By JILL COLVIN and ZEKE MILLER
Published: Jan. 12, 2021 at 5:29 AM CST|Updated: Jan. 12, 2021 at 3:30 PM CST
ALAMO, Texas (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday took no responsibility for his part in fomenting a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last week, despite his comments encouraging supporters to march on the Capitol and praise for them while they were still carrying out the assault.
“People thought that what I said was totally appropriate,” Trump said.
He made the comments during his first appearance in public since the Capitol siege, which came as lawmakers were tallying Electoral College votes affirming President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. Trump arrived in Texas on Tuesday to trumpet his campaign against illegal immigration in an attempt to burnish his legacy with eight days remaining in his term, as lawmakers in Congress appeared set to impeach him this week for the second time.
In Alamo, Texas, a city in the Rio Grande Valley near the U.S.-Mexican border — the site of the 450th mile of the border wall his administration is building, Trump brushed off Democratic calls on his Cabinet to declare him unfit from office and remove him from power using the 25th Amendment.
“The 25th Amendment is of zero risk to me, but will come back to haunt Joe Biden and the Biden administration,” Trump said. “As the expression goes, be careful of what you wish for.”
The rampage through the halls of Congress sent lawmakers of both parties and Trump’s own vice president into hiding, as crowds called for Mike Pence’s lynching for his role overseeing the vote count. The scene also undermined the hallmark of the republic — the peaceful transition of power. At least five people died, including one Capitol Police officer.
“It’s time for peace and for calm,” Trump said Tuesday, less than a week after egging on the mob that descended on the Capitol. He added, “Respect for law enforcement is the foundation of the MAGA agenda,” referencing his campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
In the days leading up to the Jan. 6 certification vote, Trump encouraged his supporters to descend on Washington, D.C., promising a “wild” rally in support of his baseless claims of election fraud, despite his own administration’s findings to the contrary. Speaking for more than an hour to a crowd on the Ellipse, Trump encouraged supporters to “fight like hell” and suggested that Republican lawmakers would need “more courage not to step up” and overturn the will of voters to grant him another term in office. He also suggested he would join them in marching on the Capitol.
As Trump wrapped up, thousands of his supporters were already heading to the Capitol, where lawmakers convened to count the electoral votes. As rioters were still in the building and lawmakers sheltered in secure locations, Trump, at the urging of aides who were shocked by the violence, released a video seemingly excusing the events, saying of the rioters: “We love you. You’re very special. Go home.”
Speaking Tuesday, Trump said the “real problem” was not his rhetoric, but the rhetoric that Democrats used to describe Black Lives Matter protests and violence in Seattle and Portland this summer.
“Everybody to the ‘t’ thought it was totally appropriate,” Trump said of his own comments.
Trump angrily lashed out at lawmakers’ push for his second impeachment this week, claiming, “It’s causing tremendous anger and division and pain far greater than most people will ever understand, which is very dangerous for the USA, especially at this very tender time.”
Alamo is named after the San Antonio mission where a small group of Texan independence-fighters fended off Mexican forces during a 13-day siege. Most of them died, but the mission became a symbol of resistance for Texans, who eventually defeated the Mexican army.
Trump’s visit there — no doubt a symbol of the president’s defiance — comes as he spends the final days of his presidency isolated, aggrieved and staring down the prospect of a second impeachment.
While Trump was traveling, Pence assured the nation’s governors that outgoing administration is working “diligently” with President-elect Joe Biden’s team. He thanked the governors for their leadership on the coronavirus and promised them a “seamless transition.”
Trump aides have been urging the president to spend his remaining days in office highlighting what they see as the chief accomplishments of his presidency: a massive tax cut, his efforts to roll back federal regulations and the transformation of federal courts with the appointment of conservative judges. But Trump has been consumed by baseless allegations of voter fraud and conspiracies.
In Texas, he delivered remarks highlighting his administration’s efforts to curb illegal immigration and the progress made on his signature 2016 campaign promise: building a “big, beautiful wall” across the length of the southern border — an imposing structure made of concrete and reinforced steel. But over time, Trump demanded modifications that have been largely rejected: He wanted it painted black to burn the hands of those who touched it; he wanted it adorned with deadly spikes; he even wanted to surround it with an alligator-filled moat. While he promised that it would be funded by Mexico, U.S. taxpayers ended up footing the bill.
In the end, his administration has overseen the construction of roughly 450 miles of border wall construction — likely reaching 475 miles by Inauguration Day. The vast majority of that wall replaces smaller barriers that had already existed, though the new wall is considerably more difficult to bypass.
Over the last four years, Trump and his administration have taken extreme — and often unlawful — action to try to curb both illegal and legal immigration. Their efforts were aided in his final year by the coronavirus pandemic, which ground international travel to a halt. But the number of people stopped trying to cross the southern border illegally has been creeping back up in recent months. Figures from December show nearly 74,000 encounters at the southwest border, up 3% from November and up 81% from a year earlier.
A few dozen Trump supporters rallied hours before his visit to the Rio Grande Valley near the Harlingen, Texas, airport, where he was scheduled to land. They planned to stage a caravan of vehicles flying flags that support the president and far-right causes like the QAnon conspiracy theory.
Trump warned that a reversal of his policies by Biden would bring about a “tidal wave of illegal immigration.” He added, “To terminate those policies is knowingly to put America in really serious danger.”
Biden has said he’d halt construction of the border wall and take executive action where possible to reverse some of Trump’s restrictions on legal immigration and asylum seekers. But Biden and his aides have acknowledged the possibility of a new crisis at the border if they act too quickly, and Biden has said it could take six months for his administration to secure funding and put in place the necessary infrastructure to loosen Trump-era restrictions.
Beyond touting the wall, Trump rapidly listed his massive changes on the border aimed at discouraging asylum. He cited his “Remain in Mexico” policy, under which more than 65,000 asylum-seekers have been forced to wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court since January 2019, and agreements struck with Central American countries for them to offer asylum to people seeking protection in the United States.
He credited his wall for a drop in illegal border crossings from a 13-year high in 2019, but the Government Accountability Office has found the administration lacks measures to correlate drops in illegal crossings to wall construction.
Trump said, falsely, that he inherited “open borders” from his predecessor, Barack Obama. He leaves office with about the same number of Border Patrol agents than when he began, despite a pledge to add 5,000, and the monthly number of migrants stopped at the border exceeds totals during much of Obama’s tenure.
___ Associated Press writers Nomaan Merchant in Harlingen, Texas; Ben Fox and Alexandra Jaffe in Washington; Alan Suderman in Richmond, Virginia; and Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this report.
Hoping for student loan forgiveness won’t pay the bills
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Sports: What to Watch
Fans might have to choose between football and hoops this weekend. Illustration by Brenda San Elias.
Ivan Flores, Reporter
Let’s face it. It’s been a pretty disappointing year for sports fans. Sure, we had the MLB World Series while the NBA was in its Florida Bubble, but the Olympics has been postponed and the NCAA’s March Madness has been canceled.
There are, however, plenty of things scheduled for this weekend. Yet, because so many things have been postponed, the make-up games are overlapping with other sports. For example, on Saturday the Notre Dame-Clemson college football game conflicts with the North Carolina-Kentucky hoops match-up. But maybe that’s a good thing. One of them is bound to be COVID-canceled anyway. For now, my plan is to check the score of the Iowa basketball game at halftime, but watch the Buckeyes football game. Here is a list of other scheduled games this weekend.
LA Chargers at Las Vegas Raiders. Dec. 17 @ 5:20 p.m. on Fox. Celebrate the end of final exams tonight with a great NFL match-up. The Raiders need to win to make the AFC playoffs, but they have to get past Justin Herbert and the Chargers to do so.
Kansas City Chiefs at New Orleans Saints. Dec. 20 @ 1:15 p.m. on CBS. Drew Brees takes on Patrick Mahomes in a showdown battle of the top AFC and NFC teams.
Gonzaga Bulldogs at Iowa Hawkeyes. Dec. 19 @ 9 a.m. on ESPN. Iowa’s star player Luka Garza is playing well, averaging 29.5 PPG. Both teams are undefeated, ranked at No. 1 and No. 3.
UCLA Bruins at Ohio State Buckeyes. Dec. 19 @ 1:15 p.m. on CBS. The Bruins were scheduled to play Kentucky, but there was a recent switch due to coronavirus protocols.
North Carolina Tar Heels at Kentucky Wildcats. Dec. 19 @ 11 a.m. on CBS.
Clemson Tigers at Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Dec. 19 @ 1 p.m on ABC. Clemson is No. 3 in the country, with star quarterback Trevor Lawrence getting ready to take on the No. 2 Fighting Irish in a showdown against Ian Book.
Alabama Crimson Tide at Florida Gators. Dec. 19 @ 5 p.m on CBS. SEC championship game. No. 1 Alabama vs No. 7 Florida.
Editor’s Note: Make sure to check times daily. In this time of COVID, sports coverage changes as frequently as weather coverage.
Top tennis player misses fun of full-team practice
Davis brings winning spirit to FUHS baseball team
Athletes return to in-door facilities
Community says goodbye to gym
Gym construction ahead of schedule
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Best for Trinity
11.20.2020 Issue
Trinitonian
Alternative ways to safely engage with American football
Opinion: Football doesn’t have to mean putting others at risk of contracting COVID-19
Kayla Padilla|November 19, 2020
Ren Rader
With the holiday break kicking off to a cool start, people who celebrate traditional American holidays are beginning to prepare for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Around this time, people typically travel to visit their loved ones and spend time together, as well as contribute their own dishes to make one big feast. There’s no denying that Americans love their football in November, as they have long embraced American football around Thanksgiving time, whether it be playing at home with family or attending National Football League (NFL) games.
This November and December, though, I hope those who don’t need to travel, don’t travel. Though we are all exhausted from living in quarantine and isolation, meeting up with others and possibly catching or spreading COVID-19 simply isn’t worth the risk. So what are some ways to engage with football without putting people outside of your quarantine bubble in danger? Whether you’re a gamer, an NFL superfan, or an athlete, there are several COVID-safe ways to watch, play, or cheer on your favorite team.
One of the first games I learned to love on the XBOX 360 console was Madden 13. As the title indicates, the version of Madden I’ve played was released in 2013. The original version of the game, however, was released in 1988 and named after John Madden, former head coach of the NFL’s Oakland Raiders and a renowned sports commentator after his coaching career. Now, if you’re an avid Madden player, I know you’re wondering why in the world I’m still playing Madden 13 when newer versions exist. My response to you is simple: if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. Madden 13, thus far, hasfulfilled all my Madden needs. Besides, I get to live in the past. If I play as the Dallas Cowboys, Tony Romo is still thequarterback, Dez Bryant is catching all of my Hail Mary’s and Jason Garett continues to applaud the team despite them losing by a large margin. If you’re a Dallas Cowboys fan, you can finally live in an alternate reality where the Cowboys don’t disappoint their fans by throwing interceptions or calling ridiculous plays.
Anyway, what makes Madden so fun is that it’s deeply realistic. The players look like their real-life counterparts, the plays are smooth, and the commentary is made by real sports commentators like Jim Nantz and Phil Simms. You can also select whether you want to play at a Rookie-level, Pro, All-Pro, or All-Madden. The field is your oyster, or however, the saying goes. Of course, if you’re not frozen in time like me, you’d most likely only be able to purchase the newer versions of Madden. Don’t worry, though; the newer versions are in HD quality, have updated players and are available for consoles like the XBOX 360, PS4, and Microsoft Windows.
Maybe you feel that the Madden series is a bit too professional for your liking, and you want something more casual. I have another football video game recommendation for you: Backyard Sports: Rookie Rush. This game can be played across consoles, but like Madden, I play it on the XBOX 360.
In this game, the football players are children in unmarked jerseys who play in what looks like a high school football stadium. The yard lines are fading, the field looks old, and the players look like average people. It’s a game that feels real and homely, like the kind you’d be able to have with your friends were it not for the pandemic. Despite the casual gameplay, you’ll still have the opportunity to choose plays similar to those in Madden: Hail Mary’s, running plays and short passes. It’s an overall enjoyable experience, one you won’t regret.
PLAY BALL WITHIN YOUR QUARANTINE BUBBLE
I’m assuming most of us aren’t quarantining with twenty-two other people who are linebackers, quarterbacks or receivers, so how can we play football or football-adjacent games when we only have 4-5 people in our bubble? One of my favorite games that involves a football, but doesn’t require as many players, is a game I know of as “Bulldog.” So what’s Bulldog, and who is the bulldog?
Essentially, 1-2 people are the Bulldogs who stand at midfield, and the rest of the players start at the end zone — or whatever end zone you have at home, whether it be the end of a street or the end of your yard. The game goes like this: when the bulldogs yell “START,” the rest of the players have to try to reach the other end zone without the bulldogs tackling them or stealing their football. If the people reach the end zone, they win that round. Of course, if the game involves children or you just don’t feel like developing a concussion over a game you read about in an article, you can always play tag or flag bulldog, where the bulldog simply has to touch you or pull your flag.
WATCH THE NFL GAMES — FROM HOME
There once existed a time when we could attend NFL games without wearing masks and unknowingly spit on each other when our team fumbled the ball. No more. Though technically, you can attend some NFL games in-person, it’s best to be cautious to the highest degree. Watch NFL games from your living room: it’s safe, it’s fun, and you don’t have to pay $16 for a lemonade drink that tastes like water.
This year, there are three games happening on Thanksgiving:
12:30 p.m. ET: Houston Texans at Detroit Lions, CBS
4:30 p.m. ET: Washington Football Team at Dallas Cowboys, FOX
8:20 p.m. ET: Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers, NBC
Seriously, football will still be here once COVID-19 settles down. It’ll return to normal within the next couple of years, but for now, putting others at risk for a few hours of fun just isn’t worth the illness and death that will result from our carelessness.
Tigers competing for first time since March 2020
Opinion: Expanded NFL Playoffs once again put profit over player safety
Why You Should Run A Turkey Trot
Student-athletes look back at unique fall semester
At long last, sports on the verge of returning to Trinity
Baseball hopes to have uninterrupted spring season
Thanksgiving and NFL unite yet again in 2020
The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway: How to Stay Active in the Cold
Students Share Their Thoughts on Fantasy Football
WNBA player Sue Bird remains consistent on and off the court
The Student News Site of Trinity University
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The Night Their Best Wasn't Enough
Frank Lotierzo
The greatest fight Jersey Joe Walcott ever fought in his career, he lost. The greatest fight Muhammad Ali ever fought in his career, he lost. The greatest fight Evander Holyfield ever fought in his career, he lost. I'm not saying the smartest fight they ever fought. I'm saying the best fight from a physical vantage point.
How many times in boxing history has a great fighter lost on the night he was at his best physically? I'll bet it's not often. However, below are three fights in which the loser is not only an all-time great but, they fought the greatest fights of their career and still lost. It's hard for most to fathom that a fighter fighting his best in a fight in which they lost, but that is the case with Jersey Joe Walcott, Muhammad Ali, and Evander Holyfield.
Just because a fighter lost, doesn't mean he wasn't great on that night. In my opinion, the above mentioned fighters were never more on top of their game or more formidable physically than they were in defeat. In all three fights, the loser never hit harder or sharper, and never demonstrated a better chin or more character.
September 23, 1952 Walcott vs. Marciano I
Jersey Joe Walcott was making the second defense of the heavyweight title he won from Ezzard Charles. His opponent was an up and coming undefeated knockout artist named Rocky Marciano. In his defense versus Marciano, Walcott was never more confident and focused for a fight. He was absolutely certain that he could not only defeat, but also stop Marciano. Walcott was so confident that he could stop Marciano that he jumped right on him in the first round and dropped him for the first time in his career. The left hook that Walcott planted on Marciano hurt him more than any other punch he was hit with in his career. Marciano was still a little shook when he got up and it took him a few seconds to clear his head after he was up. Had Walcott landed that same hook on any other heavyweight in the world at the time, he most likely would've scored a first round knockout. Unfortunately for Walcott, his hook crashed against one of the greatest chins in history, supported by the best conditioned body of any heavyweight history.
For 12 rounds Walcott traded bombs with Marciano, beating him to the punch in most exchanges. Throughout those 12 rounds, Marciano pressured Walcott relentlessly, and Walcott was able to answer with his own bombs.
In this bout, Walcott scored with some of the hardest punches he had ever thrown in his career. On the other hand Walcott took some of the greatest punches he was ever hit with, and showed no visible signs of slowing down going into the 13th round. Going into the 13th round in his first fight with Marciano, Walcott was clearly ahead in the scoring. In fact, Marciano needed a knockout to win on two of the three official scorecards. Had Walcott chose to box Marciano in those last three rounds, instead of trying to knock him out, he probably wins a unanimous decision and retains the title.
Like Meldrick Taylor against Julio Caesar Chavez, his ego got the better of him and he would go for the knockout instead of settling for the decision win. And it cost Walcott the fight as it did Taylor 38 years later. In round 13 Marciano landed a right hand on Walcott's jaw that is considered one of the hardest punches thrown in boxing history. The punch not only knocked Walcott out, but it contorted the side of his face. Fight over!
The fight against Marciano may have been Jersey Joe's finest hour. Never in his career did he demonstrate more courage and better punching power. It's just unfortunate for Walcott that he was fighting another all-time great who caught him with one of the most devastating punches ever thrown. And yes, Marciano had dynamite in both hands, especially his right. And to those fans and writers who question Marciano's power, I guess you know more about how hard he hit than Louis, Walcott, and Moore. All three fighters said Marciano's punches were much harder than they looked, and they all said he was without a doubt the hardest puncher they ever fought. I say they know more about that than either you or me. I'll take them at their word.
March 8, 1971 Frazier vs. Ali I
Frazier vs. Ali I was the biggest and most anticipated sporting event in history. Never before have two undefeated heavyweights both in their prime had a legitimate claim to the title like Ali and Frazier did in 1971. Some insist that Ali was not at his best due to his 43 month layoff when he fought Frazier the first time, and there is much merit to that claim. Even though he stopped the top two contenders at the time in Quarry and Bonavena, before fighting Frazier. However, after seeing the fight, there is absolutely no question that Ali never threw and landed harder punches than he did on Joe Frazier in their first fight. In fact, during the first five rounds of Super-Fight one, Ali was never sharper or punched better. If you doubt that, I suggest you go back and look at the tape of rounds one through five.
Many fans and historians believe Ali's peak was his fight versus Cleveland Williams. Williams may have been Ali's peak regarding his speed and brilliance, but he had not filled out to where he was when he fought Frazier at age 29. The Ali of March 1971 was bigger, stronger, hit harder, and a more formidable fighter than the Ali of November 1966. During Ali's exile he matured and got stronger.
Going into the Frazier fight, many questioned Ali's chin, and toughness. Throughout his first fight with Frazier, Ali was hit continuously with Frazier's devastating left hook to the body and head. Never before or after had any fighter landed on Ali with the frequency and power of Frazier. Also during this fight, Ali launched and landed some of the swiftest and hardest combinations he ever hit any fighter with. Had Ali been fighting any other heavyweight except that Joe Frazier on that night, he would've most likely been a knockout winner.
The problem Ali had, was a prime 27 year old Joe Frazier in front of him. Going into his first fight with Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier was better prepared mentally and physically than any other fighter in history was for any opponent. Frazier knew he had the perfect style to fight Ali, and at that time in his career, he had it down pat. On the night of March 8th, 1971, Frazier was not to be denied. He was ready for anything Ali had to offer mentally or physically.
Going into Frazier-Ali I, Ali's plan was to beat Frazier up so badly early in the fight that he would either stop him, or have him so beaten up that he wouldn't have anything left for the last five rounds of the bout. By Frazier being so determined to beat Ali, he forced him to fight at a pace Ali wasn't accustomed to. Frazier also forced Ali to punch with authority just to try and keep him off. This resulted in Ali throwing bombs at Joe. Although Ali really rocked Joe in those first three or four rounds, he wasn't able to get him out. From rounds 6 through 15, Ali did all he could to try and impede Frazier's aggression, but Frazier was not to be denied. On this night, Ali never hit harder or demonstrated a better chin. I don't care what fight of Ali's career you think of, he was never better than he was against Joe Frazier in their first fight. He never hit harder or took it better, it's just that on March 8th 1971 Joe Frazier fought possibly the greatest fight of any heavyweight in boxing history.
November 13, 1992 Holyfield vs. Bowe I
When undefeated heavyweight champ Evander Holyfield defended the unified heavyweight title against undefeated top contender Riddick Bowe, the burden of proof was on him. Although Holyfield was the champ, his best wins as a heavyweight were over an out of shape Buster Douglas and two 42 year old ex-champs named Foreman and Holmes. Bowe, at that time was thought to be the future of the heavyweights.
For his title fight versus Holyfield, Bowe weighed in at a very firm 235 pounds. Most point to this as Bowe's signature fight. On the other hand, the 30 year old Holyfield was never better. In his first fight with Bowe, Holyfield was at his brilliant best. Never was he sharper or did he punch faster and harder. He also absorbed some monster hooks and uppercuts from Bowe. In losing to Bowe, Holyfield gained acceptance as being for real and a true heavyweight, despite the fact that he had been the undisputed champ for slightly over two years.
During his first fight with Bowe, Holyfield was never more formidable physically. He hit Bowe with some of the best punches he ever threw and landed on any other fighter he's faced. At the same time Bowe hit him harder and more solidly than any other fighter he ever fought. Had Holyfield been fighting any other top heavyweight of his era the night he fought Bowe the first time, he would have won in a convincing fashion. The Holyfield of November 1992, would certainly have beat any version of Lennox Lewis or Mike Tyson. The Holyfield who fought Tyson in 1996 and 1997, and Lewis in 1999 wasn't anywhere near close to the same fighter that fought Bowe in their first fight.
During the first Bowe fight, Holyfield was capable of fighting the entire round for the entire fight. This was Holyfield at his finest hour, never was he better or did he fight with more purpose. Unfortunately for Holyfield on this night, Bowe was too big and skilled and up to the task as well.
Walcott, Ali, and Holyfield fought possibly the best fight of their lives in a losing effort. Had Walcott not been the recipient of one of the hardest right hands in history, he may have remained champ a couple more years? For Ali, had he been fighting any other heavyweight in history other than Joe Frazier on March 8th, 1971, he would've been victorious. It's just that Frazier was not to be denied, and took out 4 years of pent up hate and anger on the source that ridiculed and demeaned his career and title tenure. As for Holyfield, he just had the misfortune of fighting the most skilled heavyweight over 6'4″ on his best night.
In this writers opinion, Walcott, Ali, and Holyfield share something else besides being great fighters. What they share is the fact that they were soundly defeated on one of the best nights of their career! On the three nights in question, all three fighters fought at a level where they were most likely the hardest to get a win over on any night of their career. It just so happens that on their best night, Walcott, Ali, and Holyfield were in with another fighter who was fighting at such a high level, they had no choice but to give their best effort. For at least one night, their best wasn't quite good enough.
Box A Round Boxing Club
Are you sure he can’t do a heart transplant?
The War at 154
Rick Folstad
They're calling it the “War at 154,” though no one will confuse it with plucking evil dictators out of dirty rat holes or patrolling the rubble and dark streets of a dying city.
Still, they're hoping this fight somehow lives up to its top billing, praying a slugfest breaks out instead of 12 rounds of elevator music.
IBF champ Winky Wright (46-3, 25 K0s), versus WBA and WBC champ Shane Mosley (39-2, 35 K0s) for the undisputed junior-middleweight (or, depending on your mood, super-welterweight) championship of the world.
It has a nice, long-overdue ring to it, a kind of “it's about damn time,” feel to it.
If you want to give credit to the right people for getting this fight done, you can start with Cory Spinks, an unlikely hero now known as the undisputed welterweight champ of the world.
If Spinks hadn't beaten Ricardo Mayorga on Dec. 13, Wright could have spent January and February snagging some sun on a St. Petersburg beach. That's because Mayorga was expected to walk through Spinks on his way to a lucrative fight with Mosley in March.
But somehow, Spinks found a way to beat Mayorga and suddenly, Mosley no longer had a March opponent and everything appeared to be ruined. Plans were shattered, promises broken, money was lost. The wife cried, the dog howled and the kids were sent to bed early.
How can this happen?
Then an idea occurred to someone important.
Hey, what about Ronald “Winky” Wright? I don't think he's got any big plans for March.
Winky, who was free in March, owes Cory a friendly slap on the back.
So what does the March 13 fight between Mosley and Wright (on HBO) at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas mean?
Just about everything if you weigh 154 and hold a world title belt.
It means Winky finally gets the big-money, big-name fight that could define his career, the fight he's been chasing since his controversial majority-decision loss to Fernando Vargas in 1999.
It means Gary Shaw, Mosley's promoter, also deserves a little pat on the back for somehow putting this fight together.
It means for the first time in 29 years, you'll only have to know one name when the bar talk turns to who the best junior-middleweight fighter in the world is.
It means Mosley better arrive at the gym early and leave late. He's not fighting the awkward banger he'd be facing in Mayorga. While Mayorga knows how to slug, Wright knows how to box.
It means Wright doesn't have to pack his passport the day he leaves for the fight. He won't have to hire an interpreter, change his currency, drive on the left side or learn how to eat and pronounce strange food. Of Wright's 49 fights, 20 have required extra paperwork and extra-long plane rides. He's fought in eight different countries and on four different continents.
No wonder no one over here knows who Winky Wright is.
Finally, this fight means that with the right money and for the right reasons, two guys in the same weight class holding different world titles, can come to an understanding that meeting inside the ring to decide who is the real champion makes all the sense in the world.
The sad thing is, it took an upset by another fighter in a different weight class – Spinks – to finally make it happen.
KILL THE BILL Volume 7 — ANOTHER REFORMER WHO NEEDS TO BE REFORMED
The 99th Round
Earlier this month, in response to what he, and others, considered an excessive amount of “pork” in the latest energy bill, John McCain told his Senate colleagues, “The outbreak of Washington trichinosis will be so severe, we will be forced to have a field office for the Centers for Disease Control right next to the Capitol.”
In a recent Associated Press wire story, McCain was described as “an avid critic of spending for lawmakers' pet projects.”
One of the great curiosities of McCain's campaign to slip through Congress his own pet project, the expensive ($36 million over five years), ineffectual, and perhaps unconstitutional Professional Boxing Amendments Act (to federalize control of boxing) has been his outright refusal to include television entities – by far the most powerful and influential forces in the sport – among those which would fall under regulatory jurisdiction.
Critics have cried foul – and they've had a point. If networks are going to control the balance of power, define the major 'players', put fighters under contract, and in some cases actually assume the 'de facto' role of a promoter, they are receiving unequal and unfair protection vis-a-vis the promoters in boxing who are actually required to be licensed and regulated.
However, McCain has been resolute about maintaining this protection, avoiding all opportunities to adjust or amend the bill to accommodate the reality of the industry, not to mention Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, who had previously introduced legislation that would provide some oversight of networks when they play a promotional role. McCain has been nothing short of combative on occasion, “calling out” Reid in press conferences, and in correspondence he has leaked to the public.
Why is McCain so stubborn? Part of the reason lies in a mode of political operation that has become imbedded in the man itself, despite countless “spins” to the contrary.
What is common knowledge inside the Beltway, but not necessarily among average boxing fans, is that while McCain has carefully crafted an image as a reformer railing against special interests, he has developed a talent that is much more acute, as one of the very best in the business at feeding from the corporate trough.
He has been slick enough to parlay his coziness with corporate interests into political capital, resulting in lots of money coming his way for campaigns. And his public relations apparatus, which has included many highly-cooperative writers, both in and out of sports, has enabled him to avoid having to discuss the considerable influence special interest groups have had on the drafting and development of McCain's boxing bill – the same types of groups he would purport to be thwarting in the Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act (otherwise known as McCain-Feingold), which, at the end of the day, amounts to little more than a rather brazen attempt to protect his own incumbency and that of other elected officials.
Campaign finance records available through the website OpenSecrets.org indicate that, for example, during 1999, the third-highest contributor to what, at the time, was McCain's insurgent run at the Republican presidential nomination was Viacom ($47,750), which controls a number of TV outlets, including Showtime, which has a major investment in boxing.
The top eight corporate contributors to McCain's “Straight Talk America” political action committee from 1997-2002 included three companies that would be affected, one way or another, by the way McCain's bill was shaped – Viacom, AT&T (which controlled cable outlets and sold pay-per-view boxing events), and AOL Time Warner (which owns HBO, boxing's most powerful single entity).
And as for McCain's last U.S. Senate campaign, waged in 1998, the list of his top fifty corporate donors is replete with entities who have a substantial stake in boxing, and which have a “special interest” in avoiding the regulatory blanket – Viacom (3rd – $55,250), AT&T (4th – $51,563), NBC/General Electric (20th – $19,500), Fox/News Corp. (22nd – $19,050), Time Warner (T43rd – $12,000), and Univision (T43rd – $12,000), not to mention Anheuser-Busch (5th -$51,563), a company in which McCain has considerable financial interests, both individually (he has reported at least a half-million dollars in debentures) and through his family (which controls the largest distributorship in Arizona), and which over the past two decades has been boxing most prominent sponsor, with nearly all of that advertising delivered through television.
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, which McCain chairs and under whose domain the boxing bill falls, is heavily courted by companies with interests in the sport. For the six-year cycle between 1995-2000, the top committee-related contributors to committee members include: AT&T ($369,960), Time-Warner ($249,585), Viacom ($167,654), the Walt Disney Company, which owns ESPN ($147,758), and the National Cable Television Association ($129,101).
Noted boxing promoters like Don King, Bob Arum, Cedric Kushner, Main Events, Duva Boxing, Gary Shaw or DiBella Entertainment do not appear on that list; apparently there was not enough in the way of donations to rise in McCain's pecking order.
Despite his well-cultivated “reformer” image, McCain has time and again demonstrated that he is a creature of corporate America and a bedfellow of corporate lobbyists. His leveraging efforts have been particularly remarkable, and he's utilized his position on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee – first as the ranking Republican and now as chair – to extract hundreds of thousands of dollars from corporations he has regulatory power over.
McCain, who through his campaign finance measure is regarded by many First Amendment advocates as no friend of free speech, is notorious for freezing out consumer groups who would like to present their cases to his committee but who have not lavished him with campaign donations. According to a February 2000 story in the New York Press, representatives of corporations – the lion's share of which are directly tied to McCain's campaign war chests – out-number such consumer-interest groups by a 10-to-1 margin when it comes to appearances at committee hearings.
The causative links between campaign donations and special favors have become a McCain trademark. In 1999, after McCain-authored legislation to allow satellite TV companies to carry local programming in each market, which had previously been prohibited, was approved by his committee, one of the players who stood to experience a resulting windfall – EchoStar Communications – held a huge fund-raiser for McCain's presidential campaign.
During the 2000 primary season, as word came down that McCain was pressuring the Federal Communications Commission to act on a license transfer in favor of Paxson Communications, a company that had, to that date, “coordinated” $20,000 in contributions for his run at the nomination and treated him to many free flights on its corporate jet, his then-opponent, George W. Bush, was moved to remark, “I think somebody who makes campaign financing an issue has got to be consistent and walk the walk.”
Of course, one understands McCain's pattern of behavior more vividly upon an examination into his central role in the infamous “Keating Five” scandal, one of history's most naked examples of politicians exerting special levels of influence for the sake of large campaign contributors.
Charles Keating Jr., who owned the Lincoln Savings & Loan Association and was a major presence in Arizona, was under investigation by authorities – specifically the Federal Home Loan Bank Board – for making investments of such a speculative nature that they put at risk the government-insured money of depositors. Keating took issue with the premise of the investigation, and wanted the regulators off his back. He had, between 1982 and 1987, stuffed the campaign coffers of five United States Senators – John Glenn of Ohio, Dennis DeConcini of Arizona, Alan Cranston of California, Don Riegle of Michigan, and McCain – to the tune of $1.4 million.
At the same time, McCain family members, including his wife and father-in-law, were the chief investors in the Fountain Square Shopping Center, controlled and managed by Keating, with a stake estimated at $359,000. McCain and his family were also frequent vacation guests of Keating – traveling at Keating's expense on Keating's private jet to the resort Keating owned at Cat Cay in the Bahamas – at least nine times in all. Surely there were interests to protect on more than one front.
Although he later claimed to be very reluctant in doing so, McCain nonetheless couldn't resist in joining with his four Senate colleagues in April of 1987 to pressure regulators to end their investigation of Keating, which had been ongoing for two years. The regulators later testified that they felt intimidated by McCain's group, which was tagged the “Keating Five”.
To illustrate the justification of the investigation, the S&L controlled by McCain's friend Keating busted out, ruining thousands of investors and costing taxpayers $3.4 billion in bailouts, the worst hit in the entire saving and loan scandal.
There was also more than one call within his home state of Arizona for McCain to resign.
During this particular period in his career, McCain was hardly interested in raising the issue of campaign finance reform. In fact, quite the contrary – he resisted it at every turn and resisted others who made an effort in that direction. According to a December 8, 1987 story in the Phoenix Gazette
, “So why has Sen. McCain, R-Ariz., gone to unprecedented lengths to block reform of the Senate campaign finance system? Why does he oppose letting this important matter even come to a vote? Perhaps it's because he is a prime beneficiary of the special interest funding of congressional elections. McCain raised over $2.5 million for his 1986 election . . . more than $760,000 of his campaign funds came from political action committee (PACs) . . . especially disturbing are the contributions to McCain's campaign coffers from PACs outside of Arizona.”
And McCain simply embarrassed himself when his family's investment deals with Keating were uncovered. In September of 1989, as he was questioned about them by the Arizona Republic, he called the reporter “a liar” and denounced his efforts as “irresponsible journalism”. When pressed later, he told the same reporter, “That's the spouse's involvement, you idiot.”
In ultimately protecting one of their own, the Senate Select Committee on Ethics asserted McCain broke no laws, but did say this about the man who is now the self-professed “champion of campaign finance reform”:
“Mr. Keating, his associates, and his friends contributed $56,000 for Senator McCain's two House races in 1982 and 1984, and $54,000 for his 1986 Senate race. Mr. Keating also provided his corporate plane and/or arranged for payment for the use of commercial or private aircraft on several occasions for travel by Senator McCain and his family, for which Senator McCain ultimately provided reimbursement when called upon to do so. Mr. Keating also allowed Senator McCain and his family to vacation with Mr. Keating and his family, at a home provided by Mr. Keating in the Bahamas, in each of the calendar years 1983 through 1986……..”
According to a Time magazine story in December of 1999, ” He (McCain) denounces big-spending special interests and yet accepts flights on corporate jets; he puts the speaker of the Arizona house of representatives on his campaign payroll despite a flurry of ethics charges around him; he neglects to recuse himself from debates about measures that would affect his family beer business.”
Yet the writers, Nancy Gibbs and John F. Dickerson, insist, “But a funny thing happened on the way to his deathbed conversion (to campaign reformer): he really reformed.”
McCain's posture toward television interests in the process of crafting the boxing bill would strongly suggest otherwise.
On a personal note, as I reviewed some of the material for this story, my mind regressed to a couple of years ago, as I was compiling the investigative report “A Commission Run Amok”, which dealt with the Florida State Athletic Commission.
At the time, Mike Scionti, the commission's former executive director, was awaiting a hearing on ethics charges. He had been embroiled in a firestorm of controversy that eventually led to his firing by Governor Jeb Bush, over what was considered to be highly improper conduct while in office. A non-profit organization – a charity for youth – that the commission had established and Scionti had spearheaded, accepted a large donation from promoter Don King, after which Scionti had sought to change a commission regulation about promotional contracts that would have benefited King.
There was no evidence that any money went into Scionti's pocket directly, or that it went to furthering any personal agenda of Scionti's – public relations-related or otherwise.
Meanwhile, McCain had gone to bat, more aggressively and, by all accounts, with a much heavier hand, on behalf of entities that plowed money into his election campaigns and to political action committees that were designed to promote McCain's political objectives – in many respects creating a higher public profile for the senator, which has in turn spawned media coverage, book sales, and even more political donations.
And I'm saying to myself, isn't what McCain has done more devoid of an ethical foundation than what Scionti did? And are there not 500 others engaged in the same ballgame as McCain – albeit not as skillfully – on Capitol Hill?
The stories you hear about boxing people pale by comparison. If state boxing regulators conducted business in the same manner as McCain has conducted his business in Congress, would I not have been able to write about twenty “Operation Cleanup” books by now?
And given those parameters, at what price would we be placing the sport into the hands of politicians like him?
As one writer put it, “The John McCain of old should be thankful that his political fate wasn't determined by John McCain the reformer.”
I would suggest McCain's nothing more than an old dog who could care less about learning new tricks.
fightpage@totalaction.com
Copyright 2003 Total Action Inc.
The Highs and Lows.
Steve Kim
In a few days we'll be turning the page on 2003 and looking ahead to another year that is bound to be eventful- they almost always are.
But before we go full speed ahead to 2004, let's look back on what we've witnessed the past 12 months in the game of boxing.
And what we've found out is that sometimes the sports highlights, were also it's lowlights. Oftentimes, they were one in the same.
HIGHLIGHT: Vitali Klitschko's valiant performance against Lennox Lewis.
Coming in as a late replacement for Kirk Johnson, Klitschko would give the heavyweight champion all he could handle for six rounds before the fight was halted because of a grotesque cut over his left eye. In fighting so well and bravely against Lewis, he not only changed the perception of himself, but off his whole fighting family. The Klitschko name had been redeemed.
LOWLIGHT: Lennox Lewis's behavior with HBO's Larry Merchant after that fight.
Lewis has been a very respectable and representative champion during his reign. But he acted like a downright brat in his post-fight interview with Larry Merchant on live television. When confronted with the truth, he tried to hijack the interview by yanking the microphone away from Merchant, who had to hold on for dear life. During the bout he looked like a fading fighter on a bad night. Afterwords, he looked like an infant in need of a timeout.
HIGHLIGHT: Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward complete their thrilling trilogy.
Gatti and Ward had a lot to live up to when they met for the third time this past June. And live up to it they did, in a fight with momentum shifts and a constantly changing ebb-and-flow. Gatti would overcome a damaged right hand to win a hard-fought ten round decision. It was a fitting conclusion to one of the games great rivalries and the career of Ward, who called it a day on a proud career.
LOWLIGHT: There will be no more Gatti-Ward in the future.
Which may actually be a good thing, because I'm not sure they could handle anymore of each other. But boxing will miss this rivalry.
HIGHLIGHT: Oscar De La Hoya and Shane Mosley rematch.
It's always good for the business of boxing when 'the Golden Boy' engages in a mega-fight. The interest is high- even among the usually apathetic general media- boxing becomes the showcase event in the world of sports and everyone involved: from the fighters, to the promoters, the pay-per-view outlets and casino's make money.
LOWLIGHT: De La Hoya's and Arum's reaction to the decision in that fight.
It's one thing to think that you won a close fight, it's even acceptable to complain about the decision. But the manner in which both Oscar and his promoter cast aspersions on the judges and Nevada State Athletic Commission, were low blows of the Andrew Golota variety. Luckily for them, they were only given light slaps on the wrists for their irresponsible and incendiary comments.
But the bottom line is they both hurt the sport with their allegations and the fact that more than one media outlet ran with their quotes, further hurt boxing's reputation.
HIGHLIGHT: Roy Jones makes history
In defeating John Ruiz for the WBA heavyweight belt, Jones became the first middleweight in over a hundred years to win a heavyweight crown. This fight also did very well, registering over 500,000 pay-per-view buys, which is always a good sign for the industry.
LOWLIGHT: Jones' indecisiveness after that win.
Jones had all the momentum in the world after his win over Ruiz, but instead of capitalizing on it, he tried to pinch pennies with Evander Holyfield, threw out astronomical numbers for a fight with Mike Tyson( which is a loooong ways from ever happening) and then had to settle for a rather non-descript fight back at light heavyweight against Antonio Tarver.
HIGHLIGHT- Toney turns the 'Lights Out' on Holyfield
James Toney had seemingly been in exile since his embarrassing loss to Roy Jones in 1994. But he came back strong in 2003 with wins over Vassiliy Jirov and then a stoppage of Evander Holyfield, which stamped his entrance into the heavyweight division. The game can always use a few good big men and who cares if that comes in the form of former middleweights like Toney and Jones.
LOWLIGHTS: Holyfield isn't retiring.
'The Real Deal' maintained that he wouldn't retire till he won the undisputed title or got his hat handed to him. Well, after this bout it was evident that the former wasn't happening and the latter did. But like most other great fighters, they are the last to know when it's time to call it a day.
HIGHLIGHT: 'Pac Man' gobbles up Barrera.
It's always shocking and uplifting when a fighter bursts onto the scene and elevates himself the way Manny Pacquiao did against Marco Antonio Barrera this past November. Barrera, had universal acclaim as one of the sports premiere pound-for-pound performers. Pacquiao, while a respected fighter, was thought to be just a notable opponent for Barrera.
Instead, Barrera would get blitzed by the all-out, frenetic attack of the Filipino. Barrera would be simply overwhelmed by the punches of Pacquiao and his corner would have to rescue him from the onslaught of the southpaw in the eleventh round.
LOWLIGHT: Murad Muhammad allegedly gobbles up Pacquiao.
This was mentioned prominently on the HBO broadcast that out of the $700,000 license fee given to Pacquiao's promoter, Murad Muhammad, only about $300,000 had gone to the fighter. And that was before the money was cut up in various ways.
Once source close to the situation tells me that after all was said and done, Pacquiao, wound up with about $80,000. It looks like he may have taken a worse beating than the one he gave out.
HIGHLIGHT: Johnny Tapia comes out of a coma in January.
You gotta hand it to Tapia, most guys take standing eight counts, this little guy takes mandatory flat lines, this is about the third or fourth time he's been close to dead only to come off the canvas. Once again after another relapse in drugs, he would be in an intensive care unit battling for his life. As friends, family and loved ones surrounded him, he would beat the odds once again to walk out of the hospital and fight again.
LOWLIGHTS: Tapia reportedly overdoses in December.
Tapia swears that he did not overdose, but rather took some cold medication that he had an allergic reaction to. Uh, ok, sure, whatever you guys say. But do they have to insult everyone's intelligence, here? Isn't it time that Tapia got some real help for his problems?
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Abington Towne Center
Abington, Pennsylvania
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Bedford Green is a 90,589+/- SF ShopRite anchored center located in an affluent area along Route 117 (Bedford Road) in Bedford Hills, New York. Situated in a high demographic area of Westchester County (average household income within 3 miles is over $185,000), the center has attracted national and credit tenants, including ShopRite, CVS and Chase, as well as a diverse mix of retailers that meet the needs of the local residents. …
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Branch Plaza
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Branch Plaza is located on Route 25 (Main Street), approximately 40 miles east of Manhattan. Convenient access to the Plaza results from close proximity of the Long Island Railroad, the Long Island Expressway and the Northern State Parkway. Branch Plaza benefits from its location in a neighborhood with a mixture of retail and residential uses and also from its presence in the affluent, densely populated Suffolk County.…
4,050 SF, 1,458 SF
Brandywine Town Center
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76,458 SF, 25,025 SF, 24,393 SF, 21,872 SF, 18,893 SF, 4,200 SF
California & Armitage
In a few short years, Logan Square has positioned itself as Chicago's favorite emerging market. Civic projects like the 606 and the unprecedented scale of residential development along Milwaukee Avenue are testaments to this fact. The neighborhood's burgeoning entertainment scene is home to a number of award-winning restaurants (both Michelin and James Beard) and noted music venues: the Congress Theater and Concord Music Hall. The CTA's Blue Line offers residents convenient transportation to and from the city, attracting an even greater influx of youth to this vibrant submarket. California and Armitage features dedicated parking, the prominence of a hard corner with a signalized intersection, and nationally branded co-tenancy: distinct advantages not often found in urban environments.…
2,196 SF & 3,186 SF
Chestnut Hill Shoppes
This property is located on Germantown Avenue, the main thoroughfare of the Chestnut Hill Shopping District, which features a variety of national and local tenants. Germantown Avenue is located in a strong infill area and in one of Philadelphia’s most upscale neighborhoods. This shopping district is enhanced by year-round activities sponsored by the Chestnut Hill Business & Community Associations.…
Located on Geary Boulevard, one of San Francisco’s busiest and most prominent corridors, City Center is surrounded by a dense and affluent trade area represented by the surrounding neighborhoods of Pacific Heights, Presidio Heights, Laurel Heights and the Richmond District. City Center has few competitive properties in terms of scale, retail offerings, and ease of access within San Francisco and benefits from its close proximity to nearby landmarks including Golden Gate Park, The Park Presidio, University of San Francisco, Kaiser Permanente Hospital, UCSF Medical Center and the city’s vibrant 24/7 cultural scene.…
Visit the City Point Brooklyn website to learn more about the largest food, shopping and entertainment destination in Downtown Brooklyn. The largest food, shopping and entertainment destination in the borough, City Point takes the spirit of Brooklyn to new heights. On any given day at City Point, you will discover the pulse of our community from Brownstone Brooklyn families to Fulton Street shoppers to downtown professionals and the Ft. Greene arts Community. As far as we're concerned, you don't have to be from Brooklyn to be BKLYN BORN. …
Jarette Seligman
Cortlandt Crossing
Cortlandt Crossing is the new home of one of Westchester County’s top ShopRite locations. The center is located on the north side of the highly-trafficked Route 6, approximately three miles west of the Taconic State Parkway. In addition to boasting great visibility and access, Cortlandt Crossing is also home to a brand new Homesense, as well as Chipotle, Verizon and Aspen Dental. Cortlandt Crossing is situated across Route 6 from Cortlandt Town Center, a power center that includes tenants such as Walmart, Marshalls, PetSmart, and Best Buy.…
3,175 SF (Divisible), 8,000 SF, 9,250 SF (Divisible)
Crescent Plaza
Located on the major east-west thoroughfare Route 27 in the community of Brockton, 25 miles south of Boston, Crescent Plaza includes The Home Depot, Shaw’s and Bank of America amongst its tenants. There are over 166,000 households located within five miles of the suburban retail center.…
Crossroads Shopping Center
The Crossroads Shopping Center is located just west of downtown White Plains on Route 119 (Tarrytown-White Plains Road), one of the primary retail destinations in Westchester County. Accessible from both 1-287 and the Central Avenue retail corridor, Crossroads includes PGA Tour Superstore (Opening Spring 2021) HomeGoods, PetSmart, Five Below and DSW amongst its tenants. Neighboring retailers include Bed Bath & Beyond and TJ Maxx.…
Dauphin Plaza
Dauphin Plaza is located on Union Deposit Road, a major East-West thoroughfare into and out of the city of Harrisburg. Less than a mile from the Route 83 intersection, this property boasts strong commuter traffic, visibility, and a diverse national tenant roster, including Price Rite, Big Lots, Crunch Fitness, and Ashley Furniture. …
6,978 SF, 2,400 SF, 1,800 SF & 1,600 SF (2)
Eden Square
Bear, Delaware
Eden Square is convieniently located on the corner of Route 40 and Route 1 in Bear, DE and benefits from strong visibility from the highway. Bear, DE is an excellent commuter location to Wilmington and Dover, Delaware and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is located less than 4 miles off the I-95 corridor and is home to anchors such as Giant Foods, Gabes and Dollar Tree. …
Elk Grove Commons
Elk Grove Commons is the dominant retail center in the region and is anchored by a high performing Trader Joe’s, HomeGoods, and Kohl’s. The Property serves an affluent and dense trade area with average household incomes of approximately $100,000 and a population of more than 160,000. Strategically located on the hard corner of Elk Grove Boulevard and Bruceville Road, Elk Grove Commons benefits from excellent curb appeal and visibility to more than 71,000 cars passing by the Property daily. The Property provides customers the complete shopping experience featuring a dominant anchor lineup.…
5,000 SF, 7,200 SF, 18,300 SF
Elmwood Park Shopping Center
Elmwood Park Shopping Center is located on Route 4 in Elmwood Park, New Jersey, approximately 30 miles west of New York City. The densely populated community provides consistent traffic to the center, which includes Acme, Walgreens, GNC, Chase Bank and Fitness 19 amongst its tenants.…
4,041 SF, 4,434 SF, 4,474 SF, 19,157 SF
Fairlane Green
Allen Park, Michigan
Fairlane Green is a premier shopping destination in the Metro Detroit Area, strategically positioned in between Interstate 94 and Michigan Highway 39. This shopping center boasts one of the most sought after tenant lineups in Metro Detroit, including Target, TJ Maxx, Old Navy, Ulta, Bed Bath & Beyond and Five Below, among others.…
1,500 SF, 3,600 SF, 10,800 SF, 28,000 SF
Frederick County Square
Frederick County Square is a 227,000 SF shopping center located in the high profile ‘Golden Mile’ on Route 40 in Frederick, MD. The center is anchored by KMart, JoAnn Fabrics and shadow anchor, Wawa.…
1,542 SF, 1,975 SF, 2,780 SF, 4,959 SF, 7,078 SF, 10,006 SF, 35,000 SF
Adam Greenberg
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Posts tagged ‘Human Trafficking’
DHS announces new center ‘to combat and dismantle all forms of human trafficking’ but MSM fails to pay attention
Reported by BRECK DUMAS | October 21, 2020
Read more at https://www.conservativereview.com/dhs-announces-new-center-to-combat-and-dismantle-all-forms-of-human-trafficking-but-msm-fails-to-pay-attention-theblaze-2648424675.html/
The Department of Homeland Security announced Tuesday the opening of its new Center for Countering Human Trafficking based in Washington, D.C., which has been operational since last month and is led by officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf tweeted, “Proud to announce the opening of the DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking. One of the many steps the Trump administration has taken to combat and dismantle all forms of human trafficking.”
He added in a news release:
“Human trafficking is modern day slavery. There is no other way to say it. The words are strong because the actions are evil. The forms of exploitation, sex trafficking, forced labor, and domestic servitude that constitute human trafficking are antithetical in every way to the principles of human dignity that Americans hold dear. The launch of this Center for Countering Human Trafficking represents the investment of resources, attention, and time by President Trump to combat and dismantle all forms of human trafficking.”
The announcement stated that “The Center will build on the agency’s ‘victims first’ approach, which balances victim identification, rescue and support with prevention, investigation, and prosecution of traffickers. ICE HSI is uniquely positioned to utilize criminal, immigration, and trade-based authorities to proactively identify, disrupt and dismantle cross-border human trafficking organizations.”
The agency noted that in fiscal year 2019 alone, “ICE initiated 1,024 human trafficking and forced labor related cases which led to 2,197 criminal arrests. These effective actions resulted in nearly 700 convictions and the rescue of more than 400 victims.”
Some conservatives voiced frustrations over a lack of media attention for the center’s launch.
Donald Trump Jr. shared a post purportedly showing that members of the media had no questions during a briefing on the center’s launch.
“This is a disgrace,” Trump Jr., the president’s oldest son, tweeted. “@realDonaldTrump is the first American Politician to address the scourge of human trafficking and fund it and no one has any interest in covering it. I guess they’re too busy running cover for Hollywood.”
Center for Countering Human Trafficking
OPINION: Here’s What Tolerance For Sexual Deviancy Has Reaped
Commentary by Erik Rush | May 30, 2019
URL of the original posting site: https://freedomoutpost.com/heres-what-tolerance-for-sexual-deviancy-has-reaped/
Last Sunday on Fox News’ “The Next Revolution,” referencing the effluvia of slander and histrionics being doled out by prominent leftists, host Steve Hilton stated that the Washington, D.C., political and media establishment have “lost their minds.”
While this may sound like hyperbole, some of the rhetoric coming from the left does have elements of clinical insanity. The insistence on the part of prominent Democrats that President Donald Trump colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 election despite having been cleared of this charge certainly qualifies. Claims that restrictions on abortion being considered in some states will kill black women (an abject fallacy in itself) whilst ignoring the black babies being killed by abortion in the absence of such measures also qualifies.
The most bizarre and incoherent ideas currently being advanced by the left have to do with gender. Only 20 years ago, the idea of same-sex “marriage” was considered ridiculous by a majority of Americans. Similarly, biological males competing in sporting events as females would have been considered not only absurd, but grossly unfair to biologically female athletes.
Today, these “institutions” are practically commonplace, and they’ve become so largely because those who considered them ridiculous remained silent rather than being labeled as bigots.
The most recent incarnation of the left’s efforts to promote sexual ambivalence has to do with the nature of gender itself. Not only does a segment of the tiny but extremely vocal LGBTQ lobby advocate for biological males and females being able to “choose” a preferred gender with which to identify, this bunch also contends that there are multitudes of genders, perhaps even hundreds.
I remember quite well during the Sexual Revolution of the 1960s and ’70s, when the political left was pushing sexual permissiveness with all the urgency of avoiding the next planetary extinction-level event, catty, mincing liberals accused those who resisted going along with the program of being prudes. As far as they were concerned, a prude was just as bad as a segregationist – and if you ran afoul of their budding doctrine, they certainly let you know it.
Also during this period, court cases and discussions in the public square arose with regard to how these “new sensibilities” would be represented in media and education. Oh, the controversy over sex ed in schools! Many will recall the liberal argument that sexual function and reproduction were “only knowledge,” and that keeping this valuable knowledge from our youth was simply wrong. Further, that argument added that an ignorance of sexuality and reproduction would lead to young people getting into trouble should they become sexually active.
There was a great deal of concern about sexuality being represented in films and TV , and particularly its effect on children, as well as concern over the proliferation of pornography and its effects on society at large.
In November of 1968, the first voluntary Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) film rating system took effect, not so much because the public was concerned about sexual content in movies, but because the MPAA brass deemed the Hays code (in place since 1930) archaic. Movie makers had been increasingly pushing the envelope in this area anyway; the new ratings code actually gave filmmakers more license to produce explicit material.
While millions of Americans possessing traditional values were alarmed at these emergent sensibilities, there was a certain congruity in the disposition of courts and regulatory agencies, which decided that if a segment of the population wished to expose themselves to smut, it was not the role of the Christian majority or those or secular folks who held to traditional values to dictate mores to them.
Unfortunately, like our Constitution itself, this has become a double-edged sword. Fast-forward 50 years and any child with a computer , tablet or smartphone can navigate to the most aberrant and disgusting pornographic fare ever conceived. American consumers are hard-pressed to find movie and TV offerings that do not aggressively promote leftist sexual orthodoxy, and even TV shows featuring comic book superheroes are peppered with gratuitous pro-LGBTQ messages.
As is occurring today, back in the ’60s and ’70s, the perceived “rights” of individuals to engage in sexually deviant behavior superseded any consideration of how propagating sexually deviant behavior might impact society at large.
Well, at this point, I think that the jury is in, and it’s apparent that we’ve pretty much screwed ourselves (pun intended).
An interesting perspective comes from Christine Caine, an Australian activist who has firsthand experience with sexual abuse and trauma. Caine founded A21, a global anti-trafficking organization that operates in 15 countries and aids in prosecuting sex traffickers and rescuing victims.
Now, one could claim that the increasing incidence of sex trafficking, especially that involving children, has nothing whatsoever to do with the phenomenon of an increasing sexual permissiveness in Western culture – but I think that most reading this will know better. Ms. Caine asserts that the proliferation of pornography and other sexually ambivalent materials has fueled human trafficking, and I tend to agree. We’re human beings, and, by our nature, the only ones who’ll find themselves immune to morally ambivalent materials of any kind are those who do not partake in them.
So, we have confirmation that the atmosphere of sexual permissiveness we’ve cultivated has severely compromised us culturally. Also, we can now see that the left (via the LGBTQ lobby) has no intention of exhibiting the same tolerance to people who hold traditional values as was shown them. Indeed, having been extended an olive branch, they continue to cry “oppression” amidst calls for traditional values to be relegated to criminal status.
So much for tolerance.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR/COMMENTATOR:
Erik Rush
Erik Rush is a New York-born columnist, author and speaker who writes sociopolitical commentary, and host of the FULL-CONTACT With Erik Rush LIVE! streaming radio show. He is also the Founder and Chief Editor of the Instigator News Network. In February of 2007, Erik was the first to break the story of Barack Obama’s ties to militant Chicago preacher Rev. Jeremiah Wright on a national level. His book, “Negrophilia: From Slave Block to Pedestal ~ America’s Racial Obsession,” has been called “the definitive book on race politics in America.”
Human Trafficking — Quick Facts & Stats
Published By Clarion Project Wednesday, July 4, 2018
URL of the original posting site: https://clarionproject.org/human-trafficking-stats-facts/
Learn some quick facts and stats about the global problem of human trafficking:
Islamic Countries
How Prevalent is the Global Child Sex Trade in the US?
Reported by Ben Swann — March 27, 2018
URL of the original posting site: https://freedomoutpost.com/prevalent-global-child-sex-trade-us/
It’s a horrific issue that doesn’t get nearly enough coverage in U.S. mainstream media. Child sex trafficking is a booming black market business. Most parents can’t imagine it happening in their own backyard. While we know it’s a global issue, child sex trafficking is finally starting to become a mainstream topic in the U.S.
A film called “I Am Jane Doe,” released in February, highlights young girls between the ages of 13 and 15 years old who were picked up off the street and sold for sex online. The film takes aim at Backpage.com. But in reality, the issue of child sex trafficking is so much bigger than one website. And the appetite for child sex abuse goes all the way to the top.
This is Reality Check you won’t get anywhere else.
It’s a disheartening statistic: the child sex trafficking market is resulting in more than 1 million children abused around the world each year. So how has this market proliferated?
Tim Swarens, a columnist and editor for The Indianapolis Star, recently began publishing a series of articles about the child sex trade, a subject he’s reportedly investigated for more than a year. He explains that the child sex trade is like any other business trade, driven by supply and demand.
According to a study by the Center for Court Innovation from 2016, between 8,900 and 10,500 children ages 13 to 17 are being sold in the U.S. each year. Swarens writes, “The researchers found that the average age of victims is 15 and that each child is purchased on average 5.4 times a day.”
To determine a conservative estimate of the demand, Swarens “multiplied the lower number of victims (8,900) identified in the Center for Court Innovation study by the rate of daily exploitation per child (5.4), and then by an average of only one ‘work’ day per week (52). The result: Adults purchase children for sex at least 2.5 million times a year in the United States.”
And while the supply side is what garners most media attention, the issue of demand doesn’t get nearly as much coverage.
Take the recent documentary “I Am Jane Doe,” a film about parents seeking justice for their young teenage girls being picked up and trafficked for sex right in their own communities.
Those parents took aim at the website Backpage.com for profiting off of its adult section, allegedly riddled with young girls being sold for sex. But even if Backpage.com is a platform for advertising and selling, a channel through which these transactions can take place, it’s just one of many online channels being used by pedophiles to buy children to abuse.
But is the problem the channels, or is it something deeper?
What’s missing from the discussion is the high demand perpetuating the child sex trade.
Swarens explains, “The critical need to reduce demand has gained far less attention and money. The result: Buyers continue to abuse children with near impunity.”
Now, in the film “I Am Jane Doe,” the people buying children to abuse are described to be white, married men with families who live in suburbia. A former pimp interviewed for the film, Homer King, says on camera that he sold girls to priests, lawyers and even politicians.
Swarens came to the same conclusion in his investigation. He writes: “This project began with a question: Who buys a 15-year-old child for sex? The answer: Many otherwise ordinary men. They could be your co-worker, doctor, pastor or spouse.”
