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The girl in the picture
by Jerry Huffman
The sepia tone gives the photo a sense of history. Three young people, teenagers really, leaning against a World War II truck bumper. All three look happy.
Happy because the war had ended less than 24 hours earlier and that meant no one would die today.
The three, a young boy in a Boy Scout uniform, a pretty girl in a striped dress, and an American GI wearing an expression of exhaustion, relief and happiness.
The GI is the one who touches my heart because it’s my dad, Paul Huffman. He was a 19-year old tank driver in the Fourth Armored Division. Landing in France after the D-Day invasion, he fought his way through the Battle of the Bulge, across Europe, and was in the small town of Blatná, then Czechoslovakia, the day the war ended.
I never knew the young man in the picture. He had an impressive mop of red hair, was kind of skinny, and had no clue of what life would hold for him over the next fifty years. The dad I grew up with was almost always tired from working too much but usually found time to play catch when I was a kid.
The young woman was the eternal mystery of the photograph. Her name, like most other details of the war, had faded as his hair thinned. Nudges and winks that maybe she was a girlfriend were always shut down.
Dad was always more interested in reminiscing about the Blatná villagers who treated the American soldiers as heroic liberators. When he died in 1987 I assumed any chance of finding the mystery girl were gone as well.
With a loving kick in the pants from a Slovak friend, herself a war baby, I started looking again. An email to the Czech ambassador in Washington led to Blatná’s mayor, Kateřina Malečková, which led to a feature story in the local newspaper.
Seven plus decades after the war ended I assumed that was that. The woman was likely gone but the article and the photo gave me a chance to tell dad’s story and how he always remembered Blatná.
A few weeks later, Mayor Malečková sent the email that had me blinking in disbelief. “We found the lady,” she wrote. “She’s 92 and doing well.”
After seventy-three years, the mystery was over. Her name is Blažena Hrabĕtová, a retired shoemaker. After the war ended, just like my dad, she married, had two children, and got on with her life.
Then came the next surprise. Blažena wanted to meet me.
As did the mayor, who invited my wife, Carol, and I to represent my dad at their annual Liberation Day ceremonies marking the end of the war.
The lovely grandmother who opened the door had a beautiful smile. We stared at each other not knowing if we should hug or shake hands. We hugged.
Her memories of 1945 are soft. She didn’t remember my dad, but remembered the kindness of the American soldiers. Her mother washed uniforms and the soldiers paid with what were then unimaginable riches of coffee, chocolate, and a canned ham.
After years of living through a Nazi occupation where you were always hungry and neighbors were murdered on a whim, even a hint of human decency must have been glorious.
We came to realize that Blažena’s family weren’t the only ones finding their own stories. While we were there, a local historian organized an event for the entire town. Elders sat in a community center looking at photographs taken during the liberation. The historian had the photos but no answers to who was in the pictures.
“That’s my sister,” one woman called out. Others brought out autograph books kept since childhood and shared the heartfelt messages written by American soldiers to the children who had become their adopted families.
“Roses are red, violets are blue. I’ll be far away but always thinking of a nice little girl like you.”
— Corporal Philip Ademinic, Chicago, Illinois, June 27, 1945
The Czechs may have been liberated by the Americans, but were ultimately abandoned behind the Iron Curtain in the name of peace. A stony silence became the new normal in life. The Russians forbade any mention of the Americans and the role they played in prosecuting the war. Mother Russia was the sole north star of their new reality until the collapse of Communism.
On this Liberation Day, it was hard not to get caught up in the emotions as Carol and I walked alongside their parade. The mayor was there, as was a military attache from the American embassy, re-enactors dressed in WWII uniforms, and a few hundred local folks. We walked as a community to lay a wreath at Kalina’s Square, a monument honoring the dead.
It also hit me that I was walking the same streets my dad had during the actual liberation. He had survived a war and was blessed to find people like Blažena whose photo gave him a memory that lasted his lifetime. Because of my dad, Blatná embraced us as part of their own story. A story that will grow as Blažena and the others reclaim their history.
“This is probably the proudest day of my life,” I said blinking back my own tears. Asked to say a few words on behalf of my dad, I finally got to thank Blatná for opening their hearts and homes to not only him, but all of the American soldiers.
I had a hard time looking toward the re-enactors. One young “soldier,” a skinny kid with a big mop of red hair was there. Leaning against a jeep, he looked tired but smiled at me. He was still nineteen. Seventy-three years later, the soul of Corporal Paul Huffman was back in Blatná. And he was happy.
Editors note: It’s believed the boy in the picture, Ladislav Vesely, left Blatna with the American troops and emigrated to the states.
Jerry Huffman is an Emmy Award-winning journalist. Currently a media consultant, Huffman lives in Fitchburg, Wisconsin with his wife and fellow writer, Carol Larson.
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Search the Genealogy Library
Emma Darwin, a century of family letters, 1792-1896, Vol. 1
...Jean Charles Leonard Simon de Sismondi (to give him his full name), born in 1773, came of an... (Geneva, Geneve, Geneva, Genf, Switzerland - 1773)
The imperial dictionary of universal biography : comprising a series of original memoirs of distinguished men of all ages & all nations, v. 05...
...Histoire de la Ligue Hanséatique."-(See Simon de Sismondi's De la vie et des éc1-itsde P. H. Mallet.)-K. E. MALLET-DUPAN, J... (Geneva, Geneve, Geneva, Genf, Switzerland - 1749)
The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] 1860/12/14
...Brux elles, 1838. By M. Simonde de Sismondi. This great work ought to be translated into English, and published in... (English, Minnesota, United States - 1838)
The Imperial dictionary of universal biography: a series of original memoirs of distinguished men, of all ages and all nations (Volume 3)
...Histoire de la Ligue Hanseatique."-(See Simon de Sismondi's De la vie et des ecrits de P. H. Mallet.') -K. E.... (Geneva, Geneve, Geneva, Genf, Switzerland - 1749)
The biographical dictionary of the Society for the diffusion of useful knowledge--
...Jaloux, in Guienne, a.d. 1522. (Simonde de Sismondi, Histoire des Francais, Mezeray, Histoire de France, Lobineau, Morice, and Daru, Histoire... (Castel, United Kingdom - 1522)
Book notes (Volume 2)
...the friendship which existed between Simonde de Sismondi and this extraordinary woman,-i woman who found an admirer in every man... (Italy, Italy - 1503)
Historical causes and effects, from the fall of the Roman empire, 476, to the reformation, 1517
...age, par J. C. L. Simonde de Sismondi, (new edition, revised and corrected , and printed at Paris, 1826.) 33... (Paris, Paris, France - 1826)
Biographical dictionary (Volume 1:2)
...Jaloux, in Guienne, a.d. 1522. (Simonde de Sismondi, Histoire des Frangais , Mczeray, Histoire de France, Lobineau, Morice, and Daru,... (Castel, United Kingdom - 1522)
Phenix Gazette, Volume 3, Number 494 1827/01/25
...Francais. Par J. C. L. Simonde de Sismondi. V. Anne Bo Uynt a Dramatic Poem. By the Rev. II. H.... (Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom - 1826)
The history of the world, a survey of a man's record (Volume 8)
...all excesses. Augtistin Thierry and Simonde de Sismondi produced works of permanent value on the history of France, England, and... (Heidelberg, Unknown country - 1814)
...into which he had fallen. (Simonde de Sismondi, Histoire des Francois, Thuanus (De Thou), Historia sui Temporis, D'Aubigne, Histoire Universelle,... (Chateau, United Kingdom - 1584)
The Annual register, or, A view of the history, politics, and literature for the year .. - 1842
...Mons. J . C. L. Simonde de Sismondi, the eminent historian. M . de Sismondi was horn at Geneva in... (Geneva, Geneve, Geneva, Genf, Switzerland - 1773)
Calendar (Volume 1885-1886)
... Simonde de Sismondi, Constitutions des Peuples Libres, 1836, Hon. Robert Mackay, Montreal '{ Sale, the... (Québec, Canada - 1836)
The World's History: A Survey of Man's Record
...all excesses. Augustin Thierry and Simonde de Sismondi produced works of permanent value on the history of France, England, and... (Unknown country - 1819)
...state of things which made Simonde de Sismondi (in Vol. X of his " History of the Italian Republics") feel... (Unknown country - 1906)
The World-wide encyclopedia and gazetteer : compiled and revised to date from the leading encyclopedias of the world. A dictionary of arts, sciences and...
...Jean Charles Simonde de Sismondi (1773-1842) author of the Histoire des Républiques Italiennes di moyen åge, represents... (United States - 1842)
The Cambridge modern history, v. 11
...to the fore. The Genevese Simonde de Sismondi was prominent among the great French historians of the nineteenth century, Robert... (Basel, Basel, Basle {Basel Stadt, Basel Land}, Switzerland - 1902)
Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society (Volume Vol. 4)
...edition of J. C. L. Simonde de Sismondi's Historical View of the Literature of the South of Europe. English transl.... (United States - 1813)
Catalogue of the library of the Massachusetts Historical Society .. (Volume 2)
...SISMONDI, Jean-Charles-Leonard-Simonde de. A Review of the Efforts and Progress of Nations during the last Twenty-five... (Massachusetts, United States - 1825)
Illustrations, Historical and Critical, of the Life of Lorenzo De' Medici
...and designs of Sixtus M. de Sismondi gives the most favourable account, contending that he had conceived noble projects... (Italy, Italy - 1851)
Portraits of women
...Bonstetten of Geneva, the famous Simonde de Sismondi, and Count de Sabran, the only one of the company who did... (Coppet, France - 1809)
...state of things which made Simonde de Sismondi (in Vol. X of his " History of the Italian Eepublics ")... (Unknown country - 1906)
The North Carolina historical review (Volume 1965)
...pages of Jean Charles Leonard Simonde de Sismondi, Litterature du Midi de YEurope (obviously in translation), a "rather dull work,... (North Carolina, United States - 1862)
Catalogue of the library of the Long Island Historical Society, 1863-1893
...Am^di^e. Histoire des Franjais. See Simonde de Sismondi, J. C. L. Les nieces de Mazarin, mceurs et caract^res au 172... (New York, United States - 1858)
The dictionary of biographical reference : containing one hundred thousand names, together with a classed index of the biographical literature of Europe and America...
... Simonde de Sismondi, Jean Charles Leonard, Swiss economist and historian , 1773-1842 D.u.... (United Kingdom - 1842)
A catalogue of books belonging to the lower hall of the central department in the classes of history, biography, and travel, including the histories...
...C. L. Simonde de. See Simonde de Sismondi, J. C. L. SISTERS, Tho, abroad, or, an Italian journey. 1857.... (Massachusetts, United States - 1857)
...into Avhicli he had fallen. (Simonde de Sismondi, Histoire des Francois , Tlmanus (De Thou), Historia sui Tcinporis , D'Aubigne,... (United Kingdom - 1584)
Celebrities of the century : being a dictionary of men and women of the nineteenth century
...of Dumont's Recollections of Mirabeau, Simonde de Sismondi, Notice necrologique sur M. Dumont (1829).... (United Kingdom - 1829)
Manual of public libraries, institutions, and societies, in the United States, and British provinces of North America
...Cubi i Soler, Merle d'Aubign^, Simonde de Sismondi. But it has not been thought expedient to put Fenelon under Salignac,... (Soler, United States - 1843)
...Europe, by J. C. L. Simonde de Sismondi, English transl. by Thomas Roscoe, 4th ed., Bohn's Library, London, 1853, vol.... (United States - 1853)
Miscellaneous writings, chiefly historical
...History, by J. C. L. Simonde de Sismondi. London, Murray , Edinburgh, Blackwood, 1814.... (Geneva, Geneve, Geneva, Genf, Switzerland - 1814)
Historical view of the literature of the south of Europe. Translated with notes and a life of the author (Volume 1)
...LIFE OF M SIMONDE DE SISMONDI (G.C. LEONARDO SISMONDI.) This very pleasing and spirited writer, and truly amiable... (Geneva, Geneve, Geneva, Genf, Switzerland - 1773)
The Celtic magazine, a monthly periodical devoted to the literature, history, antiquities, folk lore, traditions, and the social and material interests of the Celt...
...VEconomic Politique, parj. C. L. Simonde de Sismondi, Paris, 1837, Vol. I. p. 238. I am, &c., JOHN STUART BLACKIE."... (Scotland, United Kingdom - 1837)
Darwin pedigrees
...Allen Shuckburgh, Grace, see Moilliet Simonde de Sismondi, Jean Charles Leonard, 1773-1843 37,41... (England, United Kingdom - 1843)
The Historians' history of the world : a comprehensive narrative of the rise and development of nations as recorded by over two thousand of...
...Jean Charles Leonard Simonde de Sismondi (1773-1842) achieved much distinction through his works on history and literature, particularly... (United States - 1842)
The Life of Lorenzo de Medici, Called the Magnificent
...had received from his country. Even M. de Sismondi himself, on an another occasion, allows that Lorenzo was not sparing... (Naples, Napoli, Italy - 1588)
The Life of Lorenzo De' Medici, Called the Magnificent
...hail received from his country. Even M. de Sismondi himself, on an another occasion, allows that Lorenzo was not sparing... (Naples, Napoli, Italy - 1688)
...Chroniques, Mezeray, Histoire de France, Simonde de Sismondi, Histoire des Francais, JJArt de verifier les Dates.) J. C. M.... (Paris, Paris, France - 1503)
... Simonde de Sismondi, Jean Charles Leonard. Histoire des Francais, continu£e par A. Ren£e. 31 vols.... (New York, United States - 1821)
The Cambridge modern history, planned by the late Lord Acton. Edited by A.W. Ward, G.W. Prothero [and] Stanley Leathes (Volume 11)
...to the fore. The Genevese Simon de de Sismondi was prominent among the great French historians of the nineteenth century,... (Basel, Basel, Basle {Basel Stadt, Basel Land}, Switzerland - 1869)
...Ostia, on board Genoese galleys. Ugolino Buzzacherino de Sismondi, admiral of the Pisans, lay in Avait with a powerful fleet... (Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France - 1904)
A general biographical dictionary (Volume 4)
...139. Simonde de Sismondi Histoire de la Litterature du Midi de 1'Europe. 1813, 4 vols. 8vo.... (United Kingdom - 1813)
...met at the house of Madame de Sismondi an English lady, Miss Allen, whose personal charms and mental graces made... (United Kingdom - 1819)
The life of Hugo Grotius, with brief minutes of the civil, ecclesiastical, and literary history of the Netherlands
...should, however, be observed, that Simonde de Sismondi, as he is translated by Mr. Roscoe, justly observes, that "... (Netherlands - 1702)
...C. L. Simonde de. See Simonde de Sismondi, J. C. L. SItjar, Bonaventure. Vocabulary of the language of San-Antonio Mission,... (New York, United States - 1854)
Memoires, Volumes 1-2
...(22) C'est à tort que Simonde de Sismondi, Xiv, 09, indique le 2 août, (26) G. Cha"telain, !+ partie, ch.... (Nord, France - 1839)
Catalogue of books in the Lower hall of the Boston public library, in the classes of history, biography, geography, and travel
... Simonde de Sismondi, T. C. L. History of the crusades against the Albigenses. 1843. 949-5... (Massachusetts, United States - 1843)
..., N. L-Iong (386) , Simonde de Sismondi (xiv, 522). - Ce fut, comme le dit Molinet (ii, 39), <... (Nord, France - 1503)
The life of Hugo Grotius: with brief minutes of the civil, ecclesiastical, and literary history of the Netherlands
...should, however, be observed, that Simonde de Sismondi, as he is translated by Mr. Roscoe, justly observes, that " during... (Netherlands - 1581)
Last Name : de SISMONDI
Newspapers 39
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Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (born 1610)
(Redirected from Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (1610–1665))
Electress of Bavaria
Archduchess Maria Anna
Oil on canvas by Joachim von Sandrart, 1643, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna[1]
Electress Palatine
(1610-01-13)13 January 1610
Graz, Duchy of Styria
25 September 1665(1665-09-25) (aged 55)
Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria
(m. 1635; died 1651)
Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria
Duke Maximilian Philipp Hieronymus
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Maria Anna of Bavaria
Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (German: Maria Anna von Habsburg, Erzherzogin von Österreich, also known as Maria Anna von Bayern or Maria-Anna, Kurfürstin von Bayern; 13 January 1610 – 25 September 1665), was a German regent, Electress of Bavaria by marriage to Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria, and co-regent of the Electorate of Bavaria during the minority of her son Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria from 1651 to 1654.
1.1 Archduchess of Austria
1.3 Electress of Bavaria
1.4 Regent of the Electorate of Bavaria
2 In literature
3 Ancestry
Life[edit]
Archduchess of Austria[edit]
Born in Graz, she was the fifth child and second, but oldest surviving, daughter of Archduke Ferdinand of Inner Austria by his first wife Maria Anna, a daughter of William V, Duke of Bavaria. She was probably named after her mother, who died in 1616.
Maria Anna, who had a particular fondness for hunting, received a strict Jesuit upbringing[2] and was considered a great beauty with exceptional virtues, such as prudence, orderly life and stateliness. She also spoke fluent Italian in addition to her native German.
In 1619 her father became Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia and Hungary, an event that considerably raised her status. Two years later, in 1622, the now Emperor Ferdinand II married again, with Eleonora, daughter of Vincenzo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, with whom he had no children.
Marriage[edit]
On 15 July 1635 at the Augustinian Church, Vienna, Maria Anna married her uncle, Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria, whose previous wife, Elisabeth of Lorraine, had died a few months earlier. The wedding was celebrated by Franz von Dietrichstein, Bishop of Olomouc.
In the marriage contract, which was signed two days later on 17 July, the Emperor made the exceptional stipulation that Maria Anna would not renounce her rights over the Habsburg inheritance (Erbverzicht) as was customary for Austrian Archduchesses when they married foreign princes; this was made probably by Ferdinand II with the intention to secure the rights of his eldest daughter in the case of the extinction of his male descendants. As a dowry, Maria Anna received the amount of 250,000 florins secured from Wasserburg Castle and the districts of Kraiburg and Neumarkt. As a widow's seat she received Trausnitz Castle in Landshut.
With this union, the Bavarian Elector not only gained the opportunity to sire the long-waited heir (his first marriage was childless) but also to demonstrate his alliance with the Holy Roman Empire against France, which was prepared for an imminent war. However, this connection only played a minor role in the relations between Austria and Bavaria later.
Electress of Bavaria[edit]
Portraits of Maria Anna and her husband, Maximilian I.
The marriage was very happy and Maximilian I cared for his wife lovingly. During Maria Anna's first pregnancy, the Electoral couple made a pilgrimage to Andechs to pray for a happy birth. On 31 October 1636, the Electress gave birth to her first son, who was named Ferdinand Maria after his grandfather Ferdinand II, who also acted as godfather for the child. The childbirth proved to be extremely difficult for Maria Anna; she became so weak that she lost her ability to speak. Her healing was attributed to the help of the relics of Saint Francis of Paola, so Maximilian I founded in Neunburg vorm Wald a monastery consecrated to him.[2] Almost two years later, on 30 September 1638, the Electress gave birth a second son, Maximilian Philipp Hieronymus.
Maria Anna assisted her husband in government affairs and showed interest in the politics of the Bavarian Electorate; she even took part in the meetings of the Council of Ministers.[3] Despite her Habsburg origins (she had an extensive correspondence with her brother Ferdinand III and other relatives), she was completely dedicated to the Bavarian viewpoint. In addition, she conducted lively exchanges of opinion with high officials of the Munich.
After the conquest of Philipsburg fortress by the French in 1644, Maria Anna urged her brother Leopold Wilhelm, on behalf of her husband, to enter into peace negotiations. (Archduke Leopold Wilhelm had been commander of the Imperial army since 1639.) Shortly before his death in 1650, Maximilian I had a Treuherzige Information (Trust information) written for his wife to give her guidance for her upcoming regency.[4]
Regent of the Electorate of Bavaria[edit]
When Maximilian I wrote his will in 1641, Maria Anna claimed in this for the eventual reign of her son, a co-signature law in national matters. However, the Office of the Administrator in Bavaria and Saxony claimed that according to the Golden Bull women were excluded from government. She consulted an expertise commission without her husband's knowledge and secured a favorable ruling concerning her rights added in Maximilian I's will. Thus, after Maximilian I's death (27 September 1651) his brother Albert VI, Duke of Bavaria legally became the regent for Ferdinand Maria and was confirmed in that position in both Imperial and Electoral courts. Maria Anna assumed full responsibility for the Department of Justice and other country administrative tasks, however, which virtually left the Dowager Electress ruler of Bavaria. In addition to Albert VI and the Dowager Electress, the Hofkammerpräsident Mändl belonged to the administration that continued to work with the young Elector when he attained his majority in 1654.[5]
In 1664 Maria Anna, who remained a close advisor to her son even after the end of her regency, suggested putting the country under the patronage of St. Joseph.[6] After the death of her husband, she lived in the so-called Widow's floor (Witwenstock) in the southwestern part of the Munich Residenz.[7] Until her death she was a member of the Privy Council, the highest governmental body, although she hadn't the right of voting.[8]
She died in Munich aged 55 and was buried at St. Michael's Church,[9] while her heart was deposited in the Shrine of Our Lady of Altötting.
In literature[edit]
Maria Anna is a central character in the novel, 1634: The Bavarian Crisis (Eric Flint & Virginia DeMarce. Baen Books.) She escaped marriage to Maximilian and escaped to her cousin, Don Fernando who had declared himself "King in the Low Countries".
Ancestry[edit]
Ancestors of Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (born 1610)
16. Philip I of Castile[16][17]
8. Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor[12] (= 22, 26)
17. Joanna of Castile[17]
4. Charles II, Archduke of Austria[10]
18. Vladislas II of Bohemia and Hungary[18]
9. Anna of Bohemia and Hungary[12] (= 23, 27)
19. Anna of Foix-Candale[18]
2. Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
20. William IV, Duke of Bavaria[19] (= 24)
10. Albert V, Duke of Bavaria[13] (= 12)
21. Marie of Baden-Sponheim[19] (= 25)
5. Maria Anna of Bavaria[10] (≠ 3)
22. Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor[20] (= 8, 26)
11. Anna of Austria[13] (= 13)
23. Anna of Bohemia and Hungary[20] (= 9, 27)
1. Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria
24. William IV, Duke of Bavaria (= 20)
25. Marie of Baden-Sponheim (= 21)
6. William V, Duke of Bavaria[11]
26. Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor (= 8, 22)
27. Anna of Bohemia and Hungary (= 9, 23)
3. Maria Anna of Bavaria (≠ 5)
28. Antoine, Duke of Lorraine[15]
14. Francis I, Duke of Lorraine[15]
29. Renée of Bourbon-Montpensier[15]
7. Renata of Lorraine[11]
30. Christian II of Denmark[15]
15. Christina of Denmark[15]
31. Isabella of Austria[15]
References and notes[edit]
^ She wears the famous pearl necklaces from the Munich Treasury; the large diamond pendant in her hair was already in possession of the first wife of Maximilian I.
^ a b Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Schreiber: Maximilian I. der Katholische, Kurfürst von Bayern und der dreißigjährige Krieg, Fleischmann, 1868, p. 707.
^ Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Schreiber: Maximilian I. der Katholische, Kurfürst von Bayern und der dreißigjährige Krieg, Fleischmann, 1868, p. 902.
^ Linda Maria Koldau: Frauen-Musik-Kultur, Böhlau Verlag Köln Weimar, 2005, p. 228.
^ C. Arnold: Grundriß der bayerischen Geschichte, Jaquet, 1853, p. 99.
^ Petr Maťa, Thomas Winkelbauer: Die Habsburgermonarchie 1620 bis 1740, Franz Steiner Verlag, 2006, p. 263.
^ Roswitha von Bary: Henriette Adelaide. Kurfürstin von Bayern. Unveränderter Nachdruck der Original-Ausgabe München 1980. Pustet, Regensburg 2004, p. 236.
^ HABSBURG EMPERORS OF AUSTRIA in: royaltyguide.nl Archived 2017-01-21 at the Wayback Machine [retrieved 7 April 2015].
^ a b Eder, Karl (1961), "Ferdinand II.", Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB) (in German), 5, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 83–85 ; (full text online)
^ a b Wurzbach, Constantin, von, ed. (1861). "Habsburg, Maria Anna von Bayern" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). 7. p. 23 – via Wikisource.
^ a b Wurzbach, Constantin, von, ed. (1860). "Habsburg, Karl II. von Steiermark" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). 6. p. 352 – via Wikisource.
^ a b Wurzbach, Constantin, von, ed. (1861). "Habsburg, Maria von Bayern" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). 7. p. 20 – via Wikisource.
^ a b Sigmund Ritter von Riezler (1897), "Wilhelm V. (Herzog von Bayern)", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB) (in German), 42, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 717–723
^ a b c d e f Cartwright, Julia Mary (1913). Christina of Denmark, Duchess of Milan and Lorraine, 1522-1590. New York: E. P. Dutton. pp. 536–539.
^ Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor at the Encyclopædia Britannica
^ a b Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor at the Encyclopædia Britannica
^ a b Obermayer-Marnach, Eva (1953), "Anna Jagjello", Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB) (in German), 1, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, p. 299 ; (full text online)
^ a b Goetz, Walter (1953), "Albrecht V.", Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB) (in German), 1, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 158–160 ; (full text online)
^ a b Wurzbach, Constantin, von, ed. (1860). "Habsburg, Anna von Oesterreich (1528–1587)" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). 6. p. 151 – via Wikisource.
House of Habsburg
Born: 13 January 1610 Died: 25 September 1665
Elisabeth of Lorraine Electress of Bavaria
Henriette Adelaide of Savoy
Elisabeth of Lorraine Electress Palatine
Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Maria Anna of Austria (1610-1665).
Austrian archduchesses by descent
Generations are numbered by male-line descent from Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor. Later generations are included although Austrian titles of nobility were abolished and outlawed in 1919.
Kunigunde, Duchess of Bavaria
Margaret, Duchess of Savoy
Eleanor, Queen of Portugal/France*
Isabella, Queen of Denmark and Norway*
Maria, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia*
Catherine, Queen of Portugal*
Elisabeth, Queen of Poland
Maria, Holy Roman Empress*
Anna, Duchess of Bavaria
Maria, Duchess of Jülich-Cleves-Berg
Catherine, Queen of Poland
Eleanor, Duchess of Mantua
Joanna, Princess of Portugal*
Barbara, Duchess of Ferrara
Joanna, Grand Duchess of Tuscany
Isabella Clara Eugenia, Co-sovereign of the Habsburg Netherlands*
Catalina Micaela, Duchess of Savoy*
Maria*
Anna, Queen of Spain
Elisabeth, Queen of France
Margaret (1567–1633)
Maria (1584–1649)
Anna, Holy Roman Empress
Anna, Queen of Poland
Maria Christina, Princess of Transylvania
Catherine Renata
Gregoria Maximiliana
Eleanor (1582–1620)
Margaret, Queen of Spain
Constance, Queen of Poland
Maria Maddalena, Grand Duchess of Tuscany
Anna, Queen of France*
María*
Maria Anna, Holy Roman Empress*
Margarita*
Maria Anna, Electress of Bavaria
Cecilia Renata, Queen of Poland
Isabella Clara, Duchess of Mantua
Maria Leopoldine, Holy Roman Empress
Maria Anna, Queen of Spain
Maria Theresa, Queen of France*
Margarita Teresa, Holy Roman Empress*
Eleanor, Queen of Poland, Duchess of Lorraine
Claudia Felicitas, Holy Roman Empress
Maria Anna Josepha, Electoral Princess of the Palatinate
Maria Antonia, Electress of Bavaria
Maria Elisabeth
Maria Anna, Queen of Portugal
Maria Josepha
Maria Josepha, Queen of Poland
Maria Amalia, Holy Roman Empress
Princess Maria Anna of Lorraine
10th generation
Maria Elisabeth^
Maria Anna^
Maria Carolina^
Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen^
Maria Amalia, Duchess of Parma^
Johanna^
Maria Josepha^
Maria Carolina, Queen of Naples^
Marie Antonia, Queen of France^
Maria Theresia, Queen of Saxony^
Maria Theresa, Queen of Sardinia#
Maria Leopoldine, Electress of Bavaria#
Maria Clementina, Hereditary Princess of Naples^
Maria Amalia^
Maria Ludovika, Empress of Austria#
Marie Louise, Empress of the French
Maria Leopoldina, Empress of Brazil
Clementina, Princess of Salerno
Maria Luisa^
Maria Theresa, Queen of Sardinia^
Marie Caroline, Crown Princess of Saxony
Maria Anna
Maria Theresa, Queen of the Two Sicilies
Maria Theresa, Countess of Chambord#
Adelaide, Queen of Sardinia
Maria Caroline
Elisabeth Franziska
Marie Henriette, Queen of the Belgians
Princess Auguste Ferdinande of Bavaria^
Maria Isabella, Countess of Trapani^
Maria Christina, Queen of Spain
Maria Dorothea, Duchess of Orléans
Margaretha Klementine, Princess of Thurn and Taxis
Maria Theresa, Queen of Bavaria#
Princess Gisela of Bavaria
Marie Valerie
Margarete Sophie, Duchess of Württemberg
Maria Annunziata
Princess Elisabeth of Liechtenstein
Maria Antonietta^
Luise, Crown Princess of Saxony^
Maria Theresa^
Princess Karoline Marie of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha^
Princess Maria Christina of Salm-Salm
Princess Maria Anna of Bourbon Parma
Maria Henrietta, Princess of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst
Princess Isabella of Bavaria
Renata, Princess Radziwill
Mechthildis, Princess Czartoryski
Elisabeth Marie, Princess of Windisch-Graetz
Helena, Duchess of Württemberg^
Rosa, Duchess of Württemberg^
Dolores^
Maria Inmaculata^
Margarita, Marchioness Taliani di Marchio^
Princess Maria Antonia^
Assunta^
Elisabeth, Countess of Waldburg-Zeil^
Hedwig, Countess of Stolberg-Stolberg^
Ilona, Duchess of Mecklenburg
Descent of Charles I :
Charlotte, Duchess of Mecklenburg
Tuscany :
Princess Agnes of Liechtenstein^
Walburga, Countess Douglas
Descent of Maximilian :
Sophie, Princess of Windisch-Graetz
* also an infanta of Spain
^ also a princess of Tuscany
# also a princess of Modena
Electresses of the Palatinate
Landgravine Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel (1650-1657)
Princess Wilhelmine Ernestine of Denmark (1680-1685)
Landgravine Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt (1685-1690)
Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici (1691-1716)
Countess Palatine Elisabeth Auguste of Sulzbach (1742–1777)
Electresses of Bavaria
Princess Elisabeth of Lorraine (1623–1635)
Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (1635–1651)
Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy (1651–1676)
Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria (1685–1692)
Theresa Kunegunda Sobieska (1695–1726)
Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria (1726–1745)
Princess Maria Anna Sophia of Saxony (1747–1777)
Archduchess Maria Leopoldine of Austria-Este (1795–1799)
Princess Caroline of Baden (1799–1806)
WorldCat Identities: viaf-50023856
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Archduchess_Maria_Anna_of_Austria_(born_1610)&oldid=972591986"
17th-century House of Habsburg
Electress of the Palatinate
House of Wittelsbach
Austrian princesses
17th-century women rulers
Duchesses of Bavaria
Regents of Bavaria
German Roman Catholics
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For the Ian McNabb album, see Ian McNabb discography § Krugerrands.
South African coin
1 troy oz. fine gold
33.93 g (1.09 troy oz)
32.77 mm (1.28 in)
2.84 mm (0.11 in)
Gold (91.67% Au, 8.33% Cu)
Years of minting
1984 by Otto Schultz - Profile of Paul Kruger with "SUID-AFRIKA·SOUTH AFRICA" in the legend.
1984 by Coert Steynberg - A springbok antelope with the mint date in the field. The legend is inscribed with "KRUGERRAND" and the gold weight.
The Krugerrand (/ˈkruːɡərænd/;[1] Afrikaans: [ˈkrœjərˌrant]) is a South African coin, first minted on 3 July 1967 to help market South African gold and produced by Rand Refinery and the South African Mint.[2][3] The name is a compound of Paul Kruger, the former President of the South African Republic (depicted on the obverse), and rand, the South African unit of currency. On the reverse side of the Krugerrand is a springbok, South Africa's national animal.
By 1980 the Krugerrand accounted for more than 90% of the global gold coin market and was the number one choice for investors buying gold. However, during the 1980s and 1990s, Krugerrands fell out of favor as some western countries forbade import of the Krugerrand because of its association with the apartheid government of South Africa.[4][5]
Although gold Krugerrand coins have no face value, they are considered legal tender in South Africa by the South African Reserve Bank Act (SARBA) of 1989.[6]
In 2017, the Rand Refinery began minting silver versions, which have the same overall design as the gold coin.[7]
2 Variations and imitations
4 Proof Krugerrands
5 50th Anniversary Krugerrands
6 Export Control
7 Charitable donations
The Krugerrand was introduced in 1967 as a vehicle for private ownership of gold. It was minted in a copper-gold alloy more durable than pure gold. By 1980 the Krugerrand accounted for 90% of the global gold coin market.[8] That year, South Africa introduced three smaller coins with a half troy ounce, quarter ounce, and tenth ounce of gold.[9]
Economic sanctions against South Africa for its policy of apartheid made the Krugerrand an illegal import in many Western countries during the 1970s and 1980s. The United States which had historically been the largest market for the coin, banned imports in 1985; the previous year, over US$600 million of Krugerrands had been marketed in that country.[4] Most sanctions ended in 1991, after the South African government took steps toward ending its apartheid policy.[10][11][12][13]
Production levels of Krugerrands have significantly varied since its introduction. From 1967 to 1969, around 40,000 coins were minted each year. In 1970, the number rose to over 200,000 coins. More than one million coins were produced in 1974, and in 1978 a total of six million were produced. The production dropped to 23,277 coins in 1998 and then increased again, although not reaching previous levels.
Over 50 million ounces of gold Krugerrand coins have been sold since production started in 1967.[14]
Variations and imitations[edit]
During the bull market in gold of the 1970s, the gold Krugerrand quickly became the primary choice for gold investors worldwide.[15] Between 1974 and 1985, it is estimated that 22 million gold Krugerrand coins were imported into the United States alone. This huge success of the Krugerrand encouraged other gold-producing countries to mint and issue gold bullion coins of their own, including the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf in 1979,[16] the Australian Nugget in 1987,[16][17] the Chinese Gold Panda in 1982,[18][19] the American Gold Eagle in 1986,[16][18] and the British Britannia coin in 1987.[16]
Private mints have also attempted minting gold and silver bullion rounds (the term coin denotes legal currency) in the style of the Krugerrand. The rounds often depict Paul Kruger and a springbok antelope, some even blatantly copying the design of the Krugerrands themselves, though the inscriptions are altered. These bullion rounds are not offered by the South African Mint or the Government of South Africa, and are therefore not official, have no legal tender value, and cannot technically be considered coins.
Properties[edit]
The Krugerrand is 32.77 millimetres (1.290 in) in diameter and 2.84 millimetres (0.112 in) thick. The Krugerrand's actual weight is 1 1⁄11 troy ounces (34 g). It is minted from gold alloy that is 91.67% pure (22 karats), so the coin contains one troy ounce (31.1035 g) of gold. The remaining 8.33% of the coin's weight of 1⁄11 ozt (2.828 g) is copper (an alloy known historically as crown gold which has long been used for British gold sovereigns), which gives the Krugerrand a more orange appearance than silver-alloyed gold coins. Copper alloy coins are harder and more durable, so they can resist scratches and dents.
The coin is so named because the obverse, designed by Otto Schultz,[20] bears the face of Boer statesman Paul Kruger, four-term president of the old South African Republic. The reverse depicts a springbok, the national animal of South Africa. The image was designed by Coert Steynberg, and was previously used on the reverse of the earlier South African five shilling coin. The name "South Africa" and the gold content are inscribed in both Afrikaans and English (as can be seen on the pictures of the coin).
Since September 1980, Krugerrands have also become available in three additional sizes containing 1⁄2 ozt (15.55 g), 1⁄4 ozt (7.78 g) and 1⁄10 ozt (3.11 g) of gold.[citation needed] On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the coin range, fractional sizes of 1/20 and 1/50 oz were also added.
The word "Krugerrand" is a registered trademark owned by Rand Refinery Limited, of Germiston.[citation needed][21]
Diameter*
Thickness*
Gold content
(oz t)
32.77 2.84 33.930 22 karat 91.67% 31.103 1.000 160**
27.07 2.215 16.965 22 karat 91.67% 15.552 0.500 185
22.06 1.888 8.482 22 karat 91.67% 7.776 0.250 150
16.55 1.35 3.393 22 karat 91.67% 3.110 0.100 115
12.00 1.697 22 karat 91.67% 1.555 0.050
8.00 0.679 22 karat 91.67% 0.622 0.020
* Maximum dimensions
Proof Krugerrands[edit]
The South African Mint Company produces limited edition proof Krugerrands intended to be collectors' items rather than bullion investments. These coins are priced above bullion value, although non-proof Krugerrands also have a premium above gold bullion value. They can be distinguished from the bullion Krugerrands by the number of serrations on the edge of the coin. Proof coins have 220 edge serrations, while bullion coins have 160.[22][23]
50th Anniversary Krugerrands[edit]
2017 marked the 50th year of issuance (1967–2017) and to commemorate the anniversary, the South African Mint produced "Premium Uncirculated" versions in gold (.916 or 22 carat) and for the first time also in platinum (.999 fine) and silver (.999 fine). The issue limit for these commemorative platinum, gold and silver coins was 2,017 for platinum, 5,000 for gold and 1,000,000 for silver. The commemorative issues are distinguished by a '50' privy seal mark above the springbok design on the reverse for the platinum and silver issues and to the right of the springbok design on the gold issues. In addition to the "Premium Uncirculated" issue, 15,000 silver "Proof" krugerrands were also issued as well as "Proof" krugerrands in gold and platinum.[14]
Export Control[edit]
The South African Reserve Bank restricts the exportation of Krugerrands by a South African resident to a non-resident to a maximum of R30,000 (about US$2,100 or 1,870 Euro as of June 2018). Visitors to South Africa can export up to 15 coins by declaring the items to the South African Revenue Service.[24]
Charitable donations[edit]
In the 21st century, Krugerrands have received media attention in the United States after anonymous donors have left the valuable coin in the Salvation Army's annual "Christmas Kettle" donation jars in various cities around the country.[25][26][27][28]
^ "Krugerrand - definition". Dictionary.com, LLC. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
^ "Products". Rand Refinery. Retrieved 19 April 2019. produced by Rand Refinery and the SA Mint
^ "Bullion". The South African Mint Company. Retrieved 19 April 2019. The South African Mint Company manufactures Proof Krugerrands, and jointly manufactures the Bullion Krugerrand with Rand Refinery.
^ a b Bob Secter (02 Oct 1985) Reagan Bans Imports of S. Africa Krugerrand, The Los Angeles Times, accessed 28 June 2018
^ Staff, Robin Foster of The Sentinel. "KRUGERRAND LUSTER DIM FOR LOCAL COLLECTORS". OrlandoSentinel.com. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
^ 17 (2) (a) "[...] the value of each gold coin so tendered shall be equal to the net amount at which the bank is prepared to purchase that gold coin on the day of such tender thereof [...]" [1], South African Reserve Bank Act, 1989
^ "The Silver Krugerrand has arrived" (PDF). Alchemist Issue 90. London Bullion Market Association. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
^ Tom Bethell (4 February 1980). "Crazy as a Gold Bug". New York. 13 (5). New York Media. p. 34.
^ "2010 Krugerrand Series". www.samint.co.za. South Africa: The South African Mint Company. 2010. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
^ Yearbook of the United Nations (Volume 45 ed.). United Nations. 1991. p. 114. OCLC 1768016.
^ Yearbook of the United Nations, Volume 45, p. 114, at Google Books
^ "Most South African Sanctions Lifted: ML&B White Paper - Morgan Lewis" (PDF). www.morganlewis.com. Philadelphia, PA: Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP. 1991. p. Page 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
^ Friedman, Thomas L. (11 July 1991). "Bush Lifts a Ban on Economic Ties to South Africa". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
^ a b "Global Interest In Silver Investment Expands As South Africa Adds New Silver Krugerrand". SilverSeek.com. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
^ "Gold Krugerrands: Buying gold coins - 17 August 2007". Bullion Vault. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
^ a b c d "Swiss Gold Bug Cleans Out S Africa Krugerrand Coin Maker: COMMODITIES". Evening Standard. 28 August 2008. p. 33 – via ProQuest.
^ Rochette, Ed (31 January 1988). "Australian Coins Offer `nuggets' to Gold Buyers: FIVE STAR SPORTS FINAL Edition]". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 34 – via ProQuest.
^ a b Leckey, Andrew (12 September 1986). "U.S. GOING GOLD WITH EAGLE COIN: [SPORTS FINAL, C EDITION]". Chicago Tribune. p. 1 – via ProQuest.
^ Boye, Roger (13 August 1989). "Dealer Asks for U.S. Ban on Panda Coins: [FINAL EDITION, C]". Chicago Tribune. p. 11 – via ProQuest.
^ American Numismatic Association (1997). The Numismatist. 110. American Numismatic Association. p. 765. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
^ Gleason, Stefan (16 April 2015). "Why the Krugerrand Is the King of Gold Bullion Coins". Money Metals. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
^ Gleason, Stefan. "Why the Krugerrand Is the King of Gold Bullion Coins". Money Metals Exchange. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
^ "2008 Krugerrand Series". South African Mint Company. Archived from the original on 10 March 2009. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
^ Financial surveillance and exchange controls FAQ
^ "Salvation Army of Tallahassee receives rare South African Krugerrand coin". WTXL. 26 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
^ Glenn, Stacia (22 December 2011). "Krugerrand dropped into Salvation Army kettle". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on 20 December 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
^ "For fifth year in a row, mystery person drops a gold coin in Salvation Army kettle". AP. 13 December 2013. Retrieved 14 December 2013.
^ "Gold Krugerrand appears in a Salvation Army red kettle". WDAY. 20 December 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
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Tag: French literature
Remembering the Unforgettable Anthea Bell #AntheaBellDay
Yesterday, 10th of May, was the birthday of that wonderful translator and champion of German and French literature, Anthea Bell. After her death in 2018, Roland Glasser, himself a translator from French, had the following brainwave:
I realized that she was one of those people who had almost an immortal presence, like Bowie or Dylan, and was the nearest thing we translators had to a contemporary icon! Her reputation was on a whole other level. And in contrast to St Jerome [patron saint of translators], she was a contemporary woman translating secular texts and thus, in many ways, more relevant to many of us. I had visions of translators parading through the streets carrying her effigy (yes, I know that goes against the whole “secular” thing!). And so the idea for #AntheaBellDay was born. Last year, the inaugural day coincided both with the AGM of the Conseil Européen des Associations de Traducteurs Littéraires // European Council of Literary Translators’ Associations at the Writers’ Centre in Norwich and an exhibition of Sebald’s photgraphs at the @SainsburyCentre at the University of East Anglia. It seemed most auspicious!
Every translator and every writer who has ever worked with Anthea Bell has expressed their profound admiration not only for her skills, but for her generosity of spirit and championing of her colleagues. Sadly, I never got to see or hear her in person, but she has nevertheless had a profound personal impact upon me.
As a child I discovered her translations of Asterix long before I got to know the name of the translator. I collected and read the Asterix and Obelix books in three languages: French, German and English. Even at the age of 7-8, I realised that the German language editions were OK but nothing to write home about, while the English language editions at times surpassed the original. My favourite examples are Getafix for the druid (so much wittier than Panoramix) and Dogmatix for Obelix’s little canine friend (which translates the spirit of Idéfix perfectly, but with additional humour).
Later, I became obsessed for a while with all things Sebald and this was where Anthea’s translations helped me most. I tend to read books in German and French in the original, because I was fortunate enough to grow up in a multilingual environment. In my late teens/early twenties I was just a tad fanatical about it: poo-poohing reading in translation as ‘taking the easy way out’. Which was ironic, given that I was studying modern languages and training to become a translator and interpreter myself. However, when I read Anthea Bell’s translations, particularly of Sebald’s Austerlitz, for example, I discover something new, an additional nuance that I’d missed in the original.
At a recent literary event, Julia Franck spoke about the joyous experience of being translated by Anthea Bell, and how difficult it was losing her. Anthea, Franck said, had an intuitive feel for the language and how to make it work in English, how to keep its melody and rhythm, while conveying several layers of meaning.
When I was reviewing for Crime Fiction Lover, I read quite a few of Anthea’s translations of crime novels, such as those by Ferdinand von Schirach. Now, you know I love my crime fiction, but occasionally the style can suffer a little at the expense of the plot. Not so with Anthea’s translations – I remember a particularly beautiful description of a landscape which was much more eloquent in Anthea’s rendering of it than in the original text (of an author who shall remain nameless here). Anthea was no literary snob – she translated widely, across all genres (I am particularly fond of her children’s literature), always to the best of her abilities, rather than solely to a deadline or a pay cheque.
Below are a few of my treasured Anthea Bell translations. I do hope that this commemoration of her life and work will continue for many years to come. And I still aspire to translate maybe a third as well and as broadly as she did!
Posted on May 11, 2020 Categories Formative WritersTags Anthea Bell, Asterix, commemoration, French literature, German literature, translation10 Comments on Remembering the Unforgettable Anthea Bell #AntheaBellDay
New Year, Final Book Haul
Since I’ll be practically selling my kidneys (and almost certainly my parents’ old age security) in order to buy out the ex’s share of the house, I have to be very, very careful with money for the foreseeable future. So no more book buying for me this year – and this time I mean it!
However, before this frugality kicked in, I had a final splurge of French and Swiss books which I might struggle to find back in the UK, plus some that had been preordered in November or so, but got delayed in the Christmas frenzy post.
The French contingent
I finally bought myself a copy of Montaigne – not one translated into contemporary French but a ‘rejuvenated and refreshed’ edition, based on the 1595 version. I bought an abridged version of The Three Musketeers, in the hope that my younger son would fall for its charm. I got two Goncourt winners (smaller Goncourt prizes – for debut and the one given by high school students, which is often far better than the main one) and wanted to get the 2018 Goncourt winner that Emma rated so highly Les Enfants aupres eux – but they’d sold out and were waiting for the poche edition to appear some time in 2020. Last, but not least, I couldn’t resist this fictionalised biography of Tsvetaeva at a second-hand bookshop. The bookseller said I was the first person there who seemed to have heard of Marina Tsvetaeva, so we had a good long chat about her, how she is my favourite poet, but my Russian friend prefers Akhmatova.
The Swiss contingent
My good friend Michelle Bailat-Jones, whose translation of Ramuz so impressed me, was delighted to take me to a bookshop in Lausanne and recommend some more Ramuz and other Swiss writers. I ended up with Fear in the Mountains and with this trilogy by Agota Kristof, a Hungarian writer who taught herself to write in French. This trilogy has inspired other writers, a film (The Notebook) and even a video game, believe it or not!
Books arriving while I was away
Sadly, Michelle’s second novel Unfurled, which I’d wanted her to sign for me, arrived long after I’d left for Geneva. I had also ordered an Olga Tokarczuk which Tony Malone reminded me had been translated into English: Primeval and Other Times. I’ve been collecting quite a few books about the difficulties of writing and the importance of perseverance lately – Dani Shapiro’s one comes highly recommended. Last but not least, following the death of Alasdair Gray, whom I’ve never read, I wanted to sample some of his writing,but was not sure I could commit to a full novel, so chose these stories instead.
Japanese Literature Challenge
Finally, I have selected a few contenders for the January in Japan challenge. Heaven’s Wind is a dual language anthology of 5 women writers (each represented by one short story, all translated by Angus Turvill) and makes me feel like I almost remember enough Japanese to read it in the original. The translation notes at the back, though, make it clear just how little I am able to grasp the nuances nowadays. Another shortish story about insomnia by Yoshida Kyoko, Spring Sleepers, in that rather lovely publishing initiative by the Keshiki UEA Publishing Project. Then I have Ugetsu Monogatari (Tales of Moonlight and Rain), one of the most beautiful collection of supernatural stories in Japanese literature dating from the 18th century, which has inspired many, many later books and films. A classic of Japanese crime fiction and the author with the highest profile currently in Japanese literature consumed in the West make up the rest of my small selection. Now all I have to do is keep up with the reviewing!
Like a painting, Mont Blanc from the train window.
The holidays were nice, and reminded me once more just how much I miss that particular part of the world. They had the potential to be truly spectacular holidays, but alas, not quite! Sadly, you cannot escape all your problems or the nuisance people in your life, even at times of peace and joy to all humankind, even at a distance of a thousand miles. Stroppy teenagers changing their minds about things at the last minute and bringing plague-like flu symptoms with them meant that there was far less writing, skiing, fondue and chocolate eating, wine drinking, snowshoeing, meeting of friends than I’d planned. I am nevertheless incredibly grateful to my friend Jenny for allowing us to use her flat and partake in her impeccable literary tastes.
Posted on January 7, 2020 January 6, 2020 Categories Formative WritersTags Agota Kristof, Alasdair Gray, Dani Shapiro, French literature, Geneva, January in Japan, Michelle Bailat-Jones, Montaigne, Olga Tokarczuk, Prix Goncourt, Ramuz18 Comments on New Year, Final Book Haul
Rediscovering Montaigne
I say rediscovering, but I doubt that I ever discovered him properly the first time round. I vaguely read his essays in my omnivorous teens, jotted down a few quotes, but probably confused him quite a bit with Montesquieu (well, they both start with M and are roughly categorised as philosophers) and de Tocqueville (I know, no excuses there!).
In 2015 we holidayed in Aquitaine and I kept stumbling across Montaigne in Bordeaux (he was mayor of the city from 1580 to 1585). I borrowed his essays from the library when we returned to our then-home in Prevessin, but once again failed to read them in great depth. I had simply too many other books to review.
Then I recently came across this sort-of-biography of Montaigne by Sarah Bakewell. Entitled How to Live: A life of Montaigne in one question and twenty attempts at an answer, it is nothing less than a declaration of love for Montaigne the man and the writer, for his tolerant spirit and for not being judgemental (rare during those times of religious wars in France), his openness to new things, his love of the good life but also desire for solitude. Montaigne feels very modern, very akin to us, even to the point where he claims to despise in-depth scholarship.
I leaf through now one book, now another, without order and without plan, by disconnected fragments… If I encounter difficulties in reading, I do not gnaw my nails over them; I leave them there. I do nothing without gaiety.
He also endeared himself to me by preferring his books and travels to family life. Had he been free to choose, he would not have been the marrying kind at all, yet he reached a kind of contentment within it:
Of my own choice, I would have voided marrying Wisdom herself, if she had wanted me. But say what we will, the custom and practice of ordinary life bears us along.
Yet he was by no means a hermit. He enjoyed company and cultivated friendships, highly praised kind-spirited and friendly conversations – about anything, no subject was taboo in his household. He was also one of the first to establish a rapport with animals and think of them as sentient beings.
He is also ahead of his time regarding women: he was very conscious of the double standard used to judge male and female behaviour, and believed that by nature males and females are cast in the same mould.
Women are not wrong at all when they reject the rules of life that have been introduced into the world, inasmuch as it is the men who have made these without them.
Above all, I can relate to his glorious laziness. Looking after his estate was an onerous task, and he was useless around the house because he had other interests. He hated doing the things that bored him – a dereliction of duty which was shocking for his time, but which we can empathise with nowadays.
I stand up well under hard work; but I do so only if I go to it of my own will, and as much as my desire leads me to it… Extremely idle, extremely independent, both by nature and by art.
As Sarah Bakewell notes, he ‘knew there was a price to be paid’ for this unwillingness to be a micro-manager, that people would take advantage of his ignorance. ‘Yet it seemed to him better to lose money occasionally that to waste time tracking every penny and watching his servants’ tiniest movements.’ Of course, this comes from a position of privilege, where he could afford not to track the pennies.
Finally, perhaps his most endearing quality is his acceptance of everything that happens and everything you have done and been. His was not the Christian doctrine of repentance, but nor did he try to airbrush his past. He knew that some of the things he’d done a long time ago no longer made sense to him now, but he is forgiving to himself and to others for their mistakes. We are all made up of what we’ve done throughout our lives and what we’ve learnt from that.
We are all patchwork; and so shapeless and diverse in composition that each bit, each moment, plays its own game… our being is cemented with sickly qualities… Whoever should remove the seeds of these qualities from man would destroy the fundamental conditions of our life.
Yet the author also points out, that for all his individualistic modernity, Montaigne also has much to teach people in the 21st century about moderation, being courteous, that no utopia or fantasist vision of the future can ever justify hurting others in the present or outweigh the tiniest of selves in the real world.
Coincidentally, a French writer friend Lou Sarabadzic has just been busy curating an exhibition about Montaigne at the library Abbé-Grégoire in Blois, as part of her travelling and writing residency there. And I can now understand her passion for this author and wish I’d discussed him with her sooner! If you want to see the author Sarah Bakewell talk about Montaigne, here is the link to a video from the LRB Bookshop.
I will certainly add him to my list of favourite classic French writers : Voltaire and Molière.
Posted on September 25, 2019 September 25, 2019 Categories Formative Writers, ReviewsTags biography, France, French authors, French literature, Montaigne, philosophy, Sarah Bakewell14 Comments on Rediscovering Montaigne
The Debacle of Zola’s Vision of the Paris Commune
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So I finally finished Zola’s The Debacle and, while it was a fascinating, at times gruesome depiction of the Franco-Prussian War, it lacked substance when it came to the presentation of the Paris Commune. While it’s not fair to criticise the book for something that it’s not, I had picked it up in the expectation it might give me some new insight into the Commune, however brief its treatment of it.
Sadly, it does not.
The reason for that is probably because Zola himself (and his contemporaries) were not entirely sure what to make of the Commune. It had been brutally vanquished by the government, after all. There was no attempt at reconciliation, forgiveness or negotiation. Thousands were killed, many more sent into exile in a penitentiary colony. Its most visible supporters (like the painter Courbet) were imprisoned and then had to flee France to avoid having to pay off horrendous debts to the state for the destruction of property.
Those months of self-governance were presented in the newspapers and popular culture of the time as destructive, indiscriminate, incoherent, rudderless. Now, Zola is not one to shy away from controversy (remember the Dreyfus Affair?), but he was clearly influenced by the flood of published literature in the 1870s condemning the whole movement. While similar, on the whole, to the critical stance of most of his liberal republican contemporaries (disenchanted with the Second Empire and the Franco-Prussian War and attributing the outbreak of the rebellion to the poor handling of that), Zola’s views on the uprising were slightly more compassionate than most, calling on the National Assembly to listen to the ‘legitimate grievances’ of the Commune. Following the suppression of the rebellion, however, Zola is conspicuously silent about the government-sanctioned blood-bath. Perhaps he felt that the French were a little too prone to be swept away by revolutionary fervour, without thinking about the consequences.
Caricature of Zola, suggesting he uses the most disgusting things to ‘cook up’ something.
His ambivalence about the Commune has been noted by historians: he wrote some negative chronicles in the newspapers of the time, and there is one letter dated 22nd May, 1871, addressed to the newspaper La Semaphore in Marseille, in which he makes fun of the Communard desire to recognise all children born out of wedlock and to do away with titles of nobility:
The farce is now over and the clowns will be arrested. Rochefort is already in chains and surely the others will follow shortly. The cannon is booming, these are the last horrors and last remnants of the civil war.
So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that in The Debacle, Maurice, the idealist who had been so keen to fight against the Prussians at the start of the novel, is the one who is indoctrinated with revolutionary ideals, while practical, down-to-earth Jean remains in the army. Of course, Jean is horrified by the disproportionate revenge he sees the army exacting upon the Communards and, in a fine piece of melodrama (spoilers ahead), he is the one who pierces Maurice with a bayonet before realising just whom he is killing. Maurice is ravaged by fever and keeps repeating that Paris is burning, that the only way to purify the city is by having it burn to the ground. But the purification does not come from the rebels themselves. What Maurice says in his delirium (but which probably reflects the author’s views) is:
This is the sane and reasonable part of France, the measured, sensible peasant part of France, which has stayed closer to the land, defeating the mad, exasperated side, spoilt by the Empire, irredeemably broken by dreams and pleasures. It had to be done: cutting into the very flesh… The bloodbath was necessary, the loss of French blood, this abominable holocaust, this living sacrifice, to be purified by fire.
The wall at Pere Lachaise cemetary where at least 150 were shot in the last couple of days in May 1871 (an estimated total of 20,000 men, women and children died during the Bloody Week – or Fortnight – in May).
This is repeated in the final chapter of the book, Zola’s belief that the birth of a new nation and an improved form of republic can come out of all that suffering. The novel ends on a tiny note of hope, with Jean and Henriette looking forward to the reconstruction of the city and, indeed, all of France ‘… like a tree bringing forth a new, powerful shoot, after cutting off the putrid branch whose poisoned sap had turned the leaves yellow.’
The Siege of Paris and the Commune are despatched hurriedly in a few short chapters (comprising only about the last 10% of the book) and is perhaps less interesting (and more ambivalent) than what we encounter on our journey there. The chapters following the fall of Sedan, when Jean and Maurice are made prisoners of war by the Prussians, are particularly grim. The appalling conditions in the prison camps, the dead bodies (of both men and horses) floating in the Meuse river, the desperate attempts to slaughter and eat horses are images that were almost unbearable to read and will stay with me forever. Not a trace of sugarcoating from Zola, pure condemnation of violence and war at its nastiest and messiest.
Almost at the opposite end of the spectrum, there are some lighter moments, almost comic relief with the self-centred and vain Gilberte, wife of the local merchant and Henriette’s friend. But this is a far cry from the comedy of manners or social critique that Zola incorporated in his other novels (and in his literary ideal of realism). This is almost photographic realism, forcing the reader to look at the terrible consequences of nationalism, pride, revenge and the futile hunt for glory.
I am glad that I read this novel, it is certainly unforgettable, but I do wish I had spent more time on the Vautrin book for a fuller (and more sympathetic) Commune experience.
Posted on May 28, 2019 May 28, 2019 Categories ReviewsTags Emile Zola, French literature, historical fiction, Paris Commune, The Debacle6 Comments on The Debacle of Zola’s Vision of the Paris Commune
Zola: ‘The Debacle’ Readalong (Part 1)
May was going to be dedicated to the Paris Commune this year. I have read a couple of history books about it (to be reviewed) and had arranged to read Zola’s massive volume ‘The Debacle’ at the same time as Emma from BookAroundtheCorner. However, although I am 60% of the way through the book, I have yet to reach any chapter that relates to the Commune. So far it is all about the ill-conceived and ill-fated Franco-Prussian War of 1870. I’m talking from the French perspective, of course, because for the Prussians it certainly marked their ascendancy on the world stage.
This is not to say that I am not fascinated by the story, which reads quite well as a standalone, even if you haven’t read previous novels in the Rougon-Macquart series. This long series of 20 novels was intended to be a family saga but also a chronicle of the Second Empire. Or rather, a portrayal of how historical and social events colour individual lives and affect families. The series itself was started in 1871, soon after the fall of the Second Empire, but this is the penultimate volume and wasn’t published until 1892, by which time the dust had settled after the defeat in the war, the fall of Napoleon III, the desperation of the siege of Paris and the failure of the Commune.
The Infantry Will Advance by Carl Rochling, said to depict the Battle of Sedan.
Jean Macquart had appeared in a previous Zola novel La Terre. He is now 39 years old, a resilient, practical farmer, who is still recovering from the loss of his wife and lands. He is now a corporal in the 7th division of the French army, on the Franco-German border at Mulhouse. He is initially derided as an illiterate ‘peasant’ by a soldier under his command, Maurice Levasseur, who is from a more middle-class family, descended from a Napoleonic war hero, qualified as a lawyer.
Maurice starts off as an idealist, who thinks war is not only inevitable, but entirely justified for France, and who underestimates the Prussian military machine, not heeding his brother-in-law’s warnings. Jean is an experienced soldier, who fought in previous wars, a veteran of the battle of Solferino against the Austrians. He is more sceptical about the causes and outcomes of this war, but even he is stunned by the incompetence of the French military leaders.
Over the course of the mismanaged campaign, retreating and advancing without any plan or explanation, trying to make sense of the conflicting orders and constantly changing chains of command, the two men start to respect and support each other. Zola paints a dire picture of the military march in the first part of the book: the lack of provisions and discipline, the mixed feelings of the civilian population in the villages the army are passing through, the profiteering, the gnawing hunger. In one particularly poignant scene close to the beginning of the book, the army is engaged in yet another pointless retreat on an empty stomach, their feet full of blisters in ill-fitting shoes, under the relentless August sun. The soldiers start throwing away their weapons and rucksacks. Maurice is about to follow suit, but Jean forces him to pick up his gun, provoking an outburst of anger and hatred. The worst thing is: nobody is punished after that act of insubordination. It’s almost as though the officers have given up already on this farcical campaign.
Sedan marked the start of a new kind of warfare: urban warfare, as show here in The Last Cartridges by Alphonse de Neuville.
The second part of the book deals with the decisive Battle of Sedan, where the Prussians managed to trick the French army into a kind of pincer grip around the town of Sedan on the Franco-Belgian border. The village of Bazeilles just outside Sedan, where Maurice’s sister and brother-in-law live, is retaken and abandoned no less than four times. Although the descriptions of war strategy and actual battle scenes have never been my favourite thing (I used to skim through them in War and Peace, for example), Zola does an excellent job of conveying the confusion and terrible waste of war, particularly when it leaves the battlefield and enters the villages, affecting the civilian population.
He personalises these scenes with fictional characters we can become attched to, like Maurice’s twin sister Henriette searching for her husband. But there are also very brief, distressing vignettes, which he must have absorbed from eyewitness accounts. For example, the mother who refuses to evacuate because her child is terribly ill and feverish. She is shot down on the street and the feeble cries of her child from within the house ‘Maman, maman, I’m thirsty!’ will haunt the soldiers who witnessed it. Readers who found War Horse upsetting may want to skip the part where Zephyr, the brave black horse belonging to the officer Prosper, is killed as the cavalry charges forward for the third time. Maurice and Jean conclude that being brave is simply not worth it.
A rare photograph of the period. After repeatedly trying (and failing) to die in battle, 2nd September was the day the Emperor surrendered and was deposed.
It’s an ambitious fresco of a book, the longest by far in the Rougon-Macquart saga, one where the panoramic view of history tends to overshadow the personal, but Zola does his best to weave in some individual stories. Very moving and very political. Can’t wait to see what happens when they reach Paris.
Posted on May 20, 2019 Categories ReviewsTags Emile Zola, Franco-Prussian War, French literature, historical fiction, readalong, The Debacle14 Comments on Zola: ‘The Debacle’ Readalong (Part 1)
Virginie Despentes: Vernon Subutex 1 – ennui and more ennui
This book fits into no less than four categories of hashtags: #TranslationThurs, #EU27Project, #WomeninTranslation and #20BooksofSummer. However, it didn’t do much else for me! Which is a shame, because I’ve had a good experience, on the whole, with Despentes’ writing.
This time, however, she focuses on such a narrow category of arty-farty pretentious Parisians that it’s difficult to care about any of them. Vernon is a middle-aged loser, former record shop owner now sofa-surfing from one dubious acquaintance to the next. Besides, haven’t we had enough of French male midlife crisis, portrayed in so many French novels and films? I wouldn’t have expected a woman to write about it – although she supposedly makes fun of it. But for a figure of fun, we simply get too many details about Vernon and the people he mingles with.
Everyone is neurotic, narcissistic, racist, drugged to the eyeballs or all of the above. You switch quite rapidly from one point of view to the next, which does allow for comic effect (what people believe about themselves and how they are perceived by others vs. how people are actually perceived by others), but rarely digs beneath the surface of a character. Despentes has created unlikable narrators before, but then gradually revealed many more layers to them. No time for that in this rather futile, repetitive and overly long novel (and there are two more volumes of this!)
There are some good social observations, as you might expect of Despentes, but it’s simply not political enough, witty enough or engaging enough to sustain my interest. It must have been a bit of a challenge for the translator as well to use so much bad language – Trainspotting for the chi-chi media set and those funding them.
The cultural habits of the poor make him want to spew. He imagines being reduced to such a life – over-salted food, public transport, taking home less than 5000 euros a month and buying clothes in a shopping mall. Taking commercial flights and having to wait around in airports sitting on hard seats with nothing to drink, no newspapers, being treated like shit and having to travel in steerage, being a second-class scumbag… Screwing ageing cellulite-riddled meat. Finishing the working week and having to do the housework and the shopping. Checking the prices of things to see if you can afford them. Kiko couldn’t live like that… Guys like him never act like slaves…
Kiko’s job? Trader on the stock markets.
P.S. A French friend who works in publishing says it’s a ‘roman à clef’ with recognisable characters from the Parisian media world, but that is too narrow a satirical premise to appeal to me.
Posted on July 12, 2018 July 12, 2018 Categories ReviewsTags #20booksofsummer, #EU27Project, #TranslationThurs, #WomeninTranslation, French literature, midlife crisis, Vernon Subutex, Virginie Despentes11 Comments on Virginie Despentes: Vernon Subutex 1 – ennui and more ennui
Comparing Translation and Original for Marie Darrieussecq
I thought it might be fun to compare originals and translations occasionally. Not in an attempt to undermine the work of translators, but on the contrary: to appreciate the hard work that goes into every nuance and detail. I will examine some particular choices but fear not, it will not be a linguistic dissertation, but an unscientific examination of my own reactions to the two versions.
Marie Darrieussecq: Naissance des fantômes (1998)
Translated as: My Phantom Husband by Helen Stevenson (2000)
The story is deceptively simple: one evening the female narrator’s husband comes home from work, goes out to buy bread and is never seen again. You have a summary of the book in the very first paragraph:
Mon mari a disparu. Il est rentré du travail, il a posé sa serviette contre le mur, il m’a demandé si j’avais acheté du pain. Il devait être aux alentours de sept heures et demie.
My husband’s disappeared. He got in from work, propped his briefcase against the wall and asked me if I’d bought any bread. It must have been around half past seven.
At what stage should the abandoned wife panic and call the police? What is going through her head: does she wonder what went wrong, analyse every single moment of their seven years of married life, blame herself for anything? Does she blame him, is she ashamed, do all the cracks in their family and her less than perfect relationship with her mother-in-law start to surface? At first, she believes she catches glimpses of him on the street. She learns to sleep alone, do things alone, experiences something that is both grief and a recognition of freedom. She is terrified of forgetting her husband’s face, the impression he has made on her. Fears from her childhood (of monsters lurking under her bed or vampires out to get her) start reappearing, to the point where the crime fiction lover in me starts wondering if she has done away with her husband herself…
The book reminded me of Joan Didion’s A Year of Magical Thinking, where she is trying to come to terms with her husband’s sudden death. Except, of course, in this case the grief is mixed with anger and resentment, with uncertainty about the fate of the husband, reassessing their history in the light of possibly never really having known him properly, perhaps even reluctance to have him back again.
The language is dreamy and poetical, there is a lot of underwater imagery, the sense of drowning, endless rain, memories being washed away. In French, this dream-like quality is further enhanced by alliteration of ‘s’ and ‘eu’ sounds, which remind me of a murmur of streams and a breeze blowing over them. The translator does an excellent job of maintaining the repetition of ‘s’, although the ‘eu’ is impossible to render in English.
Mais ce matin-là, le matin de ma nouvelle vie, comme je n’avais pas fermé l’oeil l’aube fut une nouveauté autant qu’un soulagement (et les deux avaient sans doute partie liée). Les rues étaient sombres encore, aquatiques, bleutées. Sans souffle, sans même un froissement, asphyxiées sous le ciel fermé, elles devenaient presque reposantes à contempler.
But that morning, the first morning of my new life, since I hadn’t had a wink of sleep, the dawn came as a novelty, as well as a relief (and the two were no doubt not entirely unconnected). The streets were still dark, and wore a bruised, underwater look. Not a breath of air, not the slightest rustle, asphyxiated under a sealed sky. I started to find them quite restful to look at.
The first thing that struck me in this passage is how French has certain adjectives which need to be translated into phrases to make sense: ‘aquatic, bruised streets’ would sound strange in English. Plus the nuance of ‘blue’ in the French for bruised describes the colour of the drab early morning streets and the narrator’s grief so well – this gets lost in translation. ‘Froissement’ also encompasses more than just ‘rustle’, there is also the feeling of shudder, of cold (from ‘froid’), of being crumpled or creased like a piece of cloth, of being hurt, like a muscular strain. How to convey all of that?
I do like the use of ‘sealed’ to describe the low clouds, ‘closed’ look of the sky, plus it adds to the alliteration. I’m not quite sure about the use of ‘novelty’ to describe the dawn, seems too literal and sounds more like advertising language. Nor am I sure about the change in subject in the final sentence. In French the narrator is letting the landscape, the streets, the view from the window dominate that paragraph, which underlines her passivity. In English, by introducing the ‘I’ (I started to find them quite restful), it makes her too much of an actor, gives her too much choice.
This is a challenge I have observed in other books translated from French (and when I was teaching French speakers how to write reports in English). The passive voice sounds much more natural in French, as does the use of the second person. This book has abundant examples of both and it is difficult to make comprehensible English out of them without losing slightly that sense of distancing and distinction between ‘I’ and ‘him/you/other people’ which the narrator seems to feel so acutely, and which is subtly conveyed throughout the book by the author – culminating with the final paragraph which is all about the ‘I’ that has broken free.
Posted on February 8, 2018 February 4, 2018 Categories ReviewsTags #EU27Project, #TranslationThursday, 1st person, French literature, Marie Darrieussecq, My Phantom Husband, Naissance des fantômes, translated fiction21 Comments on Comparing Translation and Original for Marie Darrieussecq
Romain Gary: Yet Another French Link for #EU27Project
Romain Gary: La vie devant soi (The Life Ahead of You)
The furore surrounding this book is well known in France, but let me quickly summarise for those who don’t know. Romain Gary had already won the Prix Goncourt for his novel Les racines du ciel in 1956. Since no one can win the prize twice, he wrote another novel under a pseudonym (he used several during his lifetime) Emile Ajar and won again in 1975. He carried on publishing under that pseudonym for about 4-5 years, getting a nephew to pose as the reclusive writer, but finally killed him off (the pseudonym rather than his nephew) and admitted the truth.