Who are some of these men buying children to abuse?
Remember Jared Fogle from the Subway sandwich commercials? He “admitted to charges of having child pornography and repeatedly having sex with minors,” according to NPR. Court documents show that one of the text messages Fogle sent to a 17-year-old he paid for sex, stated his preferences as quote: “The younger the girl, the better.”
And back in June 2008, billionaire Jeffrey Epstein was prosecuted and sentenced to 18 months in prison for paying for sex with girls as young as 14. He served only 13 of those months.
The appetite for underage sex goes all the way to the top—some most powerful people in the world.
The longest serving Republican Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, who was second in line to the presidency from 1999 to 2007, admitted to sexually abusing boys while he was a high school wrestling coach. After making the admission in 2016, the judge who sentenced him 15 months in prison and two years of supervised release, called Hastert a “serial child molester.” He served only 13 months.
Now, let’s be clear: there’s no evidence that Hastert actually paid for sex. But the desire to abuse children is what fuels the global child sex trade, and demand is high.
Back in 2015, a special report aired on 60 Minutes Australia revealing that elected officials and elites in the UK were accused of buying and abusing children.
From powerful elites down to “otherwise ordinary men,” children are easily being bought and abused… around in the world.
Posing as a buyer, former special agent for the Department of Homeland Security Timothy Ballard has been setting up undercover sting operations through his nonprofit Operation Underground Railroad since 2013.
Working in conjunction with governments all around the world, Operation Underground Railroad has so far busted 443 child sex traffickers and saved more than 1,000 victims. Here are just some of their 2017 operations.
Operation Sainte Jou: Port-au-Prince, Haiti – 32 rescued, 9 arrested
Operation Grand Via: Mexico – 25 rescued, 5 arrested
Operation NN9: Washington State, USA – 17 rescued, 21 arrested
Operation Jetsar: Cambodia – 11 rescued, 9 arrested
So what you need to know is that the battle to dismantle the global child sex trade is a massive and almost overwhelming undertaking.
Yet mainstream media does not treat it that way. Networks like CNN will give at least 40 days of daily coverage to stories like the missing Flight 370 in 2014. But in those 40 days, using Swarens’s math, about 250,000 children were bought and abused.
Even if that made the news, we make a mistake when the focus of the efforts to end this trafficking is only focused on how children are sold, instead of also focusing on to whom they are sold.
That discussion is one we need to have because until mainstream media and law enforcement is willing to go down that road… we will likely not see any real changes.
Article posted with permission from Truth in Media
About the Author Ben Swann
Ben has spent 14 years working as a journalist in broadcast news. He began his career as a news photographer and moved up the ladder to reporter, morning anchor/reporter, prime time anchor/reporter. Along the way he won two Emmy Awards and two Edward R. Murrow awards. Ben was the anchor at WXIX in Cincinnati, Ohio and hosted the popular “Reality Check.” Ben now has his own brand of media, which you can find at Truth in Media.
child sex trade
child sex trafficking market
The Clarion Project Newsletter for May 17, 2017
US•World•Political Islam•Human Rights•Terrorism•101s•Take Action
Watch Shocking Testimonies of ISIS’ Victims. Clarion’s latest film Faithkeepers brings unique footage as a genocide unfurls. Watch
Standing Up to FGM in America. Opinion in the wake of the Michigan scandal. Watch
What We Think Trump Really Said to Erdogan. Clarion’s take on how the conversation went. Read
EXCLUSIVE Interview with Yazidi Leader: West to Blame for Our Genocide. West is funding Muslims and Kurds, but stood by when the Yazidis asked for help. Learn More
What Iran Fears Most. Protests and uprising are brewing in response to Friday’s presidential election sham. Read
Son of Bin Laden – Next-Gen Evil. Hamza bin Laden calls on Islamists to kill Americans and others. Watch
Son of Bin Laden – Next-Gen Evil
“Won’t stop US and UK selling arms to these Saudi Wahabbists nutcases though! Get real people”
-S.C.
Standing Up to FGM in America
“What a horrible procedure to mutilate another human being. Disgusting traditions that need to be stopped!”
-T.G.
Support the Clarion Project’s Vital Work Donate now
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Dems come to defense of Planned Parenthood
By Sarah Ferris – 07/15/15
URL of the original posting site: http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/248137-dems-come-to-defense-of-planned-
Congressional Democrats are coming to the defense of Planned Parenthood as Republicans launch investigations into the group’s use of fetal tissue from abortions. Multiple Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday dismissed a secretly recorded viral video that shows a Planned Parenthood executive detailing how the livers, lungs and hearts of fetuses are preserved during abortions for medical research. “It’s got a Benghazi feel to it, for me,” centrist Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) said. “They’ve been attacking Planned Parenthood for years,” said Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), another prominent abortion rights supporter. “They’ve been calling for investigations for years.”
Still, the footage, which was recorded by anti-abortion advocates posing as fetal tissue buyers from a research company, is putting Democrats in an uncomfortable spot. While Democrats have for years defended Planned Parenthood against GOP attacks, the graphic discussion about “fetal parts” in the video has energized conservative groups that say the reality of abortion is deliberately obscured by the media.
The remarks from Planned Parenthood’s chief medical director surfaced Tuesday in a nearly nine-minute video that was created by a new group, the Center for Medical Progress. Planned Parenthood, which receives federal funding that cannot be used for abortions, has acknowledged that the video does feature its top medical officer but says the footage is heavily edited and “grossly mischaracterizes” the organization’s practice of donating fetal tissue to research.
At least one anti-abortion Democrat, Rep. Dan Lipinski (Ill.), said he supports the GOP for its planned investigations. Lipinski denounced the video in a press conference with several House Republicans on Wednesday and said he believes more of his colleagues in the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus will follow. “I’m hopeful that some of the pro-choice Democrats also come out in support of the investigation to find out what’s going on at these clinics,” he told The Hill. “I think everyone should be concerned about it, no matter what your position is on abortion.”
Some Democrats, like Rep. Diana DeGette (Colo.), the co-chairwoman of the House Pro-Choice Caucus, have been cautious in their response to the video. In a statement to The Hill, she expressed support for Planned Parenthood, though it fell far short of a sweeping defense. “Planned Parenthood has spoken clearly on the specific circumstances surrounding this video, and I will let their experts explain for themselves. Circumstances of this video aside, people need to understand the important research that specific tissue types contribute to,” she wrote in a statement.
The video, which is nearing 1.5 million views online, reverberated across Capitol Hill and the campaign trail on Wednesday. Less than 24 hours after it surfaced, lawmakers in the House had opened a pair of congressional investigations. Dozens of Republicans, including Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), have condemned the claims in the video as “inhumane” and “grotesque.”
GOP presidential hopefuls, including Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas) and Rand Paul (Ky.), are also raising the issue’s national profile. The remarks by Planned Parenthood’s medical director in the video are shockingly candid.
While sipping wine in a Los Angeles restaurant, she describes “crushing” the fetus in a way that preserves its organs for researchers. She also describes the growing demand for liver, lungs and “intact” hearts.
Democrats have said there’s no evidence that the group is violating federal laws from her remarks, though none of them told The Hill they had seen the video. “Planned Parenthood is actually allowed, is my understanding, for scientific research, to use fetal tissue, and that is not illegal,” said Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), a member of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus who said she had spoken to Planned Parenthood leadership. When asked about Republicans’ planned investigations into Planned Parenthood, Schakowsky said she wanted an investigation into the Center for Medical Progress, which she called “a phony company.”
The issue of abortion has already caused trouble for members of Congress in both parties this year, from a bipartisan Senate bill to fight human trafficking to a House bill banning late-term abortions that drew objections over its language on rape.
Earlier this week, House leaders pulled a bipartisan bill from Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) that would have created a commemorative coin to help raise money for breast cancer research because some of that funding would have gone to Planned Parenthood. The bill was ultimately passed Wednesday with broad support from both parties. But Maloney hinted that the delay was, in part, because of the Planned Parenthood video. Asked if she thought the outrage over the video fueled sudden opposition to her bill, Maloney responded, “Yes. It is an unusual coincidence, shall we say.”
Cristina Marcos contributed.
fetal tissue buyers
House Pro-Choice Caucus
Human reproduction
Rand Paul (Ky.)
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.)
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.)
Rep. Dan Lipinski (Ill.)
Rep. Diana DeGette (Colo.)
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.)
Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.)
secretly recorded viral video
Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas)
Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio).
Christian Genocide in Full Swing – Where Are Obama and Our Leaders?
Authored by Dr. Laurie Roth, on 15 May, 2015
URL of the Original Posting Site: http://barbwire.com/2015/05/15/1000-christian-genocide-in-full-swing-where-are-obama-and-our-leaders/
The global slaughter of Christians is growing in leaps and bounds at the hands of Muslims and their supporters. ISIS or ISIL and other murderous Islamic relatives consider the daily torture and murder jobs of Christians simply obeying Muhammad and their pagan god Allah. Sometimes they offer the victim before they are murdered, the 3 choices stated in Chapter 9 of the Koran – 1) Forcibly convert to Islam 2) Give them great amounts of money as a high tax to stay alive 2) or be killed. Many times they don’t even offer them those options. Instead they just cut right to the torture and murder part – slow and gruesome.
Each week I interview on my national radio show, experts who have tasted the real horror offered up by Islam and are involved with exposing and confronting the real Islamic agenda. It is most clear that there is a real Christian genocide happening all around the world. Ted and Whalid Shoebat have long exposed the slaughterhouses in Syria, where Christians are kidnapped, tortured, hung by their feet like cows, then butchered.
This is a regular occurrence along with ISIS and Islamic rebels wiping out whole Christian neighborhoods and villages.
Not only has America and Obama not helped the victims or confronted the Islamic murderers, but instead, Obama has been complicit in creating ISIS – ISIL by sending them (through Lybia) thousands of lethal and high-end weapons and money.
Not only did America, under Barack Obama’s leadership, weaponize the Islamic rebels, growing and creating ISIS and its offspring, but the weapons pathway and illegal activities lead to the murder of Ambassador Stevens and staff. We are still awaiting justice and untangling the cover up that has followed for many years now. I pray Rep. Trey Gowdy pushes through the wall on this investigation and gets it right.
The genocide is funded and organized all around the world. All through Africa, where villages are torched; young girls are captured and used as sex slaves, husbands and fathers are murdered in front of their families and torture and kidnappings are daily staples. Iraq is a growing horror show as well and once again Obama says nothing except for Christians to get off their ‘high horse’ and be ashamed because of our involvement in the Great Crusade over 600 years ago. I am ashamed all right…I’m ashamed that Christians took so long to rise up at the hands of Muslim aggression, torture and stealing of their land. Will today in America end up being another place in history where we were ‘too little – too late’?
Several have screamed very loud, making desperate appeals to stop the madness and get help from the US and our Government to save lives, but Obama is nowhere on this. He just looks the other way as hundreds of thousands of American citizens and Christians are murdered in the name of Allah and Muhammad. Obama has gone way behind being another Neville Chamberlain horror. Obama knows that the tortures and blood letting is happening all over to Christians and does nothing about it. Chamberlain could hardly believe Hitler would be capable of such evil so imposed denial on himself.
Sister Dian Momeka of the Dominican Sisters of Saint Catherine of Siena has spoken before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. She has described in Technicolor what is going on to Christians throughout Iraq. She describes it as mass genocide and has begged Obama and America for help. Her comments were covered in a Newsmax piece by Cathy Burke.
“As this horror spread throughout the Nineveh Plain, by Aug 6, 2014, Nineveh was emptied of Christians, and sadly, for the first time since the seventh century A.D., no church bells rang for Mass in the Plain of Nineveh,” she said, adding that since then, more than 120,000 people found themselves “displaced and homeless” in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. “The current persecution that our community is facing is the most brutal in our history.”
Cardinal Dolan and others have weighed in and warned Obama and America about our skewed lack of protection of Christians in the Mideast, yet nothing is done and Obama plays more golf.
It appears as if by his brazen lack of action and even words against Christians, that Obama is in full support of the Islamic caliphate and murderous genocide of Christians worldwide. If he isn’t in support of this then he must do more than ‘sound bite’ theatre and brief empty statements reflecting no action.
We find ourselves in another Nazi Germany horror show of extermination again. This time it is the Christians and we have a President who not only looks the other way, he funds and weaponizes the murderous Islamic groups that are doing it all.
About the Author: Dr. Laurie Roth
Dr. Laurie Roth hosts a popular and growing national radio talk show called The Roth Show. It airs from 7-10pm PAC Mon-Friday http://www.therothshow.com. She is known as ‘The Annie Oakley of the Airwaves’ a name given her by her listeners and is also a regularly published commentator and speaker at conservative conferences. In 2010 Laurie was nominated for the Ronald Reagan Award by CPAC for breaking a national story on Obama and his many connections with William Ayers.
Join me for my live show each day from 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM PST. You can listen in at http://www.therothshow.com. When you are taken to http://www.usaradionetworks.com click on Channel 2 and you will be on board. Call in at: 1 877 999 7684.
Dr. Laurie Roth
Islamic Caliphate
Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL)
Laurie Roth
murderous genocide
pagan god Allah
sex-slaves
Ted and Whalid Shoebat
Seething Anger over ISIS
April 25, 2015, by: the Common Constitutionalist
URL of the Original Posting Site: http://commonconstitutionalist.com/current-events/seething-anger-over-isis/
It’s not often I get so angry I can hardly see straight, but this is one of those times – certainly one of the topics that just sets me to think hellish thoughts. This has been going on for a while now, but yesterday morning, Glenn Beck, on his morning radio show reminded me of it. It was regarding a document ISIS released last October or November (2014). The document was an auction price list for captured females to be sold to scumbags ISIS members.
Those to be sold are Yazidi and Christian girls and women from towns ISIS has captured. ISIS fighters would overtake a village or town and force the men and boys to convert. If they refuse, they will be slaughtered, leaving only the girls and women. The females are then rounded up and marched back to the nearest auction site and sold.
For a period there were no set prices, so ISIS members could bid anything they wanted – whatever the “market” dictated. But according to the document “the market to sell women and spoils of war has been experiencing a significant decrease, which has adversely affected ISIS revenue and financing of the Mujaheddin.”
Therefore ISIS leadership decided to impose price controls. They also dictated that anyone violating the controls would be executed.
The United Nations reports that not all children are sold as sex slaves. Some, like those with abnormalities such as retardation or reduced mental capacity are to be used as unwitting suicide bombers. They are chosen because it is unlikely they understand what they are tasked to do. It’s just pure evil!
The price list for sex slaves is as follows. They are classified as merchandise, not girls, women or even human beings – just merchandise.
The prices are posted an Iraqi dinar.
Women age 40 to 50 = 50,000 dinar ($42),
30 to 40 years = 75,000 ($63),
20 to 30 = 100,000 ($84),
10 to 20 = 150,000 ($127), and ages
1 to 9 = 200,000 dinar ($169).
Yes folks – not even infants and toddlers are spared the atrocity.
There is however a limit of three sex slaves per bidder, with exception to foreign sales to Turks, Syrians and Gulf states. That’s where most of the fighters are so naturally they will need more. After a great battle they need to blow off some steam and unwind by raping and savaging young Christian girls.
The document adds that the source of this decision for price controls is the ISIS “Commerce Department.” The Commerce Department? As if they are fixing the price of a bushel of wheat or a pound of sugar. There are currently two full-fledged auction sites. One in Mosul Iraq and one in their capital Raqqa Syria, and there is a constant flow of “merchandise” in both locations.
The women and girls are shrouded from head to toe, shackled together and marched into the marketplace to be auctioned. I have seen video of the proceedings and they are appalling. Cattle are treated better. The wails of the victims to be sold are bloodcurdling.
Over the years, I’ve become more libertarian regarding war and foreign entanglements. Like the founders, I believe if it’s not in our national interest, if it doesn’t concern us directly – stay out of it. Protect the homeland and its citizens – that’s all.
But I believe this particular atrocity transcends national interest. This is a sin against all mankind. It is and will be a stain on our humanity. Frankly, if we, the United States of America, who have the wherewithal to act to stop this don’t do anything, what does it say about us?
I’m not sure what can be done, but I bet there are at least 20 to 30,000 veterans in this country that would be more than happy to go mercenary to stop this. Count me in.
human bombers
Islamic State (ISIS)
He Came to Set the Captive Free — And So Should We
http://clashdaily.com/2014/03/came-set-captive-free/#2vQWMM8xSfSsYlyX.99
By Wes Walker / 7 March 2014
Every so often, the Church gets an issue in its sights, one that cuts past all the sectarian, class, or racial boundaries and brings us together to make something fantastic happen.
When ancient cultures were leaving their kids to die of exposure, we adopted them, and took care of them. We cared for the sick (even dying while helping plague victims) and built hospitals. We established centers of learning now called Universities. We outlawed the practice of throwing Hindu widows on funeral pyres. We led various international emancipation movements.
Right now, although attention is being given (rightly) to Life issues like euthanasia and abortion, as well as promoting traditional family issues; there’s another pressing issue not in the public eye.
Christians are looking to change that.
The issue is Human Trafficking. In the full sense of the term, we’re talking about modern slavery. And it’s more common than you think.
The TED talk video at the end of my recent column was one expression of it. There are many, many others.
Citing an article about 40,000 Christian college students gathered together to tackle this issue:
Christians throughout the world, including Tennessee Republican Sen. Bob Corker, drew a red “X” on their hands Thursday for “Shine A Light On Slavery Day” — advocates are calling for more aggressive government action, and pressuring corporate hotel chains and airlines to train their employees to recognize trafficking victims.
Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals and longtime spiritual adviser to Tim Pawlenty, said trafficking has migrated from a niche concern among liberally-minded “social justice Christians” to an increasingly prevalent platform plank for Evangelicals across the political spectrum. And while the nonpartisan nature of the cause has largely kept the cable news bookers at bay, Anderson predicted it could become the defining issue of politically active Evangelicals in years and decades to come.
About the author: Wes Walker
Clashdaily’s Religion Editor, Wes Walker, believes that freedom, faith, family, and the flag need more than to be simply cherished. They need to be understood, articulated, defended and promoted, not just by a few voices in prominent places, but by every man or woman who truly prizes them. In fact, the reason he wrote “Blueprint For a Government that Doesn’t Suck” was so that every “ordinary Joe” will be able to do just that… and do it with confidence.
Follow on twitter: @Republicanuck
Honestly — Do We Truly Want to Be Free?
http://clashdaily.com/2014/02/honestly-truly-want-free/#ut4A7B3vjhD738o1.99
By Wes Walker / 14 February 2014
Did you notice how individual freedom is not the overarching story of human history? Usually, “The Many” have bent their necks to the yoke of “The Few”. Often, they have accepted that as the order of things.
Cultures throughout history have either tolerated or endorsed slavery of one sort or another. Some did through conquest, and direct ownership of servants — others through coercion and exploitation. Freedom is by no means humanity’s default position.
Even where traditional slavery is outlawed, social position will determine differences in someone’s personal worth, and even moral / legal accountability. The Caste System, and Feudalism are obvious examples, although others (like our own Celebrity Class) exist as well.
Living under our Western understanding of freedom, we might predict enslaved people would jump at their earliest opportunity to attain it, as with the Underground Railway, or Cuban refugees today. But in both ancient times and modern, these seem the exceptions that prove the rule.
Remember the Jewish Exodus from scripture?
Moses showed up, promising freedom from their slavery to Pharaoh, with mixed results. The first setback (bricks without straw) made them grumble — not against Pharaoh, but against Moses! Skip ahead to when Israel was wandering the desert, with former captors safely on the other side of a body of water. They grumbled some more.
And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “Oh that we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.
(Numbers 11)
They had escaped the reach of their captors, but in their hearts, and in the way they viewed themselves, they remained slaves.
They even misread their own circumstances. Had they truly eaten for free back in Egypt? Feeling the bite of the lash across their backs, toiling in the hot sun. Was it for free that they got their food? Hardly. But those few creature comforts — the ones that made slavery seem tolerable — were gone. To get them back, some were willing to return to those shackles. (Think: The Matrix and the “Blue Pill”.) They were tragically setting their own purchase price at the paltry sum of a few fish, and a couple of vegetables. Little did they know what awaited their people beyond the Jordan.
Karl Marx once claimed that Religion was the opiate of the masses, something to keep paupers docile. Not so in Israel’s case. For Israel, the opiate was onions, fish and leeks. “Religion” (or more properly, God) was both the initiator and instrument of their freedom.
Back then, enslaved Israel — like battered wives today — was held in check by both a carrot and a stick. Fear of the lash on one hand, and the lure of things they thought they could not do without on the other, paralyzed them. What they needed was a rescuer; an intervention.
Tragically, that ancient generation had been so accustomed to their chains and the pressures of fear and need, they had been just as “domesticated” as a lion in a zoo.
Does this happen here today? Of course! We may not have sugar plantation owners today, but we have a different kind of slave, doing a different job. And people don’t mind because it seems like easy work, with a good payoff.
It’s simple: show up one Tuesday in November every fourth year, and write an “x” in the the correct box, and you have served your “massah” well.
The hoi polloi gets promised some variation of “hope” and “change”; (which apparently means food stamps and — retroactive — birth control) while the people offering the carrots get a backstage pass to the seemingly limitless personal power, influence, and wealth that life in the Beltway can offer.
Public service? National Interest? That’s cute. Now stand aside, plebe, there’s money to be made!
Moses first tasted freedom for himself. He had lived apart from the illusion of safety that chains represented. But it took time for Israel to embrace their freedom, to savour it, and own it for themselves. In their case, the older generation never quite came around. It had to come from their kids.
There is a sense in which Conservatives are more individualist than their counterparts, and disinclined to activism. In some ways, that’s even understandable.
But remember, Freedom is not the dominant theme of human history. It is vulnerable to entropy. When taken for granted, it becomes eroded, and eventually lost. To preserve it, we must hate, and oppose all forms of slavery, however mild or extreme their out-workings may be.
To defend another person’s freedom is to preserve your own. That idea was at the heart of the American foundations, and is near to the heart of the Christian faith that shaped it.
Freedom, in the Christian meaning, is corrosive to the chains of tyranny. It maintains that, regardless of sex, race, social standing, or any other factor, all people have equal worth and dignity. If we are all equal, it follows that nobody is elite. Leaders are not lords.
If you enjoy and appreciate your freedoms (plural) — make use of them! And then, encourage and assist others to lay hold of theirs, both at home and abroad. I for one, found this TED Talk on the topic inspiring. Maybe you will too.
Image: Courtesy of: http://thefunstons.com/?p=1772
TED Talk video
Tennessee Republican Sen. Bob Corker
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Policy Document on Impacts of Climate Change and World Heritage (2007)
Strategy for Reducing Risks from Disasters at World Heritage properties (2007)
Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape, including a glossary of definitions (2011)
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Fire ravages Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, a UNESCO World Heritage Site 16-Apr-2019
World Heritage Centre supports Colombia’s efforts to improve security in national parks 26-Feb-2019
Safeguarding of transboundary heritage sites for sustainable development and peace in Africa 25-Feb-2019
Concern for oil spill in East Rennell, Solomon Islands, in central Pacific 20-Feb-2019
UNESCO’s Heritage Emergency Fund supports Koutammakou (Togo) damage assessment 08-Feb-2019
UN, WWF and world’s insurers to develop pioneering industry guide to protect World Heritage sites 21-Jan-2019
The World Heritage Centre Dispatches High-Level Reactive Monitoring Mission to Shakhrisyabz (Uzbekistan) 21-Jan-2019
Changing the face of Heritage and Conservation in Africa: Experts Meeting to examine the new ICCROM Programme on African Cultural Heritage 18-Jan-2019
Sustainable tourism workshop for World Heritage Journeys: Buddha project 13-Dec-2018
UNESCO reiterates its grave concern over planned dam construction within Selous Game Reserve World Heritage property (United Republic of Tanzania) 12-Dec-2018
Eritrea takes holistic approach to the conservation and management of the Modernist City of Asmara World Heritage site 08-Dec-2018
The World Heritage Convention at the heart of biodiversity conservation in the Congo Basin 30-Nov-2018
Joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN Advisory mission to the World Heritage property “Durmitor National Park” (Montenegro) 09-Nov-2018
Severe erosion threatens the shrines of Barotse Cultural Landscape 09-Nov-2018
US Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation provides support to the endangered site of Nan Madol 09-Nov-2018
The Democratic Republic of Congo Mobilized for the Protection Endangered Animal Species 11-Oct-2018
Reactive Monitoring mission to “Białowieża Forest” (Belarus/Poland) 24-Sep-2018
‘Proposed Scheme’ for the A303 Amesbury to Berwick Down and the State of Conservation of "Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites" 28-Aug-2018
State of Conservation of "Venetian Works of Defence between the 16th and 17th Centuries: Stato da Terra – Western Stato da Mar" 25-Jul-2018
State of conservation of Historical Monuments of Mtskheta 08-Feb-2018
State of Conservation of Pirin National Park 24-Jan-2018
Inter-Convention synergy in action 06-Dec-2017
The World Heritage State of Conservation Information System – 5 Successful Years ! 05-Dec-2017
2017 State of conservation reports now publicly accessible online 12-Jun-2017
World Heritage Centre Statement on the Greater Blue Mountains Area 07-Jun-2017
Reactive Monitoring Mission to take place at Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage property (Canada) 16-Sep-2016
2016 State of conservation reports now available online 13-Jun-2016
UNESCO World Heritage Centre calls for united action to protect vulnerable sites 06-Apr-2016
UNESCO and IUCN welcome new no-go pledge for World Heritage sites by Tullow Oil 12-Nov-2015
Shell’s departure ends oil threat to Arctic gem 06-Oct-2015
State of conservation of Venice and its lagoon (Italy) 04-Oct-2015
Corps established to strengthen security in DRC National Parks 08-Sep-2015
Director-General of UNESCO Irina Bokova firmly condemns the destruction of Palmyra's ancient temple of Baalshamin, Syria 24-Aug-2015
Fire ravages heart of La Réunion National Park 20-Oct-2010
World Heritage Site Managers Forum 2019 26-Jun-2019-04-Jul-2019
World Heritage Site Managers Forum 2018 21-Jun-2018-28-Jun-2018
Site Managers Forum 30-Jun-2017-06-Jul-2017
Expert meeting on the global state of conservation challenges for World Heritage properties 13-Apr-2011-15-Apr-2011
See Also (3)
Analytical summary of the state of conservation of World Heritage properties (2008)
Improving the Effectiveness of the World Heritage Reactive Monitoring Process
State of conservation Information System
Support for the establishment of an on-line State of Conservation Information System (SOC) database on the state of conservation reports for World Heritage Properties
Uplifting the perception of the List of World Heritage in Danger
World Heritage and Extractive Industries
Decision 43COM 8C.3
The World Heritage Committee,
Having examined the state of conservation reports of properties inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger (WHC/19/43.COM/7A, WHC/19/43.COM/7A.Add, WHC/19/43.COM/7A.Add.2, WHC/19/43.COM/7A.Add.3 and WHC/19/43.COM/7A.Add.3.Corr),
Decides to remove the following properties from the List of World Heritage in Danger:
Chile, Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works (Decision 43 COM 7A.49)
Palestine, Birthplace of Jesus: Church of the Nativity and the Pilgrimage Route, Bethlehem (Decision 43 COM 7A.28)
Recalls that the inscription of a property on the List of World Heritage in Danger, aims to marshal international support to help the State Party effectively address the challenges faced by the property by engaging with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to develop a program of corrective measures to achieve the Desired state of conservation for the property as provided for under Paragraph 183 of the Operational Guidelines.
See more about Decision 43COM 8C.3
Decision 43COM 7.1
Having examined Documents WHC/19/43.COM/7,
Recalling Decisions 40 COM 7, 41 COM 7, and 42 COM 7, adopted at its 40th (Istanbul/UNESCO, 2016), 41st (Krakow, 2017) and 42nd (Manama, 2018) sessions respectively,
Thanks the State Party of Azerbaijan, Host Country of the 43rd session of the World Heritage Committee (Baku, 2019), for having organized the third World Heritage Site Managers’ Forum, as a capacity-building exercise aimed at increasing the understanding of the World Heritage decision-making process among site managers, in order to achieve more effective protection of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), takes note with appreciation of the 2019 World Heritage Site Managers’ Forum Statement and encourages the future Host Countries to continue this initiative in conjunction with the World Heritage Committee session;
Evaluation of the Reactive Monitoring process
Taking note with appreciation of the evaluation of the Reactive Monitoring process launched by the World Heritage Centre, thanks the State Party of Switzerland for its financial support, as well as the experts tasked with this evaluation, for their thorough analysis of this process, instrumental in achieving the objectives of the World Heritage Convention;
Expresses its gratitude to all the stakeholders of the Convention who have actively contributed to this evaluation;
Notes that the recommendations formulated in the evaluation refer to improvements of the current practices and do not call for structural changes nor amendments to the statutory documents, and requests all stakeholders of the Convention to take them on-board and implement them at their level as soon as possible;
Agrees that the World Heritage Centre should prioritize implementation of the high priority recommendations, with an initial focus on those relevant to communication, capacity-building, including for site managers, and finance;
Also requests the World Heritage Centre to present a progress report on the implementation of the recommendations, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 44th session in 2020;
Issues related to the List of World Heritage in Danger
Reaffirming the need to promote a better understanding of the implications and benefits of properties being inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger,
Thanks the State Party of Romania for its initiative to host a multi-stakeholder international workshop focusing on the List of World Heritage in Danger, including exchange of good practice, promotion of the properties inscribed on this List and the conservation needs to improve their state of conservation, such as Costed Action Plans;
Requests the World Heritage Centre to present a report on this workshop and other initiatives related to the List of World Heritage in Danger at the 44th session in 2020;
Selection of the World Heritage properties to be proposed for discussion
Reaffirming the importance of focusing the debates on those properties and global conservation issues of greatest concern during the World Heritage Committee sessions, and taking into account the results of the evaluation of the Reactive Monitoring process,
Supports the outcomes of the reflection conducted by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies regarding the elaboration of the list of state of conservation reports to be proposed for discussion by the Committee, as well as the current practice allowing Committee members to add to this list the reports they wish to discuss, by providing a written request to the Chairperson of the Committee, through the World Heritage Centre, sufficiently in advance of the session, and indicating the reason why the reports are requested to be opened for discussion;
Recognizes that the selection of the state of conservation reports to be discussed by the Committee during its sessions should be based on clear and objective criteria, including the level of threat to the property, rather than being based on representativity.
See more about Decision 43COM 7.1
Having examined Documents WHC/19/43.COM/7, WHC/19/43.COM/7A, WHC/19/43.COM/7A.Add, WHC/19/43.COM/7A.Add.2, WHC/19/43.COM/7A.Add.3, WHC/19/43.COM/7B, WHC/19/43.COM/7B.Add, WHC/19/43.COM/7B.Add.2 and WHC/19/43.COM/7A.Add.3,
Emergency situations resulting from conflicts
Deplores the loss of human life as well as the degradation of humanitarian conditions resulting from the prevailing conflict situations in several countries, and expresses its utmost concern at the devastating damage sustained and the continuing threats facing cultural and natural heritage in general;
Expresses its deep concern at the inter-community conflicts observed in Mali between the Dogon and Fulani communities, which have caused considerable loss of human life and significant damage to the cultural heritage, particularly within the World Heritage property of the Cliffs of Bandiagara (Land of the Dogons);
Thanks the State Party of Mali for the urgent actions that have been put in place to ensure the safety of communities in and around the property, and encourages the State Party, to also take into account in its actions the protection of the property’s rich cultural heritage, and to do so in collaboration with the stakeholders involved in the establishment of long-term peace in Mali;
Welcomes the dispatch of a UNESCO mission to assess the damage caused to the property, and identify the needs related to the built and intangible cultural heritage and the objects and practices associated with the Cliffs of Bandiagara, in order to propose an Action Plan for the rehabilitation of the villages concerned;
Urges again all parties associated with conflicts to refrain from any action that would cause further damage to cultural and natural heritage and to fulfill their obligations under international law by taking all possible measures to protect such heritage, in particular the safeguarding of World Heritage properties and the sites included in the Tentative List;
Also urges again States Parties to adopt measures against using World Heritage properties for military purposes and to stop related uncontrolled development and impact;
Reiterates its utmost concern about the continuing threats of wildlife poaching and illegal trafficking of wildlife products linked to impacts of conflict and organized crime, which is eroding the biodiversity and Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of many World Heritage sites across the world, and urges States Parties to take the necessary measures to curb this problem, including through the implementation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES);
Calls upon the international community to further support the safeguarding of the cultural and natural heritage of countries affected by conflict, through earmarked funds or through contributions to the UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund;
Appeals to all Member States of UNESCO to cooperate in the fight against the illicit trafficking of cultural objects, as well as cultural heritage protection in general, including through the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 2199 (2015), 2253 (2015) and 2347 (2017);
Thanks the State Party of Poland for the efforts to widely disseminate the Warsaw Recommendation on Recovery and Reconstruction of Cultural Heritage, as well as the proceedings of the international conference "The Challenges of World Heritage Recovery" held in Warsaw in May 2018;
Welcomes the policy document "Culture in the reconstruction and rehabilitation of cities", published by UNESCO and the World Bank, which contributes to the reflection launched on the challenges related to the reconstruction of World Heritage properties;
Requests the World Heritage Centre, ICOMOS and ICCROM and the States Parties to the World Heritage Convention, to continue the reflection on the recovery and reconstruction of World Heritage properties, and requests the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies report back to the World Heritage Committee on the progress made in improving advice in this regard;
Notes with appreciation the initiatives taken by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to advance work on updating the Policy Document on the Impacts of Climate Change on World Heritage properties, including through a planned widespread online consultation with States Parties, Advisory Bodies and civil society;
Requests that the development of the updated Policy Document be completed for consideration by the Committee at its 44th session in 2020;
Welcomes the initiative taken by the World Heritage Centre together with a global private-public consortium of partners, to build climate adaptation strategies across five marine World Heritage sites in Australia, Belize, France and Palau;
Urges all States Parties to step up action toward better understanding the climate vulnerability of World Heritage properties and put in place adaptation strategies that strengthen the resilience of properties and ensure the conservation of their Outstanding Universal Value.
Recalling Decision 42 COM 7, adopted at its 42nd (Manama, 2018),
Management Plans in the context of urban development
Noting that the many Management Plans and management systems for urban properties are not adequately anchored in the legal mechanisms, systems, and processes for urban development,
Also noting that the pressures of high investment urban development projects in and around properties are increasingly a threat to their Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), and that in contrast, the OUV could provide a valuable opportunity for the property and its wider setting to define a new urban vision that integrates and valorizes the OUV with new needs and aspirations,
Recalling that the approach of the 2011 UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape has highlighted the need for urban areas to be well integrated into their wider social, economic and cultural context, calls on all States Parties to prepare and deliver Management Plans, for properties in and around urban areas, so that their planning elements can be integrated directly into the planning and development policies, plans, processes and instruments; regardless of whether the property is inscribed for its urban values or not;
Requests the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to continue reflecting on the mechanisms and tools needed to assess and guide interventions in and around urban properties to sustain the OUV of the properties and to promote sustainable development and actively engage with the wider development processes that could over time impact the appearance, use, and meaning of buildings and spaces in properties and their settings;
Notes with appreciation the International Union of Architects Forum (UIA) on “Mass Tourism in Historic Cities”, which was held in Baku, Azerbaijan, on 7-9 June 2019 and welcomes the proposal of the UIA to prepare, in close cooperation with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies, guidelines for architectural competitions in and around World Heritage urban properties that will recognise their Outstanding Universal Value;
Welcomes the offer of the Government of Japan to host an international experts meeting in January 2020 to provide further guidelines for the integration of the assessment of the impacts for interventions in the wider processes of urban management by applying the 2011 Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape to address the challenges of increased urbanization in close cooperation with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies;
Calls on the UNESCO Secretariat to develop measures to address the inherently limited nature of institutional capacity in SIDS, acting as an impediment in identifying, inventorying and proposing potential cultural and natural heritage sites for listing;
Acknowledging the contribution of sustainable tourism to the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development and the positive impact it can have on local communities and the protection of World Heritage properties, nevertheless notes with concern that the number of properties negatively affected by overcrowding, congestion and tourism infrastructure development continues to increase;
Noting that the protection of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) must be a central objective for all World Heritage properties, requests States Parties to develop visitor management plans and strategies that address the seasonality of tourism (smoothing visitor numbers over time and spreading visitors across sites), encourage longer more in-depth experiences promoting tourism products and services that reflect natural and cultural values, and limit access and activities to improve visitor flows and experiences, while reducing pressures on the attributes which underpin OUV ;
Encourages the States Parties to support UNESCO in its efforts to assist heritage and tourism managers with system development and data collection to help destinations understand their specific situations and early warning signs, provide incentives for sustainable tourism development and raise awareness to change visitor behaviour;
Calls on UNESCO Secretariat to recognize opportunities for forging synergies between core UNESCO activities that could be harnessed to strengthen heritage sites: youth, heritage tourism training, sustainable heritage tourism and biodiversity, and relate it directly to SIDS;
Heritage Impact Assessments / Environmental Impact Assessments (HIAs/EIAs)
Notes the progress of revising the guidance on impact assessment for World Heritage undertaken by the ICCROM/IUCN World Heritage Leadership Programme together with the World Heritage Centre and ICOMOS.
Decision 42COM 7
Having examined Documents WHC/18/42.COM/7, WHC/18/42.COM/7A, WHC/18/42.COM/7A.Add, WHC/18/42.COM/7A.Add.2, WHC/18/42.COM/7B and WHC/18/42.COM/7B.Add and WHC/18/42.COM/7B.Add.2,
Recalling Decisions 40 COM 7 and 41 COM 7, adopted at its 40th (Istanbul/UNESCO, 2016) and 41st (Krakow, 2017) sessions respectively,
Thanks the State Party of Bahrain for having organized a World Heritage Site Managers Forum (Manama, 2018), as a capacity-building exercise aiming at increasing the understanding of the World Heritage decision-making process among site managers, in order to achieve a more effective protection of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV); acknowledges the importance and benefit of this Forum and considers that it should be convened in conjunction with all future sessions of the World Heritage Committee;
Takes note of the Statement of Participants to the Forum and encourages States Parties to support the participation of their respective site managers to future fora and other capacity-building opportunities in order to enable them to provide appropriate information with regard to the management of their respective sites;
Statutory matters related to Reactive Monitoring
Reactive Monitoring evaluation
Takes note with appreciation that the World Heritage Centre has launched an evaluation of the Reactive Monitoring process and thanks the State Party of Switzerland for its financial support to this activity;
Notes with concern that some properties have remained on the List of World Heritage in Danger for more than ten years; this raises questions on whether the OUV has been maintained and requests the World Heritage Centre to establish an inclusive working mechanism for assessing the OUV of these sites, and to present a report during the 44th session;
Urges States Parties along with other stakeholders to actively contribute to the evaluation of the Reactive Monitoring process to ensure this mechanism remains a valuable indicator and overview of the state of conservation of heritage;
Also takes note that the Secretariat has prepared audio-visual communication and outreach material related to the List of World Heritage in Danger;
Encourages all stakeholders of the World Heritage Convention to engage in the promotion of a better understanding of the implications and benefits of properties being inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger, and to develop appropriate information material in this regard with a view to overcome the negative perceptions of the List of World Heritage in Danger;
Requests that the Reactive Monitoring Evaluation includes options for process improvements for sites on the List of World Heritage in Danger, in particular how actions recommended by Reactive Monitoring missions to assist States Parties meet their Desired state of conservation should be incorporated into the costed Action Plans decided by the World Heritage Committee in its Decision 41 COM 14;
Further requests the World Heritage Centre develop a proposal, for sharing in the World Heritage Market Place, for funds to support a workshop to assist States Parties with sites on the List of World Heritage in Danger to develop and implement prioritized, staged and costed actions plans, and notes that these plans can be linked to requests for international assistance and shared in the Market Place;
Recognizing the importance of focusing on those properties of greatest concern, recommends that, with effect from the 43rd session of the Committee, the World Heritage Centre considers geographical and thematic distribution of properties as additional criteria when determining which properties to open for discussion under Agenda items 7A and 7B;
Dialogue with civil society
Welcomes the continued interest of civil society organizations in the Convention, acknowledging the important contribution that can be made to the promotion and conservation of heritage on the ground and to capacity-building;
Also welcomes the initiative of the World Heritage Centre to open the consultation processes related to the Convention to a larger number of stakeholders, including civil society;
Takes note of the World Heritage Civil Society Workshop organized further to the initiative of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in March 2018, which discussed how civil society participation in the Convention, and specifically in World Heritage Committee sessions, can be further improved;
Encourages again States Parties and civil society organizations to continue to explore possibilities to further civil society engagement in the Convention, both by contributing to enhanced conservation of heritage on the site and national level and by providing relevant input to the heritage related debate at the global level;
Deplores the loss of human life as well as the degradation of humanitarian conditions resulting from the conflict situations prevailing in several countries, and expresses its utmost concern at the devastating damage sustained and the continuing threats facing cultural and natural heritage in general;
Urges all parties associated with conflicts to refrain from any action that would cause further damage to cultural and natural heritage and to fulfill their obligations under international law by taking all possible measures to protect such heritage, in particular the safeguarding of World Heritage properties and the sites included in the Tentative List;
Also urges the States Parties to adopt measures against World Heritage properties being used for military purposes and to stop uncontrolled development;
Also expresses its utmost concern about the impacts of conflicts causing an escalation of the already severe poaching crisis in central Africa, as armed groups are financing their activities through illegal wildlife trade, which is having a severe impact on wildlife populations, thereby degrading the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of natural World Heritage properties;
Appeals to all Member States of UNESCO to cooperate in the fight against the illicit trafficking of cultural objects and illegal wildlife trade, as well as cultural heritage protection in general, including through the implementation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 2199 (2015), 2253 (2015) and 2347 (2017) and of the 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import and Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property;
Emergency situations resulting from natural disasters
Welcomes the efforts undertaken by the World Heritage Centre to implement the Strategy for Reducing Risks from Disasters at World Heritage Properties;
Urges States Parties, in coordination with the World Heritage Centre, to give priority within international assistance in implementing emergency measures to mitigate significant damages resulting from natural disasters that are likely to affect the Outstanding Universal Value of World Heritage properties;
Encourages States Parties and other stakeholders to further strengthen international cooperation aiming at mitigating impacts of major natural disasters affecting World Heritage properties and reducing vulnerabilities on lives, properties and livelihoods;
Thanks the Government of Poland for hosting the International Conference on Reconstruction “The Challenges of World Heritage Recovery” (Warsaw, 6-8 May 2018), providing a forum for review of specific case studies and understanding of the role of reconstruction in recovery, especially in post-conflict and post-disaster situations;
Welcomes the Warsaw Recommendation providing clear principles on reconstruction and recovery and requests the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to broadly disseminate it among States Parties, World Heritage stakeholders and partner organizations;
Also requests the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to continue the reflection and report back to its 43rd session in 2019 on the implementation of the Warsaw Recommendation;
Encourages the ongoing cooperation with the World Bank and with United Nations agencies in addressing the challenges of World Heritage recovery and reconstruction;
Expresses its continued concern about the impacts of climate change on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of World Heritage properties and reiterates the importance of States Parties undertaking the most ambitious implementation of the Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), by holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and by pursuing efforts to limit the global average temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels, recognizing that this would significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change;
Notes with appreciation the initiatives taken by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to advance work on the updating of the Policy Document on the impacts of climate change on World Heritage properties;
Requests that the development of the updated Policy Document include consultation with States Parties, the Advisory Bodies and civil society, and be completed for consideration by the Committee at its 43rd session in 2019;
Expresses its gratitude to the State Party of Germany for the organization of a workshop on World Heritage and Climate Change (Vilm, October 2017), to the State Party of the Netherlands for its generous support to the updating of the Policy Document and to the State Party of France for its generous support to the first global scientific assessment of climate change impacts on World Heritage-listed coral reefs;
Thanks the Secretariat of the UNFCCC for its active participation in the above-mentioned workshop and inputs into the forthcoming broader Policy Document updating process;
Absent or unclear boundaries
Urges States Parties that still have properties with unclear boundaries and/or buffer zones to undertake the necessary mapping exercises to clarify their boundaries and buffer zones of properties at the time of their inscription, and submit those to the World Heritage Centre for subsequent examination by the World Heritage Committee;
Reminds States Parties that any change to existing boundaries and buffer zones must be approved by the World Heritage Committee through the applicable procedures, as outlined in paragraphs 163-167 of the Operational Guidelines;
Heritage Impact Assessments/Environmental Impact Assessments (HIAs/EIAs)
Welcomes the increasing use of Heritage Impact Assessments (HIAs) to assess the potential impact of proposed development projects on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of cultural World Heritage properties, and encourages States Parties to use the HIA methodology for all developments within or otherwise affecting cultural World Heritage properties, as part of the accepted decision-making process;
Stresses the necessity for HIAs and Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) to be proportionate to the scope and scale of projects, with simpler assessments being undertaken for smaller projects and Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs) for very large projects, and the necessity for assessments to be undertaken in a timely fashion and submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies, as part of notifications made under Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines;
Reiterates that HIAs and EIAs should include a dedicated section examining the potential impact of the project on the OUV of the World Heritage property, in accordance with the existing ICOMOS Guidance and IUCN Advice Note;
Notes that HIAs cannot be assessed as stand-alone documents and requests States Parties to ensure that when HIAs are submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies that they are accompanied by full details of the project to which they refer;
Also welcomes the initiative of IUCN and ICCROM to develop further advice on impact assessment for cultural and natural heritage in the framework of the World Heritage Leadership programme with the support of Norway;
Large scale development projects and Strategic Environmental Assessments
Noting with concern that an increasing number of properties are threatened by large-scale development projects including dams, extractive industries, and transportation infrastructure, located both inside and outside their boundaries,
Also noting that Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and Heritage Impact Assessments (HIAs) do not always allow for a broad enough assessment of the potential impact of these large-scale developments, nor an assessment of a broad enough range of options at an early enough stage in the planning process,
Requests States Parties to ensure that the potential impacts of such large-scale developments on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of World Heritage properties directly affected or located within their zone of influence are assessed through Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs) at an early stage in the development of the overall project, before locations/routes have been fixed and prior to any approvals being given;
Recalling Article 6 of the Convention, also requests States Parties to systematically inform the World Heritage Centre, in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, of any planned large-scale development projects in their territories that may impact on the OUV of a property, even if the property concerned is situated on the territory of other States Parties, and to ensure that these impacts are assessed as part of the SEA of the project concerned;
Tourism and Visitor Management
Acknowledging the contribution of sustainable tourism to the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development and the positive impact it can have on local communities and the protection of World Heritage properties, nevertheless notes with concern that the number of properties negatively affected by inadequate visitor management and tourism infrastructure development continues to increase;
Requests States Parties to develop Visitor Management Plans that assess appropriate carrying capacity of properties for visitors and address the issue of unregulated tourism;
Encourages the States Parties to support UNESCO in its effort to develop an overall Visitor Management Strategy for World Heritage, with policy recommendations to assist States Parties in addressing the issues of unregulated and unsustainable tourism use and development, and to provide resources to UNESCO for the implementation of the Strategy;
Impact of sports facilities and activities on World Heritage properties
Welcomes the continued agreement between IUCN and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) aiming at integrating biodiversity considerations in IOC’s processes, and takes note of the Sport and Biodiversity guide launched by IUCN as the first in a series of reports that will provide guidance to the sports sector regarding its potential impacts on nature, including on World Heritage properties
Also welcomes the World Rowing Federation (FISA) commitment to respect and preserve the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of natural and mixed World Heritage properties, and calls on other Sport Federations to consider making similar commitments, including for all types of World Heritage, both natural and cultural;
Dialogue with the extractive industries and the finance sector on the “No-go Commitment”
Takes note of the continued dialogue between the World Heritage Centre and the extractive industries on extending the “No-go” commitment to other companies;
Welcomes the growing interest from the investment sector for the conservation of World Heritage properties and strongly encourages all banks, investment funds, the insurance industry and other relevant private and public sector companies to integrate into their sustainability policies, provisions for ensuring that they are not financing projects that may negatively impact World Heritage properties and that the companies they are investing in subscribe to the “No-go commitment”, and invites them to lodge these policies with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre;
Requests the World Heritage Centre, in cooperation with the Advisory Bodies, to continue the fruitful dialogue with extractive industries and the investment sector, including reflections on how to make these commitments and policies publically available online to inspire other companies in these sectors to follow suit;
Earth Observation technologies
Noting that Earth Observation satellite technologies and spatial analysis tools have tremendously improved over the past decade and that they provide powerful additional means for decision-makers and stakeholders of the Convention to find comprehensive solutions to today’s global challenges for World Heritage properties,
Encourages States Parties to make full use of such Earth Observation technologies for the early detection of activities potentially harmful to the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of World Heritage properties, such as deforestation, mining, illegal fisheries, agricultural encroachment, etc. and to better understand trends and respond appropriately;
Illegal trade in endangered species and the cooperation with the CITES Convention
Reiterates its utmost concern about the growing impacts of the illegal trade in endangered species, which is affecting many natural World Heritage properties;
Welcomes the increased attention to this threat and launches an appeal to all Member States of UNESCO to fully implement Resolution 71/326 of United Nations General Assembly on “Tackling illicit trafficking in wildlife”, including through the implementation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and with the full engagement of transit and destination countries;
Also welcomes the continued fruitful cooperation between the World Heritage Centre, IUCN and the CITES Secretariat and invites the World Heritage Centre and IUCN to further strengthen this cooperation;
Notes with concern the important number of properties significantly affected by invasive alien species (IAS);
Recalls its encouragement to States Parties to develop adequately-resourced IAS strategies that emphasize prevention and early warning and rapid response in World Heritage properties;
Strongly encourages States Parties to incorporate IAS response strategies into climate change mitigation policies for World Heritage properties.
See more about Decision 42COM 7
Recalling Decision 40 COM 7, adopted at its 40th session (Istanbul/UNESCO, 2016),
Thanks the State Party of Poland, Host Country of the 41st session of the World Heritage Committee (Krakow, 2017), for having organized the first World Heritage Site Managers Forum, as a capacity-building exercise aiming at increasing the understanding of the World Heritage decision-making process among site managers, in order to achieve a more effective protection of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), takes note with appreciation of the World Heritage Site Managers’ Forum Statement and encourages the future Host Countries to continue this initiative and organize World Heritage Site Managers Forums in conjunction with the World Heritage Committee session;
Takes note of the practices of the Secretariat to address mass campaigns on state of conservation issues;
Recalling the importance of Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines and its adequate implementation, further recalls Decision 40 COM 7, which requests the World Heritage Centre, in cooperation with the Advisory Bodies to evaluate the effectiveness of the Reactive Monitoring including procedures and case studies and to present a preliminary report for the consideration by the World Heritage Committee at its 42nd session in 2018, if funds are available;
Deplores the conflict situation prevailing in several countries, the loss of human life as well as the degradation of humanitarian conditions and expresses its utmost concern at the damage sustained and the threats facing cultural and natural heritage in general;
Also urges States Parties to adopt measures against using World Heritage properties for military purposes;
Takes note of the progress made by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to launch a reflection on a post-conflict recovery strategy, and of the support extended so far through technical assistance, capacity-building, and exchange of best practices in this regard, and recommends that further support for threatened or damaged World Heritage properties be pursued;
Notes with concern that the conflict situation in several countries in the world has increased considerably the workload of the World Heritage Centre staff, and that an adequate implementation of the Action Plans for the Emergency Safeguarding of Cultural Heritage in Mali, Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen requires additional financial and human resources at the World Heritage Centre and in the UNESCO field offices; also notes the increased demands on the resources of the Advisory Bodies;
Calls on the international community to provide financial support for the implementation of the UNESCO Action Plans for the Emergency Safeguarding of Cultural Heritage in Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen, including for additional human resources at the World Heritage Centre and in the UNESCO field offices;
Also expresses its utmost concern about the impacts of conflicts causing an escalation of the already severe poaching crisis, as armed groups are financing their activities through illegal wildlife trade, which is having a severe impact on African wildlife, and uncontrolled development, threatening the very survival of species and the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of natural World Heritage properties;
Launches an appeal to all Member States of UNESCO to cooperate in the fight against the illicit trafficking of cultural heritage objects (UNESCO 1970 Convention) and illegal wildlife trade, including through the implementation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and to pursue the implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolutions regarding cultural heritage protection in conflict areas, especially Resolution 2199 and 2347;
Noting the continued need to address the issue of reconstruction in World Heritage properties following conflicts or disasters, expresses its satisfaction that several international meetings have taken place or are being planned on recovery at large, and reconstruction in particular, and welcomes the offer of the Government of Poland to host an international conference on Reconstruction to provide guidelines to the World Heritage Committee to be held in Warsaw in March 2018;
Encourages the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to continue, with all relevant stakeholders, the reflection on reconstruction within World Heritage properties as a complex multi-disciplinary process, towards developing new guidance to reflect the multi-faceted challenges that reconstruction brings, its social and economic context, the short- and long-term needs of properties, and the idea of reconstruction as a process that should be undertaken within the framework of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the properties;
Urges States Parties to include risk mitigation measures in the management plans of World Heritage properties to address the potential effects of conflicts or disasters on their integrity;
Also encourages the inclusion of capacity-building initiatives in the framework of recovery plans;
Requests the States Parties involved in reconstruction projects to maintain dialogue and close consultation and cooperation with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies;
Recalls its Decision 40 COM 7 in relation to Climate Change, and requests the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to pursue the implementation of this Decision as a priority, within available resources;
Expresses its utmost concern regarding the reported serious impacts from coral bleaching that have affected World Heritage properties in 2016-17 and that the majority of World Heritage Coral Reefs are expected to be seriously impacted by Climate Change;
Noting that the World Heritage Centre, in consultation with IUCN, has initiated a scientific assessment by independent experts to better understand the impacts of Climate Change on coral reef World Heritage properties, also requests the World Heritage Centre and IUCN, as resources allow, to complete this assessment as soon as possible, and to ensure its findings are communicated effectively, and further requests the World Heritage Centre and Advisory Bodies to further study the current and potential impacts of Climate Change on the OUV of World Heritage properties;
Reiterates the importance of States Parties undertaking the most ambitious implementation of the Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) by “holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and by pursuing efforts to limit the global average temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, recognizing that this would significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change” and strongly invites all States Parties to ratify the Paris Agreement at the earliest possible opportunity and to undertake actions to address Climate Change under the Paris Agreement consistent with their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances, that are fully consistent with their obligations within the World Heritage Convention to protect the OUV of all World Heritage properties;
Takes note with satisfaction of the updated UNESCO Strategy for Action on Climate Change, approved by the UNESCO Executive Board at its 201st session in April 2017 (201 EX/Decision 5.I.B), and invites all States Parties to engage fully with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies, for its effective implementation;
Also recalls the need for all States Parties to continue, and where necessary to strengthen all efforts to build resilience of World Heritage properties to Climate Change, including by further reducing to the greatest extent possible all other pressures and threats, and by developing and implementing climate adaptation strategies for properties at risk of Climate Change impacts;
Requests furthermore the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to report on progress in relation to action on World Heritage and Climate Change, and to present, subject to available time and resources, a proposed update to the “Policy Document on the Impacts of Climate Change on World Heritage Properties”, for possible consideration by the World Heritage Committee at its 42nd session in 2018, and notes with appreciation the willingness of civil society groups to engage in this process;
Urban pressure
Noting that the increasing urban pressure in and around numerous World Heritage properties has become a major threat to their Outstanding Universal Value (OUV),
Taking note of the outcomes of the Habitat III Conference and notably the adoption of the “New Urban Agenda”,
Also taking note of the necessity to pursue the application of the Historic Urban Landscape approach towards a more effective and durable conservation and management of the urban heritage inscribed on the World Heritage List, and requests the States Parties to fully consider the 2011 UNESCO Recommendation on Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) ;
Calls on States Parties to take into account the recommendations of the Global Report on Culture for Sustainable Urban Development and take the necessary measures to integrate the role of culture in sustainable urban development in order to achieve SDG 11 – Target 4;
Notes with concern increasing vandalism at World Heritage properties and encourages States Parties to improve monitoring and security measures as well as awareness raising on the detrimental effects of vandalism, and to consider introducing creative solutions to allow visitors to express themselves without leaving permanent marks or damage;
Disasters Risk Reduction
Welcomes the Action Plan for the implementation of the Strategy for reinforcing UNESCO’s action for the protection of culture and the promotion of cultural pluralism in the event of armed conflict (hereafter the Strategy), adopted by the UNESCO General Conference in 2015 (38 C/Res.48), whose implementation would be of great importance for the protection of World Heritage in situations of armed conflicts and disasters associated with natural and human-made hazards;
Encourages States Parties to provide support to the implementation of the Strategy and its Action Plan, including through contributions to the Heritage Emergency Fund, as well as in kind contributions and advocacy at the highest international levels for the integration of a concern for culture in key international humanitarian, development, and peacekeeping operations;
Recalling its Decision 39 COM 7, adopted at its 39th session (Bonn, 2015),
Noting with concern the continued threat posed by invasive alien species on natural World Heritage properties, strongly encourages the States Parties to develop adequately resourced invasive alien species strategies that emphasize prevention and early warning and rapid response in World Heritage properties;
Illegal trade of wildlife species
Reiterates its utmost concern about the continued impacts of poaching and illegal logging on World Heritage properties driven primarily by the illegal trade of wildlife species and its products, and requests the World Heritage Centre and IUCN to take action, as resources permit, to strengthen the collaboration between the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the World Heritage Convention;
Reiterates its appeal to all Member States of UNESCO to cooperate in the fight against the illicit trade in wildlife and its products, including through the implementation of the CITES, and with the full engagement of transit and destination countries;
Integrated approaches for the conservation of natural and cultural heritage
Recalling that the World Heritage Convention explicitly links the concepts of cultural and natural heritage, highlights the importance of promoting integrated approaches that strengthen holistic governance, improve conservation outcomes and contribute to sustainable development;
Notes with appreciation the growing interest and efforts by the States Parties and heritage practitioners to develop and apply integrated approaches to conservation of natural and cultural heritage, and encourages the States Parties, the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies, in cooperation with universities and other relevant actors, to continue and expand these efforts, in accordance with the Policy Document for the integration of a Sustainable Development Perspective into the Processes of the Convention (2015);
List of World Heritage in Danger
Reiterates its request to the World Heritage Centre, in consultation with the Advisory Bodies and States Parties, to promote better understanding of the implications and benefits of properties being inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger, and to develop appropriate information material in this regard with a view to overcome the negative perceptions of the List of World Heritage in Danger. The information material should highlight the importance of the protection of the Outstanding Universal Value;
Takes note with appreciation of the Chairperson of the 41st session of the World Heritage Committee’s initiative on structured dialogue with civil society and encourages States Parties and civil society organizations to continue exploring possibilities how civil society can further contribute to enhanced conservation of heritage on the site and national level and provide relevant input to the heritage related debate at the global level;
Notes, in conformity with Resolution 20 GA 13 of the General Assembly of the World Heritage Convention and the Decision 39 COM 11 (Bonn, 2015) of the World Heritage Committee, the establishment of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on World Heritage as an important reflection platform on the involvement of Indigenous Peoples in the identification, conservation and management of World Heritage properties, with a particular focus on the nomination process.
Having examined Documents WHC/16/40.COM/7, WHC/16/40.COM/7A, WHC/16/40.COM/7A.Add, WHC/16/40.COM/7A.Add.2, WHC/16/40.COM/7B, WHC/16/40.COM/7B.Add and WHC/16/40.COM/7B.Add.2,
Recalling Decision 39 COM 7, adopted at its 39th session (Bonn, 2015),
Emergency situation resulting from conflicts
Urges the States Parties to ratify international instruments such as the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and implores States Parties associated with conflicts to refrain from any action that would cause further damage to cultural and natural heritage and to fulfil their obligations under international law by taking all possible measures to protect such heritage, in particular the safeguarding of World Heritage properties and the sites included in the Tentative List;
Also urges the States Parties to adopt measures that oppose World Heritage properties being used for military purposes;
Notes with concern that the conflict situation in several countries in the world has increased considerably the work load of the World Heritage Centre staff, and that an adequate implementation of the Action Plans for the Emergency Safeguarding of Cultural Heritage in Mali, Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen requires additional financial and human resources at the World Heritage Centre and in the UNESCO field offices; also notes the increased demands on the resources of the Advisory Bodies;
Also expresses its utmost concern about the impacts of conflicts causing an escalation of the already severe poaching crisis, as armed groups are financing their activities through illegal wildlife trade, which is having a severe impact on African wildlife, threatening the very survival of species and the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of World Heritage properties;
Launches an appeal to all Member States of UNESCO to cooperate in the fight against the illicit trafficking of cultural heritage objects and illegal wildlife trade, including through the implementation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the ratification of the 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property and to pursue the implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2199 of February 2015 regarding Syria and Iraq;
Noting that the recent and wide-ranging deliberate destruction of World Heritage properties as a result of armed conflict in Syria, Yemen, Libya, Iraq, Mali and Nigeria, and the devastating earthquakes in Nepal, have brought sharply into focus the issue of reconstruction in World Heritage properties; that several international meetings have taken place or are being planned on reconstruction; and that guidance within the Operational Guidelines is currently inadequate,
Recommends that more in depth reflection is needed on reconstruction within World Heritage properties as a complex multi-disciplinary process, and that consideration should be given to developing new guidance to reflect the multi-faceted challenges that reconstruction brings, its social and economic context, the short- and long-term needs of properties, and the idea of reconstruction as a process that should be undertaken within the framework of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the properties;
Welcomes the offer of the Government of Poland to host an international conference on Reconstruction to provide guidelines to the World Heritage Committee;
Taking note of the agreement reached during the 21st conference (COP21) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in 2015, requests the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to assist States Parties to implement appropriate management responses to the adverse effects of Climate Change;
Recommends that the World Heritage Centre strengthen its relations with other organizations working on Climate Change, particularly with the UNFCCC and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) secretariats, and specifically with regard to the effect of Climate Change on World Heritage properties, and also requests the States Parties, the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to work with IPCC with the objective of including a specific chapter on natural and cultural World Heritage in future IPCC assessment reports;
Further requests the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to periodically review and update the “Policy Document on the Impacts of Climate Change on World Heritage properties”, so as to make available the most current knowledge and technology on the subject to guide the decisions and actions of the World Heritage community;
Notes with significant concern that an increasing number of properties are facing potential threats from major dam projects, considers that the construction of dams with large reservoirs within the boundaries of World Heritage properties is incompatible with their World Heritage status, and urges States Parties to ensure that the impacts from dams that could affect properties located upstream or downstream within the same river basin are rigorously assessed in order to avoid impacts on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV);
Extractive industries
Noting with significant concern that World Heritage properties are increasingly threatened by extractive industries, as confirmed by the 2014 IUCN World Heritage Outlook report, by the World Heritage Centre’s analysis of issues reported in state of conservation reports also revealing the potential threat from extractive activities to cultural properties, and by the 2016 report by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), welcomes the “No-go” commitments to World Heritage properties made by Tullow Oil plc and CEMEX in November 2015 and April 2016 respectively, and reiterates its call on other extractive industry companies and investment banks to follow these examples to further extend the “No-go” commitment;
Recalling Decision 37 COM 7, once again urges all States Parties to the Convention and leading industry stakeholders to respect the “No-go” commitment by not permitting extractive activities within World Heritage properties, and by making every effort to ensure that extractives companies located in their territory cause no damage to World Heritage properties, in line with Article 6 of the Convention;
Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs)/Heritage Impact Assessments (HIAs)
Notes with concern that a majority of properties potentially affected by proposed development projects, proposed legal instruments, and proposed management systems have not benefited from an assessment of impacts on their Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) in line with IUCN’s World Heritage Advice Note on Environmental Assessment and ICOMOS’ Guidance on Heritage Impact Assessments for Cultural World Heritage Properties, and requests all States Parties to the Convention to ensure that potential direct, indirect and cumulative impacts on the OUV, including from projects located outside the boundaries of natural and/or cultural World Heritage properties, are specifically assessed within the framework of the EIA and HIA required by the applicable laws and regulations, and that reports of such assessments are submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies, in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines;
Recalls Article 6 of the Convention according to which “Each State Party to this Convention undertakes not to take any deliberate measures which might damage directly or indirectly the cultural and natural heritage […] situated on the territory of other States Parties to this Convention”, and also requests all States Parties to the Convention to ensure that EIAs and HIAs include an assessment of impacts on the OUV of World Heritage properties situated on the territory of other States Parties, as appropriate;
Further requests the Advisory Bodies, in consultation with the World Heritage Centre, to consider opportunities to streamline their guidance on impact assessment in order to develop one single guidance document for the assessment of impacts on both natural and cultural properties;
Integrated management, Decision making, Governance
Noting with concern that the lack of an integrated management approach is reported to cause challenges to the coordination of management and decision making processes of properties where different authorities are involved, in particular in the cases of mixed, serial, and transboundary properties, urges States Parties to establish appropriate mechanisms in order to facilitate a coordinated approach to the management of all properties, in line with the requirements of the Operational Guidelines as laid out in Paragraphs 112, 114, and 135, and encourages States Parties with contiguous natural properties on either side of their international borders, which are not listed as transboundary properties, to establish appropriate mechanisms for cooperation between their respective management authorities and ministries;
Also encourages States Parties to promote recognition and awareness across all relevant national and regional agencies of the World Heritage status of the properties on their territory, and to develop mechanisms to ensure consideration of impacts on Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) in the decision making processes of relevant ministries, before permits are issued for developments that could negatively impact the OUV;
Ground transport infrastructures
Notes with concern that the number of cases of ground transport infrastructure having potential impact on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of World Heritage properties is continuing to grow, and calls upon States Parties to carry out Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs) early in the process of transportation planning to allow for potential impacts of the OUV, including those resulting from foreseeable associated future developments, to be identified prior to the development of specific projects;
Encourages States Parties to carry out Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and Heritage Impact Assessments (HIA) on ground transport projects, once they are designed, with multiple options to ensure that transportation needs can be met with minimal impacts on the OUV of World Heritage properties;
Takes note of its discussions under agenda items 7A and 7B, and requests the World Heritage Centre, in consultation with the Advisory Bodies and States Parties, to promote better understanding of the implications and benefits of properties being inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger, and to develop appropriate information material in this regard with a view to overcome the negative perceptions of the List of World Heritage in Danger. The information material should highlight the importance of the protection of the OUV;
Requests the World Heritage Centre, in cooperation with the Advisory Bodies to evaluate the effectiveness of the Reactive Monitoring including procedures and case studies and to present a preliminary report for the consideration by the World Heritage Committee at its 42nd session in 2018, if funds are available.
Having examined Document WHC-15/39.COM/7,
Recalling Decision 38 COM 7, adopted at its 38th session (Doha, 2014), and the Bonn Declaration on World Heritage adopted on 29 June 2015,
Conflict situation in the Arab States Region
Deplores the conflict situation prevailing in Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen, the loss of human life as well as the degradation of humanitarian conditions and expresses its utmost concern at the damage sustained and the threats facing these properties and cultural heritage in general;
Urges all parties associated with conflicts to refrain from any action that would cause further damage to cultural heritage and to fulfil their obligations under international law by taking all possible measures to protect such heritage, in particular the safeguarding of World Heritage properties and the sites included in the Tentative List;
Also urges the States Parties to adopt measures for the evacuation of World Heritage properties being used for military purposes;
Launches an appeal to all Member States of UNESCO to cooperate in combatting the illicit trafficking of cultural heritage, in particular coming from Syria and Iraq as per the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2199 of February 2015;
Recommends that the World Heritage Centre and Advisory Bodies develop a post-conflict strategy, including means to extend support for reconstruction of damaged World Heritage properties through technical assistance, capacity-building, and exchange of best practices taking into account the conclusions made by the two seminars recently held by World Heritage Centre and ICOMOS on this subject;
Emerging and recurring conservation issues
Takes note of the increasing number of State of Conservation reports due to inadequate management systems or plans and urges States Parties to ensure that management systems and plans are in place at the time of inscription;
Notes with utmost concern, the continuously increasing pressure associated with and the growing impacts from poaching on the Outstanding Universal Value of many natural World Heritage properties and the increasing involvement of organized crime, and reiterates its call for strong international collaboration and coordination inter alia with the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and with the full engagement of transit and destination countries to control the illicit trade in wildlife and its products;
Notes with concern the significant threat posed by invasive species to natural World Heritage properties, strongly encourages States Parties to develop adequately resourced strategies to eradicate invasive species in World Heritage properties and prevent their (re-)introduction and/or establishment, and also calls on the international community to support invasive species eradication campaigns in affected properties;
Taking note of the benefits to States Parties of systematically utilizing Heritage Impact Assessments (HIAs) and Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) in the review of development projects, encourages States Parties to integrate the EIA/HIA processes into legislation, planning mechanisms and management plans, and reiterates its recommendation to States Parties to use these tools in assessing projects, including assessment of cumulative impacts, as early as possible and before any final decision is taken, and, taking into account the need for capacity-building in this regard, requests the States Parties to contribute financially and technically towards the development of further guidance regarding EIA/HIA implementation, by the Advisory Bodies and the World Heritage Centre, based on case studies and field experience;
Acknowledging that World Heritage properties are being increasingly affected by Climate Change, also strongly encourages States Parties to participate in the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in December 2015, with a view to achieving a universal climate agreement and mobilize global climate action on the ground, and recalls its Decision 31 COM 7.1, adopted at its 31st session (Christchurch, 2007) in which it adopted a carbon neutral policy, in view of its application for all future sessions, to the extent feasible;
Appreciates the constructive dialogue, which has taken place between the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the World Heritage Centre and IUCN, and also requests that this dialogue be extended to the other Advisory Bodies to ensure that cultural aspects are also taken into account in the future;
Knowledge management of the state of conservation reports
Urges States Parties to submit to the Committee through the Secretariat, by the statutory deadline set and in one of the working languages of the World Heritage Convention (English or French), their reports on the state of conservation of specific properties (Paragraph 169 of the Operational Guidelines), in order to allow for sufficient time for consultation and informed decision making at the Committee sessions;
Adopts the revised format below for the submission of state of conservation reports by the States Parties, decides that this revised format is compulsory and applies with immediate effect, and that it should be included in the Operational Guidelines, and reminds States Parties that these reports must be submitted in one of the working languages of the Convention (English or French):
Name of World Heritage property (State(s) Party(ies)) (Identification number)
Executive Summary of the report
[Note: each of the sections described below should be summarized. The maximum length of the executive summary is 1 page.]
Response to the Decision of the World Heritage Committee
[Note: State(s) Party(ies) are requested to address the most recent Decision of the World Heritage Committee for this property, paragraph by paragraph.]
If the property is inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger
Please also provide detailed information on the following:
Progress achieved in implementing the corrective measures adopted by the World Heritage Committee
[Note: please address each corrective measure individually, providing factual information, including exact dates, figures, etc.]
If needed, please describe the success factors or difficulties in implementing each of the corrective measures identified
Is the timeframe for implementing the corrective measures suitable? If not, please propose an alternative timeframe and an explanation why this alternative timeframe is required.
Progress achieved towards the Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR)
Other current conservation issues identified by the State(s) Party(ies) which may have an impact on the property’s Outstanding Universal Value
[Note: this includes conservation issues which are not mentioned in the Decision of the World Heritage Committee or in any information request from the World Heritage Centre]
In conformity with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, describe any potential major restorations, alterations and/or new construction(s) intended within the property, the buffer zone(s) and/or corridors or other areas, where such developments may affect the Outstanding Universal Value of the property, including authenticity and integrity.
Public access to the state of conservation report
[Note: this report will be uploaded for public access on the World Heritage Centre’s State of conservation Information System (https://whc.unesco.org/en/soc). Should your State Party request that the full report should not be uploaded, only the 1-page executive summary provided in point (1.) above will be uploaded for public access].
Signature of the Authority
Notes with appreciation the high number of States Parties which have authorized the public upload of their state of conservation reports, facilitating their consultation by all stakeholders of the Convention and contributing to an improved transparency of the reactive monitoring process, and reiterates its encouragement to all States Parties to continue do so in the future.
1. Having examined Document WHC-14/38.COM/7,
2. Recalling Decisions 35 COM 12B, 35 COM 12E and 37 COM 7C adopted at its 35th (UNESCO, 2011) and 37th (Phnom Penh, 2013) sessions respectively,
Issues emerging from the 2014 state of conservation reports
3. Noting with regret that issues related to Management Plan / System remain a serious cause for concern, requests all States Parties to ensure that all World Heritage properties are managed in such a manner that their Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) is not put at risk and, whenever necessary, develop/update and fully implement Management Plans or Systems;
4. Taking note of the benefits to States Parties of systematically utilizing Heritage and Environmental Impact Assessments in the review of development projects, recommends that States Parties use these tools in assessing projects before they reach a point where the World Heritage reactive monitoring process comes into play;
5. Also noting that tourism development in and around World Heritage properties is a key issue for their management, strongly encourages States Parties to ensure sustainable planning and management of tourism at World Heritage properties and to contribute to the implementation of the World Heritage Centre’s World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism Programme;
6. Reiterating its utmost concern about the continued impacts on World Heritage properties due to the rising pressure from poaching, particularly of elephant, rhinoceros, and valuable timber species, linked to a growing illicit trade, and the increasing involvement of organized crime in this lucrative business, reiterates its request to the World Heritage Centre and IUCN to strengthen their cooperation with the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to assist States Parties to implement the measures taken by the 16th Conference of the Parties of the CITES, and urges States Parties to ensure strong international collaboration and coordination to control the illicit trade in flora and fauna and their products;
7. Takes note with concern of the continuing threat posed to World Heritage properties by disasters and conflicts, of the widespread lack of adequate preparedness, and of the need to integrate a concern for heritage within international policies and programmes for disaster risk reduction, and calls on States Parties to ensure that their delegations to the 3rd World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR), due to take place in March 2015 in Sendai (Japan), are sensitized to this question and promote heritage as an essential consideration in disaster risk reduction;
8. Also requests that States Parties with an interest in the promotion of capacity building on the issues of management, impact assessments, disaster risk management, sustainable tourism management, and poaching and wildlife crimes to liaise with the Advisory Bodies, World Heritage Centre, and UNESCO Category 2 Centres, and support regional or international courses, workshops, and other capacity building activities to improve the capacity of States Parties and site managers to develop and implement these important planning instruments;
Updates on previously reported issues
9. Welcomes the commitment made by TOTAL in June 2013 not to explore or exploit oil or gas inside sites inscribed on the World Heritage List as well as the new policy on World Heritage Sites adopted by the investment bank HSBC not to knowingly provide financial services to support projects which threaten the special characteristics of World Heritage properties and, also taking note of the discussions held between the World Heritage Centre, IUCN and International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association (IPIECA), calls on other companies in extractive industries and investment banks to follow these examples to further extend the “No go” commitment;
10. Also welcomes the progress in the dialogue between the World Heritage Centre, the Advisory Bodies and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and encourages the development of a mechanism that would allow to identify potential impacts of future Olympic Games on World Heritage properties early on in the process of attributing the Games in order to ensure that these impacts can be avoided or adequately mitigated by the organizing country;
Strategic issues related to the state of conservation of World Heritage properties
11. Also recalling that States Parties concerned shall submit by 1 February to the Committee through the Secretariat, their reports on the state of conservation of specific properties (Paragraph 169 of the Operational Guidelines ),
12. Acknowledging that the established minimum two-year cycle for the examination of state of conservation reports for individual properties (except for cases of utmost urgency and for properties inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger), associated to a postponed deadline for the submission of the States Parties’ reports would provide an opportunity for improved dialogue between the States Parties, the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies, decides that States Parties concerned shall submit their state of conservation reports to the World Heritage Centre by 1 December of the year preceding the examination of the property by the World Heritage Committee, with immediate effect, except for properties inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger and for cases of utmost urgency, and further requests the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to draft a proposal in view of including this new statutory deadline in the Operational Guidelines , for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 39th session, in 2015;
13. Reminds States Parties of the importance of submitting their state of conservation reports to the World Heritage Centre in one of the working languages of the World Heritage Convention, English or French;
14. Notes with appreciation the high number of States Parties which have authorized the public upload of their state of conservation reports, facilitating their consultation by all stakeholders of the Convention and contributing to an improved transparency of the reactive monitoring process, and reiterates its encouragement to all States Parties to continue do so in the future.
Decision 37COM 7C
1. Having examined Document WHC-13/37.COM/7C,
2. Recalling Decisions 35 COM 7C and 36 COM 7C , adopted at its 35th (UNESCO, 2011) and 36th (Saint-Petersburg, 2012) sessions respectively,
3. Expresses its appreciation to the Flemish Government for its support in establishing the online “State of Conservation Information System of World Heritage properties”;
4. Welcomes the contribution of the Information System to the improved transparency of World Heritage Reactive Monitoring and informed decision-making processes;
5. Encourages States Parties to make public the reports submitted on the state of conservation of World Heritage properties in order to facilitate their consultation by all stakeholders and contribute to an improved transparency of the reactive monitoring process and, in this case, requests the World Heritage Centre to make them publicly accessible through the State of Conservation Information System;
6. Also encourages the World Heritage Centre to continue exploring opportunities to link the Information System to other existing relevant databases as part of a wider Information and knowledge management system, in order to improve the synergies between the World Heritage Convention and other international conventions or programmes;
7. Calls upon all States Parties to the Convention to support the activities proposed to contribute towards the improvement of the Information System and its access for the international community.
See more about Decision 37COM 7C
1.Having examined document WHC-12/36.COM/7C,
2.Recalling Decisions 35 COM 7C and 35 COM 12E adopted at its 35th session (UNESCO, 2011),
Significant factors negatively impacting the Outstanding Universal Value
3.Takes note of the statistical analysis and encourages the World Heritage Centre to continue with the production of such informative data, including regional analyses;
Recurrent conservation issues
4.Also takes note of the completion of the independent review process on extractive industries and World Heritage properties as a contribution to the Policy Guidelines development and invites the World Heritage Centre to disseminate this review as widely as possible;
5.Requests States Parties to make every endeavor to take into consideration disaster risks, including from human-induced hazards, in the management plans and systems for the World Heritage properties located in their territories;
6.Also requests the World Heritage Centre, with the support of the Advisory Bodies, to continue working with global and regional institutions involved in disaster risk management, with an aim to mainstream a concern for heritage within their policies and programmes as well as in UN-led processes such as the Post-Disaster-Needs-Assessment (PDNA);
Follow-up to decisions 35 COM 7C and 35 COM 12E
7.Further takes note of the information provided regarding the recognition for the protectors of World Heritage properties in conflict and post-conflict zones, including through the use of blue/green berets or other appropriate insignia;
8.Takes note furthermore of the correspondence process in place to increase dialogue between the States Parties, the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies regarding conservation issues at World Heritage properties;
9.Thanks the Government of Flanders for its support to the establishment of a “state of conservation information system” hosted on the World Heritage Centre’s website and further requests the World Heritage Centre to present a progress report on the database and its access online, during the 37th session of the World Heritage Committee in 2013;
Other conservation issues not reported on at the 36th session under Items 7A and 7B
10. Expresses its concern with regard to the state of conservation of World Heritage property of “Archaeological Areas of Pompei, Herculaneum and Torre Annuziata” and urges the State Party of Italy to intensify its efforts towards implementing the Committee’s decision taken at its 35th session (UNESCO, 2011);
11. Extends its sympathy to the victims of the earthquake in northern Italy; also encourages the State Party of Italy to continue its important efforts for the assessment of the damage occurred and for the planning and implementation of the necessary remedial measures, including with a view to strengthening the overall resilience of the three properties in the future against all possible hazards; and requests furthermore the State Party of Italy to provide to the World Heritage Centre updated information on the situation and to coordinate with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies possible initiatives for the recovery and restoration of the three affected properties;
12. Finally requests the State Party of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to halt the proposed development of a golf resort at the World Heritage property “Giant’s Causeway and Causeway Coast” until its potential impact on the Outstanding Universal Value of the World Heritage property has been assessed.
1. Having examined Documents WHC-11/35.COM/7C, WHC-11/35.COM/INF.7C and WHC-11/35.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 34 COM 7C, adopted at its 34th session (Brasilia, 2010),
3. Thanks the States Parties of Senegal and Australia for the organization of the Expert meeting on the global state of conservation challenges for World Heritage properties (Dakar, Senegal, 13-15 April 2011);
4. Endorses the recommendations of the Expert meeting on the global state of conservation challenges for World Heritage properties presented in Document WHC-11/35.COM/INF.7C and invites States Parties to the Convention, the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to develop plans to implement them, and identify the required resources;
5. Considering the need for more systematic monitoring of threats, calls upon the States Parties to the Convention to support the establishment of a comprehensive "state of conservation information system" to support analytical studies and assist all stakeholders in site-management, with the target to make this system available, on the World Heritage Centre's website, before the 37th session of the World Heritage Committee in 2013;
6. Requests the World Heritage Centre, in consultation with the Advisory Bodies, to prepare clear modalities and guidance for the drafting and adoption of the Desired state of conservation for the removal of properties from the List of World Heritage in Danger, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 36th session in 2012;
7. Decides to amend paragraph 183 of the Operational Guidelines to read: "When considering the inscription of a property on the List of World Heritage in Danger, the Committee shall develop, and adopt, as far as possible, in consultation with the State Party concerned, a Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger, and a programme for corrective measures";
8. Also requests the World Heritage Centre and Advisory Bodies to prepare a progress report on the issues mentioned above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 36th session in 2012.
Decision 35COM 12E
1. Having examined Document WHC-11/35.COM/INF.7C,
2. Recalling Decision 32 COM 10 adopted at its 32nd session (Quebec City, 2008), Decision 33 COM 14A.2 adopted at its 33rd session (Seville, 2009), 34 COM 12 adopted at its 34th session (Brasilia, 2010) and Resolution 17 GA 9 adopted at the 17th General Assembly of States Parties (UNESCO Headquarters, 2009),
3. Expresses its appreciation to the States Parties of Australia and Senegal and the UNESCO World Heritage Centre for organising the expert meeting on global state of conservation challenges of World Heritage properties (Dakar, Senegal, 13-15 April 2011);
4. Notes the report provided by the participants at the above-mentioned expert meeting;
5. Invites contributions of relevant expertise and financial resources to assist States Parties implement decisions on the state of conservation of World Heritage properties;
6. Reiterates that nominations of properties for inscription on the World Heritage List must demonstrate Outstanding Universal Value in line with the criteria for inscription and comply with integrity/authenticity, protection and management requirements, as set out in the Operational Guidelines;
7. Requests the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to develop guidance, for consideration at the 36th session of the World Heritage Committee, to clarify:
a) The uses, limits and documentation requirements for traditional management (paragraphs 108 and following),
b) The need for Environmental Impact Assessments/Heritage Impact Assessments of potential developments' impact on Outstanding Universal Value, the range of proposed activities with a likely impact on Outstanding Universal Value to be reported on and the documentation required by the World Heritage Centre (Paragraph 172), and
c) Buffer zones or other protection mechanisms, noting the recommendations contained in document WHC-08/32.COM/7.1;
8. Requests that aspects concerning partnerships should be dealt with after the report of the external auditor on PACT at the 18th General Assembly of States Parties;
9. Requests the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to develop options to strengthen and improve the state of conservation reporting process, in particular to increase dialogue with States Parties about World Heritage properties facing challenges;
10. Also requests the World Heritage Centre to formally notify States Parties of the state of conservation reports on World Heritage properties on their territory which will be the subject of examination by the Committee at the session indicated;
11. Also requests the World Heritage Centre to report at the 36th session of the World Heritage Committee on possible ways to encourage United Nations recognition for the protectors of World Heritage properties in conflict and post conflict zones, including through the use of blue/green berets or other appropriate insignia, and reminds States Parties to include details of Disaster Risk Reduction/Emergency Planning arrangements in their nomination dossiers and management plans;
12. Further requests the World Heritage Centre, in collaboration with the Advisory Bodies, in addition to the presentation of state of conservation reports on individual properties, to prepare a thematic report on significant global and regional factors negatively impacting the Outstanding Universal Value of the properties, grouped according to the five categories of factors affecting the Outstanding Universal Value identified in the Periodic Report questionnaire, Section II, to ensure a greater coherence in the decision making on individual sites;
13. Requests the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to provide, in the state of conservation reports on individual properties, a link to an integrated online database compiling all relevant background information concerning the property (previous state of conservation reports and Committee decisions, desired state of conservation, corrective measures, International Assistance requests, etc.) necessary for well-informed decision-making, to be hosted on the World Heritage Centre's website;
14. Also requests the Advisory Bodies to develop a database of existing guidance on key factors negatively impacting on the Outstanding Universal Value of World Heritage properties and tools for best management practice;
15. Recalling that being a signatory to the World Heritage Convention entails certain responsibilities, including a requirement to follow the Operational Guidelines, management of World Heritage properties according to the highest international standards, promotion of good governance and allocation of adequate funding for the protection of World Heritage properties, encourages States Parties to:
a) Develop adequate legislative frameworks to ensure compliance with the Operational Guidelines and set up a collaborative framework between agencies for the conservation of properties, including agencies in charge of the follow up of other conventions and international agreements,
b) Source assistance and support beyond what is available under the UNESCO World Heritage Fund, noting that tools, methodology and guidance are available both internationally and nationally from the Advisory Bodies and the World Heritage Centre and additional support should be sought from other donors, NGOs and international organizations,
c) Be proactive in relation to development and conservation of World Heritage properties by conducting a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) at the time of nomination to anticipate the impact of any potential development on the Outstanding Universal Value,
d) Ensure that EIA/HIA are conducted for development projects which could affect properties and that these specifically assess the impact on the Outstanding Universal Value of properties,
e) Involve indigenous peoples and local communities in decision making, monitoring and evaluation of the state of conservation of the properties and their Outstanding Universal Value and link the direct community benefits to protection outcomes,
f) Respect the rights of indigenous peoples when nominating, managing and reporting on World Heritage sites in indigenous peoples' territories;
g) Establish and promote horizontal cooperation and understanding among various institutions that have an impact on cultural and natural heritage, also including governmental institutions responsible for UNESCO programmes implementation on national level, economy, finance, regional development/ planning, tourism, social welfare as well as local authorities,
h) Follow the Recommendation concerning the Protection, at National Level, of the Cultural and Natural Heritage, adopted simultaneously with the World Heritage Convention, by the General Conference of UNESCO on 16 November 1972.
See more about Decision 35COM 12E
2. Recalling Decisions 32 COM 7B.129 and 33 COM 7C, adopted at its 32nd (Quebec City, 2008) and 33rd (Seville, 2009) sessions respectively,
3. Welcomes the analytical summary of the perceived trends, changes and threats to the state of conservation of World Heritage properties over the past five years (2005-2009), as the basis for further reflection and more extensive analysis of this information;
4. Considers that this work highlights the need for more systematic monitoring of threats and of how to identify and react to emerging trends;
5. Suggests that data on the emergence of trends and on the underlying reasons for the emergence of trends could be helpful to States Parties, to the World Heritage Centre and to the Advisory Bodies;
6. Notes that the availability and application of satellite imagery and other remote sensing techniques are continually improving, and also notes that such techniques can provide evidence over time to determine whether some impacts on World Heritage values continue to occur or are being addressed;
7. Requests that the Advisory Bodies, and in particular IUCN, work with the World Heritage Centre, the UNESCO Science Sector, and relevant remote sensing agencies, to examine the feasibility of using remote sensing to help assess the potential contribution that it could make to the monitoring of certain threats to the Outstanding Universal Value of properties;
8. Given the percentage of threats related to development and infrastructure projects and to high-rise buildings, stresses the need for structured heritage impact assessments of major projects to be carried out at the earliest opportunity in order to assess the impact of potential projects on the Outstanding Universal Value of World Heritage properties;
9. Recalls the provisions of Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines and that prompt information on potential development projects and their review for impact on Outstanding Universal Value is a key tool for ensuring the effective conservation of World Heritage properties and the credibility of the Convention;
10. Taking into account the information provided in the introduction of Document WHC-10/34.COM/7B and specifically the impact of natural disasters affecting World Heritage properties, notes the progress made in the implementation of the Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction at World Heritage properties as indicated in Document WHC-10/34.COM/7.3, as well as the newly published Resource Manual on this subject;
11. Also notes that the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies have considered the approaches for the selection of properties for state of conservation reports and processes for preparing Desired State of Conservation Statements for the removal of properties from the List of World Heritage in Danger and further notes that these will be subject to a further review at the next World Heritage Centre/Advisory Bodies meeting in September 2010;
12. Acknowledges the inclusion of links to illustrative material in the state of conservation reports which provide information on potential visual impact on the Outstanding Universal Value of a property and encourages the States Parties to share their experiences concerning visual impact studies and simulations by providing to the Word Heritage Centre links to relevant information to be made available through the web-page;
13. Requests the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to report back on criteria, thresholds and processes relevant to the initiation of state of conservation reports, the feasibility of improved utilization of remote sensing, and the preparation and review of Desired State of Conservation Statements for the removal of properties from the List of World Heritage in Danger, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 35th session in 2011.
1. Having examined Documents WHC-09/33.COM/7B and WHC-09/33.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 32 COM 7B.129, adopted at its 32nd session (Quebec City, 2008),
3. Takes note of the process being followed to consult State Parties to ensure the accuracy of the state of conservation reports during their preparation, as presented in the introduction of Document WHC-09/33.COM/7B and requests the World Heritage Centre to make every effort to ensure that States Parties' input is included in these reports before they are distributed;
4. Recognizes the efforts on the inclusion of references in the Working Documents on State of Conservation to the image gallery of the web-pages of the World Heritage Centre and encourages States Parties to provide the World Heritage Centre, whenever possible, with verified electronic illustrative material;
5. Considers that its request, in Decision 32 COM 7B.129, to add a link to illustrative material also aimed at providing background information on cases indicating the potential of visual impact on the Outstanding Universal Value of a property and to make visual impact simulations provided by States Parties available to Members of the Word Heritage Committee;
6. Encourages States Parties to provide electronic illustrations of proposed projects in their State of Conservation Reports and to make these available to the Members of the World Heritage Committee;
7. Acknowledging the increasing number of State of Conservation reports and that reviewing these is a key tool for ensuring the effective conservation and credibility of World Heritage properties,
8. Noting the results of the analytical document on trends provided with Circular Letter CL/WHC-09/03 and the in-depth discussion that took place at the 32nd session of the World Heritage Committee,
9. Also noting the increasing number of natural disasters affecting World Heritage properties, requests the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to prepare a report on the progress made in the implementation of the Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction at World Heritage properties and submit it for the examination by the Committee at its 34th session in 2010,
10. Also considers it desirable to receive from the World Heritage Centre a methodological framework for the processes of:
a) Initiating the consideration of a property in the State of Conservation reports,
b) Requesting a State Party progress or state of conservation report within a defined timeframe, and
c) Evaluating desired State of Conservation Statements submitted by State Parties;
11. Requests the World Heritage Centre to:
a) Prepare, in cooperation with the Advisory Bodies, information on criteria, thresholds and processes applied for the initiation of State of Conservation reports and review of Desired State of Conservation statements for discussion at the 34th session of the World Heritage Committee in 2010;
b) Also prepare, in consultation with the Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee, a summary of the trends, changes and threats based on an analytical summary of the state of conservation of World Heritage properties over 5 years for discussion at the 34th session of the World Heritage Committee in 2010, with a view to make recommendations for prioritizing management efforts in the context of the Global Strategy;
12. Further requests the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies, when preparing state of conservation reports, to distinguish between issues that impact or have the potential to impact on a site's Outstanding Universal Value from issues that may impact values that are not recognized as being of Outstanding Universal Value;
13. Notes that all reactive monitoring missions proposed in the draft decisions on State of Conservation of properties on the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger are currently suggested to be joint missions of the World Heritage Centre and at least one Advisory Body, and considers that this has the potential to increase the overall budgetary requirements for missions and human resources;
14. Requests the World Heritage Centre to introduce a section on proposed missions to the relevant State of Conservation reports which outlines the objectives of a proposed mission as well as the specific roles and tasks of all bodies involved;
15. Also notes the petition on the Role of Black Carbon in the endangering of World Heritage properties and encourages all States Parties to exchange information on existing national policies, regulations and opportunities for immediate voluntary action to control the generation of black carbon that can affect World Heritage properties;
16. Also requests the World Heritage Centre and Advisory Bodies to adopt a consistent approach to reporting on the impact of climate change on World Heritage properties and to ensure that future decisions in this respect are based on the Committee's Strategy to assist States Parties to implement appropriate management responses to climate change;
17. Further noting the profusion of terms used to describe the spatial and functional relationships among World Heritage properties, their buffer zones and the areas around these properties, requests the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to develop a glossary of terms in this respect, as well as proposed revisions to the Operational Guidelines regarding buffer zones, taking into account the results of the Expert Meeting on this issue for consideration by the World Heritage Committee at its 34th session in 2010;
18. Also encourages all States Parties to fully implement paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines by informing the World Heritage Centre of restorations, constructions and other projects that may affect the Outstanding Universal Value of a property in their territory.
Decision 32COM 7B.129
1. Having examined documents WHC-08/32.COM/7B, WHC-08/32.COM7B.Add and WHC-08/32.COM7B.Add2,
2. Recognizing that the state of conservation reports are an important tool for sustaining the World Heritage properties; and
3. Noting the discussion that took place at the 32nd session of the World Heritage Committee;
4. Requests the World Heritage Centre to:
a) prepare, after consultation with the Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee, an analytical summary of the state of conservation of the World Heritage discussed at the 32nd session (Québec City, 2008) identifying trends, by 1st November 2008, for distribution to the Committee members and discussion at the 33rd session in 2009;
b) identify issues emanating from the analytical summary, in consultation with the Advisory Bodies, to be discussed on relevant agenda items of the Committee, including the Reinforced Monitoring mechanism;
c) prepare a lexicon of terms and recommendations for their consistent application in state of conservation reports;
d) provide, where available, a printed Statement of Outstanding Universal Value, for properties on the List of World Heritage in Danger and those discussed for in-Danger listing;
e) add a link to illustrative material and relevant statements of Outstanding Universal Value, and attribute information to source and date;
5. Also requests the World Heritage Centre to identify a mechanism for consultation with States Parties during the development of the State of Conservation reports to ensure their accuracy.
See more about Decision 32COM 7B.129
The World Heritage Centre,
1. Having examined Documents WHC-07/31.COM/7A, WHC-07/31.COM/7A.Add, WHC-07/31.COM/7A.Add.2, WHC-07/31.COM/7B, WHC-07/31.COM/7B.Add, WHC-07/31.COM/7B.Add.2,
2. Recalling Decisions 27 COM 7B.106 and 29 COM 7C, adopted at its 27th (UNESCO, 2003) and 29th (Durban, 2005) sessions respectively,
3. Invites the States Parties to use the following format for the submission to the World Heritage Centre of their report(s) on the state of conservation of World Heritage properties:
Format for preparing a State Party’s Report for World Heritage properties
(designed following the Advisory Bodies / World Heritage Centre meeting of 25-26 January 2007)
Name of World Heritage property (State Party) (Identification number)
1. Response from the State Party to the World Heritage Committee’s Decision, paragraph by paragraph
[Note: this information has to refer to developments over the past year or since the last decision of the Committee for this property]
In case the property is inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger:
a) Corrective measures taken by the State Party in reply to the World Heritage Committee’s Decision(s)
b) Progress towards the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger
c) If needed, please describe the success factors or difficulties in implementing the corrective measures identified
[Note: please, provide factual information, including exact dates, figures etc. and provide comments separately]
d) Is the timeframe for the implementation of the corrective measures suitable? If not, please propose a justified alternative.
In all cases:
2. Other current conservation issues identified by the State Party
[Note: conservation issues which are not mentioned in the Decision of the World Heritage Committee or any information request from the World Heritage Centre]
3. In conformity with paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, please describe any potential major restorations, alterations and/or new construction(s) within the protected area (core zone and buffer zone and/or corridors) that might be envisaged.
1. Welcomes the initiatives of States Parties for architectural competitions for new buildings in World Heritage properties where compatible with the Outstanding Universal Value, including in historic neighbourhoods in the spirit of the Vienna Memorandum on "World Heritage and Contemporary Architecture, Managing the Historic Urban Landscape" (2005) ;
2. Encourages the States Parties, in preparing the competition documents, to inform the Secretariat, seek comments from the Advisory Bodies and inform the Committee according to paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines.
Decision 29COM 7B.c
1. Having examined Document WHC-05/29.COM/7B.Rev,
2. Recalling Decision 7 EXT.COM 4B.1, adopted at its 7th extraordinary session (UNESCO, 2004), which invited the Director of the World Heritage Centre, in consultation with the Advisory Bodies, to submit at its 29th session proposals on ways and means of optimizing the interrelation between the results of the periodic reporting cycles and the conclusions derived from the state of conservation reports – in particular in order to ensure consistency and a better conservation of the properties,
3. Noting that discussions have taken place in this regard at a meeting of the Advisory Bodies and the World Heritage Centre (February, 2005) and at a Workshop on “Management Effectiveness, Monitoring for World Heritage Value and Statutory Reporting” (May, 2005),
4. Highlights that there are fundamental differences between the two processes of periodic reporting and reactive monitoring, as indicated in the Operational Guidelines;;
5. Calls for better linkages between both processes in the future, for example, through the following mechanism:
a) the Advisory Bodies and the World Heritage Centre should carefully consider information provided in the periodic reports corresponding to the relevant States Parties, when preparing state of conservation reports -in particular, by using the information provided on threats to the properties to focus the attention of reactive monitoring;
b) States Parties should take into account the content and decisions of previous state of conservation reports when preparing their propertyspecific periodic reports; and, in particular, provide an update on threats highlighted through the reactive monitoring process and on the measures taken by the State Party to mitigate these threats; and
c) A database currently being developed by the World Heritage Centre on World Heritage properties should allow for cross-referencing between state of conservation and periodic reports to enhance consistency in reporting mechanisms and to ensure that follow-up action is taken as necessary;
6. Requests the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to take this issue up at the forthcoming meetings leading to and during the “reflection year” for the periodic reporting process.
See more about Decision 29COM 7B.c
1. Having examined Documents WHC-05/29.COM/7A and WHC-05/29.COM/7B.Rev,
2. Wishing to motivate and assist State Parties to get properties removed from the List of World Heritage in Danger,
3. Encouraging greater international cooperation among States Parties in order to reduce the number of properties on the List of World Heritage in Danger,
4. Wishing to improve the consistency and effectiveness of state of conservation reports both with respect to properties on the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger,
5. Reiterates that reports of missions to review the state of conservation of properties on the World Heritage List, in conformity with paragraph 173 of the Operational Guidelines, must include:
a) an indication of threats or significant improvement in the conservation of the property since the last report to the World Heritage Committee;
b) any follow-up to previous decisions of the World Heritage Committee to the state of conservation of the property; and
c) information on any threat or damage to or loss of outstanding universal value, integrity and/or authenticity for which the property was inscribed on the World Heritage List;
6. Emphasizes that whenever further action is needed, clear benchmarks are set indicating the corrective measures to be taken in order to achieve significant improvement of the conservation as well as a timeframe within which the benchmarks will have to be met;
7. Requests the full cooperation of States Parties, Advisory Bodies and the World Heritage Centre in the state of conservation reporting process;
8. Further requests that in addition to information about the amounts and purposes of international assistance of the World Heritage Fund received by a property, a state of conservation report should also indicate the amount of extra budgetary funds received or needed;
9. Decides to discuss further at its 30th session (Vilnius, 2006) the possibility of deferring the decision to inscribe new properties on the World Heritage List of a State Party that does not submit full reports requested by the Committee for two consecutive ordinary sessions of the Committee;
10. Decides, with respect to properties on the List of World Heritage in Danger, in accordance with Section IV.B of the Operational Guidelines:
a) to clearly identify the threats and dangers for which a property is to be inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger and how serious they are,
b) to set at the time of inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger clear benchmarks indicating the corrective action to be taken to address the ascertained and potential dangers;
c) to set a timeframe within which the benchmarks will have to be met in order for a property to be removed from the List of World Heritage in Danger;
d) to request the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies for properties already on the List of World Heritage in Danger, for which at the time of inscription no benchmarks were set, to include in future reports regarding those sites benchmarks indicating the corrective action to be taken to address ascertained and potential dangers as well as a timeframe;
e) to request the Advisory Bodies to evaluate upon request of the State Party or of the Committee the impact of the ascertained and potential dangers on the outstanding universal value of World Heritage properties as set out in the Statement of outstanding universal value, referred to in paragraph 155 of the Operational Guidelines; and
f) to request States Parties to submit an annual report on the progress towards meeting the benchmarks within the timeframe set with respect to their properties on the List of World Heritage in Danger;
11. Also decides with respect to properties on the World Heritage List to explicitly discuss all state of conservation reports indicating non-compliance with Committee decisions, non-appliance of corrective measures or otherwise a lack of cooperation on the part of a State Party, as well as reports indicating difficulties encountered by a State Party in its efforts to conserve its sites (List A).
1. Requests the Secretariat in consultation with the Advisory Bodies, to ensure that all properties included in the future state of conservation documents, are treated in compliance with the procedures set out in the Operational Guidelines for the implementation of World Heritage Convention for reactive monitoring (paragraph 68, July 2002);
2. Requests that reports of missions to review the state of conservation of World Heritage properties include, as appropriate:
(a) an indication of threats or significant improvement in the conservation of the property since the last report to the World Heritage Committee,
(b) any follow-up to previous decisions of the World Heritage Committee on the state of conservation of the property,
(c) information on any threat or damage to or loss of outstanding universal value, integrity and/or authenticity for which the property was inscribed on the World Heritage List;
3. Further requests that the reports are categorized as follows:
(a) reports with recommended decisions which, in the judgment of the World Heritage Centre in consultation with the Advisory Bodies, require discussion by the World Heritage Committee,
(b) reports which, in the judgment of the World Heritage Centre in consultation with the Advisory Bodies, can be noted without discussion,
Reports in category (b) will not be discussed unless a request is made to the Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee in advance of the discussion of this agenda item;
4. Invites the World Heritage Centre to present all information on the state of conservation of properties inscribed on the World Heritage List in the following manner:
(a) the report on each property should start on a new page,
(b) the identification number of the property allocated at the time of its nomination should be used in the document,
(c) an index of all properties should also be included,
(d) the decisions should have a standard layout, draft recommendation, and should be concise and operational;
5. Reaffirms that the deadline to receive reports by the World Heritage Centre from States Parties is 1 February of each year.
1. Noting with concern, during the examination of the state of conservation of the properties inscribed on the World Heritage List, the multiplication of inappropriate pastiche buildings which falsify history,
2. Invites, in consequence, the States Parties to encourage a contemporary architecture of quality, respectful of the past, which integrates harmoniously with its environment.
Decision 26COM 21
Invites the Director-General to seek further coordination, and possibly the establishment of a permanent mechanism of consultation, with the World Bank on projects related to World Heritage properties.
See more about Decision 26COM 21
Decision 26COM 21.3
Invites the Director-General to present a report and statistics on the state of conservation reports of properties inscribed on the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger at its extraordinary session in March 2003.
See more about Decision 26COM 21.3
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Christmas restrictions for Sydney announced
Joe Hildebrand
covid-19Northern Beaches
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has announced the easing of some restrictions ahead of Christmas.
For the northern part of the northern beaches, north of Narrabeen bridge, the lockdown will be extended.
However, five visitors will be allowed in the home from within the northern region from December 24 to December 26.
Residents in the southern part of the northern beaches will be allowed to have 10 visitors, including people outside of the region, in their home during that period.
But residents will not be allowed to leave the area.
Further announcements will be made in regards to the southern part of the northern beaches on Boxing Day.
Residents of Greater Sydney will be allowed to have 10 people in their homes, as well as children under 12-years-old, on December 24, 25 and 26.
From December 27 only 10 people will be allowed in a home in Greater Sydney.
Eight coronavirus cases were recorded in the state in the last 24 hours out of 42,000 tests.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard told Joe Hildebrand the government is trying to balance risk when easing restrictions in the southern part of the northern beaches.
“We still have some concerns about the virus in the southern end.”
Click PLAY below to hear the full interview
Image: Nine News
NewsNSW
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Anna McMichael
c. Sophie B. Raymond
Anna McMichael is an Australian-born violinist who has returned to live in Australia in 2010 after 17 years in Europe performing in many of the major ensembles and orchestras.
In Australia, she has been first prize winner of the String final of the ABC Instrumental and Vocal Competition, guest assistant leader of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, guest associate concertmaster of Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and guest concertmaster of Orchestra Victoria. Anna is Co-ordinator of Strings at the Sir Zelman Cowan School of Music, Monash University.
Anna has performed at many European music festivals with a number of Dutch chamber ensembles and toured extensively with groups such as the London Sinfonietta, Amsterdam Sinfonietta Chamber Orchestra, Nieuw Ensemble, the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. She has recorded for a number of European recording labels and been active teaching masterclasses and workshops in conservatoriums in both Europe and Australia. Anna performs throughout Australia and is Co-Director of the Tyalgum Music Festival , is a core member of the early music group, Ironwood.
contact : mcmichaelanna (at) gmail.com
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Posted on January 30, 2018 by e0268728
Lens of the Elemental Tetrad
There is no story to this game. In the original Sims game, it was the objective of the main character to move out of your mom’s house, find a job, and get married. However as the Sims became more advanced, the story part is omitted. Although some can say that this is a drawback, I think of it as leaving it to the user to create their own story through the characters
There are a lot of complex mechanics at work in the Sims. The primary one is to take care of a Sim (or multiple Sims) by making sure they eat, use the bathroom, sleep, destress, and in general keep their mood up. How you do this, like most of the game, is entirely up to you. There are a lot of mechanics at work in The Sims, but the main one is taking care of your Sim’s basic needs
The aesthetic of the Sims is very lighthearted and while there are some aspects of the look that are stylized, The Sims is very physically based. The colors, lighting, and body shape of the Sims are based on real humans, and the same can be said for the environment.
The greatest technological feat of the Sims is the pure scope of the game. There is complex artificial intelligence at work as well as vast decision-making trees that help the achieve the feel of a true sandbox game. Rarely are there times where the user says “I can’t do that” due to the game not allowing it.
In my opinion, the strongest part of the Sims is the customization of characters. Users are allowed to create their own character, with little to no restraints. However, the fascinating thing about this practice is that the average player will create themselves first. Or rather, create their own “avatar”, an idealized version of themselves. Through this, players humanize their characters and are able to emphasize with them. Instead of saying “This character is staying up too late” a player will say “It’s 1am! Why am I still awake?”. I find this interesting, because the player truly feels as if they’re in the environment.
Additionally, the player is able to give their characters certain traits, goals, aspirations, and favorite things. These are all so trivial and non-essential to the main gameplay, but a player will fill out everything according to what they like, if only for the sake of their character being a little more excited than usual when eating pancakes.
There’s not necessarily strange parts of the game, nor are there major flaws. Most bugs in the game have to do with the AI element. For example, a character might express that they’re unable to move forward because there’s a plate on the floor in the way. Or a character will stay the night at your place, but only because you’ve blocked the main exit
On that note, there’s a stranger and slightly sadistic side to Sims where players want to see just how far they can push the story. For example, what happens if you put a kid in a pool with no ladder out? Or can you kill your rich neighbor, swoon his wife, and inherit all of the family property? Although in most cases people will treat the Sims as real life, they will sometimes treat it as a sandbox where there are no consequences but your own satisfaction. So while you may never lock an annoying coworker in a room with no doors in real life, you might do that in the Sims just to “see what happens”.
Lens of Freedom
What makes the Sims unique from any other game is the amount of freedom to be as microscopic or macroscopic as you want to. There’s an extensive and very detailed architectural simulator that will let you create any extravagant type of house you want. However, you can also buy a pre-made house in order spend more time focusing on your Sim’s career as an astronaut.
The true beauty of the Sims lies in its freedom. The player can create their own narratives based on what will make them happy. For some, it’s creating a giant family with numerous generations, watching each Sim grow and live and die. For others it’s a quest to master guitar while balancing their career as a chef, or making friends with as many Sims as possible. I believe that you can tell a lot about a person based on how they place the Sims, since what they choose to focus on is a reflection of what they deem most important. The developers of The Sims do their best to try and reduce the number of constraints that are on the player. Like in real life, the only things that would stand in the player’s way is their basic human needs. They can’t become a major league athlete if they don’t get adequate amounts of food and sleep, and they can’t pull multiple all nighters if their stress levels are too high. However, these constraints help to humanize the Sims, rather than frustrate the player.
This entry was posted in 2012/13 Semester 2 by e0268728. Bookmark the permalink.
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DTU Alumni News Meet the man behind Burj Khalifa
Meet the man behind Burj Khalifa
Construction materials Building production and management Building design Building construction Geometry Computer calculations
Wednesday 04 May 16
by Morten Andersen
H.C. Ørsted lectures
Twice a year, DTU invites prominent foreign researchers to lecture on their work, research findings, and the prospects within their field of research at the so-called Ørsted Lectures. The lectures are open to all. Watch or revisit some of the previous lectures and find out about upcoming lectures.
Towering records
Burj Kahlifa Tower is named after Abu Dhabi’s ruler, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is President of the United Arab Emirates. At 829.8 metres, the tower is the tallest building in the world. The construction of the building began in 2004 and was completed in 2010.
Among the many other records held by the building is the world’s highest occupied floor at 584.5 metres and the largest number of floors—163. The tower boasts a mixture of exclusive apartments and hotel rooms.
Bill Baker is the man behind the world’s tallest man-made structure, Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Here, he talks about the engineering challenges of extreme high-rise buildings.
“It’s just a project.” It almost sounds as if he is downplaying their efforts, when William (Bill) F. Baker describes his team’s contribution to the Burj Khalifa Tower, which was inaugurated in 2010 and to this day is the world’s tallest man-made structure at 829 metres.
“It’s not the height record in itself that interests me. In fact, I hope that the record will be broken soon. What’s exciting is that you have to develop radically different systems, when you want to take a leap upwards. It’s simply not possible to upscale the structures from lower buildings.”
As chief engineer in Skidmore Owings & Merrill (SOM)—an architecture and engineering firm—Bill Baker developed the unique hexagonal core structure behind the world record (see the explanation below).
In addition to the actual height record, Burj Khalifa also holds a number of other records, e.g. the world’s highest occupied floor at 584 metres, and has received a wealth of prizes. Therefore—to put it mildly—the project has not lacked publicity in the world media. An overlooked detail is, however, that Bill Baker and his team have found some of their inspiration in Denmark:
“At SOM, we follow the work taking place within topology optimization at DTU with great interest.”
Engineer and architect equally important
Topology optimization is about distributing the material of a structure in an appropriate manner. By far the most structures in our daily lives are oversized in the sense that you can cut down on the material and still obtain the required load-bearing capacity. When you want to expand the boundaries of what is possible—for example by constructing the world’s tallest building—it is crucial to avoid unnecessary weight.
At DTU, in particular Professor Ole Sigmund and Martin P. Bendsøe, Dean of Graduate Studies and International Affairs, have been pioneers in the field of topology optimization (see box below). Their methods have, among other things, been used to keep down the weight of the Airbus aircraft.
“We don’t have a research collaboration as such, but we use tools that others have created on the basis of the research conducted by Sigmund, Bendsøe, and their colleagues,” says Bill Baker.
In other words, applied topology optimization is one of the main reasons why building Burj Khalifa was even possible. Another precondition has been the collaboration between Bill Baker’s team of engineers and the team of architects headed by Adrian Smith from SOM.
“The traditional division of roles, where the architect first makes the drawing and the engineer then has to come up with the technical solution makes no sense in connection with extreme high-rise buildings. The engineer has to be involved right from the start, which also happens to be the way we always do things at SOM. I believe this is one of the main reasons why we’ve been asked to do so many projects in the area,” says Bill Baker.
Bill Baker visited DTU in December 2015, where he gave an H.C. Ørsted lecture about his distinctive construction projects for students and staff.
Photo: Thorkild Amdi Christensen
Selected after two intensive weeks
SOM was awarded the contract by the client, EMAAR Properties, after an intensive idea competition lasting just two weeks. Here, Bill Baker offered a design that was inspired by another SOM project. To understand Baker’s idea, it is necessary to know the fundamentally modern way of designing very tall buildings. In 1963, SOM engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan (1929-1982) launched the ‘bundled tube’ concept. The best known example is Willis Tower in Chicago. At 442 metres, the building—which was completed in 1973, and is also known as Sears Tower—was the world’s tallest building for the next 25 years. The building is made up of nine tubes of different lengths.
"I actually also design single-family houses now and then. It’s almost a kind of therapy for me, I guess. "
Bill Baker, chief engineer and partner at Skidmore Owings & Merrill (SOM) in Chicago
Khan’s basic idea of distributing the static forces—also called ‘loads’ by professionals—which the structure must bear on several individual tubes tied together has been used in the construction of all subsequent very tall buildings. However, the principle has seen a number of significant developments along the way.
In Seoul, South Korea, the Chicago-based firm had designed a 580-metre building with a further development of the ‘bundled tube’ principle, a so-called extended core. “In fact, we never got round to naming the principle. But ‘extended core’ is probably what best describes it,” says Baker now.
The construction work started in 2007, but was delayed due to complaints from neighbours and was later completely abandoned.
“At some point, it seemed as if the project in Seoul would be approved if the height of the building was reduced. We changed the drawings and reduced the number of floors from 130 to 92. But in reality, I was convinced that the design could actually have accommodated a significantly taller construction,” Bill Baker recalls. “So I saw the new project in Dubai as an opportunity to bring the design to life.”
To Bill Baker, it is important to be able to describe the basic idea behind building projects in clear and simple terms. In words, not just based on mathematics.
. Photo: Thorkild Amdi Christensen
Surprise in the wind tunnel
But the principle from Seoul was not geared for the new leap in height.
“When we—using a wind tunnel—exposed the extended core design to the wind speeds that Burj Khalifa had to withstand, to my surprise it went completely wrong!” says Bill Baker. However, today he sees this apparent failure as a blessing in disguise:
“If we had been very close to the goal, we would probably have tried to adjust the design. But now we had to come up with something completely different. This led us to the buttressed core, which Burj Khalifa got."
The combination of the buttressed core and the topology optimization has significantly minimized the need for materials in Burj Khalifa. Had the building had a traditional design, like, e.g., the Empire State Building—the classic skyscraper—it would have required twice as much steel and far more concrete. The low material consumption was crucial for actually building Burj Khalifa.
The building’s tripartite structure—which is actually hexagonal—has proved to absorb the vertical loads caused by the structure’s own weight extremely well. At the same time, it also prevents twisting.
“We also found out that we would be able to reduce the loads significantly by choosing the ideal location for the building in relation to the dominant wind direction at the site. By rotating the building 60 degrees in relation to the original plan, the forces in the wind tunnel were reduced dramatically,” Bill Baker recalls.
Buttressed core carries Burj Khalifa
br> Burj Khalifa has a hexagonal core. The six sides has two different lengths, which means that each of the long sides is surrounded by two short neighbouring sides and vice versa. Roughly speaking, the three long sides only carry themselves, while the three short sides each supports their own tower with apartments and hotel rooms—the actual function of the building. Invisible from the outside, each of the three towers has a core extending from the short side of the centre core. This means that each side core supports the centre core in a way that resembles the support pillars in large medieval cathedrals. Bill Baker has named it the ‘buttressed core’ principle.
Illustration: Marianne Rom after Paul C. Martens
Topology optimization
A classic example of topology optimization is the load-bearing structure for an aircraft wing. On the one hand, you want to use as little material as possible to keep the weight down, both to save fuel and to minimize the load of the wing’s own weight on the structure. On the other hand, the load-carrying capacity must be high, so that safety is not compromised. The conflicting considerations can be boiled down to an optimization problem that includes a set of differential equations.
In 1988, Martin P. Bendsøe, then professor of mathematics and now Dean of Graduate Studies and International Affairs, began to develop computer-based methods for topology optimization. He has later refined the methods in collaboration with Professor Ole Sigmund, DTU Mechanical Engineering.
Based on a prior definition of which outer form the design must stay within, the set of differential equations are solved. In practice, you will never get it right the first time, but after several runs, you will gradually reach a solution, which is considerably better than the one human intuition would be able to come up with.
A building is like an instrument
Fortunately, reality has confirmed the results from the wind tunnel:
“For the sake of safety, we had made room for adding equipment that could reduce the building’s oscillations, but it turned out not to be necessary.”
The top of the building is made up of a 244-metre spire. In spite of the enormous height and strong wind, the tallest point of the spire sways a maximum of only 1.5 metres.
According to Bill Baker, the basic robustness of the design is only a part of the explanation. To illustrate his point, the chief engineer gets up and makes his tie swing from side to side. He then hits a half-full coffee cup in front of him. And then a clothes stand in the meeting room.
“All things have a natural oscillation. This applies to a building as well. We have optimized the design to control the natural oscillation. This is actually very much like a musician tuning his instrument.”
Generally speaking, you cannot carry out a large project like Burj Khalifa without making adjustments along the way.
“But, in fact, things went very smoothly in this project. In connection with ordinary low-rise buildings, the contractor often comes across problems that actually require adjustments of the design, but which aren’t acute. And then one day, you discover that the small problems have become very large. This is not the case with extreme high-rise buildings. Here, you solve the problems right away, because you know they could be disastrous.”
Bill Baker has many significant buildings on his CV, both extreme high-rise buildings and buildings with long-span roof structures.
Mixed ice in the concrete
When you look at innovation within other technical areas, the obvious question is whether skyscraper could be even taller by means of new materials. Did you consider that in connection with Burj Khalifa? The question makes Bill Baker smile broadly:
“No! Because we wanted to actually see the project through! If a contractor is to embark on an extreme building project involving innovative materials, he will demand a price so high that the project is doomed in advance. We therefore knew we had to use well-known materials—concrete and steel—which the contractor had extensive experience with.”
Even with well-known materials, the challenges were huge. For example, we had to pump concrete up to a height of 606 metres—another world record held by Burj Khalifa.