I found it a little surprising that people didn’t spot the similarities in style and subject matter between La vie devant soi and La promesse de l’aube (published in 1960). Or is it just because those are the only two books by Romain Gary that I’ve read at this moment in time (they certainly won’t be my last)? Both are about the relationship between an older woman (the mother, in the case of the earlier book; the childminder in the case of the later one) and a young boy. Both are about the unsentimental love and support they give each other, even as they disagree about things and annoy and hide things from each other. The style is also that unmistakable combination of pain masked by sardonic humour, strong sentiment tempered by a core of steel. My blogger friend Emma, who is a real Romain Gary connoisseur, calls that his Jewish humour and French rationality.
Madame Rosa is a former prostitute turned childminder (or foster mother, really) of prostitutes. She lives on the sixth floor of a building without a lift and is finding it increasingly difficult to climb the stairs, as she gets old and overweight. She is also a Jewish refugee who has never forgotten the horrors of the war, is constantly suspicious of the authorities and has an ‘escape hole’ in the basement. Momo, the narrator, is a young Arab boy who has been living with Madame Rosa since he was three years old. It seems both his mother and father have forgotten him and haven’t been paying for his upkeep for years, but his childminder hasn’t got the heart to turn him out. Momo feels bad about not being able to pay his way, however, and he is also afraid that Madame Rosa might die soon, so he starts planning for the future. Of course, the only life he knows is the life of the street in Belleville, so he shoplifts or tries to pimp out other women or to find protection elsewhere. Through his naive child’s eyes we see a whole neighbourhood and some of its eccentric characters, the daily troubles of people barely able to make ends meet, but also the way people can pull together in times of need. Euthanasia, aging, drug use, prostitution, the life of refugees and transvestites, mental illness – all heavy themes, but done with compassion and kindness. Above it all rise the resilience and beauty of the human spirit. And of course it is the story of a remarkable friendship, one might say a love story, as Momo helps the old woman face death (the thing she fears above all is cancer).
From the BD version of the book.
The book is full of remarkable observations and memorable sentences (beautiful in French, forgive my paltry translations)
Monsieur Hamil is a great man, but circumstances stopped him from becoming one.
‘This is where I hide when I am scared.’ ‘What are you scared of, Madame Rosa?’ ‘You don’t have to have a reason to be scared, Momo.’ I’ve never forgotten that, because it’s the truest thing I’ve ever heard.
People care more about life than anything else, which is funny considering how many beautiful things there are in the world.
‘Don’t worry, Momo, you’ve got your whole life ahead of you.’ Was he trying to scare me or what? I’ve noticed that old people always say ‘you’re young, you’ve got your whole life ahead of you’ with a big smile, as it it’s something to look forward to. I know I’ve got all my life ahead of me, but I’m not going to make myself sick with worry over it.
I don’t really care that much about being happy, I prefer real life. Happiness is a fine piece of dirt, a nasty piece of work, it should be taught how to live. Happiness and me are not on the same side at all, I don’t have anything to do with it… there should be laws against it, to stop it being such a shit.
Still from the 1977 film, starring Simone Signoret as Madame Rosa and Samy Ben-Youb as Momo.
This book also fits in the #EU27Project, although I already have a fair number of French entries there. However, I do wish Romain Gary were better known in the English-speaking world. Child narrators are always tricky, but Momo’s ahead of his years in some ways and remarkably innocent in others, which is probably understandable given his unconventional upbringing. A real gem, which has been adapted for cinema in 1977 under the title Madame Rosa and translated into English as The Life Before Us in 1986 (now out of print).
I’m already planning my next Romain Gary book, although I’ll have to have it sent over from France: Les racines du ciel, about saving(my beloved) elephants in Africa.
Posted on January 30, 2018 January 30, 2018 Categories ReviewsTags #EU27Project, books in French, French literature, La vie devant soi, Romain Gary13 Comments on Romain Gary: Yet Another French Link for #EU27Project
Launching My First Asymptote Journal in Its 6th Year of Existence
The Fall Edition of the Asymptote Journal has just been launched and, although I can’t claim any credit for the content (by the time I joined the team, it was all pretty much done and edited), it is a pleasure to share some of its content with you.
First of all, there is a special feature on new voices from France – unusual and young voices, rather than the ones which have been translated before. I love the disturbing and dysfunctional relationship with a mother described by Frédérique Martin, the grim reality of abortion from three different points of view presented by Valentine Goby. Although not strictly speaking a new voice, one of my absolute favourite pieces in this issue is the provocative, energetic and rather elegiac essay by Bernard Hoepffner – much respected translator of English literature into French, who died recently off the coast of Wales. The translator as a chameleon, con-man and perpetrator of linguistic violence. Still in the sphere of France, there is also a review of Marcel Proust’s letters to his neighbour, which show a witty, charming, sensitive man rather than the hypochondriac we often seem to hear about in literary history.
But it’s not just France who features here. Overall, 31 countries are represented, including Romania, South Africa, Martinique, the Ukraine and Brazil. There is also a very interesting art project by Mikhail Karikis, bringing the sounds and images of a community (and especially that of young people) making abandoned industrial landscapes their own.
Overall, a great place to rummage around and explore, whether you like poetry, fiction, essays, art or drama. And in times fraught with the spectre of nationalism and lack of interest in ‘the other’, I find it is more important than ever to listen to other cultures and to further our understanding.
Posted on October 20, 2017 October 19, 2017 Categories Formative WritersTags Asymptote Journal, Bernard Hoepffner, Frédérique Martin, French literature, Marcel Proust, Mikhail Karikis, translated fiction, Valentine Goby, world literature17 Comments on Launching My First Asymptote Journal in Its 6th Year of Existence
Marcus Malte: music, recent history and dark humour #EU27Project
It was Catherine from the wonderful Blog du Polar de Velda (if you read French and like crime fiction, this site comes highly recommended) who introduced me to author Marcus Malte in Lyon four years ago. I read two or three of his books (none of which have been translated into English yet) and found them all very different from each other, quite dark, highly imaginative and experimental.
In the meantime, he has won the prestigious Prix Femina with his novel Le garçon (which I haven’t read yet, but you can read Emma’s review), so here’s hoping at least that will get translated. However, in Lyon this year, I picked up one of his earlier books, Les harmoniques, which makes full use of his love of music, especially jazz. Malte is frequently described as a ‘noir’ author, but this book had moments of hilarious fun, almost farce-like, which surprised and enchanted me. Moreover, it did nothing to detract from the rather serious subject matter, proving that it’s not always grim and tortuous which is memorable or worthy. (Oscar selection committee, take note! How could you ignore ‘Hidden Figures’ so badly?)
The subtitle of the book is Beau Danube Blues (Beautiful Danube Blues) and this is a hint of the European tragedy that lies at its heart. It starts off with a chapter that resembles jazz improvisation, with two people talking (we have no idea who they are at first), and musical interludes between their words.
Som7 Sibm6
‘Believe it or not, there was a time when I thought I was immortal. But I fear that has gone. For good.’
‘That’s called wisdom.’
‘I’d rather call that giving up.
Fa Fa7
‘Wisdom includes giving up.’
This might seem like a pretentious and unnecessarily difficult way to hook a reader into a novel, but if you move on to the next chapters, you realise it gives you a good insight into the two main characters: Mister and Bob.
Mister is a jazz pianist and one of his favourite fans, beautiful young Vera, has just been murdered and burnt alive. The police has arrested two suspects, who have confessed to the crime, but Mister is convinced there is more to it than meets the eye.
Bob is his friend and favourite taxi driver, a mighty unusual one, former philosophy professor, prone to enigmatic quotations and only occasionally charging his clients. Together, they set out to discover the truth about Vera’s death. In due course, they discover more about her life: she came to France to study theatre, but she was originally from the Balkans, from the Croatian town of Vukovar, where in 1991 an 87 day siege was followed by a whole-scale destruction and ethnic cleansing of the town by the Serbian army. But what could this long-gone war have to do with her present-day murder?
We never get to see Vera herself, she is dead at the outset of the novel, but we do see her through other people’s eyes and through short, poetic chapters, very much like musical interludes, which seem to delve into her mind, although they are in the third person:
This war which she escaped but which she carried everywhere with her. In her head. Secretly. Even in the most tender moments.
They come across a series of paintings of Vera in an art gallery and decide to visit the artist Josef Kristi, a strange, reclusive character, to find out more about the relationship between Kristi and the model. Although the artist tells them a little about Vera’s past, they don’t quite believe he is not involved in her death, so they decide to do some very amateurish surveillance. What follows is a very funny scene, where they end up in the middle of a field of beetroots (or maybe turnips or potatoes or pumpkins, they are not quite sure), just opposite the Kristi house. Mister fears they are too conspicuous, but Bob says they can always claim that they are waiting for a pick-up truck. And then a farmer passes by and stops to see what these incompetent investigators are up to… I was giggling all the way through this scene.
There are serious and dangerous moments too: they get involved with nasty and brutal people, some of them in positions of power, and make some unlikely allies – a blind, elderly accordeon-player and a young, tone-deaf singer. While this is not a plot-driven book, the build-up of tension was working well until about the last 100 pages, when it all descends into a lengthy explanation and is wrapped up too quickly, as if the author had lost interest.
Scene from the literary concert, from Var Matin.
But the crime element is not the main reason to read this book: it is a wonderful piece of rhythmic and musical writing, with many passages designed to be read out loud (as the author did, with musical accompaniment, in Lyon. You can read Emma’s thoughts about the event here). It is a melancholy look at all the ‘forgotten’ towns and victims, and a reminder that the consequences of war rage on long after the conflict is officially over. It will not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I am always curious to see what Marcus Malte writes next: he is most certainly not an author to be pigeon-holed.
This fits in well with the #EU27Project, since it is written by a French writer, deals with a recent conflict in Croatia and reminds us of the purpose of the EU.
Posted on May 4, 2017 May 4, 2017 Categories ReviewsTags Balkans, French literature, Les harmoniques, Marcus Malte, music14 Comments on Marcus Malte: music, recent history and dark humour #EU27Project
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Facts and Fun
Fun and Interesting Facts for You
10 Facts about Feliz Navidad
Posted on Saturday, April 22nd, 2017. - Filed under Music.
Let us check the interesting information about a macaronic Christmas song on Facts about Feliz Navidad. José Feliciano was the singer and songwriter from Puerto Rico who wrote the song in 1970. In United States, this song earns a special status among the people. It is considered as a classic Christmas pop song that people like to chant during the Christmas celebration. The popularity of Felix Navidad is also spotted in many Spanish-speaking countries in the world. Here are other useful facts about Feliz Navidad.
Facts about Feliz Navidad 1: the meaning of the song
Feliz Navidad had the simple Spanish chorus of “Feliz Navidad, próspero año y felicidad”. In English, the chorus means “Merry Christmas, a prosperous year and happiness”. It is considered as a classic greeting during the Christmas celebration.
Facts about Feliz Navidad
Facts about Feliz Navidad 2: the popularity
In Canada and United States, Feliz Navidad is super popular. One of the most downloaded songs during the Christmas celebration is Feliz Navidad.
Facts about Feliz Navidad 3: the recording of Feliz Navidad
As I have stated before, Feliz Navidad was written by José Feliciano. He also sang the song for the recording. Jose also played a Puerto Rican cuatro and an acoustic guitar.
See Also: 10 Facts about Fats Domino
José Feliciano Pic
Facts about Feliz Navidad 4: the total sales
The total sales of Feliz Navidad were 808,000 downloads as of 25 November 2016. It was a report released by Nielsen SoundScan.
Facts about Feliz Navidad 5: the best-selling Christmas digital singles
In the list of all-time best-selling Christmas holiday digital singles, Feliz Navidad earned the eighth place in SoundScan history.
Facts about Feliz Navidad 6: the most played Christmas songs
Feliz Navidad is included as one of the most played Christmas songs in the world according to ASCAP.
Facts about Feliz Navidad 7: the original version
Jose Feliciano sang the original version of Feliz Navidad. For more than 20 years, the song was placed at the Billboard Hot 100. On 10th January 1998, the song took no. 70 during its ending week.
Facts about Feliz Navidad 8: return to the chart
On 7th January 2017, it was very surprising to know that Feliz Navidad made its comeback to the chart of Billboard Hot 100. It earned the no 44.
Read Also: 10 Facts about Fela Kuti
Facts about Feliz Navidad 9: the drummer
Paulinho Magalhaes served as the drummer on the original version of Feliz Navidad by Jose Feliciano.
Feliz Navidad Facts
Facts about Feliz Navidad 10: covered versions
Due to its impressive Feliz Navidad, the song has been covered by many artists such as The Cheetah Girls, Glee Cast, Boney M, El Vez, and Luciano Pavarotti.
Are you impressed after reading facts about Feliz Navidad?
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HomeSchmooze: Your Jewish Pop Culture Fix
Biblical Clue in Computer Worm?
September 30, 2010 By Michael Kaminer
It sounds like a high-tech thriller with DaVinci Code undertones: A file name inside a lethal computer worm might reference the Biblical Queen Esther — and could finger Israel as the source.
A report in today’s New York Times says a file inside the Stuxnet worm’s computer code was named “Myrtus,” possibly a “cross-linguistic wordplay” on Esther’s original Hebrew name of Hadassah. It’s one of what the New York Times calls “several murky clues that have emerged as computer experts try to trace the origin and purpose of the rogue Stuxnet program, which seeks out a specific kind of command module for industrial equipment.” Its exact target: Iran, where 30,000 computers have been infected, according to the Guardian. The worm “appears to have used contaminated hardware in an attempt to cripple Iran’s nuclear program,” the Guardian said, and “was a sophisticated attack almost certainly orchestrated by a state. It also appears that intelligence operatives were used to deliver the worm to its goal.”
The Guardian article continued: “Yesterday, Iran confirmed that the worm had been found on laptops at the Bushehr nuclear reactor, which had been due to go online next month but has now been delayed. It denied the worm had infected the main operating system or caused the delay.”
“There are many reasons to suspect Israel’s involvement in Stuxnet,” the New York Times reported. “Intelligence is the single largest section of its military and the unit devoted to signal, electronic and computer network intelligence, known as Unit 8200, is its largest group.”
Yossi Melman, who covers intelligence for Haaretz, told the Times he suspects Israel, but Shai Blitzblau, the technical director and head of the computer warfare laboratory at Maglan, an Israeli information-security company, told the Times he was “convinced that Israel had nothing to do with Stuxnet.”
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Iran Reveals Plan to ‘Confront U.S. Naval Forces’ Ahead of War Games
Military commanders continue to issue threats against the U.S.
Iranian naval exercises / AP
Adam Kredo - January 31, 2014 11:00 AM
Iran unveiled this week new anti-aircraft missile systems and a plan to "confront U.S. naval forces" ahead of a series of eight new war games that are scheduled to begin in March, according to multiple Iranian press reports.
New anti-aircraft missile simulators have been installed at Iran’s Khatam ol-Anbia Air Defense Base, according to a top Iranian military commander, who said the systems would be used to train soldiers in the art of downing enemy aircraft, according to Iranian press reports.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) simultaneously announced this week that it had established a new organization for its "smart combat vessels." The new war group was created in response to the "need for confronting U.S. naval forces," according to Iran’s Press TV.
These announcements were made just over a month before Iran kicks off its next round of war games, which, for the first time, will include "a drill in the cyber field," according to the state-run Fars News Agency.
Tehran’s latest round of military muscle flexing comes just days after President Barack Obama praised the recently signed nuclear accord during his annual State of the Union address. Iran’s Foreign Ministry responded to the speech by calling Obama’s comments "unrealistic and unconstructive."
One of the Iranian generals in charge of the upcoming war games said that Tehran is constantly thinking about war.
"When the enemy observes that our Armed Forces are constantly in wargame zones and their fingers are kept on the trigger, it will not dare to invade the Islamic Iran's borders," General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan, commander of the Iranian Army Ground Force, was quoted as saying this month by Fars.
Iran’s military is slated to test "new home-made military tools, equipment, and weapons" during the war games, according to Pourdastan.
Meanwhile, a top IRGC commander in charge of the new combat ship war group said Iran is focused on combatting America’s naval presence in the Persian Gulf.
"The U.S. and its allies’ enmity toward the Islamic Revolution is not hypothetical, but rather it is a tangible animosity whose physical manifestation will be in the sea," Admiral Ali Fadavi, commander of the IRGC’s Navy, was quoted as saying on Tuesday during a public address at an Iranian university.
"They [the United States] are a sea-based military force, and the Persian Gulf is the only part of the world for which Americans use the phrase ‘vital national security interests,’" Fadavi reportedly said. "It is the phrase that they only use for their homeland and the Persian Gulf."
The newly unveiled anti-aircraft missile simulators will also help Tehran combat Western forces, according to the commander of Iran’s Khatam ol-Anbia Air Defense Base.
The missile simulators are specifically designed to mimic the Hawk and Skyguard anti-aircraft system, both of which are used to down enemy planes from moderate distances, according to Fars.
"We can simulate targets in real-scales and in different classes of missiles, airplanes, helicopters and drones by using these simulators which are completely independent and needless of operating systems," Iranian Brigadier General Farzad Esmayeeli explained to Fars.
This entry was posted in National Security and tagged Iran, Nuclear Weapons. Bookmark the permalink.
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Accuracy issues in FAO animal numbers
by saulius14 min read2nd Dec 20192 comments
Rethink PrioritiesFarmed Animal Welfare
What relevant statistics FAO provides
Examples of inconsistencies
Egg-laying hens
The U.S. and the UK
Broilers (meat chicken)
High variance in estimated slaughter age
Appendix: caveats about FAO’s animal statistics
Some egg-laying hens are in the meat industry
Not all slaughtered chickens were raised for meat
Animals slaughtered within the dairy industry
Some strategic decisions in animal advocacy are informed by the numbers of animals in various countries. The most widely used statistics about the numbers of farmed animals come from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) website FAOSTAT. In this article, I provide some examples of inconsistencies in FAOSTAT animal data, and further reasons to think that the data may sometimes be inaccurate. The main point of this article is that it’s probably worth trying to verify FAO numbers before using them to make important decisions. In the appendix, I also explain some minor caveats that should be understood when interpreting FAO numbers.
For land animals, FAO provides these statistics for each country and each year:
How many farm animals of each species are alive at any time
Livestock primary (element “Producing Animals/Slaughtered”)
How many animals are slaughtered for meat
How many egg-laying and milk animals were alive on average at any time during the selected year
Live imports and exports
Some of these statistics are visualized by Our World in Data and Faunalytics.
Statistics about fish farming and wild fish catch for each country, year, and species can be seen by downloading the FishStatJ program. Some cumulative statistics are presented and visualized in The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA) 2018 report.
FAO claims that “it is not possible to assess the overall accuracy of the dataset, as the source data is largely collected by member countries.”[1] I’d guess that some countries don’t have good statistics and that there is significant activity that is not captured by government statistics.
For example, page 93 in FAO’s SOFIA 2018 report claims that “it is recognized that the FAO capture database does not include all fish caught in the wild, as it omits the portion of the catch that is discarded at sea and catches from illegal, unreported or unregulated (IUU) fisheries.” Pauly and Zeller (2016) estimate that because of this issue, global catches between 1950 and 2010 were roughly 50% higher than data reported to FAO suggest. Since websites like fishcount.org.uk use FAO data for their estimates, they are probably underestimating wild-caught fish numbers as well.
Another potential problem is that country officials may not always have incentives to report accurate data. For example, according to Yu and Abler (2014), China has been overreporting pork production because local officials have been inflating production figures to improve their prospects for promotion. However, Xiao et al. (2015) claims that over the last decades, the accuracy of China’s meat production statistics have been significantly improved as the incentives to over-report agricultural production have gradually disappeared. I’m unsure if there are similar problems in other countries. Note that when mistakes or misreporting is noticed, in some cases FAO may correct its statistics. E.g., see FAO (2001).
Finally, FAO data for some animals may be incomplete. For example, according to Waldhorn (forthcoming), FAO does not include snail production figures for any European country, despite other sources indicating that snails are farmed in the continent. Similarly, FAO data on rodent farming only covers Peru and Bolivia, even though rodents are also farmed in Africa (see Maass et al. (2014)).[2]
When analyzing FAO statistics for land animals, I noticed some inconsistencies. Hence, I started comparing FAO statistics with official statistics from various countries to understand what is going on and noticed further potential issues. I reported some of these issues on the FAOSTAT feedback forum and they promised to revise the data at the end of this year. Nevertheless, there are probably many other issues with the data that will remain uncorrected. I wanted to document my reasoning to showcase what kind of problems can be expected. Note that the origin of these issues is unclear. They could be due to misreporting by countries, misestimating by FAO, or miscommunication between countries and FAO. For brevity, I use ‘M’ for a million and ‘B’ for a billion.
According to FAO statistics, there are 275M chickens in Bangladesh (based on official data) and 301M egg-laying hens (FAO estimate) alive at any time. It makes no sense that there are more egg-laying hens than chickens in total because the total number of chickens should include egg-laying hens.[3]
This inconsistency may be explained by the following FAO claim:
“Estimates have been made for non-reporting countries as well as for countries reporting incomplete data. However, in certain countries, data for chickens, ducks and turkeys do not yet seem to represent the total number of these birds. Certain other countries give a single figure for all poultry; data for these countries are shown under “Chickens”.
It’s possible that the FAO estimate for egg-laying hens includes egg-laying birds other than chickens, while the estimate for chickens alive at any time does not. Another possibility is that either Bangladesh official statistics underestimate the number of chickens in the country, or FAO overestimate the number of egg-laying hens.
Other countries that according to FAO data have more egg-laying hens than chickens in general are North Korea, French Guiana, Latvia, and Iceland. For Latvia and Iceland both numbers come from the official data. For North Korea and French Guiana the number of chickens come from official data, and the numbers of hens are FAO estimates. I reported these inconsistencies for all these countries to the FAO and they promised to correct it by the end of 2019.
FAO statistics for the U.K. seem to include not only layers, but also pullets (hens who are too young to lay eggs) and roosters (who are used for breeding hens).[4] FAO statistics for the U.S. include layers, but not pullets or roosters.[5] Pullets and roosters make up about 27% of all chickens involved in the U.S. egg industry[6] so the difference is non-negligible. It could be that FAO simply does not specify whether hen numbers should include pullets and roosters. Hence, different countries report statistics in different ways which makes comparisons problematic. I reported this issue to the FAO and they promised to revise the data by the end of 2019.
According to FAO, in Indonesia, in 2017 there were 2.18B chickens alive at any time (official data), 167M chickens in the egg-laying hen industry (official data), and 2.85B chickens slaughtered for meat (“FAO data based on imputation methodology”). It would follow that the average slaughter age of meat chicken is about 365 × (2.18B-167M) / 2.85B = 257 days,[7] which is much higher than any figure for broiler lifespan I’ve seen. According to Wright and Darmawan (2017), broilers in Indonesia rarely live beyond 35 days. Statistical Yearbook of Indonesia 2017 (page 280) seems to claim that there are 1.6B broilers alive at any time, which is lower than the figure I estimated from FAOSTAT (2.18B-167M = 2B) but still much higher than we should expect by looking at the slaughter total. I reported this issue to the FAO and they promised to revise the data by the end of 2019.
According to FAOSTAT, there were 1.97B chickens alive at any time in the U.S. in 2017. Earlier in this article I explained that 505.8M of these chickens were used in the U.S. egg-laying industry. It would follow that 1.97B - 505.8M = 1.47B broilers are alive at any time. Similarly, table 30 of the 2017 U.S. Agriculture census claims that there are 1.62B broilers alive at any time. FAOSTAT and USDA stats also claim that there were 9B chickens slaughtered in the U.S. in 2017. It would then follow that the average slaughter age of broilers is 365 days × 1.47B / 9B = 59.6 days. However, according to the National Chicken Council (2019), the average broiler slaughter age in the U.S. is 47 days. According to the same source, preslaughter mortality of broilers is 5% which means that it can’t explain the 24% difference in slaughter age estimates. Broiler mothers who live longer are already excluded from the estimation, so this can’t explain it either. Live exports and imports of chickens are also not big enough to explain the difference (69M live chickens imported, and 5M live chickens exported according to FAO).
However, there is one possible explanation I’m aware of that could explain the discrepancy. Between periods of raising broilers, farms have downtime periods. These last about two weeks, during which facilities are cleaned and prepared. Farms that are in a downtime when USDA is collecting data could be reporting the number of broilers that are in farm during the broiler raising period instead of reporting that the farm has no broilers. This would inflate the number of broilers who are alive at any time, but not slaughter totals. However, I’m far from certain that this explanation is correct.
In this section, I will show that there is a very high variance in estimated slaughter age of meat animals in various countries. This makes me suspect that there are similar inconsistencies in FAO’s data for some other countries and animals.
I made a spreadsheet in which I very roughly estimated the slaughter age of meat chickens, turkeys and pigs[8] in most of the countries. I assumed that all pigs and turkeys were raised primarily for their meat. I estimated their mean slaughter age in each country by dividing the number of animals alive in 2017 by the number of animals slaughtered in 2017. For chickens, the estimation was very similar except that I also had to estimate the number of meat chickens alive by subtracting the number of egg-laying hens from all the chickens alive in each country. All the numbers were taken from FAO.
Such an estimation gives a very imprecise measure of slaughter age for multiple reasons:
Animals are sometimes raised in one country and slaughtered in another one.[9]
It ignores pre-slaughter mortality.
If the number of animals farmed in a country is growing or shrinking in a given year, it may distort the estimate.
As explained before, egg-laying hen numbers for many countries don’t capture all the chickens used in egg-production. Hence, if we subtract FAO’s number for egg-laying hens alive from FAO’s number for all chickens alive in a given country, we may overestimate the number of broilers.
Chicken slaughter statistics for at least some countries include slaughters of egg-laying hens (see the Appendix), which should ideally be excluded for the purposes of this estimation.
Nevertheless, if all countries submitted data to FAO in a consistent manner, I’d expect this estimated ratio of meat animals alive in 2017 to slaughtered in 2017 to be roughly similar in most countries. However, as it can be seen in Table 1, there is a very high variance in my estimated slaughter ages in various countries.
Table 1: Roughly estimated mean slaughter ages for selected countries
First 15 rows in the table are the biggest countries by chicken slaughters. The remaining countries are selected because of some particularly suspicious values.
The same species of animal is undoubtedly slaughtered at different ages in different countries but I think the differences are not nearly as drastic as the table suggests. Furthermore, I see some nonsensical values in the table. In some cases, they can be explained by live imports and exports[10] or a sudden change in the industry size.[11] However, in at least some cases they seem to indicate inconsistencies in FAO data.[12]
The only actionable advice here is that if you are basing important decisions (e.g. the countries in which in which countries to expand your charity) on FAO numbers, it may be worth verifying whether or not those numbers are correct. For example, it could be useful to check my spreadsheet to see if slaughter age estimates for the country of interest seem to be suspiciously high or low. If they are, it may be worth looking deeper into the statistics or asking about it on the FAOSTAT feedback forum.[13]
FAO egg-laying hen statistics for the U.K., the U.S., and probably other countries, include broiler mothers. They are a part of the meat industry rather than the egg industry because they lay eggs that hatch into chickens, who are raised for meat. According to my extrapolations, there are 350M-600M broiler mothers in the world.[14]
According to FAOSTAT, there were 9,050M chickens slaughtered in the U.S. in 2017. Looking at the USDA statistics, it can be seen[15] that 135M of these slaughters were of mature chickens, who are not broilers. Most of them are “spent” egg-laying hens who are slaughtered when their rate of egg-laying slows down. Others are roosters used for chicken breeding. I’m unsure if “spent” hens and roosters are included in FAOSTAT statistics for other countries.
In the egg industry, male chicks are killed at a very young age (e.g. one day) because they can not lay eggs, and are less suitable for meat production than broiler breeds. It seems that they are excluded from the FAOSTAT chicken slaughter totals.
In the dairy industry, most male calves are slaughtered at a young age because they can’t produce milk, and older female cows are slaughtered when they no longer produce enough milk. By comparing FAO and official U.S. statistics, I can see that slaughters of both of these groups of animals are included in the FAO’s slaughter totals for the U.S.[16] I haven’t checked the numbers for other countries and other species used for milk (sheep, goats, buffaloes, camels, etc.).
Brienen, M., Cavenagh, B., Van Vliet, W., Copier, M. (2014). Meeting the challenge of Indonesia’s growing demand for poultry
FAO Fisheries Department (2001). Fishery Statistics: Reliability and Policy Implications
Mass, B. L., Metre, T. K., Tsongo, F., Mugisho, A. B., Kampemba, F. M., Ayagirwe, R. B. B., Azine, P. C., & Chiuri, W. L. (2014). From taboo to commodity: history and current situation of cavy culture in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Livestock Research for Rural Development, 26, 151.
Mass, B. (2019). Africa: Why More People in Africa Should Farm Guinea Pigs for Food
Nathan Associates Inc. (2013). Indonesia’s Poultry Value: Chain Costs, Margins, Prices, and Other Issues
National Chicken Council. (2019). U.S. Broiler Performance.
Pauly, D., & Zeller, D. (2016). Catch reconstructions reveal that global marine fisheries catches are higher than reported and declining. Nature communications, 7, 10244.
Waldhorn D. (Forthcoming). Snails used for human consumption. The case of meat and slime
Wright, T., Darmawan, B. (2017). Indonesia Voluntary Poultry Report. USDA Foreign Agriculture Service, Global Agricultural Information Network.
XIAO, H. B., Qiong, C. H. E. N., WANG, J. M., & Oxley, L. (2015). The puzzle of the missing meat: Food away from home and China's meat statistics. Journal of integrative agriculture, 14(6), 1033-1044.
Yu, X., & Abler, D. (2014). Where have all the pigs gone? Inconsistencies in pork statistics in China. China Economic Review, 30, 469-484.
This essay is a project of Rethink Priorities. It was written by Saulius Šimčikas. Thanks to Cash Callaghan, David Moss, Jason Schukraft, Marcus A. Davis, Persis Eskander, and Sabrina Ahmed for reviewing drafts of this post and making valuable comments.
There is a longer explanation about how data is collected in the methodology document:
In general, figures have been supplied by governments throught national publications and FAO questionnaires (both paper or electronic). To make the coverage of this data collection as complete as possible, official data have sometimes been supplemented with data from unofficial sources. Use has also been made of information supplied by other national or international agencies or organizations.
↩︎
Maass (2019) claims that in Africa rodents are often kept in houses or kitchens and are not included in most national statistics. Furthermore, the scale of rodent farming in Africa could be relatively small. This makes their exclusion from FAO statistics understandable. However, it still follows that FAO statistics provide an incomplete picture on the topic of rodent farming. ↩︎
I see that hens are included in chicken numbers for at least some countries by comparing FAO’s live animal numbers for chickens in the UK government website, Livestock numbers in UK spreadsheet, Poultry tab. For all years since 2006 (except 2009), we can get the FAO number for chickens in the U.K. by adding Hens and pullets laying eggs for eating, Breeding flock, and Table chickens (broilers) numbers from the UK government spreadsheet. For example, 158,202 thousand for 2006. For years after 2009, FAO numbers are rounded to the nearest million. The year 2009 seems to be inputted incorrectly and FAO’s number for chickens seems to include not only chickens, but also other poultry (ducks, geese, turkey, etc.). ↩︎
The numbers in the UK government website, Livestock numbers in UK spreadsheet, Poultry tab, Total laying and breeding fowl row seem to be very similar to numbers in FAO’s livestock primary (“United Kingdom”, “Producing Animals/Slaughtered”, “Eggs, hen, in shell”). For years until 2013 they are exactly the same. For example, 47,024,000 for 2013. From the UK government's spreadsheet it can be seen that these numbers include pullets and breeders. ↩︎
The layer numbers for the U.S. in the table “Annual Average Number of Layers, Eggs per Layer, and Total Egg Production” from USDA’s Chickens and Eggs 2018 Summary are identical to the ones in FAO’s livestock primary (“United States of America”, “Producing Animals/Slaughtered”, “Eggs, hen, in shell”). For example, 375,845,000 for 2017. According to my correspondence with USDA “Any layer number in the summary report does not include pullets. NASS’s definitions of the two are mutually exclusive: layers are females of any age laying marketable eggs while pullets are females who are not yet laying marketable eggs.” Since the table in the USDA summary says “layers”, we know that it and FAO’s numbers exclude pullets. ↩︎
According to the table 30 in the Census of Agriculture, in 2017 in the U.S. there were 368.2M layers, 130.5M pullets, and 7M roosters. So the total number of chickens involved in egg production in the U.S. is about 505.8M. (130.5M + 7M) / 505.8M = 27.2%. ↩︎
This might be a slight overestimate because it ignores pre-slaughter mortality. Some chickens are alive for some time but are not slaughtered because they die of disease or other causes before their slaughter age. However, the broiler pre-slaughter mortality rate in Indonesia is not nearly high enough to explain these discrepancies. According to Nathan Associates Inc. (2013), it’s 6-7 percent." A similar rate can be inferred from Brienen et al. (2014). According to FAO, in 2017, Indonesia imported 5.3M live chickens and exported 7,000. If this was taken into account, the estimated slaughter age would increase even more (although very slightly). I didn’t take this into account for the sake of simplicity. Other possible problems with this estimate are explained in the High variance in estimated slaughter age section. ↩︎
I didn’t include sheep in the spreadsheet because sheep raised primarily for wool are probably slaughtered when they are older than sheep raised primarily for meat. Consequently, there might be big differences in sheep slaughter age in different countries because it depends on whether sheep in that country are mostly raised for meat or wool. Unfortunately, FAO doesn’t collect statistics for how many animals are raised for wool since 2013. Similarly, I excluded cattle from the table because in many countries they are used as working animals and FAO does not collect statistics about it. ↩︎
Stats about live imports and exports are also provided by FAO. In total, about 1.8B chickens, 45M pigs, and 86M turkeys were transported live between countries globally in 2017. Hence, it may create significant distortions. However, I see no easy way to incorporate them in the estimations because animals are transported live to other countries not just for slaughter, but also for breeding and production. More detailed statistics would be needed to do it (e.g. like the data for the EU). ↩︎
E.g., according to Table 1, meat chickens are slaughtered when they are just 7 days old in Singapore, an implausible figure. Looking closer, in 2017 Singapore had 3.6M chickens alive at any time, of which 2.8M were egg-laying hens, slaughtered 46.8M chickens, and imported 46.8M chickens alive. The most plausible explanation is that chickens are imported to Singapore just to be slaughtered, hence there is no inconsistency. ↩︎
E.g., according to my estimation, pigs in Sweden are slaughtered when they are just 20 days old. This is because according to FAO statistics, in 2017 Sweden slaughtered 2.6M pigs but had only 138K pigs alive at any time on average. However, in 2016 Sweden had 1.5M pigs alive at any time on average. If many of these pigs were slaughtered early in 2017 and not replaced with new pigs, it could at least partly explain the discrepancy (live imports and exports of pigs were very low in both years). ↩︎
E.g., according to Table 1, meat chickens are slaughtered in Ethiopia when they are almost 3 years old. According to FAO, in 2017 in Ethiopia, 17.1M chickens were slaughtered for meat and there were 59.5M meat chickens alive at any time of which 11M were egg-laying hens, 0.4M chickens were imported live and there is no entry for chicken exports. Numbers for previous years are quite similar so that cannot explain the inconsistency. Hence, it could be that at least one of these statistics is inaccurate. Another example: according to Table 1, turkeys in Denmark are slaughtered when they are more than 300 years old. Looking closer, according to FAO, in 2017 there were 304,000 turkeys in Denmark at any time, 1,000 turkeys slaughtered, 2.7M live turkeys imported and 872,000 live turkeys exported. I can’t make sense of these numbers, hence it’s possible that at least one of them is inaccurate. ↩︎
Note that when you ask on the FAOSTAT feedback forum, questions need to be approved which can take weeks. Furthermore, all questions in the forum are regularly deleted for some reason. Hence, after posting a question it is advisable to check if it’s answered periodically. ↩︎
I haven’t found a dependable estimate of how many broiler mothers there are in the world. I tried to extrapolate based on statistics for various years and regions (U.S., UK, EU, South Africa, Brazil, Pakistan). Extrapolations assumed that the ratio between chicken slaughters and broiler breeders alive at any time is similar in different countries and years. I’m unsure to what degree this assumption is correct. If broiler mothers in different countries lay a similar amount of eggs per month, these estimations should be roughly correct. They might still be a bit inaccurate because:
I don’t take broiler mortality rates into account and they differ by country
Not all chicken slaughters that are included in the FAO statistics are broilers. E.g., U.S. statistics include “spent” hens, who are slaughtered when their egg production slows down. For some countries, chicken slaughter totals also include other slaughters of other species of birds.
U.S. statistics seem to include some of the slaughtered spent hens and none of culled day-old male chicks. USDA’s Poultry Slaughter report and FAO report the exact same number of chickens slaughtered in the U.S. in 2017: 9,050,716,000. According to USDA, 8,916,097,000 of these chicken were “young”. “Young” is defined as “Commercially grown broilers-fryers and other young immature birds such as roasters and capons.” Since culled male chicks are not mentioned, I assume that they are excluded. “Mature” chickens are defined as “fowl from breeder and market egg flocks and stags and cocks”. This seems to include spent hens from the egg-laying industry. However, according to the USDA’s report, there were 134,619,000 mature chickens slaughtered in 2017. I would have expected that there would be a higher number of egg-laying hens slaughtered because there were 375,845,000 egg-laying hens in the U.S. on average and they live 1.5 to 2 years. This makes me think that not all spent hens were included. Note that all of this is about the U.S., and other countries could be reporting the data differently. ↩︎
See the table “Commercial and Farm Slaughter by Species – United States: 2017 and 2018” in Livestock Slaughter 2018 Summary. If we add 32,280.6 thousand cattle slaughtered in 2017 and 536.8 calves, we get that 32,817.4 thousand cattle were slaughtered in 2017 in the U.S. in total. That is the exact figure we see in FAO’s Livestock Primary statistics if we choose “United States of America”, “Producing Animals/Slaughtered”, “Meat, Cattle”, and “2017”. From the table Federally Inspected Slaughter and Percent by Classification and Month – United States: 2018 and 2017 Total of Livestock Slaughter 2018 Summary we can see that dairy cows are included in the statistics. ↩︎
Rethink Priorities2Farmed Animal Welfare2
122Estimates of global captive vertebrate numbers
32EA Organization Updates: November 2019
15Where ACE staff are giving in 2019 and why
[-]Niel_Bowerman1y
Btw, your link to FAO feedback on Indonesian broiler chickens leads to a discussion about Latvian egg-laying hens instead.
[This comment is no longer endorsed by its author]Reply
[-]saulius1y
I fixed it, thanks
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Supreme Revenge: Nina Totenberg (interview)
Nina Totenberg is a legal affairs correspondent for NPR. She has reported on the U.S. Supreme Court for more than 40 years and notably broke the story about Anita Hill’s allegations of sexual harassment by then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas.
This interview was conducted by FRONTLINE’s Jim Gilmore on October 27, 2020. It has been edited for clarity and length. This interview is being published as part of FRONTLINE’s Transparency Project, an effort to open up the source material behind our documentaries. Explore the transcript of this interview, and others, on the FRONTLINE website: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/interview-collection/the-choice-2020/
Learn more about how these interviews were filmed during the pandemic:
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/behind-the-choice-how-we-filmed-2020-presidential-election-video-interviews-in-a-pandemic
#SupremeRevenge #NinaTotenberg
FRONTLINE is streaming more than 200 documentaries online, for free, here: http://to.pbs.org/hxRvQP
From the coronavirus pandemic to protests to the polls, 2020 has been a year of tumult-- and FRONTLINE has covered it every step of the way.
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Home biography Annette Roque
Annette Roque Biography
Facts of Annette Roque
1966 , December
Annette Roque
Henri Roque
Johanna Struijk
Dutch American
Matt Lauer (m. 1998)
Jack Matthew Lauer , Romy Lauer and Thijs Lauer
Quick Timeline of Annette Roque
1966 Born in Amsterdam, Netherlands
1998 Married to Matt Lauer
2001 First child, Jack Matthew Lauer
2003 Second child, Romy Lauer
2006 Third child, Thijs Lauer
2017 Annette Roque husband Matt Lauer fired from NBC
2018 Divorced
Detail Timeline of Annette Roque
Born in Amsterdam, Netherlands
Sweet and sexy lady, Annette Roque was born at the end of 1966 in Amsterdam, Netherlands to Dutch and Indonesian parents. She also spent most of her childhood days in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Her nationality is Dutch and American and she has mixed ethnicity.
Married to Matt Lauer
After having romantic affairs with Matt Lauer for several months, they decided to tie their married knot in the late 1990s. They finally got married in 1998. Matt Lauer is a TV journalist and he is famous for being the host of the host of NBC's The Today Show.
First child, Jack Matthew Lauer
Annette Roque became mother for the first time in her life in 2001. She and her lovely husband Matt Lauer welcomed their first child together on 26th of June and that time it was a son and they named him Jack Matthew Lauer.
October 2 , 2003
Second child, Romy Lauer
Annette Roque became mother for the second time in her life at the end of 2003. She and her lovely husband Matt Lauer welcomed their second child together on 2nd of October and that time it was a daughter and they named her Romy Lauer.
November 28 , 2006
Third child, Thijs Lauer
Annette Roque became mother for the third time in her life at the end of 2006. She and her lovely husband Matt Lauer welcomed their third child together on 28th of November and that time it was also a son and they named him Thijs Lauer.
Annette Roque husband Matt Lauer fired from NBC
On November 15, 2017, Matt Laure was fired from his NBC's "Today Show", due to inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace. As reported, Matt Lauer was earning $25 million a year, and his joint net worth with his wife, Annette Roque was $60 million.
Matt Lauer and Annette Roque' divorce was finalized in 2018.
Annette Roque is one of the famous Dutch model and equestrian from the Netherlands. She was one of the sensational models of the late ’80s till the early ’90s. As a model, she appeared on the pages of Victoria’s Secret and J. Crew Catalogs. Besides this, she is famous for being Matt Lauer' ex-wife.
Annette Roque's early life
Annette Roque was born in December 1966 and is currently 52 years old. She was born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands to father Henri Roque, and mother Johanna Struijk. She also spent most of her childhood days in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
CAPTION: Annette Roque
She is of Dutch nationality and belongs to mixed ethnicity; Dutch and Indonesian. Annette Roque has disclosed the details of her educational qualification.
Annette Roque's career
Annette started her professional modeling career in the late 1980s and grabbed huge attention within a short period of time. She is one of the sensational models in between the late 80s till the early '90s.
Alongside her modeling career, she is also the co-owner and manager of the Bright Side Farm, a horse farm in the Hamptons completed in 2013.
Annette Roque's personal life(married and divorce)
Talking about her personal life, Annette Roque is married only once in her life. She was living happily with her husband Matt Lauer, however, as of 2018, the couple's divorce is under process.
Her ex-husband Matt Lauer is a famous television journalist and is famous for being the former host of the host of NBC's The Today Show. The former couple met on a blind date in July 1997. The couple, after dating for only five months, got engaged in December 1997.
After around nine months of the engagement, Annette Roque married Matt Lauer on October 3, 1998. The couple shares three children together; Jack Matthew Lauer (born on June 26, 2001), Romy Lauer (born in 2003), and Thijs Lauer (born in 2006).
The couple just after being married for nine years had to go through rough patches. Annette filed for divorce in 2006 claiming inhumane acts of Matt. However, their divorce was finalized in 2018.
Her ex-husband, Matt was married to ex-wife Nancy Alspaugh. They got married in 1981 and got divorced in 1988.
Annette Roque's net worth
Annette Roque' net worth is not disclosed until the date. However, Matt and his wife Annette's joint net worth was estimated to be $60 million. The finalized divorce is likely to earn Annette million of dollars.
Annette Roque's body measurements
Annette stands 6 feet (182 cms) tall and weighs around 68 kgs (149 lbs). She has brown eyes and dark brown hair color.
# NBC
# Matt Lauer
# Annette Roque
# Nancy Alspaugh
Related Posts on Annette Roque
Dibya Raj Adhikari
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Togel Singapore – A Classic Game
Togel Singapore is a fun and exciting game to play for both children and adults alike. It is a simple game but with enough levels to keep people playing. The game is also very easy to understand as it only consists of the four-digit numbers from one to nine. There are a lot of variations of the game but all of them have the same rules.
Togel Singapore is a game of chance and guessing. Togel Singapore game combines the elements of Chinese checkers, dice, and numbers to create a unique strategy based game. The game is played by the players and a group of dice roll over the board. Every time the dice are rolled up to ten times the player with the highest hand gets to place a number on the board.
Each of these numbers represents a different strategy for playing the game. Many of the players use different statics to predict the next number that will come up. However there are some players who use luck and prediction as their main strategies in winning the game.
This game can be played as a family game or it can be played by a single person. There are some people who like to make it a game where they can get prizes for their efforts. In this game each of the players has a score counter that is used to record the different strategies and their performance during the game.
The goal of the game is to get as high as possible on the board without getting hit by any dice. If a player gets hit by a die, the player must move to the back of the board where they will have to wait until it rolls again. Once the player on the back of the board is hit by a die they must roll the dice again to try to get back on the board.
There are also games that involve the players getting different combinations of colors on the board to increase the odds of getting a higher score. The players that have the highest scores at the end of the game are the winners of this game and get prizes for their effort.
There are many different styles of the game and the best way to learn the rules of the game would be to try and play it. There are also a number of books that are available that describe the different strategies that the players use during the game so that they know how to strategize and win the game.
While the rules and the style of the game may not be familiar to you, once you play the game you will quickly understand what you need to do and how to play to win. Playing this game can be a fun experience as well as being an educational tool.
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Home Furniture - Part 3 - Buying Group Ad Strategy
Buying Group advertising strategy pays off.
Nostalgia's hot, and Barry Beck focuses on the fun of North America's massive cocooning retreat. One of his most successful promotions, "Publick Notice, for the benefit and pleasure of all", grew from Beck's sensing of the mood and needs of his regional audience. It was preceded by "Private Notice", a flyer targeting preferred customers, inviting them to a sale preview one night before the main event.
Stewart and Beck Ltd. was founded by Barry's father and great uncle in l932. "Dad, my brother George and I bought out Stewart in l972, the same year we joined the Home family and, when Dad died in 1974, George and I took over." The store is located at Montague, Prince Edward Island.
"When we signed on with Home we could see that the days of being an independent were numbered, and we felt we should become part of a buying group. We're certainly happy about our decision. Last year from the previous year our sales were up 20 percent. This year we've climbed another 14 percent."
Home Furniture's history and meteoric success were traced in the April and May issues. Every one of Home's rapidly growing family of dealers/owners praised head office's advertising leadership. Monica Heinrich, Director of Marketing, put together the much utilized Advertising Planner, designed to assist, step by step, in annual pre-planning. Each aspect is covered, beginning with sales forecasts and then, based on these figures, calculation of an advertising budget with breakdowns determining how these dollars should be spent most effectively over the year. Media best suited to achieve the desired results are also defined.
Perhaps the most universally popular of Home's promotional tools is the advertising flyer, produced in full color for national distribution to coincide with strategic corporate pushes. Said Beck, "We slot in the Home flyers, almost all of them. Then we look at product groups we want to promote in addition, for example, the times best suited to advertise futons, appliances, bedding, etc., because of our geographical location and services.
"In the last 12 months we've had a number of promotions that worked well. 'Private/Publick Notice' attracted a lot of positive attention, and we also developed 'True Confessions', again with an old fashioned look. We wrote 33 little ads within the big ad in small print. People came in here quoting 'Are you saddle-sore' (leather chairs), 'the nudist colony' (wardrobes) and 'miracle creams' (dishwashers). Right now, we're running a radio promotion based on tickets to the Alan Jackson show (country and western singer), airfare and dinner before the show. It's drawing people into the store to fill out ballots.
"We're in the midst of renovating a heritage building we acquired. It was built in 1912 by Poole and Thompson down on the wharf. It's a four storey building, 5,600 square feet on each floor. They bought and sold from farmers, and the floor is worn from many years of hoof marks, the horses coming in to unload the vegetables, then turning around inside the building to go back out again. The produce went out on sailing ships. There's an old safe and scales, and we're in the final stages of negotiation with a local group that intends to put a farmers' market in there. The building will be the perfect site for our next big sale!"
Stewart and Beck prides itself on "one-stop shopping. We're mechanical contractors, heating and air-conditioning, painting, decorating, plumbing as well as hardware and furniture. For the first 53 years we were also a grocery store!" Eight thousand of the eighteen thousand square feet of the Beck's pride and joy is devoted to furniture.
In Huntsville, the heart of Ontario's cottage country, Ken Kelly's customer base fluctuates with the seasons. There's a stable population of l4,000 which balloons to l00,000 in the spring "as soon as the ice is out" and then, to a lesser number when the snow flies and the skiing crowd heads north. Kelly's Home Furniture is 9,200 square feet, 7,000 of that in showroom space, and l,000 in bedding gallery.
"In this part of the world, advertising has a perceivable impact on our bottom line. For the past year we've been hammering away, getting the word out that we are here and open and customers should come on out and visit us. Now, as soon as we put flyers out, we get instant results."
Ken was one of the seminar speakers at Home Furniture's April Market, his topic advertising. Utilizing the Advertising Planner, he's defined that 53.3 percent of his advertising budget is national, 35.6 percent local and he spends 11.1 percent on promotions.
"When I use Home's national flyers, I'm telling the consumer that my store is part of a big picture. The flyer teases them with a small sample of the cross-section of home furnishings available to them through my store. 'New looks' tell them my store is fashion conscious. With Home's 'best buys' I'm demonstrating clearly I have unquestionable value and, with the finance terms, I'm telling them it's affordable now. This type of advertising has long lasting benefits. At the end of March this year I received a phone call from a lady who inquired if we had a wicker set advertised in our flyer. She'd had the flyer since last summer!"
Ken cited three types of advertising needed to generate high ticket sales, "foundation, preservation, and hook". Foundation advertising is usually generic, and involves store signage, delivery truck signage, sponsoring local hockey teams, highway billboards, signs in the local arena and placemats in the town's most popular restaurant. National flyers fall in the preservation category. Ken's "hook ads" convey a sense of urgency, preferred customer sales, no PST/GST (PST is the Ontario Provincial Sales Tax of 8%, and GST is the Federal Goods and Services Tax of 7%). A recent "hook" ad that has "worked wonders, given my sales a boost, needs and takes very little work, absolutely no special inventory buys and even gives me an extra day off" headlines "Closed Today To Re-Price The Entire Store! Absolutely every single item on sales storewide." Ken believes strongly in preferred customer sales -- "This type of promotion will be the major contributing factor to an increase of sales for next fiscal year." A previous employer used such events six times each year, based on evenings not normally open to the public. Customers were enticed with a free gift, free draw, and super specials. But, insists Ken, "You need a good customer list, a major undertaking but it's a must!"
He keeps an up-to-date history of all his advertising efforts. Not only does it help him with ad layouts, but when he studies his last year's daily sales totals and sees an increase, he can check his advertising scrap book. "If I did something special that worked, I know it won't happen by chance. I have to make it happen."
Ken's history led him across Canada in a variety of retail situations, the most recent, prior to becoming a part of the Home group, in a family furniture and appliance mix. With his wife, Holly, he shares a business philosophy: " I cannot make people come into my store. I can invite them. I can entice them. I cannot make them come back. I may only have one kick at the can, so I have to make their visit as pleasant as possible. Even fun. I have to take any doubt from their minds that in my store they will find selection, quality, value and assurance of service". He adds one bit of top-spin, shared by everyone in the Home Family, "The harder I work, the luckier I get!"
If you'd like an excuse to visit La Belle Provence this month, there's the Montreal Furniture Market at Place Bonaventure June 15 through 18. It's the Market's 50th-anniversary, and exhibitors promise fresh, creative, innovative introductions. A bonus is the Montreal Grand Prix. Then, August l0th through l3, Toronto offers the Summer Home Furnishings Market. The Market runs concurrently with the largest Gift Show in Canada, with most of the action at The International Centre. Extra benefits include great theatre, international cuisine, Harbourfront and the Islands and the Blue Jays!
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GHS Art Gallery
Nitro Studios
October 6Breaking news: ASB is not a cult. You're just not allowed to leave ASB once you join.
Who SHOULD Receive the Covid-19 Vaccine First?
ABEL F. ROS | Qapta.es
Maeli Ibarra, Staff Writer
As of today the covid-19 vaccine is still in progress of being distributed in the U.S. The disease is everywhere, and the vaccine can be here very soon, but Americans are complicating the matter by not taking the precaution of going out and simply wearing a mask. Once the vaccine hits the OK in the U.S, the question is who will, and who should, be receiving the vaccine first?
For the vaccine to be given to people, the federal government must first distribute it. The vaccine supply will be divided depending on the state population size. All decisions of distribution are up to states. By the spring, there will be a possibility for about 50 million people to be vaccinated within the first 100 days of Joe Biden’s presidency.
One of the first groups of people to receive the vaccine should be the doctors who are being exposed to covid-19 every day of their lives. The vaccine should also go to elderly people who are at a higher risk to die from the coronavirus, because it is more common for them to have a pre-existing condition, such as diabetes, arthritis and renal insufficiency. The CDC’s advisory has recommended that the vaccine should go to part of the nation’s 20 million health care workers and the 3 million residents and long term care facilities by December.
Another group of people that should be receiving the first round of vaccines are essential workers. These workers continue to work through the pandemic, because they can’t go without a paycheck. Many essential workers have died because of covid-19. Reporters say this group will be receiving the vaccine by the month of January of 2021.
In this group, the 3.3 million teachers should be receiving the vaccine as well. Vaccinating teachers can give the possibility to permanently have schools reopen. A RAND survey was given to educators last spring on how teachers were going over with their class on old lessons rather than teaching something new, like they would have in regular class at school. The survey found that only 13% of teachers were covering the whole formal subject of distant learning. Besides lessons, schools provide social, emotional, and nutritional sustenance to the students that may not get at home.
The covid-19 vaccine seems to be ready for students before the new school year in August of 2021. Children tend to have a stronger immune system than adults. However, they also tend to have stronger temporary reactions to the vaccine, which means swelling, soreness and fever. But vaccinating just adults won’t stop the virus from being transmitted. If the vaccine is not available for children, then they will likely serve as carriers of the virus, which will make it harder to end the pandemic.
Many Americans have asked, “If you have received the vaccine, can we stop wearing masks?” and the answer to that is NO. It is important to continue social distancing, washing hands frequently, wearing a mask ALWAYS, and following any other guidelines that have been given throughout this pandemic. Until this vaccine allows people going back to living the “normal” life, every precaution must be taken until further notice.
Maeli is a senior at Glendale High School. She plays for the varsity softball team, and her position is center-field. In her free time, she enjoys watching movies on Hulu and scrolling through Tik-Tok.
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The News Website for Glendale High School
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BREXIT VOTE – REMAIN OR LEAVE
Article published by Old Mutual, 22 June 2016.
While the polls predicting the outcome of the Brexit vote have dictated investor sentiment and the direction of financial markets over the past couple of weeks, in realitythe vote does not spell immediate changes in economic fundamentals for the UK, says Old Mutual Investment Group: MacroSolutions portfolio manager John Orford*.
That said, a vote to leave the European Union (EU) – or even a narrow margin in favour of remaining in the EU – would likely mean further uncertainty and could very well see the collapse of the David Cameron-led government.
In anticipation of the vote, however, equity market volatility, as measured by the VIX Index, the world’s fear gauge, has spiked above 20 for the first time since February and most developed stock markets, as well as the JSE All Share Index, shed a couple of percentage points last week. Equity markets have since rallied on indications that the weight of evidence in polls is that voters are leaning towards staying in the EU.
But what is the likely impact of a “remain” or, alternatively a “leave”, vote on financial markets? Orford says in the event of a “remain” vote, markets are likely to be relieved, with the Pound and domestically-focussed UK stocks benefitting. This could see gains in UK property stocks including locally listed Intu and Capco stocks, consumer discretionary stocks and financials, which have all lagged the broader UK market in the run up to the referendum.
A “leave” vote, while not having an immediate impact on the economy, would probably set back the financial markets, particularly now that investors appear to be anticipating a “remain” vote, and this could result in a weaker pound and global sell-off in equities.
In the medium-term, what exactly a “leave” vote would mean is uncertain since legally a vote by the UK parliament would be required to leave the EU. Even subsequent to a Parliamentary vote to leave the EU, there would be a two-year period during which the UK and the EU would negotiate an exit agreement, which would determine trade market access and freedom of movement. Orford’s base case in the event of Britain leaving the EU is that UK will be able to negotiate a free trade agreement and thus leaving the Eurozone could have a more limited impact on the macro-economy than some commentators suggest.
However, if weaker sentiment and a weaker pound in the event of Brexit resulted in a weaker UK economy, then Orford expects that UK-listed equities, such as property stocks, domestic retailers and banks, to be most adversely impacted. Those companies that are listed in the UK, but which generate earnings outside the UK, should be less negatively affected and might benefit if the pound were to weaken. These include the mining counters and consumer staples, like British American Tobacco.
Orford says Britain leaving the EU is an important, but local, event and is unlikely to have a major impact on the global economy. Far more pressing is the fact that the global economy is already very weak, with growth of 2.5% at best and much lower than growth during the 2000’s. Other concerns are China’s unpredictable economic outlook, ongoing uncertainty about when the US Federal Reserve will again raise interest rates and pretty weak corporate earnings across the world.
The most important consequence of the UK voting to leave the EU is that it would reignite the possibility of the Eurozone breaking by fuelling national discontent with the European Union and Eurozone. The Eurozone economy is much more resilient than it was in 2012 when the Greek debt crisis threatened its survival. However, a vote to leave the EU by the UK would certainly fuel the growing trend in politics to favour nationalist over global interests.
Brexit vote has now happened: What we now know
The Referendum has resulted in a vote to leave the EU, by a relatively narrow margin of 52-48.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron to step down.
What we could see over the next few months / year:
A possible shallow recession in the UK in the second half of the year
The Bank of England (BoE) to ease rates significantly (more quantitative easing), unless the ongoing fall in sterling becomes large (already lost 10% overnight against the USD).
The euro area economy to slow, but not as severely as the UK. Expect GDP cuts.
The ECB to attempt modest further credit easing.
A period of political turbulence in the UK. Prime Minister David Cameron to step down.
Additional political stress in the Eurozone – Next year sees general elections in France and Germany.
Big implications for immigration & labour movement (>1.2m Brits living in the EU) Breakup of the UK? England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Island
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Home > Germany
By Daniel Morris | 28. November 2017
1.1 Basic rules of economic policy
Protection within states’ own territory – challenges within Germany [page 15-16]
The current situation
“People in vulnerable situations pose a particular challenge in Germany as elsewhere. These include migrants and, in general, employees in precarious work. These groups of people are exposed to a high risk of labour exploitation. The introduction of a general statutory minimum wage in Germany has established an effective instrument against excessively low wages. Since 1 January 2015, a minimum hourly wage of €8.50 has been payable, and its rate is to be adjusted every two years by an independent commission. The minimum wage has increased the earnings of four million people, whose income has risen by an average of 18%.
People who are affected by or at risk of labour exploitation need information about their rights and assistance in enforcing them. In recent years, advice and contact centres have been created in various parts of Germany, some with national and some with regional funding. With support from the Federal Government and the European Social Fund (ESF), for example, the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), through a project called “Faire Mobilität” (fair mobility), provides such advice to employees, especially those from the EU Member States in Central and Eastern Europe. There is no permanent nationwide advisory structure yet for employees from all geographical origins and occupational sectors. In the fight against human trafficking and exploitative employment, Germany is also bound by EU Directive 2011/36/EU and has ratified both the Council of Europe Convention of 2005 on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings and the Palermo Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children. To coordinate the diverse activities designed to combat human trafficking, the Federal Government established the Federal Working Group on Trafficking in Human Beings in 1997, whose members include representatives of non-governmental organisations.”
“To supplement the existing structures, the Federal Government has shifted the focal point of its efforts towards the fight against human trafficking for the purpose of exploitative employment. A joint federal level-state level working group is currently developing a strategic approach designed to reinforce prevention, establish advisory structures and improve criminal prosecution and the data situation.
The Federal Government has reached agreement on a bill designed to combat abuses of temporary agency work and work and services contracts. This means that there will be clear rules in future to prevent abuses and the circumvention of employment standards.”
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Home/news/Indian startups raised USD 38.3 billion in 2018: Yostartups Report
Indian startups raised USD 38.3 billion in 2018: Yostartups Report
New Delhi: Indian startups are estimated to have raised $ 38.3 billion in funding in 2018, behind only the US and China, a report by Yostartups said Thursday.
Flipkart’s $ 16 billion deal with American retailer Walmart accounted for the biggest piece of the pie, followed by Swiggy raising about $ 1.3 billion over three deals, and OYO picking up $ 1 billion in 2018, the report said.
Other big funding deals included those by Paytm Mall ($ 895 million), ReNew Power ($ 495 million), Byju’s ($ 422 million) and Zomato ($ 410 million).
Around 1,000 deals were signed by Indian startups in 2018 with areas like e-commerce, fintech, sustainability and renewable energy, transportation and logistics, health and wellness, and travel and tourism attracting the highest investments, it added.
“There has been a meteoric rise of startup funding for Indian startups. Asia has emerged as a key contender for startups globally, beating the Americas and Europe. In 2018, startups in Asia raised $ 172 billion, compared to $ 162.9 billion in Americas and $ 46.2 billion in Europe,” Yostartups CEO Jappreet Sethi said.
Globally, about 14,300 funding deals were struck by startups in 2018, raising over $ 400 billion, an increase of more than 23 per cent from the previous year, the report said.
It added that over 3,700 seed funding deals (totalling $ 6.9 billion) were struck, while 7,357 venture funding deals ranging from series A to Series I were signed in 2018 to raise $ 217.9 billion.
Bee Focus
Kaagaz Scanner crosses 1 million downloads
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PM Modi announces Rs 1000 crore Startup India Seed Fund
7 Deputy Commissioners Among 13 Officers Transferred in J&K
IFFI 2021 off to a dazzling start in Goa
Home/Sports/US Open: Sumit Nagal enters 2nd round, ends India’s 7-year wait
US Open: Sumit Nagal enters 2nd round, ends India’s 7-year wait
New York City: India’s top-ranked men’s singles tennis player Sumit Nagal has created history by becoming the first Indian since 2013 to enter the second round of the ongoing US Open.
Nagal defeated Bradley Klahn of the United States 6-1, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 in the men’s singles first round match at the US Open to progress further into the tournament on Tuesday.
With this result, the 23-year-old Nagal has become the first Indian male to win a main draw match at the US Open or at any Grand Slam event in 7 years. In 2013, Somdev Devvarman had reached the second round of the Australian Open, French Open, and US Open.
The Indian player will now face Austria’s Dominic Thiem on Thursday who reached the 2nd round after his opponent Jaume Munnar retired during their 1st-round match.
Notably, this is Nagal’s second successive US Open main draw appearance. He had lost to 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer in the first round last year. Despite the loss against Federer, he had enhanced his reputation on the circuit as a fighter.
Saina Nehwal bows out of Thailand Open
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Queen Elizabeth shares a sweet pic for Prince Edward's 56th birthday
By Jo Abi| 10 months ago
Queen Elizabeth has shared a sweet photo for her youngest child Prince Edward's 56th birthday.
The image is a throwback of the Queen with her son in 1972 when he was just eight. In the picture, the Earl of Wessex is listening carefully to his mother as she speaks to him.
The snap was taken during the Trooping of the Colour ceremony.
Her Majesty posted the photo on her official social media accounts, along with the caption: "Happy birthday to the Earl of Wessex, who celebrates his 56th birthday today. The Earl of Wessex (then Prince Edward) with the Queen during the Trooping of the Colour in 1972."
Fans described the photo, which was posted after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made their final appearance as senior members of the royal family, as "sweet" and "too, too cute!"
A later post showed Prince Edward cutting a birthday cake as his wife Sophie watched on. The cake was made by Darren from the Tip Tree Jam Bakery.
The Duke and Countess of Wessex later travelled to Essex where they meet with locals and schoolchildren as well as members of the community at the Mersea Island Community Centre.
In what has been a busy week, Prince Edward and Sophie also attended the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey on Tuesday, the final official royal event attended by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex after they resigned as senior royals in January, 2020.
The 'Fab Four' reunite for the final time on Commonwealth Day
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Prince Edward is a full-time working member of the British Royal Family, supporting Her Majesty in her official duties. He has also stepped up his public engagements since his father Prince Philip retired from public life in 2017.
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Edward at a carnival parade for her 90th birthday celebration. (Getty)
Edward has succeeded Prince Philip as president of the Commonwealth Games Federation and has been vice-patron since 2006. He has also taken over his father's role in the Duke of Edinburgh Award.
The prince met his wife Sophie Rhys-Jones in 1994 when she was a public relations executive with her own firm.
They were married on June 19, 1999, at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, and have since welcomed two children - Louise, 17, and James, 13.
The family's private residence is at Bagshot Park in Surrey, with their official London residence at Buckingham Palace.
The best royal moments on Commonwealth Day through the years
Property News: The couple building during COVID-19 restrictions - domain.com.au
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Croatia, the War, and the Future
Ina Vukic - Croatia: people, politics, history, economy, transition from communism to democracy
Let The Croatian Bells Wake Us All Up!
April 4, 2018 by inavukic 12 Comments
Dario Kordic
Photo: Hrvatska zvona facebook
The Croatian Bells (Hrvatska zvona) association was founded and registered in June 2017 in Siroki Brijeg, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and its main focus and principles are in the promotion of the Homeland War, the cultural and historical idetity of the Croatian people. It was founded with the mission of promoting the values of the Homeland War, the promotion of general well-being and the well-being of all human beings, the promotion and nurturing of Christian points of view, moral principles and democratic values, advocating for family and other social values, advocating for demographic renewal and the return of Croats from abroad, the promotion of peace and coexistence with other peoples in Bosnia and Herzegovina and across the world, connecting Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia in economic, cultural, scientific and every other sense, the retention and the nurturing of the Croatian cultural heritage (verbal and written), the nurturnig and preserving of native identity of the Croatian people, advocating for the rights of the Croatian veterans in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, advocating for the rights of the families of those veterans who were killed, imprisoned or are missing.
On its Facebook page Hrvaska zvona association says about itself that “Croatian Bells is a peoples’, veterans’ and youth association that wishes to bring new people, new knowledge and new values into the society of Bosnia and Herzegovina”
An article published by Croatian Bells association 3rd April 2018 was brought to my attention and given that it contains a Holy Easter message by Dario Kordic, former vice president and a member of the Presidency of the Croatian Community of Herceg-Bosna, and later Croatian Republic of Herceg-Bosna (early 1990’s) I have translated the article into English for the benefit of the non-Croatian speaking world for whom the truth about the struggles and sufferings of the Croatian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the 1990’s war and after – is of paramount and significant importance.
“And Dario Kordic is with the Croatian Bells!
Dario Kordic is already a symbol of the ups and downs of the Croatian people. At the beginning of the nineteen nineties he led the Croatian people of Central Bosnia into the dawn of freedom, and then into the defence for their survival in the onslaught of Serb, and then Muslim aggression. Instead of enjoying the fruits of freedom defended with blood, precisely because of the defense of the freedom of his people – martyrdom and a process of a guilty verdict followed precisely because he refused to be a slave. His life witnessed the downfall of international justice and fairness, the shakiness of Croatian statehood, and the martyrdom of contemporary Croats in the Hague Tribunal and the persistent persecution by certain elites in Croatia and so-called Croatian representatives in all public institutions, especially in the media. Coming out of incarceration (2014) he devoted his life to the reaffirmation and witnessing of the fundamental Croatian national pillar, Christian spirituality and virtuous identity and symbolism.
He is an ordinary Croatian man.
A husband and father who has been denied the right to witness the growing up of his children as has been denied to thousands of others, whom he calls upon today to follow the message of Risen Christ and not to abandon oneself to fear. For, Dario Kordic was never afraid of evil or knelt before fear.
Here is his message to the Croatian people:
‘In the blessed atmosphere of the Resurrection of the Lord, a group of warriors from Herceg-Bosna, feeling all the pains of tears, suffering and tests endured by the severely wounded Croatian national being in Bosnia and Herzegovina, firmly decided to engage in an unstoppable process of major changes at the dawn of coming elections of Croatian legitimate representatives in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The honorable names of Zlatan Mijo Jelic, Zeljko Glasnovic, Marko Tokic, Marko Rados, Zdenko Juric Major, Ranko Rados, myself and many others will act like icebreakers that will clear the path for hundreds of young intellectuals, workers, students, children of the defenders of the HVO (Croatian Defence Council) to stop the Croatian people from being pushed into the abyss.
The most fatal of sins are corruption, nepotism and the employment of only the suitable in public companies with the Croatian Hercegbosnian sign. Sins are those who tremble to heaven. They are the most important reason for the exodus of thousands of Croatian young men and girls, as well as a multitude of Croatian families from the Herceg-Bosna soil. Such are also the grave failings of the promises for the betterment of the disgraceful status of the Croatian defenders and the invalids of the Homeland War disfigured by the massacre perpetrated by the previous authorities which were not of the people. Particularly painful are the decades long persecutions of Croatian war veterans accused of war crimes. They are literally being hunted like beasts. The use of double, i.e., harder criteria for the HVO members as opposed to criteria used for members of the BiH army, because the former are judged by the political qualifications of so-called ‘criminal enterprise and command responsibility’, is unacceptable.
We should rapturously pray to the Savior that the Croatian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina will build their future on the younger generation of Croatian politicians who will serve their people who have suffered and be guided by determination, honesty and knowledge. Hundreds of Croatian young women and young men gathered around the newly established ‘Croatian Bells’ association shall carry the new spark with pride and courage. We shall build together all the honourable Croatian patriotic forces of various party roles throughout Herceg Bosna. It will then be much easier to find a fair political solution for the constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a state of three constituent and sovereign peoples. For this – faith is necessary before anything else! FAITH! Along with it, the long suppressed and almost extinguished elation that adorned us in the nineties will also come.