“In this context, we were favoured by the fact that Dubai has some of the best concrete in the world, among other things because the local water is highly corrosive, making it necessary to have really good concrete,” explains Bill Baker.
The concrete was mixed according to a special formula. Normally, you don’t give much thought to the fact that setting of concrete involves a chemical reaction having heat as a by-product.
“With the quantities used for the construction, and with the high daytime temperatures in Dubai, we risked that the concrete would be so hot that the chemistry got of control. Therefore, the contractor mixed ice in the concrete instead of only water as you normally do!”
Leave mathematics aside
In addition to Burj Khalifa, Bill Baker can add a number of other high-rise buildings to his CV, e.g. buildings with long-span roofs. Furthermore, he has also worked together with artists on several occasions. Perhaps to get different ideas?
“No, not really. I like working with artists. One of the things we have in common is that we like to see our projects being realized. The artists I have worked with have all been very responsive. They are willing to make changes to a structure if there is a good technical argument for doing so, but at the same time there has never been any doubt that the creator of the work is the artist, and not me.”
“I actually also design single-family houses now and then. It’s almost a kind of therapy for me, I guess. It’s a good thing to take a mental break from large-scale projects.”
Bill Baker also has another piece of advice for his engineering colleagues:
“Leave mathematics aside for a moment, and describe instead the basic idea of your design in words. If you find out that you need to use many complicated sentences to describe your idea, you’re probably not quite there yet! The best ideas are basically simple. It’s also a great help for you that you are able to provide a clear description of your idea. In this way, it will be much easier to explain to your colleagues and business partners what is going to happen. In a building project, there will constantly be conflicts between different views. It is therefore a huge advantage to make clear from the outset which principle has priority.”
Calculations become trivial
Not least at a time where computers play an increasingly larger role in an engineer’s working life, is it important to still be able to describe your solution in words, adds Bill Baker:
“It’s unfortunate when the engineer has to ask his computer how the building works. It should preferably be the other way round!”
William (Bill) F. Baker holds a degree in civil engineering from the University of Missouri. In 1981, he was employed at Skidmore Owings & Merrill (SOM), Chicago, USA, where he is currently chief engineer and partner.
Bill Baker is in particular known for his work with extremely tall buildings, among them Burj Khalifa, but his CV also includes a large number of other projects, e.g. several prominent buildings with long-span roofs. Furthermore, he has also worked together with artists on several occasions.
The interview for Dynamo took place in December 2015 in connection with Bill Baker’s H.C. Ørsted lecture at DTU. During the visit, Bill Baker and DTU Professor Ole Sigmund also agreed to work together in future on developing topology optimization methods for the design of high-rise buildings.
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https://www.alumni.dtu.dk/english/news_articles/Nyhed?id=%7B4D06546F-C579-480B-9C47-947682D174FB%7D
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ARFAi TEAM
ALVIN REINHARD FRITZ ARCHITECT INC.
Graham Ouwerkerk
Metamorphasis - The Creation of Fairmont Commons
For nearly 30 years the “Blue Block Building”, has been a sadly recognizable visage within the Lethbridge, Alberta cityscape. The structure was initially designed to be a warehouse and has served as such, undergoing little change besides the paint color. This was particularly unfortunate considering the buildings' prime location on one of the city’s busiest intersections. Located on the corner of Mayor Magrath Dr. S, the city’s main commercial artery, and Fairmont Boulevard S, the building was waiting for a new lease on life.
Seen as the perfect opportunity to demonstrate the potential inherent in reusing an existing building, the goal from the onset was to set a new standard for revitalization within the city. Transforming the warehouse into commercial spaces anchored by Optical Studio began with an analysis of the primary benefits and hindrances to the site. While the location was ideal, the site had always lacked parking. This deficiency was even more daunting when considering amending the buildings use to one with a higher parking demand. Consequently, the design sought to simultaneously take advantage of the proximity to the intersection while also increasing the available parking.
The proximity to the intersection along with existing parking limitations drove the form generation of the project. The building was reduced in size from a footprint of 2,390 square meters to 1,697 square meters. This served to both make it a more manageable scale for 5 commercial units as well as to open the site for the parking to serve these units. Based on the existing structural grid, the building was pulled back from the intersection and articulated to create a much more dynamic and inviting primary entrance and street frontage. As a result of the new articulated form and contemporary industrial aesthetic, potential clients of the CRU’s will be drawn into the building, able to fully utilize the newly expanded parking lot.
Programmatically the design had to consider how to best create 5 new separate commercial units within one newly renovated shell. The primary defined CRU is the new head quarters of Optical Studio, located with the greatest exposure to the intersection. Our client, the owners of the Optical Studio desired the highest degree of visibility to market their practice, as well as the products they sell in-store. The unit in the South East corner is now the new location of The Grey Goat, a local bespoke furniture store. The other 3 CRU’s are in the process of being fit out for new tenants. The design provides access to these units through a primary entrance oriented north, visible from the intersection, as well as a secondary public entrance on the east side of the building. Both entrances open into a central atrium from which users will be able to access all units of the building.
The Dispensary of Optical Studio was designed to provide an engrossing and dynamic interior environment. The primary goal was to create a showcase for the lenses and other products for sale. As a result, the space was conceived as a sort of gallery where the glasses are the art pieces demanding one’s attention. Furthermore, the utilization of white walls and shelving in high contrast to the black ceiling and other finishes is also representative of the client’s practice, similar to an eye exam chart. The materiality also includes distinct, real-wood veneered millwork to offer warmth and a touch of nature to the space. The polished concrete floor and exposed roof trusses ensure continuity of the industrial contemporary aesthetic and maintain simplicity in design allowing the products to be the focus.
The two-storey height of the space combined with the large glazing conspire to offer a true feeling of spaciousness and luxury. This creates a very comfortable environment in which to browse through the frames and accessories for sale.
The display millwork was designed with an ample amount of crisp, white lighting to create a spectacle of the products available. The display units also serve to create some privacy at the various fitting desks. Simultaneously, transparency and visibility were preserved throughout to ensure activities of patrons could be easily monitored and serviced.
The high contrast black and white design was carried through the rest of the interior spaces to ensure continuity and full conceptual resolution. As a result the clinical and staff spaces present the same beautiful, clean and crisp interior aesthetic.
A SUSTAINABLE RENOVATION
An additional goal of the design was to renovate sustainably. The design respects the existing structural grid ensuring efficiency and cost savings in demolition and new construction. It also sustained the existing utility space to mitigate the relatively high cost of relocating these utilities. Preserving this area of the building also served the design in providing a large projection of the building form. It is perfectly orientated towards the intersection for the signage of the commercial units within. The strategic construction also allowed trades to be able to work within the controlled environment of the existing shell. This further added to construction savings and reduced the waste of materials.
Furthermore, the design includes the rough in for the future installation of a rooftop solar array. This energy production, along with the added building insulation and new apertures for daylighting, will allow this project to function sustainably long into the future. Also, the design clad the entire building in no maintenance, enduring metal or aluminum, ensuring that the project will remain a showcase example of a renovation metamorphosis for years to come.
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COULEE HOUSE
Your Dreams are Our Priority
Collaborating to Passionately Create Inspired Architectural Environments
© 2017 by Alvin Reinhard Fritz Architect Inc.
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Free Ananda Music
Experience Ananda Music
Relax Now
Purchase Ananda Music
About Ananda Music
Ananda Music began in 1964 when Donald Walters (also known as Swami Kriyananda) was inspired to introduce a new kind of music to the world: music that expresses spiritual aspiration and a desire for a more meaningful way of life. This music is, as its purpose suggests, quite simple, yet beautiful.
Ananda Music has been performed in many countries, and has inspired many thousands of people with a new and more uplifted view of life itself. In some ways, it transcends even the best classical music of our culture, for it offers transcendent meaning, instead of only describing a graceful way of life.
At first, Walters wrote only songs with lyrics. Then he realized that words are not needed to express deep meaning. Thus, he has written instrumental works also: a piano sonata; a string quartet; and other, similar works.
It’s generally understood that music can have a powerful effect on mood and energy. It’s less well known that positive and uplifting music can affect consciousness itself in positive and uplifting ways. Ananda Music singers and musicians are dedicated to raising awareness–not only of the general need for positive and uplifting music in our troubled world–but of a specific body of music that was composed for the exact purpose of raising energy, uplifting consciousness, and helping people. That music is Ananda Music.
“I’ve been listening to your music for the last week. It has made such a difference in my life. Thank you for sharing your amazing gifts with the world.” LM, Los Angeles
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Added by archaeologs | English | ArchaeologyGeneralTurkey | 31.8.2019 11:35:38| 50 READ
Within the scope of a program implemented by the Development Ministry, the museum building was built on an area of 54,000 square meters — 13,000 square meters of which is closed area.
In the opening ceremony of the museum on Aug. 27, where 2,524 artifacts belonging to many periods such as the Seljuks, Ottomans and especially the Urartian, will be exhibited, Van Governor and Deputy Mayor Mehmet Emin Bilmez said that the construction of the museum, infrastructure and landscaping work had a cost of about 21 million Turkish Liras.
Stating that it is one of Turkey’s largest museums, Bilmez said, “The display capacity of the museum is 100,000 artifacts and the annual visitor capacity is 1.5 million. The museum building consists of 23 exhibition halls. The exhibited works will mostly be animating. In addition, archaeology park areas are planned for the education of our children. In this way, children will be able to find answers to questions such as ‘What is a historical monument, how it comes out, how it is restored and how it is exhibited in museums? The Van Museum allows the Urartian to be known more closely in all its aspects.”
Deputy Culture and Tourism Minister Nadir Alpaslan stated that Van has a strategic importance for tourism. Saying that they developed special policies and strategies for the development of tourism, he added, “Van is an important area in terms of tourism and development of the country’s economy with the provinces around it. This region has been home to many important civilizations since the beginning of human history. Museums are extremely important for presenting the artifacts of these civilizations to the interest and knowledge of all humanity.”
He said that all artifacts in Van Museum are very valuable, Alpaslan said, “The lion statue smuggled to Israel is the most valuable work here. But there are many valuable works, too. Unfortunately, an important part of our country’s historical and cultural riches have been smuggled abroad. We have been struggling to bring these works back to our country for a long time. In this context, the works taken from this region are exhibited in a corner. This is an important situation in terms of raising awareness of our people. The museum displays artifacts from the first periods of humanity to the present day, especially the Urartian, the Romans, Seljuk, Ottomans and Iran.”
The museum will be free to visit for a while.
SOURCE: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/urartu-museum-in-its-new-venue-146164
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Gold Jewelry and Artifacts Found in Two Bronze Age Tombs in Greece
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Göbeklitepe'den Sonra Karahantepe Heyecanı
Turkish Archaeology, Turkey - 20.9.2019 09:40:27
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News: Exhibition
Caravaggio’s famous painting goes to Croatia
The Supper at Emmaus, a present from Italy
Croatia is to be given Caravaggio’s “Supper at Emmaus” (1606) by Italy as a welcome present into the EU. The baroque masterpiece will be presented at Zagreb’s Museum for Arts and Crafts in June.
Commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, the painting depicts the moment when the resurrected but incognito Jesus, reveals himself to two of his disciples (presumed to be Luke and Cleophas), only to soon vanish from their sight (Gospel of Luke 24: 30-31).
In the Gospel of Mark (16:12) Jesus is said to have appeared to them “in another form”, which may be why he is depicted beardless here, as opposed to the bearded Christ in Calling of St Matthew, where a group of seated money counters is interrupted by the recruiting Christ. It is also a recurring theme in Caravaggio’s paintings to find the sublime interrupting the daily routine. The unexalted humanity is apt for this scene, since the human Jesus has made himself unrecognizable to his disciples, and at once confirms and surmounts his humanity. Caravaggio seems to suggest that perhaps a Jesus could enter our daily encounters. The dark background envelops the tableau.
Caravaggio had painted three versions of the story, the most famous being the one housed in Brera and another on display in London’s National Gallery. By comparison, the gestures of the figures in the Brera painting are far more restrained, making presence more important than performance. This difference possibly reflects the circumstances of Caravaggio’s life at that point (he had fled Rome as an outlaw following the death of Ranuccio Tomassoni), or possibly, recognising the ongoing evolution of his art, in the intervening five years he had come to recognise the value of understatement.
1. Culturenet.hr http://www.culturenet.hr/default.aspx?id=50747 (02/05/2013)
Masterpieces from the Picasso Museum to Zagreb
Discovery adds rock collecting to Neanderthal’s repertoire
The Bronze Age in Epirus (Part I)
Rapid Reaction Mechanism for the protection of cultural heritage in crisis situations
The Theopetra Cave in Thessaly: a 130,000 year old prehistory (Part 3)
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Established in 2012, Tamayouz is an international architectural award, a scholarship fund, international design workshops and training & internship programs. The Tamayouz Excellence Award is an independent initiative with no political affiliation, which aims to advance the profession of architecture both academically and professionally. Tamayouz drives the evolution of design excellence in Iraq and the wider Middle East region and thus provides a healthy cultural and architectural environment in the region. In 2018, 1026 entries were submitted for the award’s 7 categories, coming from 74 countries:
Awards and Prizes:
The Tamayouz Lifetime Achievement Award: Launched in 2014, aims to celebrate the pioneers of Iraqi architecture, is presented annually to an individual who has had a significant contribution towards the advancement of architecture in Iraq.
The Tamayouz Women in Architecture and Construction Award – Near East & North Africa: Launched in 2013, this award aims to celebrate the achievements of women who have contributed to the fields of architecture and construction throughout the Near East and North Africa. The award consists of two categories; women of outstanding achievements and rising stars.
The Mohamed Makiya Prize for Architecture: Launched in 2014, this prize is presented annually to the Middle Eastern architectural personality of the year, which will be the individual / organisation that has made the greatest contribution towards the advancement of architecture in a specific period.
The Rifat Chadirji Prize: Launched in 2017, a thematic international prize focuses on proposing designs responding to local challenges. The prize aims to introduce local challenges to the world and invite them to submit their ideas and to establish an uncompromising open source of ideas tackling social issues through design.
The Dewan Award: Launched in 2018, an international award which aims to Empowering young architects around the world, while responding to design challenges in Iraq.
Tamayouz International for Graduation Projects: Launched in 2016, this award aims to celebrate excellence in architectural education and is open to architecture, graduation and landscape design students worldwide to submit their graduation projects, winners received a scholarship for an MSc in Architecture at the polytechnic university of Milan.
Tamayouz for Iraqi Graduation Projects: Launched in 2012 and the first ever Tamayouz category to be launched, this award aims to support the academics’ efforts in Iraqi universities, reward and promote design excellence at an early stage among young Iraqi architects and to highlight young Iraqi talents. Winners receive a 3 months internship (salary and accommodation provided) and the Makiya Kufa Charity funded scholarship for 1-year MSc degree at Coventry University. In 2012 the chairperson of the Tamayouz Excellence award judging panel was Zaha Hadid.
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SILVA DA FRANCISCO
Francisco SILVA DA Biography Francisco da Silva 1910, Alto Tejo - AC / 1985, Fortaleza - CE Was born in Acre, in the middle of the Amazon rainforest, son of Mervina Felis de Lima and the Peruvian Indian mestizo Domingos da Silva. He is perhaps the first popular artist, after Vitalino in the media to become known nationwide and even in specialized foreign markets. In a interview with me at his home in Pirambu, in 1974, Chico Silva spoke in fluent and correct Portuguese about his childhood, summing it up: “to the manager from the river, shooting pellets at birds”. He moved to Ceará State with his family when he was six years old. He then went to live on a farm in Quixadá. On the death of his mother, who had recommended him to farmer friends, “I was being brought up always among people. I didn’t need to go to school. I already had nature.” When He was 12 years old He moved to Guaramiranga, where He stayed until early manhood. He began painting in Fortaleza, capital of the State of Ceará, his home since 1935, doing odd jobs in shoemaking, plumbing, welding, stonemasonry, and carpentry, and painting walls. What he most enjoyed doing, however, “was to draw on the walls of fishermen’s houses using fresh green grass and white and red bricks (because I didn’t have paint at the time)”. Heloisa Juaçaba added: “He would also use a piece of charcoal that he would call caon mortuário, to obtain black and gray effects.” And then his large Amazon birds, marine figures and dragons were seen for the first time by the Swiss critic and painter Jean Pierre Chabloz, during his first stay in Ceará, between 1943 and 1944. “No one knew the name of those fishes”, Chico told me, “because each day I’d invent a different fish: my mind’s full of fishes.” One of the dragons could be “the Dadãodão, a prehistoric monster of the air, things of the past century. And Redemunho with its prehistoric hell, a life of persecution. Children pursue their parents because they want to be better than they are”, he concluded in Freudian fashion. Chabloz introduced him to gouache, a material that he continued to use his life through because of the affinity with his first way of painting, and he was invited to exhibitions in Fortaleza (1943), Geneva (1949), Neuchâtel (1956), and individual exhibitions in Rio de Janeiro (1945) and Lausanne (1950). Chabloz wrote the article for Cahiers d’Art on “A Brazilian Indian reinvents painting” in 1952, when Chico’s art was presented to André Malraux and Christian Zervos. A color feature in the O Cruzeiro magazine projected him nationwide. In 1945, when he exhibited in Rio de Janeiro at the Askanasy Gallery, critic Ruben Navarra commented: “I must say that this indigenous artist’s gouaches are a very serious thing. In Brazilian art only Cícero Dias, ten years earlier, gave me such a powerful impression of lyrical naivety with respect to painting.” The first few absences of Chabloz from Brazil in the 1940s correspond to Chico’s giving up painting, to be then resumed when the Swiss painter returned to Fortaleza. On one of his return trips in 1959 Chabloz tried to encourage Chico again, giving him a job as servant with the rector of the Federal University of Ceará, which in fact meant making a place for him to be able to paint and reflect on his work. In the University Art Museum, Chico made the large group of gouaches that are still today in its collection. The 1960s were the start of Chico’s painful and spectacular circumnavigation , when he left the University, exposed to galloping merchandising of his art, with rare moments of exception, such as the exhibitions in Relevo Gallery (Rio de Janeiro, 1963), Galeria Jacques Massol (Paris, 1965) and Brazilian Primitive Artists (cities in Europe, including Moscow, 1966). He was given honorable mention in the 1966 Venice Biennial, when critic Clarival do Prado Valladares was curator, who on that occasion wrote: “He is the interpreter of a mythology diluted in the oral tradition of a vast region that only he fixed and reflected. (…). Another relevant aspect is his plastic quality, his well-ordered and constructed composition. (…). His style, the weave of the drawing, polychromy and enriching details are outstanding characteristics.” While on this brilliant circuit, a collective production network of his works was set up in Fortaleza with the consent of the artist, who was now occasionally turning to drink. Hundreds of oil paintings canvases appeared, much easier to do than gouaches on cardboard. Chico’s exposure to media and the market had been too much. In the 1970s he fell ill and his prestige declined and copies of his work were even found in souvenirs stores. On 1974 the State government offered him another home, but the now invalid artist was admitted to a clinic in 1977, which he was to leave only to participate in the 1st Latin American Biennial, organized by the São Paulo Biennial. Further relapses, more controversies about falsifications, the grant of the lifelong pension and offer of a home by the Ceará State government were highlights in the year when Chico da Silva died, father of nine living children and one of the greatest Brazilian artists. Little Dictionary of the Brazilian People’s Art – 20th Century, by anthropologist and poet Lélia Coelho Frota
renatonatale@gmail
Ritzow.,
info@renatonatalechiesa.com
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BART Police Adopt Policy for Interactions with Transgender People
By MELISSA JORDAN
BART Senior Web Producer
BART Police have adopted a recommendation from the Citizen Review Board for police interactions with transgender people.
"This policy is a reflection of our commitment to the community policing philosophy," BART Police Chief Kenton Rainey said Wednesday. "Taking the time to involve our community stakeholders in this process only serves to strengthen our partnerships with various diverse communities we serve."
At the time the policy was drafted last year, the National Center for Transgender Equality in Washington, D.C., said most law enforcement agencies do not have such policies in place.
"We feel that we have made a historic accomplishment," said Sharon Kidd, chairwoman of the Citizen Review Board. "With the hard work of Les Mensinger, George Perezvelez and the other CRB members, we were able to work together with Chief Rainey and his staff to make this happen."
"This is a wonderful policy because it helps everyone in our community by being more inclusive," Kidd said. "We have such diversity in the Bay Area. It is very important for us to follow the model of what our charge is to do, which is to enhance the transparency of the BART Police Department."
No specific problem or complaint spurred the action, said BART Independent Police Auditor Mark P. Smith. Rather, the idea to draft a policy came through work with the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) and the Department of Justice's Community Relations Service.
The language of the policy, which was initially researched and drafted by BART Independent Police Investigator Russell Bloom, is aimed at fostering respect and good will by addressing people how they wish to be addressed with regard to gender.
The policy states, for example, "if gender expression does not clearly indicate a transgender person's identity, an officer may politely and respectfully ask how the person wishes to be addressed. For example, an officer may ask a transgender person which name and pronoun the transgender person prefers."
The policy also would change BART Police Department recordkeeping to make forms broad enough to include transgender identity. While federal data, such as Uniform Crime Reporting statistics, may not include such options yet, this could possibly influence society in a larger way.
Awareness of and treatment of transgender people has been a growing issue, thrown into the spotlight most recently in the celebrity world by the gender transition of Caitlyn Jenner.
The BART Police policy extends to items such as how one is treated when wearing prosthetics, wigs, and makeup, and when those items may or may not be required to be removed; and making sure detained transgender persons have access to medical attention or medications, including hormone therapy, with the same urgency and respect as medical issues for other detained persons.
The policy is the result of input with stakeholders in the transgender community, as well as with police and other community stakeholders, including the Transgender Law Center in Oakland and the National Center for Transgender Equality.
Download the Policy
Terms included in the policy:
Gender Identity:
One's internal, deeply held sense of one's gender. Unlike gender expression (see below) gender identity is not visible to others.
Gender Expression:
External manifestations of gender, expressed through one's name, pronouns, clothing, haircut, behavior, voice or body characteristics.
Transgender (adj):
An umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or gender expression differs from what is typically associated with the sex they were assigned at birth. People under the transgender umbrella may describe themselves using one or more of a wide variety of terms, including transgender.
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Tag Archives: Daoism
Rejection of Material Attachments (Alan Fox)
Both Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) and [the legendary and obscure ‘proto-daoist’] Yangzi seem to be as concerned with the quality of life as they are with its length. Thoreau further believes that the simple life is conducive not only to individual health, but also ultimately to social stability: “I am convinced, that if all men were to live as simply as I then did, thieving and robbery would be unknown. These take place only in communities where some have got more than is sufficient while others have not enough.”
That is, it is to a certain extent our emphasis on, and imbalanced distribution of, material goods that cultivates negative moral values. This concern is consistent with the Yangist and Daoist traditions. As A.C. Graham points out [in his Disputers of the Tao, Philosophical Argument in Ancient China, Chicago 1989]: “In the present-day version of the Lao-tzu there are many passages expressing this idea of prizing life and despising material things.” Besides the resemblance to, among others, chapter 3 of the Daodejing, where Laozi suggests that “not valuing what is hard to come by will prevent the people from considering thievery”, what is significant here is a utopic conception of primal simplicity. On the individual level, this kind of simplicity, for Thoreau as well as for Yangzi, constitutes a kind of efficiency, which conserves vital resources and ensures the maximum enjoyment or sense of fulfilment of life. On a social level, it leads to social stability and lack of friction and conflict in general social intercourse. In the broadest, most comprehensively ecological sense, we can also say that this kind of conservationism is also conducive to a healthy natural environment. Individuals, societies, and whole ecologies work better when they are allowed to operate in the most simple and efficient manner, according to this model.
In this regard, Thoreau and Yangist thought both seem inconsistent with adherence to formalities that involve affected manners and empty courtesies. On the other hand, such behaviour constitutes an unrecoverable waste of human and natural resources. But further, it also represents hypocritical distractions from the more subtle but truly important concerns of life. Thoreau says: “I delight to come to my bearings, not to walk in procession with pomp and parade, in a conspicuous place, but to walk even with the Builder of the universe, if I may, not in this restless, nervous, bustling, trivial Nineteenth Century, but stand or sit thoughtfully while it goes by. What are men celebrating? They are all on a committee of arrangements, and hourly expect a speech from somebody.”
This is generally reminiscent of the very common critiques of Confucian rites and manners (li) found in the writings of the Mohists and some of the Daoists. In some of these accounts, superficial virtues are accused of crowding out more substantial and authentic ones. For example, chapter 5 of the Daodejing emphasizes that the imposition of moral standards tends to impede the natural course of events, and specifically repudiates the cardinal Confucian virtue of ren (often translated as humaneness, benevolence or perfect social integration) as artificial and arbitrary. And Thoreau says of the truly good person that “his goodness must not be a partial and transitory act, but a constant superfluity, which costs him nothing and of which he is unconscious”. That is, it is better to be good than to act good. Thus, the artificial, ‘manufactured’ quality of ceremony is rejected by the ideal person as inhibiting one’s intrinsically determined evolution and development. (Adapted from Rejection of Material Attachments, in Guarding what is Essential: Critiques of Material Culture in Thoreau and Yang Zhu, by Alan Fox, in Philosophy East and West, Honolulu, July 2008)
Posted in Daoism, Relevant Excerpts | Tagged Daoism, excerpts, H.D.Thoreau, Laozi, tanha, Ten Fetters, trishna, Yangzi
The Three-Treatise School (Wing-tsit Chan)
The Three-Treatise School (from The Philosophy of Emptiness: Chi-tsang of the Three-Treatise School, in A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy, by Wing-tsit Chan, Princeton 1963, 1969, 1973)
The Three-Treatise School and the Consciousness-Only School [Vijñanavada] represented the two major developments of Mahayana or Great Vehicle philosophy in India. The former insists that dharmas (elements of existence) and their causes are unreal and has therefore been known as the School of Non-being, while the latter insists that they are real and has therefore been known as the School of Being. Both were introduced into China by outstanding philosophers. Both had something profound and subtle to offer which China had never known. Both lasted for several centuries. But both failed to exert lasting influence on Chinese thought. It is important to understand why this has been the case.
The Three-Treatise School, called Madhyamika (Middle Doctrine) in Sanskrit, was founded in India by Nagarjuna (c.100-200 A.D.). Kumarajiva (344-413) introduced it into China by translating Nagarjuna’s two most important treatises, the Madhyamika sastra (Treatise on the Middle Doctrine) and the Dvadasanikaya sastra (Twelve Gates Treatise) and his disciple Aryadeva’s Sata sastra (One Hundred Verses Treatise). Hence the school is called the Three-Treatise School.
The central concept of the school is Emptiness (Sunyata) in the sense that the nature and characters of all dharmas, together with their causation, are devoid of reality. Thus all differentiations, whether being or non-being, cause or effect, or coming-into-existence or going-out-of-existence are only ‘temporary names’ and are empty in nature. The only reality is Emptiness itself, which is the absolute, Ultimate Void, the Original Substance, or in Chinese terminology, the correct principle (cheng-li). As such it is equivalent to Nirvana and the Dharma-body.
The doctrine was transmitted in China through Kumarajiva’s pupil Seng-chao (384-414) and played a dominant role there from the fourth to the seventh century. It had a tremendous attraction for the Chinese because its philosophy of Emptiness suited the temper of Chinese intellectuals of Wei-Chin times (220-420), who were then propagating the Taoist doctrine of non-being. Its highly developed and systematic method of reasoning was a stimulating novelty to the Chinese. Its spirit of criticism and refutation gave the rebellious Chinese philosophers, including the Neo-Taoists, a sense of emancipation. Its nominalism reinforced the Chinese opposition to the Confucian doctrine of ranks and names, especially in the sixth century. In addition to all this, it had the great fortune [sic] of having as its systematiser the outstanding figure, Chi-tsang (549-623). […]
Ironically, Chi-tsang’s success was at the same time the failure of his school, for it became less and less Chinese. As mentioned before, Seng-chao was still a bridge between Taoism and Buddhism. He combined the typical Chinese concept of identity of substance and function, for example, with the Buddhist concepts of temporary names and Emptiness. In Chi-tsang, substance and function are sharply contrasted instead. In that, he was completely Indian in viewpoint, although he quoted Taoists. As a systematiser and transmitter of Indian philosophy, he brought about no cross-fertilization between Buddhist and Chinese thought. And it happened that the Indian thought which he promoted was so utterly unacceptable to the Chinese that the school declined in the ninth century. […]
To this [the Middle Doctrine] school, refutation of erroneous views is essential for and indeed identical with the elucidation of right views. But when a right view is held in place of a wrong one, the right view itself becomes one-sided and has to be refuted. It is only through this dialectic process that Emptiness can be arrived at, which alone is free from names and character and is ‘inexplicable in speech and unrealizable in thought’. The specific method in this dialectic process is Nagarjuna’s Middle Path of Eightfold Negations, which denies that dharmas come into existence or go out of existence, that they are permanent or come to an end, that they are the same or different, and that they come or go away. The basis of all arguments is the so-called Four Points of Argumentation. By the use of this method of argument, a dharma as being, as non-being, as both being and non-being, and as neither being nor non-being are all refuted and proved to be untrue. Chi-tsang illustrates this method fully in his refutation of causation.
It is obvious that this approach is as nihilistic as it is destructive. The school had little new substance to offer and nothing constructive. It is true that Emptiness as the Absolute is as pure and perfect as anything conceivable, but being devoid of specific characters and divorced from mundane reality, it becomes too abstract for the Chinese. It might be hoped that its novel and radical method of reasoning at least aroused the Chinese mind and led to a new approach to life and reality, but it did not. That opportunity was left to the Zen (Meditation, Ch’an) School.
Posted in Daoism, Relevant Excerpts | Tagged Daoism, emptiness, excerpts, Madhyamaka, Mahayana Buddhism, Nagarjuna, Wing-tsit Chan
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Marvin Lewis Press Conference Transcript
Opening comments:"After going through the tape, in some areas, particularly offensively, we got better in the second half. We were a little bit better and more sustained running the football. We got some cracks, some seams. Cedric (Benson) did a good job running the ball hard. The tracks (on the field) were a little bit better in the second half of the football game. On third down on offense, we weren't as good in the second half. We fell off there, and it was third down and generally makeable yardage that we're not making, and we've got to work on that.
"Overall, for the whole season, our fourth-quarter scoring has been good. We've got to get better in the first quarter at putting some points on the board. Defensively, I think there are some things we need to fit a little better, but overall, minus a couple or three plays, not a bad day. We have to keep improving in areas – just getting one more step and making the tackles, getting guys on the ground, and making sure we're doing the fundamentals that we're asking them to do.
"I think in the kicking game, we continue to take steps forward. That's good. We continue to improve, and we just have to keep improving in all three areas of the football team."
On fundamentals:"We have to keep improving, keep taking steps forward. I think there's some consistency with it, but some inconsistencies we've got to get out. We've just got to keep taking over the things from the meeting room to the practice field into the game and see those things show up on Sundays."
On struggles in the passing game:"We didn't do good enough."
On common themes of the offense struggling in the first half:"I don't know that we necessarily struggled yesterday in the beginning of the game. We didn't put the points up that we'd like to put up, but I don't think we struggled. I thought we moved the football, both in this game and the Baltimore game. We moved the ball, but we've got to convert third downs more consistently. I think that was true in New England. This week we were five-of-10 or so (on third down) at the half, which is pretty doggone good. Now, there are some ones that we need to convert, and some ones that were easily convertible, so we've got to do better."
On if the weather affected Carson Palmer:
"I don't know. I don't blame anything on the weather. Both teams play in the same weather, and we've got to play with what we're dealt. Our guys knew it was probably going to be a wet day. We began talking about it last Monday, and we talked about it Wednesday all the way through (Sunday), so I thought we handled things well. It didn't shock them. They were ready for it, and we needed to go out and play better on offense, defense, and special teams. But we're right where we are, and that's the good thing. We just keep moving forward."
On concerns about Palmer's performance:
"I don't think so. I don't have any concerns."
On whether Palmer is playing at the level the coaching staff would like to see:
"I think our football team is not quite always playing at the same level we need to play at, but we are only three games into the year. We will keep playing and getting better in every area. The people around him will continue to play better, which will make his job way easier. I think he does a good job of directing us. He's been a good leader. That is what he's got to do. When he has opportunities to throw the football and deliver the ball, he does an excellent job. Yesterday he had some guys not quite do the things he needs them to do right. It all reflects back on the quarterback. But we have to just keep working at it."
On not being able to capitalize off turnovers:"Yeah, we got to score some points. No question about that."
On Morgan Trent's performance at Carolina (two passes defensed, a fumble recovery and a punt downed at the Carolina 4-yard line):"Just like everybody else out there yesterday, we would like to see him do better. (He) just has to keep working at it. When he gets his opportunities to do better, he has to continue to have great weeks in practice. So when it's his turn and he gets an opportunity, he has to make plays. They get off their own goal line there at the end -- we don't want to see those things occur. You just got to keep playing and play better."
Any idea what the weather is going to be in Cleveland?
"I do have an idea what it's going to be. It's going to be Bengals weather (laughs)."
You do seem comfortable in the environment of a grinding type of game:
"Not too many teams have to make excuses for winning like that, but I guess we do. So we will just move forward. I will say little, our players will say less, and that is the way it'll be. So if you are comfortable coming in here and going through this like this, let's just keep it up because it's not going to change."
Paul Brown had a saying, when you lose say little, when you win say less:
"We'll win and say less, and we will continue that habit, and that's the way it will be. But we are not going to make excuses for anything nor have reasons right or wrong. That is not the way you go about it. We will keep working and getting better as a football team just like we have. There are highs and lows. Every time we come in front of you, there are highs and lows. Go back and read your last articles or last year's articles and you'll reflect back on it. Three weeks from now it will be totally different. That is part of it. My job is to keep us moving forward in every direction in all three phases the right direction. I am glad you have some things you want to talk about and concerned about (smiles), but we will be all right when we need to be. We will be right where we need to be. We will stay one step ahead of them."
About the series before halftime:"Well, I was greedy and I shouldn't be greedy. So, a couple different things I'd do differently in those situations. I'd direct the quarterback a little differently. But it happened, and it's a good opportunity as I said yesterday, for us to learn from because there are three or four different scenarios we could have played differently. But I wanted to have an opportunity to break the game open and get the touchdown, and we didn't. We didn't get anything. But we didn't have it bite us in the tail yesterday. We lived through it. And it's a good learning experience for us. Situationally though, there were three or four different scenarios that I pointed out to the team that we could have played differently when that occurred."
On the last hurry-up before time expired:
"We had a guy injured from what I was told, right? The last play. I understand we had a guy injured who couldn't get up. And again, there's nothing you could do. Yeah, the play took five seconds, we should have had 10 seconds in order to get set and clock the ball but if we have a guy down, I don't know what we're going to do in that case. We got stuck. But again as I said, there's a lot of different ways to play that. We chose to play it that particular way that way. It didn't work out to get the touchdown or field goal at least. I think in that situation again, I would probably still work to try to get the touchdown and keep the ball in our quarterback's hands and get him an opportunity."
Is that why you didn't clock it the first time with 18 seconds left (as opposed to accepting the 10-second runoff)?
"Yeah. But we get the penalty and then the scenario: Do you just let them take the 10 seconds off, take the runoff, have eight seconds left? You've still got a whack at it and a timeout in your pocket. Or preserve the 18 seconds and have the whack at it with no timeouts, a couple whacks at it? There are different ways to play it, and in the end had we not gotten injured, we would have got the ball clocked and we'd have got the field goal off and we probably wouldn't be sitting here talking about that. We'd be talking about just another red zone opportunity and three rather than seven. But it's a good thing, and I think a lot of those things come up in football games. We had a number of them, we made some plays like that in the kicking game. But this particular one, we didn't make. Good ball down the seam, good execution of the route, good catch by Jermaine and we got the ball down there right on sync. But it's good to learn from."
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%front%
Join Us in Drooling Over This Ultra-Rare McLaren F1 GTR Longtail That's Currently For Sale
It's not everyday you have the chance to buy a McLaren F1 GTR Longtail.
Nick YekikianWriter
Let's cut to the chase: The McLaren F1 is one of the most legendary supercars ever made. There is simply no overstating how mind-blowing the F1 and its race-bred counterpart, the F1 GTR, were in the early 1990s. Just 104 F1s were ever made, but the F1 GTR is even rarer (26 made), and its GTR "Longtail" variant is rarer still (with only 10 in existence). And one of those GTR Longtails is for sale right now. Trust us, this is was as cool, if not cooler than any McLaren Senna. in its day.
Based on the F1 road car, the F1 GTR was entered in a series of races including the 1995 24 hours of Le Mans. Despite being a modified street car and not a purpose-built racer, the F1 GTR took home an outright victory and made McLaren the first constructor to win in F1, the Indy 500, and Le Mans. For the 1997 season, McLaren developed the Longtail, a modified version of the GTR made specifically for Le Mans and keeping up with the competition from Porsche and Mercedes. The Longtail name, in case you couldn't guess, references the car's longer rear bodywork, which improved the GTR's aerodynamics.
The F1 and its racing variants were hailed as some of the greatest performance machines ever built, so much so that the Longtail name has come roaring back for use on specialized McLaren road cars. You might recognize the Longtail name from McLaren's 765 LT.
The GTR Longtail for sale at Tom Hartley Jnr. is the first one ever made, and comes with racing history. Being the first Longtail, it was also the development car for the nine others that would come after it, and this car is one of only two to be converted to road-legal specification. The other is owned by Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason. It also comes with a full conversion kit that can take it back to full race spec, if the new owner wanted that (yes, please!).
As if this needed clarifying, the chance to own one of the few GTR Longtails out there will no doubt get several billionaires all over the world extremely excited. Yes, we're calling out billionaires for this one. Simply having a million bucks won't cut it. According to Hagerty, the regular F1 is worth about $15 million and it would come as no surprise to us if the GTR Longtail were sold for at least double that. You know, sofa change to a billionaire.
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Society + Culture
7 Graduation Happenings That Are Surprisingly Relevant To Your Queer Culture
Welcome once again to graduation season. For graduates, this time of year means freedom from college or high school (or pre-school. You know you weren’t the only one who graduated to kindergarten.) – at least until they start the next chapter of their life. For their parents and family members, it means sitting through a never-ending barrage of names and listening to a hopefully-tolerable commencement speaker. For me, it means one thing: cake at graduation parties.
Okay, so maybe that’s not all I think about. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention how much I love the cakewalk that is bouncing from one graduation party to the next. In all honesty, as a professional Internet user, what graduation season really means to me is encountering a whole lot of articles about what who had to say where the other weekend. Graduation speakers are all anyone wants to talk about from mid-May to June. Which is funny because the speakers are hardly the most important part of the day for graduates. All I remember from my graduation exercises is that Bill Cosby showed up and received a rousing round of applause after he told the parents of a crying child in the audience to “give the child a pudding pop.”
Now that I’ve safely made it to the other side of college, though, I can’t help but reading about what’s going on in the land of graduations. I’m not going to count down the best speeches from this year. You can find at least ten Best Of lists for this year and we’re hardly even halfway through all the commencements. Instead, let’s talk about
1. Jon Lovett at Pitzer College
College Claremont, CA, May 18, 2013
Jon Lovett, a former speechwriter for Obama, spoke to the graduates of Pitzer College about, well, bullshit. “I believe we may have reached ‘peak bullshit,'” he said. “And that increasingly, those who push back against the noise and nonsense; those who refuse to accept the untruths of politics and commerce and entertainment and government will be rewarded. That we are at the beginning of something important.”
Though Lovett says he no longer believes that “the proper response to our culture of BS is cynicism,” Salon point out that the bits of pop culture he invokes as perhaps healthier alternatives to cynicism of are, at best depressing.
We see it across our culture, with not only popularity but hunger for the intellectual honesty of Jon Stewart or the raw sincerity of performers like Louis CK and Lena Dunham. You can even add the rise of dark, brooding, “authentic” super heroes in our blockbuster movies.
Their point? Authenticity doesn’t have to be painful. “Happiness isn’t, by definition, a put-on, or generated through lies and self-deception.” It’s an interesting middle path for the two conflicting messages – the trite commencement speeches about how we’re all going to change the world v. the dour news we hear from our 2-5 year older peers about the atrocities of the read world – when tend to hear when we graduate.
2. Barack Obama at Morehouse College and Michelle Obama at Bowie State University
Atlanta, GA, May 19, 2013 and Bowie, MD, May 17, 2013
You’ve probably heard about the president’s and first lady’s speeches at two historically black universities. Both were polarizing speeches that many saw as paternalistic, racist and, in short, deeply problematic while others simply heard their messages as encouragement to work hard and help each other.
Whether you’re looking to find out what, exactly, the debate is over, or just interested in reading more about the nuances of their speeches, Ta-Nehisi Coates’s article at The Atlantic is a fantastic place to start. His logic is inarguable:
At the most basic level, there’s nothing any more wrong with aspiring to be a rapper than there is with aspiring to be a painter, or an actor, or a sculptor. Hip-hop has produced some of the most penetrating art of our time, and inspired much more. My path to this space began with me aspiring to be rapper. Hip-hop taught me to love literature. I am not alone. Perhaps you should not aspire to be a rapper because it generally does not provide a stable income. By that standard you should not aspire to be a writer, either.
And his explanation of how their speeches fit into history helped me to understand why their underlying message is so damaging:
…As the president of “all America,” Barack Obama inherited that policy. I would not suggest that it is in his power to singlehandedly repair history. But I would say that, in his role as American president, it is wrong for him to handwave at history, to speak as though the government he represents is somehow only partly to blame. Moreover, I would say that to tout your ties to your community when it is convenient, and downplay them when it isn’t, runs counter to any notion of individual responsibility.
3. Barack Obama at Morehouse College
Atlanta, GA, May 19, 2013
Though Obama’s speech to Morehouse’s newest graduates had more than its share of problems, it’s notable to point out his nod to queers. “Be the best husband to your wife, or your boyfriend, or your partner,” he told them. And though much of his message seemed to ignore the bearing of the past on our current situation, as Coates said, “No president has ever been better read on the intersection of racism and American history than our current one.” In his speech, Obama called upon the men in the audience to empathize with other oppressed groups in order to connect with others.
As Morehouse Men, many of you know what it’s like to be an outsider; know what it’s like to be marginalized; know what it’s like to feel the sting of discrimination. And that’s an experience that a lot of Americans share. Hispanic Americans know that feeling when somebody asks them where they come from or tell them to go back. Gay and lesbian Americans feel it when a stranger passes judgment on their parenting skills or the love that they share. Muslim Americans feel it when they’re stared at with suspicion because of their faith. Any woman who knows the injustice of earning less pay for doing the same work — she knows what it’s like to be on the outside looking in.
4. Julie Andrews at The University of Colorado
Boulder, CO, May 10, 2013
Intermission time! Did you know that Julie Andrews gave a commencement speech this year? Me either! She even name-dropped every movie she’s ever been in and ended the speech by saying, “The hills today are truly alive with the graduating class of 2013! Bravo!”
5. Edith Windsor at New York University
New York, NY, May 22, 2013
Edith Windsor, a 1957 graduate of NYU, was given a Presidential Medal on Wednesday, the anniversary of the day she and Thea Spyer legally wed in Toronto. Don’t know much about this badass 83-year-old? Read up on her here.
6. The Minority Admissions Gap at The New York Times
The Internet, May 7, 2013
The charts, showing research on minority student enrollment and college graduation rate done by the National Center for Education Statistics in 2011, come from a Times article without text, but Racialicious filled in the gaps for us. With all the graduation celebration going on, it’s worth looking at the demographics of the graduates. According to Racialicious, finding a school that fits your budget and provides the resources you need to succeed in school can be prohibitively difficult.
Lets consider the state of Maryland once again. UMD’s cheaper tuition starts at (not including room and board, books, etc) $8,909 for residents, and jumps to $27,288 for non residents. At an 81.8% graduation rate, they’re also 15.9% Black students which make for great numbers on this graph. In comparison, Morgan State University (a public university, but with their own board of regents) starts at $3,609 for residents and $8,316 for non-residents. The HBCU is more financially accessible and eliminates one of the major stresses students face during college, but with that comes 30.7% six year graduation rate. It goes without saying that college choices shouldn’t be this starkly contrasted.
To see more in-depth detail about each data point and about Hispanic and Asian students, check out the original article.
7. Lisa Wade and Gwen Sharp at Sociological Images
The Internet, May 24, 2013
Lisa Wade and Gwen Sharp are two sociology PhDs with some seriously solid advice. I liked the last three points the best.
7. Remember: If You Change Your Mind, You’re Still Right!
[W]e often refuse to admit [that we’re wrong] or go on the counter-attack. Being told we’re wrong, though, is really great! It means we have a good chance of not making that mistake in quite that way again. That doesn’t mean it feels good, but it is a very good thing to learn how to accept that we’re wrong.
8. Listen When People Point Out Your Privilege
It’s really easy to write someone off as racist; it’s much harder to start a dialogue on the issue. If they do the latter, it’s because they’ve decided that you’re a good person who’s worth their time and energy. So instead of launching into an explanation for why and how you can’t possibly be prejudiced, ask “Can you tell me what you mean?” and listen listen listen.
9. Make Allies and, Yes, Change the World
C. Wright Mills one said that sociology was both terrifying and magnificent. It is terrifying because it teaches us that our lives are not ours to determine, but are subject to cultural norms and institutional forces over which we have very little control. It’s magnificent, however, because once we can see the system for what it is, we can agree to change it. In other words, we’re stuck in a system not of our own making, but we’re in it together. So, when you come across an unfair workplace, an unjust law, a biased educational practice, or some other injustice, know that — with the right allies, hard work, and a little luck — you may just have the power to change it.
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JULIE ANDREWS OMG. I want to go back to college just on the off chance that Julie Andrews will be my commencement speaker when I graduate again.
It’s interesting, black Americans and First Nation students have about the same college graduation rate (between 35 and 40 percent). It’s a huge issue. Although, far, far, FAR fewer First Nation people go to college in the first place, so that’s an even bigger issue.
And I would attend any college anywhere just to have Julie fucking Andrews give me a commencement speech.
as a new nyu grad, let me tell you. i SOBBED through edith winsor’s award. absolutely sobbed.
also, david boies gave the commencement address and focused pretty heavily on the right to marry (he also had a great line about making platitudes real), but for me the presidential medal ceremony was much more touching. allllllllll the feels, y’all. all of them.
girl, i feeeeel you. i sobbed the whole way through watching it online.
ALSO. Billie Jean King is speaking at the Williams College graduation this Sunday! Keep your eyes peeled!
JULIE ANDREWS. I didn’t feel particularly changed or inspired by her address, but it is perfect because she is JULIE FRICKIN ANDREWS and everything about her is PERFECT.
Just wondering are there any sections on things outside of the US?
I LOVE all these articles and I know it’s an American website but feel they could use more write ups on other countries?
Maybe I just want more to be happening in Ireland!
hi michelle! we have an international news tag that you can always check on. we definitely have more canadian and u.s. news and anything else since that’s where our writers are from (and they’re better able to speak to the politics and society of those places) but we’re always looking for content from new people.
These graduation speeches are so much better than the one my (very large) school (located in a very liberal area) provided us with this year, in which the CEO of a credit card company told us that the “glass ceiling is gone” and “everybody has the same opportunities in America”.
Dom Bortmas
Obama spoke at my OSU graduation this pay May 5. He mentioned homo things :)
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Google recognized for outstanding contributions to wind energy
Google has been a strong renewable energy leader.
Evan Vaughan
We’re pleased to recognize Google for its outstanding leadership among an innovative cohort of major brands and tech companies who are already on the leading edge of renewable energy procurement.
Google is the 2016 Outstanding Contributions to Wind Energy recipient, and its leadership is helping open the market for new wind development and access to low-cost clean power for other emerging customers.
“Google is honored to receive this award, and has invested in over 2 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy projects worldwide. None of these projects would be possible without the developers and technology providers who keep moving projects forward and driving costs down across the industry. It is a pleasure to work with such great partners in such an exciting time as we continue to push the expansion of renewables to drive decarbonization,” said John Woolard, Google’s Vice President for Energy, when accepting the award on the company’s behalf during WINDPOWER 2016’s opening reception.
In his role at Google, John is focused on implementing the company’s global energy strategy through investment in new technology and energy projects. Previously, John served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of BrightSource Energy, Inc. from 2006 to 2013, where he led the development, construction, and commissioning of the $2.2 billion Ivanpah solar thermal power plant, the largest in the world.
Google is the world’s largest non-utility renewable energy buyer, with 16 contracts to buy over 2.2 GWof clean energy and a goal to source 100 percent renewable power. That includes wind projects in Iowa, Texas, Oklahoma, California, and Kansas. In total, Google has invested nearly $2.5 billion in clean energy projects.
During the last several quarters, there has been a regular drumbeat of major brands and tech companies joining other emerging buyers to drive a new and rapidly growing market for wind power. At 52 percent, over half of contracted wind capacity was signed for by corporate buyers for the first time in 2015 – that compares to a five percent share in 2013. With companies like Google taking the lead, that share is certain to keep steady and growing.
Related ItemsClean energyfeaturedNewsWind Energywind power
Evan Vaughan is a Media Relations Officer at AWEA. He maintains AWEA’s press contacts and coordinates opportunities for the media to meet and interview members of the wind industry. Additionally, he handles many incoming media requests, drafts press statements, and helps edit various communications to both AWEA members and members of the media. He earned a MA in Global Environmental Policy from American University in Washington, D.C. Prior to AWEA, he performed talent research for an executive search firm and worked as an international protocol assistant. His policy internship experience includes stints with the World Wildlife Fund and the International Emissions Trading Association.
Tim Hayes, Environmental Director for Duke Energy Renewables, received the Andrew Linehan Award for Environmental Excellence at...
Michael Speerschneider October 2, 2020
The kids are alright – and really, really smart
Our man on the moon effort
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The big picture: How fast food is pandering to the youths
Photo: Chad Hurst/Getty Images for Arby's Restaurant Group, Inc.
A hearty list of fast food companies are tailoring their menus with lamb options to rope in Millennial and Generation Z customers with more adventurous tastes.
The big picture: On its face, the marketing ploy doesn't make sense — lamb has never made it big for Americans; only half of Americans have ever even tried it, and lamb consumption in the U.S. has been declining, per Bloomberg.
The list: Arby's, Potbelly, Darden Restaurants Inc.’s Yard House brewery, Romacorp Inc., and Black Angus Steakhouse, writes Bloomberg.
Between the lines: The U.S. Department of Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS), the American Lamb Board, and the American Sheep Industry Association (which aim to build demand and profits for the sheep industry, respectively), have been working over the last 15 years collectively to return the industry to profitability.
That includes running cooking workshops, farm and ranch tours, restaurant promotions, coordinating with chefs to promote lamb dishes, working on evening out seasonality differences in lamb production and market volatility, and promoting U.S. lamb (as opposed to New Zealand or Australian lamb), the Executive Director of the board, Megan Wortman, tells Axios.
"We know it's not a hard sell once people can taste the great flavor," she says.
The surprise: Wortman says that she "never" expected to see a lamb comeback.
"There’s an intimidation factor because we’re more expensive," Wortman notes. One of the biggest hurdles she sees is that people are getting comfortable eating lamb out, but not at home.
The age gap: That's especially a factor for millennials. According to a 2017 U.S. Department of Agriculture study, millennials "have a stronger preference for eating out" than older generations, making their outsize influence on the fast food industry even stronger.
Millennials are the largest generation. They, along with Gen Z-ers, will drive market decisions for the fast food industry.
Be smart: Even though lamb is making a splash on fast food menus, "that doesn’t necessarily translate into sales," Wortman said. "We just wish Arby’s would call it lamb instead of gyros. Our biggest barrier without a doubt is just sheer lack of awareness and experience."
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The Black Therapist Podcast
Us The Movie Let’s Talk About It
Mental Health, Social Issues / By Nikita Banks
https://feed.pippa.io/public/streams/5b58c41011e2bfdf36d123fe/episodes/5c984cd0c187c8794533044c.mp3
On this episode we talk about the psychology behind the box office smash, Jordan Peele’s Movie US!
We break down all the symbolism we uncovered in the movie and processed the many many social take aways! Join us in the discussion.
I am Brooklyn based psychotherapist Nikita Banks and I am your host of The Black therapist podcast the black therapist podcast the podcast where we discuss the unique issues people of color face when dealing with mental health issues and mental health diagnosis. If you would like to reach out to us for feedback or show suggestions show topics, please feel free to contact us at blackberry podcast at gmail. com. You can listen to new or past episodes on SoundCloud, Apple podcast Stitcher, Spotify, YouTube, I Heart Radio and Google Play. If you are having trouble listening to us on your preferred platform, or if you want us to be on a platform that we’re not currently on, make sure that you send us a private message on our Instagram page at Black therapist podcast. Or you can just drop us a message or send us an email at back therapists podcast com. If you want insider tips, resources and access to our free mental health course make sure that you text get happy to 66866 and my new book, finding happy seven steps to relationships that will not steal your joy is available right now on Amazon, go to our website or go to our Instagram pages and click the link and purchase because we want to help you get your relationships together for 2018. And beyond these Be mindful that this episode and all the information that we provide here is just a resource and a tool to help get you started on your mental health journey. If you are feeling any mental health distress, or you having any significant issues, please feel free to reach out to us so that we can find you a mental health provider in your area. Okay, let’s go. Hey, guys. So my God, it’s been a pretty eventful week. And we are coming, winding a set coming. But we’re going we’re winding down to the end of Social Work month because it’s spring, spring has sprung and it is nearly April. And so if you’re following me on social media, you know that last week I went to Congress was able to get my award. Thanks to you guys. First of all, I want to shout out everybody that voted for me to get the award for the the work I do here at Black therapist podcast. And you guys know, it’s my goal to be transparent and to raise awareness for people of color, dealing with mental health issues, and the unique issues that we face. Because I think that a lot of us are so afraid to go get psychological help because number one, people don’t look like us who are providing us the services. And number two, I think sometimes the psychological models that are used, and they are not optimal for people like us. And so I just want to thank you guys for acknowledging the work that I do here. And I want to give a few shout out shout out to Dr. Charles Lewis Jr. who is a I’ve been very instrumental in helping social workers become politically active. And I think that everybody needs to be politically active, especially in this current political climate. I will not lie going to Congress, or, you know, going to Yeah, the congressional buildings during this political climate is still a bit scary. There’s a lot going on in the world, and, you know, our apathy, or lack of proactive activity, to be civically engaged, and to take our place in this, this world of politics has really come to bite us in the ass. And so I want to thank everybody who came out to the award, everybody that was there, my family who came to support me, like it was really, really, really emotional. And I had to give a speech guys like I really wasn’t, I wasn’t prepared for speech. So if you see my social media posts, you’ll see that I put down that as I saw people in front of me getting up and speaking, I was like, holy crap. Like, I get paid to speak speak for a living, like I’m studying right now thinking about it, but I get paid to speak for a living. And it completely freaked me out. Speaking in that room, I forgot Chuck Schumer’s name.
But what up, Chuck, I got his name in my speech. And also, I want to say thank you to Ed towns, who created this space for social workers who is also a social worker who is also from Brooklyn, New York. Oh, at least was the congressman from Brooklyn, New York. So I just want to say shout out to the home team. Ah, ok. And let me see. I wanted to say shout out to the other award recipients. Dr. Mary McKay, who used to work for NYU, but no longer is with us at NYU. Elizabeth coats who I hope will come on the show. She is working in Congress, but she is also a social worker MSW. And I definitely want to talk to her about us as social workers. If you are a social worker, and you’re listening, becoming more politically active, and lucky, a cherry, as well as Robert. Oh, my God, I don’t want to mess up his name. sag assume. I hope I said that. Right. Robert, who is in first year MSW at Brown, and he is doing amazing things. So it was an amazing events. My family actually got to see what it is that I do my walked out of the room and she was like, Nikita, I hear you talking. I be hearing you talking majesty. He was talking. I didn’t know that you do all these things. He was like, I’m thoroughly impressed. And there was one point in the room where one of my former professors were there. And he was like, I’ve been looking for you. I wanted to give you a job. And I was like, really here I am. And so I went to my and I told her, I was like, wow, you know, he was looking for me, he wanted to give me a job. And she was like, wow, and I don’t know, I went to get her some wine or give her something to drink. And I came back and she was like, having a full fledged conversation with him. It was almost as if she wanted him to repeat the story. Not that she didn’t believe me, but that she was just such an all that she wanted to hear it herself. So I was I was very tickled by that. Because my family, I remember saying in the room to one of my colleagues, and I was like, Well, you know, my family doesn’t really get it. Like they don’t, they don’t really care. Like I often feel like when I accomplish things that my family sometimes doesn’t care. And I think when you’re expecting other people to support, I’m not going to get emotional. But when you’re expecting other people to support the vast capacity of your dreams and your desires, when they seem so insurmountable to them. It is impossible for them to fathom that you may actually make it. And so I’ve kind of coined this I don’t know phrase that my family will be BB last to congratulate me. But the first to brag about my accomplishments. And so that’s not a prideful moment. That’s not something that I’m proud of to say about some of the members of my family. But you know, the Banks family, the Thomases, you know, the Brooks is the deck where everybody is really come through Parks’s. Everybody’s really come through to like, let me know that they are proud of what I’ve done. But yeah, so that’s that. But yeah, if you are a social worker, under the sound of my voice, as I said, in my speech, I just want you guys to know that your community needs you. We are the first line of defense of every single tragedy that happens in this country, whether it’s the war on drugs, whether it’s the open crisis, whether it’s just general health care, whether it’s community organizing, or homelessness, like we are really out there doing the work. And it’s, it’s really hard, like you cannot do this job. If you’re not passionate about it, you cannot do this work. If you don’t want to cry some days.
If you if you really want to get praise and respect for what you do, this may not be the career for you, to be honest with you. But you have to be proud of the work that you’re doing it you have to be passionate about it and just know that your community, even though you may not always get the Banks and the accolade your community needs you. And I salute you. And I salute what it is that we do. So I just want to say again, happy Social Work month to all the social workers under the sound of my voice, and everybody else who wants to be a social worker, you know, just for having that desire. I want to say, do it. Your community needs you. Okay, so that was this week. And then I my child’s my friend, Mike mobile, who had an amazing event on Friday, he sold out a whole theater for us to watch us. us is the new movie by Jordan Peele, if you don’t know that. Okay, it features the Peter Nyanga, Winston Duke who are both from Black Panther. And it was an amazing movie, but it was kind of one of those movies that you get to see. And you’re like, what, what the fuck was that, like, I kept seeing a lot of people come back, and they were, who had seen the movie, and they were like, I don’t really know what that was. Right. And so it’s a lot to unpack. So if you don’t want to hear spoilers, and if you’re not ready to discuss the movie us, then you may want to come back next week. Next week, I hope to to talk to you guys more about some of the programs that we have coming up some free, some paid. And please go to back there to shop merchandise shop, buy a T shirt, buy a bag, get a mug, help support our movement. And what we do, I got some dope stuff up there. It’s not like you will just be buying a T shirt to support me you’ll be buying some dope merchandise, especially if you’re a therapist, especially if your mental health advocate I got some really cute things coming on the site. So there’s that Oh, and healthy relationship building for boss chicks learn relationship cheat codes and 20 minutes a day. That course is up now and it is free. So you can go to black therapist podcast.com and get that information or go to Nikita in IKAITA banks.com. Okay, that out of the way, let’s talk about us, first of all, so I had like, drinks and the movie was like, I’m so glad to this like an all black movie theater situation. So my friend bought it out so that all of us could kind of watch it together. And so I was sitting next to like a lot of smarty pants is because like a lot of my friends are like educated and like she she fool. But some of us were in the bag. A few of us had a few drinks, I had one. And I was having a little cocktail while I was watching the movie. But I was sitting next to my friend who we kind of figured out the plot of the movie really early. Like if you haven’t watched the movie, I’m gonna try to do this without giving as many spoilers as I can. But since I really process this movie, outside of the conversation that I’ve had with my cousins, it some things may slip out. So I just want to let you know that if you don’t want spoilers if you don’t want, if you don’t want any surprises, you might want to come back next week. Okay? Well, hey, we have a whole bunch of other episodes for you to listen to, you can go on our YouTube channel, also. And watch show there.