Most of us Croatian warriors thought that we would never again be included in some new projects of Croatian strategic importance. But persistent calls and requests from numerous Croat youths from BiH and the diaspora have thrust us to the defence-from-lightning post so that fear would no longer live among Croats in BiH. And there is too much fear from the current Croatian leaders who give out crumbs from the table to the people, threatening to deny them even that if they don’t follow them faithfully. Oh my God, my beloved God, how the dignity of the Croatians in Herceg-Bosna has been trampled upon, battered, and humiliated. This Easter Hour announces that among the Croats in BiH evil will no longer be promoted as a value, as good. Truly, the time of grace is coming where love and hope will flow enormously like rivers flowing through the Croatian Herzegbosnian valleys.
When we are Christ’s we need to fear nothing. May our hearts burn with Christian patriotic zeal. It is precisely the youth that is the spark which will in a spiritual battle fire up Christ’s inextinguishable flame. What a tremendous help are the saints to us, the blessed and the servants of God from the Croatian people in BiH – Katarina Kosaca Kotromanic, Ivan Merz, Martyrs of Drina, Josip Stadler, Petar Barbaric and the Franciscan marys of Siroki Brijeg. Welcome you honourable, courageous and self-sacrificing young men and women who have Christ in your heart and the betterment of the beloved Croat people in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Let the Croatian Bells wake us all up. It is time! Let’s not be afraid! Only the truth will set us free!”
Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, DarioKordic, Herceg-Bosna, Homeland War, Marko Rados, Marko Tokic, Muslim aggression, Ranko Rados, Serb aggression, Zdenko Juric Major, Zeljko Glasnovic, Zlatan Mijo Jelic
Croatian War Veterans: Conditions for prosecution of Communist Crimes exist
July 11, 2012 by inavukic 13 Comments
Association “Testament”
The Association “Testament” Zagreb (Association of Croatian war veterans from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Diaspora) has July 10 sent a letter to Croatia’s president Ivo Josipovic.
I consider the letter most revealing of the repugnance many feel in the political climate of Croatia where the leftist president and the government take every opportunity to justify communist crimes and equate WWII communist partisans with the defenders of 1990’s Homeland War, the most deserving people in the creation of independent Croatia.
The War Veterans association also believes that the conditions for the processing of communist crimes have been created in Croatia. I, for one, am so pleased to read that and trust significant progress will ensue.
Translation into English of the letter:
“In regard to your statement at the celebration of Antifascist battles and the formation of the First Partisan detachment, in Brezovica forest, 22nd June 2012, in which you said that ‘Partisans from 1941 were the same as the Croatian defenders of 1991’, we feel the need to react and turn to you and to the whole of the Croatian public.
It’s true that 1941 Partisans rose against Fascism and Nazism, and we condemn those systems as well. But the Bolshevik Communists took advantage of the Partisan movement and, under the mask of antifascism and battle for Yugoslavia, created a new totalitarian system – criminal, undemocratic communist system, that lasted until the first democratic elections of 1990. We do not want to hear that the foundation for creating today’s state of Croatia was the ‘Partisan’ battle that created one undemocratic state of Yugoslavia. Croatian war veterans wish to promote the truth about the Homeland war and about the creation of Croatian state, and in this we do not consider as the truth those statements claiming that Croatia arose on foundations of Partisan battles and how there would be no Croatia if there were no Partisan movement.
The facts are that the Communists, through the Partisan movement, led by Marshall Josip Broz Tito – who has been counted among the 10 worst world criminals -purposefully committed enormous crimes against Croatian people. Those same Communists had between 1941 and 1990 murdered and persecuted Croatian children, women, sons, fathers and innocent priests like the Blessed Aloysius Stepinac. They persecuted and imprisoned patriots and all others who weren’t like-minded, and especially those who proudly nurtured a national identity and protected national interests, particularly those who aspired to creating a sovereign Croatian state.
Croatian defenders rose to defend their homeland against the aggressor who wore the red star on their cap, which you called ‘lovely’, the same as the Partisans wore in 1941. Those same aggressors devastated the hero city of Vukovar, Skabrnja, Dubrovnik and a large part of the Republic of Croatia. Croatian defenders fought against the red star, and you equate and identify us with them.
Mr President, do not also equate antifascist partisans (whose battles we respect) with the communist partisans because they fought for different goals and had different ideologies and visions for a future state.
Croatian war veterans created Croatia, courageously fighting with the Croatian coat of arms on their foreheads, under the Croatian flag, with rosary-beads around their necks, led by Dr. Franjo Tudjman who was a Partisan general and a true antifascist. When in the former state (Yugoslavia) he spoke about the idea and the aspiration of the people for independence, he was marginalised, persecuted and imprisoned by the system created by Tito’s communist. After the liberating Operation Storm and after other military actions the Croatian war veterans did not murder aggressor army captured soldiers, members of paramilitary formations or cevilians of Serbian nationality. On the contrary, the Serbian aggressors murdered and banished thousands of civilians and defenders, and took them to camps across Serbia. Tito’s partisans had along the Way of the Cross and Bleiburg murdered thousands of unarmed captured soldiers and civilians.
Mr President, do not continue in the tracks of the former president of the Republic of Croatia, Stjepan Mesic, who justifies the crimes against Croatian people at Bleiburg with the thesis that Ustashe also committed crimes and so there was a need to take revenge upon tens of thousands of innocent Croatian civilians.
We also consider as incorrect and unfounded the statements that Croatian army committed aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina. On the contrary HV (Croatian Army) and HVO (Croatian Defence Council) had in 1995 liberated Bosnia and Herzegovina and brought peace to that area. Handing over the transcripts with “state secret” stamp on them to foreign intelligence services, the former president Mesic betrayed the whole of the Croatian nation and Croatian national interests. He spent a large part of his presidential mandate on muddying president dr. Franjo Tudjman and in underrating his contribution in the creation of the Republic of Croatia. Croatians have condemned that and today, Stjepan Mesic is on the social and political margins.
The Croatian war veterans (defenders) are deeply offended by your comparison with the Partisans. Today, Croatian defenders are not interested in the Ustadshe or the Partisans. We condemn crimes committed by any side. It’s a historical fact that on 27 July 1941, at Srb (where you yourself visited, laying wreaths and giving tribute to the antifascist uprising), the armed Chetnik formation of 1000 Chetniks, under Đujić’s leadership, joined by 60 Serbian communists, was founded. They committed enormous crimes when they murdered Croatian civilians. On 25th July 1990 an assembly was held at which the ‘Declaration of the sovereignty and autonomy of the Serbian people’ was made. Those people had on 17th August 1990 raised the ‘log’ revolution. (Blocking off Croatian Krajina as Serb territory within Croatia)
While on visit to Israel you vilified your own countrymen – to which you are the president – by stating that in Croatia an ‘Ustashe snake’ still exists, so that with your politics of flattery, like your predecessor Mesic, you could leave an impression of a just person. You, yourself, know that after the war (WWII) and during the creation of Yugoslavia revenge against Croatian families who were not on the side of the communists continued, and in the way where even their grandchildren were persecuted. So, where is that ‘Ustashe snake’ coming from? We hold that a communist-UDBA (UDBA = Yugoslav Secret Police) snake exists in Croatia which has committed many murders of Croatians in Croatia and across the world for which they have never been held accountable. Today, all conditions to begin these processes have been created regardless of how much the protectors of these criminals are trying to ensure that it doesn’t come to that.
Finally, we must say that we have no prejudices nor need to distort the facts or customisation of history because our Homeland War was defensive and liberating. If there were individual crimes from our side we condemn them and wish that those who committed them to answer for them, and not for the honourable and innocent commanders, such as Generals Gotovina and Markac, to be interned in the Hague prison.
Mr Josipovic, you need to invest more efforts and energy to help their defence, and the defence of other war veterans such as Veljko Maric who has been convicted in the country that was the aggressor against Croatia. We expect from the president of our country to advocate for the defence of national values and the values of the Homeland War, in which Croatians, Bosniacs, Serbs and members of other nationalities participated. With this we want for Croatia to be a democratic country, arising from togetherness and reconciliation, which would cooperate with all surrounding countries in the future, but upon healthy foundations, and not upon lies, falsehoods and skewing of historical facts.
Association ‘Testament’ City of Zagreb and Zagreb County Branch
President, Josip Vidovic”
Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Ante Gotovina, Communism, communist crimes, Croatia, Fascists, Homeland War, Ivo Josipovic, Josip Broz Tito, Josip Vidovic, Mladen Markac, Nazism, Poartisans, Serb aggression, Udruga Zavjet, Veljko Maric, Yugoslavia
Colour Me Croatian colouring in book – A perfect gift
The place where you can get your: Colour Me Croatian
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Role of Croatian Diaspora – Ina Vukic on Laudato TV July 2019 – Click Image to link to Youtube video
Croatia and Blessed Alojzije Stepinac (video in English)
Pope John Paul II declares Alojzije Stepinac Blessed
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DAILY WORLD NEWS @ ACE
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Croatia: History & People II
Anti – Semitism in Serbia And Powerful Serbs in Croatia – On Task To Persist Spreading Lies About Croatia
CROATIA: EARTHQUAKE APPEAL – PLEASE DONATE – PLEASE HELP!
New Year’s Customs and Traditions in Croatia
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Tito’s Pioneers Keep Sharpening Their Axes Of Hate Against Croatia’s Blessed Alojzije Stepinac
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President Of Croatia Supports Biden’s Communist Revolution (?) In Disguise
Croatia: A Nation’s Unrelenting Grief and Suffering On 29th Anniversary of Serb Aggression
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Click Picture for Timeline: Croatia 1900 - 2012
Welcome to my blog. Here I will bring to you a variety of topics covering the documented truth about that terrible war that Croatia had to endure during the period between 1991 and 1995 and about Croatian political history that shaped a wonderful nation of people.
Croatian people wanted independence for centuries, just as they had it until the twelfth century but fate was not on their side – others wanted their beautiful land. In late 1980′s the will to break free from Yugoslavia which suffocated freedom and self determination through harsh communist party rule finally bore the desired fruit.
In June 1991 Croatia declared its independence; soon after the aggressive war against Croatia broke out. The struggle of the Croatian people for self-determination was a just one. But I fear genuine justice has not been served as there have been, and there still exist, international covert and overt moves to equate victims with aggressors continue in attempts to change history. Truth often becomes obscured and lost and that is why I have chosen to write this blog, to concentrate on actual events and issues about Croatia – wishing it a bright and freedom-loving future.
It certainly was not easy to come out of the war that was fought on two fronts:
1. On the military front the world’s public has seen the indiscriminate bombardment of Croatian cities, towns and villages from land, sea and air; the destruction of civilian targets including homes, schools, hospitals, churches, factories and cultural monuments; the blockading and destruction of roads, bridges and ports; the blockading of power, water, food and medical supplies. What hasn’t been shown on our television sets is the forced clearing and evacuation of towns and villages, followed by looting, torture, rape and murder carried out by the Serbian forces, who were initially backed by the federal Yugoslav army that was largely constituted by Serb nationals; the transportation of multiple hundreds of innocent Croatian civilians from Croatia into concentration camps Serbia (Begejci, Stajicevo, Sremska Mitrovica... from October 1991, and later (1992) transferred into Serb-held camps in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Omarska, Keratern, Manjaca, Trnopolje).
2. The second front was the war of political propaganda centred on: misinformation about the rights of minorities in Croatia; portrayal of the Croatian people as Ustasha or Fascists; the representation of the Croatian defence forces as illegal paramilitary units; the representation of the Croatian and Slovenian republics as unreasonable secessionists who are unwilling to negotiate; a regurgitation of distorted facts about World War II.
Indeed Croatia had an absolute right to defend itself and this is often forgotten if not often denied it.
Ina Vukic
Ina has been a tireless volunteer on humanitarian aid and fundraising for victims of war in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially war orphans. From1991 to beginning of 1994 she contributed in lobbying for international recognition of Croatian independence and Croatia’s rights in defending its territory and people from military aggression by Serbian forces. For this dedicated voluntary work Ina was awarded two Medals of Honour by the first president of the Republic of Croatia in 1995 (Commemorative Medal of the Homeland War and Order of the Croatian Trefoil).Ina has also written hundreds articles for newspapers in Australia and Croatia on the plight of Croatian people for freedom and self-determination, developing democracy in former communist countries. She holds two graduate and one post-graduate university degrees, specialising in behaviour, clinical and political psychology and management.
Anti – Semitism in Serbia And Powerful Serbs in Croatia – On Task To Persist Spreading Lies About Croatia inavukic.com/2021/01/10/ant…Get this 6 days ago
@RegnumCroatorum @CroatiaBusiness No need to beware! Those who do not want to help may like such statements - it gi… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…Get this 2 weeks ago
CROATIA: EARTHQUAKE APPEAL – PLEASE DONATE – PLEASE HELP! inavukic.com/2020/12/30/cro…Get this 2 weeks ago
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Blessed Alojzije (Aloysius) Stepinac Feast Day February 10
Blessed Aloysius Stepinac quote:
“When they take everything from you, you’ll be left with two hands; put them together in prayer and then you’ll be the strongest.” Blessed Aloysius Stepinac (1898 – 1960)
First President of Croatia Dr Franjo Tudjman quote:
“They could not, nor will they ever be able to kill our passion and our need to live in human dignity, in peace with ourselves and with the free nations of Europe. We have carved out that right at our first democratic elections. For this right and for our sacred land we are even ready to die” – Dr Franjo Tudjman (1922-1999) ( Addressing the Croatian nation at the moment of the start of Serbian aggression against Croatia, 16 October 1991)
LINKS TO BOOKS
Ao only true men can: Nikola Zrinski’s Last Stand at Sziget by Zeljko Zidaric
Alojzije Stepinac: Pillar of Human Rights by Esther Gitman
BLANKA MATKOVIC ON COMMUNIST CRIMES – AMAZON, BOOK DEPOSITORY, BOOKTOPIA, BARNES AND NOBLE. BOOKS A MILLION …
LIVING CELLS – JULIENNE EDEN BUSIC – ON AMAZON
On Amazon & Createspace
pdf Public document
The Gospel of John, Ch.8,V.32
"and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."
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Griffin Industrial Realty, Inc. is now INDUS Realty Trust, Inc.
Griffin Announces Extension of Credit Line
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK (July 25, 2016) Griffin Industrial Realty, Inc. (NASDAQ: GRIF) (“Griffin”) announced today that it has entered into an amendment (the “Amendment”) to its revolving credit line (the “Webster Credit Line”) with Webster Bank, N.A. that extends the Webster Credit Line for two years through July 31, 2018. The Amendment increases the amount of the Webster Credit Line from $12.5 million to $15.0 million and enables Griffin to further extend the Webster Credit Line for an additional year through July 31, 2019. The Amendment provides that the interest rate on the Webster Credit Line will remain at the one month LIBOR rate plus 2.75% and that the collateral for the Webster Credit Line, Griffin’s properties in Griffin Center South aggregating approximately 235,000 square feet and an approximately 48,000 square foot single story office building in Griffin Center, will also remain the same. Griffin has not had any borrowings under the Webster Credit Line since its inception in fiscal 2013. Griffin expects to use any potential future borrowings under the Webster Credit Line for investment in real estate assets and general corporate purposes.
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CARICOM stands with Guyana
By Navendra Seoraj
— expresses concern over Venezuela’s latest decree
IN light of Venezuela’s recent claims to the seas and seabed adjacent to the coast west of the Essequibo River, which belong to Guyana, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has reiterated its firm and unswerving support for the maintenance and preservation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its sister nation, Guyana.
A recent decree and subsequent statements by Venezuela regarding that country’s border controversy with Guyana, have ‘deeply’ disappointed CARICOM and caused concern among member states since this regional bloc holds firm the view that Guyana’s sovereignty must be respected and preserved.
President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, on January 7, 2021, issued a decree claiming Venezuela’s sovereignty and exclusive sovereign rights in the waters and seabed adjacent to Guyana’s coast, west of the Essequibo River.
“The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is deeply disappointed and concerned at the decree and subsequent statements by Venezuela with respect to that country’s border controversy with Guyana, including intimations of the creation of a strategic area of national development called Territory for the Development of the Atlantic Façade,” the regional bloc said in a statement on Tuesday.
Based on reports emanating from Venezuela, the decree points to the creation of a strategic zone for national development called the “Territory for the Development of the Atlantic Façade”, which the Bolivarian Republic envisages will provide adequate protection and safeguard its jurisdiction.
However, since Guyana has sovereign rights over the coast west of the Essequibo River, as far as Punta Playa, it follows, consequently, that only Guyana can enjoy sovereignty and exclusive sovereign rights over the adjacent sea and seabed.
This is precisely the issue that is before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and which, on December 18, 2020, the ICJ decided to resolve, i.e., whether Guyana or Venezuela has sovereignty over that territory.
It was reported that Guyana is confident that the international court will resolve the issue in its favour, and that this will also settle the issue of maritime rights in the adjacent sea and seabed. But, under international law, this is now for the ICJ to decide.
This judicial process is one which CARICOM supports, since the regional bloc believes that it is intended to bring a peaceful and definitive end to the long-standing controversy between the two countries.
Even though CARICOM supports the ongoing judicial process, it was pellucid that any acts of aggression by Venezuela against Guyana will be rejected.
Both Canada and the United States of America (U.S.) have also called on Venezuela to respect this judicial process.
The Canadian High Commission, in a statement posted on its Facebook page on Monday, stated that Venezuela’s recent claim that it has sovereignty over the area adjacent to Guyana’s Essequibo coast is concerning.
“The decision is in the hands of the International Court of Justice, and this judicial process must be respected,” the High Commission said.
Assistant Secretary (ag) of the US Department of State’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, Michael Kozak said, last Sunday, that the U.S. supports the ICJ’s ruling that it has jurisdiction in the Guyana, Venezuela territorial border issue, which is the legal and peaceful way forward.
“Maduro’s aggressive claims don’t change this; they only show the world his disregard for his neighbours and international law,” Kozak asserted in a post on his official Twitter page.
Also, U.S. Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch, reiterated the North American country’s call for a legal, peaceful resolution to the border controversy.
1899 ARBITRAL AWARD
“I remind that sovereignty over this coast, and the land territory to which it is attached, were awarded to Guyana (then British Guiana) in the 1899 Arbitral Award, whose validity and legally binding character Guyana is confident the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will uphold unequivocally,” President, Dr. Irfaan Ali affirmed in an address to the nation on Saturday.
He said that regrettably, by decreeing that the seas adjacent to this territory belong to Venezuela, at least two fundamental principles of international law have been violated.
In the first violation, as outlined by President Ali, no State can unilaterally determine its international boundaries, whether land or maritime.
President Ali contended that the fixing of an international boundary under international law can only result from an agreement between neighbouring States, or a binding determination by an international court or arbitral tribunal.
“Therefore, this attempt by Venezuela to attempt, unilaterally, to fix both its land and maritime boundaries with Guyana is a legal nullity, which cannot, and will not, be respected by any other State in the world, including Guyana,” the Head of State affirmed.
The second violation of fundamental international law referenced by President Ali is based on the fact that under well-established rules of international law, there is a fundamental principle that says, “the land dominates the sea”.
This means that sovereignty, and sovereign rights in the sea and seabed emanate from title to the land that forms the coast to which those seas and seabed are adjacent.
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Rodney inquiry – commentary
Rodney inquiry
March 9, 2014 · Stabroek News – Editorial
The government received justified commendation for announcing last year that a commission of inquiry would be held into the death of Dr Walter Rodney in 1980. Never mind that it has taken two decades for it to reach this point, or that key potential witnesses, not the least of whom is Gregory Smith, are now beyond the reach of earthly interrogation.
It is unfortunate, of course, that this is likely to be an election year of some variety or other, and the possibility that an inquiry might be seized on for partisan purposes in an election campaign cannot be dismissed out of hand. That said, however, in and of itself there is no reason why 2014 should be ruled out as the year for holding the inquiry if it is handled in a straightforward way.
Straightforwardness, however, has never been the PPP’s strong suit; like all the old-style Marxist-Leninist parties it clings to the view that ends justify means. And certainly on this occasion it has proceeded in a way which lends support to its reputation for sinuousness. After the publication of the news that an inquiry was to be held, there was a long period of complete silence, until suddenly the week before last there was an unheralded burst of activity – the commissioners were sworn in and the public was told that the Terms of Reference (TOR) had been gazetted. This, it transpired, had happened since early February, but the TOR did not become easily accessible to the average citizen until last week when they appeared as part of advertisements in the press inviting witnesses to submit statements to the inquiry. Even the parliamentary political parties seem only to have seen them for the first time in that format, since their reactions followed the ads’ publication.
The two parties which have the biggest stake in this inquiry and which presumably still have relevant information to provide, are those which go to make up the APNU alliance – the WPA and the PNCR. For any investigation relating to the late Dr Walter Rodney to produce anything meaningful, therefore, it would be necessary to have those two parties participate. Given that they have concerns about the TOR and one of the commissioners as well, and that the government has presented them with a fait accompli, it is not a foregone conclusion they will take part.
It is just common sense for any government embarking on an exercise of this kind to consult with the parliamentary parties both on the terms of reference and the choice of commissioners. It might be observed that in this instance the PPP/C has no particular stake in the matter, and so hardly needs to dictate terms to those parties which do, unless, of course, it has some covert motive unrelated to the inquiry per se. If it doesn’t have such a motive, then it is doing a first-class job of conveying the impression that it does.
The first term of reference is innocuous enough (as is the third), involving as it does an examination of the facts and circumstances of the “death” in order to determine who or what was responsible for it. The second one, however, introduces whether it was an “act of terrorism” as one of the lines of enquiry, “and if so, who were the perpetrators.” The word ‘terrorism’ is very much a loaded political term, and means different things to different people in different contexts. Certainly, the commissioners should not be bogged down discussing problematic definitions or which one should be selected and made applicable (or not) in this instance. After all, what one wants to find out is whether or not it is a murder (or assassination), and if so who were the perpetrators. As it is the government is raising the suspicion that instead of a search for the truth being its sole objective, an eye to subsequent propaganda in a probable election year has crept into its considerations.
The fourth term of reference has raised objections from several quarters, including the WPA, the PNCR and the Guyana Human Rights Association. As we reported yesterday, in a letter to President Ramotar, Drs Clive Thomas and Rupert Roopnaraine expressed their party’s “grave concerns” that the commissioners are required to examine state surveillance of the political opposition from 1978 to 1980. This, they wrote, strays “a considerable distance” from the precisions of “examining the facts and circumstances immediately prior, at the time of, and subsequent to the death of Dr. Walter Rodney.” They also expressed in diplomatic language what the GHRA said more explicitly about the examination of state surveillance not being limited to the WPA. The human rights organisation went on to say, “…the clause provides an opportunity for inserting the ruling PPP into events in which it was marginal at the time and for generating a stream of horror stories from that era… Coming at a time of much speculation over general and regional elections, the proposed COI could be read as the worst form of electioneering.”
Both the parties which make up APNU also expressed serious reservations about the appointment of Senior Counsel Seenath Jairam as one of the commissioners. He had been the lead lawyer retained by the government in the case of the budget cuts, a politically charged and contentious matter. While there is absolutely no suggestion that Mr Jairam is not a distinguished member of the Trinidad Bar known for his thorough professionalism, the issue here, as rightly expressed by PNCR Chairman Basil Williams, is one of perception.
Both the WPA and the GHRA raised the issue of immunity being granted to all persons who have committed acts in relation to the death of Dr Walter Rodney, Drs Thomas and Roopnaraine saying that it “tip-toe[d] in the direction of a Truth Commission” although the TOR and the prevailing conditions “fall far short of the complex requirements of a Truth Commission.” From the tone of letter, however, the WPA did not seem opposed to the idea in principle.
Attorney General Anil Nandlall made reference to the Rodney family requesting President Ramotar that they have some participation in framing the Terms of Reference, although at what level this was done – or if it was done – he did not reveal. Certainly the family had a right to be consulted on all the terms, and especially be given space to express an opinion on the matter of immunity. At a purely practical level, of course, all that can be said at this stage is that there would be no hope of coming anywhere near to the truth if immunity were not to be granted.
The government needs to do now what it should have done in the first instance, namely, open talks with the parliamentary opposition, more particularly the two main parties in APNU. If either of them withdraw from participation in the inquiry, it would be a waste of time and a waste of money. There is simply no point in Ms Teixeira and Mr Nandlall, the government’s leading spokespersons, going into wordy defence mode in respect of the TOR which their party alone created, and which relate to events in which they have no vested interest. Another of these interminable political wrangles, therefore, is not just inappropriate where this issue is concerned, but entirely unnecessary. If the WPA and the PNC do not participate, and this commission produces nothing, or very little, there will almost certainly never be another one, so it is important to get the terms right now.
The AG said that Dr Rodney’s widow, Dr Patricia Rodney and their daughter Asha had asked President Ramotar that the inquiry not be made the “subject of a political process.” Whether the current arrangements meet those standards is open to question.
By guyaneseonline, on 03/09/2014 at 6:23 pm, under Government, Guyana, Politics, Racial Conflict. Tags: Burnham government, Donald Ramotar, Dr. Walter Rodney, Guyanese Online, Rodney COI. 7 Comments
« Part Two: The Legacy of Walter Rodney
NEIGHBOR EDDY GRANT TURNS 66 »
de castro On 03/09/2014 at 10:43 pm
What would this public enquiry prove….that Walter Rodney was “murdered”
“Assassinated” for his political convictions.
Of course “conspiracy theories” abound on why he was killed….
for his political convictions.Public enquiry will not bring back the
dead and will only produce more questions than answers.
The good that Walter did lives after him
The bad should be buried with his bones.
R.I.P. Walter Rodney the legend.
Thinker On 03/10/2014 at 11:08 am
Could it be that getting at the truth of the assassination is worthwhile? Especially while people who know about it are still around? Does anyone expect that he will come back from the dead due to the inquiry? Do you write just to write?
de castro On 03/10/2014 at 1:15 pm
No just to voice an opinion…opinions can stir the imagination…
encourage others to “imagine” …. Think for themselves
which we are all cape able of doing…the literate ones.
Scientists are still “tinkering” (pun) with how our grey cells
perform…some brain dead others hyperactive….hopefully
I am somewhere in between all that.
Kamtan
Will public enquiry bring Walter Rodney back to life…or answer
the question on why he was “assassinated” “executed”…
Do you know why he was “removed”….”betrayed”…”targeted”
if you do then please don’t be afraid to say so.
I know why and I have said so….murdered for his political belief.
Freedom to express an opinion….exactly what we are doing right now..
Read on write on
The pen is mightier than the sword….Walter Rodney proved that.
QED RIP
Thinker On 03/10/2014 at 9:32 pm
The GHRC is being disingenuous when it claims that the COI will enflame East Indians against the PNC. Indians are not voting PNC anyhow. The PPP has made a master stroke because the WPA is now forced to testify against the PNC if it takes part. Let the memories speak. The PPP waited all this time to have the COI because a lot of top military/police and PNC politicians would have had to be called and it could have led to problems with the army. Now that a few key individuals are dead, the COI can go ahead. But the PNC will still not take part. Because they are as guilty as hell. The names of their top spies within the WPA should be disclosed. The other question is how did Gregory Smith get to Cayenne without speaking French and with no visa and live there for so long? What sort of job did he get? Enquiring minds want to know. We can tell from now that the enquiry will be inconclusive. The ex-WPA at home and abroad should now be writing down their testimonies for posterity. So should the PNC military. Decide on a foreign library to donate the papers to.
Burnham didn’t give too hoots about Rodney’s political belief. It was his potential to influence the army and the black population that caused him to be killed.
de castro On 03/11/2014 at 1:57 am
Thanks for that update which I did read “sometime ago” hence my
comment re Rodney s belief….yes it was the “military” connection/influence.
One doesn’t need a foreign library to donate its papers to.
We already have the internet to record influence our next generations.
Knowledge is but a Google away…..and commonsense teaches us
what is truth from fiction….social media is changing our world….
for the better hopefully….
Thanks the reminder.
The internet is certainly not adequate. Some N. American/Guyanese University researcher could take on the job, asking the right questions where holes in accounts exist, to get a comprehensive picture, before everyone dies off.
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Halloween Daily News
All things Halloween – horror movie, costume, cosplay, mask, haunt, news, photos, reviews, interviews on Michael Myers, John Carpenter, Trick 'r Treat, and more!
[Interview] Cathy Podewell Talks ‘Night of the Demons’
October 9, 2018 October 9, 2018 Matt Artz 0 Comments Cathy Podewell, Night of the Demons
While the bad girls, Angela and Suzanne, may have had all the fun, it was the good girl, Judy, who survived the Hull House Halloween party in the 1988 classic Night of the Demons, and Cathy Podewell says the party never really ended during filming and, unlike her character, she had nothing but fun making the movie.
Night of the Demons is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and after three decades, two sequels, a remake, and an upcoming documentary, it has rightfully secured its place in regular rotation throughout October for horror fans around the world. It’s the simple story of some naughty girls who throw a wild party on Halloween night, during which they awaken and are possessed one by one by some much naughtier demons. Judy is the ultimate straight-laced final girl and the perfect contrast to the rowdy and horny party people. As her Halloween costume hits home, she is Alice and Hull House is her Wonderland.
Cathy Podewell is every bit as sweet and genuine in person as she comes across as Judy is in the film, as I recently found out during our very candid conversation about the making of Demons, working on the biggest TV shows of the era, her real life love and passion for Halloween, and how it all started when she was killed by Johnny Depp.
Read on for our full interview with Cathy Podewell.
Cathy Podewell is Judy in ‘Night of the Demons’.
How did you first get into acting?
My grandparents were veteran theater actors in Chicago. Actually my grandmother (Beverly Younger) was on one of the very first television shows ever created, called Stud’s Place. It was on out of Chicago, with Studs Terkel. They both did lots of theater. Tennessee Williams called my grandmother one of the greatest actresses. So I come from like really pretty awesome acting seed, so to speak.
My grandmother had kind of stopped acting, but my grandfather (Lester Podewell) kept acting until he was well into his 80s. He passed away at 89, and he was acting right up until then. He was famous for Groundhog Day. He played the homeless old man that begs Bill Murray every day when he comes around the corner.
So it was always there, and I kind of wanted to continue the Podewell acting tradition. In high school, I did theater. Then I went to college, and I was a theater major and a dance major. It was always something I wanted to do.
I really felt that if at some point that I had given it a shot and it didn’t work out, then I’d want to have something to fall back on. I thought maybe it would be physical therapy. So when I got to college, I was thinking I would just major in something practical, but I got hooked right away. I got cast in a play and that was it, I declared theater as my major. I was hooked.
And my grandparents always – they didn’t discourage me, they didn’t try to talk me out of it, but they always felt that it was a very tough business for kids, and somehow if they could discourage me or talk me out of it slightly, then I wasn’t meant to do it, it wasn’t in my heart. But they could never talk me out of it, so that’s it.
After college, I moved to L.A., and Night of the Demons was in my first few months of auditioning. I was really lucky to go out for that.
I had no idea that was your granddad in Groundhog Day. That’s so awesome. It definitely sounds like acting was always in the blood.
They were always very humble too. Different shows would cast local actors in Chicago if they were filming there, and I wouldn’t know half the time, and I’d be watching TV and I’d be like, ‘Ah, Grandma’s on TV!’. They didn’t make a big deal of it. I went to go see Only the Lonely in the theater, and there’s my grandfather. I had no idea. They were so humble. And probably what’s more impressive than the television and movies, was their work in the theater.
Did you ever go on sets with them?
No, because I grew up in California, and they were in Chicago.
It was something I was proud of. And I thought if I could give it a shot, I really loved performing, whether it was in high school, where it was theater but it was also dance, and I was a cheerleader, and I was in the marching band, and I was on the swim team, so I was performing one way or the other. It was a natural progression to finally end up in L.A.
Cathy Podewell with David Oliver and Johnny Depp on the set of ‘Lady Blue’.
And once you got to L.A., Night of the Demons was one of the first things you did. This year (2018) is the 30th anniversary. It’s one of my favorite movies, and I watch it every year around Halloween, like I know so many fans do. How did you first get involved with the film?
I got my SAG (Screen Actors Guild) card. A friend of mine was shooting a show, ironically enough, in Chicago, and he became friends with the director who was directing the following episode and he mentioned me. I was trying to get my SAG card, and so this director said, ‘As long as she’s a local, she can audition,’ and my relatives were all in Chicago. So I stayed with my aunt and I was considered a local, and I got hired.
They funny thing about that job is that I was killed on the show (Lady Blue) by Johnny Depp. On my Instagram, I have a really funny picture of myself with Johnny Depp and David Oliver, who was the other actor, and they played killers. We were both guest stars. It was a TV show with Danny Aiello. So that was a great way to say I got my SAG card.
I got back to L.A. and I started auditioning. I’m trying to think if I got Growing Pains right before or right after I got Night of the Demons. I believe Night of the Demons was first. Actually, I know it was. Now I’m like putting it chronologically. Lance Fenton and Billy Gallo and maybe somebody else all had the same agent, and the agent came to the set. And that’s how their agent became my agent. So yeah, it came first.
I had an agent who sent me out for it, and I read for (director) Kevin Tenney and the casting director. Kevin tells the story that she (the casting director) was gung ho to cast me, but he was unsure, because my headshot at the time read older. So he thought, ‘Oh, she’s too old.’ And thank goodness for the casting director, because she was like, ‘No, Kevin, call her in again, you’ll see, she looks really young. It’s just the headshot that makes her look older.’ They called me back in, and that was it, I got it.
That was a big year for you, because around the same time you got Growing Pains as well, and it sounds like Growing Pains came almost as a direct result of Night of the Demons too, like it was all meant to be.
It absolutely was, completely, because that sort of got the ball rolling as far as going out for really quality, good auditions. I have so many reasons to thank Night of the Demons all these years later.
And for it being your first film, it is the lead role. You’re in the entire movie. You’re the final girl.
I may not have been the star, but in a horror film, when you say I’m the one that got to live, it’s pretty cool that I survived.
I just rewatched the movie again, and I love your performance in it. Maybe you can talk a little about your experiences filming. It was a four-week shoot, and you were there the whole time?
Yeah, I don’t remember not being there on a day. I do remember maybe having a later call, thank goodness. I’m so glad I didn’t have to sit through eight hours of makeup. So I got to go hang out, and sit in the director’s chair outside and chill.
I think you and Alvin (Alexis) are the only ones that got to avoid the (demon) makeup.
I know. And there were so many times where we would look at each other and were like, ‘We are so lucky.’ And it wasn’t just the putting on (the makeup), it was the taking off too.
What else do you remember from filming?
I remember it was so much fun. We were all young. Kevin Tenney was still I think fresh out of USC Film School for the most part. We were all kind of novices. I mean other than Linnea (Quigley), I think we were all pretty new to the business.
I remember liking everyone. I thought it was so much fun to go into work. We all got along great.
The hardest part I think for me as an actress – well the one scene that I can’t stand, I cringe – I hadn’t seen the movie in all these years until we had a midnight screening when the (2014) Blu-ray came out. I hadn’t seen it in 25 years. I remembered the scene with the crematorium and fire. It had changed, we changed the dialogue, and my acting in that scene is cringe inducing for me. I remember feeling it back then, and then watching it 25 years later, I was like, ‘Oh God, it’s so bad.’ I just remember that I couldn’t remember the lines that they changed. It was a lot of exposition, and it felt kind of unreal to me the way I had to explain it. Anyway, it was traumatic. (laughs)
Otherwise, it was fun. Kevin’s giving you direction of what’s coming at you, and of course there’s nothing really there, and there’s the challenge of trying to be scared, called acting. (laughs) But it was challenge. It was definitely something I had never done before.
It was a lot of fun. I loved it.
Cathy Podewell on the set of ‘Night of the Demons’, courtesy of the documentary ‘The Party’s Just Begun: The Legacy of Night of the Demons’.
And you got along with the other cast members well?
Yes, we love each other. We still do. And that’s the best part for me. I mean first of all, if you had told me 30 years ago that this movie would still be relevant to anyone right now, and to have the Blu-ray release, to have it spawn two sequels and a big budget remake, it is crazy mind boggling to me.
Actually I didn’t even know about any of this (fandom for Night of the Demons) until about 10 years ago. At the grocery store I shop at, one of the clerks always would look at me. I was thinking, ‘Do I know him?’ I couldn’t figure it out. And one day he asked me, ‘You’re Cathy Podewell?’ I was like, ‘How do you know that? You’re like so young. What did I do that you would have seen?’ I was thinking Dallas, did he watch reruns? And he said, ‘Night of the Demons.’
I go, ‘What do you mean Night of the Demons?’ He said, ‘Yeah, it’s a cult classic.’ And I went, ‘No it’s not. What are you talking about?’ (laughs) So that’s how I first found out that there were two sequels and a remake. I had no idea.
So yeah, none of us thought 30 years ago that any of this would be happening right now, with the 30th anniversary and the documentary that Chris (MacGibbon; read our interview) is doing. It’s so exciting. But the best part is that I have had the opportunity now in the last few years to get together with everybody, and I love it. Everybody’s so sweet.
I love hearing that the cast was so tight with each other, and that you all still are, because it was pretty much the first film for most of you.
I know Amelia (Kinkade; read our interview) had done a Stray Cats video and Linnea was already established as the horror queen that she is, but otherwise yeah, I think it was pretty much the beginning for all of us. And it had that kind of feeling, like, ‘Let’s put on a horror show.’ There wasn’t a big star to feel awkward or insecure around. It was a level playing field in that respect.
Did you guys hang out much during the down time when you weren’t filming?
Oh, definitely. It’s funny because our dressing rooms were all up in the rooms (of Hull House), but none of us wanted to hang out in the house by ourselves in our dressing room. So we all pretty much sat outside in our director’s chairs, but we were all together pretty much the entire time. Nobody went off to be by themselves. The only time anybody was by themselves was if they were in Steve Johnson’s makeup chair.
It was just a really nice environment.
That’s great to hear.
I know, isn’t it? I love hearing that too about different shows or whatever. It’s so nice to hear that everybody liked each other and got along.
It really is nice to hear, as a fan. And at the end of the day, it’s just such a fun movie. It’s not meant to be taken so seriously, and you just enjoy the ride and you feel like that you went to this Halloween party.
Looking back, the thing that amazes me the most about the movie is that there is no CGI. It was all, shot by shot, done creatively through what we called the blue cookie, the smoke thing that they lit, and how they shot it with the light coming in and caught in that smoke. And Kevin’s amazing genius shot, which I knew at the time, I was just like, ‘This guy is too good for this little movie,’ that shot of the broken glass and reflections of all of us (in the mirror pieces). And (then there’s) Steve’s amazing makeup. That, to me, is what is so remarkable to look back at.
It’s definitely a great example of some of the best practical effects of the time. It still looks better than some of the movies made today with much bigger budgets.
It’s a testament to Kevin, for sure. And Joe Augustyn, the writer, was also a pretty big presence on set. They had this amazing group behind the camera. It was sort of like a perfect storm of everything just working. But even with all that said, I still can’t believe we’re talking about Night of the Demons 30 years later.
There is this legacy and this devoted fan base that loves this movie. What do you think is the lasting appeal for so many fans? Is it the fact that there’s something for everybody, a character that each person in the audience can identify with, from the nice girl to the goth girl to the jock and so forth?
I don’t think that’s so unique as the amazing makeup work and creative shots, like how they retracted Linnea’s face, how they did the lipstick scene with the prosthetic of her chest, and the eye gouging. All of that has held up. It’s amazing to think that was all real movie makeup magic.
I love the shot right after the ‘Run Judy, run’ line, and you’re coming down the hallway with Linea’s silhouette kind of larger than life behind you. And I love the Alice in Wonderland costume. I always thought that was just the perfect costume for Judy, because she’s kind of entering this other world when she goes to this party. It’s obviously not her normal crowd, it’s really not where she wanted to go that night, and it is kind of like Alice going into Wonderland and finding her way out.
Exactly. And that was Kevin Tenney. It was originally written in the script that I was supposed to be Little Red Riding Hood. Kevin felt that the red cape would’ve been too demonic and not, you know, sweet and innocent. So he came up with the idea for Alice in Wonderland, which obviously referred to Alice falling down the rabbit hole. So that’s good that you picked up on that. I love that you have an appreciation for the costume choice. It’s so cool.
That’s why Night of the Demons fans are so awesome, because they’re so appreciative of the details, and that’s what I’m appreciative of, and was at the time. I was impressed even when I didn’t know I should be impressed.
I was like, ‘Okay, it’s perfect. My first job is a low budget horror film, of course. That’s how you’re supposed to start out. Doesn’t everybody?’
But it was something special even then. Nonetheless, it’s still amazing that we’re having this conversation 30 years later. (laughs)
That movie is such a classic. Like I said, I watch it every year.
I love that. To know what’s coming in horror film, it kind of loses some of the magic after you watch it for the first time, but you and so many other fans of this movie – well that’s why we’re having this conversation, because people like you exist that can watch it over and over, year after year. I can’t tell you how many people tell me, ‘We watch it on Halloween every year.’ It’s very gratifying, it really is.
I love it. I love being part of a Halloween classic. (laughs) That’s what it really is. You talk about Christmas classics, well here you go, it’s pretty quintessential Halloween viewing. (laughs)
Cathy Podewell in ‘Night of the Demons’.
Speaking of Halloween, did you celebrate the holiday as a kid and with your own kids?
Actually, Halloween has always appealed to me. Halloween would end one year, and I’d start thinking about my costume for the next year. I happened to have a mother who was super creative, and she would make my costumes up until middle school probably. So I took a lot of pride in my Halloween costumes. I felt very proud.
I remember as a kid having the Halloween parade at our elementary school, and that’s why I was so excited that my kids went to an elementary school where there was a Halloween parade, and I sort of carried on and made costumes for my kids. I mean, I can close my eyes and think of my costumes, like I was a wolfman and I had fur busting out of this lumberjack kind of shirt. I took lots of pride in it as a kid. I loved it. And then as a mom, I sort of passed that on to my kids.
Halloween was the best. I still dress as a witch or a clown every year. Even though my kids are grown, my youngest is a junior in high school. (laughs) I still answer the door as a witch in green face.
Yeah, I love it. My kids think I’m – you know, in high school I’d show up to pick them up from school, and I’d be the crazy mom in the car with the green face and the witch hat driving down the street that everybody would laugh it. That would be me.
That’s so awesome. That’s us too.
It’s fun! It’s your one night a year to be, you know, to have that kind of fun. Yeah, you came to the right person, obviously. I’m preaching to the choir here about the love and virtues of Halloween. Yeah, I don’t really have to sell it too hard. (laughs)
That’s good to hear that you made sure the kids went to the right schools where they could celebrate Halloween properly, because not all schools do that now.
I know. It is sad. I know halfway through my kids’ years in elementary school, the Halloween festival became a fall festival. It used to be called the Halloween Haunt but then they changed it to the Fall Festival, so I was really worried they were just going to get rid of everything, but they didn’t. They kept the Halloween parade.
When you look back to your childhood, to me Halloween was like the one thing that I could always say – like I don’t remember day to day life in the second grade, but I sure remember that I was Cleopatra and I strutted my stuff at that Halloween parade. Those are memories that are meaningful and that last a lifetime.
So I’m hoping that I passed my love of Halloween on to my kids. But they always would dress up. My oldest is 26 and he and his girlfriend dress up every year. So I feel like I’ve sort of passed the torch of Halloween love to my kids.
Are your kids picking up on any of the performance genes that you picked up on?
No. There was a period where I thought that maybe my youngest would. She took an acting class and she loved it, and the teachers thought she was really good. It was the year before her freshman year, and I was like, ‘Uh oh,’ but no. She wants to be a zoologist. (laughs) And that’s fine. And my grandparents would be like, ‘See how comforting it is not having to worry about a family member going into this crazy profession?’ And it is, just because there are so few actors that make a living from acting. So it is interesting that my three kids were not bitten by the acting bug.
I want to talk just a little bit about Dallas. I remember watching you on that show.
It was about a year later, in 1988. I auditioned, and it was just supposed to be seven episodes, a guest starring role. Then I got a call back with the producer, and then I got a call back with Larry Hagman, and he and I just connected. An hour later they called.
It was an amazing thing, because in seven episodes they liked the chemistry and they developed the character, and it turned out to be a three-year gig. So as an actress, to have a job for three years and be able to develop a character over that course three seasons was just a dream. And talk about loving a cast, everyone was so great.
I’ve been really fortunate, because I don’t think there was a job where I didn’t really love everybody. I don’t know where these bad actors and divas are. I guess there are plenty of them out there, but I was fortunate enough to never work with them.
Larry Hagman was just the greatest guy ever, and took me under his wing. He included me in everything. He made me feel very welcome in the Dallas family. There are stories about one (cast member) that was a diva, but she had left the year before I arrived. I didn’t have any interaction with her, but I’ve heard that there was a diva once on the show. Everybody that was there when I was on was amazing.
Cathy Podewell played Cally Harper Ewing on ‘Dallas’.
So what are you up to lately? Do have new projects coming up?
I really don’t, because I sort of decided long ago – I always joke that I’ve been on a 27-year hiatus. When my first born, who’s 26 now, was a year old, I got a call from a casting director about doing an episode of 90210. I got the job. I’d been a mom for a year, I’d been nursing, and so I did this job, but I had never left my son with anybody before. I left him with one of my dear friends, and this job lasted a week, but I got through it. Then they called for reshoots and I had to go back for a second week. And I decided I liked being a mom. It was too much. I loved acting, but I didn’t ever want to be away from my kids.
I did a couple more jobs, but I didn’t go back fulltime, and I’m really grateful that my husband could support us and I could be a stay at home mom. And I loved every minute of it.
Now that my youngest is 16, I’m just now starting to think, ‘Okay, it’s going to be starting over. I don’t have an agent. I have my credits, but they’re 30 years old.’ (laughs) It’s definitely starting over, but I just thought, you know, I talked myself into giving it a shot 30 years ago, and why not try again now. And if I love it like I used to love it, great, and if I get work, great, so I’m thinking about it.
Actually it was the Night of the Demons fans that basically kept asking me every time I’d do a signing, ‘Why don’t you have social media?’ So I finally started an Instagram. And I’m getting my head wrapped around maybe getting back into it. I’m waiting for Kevin Tenney to write me a film script.
Well I’ll be first in line to see that.
Thank you. Don’t hold me to it though! We’ll see.
That’s great to hear that you’re open to it at least, and starting a new stage in life it sounds like.
I am. And that’s the thing I always would say when my kids were little and people would ask, ‘Why don’t you go back to acting?’ And I said that I knew that part of my life was going to go by so fast, and you only get to be the mother of these little kids once. Then they’re grown in the blink of an eye, which is exactly what happened. I always said, ‘I can act when I’m 80. But I can only be the mom of these small kids in that moment, so I didn’t want to miss that. And I don’t have any regrets. I can act until my dying day. So we’ll see.
I do feel blessed though. My dreams did come true. So many little kids dream of being an actress and working, and being on TV or in the movies or whatever, and I feel very fortunate that for the five years I gave it a shot, I pretty much worked steadily. And that was a dream come true, it really was. Then I got to be the mom of three awesome kids.
So maybe life will come full circle and I’ll give this acting thing a shot again.
I really hope you do. I’m excited to see what the future holds for you.
Thanks, Matt. It’s been so nice talking to you.
Cathy Podewell is among the franchise cast members set to be featured in the new documentary The Party’s Just Begun: The Legacy of Night of the Demons.
[Read our interview with Amelia Kinkade on Night of the Demons here.]
Cathy Podewell is Judy in ‘Night of the Demons’
For more Halloween news, follow @HalloweenDaily.
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Matt Artz
Founded Halloween Daily News in 2012 and the Halloween International Film Festival in 2016. Professional writer/journalist/photographer since 2000.
Follow @HalloweenDaily
Reviews TV
Red Riding Hood Fights Back in ‘Hunted’ [Review]
January 13, 2021 Matt Artz 0
A modern, poignant, unflinching remix of the classic Little Red Riding Hood fable, the must-see new survival horror film Hunted
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Hammer’s Landmark ‘The Curse of Frankenstein’ Showcased on New 2-Disc Blu-ray [Review]
January 9, 2021 January 9, 2021 Matt Artz 0
Watch Video for John Carpenter’s New Song “Alive After Death”
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Introducing the Halloween Preservation Society [Video Interview]
March 2, 2020 Matt Artz 0
The annual Mad Monster Party returned to Charlotte, North Carolina for an awesome Valentine’s Day Weekend, Feb. 14-16, 2020, featuring
[Interview] Ricou Browning on Being the ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’
November 27, 2019 December 10, 2019 Matt Artz 0
[Interview] Sarah Butler on Her Dream Film and Favorite Halloween Candy
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[Interview] Judith Hoag Reflects on Her Time in ‘Halloweentown’
October 29, 2019 October 29, 2019 Matt Artz 0
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Conventions H40: Forty Years of Terror Highlights [Photo Galle…
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Europe contemplates new rules for AI – and what this might mean in A/NZ
Article by SAS Europe and Asia Pacific chief privacy strategist Kalliopi Spryridaki.
At the beginning of 2021, the European Commission will propose legislation on AI that will be, at first instance, horizontal (as opposed to sectoral) and risk-based, with mandatory requirements for high-risk AI applications.
The new rules will aim at ensuring transparency, accountability and consumer protection, including safety, through robust AI governance and data quality requirements.
Europe’s approach to regulating technology is based on the precautionary principle, which enables rapid regulatory intervention in the face of possible danger to human, animal or plant health, or to protect the environment. This perspective has helped Europe to become a global leader in the shaping of the digital technology market.
Particularly, with the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018, Europe considers it has gained a competitive advantage through the creation of a trust mark for increased privacy protection.
How will Australia and New Zealand be impacted?
Australia and New Zealand have a close relationship with the European Union (EU) and its member countries historically. They share a commitment to democracy, the rule of law and a respect for human rights. Not surprisingly, the ongoing discussions on AI ethics reflect similar concerns and objectives.
When Europe legislates on AI, it is inevitable that Australia and New Zealand will be impacted. Europe’s strong trading partners with shared values will want to benefit from trusted AI developed in Europe.
Equally, AI developed in Australia or New Zealand should cross national borders without burdensome obligations, particularly for smaller providers. This requires similar rules on AI development and use.
Considering the breadth of AI technologies and applications across all sectors, Europe has embarked on a truly challenging venture. If AI is defined broadly, the law risks becoming unnecessarily burdensome without bringing benefits for many AI applications where trust is not relevant, e.g. industrial applications.
A narrow definition of AI, on the other hand, may not provide futureproof protection given the pace of technological evolution.
Other challenges relate to the type and level of risk that should be regulated. The new AI rules will need to target legal gaps related to the risk that AI applications may pose to physical safety. These gaps may, for example, exist in rules on liability and compensation rules.
Another type of risk to be addressed by AI legislation concerns human rights, for instance, including discrimination and privacy protection. The identification of the criteria for ‘high’ risk AI applications will set a crucial threshold for the application of the new AI law.
Europe’s new AI rules are also expected to require an ex-ante conformity assessment before a product or service is placed on the market.
Because AI systems are not “static” products, repeated assessments may be necessary to manage compliance over the AI system’s lifetime.
Options related to compliance and enforcement mechanisms range from the creation of a new AI regulator to the introduction of certification bodies, accreditation schemes and training programs for the testers.
The associated costs for European AI developers may be outweighed by job creation and a new demand for skills that would enhance Europe’s global competitiveness.
The long list of issues in this regulatory debate include whether the public use of biometric identification systems, including facial recognition, should be restricted unless “allowed by law” or whether the use of AI-enabled lethal autonomous weapons systems should be banned.
Therefore, Europe’s new AI rules have the potential to set a global standard, at least for Europe’s trading partners. Interestingly, both Australia and New Zealand have initiatives in place that may put a spin to a potential spiral effect of Europe’s new AI rules.
Australia and the CDR
Australia recently introduced the Consumer Data Right (CDR). The CDR, which applies initially to the banking sector, aims at improving consumers’ ability to compare and switch between products and services.
The introduction of the CDR is a unique approach addressing a challenge that many regulators globally strive to tackle. Namely, the CDR “expands” personal data protections beyond the right to privacy.
It focuses on consumer protection and encourages competition between service providers, thus creating further market benefits through better prices and product innovation.
The CDR does not go as far as to create a data ownership right for individuals. But it empowers individuals to manage their data.
Given that data is the backbone of AI, the CDR will fundamentally shape Australia’s contribution to the global regulatory efforts on AI.
New Zealand reimagines regulation for the AI age
‘Reimaging Regulation for the Age of AI’ is a pilot project by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in partnership with the Government of New Zealand that aims at designing actionable governance frameworks for AI regulation.
The Government responded to the complicated endeavour of regulating AI with this project that adopts an evidence-based, methodological approach analysing existing regulatory tools and potential policy options.
The Government will pilot the suggested AI regulation frameworks to offer an understanding of what works and why. The openness of this project not only brings a global perspective to New Zealand but also provides an insightful and influential analysis to legislators globally.
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Dec. 3, 2020 12:25 PM EST
Senate confirms Christopher Waller to serve on Fed's board
By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER
AP Economics Writer
AP-US-Federal-Reserve-Waller-Nomination
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Thursday narrowly confirmed the nomination of Christopher Waller for the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors, placing another of President Donald Trump's picks on the Fed's influential board after a string of high-profile rejections.
The vote in favor of Waller's appointment was 48-47. Waller, research director for the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank, taught economics for nearly 25 years before joining the St. Louis Fed in 2009. He has endured far less scrutiny than Judy Shelton, the controversial nominee he was paired with and who was voted down in the Senate last month.
Still, his confirmation vote broke down along party lines, a shift from the vote in the Senate Banking Committee in July, when some Democrats had supported him.
As an executive vice president of the St. Louis Fed Waller has attended dozens of meetings of the Fed’s interest rate-setting policy committee, of which he will now become a voting member. His research has focused on how the Fed’s communications affect financial markets and the benefits of an independent central bank. His term on the board will last until January 2030.
Waller, who holds a Ph.D. in economics from Washington State University, has taught at the University of Notre Dame, the University of Kentucky and Indiana University.
Waller is a top aide to James Bullard, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, and a well-known “dove.” Doves are policymakers who are generally thought to favor lower interest rates to help boost job growth and who tend to worry less about the risk of inflation. Those who worry more about the threat of inflation, by contrast, are generally referred to as “hawks.”
Carl Tannenbaum, chief economist at Chicago-based Northern Trust, and a former Fed economist, said Waller's economic tilt won't likely make much difference to the Fed’s policy, “because the Fed is almost as dovish as they can be.”
In contrast to Waller's conventional background, Shelton's past support for the gold standard, which involves tying the dollar's value to gold and is now mostly discredited, generated vociferous opposition from Democrats and discomfort among some Republicans. She was voted out of the Senate Banking Committee on a party-line vote in July only for her nomination to languish until after the presidential election.
Shelton also came under fire for appearing to change her views on interest rates to suit the political circumstances. She opposed the Fed's policy of pinning its benchmark interest rate at nearly zero when Barack Obama was president, only to support ultra-low rates after Trump's election. Her nomination failed on a 47-50 vote. Sens. Mitt Romney, R-Mass., and Susan Collins, R-Me., voted against Shelton.
With Waller's approval, four of the six governors have been appointed by Trump, and Chair Jerome Powell was elevated to his position by Trump. The only Democrat on the board of governors is Lael Brainard, who was widely considered a possible Treasury Secretary under President Biden. That position instead went to former Fed Chair Janet Yellen. One seat on the seven-member Board remains vacant.
Central bank interest rates
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COVID-19 Hospitalizations Trigger Harris County Restaurant Occupancy Reduction
POSTED: January 8, 2021 AT 8:53 am / Coronavirus, News
Due to COVID-19 patients exceeding 15% of total hospital capacity for more than seven days, restaurants in Trauma Service Area Q — which includes Harris County — were required to return to 50% guest occupancy earlier this week. According to Douglas Loveday, press officer for the Texas Department of State Health Service, a letter was […]
Texas Restaurants Can Operate At 75% Capacity, Bars To Remain Closed — Updated
POSTED: September 17, 2020 AT 2:55 pm / Breaking News, Coronavirus, News
In a press conference earlier today, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced that restaurants, along with retail stores, museums, libraries, gyms, office buildings and factories, can begin operating at 75% occupancy on Monday, September 21. These establishments are currently open at 50% capacity. “That’s a little more aggressive than I would prefer,” said Houston Mayor Sylvester […]
Grassroots Response Team Forms to Help Houston Restaurant & Bar Owners Navigate COVID-19
POSTED: June 30, 2020 AT 2:56 pm / Coronavirus, News, To The Trade
In January, a labor shortage was one of the biggest issues Houston restaurant owners faced. Now, restaurateurs have to contend not only with operating with reduced revenue and staff but also the consequences of what happens when even just one employee tests positive for COVID-19. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Centers for Disease […]
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The case of the bivalve epicure
By Bret McCabe
/ Published Summer 2012
Just to placate his parents, Ira Remsen earned a medical degree from Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1867. But it was organic chemistry that really protonated his hydrocarbon. The New Yorker earned his chemistry doctorate in 1870 in Germany, and stayed to assist a mentor. He returned to the States in 1875, took a position at Williams College, and published Theoretical Chemistry, a text that caught the eye of an educator setting up America's first research university. Daniel Coit Gilman recruited Remsen to be the inaugural chemistry chair of the start-up Johns Hopkins University.
Chemists revered Remsen, and his reputation spread hither and yon. It may, in fact, have reached a precociously logical young Englishman who would've been interested in Markovnikov's rule during those gap years after college and before starting a career. "Sherlock Holmes is an organic chemist—he had to have heard of Remsen," says Art Renkwitz, an integrated technology resources teacher on Maryland's Eastern Shore. And, yes, he is talking about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional character. "And to know that a university was opening its doors in America with one of the best organic chemists of the times, that would have been a lure. It would just be a question of getting on a boat and coming over here."
Welcome to "The Great Game," in which Sherlockians imagine the life of Holmes. That impulse can produce spinoff tales like Laurie R. King's Mary Russell mystery novels or the recent A Study in Sherlock collection, wherein contemporary authors such as Lee Child and Neil Gaiman invent new cases for Holmes or reconsider old ones. But The Great Game also involves speculative consideration of Holmes as an actual historical figure, chronicled in stories like "The Adventure of the Gloria Scott"—which ostensibly takes place in 1874—and "The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual," set by Doyle around 1879. Players of the game adhere to the "facts" laid out in the 56 Holmes stories and four novels. The time between the two stories occupies roughly five years in which Holmes' whereabouts are unknown—and Johns Hopkins' founding falls squarely within those years. "There's a dropout period in there that Doyle never accounted for, which is kind of like those missing years with Jesus," Renkwitz jokes.
Renkwitz isn't alone in thinking Johns Hopkins University might've tempted Holmes to cross the pond. Philip Wilson considered the idea in a 1986 article titled "Holmes at Hopkins? Elementary, Writer Says" in Baltimore's Evening Sun. The piece builds on a rumination made by Christopher Morley in his 1934 essay "Was Sherlock Holmes an American?" Morley knew what Johns Hopkins could offer the intellectually curious. His father, Frank Morley, chaired Hopkins' mathematics department in the early part of the 20th century. "My own thought is that the opening of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore in 1876, and the extraordinary and informal opportunities offered there for graduate study, tempted [Holmes] across the water," Morley wrote. "He was certainly familiar with papers in the chemical journals written by Ira Remsen, the brilliant young professor who took charge of the new laboratories in Baltimore. Probably in Baltimore he acquired his taste for oysters and on a hot summer day noted the depth to which the parsley had sunk into the butter."
Morley founded the granddaddy of all Sherlockian scion societies, the Baker Street Irregulars, in 1934. The Baltimore sister organization, the Six Napoleons of Baltimore, was started in 1949, and over the years a fair share of Johns Hopkins alumni have filled its ranks. From there, playing The Great Game gets out of hand pretty quickly. For example, the office of the late Johns Hopkins chaplain Chester Wickwire invited Holmes collector William Bennett Shaw to present a slideshow over a Sherlockian Weekend at Homewood in June 1978. British writer John Hopkins wrote the screenplay for the 1979 Holmes-Watson movie mystery Murder by Decree. A July 1981 Newsday letter to the editor from Robert S. Katz of Johns Hopkins defended Watson's modest detective skills since he was, of course, trained as a medical practitioner and was serving as Holmes' informal biographer. Television's most recent Holmesian character, Gregory House, of the popular eponymous television series, spent his undergrad years at Homewood and was kicked out of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. And so on.
"Two of my favorite avocations are Sherlock Holmes and Hopkins," offers Andrew Solberg, SPH '77, a former Six Napoleons of Baltimore member and current member of Watson's Tin Box, based in Columbia, Maryland. He's also a Baker Street Irregular, where he serves on the board of trustees and directs the organization's oral history project. He was kind enough to forward one more Morley passage, which speculates that Holmes remained attuned to Johns Hopkins in his later years: "No one read with more interest the reports of Dr. Osler's famous farewell address at Johns Hopkins [February 22, 1905], quoting Trollope on the chloroforming of men at the age of 60. It is more than coincidence that the last testimony we have ['His Last Bow'] showed him at that age."
Watson's Tin Box also puts on an annual Scintillation of Scions event over the summer, where Sherlockians come to talk Holmes. At the 2008 event Renkwitz presented his "Holmes on the Shore" argument that the budding detective visited the Eastern Shore during his time at Johns Hopkins, merely to taste oysters—a delicacy he's quite fond of in the canon. A running thread in The Great Game is where Holmes went to college—Cambridge or Oxford? Doyle seemingly toyed with that debate in "The Adventure of the Creeping Man," which has Holmes and Watson traveling to Camford University, a clever portmanteau of Holmes' disputed alma maters. But could it also be a wry nod to those Eastern Shore towns of the same names, formidable oyster seaports in the late 19th century?
"You have to go back to the canon, find something that lends itself to innuendo if nothing else, but then you have to historically support it," Renkwitz says. "And so sometimes we have to be a little bit tongue-in-cheek— well, most of the time, actually."
Posted in Arts+Culture, Science+Technology
Tagged chemistry
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OIs, coinfections and complications
Lymphogranuloma venereum – an overview: update on UK cases of LGV
10 May 2005. Related: OIs, coinfections and complications.
Leighton Davies MD, for HIV i-Base
Lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the L1-L3 serovars of the obligate intracellular bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. These particular strains of chlamydia are more virulent and tend to produce more invasive disease in humans. Chlamydial serovars A-K, which are largely confined to infecting columnar epithelial surfaces of the genital tract and the eye are far more prevalent than the LGV serovars which predominantly infect monocytes and macrophages, passing through epithelial surfaces to regional lymph nodes usually resulting in disseminated infection.
LGV, which was relatively common in industrialised countries until the advent of broad-spectrum antibiotics in the first half of the twentieth century, has become a rare disease, while remaining endemic in parts of Africa, Asia, South America and the Caribbean. Clinically it is difficult to distinguish from other causes of genital ulcer disease – especially those associated with “bubo” formation (large, swollen lymph nodes), such as chancroid. However, there has recently been a resurgence of its appearance in the western world, with subtle changes in its mode of presentation. It is estimated that LGV accounts for between 10 and 20% of genital ulcer disease in parts of the world where it is endemic, with chancroid, syphilis and herpes simplex infection being far more common. Indeed, 10% of patients presenting with buboes to a clinic in Bangkok were found to have LGV, with a large epidemic recently reported among crack cocaine users in the Bahamas. [1-3]
Classically the clinical course has been divided into three stages: The primary stage involves the site of inoculation, the secondary stage the regional lymph nodes and occasionally the anorectum, with the tertiary stage comprising late sequelae affecting the genitals or rectum.
The primary stage occurs after an incubation period of 3-30 days with the formation of a small painless papule, which may ulcerate occurring at the site of inoculation. This primary lesion is virtually always self-limiting and may not always occur and in most cases passes unnoticed by the patient.
The secondary stage occurs some weeks after the primary lesion and can take one of two forms:
(1) The inguinal form – commoner in men since the lymphatic drainage of the vagina and cervix is to the retroperitoneal rather the inguinal lymph nodes. Its cardinal feature is the presence of painful inguinal and/or femoral lymphadenopathy, which is usually uniltateral. Adenopathy above and below the inguinal ligament is termed the ‘groove sign’ and was once thought to be pathognomonic of LGV. The lymph nodes are usually firm and necrotic. The necrotic areas may enlarge and coalesce to form stellate abscesses, which eventually break down to form discharging sinuses, although this is relatively uncommon and more a feature of chancroid.
(2) The ano-rectal form – classically more common in women; and in men who have sex with men (MSM) who practise receptive anal intercourse. It usually presents as a haemorrhagic proctitis. Patients present with bleeding per rectum and pronounced proctalgia, often associated with systemic features – pyrexia, chills and weight loss. Proctoscopy reveals a granular or ulcerative proctitis (similar to ulcerative colitis), which is nearly always confined to the distal 10cm of the ano-rectal canal (4). Extragenital lymphadenopathy has also been described.
The tertiary stage occurs usually as the result of chronic untreated LGV: fibrosis leads to lymphatic obstruction causing elephantiasis of the genitals in either sex with rectal involvement leading to the formation of strictures and fistulae. This often leads to surgical correction of the problem, which can often be severe and debilitating. The tertiary stage occurs far more commonly in women giving rise to a syndrome known as esthiomene (Greek = “eating away”), with widespread destruction of the external genitalia.
The differential diagnosis of sexually acquired genital ulceration includes chancroid, herpes simplex, syphilis and donovanosis (granuloma inguinale). Less commonly this may arise as a result of trauma, non-sexually transmissible infections e.g. cutaneous leishmaniasis and a fixed drug eruption. The differential diagnosis of inguinal adenopathy includes chancroid, herpes and syphilis although a genital ulcer usually precedes lymphadenopathy in these cases. More generalised lymphadenopthy has a wider differential including lymphoma and HIV.
Laboratory diagnosis of LGV largely depends on serological tests which are genus specific and do not distinguish between infection with other chlamydial species. However, since LGV is far more invasive than other members of the genus it usually leads to higher titres of serum immunoglobulins than uncomplicated infections of C trachomatis serovars D-K. A titre of > 1:256 strongly supports the diagnosis while a titre of <1:32 virtually rules it out except in the very early stages of infection. The microimmunofluorescence (MIF) test can distinguish between infection by different chlamydial species but is not widely used in clinical practice. However, a MIF IgG titre of > 1:128 strongly suggests LGV although invasive genital infection by serovars D-K (eg pelvic inflammatory disease) can also give rise to high titres of anti-chlamydial antibody.
Further identification of the organism can be achieved by aspirating bubo fluid or in ulcer material and isolating C Trachomatis in tissue culture. This technique is also not widely available. In contrast to diagnosing infection with serovars D-K by commercially available enzyme immuno-assays (EIAs), which are used extensively to diagnose urethral and cervical infection, this form of diagnosis has not been widely evaluated for LGV. Similarly, DNA amplification assays (PCR or LCR) which detect Chlamydia specific genomic or plasmid DNA have also not been widely evaluated for the detection of LGV – although PCR was used extensively to diagnose LGV in samples taken from ulcer samples in the Bahamas.
The detection of C Trachomatis in bubo material by any of these methods strongly supports the diagnosis of LGV while detection of the organism in ulcer material only supports the diagnosis if it can be shown to be an LGV strain by DNA sequencing or typing with a monoclonal antibody – methods which by and large are not routinely available in day to day practice.
Recommended treatment for both bubonic and anogenital LGV is doxycycline 100mg twice daily for at least 21 days. In pregnant women or persons otherwise intolerant of tetracyclines a macrolide antibiotic such as erythromycin 500mg four times daily, also for 21 days should be employed. Azithromycin is also likely to be effective against LGV although the exact duration of treatment has not been correctly determined; one suggested course would be 1g daily for 10-14 days.
LGV in the 21st Century
Since December 2003 a worrying number of outbreaks of LGV have been reported in European and North American cities. These appear to be largely confined to HIV positive MSM and most appear to be caused by the L2 genotype. Most cases present with a haemorrhagic proctitis and are confined largely to men of white ethnicity. High levels of concurrent sexually transmitted infections (Gonorrhoea, syphilis, HSV and hepatitis B virus) were also seen. Transmission of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been associated with the LGV outbreak in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Contact tracing has largely proven to be a futile exercise as most of the infected men reported numerous anonymous sexual encounters with high levels of unprotected anal intercourse and other high risk practices such as fisting (which itself is strongly associated with the sexual transmission of HCV) and sharing of sex toys.
In response to these outbreaks the Health Protection Agency for England initiated enhanced surveillance measures for LGV. These were established in October 2004 after several sexual health clinics (predominantly in London) reported increased numbers of cases of bloody proctitis. Clusters of LGV have so far been identified in Rotterdam (>92 cases), Antwerp (27 cases), Paris (38 cases) and confirmed cases in Stockholm and Hamburg in addition to sporadic cases in New York, San Francisco and Atlanta in the USA. These outbreaks appear to be concentrated in sexual networks of gay men and appear to be associated with sex parties that have attracted men from across Europe.
The HPA sent out an alert to GUM clinics in England and established a case definition, reference service and reporting system for LGV. [5] The case definition used by the HPA is confirmation of C Trachomatis and presence of LGV serovars – L1, L2 or L3 by genotyping. The HPA reference service tests rectal specimens from patients with ano-rectal symptoms (bloody proctitis, rectal discharge) or urethral specimens from patients with inguinal lymphadenopathy known to be positive for C Trachomatis.
In January 2005, the first 24 cases of LGV were reported in the UK – most from London clinics. Enhanced surveillance data were available for 19 cases and confirmed characteristics similar to other European cities: all were MSM, 17 HIV positive, 4 were also HCV positive and most had symptoms suggestive of LGV.
Up to the middle of February 2005, a total of 34 cases of LGV have been reported in the UK. [6] In addition other anecdotal cases have been reported from other centres in the UK which were not subject to the HPA’s enhanced surveillance (eg in Swansea an HIV positive MSM presented with a haemorrhagic proctitis and high levels of anti-chlamydial antibodies, (>1:256), genotyping was not available but the diagnosis of LGV was made presumptively and he responded to 21 days treatment with doxycycline 100mg bd). [7]
Noteworthy features of the recent outbreaks are that they tend to occur in white MSM, although some patients have reported sexual encounters with men from Africa or Latin America. Furthermore, very few cases of urethral infection have been reported alongside rectal infections, which further confounds the epidemiology of the outbreaks.