So from the trailer, you can deduce that the movie is basically about a family of four, who is fighting another version of themselves. And there’s a situation that happens. And there’s a traumatic, traumatic event. And so when I first saw the movie, I was like, Man, this is about trauma and resilience. Like it’s literally about having a traumatic experience. And being able to, you know, overcome that. And being this like, this is really what this is about. I thought it was a social commentary on only on those things, right. And the day before I saw it, I started seeing people posting on social media about it, which was like, What was that? Like? What did I just see? And then I saw one of my friends who posted you know, us is the kind of movie that you’re not so sure what you watched as you watched it, but like a day or two later, you start to unpack certain things. So shout out to my education in Brooklyn, New York, shout out to 324 junior high school 324 that I went to, because in that school, I actually got black history. And so a lot of the concepts that I saw in the movie, I was able to understand because of the historical content of some of the things that I’ve seen. Now if you are an 80s Baby, you will remember some of the references like hands across America the the one glove which is Amash, to both Michael Jackson and Freddy Krueger, the red jumpsuit as a kind of like the utility su as kind of like a Omar’s to Mike Myers. They actually had like little little videotapes or VHS is like by the TV. I’m not like I don’t want to tell you too much by the TV. So those give you clues if you’re watching the movie, have certain things that happened in the movie was like horror films that were there. So they really tried to pay homage to those genres that they liked. Now, I’m not a horror flick kind of girl. The last horror flick that I saw was get out. And I don’t really feel like get out. It was like horrible. It was more suspense. Growing up. I’ve never seen a Mike Myers movie Halloween, never thought that it was a thing that I wanted to see. I don’t like like, you know, devils movies. I remember once seeing the exorcist when I was a kid and like not a saint, this this is not for me. And it made me really scared to go to Georgia, go to Georgetown when I lived in DC. So
I’m not, I don’t know, if I’m just not
educated enough. I don’t know if I’m educated enough on the genre to know if every single
horror movie has
metaphoric value to society. But I caught all of the references in this movie. The fact that first of all, there’s something that happens at the end of the movie. And like, like I said, we we figured that out in the beginning of the movie. Y’all watch it to the end, but we figured that out until the end of the day, like in the beginning of the movie, like super early, we got that. Um, but I think this movie. So let’s talk about the repeat it. Let’s talk about the repeated symbols in the movie. So I think the rabbit when you first open the first movie first opens after the opening scene, there’s a rabbit. And if you know anything about rabbits, rabbits are usually used for a psychological not psychological scientific testing. And they have a lot of babies. So I think the rabbits kind of represented black people, and how our bodies are not our own. And how, you know, we sometimes feel trapped, they will also in a cage, and they were in a classroom. I think that the the movie really, truly was about opportunity. And it was about the part of us that that we nurture in the light, and we nurture and love and that we feed in a positive way will allow us to grow. And we see from the thing that happens in the movie, that if anybody is given love and sunshine, you know, sunshine is a metaphor, right? Love and sunshine and care. They are able to be humanized. They are able to find love and procreate and
You know what I’m saying? It was one of my favorite scenes in the movie was after the traumatic events, the Pete and I uncle’s character. As the child she was a child. So it really wasn’t hard. But the young lady who played young Nikita was I mean Adelaide, her name Adelaide, Adeline Adelaide. I don’t know black girl named Maddie, but we just call it Addy for now. Adelaide Wilson, right. The Young Miss Wilson.
She went to therapy.
And they had a predominate play therapy desk there. So I was like, okay, they took her to therapy. And through art. And through dance was really where she was able to find her voice. That was really where she she came into her own. And with the love and support of her parents. She was able to overcome the circumstances. So I thought that that was poignant. And that was something that was apparent to me in the beginning. It was like, you know, even the guy that I was sitting with, he was like, Well, why didn’t she tell her man about the thing that she been through, like maybe he would understand why she really wants to leave the town. And I’m like, that’s how trauma works. Like we don’t often tell somebody else of the traumatic things that we’ve gone through because we don’t think that they understand or we we even want to put it out of our mind. And so that was one of the concepts that I saw early on. The movie took place in literally three places. Oh, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz was also a shout out to the movie, The Lost Boys. And if you haven’t seen it, shame on you. But it was up, it was a shout out to the 80s 90s movie. The last place which is like one of the only horror I’ll say in air quotes, that movies that I saw, I don’t really think it was horror, but I do love that movie. And so I thought that that I caught that reference pretty early as well. Um, I got five on it. Of course, I remember that song I still to this day Don’t know what messing with that. And OE means so if you know, please hit me. And let me know what it means. Because I don’t know. I never know, I didn’t know when the song was out the first time, I still don’t know what the NOE is. So, um, let me see what else cuz I had a whole discussion on Facebook about this movie. So I think if you even if you look at what’s happening right now, in the school scandal, the thing about this movie is that there were two versions of a person, right, it was an American government experiment that went
And what happened in the experiment is that they made two of us. And the underground me was supposed to control the upper ground me, for the people in red, was supposed to control the people up top, but they weren’t able to recreate our souls. Like that’s what the movie was about. And because of that, they just assume that everybody underground was solace. And it’s it’s the same way that our government looks at homeless people. It’s the same way our government looks at Black people, and they humanize us. I think it was no coincidence. I don’t know why I’m joining like, it will definitely wasn’t no coincidence that they all wore the same outfit, like our prisoners to that orange jumpsuit, or that red jumpsuit, is it looked to me, very institutionalized. And it looked to me, like prison how prisoners are seen in this, this society also look like how we see humans who are homeless, because they are still humans. There’s a part in the movie when Winston Dukes character who I’m going to get into in a minute, but Winston character looks at his doubles and was like, Whoa, what are you people, and they were, they said were Americans. And us, I believe is also shorthand for the US. So it also is about us as a society and how we throw away our homeless people, and how we throw away people who are incarcerated, and we don’t invest in those people. So that’s another thing that I saw a plus hands across America was supposed to be a failed attempt to raise money for homeless. Now I don’t really remember I remember hands across America. And I literally remember the song from when I was a kid, and I was growing up and I watched it. But growing up in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn, like I really wasn’t, I was looking at like, I’m not holding hands across it. Like that’s the stupidest cuz really what it was, was this is event where you were supposed to give money. And then, you know, all of us who were supposed to hold hands, like I like to teach so world to saying no, no, not in Brooklyn, I wasn’t going to do it. So I remember it, but it just seemed kind of stupid to me. When I even when I was a kid. I didn’t get the concept. But it was a bomb. And it failed. And it didn’t raise as much money as it was supposed to. And I don’t think it did what it was supposed to do. And so the fact that the capital remember, hands across America, and she was going to use that as a protest, to raise awareness on the this failed experiment. I think that was dope. But it was this little black girl who organized this. And if you’ll see through the movie, repeated in almost every damn thing,
like Adelaide,
she did everything the mom did everything that if you watch the movie, the husband was handicapped in like the first 30 minutes. And I think it’s it’s that was also allegorical to the way black men are seen in this community, like black men are not allowed to be the head of our households,
you know, for whatever reason, mostly
political reasons. But they struggled to find your footing. In that way. As well as it’s, it’s really hard to allow someone to be the head of the household when they can’t.
They can’t protect their family.
So wisdom, Duke’s character, as sexy as he was in the other movie, he makes me he was making me super sick. Like he was really getting on my nerves, because he was not doing what he needed to do as a man. So for me, like, in the first few minutes, he was incapacitated, what I’m gonna do what you like a literally like dragging him throughout the rest of the movie. And he was slowing them down. Like the portrayal of the black man in this movie, it really aggravated me. And then at one point, Nikita was going to go fight some people and go kill some people. And he was like, give me kiss. Boy, if you don’t get the, you know, I remember screaming, screaming at the screen. Like if you don’t sit your ass down, somewhere with that give me kiss. So yeah, that was that. He was really disrespected by everybody in the family. nobody listened to nothing, he said. And the only person that he defeated in his in, you know, his battle was his self. So that was really it. There was no white savior in this movie. But they did go to white people for help. And the white people couldn’t be trusted. So there’s that. Let me see, what did I miss about this movie? Because I said a lot in my little chat. When I was trying to get this all out, like it’s so much to unpack in this movie. And if you have seen it, and you want to add something to what I’m saying, Please add it to my discussion, because I still have a question that I don’t think will be answered.
maybe I’ll ask it at the end of this show, to see if you understood, um, I was talking about the educational stuff. So if you look down the rabbit hole, you will see that what happened was, it looked like a classroom, but they were like empty classrooms like they really want to teach them anything. And they didn’t have souls. So how would they learn? Right? But I think it I think it really was trying to say the failure of class, race, educational opportunities, and lack of those things, is why there are some of us who succeed. And some of us who fail, really talked about how the oppressed are dehumanized, and how they’re not allowed to gain the same copy of kind of opportunities that anybody else need to survive. And we see that we see that recently with what’s going on in this new scandal that happened with full house and Felicity Huffman. And I mean, I like Felicity, but you know, I don’t like the fact that of what she what she did.
And I think that, you know, this whole
the problem with class in this country is the same reason why we have a stupid ass president who has been coddled his whole entire life and, and has everything and believes that he actually earned in deserve the things that he had, he actually did it. You know, what I’m saying, like, we gotta do better as, as at providing opportunities for each of us to succeed. And that used to be the goal in America, but not I also think the movie was about social narcissism. And if
you don’t know what that means, just look it up.
It’s basically societal pride, I’ll say in quote, but it’s what we’re seeing right now, where the liberals all together and the right wing nut jobs are all together. And evangelicals, like everybody is basically ganging up, everybody squatting up. And instead of thinking that there are enough resources for all of us to eat and succeed, it’s usually us against them. Like the rich can’t get a tax cut, if the poor, you know, get Medicaid, or, you know, if you have section eight housing, then the rich people are paying for it. Like it’s, it’s just ridiculous, like, never once in this movie,
was it
thought that the two people could coexist? And I think that that was the reason that there were twins in the movie not doubles. But the twins, that would be a because twins twins are basically they shared DNA, some of them right? Or yes, some of them shared the same, have the same exact DNA, they have different souls, but they have their own paths. And so it was never thought throughout this movie, that one could exist, at the same time that the other could exist, both having the same opportunity. And I think that that was the major aha moment for me watching this movie was that there was really probably no reason that one had to kill the other the Adeline or read can both exist at the same time, because they they did. They already existed, they just existed in two different places. So I think that that was part of what I was getting at that, you know, we can all succeed in it. We don’t have to be against one another for that to happen. We don’t have to murder each other in order for that to happen. We can literally coexist and be just fine.
the little boy has masked I believe the little boy.
What was the Jason’s mask, first of all, Jason, is a nother not to Friday the 13th. His mask is another nod
to Friday the 13th.
But I think the mask that both of the little boys wore it really had, it was symbolic to duality that black people have in this country, we always have to kind of put on a mask to succeed. And so I think that that was kind of dope. Let me see what else I said in this chat. If I’m rambling guys, just charge it to the game, because it was a lot of stuff. The question that I have, I want to ask, but I want to wait to ask it because I don’t want to give you guys too, too much. I think I’ve been talking about concepts
then giving away specific spoilers. But yeah, the movie was was definitely about the darkness and all of us, and what you feed grows, us being able to be creative in order to, you know, feed our humaneness and feed our soul going to therapy, learning to draw a dance. It was also I believe about, you know, and I’m saying you could you could draw correlations, I don’t think it was about foster care. And those kinds of things of, you know, neglect, childhood neglect. And, yes, only through creativity, did the girl find her voice? That was not I think I talked about the concept of the rabbits there was a girl little girl had a rabbit on a shirt, they were playing with the rabbit, they were alive rabbit. So obviously rabbits was was a huge concept. I think that rabbits was a Nazi medical testing that the community has done on black people, and how our bodies have been used for science without our consent. And I like that the funhouse said find yourself, let me see. Also, I like the connection between the black mother and her son. Not going to give it away. But I think that that was it was characteristic of how the connection that black boys have to their moms,
where they really see a lot going on with the daughter.
And that kind of shocked me a little bit. The husband was also like I said he was handicapped. And the only real thing that he that he aspired to be like, was like the white family that was there. So then there was that he wanted capitalism he wanted his kids to do well, like it really was about lifestyle for him.
But yeah,
I think that that’s
OO,
and the basic concept of the movie since us is about us. It is about the darkness that exists in all of us, it is about our opportunity to, to create and grow and be good. But it is also a commentary on how if we don’t keep an eye on our government, if we are not politically active, if we’re not civically involved, our government will create a gross atrocities against us, against the community against the environment. And if we’re not paying attention, we will be held accountable that maybe we won’t be murdered by our doubles. But, you know, we have to be held accountable. The concept of tethering that was that was deep. I think the concept of tethering really had to do with how we are all connected to one another, as a community, and what happens with one happens with all of us, and we really, truly have to be mindful of our friends and neighbor, we have to care about, you know, what’s going on with other people. So there’s that. And they said it was a possibility they left the ending the way it did. So maybe there’s a sequel, I would like to see a sequel. I think that that’d be dope. I need to find out what happened with the little boy. Definitely, you want to know what happened with that? I definitely want to know, I want my question answered, which is why she changed a shirt. I want to get more in depth with that I really, really do. But I would need to do a lot of chat for that. I would need some feedback. So I need to know why she changed the shirt.
that was really it. I hope you guys have gone to see us. I hope you
hope I’ve covered everything if you think I’ve covered everything. And if you think I’ve missed something else, if you think there was something that I didn’t add,
let me know. Honestly, I watched
the movie and then I left there like it really wasn’t as good as get out there really wasn’t a lot of concepts or whatever. But the more and more I thought about it, the more and more I was like that she was kind of deep. It was deep. But that’s what I was saying about horror movie so I’m not quite sure if all horror movies are that deep. Or if I’m just reading too much into this because this is what I’ve I’m no and what I’ve seen they said the movie wasn’t really about race. They said the movie wasn’t really about you know wasn’t gonna be as deep as as get out. I saw a lot of racial dynamics in the movie. Oh, yes, they called the police the police never came bomb. They call the police and the police never arrived. So that was that was something to think about as well. So there was the there was no help coming for them. There was no help coming for them as if there’s no help coming for us. And so if you have any questions
about what I talked about this week, if you want to
add to the conversation, please go on over to our
Instagram page, our Facebook page and join the conversation there. Okay,
so this has been another episode of black therapist
podcast be well thank you guys for listening to another episode of black therapist podcast once again you can follow us on all our social media sites at Black therapists podcast on Instagram and on Twitter as well as black in therapy on Facebook or you can follow your hosts me Miss MS in IK I think on Instagram and Twitter as well as you can find out any information about me at Nikita and IKITA Banks calm and on the show’s website lac therapists podcast calm and don’t forget if you want to send us any general feedback show suggestions show topic for guest ideas please feel free to drop us an email at Black therapist podcast at gmail. com Thank you be well
Starting a Group Practice Part 2
From Private Solo Practice to Group Practice
What is the Future of Social Work
My therapist.. the Trump Supporter? Nah Son
Long Island therapist
mental health diagnosis
therapist new york
therapist nyc
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2018 BMW Z4 testing in cold weather conditions
Home » Models » BMW Z4 » 2018 BMW Z4 testing in cold weather conditions
January 23, 2017 / 1 minutes read
BMW is in Northern Sweden this month testing a series of upcoming vehicles. Earlier today we’ve seen the highly awaited 8 Series Coupe and Convertible playing in the snow, and now it’s time to take a closer look at how the new BMW Z4 handles on the snow.
BMW’s new Z4 is built under the internal codename G29 and aims to take on the likes of the Porsche 718 Boxter. The folding hard-top of the Z4 has been replaced by a lighter and easier to accommodate fabric roof. The new Z4 derives chassis components and engineering solutions from the current 3 Series and its various derivatives, including the rear axle and five-link rear suspension from the M3/M4.
While this new Z4 does look like it’s going to be a bit longer than before, it still has the long hood and short rear deck. And it returns to the soft top configuration.
The new platform has been engineered to support petrol-electric hybrid power and four-wheel drive. Sources suggest the BMW roadster will weigh little more than 1400kg in turbocharged 2.0-liter four cylinder entry-level guise.
BMW’s newest engines will make their way into the new Z4. These include the latest evolution of its turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder powerplant, the B48, delivering around 248bhp in the Z4 sDrive30i, and a turbocharged 3.0-liter six-cylinder unit, the B58, in the Z4 M40i M Performance. Both Z4 models will come with standard rear-wheel drive and an eight-speed ZF automatic gearbox.
The new Z4 and Supra will be assembled at automotive production specialist Magna Steyr in Graz, Austria.
More from BMW Z4
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Rwanda's Paul Kagame to run for third presidential term
duration 1 January 2016
image copyrightReuters
image captionFollowing the December referendum, Mr Kagame could potentially remain in power till 2034
Rwanda's President Paul Kagame has confirmed that he will seek re-election for a third term in 2017.
The announcement was expected after a referendum approved constitutional changes to allow him to run for three further terms and could potentially see him to stay in power until 2034.
Mr Kagame said Rwandans had made clear they wanted him to lead the country after 2017, and he could only accept.
He has dominated Rwandan politics since his rebel army ended the 1994 genocide.
Last month's referendum result means Mr Kagame can run for a third seven-year term in 2017 and then two further five-year terms.
Paul Kagame: Visionary or tyrant?
Third terms and the arrogance of power
In a televised New Year's address at midnight (22:00 GMT), the president, 58, said Rwanda did not need a president for life, and that someone else would take over sooner rather than later.
"You requested me to lead the country again after 2017. Given the importance and consideration you attach to this, I can only accept.
"But I don't think that what we need is an eternal leader," he said.
image captionIn a referendum last month, Rwandan voters gave their support to constitutional changes
Part of the president's New Year's message was directed towards his critics abroad, says BBC Africa security correspondent Tomi Oladipo.
He was clearly telling them that democracy was at work in Rwanda and that he was only responding to the people's wishes, our correspondent adds.
The US and the EU have said Mr Kagame should step down in 2017 to allow a new generation of leaders to emerge.
They also denounced the results of the referendum, saying voters were not given enough time to make informed decisions.
President Kagame has received widespread praise for bringing economic development to Rwanda, but critics have also accused him of a heavy-handed rule, our correspondent says.
Rights groups accuse the government of stifling the media and political opposition.
Mr Kagame became acting president in 2000 and was then elected in 2003 and 2010. However, he has effectively held power since 1994, when his rebel force entered the capital, Kigali, to end the country's genocide.
Mr Kagame's announcement comes at a time when two other presidents in the region - of the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo - are also seeking third-term extensions.
In Burundi, the president's decision to seek a third term unleashed violent protests, in which at least 100 people have died since April.
Rwanda vote 'allows Kagame to extend term in office'
Rwandans vote on allowing third Kagame presidential term
Rwanda's President Kagame denounces UK over Karake arrest
Rwanda country profile
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Home » Whistle for Willie (Paperback)
Whistle for Willie (Paperback)
By Ezra Jack Keats
Kobo eBook (February 23rd, 1977): $7.99
Since it was first published in 1964, Whistle for Willie has delighted millions of young readers with its nearly wordless text and its striking collage artwork depicting the story of Peter, who longs to whistle for his dog. The New York Times wrote: "Mr. Keats' illustrations boldly, colorfully capture the child, his city world, and the shimmering heat of a summer's day."
Ezra Jack Keats (1916–1983) is the Caldecott Medal winning author of The Snowy Day, which broke ground in 1962 as one of the first picture books for young children to portray a realistic, multi-cultural urban setting. Since its initial publication, The Snowy Day has come to be regarded as both a children’s classic and one of the most important picture books ever written/illustrated. Ezra Jack Keats’ legacy lives on in the popularity of his most famous character, Peter—the star of The Snowy Day, Whistle for Willie, Peter's Chair, A Letter to Amy, Goggles, and others. Visit the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation online at www.ezra-jack-keats.org
Publisher: Puffin Books
Publication Date: February 24th, 1977
Series: Picture Puffin Books
Juvenile Fiction / Classics
Juvenile Fiction / Animals / Dogs
Juvenile Fiction / Lifestyles / City & Town Life
Board book (May 1st, 1998): $7.99
Prebound (February 24th, 1977): $18.80
Board book (January 4th, 2050): $13.99
Prebound (February 1st, 1977): $18.80
Paperback$20.34
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At the Loew’s Kings, everything old will be new again
By Helen Klein
The curtain could rise on the Loew’s Kings’ spectacular third act, as soon as the end of 2013.
When it does, promises David Anderson, the president and CEO of ACE Theatrical Group, the newly renovated theater — which opened in 1929, and closed in 1978, and has languished ever since — will be as elegant and comely, as finely dressed and as inviting, as it was on the day its doors first opened.
“The magic of these historic movie palaces lies in their architectural beauty and historic significance, both from a legacy standpoint and also from a community memory standpoint,” remarked Anderson.
“These theaters engender such an emotional outpouring of support, nostalgia and pride,” he added. “They are so much more than just a place to see a show. As an operator, I’d much rather bring a show to a theater like the Kings than Lincoln Center or a brand-new theater.”
From the paint colors to the curtain fabric, the theater’s now fadedglory will be restored, said Anderson, whose company recently contracted with the city’s Economic Development Corporation to take on the $70 million project.
To restore the French Renaissance-style theater as a performing arts center nearly unrivaled in New York City, ACE will utilize approximately $50 million of city money, as well as about $5 million of its own funds, and take advantage of a portfolio of tax breaks, all in the effort to bring back the aging grand dame.
In the process, the Kings — which is expected to host some 250 productions each year –— will become an economic engine that will not only celebrate itself but also bring the pulse of prosperity to Flatbush Avenue, a busy commercial thoroughfare that yet could be so much more than it now is.
“It will be nothing less than a combination of the Beacon and the Apollo in one architectural jewel of a building, as well as a catalyst for economic growth along Flatbush Avenue and all of central Brooklyn,” avowed Borough President Marty Markowitz, who announced the impending renovation of the theater during his State of the Borough Address last week.
Approximately 50 permanent jobs, and 530 construction jobs will be created by the project, according to Markowitz.
Local activists are equally excited by the renovated theater’s potential. Rickie Tulloch, who has run twice for City Council in the district that includes the Kings, recalled that he had positioned the theater’s renovation as “a centerpiece of my campaign” precisely because of its ability to jumpstart economic revitalization in the area.
“I think it becomes the hub of Flatbush,” Tulloch predicted.
While it is not intended as a traditional movie theater — with cinematic activity likely restricted to events such as premieres and movie series — the theater’s restoration will also bring back to Flatbush Avenue something that is now lacking: a place to see movies. While, once, the thoroughfare was lined with movie theaters, the recent closure of the theaters at Kings Plaza means, noted Brooklyn history aficionado Lee Rosenzweig, that there is “now not one movie theater on Flatbush Avenue from one end to the other.”
With three decades of experience in restoring old theaters and reopening them as successful cultural hubs, Anderson seems unfazed by the monumental scope of the task ahead of his company, which has guaranteed to the city that it will keep the theater in operation, without turning back to the city for additional assistance, throughout the term of its 30-year lease.
“We look for projects like this,” Anderson stressed, noting that his company seeks out grand old movie palaces in need of renovation that are located in densely populated urban areas, because that’s where the huge expenditure needed to restore them makes economic sense.
“There are a lot of old movie houses in places that don’t have the population base, but they are harder to justify,” Anderson went on.
The key to the project’s success, Andersonadded, is the ability to restore the old theater to its former glory aesthetically while, at the same time, bringing it up to contemporary construction codes and meeting requirements for modern productions that would utilize it.
As part of the renovation, experts will analyze paint colors and fabrics before any work begins. “We will be able to recreate the exact paint scheme,” Anderson averred. “The glaze and gold leaf will be put back the way it was originally designed. The same thing goes for seat fabric and carpet patterns and wooden armrests. This is what we do and what the city expects from us – to restore faithfully the historic areas, and add modern amenities such as air conditioning.”
The stage will also be significantly enlarged, Anderson said, in order “to accommodate modern traveling entertainment.”
The 3,200-seat Loew’s Kings — with details reminiscent of the palace at Versailles as well as the Paris Opera — was designed by Rapp & Rapp. It opened just a month before the stock market crash in October, 1929, that ushered in the Great Depression.
With the cost of a ticket just a dime, said Bruce Friedman, who originated the “Save the Kings” campaign a couple of decades ago, the Kings was “A place to forget your troubles,” and be beguiled by the talents of the likes of Jimmy Durante, Eddie Cantor, Bob Hope, Milton Berle and Sophie Tucker, as well as “all the great tap dancers.”
“You walked in there, and you almost felt like royalty,” added Brooklyn Borough Historian Ron Schweiger.
While the theater has become known as the Loew’s Kings, it was not built by Loew’s, Friedman said. Rather, he explained, it had been constructed by Paramount Pictures – which also built other movie palaces – and then sold to Loew’s.
This resulted in at least one anomaly inside the theater — a single plaster medallion that didn’t resemble any of the others, Friedman went on. “When Paramount sold the theater, they walked out with the molds, so Loew’s had to improvise and come up with their own design” for the decorative medallion, which is located under the box seats.
Over the years, the vacant theater has undergone various indignities, Friedman added. Among these was habitation by the homeless, who, he said, “Have been in and out of the theater for years,” in part because a missing back door made for easy access.
“That’s why so much stuff was stolen. The brass banisters, newel posts, sconces are all gone,” Friedman reported.
Nonetheless, there is much left to be discovered, he added. Not long ago, Friedman told this paper, a cardboard sign dating back to the Kings’ earliest days was discovered in the basement.
“There’s an awful lot of memorabilia shoved in corners,” Friedman added.
The Loew’s Kings is located at 1025-1035 Flatbush Ave.
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Family gets $3K bill after ambulance breaks down, man dies in it
LIMON, Colo. (KDVR) — Family members of a man who died after the ambulance he was riding in broke down say they plan to sue the city that operates the service.
In a notice of claim letter, the attorney for Lonnie Hendrickson’s family informed the City of Limon, Colorado that he intends to file a legal complaint for Hendrickson’s “wrongful death” in September 2019.
“While Mr. Hendrickson was in a life-threatening condition, the ambulance stalled en route to Swedish Medical Center. During this time, essential and vital medical care was unable to be provided to Mr. Hendrickson and he expired,” a letter drafted by John Astuno Jr., an attorney for Hendrickson’s family, said.
The family also has questions for the hospital that treated Hendrickson before he was transported to another facility.
“I would just like to know what happened – if it was an accident or what it was. We just want to know the truth,” said Tawnie Baeza, one of Hendrickson’s daughters.
The ambulance broke down in Strasburg, approximately 120 miles into the transport from Limon to the Denver area.
“They … had steam coming into the vents, into the ambulance. They thought it was smoke, but they pulled over … and realized that the engine had blown a radiator hose or something because there was water spraying everywhere when they lifted the hood,” said Rob Handley, who runs Limon Ambulance Service.
Handley said that during his time as director, he has never seen another ambulance break down during the transfer of a patient.
The patient was stable during the trip, he said.
The crew declined to transfer Hendrickson to another ambulance company’s vehicle in Strasburg. Instead, Handley said he immediately dispatched a second Limon Ambulance Service vehicle – with lights and sirens – to the location, and it arrived about 30 minutes after the first ambulance went out of service.
“They both thought it was in the best interest of the patient just to continue on because now, they would have to switch crews which would constitute an interruption of care there,” he said. “I don’t think it would have made any difference if we got there 30 minutes faster or 45 minutes or an hour faster,” said Handley.
An autopsy report obtained by sister station KDVR mentions the ambulance problem when explaining Hendrickson’s final diagnosis.
“During transport to Swedish hospital,” the autopsy says, “the ambulance broke down delaying transfer and care.”
According to the autopsy, Hendrickson died of “acute cardiac arrest associated with three days of intractable nausea and vomiting from an apparent upper gastrointestinal illness.” The report said hypertensive cardiovascular disease contributed to his death.
“I love him and miss him,” said Billie Cozart, one of Hendrickson’s daughters. “I’m sorry that we left him with an ambulance service, and… maybe if one of us would’ve rode with him, things could’ve been different,” she said.
Cozart said she received a bill totaling more than $3,000 for her father’s ride.
“It just makes me mad after everything that happened,” said Cozart.
“I feel like if he would’ve passed away in a hospital, I would have been more comfortable with that – that they tried everything,” said Jessica Garay, one of Hendrickson’s daughters. “But the fact that he was just sitting on the side of the road and passed away there, that hurt. It’s painful.”
BRPD asking for information about deadly shooting of transgender woman last summer
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Lights and Sirens: Arrest made in Jones Street burglary
BUCYRUS POLICE
A 51-year-old man was located and arrested in the 200 block of West Mansfield Street on warrants out of Crawford and Hardin counties for drug offenses. He was taken to the Crawford County Justice Center. 9:50 a.m.
A 58-year-old man was arrested on a warrant for drug possession. He was transported to the Crawford County Justice Center to be held for court. 4:32 p.m.
A 24-year-old man was located on Wingert Street and arrested on a warrant on indictment for burglary from an incident earlier this month on Jones Street. He was taken to the Crawford County Justice Center to be held for a court appearance. 7:03 p.m.
Officers responded to a domestic disturbance in the 100 block of Iron Street. A former domestic partner was accused of driving by a former residence and throwing an object at the home, breaking a window. A 38-year-old man was arrested on charges of domestic violence. He was transported to the Crawford County Justice Center to be held for court. 7:19 p.m.
Officers discovered trash cans had been overturned in Aumiller Park. 9:38 a.m.
Officers checked a residence for reported unwanted persons. The persons are residents there so no action was taken. 9:58 a.m.
Officers responded to a disturbance and assisted a parent with an unruly juvenile in the 100 block of East Charles Street. 1:25 p.m.
A Bucyrus resident reported her 14-year-old daughter ran off while at Kroger. She was later located and returned to her mother. 2:08 p.m.
A resident in the 700 block of Rogers Street reported his door broken in and a television stolen while he was away during the day. 3:32 p.m.
During a traffic stop on South Sandusky and Schell avenues a 38-year-old man was arrested on six warrants out of Crawford County. He was issued with a date to appear in court and released. 1:04 a.m.
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In exchange for this payment, the county will now dismiss its lawsuit against Tata, who in turn will dismiss its cross complaint
Shivani Shinde Nadhe | Pune August 25, 2016 Last Updated at 00:42 IST
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the country’s largest information technology (IT) services provider, said it had settled an ongoing lawsuit with Orange County in California, USA. For doing so, it has agreed to pay $26 million (Rs 175 crore). The three -year dispute was over a failed replacement to the County’s automated property tax system, initially to be completed by 2010 but not delivered. After the announcement, TCS’ shares were down by 1.2 per cent and closed at Rs 2,571.90. “Both parties had claims against each other but neither ...
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BoF Exclusive
Macy’s Acquires Story
By Lauren Sherman May 2, 2018 13:04
BoF can exclusively reveal that Macy’s, Inc is buying concept store Story. Founder Rachel Shechtman will join the American department store chain as its first brand experience officer.
Story's "Home for the Holidays" in-store concept | Source: Courtesy
NEW YORK, United States — “Welcome to Story! Have you been here before?” That’s what a greeter asks each-and-every person who walks through the doors of Story, a 2,000-square-foot store located steps away from the High Line, the elevated park-cum-tourist magnet in New York’s West Chelsea. That’s because Story’s unconventional concept — it gets a complete makeover with a new design, product assortment and marketing message every four-to-eight weeks — is still foreign to many.
Not for long.
Story, founded in 2011 by brand consultant Rachel Shechtman, has been acquired by Macy’s, Inc. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, although Story’s West Chelsea outpost will remain open as part of the agreement. Going forward, Story will be a Macy’s sub-brand, not a standalone player like Bloomingdale’s or Bluemercury, which are also owned by Macy’s, Inc. Along with continuing to develop Story, Shechtman will join Macy’s Inc. in the newly created role of brand experience officer, reporting to president Hal Lawton.
Jeff Gennette, Rachel Shechtman and Hal Lawton | Source: Courtesy
In her new role, Shechtman will be tasked with bringing Story’s interactive experiences — which, over the past 40 iterations of the store, have included everything from virtual reality meditation to a hot-towel shave station — to Macy’s, a legacy retailer searching for relevance in a rapidly shifting retail climate. In its 2017 fiscal year, Macy’s generated $24.8 billion in sales, down 4 percent from $25.8 billion in 2016. “Brick and mortar for us has been tough. It has gone from being this place of transaction and browsing to something very different,” said chief executive Jeff Gennette. “The need to change brick-and-mortar to make it more experienced-based is a high priority for every omni-channel retailer out there. We all have to figure it out.”
But how exactly Story will come to life at Macy’s remains to be seen.
“We’ve got this amazing environment and experience on 10th Avenue, but what does that look like inside a Macy’s store?” asked Gennette, who was promoted in March 2017 after longtime head Terry Lundgren stepped down. (He quickly tapped Hal Lawton — a former eBay executive with a deep e-commerce background — to fill the role of president.)
“It may be some of the same content, but I don’t have this cookie-cutter idea in my head that it’s going to be X units by Christmas,” he added. “I’m highly interested in trying to bottle what I see at Story into many stores that have thousands of people walking through them every single day and are just ready to be turned on.”
Shechtman declined to share current business metrics for Story, but in 2016 she told BoF that the venture’s net income had doubled each year since inception. (A standard four-to-eight week Story sponsorship is currently $600,000, and $1 million during the holiday period.) According to a market source, the business remains healthy, which meant that Shechtman was able to entertain more than one acquisition scenario.
For Shechtman, who did not raise outside capital to fund Story, partnering with a retailer like Macy’s offers the sort of scale and infrastructure she would never have been able to achieve independently. “I’ve always said that when we scale, I want to scale to our strengths and I want to do it with a partner who brings expertise related to that,” she explained.
I’ve always said that when we scale [Story], I want to scale to our strengths with a partner who brings expertise related to that.
There are currently 690 full-line Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s stores within the Macy’s Inc. portfolio, as well as approximately 160 “specialty” stores, including outlet stores, as well as Bluemercury, a Sephora competitor. However, too many Macy’s stores are located in undesirable malls that no longer reflect the way today’s consumers shop. After committing to shedding 100 full-line stores in 2016, Macy’s has gone through multiple rounds of layoffs and plans to eliminate more jobs in 2018, along with closing 11 more stores, resulting in $300 million in savings this year alone.
But even with a shrunken footprint, Macy’s must find ways to innovate as Amazon and other internet and value-driven retailers chip away at its market share. This year, Amazon is expected to become the number-one apparel retailer in the US, according to Morgan Stanley. (It currently trails only Walmart.) Macy’s, once the largest apparel retailer in the US, is now the sixth-largest, surpassed not only by Amazon and Walmart, but Target, Kohl’s and TJ Maxx.
But in the fourth quarter of 2017, Macy’s sales increased for the first time in three years, reaching $8.7 billion, up nearly 2 percent from the same period a year earlier (and 1.4 percent at stores open at least one year), indicating that Gennette’s strategy — which includes adding more off-price stores, subtracting underperforming full-line stores and streamlining inventory — might be paying off.
Story's Work/Space in-store concept | Source: Courtesy
Over the past year, Gennette has also encouraged more cross-department collaboration. “There’s an intersection of product and marketing and brand experience as it comes into the store,” he said. “Integrated campaigns are going to make us more relevant and sticky with customers than we are today.”
In her new role, Shechtman could give Macy’s a much-needed boost. While it’s unclear whether Nordstrom’s “pop-in” shops, launched in 2013 and spearheaded by vice president of creative projects Olivia Kim, contribute significantly to the top line, it is a major marketing moment every time a changeover occurs. (The concept is not dissimilar to that of Story.) What makes Shechtman’s approach at Story unique is the way she has incorporated brands as sponsors — from media titles like Nickelodeon, which underwrote an ode to nostalgia, to insurance company Cigna, which backed a wellness-driven rotation. “It’s very intriguing to us,” Gennette said.
Clever packaging aside, Gennette and Shechtman — who met almost five years ago, when he was still Macy’s chief merchandising officer and she was still getting Story off the ground — believe that product remains at the heart of what will make their new partnership work.
They recalled a trip they took together to NY NOW, the well-trafficked gift show where Shechtman does a lot of the buying for Story. “It was like the exodus of Moses when the Red Sea parts,” Gennette said of the vendors’ reaction to seeing Shectman walk onto the floor.
She remembers their mutual enthusiasm — a "visceral reaction" — for a certain beaded handbag. “But it wasn’t really about beaded bags,” she said. “It was about knowing that he was someone who speaks my language... at scale. You can talk about technology and automation and same-day delivery, but if there is not good product to buy, there’s no store, there’s no website, there’s no nothing.”
7 Lessons For Retail in the Age of E-Commerce
Colette's Sarah Andelman Reveals Next Move
Jeff Gennette
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YOUNG NORWICH CITY FOOTBALLERS LEARN TO BE LIFESAVERS
Norwich City Football Club
Young footballers from Norwich City Football Club have learnt how to be life-savers thanks to British Heart Foundation.
45 youngsters from the club's academy learnt how to perform CPR at a special training event organised by the British Heart Foundation, which was part of the Nation of Lifesavers campaign which aims to improve cardiac arrest survival rates.
In the UK, people who suffer a cardiac arrest out of hospital have less than a one in ten chance of surviving. In order to save more lives, the charity has been rolling-out a quick-and-simple CPR training programme. In just 30 minutes it can equip people with the skills they would need to help in an emergency.
Dawne Hart, Fundraising Manager at the British Heart Foundation, said: "Too many lives are needlessly lost because people don't have the basic CPR skills to act in a life-threatening emergency.
"When someone has a cardiac arrest their chances of survival decrease with every passing minute. Prompt CPR, together with the use of a defibrillator, can greatly increase a person's chance of survival.
"That's why it's crucial we train people so they can use those skills to help save more lives in the future."
In the UK, there are more than 30,000 out of hospital cardiac arrests each year. Every minute without CPR and defibrillation reduces a person's chance of survival by up to 10 per cent.
Performing CPR can double or triple a person's chance of survival in some case.
Gregg Broughton, Academy Manager at Norwich City, said: "We are honoured to be able to help the BHF create a nation of lifesavers.
"CPR is such an important skill. By empowering more people with the know-how to respond in an emergency we hope to have contributed to saving more lives in the future."
The BHF's new Call Push Rescue training programme enables schools, workplaces and community groups to become completely self-sufficient in teaching CPR.
To help the BHF create a Nation of Lifesavers, or find out how you can teach CPR in your school, workplace or community group visit bhf.org.uk/lifesavers.
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Capital South Coast
Get Out My Head Shane Codd Download 'Get Out My Head' on iTunes
Olympic Torch: Exact Route Revealed
As LOCOG, the London 2012 Organising Committee, announces the Olympic Torch Relay route through Hampshire, the County Council will be working around the clock to ensure a safe journey for the convoy and torch bearers.
Hampshire will be hosting one of the biggest rolling road blocks it has seen since the Tour de France in 1994.
As the torch moves through each designated town the Council's highways and emergency planning staff will be doing their bit to ensure traffic keeps moving - as well as making sure spectators lining the streets get the best possible view.
The Olympic Torch will be in Hampshire on 11, 14, 15 and 16 July 2012 making its way through Basingstoke, Winchester, Andover, The New Forest, Southampton and Portsmouth.
Hampshire County Council's 51 Accredited Community Safety Officers (ACSOs) will be supporting the torch relay by marshalling the crowds, creating safe road crossings and helping ensure traffic stays on the move.
With a long experience of large public events and parades, the ACSOs are already looking ahead to the challenges of this unprecedented event.
The County's Emergency Planning staff are also working hard in partnership with district and borough councils, police and fire services to ensure each stage of the relay runs as safely and smoothly as possible.
Highways officers are supporting district and borough councils with their traffic and event management plans. Past experience, best practice and inside intelligence from LOCOG is all being shared to ensure celebrations are enjoyed to the fullest.
To make sure you get the best view of where to see the torch check out the torch relay pages on the Councils dedicated website: www.hants.gov.uk/2012 There is also information on potential Olympians, how schools can get involved and a big list of all the events and activities happening around the County to celebrate the Olympics.
Leader of Hampshire County Council, Councillor Ken Thornber said:
"We are working hard to ensure Hampshire residents are able to get the best possible view of the torch and enjoy the street carnival atmosphere, as well as still be able to travel to where they need to go."
Sebastian Coe, Chair of LOCOG added:
"Today we bring the Olympic Torch Relay to life.
"The Flame symbolises the Olympic spirit and its journey around the UK will bring the excitement of the Games to our streets.
"Now the people know the route the Olympic Flame will be carried along and the Torchbearers for their community, they can start planning how they might celebrate and make it Hampshire’s moment to shine."
An average of 115 Torchbearers a day will carry the Olympic Flame during its 8,000 mile journey around the UK before it arrives at the Olympic Stadium on 27 July 2012 for the lighting of the cauldron at the Opening Ceremony, signifying the official start of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
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Contact George
Yearly Forecast for 2021
George Lucas is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and entrepreneur, best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist adventurer character Indiana Jones.
He was born on Sunday May 14th 1944, in Modesto, California, United States.
2021 is a year of progress and financial advancement for George Lucas. Major career opportunities present themselves. It is a challenging year in which personal growth is joined with new responsibilities and challenges.
This is a year of domestic responsibility and attention to the needs of family and friends. It is a time of heart felt emotions and some sacrifice. It is a time for comforting and caring. George realizes the importance of his place within his community. He will be called upon to help others bear their burdens. Lucas is the proverbial friend in need.
George Lucas must work to create an atmosphere of harmony and balance. It is often a time when marital issues surface and need attention. However, George possesses the understanding to deal with such issues effectively if he applies himself with love and flexibility. These deep feelings bring renewal to relationships and often a birth in the family.
May 2021 is an emotional month filled with the promise and the stress of imminent changes. June 2021 is a month of breakthrough and a relief. September 2021 brings advancement, October 2021 carries self-reflection and readjustments, and December 2021 brings a sense of completion and fulfillment.
Let's take a look now at George's monthly forecast for January 2021.
You and George
About George's Personal Year Cycle
In numerology, each year of George's life is part of an evolving pattern that can be described as a nine-year cycle or epicycle. These cycles begin at George Lucas' birth and progress, one by one, through nine steps that complete an epicycle, and then begin again.
Read more about our numerological yearly forecast for George Lucas . . .
Other celebrities with yearly cycle number 6 as George Lucas
Michael Douglas (1944)
An American actor and producer whose rich and diversified film career brought him many awards, including the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award for "outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment" and the AFI Life Achievement Award
Gary Busey (1944)
An American actor, nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in 1978 for his role in The Buddy Holly Story and best known for his appearances in films such as Thunderbolt and Lightfoot,The Gumball Rally, Big Wednesday, and Silver Bullet
Diana Ross (1944)
N American singer, songwriter, actress, record producer and founding member and lead singer of the vocal group The Supremes, to this day America's most successful vocal group and one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time
Danny DeVito (1944)
An American actor, comedian, producer and director, best known for playing the taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma in Taxi (1978-83), and for his roles in Tin Men, Ruthless People, Man on the Moon, Terms of Endearment, and L.A. Confidential
Patti LaBelle (1944)
An American singer, author, actress, and entrepreneur who began her career in the early 1960s, released the iconic disco song "Lady Marmalade" in the 70s, and brought "If Only You Knew", "New Attitude" and "Stir It Up" to the top during the 1980s
Sam Elliott (1944)
An American actor, mostly cast into cowboy and rancher roles for his rangy physique, thick horseshoe moustache, deep and resonant voice, and Western drawl, best known for playing "The Stranger" in The Big Lebowski and General Ross in Hulk
Danny Trejo (1944)
An American actor, best known for his roles in numerous Hollywood films as hyper-masculine characters, villains and anti-heroes such as in Heat (1995), Con Air (1997), and Desperado (1995)
Robert Kardashian (1944-2003)
An American attorney and businessman of Armenian descent who became known as O. J. Simpson's friend and defense attorney during Simpson's 1995 murder trial, and for the family reality television series, Keeping Up with the Kardashians
Jimmy Page (1944)
An English musician, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer who achieved international success as the guitarist and leader of the rock band Led Zeppelin
Joe Cocker (1944-2014)
An English rock, blues and soul singer and musician who came to popularity in the 1960s, and was known for his gritty voice, spasmodic body movement in performance, and cover versions of popular songs, particularly the Beatles'
George Lucas Numerology -- Yearly Forecast for 2021 | © Copyright 2009-2021 Celebrities Galore and Master Numerologist Hans Decoz
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Thieves In Taiwan Get More Than $2 Million Out Of Cash Machines
By Joseph Gibson on July 20, 2016 in Articles › How Much Does
News agency AFP is reporting on a shockingly profitable crime spree in Taiwan involving the hacking of ATM machines within the country. According to Taiwanese police, the thieves got away with Tw$70 million over the course of their crime spree, which comes to about $2.2 million in American dollars.
It reportedly took between five and ten minutes for the thieves to bust each of the 34 ATMs they targeted, possibly by installing a malware program that allowed them to pilfer the cash without directly operating the machines. This is a different method from the usual ATM-focused crime, as per an officer interviewed by AFP:
"ATM crimes were not uncommon, most of them using fake cards or cheating people out of their money using their debit or credit cards on ATMs."
Chris Hondros/Getty Images
Surveillance footage that captured part of the crime depicts "two men wearing face masks and hats walking away with bags packed with cash directly withdrawn from ATMs," according to a statement released by First Commercial, the banking company that owns the cracked ATMs. As a precautionary measure, the bank had to shut down more than 400 ATMs of the same type as those affected by the criminals, and more than 700 of them owned by other banks in Taiwan have also been shut down, which is costing those banks many millions more in lost revenue – not to mention the hassle and inconvenience inflicted upon those who prefer to make legal withdrawals from ATMs.
The police in Tapei have stated that they are seeking a Russian suspect, as well as his accomplice, whose nationality isn't known. They said earlier this week that the Russian suspect had escaped the country over the weekend, calling for INTERPOL's involvement in catching him.
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Bruce Buffer Net Worth
How much is Bruce Buffer Worth?
in Richest Athletes › MMA
Bruce Buffer Net Worth:
Bruce Buffer's Salary
$100 Thousand Per Event
Bruce Buffer Net Worth: Bruce Buffer is an American UFC announcer who has a net worth of $10 million. He has earned his net worth as the main Octagon ring announced for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Early Life: Bruce Anthony Buffer was born on May 21, 1957 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. As a teenager, while his family was living in Philadelphia, he began studying martial arts. He eventually earned a green belt in judo and a black belt in Tang Soo Do. Buffer and his family moved to Malibu when he was 15. In California, he continued his martial arts training and even became friends with Chuck Norris. It was Chuck who introduced him to Tang Soo Do. Buffer also studied kickboxing for several years until his doctors told him he had received too many concussions.
UFC Career: At UFC events, Bruce is introduced as the "Veteran Voice of the Octagon". He is also known for his catchphrases and signature moves. He begins each event with the phrase "Ladies and gentlemen, we…are…live!" Before each main event, Buffer proclaims, "This is the main event of the evening," followed by "This is the moment you've all been waiting for," and finally, "It's time!", before introducing the final two fighters. He also employs his signature move, named the "Buffer 180," where is motions across the Octagon and then quickly spins 180 degree to point to the corner being introduced.
Outside of the UFC: In addition to his UFC announcing, Buffer also works as announcer at many other events, including international MMA promotions and K-1 events, the 2008 Joel Casamayor vs. Michael Katsidis HBO boxing event, and the biannual Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) submission wrestling tournament. He is also the official announcer for the World Series of Beer Pong, and his voice has been featured in the video game Smite and the UFC-inspired song "It's Time" by DJs Steve Aoki and Laidback Luke.
Outside of announcing, Buffer is a skilled poker player and has appeared on ESPN's World Series of Poker Main Event and has also appeared on an episode of the TV series Poker After Dark. He announced the phrase "Shuffle up and deal!" at the final table of the 2010 World Series of Poker and the Luxor Las Vegas poker room was named after him. Buffer has also appeared in episodes of several television series such as "Friends" and "Entourage," and films like "Here Comes the Boom" (2012), "Hot Tub Time Machine 2" (2015) and "Holmes & Watson (2018).
Personal Life and Salary: Buffer's half-brother is world-famous boxing announcer Michael Buffer. They were introduced by their father Joe Buffer in 1989. Together they own a company called "The Buffer Partnership". It was Bruce's idea that Michael should trademark his now-famous catch phrase "Let's get ready to rumble!". Michael would go on to earn hundreds of millions of dollars off the phrase thanks to licensing deals and appearance fees.
Bruce and Michael's grandfather was a famous boxer named Johnny Buff. Buffer was previously married to Annie Buffer, but the couple finalized their divorce in 2015. Together, they have a son Dougie Buffer.
Bruce Buffer's UFC salary is $100,000 per event.
Michael Buffer Net Worth
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Imagine Making $400 Million Off A Five Word Catchphrase… That's What Michael Buffer Did.
Bruce Buffer
Salary: $100 Thousand Per Event
Date of Birth: May 21, 1957 (63 years old)
Profession: Announcer, Actor, Businessperson, Presenter
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Obasanjo’s Coalition Turns Partisan, Adopts ADC
A file photo of former President Olusegun Obasanjo while registering with the Coalition for Nigeria Movement at his residence in Abeokuta in February 2018.
A political pressure group founded by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the Coalition for Nigerian movement, has announced its fusion into a political party called the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The elder statesman disclosed the new development to reporters on Thursday at his Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
He explained in his speech titled ‘My treatise for future of democracy and development in Nigeria’, that the decision was in a bid for the group to realise its dream of a new Nigeria.
The statement read in part, “Since the inception of Coalition for Nigeria Movement, CNM, many of the sixty-eight registered political parties had contacted and consulted with the Movement on coming together and working together.
“The leadership of the Movement, after detailed examination, wide consultation and bearing in mind the orientation, policies, and direction of the Movement, have agreed to adopt ADC as its platform to work with others for bringing about desirable change in the Nigeria polity and governance.”
The former president said the ADC is poised to provide the much-needed political will for the advancement of the socio-political and economic development of the country.
He further challenged Nigerians to rise up to the task of making the country great again.
Obasanjo also asked members of the National Assembly to rid themselves of corruption by making laws for good governance.
He stressed the need for the amendment of the constitution to empower the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to regulate campaign funds of political parties.
The former president also wants INEC to conduct elections for the three tiers of government, including the local government polls.
Meanwhile, a former governor of Osun State, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, who is also a member of the group briefed reporters about the development in Abuja.
According to him, the adoption was aimed at forming a formidable force to wrestle power from the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) in 2019.
Oyinlola decried the failure of past governments to lead Nigeria out of the woods, noting that the situation in the country was worsening under the APC administration.
He described the alleged state of despair and despondency in Nigeria as an ill wind capable of leading to a conflagration if not properly managed.
The former governor spoke to reporters hours after he resigned as Chairman of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
He revealed his decision in a letter dated May 9, 2018, and addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari.
The letter read in part, “Your Excellency, I must put on record my very deep sense of appreciation for the special privilege and consideration you gave me to serve our fatherland in that capacity. As I stated in my appreciation letter to you shortly after the appointment, the offer was a clear call to service. I gave the job the dedication it deserved and would have loved to continue but I regret to inform Your Excellency that I have a new, greater political engagement that will make that difficult and even impolitic.
“I am moving on to chart a new course in my politics outside the ruling party and this thus, demands my dropping the NIMC chairmanship.
“I thank you, sir, once again for the great honour and confidence reposed in me. However, there is time to take a job and another time to leave it and move on. For me, the time to work on something else in the interest and service of our people is now.”
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GERRY RETURNS - By Steven Mew
Following the signing of goalkeeper David Hutton, City have further strengthened their defensive options with the return of experienced central defender Gerry McLauchlan.
Gerry is of course no stranger to City supporters having played for the Club for five years between 2010-2015. In that time 'Ger' made 141 appearances for City and endeared himself to the supporters with his personality and no-nonsense style of play.
Since leaving City, the 31 year-old has represented Ayr United, Cowdenbeath, Queens Park and most recently Pollok. He brings considerable experience to a largely youthful back line, having amassed almost 300 appearances in total in the SPFL.
Speaking on the signing, Michael Paton commented, "We're happy that Gerry has agreed to come to Brechin - he'll be a familiar face to the fans. He has been in training with us over the last few weeks and he's kept himself in good condition. He's an experienced defender who will help these young players develop.
"He's an old-school centre half that will help us improve and he wants to help the Club get to where we want to be. We're hoping that bringing Gerry back will give the supporters a lift as well."
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Mourinho says he was under more pressure at Chelsea
London [UK], November 28 (ANI): Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho has claimed that he was under more pressure at Chelsea than the current Blues boss Frank Lampard.
Mourinho's remark comes ahead as Tottenham and Chelsea get ready to lock horns against each other in the Premier League 2020-21 season on Sunday, November 28.
As in-charge of Chelsea, Mourinho won three Premier League titles over two separate stints, while Lampard remains one of the most important players to ever play for the club.
"What I felt is that when I was in these clubs, there was huge pressure on me and now there is not huge pressure on the coaches of these teams. Put a little bit of pressure on them and leave us in peace, doing our job," Goal.com quoted Mourinho as saying.
"When you are favourites, you know why you are favourites. And you have to accept that and you have to deal with that kind of pressure and responsibility. I was at clubs that were, let's say, champions in the market because of their powerful investments. I had to deal with that pressure. So now it's not for me to deal with that pressure. It's for others to deal with that pressure. That's not for us," he added.
Tottenham is currently at the second spot in the Premier League 2020-21 standings while Chelsea is in the third spot. (ANI)
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· Posted on Mar 3, 2015
Gabrielle Union: “People Want To See Themselves Reflected On TV”
The Being Mary Jane star talks about life as a jobbing actor, the theft of her nude photos, and her "lesbian short film".
by Bim Adewunmi
Culture Editor, BuzzFeed UK
Everett Collection/REX USA
It's hard to believe it, but Gabrielle Union has been on our screens since the early '90s: There she is in Family Matters (1993), for example, plus Moesha (1996), Sister, Sister (1997), and even, as a young Klingon warrior, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1997). In the late '90s and '00s, she made the leap on to the big screen by starring in teen classics She's All That, 10 Things I Hate About You, and Bring It On, and hasn't stopped working since.
Touchstone Pictures/Buena Vista Pictures
Now she's back on the small screen, starring in BET's Being Mary Jane. Of the feature-length pilot episode (created and written by TV veteran Mara Brock Akil), the San Francisco Chronicle said "the script is good enough to bring out the best in this cast", and the Los Angeles Times called it "thematically ambitious". The show is now on its second season, and last month was renewed for a third.
Union plays the title character, a TV news anchor in Atlanta trying her best to make the multiple strands of her life – work, family, and love – come together. Mary Jane is a complex woman: For every good decision, she makes at least two bad ones. The entirety of her Season 1 love life, usually caught between the push and pull of Andre (Omari Hardwick) and David (Stephen Bishop), was an object lesson in "How Not to Go About Your Love Life".
But there is humour and humanity in her alongside the usual TV tropes of "career woman" and "Single Black Female" (which was the show's original title). As the lead – and a black female lead is an occurrence that will hopefully be happening more and more in this post-Shonda Rhimes world – Union is in almost every scene, a formidable task that she seems to relish.
Akil Productions / BET
Ahead of Season 2 starting in the UK (at 10pm on March 9 on BET), BuzzFeed had a quick conversation with the star about fame, life as a jobbing actress, and the diversity hurdle Hollywood is still struggling to clear.
So what's new in Being Mary Jane?
A lot of changes at work. Talk Back [the news programme Mary Jane presents] is taken in a new direction and she's given a pretty big opportunity... Niecy [Mary Jane's niece] moves in with her, and of course she's on her second child with her second babydaddy with no job, no education, so there's the fun of that. Niecy also has a new love interest – or a returning love interest, I guess…
Frenemies: We explore friendships that are not quite healthy – or equal.
And there are two new love interests, plus David. So she's trying to figure out what's happening with David, and get over his Season 1 finale bombshell and try to process that.
Akil Productions/BET
You’ve been working for such a long time. Do you still see yourself as a jobbing actress? What’s it like being famous?
I think as a black actress – because our road isn't as easy as it appears – like, the jobs just aren't sort of lined up like how you with see some of our white counterparts, who have, like...80 jobs. (laughs) Like, "I've finished this and then I go here, then there's this, and…" their schedule is filled? It's not exactly like that for us. So each job feels like a) a revelation, and b) you're so freaking grateful, and then the worry starts: "OK, when, if this job ends, where does that leave me?"
But fame is something different. So being famous doesn't necessarily translate to work. Those are two different things. Being famous is a weird thing, just... Today, we got in the car and the driver, I mean I have an alias, it's kind of funny, and it in no way sounds like me. So he is looking for this weird name and I get in the car and he's in the driver's seat and I'm in the backseat. And he's like (mimes awestruck, open-mouthed silence) but for a full minute. For a long time.
What was your face doing while he was staring?
I was just like, "Hey, how are you?" you know, whatever, and he's like, "I know you!" but then he pulled it together.
Those are the moments where I feel like, "Oh, OK, shit. Yeah. I guess."
And it's funny, because oftentimes, the studios in the States, they'll be like, "Oh, you don't need to do any foreign press because your movies don't do well over there." And so for the longest, when I would come to the UK, or throughout Europe or Africa, or Asia, I'm assuming because "our movies don't do well", no one will know who I am. But from the first time I came to London, it was, "Gabrielle Union!" (points) I was like, "Wait – you haven't seen my movies, though!" And they were like, "What?"
And somebody took me to Piccadilly Circus, where they sell all the bootleg movies, and all of our movies were doing brisk business! We didn't know that. We didn't know that by hook or by crook, our movies are being seen, and we're known. Every time you're kinda like, "Nobody's going to know who I am," and then they do.
How do you think Hollywood's relationship with black actors has changed over the course of your career?
It goes in waves. It's almost like the colours of fashion week, and someone will be like, "orange is the new black!" or "green is the new black!" So, some years we're in and some years we're not. Right now we're in. But it's because of the success of the Shonda block.