The implications are quite clear: All clinicians who deal with HIV positive gay men’s sexual health should be vigilant to the possible presenting symptoms of LGV and wherever possible enrol the assistance of the HPA in establishing a diagnosis. Adequate treatment should be initiated as soon as possible thereby avoiding the potentially serious sequelae of untreated LGV. Ultimately it should not be forgotten that infection with LGV is usually associated with concomitant infection with another STI – this is especially true for HIV, which is propagated far more easily in the presence of genital ulcer disease.
LGV was the focus of presentations at the BHIVA Spring conference in Dublin that stressed the importance of treatment for similar symptoms, even if a diagnosis is not confirmed or available.
Awareness of the additional information and the surveillance system that was established at the end of 2004 by the Health Protection Agency is clearly important for all GU treating physicians.
The HPA website includes useful pages on LGV, including:
HPA enhanced surveillance system for LGV.
LGV home page.
LGV general information.
Hitun Y et al. Comparison of clinically directed, disease specific and syndromic protocols for the management of genital ulcer disease in Lesotho. Sex Transm Inf 1998 74 (suppl 1) S23-28.
Viravan C et al. A prospective clinical and bacteriologic study of inguinal buboes in Thai men. Clin Infect Dis 1996 22, 233-239.
Bouwens JE et al. Epidemic LGV during epidemics of crack cocaine use and HIV infection in the Bahamas (in press)
Quinn TC et al. Chlamydia trachomatis proctitis N Engl J Med 1984 311 1543-1546.
Health Protection Agency. Enhanced surveillance of LGV in England. Commun Dis Rep CDR Wkly [serial online] 2004. 14 (41). News – available at:
http://www.hpa.org.uk/cdr/PDFfiles/2004/cdr4104.pdf
Macdonald N et al. Initial results of enhanced surveillance for LGV in England. Eurosurveillance 2005 10 20. January 2005 (available at:
http://www.eurosurveillance.org/ew/2005/050127.asp
Personal communication with Dr K. Yoganathan, Consultant GU Physician, Singleton Hospital, Swansea, UK.
Volume 6 Number 5 May 2005 PDF
HIV inSite Knowledge Base
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Tag Archives: leslie barringer
by iansales 1 Comment
Yes, I know, Easter is over. And I don’t think they have parades at Easter, anyway. At least not in this country. But it’s still April, and here is a parade of books wot I have recently added to the collection.
This is the third set of novellas from NewCon Press – I didn’t bother with the second set as it was horror – and, as you can see, the covers form a single piece of art. By Jim Burns. I’ve already read The Martian Job (see here), and The Martian Simulacra and The Greatest Story Ever Told (see here), but have yet to read Phosphorus.
Three new-ish science fiction books. Well, A Thorn in the Bush is not really new – it was written decades ago but never published – and it’s not actually science fiction either, as Herbert initially set out to be a writer of thrillers. But never mind. Songs of Leaving was the only book I bought in the dealers’ room at Follycon 2. I’m a big fan of Duchamp’s writing, so I’ve been after a copy of The Waterdancer’s World for a while.
I started reading Litt’s novels several years ago – although not in alphabetical order, as I started with Journey into Space (Litt has titled each of his books alphabetically; he’s currently up to N). I thought I ought to fill in some of the gaps, hence Beatniks. The True Deceiver was a charity shop find. Sea and Sardinia is another for the DH Lawrence Phoenix Edition collection. Such Good Friends was the consequence of drunk eBaying, bought after seeing Preminger’s not very good film adaptation, reading up about it on Wikipedia, and thinking the original novel sounded mildly interesting…
Some birthday presents from last month from my sisters. I’ve heard good things about Frankenstein in Baghdad. A Primer for Cadavers I’ve already read (see here). I’ve always wanted to work my way through Clarke’s short fiction, so I’m glad I now have The Collected Stories. And I’ve been a fan of Irwin’s writing since reading his book on classical Arabic literature years ago, and Wonders Will Never Cease is his latest novel.
Some collectibles. The Elizabeth A Lynn is actually titled Tales from a Vanished Country, although none of the books in the 29-volume Author’s Choice Monthly series from Pulphouse Publications actually put the titles on the cover. Anyway, I’m slowly completing the set. The Natural History of the P.H. is an essay by Roberts on something that drove his fiction in his later years. It was published by Kerosina. Judgment Night is a facsimile edition of the first edition, published by Red Jacket Press. Gerfalcon, is from the Newcastle Forgotten Fantasy Library, although annoyingly I don’t think it’s the original cover art for the book.
Finally, some graphic novels. Memories from the Future (see here) is the final volume in the Valerian and Laureline series. While Crosswind (see here) is the first volume in a new series. And Inside Moebius Part 1 is, er, also the first in a series, of, I think, three volumes.
Categories: book haul, books | Tags: ahmed saadawi, arthur c clarke, cat staggs, cl moore, dh lawrence, ed atkins, elizabeth a lynn, frank herbert, gail simone, jean-claude mézières, keith roberts, l timmel duchamp, leslie barringer, lois gould, moebius, pete crowther, pierre christin, robert irwin, toby litt, tove jansson | Permalink.
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Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/cor/louvrp/1222.html
My bibliography Save this paper
The relevance of hedonic price indices
CHANEL, O.
GÉRARD-VARET, L.-A.
GINSBURGH, V.
Olivier Chanel
Victor A. Ginsburgh
Louis-Andre Gerard-Varet †
We argue that for the case of heterogeneous commodities with infrequent tradings, such as paintings, it is relevant to base a price index on hedonic regressions using all sales and not resales only. To support this conclusion we construct a price index for paintings by Impressionists and their followers and compare the various estimators using bootstrapping techniques. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 1996
Chanel, O. & Gérard-Varet, L.-A. & Ginsburgh, V., 1996. "The relevance of hedonic price indices," CORE Discussion Papers RP 1222, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
Handle: RePEc:cor:louvrp:1222
Note: In : The case of paintings. Journal of Cultural Economics, 20, 1-24, 1996
File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10824-005-1024-3
Download Restriction: no
Olivier Chanel & Louis-André Gérard-Varet & Victor Ginsburgh, 1996. "The relevance of hedonic price indices," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 20(1), pages 1-24, March.
Case, Bradford & Quigley, John M, 1991. "The Dynamics of Real Estate Prices," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 73(1), pages 50-58, February.
Goetzmann, William N, 1993. "Accounting for Taste: Art and the Financial Markets over Three Centuries," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(5), pages 1370-1376, December.
Case, Karl E & Shiller, Robert J, 1989. "The Efficiency of the Market for Single-Family Homes," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(1), pages 125-137, March.
Karl E. Case & Robert J. Shiller, 1988. "The Efficiency of the Market for Single-Family Homes," NBER Working Papers 2506, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
Rosen, Sherwin, 1974. "Hedonic Prices and Implicit Markets: Product Differentiation in Pure Competition," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(1), pages 34-55, Jan.-Feb..
Karl E. Case, 1986. "The market for single-family homes in the Boston area," New England Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, issue May, pages 38-48.
Palmquist, Raymond B., 1982. "Measuring environmental effects on property values without hedonic regressions," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 333-347, May.
Baumol, William J, 1986. "Unnatural Value: Or Art Investment as Floating Crap Game," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(2), pages 10-14, May.
Baumol, William J., 1985. "Unnatural Value: Or Art Investment as Floating Crap Game," Working Papers 85-25, C.V. Starr Center for Applied Economics, New York University.
Goetzmann, W.N., 1990. "Accounting For Taste: An Analysis Of Art Returns Over Three Centuries," Papers fb-_90-11, Columbia - Graduate School of Business.
Werner Pommerehne & Lars Feld, 1997. "The Impact of Museum Purchase on the Auction Prices of Paintings," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 21(3), pages 249-271, September.
Pesando, James E, 1993. "Art as an Investment: The Market for Modern Prints," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(5), pages 1075-1089, December.
Stein, John Picard, 1977. "The Monetary Appreciation of Paintings," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 85(5), pages 1021-1035, October.
Jonathan H. Mark & Michael A. Goldberg, 1984. "Alternative Housing Price Indices: An Evaluation," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 12(1), pages 30-49, March.
Anderson, Robert C, 1974. "Paintings as an Investment," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 12(1), pages 13-26, March.
Fama, Eugene F, 1991. "Efficient Capital Markets: II," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 46(5), pages 1575-1617, December.
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How Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary turns every media interview into an opportunity
October 31, 2012 by Jonathan Hemus
Ryanair polarises opinion. Its success shows that its low prices are attractive to many passengers, but the airline has attracted criticism for its customer service, advertising campaigns and pricing structure. As a consequence it is often in the position of having to protect its reputation or engage in issues management (and occasionally crisis management too).
What cannot be denied is that its chief executive, Michael O’Leary, is a master of reputation management and understands the value of media relations. More than this, he is the perfect media spokesperson for the company. Listen to this week’s interview on BBC Radio FiveLive:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbdVJ4f-SIE
There are lessons for all spokespeople in his approach:
1) View every media interview as an opportunity
I suspect that Michael O’Leary rarely turns down an interview opportunity with programmes and publications which reach his target audience. Too many executives are afraid of engaging with the media, even about benign matters, let alone when thinking about crisis communication. Mr O’Leary views every interview – whatever the context – as an opportunity to communicate positive messages about Ryanair, or at the very least provide balance to the criticism that it attracts.
2) Take control of the interview
Too many spokespeople get to the end an interview and think “I wish I’d said X”, or “I meant to say Y”, even worse “I wish they’d asked Z”. One of the key rules of media training is to take control of a media interview and set the agenda. This means finding ways of communicating your key messages whatever the line of questioning. This is taken to its extreme by Mr O’Leary who is assertive in getting his pre-planned point of view across, come what may.
3) Be real, be yourself
The best radio is entertaining, engaging and memorable. None of this will happen if the interviewee is corporate, bland or faceless. You must be yourself – but more so: energy, enthusiasm and personality lift an interview and grab the listeners’ attention. No one could accuse Mr O’Leary of being bland: agree with him or not, he sounds passionate and authentic, two key qualities for a successful media spokesperson.
4) Live the brand
If you think I’m advising all spokespeople to communicate in the same style as Michael O’Leary, you couldn’t be more wrong. His tone of voice works because it is entirely in keeping with Ryanair’s brand positioning: down to earth, brash, straight forward – what you see is what you get. It is the consistency of Mr O’Leary’s approach with Ryanair’s reputation that makes it so successful. If a spokesperson for First Direct or John Lewis were to follow suit, the incongruity between them and their brand would be reputationally damaging. The lesson? Spokespeople (and especially chief executives) should epitomise the reputation of the organisation whom they represent.
Ryanair is one of those businesses that you either love or hate. But one thing is for sure, its reputation is very clearly defined and as its most visible and active media spokesperson, CEO Michael O’Leary has played a vital role in delivering this.
Reputational risk assessment
Everyone understands that a major sponsorship deal presents a massive marketing opportunity.
INFOGRAPHIC: The Impact of Social Media on Breaking News
The Impact of Social Media on Reputation Management – A Media Perspective
Will your crisis management plan work under pressure?
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Zac Brown Band Postpone 2020 The Owl Tour Dates Due to Coronavirus Concerns
Editor's Note: Due to the continued spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), this tour is now canceled. Click here for full details.
After hitting the road in late February, Zac Brown Band have postponed the remainder of their 2020 The Owl Tour "out of caution and due to increasing public health concerns," the band says. They announced the news in a statement on Tuesday afternoon (March 10).
"This was an extremely difficult decision," ZBB write, "but the well-being of our fans is always our top priority."
Zac Brown Band have already played five The Owl Tour dates this year, after extending the trek from 2019. Their next scheduled show was set for March 12 in St. Louis, Mo.; however, that show and a dozen others, including an April 25 stop in Nashville, Tenn., will be rescheduled.
Per ZBB's statement, they'll be announcing reschedule dates "soon." The band is asking fans to keep their tickets for the shows, as they will be honored on the new dates.
Zac Brown Band's The Owl Tour postponement comes in light of the spread of COVID-19, commonly known as coronavirus. While both Old Dominion and Home Free have canceled international tour dates following the outbreak, ZBB are the first country group to cancel shows within the United States due to the spread of the virus.
Coronavirus has also wreaked havoc on major festivals: The Austin-based music and tech festival SXSW canceled its 2020 event in early March; it'll be the first time in 34 years that the festival does not take place. The Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival has been postponed until the summer of 2020, and the organizers of the Stagecoach and Coachella festivals are in talks to postpone both events, scheduled for April, until the fall.
According to the World Heath Organization (WHO), there have been over 113,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus worldwide. CNN reports at least 849 cases across the U.S. as of March 10; twenty-seven people in the U.S. have died.
Zac Brown Band are scheduled to begin their 2020 Roar With the Lions Tour on May 24 in Gilford, N.H. "At this time," the band says, those dates "will be performed as planned."
Coronavirus Pandemic: Which Tours and Festivals Are Canceled (and Not)?
Source: Zac Brown Band Postpone 2020 The Owl Tour Dates Due to Coronavirus Concerns
Filed Under: zac brown band
Categories: Concerts
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Bad ideas, Capitalism, Debates, Education, Government, Law
Victory for Students and Access to Knowledge in DU Copyright Case :ASEAK
Guest Statement by Association of Students for Equitable Access to Knowledge (ASEAK)
Victory for Students and Access to Knowledge in DU Copyright Case : Corporate Publishers Market ends at the gates of the University
In a rare and incredible order today, the Delhi High Court has dismissed the copyright infringement case filed by Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press and Taylor and Francis (Routledge) against Rameshwari Photocopy Shop in Delhi School of Economics and Delhi University. Justice R.S Endlaw in a 94 pages long judgment interpreted educational exception under section 52(1)(i) of the copyright act in broad enough manner to cover the acts of photocopying.
The publishers sought to claim damages to the tune of 60 lakh rupees from the shop citing infringement of copyright which the publishers claimed was happening through photocopying of parts of books published by them. However, the publishers themselves stated that this case, for them, was a test case where they wanted to introduce licensing systems across universities in India. These licensing systems intended to control the extent to which material could be photocopied and also direct a share of profit from these reproductions to the publishers. We, the Association of Students for Equitable Access to Knowledge (ASEAK) demanded to be made a defendant in this case as we believed that it is the rights of students to access reading material that was at stake in this case- “Association of Students for Equitable Access to Knowledge (ASEAK) filed IA No.3454/2013 for impleadment in the present suit and which was allowed vide order dated 1st March, 2013 and ASEAK impleaded as defendant No.3.” (from the judgment).
We, at ASEAK, had maintained from the beginning that the exceptions within the Indian Copyright Act, 1957, keep reproduction of material for the purposes of education outside the purview of copyright controls. Sure, publishers are running profit making enterprises but universities are not a market. Students pursuing higher education in India come from starkly different socio-economic backgrounds and further, most public universities work with a severe resource crunch. This is worsened by the high costs and very limited reach of academic books which the publishers anyway do not seem to be producing for students. They only make it to libraries and shelves of highly paid academics. Photocopying, then, is just a quick fix in a system which is unable to meet simple demands of students studying in universities. In this situation, to put restrictions and further try to control and profit from a system which in itself is ramshackle and can hardly be afforded by a majority of students is pure evil.
We so far had only appealed to the court to remove a stay order which had been put on Rameshwari Photocopy shop against photocopying from books of the said publishers. The court has gone far ahead and dismissed the publishers’ case. Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw observed in the judgment that,
“copyright, specially in literary works, is not an inevitable, divine, or natural right that confers on authors the absolute ownership of their creations. It is designed rather to stimulate activity and progress in the arts for the intellectual enrichment of the public. Copyright is intended to increase and not to impede the harvest of knowledge. It is intended to motivate the creative activity of authors and inventors in order to benefit the public”.
The judgment has also observed that there is no evidence of “actionable infringement” when it comes to photocopying by the university and its agents, and therefore there is no need for trial and the “suit is accordingly dismissed”.
As observed earlier, publishers and universities (with their limited resources) together create a situation where students have to rely on photocopying. Academic books are highly expensive and university libraries only keep a few copies. Justice Endlaw observed in this Judgment –
“If the facility of photocopying were to be not available, they would instead of sitting in the comforts of their respective homes and reading from the photocopies would be spending long hours in the library and making notes thereof. When modern technology is available for comfort, it would be unfair to say that the students should not avail thereof and continue to study as in ancient era. No law can be interpreted so as to result in any regression of the evolvement of the human being for the better”.
Once the case was filed in Delhi High Court, the profit mongering corporate publishing houses propagated many popular myths around this case:
Myth 1: Photocopying of reading material by students is illegal
Fact: The Indian Copyright Act 1957 provides an exception to infringement of copyrights in the context of educational use. Section 52 deals with those acts that will not be counted as infringement of copyright, and amongst others, Article (h) of the section states: “(h) the reproduction of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work- (i) by a teacher or a pupil in the course of instruction; or (ii) as part of the questions to be answered in an examination; or (iii) in answers to such questions” does not amount to an infringement of copyright. The law was thus framed in such a way as to recognize the primacy and importance of first ensuring access to education in a developing country like India, and only then attending to concerns of copyrights. Moreover, the notion of copyrights was introduced to further intellectual and creative activity and therefore to protect the interest of authors, not to serve the interest of publishers.
Myth 2: Photocopying of reading material by students is a theft of the author’s labour
Fact: No academic author would dream of growing rich on money gained from their book’s sales. They get paid pittance from the publishers in the name of royalties. Instead, most academic authors are employed by universities that provide the resources and environment for the production of academic texts, in addition to providing remuneration in the form of salaries for the intellectual labour they put in. Moreover, several well known authors have voiced their discontent against the publishers including Amartya Sen, Nivedita Menon and several others who even signed photocopies of their books and presented them to libraries in Delhi University thereby expressing the view that they consider photocopies of their work as valid educational material. This is a clear testimony that authors, especially academic authors, write to be read and not because they earn their living from royalties of their books. The dissemination of her ideas is the author’s prime concern. Finally, universities that employ academics are funded by the state and through students’ fees. So the remuneration for the intellectual labour that goes into producing books that are part of our courses comes from public funds.
Myth 3: If students were to buy the syllabus prescribed books from the publishers it would cost them “a couple of extra coffees per month”!
Fact: The cost of books prescribed per semester in most courses runs into several thousands. Therefore, the assumption that spending the extra bucks to purchase the books referred to in syllabi will amount to nothing more than “a couple of extra coffees or a Dominos pizza” is patently incorrect if not arrogant. More importantly, however, such views assume that all students come from an affluent background and are only being stingy in not paying up for the publishers products. This is a most ignorant remark that tries to simply erase the experience of the many who struggle against severe odds just to make it to the institutions of higher education in our country. Moreover, it is uncomfortably at peace with the idea that higher education may only be restricted to the rich. The proposal that universities should buy photocopying rights from publishers where they get a per page royalty simply disregards our law that already has exceptions for photocopying for educational purposes, an exception that prioritizes education over copyright.
Today is a moment where the struggle and conviction of students has asserted itself in a powerful way. We want to remind the publishers that their market ends at the gates of the university. The knowledge produced in public universities belongs to the public. When the world is moving towards open access to knowledge, trying to control it is simply redundant. It is in these universities where minds like Rohith Vemula come and read about Carl Sagan. And it is minds like his that continue to keep these spaces and possibilities in it alive!
A copy of the judgment can be found here
Sd/-
Apoorva Gautam
President, ASEAK
Usman Jawed Siddiqi
General Secretary, ASEAK
ASEAKAssociation of Students for Equitable Access to KnowledgeCambridge University PresscopyrightDelhi School of EconomicsDelhi UniversityIndian Copyright Act 195Justice R.S EndlawOxford University PressphotocopyingRameshwari Photocopy ShopRohith VemulaTaylor and Francis (Routledge)
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Real Groove Green 7-Inch Vinyl (Ltd Edition)
7 Inch €12.00
Real Groove is taken from the UK #1 album, ‘DISCO’. Collectively, Kylie’s singles have spent over 300 weeks in the Official UK Singles Chart Top 40 and she has sold more than 80 million albums worldwide. Kylie has multiple awards and accolades to her name, including 3 BRIT Awards, 2 MTV Music Awards and a Grammy. Her 2019 Glastonbury performance was the most-watched TV moment in the festival’s history. Kylie broke the record as the first female artist to earn a #1 UK album in five consecutive decades with the release of ‘DISCO’ in 2020.
A. Real Groove
B. Real Groove ft Dua Lipa (Studio 2054 Remix)
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Captain John James Stanaway 1813 – 1874
A History of an early settler in the Northern Wairoa, New Zealand
The Stanaway Family
Conflicting Accounts
John The Gentleman
John the Naval Rating
James the Whaler
John the Waterman Convict
Hokianga
Children & Grandchildren
Ripiro Beach: A Memoir of Life After Near Death
Sarah Ann Clark 1840 – 1908
Sarah Ann Clark was the eldest daughter and second of five children of Charles John Clark and Dinah Jowett. The Clark’s were close neighbours of John. Sarah was born on 19 April 1840 in Otley, Halifax, Yorkshire, England.
The Clark Family – Seated Charles and Dinah, L-R George, Hannah, William and Sarah
Charles, Dinah, William and Sarah Ann left Gravesend, 1st October, 1842 on the Barque “Indus” of 425 tons with 240 immigrant passengers plus some others arrived in Nelson on 6 February 1843. Charles Clark’s occupation listed as “Sawyer”.
The Clark’s made their way up from Nelson to eventually settle in the Kaipara, on the Waiora River. Their house was named Whakahara, and overlooked the river and was to the north of Tokatoka, the homestead no long remains.
The Clark Family home at Whakahara.
A full history of the Clark family has been documented elsewhere by the Clark family, but it is worth mentioning that all five children of Charles and Dinah had more than twelve children each!
Much of Sarah’s early life is not known but being the eldest daughter we could expect that her time would have been split between helping her mother, chores and possibly home schooling. There is a chance that Sarah and Mary Ann Stanaway were friends, there being only a number of similar aged European girls in the entire Kaipara area.
On 22 September 1858, aged 18, Sarah gave birth to a baby girl she later called Elizabeth Heath Clark. The father of the child was thought to be William Collier.
From Ada Clark’s family records chapter seven entitled “THE ARAPOHUE SETTLERS AND A SECRET SORROW” we have the following account of John James’s fourth wife;
“On June 9th 1861 at Otamatea, the Clark’s eldest daughter Sarah Ann, aged 21, married Captain John James Stanaway, aged 46. The service took place at the Wesleyan Chapel, Waigohe.
John James Stanaway was old enough to be Sarah’s father and was a man in middle age who had experienced a life of adventure. Born on 16th July 1813, possibly near the village of Stanaway, near Colchester, Essex, he was a seasoned sea-farer who had once been a naval rating.
Captain Stanaway was described as a kindly man, very fond of his young wife, but the difference in their ages made it impossible for them to be real companions. However, the marriage of Sarah Ann Clark must have been reasonably happy for she had seven children by him. The last child was born in 1874, the year of Stanaway’s death.”
The fact is John was even a few years older in age than Sarah’s father, however, he was well established and offered Sarah a secure future, there being not a large selection to choose from and the fact that, in those times, as she had already had a child there would have been a social cost, which a younger man may not have been able to live with.
As mentioned they do go on to have seven children between 1862 – 1874, which means of the 12 years they were married she was with child for almost half that time.
Sarah Ann with her daughter Sarah.
Sarah was only 34 years old when John passes away. She has seven children under the age of 13, one, Frederick, being a new born baby. A saving grace for Sarah was that her family were not far away and that John had a barman/store manager in place before his death.
The Daily Southern Cross reported on November 12, 1875, a case where a worker from the Te Kopuru mill stole a cheque to the value of £5 and proceeded to the Tokatoka Hotel and purchased liquor on a Sunday, the thief was tried and convicted, however to get the conviction Mr Saunders had admitted suppling the liquor on a Sunday.
The story continues in the New Zealand Herald 12 November 1875, as a result of the case of the stolen cheque Sarah Stanaway was charged with a breach of the Licensing Act.
“…by supplying a bottle of brandy to Frederick Whitehouse of Te Kopuru, on Sunday, the 17th day of October, 1875, he not being a lodger or traveller. Defendant (Sarah) pleaded “not guilty”.
This charge arose out of the recent case of robbery tried at this court. G E Saunders, on being sworn, said: I am manager of the Tokatoka Hotel. I supplied a man with a bottle of brandy on that day. The man was not a lodger: I supposed him to be a traveller, but I did not ask him. I knew him to come from Te Kopuru. I identify the man as the witness; I consider him a traveller, or I should not have supplied him with a bottle….
The Bench considered the case proved and ordered the defendant (Sarah) to pay a fine of £5, and costs.”
A case of unpaid goods was before the Courts in January 1876, the New Zealand Herald on January 21, 1876 reported;
Our Justices have not been allowed to be idle lately. They have been occupied for several days on a case that was finally disposed of at the Resident Magistrate’s Court on January 13, when William Brown, commonly known as Dr Brown, of Aratapu, was charged by Constable Madill, of Te Kopuru, with having, on the 3rd of December, 1575, unlawfully and knowingly obtained, by certain false pretences, of and from one G. E. Sanders, of Tokatoka, one bottle of brandy, one bottle of whiskey, two bottles of gin, one flask of brandy, and other drinks to the value of 3s 6d (all value for £1 16s), the property of S. A. Stanaway, with intent to cheat and defraud her of the same.
The prisoner pleaded not guilty. G. E. Saunders, manager Tokatoka Hotel, sworn. He stated that the prisoner came to the Tokatoka Hotel on December 3, 1875, and had sundry glasses of spirits. He took, some bottles of liquor away with him, handing a cheque from his pocket-book for £10 in payment. The cheque was passed through a firm in Auckland to be presented, at the bank, and returned dishonoured.
Police Constable Madill deposed that he apprehended the prisoner on the eve of the 22nd December last, charging him with the offence. After giving him the usual caution, he said he did not present the cheque to last witness. He also said that he always had some balance to his credit in the Bank of New South Wales. He said he got the goods from Saunders before giving him the cheque, and that he got no goods on the strength of the cheque.
I J. S. Eckford, a clerk in the Bank of New South Wales, deposed that he did not know the prisoner, and never saw him before. He remembered the cheque now before him being presented at the bank on December 15th, 1875, in the name of Wm. Brown. He had an account at the bank. The amount to his credit was one penny. It has been that amount since 1870, and never exceeded it since then. The cheque was dishonored. There was no other cheque presented on that account. The bank had never received any money from Fiji or W. Brown’s account. Witness could not swear that the cheque was presented on Brown’s account. A farthing constitutes a bank account.
Other witnesses were called, but their evidence was not material.
In defence the prisoner said that at the time he gave the cheque he had a balance at the Bank of New South Wales to his credit; that the said balance he believed to be now about £5, and that it had not exceeded that amount during the last five years. He also stated that he gave Saunders a coat as security for the goods supplied.
The Bench, after a short consideration, found the prisoner guilty, and sentenced him to six months imprisonment in Mount Eden Gaol. The prisoner was taken to Auckland next day by the constable, in the steamer “Lily”, to serve his term of imprisonment. The Justices who sat in this case were T. S. Webb and J. A. Walker, Esqs.
During 1876 a large public push was made to have the Bush Licences refused for the Kaihu, Mangawhare and Tokatoka Hotels. The New Zealand Herald on 8 June 1876, Page 3 reads as follows;
THE QUARTERLY LICENSING COURTS. KAIPARA. [Before Captain’s Symonds, E.M., and Messrs. Weir, Coates, and Bond, licensing Commissioners.]
The Quarterly Licensing Court for the district of Kaipara was opened at noon on Tuesday last, in the Helensville Court-house, before the above-named gentlemen. In our yesterday’s issue we published a general outline of the business telegraphed to us by our reporter, but as great interest is taken in the matter by the public, we give it today in detail.
Edward Downing, Joseph Raynes, and Sarah Ann Stanaway applied for renewals of licences for the Mangawhare, Kaihu, and Tokatoka Hotels respectively.
Mr. Brookfield appeared for Mr. Downing, Mr. Rees for Mr. Raynes, Mr. Armstrong for Mrs. Stanaway, and Mr. Hesketh for the Rev. Mr. Baker and Mr. Monk, the objectors to the licences being renewed.
Two petitions in reference to the hotels were handed in.
The one praying that the licences might be refused, signed by 273 males and 89 females, was published by us yesterday the other is as follows:-
To the Hon. the Licensing Commissioners for the district of Kaipara.
This petition humbly showeth that a meeting has been held and petitions have been prepared, having for their object the taking away of the whole of the licenses from the hotels carrying on business on the Wairoa River. We beg to submit to your notice the following facts, which we trust will tend to disabuse your minds from any misapprehension likely to be conveyed to you by such petitions :—
1st. That since the erection of the hotels, drunkenness has been on the decrease on the river and, moreover, the deaths by drowning is traceable in the remotest degree to strong drink have been less in proportion to the inhabitants than they were prior to their existence.
2nd. That a large sum of money has been expended in the erection and furnishing of adequate accommodation for the requirements of the district, and for the carrying on of the trade of licensed victuallers, in accordance with the requirements of the law and we consider that to take away the licenses from such places would be an injustice to those who have expended largo sums in their development, and, moreover, would prove an aggravation rather than diminish the evils.
3rd. That, in the event of the hotels being closed in this particular district, it would not have the effect set forth in the counter-petition, inasmuch as liquor would still be .obtainable in surrounding districts and we further aver that it would have the effect of encouraging illicit distillation and the illegally vending of the same.
4th. That all present publicans are under a penalty of £20 if they supply drink to an intoxicated person, and should such person meet with death under such circumstances, they are held responsible by law, and their licences are liable to be cancelled for such offence, whereas, should drink be supplied from other districts in wholesale quantities, and accidents occur, no one can be held responsible, and consequently less discretion would be exercised in its sale.
5th. That the taking away of the licences would be the means of annihilating vested interests, and the means of livelihood of a portion of law-abiding and enterprising subjects.
6th. That only one conviction has occurred against any publican, extending over a period of many years.
Under these circumstances your petitioners pray that the licences be renewed, and the existing hotelkeepers court the fullest investigation into all cases affecting their fitness and capability, and also desire that the strictest supervision be exercised over them by the representatives. And your petitioners will ever pray.”
[Signed by 195 adults.]
Mr. Rees pointed out that the copies of the first petition sent to the applicants were not true copies, inasmuch as it was prayed that the license was applied for the Tokatoka Hotel by Drummond, or Mrs. Sanders, whereas, in the original document, to which the names had been signed, there was no mention made of these persons, Mrs. Stanaway being set down as the applicant. Thinking they were wrong, the objecting parties, in making copies of the petition to serve upon the applicants, had taken the liberty of altering them, a proceeding that amounted to perjury. It was simply disgraceful. The fact was that they had learnt that Drummond was likely to apply for a transfer of the licence of the Tokatoka Hotel to himself, and had accordingly altered the petition. It had been declared before Mr. Dargaville, though not one of the petitioners had signed against Mrs. Sanders.
Mr Brookfield made the following objections to the petition being received:—
1st. That the copies of the petition served upon the applicants were not true copies of the original document
2nd. That they were not filed with the Clerk of the Court in due time-vix., seven days before he on which the Court was to sit
3rd. That no copies of the memorial had been served on the applicants, those they had received not being copies according to the Act.
4th. That the memorial was not drawn up in the form required by the Act, no description being given of the premises of the applicants, so as to identify them.
5th. That no notice of objection, or grounds thereof, had been given.
As a further objection, Mr. Armstrong said that the original memorial did not contain Mrs. Sanders’ name as being one of the persons objected to.
Mr. Rees contended that Mr. Hesketh could not appear on behalf of the Rev. Mr. Baker and Mr. Monk, as they had not given seven days’ notice, in accordance with the Act, that they were objectors.
Mr. Hesketh rose to answer the objections. He said that if the applicants had not received notice of the objections from the Clerk of the Court (Mr. Clendon), they had through other channels. If the terms of the Act in that respect had not been strictly complied with, he thought that the fact of their having received notice, and the Court having accepted it, was sufficient for all purposes. With respect to the objection made to the copies as containing the name of Mrs. Sanders, he would leave it in the hands of the Bench to decide whether they were copies of the original or not. In reference to the objection as to no notice being given by the clerk, all he had to say was, that if the clerk had not given notice, other parties had. As to the fourth objection, he submitted that the description given of the applicants’ premises,—”house or houses situated at Kaihu, Mangawhare, and Tokatoka, within the said district”—was sufficient to identify them, as there was not more than the one house at each of the places stated neither did he consider the fifth objection fatal. It virtually amounted to this If the Bench supported it, it would bind itself not to hear any objections which might be made to the granting or renewing of licences if they were not filed in due conformity to the provisions of the Act, and unless sufficient grounds were given for making them. Full power was given the Bench, under the 6th and 31st sections of the Act, to hear any evidence and take into consideration any objections they may think proper in respect to the case before them.
Mr. Rees considered that Mr. Hesketh’s arguments simply came to this: If the objections could be made in a rough-and-ready way, the law needn’t be adhered to in order to attain the end in view. He quoted from, the Licensing Act, 1873, to show that the applicants for renewals of licences need not have appeared before the Court unless notice of opposition had been there filed and served on them by the Clerk of the Court. But no notice had been given them. So much noise, however, had been made in the newspapers about the intention to oppose the granting of the renewals of the licences, that the applicants had attended, and were then present. After some more discussion, the Bench decided that the memorial was informal and illegal, and, therefore, could not receive it.
Mr. Dargaville said that, as one of those who were instrumental in having the memorial drawn up, and in obtaining signatures to it, he desired to state that they were aware that the terms were not being complied with. The Act could not be conformed to, because, after the memorial was drawn up, they had to obtain signatures to it. They simply put in the petition for what it was worth, as showing the wishes of the residents.
Mr. Hesketh urged that he might be allowed to offer evidence as to the evils brought upon the district by the hotels. In doing so he said that, if the Commissioners granted the licences, they would be responsible for any accident that might accrue.
Mr. Rees said that if evidence was to be heard, it should be first decided that the objectors would have to pay the necessary costs, as not having complied with the terms of the Act. No one could accuse him of under-valuing the lives of the residents, but it should be distinctly understood beforehand that if evidence was to be taken, the applicants were not to be saddled with the contingent costs.
Mr. Dargaville said that as regards the costs, he would take all responsibility upon his own shoulders.
Mr. Hesketh said that he was prepared to prove that during the last four years, eighteen persons suffering from the effects of strong drink had been drowned in the Wairoa River. Eight of these persons had been drowned within the past twelve mouths. Therefore, it would appear that in proportion to the number of the population, the deaths were increasing. If the houses were closed, he was prepared to prove that there was sufficient accommodation for travellers in the district.
Captain Symonds: We think it would be better to adjourn the hearing for fourteen days, in order that the necessary forms of law should be complied with.
Mr. Brookfield: Then the question of costs crops up.
Mr. Hesketh said if the Bench, considered the objection serious enough to cause the Court to be adjourned, it had no power or right to order the objectors to pay the necessary costs.
A lengthy discussion ensued, eventually terminating by the Court being adjourned for half an hour.
On resuming, the Bench stated that it had decided to adjourn the Court for fourteen days, in order to allow Mr. Hesketh to bring forward any evidence he might have. Each party was to pay its own costs.
The following renewals of licences were then granted without opposition :—Mangawai Hotel, Mangawai; White Horse Hotel, Kumeu (designation now changed to Railway Hotel); Railway Terminus Hotel, Harkins’ Point; Riverhead Hotel, Riverhead and Railway Hotel, Waimauku. The packet licence for the steamer Minnie Casey was also renewed.
The evidence which it is proposed to advance as grounds for refusing the applications made for renewals of licences for the Kaihu, Mangawhare, and Tokatoka Hotels will go to support following points:-
1. That the above houses are principally frequented by bushmen, mill-hands, and gum-diggers, who periodically attend these hotels for the purpose of drinking, and who, after having obtained such drink, show little or no regard for their personal safety, and yet they are obliged to return to their homes by boats upon the Northern Wairoa river.
2. That during the last 4 years a large number of the class above-named have lost their lives by drowning in the said river while suffering from intoxication and the effects of drinking.
3. That there is no reasonable doubt that the drink obtained by the said deceased persons was obtained at the said hotels, or some or one of them.
4. That the sale of intoxicating liquors at the above houses, situated as they are so near the bank of the said river, cannot be carried on even under ordinary careful restrictions without human life being sacrificed, inasmuch as the persons frequenting said hotels are obliged to approach and leave the same by boat’s on the river.
5. That all necessary and suitable accommodation will be provided in the district for travellers and others, when the hotels; as such, shall have been closed.
6. That apart from the actual loss of life above-mentioned, great distress and pecuniary loss have been caused to the families of those whose lives have been sacrificed.
7. That considerable efforts have had to be made, from time to time, by residents in the district and others, to maintain and provide for the widows and orphans of those who have been drowned, by reason of the effects of drink, on the said river.
8. That apart from the private efforts or the’ residents, the last instance of drowning upon the said river, on which occasion three lives were lost through the effect of drink necessitated au appeal to the Government of the province for aid, and involved that Government in a liability of £20 per annum for the support of two infants alone.
From this article it appears from when the petition was started Sarah was still a widow, during the collection of signatures she marries Edward Sanders and then it appears she looks as though she intends to sell the business to a Mr Drummond. Perhaps with the trouble she has been having she has decided to get out of the Hotel business.
The Licensing Court resumed a few weeks later – more argument was put before the court Mr Dargaville who opposed the Licenses had it pointed out to him that he infact was the first to establish a Hotel in the district, further he was opposing the renewal of the licence for the Mangawhare Hotel while making application for the renewal of the licences for his own house, the Kaihu. It was suggest there was some hidden motive for Mr Dargaville’s actions.
The New Zealand Herald dated 21 June 1876 reads as follows;
Mr. Armstrong said that under the Provincial Act, the Court would have to be assured that there was sufficient accommodation in a district for travellers before they could close any house that existed in it.
There was no such accommodation at Tokatoka, nor in any of the other districts beyond that contained in the hotels. If the Court decided not to grant the licences, the evil would not be lessened, for they had granted packet licence to the steamer, where those desirous might obtain any amount of liquor.
The long and short of it was that the Court decided to grant the renewals of the licences.
From Ada Clark’s family records chapter ten entitled “EDUCATION, LAND MONKEYS AND SILKWORMS” we have the following account of the Northern Wairoa River;
Dorice Storey (nee Clark), another grand-daughter always remembered visiting her Aunt Sarah Ann at Tokatoka. This Aunt also had a pet monkey. The wretched creature bit her!
On April 1st 1876, Sarah Ann (Clark) Stanaway, a widow of not quite two years married for a second time, a bachelor George Edward Sanders (sometimes spelt Saunders). This incredible woman aged thirty-five, had seven children from her first marriage – 3 sons and 4 daughters – and went on to bear seven more children from her second marriage, also 3 sons and 4 daughters. George Edward Sanders later managed the Tokatoka Hotel.”
George Sanders was a settler in Tokatoka, and worked as the barman and store manager at the Tokatoka Hotel and was originally employed by John. He also appears as a witness on John’s Will in the amendment C section.
Above Left & Right: Sarah and Edward Sanders about 1876 – this could be their wedding portraits.
Sarah in old age.
Sarah Ann Sanders grave, Tokatoka Cemetery.
Sarah’s life after running the Tokatoka Hotel is largely unknown. No doubt she had her hands full with her full house of 14 children. By 1892 Sarah and George have sold the Tokatoka Hotel and perhaps they move to a farm they had purchased and leased to two of their sons – Charles Stanaway and George Sanders jr. in Raupo.
Sarah died on October 20, 1908 from influenza and heart disease in Dargaville and was buried at the Tokatoka Cemetery, Kaipara – her grave is located between her second husband George Sanders and her youngest son, Frederick Stanaway.
From Early Northern Wairoa by John Stallworthy on page 171 we read;
Mrs George Sanders was one of the best known and widely respected of the old settlers of the Tokatoka district. She arrived in the northern Wairoa when a girl, with her father, Mr. Charles Clark, in 1853, and resided first at Omana. In 1861, she was married by Rev. William Gittos to Captain Stanaway, of Tokatoka. By this marriage she had three sons and four daughters. In 1876, she was married to Mr. G. E. Sanders, also of Tokatoka, and the issue was three sons and four daughters. She died at Tokatoka, in 1908, leaving forty grandchildren and six great grandchildren. She was buried at the Tokatoka cemetery.
A copy of Sarah’s will has been uncovered (thank you Colleen Stanaway).
Sarah’s Will – Colleen Stanaway Collection.
5 thoughts on “Sarah Ann Clark 1840 – 1908”
j k July 24, 2015 at 7:58 PM
Thank you so much for this information about my great great great grand mother.
gregorypaulskinner Post author July 24, 2015 at 8:39 PM
Thanks JK for your post – if there is any more information you may have on her or your branch please send a post
Neil Bowdler July 18, 2016 at 5:50 PM
Many thanks for a very valuable and interesting blog. My 2x gr grandmother was Hannah Clark, sister to Sarah.
Michael stanaway October 19, 2016 at 3:03 AM
Very cool! My grandad was Charles stanaway
JonL October 19, 2016 at 5:11 PM
My Grandmother was the aforementioned Dorice Storey (Clark). You’re dong a great job Paul.
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French Montana drops music video for “Hot Boy Bling” featuring Lil Durk and Jack Harlow – Music News
Written by luck on January 12, 2021
Courtesy of Montana Entertainment/EMPIREFrench Montana delivers a new music video for “Hot Boy Bling” featuring 2020 breakout stars Lil Durk and Jack Harlow.
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Home / News & Events / Employer Liability for Racial Profiling: Important Reminders from the HRTO
Employer Liability for Racial Profiling: Important Reminders from the HRTO
Philip Graham, CIPP/C
In the recent decision of Graham v. Enterprise Rent A Car Canada Company representing Enterprise, Alamo, and National Car Rental, the applicant alleged that the respondents discriminated against her on the basis of her race, colour, place of origin, and disability in the area of goods, services and facilities contrary to the “Code”.
The applicant pre-booked online a car rental with the respondents. The respondents’ policy, as posted online and in its rental agreement, was that renters were required at pickup to produce a credit card and a driver’s license. When the applicant attended at the rental counter she was asked for and produced her credit card and driver’s license to the agent. As requested she also provided her telephone number but declined to provide an email address and explained that she did not wish to receive promotional emails.
The agent also asked for a second piece of photo identification and the applicant advised that she only had a health card and handed it to him. The agent glanced at the health card and handed it back saying it was not a valid form of photo identification. Another agent then chimed in and said that they have had a lot of car thefts recently which was why they needed the additional photo identification. However, the agent attending to the applicant threw his hands in the air and said there was no need to explain anything to her and then walked away to speak with the manager, whom he had called. The applicant overheard the agent tell the manager not to rent the vehicle to her.
The applicant began to feel that she was being racially profiled, especially because there were two Caucasian gentlemen with suitcases that were not asked for additional photo identification and were able to rent a car. While the agent was speaking with the manager, the applicant called customer service to make a complaint. Following her call, the manager approached the applicant. The applicant asked the manager if he would be renting her the car and he said “no”. The tribunal found that the manager made his decision based on the agent’s recommendation and without speaking to the applicant first.
The applicant grew frustrated due to the employees’ treatment of her and the fact that she was now running late, and so she began raising her voice – the manager testified that he did not feel threatened by her conduct. The respondents claimed that the manager did not rent the vehicle to applicant because of her behaviour and her inability to provide a second piece of photo identification. The tribunal did not accept this given all of the evidence.
Still needing a car, the applicant left and went to another location (same company) and walked in without a reservation, presented the same driver’s license and credit card she had used earlier and was rented a more expensive vehicle without the need for additional photo identification.
The tribunal found that the applicant’s race and colour were factors in the employees’ requirement that she provide additional photo identification, as there was no blanket requirement for additional photo identification at that location. The respondents’ rental agreement indicated the policy requirements for all renters include a driver’s license and credit card. While provisions were provided for foreign nationals to provide a passport or international driver’s license, that was not applicable to the applicant because she had provided an Ontario driver’s license and a MasterCard.
The tribunal also found that if in fact a second piece of photo identification was required, “the manager had the discretion to accept the health card but failed to do so, focusing on the applicant’s anger at the time which was likely based on racial stereotypes of the “angry Black person.” The tribunal went on to express concern “whether if this had been a White person who was upset by the additional requirement, it would have resulted in the same decision by the manager, who was called over to diffuse the situation.” The tribunal found that in the circumstances, it was reasonable for a customer in a busy airport setting to become angry, but the manager could have accepted the health card identification or directed the applicant to another location that required single photo identification.
In carrying out its analysis, the tribunal gave due consideration to the “well recognized principles regarding subtle forms of anti-Black racism and its manifestations articulated in Sinclair v. London (City) […] that a Black person can be treated adversely by a service-provider because of a conscious or an unconscious stereotype of Black people being criminals.” The tribunal has also recognized, as set out in Sinclair, that discrimination is often subtle and may be difficult to prove.
In conclusion the tribunal noted that it understood:
[…] that the application of racial stereotypes includes the heightened scrutiny of Black people as being prone to violence and criminal behaviour […] In Sinclair, it was noted that such heightened scrutiny may involve an over-reaction to the behaviour of Black people when they are involved in situations that pose challenges to those in authority and this too, can form part of the differential treatment they experience. While the scrutiny itself may be unintentional, the impact of being more highly scrutinized must be examined from the perspective of the racialized person and not from the perspective of those who do not experience it. In this case, the applicant was subject to heightened scrutiny by the [employees] as a Black woman, and even though she had presented the additional photo ID as requested, she was still refused the rental because she was presenting as an angry Black person who was challenging the authority of the manager.
The respondents was ordered, among other things, to pay the applicant monetary compensation for injury to dignity feelings and self-worth; and to provide its managers and agents at the airport location with human rights Code related training.
This case is a reminder of the role conscious and unconscious bias can and does play in Canadian society and within our workplaces. It is also a reminder that employers are liable for the actions taken by their employees in the course of performing their duties. Accordingly, employers should give heed to the importance of establishing and implementing robust workplace discrimination policies and, at least, annual trainings with respect to the role of conscious and unconscious bias in all its forms, and issues of systemic discrimination in the workplace and in the performance of work duties. Lastly, it is advisable to have a comprehensive annual review of your workplace policies and training materials to ensure legal compliance and best practices are in place.
Graham v. Enterprise Rent A Car Canada Company representing Enterprise, Alamo, and National Car Rental, 2020 HRTO 424 (CanLII)
*Philip Graham practices Employment Law, Litigation and Privacy and Compliance, subscribe to the Privacy Law blog here.
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On The Rocks – Review
By admin / November 5, 2020
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Sofia Coppola (Somewhere, The Bling Ring, The Beguiled) gave birth to her most “friendly” work through On the Rocks, a comedy-drama that, although it often touches on themes such as family, marriage, to gender roles, broadly talks about happiness. . That the form of happiness is different for each individual. That the source of one’s happiness can change over the course of life. That happiness is not an absolute black-and-white thing, in which to feel it, one need not (always) imitate the paths taken by others. Top Movie Site
Needless to say, we know Laura (Rashida Jones) is unhappy. His days were filled with the routine of taking his two daughters to school and courses, which became increasingly repetitive and tiring. Never mind finishing her latest book, Laura didn’t have time to take care of herself. The white, punched T-shirt she wore in one of the scenes, confirmed that. Details that prove that apart from the aesthetic that always appears in his work, his background in fashion helps Coppola to lay the foundation of his character through the clothes they wear.
Meanwhile, Laura’s husband, Dean (Marlon Wayans), is a successful young businessman. Because of his success, Dean was rarely at home, often traveling out of town and abroad, for the sake of the never ending meetings. Of course Laura was happy, but on the other hand, she began to feel abandoned. Once, at a party celebrating Dean’s company success, Laura stood alone, abandoned by her husband in a crowd of strangers. That’s where Laura meets Fiona (Jessica Henwick), a beautiful young girl who is Dean’s co-worker, as well as a figure who Laura suspects to be an affair with her husband.
Is it true that Dean was having an affair? Is the bag containing Fiona’s toiletries that Laura accidentally found in Dean’s suitcase sufficient evidence? Enter Felix (Bill Murray), Laura’s father, who even though he is old, continues his adventure as a love player. According to Felix, all men are the same: putting sex first, making it difficult to commit. Felix also offers his help to stalk Dean, to expose his affair. Best Movie
From there Coppola builds his most playful film, through the investigation of the two main characters, which involves driving a red Alfa Romeo in the middle of a busy New York street, to an impromptu trip to Mexico. Thanks to his penchant for traveling all over the world, plus the wealth of selling art goods, it’s as if everyone knows Felix, which makes it easy for him to gather information.
Murray is perfectly central to the Coppola script, which is composed of intriguing chatter full of sexist theory from the mouth of Felix, who repeatedly states that from time immemorial, the role of women is servants of male passions. But Murray’s charisma, which easily hypnotizes women, makes viewers less likely to hate him. Meanwhile, Rashida Jones is the polar opposite, becoming a figure full of insurances, like the women around Felix, lulled, then believe the words “reassuring” his father.
Maybe like me, you expected On the Rocks to immediately confront Felix’s sexism. In fact, not. Sofia Coppola is smarter than that. He let Felix joke around, while Laura tossed between worries. It was only in the final half, Coppola’s rebuttal. Not with anger or antagonization. All of that is unnecessary, because Coppola argued while bringing concrete evidence, which shows how men like Felix can only see things from one point of view. Movie Review
But no hatred. On the Rocks is a hopeful perspective on love, which does not close our eyes to the reality related to male sexism. The orientation is happiness. First we met Felix, he asked his daughter to whistle. Laura couldn’t. Precisely since having children. Whistling is synonymous with happiness, or when someone is enjoying something (read: life). Laura has had a hard time enjoying life since starting a family. In the end, he didn’t need to throw everything away to get that happiness again. Because as Felix said in one of the sweetest (even though simple) moments of the film, everyone has their own adventure.
Rebecca- Review
Rebecca (2020) based on the novel by Daphne du Maurier of the same name released in 1938. This synopsis of the film, starring Lily James and Armie Hammer, tells the story of a husband and wife who have just married. After living together, the woman leads an uncomfortable life because her husband is still trying to escape from the shadow of his first wife who died.
Rebecca opened in a Monte Carlo setting when the young female character played by Lily James was still working as an assistant to a wealthy woman. In that city, he also meets Maxim de Winter (Armie Hammer), a wealthy widower who owns a large land called Manderley. Top Movie Site
The two of them are getting closer every day and finally decided to continue their relationship to the level of marriage. The woman who is now known as Mrs. de Winter also lives with her husband in a large residence in the Manderley area. However, conflicts began to emerge when he moved into the residence and made the life of the woman never calm.
The reason is, Mrs. de Winter is “haunted” by the memory of Rebecca as Maxim’s ex-wife who has not yet disappeared from her husband’s memory. The condition was exacerbated by the presence of Mrs. Danvers (Kristen Scott Thomas), the manager of the Manderley residence who often evoked memories from Rebecca.
The storyline will also be very interesting if you have never read the original novel or the film version of Rebecca (1940), directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Moreover, behind the plot we are presented with a number of plot twists that are quite surprising.
However, for those of you who have seen the Rebecca version in the previous adaptation, this Netflix original film will be less memorable. The thing is, the storyline is exactly the same, so the plot twist in it is not surprising because it was guessed. Moreover, Rebecca who was directed by Ben Wheatley was “haunted” by the version of Alfred Hitchcock who won “Best Picture” at the Oscars.
So, as a whole, the storyline in this remake film will be enjoyed by those who have never watched the Alfred Hitchcock version at all. However, if you just want to compare the two versions, there’s nothing wrong with watching this film because there are a number of other factors that make you feel at home watching.
As a Netflix original, there should be no doubt about the visual aspect of Rebecca’s film. You will be presented with a number of stunning visuals of the scene, especially when most of the setting is located in Manderley. Your eyes will be spoiled by the panoramic views of the hills and beaches which are very beautiful and ‘soothing’.
One of the factors that make you feel at home when watching Rebecca’s film is the presence of actors with captivating visuals and their acting skills that steal the attention. Armie Hammer and Lily James successfully present husband-wife chemistry in this one film. The evolution of James’ character from an innocent girl to a very determined woman throughout the film also deserves appreciation.
In addition, there is one actor whose acting really stole the show in this film, namely Kristen Scott Thomas who plays Mrs. Danvers. Thanks to Thomas’s brilliant acting, you may also be resentful of Mrs Danvers’ bad attitude towards Mrs de Winter. Thomas is really able to play the emotions of the audience through his acting skills in this film.
Broadly speaking, Rebecca will be suitable to watch for those of you who like thriller-psychological genre films with elements of romance in them. If you are interested, this film can be watched streaming on Netflix starting October 21, 2020.
The Trial of the Chicago 7 – Review
By admin / October 29, 2020
The Trial of the Chicago 7, which marks Aaron Sorkin’s second time as director after Molly’s Game (2017), addresses the above issues, giving birth to parallels between the events of 1968 when riots broke out at the Democratic National Convention and the present. The best period films are not limited to a journey through the past, they also make the audience compare with current conditions, thus creating the question, “How far have we gone?” Top Movie Site
The opening sequence is used to introduce the protagonists one by one, where in just a few short sentences, Sorkin manages to describe the ideology carried by each figure. The editing made it seem as if they were finishing each other’s sentences, as if implying that later these eight people would bump into each other. To be precise, they were forced to intersect in a long series of trials that lasted for about a year.
Eight people were arrested on charges of conspiracy after riots broke out amid protests against the United States’ decision to increase the number of soldiers sent to Vietnam. They are: Abbie Hoffman (Sacha Baron Cohen) and Jerry Rubin (Jeremy Strong) as frontman of Yippies (Youth International Party); David Dellinger (John Carroll Lynch) for leading the pacifist movement against violence; Tom Hayden (Eddie Redmayne) and Rennie Davis (Alex Sharp) as activators of the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam aka the Mobe; Bobby Seale (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) the leader of the Black Panther Party; and two activists, John Froines (Daniel Flaherty) and Lee Weiner (Noah Robbins).
For about 130 minutes, we were invited to attend what Abbie called a “political trial”. Their lawyer, William Kunstler (Mark Rylance) initially disagreed with the title. But over time, it became difficult for both us and Kunstler to disagree with Abbie, after the authorities did everything they could to criminalize the Chicago Eight (only became the Chicago Seven after the trial for Bobby Seale was split). Best Movie
Richard Schultz (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) as the prosecutor is already an equal opponent. But as if that wasn’t enough, Judge Julius Hoffman (Frank Langella) continues to commit ridiculous injustices. Not to mention the various other cheats, including when sending a threatening letter to the family of one of the judges using the name Black Panther Party as an attempt to slander.
Sorkin actually uses these injustices as a medium to unite eight people with different ideologies (differences that often lead to disputes, especially between Abbie and Tom). The more the opposing side releases its weapon, the more aware the protagonists, that despite their ideological differences, they have the same enemy. Without needing to give a lecture, Sorkin also succeeded in making the audience aware that the real enemy was the power holders who rejected the rights of minorities, as well as ranks of thugs in uniform who were brutalizing the people they should serve and protect.
The Trial of the Chicago 7 also marks Sorkin’s efforts to produce works that are friendlier to audiences outside of his fans. The sentences are still rich, sharp, tickling occasionally, and of course memorable. “Martin’s dead. Bobby’s dead. Jesus is dead. They tried it peacefully. We’re going to try something else, ”said Bobby. Sounds odd, but provokes reflection. But in contrast to Sorkin’s habits so far, the delivery of these sentences was not as fast as an automatic rifle shell. The lay audience will have no trouble keeping up. Sorkin also offered crowd pleasing conclusions, which made me imagine what this film would be like, if the initial plan in 2007 to give the director position to Steven Spielberg was carried out.
Regarding directing, Sorkin is more mature. The best sequence is the first riot, when demonstrators march towards the police station to free Tom. The tempo increases gradually, the dynamic editing alternates showing two contradictory statements from each side, a combination of recreated scenes and original footage, plus adrenaline-pumping music by Daniel Pemberton (Steve Jobs, Spider-Man: Into the Spdier-Verse) Sorkin has perfected his ability to build momentum so powerful to drive the emotions of the audience.
No less shining ranks of players. As usual, Redmayne is solid as a fragile man who tries to be strong. A man who spoke words of conviction with complete disbelief. A man who seemed like he could collapse at any time but refused to stop halfway. Langella is an easy-to-hate antagonist, while Michael Keaton has a glorified cameo that leaves an impression.
But Sacha Baron Cohen is the best. Abbie is an activist, hippie, and comic. The combination that makes him at first glance just an unreliable silly man, but the more sharp and witty sarcasm escapes his mouth, the more admirable his figure, which helps explain how, under pressure from the authorities, democracy refused to retreat in 1968. Movie Review
Clouds – Review
In one of the most touching scenes in Clouds, after (accidentally) confessing his love for his best friend, Zach Sobiech (Fin Argus), who has terminal cancer, Sammy (Sabrina Carpenter) admits that he often wanders about the future, where they are will go to college, live their own lives, both have boyfriends, but maybe, one day, will meet again and realize that they both love each other. I was made to imagine scenarios about that future imagination. Top Movie Site
The same thing, but in a different context, also happened to Zach’s relationship with his lover, Amy (Madison Iseman). What was life like for Amy after Zach died? Surely he will have another lover, maybe even get married. How would Amy feel, if in the midst of a relationship with the new partner, she thought of Zach? Was the real Amy thinking the same thing as me when accompanying Zach through his last days?
Clouds is a film that makes me care so much about the characters, to imagine their lives outside of the film. The fact that this is based on a true story makes the above images add to the emotional impact. Based on the memoir Fly a Little Higher: How God Answered a Mom’s Small Prayer in a Big Way by Zach’s mother, Laura Sobiech (played by Neve Campbell in this film), the film chronicles Zach’s struggle against terminal cancer, resulting in a phenomenal song titled Clouds, which is able to perch at position 26 on the Billboard Hot 11 chart, even the video clip was viral and watched 15 million times on Youtube.
Zach is relentless, refusing to let cancer keep him from living a happy life. He likes to make dark jokes about his condition. Every morning he threw up in the bathroom, then dressed as neatly as possible, practicing a smile in the mirror, before appearing to his family, as if nothing had happened. Best Movie
Since childhood, Zach is friendly with Sammy, and as written in the opening paragraph, Sammy secretly likes Zach. Love is unrequited, because Zach fell in love with Amy, who later became his lover. Luckily there is no conflict love triangle. Even Sammy played a role in uniting Zach and Amy. The two teenage girls eventually became close friends. Thanks to that, Clouds becomes even more meaningful, telling a story in which death is not just a matter of separation, it can also unite.
Clouds is positive, but it doesn’t overlook the vulnerability of the protagonist. After all, knowing that one’s own death is approaching will certainly fuel fear and worry. “What’s the point of writing a college essay if I’m never going to college ?!”, says Zach. The narrative used as the opening and closing of the film helps us understand the turmoil of their hearts: “Most teenagers out there feel like they’re invincible. Not the Superman kind of invincible. The kind of invincible that tricks you into thinking tomorrow might be a better day to start chasing your dreams ”. At an age where he feels at the top of the world, Zach must face the end.
It’s hard to hold back the emotions for 121 minutes of its duration, when Clouds takes turns presenting sweet moments (Zach asks Amy to be his partner for the prom at a Jason Mraz concert, the process of writing lyrics when Zach and Sammy take turns writing sentences in a notebook), touching (concert at Metro when the entire audience sang Clouds together), and heartbreaking (the doctor told the Zach family that he was only a few days old).
The duration is indeed a bit too long, even though the plot lasts too long in one phase, before discovering new dynamics when Zach and Sammy (as duo A Firm Handshake) get a recording contract. The formula is very legible, namely a collection of moments of angling anguish, which luckily is executed elegantly with the right emotional dose. Similar to Zach’s lyrics, the script written by Kara Holden contains sentences that can convey beauty through simplicity, without needing to sound poetic. Meanwhile, Justin Baldoni (Five Feet Apart) directing never exaggerates the dramatization.
The ranks of players are no less great. Both the trio of young performers (Fin Argus, Sabrina Carpenter, Madison Iseman) and seniors (Neve Campbell and Tom Everett Scott) conveyed their feelings convincingly, making it easier for the audience to laugh, fall in love, and cry with them. Movie Review
Let Me In – Review
How many vampire-themed films have you watched? Even though using the same theme, each director has his own way of presenting a story about a vampire and his life. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Van Helsing, Blade, Underworld, I Am Legend, and Twilight Saga are some examples of vampire-themed films that are quite successful in the market. Carrying a “very Hollywood” concept, these films have always managed to perch on the box office board. Top Movie Site
In 2010, in addition to the famous Twilight Saga, there was another vampire film that unfortunately did not get much attention because of its packaging that was different from Hollywood films in general. The film by Matt Reeves is titled Let Me In, which is an adaptation of the Swedish film Let the Right One In (2008). The Swedish version of the film is actually an adaptation of a novel of the same name by John Ajvide Lindqvist.
This film is about the friendship of two children, Owen (Kodi Smith-McPhee) and Abby (Chloe Grace Moretz). Their friendship is very unique because Abby is a vampire. Owen, who had social difficulties at school because he was always teased by his older friends, seemed to have a personal “guard” who would always watch over him, wherever Owen was. Best Movie
This film, which is set in the 1980s, is packaged in a very different style. Even though it had been adapted before, Matt Reeves chose to reconstruct the film based on the novel version. This film does not take the point of view of how a vampire survives, but rather the essence of the friendship that exists between Abby and Owen. In this film, I see the other side of a vampire who is gloomy, sad, and “forced” to find victims just to survive. Abby’s only happiness and hope is Owen, the only person in the world who knows her situation and has vowed to be with Abby forever.
For some people who are used to watching vampire movies that are “very Hollywood”, this film may feel boring. The plot is very slow and tends to be filled with inner conflicts and romance. However, the essence of friendship and affection is very thick here, making us feel a little emotion and empathy for the characters in them.
Matt Reeves probably never chased box office milestones while working on this film. This can be seen from the film’s revenue which is only around US $ 21 million, compared to the initial budget of US $ 20 million. However, Reeves can be proud that this film has received a fairly good appreciation among film figures, making him nominated in 11 categories in eight award events. Many people give thumbs up for the excellent acting of Chloe and Kodi, which is considered one of the best acts. Movie Review
The Goldfinch – Synopsis
The story in the best-selling American novel entitled The Goldfinch by Donna Tart was appointed to the big screen with the same title. The film The Goldfinch was directed by John Crowley and screenwriter Peter Straughan. The main character, Theodore Decker, is played by talented young actors Ansel Elgort and Oakes Fegley as teenage Theodore.
Apart from Ansel and Oakes, there were also several supporting players such as Nicole Kidman, Sarah Paulson and Luke Wilson. The Goldfinch tells the sad story of a 13-year-old New York teenager named Theodore Decker who lost his mother. The sad story of Theodore, or as he is called Theo (Oakes Fegley), began when he and his mother were visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Top Movie Site
Theo and his mother spent time enjoying some of the paintings displayed there. Mrs. Theo (Hailey Wist) points to one of the bird paintings by the name The Goldfinch and how much she admires this work of art. Not long after, a bomb exploded at the museum, making Theo lose his mother who was one of his victims. Theo survived, but losing his mother to Theo was losing hope for the future.
Meanwhile Theo’s father is a drunk who doesn’t care about his son. Theo also refused to live in an orphanage and chose to live temporarily with his friend’s family, the Barbour family.Best Movie
Mrs. Barbour (Nicole Kidman) is very attentive and intends to adopt Theo and is the first to introduce Theo to antiques. The tranquility of Theo’s life with the Barbour family is disturbed when his father forces Theo to move to Las Vegas. Theo’s move to Las Vegas introduced him to the dark side of the teen world.
Theo grows up (Ansel Elgort), but never gets over the loss of his mother. On the other hand, there is one big secret he is hiding, namely the painting The Goldfinch which he stole and kept in his room for many years until he was growing up. For Theo, this painting is his only lifelong after he lost his beloved mother.
What is the continuation of Theo’s life story with the precious painting The Goldfinch? Watch the full story in the film The Goldfinch Movie Review
The Professor and The Madman – Review
You must be familiar with the Oxford Dictionary. One of the great lexicographies in the world, it is considered the most accurate and comprehensive dictionary since 1884.
But do you know how the history of the Oxford Dictionary was compiled?
Yup! The Professor and The Madman (2019) will explore the history of the preparation of the Oxford Dictionary which is wrapped in stories of love, sacrifice and anger.
At one point, James Murray (Mel Gibson), chairman of the Oxford Dictionary completion team, announced that anyone who speaks English can contribute to dictionary compilation. The announcement reached the ears of William Chester Minor (Sean Penn), who was living in a mental hospital due to his fears of war. Best Movie
William Chester Minor was a wartime medic. He was traumatized after killing a man. Since then, his life has always been restless and must be under surveillance by the security forces. Even so, Doctor Minor will feel calm when he reads many books. This is what made him interested in becoming a contributor to the preparation of the Oxford Dictionary.
While compiling a dictionary, Doctor Minor meets a woman who makes him fall in love. But who would have thought, this happy moment actually made Doctor Minor hurt himself and decided to stop being a contributor, even though he had already contributed thousands of words and quotes to the process of compiling the dictionary.
Who is this woman? How would the dictionary composing process continue if Doctor Minor stopped? You can watch the full story of The Professor and The Madman exclusively on Mola TV, starting October 8, 2020.
Not only bringing together two top Academy Award-winning actors, Mel Gibson and Sean Penn, on the same stage, the film The Professor and The Madman also stars Natalie Dormer, Jennifer Ehle, Eddie Marsan, and many more. Movie Review
DEERSKIN – Review
Deerskin came from the head of Quentin Dupieux, the director who made Rubber (2010). While more normal than the satirical horror of the killer tires, this latest work is still an impossible film to predict where it will go, at least on the majority of occasions. Just look at the opening scene, where some teenagers put their jackets into the trunk of a car, telling the camera that they won’t be wearing jackets again forever. A prologue for criticism of humanity’s destruction of nature? Apparently not. Top Movie Site
A moment later, we become acquainted with the protagonist. Georges is his name, played by Jean Dujardin, who is best known for winning the Oscar for Best Actor, through his role in The Artist (2011). Georges spent over 7,500 euros redeeming the reindeer leather jacket of his dreams. “Killer style”. That’s how Georges calls his style. Designations that later present other meanings.
Georges was willing to run out of money, so he had to use his wedding ring as collateral when he was in arrears for the hotel room rental fee, even eating from scraps in the trash, for the sake of the jacket. His new wife left him, as well as blocking their credit cards, which aggravated Georges’ situation. But he didn’t care. Most importantly, the dream jacket has been obtained. Georges continued to admire his appearance, filmed himself posing in the mirror, then began to engage in conversation with the jacket, as if it was alive.
Dupieux, who also wrote the script, developed a strange, surreal atmosphere. Many people here feel “not alive”, creating the feel of a thick deadpan. Deerskin is reminiscent of Roy Andersson’s works, except that the pacing is faster, lighter, more dynamic, and has more blood. Meanwhile, his humor becomes more intriguing as Georges’ behavior and words become more absurd. Some are black comedy, some are satire, some are pure silliness, but the response expected from the audience is always the same: WTF ?! Best Movie
Every night, Georges stops by the bar where Denise (Adèle Haenel) works as a bartender. When asked about his profession, Georges lied and admitted he was a filmmaker. The lie got deeper, because Denise, who turned out to be an editor, started asking a lot of questions. Long story short, the lie forced Georges to continue recording, continuing his “film production”, with a story inspired by his “chat” with the jacket. Georges wants to be the only man in the world to wear a jacket, while the jacket wants to be the only jacket in the world. Georges is someone with no knowledge of film, who makes films to fulfill egos and ridiculous ambitions. Sounds familiar.
Dujardin gave birth to a loser character who the audience was happy to laugh at, especially every time he boasted of his “killer style”. But over time, Georges’ silliness was accompanied by horror. He is not sympathetic, but his actions are fun to follow, even tend to be addictive. I don’t mind if the film lasts longer.
The question is, what exactly is Deerskin trying to say? A portrait of a man with a mental illness? Unhealthy obsession? A flirtation with the film industry? Or the story of a man who hides his loneliness and vulnerability behind a shell of masculinity? Not all of the above. Even after Deerskin hit its closing moments, I’m sure Quentin Dupieux, able to wrap up an entertaining 77 minutes full of absurdities, surprises, and turns, just wanted to have fun playing with the audience’s expectations. Both expectations regarding the direction of the flow, and the substance in it. If there was anything Deerskin wanted to flirt with, it would be the audience themselves, who were trying (too) hard to read the contents of the story. Like George’s nonsense about his profession as a filmmaker that doesn’t need to be taken seriously, so does this film. Movie Review
Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare – Review
By admin / October 8, 2020
When the majority of films on the theme of empowerment from India cover their sensitivity issues with light and warm family stories, Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare takes a slightly different path. Coming from the hands of director and scriptwriter Alankrita Shrivastava, who previously gave birth to Lipstick Under My Burkha (2016), feminism is conveyed more emphatically, by bringing gender issues through a sexual perspective that challenges the audience’s thinking. Unfortunately, this time Alankrita has the ambition to summarize too many problems that actually interfere with the course of the storytelling.
Living in a planned city called Noida, the financial condition of Radha “Dolly” Yadav (Konkona Sen Sharma) and her husband, Amit (Aamir Bashir), are actually stable, but they have difficulty paying off the mortgage for a luxury apartment, which has not even been built. Meanwhile, Dolly’s younger cousin, Kajal (Bhumi Pednekar), wants to live with them. Coming from Bihar, he has the ambition to pursue his dreams in a big city. Like many overseas people from the village, it did not take Kajal long to realize that life in the city is tougher than he thought. Top Movie Site
After only working as a factory worker for a while, he immediately left. Not only that, Amit’s behavior with “naughty hands” who often steals opportunities, makes Kajal uncomfortable and makes him want to live in another place. Of course it’s not an easy matter, considering Kajal doesn’t have enough money to have his own place. This is an example of how male depravity ruins a woman’s life. Kajal shouldn’t be confused about finding a place to live. She shouldn’t feel insecure under the roof of her own family.
Finally, Kajal found a new job that provided many facilities, including a place to live. Red Rose Romance is the name of the company. A phone sex service provider. Using the name “Kitty”, Kajal uses his voice to serve the lusts of perverted men, one of whom even calls and masturbates while his wife is lying in a coma. But through that job, Kajal falls in love for the first time, with a client named Pradeep (Vikrant Massey), who lulls him with his romantic words.
Apart from the installment business, Dolly still had other problems. She suffers from HSDD (Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder), in which Dolly loses her desire to have sex with Amit. Until Osmaan (Amol Parashar), the young student delivering food, steals his attention. Dolly’s problems don’t stop there. Her youngest son, Pappu (Kalp Shah), has a tendency to cross-dressing, likes to wear his mother’s make-up, wants to try on dresses, and prefers dolls to toy cars. When his school held a field trip, Pappu wanted to go with a group of girls to the puppet museum, but it was forbidden, because male students SHOULD go to the train museum. Alankrita commented on the colonization of gender identity, which has become firmly embedded in conventional culture.
Reading the description above, you might catch a glimpse of how many issues Dolly Kitty is trying to pinpoint. Apart from the freedom of female sexuality represented by her two protagonists’ quest for sexual satisfaction, there are issues with gender identity, harassment, parenting, and the tendency to blame wives for family problems (Dolly is considered the cause of Pappu not growing “as it should be”). At almost every point, the film imposes a new branch of the story, some of which are forced to connect with each other.
Whereas the urgency of the issues is high and deserves a more solid explanation. I take my hat off for Alankrita’s courage to break through the taboo. The audience was once asked to ask, “Which is holier? Is the “halal” profession as an accountant who is treated like a waitress for a coffee maker with a low salary until they are forced to steal office money, or is the “haram” profession filled with money without any cheating? ”. I guess nothing is holier or dirtier. There is no true truth. Only two women are struggling to make a living. Best Movie
Of course, the film’s greatest courage comes when it challenges the audience’s perspective on female sexuality. The climax shows the male occupation of women’s freedom to express their sexuality. Decisive, sharp, but sadly, too trying to surprise the audience, and once again, forcing the linkages between the branches of the plot.
But there is no sense of being forced into the acting of the two main actresses, which naturally brings to life the two female figures who are required to always fight. Yes, both of them made some mistakes, but the stern and sympathetic looks of Bhumi Pednekar and Konkona Sen Sharma, ensure that we continue to support them, who walk in the area of gray morality. Movie Review
The One and Only Ivan – Review
The One and Only Ivan is not much different, and when the story is wrapped in Disney-style packaging, the result is a treat for an identity crisis, while entertaining, of course, with a heart.
Indeed, here there are no alien invasions, teenagers trapped in the eagle’s body forever, or depressive conclusions in which the protagonist goes on a suicide mission. The main character is Ivan (Sam Rockwell), a gorilla who is the main star of Mack’s Big Top Mall circus show (Bryan Cranston). If the other animals had to do a trick, Ivan could just show off his savage side, beating his chest while roaring. But gradually, public interest faded. They are threatened with bankruptcy. Top Movie Site
Until Mack brings in a new animal, namely an adorable little elephant named Ruby (Brooklynn Prince). Under the care of Stella (Angelina Jolie) the senior elephant, Ruby immediately became the star of the show. Ivan was forced to accept his stardom marginalized. Until an event forced Ivan to put his ego aside, for the sake of the survival of the animals, especially Ruby.
At first glance it sounds like a children’s film about a talking animal, right? However, as we get to know each character, it becomes clearer that The One and Only Ivan is not that simple. A flashback explains how Mack was abandoned by his wife, because Ivan, who was adopted as a baby, started growing up and often created chaos in the house. Then about Julia (Ariana Greenblatt), the daughter of a Big Top Mall employee, who interacts with Ivan almost every day. It is implied that Julia’s mother is not doing well (possibly contracting cancer).
The background of the cramped cages houses a line of animals that often act funny, like an illusion that obscures the dark reality outside. Speaking of cages, The One and Only Ivann also raised the issue of exploitation of animals, which are hunted in the middle of their habitat by humans. Some died, some were thrown in confinement as material for viewing in circuses and zoos. Best Movie
For humans, the animals are only a means of making money, which can be easily removed. Despite caring for Ivan from infancy, when financial demands came, Mack easily replaced the gorilla as the star of the show. As for the animals in cages, they are used to being locked up for almost their entire life, making them forget the feeling of freedom.
Here there is a contradiction. Mike White’s script (School of Rock, Pitch Perfect 3) talks about the importance for animals to live in their natural habitat, yet simultaneously celebrating showmanship. This was reinforced by the performance of Thea Sharrock (Me Before You), which showed more of a magical side than the exploitative side of each performance. Maybe the goal is not to make it all black and white, but what feels confused about determining the direction, between flicking the issue above, or making an all-age Disney-style film as usual.
In fact, The One and Only Ivan fulfills almost all of the requirements to be a touching animal-themed film. Sharrock is good at building emotions through visual language, as in Stella and Ruby’s first meeting, which is depicted through two touching trunk. The quality of CGI is capable of creating rich expressions on the faces of animal characters, especially Ivan. The orchestral music composed by Craig Armstrong (Moulin Rouge !, The Great Gatsby, Me Before You) is also effective at stirring up feelings, including the ending, which, in effect, is another manifestation of the identity crisis and naivety of his film, which celebrates false independence. Movie Review
The Fight – Review
No fewer than 147 lawsuits have been filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) against the Trump administration. The first lawsuit came just a week after the inauguration, when Trump formalized an entry ban for Muslims. The Fight raised four of them. But the documentary by Elyse Steinberg and Josh Kriegman – this time forming a trio of directors with Eli B. Despres, who was their editor at Weiner (2016) – puts forward the human being, rather than the trio of proceedings.
In fact, emotions have been stirred from the first minute, when highlighting the immigrants who are threatened with deportation. We are reminded that this case involved human beings who were forcibly separated from their loved ones. Then we’re introduced to five ACLU lawyers: Brigitte Amiri, Joshua Block, Lee Gelernt, Dale Ho, and Chase Strangio. The five of them were involved in handling the four biggest cases, namely about abortion, LGBT in the military, voting rights, and immigrants. Top Movie Site
Not having much time to face the “Goliath” named “Donald Trump Administration”, the five “Davids” devote all their efforts so that they barely have time for the family at home, gathering material, conducting trial simulations (called “moot court”). They are fast and agile, and so are the films. The three directors wrapped The Gift with a fast tempo, without losing the neatness of their story, so that the general audience would have no trouble digesting the points surrounding the law and the trial.
Interestingly, we almost never enter the courtroom, given the prohibition against recording in some types of trials. Instead, several animated sequences are used, adding a variety of styles, in addition to conventional talking heads, and a vérité that captures the details of the activities of our five lawyers. While some of the footage, both Trump’s speech, and the recording of the narrative of his crooks, are effective in reminding the audience of how chaotic his regime is, which from the first second has shown the degradation of human values.
Unfortunately, once the intensity of the four cases has increased, where the problems become more and more complicated, it becomes increasingly difficult for the film to maintain a solid storytelling. It began to feel that the number of conflicts in The Fight exceeded what the makers were able to show. The dynamics have begun to be neglected to be guarded, as a result of the demands to summarize all cases, which take turns giving rise to new progress. Best Movie
Apart from these four cases, the hit-and-run tragedy in the middle of a demonstration in Charlottesville, has apparently not been ruled out. Controversy arose when the ACLU, based on the right to free speech, defended white supremacists and neo-Nazis to spread feelings. This matter also created differences of opinion among the top brass, and some members even opted out. But only a few facts are presented. Rather than exploration, its existence is limited to bonds, because it would feel awkward if the event was overlooked. The Charlottesville tragedy deserves its own documentary, which examines the complexities of the principles of free speech.
The Fight is not about that. The Fight is about oppressed minorities, and the abuse of power at the hands of the rulers that destroy humanity. David’s battle against Goliath, where easily, the audience will defend David. If not, then you are not the target market for this film, which depicts ACLU lawyers like real-world superheroes. Is it wrong? No, if you, like me, are among the target market, who believe that America is led by a supervillain in the real world. Movie Review
Enola Holmes – Review
By admin / September 28, 2020
“Women are never to be entirely trusted — not the best of them,” said Sherlock Holmes in the novel The Sign of the Four (1890). It doesn’t take much research to conclude that Sherlock is not a defender of equality. How would it be, if he had a younger sister who inherited their mother’s feminine thoughts and was no less in terms of deduction than the famous detective? This interesting idea underlies Enola Holmes, who adapted the novel series The Enola Holmes Mysteries (to be precise the first book, The Case of the Missing Marquess) by Nancy Springer. Top Movie Site
As its name is the opposite of the word “alone”, Enola (Millie Bobby Brown) grew up alone, while his two brothers, Mycroft (Sam Claflin) and Sherlock (Henry Cavill) have made names in their respective careers. His eccentric mother, Eudoria (Helena Bonham Carter), teaches Enola to live independently, equipping him with all knowledge, both knowledge from books and martial arts training. Until right on his 16th birthday, Enola found his mother missing.
Enola’s intention to find her mother met with obstacles when her two sisters came home, especially from Mycroft’s insistence on sending her to a personality school, so that Enola would become a “dignified woman” so that it would be easy to find a husband. What about Sherlock? Compared to the two most recent incarnations that the public is most familiar with (the version of Robert Downey Jr. and Benedict Cumberbatch), Henry Cavill’s Sherlock tends to be warm, friendly, more open-minded about gender, and less-psychotic. Several times he defended, even helped Enola. Not the best Sherlock figure, with a simplified portrayal, but definitely the most suitable for the young adult film’s target market. Best Movie
The manuscript made by Jack Thorne (Wonder, The Secret Garden) contains the main formulas (read: clichédic) themed film empowerment from the mainstream: female protagonists who want to be free so they are considered wild, old-fashioned men who believe that women must be polite and respectful at the same time feminism is a form of madness, a female character who helps perpetuate this ancient mindset, to the seed of romance involving men who support gender equality. The man is a young Viscount Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge) who has run away from the house.
In addition to looking for his mother’s whereabouts, now Enola must also protect Tewkesbury from being chased by the killer (Burn Gorman) who was sent by whom. A story was created about the process of young women recognizing the harshness of the outside world, and having to struggle with applying everything their mothers taught. A family drama, a story of two women.
It’s a relief to see Millie Bobby Brown (also co-producer of this film) not trapped in the stereotype of her role on Stranger Things. His powerful appearance, intriguing as a character who often “breaks through the fourth wall”, is also convincing as a smart detective. Intelligence that is not only applicable in matters of solving mysteries, also enables him to turn the symbols of sexism into things that benefit him.
Enola’s journey of collecting clue pieces (mostly in the form of puns) is fun to follow, especially when Harry Bradbeer, making his directorial debut, applies some unique visual styles. Cheer up. At least in the first half, before the film loses its sense of urgency entering the middle of its duration. There were no surprises, and as time went on, the number of questions that aroused curiosity decreased. Enola managed to outperform everyone, be it male or female. But did he really solve the case? The answer is “no”. As a result, even though it presents a fun adventure as a potential franchise opener, Enola Holmes’s empowering elements are not very satisfying. Movie Review
The Devil All the Time – Review
Based on the novel of the same name by Donald Ray Pollock, The Devil All the Time opens its presentation by introducing Sergeant Willard Russell (Bill Skarsgård), who recently returned from his assignment in the Solomon Islands during World War II. From the name, it could be guessed that Willard was Arvin’s father. Willard marries a cafe waitress named Charlotte (Haley Bennett), and after Arvin is born, chooses to live in the remote hills of Knockemstiff.
Even though the years have passed, Willard is still haunted by the terrible incident when one of his comrades was crucified and tortured by Japanese soldiers. Willard kills his partner to end his suffering, not knowing that it will give him any prolonged suffering. Willard also made his own place of worship in the middle of the forest, put up a cross that reminded him of a traumatic incident, and invited little Arvin to pray there. Looking at Skarsgård’s eyes, we know Willard has never completely escaped the world’s hell, but has fallen even deeper. Top Movie Site
But that’s not all the story this film has. There’s about Helen (Mia Wasikowska), a religious girl who is married to Roy (Harry Melling), a radical preacher; Lenora (Eliza Scanlen), daughter of Helen with a religiosity similar to her mother, who meets Preston (Robert Pattinson) a pedophile pastor; married couple Carl (Jason Clarke) and Sandy (Riley Keough) who commit serial killings as a spiritual method to get closer to God; also Sheriff Lee (Sebastian Stan) the corrupt cop.
Apart from being the bestsellers, the Holland-Pattinson duo also gave the best performances among the ensemble cast. In the James Dean style, Holland shook off the “good teenage” image he acquired after playing Peter Parker, as a young man who doesn’t hesitate to resort to violence, because that’s what his father taught him. Meanwhile, Pattinson makes it easy for the audience to curse his character, but at the same time, stunned, at home staring at the screen every time he appears.
So many stories with different time and place settings can be handled by the script that was written by director Antonio Campos with his brother, Paulo Campos. Instead of being messy, the many branches actually make the speech tight, where the dynamics are always maintained without a single boring point. The use of voice over helps direct the audience to understand the details and the relationship between events which are quite complex. The novelist, Donald Ray Pollock, is the narrator in a deep, husky voice that amplifies the atmosphere. We are listening to an old man who has witnessed all the darkness of the world, telling stories accompanied by a bottle of whiskey. Best Movie
And it cannot be denied, The Devil All the Time is indeed dark. Very dark. Depressive nuances wrap stories filled with death, both murder and suicide, which, rather than sadism, emphasize psychological effects. Not to mention the matter of harassment, to other moral degradation. Whether or not all of this is debatable, but clearly not without purpose. Reading the plot excerpt above, apart from a few surprises that meet the paths of each character, maybe you can catch one more common thread, namely religiosity.
The majority of madness in character is based on devotion to God. But this is not a form of blaming religion, but a description of how terrible it is when the application of religion is interpreted by humans (read: Americans) who are unable to think clearly due to shocks in their souls. The shock, according to the film, started with war. That a mental problem caused by war can have a long and wide impact. It is even more terrible, because there is no sign that everything will end soon, when the rulers (state leaders, religious leaders) are still abusing their power. The characters act in the name of God, but it was the devil all the time. Movie Review
Hamilton – Review
Hamilton recorded a Broadway musical of the same name (three shows put together to be precise) by Lin-Manuel Miranda. We are invited to sit with the audience at the Richard Rogers Theater where we can hear laughter and applause throughout the performance. But not even once we are brought up on stage. The camera always captures events from the front, even in multiple shot setups (including 13-14 musical numbers) taken using a Steadicam, crane and dolly.
As if there was a barrier that director Thomas Kail didn’t want to penetrate. The film allows the stage reality to remain on the stage, separating it from the real reality in the audience seats. Because what you want to give is the viewing experience. When close ups are used, the aim is not to diffuse reality, but merely to “compensate” for the atmosphere that will not be felt when watching on the screen. A conventional approach may lead to stronger musicals, but this is the best result to be had from the above objectives. Top Movie Site
Miranda’s manuscript adapted Ron Chernow’s Alexander Hamilton biography. Quite a bold adjustment, applied. Some of the most notable are the use of modern hip hop music, and the use of non-white players to play the founding fathers of the United States. Miranda made a “very white” story that became rich in diversity. Racist humans and adherents of white supremacy will undoubtedly burn their beards hearing the lyrics “Immigrant, we get the job done!”.
Miranda himself plays Hamilton, an immigrant from the Caribbean Island of Nevis, whom we follow along the 160-minute journey. Starting from his arrival in New York in 1776; involved in the resistance to colonialism King George III (Jonathan Groff) and his friends, including the French aristocrat, Marquis de Lafayette (Daveed Diggs) and Hercules Mulligan (Okieriete Onaodowan) the spy of Irish descent; became George Washington (Christopher Jackson’s) right hand man during the United States Revolution; until he assumed the post of Minister of Finance after independence.
If you are not used to watching musical sung-throughs, you may find it difficult to catch a line of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “history lessons”. Moreover, it is not just sung, the majority of the dialogue is rapped. But for those who are familiar, will easily be amazed, both by the show itself, and the translation into film media. I was amazed by the actors, who were still at their prime, moving vigorously to every corner of the stage while throwing rap verses, which required a combination of stamina with extraordinary breathing techniques. Best Movie
I was amazed by the aesthetic. Lighting games, changing sets that blend seamlessly with the dance, to the center stage which can be rotated 360 degrees as a means of playing with blocking, where perfect timing of the movements and singing of the players is a must.
Regarding the film, assisted by the editing of Jonah Moran, Kail was able to strengthen the emphasis of the moment, which was achieved on stage through the play of lights and the motion of the actors. Kail knows when to use wide shot, medium shot, tracking shot, and close-up, to bring the impression as close as possible to watching it live in the theater. Although it must be admitted that Hamilton’s achievements clearly depended on the quality of his performances.
Meanwhile, the choice of music is a high achievement. Hip hop is full of sharp words as a platform for creative creativity, including when heated cabinet meetings are transformed into rap battles, R&B, to pop and ballads, coming together to create a variety of colors and flavor effects. The adrenaline was spurred on, the tears flowed several times. Meanwhile, the most laughter was present every time George III appeared. His figure is like a clown, as a satire of his cruelty, who says he wants to express his love for the people through massacres. I also chuckled to hear his surprise at George Washington’s resignation as President, because he did not know that the country’s leader could resign.
Arrogance, plus power, might make George III forget, or even care less, how history recorded his name. But Hamilton cares. Likewise Aaron Burr (Leslie Odom Jr.). Both may have different ideologies. Hamilton always stepped on the gas, while Burr chose to wait patiently. However, when the nation was formed, they both wanted to lay the foundation for their respective children. “Gotta start a new nation, gotta meet my son”, said Hamilton with teary eyes.
But when legacy matters clash with political filth, it’s not that easy to implement. There were actions of attacking each other, betraying each other, and even tragedy. From there we see if this film (automatically the show is the same) refuses to cult the protagonist. Hamilton is far from being holy, but that doesn’t mean his legacy is useless. The closing moment conveyed that, when his wife, Eliza (Phillipa Soo) sang an emotional number, Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story. Actually, Eliza was not the only time to steal the show. Every appearance always provokes emotion. Movie Review
Eliza is not the main character. The titles of films and shows do not bear his name. However, like other figures, he is a substantial part of the narrative recorded in history and his legacy will always be remembered. And of course, that “gasp”. Little closing gesture that raises lots of questions. Why did Eliza gasp? Did he break the boundaries of the realities of space and time and then see how his legacy was passed down along with the development of the nation he witnessed its birth? Or was it the “breaking the fourth wall” moment where Eliza made eye contact with the audience, realizing that her legacy formation had always been witnessed? Or the form of an “exclamation mark” from Lin-Manuel Miranda, to close his story which is like a series of emphatic statements?
The Babysitter: Killer Queen – Review
The Babysitter: Killer Queen amplifies the original feel of the first film, making it a parody, or even a shitpost. Yes, the form of uploads on the internet (the majority of which are comedic) were deliberately made carelessly in order to provoke a strong reaction. Whether or not you can enjoy this film depends on “Can you receive a shitpost?”. If the answer is “capable”, then you will love the absurdity and like when the film suddenly features a Street Fighter-style battle scene, complete with a life bar and fireball skills.
Two years after the events of The Babysitter (2017), Cole (Judah Lewis) is now in high school, still a victim of bullying due to being considered insane. Due to the lack of evidence, people refuse to believe that Cole was nearly killed by Bree (Samara Weaving) and the devil worshipers. Only her best friend, Melanie (Emily Alyn Lind) believes. Top Movie Site
Cole still likes Melanie. Every time he interacted with his crush, the people around Cole moved slowly, as if the world belonged only to the two of them. But like the joke of “Good girls like bad guys”, Melanie is actually dating Jimmy (Maximilian Acevedo), a handsome, burly man with a typical frat boy annoying personality. When he finds out that his parents are secretly sending him to psychiatry school, Cole accepts Melanie’s invitation to run away to spend a weekend at a party on a lake with Jimmy and his friends.
Cole thought, this is his chance to win back the girl’s heart. A large condom has been prepared, and everything seems to be going well at first, until the bloody terror of the devil worshiper group returns to Cole. I’m not going to reveal how that happened, but don’t forget, it’s a “film shitpost”. The script by director McG (Charlie’s Angels, Terminator Salvation, The Babysitter), along with three other writers, offers no plausible explanation based on logic.
All origin, all inconsequential. Including when The Babysitter: Killer Queen made the mystical element — which was guarded by its ambiguity by the first film — into reality, in order to bring back the bloodthirsty teenagers who we know very well their characteristics from death. But now Cole is not alone. Phoebe (Jenna Ortega), a new student with a dark past, is also dragged into the chase that spills more blood. Best Movie
Remember when Bee and his friends slaughtered a geeky teenager and made his blood spurt like being thrown from a bucket? The scene appeared more and more frequently, with nearly every death, which McG, executed in a more gory, more over-the-top manner, with a creativity that still deserves praise. And as already mentioned, some random, absurd scenes are tucked in every now and then, which in effect, can be annoying, but can also add to the enjoyment. I felt a second impact.
Not much ….. well, to be precise there is nothing this film has to offer but gallons of blood. Issues such as PTSD, to teen angst, which involve discussion of the use of various types of drugs by teenagers in order to survive the hardships of life, are all just patches. But who expected in-depth exploration of a film called The Babysitter: Killer Queen? And when Samara Weaving came back, with an aura that was still just as strong, her comforting power was complete. No matter it appears it is deus-ex-machina (or diabolus-ex-machina?) Which solves all problems.
C U Soon – Review
There will certainly be many comparisons between this Malayalam film and Searching (2018), considering that both of them carry the desktop film sub-genre, as well as stories about cases of missing persons. I am always excited about this kind of spectacle. The spectacle that requires the scriptwriter to think creatively creates a solid story amidst limitations. C U Soon himself was completely shot with the iPhone, and was produced from May to July during the pandemic.
Set in Dubai, for about 98 minutes, the flow is conveyed through applications on laptop and smartphone screens (WhatsApp, Team Viewer, Google Hangouts, etc.), which begins with a meeting between Jimmy (Roshan Mathew) and Anu (Darshana Rajendran) in the application. date. Every day they talk via chat and video call. Jimmy, who recently ended his relationship, seems more aggressive. Meanwhile, Anu, despite giving a positive response, seemed to be hiding something. Top Movie Site
Mahesh Narayan, as the director and scriptwriter, was able to imply that Anu has a secret. The audience is led to make guesses, which makes the first half so interesting, even before there really is a significant conflict, thanks to the good storytelling pacing. In fact, about the first 45 minutes, we were only treated to the PDKT process of two lovebirds, until finally, Jimmy proposed to Anu even though he only knew him a few weeks ago and had never met face to face.
The real mystery arrives when Anu disappears. There were several incidents between the proposal and the disappearance of Anu, but for the sake of watching pleasure, I will not describe them. In order to find his fiancé, Jimmy asks his cousin Kevin (Fahadh Faasil), who happens to be a software expert, to help. Together with Kevin’s investigation, C U Soon established a mystery that succeeded in getting the audience to guess, and was also good at tricking us into thinking about wrong conclusions.
The limitations of the media are barely noticeable when Mahesh deftly moves his investigation from one application to another, from one web to the next, embarking on the exciting journey of “bread crumbs”. Gopi Sundar’s music always accompanies it, with an impact that is not always positive. The investigation becomes even more tense, but when it arrives at the dramatic moment, the music stands out too much, stripping away the “raw” impression that should have been a feature of desktop films as the evolution of the found footage subgenre.
Back to talking about limitations, not only the script being tested, also acting. Darshana Rajendran is not confined by a narrow space, mostly only able to reveal the faces of the actors. Through expression alone, we can see Anu’s pain, which also implies ambiguity and limitless possibilities. Meanwhile, Roshan Mathew has clearly put in her best efforts, but unfortunately, Jimmy’s character made it difficult for me to feel sympathetic to her. Best Movie
Jimmy is hard to like. He is often pushy. For a moment, Anu didn’t reply, he immediately bombarded him with chat or a series of calls. Jimmy was in a hurry in his relationship, often ignoring what his partner said. Maybe C U Soon really wanted to convey about the absence of a long thought process in a relationship where lovers don’t really know each other. When Anu disappears, Jimmy doesn’t know who his future wife’s friends are, or the places he might visit. Even if that was the goal, couldn’t the script still give the protagonist one or two positives?
After her intense investigation, C U Soon stumbled when it was time to answer a question, which actually contained an important issue regarding human trafficking. The presentation was draggy due to trying too hard to build a melodrama through endless vlogs. And after Kevin’s extraordinarily hard work, it seemed that all was in vain, because elsewhere Jimmy had gotten the answer easily. I also asked, “What’s the use of this film?”. Cheer up? Of course. Vain? Unfortunately, yes. Movie Review
Dream House – Review
Have you ever imagined that a small incident would change the entire course of a human’s life? Or have you ever wondered how much someone’s neglect of work will mess up someone else’s life? If you are curious about these questions, maybe Dream House (2011) will give you a little idea of how one person’s small negligence can change all the dreams of others.
Dream House is a psychological thriller genre film that tells the life of a family who has just moved house to a small town. Will Atenton (Daniel Craig), the head of the family works as editor of a publication and has a wife named Elizabeth who is familiarly called Libby (Rachel Weisz) and two daughters, Beatrice / Trish (Taylor Geare) and Katherine / Dee-Dee (Claire Geare ). They are a happy little family, but the busyness of Will Atenton (I myself caught Will here as a workaholic) makes Libby and her two children feel lonely, especially in a new neighborhood. That’s why Will’s decision to resign from his office was welcomed by his wife and children. He returned home, relieved and saddened by leaving his job.
Will’s return is followed by a series of strange events that occur in his new home. Dee-Dee had seen a strange man in the window and watched their house from outside and there was a mystery which was later revealed that in the house there was a family who was slaughtered by Peter Ward, the head of the family itself. Libby’s confusion about their new home makes Will try to find out what really happened in that house. Her neighbor, Ann Paterson (Naomi Watts), a wife who has separated from her husband and is struggling to get custody of her only child, looks uncooperative when asked by Will. Whereas Ann’s house is right across from Will’s and she has lived there for many years. Finally, after finding out that Peter Ward, the killer is being held in a mental hospital, Will goes there and starts investigating what happened. From this point on, the entire film’s plot changes. Will’s appearance underwent a transformation (most notably Daniel Craig’s hairstyle, which I think was Dedi Corbuzier’s model and really doesn’t fit. Hahaha) because Will is actually Peter Ward himself. He is accused of being the mastermind behind the deaths of his wife and children. The name Will he created himself when he experienced periods of mental illness and did not accept the fact that he was accused of being the slaughter of the family he loved so much.
But behind all the surprises, the main actors of the mystery are the Patterson family. Ann’s husband, whose name is Jack, apparently married Ann just to take Ann’s inheritance, because that’s why he is fighting for the custody of Chloe (Rachel G. Fox), their only child, because if Chloe’s custody is obtained, then he will inherit Ann. Jack then contacted someone who was to kill Ann and gave Ann’s home address on the same day Peter (Will) came home from work the day he resigned. What happened then? The person Jack had ordered turned out to be wrong to visit Ann’s house and he killed the wrong person, the victims of which were Libby and her two daughters. Incidentally, Peter came home at the same time and while trying to incapacitate the man he was holding the gun that was used to kill his family. He also became the only person living in his family and accusations of murder were directed to him. Best Movie
But behind all the surprises, the main actors of the mystery are the Patterson family. Ann’s husband, whose name is Jack, apparently married Ann just to take Ann’s inheritance, because that’s why he is fighting for the custody of Chloe (Rachel G. Fox), their only child, because if Chloe’s custody is obtained, then he will inherit Ann. Jack then contacted someone who was to kill Ann and gave Ann’s home address on the same day Peter (Will) came home from work the day he resigned. What happened then? The person Jack had ordered turned out to be wrong to visit Ann’s house and he killed the wrong person, the victims of which were Libby and her two daughters. Incidentally, Peter came home at the same time and while trying to incapacitate the man he was holding the gun that was used to kill his family. He also became the only person living in his family and accusations of murder were directed to him. Movie Review
All Together Now – Review
Four years after winning the hearts of the audience when filling in the voice of Moana, Auliʻi Cravalho finally had the opportunity to make her live action debut in the adaptation of Matthew Quick’s Sorta Like a Rockstar, who is also the author of the novel The Silver Linings Playbook. Cravalho immediately exuded his charm from the first minute through singing, little dancing, and big smiles, while teaching English to Korean mothers through Shirley Ellis’ The Clapping Song. I believe, after this his name will take off, even though All Together Now is not a spectacle that will be remembered.
Cravalho plays Amber, a cheerful teenager with a noble heart. Every weekend she volunteers at a nursing home, accepting only generous donations as payment for teaching English, as well as leading her school friends to organize talent shows with the aim of helping those in need. He likes to help, but is reluctant to accept the helping hand of others, as taught by his mother, Becky (Justina Machado).
She held that principle, until Amber told no one that now she and her mother were homeless, after leaving the house of Becky’s violent lover. Luckily, Becky works as a school bus driver, so that the two of them can secretly take shelter for a while on the bus that he drives. The two of them love each other, but Becky has a problem. He’s an alcoholic. And no matter how many times Amber expressed disapproval, Becky still wanted to go back to her boyfriend. In fact, in addition to having “played hands”, it was this man who also dropped him into the abyss of alcoholism.
Of course Amber refused to remain silent. He wants to improve his mother’s life. He also dreamed of continuing to study at Carnegie Mellon University, which was also his late father’s alma mater, in order to hone his talent for singing. But as soon as Amber puts up a fight, All Together Now presents a surprise. Surprise, unfortunately, is also a form of simplification of conflict. Becky died in an accident. Then, as if all his sins were erased and forgotten. The film moves into the realm of superficial melancholy drama, which turns a blind eye to the complexities of the parent-child relationship, from communication to the way each party shows affection. The exploration opportunity was thrown away. Becky is suddenly a faultless, loving mother. Best Movie
When Amber’s cheerfulness is gone, so is the charm of this film, which in the previous minutes, was so dependent on Cravalho’s energy. His dramatic acting is realistic, but the script by director Brett Haley (Hearts Beat Loud, All the Bright Places) with Matthew Quick and Marc Basch is like being confused about the protagonist’s grief. Instead of exploration, repetitions are carried out. The script repeats the depiction of how sad and hopeless Amber is, and how those around her try to provide support in the same way. Amber was tired of being constantly offered help, I was tired of the reps of her films.
But as the title implies, All Together Now is still a hopeful treat, with an important message that is quite relevant, considering that many individuals today are starting to become apathetic to togetherness in the social sphere. Accepting favors and / or gifts does not indicate weakness, nor is it wrong, especially if we really need it.
The talent show that filled the third round is indeed another form of simplification, with a presentation that could have been stronger if Amber and her friends’ relationship filled the screen more often, but it must be admitted, an appearance as the highlight of the show, managed to appear both warm and touching. Smiles and tears coincide, while perfecting the message about the social dynamics. Movie Review
GET DUKED! – Review
By admin / September 7, 2020
Get Duked! is the funniest comedy I’ve watched in 2020. A typical British comedy full of tickling chirps, plus black comedy, trippy sequences, and relevant messages about social class, race, and distance between generations. Once upon a time four young people participated in a self-development training program, in which they had to navigate the Scottish highlands, well equipped. Abilities such as determining direction to teamwork are assessed. If declared to have passed by Carlyle (Jonathan Aris) as supervisor, the four of them are entitled to receive The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. As the name suggests, the award was originally initiated by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinbugh in 1956. Top Movie Site
Three of the four teenagers are schoolmates. Duncan (Lewis Gribben), Dean (Rian Gordon), and DJ Beatroot (Viraj Juneja). The three of them were sent to the program for causing chaos, including blowing up the toilet and its “contents.” Another teenager named Ian (Samuel Bottomley). Unlike his three colleagues, Ian participated on his own, in order to obtain a certificate, which he thought would be useful when registering for college.
The difference that arises is that, unlike the trio of troublemakers, Ian comes from an upper middle class family. While other children are having fun joking around, Ian is busy reading maps or filling out checklists containing team performance assessments. “Work hard on what you do and everything would come true”, said Ian, to which Dean only responded with laughter. There is a real gap in strata and privilege. When Ian set out to study law at a top university, Duncan and Dean eagerly looked forward to a £ 6.5 per hour fishing job.
But in the eyes of The Duke (Eddie Izzard) and The Duchess (Georgie Glen), all four are the same: pests. In the midst of a journey that is already full of obstacles, the lives of the four of them are in fact threatened, when the blue blood couple chases them. Like many whites in power, The Duke and Duchess saw themselves as superior. Like many generations of boomers, The Duke and The Duchess blame the current generation for destroying the world, even though in reality, they are the ones who inherit the destruction of the world. Best Movie
Simultaneously, the local police under the leadership of Sergeant Morag (Kate Dickie), who were previously busy investigating the bread theft case, began to shift their focus to hunting down terrorists. What does this have to do with the journey of our four protagonists? Later, the common thread will be revealed through intriguing stories about the incompetence and racism of the apparatus, which complements the success of Ninian Doff (also sitting in the director’s chair) in producing a sharp script in criticism without losing his antics.
The humor varies, from the satire resulting from communication difficulties between individuals of different classes, to the idiocy of their character, which, although extreme, is not surprising, because they are children who blow up toilets for content (and attention). The humor in the story full of chaos makes the film appear dynamic, especially when Doff’s powerful directing is supported by hip hop songs, some surreal visuals where each character eats “something”, and the acting of the four main characters which ultimately makes the audience willing to support them, no matter how much Ian whines, or how crazy or stupid his three friends behave. Movie Review
Raat Akeli Hai – Review
Raat Akeli Hai (“The Night is Lonely ‘in English) is a whodunit with a dysfunctional family background similar to Knives Out (2019), with a policeman as the protagonist who, throughout the investigation, often clashes with corrupt power holders, while trying to maintain objectivity when the romance begins. cross over it. J. J. “Jake” Gittes, the main character in Roman Polanski’s Chinatown (1974), was struggling more or less. Is the script inspired directly by the two titles above? Maybe. Is the quality at the same level? Unfortunately no.
The opening sequence features an accident at night. A car was hit by a truck. But it wasn’t an accident. A man accidentally crashed his truck, then killed the two car passengers, then obliterated their bodies. Five years later, another murder case occurred. Raghuveer Singh (Khalid Tyabji) is found dead in a room, right after getting married to a much younger girl named Radha (Radhika Apte). Radha is Raghuveer’s second wife, after his first wife died five years ago. Top Movie Site
Inspector Jatil Yadav (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) is in charge of investigating the case. Suspicion certainly leads to Radha, but Jatil simply refuses to believe it. Despite facing a lot of opposition, from partners who consider him “looking for something that doesn’t exist”, to members of the legislative assembly who happen to have close ties with the Singh Family, Jatil still believes that this case is both bigger and more complex than it looks. But really? Was Jatil really a careful investigator, or was he only distracted by feelings of sympathy (which later turned into love) for Radha?
Many — though not all — of the whodunit treats are set in one location, in order to maintain focus and increase intensity in the puzzle-solving process, while strengthening characterizations and interactions between individuals. Raat Akeli Hai chose the opposite approach. The scale is enlarged, the conflict is enlarged. The problem is that Smita Singh’s writing has not been that solid, resulting in a complexity that is often confusing rather than fun to solve. After an early half that aroused curiosity, the intensity in the following minutes weakened, along with the increasing problems of the location visited by the inspector. Best Movie
I understand that Smitha has a lot of worries about social issues. Power abuse, domestic abuse, sexual abuse, beauty standards, and others. But not all of them need to be included, so as to make the film roll for nearly two and a half hours. Some points are of inferior substance. One of them was about Jatil, who was demanded to get married immediately by his mother (Ila Arun), which was included only as a pioneer for an element of romance which also did not need to exist, because: 1) It did not enrich the story; and 2) Without a commensurate emotional payoff.
A myriad of characters appeared, but due to the lack of color typical of each other, nothing really interesting to follow. There is one character who has a big role in the final half (including bringing up an important issue), but as long as the duration is not given adequate portions, it strips away the impact when he finally gets the spotlight. At least, our protagonist is more complex. Coupled with the fearless appearance of Nawazuddin Siddiqui as a fearless law enforcer in black glasses and leather jacket, Jatil is not a holy protagonist. His anger often exploded, he did not hesitate to give slaps to those who disturbed the investigation. Meanwhile, Radhika Apte is good at processing feelings, even though his character stops at the level of “an accused” and “a candidate for Jatil’s mate” rather than an individual who stands alone. Even though there is a potential for gender issues to be raised from the figure.
Honey Trehan, previously known as casting director, is making her directorial debut here. The results weren’t bad. The storytelling is dynamic, even with the help of Pankaj Kumar’s camera system and the artistic department team, Honey is able to polish Raat Akeli Hai to spoil the eyes. Even so, it is still green and not capable enough to be able to save the weakness of the script, including the moment of explaining the answer which should be the highlight of a whodunit, but instead is presented with minimal intensity due to hasty execution, which is no less confusing than the investigation. Movie Review
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Posted on October 16, 2017 October 16, 2017 by Jennifer "Jay" Bull
So in my memory, I have listed season 3 as my least favorite, but honestly season 4 is much harder to watch. Spoilers to follow, so don’t read if you don’t want to be spoiled.
Season four has many great things about it. Dean comes back from hell and we are introduced to Castiel, probably one of my favorite moments of the entire show is the introduction of Castiel. “I’m the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition,” has to be one of the best introductory lines ever written or delivered. Castiel is the source of much humor, but in season 4 he’s an angelic badass much more than the brother’s friend. Season 4 gets a whole letter grade raised for it simply because everything they did with Castiel was just wonderful.
Like many other seasons, this season has it’s fair share of episodes to skip. For example, “Jump the Shark” is one of my least favorites. First of all, by the end of the episode we realize Adam’s been dead all along. So there is another Winchester brother and all this angst and pathos, but they aren’t even dealing with the brother, but rather the thing that killed him. Ugh, it’s so pointless and I don’t care. I know we have to have another Michael sword and all that, but it was a stupid concept and all it really does is highlight the utter dickishness of John Winchester. I’ve been re-watching even the bad episodes, but I simply couldn’t force myself to rewatch this one. There is so much wasted potential that it is too difficult to even watch.
I also hate the episode “Metamorphosis” but that is more because a lot of it is gross – a rabid man eating raw meat is always visually upsetting. “Family Remains” is another episode I usually skip, but I rewatched it again. I think the reason I don’t normally watch this episode is because Sam and Dean are just completely inept in it. I also don’t buy a little girl with 0 superpowers kicking the asses of men who are trained fighters and about a foot-foot and a half taller than her. It’s stupid and it makes the Winchesters seem incompetent in pretty much every way.
These episodes loosely relate to plot as Dean tries to rid himself of his hell-guilt and Sam struggles with whether or not he should be drinking demon blood and using his evil powers. Hint: he shouldn’t be. You know the first clue? Drinking blood. That’s never a good thing.
I tried really hard this season to be sympathetic to Sam and give him excuses for his utter douchebaggery this season. His anger at Dean going to hell, the rush from being powerful, being young and stupid, but even with all of that, the only excuse I have left for his utter assholery this season is that he was possessed by demon blood. Which is a lame cop-out excuse.
The show works best for me when the brothers are working together. I know writers love conflict, but with all of the external enemies to deal with, you’d think they’d at least let the brothers work together against the external conflict, but no. This season is tedious as hell with the Sam and Dean fighting angst. It’s exhausting. It’s also pretty much every episode in the latter half of the season. Even the monster of the week episodes have their fair share of Winchester angst and argument wedged in between every thing else.
Highlights of the season are “Yellow Fever,” “Monster Movie,” “It’s a Terrible Life,” “The Monster at the End of This Book,” and oh my Chuck, how I love “The Monster at the End of This Book.” Chuck is one of the best characters for many reasons and while I know you can’t have god on every episode, I wish they had more of him. “I Know What You Did Last Summer” was also a good addition to overall storyline, and holy hot sex scene, too.
This season, Dean is very much broken. Sam is mainly a dick about it towards the second half of the season, but during the beginning of the season, he’s pretty sympathetic. Sam’s belief in God could have been used by the angels to prevent the rise of Lucifer, but instead, they are rabid dicks to Sam, which makes him a lot less likely to bow to their edicts. Knowing the angels were in on releasing Lucifer from the cage helps make this make sense, but mostly it just seems like a wasted opportunity. Sam was still looking for guidance and willing to follow whatever god laid out, but instead the angels were pretty much dicks to him and not very helpful, which helped push him down the road to hell. After all, why listen to the other side if they are just assholes who call you a monkey?
This season is mainly about breaking the seals and releasing Lucifer and most of the stories flow into that very well. This season is a difficult season to watch, as there aren’t many episodes that are light and funny, and normally Supernatural does a good job of mixing the dark, broody, and scary with humor and wit. The color saturation from season 3 is gone, too, so it goes back to being visually a very dark show as well.
Season 4 is difficult to watch because it’s depressing. The boys lose a lot, they are played by both sides, and Lucifer is ultimately released. They are fucked from the get-go and the game is rigged and they still get blamed for Lucifer rising. It’s a long, slow slide to the apocalypse and it’s difficult to watch. It’s well written (for the most part) and the acting and storytelling is solid, but it’s super hard to watch and it’s incredibly depressing to me.
All of that said, the last two final episodes are pretty epic, and the hatred you feel towards the evil demon Ruby becomes so intense that when they finally kill her, it’s incredibly joyous. Dean twisting HER OWN KNIFE to kill her is so fabulous and happy and awesome. Now if only they’d kill off Lucifer already (Lucifer is so fucking boring I can’t even) so we could feel the joy from that.
I will say that while I hated Ruby by the end of the season, especially in the last two episodes for how much she divides the brothers, she was a terrific bad guy. She manages to keep you guessing through most of her interactions with Sam and it really isn’t until the very end that you realize she’s been on the side of Lucifer all along. Like all good bad guys, you want her dead, but she was really terrific at being evil.
Because I have depression, I am giving this two grades – B+ for storytelling acting and everything along those lines, but C- for depressing the fuck out of me. You need to break up the depressing episodes with some that aren’t so heinous and this season has a string of 6 episodes in a row that are super depressing.
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You are here: Home » Torah » A Hairsbreadth Can Be The Whole Difference
A Hairsbreadth Can Be The Whole Difference
by Rabbi Avi Weiss (Posted on May 21, 2016)
Topics: Torah, Sefer Vayikra, Acharei Mot
In parshat Vayikra, the Torah tells us that Aharon (Aaron) the High Priest, cast lots upon two goats, “one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for Azazel” (Leviticus 16:8).
Rashi explains the procedure as follows: “One goat he (Aharon) placed on his right hand, the other on his left. He then put both hands in the urn, took one lot in each hand and placed it upon the corresponding goat. One of the lots was inscribed ‘for the Lord’ and the other ‘for Azazel.'” Ibn Ezra explains that Azazel was a height from which the goat was hurled.
Sforno argues that the goat inscribed “for the Lord” was sacrificed as an offering to atone for sins committed in connection with the Sanctuary. The goat sent away was meant to expiate the sins of the community (Sforno, Leviticus 16:5).
Other explanations come to mind. It can be suggested that the lots teach us that there are aspects of life that are based purely on mazal. This doesn’t mean that we do not have the power to precipitate change. What it does teach however, is that in life we all face a certain fate over which we have no control. The Talmud says it this way “life, children and sustenance are not dependent upon merit but on mazal” (Moed Katan 28a). No wonder we read about the lots on Yom Kippur, the day in which we recognize that there are elements of life that are only in the hands of God.
The Talmud also notes that the goats were similar in appearance, height, size and value (Yoma 62 a, b). Yet, a slight shift of Aharon’s hand brought about different destinies for the goats-one to the Lord, the other to Azazel.
It has been noted that life is a game of inches. This is even true in the world of sports. For example, a hard ground ball to the short stop could result in a double play. Had the ball gone an inch to the left or right, the winning run could have been driven in. So, too, in worldly affairs. It is often the case that an infinitesimal amount can be the difference between life and death, between belief and heresy, between doing the right and wrong thing.
This may be the deepest message of the lots. The slightest movement could make the difference between heaven and earth, between being sent to the Lord and being cast to Azazel.
About Rabbi Avi Weiss
Rabbi Avi Weiss founded YCT in 1999. He is founding Rabbi of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, a congregation of 850 families in Bronx, NY. Rabbi Weiss is the National President of the AMCHA – the Coalition for Jewish Concerns, a grassroots organization that speaks out for Jewish causes throughout the world. He has authored two books: “Women at Prayer: A Halakhic Analysis of Women’s Prayer Groups” and “Principles of Spiritual Activism.”
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ChylusLungeLymphgefä
Krankheiten 11
LymphangiomyomatoseLymphangiomyomAngiomyolipomTuberöse SklerosePneumothoraxSeltene KrankheitenLungentumorenChylaszitesSchwangerschaftskomplikationen, tumorbedingteNierentumorenLungenkrankheiten
Melanoma-Specific AntigensVaskulärer endothelialer Wachstumsfaktor DTumor-Suppressor-ProteineTOR Serine-Threonine KinasesSirolimusRibosomales Protein S6Cathepsin K
AtmungsfunktionstestsPleurodeseLungentransplantationComputertomographieThoraxchirurgie, Video-assistierte
Pulmonary lymphangioleiomyomatosis in Korea. (1/169)
BACKGROUND: Pulmonary lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a rare disease occurring in women of reproductive age and leading to progressive respiratory failure in spite of treatment. In Korea the first case was reported in 1984 and by 1997 a total of 23 cases had been reported. The clinical findings of these Korean cases are reviewed. METHODS: The details of 10 cases of LAM on file at Seoul National University Hospital were reviewed together with those of 13 cases previously reported from other Korean institutes. Two, including the only one to be reported in a man, were excluded after reviewing the clinical, radiological, and pathological findings, leaving a total of 21 cases in the present study. RESULTS: All 21 patients were women and in all cases the disease was proven pathologically. The mean (SD) age at onset of symptoms was 32 (8.6) years. The most common symptoms were dyspnoea and pneumothorax which were seen in 19 (90%) and 13 (76%) patients, respectively. Pulmonary function tests showed decreased transfer factor (TLCO) (100%) and airflow limitation (67%). All the cases had characteristic cysts on high resolution computed tomographic (HRCT) scanning. The overall severity score based on HRCT scans correlated with the percentage predicted TLCO/VA (p = 0.03) and FEV1/FVC (p = 0.02). The patients were all treated with medroxyprogesterone and/or tamoxifen. Follow up was possible in 10 cases. Two of these patients appeared to stabilise with no appreciable change clinically or in lung function on medroxyprogesterone and/or tamoxifen, but the remaining patients all deteriorated with two dying of respiratory insufficiency and one of infection following lung transplantation. CONCLUSIONS: As in other countries, in Korea LAM occurs exclusively in women and progresses despite hormonal treatment. (+info)
Metastatic endometrial stromal sarcoma masquerading as pulmonary lymphangioleiomyomatosis. (2/169)
A 39 year old female presented with bilateral pneumothoraces and interstitial shadowing on chest x ray. A diagnosis of lymphangioleiomyomatosis was made following an open lung biopsy. Over the next eight years she developed respiratory failure leading to single lung transplantation but she died in the immediate postoperative period. Necropsy examination and review of the previous open lung biopsy revealed multiple pulmonary metastases from a low grade endometrial stromal sarcoma of the uterus. This case high-lights the importance of an accurate diagnosis before transplantation. (+info)
Mutational analysis of the tuberous sclerosis gene TSC2 in patients with pulmonary lymphangioleiomyomatosis. (3/169)
Pulmonary lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a rare disorder limited almost exclusively to women of reproductive age. LAM affects about 5% of women with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). LAM also occurs in women who do not have TSC (sporadic LAM). TSC is a tumour suppressor gene syndrome characterised by seizures, mental retardation, and tumours in the brain, heart, and kidney. Angiomyolipomas, which are benign tumours with smooth muscle, fat, and dysplastic vascular components, are the most common renal tumour in TSC. Renal angiomyolipomas also occur in 63% of sporadic LAM patients. We recently found that 54% of these angiomyolipomas have TSC2 loss of heterozygosity, leading to the hypothesis that sporadic LAM is genetically related to TSC. In this study, we screened DNA from 21 women with sporadic LAM for mutations in all 41 exons of TSC2. Twelve of the patients had known renal angiomyolipomas. No TSC2 mutations were detected. We did find three silent TSC2 polymorphisms. We conclude that patients with sporadic LAM, including those with renal angiomyolipomas, do not have a high frequency of germline mutations in the coding region of TSC2. (+info)
Mutations in the tuberous sclerosis complex gene TSC2 are a cause of sporadic pulmonary lymphangioleiomyomatosis. (4/169)
Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a progressive and often fatal interstitial lung disease characterized by a diffuse proliferation of abnormal smooth muscle cells in the lungs. LAM is of unusual interest biologically because it affects almost exclusively young women. LAM can occur as an isolated disorder (sporadic LAM) or in association with tuberous sclerosis complex. Renal angiomyolipomas, which are found in most tuberous sclerosis patients, also occur in 60% of sporadic LAM patients. We previously found TSC2 loss of heterozygosity in 7 of 13 (54%) of angiomyolipomas from sporadic LAM patients, suggesting that LAM and TSC could have a common genetic basis. In this study, we report the identification of somatic TSC2 mutations in five of seven angiomyolipomas from sporadic LAM patients. In all four patients from whom lung tissue was available, the same mutation found in the angiomyolipoma was present in the abnormal pulmonary smooth muscle cells. In no case was the mutation present in normal kidney, morphologically normal lung, or lymphoblastoid cells. Our data demonstrate that somatic mutations in the TSC2 gene occur in the angiomyolipomas and pulmonary LAM cells of women with sporadic LAM, strongly supporting a direct role of TSC2 in the pathogenesis of this disease. (+info)
Oestrogen metabolism in lymphangioleiomyomatosis: catechol-O-methyltransferase pathway is not involved. (5/169)
BACKGROUND: Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is an uncommon lung disease for which no effective method of treatment has been found. The predilection of LAM for premenopausal women has led to the assumption that hormonal factors play an important role in the pathogenesis of this disease. The aim of this study was to determine if women with LAM manifest alterations in the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) pathway which is essential for preventing the generation of oestrogen derived reactive oxygen species (ROS). METHODS: Blood samples were collected from 15 women with LAM and compared with appropriate controls. The distribution of high and low activity alleles of COMT was determined with a PCR based RFLP assay. The enzymatic activity of COMT was measured in each sample and the potential presence of a circulating inhibitor of COMT was determined. Since an alteration in the COMT pathway could increase the oxidative stress, the plasma concentration of malondialdehyde (MDA), a secondary product generated from lipid peroxidation, has been used as an internal marker. RESULTS: The distribution of high and low activity alleles of COMT (named COMT(HH), COMT(LL), and COMT(HL)) was similar in the two groups with proportions of 40%, 7%, and 53%, respectively, in the women with LAM and 38%, 6%, and 56% in the control subjects. The mean (SD) COMT activity was 24.2 (12.3) pmol/min/mg protein in women with LAM and 24.1 (6.3) pmol/min/mg protein in the control group. Incubation of plasma from women in the two groups with a preparation of commercial COMT showed that no detectable COMT inhibitor was present. The plasma concentration of MDA in the women with LAM was also not significantly different from control subjects. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that there are no significant alterations in the COMT pathway of women with LAM. It is therefore unlikely that alterations in oestrogen mediated cell signalling pathways are mediated by oxidants derived from an excess of catecholoestrogens in LAM. (+info)
Pulmonary lymphangiomyomatosis (LAM) developing chylothorax. (6/169)
We describe a case of pulmonary lymphangiomyomatosis (LAM) with chylothorax that developed in a 46-year-old Japanese woman. This patient exhibited clinical symptoms of dyspnea and chest X-ray showed right pleural effusion. Thoracocentesis demonstrated chylous effusion. Chest computed tomography (CT) scan revealed multiple cystic lesions. Subsequent thoracoscopy revealed the chylorrhea from swelled vessels on the diaphragm. The clinical diagnosis, based on histological examinations with biopsy specimens obtained by thoracoscopy, was pulmonary LAM. Although the hormone therapy was not effective, chylous effusion was improved by the pleurodesis. Pulmonary LAM developing chylothorax is rare in Japan. (+info)
Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM): a review of clinical and morphological features. (7/169)
A review is presented of the clinical and morphological manifestations of lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM), a systemic disorder of unknown etiology that affects women. The clinical features include dyspnea, hemoptysis, recurrent pneumothorax, chylothorax, and chylous ascites. It is characterized by: 1) proliferation of abnormal smooth muscle cells (LAM cells) in pulmonary interstitium and along the axial lymphatics of the thorax and abdomen; 2) thin-walled pulmonary cysts, and 3) a high incidence of angiomyolipomas. The pulmonary cystic lesions have a characteristic appearance on high resolution computed tomography. The most specific method for diagnosing LAM is lung biopsy to demonstrate the presence of LAM cells, either by their characteristic histological appearance or by specific immunostaining with HMB-45 antibody. LAM cells differ in several important respects from the types of smooth muscle cells normally present in lung. Their reactivity with HMB-45 antibody is localized in stage I and stage II melanosomes. LAM cells show additional evidence of incomplete melanogenesis, and the significance of these observations remains to be determined. Two types of LAM cells are recognized: 1) small, spindle-shaped cells that are centrally located in the LAM nodules and are highly immunoreactive for matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), its activating enzyme (MT-1-MMP), and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), and 2) large, epithelioid cells that are distributed along the periphery of the nodules and show a high degree of immunoreactivity with HMB-45 antibody and with antibodies against estrogen and progesterone receptors. Types of treatment used for LAM include oophorectomy, administration of Lupron or progesterone and in very severe cases, pulmonary transplantation (following the onset of respiratory insufficiency, not relieved by O(2)). (+info)
Clinical experience of lymphangioleiomyomatosis in the UK. (8/169)
BACKGROUND: Lymphangioleiomyomatosis is a rare lung disease that affects only women. No controlled trials of management have been performed and, until such data are available, management must be based on clinical experience. This study provides data on the natural history of lymphangioleiomyomatosis in the UK and compares this with experience from other centres. METHODS: We tried to identify all cases of lymphangioleiomyomatosis in the UK over a five year period by contacting all chest physicians. Cases were confirmed by lung biopsy or history and high resolution computed tomographic (CT) scanning. Details of disease and management were obtained from hospital notes. RESULTS: The 50 patients who fitted the diagnostic criteria for lymphangioleiomyomatosis had a median age at onset of 35 years (range 22-50). Five presented when postmenopausal (four taking hormone replacement therapy). Pneumothorax and dyspnoea were the most common presenting features. Extrapulmonary presentations included renal angiomyolipomas (3) and lymphangiomyomas (2). Only half the patients were assessed for renal angiomyolipoma and six were identified. Thirty patients had had one or more pneumothoraces, of which two thirds recurred if treated conservatively. Chylous effusions occurred in 11 patients, five requiring surgery. Pregnancy was uncommon once the diagnosis was made (n=7), but was associated with an increase in complications. Half the patients were taking a beta agonist and many showed a bronchodilator response in the laboratory. Thirty six patients had received hormone treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Our UK five year period prevalence was one per 1.1 million population. Since prophylactic interventions are sometimes indicated for renal angiomyolipoma, these data suggest that screening for angiomyolipoma, ideally by CT scanning, may be underused. Patients need to be aware of the increase in complications associated with pregnancy. Recurrence rate of pneumothorax was high in those not treated surgically. Hormone treatment was used variably and controlled trials are needed to determine their role and the optimum duration and dose. (+info)
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The Law Dictionary for Everyone
All Legal Terms
Family & Estate Planning
Doctrine of Laches
September 7, 2015 by: Content Team
The doctrine of laches is a legal defense that may be claimed in a civil matter, which asserts that there has been an unreasonable delay in pursuing the claim (filing the lawsuit), which has prejudiced the defendant, or prevents him from putting on a defense. The doctrine of laches is an equitable defense that seeks to prevent a party from ambushing someone else by failing to make a legal claim in a timely manner. Because it is an equitable remedy, laches is a form of estoppel. To explore this concept, consider the following doctrine of laches definition.
Definition of Laches
Pronounced la–ches (like “latches”)
Undue delay in asserting a legal right or privilege.
Failure to bring a legal claim in the proper, or a reasonable, time.
1325-1375 Middle English lachesse
Purpose of the Doctrine of Laches
The doctrine of laches is based on the adage that “equity aids the vigilant and not those who sleep on their rights.” In many situations, a delay in filing a lawsuit has the effect of preventing the opposing party from putting on a fair defense. This is because witnesses go their ways, evidence disappears, and memories falter. If a plaintiff has knowledge of a problem that might be the subject of a legal dispute, but puts off asserting his claim for an unreasonable amount of time, he may be barred from recovering on his claim at all.
Lisa has a legitimate claim of sexual harassment against her college history professor, but she waits six years to file a lawsuit. During that time, the professor has moved to teach in another state, other students who may have been witnesses have scattered to go on with their lives, and the school’s administration has even seen major changes.
Both the professor and the college administration may claim the doctrine of laches in their affirmative defenses to the lawsuit. This essentially tells the court that, because Lisa allowed too much time to pass without filing a claim, they have been put in an unfair position, as it will be extremely difficult to put on a defense this many years after the alleged incident. If the defendants can convince the judge that they are unable to find witnesses and evidence to defend their positions, he may dismiss the case based on the doctrine of laches.
Difference Between Laches and Statute of Limitations
While the doctrine of laches appears, on its surface, to be the same as a statute of limitations, the two are different in a number of ways. A statute of limitations is a definitive time limit set by law in which an individual may make a legal claim, or a prosecutor may file criminal charges.
The statute of limitations in Arkansas for rape is six years. Seven years after being raped at a college party, Stephanie reports the crime to the district attorney, asking that charges be filed against her rapist. Because the crime occurred after the six-year time limit, no criminal charges can be filed against Stephanie’s attacker.
While the purpose of both laches and statutes of limitations is to ensure legal claims are brought in a reasonable time period, so that evidence and reliable witnesses can easily be found, statutes of limitations are only concerned with whether the statutory time period has lapsed. The doctrine of laches, however, is most concerned with the reasonableness of a delay in filing a legal action. This means that laches is case-specific, relying on the judge’s determination of whether a plaintiff simply waited so long that the defendant cannot put on a reasonable defense.
When Steven buys the property next door to Harold, he hires a contractor to begin construction of a new house. Harold is pretty sure the attached garage is on his property line, but he doesn’t say anything. Four years later, Harold has a disagreement with Steven, and decides to pull out his original survey documents to prove that Steven’s house is actually on his side of the property line by eight inches.
Harold files a civil lawsuit, seeking to be paid for that portion of his property that now sits underneath Steven’s garage. In his defense, Steven’s attorney claims an affirmative defense of laches, pointing out that, in his own complaint, Harold admits he knew the construction was over the line while it was taking place. If Harold had brought this to Steven’s, or the contractor’s, attention at that time, the construction could have been moved over.
While, in this case, evidence of the garage’s location has not been compromised, the option of moving the building is not reasonable, and it is likely the judge would find that neither is expecting the defendant to purchase an eight-inch strip of Harold’s property. Harold did not wait very many years to assert his claim, but failing to file his lawsuit until after the garage was built, even though he had knowledge of the problem beforehand, is unreasonable.
Asserting a Defense of Laches
In order to successfully claim laches as a defense, the defendant must prove that his status has changed because of the unreasonable delay in filing the lawsuit, causing him to be in a worse position than at the time the claim should have been filed. For instance, delaying the claim may have resulted in:
Potential award of damages being much larger
An inability to pay monetary damages due to assets being used or sold in the meantime
Property the plaintiff seeks to recover has been sold
Witness testimony or evidence no longer being available
Ballot Case Dismissed on the Basis of Laches
At the beginning of the 2012 U.S. presidential election, several Republican candidates failed to get their names on Virginia’s primary election ballot on time, because they failed to submit the 10,000 signatures required by December 22, 2011. Four of the candidates whose names were left off the ballot – Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman, and Rick Santorum – filed a civil lawsuit on December 27, 2011. The candidates claimed that the state’s statutory restrictions on who is allowed to collect signatures was unconstitutional.
The federal district court dismissed the candidates’ claim on the basis of laches, denying their request for relief. The court pointed out that, rather than filing the claim as soon as the problem was discovered in the summer of 2011, they waited until after the deadline for submitting petition signatures had passed.
The court concluded that the candidates’ delay in bringing the action “displayed an unreasonable and inexcusable lack of diligence” on their part, which “has significantly harmed the defendants.” The court specifically concluded that the delay in filing the suit had harmed the election board by turning its normally orderly schedule for printing and mailing ballots “into a chaotic attempt to get absentee ballots out on time.”
Related Legal Terms and Issues
Affirmative Defense – The introduction of evidence in a trial that would negate, or “cancel out,” the defendant’s civil or criminal legal responsibility for the alleged act.
Civil Lawsuit – A lawsuit brought about in court when one person claims to have suffered a loss due to the actions of another person.
Damages – A monetary award in compensation for a financial loss, loss of or damage to personal or real property, or an injury.
Defendant – A party against whom a lawsuit has been filed in civil court, or who has been accused of, or charged with, a crime or offense.
Equitable Remedy – An action ordered by the court for a party to complete his duties under a contract. This is most often used when an award of money damages cannot sufficiently rectify the damages.
Estoppel – A legal principle that prevents, or “stops,” someone from asserting a fact that is contradictory to an already established truth.
Plaintiff – A person who brings a legal action against another person or entity, such as in a civil lawsuit, or criminal proceedings.
Exonerated
Indigent
Sui Juris
Seriatim
Wilfully
Unconscionable
Terry Stop
Substantive Law
Lau v. Nichols
Star Athletica, L.L.C. v. Varsity Brands, Inc.
Nelson v. Colorado
Federal Holidays
Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co.
Presidential Line of Succession
Voting Rights Act of 1965
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The Caring Ambassadors Program dedicates Lung Cancer Choices to program founder, Ken Giddes.
Ken Giddes of Dunwoody, Georgia, survived nearly eight years after the diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer. He died on January 27, 2001, surrounded by his family.
Ken had a successful career with Republic Financial Corporation, which supported the development of the Caring Ambassadors Lung Cancer Program, in which he traveled the country to meet other survivors and talk about living with lung cancer. Ken also was a “phone buddy” to hundreds of lung cancer patients and their loved ones.
Ken was our mentor and the epitome of a Caring Ambassador, reaching out to others who were struggling to survive a life-changing, life-threatening illness. Ken was and still is our inspiration. He inspires us today to continue the Caring Ambassadors Lung Cancer Program.
To Ken and all patient advocates who have and are working tirelessly around the world for their respective causes, we thank you.
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Notebooks and folders
It all started in 1958 when Jean Bousquet, born in Nîmes, and just qualified as a tailor, came to Paris to launch a small business making women’s trousers. In March 1962, he named his society after a bird from the Camargue: Jean Cacharel, and the year after that he obtained his first great success when the photographer Peter Knapp took a picture of the now legendary crepe pink shirt that ended up on the cover of the magazine Elle. The shirt was then called: Le Cacharel.
Emmanuelle Khan and Corinne Sarrut are quickly hired to design the collections. In 1968, Sarah Moon, a young unknown photographer, met Jean Bousquet. It was the beginning of a happy collaboration strengthened with the arrival of publicist, Robert Delpire. The four of them give birth to the Cacharel universe: a romantic one, immortalized through unforgettable, poetic pictures.
In the late 60’s, Liberty blouses first appeared, and Cacharel have become a flourishing brand and benchmark of fashion since then, with Liberty dresses taking off in popularity among the 70’s generation.
Having launched his first menswear, womenswear and childrenswear collections, and having been awarded the Oscar for exportation in 1969, Jean Bousquet diversified his activities by branching out into perfumery: Anaïs Anaïs, his first perfume, remains today one of the world’s best-selling fragrances; Loulou, Noa, Amor Amor and Scarlett will follow. The latest one came out this year: Amor Amor Forbidden Kiss.
At the beginning of 2000, Cacharel undertook a serious change to find again the creative energy of its beginnings: the talented designers Clements-Ribeiro allowed Cacharel to participate to the Parisian Fashion Week and once again meet with success.
It was then the turn of English kings of prints Eley Kishimoto to draw the collections of the Tronchet House for three seasons. In 2009, the Belgian designer Cédric Charlier designed romantic collections with precise cuts for four seasons.
In November 2009, Cacharel signed a license contract with Italian Group AEFFE (Alberta Ferretti, Philosophy, Moschino, Pollini…), whereupon the French House, the strongest, really opened out internationally.
Nowadays Cacharel is sold in a network of multibrand stores and concept stores in France and worldwide (Barneys, Saks, Harvey Nichols, le Printemps, …) as new designers Dawei Sun and Ling Liu present the new spring-summer 2012 collection and get back to the traditional house codes: freshness, romanticism and femininity.
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Melo Imai prepares for the 2006 Winter Olympics and inset, smiles on the cover of her pornographic film Snow Drop.
Olympic prodigy to pornography
by Jai Bednall
AMERICAN 17-year-old Chloe Kim will be remembered as one of the stars of the 2018 Winter Olympics after delighting audiences around the world with a gold medal-winning performance in the women's snowboarding halfpipe event.
Twelve years ago Melo Imai dreamt of being that girl.
At just 18, the winter sports prodigy entered the 2006 Olympics in Turin as one of the favourites in the halfpipe after winning a World Cup a year earlier.
Trained by her father, former Olympic volleyballer Takashi Narita, Imai arrived in northern Italy with golden ambition.
Melo Imai is helped after falling at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics. (Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images)
But like her brother, Dome Narita, who competed in the men's event but failed to make it through the qualifying round, Imai's hopes of glory came crashing down.
A heavy crash which saw her slam her back on the lip of the halfpipe left her slipping in and out of consciousness and she had to be carried off the slopes. She finished 34th of 34 competitors.
Branded a "waste of taxpayers' money" and "Japan's embarrassment" according to the Tokyo Reporter, Imai was devastated.
"For many athletes the Olympics is the pinnacle of their career, but for me it was a nightmare," she told the Tokyo Weekender recently. "I don't just mean because I got injured and failed to progress. The whole experience was terrible. Leading up to the Games I had this constant fear of failure, like a choking feeling. It was the same throughout my career."
Melo Imai sits on the snow after falling. (Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images)
'IF I LOST HE WOULD BE ANGRY'
Imai's father had entered the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 with similar dreams of greatness. Part of an indoor volleyball team that dominated the Asian Championships in Perth in 1991, Takashi Narita, a 180cm setter, hoped to emulate the heroes of Japan's Olympic gold medal-winning outfit at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
But after upsetting a powerful US team that went on to medal in their opening pool game, Japan lost a five-setter against France which releagated them to a quartefinal match against the gold medal-winning Brazil team. They were thrashed 3-0 and went home empty-handed.
After a similarly fruitless appearance at the 1998 World Championships, Narita turned his attention to his children, three of which he began coaching in snowboarding.
Melo Imai winks at the camera. Picture: Asiawire
According to Imai, whose parents divorced when she was five and was introduced to the sport at seven, her father was a disciplinarian who had full control of her life.
"I was raised by a very strict father until I was 17," she told Japanese tabloid Nikkan Gendai in 2016. "I was forbidden from any sort of behaviour that was girly, like wearing a skirt or putting on makeup."
"I envied people my age having the freedom to do the kind of things that are considered normal for most teenagers," Imai told the Tokyo Weekender. "It just wasn't an option for me as I felt I couldn't disobey my father."
The approach, which saw Imai forego school so she could train as early as 5am and as late as 11pm, had early results. She won a world junior championship at age 14 and appeared on track for stardom in Turin.
But inside she was competing for the wrong reason. "I knew if I lost (my father) would be angry," Imai said. "When I won he would compliment me, and that was my motivation. I wasn't doing it for myself at all."
SNOW QUEEN TO 'SNOW DROP'
Melo Imai turned to softcore porn after losing her passion for snowboarding.
Imai and her brother's snowboarding careers were all but over within a year or two of Turin. They became tarentos, a Japanese word for a Kardashian-type celebrity who is famous for being famous, and both pursued acting.
But while her brother took to the stage and short films, Imai headed down a different path.
After briefly marrying, the single mother-of-two began making ends meet by working as a hostess in a bar, which led to work as a prostitute in a sex parlour, nude photo shoots and eventually pornographic films.
"I used to be really shy and felt that I always needed to cover my body," she told the Tokyo Weekender. "That is something that has changed in recent years. I've had work done, but it isn't the only reason ... I began to believe in myself much more. To do that kind of job you can't be a shrinking violet. It has helped me a lot."
But despite revealing in other interviews her prostitution had led her to make an attempt on her life, Imai insists she's found contentment.
She showed the talent she's always had on the slopes by entering and winning the All Japan Snowboarding Championships in March last year and is now coaching her own children.
"There's been a lot written about my life in magazines and newspapers, but I believe people shouldn't judge me based on what they've read," Imai told the Weekender. "Speak to me and you will see that not everything is negative in my life. I'm enjoying my work ... and am back snowboarding again. I'm also coaching the sport to various kinds of people, including my son and daughter. I want to make it fun without putting them under any pressure at all: The exact opposite to how I was taught."
Kim K in the pink with hot new hair
Kim K’s latest cover sparks major backlash
Kim K: ‘Why I chose to have a girl’
pornography snowboarding winter olympics
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Path 7 Copy
Kaitlin A. Brown Recognized as Up and Coming Lawyer by Michigan Lawyers Weekly
Maddin Hauser is pleased to announce that associate Kaitlin A. Brown has been recognized among Michigan Lawyers Weekly’s, Up and Coming Lawyers for 2016.
This program honors legal practitioners in Michigan who, in their first 10 years in practice, are establishing a name for themselves by displaying the ambition, drive, determination and accomplishments that set them apart from their peers.