You know, not everyone includes Grey's Anatomy, but it has an incredibly diverse cast. With the success of Grey's, Scandal, and How to Get Away With Murder – and in the States, they come on in that order – she has a whole block of television that has done extremely well. And people want to replicate that success. So there has been more work.
Somebody asked, "Do you feel like it's your time?" and I'm like, "I think it's always been our time, we just didn't all have the same watch."
But I think finally TV and film are catching up with the diversity that is the global community and the fact that people want to see themselves reflected on TV. As many gains as African-American actresses have made on TV this season – and the last couple of seasons – where are our Latina actresses, where are our Asian, our Middle Eastern, our Native American actresses? And where is the diversity within those groups? We still have a ways to go. I don't want to get too comfortable and pat myself on the back. There's more to do.
Kevin Winter / Getty/BuzzFeed
What's been your most challenging role? Is it Mary Jane? Is she the one you take home every night?
I think, with Being Mary Jane, the way we shoot it makes it an incredible career challenge. We shoot almost 10 pages a day, which is unheard of. The average is four, four and a half. You usually shoot one episode in nine days.
We shoot two episodes at a time, in about two weeks. It's a lot of pages. And Mary Jane is in most of the scenes. So just the sheer volume of work a day makes it incredibly challenging. I don't have a choice but to take it home with me because I have to prepare for the next day. So it's… The physical toll of what we are actually doing is very challenging.
But probably, Cadillac Records was often the most challenging. Very rarely do I get those kinds of roles, and that was really a challenge. We shot that movie in a very short amount of time but I loved it.
You were recently a victim of the theft and leaking of nude photographs of female celebrities. You called it "a violation and a crime". What do you think can be done?
Y'know, I don't know. I wish I had a better answer. I'm not that tech-savvy to understand what can actually be done. As they were explaining it to me, for every new roadblock they put up for hackers, they're working just as hard to get around it and to create other ways in. So, for sure, it is a sex crime; there's no other way to look at it. Um, it was a theft. It was, you know, probably a few things, and it's happening globally.
And that's just pictures of you know, a naked body. All of your information – your credit, everything you could possibly want to keep near and dear and secure – is vulnerable. You look at what happened with Sony. I probably don't have as many firewalls to protect my stuff as they do to protect those movies, and people easily got around that. All of your data. Your financial history… I'm glad it was just my boobs, you know what I mean? Like, your financial history is your footprint, is your fingerprint. You destroy that, you take that away from somebody, you've literally taken away their life. I mean, that's how serious it is. So much of how we live and how we are able to live, our opportunities, are all somewhere online. Somewhere. So, they just did something yesterday, trying to regulate the speeds and all of that…
So I'd like to think that if you can regulate internet speeds, you can criminalise this sort of behaviour and be a little bit more – or a lot more – active in prosecuting and finding these hackers that are doing so much damage. And it's not just about nude pictures, that's just one aspect. Protect us. You know? Protect us. As consumers.
You want our money? Protect us.
Brigitte Lacombe For Miu Miu
Union in Ava DuVernay's short film The Door.
I wanted to talk about Ava DuVernay and the short film she directed you in, The Door, which I loved...
(interrupting) Thank you! OK, so I have a question for you, which has become my new "what colour is The Dress?" Did you see that? What do you think?
It’s black and blue...
OK, thank you! It's just the three of us! Did you think my character in The Door was a lesbian?
No, I did not. I didn't assume any sexuality.
It's about 50:50. It's clearly… Because you never see "the guy". You don't really see who she's with. But people are like, "It was such a strong, feminist, lesbian…" I was like, a what? (laughs).You don't really see who she's with! But there's no men in the film! Which, I guess people assume, because if there's no men involved, it must be a lesbian film. So now, I'm like, "Did you see my lesbian short?"
Season 2 of Being Mary Jane starts at 10pm on 9 March on BET.
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Obituaries for April 16, 2013
April 16, 2013 12:00 am | comments
The complete obituaries can be found in the April 16 print edition of the Post-Record.
LaMerne M. Lilja Hinschberger
LaMerne M. Lilja Hinschberger died April 8, 2013. She was 96.
A funeral mass will be held Thursday, at 10 a.m., at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Camas. Inurnment will be at the Mt. Calvary Cemetery in Portland, Ore. Straub’s Funeral Home & Columbia River Cremation in Camas is in charge of arrangements.
To send condolences or sign the online guest book, visit www.straubsfuneralhome.com.
Manuel O. Madrigal
Manuel O. Madrigal died April 6, 2013. He was 44.
A celebration of life service was held April 13, at Grace Foursquare Church in Camas. Brown’s Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
To sign the guest book or to send condolences, visit www.brownsfh.com.
Robert ‘Bob’ C. Barber
Robert “Bob” Carl Barber, a lifelong Camas-Washougal resident, died April 10, 2013, in Vancouver. He was 88.
There will be a private memorial service held at a later date. A complete obituary notice will be published in next week’s Post-Record.
John W. Young
John W. Young died April 16, 2013, at home in Washougal. He was 86.
He was born Aug. 15, 1926, in Tyler, Texas. Services are pending. Contact Straub’s Funeral Home & Columbia River Cremation in Camas at 834-4563 for service information.
John A. Bryden
John A. Bryden, of Washougal, died March 23, 2013, at the Ray Hickey Hospice House in Vancouver. He was 60.
A celebration of life service will be held in June.
Memorial donations can be made to the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation.
Christina L. Erickson
Christina L. Erickson died April 4, 2013. She was 41.
Brown’s Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
To sign the online guest book or send condolences, visit www.brownsfh.com.
Helen Songer
Helen Songer of North Las Vegas, Nev., and formerly of Clark County, Wash., died April 13, 2013.
A complete obituary will be published in next week’s Post-Record.
To send condolences or sign the online guest book, visit www.brownsfh.com.
Mahlon Hunt
Mahlon Hunt died April 6, 2013. He was 82.
He was born July 23, 1930, in Portland, Ore. No services are scheduled at this time.
Straub’s Funeral Home & Columbia River Cremation in Camas was in charge of arrangements.
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Proposition 1 defeated in Washougal
Incumbent Sean Guard wins mayoral race
By Dawn Feldhaus | November 12, 2013 12:00 am | comments
Mayor Sean Guard has been re-elected to a second term.
The form of government in Washougal will remain the same, after the defeat of Proposition 1.
The measure would have changed the form from mayor-council with a city administrator to council-manager.
Proposition 1 received 996 votes for it (34.38 percent) and 1,901 votes against it (65.62 percent).
City Councilman Brent Boger said he was disappointed with the results.
He, along with council members Joyce Lindsay and Jennifer McDaniel, served on the committee that wrote a statement supporting Proposition 1 for the voters’ pamphlet.
“It probably had something to do with having the mayor’s election at the same time,” he said regarding the defeat.
Boger said before the issue is ever tried again, the legislature would need to allow delayed implementation of the proposition.
“It would have been great if we could have adopted it this year and not gone into effect for four years,” Boger said. “The new mayor serves out his term, and it commences after fresh elections in 2017.”
He also would want the legislature to allow direct election of the mayor under the new system.
That would involve changing one of the council positions to mayor, and voters would elect the mayor.
“I think the margin was so big [in the defeat of Proposition 1], that it would be unwise to bring this up again until we have at least a several year community conversation about it,” Boger said.
With a council-manager form of government, a city manager appoints and directs the department heads. A city manager can be removed by a majority vote of the council.
With a council-manager system, a mayor is selected from among the city council members. That person presides at council meetings and is head of the city for ceremonial purposes, but has no regular administrative duties.
Former Mayor Jeff Guard, Washougal Planning Commissioner Larry White and Washougal resident Marilyn Tyrrell prepared a statement opposing Proposition 1 for the voters’ pamphlet.
Guard is a brother of Mayor Sean Guard.
“There were too many questions that were left unanswered,” Jeff said. “The timing of this was very strange, to say the least. Why do this in a year when there is a mayoral election?
“It created a lot of confusion in the community,” he added. “I’m sorry it became so divisive, and in some cases it became very personal. There were some things that were said that were very hurtful on both sides. From my perspective, I thought a lot of that was undeserved and shouldn’t have happened.”
McDaniel said it has been good to have the communications with citizens about the pluses and minuses of both forms of government.
“I do still believe that the council manager form of government could be a better option for a city our size,” she said. “As we continue to grow we should revisit this option, but I have no definite time frame in mind for bringing this back to the voters.”
White said Washougal citizens recognized the progress the city has made with the incumbent mayor and want him to continue to provide leadership for another four years.
“I would like to compliment the voters in Washougal for taking the time to consider and understand a very complicated ballot measure that, if passed, would not allow the mayor they choose to take office,” White said.
The Washougal City Council voted in July to put Proposition 1 on the ballot.
“The people had a chance to vote and to choose, so I’m comfortable with that,” Lindsay said. “I’m disappointed, but I’m comfortable.”
Lindsay described the low voter turnout as “really appalling.”
“I’ve been looking at returns all over the state,” she said. “We did not have a very large turnout for the primary. Are people apathetic? Are they confused? I think people don’t understand government. We pay so much attention to national issues that catch our fancy. Local government is what affects our lives the most every day.”
Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey said there are 8,332 active registered voters in Washougal.
Tyrrell said she and other committee members spent a lot of time and energy finding the essence of their message, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
“Brent Boger says that I misjudged him and for that I apologize, but I still believe that someone on the City Council wants to be mayor,” she added. “Running the city well is more important than replacing a system that is working well for one that is doubtful, both in questions of management and in matters of cost.”
Mayor Sean Guard will serve second term
If Proposition 1 had been approved by voters, Sean Guard would have become an eighth council member for the remainder of his current term through Dec. 31 and the results of the mayoral race with Earl Scott would have become moot.
Guard received 1,511 votes (53.6 percent), and Scott received 1,308 votes (46.4 percent).
Guard said he is honored and humbled to be re-elected.
“Over the last four years, we have worked diligently for the residents and businesses of our community and have strived to keep the well-being of Washougal our number one goal,” he said in a statement issued Monday. “It appears that a majority of our residents agree with the direction that we are heading and the successes we are having.”
Guard made a pledge to keep moving forward, run the city in an efficient manner and look at ways to improve the city’s service to the community.
“We will continue to work to contain costs, and at the same time minimize any additional revenues needed to keep Washougal on the road to recovery,” he added. “I love this community, and with the help of the council and our residents, we will continue to make it even stronger than we are today.”
Scott, a captain with the Camas-Washougal Fire Department, has lived in Washougal for 28 years.
“I would like to thank those that voted for me as well as everyone that took the time to cast their vote,” he said. “I would have liked to have won the election. The loss does not deter me from giving back to my community.
“Sean ran a good clean campaign for mayor, and I respect him for his actions toward me,” Scott added. “As with Sean, we want the best for Washougal.”
Dawn Feldhaus
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Camas makes biggest splash at districts
Papermakers are sending nine swimmers to state
By Dan Trujillo | February 15, 2014 12:00 am | comments
The Camas High School boys swimming team captured the 4A district championship trophy Saturday, in Kelso. The Papermakers won the meet by 100 points.
(Dan Trujillo/Post-Record)
The Papermakers rode the waves they created to the district championship by 100 points.
Camas won the five-team district meet with 414 points Saturday, at Kelso High School. Union was way back in second place with 314 points. Skyview took third with 156 points.
Papermakers Kasey Calwell, Tom Utas, Lucas Ulmer and John Utas kicked off the day with a meet record time of 1 minute, 39.67 seconds in the 200-meter medley relay.
John Utas, Calwell, Jeff Fadlovich and Ulmer finished the day with a meet record time of 3:21.52 in the 400 freestyle relay.
Calwell clinched first place in the 200 individual medley (1:58.56) and the 100 breaststroke (1:02.46). Ulmer earned first place in the 100 butterfly (55.3 seconds) and the 100 backstroke (56.36 seconds).
The Utas brothers grabbed the top two spots to state in the 100 freestyle. John won with a time of 49.95 seconds. Tom pushed up to second place in 51.27. John Utas also took first place in the 50 free (22.56). Tom Utas earned second place in the 100 breaststroke (1:06.44).
Xiaguang Yan, Tom Utas, Luke Albert and Colin Kuhta claimed the 200 freestyle relay district title for Camas. Yan also snagged third place in the 50 free (23.67) and the 100 breaststroke (1:06.76).
Nick Burton grabbed second place for the Papermakers in the 100 backstroke (1;05.97). Albert earned second place in the 200 free (1:56.57), and Fadlovich took third place (1:57.12). Fadlovich also finished second in the 500 free (5:12.47), and Noah Macia followed in third (5:42.01).
Max Urbanek was third in the 100 butterfly (58.66) and fifth in the 200 free (1:59.1). Kuhta snatched third in the 200 individual medley (2;15.28) and sixth in the 100 butterfly (1:03.02). Albert grabbed fifth place the 100 free (54.77). Joey Wunderlich clinched fifth in the 200 individual medley (2:18.56) and the 100 breaststroke (1:08.71).
Camas sends nine swimmers to the state meet Friday and Saturday, at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.
Read more in Tuesday’s print edition of the Post-Record.
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White House employee tests positive for coronavirus, Trump and Pence test negative
David Jackson / USA TODAY
WASHINGTON – A member of the military who works at the White House tested positive for the coronavirus, prompting new tests of President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence that proved negative, administration officials said Thursday.
"We were recently notified by the White House Medical Unit that a member of the United States Military, who works on the White House campus, has tested positive for Coronavirus," said White House spokesman Hogan Gidley.
Gidley also said in his written statement that "the President and the Vice President have since tested negative for the virus and they remain in great health."
The White House did not identify the infected person and did not say how close he or she may have gotten to the president and vice president.
CNN, which first reported the story, said the person is "a member of the US Navy who serves as one of President Donald Trump's personal valets."
The network also said that "Trump was upset when he was informed Wednesday that the valet had tested positive," and "he was subsequently tested again by the White House physicians."
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A very cold case: Circus performer's mysterious death in 1906 has ties to Cincinnati
Amber Hunt
Cincinnati Enquirer USAT TODAY NETWORK
As Dawn Tucker jogged her usual route in Staunton, Virginia's Thornrose Cemetery, she heard a voice say, "Turn around."
Tucker did, but no one was there. Her gaze fell upon a tombstone she'd jogged past countless times before but hadn't noticed. It read:
Eva Clark
Oct. 1, 1906,
Beneath the straightforward engraving was an intriguing inscription: "Erected 1923 by friends with Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus."
"I was instantly fascinated," said Tucker, 36, of Flagstaff, Arizona. "First, because I'd had that kind of ghostly experience, and then because the stone was erected by a circus and it had taken 17 years to put it up."
So Tucker, an artist by trade, started doing research and happened to connect with another woman who also wanted to learn more about the woman buried beneath the mysterious tombstone.
Two years later, they've pieced together a tale of intrigue and murder that ties back to Cincinnati.
"Her life was so much more interesting than her death," said Aíne Murphy Norris, 34, who is leaving behind a job teaching English and American literature at Pensacola State College in Florida to return to her home state of Virginia.
"She was a big deal in the entertainment industry, but all I had heard about her from this kind of lore was her death. My goal was to figure out what happened in her life."
Here's the story they've unearthed:
Eva Clark was born Eva Kelley, daughter to circus and vaudeville entertainers Lee Howard Kelley and Alice Howard. The early 1900s were rife with anti-Irish sentiment, so the family eschewed their given surname and went by "Howard" instead.
Eva's exact date and location of birth aren't known, but her home base was Cincinnati. Her parents performed with the Clements & Russell Railroad Show in 1890, when their daughter was younger than 10.
Soon, the Howards began performing alongside "Eva May" or "Little Eva" in various traveling companies. Based on advertisements bearing her name and many aliases – which were typical of circus performers at the time – Eva Howard was multi-talented. She sang and danced and was such an accomplished aerialist that reporters repeatedly referred to her as "The Queen of the Air."
One news story read: "She seems to feel as much at home in the trapeze acts as if she we're on the ground."
When in Cincinnati, Eva performed at the Commodore Concert Hall on Vine between Fifth and Sixth streets, which shuttered in 1905.
In the late 1890s, she began traveling with the Clark Bros. Circus. In 1897, when Eva was at most 16 years old, she married Lum Clark, son of that circus' owners.
It wasn't a happy marriage.
"In the divorce decree, Eva files for divorce because Lum had refused to live with her since their wedding, had beaten her many times, had threatened her and had shot at her," Tucker said.
The decree was filed in 1903 but the two apparently never divorced.
Three years later, when the circus was performing in Staunton, Virginia, Eva would be found writhing on the ground in a circus tent, a bullet in her abdomen.
The shooting, though not immediately fatal, made headlines far beyond Virginia. Eva survived at first and refused to say much about what had happened to her, beyond that it was an accident.
She died a month later during a second surgery caused by an infection of her wound.
A headline in The Enquirer on Oct. 3, 1906, read: BULLET Ends Eva Clark's Life, And Mystery Surrounds the Tragic Fate of a Pretty Circus Performer from Cincinnati."
News of her death left those who knew her heartbroken. In particular, a Price Hill woman named Elizabeth Brannigan, whose husband Edward ran the Commodore Concert Hall.
The Brannigans told reporters they wanted to bring Eva's body back "home" to be buried, but Staunton authorities refused. Police said they weren't convinced the shooting had been accidental and needed to keep the body as potential evidence.
Despite that, no one was ever charged in Eva's death.
Eva was buried in an unmarked plot. It'd be 17 years before members of another circus raised money to finally erect the tombstone that interrupted Tucker's jog.
After years of research, Tucker and Norris are dubious the shooting was accidental. For starters, witnesses said two men were with Eva when she was shot – her husband, Lum Clark, and a man of whom Clark was jealous, a fellow trapeze performer named James Richards.
(Clark's jealousy was well known, as noted in The Enquirer: "Clark loved his wife devotedly, but when his jealousy was excited was prone to make implied threats.")
Second, Lum Clark fled after the shooting, reportedly hightailing it to Mexico.
Plus Eva herself had said in her divorce filing that Clark had shot at her.
"You don't purposefully shoot at someone once and then accidentally shoot at them the next time," Tucker said.
As much research as she and Norris have done, they're hoping to still do more: They're looking for Cincinnatians with ties to the Howard family, the Brannigans and the Commodore Concert Hall, as well as Price's Floating Opera, where Eva and her mother performed under the surname Adair.
Their goal, Norris said, is to ensure that the young circus performer is remembered for her life, not just her tragic death.
"The collective memory is incomplete," she said. "I think it's kind of our duty as researchers, if we have the ability, to change someone's narrative for the better and to be more accurate."
People with information they want to share with Norris and Tucker can email evaclarkresearch@gmail.com.
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Member Wizard Step 1 of 4: Contact Info
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Samy Magdy
Published: August 21, 2020, 5:11 am Updated: August 21, 2020, 11:19 pm
Tags: Muammar Gaddafi, Khalifa Hifter
Tripoli and rival parliament announce Libya cease-fire
FILE - In this Jan. 17, 2020, file, photo, Libyan Gen. Khalifa Hifter joins a meeting with the Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias in Athens. Two families targeted in a campaign of violence more than five years ago are suing Khalifa Hifter, the military leader of east Libya in a suburban Virginia court. Hifter, a United States citizen and former Virginia resident, is accused of carrying out extrajudicial killings and torture under a rarely invoked law that allows for victims of these crimes committed in other countries to sue foreign officials in U.S. courts. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File) (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
CAIRO – Libya’s U.N.-supported government Friday announced a cease-fire across the oil-rich country and called for demilitarizing the strategic city of Sirte in an initiative supported by the rival parliament in the east.
The development could mark a breakthrough following international pressure amid rising fear of a new escalation in the chaotic proxy war as rival sides mobilize for a battle over Sirte. The gateway to Libya’s major oil export terminals has been under the control of forces loyal to military commander Khalifa Hifter since January.
Libya was plunged into chaos when a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 toppled longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who was later killed. The country has since split between rival east- and west-based administrations, each backed by armed groups and foreign governments.
The chaos has worsened in recent months as foreign backers increasingly intervene, despite pledges to the contrary at a high-profile peace summit in Berlin earlier this year. Thousands of mercenaries including Russian, Syrians and Sudanese are fighting on both sides of the conflict.
Hifter, who is allied to the parliament in eastern Libya, is supported by Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Russia. Forces loyal to the Government of National Accord based in the capital Tripoli have backing from Turkey, a bitter rival of Egypt and the UAE in a broader regional struggle, as well as from the wealthy Gulf state of Qatar.
Hifter’s forces launched an offensive in April 2019 trying to capture Tripoli. But his campaign collapsed in June when the Tripoli-allied militias, with heavy Turkish support, gained the upper hand, driving his forces from the outskirts of the city and other western towns.
Fighting has died down in recent weeks, but both sides were preparing for a possible battle over Sirte. Emboldened by Turkey’s support, Tripoli-allied forces vowed to retake Sirte and the Jurfa area, which includes a vital inland military base, from Hifter’s forces, prompting Egypt to threaten to send troops to Libya.
Previous efforts to secure lasting cease-fires have stalled. But this time could prove different with heavier diplomatic efforts, including by the United States, aiming to avert the of direct military confrontation between Egypt and Turkey, both American allies, over Sirte.
“It sounds more like an announcement that tried to tick all the theoretical boxes, with a clear American influence,” said Jalel Harchaoui, a Libya expert at The Netherlands Institute of International Relations. “But is it fully implementable? That will be hard.”
Crucially, there was no immediate word from Hifter on the announcements, though he agreed to an Egyptian initiative in June that included a cease-fire.
Fayez Sarraj, head of the Government of National Accord in Tripoli, said an effective cease-fire requires "the demilitarization of Sirte and Jurfa areas, and that police forces from the two sides agree on security arrangements there.”
Aguila Saleh, speaker of the rival eastern-based House of Representatives, supported Sarraj’s proposal of demilitarization of Sirte — but he did not mention Jurfa. The United States floated the idea of demilitarization earlier this month.
“A cease-fire blocks the way for foreign military interventions and ends with the expulsion of mercenaries and dissolving the militias in order to achieve comprehensive national sovereignty,” Saleh said.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomes the calls for a cease-fire and an end to hostilities in Libya and hopes they “will be respected immediately by armed forces from both sides,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
The U.N. chief urged the Joint Military Commission to quickly take up the cease-fire call and called on all parties “to engage constructively in an inclusive political process” based on the outcome of a conference of world leaders in Berlin in January, Dujarric said. World powers and other countries with interests in Libya’s long-running civil war agreed at the meeting to respect a much-violated arms embargo, hold off on military support to the warring parties and push them to reach a full cease-fire.
UAE’s Foreign Ministry welcomed Saleh's cease-fire initiative that did not include the demilitarization of Jurfa area, according the state-run WAM news agency.
The powerful interior minister of the Tripoli-based administration, Fathi Bashaga, hailed the cease-fire initiative, saying on Twitter: “We are looking forward to develop cooperation with the U.S., Europe, Turkey, Egypt and the U.N.”
Sarraj also called for parliamentary and presidential elections to be held in March according to “a constitutional base to be agreed on by the Libyans.”
Saleh, the parliament speaker, called for Sirte to be a temporary seat of the new government.
Both Saraj and Saleh said they want an end to an oil blockade imposed by Hifter's camp since earlier this year. They also called for oil revenues, the country’s main source of revenue, to flow into the bank account of the National Oil Corporation outside Libya.
The National Oil Corporation urged for oil revenues to “remain frozen until a comprehensive political agreement is reached.”
“Full transparency and effective governance are required as well as the return of security management of oil facilities to NOC’s exclusive control,” it said in a statement.
Powerful tribes in eastern Libya loyal to Hifter closed oil export terminals and choked off major pipelines at the start of the year to pressure the Tripoli-based government, which is accused of using oil revenues to fund militias and mercenaries.
Last month, Hifter set conditions for ending the oil blockade, including that revenues flow into a bank account in a foreign country with a “clear mechanism” to distribute funds fairly among Libya’s regions. He also demanded an audit of Libya’s Central Bank in Tripoli to review the spending in the past years. The audit was approved late in July after months of international pressure.
Earlier this week, Hifter's army said it would allow partial reopening of oil terminals to export stored oil to provide required gas amid power shortages in the east.
The U.N. support mission in Libya welcomed both statements and called for the expulsion of all foreign forces and mercenaries in Libya.
“The two initiatives have created hope for forging a peaceful political solution to the longstanding Libyan crisis, a solution that will affirm the desire of the Libyan people to live in peace and dignity,” said Stephanie Williams, acting head of the U.N. mission.
Retweeting the U.N. mission statement, the U.S. Embassy in Libya also welcomed the two statements as “important steps to all Libyans.” Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi on Twitter welcomed both statements as “an important step on the path of achieving the political settlement.”
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas — who visited Tripoli on Monday to talk with the government there before heading to the United Arab Emirates to encourage it to urge Hifter to negotiate — welcomed the development. He called it a "solid basis for a permanent ceasefire” and urged a lifting of the oil blockade.
Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte said in a tweet that the cease-fire announcement was an "important step toward restarting a political process that favors stability in the country and well-being among its people.”
Associated Press writer Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin contributed to this report.
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Getting divorced? Don't forget to talk about how you will pay for your kids' college
Published Fri, Aug 10 201811:43 AM EDT Updated Fri, Aug 10 201812:03 PM EDT
Carmen Reinicke@csreinicke
Some states require parents to address how they will pay for college in divorce decrees.
Regardless of your home state's rules, experts say that divorcing parents should work out an agreement about college for their children.
Divorce and remarrying can have an impact on financial aid eligibility, and some schools will require financial information from both parents.
Adrian Weinbrecht | Getty Images
Divorce throws a wrench in many long-term plans, from savings to retirement and beyond. If you're divorcing and have children, even if they are young, you should also consider the impact the end of your marriage will have on their college plans.
Some states require divorcing couples to address how they will pay for their children's college education in their divorce papers. The clause does not require that one or both parents pay for college, but that they come to an agreement about what contributions they will make to higher education for their offspring.
Spell it all out
There are two courses of action, if you live in a state that has such a clause, said Lili Vasileff, author of "Money & Divorce: The Essential Roadmap to Mastering Financial Decisions." You can reach an agreement with your former spouse, or you can leave the decision to the court.
"You either decide on it now or you kick the can down the road," Vasileff said. If you have very young children, it can be difficult to plan for something that will happen nearly two decades in the future.
Either way, you should make sure that your agreement includes clear language about your intentions, Vasileff said.
2018 could be a big year for divorce thanks to Trump’s new tax plan
"Try to avoid taking the other party back to court," said Vasileff. "If you can't commit to a financial contribution in the future, put that. It becomes a legal order."
If you are ready to put an agreement on contributions in writing, make sure that you define where the money will come from (especially if you've set up plans, such as a 529) and what it will cover.
Acceptable expenses should be listed, including tuition, room and board, meal plans, cell phones, laptops and books.
Address 'what ifs'
Your agreement should also address "what ifs," said Vasileff.
Those include the child taking a gap year, studying abroad or not even attending college. What happens to the college money in such cases should be clear.
Another thing to consider is the age at which your home state says that child support obligations end. In many states, that age is 18 or 21, usually before a student would graduate from a four-year institution.
Thus, it makes sense for parents to include in their agreement that they will both continue support through graduation, said Curt Arnel, an attorney who specializes in divorce and family law and practices in New York.
You either decide on it now or you kick the can down the road.
Lili Vasileff
author of "Money & Divorce: The Essential Roadmap to Mastering Financial Decisions."
In most states, parents will look at the cost of state universities to establish cost guidelines, Arnel said. They can also include in the agreement that neither parent has a financial obligation until the child exhausts loans, scholarships and any college savings.
Even if you live in a state that doesn't require this kind of planning in the event of divorce, you should not forget to have the conversation while negotiating the end of the marriage, said Lina Guillen, an attorney and editor of nolo.com.
The last thing you want to happen is to end up years down the road asking the other parent for support and not having any recourse.
"It's essential to think about it and have it on the list of things to discuss," said Guillen. "Especially these days, it's more and more popular for kids to go to college."
Divorce impacts aid eligibility
Another part of college planning affected by divorce is financial aid eligibility. If your children are already in college or are within two years of attending, you'll want to make sure you understand at least the basics of how aid is calculated. Here are some things to consider.
1. Who is the custodial parent?
On the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, the paperwork that must be filed to get federal aid, only one parent's information is required, said Mark Kantrowitz, financial aid expert and publisher of SavingForCollege.com. That parent is called the custodial parent, he said, and should not be confused with the parent who actually has legal custody.
The custodial parent is whom the child lived with the most over the last year, or whichever parent provides more support. If you are separating, divorcing or divorced, it is in your best interest to know ahead of time who will be considered the custodial parent — their income will be the one used to determine financial aid eligibility.
"All it takes is one day's difference," said Kantrowitz. "You have control over which parent is going to be the custodial parent."
The College Scholarship Service or CSS Profile, used by some schools to determine financial aid and scholarships, requires information from both parents, said Kantrowitz.
2. Who owns the 529?
Once you've determined who is the custodial parent, another thing to consider is who owns any 529 college savings plans, Kantrowitz said. If a plan is owned by anyone other than the custodial parent or the child, it is counted differently and can reduce financial aid eligibility by as much as half, said Kantrowitz.
"It's best to make sure you have all your ducks lined up in a row," he said.
3. College administrators have the power.
Remember that you cannot game the system, and if you switch which person is listed as the custodial and noncustodial parent, a college is within its rights to ask for your divorce decree. Financial aid administrators have many tricks to figure out if parents are lying, Kantrowitz said.
"There's no appeal beyond the financial aid administrator," said Kantrowitz.
Getting remarried
If you are considering marrying again and your children are near college, in college, or both parties have children from previous relationships, it's a good idea to look over how your marriage could change financial aid eligibility for your kids.
In the eyes of most states, the income of a new spouse would generally not factor in to child support. However, financial aid does not follow the same rules. If you remarry, your income may be counted against your new spouse's children's aid, or vice versa. A prenuptial agreement will not help you, Kantrowitz said.
Guidelines for federal student aid "has rules irrespective of a prenuptial agreement," Kantrowitz said. "That's an agreement between two individuals that is not binding on a third party like the federal government."
Keep focus on the kids
"Children whose parents are divorced or separated are less likely to go to college and less likely to graduate — tension is part of that," said Kantrowitz.
The percentage of college students with parents who are married has generally declined in the last few decades, according to data from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study. An increasing number of parents are single, divorced, separated, widowed or unmarried but living together.
For many parents, the rules of financial aid is a black box, Kantrowitz said. They don't take the time to learn about it and are surprised when it does not go their way. A little planning can go a long way.
"Even if you hate each other, both of you love your kids, so at least try to cooperate in regards to that so that your child isn't hurt in the process," said Kantrowitz.
More from Personal Finance:
With this strategy, 'You can't avoid becoming a millionaire'
Why your health-care costs are so high — even if you're insured
Not checking your credit report comes with risks
Divorce and separations
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Three Former Google Employees Unite to Form the xGoogler Blockchain Alliance
Apr 18 2018 · 19:17 UTC | Updated Apr 18 2018 · 21:10
by Alexandra Sayapina · 3 min read
The new community will bring together current and former Googlers to use all the potential of the talented specialists for the benefit of the blockchain development.
The development of the blockchain technology is a subject of interest to the companies all over the world. Nevertheless, such a tech giant as Google seems to stay rather conservative when it comes to the new technology.
The decision on a ban on all advertising on Google Adwords that is cryptocurrency-oriented did not come unnoticed in the crypto-sphere. However, in March 2018 they announced the creation of a line of blockchain-related technologies to work with its various online services, but the Google spokesman remained critical and said: “we have individuals in various teams exploring potential uses of blockchain but it’s way too early for us to speculate about any possible uses or plans”. The Google’s lack of trust in blockchain became one of the reasons the three ex-employees of the company created the community to bring together all the Googlers who are interested in the ambitious technology.
xGoogler Blockchain Alliance (GBA) is bringing together the current and former Google employees to create the community that may fulfill their ambitions in the relatively new sphere working together. The core team of the project consists of three ex-Googlers who are leaders of the Chinese blockchain community.
Hitters Xu is known for creating a next-generation public blockchain Nebulas. Daniel Wang got the widespread recognition as a founder of Loopring—a decentralized exchange and open protocol. Andy Tian is associated with Gifto —a decentralized universal gifting protocol and serial entrepreneur he founded.
All the three of the GBA core team got solid experience in one of the most influential companies in the world – Google. That fact explains the limitation set by the new community. Google has been thoroughly selecting the brightest minds for long years – and applying their skills and abilities to the blockchain sphere may lead to impressive results.
The ability to think outside of the box is not only characteristic for Googlers, it is also badly needed to create a blockchain breakthrough. Hitters Xu, one of the founders of the GBA community, said, “Googlers who are prominent influencers in ‘classic internet’ can play important role in blockchain space.”
His colleague Andy Tian completely supports Hitters Xu: “Google has always been in the forefront of new technologies worldwide, from Android to AI. As Googlers, we can bring our unique experiences to expand blockchain’s influence, to everyone, everywhere.”
The community is open for both current and former employees of the tech giant. Even though the GBA community has just been created, it is already presented in three locations: San Francisco Bay Area, Beijing and Shanghai.
Google has always been known for the outstanding talent hunt. Each member of the GBA core team has already proved to be a specialist in the blockchain sphere. Probably, they are not the only talented Google employees interested in blockchain. The combination of their efforts will definitely lead to a number of groundbreaking projects.
next Blockchain News, Editor's Choice, News
Author Alexandra Sayapina
Alexandra is a software engineer who specializes in core banking systems development for financial and IT spheres. Taking strong interest in blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and IoT, Alexandra got deep understanding of the emerging techs believing in their potential to drive the future.
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Whitewashing Capitalism
How ECON 100 obscures the relationships among capitalism, racism and racial inequality.
Tim Koechlin
An Amazon employee works in the company's warehouse on Staten Island. (Photo: Johannes Eisele / AFP via Getty Images)
Racial inequality is a glaring, enduring and essential fact about the US economy. But remarkably, mainstream economics (that is, the ECON learned by most high school and college students in the US) has very little to say about it. There is, rather, a deafening silence in mainstream economics about the relationships among capitalism, race, racism and racial inequality.
Why are white people in the US richer than African Americans? If an ECON 100 student (or an economics major) has a rich answer to this question, it is unlikely that they learned it from their intro to economics textbook.
With this yawning silence, mainstream economics leaves a profoundly important economic question unanswered. But more than this, the mainstream narrative obscures, ignores and erases many of the essential ways in which the long history of racism in the US has produced and reproduced enduring racial inequality. And more still, it celebrates the power of markets to "punish" and minimize "discriminatory behavior." And so, when it comes to racial inequality and racial injustice, the market and capitalism are, in effect, exonerated. Racism? Racial inequality? Don’t blame capitalism! The Market is color blind! Indeed, the market is the solution.
By obscuring the relationship between racism and inequality, mainstream economics whitewashes capitalism.
The income of the median African American household is about 60% that of the median white household and this income gap, after narrowing a bit over the first couple of decades after World War II, is now wider than it was in 1970. One in five African Americans live in poverty (more than twice the rate for whites) and a third of African American children live in poverty. The unemployment rate among African Americans in the US is about twice as high as unemployment among whites, and this has been true for as long as we have been measuring US unemployment rates by race. The wealth of the median African American household is one tenth that of the median white household. And—as is painfully evident these days - racial inequality manifests itself in other realms of social life as well: education, health care, life expectancy, infant mortality, housing, access to capital, exposure to toxins, and more. COVID-19 is killing African Americans at more than twice the rate of whites. And "law enforcement" and "criminal justice" in the US systematically victimize and brutalize people of color.
Much of this racist history is quite essentially about economics.
In addition to (and beyond) this overwhelming evidence of racial inequality in 2020, the US—of course—has a long, conspicuous history of racism, racial exclusion, racial violence, and racist plunder. And much of this racist history is quite essentially about economics. At the risk of ridiculous understatement, this history has surely had an impact on "the allocation of resources"—the declared object of economic analysis.
In this context, the following questions seem obvious, essential and, arguably, mandatory for anyone who claims or aspires to understand the US economy, or for any curriculum that presumes to teach US students "economics" and the processes by which "resources are allocated." Why is there enduring racial inequality in the US? How do race, racism, and the legacies of racism, manifest themselves in the US economy? How does the US capitalist economy (and capitalism more generally) facilitate racism and/or racial inequality?
But mainstream economics has very little to say about these crucial questions. In his massive (888 page) best-selling introductory textbook, Gregory Mankiw devotes just a few pages to "discrimination," and much of this meager discussion is devoted to informing the reader (the student) that racial inequality and discrimination are not as big a deal as the reader might imagine (most of the racial income gap is attributed to differences in "human capital"). And it’s not just Mankiw. This silence on race and racism is shared by every leading introductory economics textbook. McConnell, Brue and Flynn’s popular introductory textbook (in its 20th edition) devotes six pages to "discrimination." McConnell et al. acknowledge that "discrimination undoubtedly causes some income inequality." But the reader is (re)assured that "economists do not see discrimination by race, gender, and ethnicity as a dominant factor explaining income inequality." Neither "race" nor "racism" appears in the index of most introductory texts, and none of these texts so much as alludes to (let alone explores) the economic legacies of centuries of racism in the US. And further, none of these textbooks says anything about the racial wealth gap, inherited wealth, or the impact of either on economic outcomes. Nor is there a footnote or an aside deferring these essential matters to a later chapter or explaining why these issues are not, in fact (or in the authors’ view), essential.
And more than this, intro to economics students are (re)assured that markets in fact punish ("disincentivize") racist behavior. In the conclusion to his very brief discussion of racial discrimination, Mankiw writers: "Competitive markets contain a natural remedy for employer discrimination. The entry into the market of firms that care only about profit tends to eliminate discriminatory wage differentials." So, then, no worries!
It is important to note here that there is, of course, a lot of great and powerful work about capitalism, race and inequality—much of it by economists, much of it by scholars in other disciplines, and much of it by activists, writers and journalists. But this work does not show up in standard economics textbooks—which provide the hegemonic story of capitalism, the story that has been delivered to millions of high school and college students over the years.
The authority and the rhetorical power of the mainstream narrative is enhanced by its reliance on the language of mathematics, which makes economics look and feel like "science." The algebra, geometry and calculus tell a precise story—a story that does, in fact, articulate the (deeply inadequate) mainstream model with great precision. But this mathematical construct tells students nothing about what’s missing from this story. It obscures more than it reveals.
The mainstream story also reliably conflates "racism" (and the various ways that race might matter economically) with "market discrimination." Rather than asking: Is enduring racial inequality related to structural racism (now, and in the past)?, the mainstream discussion—in textbooks and in the mainstream scholarly literature—addresses these much narrower questions: Is there evidence of discrimination in labor (or capital or whatever) markets? And, if so, how do we explain it?
These are, of course, important questions. Discrimination in labor (and other) markets is indeed an important mechanism by which racism contributes to racial inequality. But focusing on the role of discrimination alone averts our eyes from larger questions like, for example, these: Why is the median white household in the US have ten times the wealth of the median African American household, and how does this help us to understand why white workers typically enter the job market with more skills, human capital, education and economic security than African American workers?
Ta-Nehisi Coates, in his "The Case for Reparations," provides a powerful description of some of the many ways in which African Americans have, over the centuries, been systematically exploited and dispossessed—of property, of the fruits of their labor, of control over their bodies, and much more. The mechanisms include the accumulated unpaid labor of (formally and informally) enslaved people, land grabs, arbitrary taxation, short changing, wage theft, the employment of prison labor, out-right theft and confiscation—all facilitated by violence and the threat of violence. Coates calls this what it is: plunder.
The economist Darrick Hamilton, in his "Racial Equality is Economic Equality," conveys succinctly that this racist history is essential for understanding racial inequality in 2020.
"The racial wealth gap is an inheritance that began with chattel slavery, when blacks were literally the capital assets for a white landowning plantation class. The gap continued after Emancipation, when discriminatory laws and institutions established insurmountable barriers to the American middle class for black families. Today, hundreds of years removed from chattel slavery, there has virtually never been a substantive black middle class when defined by wealth. In contrast, the implementation of FDR’s New Deal and post-war vision facilitated an asset-based white middle class to cumulatively build wealth and pass it on to their heirs."
Over the course of the 20th Century, millions of American families, through home ownership, accumulated wealth as never before. African Americans were, overwhelming, excluded from this bonanza. Melvin L. Oliver and Thomas M. Shapiro get it just right in their book, Black Wealth/White Wealth: African Americans were "locked out of the greatest mass-based opportunity for wealth accumulation in American history."
This race-based exclusion is not just morally troubling. It has been economically devastating. The racism of 1920 and 1950 is reflected in the portfolios of white and Black Americans in 2020—and thus in the economic and other opportunities available to each. Coates writes, "When we think of white supremacy, we picture ‘Colored Only’ signs, but we should picture pirate flags." Understanding the economic dimensions of white supremacy—including centuries of plunder—is essential to understanding the US economy—historically, and in 2020.
But, again, there is no mention of any of this in any of the leading intro to economics textbooks. A diligent Econ 100 student is likely to leave class imagining that capitalism (or "the market system") allocates income "fairly," on the basis of workers’ "human capital." The enduring economic legacy of racism? It never came up.
So, if you want to understand economic inequality, you’ll have to look beyond your economics textbook. Economics, it seems, is too important to be left to the economists.
Tim Koechlin holds a PhD in economics. He is the Director of the International Studies Program at Vassar College, where he has an appointment in International Studies and Urban Studies. Professor Koechlin has taught and written about a variety of subjects including economic, political and racial inequality; globalization; macroeconomic policy, and urban political economy.
Economy, U.S.
Capitalism, Racism, Inequality, Workers, Discrimination, Poverty, White Supremacy
Medea Benjamin, Nicolas J.S. Davies
Will the Senate Confirm Coup Plotter Victoria Nuland?
Sheila Rawat, Elisa Devlin
How We Came to Build A Progressive Ground Game
Insurrection, Pandemic, and Censorship
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The Hon. Neil Brown QC
Creative Cybersquatting Won’t Work
Judicial Watch, Inc. v. Whois Privacy, Privacy by Design, LLC / Earl Cassorla
WIPO case no. D2019-1463
It used to be generally accepted that in deciding if a domain name were identical or confusingly similar to a trademark, you ignored the top level domain, i.e., everything to the right of the dot, as in “.com”. In fact, you could say that it was conventional practice for panels is not to analyse the gTLD as a feature of the domain name carrying meaning for the purposes of making the comparison. The reason was that as every domain name had something to the right of the dot, virtually all of them would be different from the trademarks with which they were being compared.
However, it was also said that this general practice might not always be the case, especially when the top level domain was part of the complainant’s trademark. Accordingly, exceptions to the rule, if it were a rule, began to appear.
The issue was to some extent put to rest in the decision in Tesco Stores Limited v. Mat Feakins which has now been elevated to the level of a “seminal decision”. In that decision, a three person panel decided that the domain name “tes.co” was identical to the complainant’s trademark TESCO because the “. co” suffix, the country code for Colombia, was part of the trademark and should be taken into account. As the panel said:
“In the Panel’s view, if the TLD suffix is part of the Complainant’s trademark, whether forming part of one word, or a second and distinct word, it may be taken into account for comparison purposes.”
That decision is now cited a stating the prevailing view.
It has been cemented into that position because, under of the great expansion of the internet by ICANN, a vast array of new generic top level domains has steadily emerged. There are now 1232[1] of them, so far, and they range from “.lancia”, to “.smart”, to “.barefoot”. That is vast range of words that are now to the right of the dot. Together with what is to the left of the dot they frequently make up trademarks, words and even short sentences.
In any event, as a working rule, it can now be assumed that the top level domain of a domain name is taken into account when deciding if the domain name is identical or confusingly similar to the trademark in question.
A recent example makes that clear.
In Judicial Watch, Inc., v. Whois Privacy, Privacy by Design, LLC/Earl Cassorla, a public interest law firm in the US trading as Judicial Watch, Inc. (Complainant) had used the trademark JUDICIAL WATCH since 1994. It registered the name in the US in 2004 and continues to use it. The firm brought a complaint against a respondent with a privacy shield, Whois Privacy (Respondent), disputing the domain name <judicial.watch>, which utilised one of the new gTLDs, “.watch”, and was ultimately successful. The panel followed the approach taken in Tesco Stores and found that the trademark was identical but for the “dot” and that the domain name should be treated as if it “straddled” the dot. The effect of the principle in this instance was thus that the trademark JUDICIAL WATCH and the domain name <judicial.watch> were identical for the purpose of resolving the dispute. Clearly, without the TLD, the word ”judicial” would not be identical to the term “judicial watch” and although it might be similar, it would not be confusingly similar to it.
A Silent Respondent Wins No Favour
The respondent, sheltered behind its privacy service, did not reply to the Complaint and , although it could have tried to demonstrate a legitimate interest in the name, it would have been uphill, because it was using the Domain Name to host a website which unambiguously mimicked the Complainant’s website. The fleeting possibility of a legitimate commercial use couldn’t save the respondent, whatever its name was, from a finding of bad faith.
[1] https://newgtlds.icann.org/en/program-status/statistics
THE UDRP IS NOT FOR YOUR EMPLOYMENT DISPUTES!
RESPONDENT DEFAULTS BUT COMPLAINANT’S CLAIMS STILL DON’T FLYO FOR AN OSRAM.
BAD FAITH -DISRUPTING THE BUSINESS OF A COMPETITOR
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Sr. Maeve McMahon speaks about her work in JUST (Jesuit University Support and Training Centre
Posted By : Orla Benson
The Jesuit University Support and Training centre in Ballymun or JUST as it is more widely known was recently visited by six executives from the Higher Education Authority. Invited by the Director of the Centre, Dr Kevin O’Higgins, following the recent publication of the report on access to education in disadvantaged areas, the executives wanted to hear how this Centre, which was opened in 2006 has managed in less than ten years to increase three fold (close to 10%) the numbers of local residents enrolled in third level programmes.
JUST which is located in the local Jobs Centre in Ballymun is in touch with the local community and its formula for success is that the volunteer staff, many of whom are retired teachers, offer a range of supports to those who wish to attend third level but also through supportive one to one relationships with the students already in enrolled in third level and throughout the years of their studies.
Sr Maeve McMahon OP joined the Centre in 2007. As a Dominican and retired school Principal of St Leo the Great in New
Orleans she is aware of how structural support in education is vital in disadvantaged areas to foster an interest in further education. She believes that the “one to one relationship is very important to assist students with what can sometimes be a daunting process of entering third level”.
The JUST centre now has eight individuals working there, many of whom are Jesuits but all of whom have education experience either in 2nd or 3rd level. It was started by the Jesuits who have a long history in Ballymun. Sr Maeve feels that it also marries very well with the Dominican charism and approach to education, which sees the blend of seeking education and truth as a means of liberation. So much so that the Dominican Sisters Cabra have committed an education fund to JUST. Sr Maeve has worked with wonderful people during her time there. Starting out with 20 students, the Centre now has 100 and has supported 300 since its inception. It has supported five young people who are pursuing PhDs and many others pursuing Mas. The rest are preparing for or participating in undergraduate courses.
She believes that access programmes in the major Universities have been vital but often the students also need support such as assistance with note taking and essay writing and this is where JUST plays an important role. She explains that many of her students have come from families that have been affected by addiction and for this reason may also require support with other personal development skills to cope in difficult family situations. She also helps many to connect with their spiritual side. JUST also aims to address the general educational deficit of many students from an area like Ballymun who have never experienced an art gallery or cultural institution. The centre facilitates cultural outings and also offers regular evening classes on diverse topics like philosophy and psychology.
Sr Maeve explains that “all human beings need to be feel that they are valued and need to be seen and heard” and that in Ireland we have failed as a nation because we have not honoured these basic Christian values.
Dr Kevin O’Higgins has asked the question of how the success of this programme can be replicated elsehwhere? The centre, because it relies predominantly on volunteers and rents inexpensive facilities, has neither sought nor received state funding. And this is the conversation that Dr O’Higgins has commenced with the HEA. The programme taps into the whole ethos of volunteering in Ireland and could be rolled out with larger volunteer organisations like the GAA or where there is a bank of retired teachers who are willing to help.
Sr Maeve believes that structurally in Ireland within the education system, we have serious problems. She draws on a wonderful school model she has seen in the United States called the Cristo Rey network, which was also started by the Jesuits and is the largest network of urban high schools in the country enrolling only youth from low income families. It offers an approach to inner-city education that equips students with the knowledge, character and skills to remove them from a cycle of poverty. This school network now has 100% enrolment into further education and the key to its success has been 24/7 support to the students if and when they need it. Dr Kevin O’Higgins is a strong proponent of this model and believes that it can be replicated in Ireland.
Sr Maeve does not expect JUST to expand further in terms of the number of students receiving support because of her fear that the one on one support would then be lost. However, the overall vision is to continue to offer an opportunity to people who have found life hard to have freedom and a realisation of their own potential through education.
Sr Maeve lived through a challenging time herself in the United States in the aftermath of Hurricane Kathrina which temporarily closed St Leo the Great. She believes that life is a task master and will create its demands but it is attitude that can make a difference in attempting to make the world a better place and she has seen this spirit alive in JUST.
She also believes that every human has an inner flame and we are entitled for this inner flame to be alive so that we can all reach our full potential. It is clear when Sr Maeve talks about her return from the United States and her chance conversation with a Jesuit about the need for volunteers in JUST, that her inner flame continues to shine brightly in the field of education.
For more information about JUST, please visit www.justballymun.org
Advent Calendar' - a poem by Dr Rowan Williams narrated by Sr Eileen O Connell OP
RE OPENING OF OUR DOMINICAN EDUCATION CENTRE, DUBLIN
Ecumenical Resource on Climate Justice – Irish Council of Churches
Biblical Perspectives On Justice – Cork Scripture Group, Autumn 2020 Bible Study Module
Youtube link of the recording of the virtual launch of “In Communion with the Sacred Universe The Story of An Tairseach.” by Sr. Marian O’Sullivan OP
MISSION SUNDAY 18th OCTOBER 2020 – We invite you to reflect on Pope Francis’s message for Mission Sunday 2020, placing mission within the context of Covid-19. (See below taken from www.Vatican.va )
Virtual launch of the publication “In Communion with the Sacred Universe, The Story of An Tairseach” by Sr. Marian O’Sullivan OP.
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The Age of Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton played a key role in establishing the institutions and policies that have come to define America. He was the chief staff aide to General George Washington, the architect behind the nation’s financial system, America’s first Secretary of the Treasury, founder of the Federalist Party, father of the US Coast Guard, creator of The New York Post and a Lower Manhattan resident for many of his adult years. Today, the district brims with the many sites and locations directly associated with Hamilton’s short, but influential, life.
The story of Alexander Hamilton is one of determination, innovation and genius. A tour of Hamilton’s life and times in New York City begins at the corner of Church and Murray Streets.
This was the original site of King’s College, now known as Columbia University, and the campus Alexander Hamilton called home from 1774 to 1776. It is said that on July 6, 1774, Hamilton made his first public appearance at the school’s Liberty Pole, explaining to a captivated crowd the rights and reasons the patriots had in their case against British rule.
From the corner of Park Place and Broadway, continue east through City Hall Park and along Beekman, Gold and Fulton Streets. At the end of Fulton Street is the newly revitalized Seaport District. The area —bounded by Water, John, Beekman and South Streets — was substantially built between the 17th and 19th centuries. Today, the seaport is undergoing a radical and exciting transformation. While Pier 17 is under construction, visitors can enjoy unique shopping and food experiences at the many shops and restaurants that line the picturesque streets. The buildings on Front Street are especially interesting for New York City history buffs. The handmade construction of the time is still apparent in some of the facades today: the buildings ebb and bow and feature charming and misaligned doorposts, windows and lines.
Heading back on Fulton, make a left on Pearl Street and continue on until the corner of Wall, roughly following the route of Hamilton’s funeral procession on July 14th, 1804. To the right on Wall Street is the Museum of American Finance located at the original site of Walton House. Hamilton established the Bank of New York at Walton House in 1784 with a capitalization of $500,000, making it the oldest bank in the US. Hamilton played a key role in developing the banks’ constitution and guided its organization through the early formative years. In 1792, the Bank of New York became the first company to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange, located a block west on the corner of Wall and Broad.
Not only does the Museum of American Finance sit on the site of Hamilton’s original bank, but it also boasts a robust collection of Hamilton’s finance-related life. Signed documents, published works, medals and currency designed in his honor are all on display in the Alexander Hamilton Room, dedicated to Hamilton and designed to pay tribute to the original Walton House. In 2007, the Bank of New York merged with the Mellon Financial Corporation. It is now known as BNY Mellon and is still headquartered in Lower Manhattan today.
Catty-corner to the New York Stock Exchange is the Federal Hall National Monument. The building has played host to a number of nation-changing events, including the inauguration of George Washington as President of the United States in 1789. A year later, in 1790, Alexander Hamilton too played a role in the building’s storied history. Originally New York City’s City Hall, the building was renamed Federal Hall when the city became the capital of the United States. In 1790, Hamilton orchestrated a deal with James Madison which moved Congress and the federal offices south to Philadelphia. His terms of the deal stated that the Virginia delegation would allow Hamilton’s provocative fiscal policy of federal assumption of state debts to pass through Congress. Madison agreed and Federal Hall was returned to city use. The original structure was demolished in 1812—the building located at the site today was built in 1842 serving first as a Customs House and later the US Sub-Treasury.
Many know Alexander Hamilton for his profound influence on America’s financial system, but the Founding Father was also a prominent lawyer. In 1795, he opened his practice in New York and used his skills of persuasion to influence American political policies. Heading south on Broad Street, arrive at Exchange Place. Originally dubbed Garden Street, the address is the site of Hamilton’s law practice. Interestingly enough, a number of Hamilton’s earliest clients were the same British Loyalists he rallied against from the post at King’s College.
If not for his untimely death, Alexander Hamilton would have undoubtedly been a patron of Delmonico’s. Located at the intersection of William and Beaver Streets and just down the road from Hamilton’s law practice, the restaurant is the oldest in America, having opened in 1827 — originally as a pastry shop and small cafe. Beyond fine food, Delmonico’s is known for a number of firsts — it was the first restaurant to have a menu; the first to have tablecloths; the first to allow women to congregate as a group; and the first to serve the Delmonico steak, Eggs Benedict and Lobster Newburg. Dating further back in time, the columns that flank the restaurant’s front door are even reputed to come from the ruins of Pompeii!
Further down on Broad Street at the corner of Pearl is Fraunces Tavern. Fraunces Tavern was the favorite haunt of America’s who’s who at the time. Originally built as a private residence in 1719, the building was sold in 1762 to Samuel Fraunces who promptly became famous for his skill in the kitchen. New Yorkers didn’t just go to the tavern for a good meal — they went also for political discussions. Congress, the foreign affairs office, the treasury and the war department all kept offices there during the nation’s early years. Hamilton was a regular guest at Fraunces Tavern and had dinner there with none other than Aaron Burr on July 4th, 1804—just days before their infamous duel on July 11th in Weehawken, New Jersey. Today, Fraunces Tavern hosts a museum as well as a restaurant and bar. Pop in to survey the historical collection or to grab a bite or beer.
Heading southwest on Pearl Street and then north on Whitehall, you’ll arrive at 1 Bowling Green, once known as the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House. Designed by Cass Gilbert, the Beaux Arts building was built between 1902- 1907 and is flanked by four large sculptures designed by artist Daniel Chester French. The building was originally built to house the U.S. Customs service and the import duty operations from the port of New York. As the nation’s busiest port, New York collected more than two-thirds of all customs revenue, essentially financing the federal government. The ornamental building was named after the man that played an integral role in defining the tariff and customs policy still in use by the United States today. The Customs Office vacated the space in 1973, and after extensive restoration and design work, the building reopened as the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian.
Bowling Green itself is an important part of America’s historical fabric, dating back to 1638 when it was a parade site and a cattle market. In 1770, the British Government erected an equestrian statue of King George III there. Ironically, the statue became a magnet for protests against British rule, as relations with Britain rapidly deteriorated. After the Declaration of Independence was read on July 9, 1776, the local chapter of the Sons of Liberty toppled the statue and sawed off the finials of the cast-iron crowns on the Bowling Green Fence — the saw marks are still visible today.
On November 25, 1783, Hamilton’s former boss, George Washington, marched down Broadway through Bowling Green and onto The Battery, triumphantly marking the removal of the last British soldier from Manhattan. Now known as Evacuation Day, the celebration did not go off without a hitch. A British Union Jack was nailed on a flag pole and the pole was then greased, making it difficult to climb and thus remove the Union Jack (the British flag was eventually replaced with the Stars and Stripes). Local children recreated this final act of defiance annually until World War I, commemorating Evacuation Day with flagpole climbing contests at The Battery.
Back north on Broadway, Trinity Church is both the final stop of this Lower Manhattan itinerary and the final resting place of Alexander Hamilton. Both he and his accomplished wife, Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, are buried in the leafy church cemetery, along with Robert Fulton, members of the Astor family, the British royal court and a number of publishing magnates. Trinity Church is one of the most iconic and oldest buildings in New York City, founded in 1697 by royal charter. The current neo-Gothic building — the third Trinity Church to be erected at the sight — was built in 1846. It was the tallest structure in New York until the Brooklyn Bridge towers were built 30 years later. The Hamiltons were members of the church; archives show they rented pew no. 92 and that at least four Hamilton children were baptized there. Alexander Hamilton’s funeral was held on Saturday July 14th, 1804, and, today, the public can visit his grave which lies under a soaring pyramidal tombstone in the church courtyard.
The story of Alexander Hamilton might end at Trinity Church, but a visit to Lower Manhattan does not. Located just a few blocks from Trinity Church and the modern high rise buildings of Wall Street and the World Trade Center complex, Stone Street remains a cobblestone testament to New York’s Dutch past. It is also a favorite gathering place for many of Lower Manhattan’s young worker community. Along with drinks, the street offers plenty of places to eat. Grab a seat and settle in for a true New York night just like Alexander Hamilton would.
If you'd rather take a guided tour of Hamilton's Lower Manhattan, check out Hamilton's Lower Manhattan tour given by Wall Street Walks.
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JOHN REINISCH, MD
A board-certified plastic surgeon and graduate of Harvard Medical School, Dr. Reinisch’s primary clinical and research interests focus on the field of pediatric plastic surgery and congenital ear deformities (microtia). He has treated more than 20,000 children from across the country and around the world. Central to Dr. Reinisch’s work is his emphasis on minimally invasive surgeries and personal, comfortable care, as well as his assurance that his patients and their families feel relaxed and confident throughout treatment. In 1983, Dr. Reinisch founded the Division of Plastic Surgery at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, which is now one of the busiest departments at children’s hospitals in the world.
LEADING-EDGE MICROTIA TREATMENT
Dr. Reinisch is known worldwide for his design and development of the Medpor ear reconstruction technique. Traditionally, plastic surgeons have relied on a technique that removes cartilage from a patient’s chest and uses it to build the ear. The method, though effective, has two major limitations: It requires multiple surgeries to complete and cannot be performed until a child is 8-10 years of age - old enough to have a sufficient amount of rib cartilage. By this time, the effects of living with a deformity have often taken a toll on the child emotionally. Dr. Reinisch envisioned a new technique that would save children and their families the discomfort of multiple surgeries and the emotional distress a facial deformity can cause.