The announcement was made by the firm’s President and CEO, Steven D. Sallen. “This well-deserved honor is a testament to Katie’s results-driven approach to resolving clients’ corporate and employment issues, as well as her dedication to and proven leadership skills in her ongoing community service efforts,” said Sallen.
Brown is an associate attorney in the firm’s Corporate and Employment practice group. She specializes in employment law, representing employers by responding to various types of claims including wrongful termination, workplace discrimination, harassment, and wage and hour claims. She also advises clients in regard to employment contracts, employee handbooks and severance agreements.
Brown’s experiences range from administrative proceedings to complex litigation. Previously serving at the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, she worked in the Reconsideration Unit evaluating and recommending decisions on appeals of administrative decisions. Brown has also litigated complex insurance, contract and constitutional law cases.
Brown’s community involvement includes both volunteering and organizing orientation programs to encourage other attorneys to volunteer at Project H.E.L.P. (Homeless Encounter Legal Protection) in downtown Detroit and at Common Ground’s Legal Clinic in Pontiac. She serves as Chair of Shir Shalom’s Food, Fun and Fireworks community event and as President of Washington & Lee University’s Detroit Alumni Chapter, through which she organizes social events for alumni and interviews local applicants to her alma mater. Brown has served on multiple committees of the Women’s Bar Association including pro bono, membership and award nominating committees. She is a member of the New Lawyers Advisory Board for the Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE) and recently moderated their online video, Negotiating Early Resolution of Employment Law Cases.
In 2005, Brown earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Studio Art magna cum laude from Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. She also received her Juris Doctor from Washington and Lee University School of Law in 2011. Brown has been recognized by Michigan Super Lawyers® as a Rising Star from 2014 to 2016 and received a Pro Bono Accomplishment Award from The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Brown is admitted to practice law in the States of Michigan and Indiana, and in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Read the press articles:
Detroit Jewish News
Oakland County Legal News
State Bar of Michigan eJournal
PDF Icon download PDF
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Lenormand Oracle – is an amazing phenomenon in the world of predictable practices. With the help of a small card deck – and in total there are 36 cards – you can get accurate answers on many important questions. Working with Lenormand cards is pleasant and easy, their symbols are expressive and understandable. But for a good result it is necessary to learn to interpret the card combinations. According to specialists, the accuracy of the divinations are close to one hundred percent. But don’t start thinking that these cards will instantly give you “recipes” for all life problems the instant you start working. It is very important for you to have good intuition, the ability to creatively interpret acquired information and associatively think. You never considered these qualities your strong suit? No worries, working with the Lenormand system greatly promotes their manifestation!
Lenormand Decks Lenormand Cards Meaning
Furthermore, the possibilities of this type of fortune-telling are truly endless. With its help you not only can foretell the future, but get answers to all your questions that worry you; understanding your feelings and relations to people around you; making decisions and building plans for the future. For the “Official” version, an accurate description of her fortune-telling system – primarily fortune telling on the cards – Marie Lenormand, sadly, did not leave for us. And many years later after her death, fans and followers were restoring her methodics bit by bit. How did these amazing cards see the light of day in the first place? Alas, there are more questions than answers. Were they exclusively made by Marie Lenormand? Or were they instead the collective work of many generations by fortune tellers? It is hard to say for sure right now, we can only affirm, that the accuracy of the answers, gained with the help of this method of fortune-telling, is very surprising.
Marie Lenormand and her time
History saved many names of people, who owned the secret knowledge of divinations and could foretell the future. One of those people is Marie Anne Adelaide Lenormand (1772-1843), French fortune-teller. By the end of XVIII and the beginning of XIX Century her name rang through the whole world, to Madame Lenormand’s salon people came not only from the entirety of France, but also from Great Britain, Italy and Russia. Legends were told about her unique abilities: Lenormand foretold Napoleon his accession to the French throne, to the leaders of the Great French revolution she foretold death (and everything happened exactly like she described!) and she advised some young Russian aristocrats to not go through with their political speech. Some time went by – and by the end of 1825 her guest became known as Decembrists. How their story ended – we know all well…
How did the famous fortune teller predict the future? Contrary to popular belief, she didn’t only use her cards. She used horoscopes, numerology, fortune-told by using colors and aromas, saw the future through a crystal ball and could tell the fate of her guest by a drop of his blood, dissolved in water, or just by a hair-spring from his hair. What was it? Incredibly developed intuition? A special gift, which opened up in Marie as a chosen one, which science couldn’t explain back then, same as now? Apparently, Marie Lenormand was an unusual child from birth. Marie was raised by a family of a prosperous cloth merchant, Marie was physically very weak: her legs were different length and she had twisted shoulders… On the other hand the newborn had long black curls and a full set of teeth.
Marie Anne Adelaide learned to read very early in her life. In the library of a monastery, where she was raised, Marie preferred esoteric literature, alchemy books, astrology and herbal medicine. That’s nothing out of the ordinary though: during those days’ monasteries kept not only spiritual literature in their extensive libraries, but also books of the “unreliable” nature. Even then Marie amazed people around her with her unexpected, but always accurate forecasts. And in the year 1790, at the age of 18, she opened her own fortune-telling salon in Paris. What boosted the young fortune-tellers popularity, was that at the time France was being ravaged by revolutionary events. And after all, in conditions of total chaos and aggression people want to know the future more than anything, right? It is rumored, that many memories from contemporaries about Marie Lenormand and many of her self-made notes are still kept in classified archives – it just seems that her forecasts were far too intertwined with the “rulers of the world”, even if it was more than 200 years ago… Marie Lenormands life was just as mysterious, as her death. She foretold, that she would die 23rd of June 1843 at the hands of a “Dark Man”. That day, early morning a maid entered into the room of her mistress and found her dead. The crime was never solved, the only witnesses were her neighbors, which claimed to have seen a tall, dark figure wearing a mask, leaving her house. To the funeral of the famous fortune-teller came almost the entirety of Paris. Yes, in life not everyone was thankful for her forecasts – Lenormand was not inclined to spare her clients’ feelings and without sugar coating, told everything that was opened for her. But frankness and honesty always inspires respect – the same, as the unique abilities, put on service for people.
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Author: Lisa Helps
Affordability, Housing and Homelessness/Civil Society and a Strong Social Fabric/Well Being and Healthy Cities
January 10, 2021 January 10, 2021 Lisa Helps
A 30 person Transitional Tiny Home Community is proposed for the City-owned parking lot at 940 Caledonia Road. This is a community-driven, crowd-funded project that has so far raised almost $250,000 of the $500,000 needed to build homes for people in our community by March 31st 2021. Learn more or donate here.
Thanks for taking the time to write to me this past week. In order to answer all your emails in a timely way and to ensure that everyone has as much information as possible, I write back to everyone all at once every Sunday. I’ll address your specific concerns as best I can and you’ll also learn about some of the concerns that others have and what we’re doing in response.
Many of you have asked some really good questions that I’ve answered in previous Sunday emails; these emails are all on my blog. What would be great if I don’t answer your exact question here – though I’ll do my best! – is to head to my blog and search for topic you’re looking for. You can do this by using the Command and “F” key at the same time and then searching for the word or words you’re looking for information on.
I’ve been writing every Sunday since August on the topic of housing, sheltering, parks and solutions so there’s lots of information available. If you’d like to receive weekly emails from me to keep you to date, you can also sign up here.
This email is organized by heading so you can just skip to the section where I address what you’ve written to me about if you don’t want to read the whole thing. I’ll start with the next 80 days and the plan to end parks sheltering by March 31 2021. Then I’ll talk about the Community Care Tent in Meegan/Beacon Hill Park. Next I’ll respond to concerns about parks sheltering more generally. Then I’ll share and respond to some of the suggestions you’ve made. Finally, as always at the end, I’ll share what I hope is a dose of humanity and inspiration. That’s always my favourite part so I hope you can skip to that if you can’t read the whole thing.
80 Days – There is A Plan
Council has set a goal of working with the Province to offer everyone currently living in City parks a 24/7 indoor sheltering opportunity by March 31st. That is 80 days from today. When that happens, we will change the parks bylaw back to allow camping only from 7pm-7am as per a 2009 Supreme Court decision that secured the right to overnight shelter for people without homes.
On Friday morning, BC’s terrific new Housing Minister David Eby was interviewed by Gregor Craigie on CBC. He expressed his support for Victoria Council’s goal, said he thought March 31st was doable, and noted that we are all working together to make this happen. Please take the time to listen to his interview here.
We are still in a global health pandemic and in a provincially declared State of Emergency. We need to move quickly over the next 80 days to meet the goal, because people have been living outside for far too long already. Because we are in a State of Emergency and need to move quickly, some of the solutions will likely not have much public consultation, though we will do our best to keep the public informed.
As Minister Eby noted on CBC, there are currently approximately 191 structures in city parks. Some of them have more than one person living in them. This means that we need to create indoor sheltering solutions – and not just a mat on a floor – for over 200 people in the next 80 days. These spaces will come through rent supplements, tiny homes, new 24/7 indoor transitional sheltering opportunities, motel rooms, and a new Regional Housing First building that is opening in Langford in March.
There have been a couple of emails from nearby residents of the proposed Transitional Tiny Home Community concerned about this project. You can read the full report to Council here. I can assure residents that a wide search of publicly and privately owned properties around the city and the region was undertaken, including the land the City owns at 930 Pandora. That property will go through planning and then demolition as soon as possible and before September 2022 and is not a suitable location for the Transitional Tiny Home Community. The Transitional Tiny Home Community will be run by an experienced operator. There will be a formal opportunity for public comment at a Council meeting about the Transitional Tiny Home Community before Council would authorize a Temporary Use Permit.
To those of you who are still living outside in the middle of a global health pandemic, I hear your stories and I see your needs. We’re going to continue to do the very best we can to support the Province to create indoor spaces for you, spaces that are the transition to homes and the supports you’ve said you need. BC Housing will be prioritizing people who have filled out a BC Housing application. If you haven’t filled one out, flag down an outreach worker and ask for help. If you have someone to help you fill out a form they can find it here.
Community Care Tent
This past week we’ve received a flood of emails from people who live on or near Avalon Street concerned about the proposal to install a Community Care Tent at Avalon and Douglas Street for the next 80 days. Thanks for writing and sharing your concerns. Some of you have asked why we can’t set up the tent on the gravel field in Meegan/Beacon Hill Park.
The Beacon Hill Trust dating back to 1882 governs the use of the park. People who are living without homes are also members of the public and can use Meegan/Beacon Hill Park and other city parks for sheltering as per the 2009 Supreme Court decision. However, the City – or anyone else – can’t organize encampments or services in the park as this would be seen to violate the Trust. Believe me, I’m as exasperated by this as all of you are, as the gravel field does seem like the easiest solution. But as our City Solicitor said to me when I came to him with my exasperation, we are the government; we cannot knowingly violate a law.
I’m glad I got your emails because when we discuss this at Council next week I can ask the questions that you’ve asked about access, parking, other routes for residents, safety of people crossing Douglas, hours of operation, COVID safety plans for the tent and so on. I think all of these questions are really good and need answers.
What I find harder to take are the emails telling me how ashamed of myself I should be for considering putting the Community Care Tent on Avalon Street. We are in a State of Emergency. There are seniors like Al (see his video below), living outside in Meegan/Beacon Hill Park. Yes there has been inadequate consultation. No Avalon Street is not the perfect location for a Community Care Tent. But surely we can all find it somewhere inside ourselves to hold it together for the next 80 days in a really rainy Victoria winter to accept a space where people can come in out of the rain to dry off and warm up.
Parks Sheltering and Other Concerns
We have received a number of emails this week about Meegan/Beacon Hill Park and bylaw non-compliance. Our hardworking bylaw staff have been focused over the past weeks on Central Park, first to work to achieve compliance with the new bylaws that are meant to limit the number of people camping in each park, and more recently helping people to relocate in the wake of the flood.
Bylaw staff will be attending in all city parks this week and beyond working with people to come into compliance with the bylaws. They will also be helping to ensure that people have housing applications filled out so BC Housing can understand their needs and what kind of indoor shelter would be suitable.
Central Park has been closed entirely for remediation. Staff have been in contact with the North Park Neighbourhood Association to get their input into the remediation plans. Council will need to consider whether Central Park is an appropriate location for sheltering at all given the flooding potential; we will need to make this decision very soon given the number of rainy winter months still ahead.
Some of you have expressed concern that as part of Central Park remediation the City might somehow sneak back in plans for Crystal Pool at that location. I can say firmly that the redevelopment of Crystal Pool has been put on a back burner at this point and it is not in Council’s 2021 work plan. The City took advantage of the closure of recreation centres earlier in the pandemic and has done some much-needed repairs to the existing facility. It will re-open soon.
I’ve also heard concerns from people who use the tennis court at Oaklands Park and the playground in Vic West park that there are people camped too close to these facilities. Bylaw staff are in regular contact with people sheltering working to find a way forward and achieve compliance.
What your emails reveal – and this has been a theme throughout the pandemic – is that parks are for recreation not for living in. People need housing so that they don’t have to live in parks, so that parks can be used for recreation. It sounds so logical and simple really, but I can assure you from work on this issue daily, that it’s not an easy one to resolve.
I’ve received a few emails this week from people who earn a good living, work hard, and still can’t afford to rent or buy a home in Victoria. This is a real concern for myself and Council. That’s why in addition to all the work we’ve been doing to help end parks sheltering, our staff have been working hard to implement the Victoria Housing Strategy .
Recently we have undertaken the following initiatives:
A Renter Engagement Toolkit [PDF] to help increase the participation and voice of renters/tenants in City engagement opportunities
Short-term rental regulations geared to increase access to long-term rental housing
Tenant Assistance Policy to provide better support for renters who are required to move when their building is rezoned for redevelopment
Renter’s Advisory Committee to provide advice and recommendations to Council on rental housing and tenant related matters
Inclusionary Housing and Community Amenity Policy to encourage affordable housing in new multi-unit strata development
Something I’m really excited about for 2021 is the Missing Middle housing work we are doing. A few of you inquired about that this week. Missing Middle housing is the gap between apartments or condos and single family homes. As we all know, Victoria is growing. Housing in our community must meet the needs of everyone including young people who want to work here, families who want to stay, and grandparents who want to be close to grandkids. We know from census data that Victoria continues to lose people as they enter their 30s, likely as a result of the lack of housing options that fit their incomes and ability to grow as a family.
Taking bold steps towards Missing Middle Housing means we’ll have more townhouses, row houses, houseplexes and other forms of what are called “ground oriented units” – homes where people can access the street directly from their front door – in our single family neighbourhoods. A Times Colonist article last week, Greater Victoria’s real estate inventory hits 25-year low, pushing prices up lays out the dire situation really clearly. If we want to make Victoria a place where families can afford to live and to grow, we need to support and incentivize the building of many more family homes in the tiny 20 square kilometre piece of land that the city occupies.
Many this week have suggested organized camping in Meegan/Beacon Hill Park on the gravel lot, or opening the Cameron Bandshell. As noted above, the Beacon Hill Trust prohibits any form of organized activity in the park. This has been challenged and upheld in court. The City is currently back in court with the Friends of Beacon Hill Park who are suing the City to prevent camping of any sort in the park. As a Trustee, the City needs to adhere to the terms of the Trust.
Someone sent me this creative idea, which I’ll share here. We are undertaking something similar as part of the Victoria Housing Strategy and also part of the Victoria Climate Leadership Plan:
“I would also like to suggest some thinking outside of the box – I am involved with a neighbourhood climate action group. What if the City of Victoria’s Green Business department (https://www.victoria.ca/EN/main/business/sustainability-programs-for-businesses.html) liaised with big landlords and created custom energy saving plans for them and their buildings that would result in savings that could be used to allow them to offer reduced cost suites in their buildings so that people’s rental supplements/social assistance would be sufficient to afford them.”
Someone else wrote:
“I would like to see the city and province ask the federal government for a tract of land in Saanich and on that land the construction of 250 small one room cottages of simple design sloped roof, inside a small fridge freezer, a 2 burner induction range, a single sink on one wall a standing shower, a small vanity sink and toilet in a bathroom walled off in a corner, the heating/cooling should be done by means of geothermal heat exchange, all units can be heated/cooled by the same system running parallel say 4 separate systems only necessitating heat pumps smaller units in parallel for maximum efficiency, on demand water heaters, LED lighting, they should be Hardie plank exterior for esthetic appeal and maximum durability the colors switched up a bit as well as some units having transom windows others without windows should also be varied in type as well as exterior lighting fixtures will vary in design simple concrete pad, unit construction would be a cookie cutter design so production would be assembly line of sorts ,insulation should be of a closed cell type to simplify construction further as sewer, gas for on demand, water and heating is centralized cost should be low on a per unit basis.
“Housing of this type should be viewed not so much as permanent but a stepping stone toward integration into mainstream society and private housing. These types of homes should be allocated and prioritized toward those who are already within our community and where a cost/benefit structure resides.
“At the end of the day the only real possibility of closing the gap between homelessness and or poverty is thru reintegration not alienation.”
The model laid out here in terms of temporary transitional housing is exactly what is proposed for the Transitional Tiny Home Community that I shared above. It will be small scale – 30 people not 250 – and will be a place where people can come inside and get settled and have the supports they need to find their way towards more permanent housing, and, as the citizen who wrote so eloquently put it, “reintegration not alienation.”
Al’s Art and all the Others Out There
A resident of Fairfield who lives adjacent to Meegan/Beacon Hill Park has gotten to know her un-housed neighbours. More than that, she’s been working with them on art and creative projects. She writes,
“I’ve collaborated with the Beacon Hill Park unhoused community to create MECA: Meegan Everyday Creativity Arts project. The individuals in Meegan need an opportunity to express and create. They are so excited for this project, and speak enthusiastically about it … Creative activity is a big part of how they process their big and small traumas.”
Here’s a video of Al showing her his very creative art work:
To Al and all of the others out there, I am humbled by your resilience. I want you to know that we’re working hard so that you won’t have to spend another winter in a tent, so that you’ll have the same safe, secure housing that myself and so many of the people who write to me every week enjoy. You are part of our community.
With humility and gratitude,
Lisa / Mayor Helps
P.S. Just before I was about to hit send on this email, someone sent me an email with a link to this young man, apparently currently living in a vehicle in Victoria, singing. In light of the resident’s comment above about the creativity of people living outside, I thought I’d include it here. Beautiful.
Flood at Central Park December 22-23, photo from North Park Neighbourhood Association
Thanks for your emails over the past few weeks. As those of you who are regular correspondents will know, I took a couple weeks break from writing Sunday emails. For those of you who are receiving a Sunday email for the first time, it’s because you’ve written in the past couple of weeks with questions, concerns, or ideas about outdoor sheltering, housing, or those without homes in our community.
In order to be efficient and also to ensure that everyone has as much information as possible, I answer all your emails here. I also post this email on my blog and have been doing so weekly since late August. If you want to stay in touch to learn about the work that the Province, federal government, City and community are doing to create indoor sheltering opportunities, you can follow my blog here. If you’d like to catch up on all the information you may have missed during the fall, you can start here in August and read to here in December. Do make a cup of tea as it’s a lot of reading!
In order to make it easy to read these lengthy emails, I use headings so you can skip to what you’re interested in. Today I’ll begin with a pressing issue which many of you wrote about – the flood response in Central Park. Then I’ll give a general update on indoor sheltering and approach to consultation over the next few months. Next I’ll address your questions, concerns and suggestions. Finally, in a section called “Christmas Oranges,” I outline acts of extreme generosity and kindness I witnessed over the holiday season. If you’ve got the time I encourage you to read the whole email.
Flood response in Central Park
On the morning of December 23rd, the people living in Central Park awoke to their tents and belongings under water. Many of you wrote concerned about their fate. In some of those emails you called on the Province to reopen the Save on Foods Memorial Arena as a shelter and to take other immediate actions. I want to assure you that our colleagues at BC Housing haven’t stopped working on options over the holidays.
A group of faith leaders from a range of faiths got together and emailed this letter to City Council and provincial officials:
Dear Elected Leadership – in this Season of HOPE,
We are writing to you as a broad based diverse coalition of South Island clergy who represent thousands of concerned congregants.
We first want to acknowledge, in gratitude, how much work and energy that British Columbia Housing, and you, our local leadership are doing throughout this pandemic to secure shelter options for the unhoused in our community. The size and scope of the challenge feels daunting at present and we are thankful that our current Provincial government and Victoria’s local mayor and council are strong advocates for our unhoused siblings.
We also acknowledge that what is being accomplished at present is simply not enough.
Shelter needs to be recognized as a basic human right. Housing is a prime determinant of health and now in the midst of a pandemic and extreme weather conditions we are in a crisis. Those who try to serve the homeless are exhausted dealing with battered tents, floods, snow and ice.
On behalf of our congregations of Victoria, who are waking up to this crisis and wake up at night during these extreme weather conditions, and care about those who have no homes to “isolate” from Covid-19, this winter, we ask you to please do whatever is possible to provide immediate indoor shelter for those who need and want to relocate from the parks.
We fully recognize that in the midst of this emergency there is no time to worry about nimbyism. We understand that the limited solutions that we currently hold have costs and discomforts. We recognize that temporary indoor housing is not a long term solution to end homelessness.
We ask that you make bold and immediate decisions to literally get our homeless siblings out of the mud. We must do this before we are all held accountable for a death that occurs through exposure.
Those currently suffering cannot afford to wait. Please let us know how our congregations can be a part of the solution. Shelter is essential to human life and dignity for the vulnerable who are parts of the sacred fabric of our community.
Let us act swiftly, In peace,
Faith Leaders of Victoria BC
Many people leapt into action to help after the flood, from City staff, BC Housing, the North Park Neighbourhood Association (more on this below), the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness, the Emergency Weather Protocol and others. Within a few days, people were relocated to a drier area a block away at the Royal Athletic Park (RAP) parking lot. While this is better than living in a flooded park, it is not good enough in a country as prosperous as Canada in the middle of a global health pandemic. Hence the hard work needed in the next 90 days to move people indoors (more on this below).
And it’s not only BC Housing, Island Health, housing and social service providers and city officials who are going to need to work hard. It is all of us. To the faith leaders, and all the others who wrote demanding action – thank you for your care, concern and commitment. You can help by:
Continuing to speak of our “unhoused siblings” reminding everyone that people living without homes are our fellow humans, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters
Donating to the Tiny Home project
Offering up church parking lots or other church properties for Conestoga Huts (more on this below)
Sponsoring someone to move into a market rental unit by helping to close the gap between a rent supplement ($825 per month) and market rent for a bachelor or one-bedroom
Indoor Sheltering and Approach to Consultation
As hopefully everyone is aware, City Council passed a motion in November that set a date of March 31st 2021 to end 24/7 camping in parks. Since we are still in the middle of a global health pandemic and a Provincial State of Emergency where “stay at home” has been key medical advice, Council’s willingness to end 24/7 camping is contingent on everyone currently living outdoors in a park being offered a 24/7 indoor sheltering opportunity.
With the deadline of March 31st set, BC Housing and Island Health are providing a monthly update on the number of people who move indoors. The first report was December 15th for the month of November when 37 people living outside or on the brink of doing so were moved indoors with the supports and care that they needed. This is a good start.
Over the next three months, working together, we need to secure close to 200 spots for everyone still out there as the rain falls and the wind blows. Not all of these 200 spaces will be permanent housing right away. We’ll need to rely on a combination of:
Market rental units – 80-ish rent supplements available for those currently living in supportive housing who are ready to move into the private market, freeing up their units for people who need supports as they move indoors
Motel rooms – Capital City Centre will be repaired from the fire as of mid-January with approximately 30 spaces available
The Save on Foods Memorial Arena – the Province is in negotiations with GSL properties (which operates the arena) as well as with a potential shelter operator to open 48 shelter spaces
30 Temporary Tiny Homes – this is a community effort; you can learn more and also donate here
An opportunity that will house about 30 youth
Other temporary indoor sheltering locations being explored to make up the rest
That’s a potential total of 218 spaces. Few of these are secured at this time. It’s going to take an enormous effort in the next 90 days to create them.
It’s also going to mean that in terms of consultation with the community we’ll be on the “inform” end of the International Association for Public Participation spectrum. This means we’ll be sharing information with the public as sheltering opportunities become available rather than consulting in advance. I know this is difficult for some people to hear. But for the past 10 months we’ve received thousands of emails asking us to get people out of parks; there is clearly a community consensus that living inside is better for everyone than having people living in parks.
Your questions, concerns and suggestions
I wish that you could all see my email inbox! There’s such a mix of messages in it. Some of you write on a regular basis with photos of people’s shelters asking bylaw to attend and enforce. Bylaw staff are doing their best to attend as many parks as possible on a regular basis. One person even sent photos of someone nodding off at a table at Tim Horton’s, coffee cup in hand, and asked me why that person wasn’t removed. I know how I would feel having my picture snapped by strangers on a regular basis.
Many people have also made suggestions about indoor sheltering locations – Ogden Point, Crystal Pool, the Armouries, the Old Canadian Tire on Douglas Street, Oak Bay Lodge. All of these have been explored and deemed unsuitable or unavailable for various reasons.
There are those of you who express a great deal of compassion for people who are struggling and also outline your own challenges with increased break ins and need for more policing. I will support the police budget this year as I have every year, and agree the police need additional resources; our officers are doing their very best in really difficult circumstances. I’m also very supportive of an alternative response that’s being co-created by the City and an alliance with the community through the City’s Community Wellness Task Force along with Island Health and VicPD, where a civilian-led team will respond for mental health-related calls so police don’t need to attend.
Some of you sent a link to a documentary about homelessness in Seattle requesting that I watch it. I watched parts of it. My feeling is that like so much of what’s online these days, it was provocative, polarizing and seemed to sow divisions – more “us and them” – rather than bringing people together and exploring the complexity of homelessness, drug addiction, crime, and inequality in the context of a global health pandemic.
For those of you who sent the documentary to me, worried about Victoria’s soul and the state of the city, please take the time to read this recent Monocole article where in November 2020, Victoria was named one of the top five small cities in the world to live. And, of course no city is ever perfect and we’re all working hard to address the challenges facing us.
Others of you in Fairfield are working to support people living Meegan/Beacon Hill Park and want the City to do more and act more quickly to assist in getting the Community Care Tent up and running. Staff have been working with the community on this since Council approved the grant for the care tent. Hopefully something will be up and running soon. I thank those of you who are part of the Fairfield Gonzales Community Association Support Group for the Unhoused for your hard work and your kindness.
Some of you have asked why we don’t move everyone in Meegan/Beacon Hill Park to the gravel area in the southwest corner. As I’ve noted in previous posts, the Beacon Hill Trust – which the City is currently being taken to court over by the Friends of Beacon Hill Park who want to stop all camping in the park – prevents organized activities in the park. The City organizing a campsite in the park does not fit with the terms of the Trust.
Some of you have pointed to the few people with Alberta licence plates staying in Meegan/Beacon Hill Park and asked what we will do about these “Snowbird Campers”. While we can’t inhibit people’s charter right to freedom of movement, BC Housing is prioritizing people for housing who are most vulnerable and who have been homeless for a significant time. This criteria will tend to focus on people who are from here and who are known to BC Housing and service providers.
Finally, a number of you have sent this link to Conestoga Huts and suggested that we pursue this solution.
Conestoga Hut village in Walla Walla Washington.
The website that some of you sent says that, “Conestoga Huts are not designed to keep people as warm as one would experience in a conventional style dwelling, though they are warmer and more substantial than sleeping in a recreational tent or unprotected in the elements.”
The City, Province and BC Housing need to stay laser focused for the next 90 and beyond to create indoor sheltering solutions that will lead to safe, secure, affordable housing with supports, as needed. We can’t put our energy into creating or siting these huts at this time. However, as noted above, there may be opportunities for the faith community and others in the community to create these low-cost interim solutions on private property. If you’re interested in helping please email me mayor@victoria.ca with “Conestoga Huts” in the subject line and I will connect you with a group that is forming to work on this.
Christmas Oranges and Other Acts of Generosity
As those of you who receive my emails on a regular basis know, I go for long runs on Sunday mornings. It helps me to think, clear my head, and see the city. The Sunday before Christmas on my run through Beacon Hill Park, I saw a Fairfield couple walking through the park with a box of Christmas oranges. They were calling to people in tents, who emerged, wary. And as they did, the couple tossed Christmas oranges their way with smiles and kind words.
I slowed as I noticed this, tears in my eyes as I thanked the couple. After everything. Here were these two lovely people out for their regular Sunday morning stroll, extending such a simple kindness to their unhoused neighbours.
And this isn’t all. When the flood hit in Central Park, the North Park Neighbourhood Association and dozens of North Park residents stepped up to help. They spent hundreds of hours over their holidays building platforms for tents, procuring tents, sleeping bags and other necessities. One nearby resident even set up a laundry sign-up sheet for people in the RAP parking lot with slots every two hours and planned to spend her holiday doing people’s laundry.
While some people may be worried about Victoria’s “soul” or the direction the city is going, I’m not. And it’s not because I have my head in the sand – my eyes are wide open to all the challenges that we’re facing. But what I know for sure is that Victoria has the grace, determination and the open-hearted approach that a community needs to tackle these challenges head on.
Here’s to the hope and hard work that 2021 will require of us all.
Climate Change and Sustainability/Economic Development and Prosperity
December 20, 2020 Lisa Helps
Download and read Zero Waste Victoria to learn what you can do you in your own life to reduce waste, create or seize economic opportunities and be a steward of the products you buy and use.
This piece was originally published in the Times Colonist here.
Discussions about garbage have taken up a lot of space in the Times Colonist Comments section in the past months. Trevor Hancock and Jon O’Riordan outlined the importance of reducing consumption and taking a zero-waste approach. CRD General Manager of Environmental Services, Larisa Hutchinson, laid out some of the very real challenges and limitations the CRD is up against in managing the region’s waste.
While we’re debating waste reduction in our daily paper, our landfill continues to fill up. Despite a 2015 regional ban on food scraps going to landfill, we’re still not adequately sorting compostable food waste from garbage. More than 25,000 tonnes of food waste from around the region still ends up there each year.
And in Victoria alone, pre-pandemic, city workers collected 25,000 single use items like coffee cups and take out containers from public trash cans, every day. And, each year, city workers dump 5.4 million single use items from our home garbage bins. I shudder to think about how this number has increased during COVID-19.
One of the mantras of pandemic recovery is that we have to “build back better.” This also holds true for how we manage our waste. That’s why Victoria Council recently adopted Zero Waste Victoria, a plan written by City staff in consultation with 57 industry and community organizations.
The goal of Zero Waste Victoria is to reduce the amount of waste going to the landfill by 50% by 2040 and to put the city on a trajectory to achieve a fully circular economy by 2050.
And the plan sets a clear path to get us there – with 40 actions to tackle single use materials, construction waste, food waste, and durables like our old cellphones or mattresses.
But Zero Waste Victoria – the first municipal plan of its kind in the region – is about much more than garbage. It’s an inspiring vision for a new approach to our economy, our life as a community, and our role as stewards of the products that we buy and use.
We’re all familiar with the “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” waste reduction hierarchy. Zero Waste Victoria refines this to “Avoid, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Refurbish, Recycle, Recover, Dispose.”
Zero Waste Victoria is a clear path to creating a city where nothing is wasted. Where reducing, reusing and repurposing materials is the norm and helps our community thrive. Where a circular economy allows innovators to succeed and businesses to flourish. Our community’s culture of sharing and repairing helps us connect with our neighbours. Our homes and places of work are constructed using salvaged and recycled materials, putting less pressure on our valuable natural resources.
In Zero Waste Victoria, no food goes to waste and any scraps are converted into energy and nutrient rich soil. The convenience of take-out doesn’t require disposable single-use products. And celebrations and gifts include meaningful experiences that support local businesses.
If this sounds aspirational, it’s because it is. But at the same time, it’s also possible, practical and fiscally prudent. Adam Corneil is the CEO of Unbuilders, a Vancouver-based business that deconstructs houses and resells the materials. He says that, “There is a huge loss of invaluable old growth lumber, building materials and history when we demolish buildings and treat these materials as waste instead of resources.”
Love Food Hate Waste Canada reports that an average Canadian household throws away $1,100 of edible food each year. That adds up to almost 2.2 million tonnes of edible food wasted each year in Canada, at a cost of more than $17 billion, while also contributing to Canada’s GHG emissions. We are literally throwing money in the garbage.
Think making these changes is impossible? It’s not. We just need to bring our habits in line with the values of our community. Until the late-1950s we put all our garbage on a barge and dumped it into the ocean. But then the garbage started to wash up on local beaches and the community noticed. So we don’t do that anymore.
Now if we all don’t change our ways, we’ll need to clear 73 more acres of forest land at Hartland to store our garbage. No one wants this, and the good news is that Zero Waste Victoria outlines a new path forward.
Affordability, Housing and Homelessness/Budgeting and City Finances/Civil Society and a Strong Social Fabric/COVID-19 Recovery/Well Being and Healthy Cities
December 13, 2020 December 13, 2020 Lisa Helps
Thanks so much for your emails this past week. In keeping with my Sunday tradition, I’m writing back to all of you at once so that everyone’s emails get answered in a timely way and so that everyone has as much information as possible about sheltering, housing and other related matters. If you’d like to receive an email each week you can sign up here. If you’re interested in reading back through the Sunday emails to get caught up on the issues, you can also do so here.
Before I dive in specifically to address your concerns from this week, I did want to share an exciting project which was inspired in part by the many emails I’ve received over the past few months suggesting that we build tiny homes for people who are currently homeless. This week, Aryze Developments and the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness launched the Hey Neighbour tiny home campaign. They are raising $500,000 to build 30 temporary tiny homes to get people out of the weather as soon as possible. A site has yet to be confirmed; there are a number of options being explored.
Thanks for the good idea over the past few months! And to those of you who have written this week with suggestions for how the Tiny Home village could work, thank you. I’ll pass them along.
In just the first five days of the campaign they’ve raised $122,000. Charitable tax receipts are available through the Coalition. If you’re interested in learning more or donating you can head here.
Your Questions and Concerns Addressed
I’ve received emails this week from people who live near Central Park, Meegan/Beacon Hill Park, Gonzales Park, Vic West Park and Cecilia Ravine and from people who use Beacon Hill Park on a regular basis. You all sound like you’re at a breaking point – your frustration and anger come through loud and clear. You want things fixed. You want your parks back. You want to know what we are going to do. In some cases you are fearful, in others you say you’re just tired of the hassle of people camping in our parks. You want to know why it seems that bylaws aren’t being enforced. And why there is so much garbage everywhere. You also want to know why we can’t just have everyone in Meegan/Beacon Hill Park congregate at the gravel field.
I’m afraid that I don’t have many good answers to your questions, which I’m sure is not what you want to hear. We are in the middle of global health pandemic. It’s been over 280 days since the pandemic was declared; living like this is clearly weighing on all of us. We can’t see our friends or loved ones. Life is totally upside down. And on top of that, our much loved parks are full of people who have nowhere to go. And they really do have nowhere to go.
Our bylaw, public works and parks staff are out in the parks on a daily basis cleaning up and working to bring people into compliance with the bylaws. It is not easy work and they are doing their best. There are over 170 people camping in seven or eight parks so that’s a lot of people to connect with on a daily basis.
As for Meegan/Beacon Hill Park and concentrating everyone on the gravel field: We know from past experience that large, concentrated encampments don’t work for the people living in them or for the nearby neighbours. But also, as I’ve noted in previous emails / posts, even if we wanted to organize a camping service in Meegan/Beacon Hill Park, the Beacon Hill Trust, dating back to the 1880s prevents any organized service provision in the park. Again, probably not what you want to hear.
I jogged through Meegan/Beacon Hill Park this morning and I did see quite a few tents, and some sites in disarray with some belongings strewn everywhere. And I heard one person yelling and swearing. And honestly – and you might not like this either – what I thought to myself re: the belongings strewn everywhere is, “Well, I’ve got lots of extra belongings too and thankfully I have a basement to store them in.” And when I heard the person yelling, I thought how terrible it would be to have your yelling heard by everyone like that, whereas when most of us yell, it’s in the privacy of the four walls of our homes.
I’m not saying these things to say that everyone should think like me; I am just really wanting to illustrate that there are a variety of perspectives possible about the same situation. And that listening to and understanding these various perspectives is what creates a healthy community and democracy.
I do hear your perspectives and your concerns. That’s why we’ve set a realistic deadline of March 31 2021 to work with the Province and support them in offering people indoor spaces and ending 24/7 camping in all of our parks. Each week small progress is made moving people from outside to inside. But the progress is slow. All 60 units renting at $375 per month in the new buildings in Langford and View Royal have been filled, mostly by people living in supportive housing. This means that there are now – or will soon be – vacancies available for people living in shelters or parks to move into.
BC Housing has used 15 of the 60 rent supplements they have available, which means there are still 45 subsides left. Island Health has about the same number remaining. As I’ve said in past emails, with $375 income assisance shelter rate plus $450 for a rent supplement, the total available is well below market rent in the region. We’re still working creatively to fill that funding gap.
There are still spaces available at the New Roads Therapeutic Recovery Community in View Royal; a few people are moving in there each week. And there’s a space for about 30 youth that will be opening soon. And there are the 30 tiny homes. We will need the Province to open some more spaces, or top up the rent supplements further, or both, to achieve the goal of moving people inside by March 31st. But please know that there is a plan and everyone I know who works in the housing and outreach field and provincial ministers and staff are working hard to make it happen. Almost all of the people living in the parks have filled out housing applications or indicated their desire to move inside.
It is clear, as I’ve said before – and with this I think you would agree – that having people living in parks isn’t good for anyone, not the people living there or the people living nearby.
A few of you have written this week with concern for the youth who are gathering under the Johnson Street Bridge. You’re concerned about their health and well-being but also about the fact that they’re gathering at all when we’ve all been told to stay home. To be honest, I don’t know whether many of these kids have homes. But in response to your emails, I will ensure that the youth homelessness team at the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness connects with these kids, if they haven’t already, to see what kind of supports might be needed.
And finally, there have been some questions over the past few weeks about why there are no people camping in parks near where I live. Camping is allowed in Stevenson Park behind the Fernwood Commuity Centre. But unlike the parks where we’ve directed people for camping* it does not have a washroom. In early September, a motion was made at the Council table to prohibit camping within 100m of schools (instead of the 50m that was proposed). Even though the parents at South Park School wanted a buffer of 100m from their school, if I had voted for this 100m buffer, that would have also meant banning parking in Stevenson Park, so I voted against it, which kept Stevenson Park on the list and available for camping.
When schools closed earlier in the pandemic, I also suggested using Vic High (I live two doors down) as a shelter. This didn’t pan out because of the impending construction. I also suggested that the vacant land behind Vic High might be good for sheltering, but this too will soon be under construction. What is proposed to be built there is 154 units of affordable housing, including 20% of units that will rent at $375 per month and are for people coming out of homelessness or out of supportive housing. I look forward to welcoming my new neighbours, should Council approve the development to go forward.
By-Election Results and City Budget
I wanted to also share the by-elections results with all of you, in case you hadn’t heard. Last night Stephen Andrew was elected to fill the ninth seat on Victoria Council which has been vacant since August 2019 when Laurel Collins left to run for MP. I spoke with Stephen last night to congratulate him and to let him know I’m looking forward to working with him. It will be good to have nine of us at the table again. Being shorthanded for this long has meant extra work for the rest of us. It has also meant a few tie votes on key items, and motions fail on a tie.
In addition to helping our new colleague settle in, a key decision on the horizon is the 2021 budget. Council reviewed the draft budget in great detail in November and asked many questions of staff through motion that we’ll get a report back on in January. Now, it’s time for you to weigh in! Staff have created a really great budget survey this year – more direct and user friendly than in past years. The survey results will help to guide Council’s decision on the final budget in the new year.
All of you who have written to me – and those who read these weekly posts – obviously care deeply about our city. The budget is the most important decision Council makes each year. So a final piece of holiday homework from me is a request that you take the time to fill out the budget survey. With my thanks in advance.
This will be my last Sunday email / blog post of 2020. I’m going to take the next few Sundays and hopefully a few more days than that of quiet time and rest. Your emails will be gathered up and I’ll respond to them on Sunday January 3rd.
It’s been quite the year for all of us in Victoria, BC, Canada, and the world. As we awoke on January 1 2020, COVID-19 was a world away and few could have anticipated the toll it would take this year on our seniors, health care workers, small businesses, governments, and on each and every one of us. No one is exempt, everyone has been impacted, although not everyone has been impacted equally.
Seniors in care homes have been most vulnerable, with the majority of deaths in BC taking place in those settings. Women, youth, people of colour and Indigenous people working in low-paying service jobs that were the first to be cut have suffered economically. Our beloved small businesses were hit disproportionately hard. And of course, as oft discussed here in Victoria and in cities across the country and around the world, when everyone was told to “stay at home”, those who didn’t have homes really stood out, as they were left outside.
2021 will be year of hard work and recovery. And as we implement both the regional Reboot Strategy as well as Victoria 3.0 our job – as a whole community, province and country – is to leave no one behind.
I wish you and your loved ones a safe, socially distanced, but close-in-heart holiday season.
*With the exception of Central Park – in that instance people showed up there and we had to adapt to the circumstances and provide washrooms and running water.
Affordability, Housing and Homelessness/Civil Society and a Strong Social Fabric/Climate Change and Sustainability/Downtown and Urban Fabric
What’s in a name, Housing Update, Impacts of sheltering, your suggestions, and everything else – Mayor’s Sunday Email – December 6 2020
December 6, 2020 Lisa Helps
Thanks to the resident who sent this to me this week about what the name Victoria means. Love it! Together, Victoria, we’ve got this.
Thanks, as always, to everyone who took the time to write to me this week. I appreciate hearing your ideas, insights, complaints and frustrations. As usual, I’m responding to everyone together – on the one hand, for efficiency, but on the other, to ensure that as many people as possible have answers to the questions and concerns that people are raising.
If you’d like to stay in touch on a weekly basis, you can sign up to receive the weekly email here. If you’d like to look back over the past few months on information I’ve shared with respect to parks sheltering, housing and related matters, you can do so here. The posts are categorized by topic.
Housing Update
As noted in today’s Times Colonist article, Hotel Fire Delays Efforts to House People Without Homes in Victoria, we are not going to meet our original goal of helping 200 people move inside by the end of the year. Since August, the Community Wellness Alliance Decampment Working Group, comprised of BC Housing, Island Health, the City, the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness, the Aboriginal Coalition to End Homelessness and Our Place, has been working hard to identify transitional and supportive housing units and to move people in. The Times Colonist article lays out the challenges really well and I’d love if you take the time to read it.
The good news is, that this week I spoke to both the new Housing Minister as well as to Victoria’s new MLA Grace Lore and both expressed a commitment to help meet Victoria’s goal of moving people inside by the end of March 2021. This is going to be an enormous challenge and it’s going to take all of us, working together to make it happen. And we will!
Impacts of Sheltering in Parks
A few of you have written to me this week concerned about the impacts of people sheltering in parks. One extremely thoughtful email from a North Park resident outlined challenges facing both housed and unhoused neighbourhood residents in North Park. I want to share some of the thoughtful and detailed analysis from that email here:
“According to 2016 Census statistics for North Park:
57% of residents live in 5+ storey apartment buildings,
28% are considered low income,
21% are racialized,
4% are recent immigrants,
28% of children (0-17) live in poverty, and
36% of seniors (65+) live in poverty.
North Park is ranked the most financially vulnerable of 78 neighbourhoods in the CRD
“Since May, when the City of Victoria relaxed bylaws to allow continuous sheltering in light of public health recommendations, Central Park, located in the heart of North Park, has experienced the highest concentration of outdoor sheltering in the city. North Park has been working collaboratively and compassionately for months to advocate for the needs of those sheltering while also balancing the needs of housed community members: primarily, access to Central Park – a well loved, and much needed community amenity.
“North Park is considered a ‘park deficient’ neighbourhood with only 1.23 hectares/1000 residents compared to the City average of 3.16 hectares/1000 residents. However, the actual amount of green space is much, much lower when taking into account sheltering taking place in Central Park, as well as the fact that Royal Athletic Park – which makes up about half of North Park’s greenspace – is a fenced, regional facility.”
The writer had also copied many provincial officials and requested that the Province work with the City to house people by March 31st with the supports they need so that they are taken care of and so that the neighbourhood can have its much-needed and much loved park back.
Another North Park resident wrote thanking me for these weekly emails (you’re welcome) but frustrated by the fencing that had gone up in the park without notice, that created confusion and had the effect of moving people sheltering closer to the playground. We hear you. Bylaw staff were in the Central Park all week working with people there to relocate to other parks in the short term until we can find places for them inside. There are so many needs to balance and nothing about the situation is straightforward.
I’ve also received emails from Fairfield residents this week who live near parks where a small number of people are sheltering, likely having moved recently from Central Park. They have written noting the impact that one or two tents are having in their neighbourhood with respect to feelings of safety, not feeling like they can open the blinds etc. We hear you too.
All of these emails reveal how challenging homelessness is for everyone. A writer asked why Council cares more about people who are living without homes than tax paying residents. What I know from the volume of emails received each week concerning parks sheltering, is that if people who are currently sheltering outside move inside and out of parks, everyone benefits. That’s why we’re working so hard on the issue.
From some of the emails I’ve received over the past few months, from a daily morning show diatribe against pretty much everything the City does, and from reports I’ve been given about some local social media echo chambers, I have to admit, I was getting pretty worried about downtown. I’ve been spending most of my time at City Hall buried in Zoom and Teams meetings, working on the future of the city and recovery from the pandemic and haven’t looked up in awhile.
But Saturday, I went downtown for pleasure. And it was a pleasure! There were people everywhere – most masked and physically distant. Our amazing local businesses were bustling. A couple of retail vacancies I’d noticed a few months ago were now full with new businesses. We’re not through this pandemic yet, and our local businesses need us more than ever. One of the best ways we can help them is to, collectively, tell a more positive, more realistic story about downtown Victoria.
This letter that was printed in the Times Colonist yesterday that I will quote in its entirety puts it better than I can:
“What Victoria are you living in?
“I read two letters in the Times Colonist. The first was an uplifting account of walking through Beacon Hill Park. As a neighbour to the park myself, I agree with the writer completely!
“My life has ‘not been ruined’ with proximity to the park. It is a fantastic space, for walking, admiring the trees and nature. The tents that we all see do not frighten me. I feel only sadness for those forced to live this way.
“The other letter was about a Victoria I don’t know. The writer claimed that ‘our parks system has been largely ruined, the downtown is dying and the whole city is a more unsafe and sinister place.’
“Wow. This is a description I don’t recognize. I work downtown and am there at 6:30 or 7 in the morning. The City is hosing down and washing the streets. It is not dirty. I walk past all the amazing and vibrant restaurants and businesses. I talk to the street people and they talk to me. It is not sinister or unsafe.
“These are our fellow human beings. That person was a little boy or girl once too. Listen to their stories and what they will tell you. When you really look and listen I believe your thoughts might change.
Anne Grimes”
Each week I get emails with creative suggestions for addressing homelessness. This week someone wrote and suggested using empty schools for this purpose. Victoria’s population of young families is growing, and any schools that are currently vacant are under redevelopment or refurbishment to get them ready to receive students. Someone else suggested building a tiny home village like this one in Seattle for women. Stay tuned; there will be more coming on this idea soon!
About Everything Else
A few weeks ago I started to share some of the projects the City is working on in addition to sheltering and housing, so that you’d know we’re working hard on lots of fronts. I’ll be brief here this week because I feel like I’ve already written a lot – which means you’ve read a lot!
In a paper called, “Will COVID-19 fiscal recovery packages accelerate or retard progress on climate change?” the authors point out that:
“The climate emergency is like the COVID-19 emergency, just in slow motion and much graver. Both involve market failures, externalities, international cooperation, complex science, questions of system
resilience, political leadership, and action that hinges on public support. Decisive state interventions
are also required to stabilise the climate, by tipping energy and industrial systems towards newer,
cleaner, and ultimately cheaper modes of production that become impossible to outcompete.”
In the long-term, the impacts of climate on our economy and community well-being may dwarf those currently being felt as a result of COVID-19.
In 2018 the City adopted a Climate Leadership Plan to take action on climate change mitigation (actions to stop climate change) and adaptation (actions to adapt to a changing climate). We did this because we know that climate change will negatively impact our community’s well-being and our local economy. I know between my post last week and this week, I’m loading you up with lots of holiday reading. In addition to Victoria 3.0, I’d love if you’d take the holidays to read the Climate Leadership Plan.
The reason for my reading request, is that we just got our first Climate Progress Report. And while we’re doing well corporately and are on track with city operations to meet our 2025, 2030 and 2050 goals, as a community we’re falling behind. The City’s corporate greenhouse gas emissions are only 1% of the total. The other 99% are generated in the community through buildings, transportation and waste.
Just as Minister Dix and Dr. Henry remind us on a regular basis that beating COVID-19 takes every single one of us, so too with climate change. It would be great if you could have a read through the Climate Leadership Plan and the Progress Report and find just one action in there – large or small that you can take at home, in your workplace, school, community group etc.
Affordability, Housing and Homelessness/Civil Society and a Strong Social Fabric/Economic Development and Prosperity
Access to Housing, Central Park, Your ideas, and Everything Else – Mayor’s Sunday Email – November 29 2020
November 29, 2020 January 10, 2021 Lisa Helps
I received a few thank you cards this week. This is one of them. More in the “About Everything Else and Gratitude” section below.
Thanks for taking the time to write to me this past week about sheltering in parks and related concerns. To ensure everyone gets a timely answer, I’m responding to you all at once as well as creating a blog post so others have this information as well. If you’d like to stay up to date on sheltering, housing and more, you’re welcome to sign up here.
As always, your emails cover a range of topics. I do my best to address them here in a clear and direct way. I use sub-headings, so you can skip to the section that is of interest to you.
Showers and Community Care Tent
There are those of you who wrote to me this week who think that the City should have left the care tent and the showers in Meegan/Beacon Hill Park intact. And there are others who think we waited too long to remove them. Last weekend, I wrote about this difficult situation. So as not to repeat myself, please take the time to read last week’s post here. I also shared last week that Council recognizes that people need access to showers, hygiene and other social services. That’s why we created an emergency $100,000 grant program to ensure that people’s basic needs are met until everyone moves inside by the end of March. On Thursday Council extended the grant deadline to Tuesday December 1st at 4:30pm. You can find out more here.
A mother wrote this week letting me know that her son is currently living in Meegan/Beacon Hill Park and asked how he can get housing. Anyone who knows someone living in Meegan/Beacon Hill Park or any other park in the city, please let them know the way to get housing is to fill out a BC Housing application. There are outreach workers in the parks every day connecting people with services but most importantly, making sure that everyone living outside has filled out a housing application so that no one is left behind. Flag down a worker. Or go to one of the weekly circles that are held at Meegan/Beacon Hill Park and Central Park.
Access to housing is facilitated by the Coordinated Assessment and Access (CAA) process run by BC Housing, Island Health and the CRD. As vacancies become available, the CAA meets and decides who is the best fit for which housing opportunity based on the needs people living outdoors or in shelters have identified in their applications. There are many people who have been living in 24/7 shelters like My Place or Rock Bay Landing for years. As part of the “positive flow” process from parks to shelter to supportive housing to market housing, some of the people living in My Place, Rock Bay and other shelters will be moving into permanent housing, freeing up these transitional housing spaces for people who are living outside.
Some of you have asked about people coming from outside of our region to get housing, as, for example, the temperatures in Winnipeg begin to drop. While we can’t – and wouldn’t want to – limit people’s constitutional rights of freedom of movement, we have made very clear that our intentional focus between now and the end of March is to take care of people who are currently here. The CAA process is prioritizing people who have been homeless for a long period of time and/or who are vulnerable, and/or who have been living long-term in local shelters. We are also prioritizing Indigenous people who make up 35% of the population of people who are homeless in our region, even though they only make up 3-4% of the general population.
I also received a few angry emails this week from people who are simply tired of having people living in parks. Someone wrote that we should buy one way bus tickets and send people home. This is precisely the issue: in every major city across this country there are people living outside in parks who have no home. I understand everyone’s frustration and anger. I’m frustrated too. We should all be frustrated that in a country as prosperous as Canada, some people are left to live outside in the middle of a global health pandemic when we’re told over and over that the best prevention is to stay at home.
Some of you have written this past week about the new fencing in Central Park: Why is it there? How long will the fences be up? What does this mean for people who are sheltering in the park and for others in the neighbourhood?
Staff closed the sports fields in Central Park for maintenance to get them ready for community recreation and play as part of the scheduled re-opening of the Crystal Pool and Fitness Centre in 2021. Sports fields are bookable by the community and we need time to get them ready for community use. As we have all along during the pandemic, we’re working to balance the needs of those sheltering with the needs of others for outdoor recreation.
It will take several months to remediate the sports fields so they can be used for community recreation and play next spring; the fences will remain in place for that time. Sports fields are already designated as no-shelter areas by the Parks Regulation Bylaw. While 24/7 camping is in place until the end of March, Council created a new four-metre setback around playing fields to keep them clear for recreational activities and maintenance.
New signage has recently been added to parks where sheltering is permitted, including Central Park, to remind everyone of the rules and where sheltering is allowed. Bylaw officers continue to work closely with people sheltering in parks to remind them of the areas they are allowed to shelter in, and make them aware of services available in the community.
Some of you have written this week to share your ideas; thanks for doing that. One of you suggested that the Province call in the military to set up barracks in Beacon Hill Park as they did during World War One. Someone else suggested that there are probably hundreds of thousands of travel trailers and older motor homes not in use and of little value and that “this form of housing would be a huge improvement to people with just a tarp over them…imagine heated space with no wind and rain!” Someone else suggested setting up a tiny home village.
My hope is, that the City working together with the Capital Regional District (they hold the purse strings for the federal Reaching Home funding), the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness, and shelter organizers we’ll be able to create temporary solutions for people over the winter that are better than living in tents. If this sounds vague, it’s because all the details are still being worked out. I’ll share more when I can. In the meantime, keep your good suggestions coming our way; mayor@victoria.ca is my direct line.
About Everything Else and Gratitude
Last week near the end of the email, I talked about the “everything else” we are working on in addition to ending 24/7 sheltering in parks and getting people inside by the end of March 2021. I thought that each week I’d feature a sample of that work. And, since we’re in the worst economic situation since the Great Depression, I thought I’d start with the work we’re doing on economic recovery and creating an economy for the future.
Victoria 3.0 – Recovery Reinvention Resilience – 2020-2041 is a long-term plan and vision for a sustainable, influential city that will build a strong innovation ecosystem and create a strong and resilient economy now and for the future. The priorities are to support our small businesses through recovery and also to build a more diverse and inclusive economy so that we will be able to withstand future economic shocks better than we have this one. It’s a really exciting plan and if you’d like some holiday reading to learn more about our wonderful city and its future, you can download the PDF here.
In addition to the City’s recovery plan, I’ve been working to help with regional economic recovery as part of the South Island Prosperity Partnership’s Rising Economy Task Force. We recently released Reboot: Greater Victoria’s Economic Recovery Plan 2020-2022. It’s also an exciting plan that will help people who have lost their jobs to ‘upskill” and get ready for the next economy which we’re seeing emerging through the pandemic – more digital and more knowledge based. The plan was created by over 120 people working hard together since April to help and support all those who make southern Vancouver Island such an amazing place – from farmers, to retailers, to tech workers, to Indigenous communities and more.
I’d also like to tell you about the Ocean Futures Innovation Hub. Creating this Hub is a recommendation coming out of both Victoria 3.0 and the Reboot strategy. I’ve been leading a small group working to develop a business case for the Hub so we can get federal and provincial recovery funding to get it off the ground in early 2021. The Ocean Futures Innovation Hub is a response to input from our region’s marine sector. The Hub, will be a centre for solving tough challenges and innovation needs faced by our marine industry and will allow companies in Greater Victoria and Pacific Canada to pursue major opportunities in the global ocean and marine space. The vision for the Ocean Futures Innovation Hub is ocean industry transformation for the 22nd century – low-carbon and good jobs.
Finally, the gratitude. Some of you have been receiving and reading my Sunday emails for months now. Some of you have started more recently. I wanted to say thank you. Thanks for reading. Thanks for sharing. And thank you also for taking the time to say thank you. I’ve received a few cards in the mail this past week – yes real cards in the real mail! – thanking me for my work and especially for these emails. One card – signed by a whole family – said they enjoyed reading the Sunday emails each week and that they want to invite me and my family over after I’m finished being mayor to say thank you. These acts of generosity and thoughtfulness touch me deeply and keep me going, especially on the most difficult and stressful days.
Lisa/Mayor Helps
Affordability, Housing and Homelessness/Civil Society and a Strong Social Fabric/Uncategorized/Well Being and Healthy Cities
Provincial support, community care tent, $100,000 grant, housing update – Mayor’s Sunday Email – November 22 2020
November 22, 2020 November 29, 2020 Lisa Helps
This mobile shower unit was opened in Edmonton in late October by a community organization, Boyle Street Community Services. More details here at CTV Edmonton.
Thanks so much to everyone who has written to me this past week. In order to answer your emails in a timely way – and to make sure that everyone has the same information – I’m writing back to all of you at once. As always, I’ll use headings so you can just skip down to the topic of interest. If you’ve got a bit of time, I’d love if you would read the whole thing. If you’d like to stay in touch and receive these emails each week, you can sign up here on my website.
Provincial Support
This week I was copied on 91 form letters addressed to the Premier and Ministers Robinson, Fleming and Simpson, Grace Lore MLA for Victoria-Beacon Hill and Andrew Wilkinson. The form letter called on the Province to take control of the situation in Victoria and end 24/7 camping in parks immediately.
We haven’t stopped working with the provincial government since May when the Province rented motels, provided health supports and moved over 400 people inside in a matter of a few weeks. We meet weekly with BC Housing and Island Health and we are grateful for the ongoing spirit of partnership with which both agencies are undertaking the work of addressing homelessness, mental health and substance use.
We can’t end 24/7 camping immediately as there aren’t enough indoor spaces for everyone living outside in our parks and public spaces, especially with the recent fire at Capital City Centre, which I’ll say more about below.
We want to make Dr. Henry happy by following her advice and not displacing anyone from encampments in the middle of a global health pandemic until there are indoor options available. We want to make the Premier and many of our housed residents happy by ending 24/7 sheltering. And we want to work to provide the vulnerable people living outside with housing and the supports they need. We want them to have the safety that those of us who live in houses enjoy – a door to lock behind us each night. Council has set a goal of March 31st to achieve this, and we are going to need the Province’s help and support; we’re grateful that they’re working alongside us.
Community Care Tent, Showers and Water at Central Park
Some of you have written to us upset or angry about the removal of the Community Care Tent and showers at Meegan/Beacon Hill Park on Friday morning. This was a very difficult situation for everyone involved.
For what it’s worth – hopefully at least worth a read – I’d like to try to fix the game of broken telephone that social media has become and to share a few facts. As I’ve said in my blog posts over the past two Sundays, the tent and the showers were in violation of the Beacon Hill Trust and could not be allowed to remain. Instead of immediately removing the tent when it was set up on October 20th, staff posted a notice that the tent was in violation of the Parks Bylaws (which also reflects the Beacon Hill Trust) and asked that it be removed. See my blog post from last week to learn more.
Over the next few weeks staff and Councillor Potts worked hard with the volunteers who had set up the tent and the showers to find a new location for the them adjacent to the park – so the much needed services could be provided. Staff noted that the tent and the showers could both be relocated to an area adjacent to the park and provided information as to how the City could help to make this happen and what the volunteers needed to do as well. All of this can still happen and indeed the City has created a $100,000 grant program to help. More on that below.
But in the meantime, the showers were discharging grey water directly into the City’s storm drain system. And the care tent had a number of generators, gas cans, and other dangerous combustible materials. As the government, we need to balance safety needs with other needs. And we need to balance the immediate needs of those in Beacon Hill Park with the responsibility of the City to ensure that the park is available to all residents of Victoria for all uses for the long term. If the City is found by the courts to be in violation of the Trust, the risk is that we could lose the park altogether. This wouldn’t be good for anyone neither those currently sheltering nor the rest of the general public.
Some of you have said that the Beacon Hill Trust is a tool of colonization and that we should just ignore it for that reason. I agree that it is a colonial tool. And the City of Victoria is a colonial government. But for the reasons outlined above and last week, we can’t simply ignore the Trust, we have to uphold our responsibility under it.
I’ve also received emails (and I’m know this is also circulating on social media) about the police dismantling the tent and throwing everything inside into the garbage. The police were there to ensure that the bylaw officers and the contractors the City hired to help could do their work, so that neither members of the public or the workers would get injured. All of the items in the tent were carefully labelled and organized and are being stored and are available to be picked up from City bylaw. Nothing was thrown out. We recognize the hard work of the volunteers who want to help and those who brought donations.
One more update: I got an email asking why the drinking water had been turned off at Central Park this week. When people started to move to Central Park, City staff set up a water station so there would be access to potable water. Recently as it’s gotten colder out, the station – which was designed as a temporary measure – began to freeze. Staff turned it off for a short period so they could fix it and get it ready for winter. As of Friday the water was running again.
$100,000 Grant Program to Address Immediate Needs
We are 10 months into a global heath pandemic and people have been living outside during this time with a hodge podge of health and hygiene services provided by the City, service providers and volunteers. There’s still a gap.
On November 5th the City learned that it would receive $6.5 million in federal-provincial “restart” money to help address budget shortfalls and other needs as a result of COVID-19. On November 19th, Council created a $100,000 grant program with some of this money in order to help meet the still unmet needs of people living outdoors, including mobile hygiene/shower services and some of the other services that were offered by the care tent in Meegan/Beacon Hill Park.
The grant applications are due this Wednesday, November 25th. Council will evaluate them November 26th and the funds will be dispersed as soon as possible after that so that these necessary services can be provided. We’re looking for creative, innovative ideas. The application form can be found here.
For those of you who are looking for updates on the number of people being housed, on Friday the Community Wellness Alliance Decampment Working Group which is made up of BC Housing, Island Health, the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness, the Aboriginal Coalition to End Homelessness and Our Place, decided that BC Housing, Island Health and the Aboriginal Coalition would provide monthly updates on the movement of people from supportive housing into market housing and from parks to supportive housing. I’ll share the progress updates on my blog. Of course we will respect everyone’s privacy and only numbers of people will be shared, not names or locations.
And speaking of progress, we’ve run into a few hurdles to our goal of moving 200 people inside by the end of the year. We look forward to the new provincial government getting sworn in and helping us further to sort through some of these challenges.
The first hurdle was the fire at the Capital City Centre that displaced 84 people. Everyone had to move out. The motel is being repaired and people will be moving back in when it is ready. But not all the rooms will be available and we don’t know how many – if any – will be available before the end of the year. That means that some of the units we were counting on to move people into – the 60 new Regional Housing First Units in Langford and View Royal that are opening this month and next, and the 110 rent supplement units – will be needed by people displaced from Capital City Centre.
Additionally, we’ve been bending our brains for the past few weeks with Island Health, BC Housing, the United Way of Greater Victoria and Devon Properties to figure out how to creatively fill the gap between the $825 total rent available with a rent supplement and the monthly market rents in the region that range from $1200-$1500 per month. Please email me mayor@victoria.ca if you have any ideas! Others have been working on a program to support landlords who are considering renting to people who are ready to move out of supportive housing and into the private market.
So of course we’re not giving up because we believe that housing is a human right and winter is here and no one should be outside. But we’re going to need some more help to meet the year-end goal.
A few of you have written and said that I am overly concerned with people who are homeless and don’t care about anyone or anything else. It’s true that this is a really pressing issue for all of us right now. And it’s true that Council, the City’s senior leadership team, and especially our front line staff across many departments are working hard on this issue right now, both to manage it and to help develop solutions. It’s the issue that fills up my email inbox the most. And it’s the issue that tends to fill the papers and newscasts, in addition, of course to news and information about COVID-19.
But I do want you all to know that while I’m spending a lot of time, energy and convening power on addressing homelessness, we’re working hard on everything else too. Our staff are out there every day providing over 200 services directly to residents and businesses. Garbage is being picked up, clean water is coming out of our taps, potholes are being filled, etc.
As for me, I considered putting a screen shot of my calendar from last week here so you could see all the other things I’m working on, but it looked way too crammed and kind of impossible to read. Then I thought I might make a long list of all the projects that we’re working on to help small businesses recover from COVID-19, to diversify our economy for the future, to address climate change and so on.
But I don’t think you want snapshots of calendars, or lists. I think you just want to know that I’m listening and that I hear you. Since late August I’ve been reading hundreds of emails weekly and responding in what I hope is a heartfelt, direct and honest way. I’m listening. And I hear you. I hear you in all your diversity of opinion: those of you who think we’re not doing enough to support people who are living without homes and those who think we are doing too much; those of you who think the city is going downhill and those of you who are happy about all the changes you’re seeing as we prepare for the future.
I hear your anger, your frustration, your fear. I hear your gratitude and your generosity. I hear how difficult a time this is for some people, for so many reasons. None of us have lived through a global health pandemic, and I certainly didn’t expect to be the mayor leading through one! I hear you when you say it is a really difficult time. And I hope you hear me when I say that we will get through this, together.
Affordability, Housing and Homelessness/Civil Society and a Strong Social Fabric/Mental Health and Addictions/Well Being and Healthy Cities
meegan/Beacon Hill Park, showers, human rights, The state of the City, and covid-19 second wave – Mayor’s Sunday Email – November 15 2020
Click on the picture to learn more about The Shift’s work or follow #MakeTheShift
I continue to receive lots of emails on sheltering related issues and I want to make sure everyone gets a response and has information, so I’m answering you all at once! I hope you’ll take the time to read and share with others too. These emails tend to be long, but it’s because I want to address the key issues that we’re hearing about. If you’d like to stay up to date and receive emails from me on a weekly basis you can sign up for my blog here.
I have to admit that when I read through the 94 emails I received this week on this topic, I felt a bit depressed. You would too if you saw my inbox. Many of you wrote saying how terrible Council and I are for not supporting people who are living without homes, for cutting off all the water in Meegan/Beacon Hill Park (this didn’t happen), for violating human rights, for asking that the Community Care Tent be completely dismantled (this didn’t happen), for not supporting community efforts to support the homeless. There were also a few really angry emails from people that had received a small portion of the email I sent last weekend, taken out of context and turned into a picture (presumably shared on social media) that took me to task for saying that providing housing perpetuates addiction. I didn’t say this.
And then, there is another whole series of angry emails from people asking me how we could continue to let people shelter in parks, how we would dare provide hygiene services or bus tickets to access them with their tax dollars, why we couldn’t immediately dismantle the Community Care Tent, how could we let the city, the downtown go like we have. And so on.
Although there were a few people who wrote with curiosity and a spirit of generosity, the common tone from both so-called sides was anger. I get it. We’re in the middle of a global health pandemic with no end in sight. You’re tired of the uncertainty. You just want things to go back to normal. You don’t want to have to work so hard to have people’s basic needs met. You want to be able to walk in the park and not worry, or feel heartbreak for those who are sleeping outside. You wish your mayor and your city council could fix everything that’s broken.
I wish this too. But we can’t. The challenges are too big, too complex. They’re systemic. Leilani Farha who works with The Shift on the right to housing said the other day that she couldn’t name one major city in Canada that doesn’t have encampments.
But what we can do – and what we are doing, every day – is to continue to work to get people into safe, secure affordable housing with the supports they need. We can continue to convene BC Housing, Island Health, the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness, the Aboriginal Coalition to End Homelessness, provincial staff and many others to do this. We can set bold goals, like the one Council adopted this week – to get everyone currently sheltering in parks into housing, or shelters on the pathway to housing by March 31st 2021 and once that happens, to end 24/7 camping in parks.
And perhaps most importantly, we can share information.
Showers and Water at Meegan*/Beacon Hill Park
Last weekend a group of residents wanting to help out fellow residents installed showers in Beacon Hill Park. These showers were built by experienced carpenters and they looked really great. But they were also proposed to be heated with propane and hadn’t been certified or inspected. If the showers were hooked up to water and used and there was an explosion of some sort, someone who was showering could get really hurt. This wasn’t a chance that city staff wanted to take. Also the showers could put the city in violation of the Beacon Hill Trust (see last week’s blog post for more information). City staff turned off the water at the one tap at the gravel field. All the other water sources and washrooms in the park remain open and on 24 hours a day seven days a week as they have been since people have been sheltering in the park during the pandemic.
I wish I’d had time to write back to all of you during the week, one at a time. This would probably have helped with the spread of misinformation. I’m member of the national Right to Home working group and am working closely with Leilani Farha who wrote the UN Protocol for Encampments that some of you sent to me this week. But more than my membership in any national working group, I had hoped that our approach to sheltering during COVID-19 – not displacing people and doing our very best to provide the hygiene support necessary – would speak for itself.
The showers were removed earlier in the week by the people who put them there.
Last week the City got funding to keep showers open at Our Place seven days a week from 8am to 9pm; there are now 13 hours every day where people can access showers. To help those who need to get there Council is funding bus tickets. See my blog post from last week for more details. There are still gaps. I will say more about this below.
As noted in my blog post last Sunday, Council values the services provided by the Community Care Tent. It’s just that the tent violates the Beacon Hill Trust. As I also said last week, the consequences of the City being found in violation of the Trust are severe and would likely be detrimental to people who are currently sheltering in the park. This is a very real threat as the Friends of Beacon Hill have vowed to sue the City to end sheltering in the park.
All Council asked was that the tent be moved to a spot adjacent to the park. My understanding is that some of the people who run the tent are meeting with staff on Monday to explore an alternate location for the tent. My greatest hope is that a compromise can be found that meets the needs of people sheltering and respects the City’s obligation as a Trustee of the park.
Emergency Social Services Grant to Meet Unmet Needs
What’s become clear in these past few weeks is that despite the fact that organizations that provide direct services to unhoused people have been awarded $464,952 through the federal Reaching Home program administered by the CRD, between July 1st 2020 and March 31st 2021 “for people who are unsheltered, to coordinate and facilitate ongoing access to drinking water, food, hygiene and health supplies, sheltering supplies, clothing, bathrooms, showers, handwashing, laundry, health and harm reduction services, fire safety supplies and plans, or waste management,” there is still an unmet need.
To help address this gap, on Thursday, Council created an emergency social services grant program of $100,000 from the federal-provincial restart money we received recently, to provide mobile showers and other social services to people in parks until the end of March 2021. The applications are due November 25th and will be adjudicated by Council on November 26th. The funds will be dispersed soon after that so that the much-needed services can be put in place as soon as possible.
The State of the City
For those of you who have written concerned about the state of the city, I hear you. Downtowns across the country have been hard hit by the pandemic. With so many people working from home, less foot traffic, theatres and live music venues closed, festivals cancelled, bars closing early, and of course the people left on the streets and in parks when everyone else has a home to go to, downtowns across the country are struggling. In the middle of this global health pandemic, Victoria is no exception.
However, it seems that those looking at Victoria from the outside have a bit of a different story to tell about our city than we’re sometimes able to tell ourselves. This past week the global media company Monocle have released their 2021 Small Cities Index, with Victoria ranked the 5th best small city in the world, up from 16th last year.
With an inbox tinged with negativity and pessimism this week about the state of the city, it was a good week to be named as one of the top small cities in the world! Victoria is clearly seen globally as a city of economic opportunity, diversity and a very high quality of life.
COVID-19 Second Wave
I always try to close these emails with a heartfelt message after so much of what might seem like curt fact sharing. The second wave of COVID-19 is upon us. One of my colleagues said it feels more like a tsunami. So far we’ve been doing really well in Victoria and on Vancouver Island, but the early warning sign of our growing case numbers is concerning.
In December 2019 and early in 2020, we watched COVID-19 hit China, then Europe, then the US and Canada. It was like watching a wave slowly build and then crash down on us. For the past few months I’ve had the same feeling watching Ontario and Quebec, then Manitoba, now Alberta, now the lower mainland. I really don’t want us to be next. I want there to be two “bubbles” in Canada, the “Atlantic bubble” as it’s called, and the Vancouver Island bubble. We can do this!
I know it’s exhausting. We count the days at City Hall; as of Friday we’ve been living in a global health pandemic for 249 days. That’s a lot. But we can and must continue to follow Dr. Henry’s orders: stay home if we’re sick, stick to our safe six in home gatherings, keep our distances, wear masks in indoor settings, and wash our hands. And we can also continue to follow Dr. Henry’s lead. We can be calm. And we can be kind. We will get through this.
To those of you who are living in encampments in Victoria, British Columbia, and across the country, I’m sorry that we have failed you. I am sorry that you’re living outside in the middle of a global health pandemic, that your basic right to housing is not being met. When the cold wind blows, when the rain comes down sideways, as the nights get longer and colder and darker, I think of each of you.
As this second wave of COVID-19 hits – in addition to supporting our businesses by implementing Victoria 3.0 – we’re going to work extra hard here, City Council and staff, along with BC Housing, Island Health and all our partners and allies, to meet your needs. We know you want housing; BC Housing has many of your housing applications, and if they don’t yet, please ask around in the parks the next time you see an outreach worker to ensure you get an application filled out. We’re going to work really hard, with you and for you, together as a community, to meet your right to housing.
*Meegan is the Lekwungen name for Beacon Hill Park. Some of you who wrote this week used this name for it.
Showers, community care tent, The City’s role and next steps towards housing – mayor’s sunday Email – november 8 2020
November 8, 2020 November 14, 2020 Lisa Helps
The City’s new Fire Hall under construction on Johnson Street with 130 units of affordable housing on top.
Thanks for taking the time to write to me this past week. We’re still receiving quite a few emails on the topic of people sleeping outside. I’m writing back to everyone at once as I want to make sure to respond to all of you and to share information. If you’d like to stay in touch on this topic, you can follow my blog here. If you’d like to know about the efforts the City along with BC Housing, Island Health and other community partners are making to move people inside – we’ve set a goal of responding to the needs of 200 people for indoor sheltering by the end of 2020 – please read my blog posts from Sunday November 1st and Sunday October 25th. There is a lot of information in those posts on the work that’s happening and the progress we’re making to move people indoors.
This week most of the emails we’ve received are focused on bus passes, the installation of showers and the Community Care Tent in Beacon Hill Park to. So I’m going to focus on responding to those issues. After that I’ll respond to some of the other concerns you’ve raised about people camping in parks and share a report that Councillor Loveday and I are bringing to City Council this coming Thursday. It outlines the work we need to do as a community to get the people currently living in our parks inside, safe and secure with the supports needed and put an end for the need for people to shelter in parks.
As always, I’ll use headings so feel free to skip to the section that interests you. I do encourage you to read the whole email if you can – there’s lots of important information here. And from some of the emails we’ve received, it seems like some people might not have the full picture, especially when it comes to Beacon Hill Park.
Bus Passes and Showers
During the pandemic, each city across Canada has taken a different approach to ensuring that people living outside have access to showers. For example, in London Ontario, the YMCA opened its doors for people without homes to shower. In Edmonton there is a roving shower trailer that goes to different locations around the city.
In Victoria, when there was a large encampment in Topaz Park, there was a shower trailer set up there that was run by the service providers who were overseeing the operations of the camp. At the same time, the City provided additional funding to Our Place and also deployed City staff to ensure COVID-19 cleaning protocols could be followed in the Our Place showers when there was a large encampment on the Pandora corridor. Since people moved inside from those encampments in May, showers have been available at Our Place.
However, we’ve heard and learned that people living outside haven’t had adequate access to the showers at Our Place because they are not open long enough, because some people weren’t able to get there, and because some people didn’t feel comfortable leaving their important belongings in their tents while they went to shower. That’s why this week – with the leadership of Councillor Thornton-Joe – the City has accessed funding to keep showers open at Our Place seven days a week from 8am to 9pm; there are now 13 hours every day where people can access showers.
To help those who need to get there – and because of the leadership of Councillor Potts and the Community Social Planning Council – Council unanimously adopted a motion last Thursday to allocate up to $2800 per month for the next three months to pay for bus tickets for people who need to take the bus to get to showers. And, Our Place recognizes the need for people’s belongings to be safe. That’s why they’ve created space in their lockers for people to leave their belongings safely while they shower.
This is not a perfect solution. A perfect solution is that people live inside, in safe, secure housing. And that they can have a shower in their home, just like those of us who live inside do every day. But it’s a made-in-Victoria solution to providing access to showers, just as other cities across the country have come up with their own solutions.
Community Care Tent and Showers in Beacon Hill Park
Many of you wrote this week expressing support for the Community Care Tent that has been set up in Beacon Hill Park noting the value that it is providing to the people who are living outside. The majority of Council agrees that this is valuable. That’s why, hearing the concerns of the community about the need for this care tent, Council voted 7-1 at our meeting Thursday to direct staff to work with the community organizations running the tent to find an appropriate location for it nearby but not in the park.
Council has given direction. The tent can’t remain in the park. There is a really important piece of information that I hope everyone interested in this issue will take to heart and share with others. Beacon Hill Park is governed by the Beacon Hill Trust that dates back to 1882. The Trust dictates the kinds of activities that can happen in the park and the kind that can’t. The Trust has been tested in court a number of times and each time it has been upheld.
The Community Care Tent is not the kind of activity or structure that can remain in the park according to the Trust. This is really important and should be of concern to everyone who cares about the right for people to shelter in Beacon Hill Park. If the Community Care Tent is not removed, the City could be found to be in violation of the Trust. Being found in violation of the Trust is serious and could put the park at risk and some important uses that are valued by the community may not be able to continue.
The showers installed in the park fall into the same category. This is why Council worked hard to get a showering solution in place as outlined above. The showers also can’t remain in the park.
This is a situation where context and the bigger picture need to be considered so that we are able, collectively, to take care of and provide services to our most vulnerable residents. We’re all working towards the same end.
Following Council’s direction, and knowing that Council sees the need for the Community Care Tent, on Friday staff in Parks and Engineering worked hard to come up with a solution. We are grateful for their work to do so. On Friday evening Council got a note from our Director of Parks letting us know that representatives from Engineering worked on the technical requirements for where the tent could relocate. On Friday evening staff were advised by one person – speaking on behalf of the tent group – that they in fact had no interest in moving the tent to any new location.
Some of you have appealed to staff directly. Council has given staff clear direction to come up with a compromise. If you have concerns about these issues, please write to mayorandcouncil@victoria.ca rather than to our staff.
Next Steps and the City’s Role
Since the beginning of the pandemic, we’ve received so many emails outlining the challenges that sheltering in parks is having on everyone – those sheltering and those wanting to use the parks. And I’ve been updating weekly for a few months now on the actions that the City is taking. There seems to be one thing that I’m not communicating clearly enough, as each week we still receive emails like this one:
“You need to find a way to treat those addicted and break the cycle of supply and demand. Focus your energy towards this goal and not in the direction it appears to be heading. Housing people even if it were possible does not cure the addictions they carry. Medical intervention should be the mandate followed. Free tenting or housing just leaves the situation to continue to grow … I hope this clarity will guide you and council to brighter days and better times for those less advantaged.”
I wholeheartedly agree with this email. But – and here’s the clarity – cities are not health care providers. Myself and the 12 other mayors in the BC Urban Mayors’ Caucus agree that the number one issue facing our cities across the province right now, is the untreated mental health and addictions crisis. There are people left on the street or living in motels with complex needs who need comprehensive medical care. We look forward to working hard alongside the new government to make sure that these needs are met, to everyone’s benefit.
So what can the City do? Here’s a excerpt from the report that Councillor Loveday and I are bringing to Council for consideration on Thursday. Our recommendations are at the end of the excerpt. You can read the whole report here.
The recommendations here are a suite of actions that the City and its partners can take to work towards providing housing or indoor shelter with a path to permanent housing to everyone currently sheltering outdoors in the city and to put an end to 24/7 camping in city parks. We understand that not all of the solutions outlined in the recommendations will be implemented by March 31st. But we are confident that working together with BC Housing and Island Health, enough indoor spaces can be provided by March 31st while medium term solutions – like the construction of affordable, supportive housing on Yates Street and Meares Street through modular (quick) construction methods – will follow. There is urgency to act now with winter upon us. We believe that setting a goal to work towards will help focus and mobilize action.
Additionally, doing this work together with the Province will result in savings for both parties. Earlier this year the Province spent a significant amount of money to run a tent encampment in Topaz Park. The Province has also supported the City through Emergency Management BC with roughly $500,000 in funding to help manage sheltering related costs during the Provincial State of Emergency. This year it is estimated that the City’s direct costs for managing sheltering in parks will be $1.4 million. For the 2021 budget – if the status quo remains – staff are estimating a $1.7 million expenditure for managing outdoor sheltering.
City of Victoria Support for Affordable Housing
The City of Victoria has been supporting the creation of affordable housing for at least a decade. The City of Victoria Housing Reserve Fund supports the creation of affordable housing through direct funding of units on a per-bedroom basis including $10,000 per bedroom for low-income units and $5000 per bedroom for moderate income units. The per bedroom basis incentives the creation of larger units. Non-profit developers often express that although it is a small contribution compared to those from senior levels of government, the City’s contribution helps to make projects viable.
The City created the 2016-2025 Victoria Housing Strategy which is currently in Phase Two (2019-2022). The Housing Strategy begins from the premise that housing is a human right and prioritizes actions that create affordable housing. The five key themes of Phase Two include prioritizing renters and renter households, increasing the supply of housing for low to moderate income households in Victoria, increasing housing choice for all Victorians, optimizing existing policies and processes, and trying new and bold approaches. As a result of COVID-19, Council has re-prioritized the Phase Two actions that will help to ensure housing security for renters.
The City has also used City-owned land for the purposes of supporting affordable housing. Together with School District 61, the City has contributed land to a project on Caledonia Street, which, if approved, will see the creation of 158 affordable units. In Burnside Gorge the City has also contributed city land and partnered with SD61 for the creation of 88 units of affordable housing. On top of the City’s new fire hall on Johnson Street there are 130 units of affordable housing under construction. And the City has recently purchased land that could be used for affordable housing and other community purposes.
The City does not have constitutional jurisdiction over housing or the resources to provide housing and shelter. Yet it is clear that we have – and will continue – to do our part using the tools and resources available to us, in partnership with BC Housing and Island Health, other public agencies and non-profits, and the private sector.
City of Victoria Advocacy Efforts
The City of Victoria has worked hard over the past six years to advocate for housing funding from the provincial and federal governments. It was a motion from Victoria City Council to the CRD that resulted in the beginnings of the CRD Regional Housing First Program. It was CRD staff that took the idea from Victoria Council and worked creatively to develop a program that resulted in a $40 million regional investment that was matched by $40 million from both the provincial and federal governments. This $120 million in funding has leveraged a total of $600 million in construction and will result in 2000 units of affordable and rental housing, including 400 units that rent at $375 per month. At this point, the majority of these units are being built outside of the City of Victoria.
In addition, Mayor Helps has been part of the Right to Home national municipal working group since the beginning of COVID-19. This national organizing and advocacy helped to shape the federal Rapid Housing Initiative and included the CRD securing $13 million through this initiative – the only regional district in the country to receive direct funding.
While both of these programs are regional in nature and have been initiated and supported by regional staff and elected officials across the region, the City’s efforts have been instrumental.
Need for Shelter for all in Global Health Pandemic
People are sheltering in parks in the City and across the province and country because when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, shelters had to reduce their numbers because of physical distancing measures. These physical distancing measures are still in place.
We are now in the second wave of a pandemic that has hit seniors disproportionately. While it is unacceptable for anyone to be living outside in the middle of a global health pandemic, it is unconscionable that there are seniors living in tents when there is a recently vacated seniors home in our region.
We respect that Oak Bay Council and the CRD are in a planning process for the future of the Oak Bay Lodge lands. We also understand that the building will be demolished at some point to make way for the new development. What we don’t think we should accept as a community is that it is more acceptable for seniors to spend the winter in tents than it is for them to spend the winter in a building recently vacated by seniors.
Earlier in the pandemic there was a shortage of operators and not enough staff for temporary affordable housing sites. Recently a housing provider needed to hire 40 staff when they took over the running of a couple of housing sites; they were able to easily hire 40 staff who were trained to work in affordable housing sites.
We recommend that the Province move seniors currently living in parks into a small portion of the Oak Bay Lodge until the building is demolished and secure an operator to run a small portion of the building. We understand that the building is in poor condition. We are certain that the condition of the building is better than a tent for a 70 year old.
1. That Council direct staff to work with a private land owner or to use city-owned land for the construction of temporary tiny home clusters of no more than 30 units beginning with one pilot project in Q1 of 2021 subject to the availability of one year of operating funding from BC Housing.
2. That Council allocate a portion of the City’s federal-provincial restart money in early 2021 to help fund solutions that will move people indoors.
3. That the City request the Province immediately open Oak Bay Lodge to people 55 years and older who are currently living in City parks until the vacant building is demolished for redevelopment.
4. That the City indicate to the Province that it supports the use of the two sites recently purchased by the Province on Yates Street and Meares Street for affordable, supportive housing and encourages the Province to begin construction of modular housing on those sites as soon as possible, respecting the City’s design guidelines.
5. That the City of Victoria works with the Province and other partners to offer housing or indoor shelter with a path to permanent housing for everyone currently sheltering in City parks by March 31st 2021 and directs staff to bring forward amendments to the Parks Regulation Bylaw so that the temporary measures including 24/7 camping expire on March 31st 2021. Final adoption of these amendments are to be scheduled once it is clear that adequate housing and shelter space will be made available by the March 31st deadline.
6. That the City supports partner agencies in engaging people currently sheltering in City parks to determine their housing and support needs, to inform the operation of shelter and housing facilities and ensure access to safe and adequate housing for all.
Thanks for reading all the way to the end of this very long email. As always, I know there is a lot of information in here. It’s really important to me that this is shared as widely as possible so that everyone in the community has access. Please feel free to forward. And to stay in touch, sign up here.
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Home » Archive » 458 » David Biale
History, Judaism and Jewishness
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David Biale
Belonging: The Story of the Jews 1492–1900
By Simon Schama
The Bodley Head 792pp £25 order from our bookshop
Only a quotation, taken pretty much at random, can capture the charming but equally irritating quality of the second volume of Simon Schama’s highly personal and idiosyncratic history of the Jews:
There was a time when Jewish catering opened doors. Every Friday afternoon, following Muslim prayers but before the Jewish Sabbath, a caravan of confections from the villa of the Great Jew in Pera was delivered to Topkapi Palace. Seated upon silk cushions, the yellow-haired sultan, Selim II, awaited with keen anticipation the delicacies brought to him on Chinese porcelain: pigeon dainties baked in rose water and sugar, goose livers chopped with Corinth raisins and the spices which were, after all, the Jew’s to command; also some items preserved in the kitchen of culinary nostalgia, from the ancient Turkic days of tents and flocks and racing ponies; the sour yogurts and yufka, the unleavened bread that was wrapped around a pilaf. In the new style there was an array of zeytinyagli dishes, named for the olive oil (another Jewish import trade) in which they were cooked and served cold – a corrective, the physicians said, to the black bile that would come on the humid summers.
This passage is vintage Schama: lush in evocative detail, a veritable word picture, but also self-indulgently overwritten. The passage goes on for another page and a half before we learn the identity of this Jewish confectioner, Don Joseph Nasi, a refugee from the Iberian Peninsula, who became one of the richest and most powerful men (and certainly the richest and most powerful Jew) in the Ottoman Empire.
Schama’s gift is as a storyteller. The subtitle of the book is, appropriately, ‘The Story of the Jews’ (and not their history). Schama paints this picture of the Jewish experience in broad strokes, his account ranging from Portugal to the Ottoman Empire, China, France, London, Amsterdam, Germany, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and America. He is particularly good at evoking the complex legacy of the French Revolution (as one might expect from the author of Citizens), which not only emancipated the Jews but also unleashed a torrent of Jew-hatred, much like the Dreyfus Affair a century later, which is well narrated too.
Alongside the big picture are enchanting vignettes and anecdotes about individuals, some of them well known, others less so. Many of these figures serve as points of departure for discussions of particular aspects of Jewish culture. Thus Schama gives us the story of Leone de Sommi, an Italian Renaissance playwright and actor, ‘the first unapologetically Jewish showman’. This story poses the larger questions, which Schama might have considered, of why many Jews become entertainers and what this means for modern Jewish identity.
Later, we encounter Sarra Copia, a 17th-century Italian writer living in the Venetian ghetto, who carried on an epistolary affair with a Christian poet named Ansaldo Cebà. She was highly educated, far beyond what we expect for Jewish women at that time. His letters to her (the only part of the correspondence to survive) reflect deep intellectual engagement that became amorous. But when it dawned on her that Cebà desired her conversion, she broke off the correspondence. Schama labels this affair – and the culture it epitomised – ‘cohabitation without conversion’. The Jews may have been physically segregated from the rest of Italian society, but the educated elite among them took vigorous part in it without surrendering their identity.
In Georgian England, we discover Daniel Mendoza, a Sephardic Jew who was one of the great boxers of his time. This is a story that Schama researched for and wrote about in an earlier article. Mendoza certainly upsets our prejudices about the status of Jews in a society that still did not fully accept them. It might have been apposite for Schama to tell us about other Jewish boxers, from the time of Mendoza and from the 20th century (Wikipedia lists 115 and there may be more), who were often seen as literally fighting for acceptance for their people.
He also introduces us to the mid-19th-century American woman Adah Isaacs Menken, who was born a Christian but claimed to be Jewish – a Marrano – by descent (she added the ‘h’ to her first name to make it sound more Jewish). She was at one time the best-paid actress in America and had multiple scandalous affairs and staged provocative publicity stunts. Schama comments on how stories like this one demonstrate the way America liberated Jewish women. This is no doubt true, but had Schama read more deeply Ada Rapoport-Albert’s book Women and the Messianic Heresy of Sabbatai Zevi, 1666–1816, he would have seen how the messianic movement in the 17th and 18th centuries (a subject he covers quite well) provided earlier opportunities for assertive femininity. It should be stated in Schama’s defence that the library of books on his subject is so vast that he cannot be expected to have mastered them all, although he has generally read deeply in the most recent literature.
Schama rarely offers serious analysis of the importance of the figures he has chosen to highlight. Are they only there because of their piquancy? Or do they tell us more? A common feature of all of these stories is that their protagonists crossed boundaries. The Jews, Schama seems to say, never existed in isolation but were always interacting with surrounding non-Jewish societies. And these flamboyant characters were pioneers, as it were, of such crossings. The closest Schama comes to advancing a thesis for his long book comes in a question at the end of his chapter on early modern Italy: ‘[The Jews] could live, somehow, on the edge of the world. The question for the rest of modern history was could they live, happily, at its centre?’ He never answers his own question.
But it is possible that another argument is buried in Schama’s book. Although its subtitle says that it begins in 1492 (the date when the Jews were expelled from Spain), Schama actually starts some years later with the messianic adventurer David Ha-Reuveni. He ends with Theodor Herzl, seen by many as a messianic adventurer himself. He concludes the final chapter with Herzl in Jerusalem, imagining the new city that the Jews would build there:
Just want it enough and it would be no dream.
And that odd sensation he felt in his heart from time to time, along with a shortness of breath, that little catch and jump, the allegretto of his beating pulse? Well, it was hilly, this Jeruscholajim. It was nothing really … All would be well.
In the absence of any comment on this pregnant passage, we are forced to speculate as to its significance. Schama is obviously referring to Herzl’s heart condition, which would eventually kill him at the age of forty-four. But perhaps there is more. Herzl was right in prophesying the rise of a Jewish state and its transformation of Jerusalem. However, all is decidedly not well in Zion, for if Zionism imagined a messianic solution to the Jews’ wandering and persecution, it finds itself instead locked in seemingly endless combat. The cohabitation of the age of the Venetian ghetto has given way to walls that the Jews themselves have built. And so the long story that Schama tells is encompassed, he seems to be saying, by failed messianism at both ends.
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Literary analysis of “The Handmaid’s Tale” Essay
September 29, 2020 by Essay Writer
‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ is a feminist novel that highlights the perils of women in a society that has not only dehumanized their status but also made it almost criminal to be a woman. The novel highlights a cruel world where women do not enjoy the freedom of choice. In ‘The Handmaids Tale,’ women are painted as objects for male selfish desires and satisfaction.
Using this law, men have withdrawn all the things that would have otherwise made life worth living for women. In the Republic of Gilead, women are not supposed to read, write or even listen to music. These are luxuries only reserved for men. Women are also denied the natural pleasures such as love and romance. They have seen as objects of male enjoyment something that has no human values other than to make men happy. As such, they live in a dystopic world.
The story reads like a fictional autobiography. It is told from the first person point of view. However, this story is not just propaganda to highlight gender issues. This is because of its complex characters, setting, and thematic concerns. The male character is torn between remaining loyal to the faith or breaking the law and engaging in the pure pleasure of love and romance. The reader feels that some of the male characters identify with the suffering of the female character but cannot do anything as they are held ransom by the Faith.
The novel also seamlessly combines the fundamentals of modern religion with ancient totalitarian regimes of leadership, making it a masterpiece. The complexity of the novel and the ideals it propagates makes it more than a work of fiction because it highlights real issues that affect modern-day societies.
To a keen reader, the setting of the novel is very complicated as it combines ancient, modern and post-modernistic issues in an almost unnoticeable way. Time-wise, the novel is set not so much into the distant future. Geographically, the story happens in a land where the former United States of America lies after a Christian theocratic regime overthrows it.
The Republic of Gilead, the resultant state, thus lies within the boundaries of the current United States of America. When the United States of America government is overthrown and democracy replaced by ancient Christian theocracy that borrows heavily from the Old Testament, the reader is thrown back in time to when government hid behind religion to establish oppressive regimes.
Still, the novels highlight the use of credit cards, effectively depicting a government desperate to fight pollution and other challenges of the modern world. That a commander rules the country brings the reader into the present day world, a world of absolute dictatorship (Atwood 81). The plight to the handmaids who are engaged to bear children for the commander’s wives is symbolic of the biblical Old Testament characters of Rachel and Leah.
This means that the social setting is not only heavily laden with fundamental Christian ideals but also post modernistic social issues such as population control. The complex nature of the setting, therefore, influences the direction of the story in that it helps the author to sufficiently blend historical and futuristic ideal in a way seen as still relevant to the modern world.
The reader can understand the story better upon a closer analysis of the characters. The main character is also the narrator and tells the story from the first person point of view making it more of an autobiography. The narrator, Offred, can be seen as both an objective observer and actor. Telling the story from the first person point of view means that any misinterpretations are avoided. As such, the reader is able to get information that is as close to the fact a first-person interpretation of those facts.
Because the narrator is the emblem of the plight of all women in this society, telling the tale from the first-person point of view makes it easy for the reader to understand what women go through and at the same time, share in their plight. It also helps to make the story real and eliminates the notion that the story is just mere feministic propaganda (Brians para 10).
Offred is best understood from the analysis of her name, the symbolic roles she plays in the novel as the symbol of women suffering. Offred, the protagonist, is kidnapped from her husband and thus separated from her family by this oppressive dynasty. She is brought to the commander’s house to bear children for his barren wife. Offred is her patronymic name which can be broken down into two names: of and Fred. This indicates that she is of Fred meaning that she belongs to Fred, the commander.
Offred is seen to change throughout the story from the wife of a peasant to the emblematic figure of women liberation. Her significance is seen through her symbolic birth name June, which in the context of the Republic of Gilead means Mayday, the day the women, will be salvaged from their torment. Her name June thus becomes symbolic of the résistance that would soon lead to their freedom (Atwood 220).
It is possible to develop an understanding of the character from her description of herself. Despite living in a male-dominated world where the power of women has been dramatically curtailed, Offred still manages to maintain a self-awareness of who she is and confidently identifies herself as a woman without any hint that she belongs to any man.
She describes her physical attributes that are distinctively feminine. Furthermore, despite living in a world where a woman is just an object of man’s desire Offred is able to strictly maintain the definition of herself as purely woman, devoid of any material trappings thus: ‘I am thirty-three years old. I have brown hair. I stand five seven without shoes’ (Atwood 143). It is this appreciation of herself as a woman coupled with her symbolic name June which makes Offred the emblematic figure of the resistance to male domination.
Offred is also the insignia of how women suffer sexually. It is through her experiences that the reader comes to know her strengths as a woman, repressed thoughts and aspirations that she poses regarding intimacy. It is through Offred that the reader is able to see the way women, in general, are degraded as mere tools for men’s sexual gratification.
Offred describes her sexual experiences from the first person’s perspective and sees sex in four ways. For her, the sexual experiences that women in the Republic of Gilead go through cannot be termed as lovemaking, neither can they be said to be rape as women are not supposed to have right to sex and thus by default should not have the right and the power to refuse.
In this case, it is not even within the power of women to refuse sex. Offred says that her sexual encounters with Fred, her master commander, cannot also be termed as copulation either as this means that two people are involved. In real sense, only the commander is involved as her senses, mind, and emotion are not. In her words, sex is seen as degrading, humiliating as well as an emotionless experience as it is only physical and given upon demand from men thus:
“My red skirt is hitched up to my waist, though no higher. Below it the Commander is fucking. What he is fucking is the lower part of my body. I do not say making love, because this is not what he’s doing. Copulating too would be inaccurate because it would imply two people and only one is involved. Nor does rape cover it: nothing is going on here that I haven’t signed up for” (Atwood 94).
Other than the main character, other characters play significant roles in this story. Even though these characters have individual uniqueness they have been categorized into two main groups: male and female. The male characters are divided into four: The Commander of the Faithful led by Fred, for whom Offred is a handmaid. He is the symbolic male chauvinistic character in the novel.
There are also the Eyes, the men who offer intelligence services to the Republic of Gilead rulership, Angels and Guardians of Faith who are the soldiers who fight to protect the republic as well as the Gender Traitors the homosexuals seen as traitors of the Faith and sent to die painfully in the colonies.
The relationships between the main character Offred and the men are master-servant kind of relationship. Through this relationship, the reader is able to see the weaknesses rather than the strengths of men. Although the novel presents men as superior and faultless, it is their ability not to procreate (to be infertile) that exposes their weak side. This proves that the notion of men being superior with absolute power over women is false.
Women are the stronger characters as they are the ones who are able to procreate. Offred, as well as other handmaids, are taken from their lawful marriages to procreate for infertile kings (It is unheard of and illegal to declare men as sterile). The commander is seen as sterile by his wife Serena Joy who arranges from Offred to sleep with her driver to give birth for the commander. This experience also presents women as too willing and ready collaborators.
Women characters are also divided into two main groups: legitimate and illegitimate. The legitimate women are the wives, maids like Offred, Aunts, Martha’s and economies. The aunts are seen as stumbling blocks to the freedom of the women. They, like the men, have the luxuries of reading and writing (Atwood 139) and are seen as part of the colony.
In one of the most visible oppositions to the liberation of the woman, the aunts tell Offred to stop’ June-ing’ too much: June means mayday liberations (Atwood 220). The handmaids in the house of the commander also give the story from a biblical perspective in reference to some of the biblical figures who took maids to bear children for them when their wives could not.
The most effective tool for communication is the use of language. The author uses language creatively as a tool for communication. The author uses modern language words and syntax construction, making the novel seem so deceptively easy to read.
Language is used as a very powerful tool for communicating women aspirations for freedom as well as portray the colonial mentality of their men in these societies effectively. The choice of words in describing Offred sexual experiences with the commander shows that the women are emotionally removed from the experience. It also portrays the ability of the woman to communicate their notion about sex, which is far from what men see it be.
The author chooses words like copulations, rape, fucking and making love to describe Offred’s perspectives of sex. These words also portray the author as having a modernistic approach to sex not just as an act of procreation but as a way to express love. Through the tone of language the reader can see that a woman does not see sex as just an act but an expression of love, something devoid in this society (Atwood 94). The authors choice of words like ‘unbabies’ reflect the fears that do exist amongst the women of this society.
The author’s use of dialogue is also as effective as the choice of words. Various dialogues have different effects. However, the most common outcome of the use of dialogues portrays women’s emotional connection regardless of their individual character. Offred’s prayer said in monologue reflects her fears as a woman, her loss self and of life, and her desire to gain it back (Atwood 286).
Although the treacherous Ofglen is the opposite of Offred in character, their dialogue portrays them as sharing in the suffering that all women go through (Atwood 285). Furthermore, the telephone conversation that Moira and Offred have prepares the readers for what might occur the woman after the fall of the United States of America. It is also an indication that the woman had a premonition of what was to befall her after the establishment of the Republic of Gilead (Atwood 174).
‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ is a story told about the future and the problems that might occur in the world due to technological advancement. As such it is not necessarily a piece of science fiction but speculative fiction, a narration of probable things that might happen in future. It also deviates from the mere feminist propagandist genres as it has a complicated setting, characters, and themes.
Even though the novel is an exaggeration, it portrays the fact that women are still oppressed in the modern world. As such the tale is not far fetched as even the male, a reader is able to identify with the oppressed women in the novel as well as in real life.
Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale. New York: Anchor Books, 1986. Print.
Brians, Paul. “Study Guide to Margaret Atwood: The Handmaid’s Tale (1986).” 1995. Web.
Further Study: FAQ
? What are some literary devices in The Handmaid’s Tale?
There are quite a few literary devices used in The Handmaid’s Tale. The most prominent are metaphors and humor. Plus, the author implemented alliterations, literary allusions, and simile.
? What is The Handmaid’s Tale meaning?
The Handmaid’s Tale is about a totalitarian state, known as Gilead, that has overthrown the United States government. The novel explores themes of repressed women in a patriarchal society and how they are trying to resist to gain independence.
? What point of view is The Handmaid’s Tale?
The Handmaid’s Tale is told by a first-person narrator named Offred. The reader follows the current timeline in the present tense, while the flashbacks and background history are told in the past tense.
? What religion is The Handmaid’s Tale based on?
The Handmaid’s Tale takes place in a fundamentalist Christian theocracy which is based on Puritanism. It’s taken from the 17th-century America. The authoritative world that heavily relies on religion resembles the political climate of the country at the end of the 20th century.
The handmaid’s tale Essay
The handmaid’s tale is a dystopia that builds upon the dystopian imagery of feminist texts from 1970s. Atwood’s novel was written in direct reaction to the growing political power of the American religious right in the 1980s (Atwood). It projects a nightmare future in which rightwing religious extremists have established control of the government of what was once the United States but has now been transformed into the theocratic Republic of Gilead.
The thesis of this paper is based on three aspects. First is the imposition that women who have virtually no rights and are treated essentially as chattels. The second thesis is based on the role of religion in the society. Religion in Gilead is the similar to that of the current American society especially, the aspect of ambiguity which has been predominant with regard to the rightful application of religious beliefs and principles.
Lastly, language is a powerful tool with regard to formulating of ideologies and addressing issues. This book captures the implications of language with regard to addressing the pitfalls that face the people of Gilead. Similarly, this is the case with the American society where language has been used as an avenue to woo voters and address social issues.
Yet the brutal treatment of women in Gilead, however extreme, clearly serves as an extrapolation of patriarchal conditions that have long prevailed in uptown world and that many say as worsening during the Reagan administration of the 1980s – and that many have seen as worsening again during the Bush administration of the early twenty first century.
The oppression
The Handmaid’s Tale is presented as the secret journal of Offred, beginning with her training for a life of sexual servitude as a “handmaid” in the republic of Gilead. Handmaid, we learn, are assigned to important men in Gilead whose wives have proved unable to bear children, so that those men might still have an opportunity to procreate (Wisker).
Procreation is, in fact, highly problematic in this society, where deteriorating environmental conditions have rendered most women sterile. Most men may be sterile as well, though in Gilead male infertility is officially non – existent, and the infertility of a couple is always attributed to the woman. The officials of Gilead have declared artificial insemination or any other technological intervention in the process of fertilization to be unnatural.
As a result, the handmaids are to be impregnated by ordinary sexual intercourse, though this intercourse occurs as part of a highly ritualized ceremony that is anything but natural: the wife looks on while the husband and handmaid have sex in a manner designed to remove all semblance of sexual pleasure, at least for the handmaid, though one suspects that the husband may take a preserve delight in imposing his power on a subjugated woman (Wisker).
In this book, religion is used as an aspect which is to enhance the fear of God. This is owing to the fact that when one goes against God, there is the likelihood of punishment. This gives a reflection of how things are in the current society.
The fear of God has been used to discourage people off the perceived evils which are going on in the society. Some of the illustrations in this book have been borrowed from the book of Genesis, for instance, the case where Rachael insists that her husband Jacob sleeps with the handmaid to conceive. This is a major biblical theme which is pronounced in this book.
Essentially, Atwood depicts how ambiguous the fundamentalists are using the bible to describe or to discuss the social on goings within Gilead. As the case is, currently, we are living in a society where there is a lot of ambiguity with regard to religion. People are using biblical explanations to justify their life styles in an age where there are no clear cut boundaries about what ought to be followed and what ought not to be.
There is an aura of hypocrisy which has bedeviled the society then as it is the case in the current society. This has been illustrated in the case where women’s role is defined as child bearing, as described in Atwood’s book, “Adam was not deceived, but the women being deceived was in transgression ” (Chapter 34, pp 221).
In Atwood’s dystopian Handmaid’s Tale, the power of language is equally evident. Women in the republic of Gilead are not permitted to read. (Judd, one of the architects of the Republic, is credited with saying, “Our big mistake was teaching them to read. We won’t do that again” [p. 307]).
The shops are known by their pictorial signs alone, women are expected to keep silent or to utter only approved phrases, and playing scrabble with a woman is indecent. Yet the rebels use a system of manual signs, a silent language to communicate. And the Handmaid finds her closet message in Latin scratched there by the previous, now dead, Handmaid.
This brings to the core the power of using language to shape ideologies. Essentially, the current American society has grappled with this concept.
Individual women, whether they are struggling with discrimination in the workplace, abuse in the home, everyday sexual harassment, the aftereffect of rape, or any of the other isolating conditions so common in patriarchy, can begin to reduce their resulting Societal Stockholm Syndrome by claiming language as their own.
This book indicates the subversive potential of language, not only reminding us how language has been and is used to alienate women from our experience but also inviting us to consider the everyday audacity of private and public language use as a form of mental liberation.
Atwood focuses on women and sexuality as principal targets of the religious totarianism of the Republic of Gilead. In this Christian theocracy, marriage is promoted as a social goal, though it is only available to those who have reached a certain social status. Indeed, wives, while they enjoy higher status than handmaids, are literally “issued” to successful males as rewards for loyal service to the community.
In addition, women in this society exist not as individuals but as members of well defined groups, corresponding almost to brand names (Wisker). Among the upper classes, women function principally either as wives (who serve as domestic managers), domestic servants or handmaids. In the lower classes, however, “Econowives” have to play all of these roles.
There are also “Aunts” who serve to train and discipline the handmaid and “Jezebels” who are officially though covertly, sanctioned prostitutes used to service foreign dignitaries and important government officials. Women who cannot or will not play one of these roles are labeled “Unwomen” and are exiled to the “colonies,” where they are used for hazardous duties like cleaning up toxic waste, much of the American landscape having been polluted to the point of being inhabitable.
It is worth noting that in this novel, we have a woman protagonist, Offred, with whom we sympathize, as readers, and who invites us to share her perceptions of events and disempowerment in Gilead, a republic controlled entirely by male power or patriarchy and based on the value of reproductive capability. Essentially, women are initially of high value but refused the opportunity to read and make their own decisions, make choices of how to live and who live with and are unable to own their own possessions and move.
This novel has clearly brought out issues which deal with representation of women’s roles, constraints, gender, sexuality and power, the management and control of reproductive rights, feminist themes, issues and reading practices (Wisker). In literary terms, it is also interesting to consider how and if women might write differently from men, other than treating different issues or similar issues differently and this leads us to thinking about the use of language and imagery.
The outlook for women in this possible future which has been offered in this book is indeed miserable, reduced to bodily functions and roles of handmaids, wives, or housemaids doing chores in the formal household system, or in the proletariat outside, as econowives.
In this critique of reproductive technologies and a dehumanizing control over women’s power and individuality Atwood imagines a future which has reversed all the equalities and achievements of the twentieth century. These include the achievements of the suffrage movement. Women in the novel are reduced to back to being owned by men rather than being able to own property, their own bodies and futures. In chapter 28 the turning point is seen.
This is a powerful moment and a shocking chapter. Offred and her husband Luke, along with their daughter, are living an ordinary life when, in the course of the week the president is shot, the constitution revoked, and armed bodies of Special Forces – troops of some sort – patrol the streets and control everyone’s actions. This position in the future is contrasted with the moments of equality, hard earned in the 1980s, and the beliefs, actions and visions of feminists in that period.
In conclusion, reading the novel in the twenty first century we can have a more distanced perspective on the views of 1980s feminism, on the kind of outcomes they would never have sought, and on the ways in which (while they have many rights in the western and parts of the Eastern world) they are frequently reduced to state disempowerment under extreme or fundamentalist regimes.
Atwood, Margaret. The handmaid’s tale. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1986. Print. Wisker, Gina. Atwood’s the Handmaid’s Tale. Chennai: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2010. Print.
In the book, The Handmaid’s Tale, the republic of Gilead presents a different environment with different rules from those of the former order before the conflict and establishment of a new order. The new laws criminalize the women’s right to own property, have jobs, and even read by justifying it as a necessity to mitigate the effects of pollution that renders most women infertile and puts the society in danger of extinction.
One of the strategies that the government applies in mitigation of the population’s sterility is provision of handmaids to upper class citizens for reproduction purposes. The handmaids’ main duty is to conduct coital interactions with their commanders (male masters of their households) for reproductive purposes in an event that the people refer to as ‘the ceremony’. During the ceremony, men have sex with their handmaids while their wives watch. Most handmaids comply with their duties reluctantly mainly out of fear for their lives.
Offred copes with survival as a handmaid in Gilead by applying the use of calculated rebellion in her actions throughout her stay. The calculated rebellion entails keeping the old order memories alive, misbehaving intentionally during shopping, having a secret affair with the Commander outside the ‘Ceremony’ and sleeping with Nick, entertaining Ofglen’s proposal to spy on the Commander, and engaging in forbidden acts whilst visiting the Commander.
Offred’s acts of rebellion
It is important to note that Offred’s loss of her family owing to their attempt to escape from Gilead plays a significant role in the methods she chooses to apply in her rebellion. Offred, a handmaid who plays the protagonist in the story, finds several ways of coping with her new situation mainly through the application of calculated rebellion.
This assertion means that she weighs her actions in terms of pros and cons before implementing any rebellious act. Throughout the story, she voices her rejection of the objectification of women in the society, but chooses her moments carefully during her outward projections of such rebellion. Throughout the book, there is evidence of her rebellious nature, though the acts seem trivial in relation to the gravity of her situation, and thus they do not alter the society’s sense of normalcy.
One of the ways in which Offred uses calculated rebellion as a coping mechanism is evident when she goes shopping with Ofglen, a fellow handmaid. Although going shopping does not constitute rebellion, her behavior during the shopping trips does.
For instance, Offred sways her hips mimicking the way the Guardians move (Atwood 22). Acting in such a way is indicative of her rejection of the societal view of her as a lesser human being to the Guardians. Swaying her hips is her way of stating that she is more than just a ‘womb on legs’ and is just as feminine as the Guardians.
Additionally, Offred and Ofglen go beyond the wall where dead bodies of rebels hang. This aspect does not comply with the principle of absolute obedience that handmaids learn at the Re-education Center (Red Center). Additionally, going to the wall appears as an act of sympathy considering Ofglen’s affiliation with the Mayday rebel group. The government authorities do not favor actions that imply sympathy to the rebel group thus the two risk attracting punitive action from Gilead’s law enforcement authorities.
Secondly, although the main purpose for having handmaids in Gilead is for reproduction purposes, Offred takes her relationship with the Commander further by engaging him emotionally away from the commander wife’s watchful eye (Atwood 154).
Such a relationship also goes against the objective for the establishment of the Ceremony, which is to ensure that the wife has control over the handmaid’s interaction with her husband. Offred entertains her personal relationship with the Commander as a show of her rebellion, power, and to some extent obedience to her master. It is thus safe to say that she chooses this form of rebellion as it bears little potential for punishment.
A similar comparison to this type of rebellion is Offred’s rejection of the doctor’s offer to impregnate her and save her from her duty to the Commander. Although the doctor represents an authority figure, she has no qualms rejecting his offer. Another example indicative of Offred’s choice for calculated rebellion is her acceptance of Serena Joy’s offer to have sex with Nick and get pregnant in exchange for information about her daughter, who gets lost at the onset of the rebellion during their attempt to escape (Atwood 205).
Her choice to accept the offer and have sex with Nick represents her rebellion to authority as the rules outlaw such affairs. However, this move is a calculated show of rebellion because she weighs the rewards of her choice against possible disadvantages before accepting the offer. Since the offer affords her a chance to obtain information about her daughter and have sex with a different man without the possibility of punishment from Serena Joy, she jumps at the opportunity and embraces it gladly.
Additionally, Offred conducts her affair with Nick for a period longer than that which she agrees with Serena Joy and does so secretly. Her behavior then constitutes rebellion against her master’s orders and Gilead’s rules in general.
Offred’s recollection of memories greatly affects her perception of the new order and acts as a rebellious act against the formation of new ideologies and the government of Gilead’s efforts to instill new principles into the society. The government of Gilead goes to great lengths to ensure the enforcement of their perception of gender roles. However, the government also understands that voluntary compliance with the principles by individuals is crucial for a successful overhaul of principles that prevailed during the old order.
For this reason, the authorities established the Re-education Center (Red Center) and staffed it with women in charge of instilling the new principles to women and especially for handmaids (Atwood 25). At the Red Center, the handmaids learn about what their masters expect of them and what constitute punishable offences.
However, Offred chooses to hold on to ideologies on the old other with regard to women, thus defeating the purpose of the entire re-education process and serving as a rebellious act against the new order. For instance, in one of her flashbacks, Offred thinks back at the amount of pride that she had for her body during the period when she was married to Luke. In her opinion, her body was for her pleasure as well as her husband’s own.
She compares the perspective with her new situation in which the government values her only for her fertility, which lies in the decision to make her a handmaid to a sterile couple. She states that due to the state’s perception, she feels like a ‘womb on legs’, which is a probable feeling for many handmaids in Gilead. Thus, in order to ensure she does not lose herself, she holds on to her memories of her old life and the previous regime.
Offred’s willful association with Ofglen after discovery that she is a member of the outlawed rebel group, Mayday, also constitutes an act of rebellion as the government discourages such behavior. Offred goes to the extent of entertaining Ofglen’s proposal to spy on the Commander (Atwood 169), even though she does not act on the thoughts, probably due to the potential consequences that spying would cause if the Commander or Serena Joy caught her.
The last calculated act of rebellion involves Offred’s choice of activities when she meets the Commander for their secret visits. Offred chooses to keep the power she wielded in her life before the new order by playing chess and scrabble (Atwood 139). Scrabble and Chess are both games that require a certain amount of intelligence.
Therefore, by choosing to play the said games with her master, Offred implies her superior status to other women, considering that the law forbids such behaviors. She also implies her equality with the Commander, who is a representation of the men in the society in that story.
During the visits, the Commander also lets Offred indulge in reading magazines (Atwood 157), a concept that the administration frowns on. As stated earlier, the government at Gilead makes fervent efforts to ensure that the female population in the new republic adheres to total submission, which the governance considers crucial in ensuring that every fertile female commits to re-establishing numbers in the currently dwindling population.
By reading magazines, Offred passively rebels against the perception of women as child-bearers by presenting women as intellectual beings with needs similar to those of men. It is important to note that the Commander, a senior member of the society, is present and encourages Offred’s behavior. Therefore, even as Offred indulges in her ‘guilty pleasures’, she does so with the knowledge that the likelihood of punishment is slight.
Offred favors calculated acts of rebellion to outright rebellion as they present lower risks of punitive action from her masters and the government’s law enforcement bodies.
Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale, New York: Anchor Books, 1998. Print.
The Handmaid’s Tale vs. The Country Between Us Compare and Contrast Essay
The destructive aspects of totalitarian regimes attracted the attention of many writers during the Cold War era. One of the main issues that they explored was the state oppression of an individual who could eventually become alienated and dehumanized. Such themes as loneliness, control, and confinement occupy a prominent place in the novels and short stories of many authors.
This essay will discuss two works that eloquently illustrate the dangers of totalitarianism, namely, the novel The Handmaid’s Tale written by Margaret Atwood (1998) and the book of poetry The Country Between Us by Carolyn Forché (1982). There are several similarities between these two works.
First of all, Margaret Atwood and Carolyn Forché show that the totalitarian states want to suppress people’s voices in order to make them isolated, confined and easily controlled. Furthermore, these writers show how the value of love, friendship and human life in general can decline because of people’s solitude and alienation. However, there is a significant difference between these literary works.
The Handmaid’s Tale is a construction of a dystopian society that might have never existed; to some degree it is a warning to the readers who should be aware of such dangers as sexism, religious intolerance, and religious intolerance.
In her turn Carolyn Forché focuses on the real experiences of people in El Salvador whose suffering went unnoticed for a very long time. More importantly, these descriptions can be more chilling than the imaginary world created by any writer who depicts a dystopian society. These are the main issues that should be discussed in this paper.
Similarities between The Country Between Us and The Handmaid’s Tale
It is possible to distinguish several themes that play an important role in these books. One of them is the acceptance of cruelty, violence, and injustice. They are no longer regarded as something outrageous or at least unacceptable. Margaret Atwood and Carolyn Forché show that people, who live in totalitarian regimes, become accustomed to the cruel behavior of the state and its injustice.
This issue is eloquently illustrated by Margaret Atwood (1998). In particular, the author describes a scene when Ofglen and Offred see the bodies of people who have been hung because of their alleged treason. However, one of the characters says, “This may not seem ordinary to you now, but after a time it will.
It will become ordinary” (Atwood, 1998, p. 33). Such a sentence can be uttered only by a person who often witnesses such horrible events. He/she eventually gets used to this cruelty of the government.
Similar atrocities have been described by Carolyn Forché who explores the experiences of people living in El Salvador. In this case, close attention should be paid to the poem called The Colonel. In this part of her book, the author refers to the man who carries a sack filled with “many human ears” and he does not even try to hide them (Forché, 1982, p. 17).
The author describes this horrible behavior in a very nonchalant way in order to emphasize that totalitarian regimes can turn cruelty into a norm or something can be tolerated. On the whole, this behavior occurs in those situations when people feel no attachment to one another and human life loses its value for them.
In many cases, they are hardly concerned with the suffering of other individuals. This is one of the issues that should not be disregarded because it occupies an important place in Atwood’s novel and Forché’s collection of poetry.
Another idea that both authors examine is solitude of individuals and their alienation from one another. In particular, they show that in many cases, authoritarian states deprive a person of opportunity to communicate with people who are dear to him/her. Such a strategy enables the government to make people confined and controlled.
To a great extent, this issue is addressed by the authors. For example, one can mention the poem The Visitor by Carolyn Forché (1982). In particular, the author describes the experiences of a prisoner who hopes that his wife’s breath will be “slipping into his cell each night while he imagines his hand to be hers” because he can retain his dignity and humanity only in this way (Forché, 1982, p. 15).
When a person is deprived of this opportunity, he/she is more likely to follow the will of the state. The theme of solitude is also examined in Margaret Atwood’s novel. For instance, one of the characters says, ‘I was so lonely, she’d say. You have no idea how lonely I was, And I had friends, I was a lucky one, but I was lonely anyway’ (Atwood, p. 122).
In part, this idea can be explained by the fact that this individual cannot talk to anyone who can share her views and feelings. As a result, this person will pay no attention to the sufferings of other people. So, themes as loneliness and alienation are important for Margaret Atwood and Carolyn Forché because they strongly influence people’s attitudes and beliefs.
Apart from that, one should mention that these literary works highlight the hypocrisy of authoritarian states that claim to be virtuous and just. In most cases, the representatives of these regimes do not acknowledge that they only want to achieve power and ability to control people’s behavior. Moreover, they do not tell that they want to enslave the people of their countries.
These are the most important elements of their official propaganda. This is one of the questions that both writers pay attention to. For example, Margaret Atwood (1998) shows that the government of Gilead claims to respect the role of women in the society and their importance for the survival of the community. However, women are usually reduced to the status of concubines whose only role is the reproduction of the population.
Thus, the distinction between official propaganda and reality is very striking. To some extent, Carolyn Forché (1982) attaches importance to this problem in her poetic collection. In particular, the author shows that Salvadorian regime does not want to acknowledge that thousands of people could be imprisoned or even slaughtered by the state, even if they are completely innocent (Forché, 1982).
They can pretend there is no discontent with their policies or laws. This hypocrisy can be typical of many states, especially if they are authoritarian ones. This is one of the main problems that both writers want to emphasize in their books.
These are the main similarities between the works of Margaret Atwood and Carolyn Forché. On the whole, they demonstrate the destructive impacts of totalitarianism on a person. They can make people solitary and confined, because in this way, individuals can easily be controlled or manipulated. Under such circumstances, they are not likely to take any initiatives or independent decisions.
This is the most important idea the authors explore in their books. To a great extent, these literary works throw light on the experiences of people who fall victims of authoritarian governments. As a rule, these people are not attached to one another and they do not value interpersonal relations or even human life, and this is their greatest strategy.
Overall, these books are still worth attention because the dangers described by Atwood and Forché have not completely disappeared today. This problems depicted by these writers can be relevant to different communities even nowadays.
The differences between the literary works
Nevertheless, one should remember that The Handmaid’s Tale and The Country Between Us have several important distinctions. The readers should pay close attention to the genre of these literary works and the goals that authors try to achieve. First of all, one should mention that Margaret Atwood’s novel can be viewed as a classical dystopian novel.
It is aimed at describing a future society that is marked by racism, sexism, and religious prejudice (Atwood, 1998). These prejudices can still influence the ideas and decisions of many people. To a great extent, this literary work was greatly influenced by George Orwell’s 1984 because this author also shows how the state can control the private life of citizens and even their sexuality.
So, the author of this book relies on previous literary works about totalitarian states. In contrast, Carolyn Forché’s collection of poetry is based on real events that did take place in El Salvador. In this case, the narrator can be regarded as a direct witness of the events that affected thousands of people who were victims of the regime.
To a great extent, this author combines poetry and journalisms, and this is one of her greatest achievements since she combines rich poetic imagery with realism. Therefore, one can say these books differ in terms of genre, style and background.
Secondly, one should bear in mind that the authors differ significantly when they describe the motives underlying people’s behavior and their attitude toward the state and toward others. In particular, in her novel Margaret Atwood (1998) strives to explain why people can easily become solitary and controlled.
In her opinion, people can act in this way, because they expect the government to offer some benefits to them (1998, p. 271). This idea is expressed by Offred’s mother who believes that people can consent to the policies of the state, “as long as there are a few compensations” (Atwood, 1998, p. 271).
The author describes some women who can be humiliated by the state, but they do not protest against their policies of the state, because they can have power over other women (Atwood, 1998). In other words, they try to reconcile themselves with the state and expect some rewards or benefits.
In contrast, Carolyn Forché (1982) demonstrates that in most cases, fear is the main reason why people can become alienated from one another. Those people, who have been depicted by the author, know that their friends and acquaintances can disappear, and they do not want to suffer the same fate. This is the main factor that drives their behavior.
For example, the narrator says, “If we go on, we might stop in the street, in the very place where someone disappeared’ (Forché, 1982, p. 9). One should take into account that totalitarian regimes can easily abduct people, especially when they disagree that with the decisions of the government.
This is why citizens may be reluctant to express discontent because they do not want to share the same fate. To some degree, their conduct is understandable. Therefore, it is possible to say that Carolyn Forché and Margaret Atwood look at people’s behavior from different perspectives.
There are other distinguishing features of these books. One can argue that Margaret Atwood’s novel can be regarded as a warning to the readers who should remember about the dangers of religious intolerance, sexism, and the belief that some groups of people should be subservient to others. Margaret Atwood (1998) examines the social phenomena that may exist in different communities.
However, she describes their impact when they are developed to full extreme. Nevertheless, one cannot say that this novel refers to particular historic events. The author intends to demonstrate people have to limit the power of the state. In her turn, Carolyn Forché (1982) strives to show that the horrors of dystopian novels can easily come true and in some cases, they can be more terrible.
Her intention is to demonstrate that such events can affect many people provided that no one protests against the cruel policies of the state. She wants readers to hear “the cries of those who vanish” because these people are not protected in any way (Forché, 1982, p. 9).
As it has been said before, the author acts as a journalist who tries to raise readers’ awareness about the atrocities committed against people, living in El Salvador. This is one of the goals that she tries to achieve.
Therefore, it is possible to distinguish several similarities and distinctions between these books. First of all, these authors demonstrate that the policies of the state can make individuals solitary, alienated, and confined. Moreover, these writers demonstrate the hypocrisy of the regimes that claim to respect the rights and dignity of citizens. Nevertheless, these literary works differ in terms of genre and purpose.
Margaret Atwood (1998) relies on the rich tradition of a dystopian novel while Carolyn Forché (1982) focuses on the feelings of people who suffered from the actions of a totalitarian state. Nevertheless, these works produce a long-lasting impression on the readers because they give them deep insights into the nature of totalitarianism.
On the whole, such themes as confinement, loneliness, and control play an important role in the works of many authors, especially those ones who focus on the adverse influence of state on an individual. In many cases, they can deprive people of their humanity and ability to take independent decisions.
Such writers as Carolyn Forché and Mary Atwood show that individuals can get used to cruelty or injustice because of fear or hope to receive some compensation from the state.
Moreover, their alienation and solitude decrease the value of human life. These writers warn readers about the dangers of these regimes. These works are worth attention because they eloquently illustrate the experiences of people who can be victimized by the state. This is one of the messages that these writers convey.
Atwood, M. (1998).The Handmaid’s Tale. New York: Anchor.
Forché, C. (1982). The Country Between Us. New York: Harper Perennial.
Argumentative Essay on The Handmaids Tale
May 8, 2020 by Essay Writer
The handmaid’s tale is an imaginary novel written by Margaret Atwood a Canadian author. The novel was published in the year 1985 and was set in the New England where the Christian supremacist overthrows the United States government. The novel is a two faced or a double narrative reflecting on the night and other events, where a woman called Offred tells the story in the first person speech.
The first narrative is about the Offred’s tale that emphasizes that the female should adopt the possessive form of Fred and forbidden to use their birth names. And the handmaid’s tale that focuses on the lives of women and role in society. The book depicts many themes, but the most common ones are the gender, politics and religion. Gender is quite evident as women are seen to be treated discriminatively, with no rights and as immoral sex objects. Religion is depicted as a source of the government power that is theocratic. Another theme that is touched on in the novel is politics that has close ties with religion and power that is manipulated to control people. In the novel Offred describes the society she is in and how women are grouped into classes that are kept for reproduction purposes.
The novel consists of three major characters Offred who is the narrator of the novel and one of the women kept purposely for reproduction (Atwood 515). Serena joy a former evangelist and the wife of a commander who is described as infertile. The commander, a powerful member of the government believed to be behind the Offred narrative and very immoral. The novel setting divides women into classes. The handmaids are the fertile women who are only tasked to bear children for the wives of the commanders. The aunts are the ones that monitor and train the handmaids, the only class of women that are allowed to read and write in society. The Marthas are rather the older women in society and infertile holding high domestic skills. Another class of women is the Econowives that are women believed to have are married to low ranked men inn society and are thought to possess all domestic functions of a woman. The book has received discontent over the years due to its adult themes and explicit content, its depiction of a negative view of religion. This paper will discuss the themes of politics, religion and gender to analyze their role in presenting the tale as feminism.
The novel is based on theocracy meaning the state and the church are combined to form a government. Additionally, religious languages and the Old Testament that is also the source of justification for the characters in Gilead govern the society. Women have been used in the text to display the roles likened to the biblical ones, for example, Offred’s role as the handmaid is a biblical reflection of Rachael and Leah. The story showed how servants would carry on with adultery and allow the infertile women like Serena joy to have a family. Another scene of feminism displayed in religion when the commander is seen to recite some bible verses every morning to justify his immorality with other women to get children because of his wife’s infertility. The theme of religion has been dominated by feminism, because even the bible verses have been twisted to fit the theocracy of the state that is seen to be so rigid.
An example where it puts the aunts to pray words that are not in the bible just because they are not allowed to read, so they are not in a position to confirm. There are scenes of women linked to religion clearly displaying that the text brings out feminism. The issues of women not allowed to work or participate in any social or political activities in the pretext of protecting them from sexual exploitation as supported by religion is a lame excuse to deny women their freedom of speech and expression. There is another issue in the novel where religion and feminist meet, and this is childbirth and the claim that it did not require any anesthetics (Atwood 515). From these scenes, it is clear that the novel uses religion to portray conservative feminist practices.
The novel is a feminist one where women have been involved in political, religious and in gender issues like sexuality and gender roles. In the political sector, women bodies have been used as political instruments. To b begin with the government which was formed by the name Gilead as for the purpose of responding to the low birth rates. The United States government which was overthrown had a structure which was characterized by the religious trappings and the rigidity in its political hierarchy. The government as operating on the goal of controlling the reproduction through the use of the women. The goal of the state’s government was to control their birth rates in the country. The birth control was enhanced by their state’s government through an assumption of the complete control of the women bodies by use of political subjugation. The women in the state’s government were treated in a way that they remained dependent and submissive to their husbands and the state. Women could not vote, could not own property and they could not get jobs or education. Lacking such enablers of the life, women would react in accordance to their husband and will of the state (Blackford 261). Therefore they were treated as the bodies to achieve political desires of the politicians.
The Gilead pro-women rhetoric argued that subjugation led to the creation of the society where women were being treated as a subhuman. Despite that, women were reduced to their fertility where they were treated in no other was other than a set of the womb and ovaries. This can be evidently in one of the scenes in the novel, where off red lied on the bath and reflected that, before the formation of the Gilead government, she considered her body as an instrument of her desires where she was made of the flesh surrounding a womb where it had to be filled so as to be in a position to be useful. Gilead government was formed so as for deriving women out of the individuality so as to make women to be able to reproduce for the future generation (Blackford 261). This indicates that the women in the story were used by the politicians for the achievement of their political ideologies.
The novel comprised of the feminist movements, where in chapter 28, off red remembers her mother who was a passionate feminist. The off red mother was involved in the matching for the for the abortion rights, pornography banning, and other women issuers during the regime of the Gilead government. Offred was embarrassed by her mother’s feminist activity when she was young. Her mother used to lecture her for an act of being not grateful for her rights (Atwood 515). Where Offred was not aware that her right of owning property would have taken away if it were not for her mother.
Offred in the novel represents the feminism where she represents all women before the formation of the Gilead government. Before the Gilead government, she was not able to consider herself as a feminist. She had a fear that feminist will alienate her from the men in the society. She not accepting the feminism after witnessing her mother quarreling with Luke where her mother argued that she was involved in cooking due to feminism. Offred recognizes that women movement leads to forcing women to diagnose their natural isolation from men. The womanly leads to the creation of the alienation. This witnessed in the case where Offred losses her job and she is unable to request Luke whether she required a new order (Blackford 261).
Again, Atwood is recognized as a feminist writer. According to Atwood, she argued that that the thrilling that was perceived in the nature of the Gilead interviews was due to traditionalist and the feminist standpoint which is being practiced at the time when she wrote the novel. According to the Moira one of the novels mouthpiece, he argued that living with only men will be helping in solving problems that women were facing. In the society, most of the activities of Gilead regime was to provide for the women. Women can support each other at times of illness, delivery, and demise depicting their participation in helping each other. Women were involved in teaching each other during the Gilead government (Blackford 261). Women in the families worked together in fulfilling the femininity roles in the society.
To conclude, the novel has used the themes of religion, politics and gender to display feminism. Women characters play a major role in the religious forum and acting on the same to display their feminist abilities, there is a blend of religion and immorality where women are used to act biblically to bring out the immoral sides of humanity. Other scenes include women being used to perform sexual act perceived to be carried out for cleansing. In the political sector, feminism is played where women serve a role of sex objects of the powerful leaders and are used to give birth for the leaders. From the text, gender has been used to show feminist side of the novel, women have been classified in different categories depending on their abilities to give birth, work and their age. The novel is carefully constructed to tackle the feminist issue by blending in the three major themes of politics, gender and religion. And from the general view the novel is purely based on the feminist’s point of view.
Atwood, Margaret. “The Handmaid’s Tale And Oryx And Crake In Context.”? PMLA? 119.3 (2004): 515. Print. Neuman, Shirley. “Just A Backlash’: Margaret Atwood, Feminism, Handmaid’s Tale.”? University of Toronto Quarterly? 75.3 (2006): 863. Print.
Blackford, Holly Virginia. “The Psychology Of The Handmaid: Margaret Atwood’S Novel Parables Of The Possessed Canadian Character.”? AmeriQuests? 3.1 (2006): 261. Print.
Luke Impact On Offred's Life
It is only when everything one loves is taken away, that a person is able to appreciate what they once had. In the Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood, the narrator must learn this the hard way. The novel takes place in a futuristic society, known as the Republic of Gilead.
This city was created after the United States Government had been overthrown and replaced by a totalitarian government. In this society, people have no choice in their role or power, especially women whose role is society is subjective and seemingly unimportant. When Offred, the narrator, tries to escape the collapsing former world, she is captured, separated from her family, and turned into a handmaid. Handmaid’s have the role of sleeping with Commanders in order to provide children to empowered, infertile parents. While Offred made several new influential relationships, non compared to one from her past life. Offred’s experience as a handmaid in Gilead was most influenced by Luke, her husband in the former republic. Luke holds a major impact on Offred’s choices, emotions, relationships, and outlook on life throughout the book.
Offred’s memories of her former life with Luke, often bring back waves of emotions that impact how she feels in her present life as a handmaid. When Offred was captured, she was separated from Luke and her daughter. Offred often worries about if they are alive and if she will ever be able to see them again. Not knowing if either is alive remained a great mystery throughout the novel. At the beginning of the story, Offred is walking through Gilead and witnesses hanging dead bodies on a wall. She wonders if any could be her husband, although she notices they are all marked as doctors. Offred describes the feelings they evoke, What I feel towards them is blankness. What I feel is that I must not feel. What I feel is partly relief, because none of these men is Luke. Luke wasn’t a doctor. Isn’t, (Atwood 33).
Offred doesn’t want to feel anything towards the dead bodies, because she knows it will not help her as she adjusts to her new life. However, she is extremely relieved that none of these men is Luke. This gives her hope that he may still be alive, along with their daughter. While she initially holds out this strong hope, you can see it dwindle as the story progresses. A bit later in the book Offred narates, Luke, I say. He doesn’t answer. Maybe he doesn’t hear me. It occurs to me that he may not be alive, (Atwood 74). The longer Offered is in Gilead, the harder it is for her to believe that she could ever successfully escape and find her husband again, who may not even be alive. Offred is motivated to stay alive and keep her cover, because there is always a chance of seeing Luke gain. Although, Offred is often discouraged by not knowing if Luke is even alive. The uncertainty of Luke being alive has a major impact on Offred’s emotions and actions throughout the novel.
Throughout the story, Offred reminisces several special moments from her life with Luke. These memories bring different emotions to the surface that Offred probably would not be experiencing otherwise. The feeling Offred desires the most is the love she had for Luke. In the present society, families are no longer made out of love, often exemplified by the Commander and Serena Joy who never show affection to one another. During one of Offred’s meetings with the Commander, she recalls what it was like to fall in love. Offred describes, Falling in love, I said. Falling into it, we all did then, one way or another. How could he have made such light of it?…It was the central thing; it was the way you understood yourself, (Atwood 225).
Offred remembered why falling in love was so special. Years prior, Luke was still married and they were having an affair. Luke had left his wife, because of his love for Offred. During this passage, the Commander had made light of falling in love. Offred scoffed at him, for making light of something that used to be so important to people’s relationships and lives. In another passage, Offred reflects on the comfort and safety she used to feel with Luke. She explains, So the hotels, with Luke, didn’t mean only love or even only sex to me. They also meant time off from the cockroaches, the dripping sink, the linoleum that was peeling off the floor in patches, even from my own attempts to brighten things up by sticking posters on the wall and hanging prisms in the windows, (Atwood 172). Offred explains how her relationship was even more than love and sex; it was about safety and comfort. Even in a hotel, a totally foreign setting, she had Luke to make her feel at home. Offred misses how Luke made her feel. She felt much safer with Luke, wherever they were, than she does in her current situation as a handmaid in Gilead. The loving relationship Offred had with Luke, reflects a healthy relationship that their child was born into. When Offred has to take part in a birthing ceremony of a handmaid, she compares what families were like in the old republic, to how they are now. You can understand Offred’s emotions as she described the ceremony and the newborn. Aunt Elizabeth, holding the baby, looks up at us and smiles. We smile too, we are one smile, tears run down our cheeks, we are so happy. Our happiness is part memory. What I remember is Luke, with me in the hospital, standing beside my head, holding my hand, in the green gown and white mask they gave him, (Atwood 126). Seeing the birth of a newborn baby brings Offred joy and optimism. She remembers what is was like to have a baby out of love, with Luke right there by her side the whole time. While babies in Gilead are no longer made out of love, Offred is still joyful when she remembers what life used to be like. Old memories of Offred’s life with Luke arise both cheerful and dismal emotions. Remembering the love and safety Luke provided causes Offred to resent her current situation, but also cherish what she used to have.
Some memories from Offred’s life prior to the overturn of the government, affect Offred’s current outlook on her life in Gilead and the society that surrounds her. Luke’s impactful role in Offred’s old life, often affects her thoughts and perspective. Some memories that Offred looks back on, cause her to recognize the lack of freedom she holds in her current role in society. Women in the former republic had many more rights, than women in Gilead, especially handmaids. Offred looks back on the simple liberties she used to have, like arguing with Luke or imagining their future together. Often describes, I’d like to have Luke here, in this bedroom while I’m getting dressed, so I could have a fight with him. Absurd, but that’s what I want. An argument, about who should put the dishes in the dishwasher, whose turn it is to sort the laundry, clean the toilet; something daily and unimportant … What a luxury it would be, (Atwood 200). Offred yearns for the ability to have unimportant arguments with Luke. She misses these simple freedoms in life that she no longer has. She reflects on what it used to be like to have such privileges throughout the novel. In another passage, she recalls what it was like to take such freedoms for granted. Offred explains, We used to talk about buying a house like one of these, … We would have children. Although we knew it wasn’t too likely we could ever afford it, it was something to talk about, a game for Sundays. Such freedom now seems almost weightless, (Atwood 23-24).
Offred continues to realize how many rights she used to take for granted. She is saddened by these memories that are now impossible for her to even consider. She calls the freedoms weightless; they were simple liberties Offred and Luke never thought they would have to go with out. Luke’s presence in Offred’s former life shows her what she must now go without. Along with many freedoms and rights, Offred must go without love. Offred longs for Luke and what it felt like to be in love. But this is wrong, nobody dies from lack of sex. It’s lack of loved we die from. There’s nobody here I can love, all the people I could love are dead or elsewhere, (Atwood 103). Offred recognizes that she is surrounded by foreign people who she do not know or care for. She misses having the people she loved in her life. Now she must live with the fear that those people may be gone forever, and she will die in solitude. Even if they are alive, Offred doesn’t think she would ever be able to find them. Her lack of ability to ever see the people she loves again, makes her doubt the chances of her finding happiness, especially in this new, forced society. It is Luke’s presence in Offred’s memories that causes her to realize the lack of of rights and abilities she is forced to live with as a handmaid.
For the most part, It is Offred’s past that makes her question her current life and society she lives in. Although in a more rare scenario in the novel, her present surroundings are what cause her to question parts of her past. As Offred observes many societal changes, she questions her relationship with Luke. Offred wonders, So Luke: what I want to ask you now, what I need to know is, Was I right? Because we never talked about it. By the time I could have done that, I was afraid to. I couldn’t afford to lose you, (Atwood 182). While most of the time Offered embraced (good) her loving relationship with Luke, she has a realization that causes her to bitterly question their relationship. Offred is reflecting on the rights she slowly began to lose as a women as the Republic crumbled to pieces. In the moment, Offred was concerned with not losing her husband. Looking back at the case scenario though, Offred wonders if Luke really cared about her rights being taken away or if he did not mind. Offred rarely thinks of her loved one in such a negative manner, but the changes that had been happening in society cause her to change her perspective on not just her present life but also her past.