Dr. Reinisch designed a new method that relies on a biomaterial—not human—chest cartilage, and can therefore be implanted in children as young as age 3 in a single surgery, resulting in a better cosmetic outcome than rib cartilage ear reconstruction. By creating a new ear from the biomaterial and wrapping it in a thin layer of tissue from the patient’s scalp, Dr. Reinisch has overcome many of the obstacles of traditional ear reconstruction and has successfully treated more than 2,000 children. Since performing the first Medpor® surgery in 1991, Dr. Reinisch has further improved the technique by eliminating the need for drains after surgery, resulting in minimal scarring. More than 80 percent of his Medpor surgeries have required only one procedure.
Dr. Reinisch’s work in microtia treatment and his creation of the Medpor® technique have won awards from both the American Association of Plastic Surgeons (AAPS) and the European Association of Plastic Surgeons (EURAPS). Most recently, he was the honored guest at the opening of the Smile Angel Foundation’s new children’s hospital in Beijing.
EDUCATION AND LEADERSHIP
Dr. Reinisch is currently the Director of Craniofacial and Pediatric Plastic Surgery for Cedars-Sinai Medical Group in Los Angeles. When he began practicing in the 1980s, the field of pediatric plastic surgery was still in its infancy, and many children’s hospitals did not consider it a specialty. He is credited with establishing the Division of Plastic Surgery at the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, creating a model for other hospitals and serving as its Chief. He has also served as Head of the Division of Plastic Surgery at the University of Southern California (USC).
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Renewable Energy and the COVID-19 Factor
The pandemic has little-discussed implications for the supply chain that powers alternative energy projects in the U.S. and around the world.
Anca Gagiuc
The coronavirus outbreak has far-reaching implications for every aspect of economic activity, not least alternative energy. In China, for example, carbon emissions slowed noticeably. At the same time, the virus is threatening the the supply chain for global decarbonization.
Experts estimate that greenhouse emissions in China have fallen by 25 percent in recent weeks following en masse quarantine measures. An analysis by Lauri Myllyvirta at the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air concluded that carbon emissions in China declined by 200 million metric tons in February compared with the same period in 2019.
In addition, according to NASA, reduced driving led to a 30 percent decrease in nitrogen dioxide emissions, and combined with less coal burning to reduce pollution. But the decline could be short-lived as people return to work and factories try to make up for lost time.
Further declines in emissions are expected as airlines cut flights. That, in turn, is affecting oil demand. By March 19, the price of crude oil had dropped to about $28 per barrel.
(hidden) costs
The price for this consistent drop in emissions is yet to be determined. Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, has warned that a decline in emissions caused by the economic crisis is nothing to celebrate. He urges governments to instead use green investments to help support economic growth through the slowdown.
Visual created with images via Pixabay
On the alternative energy front, concerns are growing that supply disruptions will affect the solar and wind markets. Contrary to popular belief, the biggest worry is not reduced production per se, as the manufacturing process could be handled in other countries besides China. The main concern is the so-called “critical minerals,” or sourcing inputs, that can be found only in certain countries.
The U.S. government identified 35 minerals critical for the economy and national security, among them rare earth elements. The U.S. imports 29 of the 35, and rare earth elements come exclusively from imports. The main exporter is China, which controls roughly 70 percent of supplies. The trade war between China and the U.S. is generating worries about an effect on rare earth exports to the U.S.
Local solar
China is the world’s largest solar module manufacturer. With solar manufacturing plants and businesses vacant or not fully staffed, and restrictions imposed on airline travel, delivering the components in time to overseas plants and other solar businesses in a timely manner is a growing concern. While this could prove beneficial to domestic production by creating solar jobs in the country, it will most likely slow down solar energy expansion.
The shortage of solar installation components is likely to end up delaying residential projects. Companies handling these projects will have to reach deep and get any supplies of panels they have, while also adjusting customer expectations for how long installing a solar array will take. Moreover, the supply shortage will likely put extra pressure on demand, which will cause prices to spike.
Also at issue is the federal Investment Tax Credit agreement. If developers meet certain criteria, projects brought online after the period agreed upon initially can still secure a 30 percent tax credit. But the COVID-19 outbreak could affect the deadlines of current solar projects underway, and that could affect the number of subsidies. Sales of electric vehicles are expected to stall, too.
Gone with the wind?
The Global Wind Energy Council and the Chinese Wind Energy Association have zoomed in on the impact of COVID-19 on the Chinese and global wind industry. GWEC Market Intelligence interviewed six major Chinese wind turbines original equipment manufacturers, which, in 2018 held about 75 percent of the Chinese markets combined, and concluded that the virus will impact supply chain and installation operations, but more locally than outside China.
The organization stated that the virus will adversely impact the wind industry, but supply chain disruptions and installation delays will be moderate and limited to certain geographic locations.
General Electric tracks the impact of COVID-19’s outbreak on its activity and earnings and confirmed that its GE Renewable Energy unit has been affected by the coronavirus across its supply chain. The U.S. company expects a negative impact of between $200 million to $300 million on operating profit in the first quarter.
Advancing WELLness for Industrial Projects at Greenbuild
New Alliance Boosts Green Hydrogen Production in Europe
Buildings of Tomorrow: Future Warehouses
ArcelorMittal Commits to Carbon-Neutral Steelmaking by 2050
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Congregation 2020 Will be Moved Online
Dear graduating students,
The Congregations in celebration of your graduation are scheduled to be held next week. The 88th Congregation for the Conferment of Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees will be held on 19-21 November, and the 89th Congregation for the Conferment of Honorary and Doctoral Degrees will be held on 3 December. Preparations for the ceremonies started as early as the beginning of this year. In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the University, together with the Colleges and Faculties, have been operating along a dual-track plan. If the pandemic situation had remained stable, we hoped to hold physical ceremonies so that you and your family and guests could celebrate this important occasion together on campus, with stringent infection prevention and social distancing measures in place. If unfortunately the pandemic situation were to worsen, backup arrangements would allow us to move the ceremonies online. In any case, the health and well-being of University members and our guests is always our top priority.
On 23 October, the University decided to maintain the physical graduation ceremonies based on the prevailing circumstances. Unfortunately, the number of local confirmed cases with unknown sources has increased sharply from single-digits to double-digits in the past two weeks. The situation in the vicinity of our campus, namely the Tai Po and Shatin districts, is particularly troubling. As of yesterday, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has exceeded 52 million globally, and the death toll has exceeded 1.28 million. The number of imported cases in Hong Kong has also been increasing. In addition, there have also been outbreaks of upper respiratory tract infections in the past few days.
In light of the increasing health risks and upon the advice from the Committee on Health Promotion and Protection, as well as prudent risk assessment by the University management with input from all Colleges and Faculties, the University had to decide, regretfully, that the 88th Congregation (for the conferment of Bachelor and Master’s Degrees) and the 89th Congregation (for the conferment of Honorary and Doctoral Degrees) will be held online according to the originally scheduled dates and time. No physical ceremonies or celebratory activities will be held on campus. The Colleges/Faculties will contact you separately through emails to give you the latest arrangements on online ceremonies.
This was an extremely difficult decision for the University given the importance of the celebration of your graduation for you, your family and guests as well as the University. Nevertheless, the University must responsibly and prudently assess potential risks without compromising the health and safety of University members and members of our community. We therefore ask for and appreciate your understanding and support.
Over the last many months, colleagues from various units of the University have been tirelessly preparing for the ceremonies under the "new normal" this year. We would like to assure you that the online ceremonies will be no less solemn and commemorative. We look forward to joining you on this important occasion. Once again, our warmest congratulations to all graduating students. We wish you and your family good health during these difficult times.
Issued jointly by:
The Vice-Chancellor and President, Provost and Pro-Vice-Chancellors and Vice-Presidents of the University
The Heads of Chung Chi, New Asia, United and Shaw Colleges
The Masters of Morningside, S.H. Ho, C.W. Chu, Wu Yee Sun and Lee Woo Sing Colleges
The Deans of the Graduate School, Faculties of Arts, Business Administration, Education, Engineering, Law, Medicine, Science and Social Science
14 January 2021 - 16 January 2021
CUHK LAW Machine Lawyering Conference: Human Sovereignty and Machine Efficiency in the Law (online)
(Live Broadcast)
Chung Chi College Chapel Sunday Service:
You will all See Heaven Open
21 December 2020 - 18 January 2021
Integrative Medical Centre, Hong Kong Institute of Integrative medicine, CUHK “Winter Natural Moxibustion Therapy 2020” – Registration is now OPEN. [Limited quota. Registration on first come, first served basis.]
10 December 2020 - 28 February 2021
“Art Museum Online Shop – Souvenir & Book Sale Month”
“Fight Against COVID-19” Campaign
4 January 2021 - 28 February 2021
Integrative Medicine Sleep Health Program
Integrative Medical Centre,
Hong Kong Institute of Integrative Medicine, CUHK
Chinese medical and clinical psychological service
12 January 2021 - 28 February 2021
Integrative Medical Centre
8 January 2021 - 26 March 2021
One Hour@CUHK
12 May 2020 - 30 April 2021
Online Courses on Disaster and Medical Humanitarian Response
21 December 2020 - 31 July 2021
Shadowing Scheme for Secondary Students (SSeedS)
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Into the Badlands: Daniel Wu On How The Series Became A Cult Hit
Daniel Wu reflects on his groundbreaking AMC series Into the Badlands and what the future might hold.
By Gene Ching | September 1, 2020 |
Photo: AMC
Since AMC cancelled its martial arts-infused series Into the Badlands in early 2019, it has attracted a cult following with all three seasons available on Netflix. Is it too late to revive the show? Daniel Wu, leading man and producer on the series, is doubtful. “I would never say never but I think the ship has sailed on that one.”
Wu played Sunny, the most lethal “clipper” in the Badlands. Into the Badlands was an original series set in a gun-free post-apocalyptic world where martial arts ruled supreme. Premiering in 2015, AMC cancelled it in the middle of the third season break. Into the Badlands was an extravagant big budget show, with lush costumes, a large cast, and massive sets. And to accommodate the copious fight scenes, it had a separate crew.
“It was expensive to make our show,” Wu admits. “We had two crews shooting at the same time—action and drama at the same time—so you have each crew of 150 people. So it’s like making two TV shows at once. And the budget was high. We were like in the $6-7 million dollar range. Season 3 was almost $100 million to make that. So it’s a big commitment for a studio, right? And I think that’s what probably scared other studios away because they didn’t necessarily see the return on that value. But to do it well you have to really commit to it.”
In the wake of Badlands, several other networks launched martial arts-based series like Warrior, Wu Assassins, and Cobra Kai, but none have taken that extra step of having a fight crew that was equal in magnitude to their dramatic crew. Consequently, the quality of the fight choreography declines towards the end of the season when it should be intensifying. Giving the action crew equal status was unprecedented and has yet to be repeated. But as Wu says, “Shooting a week of drama and then allocating one day for action doesn’t really work for an action show.”
Showrunners underestimate the challenge of delivering quality fight choreography in every episode. A martial arts movie might contain as many fights as two or three episodes of a TV show, and then there’s several more episodes in a season, so television fight crews need to sustain their intensity for much longer. Wu says you can shoot all day for 10 seconds of footage.
“People wanted to jump into it and then realized that it’s not easy to do. The reason why I think Badlands was successful was because we were able to do high level action with high level production value with high level storytelling. And we didn’t want to compromise that.”
Fortunately, the creators of Into the Badlands, Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, had some prior experience with martial arts TV series which helped establish that second action crew. Back in the late ‘90s, they were involved with another unprecedented martial arts-based TV show, Martial Law. That show starred Sammo Hung, the veteran Hong Kong action star (and martial brother of Jackie Chan). Martial Law had multiple martial arts choreographers for different episodes including Stanley Tong, a noted Hong Kong action director, Yuen Tak, another martial brother of Jackie and Sammo, and Andy Cheng, who also served as one of the action directors for Into the Badlands. Gough and Millar knew what they were getting into when it came to fight choreography so having a separate fight action crew was in the mix from the beginning.
Another element that was there from the start was diversity. “All the other characters are very diverse, either strong females, or strong people of color, even the background actors,” Wu says. “This is a directive from the top down that we wanted a very diverse production, so not only people behind the scenes were diverse but from the extra level.”
The Widow (Emily Beecham), Lydia (Orla Brady) and Tilda (Ally Ioannides) were incredibly strong women warriors without pretense. What’s more, they all remained elegantly attired throughout the series, never stooping into gratuitous wardrobe choices. Sunny’s romance with Veil (Madeleine Mantock) was unprecedented in television. Asian male leads are seldom portrayed in relationships with non-Asians. An Asian male coupled with a Black female on TV was extraordinary. This presented a unique challenge when shooting season two and three because the production had relocated to Ireland. “Ireland doesn’t have a lot of people of color,” Wu says, “so we had to really search far and wide to get those extras.”
Into the Badlands: How The Widow Stole The Show
By Stephen Harber
Into the Badlands: Creators Explain That Epic Ending
No matter what gender or race, everyone bleeds the same color. From the opening credits, no one escaped the Badlands without getting bloody. The Badlands were soaked in blood. Wu jokes that blood was one of the most expensive commodities. “One of our props rooms there was just like gallons and gallons of blood everywhere. All different types of blood too. You have thick viscous blood for certain things. Cheap blood for background blood. All kinds of stuff. And then blood for your face, blood for your mouth, blood that goes in your eyes, all kinds of blood. We definitely went through the whole gamut of blood choices.”
Looking back on it now, Wu remembers the Badlands with great fondness. “It was one of my favorite most solid productions I’ve ever worked on.” He felt the show had everything, a great cast, a great story, a big budget and a top-notch production team. The only shortcoming might have been promotions. “I would’ve put more marketing dollars behind it. I wish more people had known about the show because it’s an interesting show because you either heard about it, and love it, or you never heard about it at all.”
Wu is also disappointed that the Badlands cast didn’t get to interact with its fanbase very much. “I wish we had gotten more Comic Cons because the show was built for Comic Cons. We went to one before the show even aired so that didn’t make much sense because nobody knew what it was. And then we went to one right as the show was ending, as it was cancelled. So I wish we had a better presence at Comic Con and had more merchandise and all that stuff. We designed this show for all of that and I think a lot of the potential for that didn’t get realized because we didn’t have much marketing behind it.”
Whether or not Into the Badlands has been permanently clipped, Wu is moving on. Before the pandemic shut down productions worldwide, Wu completed work on two films: Caught in Time, a film based on a true crime spree in the ‘90s, and Reminiscence, a sci-fi film noir co-starring Hugh Jackman, Rebecca Ferguson and Thandie Newton. Caught in Time is completed but its release has been delayed due to the pandemic. Reminiscence is in post-production for release in early 2021.
Is there any chance that Into the Badlands find a new life on the streaming giant Netflix? “We’ll see,” says Wu guardedly. “I mean maybe during the coronavirus time we picked up a bunch of new fans who were able to see the show on Netflix, so maybe if there was enough critical mass to push it forward. Never say never but I think all of us who were involved with it have closed the book on it for now.”
Into the Badlands is currently available to stream on Netflix.
Tags: Into the Badlands
Gene Ching
Gene Ching is a 32nd generation layman disciple of the original Shaolin Temple of China and was the publisher of Kung Fu Tai Chi magazine until…
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Into The Badlands: slick kung fu meets dystopia
December 1, 2015 | By Dan Cooper
Into the Badlands Season 2 Episode 10 Review: Wolf's Breath, Dragon Fire
May 22, 2017 | By Stephen Harber
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Saccomano: Minicamp Starts the Process
Jim Saccomano
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. --The Denver Broncos' 2014 rookie minicamp is over, and each player has had his first opportunity—the first of many, they hope—to impress Broncos coaches.
It has been said by many coaches that, "I do not cut players. I give them a chance, and they cut themselves."
There is a lot of truth to that, but there is a reverse to the saying as well.
Sometimes, when you give them a chance, they never cut themselves. They have a good practice, pay attention at meetings, learn the plays fast, have another good practice, move up on the depth chart, get a chance in a preseason game, and the next thing you know, they are…..
Terrell Davis. Karl Mecklenburg. Shannon Sharpe. Steve Foley. Rod Smith. Chris Harris Jr.
It goes back to the very beginning when one of the free agents that the Broncos took a look at did not even go to college, but had played on some of those fine United States Navy base teams of the 1950s. He claimed he was a running back and placekicker as well, and he was right.
It was Gene Mingo, of course, the first African-American placekicker in pro football history and one of the four leading scorers in all of pro football during his five seasons (1960-64) with the Broncos.
Another time, also in the 1960s, the team took a flyer on a guy who had played minor league baseball in the St. Louis Cardinals chain after a brief college football career.
John "Bull" Bramlett was the American Football League defensive rookie of the year and pretty much wrecked havoc for the Broncos as one of the most feared hitters at linebacker in the AFL.
I remember a rookie mini camp in which I was seeking out the fellow who had just run the fastest time in the 40s—I expected to find a 5-10 sprinter, but he turned out to be a lithe, 6-4 wide receiver: Steve Watson.
Like a lot of them, Watson worked out pretty well.
I also remember the day the player personal department cleaned out its files by sending a form letter to everyone who had sent in anything, advertising a one-day tryout camp.
All in all, 478 wanna-be, hoped-to-be, and absolutely never-will-be players showed up to get a quick look from the scouts.
Really, it was like the "Star Wars" bar scene in football—players so hopelessly old and out of shape that we truly had to stifle chuckles as you did the necessary serious work.
But among all the guys who showed up that day, one was a soccer-style kicker who had never played soccer, who felt he had a better feel for the football if he kicked barefoot!
It was Rich Karlis, who survived the 478-player tryout, came to camp, made the team and became a Super Bowl placekicker for the Broncos, as well as one of the classiest players we have ever had working within the community.
So you never know.
And never tell yourself that it cannot be. Trust your eyes. When somebody plays better than somebody else, that is a good thing for the guy doing the playing.
I have always said that we have little interest in having the fastest player. We want the guy who gets there fastest, and makes the play.
Players play.
So we have moved past the first minicamp with a lot of the players—most of them, really—still pretty much unknown to most fans.
But never assume it will stay that way.
We all know the phrase, "Put me in, Coach."
That is what every one of these young guys is saying right now, and there are players who will amaze and delight us all when they get their opportunity.
The offseason will continue at its own pace, but the pot of player performance and evaluation has started to boil.
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Police Beat: Report: Six guns, jewelry stolen from home
A home near Evelyn Davis Park is missing more than $5,000 worth of guns after a Wednesday burglary, according to a police report.
The house, in the 1400 block of Goddard Court, was allegedly broken into between 3:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, the report said. A neighbor called the police about a possible break-in. The homeowner returned about 3:10 p.m. and noticed a number of guns missing and a bedroom window broken.
The victim told police six guns — three handguns and three long guns — were stolen. They range in price from $300 to $3,000. He was able to give police serial numbers for the firearms.
Along with the guns, the homeowner reported between $6,000 and $8,000 worth of watches and jewelry was stolen.
Man allegedly shoplifts, fights store staff
A Des Moines man was arrested Thursday afternoon after allegedly trying to steal a bottle of beer and fighting with grocery store staff.
Robert Taylor McGregor, 23, was charged with second-degree robbery.
McGregor reportedly entered Hy-Vee, 2540 E. Euclid Ave., around 4:20 p.m. An employee told police he saw McGregor put a 40-ounce bottle of Budweiser, worth $3.54 after tax, in his coat sleeve.
Before trying to leave, McGregor paid only for a bag of salad, authorities said. An employee confronted McGregor, who removed the beer from his coat and rushed at the employee, knocking the man off balance, police reports show.
Another employee saw a knife in McGregor’s hand, and a group of employees wrestled him to the ground, authorities said. The employees suffered bruises and abrasions but declined medical treatment, police said.
McGregor was arrested and taken to the Polk County Jail, where he remained Friday on $10,000 bond.
Carjacking trial delayed until May
A Des Moines teen’s trial on first-degree robbery charges stemming from a brutal carjacking last year has been delayed until May, said Polk County Attorney John Sarcone on Friday.
Kenneth Owen Barry, 17, was scheduled to go to trial Monday for his role in the Feb. 26, 2013, carjacking of Mike Wasike near his home in Des Moines’ Meredith neighborhood. Almost a year later, Wasike continues to be treated for brain injuries at a center in Tulsa, Okla.
Barry faces two charges of first-degree robbery, as do Terrance Cheeks Jr. and Leshaun Murray, both 16. In January, trials for Cheeks and Murray were moved to April.
Two ‘stranger danger’ incidents reported
An 11-year-old boy ran away and called police Friday after he dropped his cellphone and a man who picked it up said to “come and get it,” police said.
West Des Moines Police Sgt. Tanya Zaglauer said the boy dropped the phone near South 19th Street and Bennett Drive. He asked for the phone back but the man replied that he should “come and get it,” Zaglauer said. The boy went to a friend’s house instead.
Children who encounter strangers behaving strangely should get away and call for help.
On Tuesday, police said, a driver approached a 10-year-old Westridge Elementary School student who was walking home and motioned to the child to get in the car. There is no indication the cases are connected, authorities said.
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Depeche Mode: SPIRITS in the Forest + Anton Corbijn Q&A
Across 2017/2018 Depeche Mode embarked on their Global Spirit Tour, in which they performed to more than 3 million fans at 115 shows across the globe. This new visually-striking film, directed by award-winning filmmaker and longtime artistic collaborator Anton Corbijn, captures the energy and spectacle of the band's performance from the tour along with a deeper look into how their music and shows have been woven into the fabric of their fans' lives.
Through the deeply emotional stories of six special Depeche Mode fans, the film shows not only how and why the band's popularity and relevance has continued to grow over the course of their career, but provides a unique look into music's incredible power to build communities, enable people to overcome adversity, and create connections across the boundaries of language, location, gender, age, and circumstance.
Artfully shot and expertly edited, Depeche Mode: SPIRITS in the Forest goes beyond the typical concert film, weaving together exhilarating musical performances, filmed at the final shows of the Global Spirit Tour in Berlin's famed Waldbuhne ("Forest Stage"), with intimate documentary footage filmed in fans' hometowns across the globe.
Director Anton Corbijn joins us for a Q&A, hosted by Edith Bowman.
Wednesday 30 October 6.10pm | Curzon Mayfair.
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CZ Export
Dan Wesson Firearms
EG-CZ Academy
Spuhr i Dalby AB
4M Systems
News and Regulatory Announcement
Financial Results and Presentations
Česká zbrojovka and Eric Grauffel present a joint project
In the 2019 shooting season, the CZ Shooting Team will welcome Eric Grauffel, who will compete in the colours of Česká zbrojovka a.s. in the Production division with the CZ SHADOW 2 ORANGE pistol.
In the 2019 shooting season, the CZ Shooting Team will welcome Eric Grauffel, who will compete in the colours of Česká zbrojovka a.s. in the Production division with the CZ SHADOW 2 ORANGE pistol. Eric is considered the best pistol shooter of all time.
Eight IPSC World Champion titles are clear evidence of this – the first was in 1996 in the Open Junior division, then five times in the Open division, which was followed by a victory in the Production division and, on the last World Shoot, Eric dominated the Standard division.
At the same time, a joint project of Česká zbrojovka and Eric Grauffel named EG-CZ Academy is being launched. The result will be a worldwide network of training centres that should set a new standard in this field. The city of Quimper in Brittany in the north-west of France, where Eric has been living since his birth, was chosen as the headquarters. For this purpose, a brand new multifunctional indoor shooting range with the possibility of shooting in all angles is being built here, which will be usable both for sporting purposes and for highly effective realistic training of military and law enforcement personnel. The completion of this EG-CZ Academy centre is scheduled for mid-2020.
Already in 2019, the EG-CZ Academy promo tour will take place in various countries around the world, especially those that have a strong base of IPSC shooting sport and where big competitions are organized. Instructors will be members of the CZ Shooting Team, who are among the best shooters of the planet. In addition to Eric Grauffel, the project will include, for example, Ljubisa Momiclovic (a long-time member of the CZ Shooting Team, excellent shooter and instructor of military and law enforcement), or Czech shooter star Robin Šebo.
More detailed information on the activities of EG-CZ Academy is available on the official website http://www.eg-czacademy.com/, where applicants can enrol in individual courses. We believe it will be a truly global project that will benefit the entire shooting community.
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Opletalova 1284/37
110 00, Praha 1, Czech Republic
info@czg.cz
© 2021 CZG - Česká zbrojovka Group SE
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Gift Ideas for Cooks When a Dreidel Isn't Enough
| Holidays |
Hanna Raskin | December 6, 2010 | 4:51pm
Since Chanukah's not traditionally a gift-giving holiday (it's a minor festival trumped up to keep assimilation-minded Jews from celebrating Christmas, but I'll save that screed for another day), I typically don't bother making a wish list. As a kid, my loot usually consisted of dreidels and socks, which my brother and I once tried pinning over the fireplace. Santa wasn't fooled.
If I were in the market for gifts this month, I'd be thrilled to receive any of the following five books, and I bet most food lovers would feel the same way.
1. The Essential New York Times Cookbook: Classic Recipes for a New Century (W.W. Norton & Co. , 2010) by Amanda Hesser I wasn't a huge fan of Hesser when she chronicled her romance with "Mr. Latte" in a series of columns for The New York Times magazine, but I can't find anything not to like about the concept underlying her latest book, a compendium of recipes drawn from the paper's 150-year-old recipe archive. The dishes included -- more than 1,400 in all -- are an edible timeline of our nation's food fads, foibles and achievements.
2. Fannie's Last Supper: Re-Creating One Meal from Fannie Farmer's 1896 Cookbook (Hyperion, 2010) by Christopher Kimball. This book somehow completely escaped my attention until The New York Times Book Review made mention of it this weekend. In it, Kimball -- best known as editor of Cook's Illustrated -- documents his effort to precisely recreate a meal that might have been served in his 1859 Boston townhouse when Fannie Farmer reigned as domestic taste-maker. His task's complicated immensely by ingredient sourcing and the sad fact that Farmer wasn't a very good cook.
3. One Big Table: 600 Recipes from the Nation's Best Home Cooks, Farmers, Fishermen, Pit-masters and Chefs (Simon & Schuster, 2010) by Molly O'Neill Fannie Farmer might have been hurt by Kimball's assessment of her cooking skills, but she'd have been scandalized by One Big Table, which is admirably free of the fusty gentility that was a hallmark of Farmer's work. The tremendously talented O'Neill traveled across the country to assemble this collection of plainspoken recipes from regular home cooks, creating a culinary portrait in the process.
4. The Sunset Cookbook: Over 1000 Recipes for the Way You Cook Today (Oxmoor House, 2010) I can't recall whether photographer Larry Sultan ever shot his staunchly suburban parents eating, but if he did, it's a good bet the Californians were feasting on baby artichoke antipasto and Baja fish tacos. While the word "today" appears in the title, the recipes in this cookbook were drawn from 110 years of fashioning a nouvelle Western cuisine.
5. As Always, Julia: The Letters of Julia Child and Avis DeVoto (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010) Edited by Joan Reardon. It's probably futile to try to read Child's correspondence without hearing her voice -- or Meryl Streep's approximation of it -- in your head. As Child might say, no matter. One must press on. This chain of letters between Child and her dear friend shows both women to be lively, witty and incisive, while making the demise of letter-writing all the sadder.
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In the Bloody Railroad Cut at Gettysburg
The 6th Wisconsin of the Iron Brigade and its Famous Charge
William J.K. Beaudot, Lance J. Herdegen
The storied Iron Brigade carved out a unique reputation during the Civil War. Its men fought on many hard fields, but they performed their most legendary exploits just outside a small Pennsylvania town called Gettysburg on the first day of July in 1863. There were many heroic actions, but the fight along an unfinished deep scar in the ground north
29 images and 8 maps
Binding. : Paperback
The storied Iron Brigade carved out a unique reputation during the Civil War. Its men fought on many hard fields, but they performed their most legendary exploits just outside a small Pennsylvania town called Gettysburg on the first day of July in 1863. There were many heroic actions that morning and afternoon, but the fight along an unfinished deep scar in the ground north of the Chambersburg Pike was one never forgotten, and is the subject of Lance J. Herdegen’s and William J. K. Beaudot’s award-winning (and long out of print) In the Bloody Railroad Cut at Gettysburg: The 6th Wisconsin of the Iron Brigade and its Famous Charge.
The railroad cut fighting was led mainly by the “Calico Boys” of the 6th Wisconsin Volunteers. Detached from the balance of the Iron Brigade, the Badgers of the 6th charged nearly 200 yards to meet a Confederate brigade that had swung into what looked like an ideal defensive position along an unfinished railroad cut northwest of town. The fighting was close, brutal, personal, and bloody—and it played a key role in the final Union victory.
The Wisconsin men always remembered that moment when they stood under “a galling fire” in an open field just north of the pike. Using hundreds of firsthand accounts, many previously unpublished, Herdegen and Beaudot carry their readers into the very thick of the fighting. The air seemed “full of bullets,” one private recalled, the men around him dropping “at a fearful rate.” Pvt. Amos Lefler was on his hands and knees spitting blood and teeth with Capt. Johnny Ticknor of Company K down and dying just a handful of yards away. Pvt. James P. Sullivan felt defenseless, unable as he was to get his rifle-musket to fire because of bad percussion caps. Rebel buckshot, meanwhile, smashed the canteen and slashed the hip of Sgt. George Fairfield. Behind the Wisconsin men, Lt. Col. Rufus Dawes watched a “fearful” and “destructive” Confederate fire crashing with “an unbroken roar before us. Men were being shot by twenties and thirties.”
While frantically loading and shooting, the Badgers leaned into the storm of bullets coming from the cut 175 yards away. The Westerners pushed slowly into the field and—at that very instant when victory or defeat teetered undecided—the “Jayhawkers” in the Prairie du Chien Company began shouting “Charge! Charge! Charge!” And so they did. Young Dawes lifted his sword and shouted “Forward! Forward Charge! Align on the Colors!” It was at that moment, remembered Cpl. Frank Wallar, a farmer-turned-soldier who would soon make his name known to history by capturing the flag of the 2nd Mississippi, “there was a general rush and yells enough to almost awaken the dead.”
Out of print for nearly two decades, this facsimile reprint and its new Introduction share with yet another generation of readers the story of the 6th Wisconsin’s magnificent charge. Indeed it is their story, and how they remembered it. And it is one you will never forget.
Co-authors Lance J. Herdegen and William J.K. Beaudot spent almost 30 years gathering dozens of unused sources before writing the award winning In the Bloody Railroad Cut at Gettysburg, and then collaborated on An Irishman in the Iron Brigade, the memoirs of James P. Sullivan of the 6th Wisconsin. Herdegen’s latest work includes The Iron Brigade in Civil War and Memory: The Black Hats from Bull Run to Appomattox and Thereafter, and the award winning Those Damned Black Hat: The Iron Brigade in the Gettysburg Campaign. Beaudot’s latest book is The 24th Wisconsin Infantry in the Civil War: The Biography of a Regiment. It was awarded the Milwaukee County Historical Society’s Gambrinus Prize. Beaudot worked in television news before joining the Milwaukee Public Library from which he retired after more than 36 years. Herdegen is the former director of the Institute of Civil War Studies at Carroll University. He previously worked as a reporter and editor for the United Press International (UPI) news service. Also included in this book is a foreword by author Alan T. Nolan and an appendix by Howard Michael Madaus, a nationally recognized Civil War authority, describing the distinctive uniform of the Iron Brigade.
Award-winning journalist Lance J. Herdegen is the former director of the Institute of Civil War Studies at Carroll University. He previously worked as a reporter and editor for the United Press International (UPI) news service covering national politics and civil rights. He presently is historical consultant for the Civil War Museum of the Upper Middle West.
In the Bloody Railroad Cut at Gettysburg Reviews
Chris Mackowski PhD, Kristopher D. White
Michael C. Harris
The War Outside My Window: The Civil War Diary of LeRoy Wiley Gresham, 1860-1865 (edited by J. E. Croon)
Kimberly Conrad
Ultimate Interactive Basic Training Workbook
Sgt. Michael Volkin
Daniel Davis, Phillip Greenwalt
Guide to the Battles of the American Revolution
J. David Dameron, Theodore P. Savas
National Guard 101
Mary Corbett
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Should Congress Impose Sanctions on the Burma’s Military in Response to the Rohingya Genocide?
xNay
Argument in favor
The Burmese military’s horrific violence against the Rohingya ethnic minority in Burma constitutes genocide, and should be labeled as such by Congress. The U.S. should call these acts what they are and impose appropriate sanctions against the Burmese military. It should also endeavor to ensure that Burma’s gem and jade industries aren’t used to fund the military’s genocidal acts.
jimK's Opinion
Top Comment for
If the Burmese Military is receiving tax payer dollars and engaging in gross human rights violations, than it would be appropriate to make continued aid conditional to assurances that our aid is not being used to support those human rights violations. It would be a much stronger case if we engaged allied members of the world community to endorse and support this and other more ‘punitive’ sanctions. We need to be team players in the world community for actions such as these and in addressing global concerns. We should not be the enforcer that simply bullies other nations into submission because we can. Too much hate, too much distrust, too much lack of trust if we alone prescribe what is ‘right’ for the world.
Francisco's Opinion
The United States is one of many countries that occupy this planet!! We have created a world body called the UN to deal with global concerns! Taking unilateral action to interfere with the internal problems of other nations only creates enmity with other nations!! We should strengthen the United Nations so that they can apply pressure and deploy assistance to member nations!! We are presently too involved in destruction of the Earth in order to give our American Industrial Complex funds from a war economy and the ill gotten gains from invasions and de-stabilization of the world’s countries!! We must become responsible members of the Earth by listening to scientists and our youth who want to be able to have a healthy environment to live in!! Greta Thunberg is right!! We are destroying our planet!! Congressional measures should be consistent. I am a Buddhist and the measures contemplated against the Myanmar military in terms of withdrawing aide is a great idea! We should have this policy against all human rights violators , especially Israel and Saudi Arabia for the attacks and deaths of millions of People in The Middle East!! But more importantly we must participate and adhere to international processes for dealing with rogue governments that kill their own people!! We must not become rogue ourselves as is evident in our regime change policies to give billionaires the ill- gotten gains of invasion!!
burrkitty's Opinion
I don’t know much about this, but anything that prohibits the expansion of the American military is a good thing in my book. STOP THE EXPANSION OF AMERICAN IMPERIALISM! We have turned in to the bloody Empire. STOP THE SEVEN UNAUTHORIZED WARS! Or is it eight now...? I can hardly keep up with them all anymore. Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Libya, and Niger. The new one is Saudi Arabia. So eight now. QUIT IT ALREADY!
Argument opposed
The Burmese government denies that its actions against the Rohingya were genocide. The country’s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, a democratic icon, should be trusted to make the appropriate judgments regarding the military’s actions. Instead of condemning the Burmese government, the U.S. should work with it to stabilize the country and bridge the divides between Burma’s various ethnic groups.
Terry's Opinion
Top Comment against
No. How about we put sanctions on these liberal socialist hypocrite Democrats.
Gypsy's Opinion
Francisco has said it all. That would be why we are part of the United Nations. Allow them to do the job they were entrusted to do. We should stay out of that and petition the U. N. for the people’s needs.
Leon's Opinion
We are not the world’s police force. I’d support a statement from Congress but no new targeted restrictions that often hurt those we say we want to protect.
President Not Signed
What is House Bill H.R. 3190?
This bill — the BURMA Act — would impose sanctions on the Burmese military in reponse to the genocide of the Rohingya people. Specifically, this bill would: 1) prohibit the expansion of American military assistance to Burma until reforms take place; 2) require reporting on crimes against humanity, including war crimes and genocide; 3) impose trade, visa, and financial restrictions against those responsible for the Rohingya genocide; 4) support investigations to support war criminals’ eventual prosecution; and 5) promote reforms to limit the Burmese military’s stranglehold on Burma’s natural resources.
This bill would also include a statement of policy with regard to Burma, stating that it’s U.S. policy to “support a complete transition to democracy and genuine national reconciliation in Burma” through “calibrated engagement.” The guiding principles of this strategy would include:
Promotion of constitutional reforms;
Development of a representative political system;
Accountability for human rights abuses against the Rohingya and other ethnic minorities;
Regularized free and fair elections;
Professional military, security, and police forces operating under civil control; and
Strengthening respect for and protection of human rights and religious freedom.
This bill would also express the sense of Congress on a number of issues. It would call on the Burmese government to ensure the safe and voluntary return of all who were displaced from their homes and ensure that refugees’ rights their relocation be consistent with international principles. It would also express that promoting freedom of the press in Burma requires the reform of laws that undermine press freedom, including the colonial-era one under which the government unjustly detained two Reuters journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo. It would also call on the administration should use authorities under the Global Magnitsky Act to sanction the applicable people in Burma for human rights abuses, significant corruption, and equivalent crimes.
Finally, this bill would include a number of provisions in regard to the governance of the Burmese mining and gemstone sector. First, it would express the sense of Congress that the State Dept. or the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) should provide the Burmese mining sector with technical assistance to reform the gem industry. It would also require the Secretary of State to publish and maintain a list of all Burmese entities that meet the criteria outlined in the Myanmar Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative regarding beneficial ownership and other metrics related to transparency to create a “white list” that U.S. gem importers should seek to import from.
This bill’s full title is the Burma Unified through Rigorous Military Accountability Act of 2019.
Congress; State Dept.; U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID); Secretary of State; Congress’ sentiments regarding Burma and the Rohingya; Burma; the Rohingya; the Burmese gem and jade industries; U.S. importers importing gems and jade from Burma; and whitelisting of certain Burmese gem and jade companies from which American companies should import gems and jade.
Cost of House Bill H.R. 3190
A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.
In-Depth: Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, reintroduced this bill from the 115th Congress to impose sanctions on the Burmese military in response to the genocide of the Rohingya people:
“Since August of 2017, the Burmese military has inflicted horrific violence against the Rohingya in Burma's Rakhine State, and today is using the same tactics against the Kachin and other ethnic minorities. The BURMA Act passed the House with overwhelming support last year because of bipartisan conviction that we must hold the military and security forces of Burma accountable for the horrific genocide they carried out against the Rohingya and the horrors they continue to inflict on other ethnic minorities in the country today. I am proud to re-introduce the bipartisan BURMA Act this Congress. We will not rest until there is justice.”
After this bill unanimously passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Engel said:
“The Rohingya who have been suffering at the hands of the Burmese military since the horrific attacks in 2017 shouldn’t have to wait for justice any longer. Meanwhile, the military is waging similar violence against other minorities, employing the cruel and inhumane tactics the Burmese army has used for decades. There needs to be relief from the violence and suffering. There needs to be accountability for those who have carried out the genocide against the Rohingya and ongoing horrors against other ethnic minorities. My legislation would provide new tools to help reach those goals. I hope this bill moves swiftly through the House and if it reaches the Senate, I hope that body’s leadership will see the dire need to get this measure across the finish line.”
Original cosponsor Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH), former Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, adds:
“It has been nearly two years since the Burmese military committed crimes against humanity and genocide against the Rohingya in Rakhine State, Burma. Since then there has been little accountability for these actions which have left nearly 700,000 Rohingya men, women and children languishing in refugee camps in Bangladesh without hope of returning to their homes. Chairman Engel and I introduced the BURMA Act in the last Congress because we believe there must be consequences for the Burmese military’s barbaric atrocities; today we continue the effort to hold the perpetrators accountable.”
American Jewish World Service (AJWS) supports this bill. Its Director of Government Affairs, Rori Kramer, says:
“As the leading global Jewish organization supporting human rights in Burma, we know the importance of addressing Burma’s culture of impunity that has allowed decade after decade of mass atrocities and human rights violations. Moreover, we cannot stand by when the Rohingya people are being targeted for genocide because we know from our own history that those who are silent are complicit in their oppression… By passing this bipartisan legislation, Congress will send a clear signal that the U.S. government is committed to redressing the wrongs perpetrated against all ethnic minorities in Burma, as well as the most extreme crimes committed against the Rohingya people. We must hold the perpetrators to account for their actions. Since the Burmese military launched a massive genocidal campaign against the Rohingya people in August 2017, more than 700,000 Rohingya people have been forced to flee their home country to escape horrific violence—simply because of their ethnicity and religion. The U.S. Congress should send a clear message to the Burmese military and the global community that the United States will not stay silent in the face of genocide and other atrocities. Both chambers of Congress must now pass the legislation to help restore the citizenship rights and dignity of the Rohingya people. This legislation also would apply pressure on the Burmese government to conduct inclusive negotiations—with the full participation of Rohingya leaders—to ensure a safe repatriation process and resolution to this crisis.”
Vice President Mike Pence has expressed sympathy for the Rohingya, stating:
‘‘This is a tragedy that has touched the hearts of millions of Americans. The violence and persecution by military and vigilantes that resulted in driving 700,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh is without excuse.’’
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has also expressed his assessment that the Rohingya in Burma were subjected to ethnic cleansing, stating on August 25, 2018:
“A year ago, following deadly militant attacks, security forces responded by launching abhorrent ethnic cleansing of ethnic Rohingya in Burma… The U.S. will continue to hold those responsible accountable. The military must respect human rights for Burma’s democracy to succeed.’’
However, despite Pence’s and Pompeo’s declarations, the Trump administration has shied away from applying the designation of “genocide” to the Rohingya. In a 2018 report, the State Dept. found that the military “targeted civilians indiscriminately and often with extreme brutality," but declined to label the events of 2017 a genocide.
Myanmar, which has denied UN investigators and ICC prosecutors into its territory, denies accusations that the Rohingya were victims of genocide or ethnic cleansing. It labels the military crackdown as a response to “terrorists” from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army who attacked police posts.
This legislation has passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee by voice vote with the support of 53 bipartisan cosponsors, including 40 Democrats and 13 Republicans. The FY2020 NDAA also includes this legislation. Global Witness, Jewish World Watch, and American Jewish World Service (AJWS) support this legislation.
Last Congress, this bill passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee by voice vote with the support of 82 bipartisan cosponsors, including 53 Democrats and 29 Republicans. It also passed the House last Congress as a floor amendment to the NDAA, but the provision wasn’t taken up by the Senate and ultimately didn’t become law.
Previous legislation on the Rohingya genocide hasn’t passed due to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s refusal to bring the Senate versions to a vote. McConnell is a close ally of Aung San Suu Kyi, a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner who was once glorified for her pro-democracy advocacy. As Burma’s de facto leader (she can’t become president because she has children who are foreign nationals) since 2016, Suu Kyi has largely defended the military’s conduct.
In 2017, Rep. Chabot argued that this bill’s sanctions would give Suu Kyi more leverage with the military, observing, "We would be able to work with her perhaps to relieve sanctions once in place if the military does reform itself and does certainly cease the hostilities and the atrocities that have occurred.”
Of Note: Beginning on August 25, 2017, the Burmese military and security forces, along with civilian mobs, carried out widespread attacks, rapes, killings, and the burning of villages throughout Rakhine State, resulting in approximately 730,000 Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh.
In spring 2018, the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) conducted a survey of the firsthand experiences of 1,024 Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar District, Bangladesh. The survey’s goal was to document the atrocities committed against residents of Burma’s northern Rakhine State during the course of violence in the years 2016-2018. The survey found that the vast majority of Rohingya refugees experienced or directly witnessed extreme violence and the destruction of their homes, most often perpetrated by the Burmese military. The survey’s key findings were:
Most Rohingya witnessed a killing, two-thirds witnessed an injury, and half witnessed sexual violence.
Rohingya identified the Burmese military as a perpetrator in 84 percent of the killings or injuries they witnessed.
Three-quarters of respondents saw members of the army kill someone, and the same proportion say they witnessed the army destroying huts or whole villages. Police, unidentified security forces, and armed civilians carried out the rest of the observed killings.
One-fifth of all respondents witnessed a mass-casualty event of killings or injuries (either in their villages or as they fled) with more than 100 victims.
45 percent of refugees witnessed a rape, the majority of which were committed, in whole or part, by the army. Overall, nearly 40 percent of refugees saw members of the Burmese security services — either police or military — commit rapes. 18 percent of refugees saw members of the Burmese security services commit gang rapes.
Members of the security services, as well as non-Rohingya civilians in some cases, targeted children and pregnant women.
Those who were left behind because they were elderly, sick, or otherwise infirm were frequently found dead when their relatives returned to check on them.
The INR survey conclusively found that the violence committed against the Rohingya in Rakhine State was extreme, large-scale, widespread, and geared toward terrorizing the population and driving the Rohingya out.
In September 2018, a United Nations independent international fact-finding mission came to the same conclusions as the IHR survey. In its report, the mission reported that there were “consistent patterns of serious human rights violations and abuses” in Kachin, Rakhine, and Shan States, in addition to serious violations of international humanitarian law.. The UN report identified security forces, particularly the military, as the primary perpetrators of violence.
Global Witness reports that both the Burmese jade and ruby industries suffer from widespread secrecy, corruption, smuggling, and conflict. The House Committee on Foreign Affairs finds that illicit trafficking in Burmese gemstones “deprives the people of Burma and the civilian government of critical revenue and instead benefits military-linked entities, non-state armed groups, and transnational organized criminal networks.”
House Foreign Affairs Committee Press Release
House Foreign Affairs Committee Press Release After Committee Passage
Section-by-Section
American Jewish World Service (AJWS) Press Release (In Favor)
Global Witness Press Release (In Favor)
Jewish World Watch (In Favor)
The Daily Star
Countable (Related, 115th Congress)
Summary by Lorelei Yang
(Photo Credit: iStockphoto.com / Suvra Kanti Das)
Burma Unified through Rigorous Military Accountability Act of 2019
To authorize humanitarian assistance and impose sanctions with respect to human rights abuses in Burma, and for other purposes.
bill Progress
Not enacted
The President has not signed this bill
The senate has not voted
Committee on Foreign Relations
The house Passed September 24th, 2019
Roll Call Vote 394 Yea / 21 Nay
Committee on Foreign Affairs
IntroducedJune 11th, 2019
Log in or create an account to see how your Reps voted!
Bill Data
Rep Eliot Engel
(D - NY)
54 Cosponsors
Introduced 06/11/2019
Full text of Bill
jimK's Opinion In Favor
Terry's Opinion Against
Francisco's Opinion In Favor
burrkitty's Opinion In Favor
Aaron's Opinion In Favor
Yes. This would be a light but needed punishment for inhumane treatment.
Gypsy's Opinion Against
Leon's Opinion Against
Hillary's Opinion In Favor
Yes, we should do what we can about Burma and the Rohingya. But it would be hypocritical not to point out that the US Is making migrants suffer unspeakable horrors, has children in cages, that trump is selling sacred tribal lands to his cronies for oil drilling, that trump is running pipeline over Native American lands, that trump is bankrupting farmers and other workers over tariffs.
Jennifer's Opinion In Favor
Vlad's Opinion In Favor
Less than two years since the world outrage over the mass atrocities committed against the Rohingya population, the Myanmar military is again committing horrific abuses against ethnic groups in Rakhine State. The new operations in Rakhine State show an unrepentant, unreformed and unaccountable military terrorizing civilians and committing widespread violations as a deliberate tactic, according to Amnesty International. Evidence gathered from interviews, photographs and satellite imagery indicate troops are instigating violent clashes, carrying out extrajudicial executions, conducting arbitrary arrests, torturing prisoners and destroying historical sites, Evidence gathered from interviews, photographs and satellite imagery indicate troops are instigating violent clashes, carrying out extrajudicial executions, conducting arbitrary arrests, torturing prisoners and destroying historical sites, according to the report called "No-one can protect us." While the military campaign has been directed at quashing an Arakan rebellion, the vulnerable Rohingya population is also a target as well as other Buddhists and Christians. According to the report, a military helicopter opened fire on Rohingya laborers cutting bamboo on April 3, killing at least six men and boys and injuring at least 13 others. Amnesty International estimates about 30,000 people have been displaced by the conflict since January. Nearly all humanitarian aid has been blocked, and as both sides continue to destroy farmland and harvests, human rights groups are warning of a "looming food insecurity crisis."
Scott's Opinion In Favor
I agree with my Congressman on this one. Im hoping the crazed left nutcases didn't add any of thier vote buying scams to the bill tho.
Chris's Opinion In Favor
Why is this even a question? If anyone is involved in a genocide we should do everything we can to stop them.
Glowurm's Opinion In Favor
Carmine's Opinion In Favor
Frances's Opinion In Favor
DEFINITELY! THIS IS GENOCIDE AND JUST AS BAD A WHAT THE NAZIS DID. WE WENT TO WAR OVER THAT!
Ann's Opinion In Favor
DeplorableRealtor's Opinion Against
Congress needs to pay attention to itself and start policing itself - Congress especially House Democrats is national disgrace and they have harmed America. I traded them as enemy combatants. Bring one fo the Squad to my face and see what happens! Tiemto get tough on this bullshit. DEMOCRATS OW AMERIC 4 MORE YEARS OF TRUMP BECAUSE THEY STOLE IT FROM AMERICA!
Richard's Opinion In Favor
Thank you for supporting this bill.
Brian's Opinion In Favor
Yes, the United States must continue to stand against oppression and genocide. What the Burmese have done to the Rohingya is abominable and will only continue mass migrations which we're seeing across the globe, causing other problems in other countries. We need to speak and act to stabilize countries such as Burma, because now Bangladesh is going to have population control issues trying to take care of these refugees.
Forget for just a moment that the United States has a vested financial interest in the outcome. Let's also ignore for just for a little while that the U.S. may be the de facto "Guardian of the World". Also: Pretend that the holocaust is a myth or never happened. Instead: Contemplate briefly on the intense and enduring psychological pain that every good person in the world shall endure while watching these horrors unfold, perhaps "_Live_" on network news.
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Trump repeatedly says Kurdish allies are "not angels"
By Grace Segers, Kathryn Watson
Updated on: October 16, 2019 / 3:06 PM / CBS News
Trump says Kurds are "not angels"
Trump says Kurds are "not angels" 02:58
Washington — President Trump slammed Kurds in northeastern Syria on Wednesday, repeatedly declaring that members of the group that fought alongside U.S. troops in the fight against ISIS are "not angels."
He also tacitly condoned Turkish invasion of northeastern Syria, even as Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are visiting Turkey to urge President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to end the conflict.
"They're not angels. They're not angels. Take a look. You have to go back and take a look," Mr. Trump said of the Kurds during a bilateral meeting at the White House alongside Italian President Sergio Mattarella. Senator Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally, said the president's comments undermine the diplomatic effort to rein in Turkey.
The president authorized a drawdown of troops in northeastern Syria last week, a decision which has been met with fierce criticism from Democrats and Republicans in Congress, who have introduced bipartisan measures to impose sanctions on Turkey. The Kurds are guarding several prisons containing former ISIS fighters and their families, leading to concerns that the prisoners could escape.
Mr. Trump suggested that the U.S. should not get involved if Turkey invades Syria, even though his administration introduced some sanctions against Turkey for engaging in the conflict this week.
"That has nothing to do with us," Mr. Trump said. "They've got a lot of sand over there ... There's a lot of sand they can play with."
President Trump answers questions during a joint press conference with Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the White House on October 16, 2019. OLIVIER DOULIERY / AFP
Mr. Trump repeated the line that Kurds are not angels multiple times during a press conference later Wednesday alongside the Italian president. Mr. Trump touted Turkey as one of the few NATO nations nearly pulling its weight on defense spending, even as Turkey uses some of those funds to launch an assault on the Kurds.
"Why are we protecting Syria's land? Assad's not a friend of ours. Why are we protecting their land? And Syria also has a relationship with the Kurds, who by the way are no angels. OK? Who is an angel? There aren't too many around," Mr. Trump said, a reference he said again during the press conference.
Mr. Trump also said Erdogan's decision to launch an offensive on the Kurds in Syria "didn't surprise me," as it's something Erdogan has long wanted. The commander-in-chief also called the PKK, a Kurdish political party, probably a greater terrorist threat than ISIS.
Asked if he regretting giving the "green light" to Erdogan, Mr. Trump insisted he didn't give the Turkish leader the go-ahead to invade. The president then went on to insist that the U.S. has been fighting ISIS for other countries, like Russia and Iran, and those countries can now fight ISIS instead since they're closer geographically.
"Russia's tough. They can kill ISIS just as well, and they happen to be in their neighborhood," Mr. Trump said.
Italy's president expressed concern over Turkey's assault on the Kurds and the possibility of a reinvigorated ISIS, although he did not directly criticize Mr. Trump, insisting he doesn't want to judge another nation's decisions.
Even as he insists he's getting troops out of the Middle East, Mr. Trump defended the decision to send 1,500 American troops to Saudi Arabia, saying the Saudis are "paying" for the troops' presence "100%."
Meanwhile, the House overwhelmingly passed a resolution condemning Mr. Trump's decision to pull troops in northeastern Syria, in a vote of 354 to 60. The only votes opposing the resolution came from Republicans, and four members voted present.
Speaking to reporters before meeting with Mr. Trump to discuss the situation in Syria, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said that he hoped Majority Leader Mitch McConnell McConnell would bring the resolution to the Senate floor.
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story said that President Trump had said, "If Turkey goes into Syria, it is between Turkey and Syria. It's not our problem." In fact, Mr. Trump said, "It's not our border." The story has been updated.
First published on October 16, 2019 / 9:58 AM
Grace Segers
Grace Segers is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital based in Washington, D.C.
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Another Gray day for privacy
Two updates following on from my posts (here and here) about a Dublin family who moved to Ballybunion but were forced out when the Gardaà leaked to the local press that they had taken in their nephew who had just been released from prison after serving a sentence for rape.
First, a report of the judgment in the case is now available online at Gray v Minister for Justice [2007] IEHC 52 (17 January 2007).
Second, Daniel J Solove on Concurring Opinions has a fascinating post about liability for invasion of privacy in similar circumstances in the US: The Steven Hatfill Case, Law Enforcement Leaks, and Journalist Privilege. Some extracts:
It seems to happen way too often. Despite policies and laws that forbid law enforcement officials from mentioning the names of suspects who are not yet formally accused or even arrested, leaks invariably seem to happen. The leaks can wreak havoc in the lives of those whose names are mentioned. Many of these people wind up never being charged with any crime, yet their reputations are destroyed by the leaks and resulting media attention.
One example of this is Andrew Speaker, the TB patient whose name was apparently leaked by a law enforcement official and a “medical official” (presumably a medical official of the government). These officials probably committed tortious conduct — there is a good argument that the leaks might be violations of the breach of confidentiality tort. There is also a good argument that the leaks violated Speaker’s constitutional right to information privacy (for a discussion of this right, see my post here) and the Privacy Act (if they were federal officials).
Another example is Steven Hatfill, the so-called “person of interest” that government officials identified as involved in the Anthrax attacks. Hatfill’s reputation was annihilated when these leaks took place. He was never charged with any crime. Hatfill is now suing the federal government for the leaks. But one of the difficulties in suing is identifying the government officials who made the leaks. Hatfill is seeking the names of the officials from several journalists, who are claiming that the names are protected by journalist privilege. …
I previously blogged about my own normative views about when the journalist privilege should and should not protect against disclosure here and here. Basically, I argued that the privilege should protect against disclosure when disclosure is in the public interest. In other words, there are leaks we want (government whisleblowing — Pentagon Papers) and leaks we don’t want (leaking Valerie Plame’s name as a CIA agent).
More on Hatfill here.
Is email dying?
A Minister for Universities?
2 Reply to “Another Gray day for privacy”
Ronan says:
I believe this sits quite well with Hanahoe v. Hussey [1997] IEHC 173; [1998] 3 IR 69 (14th November, 1997) there is another case which is similar.
Issues with Gardai, privilege, privacy and populous media.
Pingback: Damages and compensation for invasion of privacy and data protection infringements – Eoin O’Dell [updated] | Inforrm's Blog
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How Eko Atlantic City will save Nigeria’s economy and future
Posted on January 5, 2019 in Latest News
In this interview, first published by Business Insider, Ronald Chagoury Jr, the Vice Chairman of Eko Atlantic city, bares his mind on the vision and purpose of Eko Atlantic City, the challenges faced building it so far, and what the future looks like, for the city and for Nigeria.
What is the grand vision of Eko Atlantic City?
Ronald Chagoury Jr: First of all, Eko Atlantic was initially built as a defence against coastal erosion for Victoria Island and parts of Lekki. The idea behind it was how we could reclaim all the land lost to coastal erosion in the past 100 years, create long-term protection, and then become a business centre for West Africa and eventually Africa.
We believe that Lagos needs to have a financial centre and Eko Atlantic will become the platform for that to happen.
What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced with the project so far?
Ronald: Initially, when we were fighting the ocean, it took us a few years to master the technique. But now we understand it very well. Technically, in the beginning, there was a steep learning curve, but today, whether it’s building the state of the art infrastructure or seashore protection, we know how to do it very well.
The second step is a question of what’s really happening in Eko Atlantic. How do we get the message out to the world? As you noticed, as much as we can show you videos, it’s very different when you actually come on site and appreciate how much work has been done.
How do you think you can convince Nigerians that a project as expensive as this is good for them when most of the people in the country can’t even afford it?
Ronald: Our core business is selling land to developers. We then invite them to build. Now, we’ve been seeing a lot of demand for all sorts of products, from high-end residential apartments to efficient smaller apartment units, whether it’s one bedroom, studio apartments, two-bedrooms and there’s going to be a very much bigger market for that.
At the same time, in terms of affordability, we invite innovation. For example, the shared office spaces allow for a low entry point for startups or any company to come into Eko Atlantic. So, it comes down to innovation. Eko Atlantic is the future. We have the infrastructure, it’s state of the art, and the more people come in, the more they understand this. That’s why we see a lot of interest, especially now, for movement into Eko Atlantic.
Something that I think about a lot is, what will be the city’s contribution to Nigeria’s economy? How do you see Eko Atlantic impacting Nigeria’s economy in the next 5, 10, and even 100 years?
Ronald: First of all, on its own, the building of Eko Atlantic is a massive job creation process. During the construction phase, there’s are a lots of jobs created.
Can you estimate how many jobs have been created already?
Ronald: I mean, there have been thousands of jobs already. Then we can get to the tens of thousands if we add (jobs created) indirectly because of the supply of material, the know-how, the consultancy, it goes on.
The more we advance, the more construction comes up, and more jobs are going to be created. This is direct construction jobs and as we know, Nigeria has a huge shortage of homes. Just the construction industry can transform the employment landscape of Nigeria, directly and indirectly with all the supply of materials, consultancy, et cetera. And Nigeria is a very fast-growing country, we’re 200 million people today.
So, if Nigeria’s population is going to grow by 500% over the next 100 years, every 10 million people or 50 million people that are born will have huge requirements of infrastructure and housing, and Eko Atlantic is an example of what needs to be done.
Is there a deliberate effort to bring in Nigerians into the fold by allocating a percentage of the jobs to them?
Ronald: So far, Eko Atlantic has been probably 95% Nigerian workers, maybe more — whether it is job creation, investors or developers, our core market has been Nigeria. 90% of the work is done by companies in Nigeria or ourselves internally, the teams that we built for Eko Atlantic.
READ MORE: ‘Nigeria should provide incentives for property developers’
The only major element that is outsourced is the sea reclamation because that’s very specialised. Other than that, we produce our own concrete blocks, we even produce our concrete poles, most of our underground pipes are produced here in Nigeria.
Let’s talk about the housing deficit. In Nigeria, that deficit is about 17 million, according to the last research data, and Lagos has a significant portion of it. Do you see this figure falling anytime soon?
Ronald: I don’t. The figure was a few years ago, 17 to 20 million and it’s 5 million in Lagos alone. That was when the population was less than 200 million and Lagos’ population was less than 20 million people. We were, I think, at 15 million people back then and the supply is nowhere near the growing demand.
Something that can help, for example, is if at some point there’s a solution that comes up for the mortgage industry (currently, less than 3% of Nigerians own a mortgage), that would completely revolutionise the market. The amount of mortgages in Nigeria as the percentage per GDP is tiny compared to South Africa and much smaller compared to the US.
So, we have a long way to go. If that industry kicks in, it would ease home ownership which would then create a huge amount of construction projects throughout the country, that’s for the housing deficit, and it would also create more jobs. There’s a whole positive cycle that comes out from that.
So far, what have been the most exciting aspects of the project for you?
Ronald: It’s really a learning experience. Today, Eko Atlantic is an internationally recognised project, due to the size, location and quality of it. It forces us to think ahead of the curve. Transportation is changing very fast with ride-sharing, this is my favourite example. Ten or fifteen years down the line, if autonomous cars kick in, are we going to all want our own cars? That changes the way we have to design our city, our roads, our parking spaces.
If we are looking at technologies like 5G that will be coming in the near future, that opens the door for the Internet of Things. How’s that going to play a role in the city? So we have to keep these things in mind and have the base infrastructure that allows for them in the future.
It goes on. Simple things like how we are going to be living. Are we going to be living in big apartments? Do we have to start thinking about micro-apartments, like in New York or Hong Kong? Are we looking at shared living as well? That is a new concept coming out of Europe. Still early days, but are start-ups going to create Nigerian versions of it? And that could have a huge impact on the housing industry.
Most of the amenities in the home are not used 90% of the time. So, what if those were shared amenities? A kitchen, for example — a centralised kitchen versus every apartment having its own fully-equipped kitchen. That becomes efficient. If we start thinking a bit in that direction, we have a lot of talent in the country that can start finding innovative solutions for these challenges.
Final question – what do you love most about your job?
Ronald: Just that there’s a lot of innovation. As I often say, we’re coming in at a later stage of city development, which means we get to learn from a lot of the cities built in the last 30 to 50 years, we get to stay ahead of the curve and leapfrog most of the technology applied in cities.
The first buildings straight of the construction are energy-efficient because that’s the standard today. Ten years ago, it would have been a lot more difficult. Today, that’s the basic requirement so we end up having an energy-efficient city from day one. Also, we get to benefit from all the new technology coming in,that makes it exciting.
By Fora Anne
Source: https://housingnews.org.ng/2019/01/05/how-eko-atlantic-city-will-save-nigerias-economy-and-future-chagoury/
100,000 athletes to run in Access Bank Lagos City Marathon
Togolese President commends Eko Atlantic City on its solution to coastal erosion
Why Nigeria’s plans for a dream Eldorado city are not radical enough
Eko Atlantic City Completes Eko Boulevard, Nigeria’s First 8 Lane City Road
Arkland unveils A&A Towers in Eko Atlantic City
Eko Atlantic Set to Become West Africa’s Financial Hub
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Japan Embassy signs grant agreement with ERD
Tribune Desk
Published at 08:13 pm December 10th, 2018
Representatives of Embassy of Japan and Economic Relations Division (ERD) grant agreement signing ceremony at the ERD office in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka on Monday, December 10, 2018 Courtesy
PEDP4 aims to improve the quality of education, such as improvement of learning achievement
Embassy of Japan and Economic Relations Division (ERD) of Ministry of Finance signed a grant agreement “Japanese Grant Aid for the Fourth Primary Education Development Program (PEDP4)” at the ERD office in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka on Monday.
Japanese Ambassador Hiroyasu Izumi, and ERD Secretary Monowar Ahmed, signed the grant agreement on behalf of the respective governments. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Bangladesh Chief Representative Hitoshi Hirata was present during the signing ceremony.
PEDP4 aims to improve the quality of education, such as improvement of learning achievement with a grant assistance of Japanese Yen 500 million ($4,430,464).
Since 2000, Bangladesh has achieved impressive results toward the education for all targets. PEDP is the singular national development strategic plan for primary education in Bangladesh. Japan has been supporting PEDP in cooperation with other development partners since 2011 under the Sector Wide Approaches (SWAPs).
Under PEDP3, a number of activities have been implemented. For example, refined textbooks have been distributed to about 25 million students in primary schools. Approximately 500,000 teachers have been empowered. More than 25,000 classrooms have been constructed.
Australia will continue to support Bangladesh through its response and recovery from Covid-19
Foreign fund inflow dips
Loan deal signed with AFD to support DPDC
Dhaka signs $2.5b ODA deal with Tokyo
ADB to provide $400 million for Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar rail link
ADB to provide $200m to upgrade rural road network in Bangladesh
Economic Relations Division (ERD)
Embassy of Japan
PEDP4
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Remembering Acharya Ramesh Chandra Majumdar: A Century of Spotless Scholarship and Inspiration
Remembering R.C. Majumdar, one of India's greatest gifts to the world of historical scholarship
R.C. Majumdar
Published on : 04 Oct, 2019 , 8:47 am
In its noblest definition, History is the conscience of society and the function of a historian is to test the events of an age with an unbiased mind and equanimous attitude. Unlike the various fashions that developed over time, there is actually no “goal” of history. At best, history is an incessant pursuit of the truths of the past, a sacred calling that should be undertaken with meticulous care so that the temporary fruits of this pursuit represents the most accurate and reliable picture of the past. One must fundamentally remember that history is also about people of the past, and given that we live in an age of heightened individualism where utmost care is taken not to hurt or offend another person’s sensibilities, it makes eminent sense that we must apply the same yardstick while dealing with the people of the past.
Acharya Ramesh Chandra Majumdar fits this definition of history perfectly. He was a legend both in life and death and lived a full, productive, and useful life spanning nearly a century: from 1884 – 1980. Here’s a brief list of his extraordinary accomplishments:
Born on 4 December 1888, at Khandarpara district, Faridpur ,now in Bangladesh. He was the youngest of three brothers.
On the advice of that other brilliant educationist and multifaceted scholar, Sir Ashutosh Mookerjee, the then Vice Chancellor of Calcutta University, R.C. Majumdar joined the University as a Lecturer in the Department of Ancient Indian History and Culture in July 1914.
His PhD thesis titled Corporate life in Ancient India was published to acclaim.
At various points, he became the Vice Chancellor of the University of Dacca, was appointed as the first Principal at the College of Indology, Benares Hindu University (BHU), and then, Nagpur University.
He was Visiting Professor of Indian History at the University of Chicago and Pennsylvania
He was Honorary Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, and Bombay
He became the president of the Asiatic Society of Calcutta, a Honorary Member of Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Poona.
He was made president of the Indian History Congress and the All India Oriental Conference.
He was also made the president of the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Calcutta.
In recognition of his scholarly services, he was appointed the Sheriff of Calcutta in 1967-68.
And here’s a brief list of his authoritative works of pristine scholarship. Acharya R.C. Majumdar wrote a total of thirty-seven volumes and hundreds of articles and papers primarily in English and Bengali.
The Early History of Bengal, Dacca, 1924.
Champa, Ancient Indian Colonies in the Far East
Suvarnadvipa, Ancient Indian Colonies in the Far East
The History of Bengal,
Kambuja Desa Or An Ancient Hindu Colony In Cambodia
An Advanced History of India
The History and Culture of the Indian People (in eleven volumes): General Editor
History of the Freedom movement in India (in three volumes),
Vakataka – Gupta Age Circa 200–550 A.D.
Hindu Colonies in the Far East
India and South-East Asia
The History of Ancient Lakshadweep
I unfortunately don’t know Bengali but to those who know it, it is my earnest plea to read and savour his inspiring autobiography titled Jibaner Smritidipika, parts of which I have read in translation.
Acharya Ramesh Chandra Majumdar’s early life wasn’t easy. He lost his mother when he was just 18 months old and was brought up by his aunt along with his siblings. He was born in a family which was in utter penury. In his own[i] words…
There were times when we went without food for more than two days at a stretch. When we were around five or six years old – we were given “Nima”(A bush shirt like apparel with buttons), costing about five or six annas…those days were highly painful. We didn’t even have a pair of shoes. When I was an infant, one day I was about to be swept away in the floods in the night. Somehow my aunt was woken up, and I am alive today to tell you my story.
But that was not all. R.C. Majumdar recounts how
In those days, there were neither buses nor trains; there were not even the roads. So learning swimming was inevitable. No need for fuel, no need to stand in the line just jump into the water and swim to the destination. When we went to school we used to make rafts from the banana tree stamps or hollow palm logs to stay dry. There were palm leaves to write upon, but in my school, we preferred banana leaves as they were available in plenty. We used sharp bamboo sticks to write on them.
From a very early age, he distinguished himself as a scholarship student and consistently secured great levels of academic merit. His talent knew no bounds, “like the Padma (or Podda) river that flows in Bengal.” While in college, he developed a lifelong love for the study of history and dedicated himself to it for more than seventy years. Here is how he describes a historian:
A historian must divest his mind of sentiments, prejudices and preconceptions, and all kinds of human emotions which are likely to distort his vision and judgement.
R.C. Majumdar was influenced by Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar in his school days and eventually became a great devotee of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Swami Vivekananda. Till the very end of his life, R.C. Majumdar proudly displayed a life size painting of Swami Vivekananda in his living room. From these and other inspirations, he developed an unshakeable conviction in the eternal genius of Bharatavarsha and distinguished himself as a great patriot. In fact, it was his attachment to India that led him to investigate our past and establish the fact that we were the greatest civilization in the world, uninterruptedly for over two thousand years.
Researcher and Scholar Par Excellence
R.C. Majumdar was also one of the pioneers in researching and writing on obscure or little-known topics of history: for example, in his time, there was little or no information about the enormous influence of Indian civilization on South East India. And so, he decided to look into the matter. The result is the comprehensive volumes of:
Champa, Ancient Indian Colonies in the Far East (includes today’s Malaysia, Vietnam, and Cambodia)
Suvarnadvipa (Burma or Mynmar)
R.C. Majumdar didn’t write these volumes by merely consulting books. He actually travelled to these places and stayed there months together, spoke to the locals, read inscriptions in their native languages, deciphered obscure scripts…it was thorough, painstaking, boring work. But this is precisely why his books are authoritative and have become indispensable guides for future generations of scholars. Perhaps it was R.C. Majumdar who wrote the first comprehensive history of ancient Lakshadweep. As the proverb goes, a path is automatically carved wherever the elephant treads.
But above all, R.C. Majumdar was conscientious to a fault, honest to his own detriment, and fearless in face of adversity. No matter who it was, he would not compromise on truth. To quote his own words, “History is no respecter of persons or communities, and one must always strive to tell the truth.” And the Acharya told the truth and paid the price for it. India’s first Prime Minister, Nawab Nehru ensured that R.C. Majumdar’s career would never be the same again. Why? Because R.C. Majumdar openly wrote that he would tell the true story of the Indian freedom struggle including some stark truths about the role played by Gandhi and Nawab Nehru. The full story of the Acharya’s hounding by the cronies of Nawab Nehru is narrated in this article on The Dharma Dispatch. But let’s hear the most vital part of that story in his own words.
I have been a witness to the grim struggle from 1905 to 1947, and do not pretend to be merely a dispassionate or disinterested spectator; I would have been more or less than a human being if I were so…Without denying this possibility…I have tried my best to take a detached view. On the other hand, I possess certain advantages … in having a first-hand knowledge of the important events and … impressions and sentiments they left behind on the minds of the people. It is difficult to form a proper idea of these by one who, living at a later period, has only to rely on the record of the past in order to reconstruct its history.
Acharya R.C. Majumdar represents the distinguished example of a committed scholar working alone and eventually publishing the exemplary three volumes of the history of the Indian Freedom Movement five years before the “official” Nehruvian version was published. I would daresay that these volumes stand unrivalled even to this day.
The History and Culture of the Indian People
Perhaps the greatest achievement of his life was the eleven-volume masterly work titled History and Culture of the Indian People of which he was the general editor. This colossal project was the result of an extraordinary intellectual, spiritual, and patriotic marriage between Acharya R.C. Majumdar and K.M. Munshi. In K.M. Munshi, R.C. Majumdar found an unstinted supporter who shared his passion for historical truth, and in R.C. Majumdar, Munshi found the best man to implement his grand vision of writing Indian history. At no point did Munshi question the Acharya about any aspect of the project. He was content merely to write the foreword for each volume as and when it was published. Here’s a sample of K.M. Munshi’s vision of Indian history:
I had long felt the inadequacy of our so called Indian histories…for many years, I was planning an elaborate history of India in order…that the world might catch a glimpse of her soul as Indians see it. The history of India is not the story of how she underwent foreign invasions, but how she resisted them and eventually triumphed over them…
Indeed, “vision” is too narrow a word for it: it is truly a Maha-Sankalpa on the part of K.M. Munshi. This Maha-Sankalpa was realized by R.C. Majumdar. The History and Culture of the Indian People took thirty-two years to complete, a task for which R.C. Majumdar assembled a veritable army of the finest scholars of India who shared both his passion and dedication. Published by the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, these eleven volumes are still the most definitive body of historical work documenting the entire history of India from the Vedic period up to 1947. Acharya R.C. Majumdar was 88 years old when it was completed – that is, just four years before he passed away.
There’s no better way to conclude this essay than by quoting the Acharya’s own words:
It is…not unlikely that the views I have expressed may not commend themselves to any, and…a large section of my countrymen would bitterly resent some of them. But I find consolation in the wise words of one of the greatest Sanskrit poets…‘there may be somewhere, at some time, somebody who would agree with my views and appreciate them; for time is eternal and the world is wide and large.’ [Emphasis added]
Perhaps the best homage and tribute that we can pay to Acharya R.C. Majumdar is to revisit and read and re-read and widely disseminate his invaluable body of work. These are not merely works of historical scholarship but civilizational guideposts.
[i] In a 1980 Interview to Smt Jyotsna Kamat for Mallige, a Kannada monthly
The Dharma Dispatch is now available on Telegram! For original and insightful narratives on Indian Culture and History, subscribe to us on Telegram.
Indian Freedom Struggle
K.M. Munshi
History of Indian Freedom Struggle
History Scholarship in India
Luminaries of Modern Indian Renaissance
History and Culture of the Indian People
History Distortions in India
Modern Indian Renaissance
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14 kt. White Gold Princess Cut Diamond Stud Earrings. 1.00 Ct. Total Diamond Weight. Sku#150-01113
Home / Earrings / Studs / 14 kt. White Gold Princess Cut Diamond Stud Earrings. 1.00 Ct. Total Diamond Weight. Sku#150-01113
The Four C's
A diamond’s weight is measured in what is known as a “carat”, which is a small unit of measurement equal to 200 milligrams. Carat is not a measure of a diamond’s size, but rather a measure of a diamond’s weight. One carat can also be divided into 100 points. A .75 carat diamond is the same as 75 points or 3/4 carat diamond. Because larger diamonds are found less frequently in nature, they are more valuable. Therefore, a 1 carat diamond will cost more than twice a 1/2 carat diamond, assuming other characteristics are similar. The most important thing to remember when it comes to a diamond’s carat weight is that it is not the only factor that determines a diamond’s value. The diagram to the right shows the size of various carat weights of a diamond in relation to each other.
Refers to the presence of inclusions in a diamond. Inclusions are natural identifying characteristics such as minerals or fractures, that appear while diamonds are being formed. They may look like tiny crystals, clouds or feathers. Inclusions are usually viewed at 10x magnification. The position of inclusions can greatly affect the value of a diamond. Some inclusions can be hidden by a mounting, thus having little effect on the beauty of a diamond. An inclusion in the middle or top of a diamond could impact the dispersion of light, making the diamond less brilliant. Inclusions are ranked on a scale of perfection known as the clarity scale. The scale ranges from F (Flawless) to I (Included) and is based on the visibility of inclusions at 10X magnification.
Refers to the degree to which a diamond is colorless. The farther from colorless that a diamond’s grade is, the less rare and therefore less valuable it is. Diamonds are graded on a color scale established by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), which ranges from D (Colorless) to Z. Icy winter whites (D-I) look stunning in white gold or platinum. Warmer colored diamonds (J-Z) are more desirable when set in yellow gold. Color differences can be very subtle and grading is done under controlled lighting and compared against a “master” for accuracy. This color chart is representative of the color grades of a diamond.
Refers to the angles and proportions of a diamond. The cut of a diamond refers to the exact proportions, quality of polish and the arrangement of a diamond’s facets. While nature determines a diamond’s clarity, carat weight, and color, the hand of a master craftsman is necessary to release the diamond’s fire and sparkle. A diamond has facets that allow light to enter it, become refracted, and exit in a rainbow of colors. As illustrated below, when a diamond is cut to ideal proportions, is carefully polished and has exact symmetry, the light will then reflect from one facet to another and disperse through the top of the stone, resulting in a display of brilliance and fire. Diamonds that are cut too deep or too shallow, lose or leak light through the side or bottom, resulting in less brilliance, fire, scintillation, and value. The cut can affect the value of a diamond by up to 35%!
9.5 × .5 × 12.5 in
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Track Review: Wild Nothing - Ocean Repeating
Jack Tatum's Wild Nothing has been consistent over the past three years. Earlier in the month, Wild Nothing released Empty State, a challenging dream pop EP that was the 6am awakening of Tatum and co. The lead single "A Dancing Shell" is a splendid bundle of joy ready for mid-day plays. The summer months hit hard and the heat of "A Dancing Shell" certainly fits the bill. This time, "Ocean Repeating" is the track in question. Fans of Wild Nothing will agree of their on-going transformation of Tatum's bedroom solo project of hazy shoegaze / dream pop, to a synth pop / chillwave style of music. We're in need of a cool breeze and Wild Nothing delivers this with "Ocean Repeating".
Tatum crafts a 80s-esque instrumental for his bold vocal on "OceanRepeating". The latter half of the track is filled with vocal cuts and refrains of the chorus: "She's my, big-eyed girl." Wild Nothing have all areas covered with this track. It's not as simple as their sophomore album Nocturne, but it's energetic and makes use of good synthesizers instead of the typical rock-bearing electric guitar riffs. Tatum and co can continue to build a sound that differs from the average synth pop artist.
~Eddie
Discovery: Track Review: Wild Nothing - Ocean Repeating
http://capturedtracks.com/captured/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Credit_Shawn_Brackbill14_BW.jpg
https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/M2OwL2ZeTz0/0.jpg
https://www.discoveryrecords.co.uk/2013/05/track-review-wild-nothing-ocean.html
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D. Anthem, Bookseller
Anti-War & Pacifism
Apocalypse & Millenarianism
Appalachia & the South
Art Movements & Artists
British Israelism & Christian Identity
Central & Eastern European History
Chicano & Puerto Rican Social Movements
Christian Evangelism & Fundamentalism
Drama & Film
Eastern European History
Far Right Women
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Freethought
Historical Revisionism
India & Tibet
John Birch Society
Juvenilia
Latin Americana
Native Americana
New Communist Movement
Palestine & Israel
Private & Fine Press
Quakeriana
Racism & Racialism
Social Fiction & Art
Socialism & Communism
Spain & Spanish Civil War
Underground Press
Zines & Little Magazines
TOMLINSON, Homer A.
A small collection of Theocratic Party / Church of God material
Queens Village, NY: Church of God, 1962-1965. A collection of material from the Pentecostal holiness sect, the Church of God, and its Theocratic Party, founded by Homer A. Tomlinson (1892-1968) in 1952. Tomlinson, who crowned himself “King of the World” and “King of All Nations,” ran for President four times and spent much time traveling around the world meeting religious figures and putting on spectacles. His Church of God denomination based in Queens, NY, developed out of a split with his younger brother in 1943 who was appointed General Overseer of the Church of God of Prophecy, which had been run by the men’s father, Ambrose Jessup Tomlinson, since 1923. The Theocratic Party’s platform included the union of church and state, the replacement of taxation with tithing, Bible reading and prayer in schools, equality for all races and nations, the abandonment of Roman Law and English Common Law, free enterprise, and an end to the use of tobacco, intoxicants, narcotics, and gambling. The church relocated to Huntsville, Alabama, following Tomlinson’s death.
Included here are five issues of the group’s newspaper (Vol. 19, No. 9; Vol. 21, No. 20; Vol. 22, Nos. 1, 3, 10), a two-sided, bilingual, handbill for the Theocratic Party’s 1964 Presidential campaign, and two mimeographed press releases asking Theocrats to shift their write-in votes from Tomlinson to Barry Goldwater and encouraging them to organize Theocratic Bands.
The newspapers are all tabloid format and mostly printed on very cheap newsprint, which is considerably browned and splitting along folds. One issue is separated in half and all are in need of digitization/preservation. The handbill measures 5 ½” x 8 ¾” and is also printed on newsprint, which is browning. The two press releases are 8 ½” x 14” and 8 ½” x 8 ”, respectively. Just over a dozen institutions holding any issue of the newspaper in OCLC, lacking from most major institutions. Item #08231
See all items in Christian Evangelism & Fundamentalism
See all items by Homer A. TOMLINSON
Cornish Flat, NH 03746
© 2021 D. Anthem, Bookseller. All rights reserved. Site Map | Site by Bibliopolis
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Ferrera, Neil J.
» Ferrera, Neil J.
Mr. Ferrera has dedicated his career to prosecuting cases on behalf of people harmed by others. From 2007 until 2019 Mr. Ferrera served as a Deputy District Attorney in Sacramento County where he prosecuted career criminals and those committing victim-sensitive crimes, including domestic violence. As part of the Special Investigations and Public Integrity Unit, he also conducted independent reviews of officer-involved shootings resulting in injury or death. Mr. Ferrera has personally tried over 45 jury trials to verdict and over 20 bench trials to disposition.
While at the District Attorney’s Office Mr. Ferrera participated in community outreach programs, and he assisted in training newly hired District Attorneys. Additionally, he represented the office as an instructor in iSMART, a program that educates youth about the dangers the Internet and social media pose today and in the future. Mr. Ferrera was also a guest lecturer at UC Davis on the topic of Jury Selection from a prosecutor’s perspective.
Mr. Ferrera has been married to his wife, Skye, since 2008. They have two sons who keep them very busy. In his spare time Mr. Ferrera enjoys coaching his boys in their various athletic endeavors; cooking; traveling; and fishing. He is also a die-hard San Francisco Giants fan and a devoted fan of Portugal’s National Soccer Team.
Golden Gate University School of Law, San Francisco, California
J.D. - 2005
California State University Chico
B.A. - 2001
Honors: With Honors
Major: Political Science emphasis in Legal Studies
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321 N Egan Ave | Madison, SD 57042 | 1-605-256-2221 | CONTACT US | local_floristSEND FLOWERS
Lincoln's Coffin
The Hallenbeck Funeral Home was started in 1912 by Andrew G. and Myrta Hallenbeck. They were both licensed funeral directors in various towns in Minnesota and Wisconsin. They moved to Madison from Lacrosse, Wisconsin and took over the Costello Funeral Home following Mr. Costello's death.
The funeral home was located on the corner of First Street and Egan Avenue, next to George Beck's Furniture Store. In 1916, the Hallenbecks and Becks moved across the street (205 North Egan Avenue) where the Hallenbecks operated the funeral home upstairs and Mr. Beck had the furniture business downstairs. In 1919, the Hallenbecks bought the house at 321 North Egan Avenue, which has served as the funeral home since 1927. The house was built in 1906 as a family dwelling by J.W. Davison, the first general merchant in Madison.
The Hallenbecks bought out Beck's Furniture in 1925 and added a second furniture store in 1954, which is also the year they added a garage and selection room to the funeral home. The Hallenbecks had seven children: John, Mark, Carol, Robert, Donald, Andrew, Jr., who died as a child, and Carl, who died in infancy. John, Mark, Robert and Donald were all licensed funeral directors, as was John and Lucille's son, and Mark and Agnes' son, Edward. Carol Hallenbeck Breen, the last surviving Hallenbeck, died in 1993.
Robert often drives this 1953 Henney Packard Hearse in area community parades.
A.G. Hallenbeck served as president of the South Dakota Funeral Director's Association in 1927 and Myrta Hallenbeck held one of the oldest licenses in the state when she died in 1968 at the age of 94. Mr. Hallenbeck died in 1936.
Ellsworth Funeral Home and Cremation Options
| 321 N Egan Ave
| Madison, SD 57042
© 2021 Ellsworth Funeral Home and Cremation Options. All Rights Reserved. Funeral Home website by CFS & TA | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy
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Puttaparthy
Puttaparthy is a small village in Ananthapur District of Andhra Pradesh in South India. This little village of Puttaparthi is a famous township now.
It is nationally and internationally a well known place because of the glory of Bhagvan Shri Sathya Sai Baba and his abode of "Prasanthi Nilayam" (abode of highest peace). It also houses a huge 'Darshan Hall', where Baba meets his devotees.
Sai Baba gives religious discourse to the devotees to make strong foundations of life based on truth, righteousness, peace, universal love and non-violence. His followers consider him to be a reincarnation of the saint Sai Baba of Shirdi. Baba interacts with all His followers on a personal level.
The devotees of Bhagvan Shri Sathya Sai Baba come here from all over the world to have a darshan of him and seek his blessings. As a result, Puttaparthi has an airport and a super speciality hospital for the service of the people.
Puttaparthi is the destination for thousands of spiritual aspirants of many cultures, faiths, races, languages and socio-economic strata from all over the world.
Other Attractions in Puttaparthi
Satyabhama Temple
Chitravati River
Kalpavruksha
Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences - a super speciality hospital
Subramanya Mandir
Gayathri Mandir
Dharma Stupa
Reaching There
By Air Puttaparthi has an airport. Bangalore International Airport is just 125 kms away.
By Train Puttaparthi has a Railway station which has regular services to Bangalore, New Delhi, Hyderabad, and other important places.
By Bus Regular bus services are available to cities like Bangalore, Mumbai, Mysore, Chennai etc.
Return from Puttaparthy to Andhra Pradesh
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Climate change and Europe’s regions
By Espon
In Featured Map
Aggregate potential impact of climate change (left image);
Overall capacity to adapt to climate change (centre image);
Potential vulnerability to climate change (right image)
Climate change may hamper territorial cohesion
Climate change is a high profile political issue in Europe. Scientific evidence and explanations of climate change have accumulated over several decades. The coordinated work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the first obvious signs of climate change moved the topic into general public debate and onto the political agenda.
In the Europe 2020 Strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, the EU has set five headline targets, which are to be reached by 2020. One of the targets is related to climate change and energy. More specifically, greenhouse gas emissions should be reduced to a level which is 20% or possibly 30% lower than in 1990, 20% of energy should constitute of renewable energy and energy efficiency should be increased by 20%.
In the Territorial Agenda 2020, questions relating to climate change and environmental risks are also regarded as important and they are seen to pose both challenges and potentials for territorial development. Impacts of climate change vary considerably across Europe with different degrees of vulnerability. Regions have different opportunities to embed adaption and mitigation into their strategies in order to adjust their socio-economic systems to a low carbon economy. Climate change can also lead to new development opportunities, for instance within agriculture, green economy and renewable energy production.
In 2009 the EU White Paper “Adapting to climate change: Towards a European framework for action” explicitly related climate change to territorial development in Europe and called for a planned response. This requires an appropriate evidence base. Many studies have until now focused on different types of impacts of climate change in Europe. The focus has mostly been on very specific impacts, which contributed to the overall understanding of climate change, but findings have seldom been transferable or comparable between sectors or between regions.
With the ESPON Climate project the ESPON programme conducted an innovative, integrated and pan-European climate change vulnerability assessment with a clear territorial dimension. The results of this project will enable policy-makers to understand the diversity of climate change impacts and develop territorially differentiated adaptation strategies at the European, national and regional level.
Aggregate potential impact of climate change Overall capacity to adapt to climate change Potential vulnerability to climate change
The potential impacts of climate change vary considerably across Europe: Particularly negatively affected regions are primarily found in the South of Europe – e.g. the big agglomerations and the summer tourist resorts along the coasts. Many mountain areas and coasts in other parts of Europe are also highly impacted, but for other reasons such as coastal storm surges, economic dependency on winter and/or summer tourism. Many central, eastern and northern European regions face virtually no negative impacts or are even witnessing positive potential impacts of climate change.
The adaptive capacity of Europe’s regions shows a similar, yet inverted pattern. Northern and central European regions have a higher capacity to adapt to climate change than regions in eastern and southern European countries. Generally, though, regions with concentrations of population, economic and research activities have higher adaptive capacities than more rural regions.
The map showing the potential vulnerability to climate change in Europe seems to mirror the territorial pattern of potential impacts, but with an even more pronounced South-North imbalance. This is due to the high adaptive capacity in Scandinavian and Western European regions, which compensates for the potential impacts projected for these regions. However, in the Mediterranean region and in South-East Europe, where medium to high negative impacts are to be expected, the ability to adapt to climate change is generally lower thus resulting in medium to high levels of vulnerability.
The comprehensive and pan-European climate change vulnerability assess¬ment has provided not only regionally specific results but also general pointers for a climate change responsive European policy including a territorial dimension.
Most importantly, Europe’s climate change vulnerability seems to run counter to territorial cohesion. The assessment indicates that climate change would deepen the existing socio-economic imbalances between the core of Europe and its southern and southeastern parts because many economically lagging regions are also the most vulnerable for climate change.
Eastern Europe is already and will continue to be affected by severe demographic changes (in particular outmigration and ageing), which may further increase these regions’ climate change sensitivity and impact and decrease their adaptive capacity. For example, an older regional population is more sensitive e.g. to heat and less capable to adapt to climate change.
The territorial patterns of vulnerability call for continued efforts by policy makers, ensuring effective coordination of different policies, actors and planning mechanisms and call for a more strategic approach to enhance territorial cohesion.
Territorially differentiated adaptation strategies seem to be important, especially for regions in the Mediterranean region and in South-East Europe. The most vulnerable types of regions are: (1) Coastal regions with high population concentrations and high dependency on summer tourism, (2) mountain regions with high dependence on winter and summer tourism, and (3) agglomerations with high population density, where the problem of urban heat might become most relevant.
New economic development opportunities are likely to emerge for European regions through adaption and mitigation to climate change. More focus should be given to the options in different territories for capitalising on the changed climatic conditions. Given the regional diversity regarding expected climate change impacts, it is the challenge for regional and local actors to identify and harvest such opportunities.
Concept, methods and measurement
For the assessment the ESPON Climate project built on a conceptual framework that is widely used in the climate change and impact research community. According to this framework, rising anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions contribute to global warming and thus to climate change. But the potential impacts of these changes may differ greatly between regions. Not only are some regions more exposed than others, but the specific configurations of climatic changes also vary significantly. In addition, each region already has distinct environmental, social and economic characteristics and is therefore more or less sensitive to climate change.
Thus, only exposure and sensitivity together determine the possible impact that climate change may have on a region. In addition, the potential of a region or country to deal with these impacts is described by its adaptive capacity. Finally, the combination of these four factors, exposure, sensitivity, impact and adaptive capacity, determines the climate change vulnerability.
For the exposure analysis the relevant climatic changes were derived from a comparison of 1961-1990 and 2071-2100 climate projections from the CCLM(1) climate model using the IPCC emissions scenario A1B(2). Eight climate variables were calculated, supplemented by one indicator each on the immediate ‘triggered effects’ of river flooding and coastal storm surge flooding.
For determining impacts these exposure indicators were carefully related to 19 sensitivity indicators. For example, heat sensitive population (persons older than 65 years living in densely built up areas of cities) were related to changes in the number of summer days (above 25°C), while forests sensitive to fire were related to changes in summer days and summer precipitation. The resulting individual impact indicators were then aggregated to determine the physical, environmental, economic, social and cultural impacts of climate change. The overall impact was calculated using different weights for these impact dimensions, ranging from 0.1 for cultural impact to 0.31 for environmental impacts. These weights were based on a Delphi survey of the ESPON Monitoring Committee members, which represent the European Commission, 27 European countries and four Partner States.
The adaptive capacity in regard to climate change takes into account the economic, socio-cultural, institutional and technological ability of a region to adapt to the impacts of a changing regional climate. This could mean preventing or moderating potential damages, but also taking advantage of new opportunities opened up by climatic changes. A total of 15 indicators were developed and then aggregated to reflect on the five adaptation dimensions of knowledge and awareness, technology, infrastructure, institutions and economic resources. The overall adaptive capacity was again determined by weighting and then combining these dimensions on the basis of the Delphi survey mentioned above.
Finally, in order to determine the overall vulnerability of regions to climate change the impacts and the adaptive capacity to climate change were combined for each region. The underlying rationale is that a region with a high climate change impact may only be moderately vulnerable if it is well adapted to the anticipated climatic changes. On the other hand, high impacts would result in high vulnerability to climate change if a region also has a low adaptive capacity.
Any climate change vulnerability assessment is of course confronted with uncertainty – due to the used climate model, the chosen emissions scenario and the largely uncertain socio-economic development trends (which could only partly be captured in the project). Thus, the results of the ESPON Climate project have to be seen as a vulnerability scenario, which shows what Europe’s future in the wake of climate change may (based on current knowledge) look like, and not as a clear-cut forecast.
ESPON Climate
ESPON Database
Expert at the ESPON Coordination Unit: Michaela GENSHEIMER, e-mail: [email protected]
(1) CCLM is a non-hydrostatic unified weather forecast and regional climate model developed by the COnsortium for SMall scale MOdelling (COSMO) and the Climate Limited-area Modelling Community (CLM).
(2) The IPCC developed six scenarios on the development of greenhouse gas emissions from 2000 to 2100. A1B is used for almost all vulnerability assessments as a moderate scenario.
Acrobat Document | 2.15MB
Map "Aggregate potential impact of climate change"
Map "Overall capacity to adapt to climate change"
Map "Potential vulnerability to climate change"
Excel Document | 207KB
More Featured Map
Foreign direct investment linking growth in different territories
Featured Map | October 10, 2017
A better understanding of FDI inflows and their effects on cities and regions helps to embrace the benefits of globalisation and prevents potentially negative effects.
Polycentric Territorial Structures and Territorial Cooperation
Featured Map | October 7, 2016
October 2016 - Polycentricity is a concept that encourages regions and cities, working with neighbouring territories, to explore common strengths and reveal po
Second Tier Cities Matter
Featured Map | July 6, 2016
More than ever, cities today need to reinforce smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, while managing e.g. demographic change, housing, urban mobility, energy transition, all in a context of scarce public but also private resources. They function as nodes of development and contribute decisively to local, regional, national and European economic growth.
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Eupedia Forum > General Discussion > Chit-Chat > Celebrities or acquaintances with a parent or ancestor of Andalusian origin
View Full Version : Celebrities or acquaintances with a parent or ancestor of Andalusian origin
Julio Iglesias Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva (born 23 September 1943), better known as Julio Iglesias is a Spanish singer and songwriter.
Carles Puigdemont is a Catalan (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalans)nationalist (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_nationalism) politician and journalist. A former mayor (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayor_of_Girona) of the city of Girona (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girona) in north-eastern Spain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain). He is currently a fugitive from Spanish justice fled to Belgium.
Juan Pardo he was one of the figures of musical history in Spain, since in addition to his great solo success, he had been part of some of the groups of the 1960s.
Tita Cervera María del Carmen Rosario Soledad Cervera y Fernández de la Guerra, Dowager Baroness Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kászon et Impérfalva (in German (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_language): María del Carmen Rosario Soledad Freifrau von Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kászon, popularly known as Carmen "Tita" Cervera or Carmen "Tita" Thyssen) (Barcelona (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona), 23 April 1943), daughter of Enrique Cervera Manent and his wife María del Carmen Fernández de la Guerra Álvarez (d. Madrid (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madrid), 22 February 1992), is a Spanish (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain)philanthropist, socialite (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialite) and art dealer (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_dealer) and collector (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_collector). She was Miss Spain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Spain) in 1961 and was married firstly as his fifth wife on 6 March 1965 to Lex Barker (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lex_Barker), secondly in 1975 to Espartaco Santoni (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Espartaco_Santoni&action=edit&redlink=1) (es (https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espartaco_Santoni)), divorcing in 1978, and thirdly as his fifth wife at Daylesford (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylesford,_Gloucestershire), Moreton-in-Marsh (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moreton-in-Marsh), Gloucestershire (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloucestershire), on 16 August 1985, to Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baron_Hans_Heinrich_Thyssen-Bornemisza).
Rita Hayworth (born Margarita Carmen Cansino, October 17, 1918 - May 14, 1987) was an American actress and dancer. She achieved fame during the 1940s as one of the leading stars of the era, appearing in a total of 61 films in 37 years. The press coined the term "The Goddess of Love" to describe Hayworth after having become the idol of the most glamorous screen of the 1940s. She was the best pin-up girl for GI during World War II.
Conchita Piquer Daughter of the bullfighter Antonio Márquez and the famous singer Concha Piquer, was helped by the then first Argentine lady Eva Perón. From a young age he decided to follow the artistic steps of his mother and dedicate himself to the world of song
Estefanía Luyk At the age of nine, she began to enter the artistic world and participated in two television commercials. Despite feeling comfortable in the environment, his great opportunity did not occur until the age of twelve. This came when I was on the street with some friends when Diana Mendoza, director of the model agency "Ole", proposed to work in the world of fashion. So it was that, in February of 1992, Estefanía debuted at the Cibeles Catwalk and, shortly after, she was already conquering Italy and was becoming the image of cosmetics firm "Deborah".
Helen Lindes was elected winner of the Miss Spain contest in 2000, in which she also received five other titles: Miss Internet, Miss Glamor, Miss Telegenia, Miss Pepe Jeans and Miss Fotogenia. During her participation in the Miss Universe 2000 contest, she obtained the title of Second Lady of Honor, with a score of a few tenths of being crowned Miss Universe. She took the title of Miss Fotogenia universal
Victoria de los Ángeles
(1 November 1923 – 15 January 2005) was a Spanish (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_people) operatic lyric soprano and recitalist whose career began after the Second World War (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_World_War) and reached its height in the years from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s.
Alicia Alonso (born Alicia Ernestina de la Caridad Martínez del Hoyo; 21 December 1920) is a Cuban (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuba) prima ballerina assoluta (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prima_ballerina_assoluta) and choreographer (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choreographer)whose company became the Ballet Nacional de Cuba (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballet_Nacional_de_Cuba) in 1955. She is best-known for her portrayals of Giselle (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giselle) and the ballet version of Carmen (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmen_Suite_(ballet)).
From the age of nineteen, Alonso was afflicted with an eye condition and became partially blind. Her partners always had to be in the exact place she expected them to be, and she used lights in different parts of the stage to guide herself.
Born in Barcelona, she moved to Madrid, where she lived her childhood in a chalet in the Cuatro Vientos Military Colony because of her father's profession.
Purificación Martín Aguilera (Barcelona, April 4, 1956), 1 artistically known as Norma Duval, is a Spanish star, presenter and actress. She finally consecrated herself as a magazine actress. In 1980 she was the first star of the centuries-old Folies Bergère theater in Paris, once frequented by Toulouse-Lautrec. It was the second Spanish that managed to be headliner of the local, after the Bella Otero. Already in Spain and as a businesswoman, Norma Duval set up different shows with which she toured Spain and abroad. In Mexico and Italy he achieved great successes.
Almudena Gracia Manzano, artistically known as Malena Gracia (Madrid, September 14, 1971) according to some sources is an actress, singer, dancer, vedette4 and Spanish pin-up. Her greatest recognition is having obtained triple platinum certification with more than 300,000 copies sold for her song "Loca." She has also participated as an actress in television series with high ratings.
In the year 1998 was chosen Playboy girl from Europe appearing on its cover. She has posed naked or half-naked for the magazines Playboy, Man and Interviú
Imperio Argentina
Magdalena Nile del Río, from the artistic name of Argentina Empire (Buenos Aires, Argentina, December 26, 1910 - Torremolinos, Malaga, Spain, August 22, 2003), was a Spanish-Argentine actress, singer and dancer.
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Leapfrog’s Highest Safety Rating
ECMC again earns highest safety ratings in national survey
ECMC’s commitment to delivering quality patient care supported by leading national survey.
Trusted, transparent and evidence-based national survey rates over 2,600 hospitals across the United States
The Leapfrog Group, an independent, national not-for-profi t organization founded more than a decade ago by the nation’s leading employers and private health care experts, has again rated ECMC’s overall patient safety score at ‘A’. ECMC had previously earned the organization’s highest patient safety score in April 2017. The Leapfrog patient surveys assesses: medical errors, accidents, injuries, infections and patient experiences. The national organization is committed to driving quality, safety, and transparency in the U.S. health care system; their annual patient safety surveys assign A, B, C, D and F letter grades to hospitals nationwide. ECMC was 1 of 12 hospitals in New York State and 1 of 3 in Western New York to receive the Leapfrog A patient safety rating.
Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group said, “Our goal is to inform patients about local hospitals with the best safety measures in place and the strongest records. Every hospital can earn an ‘A’ grade, and we’re proud of the hospitals that are committed to making an effort to protect patients from harm.”
Thomas J. Quatroche, Jr., Ph.D., ECMC President and CEO said, “On behalf of the over 4,000 dedicated and skilled caregivers at ECMC, we are thrilled to again receive this exceptional rating from such a respected national organization. Given the level of acuity of the patients we care for, this is a tremendous affirmation of the excellence in care provided by our entire staff. There are not many large public, academic, safety net hospitals across the country who have achieved an A…let alone doing it twice. This rating confirms what we have witnessed repeatedly in recent years – the quality and compassionate care of our doctors, nurses, clinicians, environmental services, and our entire ECMC Family, who have all contributed to building ECMC as a national best-in-class healthcare system and hospital of choice for patients seeking our care.”
Dr. Brian Murray, ECMC Chief Medical Offi cer said, “This patient safety score represents the high level of excellence and professionalism our caregivers provide every day to each patient in our care. ECMC maintains a high standard of care that is evident in every service area of the hospital and we take great pride in this type of outside recognition, particularly from such a respected and leading national organization like The Leapfrog Group.” are system and hospital of choice for patients seeking our care.”
Karen Ziemianski, ECMC Senior Vice President of Nursing said, “To receive The Leapfrog Group’s highest honor for patient safety – an ‘A’ – is an incredible honor and we are thankful to our hard-working, dedicated caregivers who helped make this possible. It is especially gratifying to receive this recognition right before National Nurses Week, which recognizes the best in care our community has to offer. We have a truly unique culture of caring at ECMC and we are committed to treating each patient that comes to us with the highest level of quality care.”
Developed under the guidance of an Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign A, B, C, D and F grades to approximately 2,600 U.S. hospitals twice per year. It is calculated by top patient safety experts, peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public.
The Leapfrog Group states on its website that they “strive to make giant ‘leaps’ forward in the safety, quality and affordability of health care in the U.S. by promoting transparency through our data collection and public reporting initiatives. The survey is a trusted, transparent and evidence-based national tool in which more than 2,600 hospitals voluntarily participate free of charge.”
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Linguistic purity
Barbarians at the gate
Efforts to keep the language pure
ChinaJun 7th 2014 edition
THE guardians of Chinese language purity are challenging the French in their bid to keep out dastardly English words. A recent rant in the People’s Daily, a Communist Party mouthpiece, said intruders such as “MBA”, “CEO”, and “iPhone” were not welcome in Chinese when written in their Romanised form.
The paper cited experts who blamed laziness or infatuation with Western culture for the “excessive” use of borrowed terminology, and warned that this was “damaging the purity and health of the Chinese language”. (Never mind that the People’s Daily website last year said the growing number of Chinese terms used in English showed that “linguistic contribution reveals national power”.)
The anti-borrowing screed drew sharp criticism, and not just from the microbloggers who routinely mock such pronouncements. The Xinhua Daily Telegraph said what was really needed to promote the purity of Chinese was greater respect for usage choices made by ordinary speakers, and less “narrow-minded linguistic nationalism”. Caixin Online was (in English) just as sharp, saying the People’s Daily was perhaps the “real enemy of the Chinese language”, as “its habitual criticisms and tone corrupt the language far more than the people it criticises”. The writer noted China’s long history of borrowing foreign words, and described a Qing dynasty official in the 19th century who condemned the growing use of a term taken from Japanese and put into Chinese characters: jiankang. It means “health”, and was used in the People’s Daily commentary.
Some modern loan-words have been Sinified. “E-mail” first emerged in romanised form. Then it became yi mei er, using characters based on the sound of the English word. Now it is written using two characters (dian you) that mean electronic mail. But many romanised words are already too deeply ingrained to be changed. “YouTube”, for instance, is not Sinified (nor even accessible, blocked by the authorities). Nor is “NBA”, broadly used by millions of followers of America’s National Basketball Association. NBA games are shown to huge audiences by the official broadcaster, China Central Television—better known as “CCTV”.
This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline "Barbarians at the gate"
Why bother counting?
The West once dreamed of democracy taking root in rural China
Masked defiance
To show support for democracy, some Hong Kongers don yellow masks
Chaguan
Many in China are strikingly accepting of harsh virus controls
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C&C Group Accelerates Tennent’s Sustainability Plans
C&C Group has announced enhanced investment of €16 million (£14.23 million) in sustainability for its Tennent’s Lager brand, significantly boosting its contribution to the fight against climate change. Bolstering its existing commitment to responsible production, the investment enables the introduction of pioneering green-technology and strategic partnerships in Scotland where the beer is brewed.
Local sourcing and waste management
Over many decades, Tennent’s has built strong relationships with local producers of its ingredients. Made from 100% Scottish barley, sourced from almost 100 farmers at a cost of £7.5 million per annum, the beer’s by-products are then entirely recycled for use as animal feed or organic compost, helping Wellpark to send zero waste to landfill, which it has done since 2014.
Out of single-use plastics by 2021
Tennent’s will be out of single-use plastic in its packaging by 2021, eliminating 150 tonnes of plastic from the environment per annum. From next Spring, the brand’s larger canned product formats will use cardboard packaging as an alternative to hi-cone rings and shrink-wrap. Smaller packs will follow later in the year with a further pledge to be out of all plastic by 2025.
Tennent’s has also become the first brewer to join the likes of John Lewis, Tesco, Unilever and Coca-Cola in becoming a member of The U.K. Plastics Pact – a trailblazing, collaborative initiative that brings businesses together with governments and NGOs to tackle the problem and move us towards a system which keeps plastic in the economy and out of the environment.
A ground-breaking anaerobic digestion plant
A newly built water treatment plant – otherwise known as anaerobic digestion – is now operational at Tennent’s Wellpark home. This allows for the on-site treatment of wastewater generated as a by-product of brewing. A first for a Scottish brewery, the facility further improves the quality of wastewater whilst also generating bio-gas, which is then used to help heat the brewery. Reducing energy drawn from the national grid, the bio-gas supports 5% of Wellpark’s energy needs.
In addition to the anaerobic plant – which is now operational – plans are afoot to ensure that all of the brewery’s energy will come from renewable sources by 2025, twenty years ahead of the Scottish Government’s targets.
Carbon neutral by 2025
A new carbon-capture facility will also break ground at Wellpark by the end of 2019, saving the equivalent of 27,000 flights to London from Glasgow each year in Co2. The business is investigating other carbon-offset innovation and is committed to being net carbon zero by 2025.
The climate change movement
Tennent’s has also linked with 2050.scot to engage ordinary people throughout Scotland in the issue of climate change. 2050 Climate Group is a not-for-profit organisation that equips young people with climate change knowledge and leadership skills. Tennent’s will now run a series of 2050 Climate Group workshops in pubs throughout the country, inviting people to come and join ‘a pint and a plan’ sessions; collaborative gatherings designed to turn talk into advocacy and action. A full programme of these events, complete with information on how to take part, will be released early December.
Martin Doogan, Group Engineering Manager at C&C, Tennent’s parent company, comments: “As Scotland’s oldest surviving business, and one of its best-loved, we take our responsibility to do the right thing very seriously. Sustainability is a core part of our brand and today marks a significant step-change in our plans. We’ve leveraged our scale and influence, our passion for innovation and our network of contacts to ensure that we act decisively against climate change, without delay.
“It’s a leap in the right direction – but we’re not complacent and we’re not finished. We will continue to seek out ways to minimise our environmental impact across our entire business, from our transport fleet, to international deliveries. Our commitment is to lasting environmental change; in our company, in our industry and beyond.”
No Steam – No Whisky!
Lakeland Dairies Reports Record Revenues and Profitability
Tesco Rolls Out Community Food Connection With FareShare FoodCloud
Jobs: Food Packaging
Which is the capital city of Ireland?
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FeMasCon
Wendy is an intuitive, empath, and channel. For more than two decades she has used her gifts and abilities to work with beings in other realms and dimensions, assisting others in recognizing and releasing old patterns and helping them to live more whole and integrated lives.
The clear and compassionate wisdom shared through Wendy facilitate a shift in perspective from that of separation and limitation to connection and multidimensional experience. In 1995 Wendy began channeling, working first with her own angelic guides before becoming reacquainted with The 9th Dimensional Pleiadian Collective, whom she primarily channels at her public events and in private sessions.
She was one of six channels featured in the movie and book "Tuning in: Spirit Channelers in America". Her work can be also found in book "The Great Human Potential: Walking in Own's Own Light", available in six languages.
Wendy currently works with the clients around the world, as spiritual wisdom teacher.
https://higherfrequencies.net/
BETTY-ANN HEGGIE
During her corporate career at the world's largest fertilizer company Betty-Ann was twice named the top investor relations person in Canada, once by her clients and once by her peers and was subsequently inducted into Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women Hall of Fame.
She was given the Trailblazer Award from Women in Mining Canada, named one of the 100 Global Inspirational Women in Mining and was inducted into the Saskatchewan Business Hall of Fame. Other awards include: the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal, the YWCA Lifetime Achievement Award and the University of Saskatchewan Alumni Mentorship Award.
Her experience as lone executive woman in the masculine environment of mining spurred Betty-Ann's interest in gender dynamics and in 2018 she launched her book "Gender Physics, Unlocking the Energy You Never Knew You had to Get Results You Want". Since then she has addressed international mining companies, medical conferences and Facebook employees on this topic.
Betty-Ann currently serves as a director for TIFF, where she Chairs the Philanthropy Committee and has also been on the boards of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority Inc., the Canadian Wheat Board, Allana Potash and MITACS.
She was the founding chair of the Saskatchewan Chapter of the Institute of Corporate Directors. Her ground-breaking Womentorship program at her alma mater, the University of Saskatchewan, has had more than 1800 women participate in the program’s networking events, professional development and its annual women’s film festival. The program also developed and hosted a Canadian mentorship experience for women from Afghanistan.
She and her husband Wade are very proud of their two highly spirited and independent adult daughters. https://bettyannheggie.com/
JOE MIHEVC
Joe served as a midtown area councillor at the former City of York from 1991-1997 and the new City of Toronto from 1997-2018. He has served in a variety of capacities at the City and beyond which have helped shape his perspective on municipal policy.
As a city councillor, Joe helped transform his neighbourhood with a variety of innovative projects. These include reclaiming the historic Wychwood streetcar barns into a new community and arts hub and local park; the revisioning Cedarvale Ravine Park; and the rebuilding of St. Clair Avenue West’s light rail transit infrastructure. Joe has been an active supporter of public libraries and local heritage.
Joe's vision to expand and repurpose facilities and use existing resources while building city around the people earned him support of many community leaders. He is known for his passionate and consensus building work style.
Joe has an M.A. and Ph.D. in Theology and Social Ethics (theses on Holocaust Studies and Canadian Mennonites, respectively) and is currently teaching at York University.
http://www.joemihevc.com/
HUMBERTO CAROLO
Humberto is the Executive Director of White Ribbon Canada and the Global Co-chair of the MenEngage Alliance.
He is a men-and-masculinities and gender-based violence prevention expert with strong cross-cultural experience in developing and overseeing large-scale, multi-national programs and strategies involving diverse stakeholders in multiple sectors.
Humberto's current work is focused on developing educational strategies to engage men and boys in promoting gender equality, healthy masculinities, and preventing violence against women.
He has developed and implemented training programs for male-dominated sectors including extractives, sports, and armed forces.
Humberto is currently delivering high-level workplace gender equity and workplace sexual harassment prevention training to the United Nations Department of General Assembly and Conference Management and is a member of Canada’s Department of National Defense and Canadian Armed Forces Sexual Misconduct Response Centre’s External Advisory Council.
https://www.whiteribbon.ca/
ROXANNE BARTEL
Roxanne, “Rox”, is a certified performance coach and consultant. Recently, with a shift in the focus of her practice, she gave her self a promotion and a new title - Chief Booster & Holder of Space.
She’s served as senior performance consultant for a multi-national company and in a senior role in a North American company and President & CEO in a Toronto based boutique private company before deciding to start her own practice as a Coach and Performance Consultant in 2013.
Rox’s recent shift came as a calling to support 30-somethings as performance coach and mentor, as she recognized them to be at the early-mid point of their career. Supporting them as they navigate one of the richest and most pivotal points in a career inspires her creativity and curiosity every day.
Rox enjoys engaging through story, embedding them in her podcast and all learning experiences. For two years she hosted the Rotman RoundTables using a Bohm-style dialogue methodology to engage men in discussions of patriarchy, gender equity and misogyny.
She also enjoys bringing this type of experience to organizations wanting or needing to engage in courageous and meaningful dialogue. In private practice Rox has enjoyed allowing her entire personality, quirks and all, to shine through after a career of resisting the constant pull into the established boxes.
http://impactbank.ca/
NERMINA HARAMBASIC
Nermina is Professional Engineer and management consultant in mining and energy sectors.
She successfully led teams on multibillion-dollar projects, some of the largest of its kind in the world working for companies such as Bechtel, Northland Power, SNC-Lavalin.
Through her work, with diverse teams, across industries and geographical regions she both supported and challenged the teams to expand their perceived limitations, leading to excellent results.
Based on that experience she has created alternative management/organizational model "O-Mod". This model is based on feminine and masculine traits that maximize creative and executive potentials of the organization.
o-mod.com
EXPAND YOUR POTENTIALS. IMPROVE PERFORMANCE OF YOUR ORGANIZATION
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Final defendant in murder of Milwaukee housing inspector killed on the job pleads guilty
By Derica Williams
Milwaukee Police Department
Final defendant in murder of Milwaukee housing inspector pleads guilty
Eric Smiley Jr.
MILWAUKEE -- The family of Greg "Ziggy" Zyszkiewicz, a city of Milwaukee housing inspector killed on the job came closer to getting justice Monday, April 1 as the jury trial for the third and final suspect was set to get underway. Instead though, Eric Smiley Jr. had a surprising change of heart.
"I'm finding the defendant guilty," said Judge David Borowski.
The conviction came after hours of negotiations.
"He is obviously receiving the benefit of multiple counts being dismissed in exchange for the pleas to Count 2 and Count 4," said Judge Borowski.
Smiley entered the guilty pleas to one count of felony murder and one count of armed robbery, as party to a crime -- admitting he was part of a carjacking crew who fatally shot Zyszkiewicz while he was working as a housing inspector -- on the job near 22nd and Cherry in March 2017.
Smiley could face up to 75 years in prison. He will be sentenced on May 14.
Greg "Ziggy" Zyszkiewicz
Zyszkiewicz's family was in court Monday -- visibly shaken -- and they asked for privacy.
Online court records show Smiley was charged with felony battery by prisoners in June of 2018. A hearing in that case was scheduled for April 15. His co-defendant, Latwain Williams, 25, who was also facing a charge of battery by prisoners, pleaded guilty on Feb. 25. He was sentenced to serve nine months in the House of Correction.
Qhualun Shaw
Smiley will also be in court on April 15 in a case from August 2016, in which he was charged with possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a felony, felony bail jumping and carrying a concealed weapon.
Both of the open cases against Smiley were "adjourned for status proceedings" set for April 15.
Qhualun Shaw, 19, in August 2018 pleaded guilty to two charges -- felony murder and armed robbery, as party to a crime.
Dashaun Scott
Shaw will be sentenced on April 12.
In a separate case, filed on Feb. 14, 2017, Shaw faces one count of driving or operating a vehicle without consent. He has a status conference set in that case for April 29. A $500 signature bond was set after the charge was filed.
Dashaun Scott, 19, was convicted by a jury on three charges on May 30, 2018. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison and 15 years extended supervision on July 30, 2018 after he was convicted on one count of felony murder, one count of operator flee/elude officer, bodily harm or property damage and one count of possession of a firearm by an adjudicated delinquent of a felony. He received credit for 495 days time served.
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Florida's River Boats
When most people think of a paddle wheel steamboat they think of huge, gilded floating palaces, covered in scrollwork and ornaments. They imagine smoke stacks topped with crowns, belching black smoke as they wind along the Mississippi river. While some Riverboats in St John’s River and Apalachicola came close to the grandeur of the Mississippi Riverboats, most of the sternwheelers in Florida’s history were a bit more practical.
In the winding rivers and shallow bays of late 1800s Florida, the paddlewheel was a wonderful method of propulsion. Unlike the modern propeller, it didn’t get tangled up in weeds or torn up on shifting sandbars. If it were to get damaged from colliding with a submerged hazard, it was easy enough to unbolt the damaged blade and bolt in a new one. This was a major advantage in an age when travel was often measured in days instead of hours.
The remote frontier nature of Florida at that time affected the design of the Riverboats as much as the rivers themselves. One of the most famous of Florida’s riverboats was Okahumkee. She carried goods and passengers along the Ocklawaha and St. John’s River. The hull was narrow by riverboat standards, with a pointed bow. The lower deck where the steam engines and boilers were, and where cargo would be stored, was enclosed. This was for security and to reduce the chances of an overhanging branch snagging on the side of the boat in the narrow winding river.
One of the more unusual features of Okahumkee was the placement of the stern wheel. Instead of the wide low wheel typical elsewhere, the Okahumkee used a tall narrow wheel moved forward inside the profile of the ship. This meant she could back up to the shore or a dock without risking damage to her paddle wheel, though it did reduce passenger and cargo space. Many other paddle wheelers for the Florida backwaters were built in a similar way.
Whether for use in the rivers or coastal bays, the Florida Steamboats generally shared the same lay out. The lower deck was reserved for cargo and the machinery used to power the stern wheel. The upper deck was reserved for passengers, whether they be traveling for the afternoon or journeying several days down the coast. This had two big advantages. First, it meant loading and unloading of cargo was easier since the lower deck was often about the same height as the dock. Second, it put passengers higher above the water. This gave them cooler breezes, better views, and fewer bugs. These were desirable advantages, especially in hot Florida summers before the invention of air conditioning.
The Stern wheel steamboats that operated near rail hubs and growing vacation spots like Cedar Key, Silver Springs or St Augustine also catered to tourists and sportsmen from out of state. They were some of the first sightseeing and eco tours in Florida.
Image: The St. Lucie, a Plant Line paddle-wheel steamboat, on the water.
Courtesy of The Manatee County Public Library System Archives
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