Luke does not just have an impact on the emotions Offred feels and her outlook on her new life, he also influences the decisions she makes in Gilead. Luke causes Offred to miss the way things used to be and resent her current role in society. She aches for Luke and being a person who is worth something. Offred exemplifies this when she says, I want Luke here so badly. I want to be held and told my name. I want to be valued, in ways that I am not; I want to be more than valuable. I repeat my former name, remind myself of what I once could do, how others saw me. I want to steal something, (Atwood 97). Offred thinks these thoughts after the ceremony. She hates how powerless she is in her current life and misses having a valuable relationship. This loss of power causes her to go find something to steal so she can feel some sort of power and control. Offred continues to find ways throughout the story to feel some sort of the importance that she used to have with Luke in the old republic.
The relationships Offred forms in Gilead is heavily influenced by her former husband Luke and the mystery of if he is dead or alive. The more time she spends in Gilead, the more her faith dwindles. She aches for the love and compassion she used to know so well. When she is presented with the opportunity to feel this type affection again, she does not want to turn it down. Although, Luke’s presence in her mind makes her feel regretful for moving on. Offred first encounters this dilemma when Nick kisses her. Offred described, It’s so good, to be touched by someone, to be felt so greedily, to feel so greedy. Luke, you’d know, you’d understand. It’s you here, in another body…Bullshit, (Atwood 99). Offred does not want to admit to having feelings for anyone but her husband, Luke. After Nick kisses her, she tries to convince herself that Luke would be okay with it. She misses having a valuable relationship, unlike the forced one she has with the commander. Later in the book, Offred starts sleeping with Nick. Initially, the set-up is set up by Serena Joy, in hopes of helping get Offred Pregnant. The result is Offred sneaking off to see Nick regularly for pleasure.Offred narrates, And I thought afterwards: this is betrayal. Not the thing itself but my own response. If I knew for certain he’s dead, would that make a difference? I would like to be without shame. I would like to be shameless. I would like to be ignorant. Then I would not know how ignorant I was, (Atwood 263) Offred feels guilty for enjoying the love she feels when she is with Nick, when she doesn’t know the state of her husband. Offred feels guilty, but not guilty enough to stop seeing Nick. While she continues to enjoy the love she feels with Nick, Luke always has a presence in her mind, causing her to constantly feel apologetic.
Throughout the Handmaid’s Tale Offred’s life is impacted by many people. The Commander, Serena Joy, Nick, and her daughter are all great influences on her emotions and daily actions. Although, it is her former husband Luke that is the most influential person in her new life in Gilead. During the novel, Offred’s memories and thoughts regarding Luke, influence her emotions, choices, relationships, and outlook on her life. Memories of Offred’s former life with her husband bring back waves of different emotions that cause her to resent her current role in society, but appreciate the life she used to have. These memories are also impactful, because they make Offred aware how poorly she is treated in her current society. She loathes the life she has, because she remembers what it was like to have even simple rights and liberties. She is often reminded of how powerless she is in her current position. Offred recalls how appreciated she felt when she was with Luke. She misses being a valued person in her home and in society. Offred makes choices throughout the story, that relefect on her want for the power that she used to have. Luke’s presence in Offred’s mind has a major impact on how Offred feels, views and pursues life. He is not just impactful when Offred is choosing a way to obtain a feeling of power, but he is influential when Offred is seeking the feeling of love. Offred deeply misses the love, compassion, and comfort she had with Luke. When she is presented with the opportunity to feel any part of this type of relationship again, she does not want to turn it down. Luke’s presence in Offred’s mind does not stop her from forming a relationship with Nick, but it creates a deep feeling of guilt that Offred must live with. There are many ways in which Luke is able to influence Offred’s life as a handmaid without him physically being there with her. Even in his absence, Luke has the greatest effect on many of the emotions, decisions, and perspectives Offered has.
Oppressed Women In Handmaid's Tale
Handmaid’s Tale written by Margaret Atwood shows us unique aspects about the women who live in Gilead, the two different types of women in which Atwood mentions are unique, which are the Handmaids and the Martha’s. These two different groups of women are not allowed to read because Gilead imposes a illiteracy on the female population. Both removal of language and prescription of phrases are similar to newspeak in 1984 and the hypnopedia teachings in Brave New World. The women of Gilead have unique aspects about themselves especially the Handmaid’s.They are not allowed to read books, and by doing so this gives them a benefit of not rebelling against the commander and even the government, another way this gives the Handmaids a benefit of not being able to read is that they can be told what to do and they will do it. less talking and learning and more working.A quote from this would be : Blessed be the fruit…May the lord open.
( Atwood, 19) this quote right here is from the bible and it is saying that the handmaids are there just to make babies, whatever condition the handmaids are in the commander and his wife would not care but all they want is a healthy baby, and in the quote the fruit is symbolising the fetus and they want god to bless them. The novel also mentions prescription of phrases, they are allowed to mention and listen to certain phrases such as May the lord open (Atwood,19).
Once in awhile they have meetings; and during these meetings they read certain passages from the bible about Rachel and Leah and they just tell them that reproduction is very important. The people of Gilead are oppressed from reading and writing, but they have also been limited to where and what they could talk about: Washroom, I said. Watch the clock. End stall, two-thirty. ( Atwood, 71) this shows us the reader that they are always being watched and only talk about certain things, this may be because they are being brainwashed into thinking this is what they are made for and nothing else, and in this quote we know that Offred and Moira have to sneak into the bathroom and talk about whatever they want.
In the dystopian society in the Handmaid’s Tale they suffer from many types of suppression and one of them is the freedom of reading and writing, the lock and key is something that only the commander can touch because the the books are always locked in his office and you have to have a key to open this, and in this society the handmaids are oppressed and can not have nice things: On the fourth evening he gave me the hand lotion, in an unlabeled plastic bottle. (Atwood, 157) this shows the reader that she is not used to having basic nice things such as hand lotion. the Handmaid’s are just essentially just a womb with legs, the women of Gilead are oppressed because the men of the society think they are submissive and they need to be put into their place and this is why there are caste systems for the women population, since each woman is separated they can not do much and this gives the men in the society some type of peace, another reason why there is illiteracy on the female population is because the men want to be on top and show dominance.
Handmaids Tale Literacy Analysis
In the story, The Handmaid’s Story by Margaret Atwood the city of Gilead debilitates ladies from multiple points of view. Compelling sex upon them, anticipating that they should deal with their life partner and family, and giving them next to zero political power. All through the novel she explicitly indicates instances of the poor treatment of ladies.
“Would I be able to be reprimanded for needing a genuine body, to put my arms around? Without it I also am immaterial. […] I can stroke myself, under the dry white sheets, in obscurity, however, I also am dry and white, hard, granular; it resembles running my hand over a plateful of dried rice; it resembles snow. […] I resemble a room where things once occurred and now nothing does, aside from the dust of the weeds that grow up outside the window, blowing in as residue over the floor.” In The Handmaid’s Story, the disheartening of ladies was a typical thing. Ladies were dealt with more like items than people. The city of Gilead stripped ladies of all statuses of their rights, compelling them to live out existences of bondage. Offred the principle character in the book is a women’s activist and can’t help contradicting government. “This is the sort of touch they like: people workmanship, obsolete, made by ladies, in their extra time, from things that have no further use. An arrival to conventional qualities. Squander need not. I am not being squandered. For what reason do I need?” She analyzes the lady of Gilead to craftsmanship pieces. There used to be a point in time where the ladies weren’t dealt with so inadequately and really had a job in the public eye. Things used to resemble how America is today where the two ladies and men are equivalent. Be that as it may, starting at now in the novel The Handmaid’s Story the city of Gilead dispenses with all the opportunity and rights a lady ought to have in the public arena.
In The Handmaid’s Story, the general public controls the ladies to debase themselves and please the legislature by respecting his requests of what he needs them to do with their bodies and not what God needs them to do. The ladies are looked down on by men since they should submit to them and are utilized to just delight a man. Anyway, there were ladies who battled against the administration like Offred, she was a women’s activist and gone to bat for herself and in addition the other ladies.
Gilead was not generally a controlling locale but rather once over tossed by a gathering of that represented aggregate control things changed. The new gathering of men implemented controlling laws over ladies that caused a debilitation. The administration at that point takes control of everybody, making Gilead to a lesser degree a vote based in America. The past law was totally changed removing rights and opportunity of residents particularly ladies. The greater part of the men are totally in concurrence with the change and bolster the administration’s treatment of ladies. Notwithstanding when the administrator appreciated Offred in spite of the fact that she is a women’s activist, she ensured that ingrained into her head that he had full authority over her. There was no getting away dampening.
In the present society, ladies have comparable jobs to those of men. They work, accommodate their families, and are viewed as equivalent to men. In The Handmaid’s Story, ladies are useful for bearing youngsters for the “commanders” they were a greater amount of a question a man than them really being their better half. In The Handmaid’s Story, the general public is reclaimed to when ladies had no rights and were seen increasingly like a man’s property that would be accommodating to the majority of their better half’s needs. The handmaid’s’ jobs in the novel are far more atrocious than the previous occasions as a “housewife.” When the handmaids end up insubordinate, they could be executed or left in the no man’s land of what used to be America. In the present society, ladies don’t need to comply with a man’s directions, circumstances are different. The debilitation of ladies was a political instrument that was utilized profoundly by men.
Despite the fact that the city of Gilead had a great deal of women’s activist battling for them they were as yet treated simply a protest instead of an individual with rights. They are seen as sex toys. A key minute in the book is when Offred states “My exposure is peculiar to me as of now. [ ] Did I truly wear swimming outfits, at the shoreline? I did, without thought, among men, without minding that my legs, my arms, my thighs and back were in plain view, could be seen. Despicable, forward. I abstain from looking down at my body, not so much since it’s disgraceful or indecent but rather on the grounds that I would prefer not to see it. I would prefer not to take a gander at something that decides me so totally”. She was in the bath and begun thinking back, she was recollecting how before Gilead, her body was impeccable to her and no one else’s sentiment made a difference. The city of Gilead made ladies have a craving for only sex toys and child transporters so as to enable the cutting edge to come.
“There are other ladies with crates, some in red, some in the dull green of the Marthas, some in the striped dresses, red and blue and green and modest and hold back, that stamp the ladies of the poorer men. Econowives, they’re called. These ladies are not separated into capacities. They need to do everything; on the off chance that they can.” The legislature actually isolates ladies from whatever remains of society. The legislature gets so terrible and slops that they even begin isolating the ladies from each other. Ladies were never again to try and speak with unmarried men. This made life considerably harder on the ladies of Gilead. “I said there was more than one method for living with your head in the sand and that if Moira figured she could make the Perfect world by quiet herself down in a ladies just enclave she was tragically mixed up. Men were not simply going to leave, I said. You couldn’t simply overlook them.” Not enabling ladies to speak with men wouldn’t remove the way that men still existed it would simply make it increasingly troublesome for the ladies to converse with them and work with a man without getting rebuffed. They were just in the general public to entirely have intercourse just with men. This shows how strict the sexual orientation division rules had moved toward becoming in the city. The blessed messengers are not permitted to look or converse with the ladies any longer. The holy messengers were compelled to remain outside the rec center backs looking toward us. Offred needed the holy messengers to take a gander at her. The watchmen aren’t permitted inside the building Offred is held in. This segregated the people significantly more.
In end in The Handmaid’s story, they represented people to make men ground-breaking and have a sense of responsibility for and grab their rights and in addition their opportunity. ladies were compelled to give their bodies away to men for their pleasure and to give them the kids they need. There were ladies who battled against the administration who were marked as women’s activist and they attempted to ensure and recover the rights and opportunity of a ladies.
Symbolism of Freedom in The Handmaid's Tale
Symbolism of Freedom in The Handmaid’s Tale
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, is written through a lens that entails a nightmare of inequality, oppression, violence, and ignorance towards women resulting in the loss of freedom for women. This is presented through a dystopian society, the republic of Gilead, where freedom for women is restricted because of the new Christian government’s extreme policies. In this ultra conservative theocracy, woman are stripped of their past lives in which they had the freedom of choice as they became controlled by a higher power in which they lost the right or ability to live their lives free of control.
The symbolism of freedom drives the novel as it transforms the society into a state of oppression for all women, especially the handmaids.
In the Republic of Gilead, a revolution takes place in which women are given specific roles in the society such as handmaids, wives, econowives, martha, or aunts and these such roles become their purpose for living. Women who can produce and bear children become handmaids resulting in the loss of the prior freedoms they once had as they are forced to become the property or possession of a military commander and his wife in which the handmaid’s sole purpose is to produce and bear healthy babies for their commanders. Once this revolution has taken place, women’s rights become minuscule. For example, women’s bank accounts are frozen, prohibiting them from the rights to access and use their money for their own personal gain, and the husbands are granted full sole access to the accounts and money.
The protagonist of the story is a handmaid called Offred, as she is robbed of the freedom of her name and renamed to signify her status as a possession to her commander. As a possession, handmaids lose their freedom to own their bodies in the way that they become the property of their commander and are treated as possessions to men resulting in the oppression of women as they become victims of sexual assault and violence as they are forced have sex and bear children with men that they do not love. These childbearing laws were a key aspect in the restriction of women, Fear of rape shapes women’s behavior from girlhood, restricting their movement and limiting their freedom.(Violence Against Women p. 492).
The Gilead society defends this violence, sexual assault, and loss of freedom to the higher power by claiming that conditions for women prior to the revolution were worse. This violence held a higher effect on women, … it is a label that appears to strip us of dignity, to deny that there has been any integrity in the relationships we are in (Violence and Intimacy pg. 503). Even in our society, the effect of violence and sexual assault holds much more ground in the way that it alters a woman’s dignity in the way that it strips woman of the ability to trust a person of the opposite gender which influences future relationships for all.
In the Gilead regime, woman lost their freedom and rights to male power and gender inequality in the way that women were denied their rights to an education, voting, chances to work for pay, and holding property. Instead, handmaids were forced to move into their commanders home and their lives transform into a restrictive, repetitive regime as they are robbed of all freedom in the way that apart from their roles in society, handmaids were confined to their bedrooms that resembled cells and lost the freedom to have personal belongings. Handmaids lived a restrictive life of confinement and as they were only granted the opportunity to leave the house to do shopping, childbearing ceremonies, and executions of the women. If a handmaid were to choose to not cooperate, she was to be robbed of the freedom to live and be hanged to be executed. A woman could be executed if they were to be caught deviating from the set laws defined by the anarchy of the revolution.
During this revolution, the women are consistently watched and spied on by the eyes, angels, and guardians whose main job was to keep women to cooperate and identify those who were not, The truth is that she is my spy, as I am hers. If either of us slips through the net because of something that happens on one of our daily walks, the other will be accountable(29). This restricted women from doing anything that did not fall under the guidelines of their set role description in the society, resulting in the terror of every woman to follow these set rules.
An important contribution to the loss of freedom of women and resulting oppression was the misuse of power and control by the higher power. This misuse of power created a society where gender equality did not exist and women became tools to to be used by the more powerful male gender. Males were placed on a pedestal in society as women are forced to suffer as victims of control under men. The male gender then proceeds to misuse this level of power over women and treat women as their property or possession with the intent of using then just for their personal gain.
Throughout the book, Offred is highlighted as one of the women that is most trapped by this control of hierarchy. This is partly due to that she is unable to get pregnant with her commander, even though it is Fred that is infertile, not Offred which could lead to her own personal demise. When Fred’s wife, Serena Joy becomes aware of this, she secretly arranges for Offred to sleep with Nick, a guardian serving Fred so that she may become pregnant. Following this secret arrangement, Offred and Nick begin to continue their secret affair. Nick proposes an offer to Offred that she may be granted limited freedom like reading in exchange for a kiss at the end of each meeting, which could lead to her execution if discovered by one of the aunts. Although Offred was being granted limited freedom, it did not come freely. During this time, the handmaid’s learned that their only aspect of freedom was their thoughts and the quiet conversation they could have when no one was watching, “We learned to whisper almost without sound. In the semi darkness we could stretch out our arms, when the Aunts weren’t looking, and touch each other’s hands across space (10).
Throughout the entirety of the novel, the symbolism of freedom places a large role in shaping this society into an ultraconservative theocracy. This in turn, transforms this theocracy into a society where women, especially handmaids, fall victim to oppression through the misuse of power and hierarchy of men over women. Women are forced to succumb to the pressure of men as the high power and serve as slaves to their needs as they turn into property or possessions of men as they become victims of rape, sexual assault, and control. This regime could also be related to today’s society in the way that many women fall victim to male dominance, When we say that harassment isn’t about sex but about power, we mean that some people gain a sense of control and power by making others feel out of control and powerless (Sexual Harassment pg. 201). Women are forced to accept these restrictions and give up their rights to read, write, own property, work for pay, and anything that would allow them the freedom to live theirs lives as they please. This creates a world where the only freedom the handmaid’s have is the freedom of thought as the eyes, aunts, and guardians are unable to restrict this, although they demonstrate the power to influence thought.
Identity And Female Power In The Handmaids Tale
Television has played an integral role in globalizing the world and shaping the thoughts, ideas and perspectives of the people in it. Many argue that television generalizes women in a sexualized and objectified way, portraying them as subordinate humans that are dependent on men, all while being sexualized and stereotyped to unrealistic standards of character and body type. Television often objectifies women as mindless and incompetent in comparison to men in television.
While television has developed and created more roles where women are seen as powerful and impactful, there are still times where women are characterized in a stereotypical manner. The TV series The Handmaid’s Tale is a unique case because it creates a world where women appear to be victims to the dystopic world they live in, while at the same time holding a great deal of power over men and the society. It is a story about the ways in which women are oppressed in a society run by men for their own benefit, and about howcertain womentake advantage of the situation to ally themselves with male power for personal gain (Schwartz, 2017).
Now, imagine a world where all women have no rights, and are, in a sense, slaves to the high-powered men in charge of the government. A society where a woman’s place is cemented in whether or not she can bear a child. Women who can have a child become surrogates for the wealthy and powerful families who can’t. The Handmaid’s Tale is a Hulu original television series based off of the 1985 best-selling novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood. The dystopian science fiction series creates an alternate reality set in the future where women are stripped of their rights and turned into servants of society. Men are superior to women, and the regime kills gay people, abortionists, and anyone who protests their version of what society should look like. Due to the new laws created by the Sons of Jacob, women are supposed to stand by the side of their husbands. Set in a dystopic society referred to as the Gilead Regime, the show is centered around main character Offred. Offred, formerly known as June, is separated from her husband and daughter, and later becomes a handmaiden to the very powerful Commander Waterford and his wife Serena Joy. She is now subjected to life as a handmaiden because she is one of the few fertile women left in society.
Each month, Offred partakes in a monthly ceremony where The Commander rapes her while his wife watches on, in an attempt to get her pregnant. Offred becomes the centerpiece in the rebellion against the regime, taking on the powerful men who rule in Gilead. Offred is a symbol of female power as she fights against the world that’s been created for her. Through all she experiences, Offred never loses sight of her past, holding onto her old identity which helps shape her into the powerful female character she becomes. The Handmaid’s Tale is a vivid expression of female power and identity and how it can contribute to the shape and construct of society.
Throughout the show, the audience sees Offred trying to maintain her old identity while keeping up her with her new identity and new life. Before she was Offred, she was June Osbourne. June was a mother, a wife, and an employed woman who had an independent life and created a merit of her own in society. In season one episode three, in the episode titled Late, all of the women in June’s office are fired, and later in the day June is informed that she no longer has access to her bank account because it is now controlled by her husband. As the women are all leaving their office having just been fired, they see guards with guns at the door and lining the streets. This signified the beginning of the uprising and the start of the new regime. Throughout the series, the show rewinds to times in June’s life between her being fired and becoming Offred. Offred doesn’t want to forget her old life, as she had a husband and a child. Now, in her new role as handmaid, she must bear the child of the powerful Commander Waterford. The Gilead regime creates an identity for the handmaids, taking away who they once were and creating them into someone different. Offred tries to hold on to her memories of who she once was, including her husband and child, but her memories fade as the regime pushes her further and further away from her past identity. The handmaid’s lack of connection with others in the outside world creates another part of their lacking identity, because the only people they really spend a lot of time with are the families they are assigned to be a part of. Offred’s lack of satisfying social interaction impedes her development of her sense of self in the regime. Offred also fails to maintain her identityto structure a sense of self, to connect with others, and to actbecause in Gilead even apparent forms of resistance or attempts to create, maintain or grasp an identity frequently turn into complicity with the regime. (Stillman & Johnson, pg. 75) Handmaids are forced to not have an identity besides the one created for them because the only identity that matters is the one created by the regime. Any attempt to connect with who they once were or try to develop an identity outside the lines, is seen as a resistance to the regime and a rebellion against it. Within this vortex of fear and vulnerability, this contrast of blank time and intense interactions with powerful, inscrutable individuals, the Handmaid ultimately fails to maintain her identity. (Stillman & Johnson, 1994, p. 74) Offred is able to use her old identity to help shape her new identity. She takes aspects from her past life to help her develop into her new role as a handmaid. While holding onto pieces of the past, she must fully become Offred in order to stay alive.
When June is captured while trying to flee to Canada, she becomes a handmaid and is given her new name; Offred. Offred is the name she is given by the family she is assigned to. It means Of-Fred, Fred being the name of Commander Waterford. Each handmaid is given a name like this, others including Ofglen and Ofwarren. Their new names signify who they belong to, meaning Offred belongs to Fred, and Ofglen belongs to Glen, and so on. This parallels to slavery in the 1800’s, where slaves were given names that turned them into property. Many aspects of Offred’s life are clear parallels to the enslavement of African Americans. She required a special pass or permission to leave the house, she was forbidden from reading or learning, and she is repeatedly raped by her Commander in order to conceive a child for him. Offred endures domestic slavery and forced sex?”?hardships that are strikingly similar to those experienced by non-white women in much higher numbers throughout history, and in various parts of the world still today (Cottle, 2017). Her identity in the show is based around what she is or isn’t allowed to do. In the series, the audience sees transitions between Offred’s old life and her new life. Each episode of the show gives new information about who Offred used to be, and the audience is able to see how it shaped her into who she is now. This helps the audience continue to develop her identity as a character, and shows more of the theme of identity in the show. ‘These shifting reminiscences offer glimpses of a life, though not ideal, still tilled with energy. creativity. humaneness and a sense of selfhood, a life that sharply contrasts with the alienation. slavery, and suffering under totalitarianism” (Feuer, pg. 86) While the audience is seeing more and more of Offred’s past life and learning more about her old identity, Offred is drifting further away from her old life and getting deeper into her new one. Offred ‘s rebuilding of a self all but obliterated by the pain of her experience and the necessity of forgetting in order to survive. She must create. or recreate, herself after having been “erased” as a person (Feuer, pg. 90). Offred’s transition into being a handmaid is more of a struggle for her because she had a life before becoming a handmaid. Future handmaids and members of the society will have an easier time transitioning into the roles they are set to be a part of, as they will not have any life outside of what the regime teaches them. By using parts of her past self as June in her development of her identity as Offred, she blends her two senses of self which lead to her growth and development as a powerful female character and a powerful female in within the Gilead regime.
The Handmaid’s Tale is a strong representation of female power, feminism and sexuality. Offred is able to use her power as a woman and her sexuality to her advantage in her relationship with The Commander. Offred knows that she is a desirable woman. She knows and sees that The Commander is interested in a relationship with her outside of her being the family’s handmaid. Offred was put into the handmaid role in the new society because she is able to have children. She knows that in the family dynamic, she holds a lot of power because she could potentially carry the child of The Commander that his wife, Serena Joy, so desperately wants. Offred is portrayed as a victim, but also someone who holds a great deal of power in her situation. The Commander frequently invites her into his study to play Scrabble, something he can’t do with his wife. The Commander is interested in Offred’s mind and her ability to play and compete with him in Scrabble. In Offred’s past life, she was a well-educated woman, so this part of her new life comes from what she was able to learn in the old society before it became the new society. Her power in this situation stems from her mind and she uses it to get gifts and favors from The Commander in exchange for her time with him. Offred later on has a private intimate relationship with The Commander, which breaks all of the laws put into place about handmaids and their relationships with their Commanders. Offred and The Commander are never supposed to be alone together, and they are only supposed to be intimate during the ceremony each month while the wives watch on. Offred knows that she is breaking the law, but she sees The Commander enjoys her company and uses it to her advantage to get information from him as well as special treatment, while showing how she uses her power as a female over a man.
Commander Waterford is an example of a man who feels powerless to a woman’s power. The Commander repeatedly rapes Offred in the monthly conception ceremony, and uses Offred’s daughter, who she thought was gone, as a bargaining chip in order to get what he wants. In spite of the multiple rapes and the lies that Waterford and the other men in Gilead use to maintain control over women, the most powerful weapon they have is turning the women against each other. When Commander Waterford finds out about the music box his wife gave to Offred as a gift, he realizes that Serena Joy and Offred are starting to form a relationship. In season two episode eight, in the episode titled Women’s Work, the Commander beats Serena Joy in a show of dominance that also serves to humiliate her in front of Offred, who he forces to watch. He beats her because she went behind his back and did a favor for Offred. Commander Waterford feels threatened by the two women’s developing friendship because he doesn’t want them to become close. The Commander fears that if Serena Joy and Offred become close, they will continue to go around him and do things to disobey him. Commander Waterford also fears their friendship because before Gilead, Serena Joy was an author who wrote a book titled A Woman’s Place. In a series of flashbacks, Serena Joy and Commander Waterford are shown as having a large role in the creation of Gilead. Serena Joy was once an impassioned woman with conservative views on woman’s rights, which she details in her book, saying that a woman’s duty in the world was to bear children and stand by their husband’s side. Once Serena Joy realizes that her future child won’t be protected under the new laws, she decides to fight back against the regime to try and get women the right to read the Bible, which she loses a finger for advocating for. This scene, which occurs in season two, episode thirteen titled The Word, Serena Joy finally transforms into a powerful character after being suppressed by her husband and society.
While not obvious, the use of female sexuality is also prominent in The Handmaid’s Tale. Women are forced to dress very modestly, adorning long dresses with sleeves, meant to take any sexual appeal they have away from them. Women also must cover their heads in order to appear as invisible as possible. In Gilead, they get rid of anything that remotely represents anything sexual, including pornography and revealing clothing. The regime executes gays and lesbians, unless the women are fertile and can be used as handmaids. In Gilead, they also execute abortion doctors because Gilead’s rule is based on the Bible which outlines the woman’s place as a child bearer. Sexuality is meant to be concealed, but Offred is able to use hers when she is alone with Commander Waterford, as it gives her a small feeling of power over him. She also recognizes and acknowledges her enjoyment of her own small exercises of power, however ignoble: her slight power not only over the Commander, because he wants something from her, but over his wife, whom they are deceiving. She comes to understand that the Commander craves some unspoken forgiveness for the conditions of her life and that to bestow or to withhold forgiveness is a power as well as a temptation (Neuman, 863). This small power grab gives Offred the feeling of being in control in sexual situations with the Commander, as well as an unspoken feeling of power over Serena Joy, because she is the one who is sleeping with her husband and she is the object of the Commander’s affection.
The Handmaid’s Tale, in later episodes, brings into light the power of confidence and self-actualization. Gaining her confidence from her small acts of rebellion, Offred realizes that she must stand up for herself, for what she believes in, and for what she feels is right. Offred begins to support the secret female rights movement called Mayday, and starts searching for ways to escape Gilead with her daughter. Soon after, when all handmaids are ordered to stone Janine, formerly Ofwarren, to death, Offred refuses to do so despite what the consequences may be, which inspires the other handmaids not to stone Janine. These acts demonstrate that sensing the need of time, Offred turns out to be a brave female who knows how to get what is hers. On the other hand, Offred is not the only female character in the show that demonstrates power and strives to break the chains that Gilead has placed on them. In season one episode seven, titled The Other Side, through a series of flashbacks to June’s attempted escape and after her capture, the audience sees many details the life of June’s husband, Luke. In this episode, the audience is introduced to Zoe, who is an ex-Army doctor who is fleeing Gilead and helping others do so as well. Her brave personality is the opposite of what the Gilead regime would want her to be. Such portrayals of Offred and other strong women show that women have the power to fight back and speak for what they believe in.
The Handmaid’s Tale creates a far-off, futuristic society where women are stripped of their rights and turned into child bearers. While the concept is dystopian, the themes of identity, sexuality, and female power are still visible, even in a society where women aren’t meant to have any of them. The show supports female empowerment and the strive for equality among genders, and how women in Gilead fight back against oppression and objectification by their government. The women become of themselves, coming into their own as women instead of a property of another. At surface level, The Handmaid’s Tale appears to be a sexist, anti-feminist television show. Upon analysis, the many instances of female power, identity, and sexuality show that the series wants women to fight back when put into situations where they’re not meant to. The show later turns into a rebellion against the dystopian society, with the women and other characters trying to take down the society that has taken away who they once were. While the future of the fictional society is not yet revealed, the development of the themes continues throughout the show, pushing the boundaries of identity, sexuality, and power in dystopic, disturbing ways, making The Handmaid’s Tale an anti-feminist, feminist work of art.
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Sister Ignatia McNally, MM
Born: February 2, 1914
Entered: December 7, 1933
Died: July 14, 2011
We gather this morning to celebrate the life of Sister Ignatia McNally who died peacefully on July 14, 2011, in Maryknoll Residential Care IV. She was 97 years old, and had been a Maryknoll Sister for 77 years.
Eleanor Mary McNally was born on February 2, 1914, in Dover, New Hampshire to Marie (Yonk) and James Thomas McNally. She had four brothers and one sister.
Eleanor entered the Maryknoll Sisters at Ossining, New York on December 7, 1933 from St. Anne parish in Dover, New Hampshire. At her Reception, she received the religious name of Sister Mary Ignatia. In China, where everyone uses a surname, she became known as Sister Mak, for McNally. She was quick to associate that name with her love of the Eucharist. Mak in Chinese means wheat. She made her First Profession of Vows on June 30, 1936, at Maryknoll, New York and her Final Vows on the same date in 1939 in Tungshek, Meixian, South China.
During her long life, Sister Ignatia displayed three great loves: her Maryknoll Sisters , the Chinese people with whom she spent all her missionary life, and the sick.
Sister left a message for her Maryknoll Sisters, to be read at her funeral. On April 29, 2008, she wrote:
Dear Sisters All,
Before leaving my beloved Maryknoll for my new home in Heaven, I wish to say a big Thank You which I will carry to heaven for all of you whom I have touched during these 75 (now 78) years both on the missions and during my returns to Maryknoll for renewals. I really have had a very happy life and I thank God and all of you who share so much love with me. I also thank God for the many gifts I have been given to use wherever I was with you and with our people in Mission.
Her love for her Sisters was inclusive and extended in a special way to the leadership at Maryknoll. She wrote:
Here at Maryknoll we all have been blessed by God, who has given us such wonderful leadership and freedom to follow God’s Words to the Apostles: ‘Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.
Community living was for Sister Ignatia a place to express and receive love, and for sharing:
Living together we have all shared with one another and love one another in our religious and mission life. I really can not thank you enough for your goodness to me; your patience, love, and sharing in the times we lived together.
Sister Ignatia’s love and concern was not reserved only for her Sisters in Maryknoll. She had a special love for the Chinese people for whom she could never do enough or give enough of herself.
In the short “history” she wrote of her life, her praise for the Chinese is simple, spontaneous and uncompromising. “We loved all the people and everyone shared with one another.” For Sister, there were no exceptions. Even when they failed to complete the catechumenate classes, she could find virtue in their decisions. “The Hakka people were honest,” she wrote, “and if they felt they could not take the step for Baptism and the Sacraments, they would say so and maybe later on they would join in another catechumenate.
In early 1951, Sister Ignatia, along with six other sisters and four Maryknoll priests, were placed under house arrest for 10 months. On November 25, 1951, the Sisters and priests were ordered to leave China,” she said, “I prayed daily for all whom we left behind and knew God would take good care of them all.”
This love was apparently mutual. When she was leaving the Wu Hua mission the people lined the sides of the road out to the main road. “They were crying”, she said, “and I was crying… I blessed the people all the way out.”
Throughout her life Sister Ignatia had a special charism for compassionate ministering to the sick. Shortly after entering Maryknoll, she began to study nursing at Ossining Hospital, a ministry that served her well. Her first assignment, in 1936, was to the Shanghai China Mercy Psychiatric Hospital. In 1938, when the Maryknoll Sisters withdrew from the Shanghai Hospital, Sr. Ignatia was assigned to Guangdong, South China. There she worked with Bishop Francis X. Ford in direct evangelization. She found that this work was also an outlet to bring healing and compassionate comfort to people. Many of the evangelization sessions took place in the evenings since the women worked in the fields during the day. “I would pray and visit the old and sick,” she said, “and the days went by quickly.”
Expelled from China, Sister Ignatia was assigned to Hong Kong. There she delighted in helping to set up Our Lady of Maryknoll Hospital, constructed to care for the poor and sick refugees from Mainland China. She was appointed its first Administrator. Ten years later, 1963, she was assigned to Taiwan where she was to serve for the next 30 years in medical, social and pastoral ministries. Here she displayed special care and love for the victims of Hansen’s disease, always seeking way to enhance the quality of their life.
In 1993, Sister Ignatia retired to the Maryknoll Sisters retirement community in Monrovia, California. Even there she helped out by being infirmarian, taking care of medical records and in prayer ministry through correspondence with women in the California State Prison. In 2003 at the time of her 70th Jubilee as a Maryknoll Sister, she returned to Maryknoll, New York for her final years. From 2007 she resided in the Sisters Residential Community until her death.
To her Sisters she left this message;
We have been entrusted with this opportunity to proclaim the Gospel in all parts for the world in many different ways. We have been given the freedom to go forth and freely share our God-given gifts with one another and the peoples to whom we have been sent. What a great trust our loving God has put in us.
We welcome our Maryknoll brother, Fr. Ernest Lukascheck, who will preside at our Liturgy of Christian Burial.
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This 24-year-old activist wants to teach you about antiracism through Instagram stories
Her stories may be long, but you won't even notice.
Image: Nora Maxwell / jacoblund / iStock / Getty Images Plus
By Jennimai Nguyen 2020-12-11 23:00:00 UTC
Moving forward requires focus. Mashable's Social Good Series is dedicated to exploring pathways to a greater good, spotlighting issues that are essential to making the world a better place.
On June 2, 2020, otherwise known as Blackout Tuesday, countless people posted a black square to their Instagram feeds in solidarity for the Black Lives Matter movement and the growing protests for racial justice and against police brutality. While well-intentioned, the black squares also clogged up the #blm and #blacklivesmatter hashtags, which were used to disseminate important protest information.
Nora Maxwell, a 24-year-old biracial Black woman, posted an Instagram story of about 15 slides in response to the phenomenon, where she warned against the performative activism that can result from posts like Blackout Tuesday, and defined white fragility, specifically for her white and non-Black POC followers.
For our series on youth activism, we talked to several young activists about their passions and how they've changed the world for the better. Maxwell's story, like others in our series, illustrates millennials' and Gen Z's unique voice and reach. In her case, Maxwell turned her Instagram from a personal photo sharing platform to a valuable resource in allyship.
At the time, she had little more than 1,000 followers, mostly friends, family, and personal acquaintances. It was also her first Instagram story about antiracism and allyship. As of December 2020, her follower count has grown and she says her posts are shared up to 4,000 times each, mostly by strangers who value her digital lessons on how to be a sustainable ally to Black people and the Black Lives Matter movement.
“One of the biggest things I was processing [this summer] was, for what felt like the first time at least in my life, there was so much national focus on this issue of racism, of police brutality, of just general racial injustice in the US,” Maxwell said. “And my fear was, when is this trend going to move on? And how can we keep the conversation going for longer than just a passing week or month or however long the attention was going to last on the issue?”
As part of her ongoing antiracism series, Maxwell focused one of her lessons on how to actively diversify your social media.
Image: screenshot/instagram/nora maxwell
As the summer went on, and as her following grew, Maxwell continued posting her digital lessons. They focused on topics like implicit bias, ongoing action, and “ally fatigue,” subjects she felt resonated mainly with her white and non-Black POC followers, as they were the ones who most often reposted or directly replied to the posts.
“I would say probably 75% of my posts are targeted to white people who are trying to become better allies, or trying to implement antiracism in their life. There's a good chunk of my posts that also apply to non-Black POCs. And then there actually are a few posts too, that I think could apply to everybody, no matter the race. For example, I did a story on colorism, and that is something that we as Black people certainly perpetuate, and that is something that I think everybody needs to talk more and learn more about.”
A deep dive into colorism within POC communities, a lesson that Maxwell used both Stories and in-feed posts to talk about.
The stories quickly grew to use 100 total slides, the maximum amount that Instagram allows. While her stories are long, they're designed to be digestible – each slide consists of small chunks of easily read text, accompanied by eye-catching graphics and interactive content that hopes to keep the reader engaged. Once the 24 hours of her live story passes, she saves each lesson to a highlight on her profile, where anyone can revisit them.
Keeping up her content is a time- and labor-intensive hobby; Maxwell said that she could easily spend 40 hours a week researching and crafting her posts, on top of her full time job.
But it's more than worth it, as Maxwell is very passionate about her Instagram activism. In addition to educational posts, she also uses it to hold successful digital fundraisers for local, community-based nonprofits like The Loveland Foundation, Assata’s Daughters, and Trans Justice Funding Project. To date, she says her fundraisers have raised about $10,000 spread across multiple organizations.
Because Maxwell identifies as biracial and Black, she emphasizes that a big reason as to why she feels called to do this work is her own privilege amongst the Black community.
“I do feel like I have a responsibility as somebody with more privilege within the Black community to be amplifying voices that are not my own, and also educating white people, which is a burden for any person of color to do. My goal is to never take away the platform from somebody who experiences more oppression than I do. It's something I've tried to keep in mind and use to center myself in the work I do.”
While she currently has no plans to take on Instagram as a full time job, Maxwell is early in her professional life and wants to continue prioritizing antiracism and allyship work, in whatever form that may take.
Here’s what else she wants you to know:
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
1. What's one piece of advice that you'd give young people looking to get involved in activism?
"I think there's something I have sort of conveyed in a lot of my Instagram stories, to not underestimate the power of your own network and the size of your own platform. Sometimes it can feel a little weird to get up on your soapbox if only five people are listening. But really, I think people underestimate the power that they have over their circles.
Young people especially, while we may lack power in more institutional spaces, like workplaces, we do hold power in our own social circles, our families, our larger communities. It's OK if it takes you a long time to say it, you don't have to say it perfectly. Say it and start somewhere, and I think you would be surprised by how many people are willing to listen."
2. Why are young people’s voices integral in allyship and antiracism work?
"I think the fearlessness of young people is so needed. [We have] a bluntness from growing up in a more politically active, civically engaged, social justice-oriented climate. For young people, I feel like it’s encouraged [for us] to be like, 'I'm just gonna say this, and I don't care if you don't like it, like, you’re boomers. I'm gonna say what I want.'
And one of the most poignant things is, [we] are the people that are now bearing the burden of these multiple and compounding crises that have been created by the older generations and politicians for the past decades. Now all at once, people are experiencing a climate catastrophe, and insane racial inequality, police brutality, student loan debt crises, all of this is happening at once. So this is now the generation that is left with all of this, [we] are the ones who live through this. So I think people are willing to listen to us."
3. What are some tools or resources that budding young activists can use to inform and propel their activism?
"The first thing that comes to mind for me would just to be active on social media. Where I found the most help has been Twitter and Instagram, because there are so many people doing amazing work, and also disseminating their information via social media. If you don't know what your first step is, take the lead from all of these youth-led organizing and activism groups. I also think it's really helpful to just find people that you look up to and want to emulate. I think a wonderful example that I think everybody feels is AOC. Something that feels really inspirational about her is that she has made being a Congresswoman and being a politician accessible, especially for Gen Z and people who are active on social media."
4. What would you tell someone who feels disillusioned with politics or the current state of the world? Why is it still important to get involved?
"I think when you make it really, really small, like, 'Well, what can I do in my school, or in my classroom, in my workplace, in my home with my family?' that is really where real change happens and where it starts. That's what grassroots organizing is based on, is that we can affect change by building movements within our own small little pockets of the world."
Topics: Activism, Social Good
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BofA to pay customers $727 million over credit card practices
by Blake Ellis @blakeellis3 April 9, 2014: 2:24 PM ET
Bank of America is being ordered to refund customers millions of dollars for illegal credit card practices.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ordered Bank of America to pay $727 million to customers who were duped by the bank's illegal credit card marketing and billing practices.
Roughly 1.9 million Bank of America (BAC) customers were illegally charged for add-on products like credit monitoring and credit reporting services that they didn't actually receive, the CFPB said Wednesday. These customers will receive refunds amounting to $459 million.
Another 1.4 million customers were victims of deceptive marketing practices that led them to sign up for products, like credit protection services, that weren't what they thought they were. These people will receive refunds totaling $268 million.
In addition to the refunds it will pay customers, Bank of America and its subsidiary, FIA Card Services, will also be required to pay a $20 million penalty to the CFPB. Separately, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is fining the bank $25 million.
Related: Top debt collection complaints
"Bank of America both deceived consumers and unfairly billed consumers for services not performed," said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. "We will not tolerate such practices and will continue to be vigilant in our pursuit of companies who wrong consumers in this market."
How to make credit cards more secure
Bank of America said it stopped offering the add-on products more than a year ago and has already issued refunds to most of the customers who were impacted.
"We are committed to ensuring that our products and services are marketed and billed responsibly," a bank spokeswoman said.
Related: Most complained-about credit card companies
This is the fifth action the CFPB has taken against a bank for illegal actions surrounding credit card add-on products. It's also the largest refund the government watchdog has ever ordered, mainly because of the size of the bank and because the actions go back to 2001 (others occurred over shorter time periods).
Over the past two years, Capital One (COF) was ordered to refund customers $140 million, Discover (DFS) refunded $200 million to customers, Chase's (JPM) refunds totaled $309 million and American Express (AXP) has refunded customers $60 million.
CNNMoney (New York) First published April 9, 2014: 2:21 PM ET
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The New Montana Heritage Center
The Veterans and Pioneers Memorial Building has been home to the Montana Historical Society since 1952. Since that time, this building has provided a home for the Society’s work, collections, and research. As Montana has grown, however, so have the needs of its Historical Society.
Building a larger facility will ensure the Montana Historical Society will always collect, preserve, interpret, and display the stories that have shaped our lives and our land. We need a new Historical Society large enough to preserve and protect our ever-expanding collections and provide a modern venue for the collections to be exhibited and used by future generations of Montanans. Some of the state’s important artifacts and irreplaceable items are never seen by the public because of the limited display areas presently available in the existing building.
The economic impact of MHS operations is significant now, but with the Montana Heritage Center, jobs, income, business sales, and local spending will produce a substantial increase in Montana's economy. A 2016 study by the University of Montana's Bureau of Business and Economic Research shows the impact of the Heritage Center would be considerable, including adding new jobs across the state and increasing economic output to $49.3 million during construction phase and $21.6 million per year thereafter. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create a center worthy of Montana’s wonderful history and its future.
Montana Historical Society
The Montana Historical Society (MHS) was established in Virginia City in 1865 before Montana was even a state. It became a state agency in 1891 (22-3-101 MCA) and is charged with "the use, learning, culture, and enjoyment of the citizens of the state and for the acquisition, preservation, and protection of historical records, art, archival, and museum objects, historical places, sites, and monuments and the custody, maintenance, and operation of the historical library, museums, art galleries, and historical places, sites, and monuments."
The Montana Historical Society is required to raise an additional $10 million in funding for the new Montana Heritage Center. Support their cause and donate HERE.
The 2005 Montana Legislature authorized $7.5 million in general obligation bonds and $30 million in authority to seek private donations for the MHS building project. Since that time, nearly $6 million has been raised or pledged from private donors and foundations. Until the Montana Legislature passed Senate Bill 338 during the 66th legislature in Spring 2019, funding requests to fill the gap between the bonds and fundraising were unsuccessful.
The 59th Montana Legislature (2005) passed House Bill 5, which granted $30 million in authority to seek private donations, and House Bill 540, which authorized $7.5 million in general obligation bonds, for the Montana Historical Society building project. Since that time, nearly $6 million has been raised or pledged from private donors and foundations. The 66th Montana Legislature (2019) passed Senate Bill 338 (The Montana Museums Act of 2020) and House Bill 5. Follow the links above to find the text of the bills and more information about the legislative process.
The project from start to finish includes multiple phases.
The site selection phase included evaluation of all sites within a 10-mile radius around the Capitol complex, including the Legislature’s previously designated location at 6th and Roberts, the former Capitol Hill Mall site on 11th Avenue, Padbury Ranch, current state-owned land near the Montana Department of Transportation and airport property.
The 6 & Roberts site was selected based on a report by Cushing Terrill (CT). Five sites were narrowed down from 22 original locations based on criteria developed by CT and the steering and building project committees. The main areas communicated to us throughout the site selection process were for access, visibility, and parking. These items will remain important throughout the entire project.
Although a preliminary concept for a new Heritage Center was developed in 2010, we started the design process from the beginning not only to update the concept, but to incorporate new directives and priorities.
Committee members were directed to aspire to the highest standards of efficiency and sustainability for the design. This will be the first building constructed on the Capitol campus in 36 years. The last building constructed was in 1984. The building committee is exploring ways to make this building as efficient as possible, including pursuing high-level third party certifications, such as USGBC LEED or the Green Building Initiative.
The Building Committee was tasked with determining the structure, design, and look of the new Heritage Center, with consideration to the needs of the Montana Historical Society, the Capitol complex, and the public.
The design phase is expected to last 12-18 months and is comprised of a detailed analysis for the Heritage Center needs for the space, creating requirements and finalizing building plans.
During the early stages of the design phase, selection of a general contractor will occur utilizing an alternative delivery/request for proposals process. This method maximizes budget and schedule control through real-time cost estimating, phasing analysis, constructability reviews of the design, and early collaboration among all project team members.
Construction activities started Fall 2020 with relocation of the Capitol Complex maintenance shops, major utilities work, removal of small structures, and clearing the site. This work is essential to prepare the site to expand parking for the 67th legislative session (January through April 2021) and to commence full construction of Montana’s Museum in May 2021.
To allow the Historical Society to remain open and operating as much as possible, the current phasing concept will involve construction of the new addition (the Heritage Center) from May 2021 to December 2022 and then take on upgrades to the existing Veterans & Pioneers Memorial Building (the current Historical Society facility) through all of 2023, with a grand re-opening event tentatively planned for early 2024.
The Montana Heritage Center will capture the grandeur of Montana by celebrating the natural features, diverse cultures, and stories of our past. After years of hard work, consensus-building, and careful design, the new home for the Montana Historical Society will include expanded museum exhibits, new educational space and a public event center, an enhanced research center, plus an outdoor courtyard and rooftop terrace. Visitors from across Montana and the world will experience state-of-the-art displays of our ever-expanding collections, only a few steps away from the Capitol building.
Hearing the excited voices of visitors of all ages as they explore the new Center, and watching them learn what it means to be a Montanan, will be a constant reminder of why this is such a special place.
Project Committees
The Steering Committee is an ad hoc committee, which oversees and sets direction for the Building Committee.
The Building Committee will be tasked with considering the current, future, and projected needs of the Montana Historical Society, the Capitol complex, and the public, with attention to the Society’s responsibilities and mission.
Committee members for this project were selected on the basis of the specific responsibilities related to their position and their particular expertise or knowledge of the specific project type or programs served in general; or c) to represent the interests of a particular constituent group. Steering Committee members may also serve on the Building Committee as appropriate due to their respective positions. Learn more about the responsibilities of the Building Committee:
Montana Heritage Center - Steering & Building Committees v.4 from LaurenBerka
The committees will report to Department of Administration Director John Lewis throughout the planning and design phase of the Heritage Center project.
Tribal Involvement
Montana’s Museum a place for learning, collaboration, and building relationships from corner to corner and everywhere in between. To turn this vision into a successful reality, it’s imperative we capture design-phase impressions and input from Montana's Tribal Nations as the new Montana Heritage Center moves forward. The project team is collaborating with a group of advisors to help establish relationships, provide status updates, and act as a liaison with tribal leadership and communities. This group will be an active partner with the building committee relaying input from tribal communities, and act as an adviser to the design team.
Stay tuned for additional details about tribal participation and consultation.
Got questions? We've got answers. Ask em here.
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Amber Conger
Email aconger@mt.gov
Lauren Berka
Strategic Management Analyst
Email lauren.berka@mt.gov
Jennifer James
Email Jennifer@jamesconsult.com
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Project Press Releases
Hyde Solomon Clearing Painting
White Swan's Buffalo robe. Created by White Swan and other unidentified artists. Crow painted pictographic buffalo hide with beaded blanket strip joining the two sides.
Portrait of a woman holding child to her left side. He is wrapped in blue. She wears a maroon shirt under tan shawl. Hair in ponytail with red, blue, white tie and beaded tassels. Prairie and tepees with two figures in background
Composite oil painting of five different landscape scenes pertaining to Glacier National Park, with mountain goat in center circular vignette.
Paintings like 'Moving Out' illustrate Russell's regard for and understanding of the traditional nomadic lifeways of Plains peoples, who moved camp according to the dictates of the season
Three deer come down to the lake's edge at day's end. In the background, the setting sun lights up the craggy peaks of the distant Continental Divide, casting a reflection in the placid water far below
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SOLD!! 0.6 Acre Residential Lot For Sale in Isle of Wight County VA!
All wooded 1 / 2 acre building lot available in Isle of Wight offering quiet setting and still convenient to amenities.
Great lot for recreation and potential home site. Only minutes to the James River Bridge and the entire Peninsula and the town of historic Smithfield. All wooded site available at a great price below county assessment. 2 separate parcels being offered as 1 and totaling .6 acre. Level lot that is sparsely wooded.
Isle of Wight County is a county located in the Hampton Roads region of the U.S. state of Virginia. It was named after the Isle of Wight, in the English Channel, from where many of its early colonists had come. As of the 2010 census, the population was 35,270. Its county seat is Isle of Wight.
Isle of Wight County is located in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its northeastern boundary is on the coast of Hampton Roads waterway.
Isle of Wight County features two incorporated towns, Smithfield and Windsor. The first courthouse for the county was built in Smithfield in 1750. The original courthouse and its associated tavern (The Smithfield Inn) are still standing.
As the county population developed, leaders thought they needed a county seat near the center of the area. They built a new courthouse near the center of the county in 1800. The 1800 brick courthouse and its associated tavern (Boykin’s Tavern) are still standing, as are the 1822 clerk’s offices nearby. Some additions have been made. The 1800 courthouse is used daily, serving as the government chambers for the Board of Supervisors, as well as the meeting hall for the School Board. The chambers are sometimes used as a court for civil trials if the new courthouse is fully in use. The new courthouse opened in 2010; it is across the street from the sheriff’s office and county offices complex.
For more information on this and other Residential Lots For Sale in Isle of Wight County VA, contact Danny Graham at 757-613-6059, by email at DGRAHAM@MOSSYOAKPROPERTIES.COM, or visit MOPVA.COM.
SOLD!! 0.6 Acre Residential Lot For Sale in Isle of Wight County VA! Flyer
County: Isle of Wight
Address: Off Johnson Lane, Carrollton, VA 23314
Danny Graham
dgraham@mossyoakproperties.com
Danny has been actively working in real estate for thirty years with a concentration in residential and land sales. Danny has extensive experience in rehabbing houses, managing rental properties, and land development. He and Leigh Ann, his wife of 37 years, live in Suffolk where they raised their two daughters Claudia and Olivia. Danny was born and raised in a rural setting where boating, fishing, hunting and camping were how memories were made. Still an avid hunter and outdoorsman, he is happiest when he is in the field. Whether he’s at the beach or in the backyard, or especially in the woods, Danny loves being outside. Every day, he is actively working marketing properties, finding buyers for farmland, timberland and hunting land. Danny’s knowledge of southeastern and central Virginia qualifies him to advise you on your land use possibilities, ranging from investment to hunting to a home site. He and Mossy Oak Properties were made for each other, because Danny believes sharing his love of the outdoors is a dream job. Danny always had a desire to own land where he and his family could make memories, and he realized that dream. Let Danny show you how to make your family’s dreams come true.
See More of Danny Graham's Listings
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Multicultural Meanderings
Working site on citizenship and multiculturalism issues.
“Because it’s 2015 …” Implementing Diversity and Inclusion
Multiculturalism in Canada: Evidence and Anecdote
Overview Deck
Multiculturalism in Canada: Evidence and Anecdote (2016 Census data)
Policy Arrogance or Innocent Bias: Resetting Citizenship and Multiculturalism
10 Inconvenient Truths: Policy Arrogance or Innocent Bias Deck
Policy Arrogance or Innocent Bias – One Year Later
Excerpt: Introduction
Book Launch Speaking Notes
Reference Charts and Tables
Chart 1: Evolution of Canadian Diversity 1867 – 2017
Chart 2: Situating Immigration, Integration and Citizenship within Broader Context
Chart 3: Ministerial Outreach by Community
Table 1: Multiculturalism Program Evolution
Table 2: Citizenship and Multiculturalism Policy Shifts
Table 3: Contrasting Multiculturalism Priorities — 2004-5 to 2011-11
Table 4: Contrasting Ministerial Messaging 2003-04 and 2011-12
Table 5: Ethnic Community Specific Challenges
Table 6: Religious Group Specific Challenges
Table 7: Comparison Between Current and Proposed Programming
Table 8: Language Assessment and Equivalencies
Table 9: Diversity Paradigms
Table 10: Multiculturalism/ Interculturalisme Comparison
Table 11: Radicalization-Related Multiculturalism Projects
Table 12: Transition to CIC Organizational Structure
Appendix A: Source Country of Immigrants 2005 – 2012
Appendix B: Categories of Immigrants 2005 – 2012
Appendix C: Ministerial Speeches and Statements by Community 2007 – 11
Appendix D: Lapses in Multiculturalism Program G&Cs
Appendix E: Key Ministerial Messages in Annual Reports of the Canadian Multiculturalism Act
Appendix F: Citizenship Operational Statistics and Backlog
Appendix G: Source Country of New Canadian Citizens
Appendix H: CIC Datasets Sorted by Program Area
Deck – 10 Inconvenient Truths
Book Availability
Living with Cancer: A Journey
Canadian Bar Association Presentation 8 May 2015: Citizenship: “Harder to Get and Easier to Lose”
The Evolution of Citizenship: Policy, Program and Operations
The Evolution of Citizenship: Policy, Program and Operations: Sources
The new citizenship act is efficient. Is it fair?
A relentlessly upbeat take on citizenship: My Review of Belonging: The Paradox of Citizenship
Multiculturalism: Getting the Balance Right
Role of Media in Integrating Immigrants: Metropolis Panel Discussion
Policy Arrogance or Innocent Bias
Resetting Citizenship and Multiculturalism: Optimum Online Vol. 43 Issue 2 June 2013
Excerpt: Discover Canada Citizenship Guide
ATIP
ATIP Delay Log
C-6/C-24
C-6 Committee Meetings
Alliance of Canadian Terror Victims Presentation – May 5
B’nai Brith C-24 Brief – April 30
C-24 Committee Meetings
Canadian Arab Institute
Canadian Association of Professional Immigration Consultants
Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers (CARL)
Canadian Bar Association
Canadian Council for Refugees
Christopher Thomson (pre-PR time)
Metro Toronto Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic Submission – May 12
New Citizenship Act is Efficient. Is it Fair?
Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants – April 30
Parkdale Community Legal Services Brief – May 5
Parkdale Community Legal Services Statements – C-24 – May 5
Pre-PR Time Counts – Brief – May 7
Pre-PR Time Counts – C-24 Statement – May 7
Professor Elke Winter, University of Ottawa – Statement – May 7
Professor Patti Tamara Lenard, U of Ottawa – Brief – May 7
Unicef Canada
Election 2019 and Ethnic Media
Ethnic Media Coverage
Riding profile links
Top ridings by group
Radicalization
DOL H-1B Visa Wage Rule: Donald Trump’s Bad Parting Gift To Immigrants
Two contrasting views on the Trump administration’s rule imposting higher salary requirements on H-1B visas. The first from the National Foundation for American Policy opposes the change, the second, from the Niskanen Center, supports it. From a self-interested Canadian perspective, the Trump rule provides an immigration advantage to Canadian firms.
Starting with opposition to the change:
The Department of Labor (DOL) reissued a controversial rule designed to price H-1B visa holders and employment-based immigrants out of the U.S. labor market, setting up new legal battles and a decision by the Biden administration on whether to keep a rule that fulfills a key part of White House adviser Stephen Miller’s anti-immigration agenda. The final rule makes only minimal substantive changes from the original rule and was drafted to avoid the violations of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) that caused three judges to issue opinions blocking the regulation.
Under immigration law, employers must pay H-1B visa holders the higher of the prevailing wage or actual wage paid to similar U.S. workers. DOL determines the prevailing wage with data from the government’s Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) wage survey and uses a mathematical formula to create four levels of wages for each occupation.
A formula is already problematic, since it is much less accurate than asking employers what they pay employees at different levels of experience. A formula can be manipulated to achieve a result, as analysts note, by artificially raising the required wage. That is what the Department of Labor has done in the two versions of its wage rule.
In October 2020, the Department of Labor issued an interim final regulation that raised the required wage employers must pay not just to H-1B visa holders but for employment-based immigrants who required labor certification. Three courts blocked the rule on grounds that it violated the Administrative Procedure Act by claiming a “good cause” exception to allow the regulation to go into effect immediately without notice and comment. Judges cited, among other things, a National Foundation for American Policy analysis that showed the unemployment rate for computer occupations had not increased during the pandemic.
The new rule does not go into effect for 60 days. It also phases in the latest higher salary requirements over several months. Trump officials hoped that would force employers and universities to argue that the regulation violates the statutory language or did not properly address comments, rather than the more straightforward violations of the Administrative Procedure Act contained in the original rule that were defeated in court.
The Fragomen law firm summarized the regulation’s phase-in:
“Phase 1, Rule Effective Date through June 30, 2021: LCAs [labor condition applications] filed and PWDs [prevailing wage determinations] issued during this timeframe are to remain subject to current wage levels, with Level I at the 17th percentile, Level II at the 34th percentile, Level III at the 50th percentile and Level IV at the 67th percentile.
“Phase 2, July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022: The new wage levels will take effect, however, they are to be adjusted downward as follows – Levels I and IV are to be set at the higher of either 90% of the wage value calculated at the 35th and 90th percentile or the mean of the lower one-third of the current OES wage distribution. Levels II and III are to be set using the wage calculations outlined in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which rely on the amounts listed in Levels I and IV.
“Phase 3, July 1, 2022 and after: The new wage levels are to take effect without any adjustments, with Level I at the 35thpercentile, Level II at the 53rd percentile, Level III at the 72ndpercentile and Level IV at the 90th percentile.”
“The revisions to the rule don’t change the fact that it still fails to do what the law requires—to reflect the actual, prevailing wage for workers in that geographical area doing similar work,” said Kevin Miner, a partner at Fragomen, in an interview. “The fact that Level 1 wages are now tied to around the 35th percentile rather than the 45th percentile doesn’t change the fact that it is artificially inflating required wages. Prevailing wage data published by DOL should reflect the actual wages paid in the market. It should be math, not politics. If Congress wants to make changes to the H-1B statute, it can do so. But DOL shouldn’t be trying to do that through rulemaking.”
The new rule has the same defects as the earlier version, even if the wage effects are slightly less extreme, according to a preliminary analysis by the National Foundation for American Policy. In effect, at the 35th percentile, the new rule would require employers to pay an entry level employee the same or more than 35% of the people working in the same occupation and geographic location, even if those individuals have much more experience.
One way of looking at the new rule is since the current Level 2 wage is at the 34th percentile, and the new Level 1 is at the 35th percentile, then what the new rule does is eliminate the entire Level 1 wage level and pushes everything else upwards. “That is one of the ways the rule violates the statute,” said Miner.
The wages mandated under the DOL rule do not reflect market wages or meet the definition of a prevailing wage. “The prevailing wage rate is defined as the average wage paid to similarly employed workers in a specific occupation in the area of intended employment,” according to the Department of Labor.
Compared to the regulation in effect for years, the new DOL rule will require employers to pay, on average, 34% higher salaries at the Level 1 wage for biochemists and biophysicists, 29% higher for software developers and database administrators, and 28% more for computer programmers, according to a National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) estimate of the new rule’s impact.
To examine how much above the market wage the new rule requires employers to pay, NFAP looked at private wage survey data. Under the new DOL mandated minimum salary, an employer in the San Jose, California area would pay an electrical engineer at Level 4 more than $41,000 above the market wage, as indicated by a private wage survey (Willis Towers Watson). At Level 1, an employer in San Jose would pay an electrical engineer more than $36,000 above the market wage, according to an NFAP estimate.
The Department of Labor wage rule is designed to make it as difficult as possible for employment-based immigrants and visa holders to enter or work in America. The DOL wage rule should be viewed the same as Trump administration’s policies that ended nearly all refugee admissions, prevented individuals from applying for asylum, banned people from several Muslim-majority nations and stopped family immigrants from entering the United States.
H-1B visas are important because they generally represent the only practical way for high-skilled foreign nationals, including international students, to work long-term in the United States and have a chance to become employment-based immigrants and U.S. citizens. Analysts note the visas are a crucial part of America’s ability to innovate at a time when elected officials want companies to develop and produce more products and services in the United States.
Pricing visa holders and immigrants out of the U.S. labor market will push more work to other nations and further discourage international students from coming to America. Economists recognize there is a global market for labor, which is ignored in the DOL rule: “[A]ny policies that are motivated by concerns about the loss of native jobs should consider that policies aimed at reducing immigration have the unintended consequence of encouraging firms to offshore jobs abroad,” according to research by Britta Glennon, an assistant professor at the Wharton School of Business.
Litigation is expected from employers. The more critical issue is whether the Biden administration will implement the Trump administration’s most recent assault on high-skilled immigration or move to rescind or substantially revise the regulation through the rulemaking process.
The DOL wage rule is Donald Trump and Stephen Miller’s parting gift to immigrants, universities and high technology companies. The Biden administration must decide if it wants to carry out the Donald Trump-Stephen Miller agenda on immigration.
Source: DOL H-1B Visa Wage Rule: Donald Trump’s Bad Parting Gift To Immigrants
In support, from the Niskanen Center:
Just days before the 2020 election, the Trump administration proposed a new ruleto change how H-1B visas are allocated. The final rule was announced last week and is set to go into effect before the 2022 H-1B lottery. The Biden administration will have many Trump-era immigration rules to reverse. But this rule — uniquely — is worth supporting after the end of the Trump administration, since it ensures visas go to the best and brightest, reduces risk for H-1B employers, protects native workers, and fulfills one of Biden’s campaign promises.
Allocating visas efficiently
The demand for cap-subject H-1Bs consistently outpaces the 85,000 that are allowed each year. The result is a zero-sum game; one employer’s approval is necessarily one fewer visa available to other employers. And the lottery-based allocation established under the old rules dictates that virtually all employers are equally likely to win, regardless of their petitions’ relative merit.
The new rule replaces the random lottery with a wage-based ranking, awarding visas to employers offering the largest salaries. Under wage-based allocation, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services no longer has to be indifferent between a superstar who is a perfect fit for a lucrative niche job and a worker to fill an entry-level position. Instead, USCIS can ensure visas are going to the most valuable workers.
Of course, much of this zero-sum competition is artificially imposed by the low H-1B cap — even the less productive H-1B-eligible workers with sponsors would still be of enormous benefit to the United States. But the Department of Homeland Security can’t get rid of the cap. It can make sure that in the face of the cap, visas go to the best and brightest of the best and brightest.
Pro-worker and pro-business
In addition to allocating H-1Bs efficiently, wage-based allocation yields three other significant benefits.
First, it protects native workers. Labor market competition between H-1B workers and natives is largely overblown, with H-1B workers earning much more on average than natives of the same level of education. However, there are several disturbing cases where businesses use H-1B workers to replace or undercut natives, even if such cases are quite rare. However uncommon, such cases are bad for the native workers affected and bad for the H-1B program’s political prospects. After all, how can lawmakers be persuaded to raise the cap if H-1Bs are already displacing workers?
Naturally, the issue is the lottery system, which often awards visas to the least deserving petitions and incentivizes the proliferation of outsourcing companies and H-1B dependent firms. Assigning visas to the workers who will earn the highest salaries automatically makes cases of abuse financially unviable. Making employers compete for visas by offering better wages is pro-worker and can help recover some of the program’s damaged reputation.
Second, wage-based allocation is good for business and reduces a tremendous amount of waste. Under a lottery, businesses face costly uncertainty about whether all the money and time spent trying to secure a visa will pay off. If an employer wins the lottery, their new employee will make the process worth it, but if they lose, the resources are squandered. On top of the waste, the uncertainty and risk deters some businesses from participating at all. Wage-based allocation addresses these issues, giving high-paying employers security and reliability, while providing lower-paying employers the signal they need to know they won’t win a visa if they petition for one.
Third, a wage-based allocation generates valuable information to lawmakers about the value of H-1Bs. Each year’s salary cutoff — that is, the lowest salary that still secures a visa — sends a much stronger signal about the demand for H-1B labor than does the number of lottery applicants, which can obscure the underlying need for workers by only including employers who are willing to take on the risk inherent in entering the lottery. As demand for labor increases, it might not show up clearly in the number of H-1B applications because the value of an H-1B application decreases as the probability of winning the lottery decreases. Therefore, the number of H-1B applications is a mixed signal about the demand for workers and the risk-aversion of employers that is hard to disentangle. On the other hand, movement in a salary cutoff can more transparently inform lawmakers how to set the cap and assure them that increasing it won’t lead to low-wage labor.
As it happens, this policy is included in Biden’s immigration plan. “An immigration system that crowds out high-skilled workers in favor of only entry level wages and skills threatens American innovation and competitiveness,” his plan reads. Then it follows with Biden’s proposal to fix it: “first reform temporary visas to establish a wage-based allocation process.” Granted, Biden’s plan indicates that he hoped the change would come from Congress.
Nevertheless, allowing the rule to stand would make sure that talent and resources aren’t squandered in the next lotteries before Congress has a chance to get to it — if it does at all. Meaningful H-1B reform to charge innovation and productivity growth doesn’t stop at wage-based allocation, but it’s a promising start.
Source: Trump’s One Immigration Reform That Biden Should Keep
Filed under Immigration Tagged with H-1B, National Foundation for American Policy, Niskanen Center, Trump administration
Sweden proposes language requirement for would-be citizens
Pretty standard requirements elsewhere:
Justice and Migration Minister Morgan Johansson presented details of an inquiry into the proposals on Wednesday morning.
“Language is the key to work, but also the key to society,” said Johansson as he outlined why the government thought it needed to find “a better balance between rights and responsibilities” for would-be citizens.
Foreign nationals applying to become Swedish would need proof of Swedish skills at A2 level for speaking and writing, the second lowest out of six levels on the Common European Framework of Reference, and B1 for reading and listening.
To take the test, it would cost 500 kronor ($60) for the section relating to civil society and 2,000 kronor for the language component.
Citizenship applicants could alternatively provide proof of passing Grade 9 in a Swedish high school, or a course at upper secondary school, or the highest level of the Swedish For Immigrants (SFI) course.
The language requirements would apply to people aged between 16 and 66 who apply for Swedish citizenship, but certain exceptions are proposed, including for people with certain disabilities or those who are from a vulnerable background – for example being stateless or illiterate – who can prove they have tried to reach the required knowledge level but been unsuccessful.
Citizens of other Nordic countries who live in Sweden would also be exempted, as they are subject to a different process and are only required to notify authorities, rather than apply, in order to receive citizenship.
The proposals were put together based on reviewing the processes in place in other European countries, of which only three including Sweden do not currently require a language test.
But the details aren’t finalised yet. The next stage is to send the proposals out for consultation from relevant authorities, and they may be adapted depending on the responses received. Then a proposal would need to be passed by parliament and work to begin on putting together the tests.
“This is a reasonable proposal and we hope that it can be put into place as soon as possible, but of course this is a large organisational challenge,” said Johansson.
The government committed to investigating language tests for citizenship applicants in the cross-bloc deal struck with the Centre and Liberal parties, whose support the Social Democrat-Green coalition needed to form a government.
Separately, the government is looking into whether language skills should be required for permanent residence in Sweden.
Source: https://www.thelocal.se/20210113/sweden-proposes-language-requirement-for-would-be-citizens
Filed under Citizenship Tagged with language, Sweden
From facial recognition, to predictive technologies, big data policing is rife with technical, ethical and political landmines
Good long read and overview of the major issues:
In mid-2019, an investigative journalism/tech non-profit called MuckRock and Open the Government (OTG), a non-partisan advocacy group, began submitting freedom of information requests to law enforcement agencies across the United States. The goal: to smoke out details about the use of an app rumoured to offer unprecedented facial recognition capabilities to anyone with a smartphone.
Co-founded by Michael Morisy, a former Boston Globe editor, MuckRock specializes in FOIs and its site has grown into a publicly accessible repository of government documents obtained under access to information laws.
As responses trickled in, it became clear that the MuckRock/OTG team had made a discovery about a tech company called Clearview AI. Based on documents obtained from Atlanta, OTG researcher Freddy Martinez began filing more requests, and discovered that as many as 200 police departments across the U.S. were using Clearview’s app, which compares images taken by smartphone cameras to a sprawling database of 3 billion open-source photographs of faces linked to various forms of personal information (e.g., Facebook profiles). It was, in effect, a point-click-and-identify system that radically transformed the work of police officers.
The documents soon found their way to a New York Times reporter named Kashmir Hill, who, in January 2020, published a deeply investigated feature about Clearview, a tiny and secretive start-up with backing from Peter Thiel, the Silicon Valley billionaire behind Paypal and Palantir Technologies. Among the story’s revelations, Hill disclosed that tech giants like Google and Apple were well aware that such an app could be developed using artificial intelligence algorithms feeding off the vast storehouse of facial images uploaded to social media platforms and other publicly accessible databases. But they had opted against designing such a disruptive and easily disseminated surveillance tool.
The Times story set off what could best be described as an international chain reaction, with widespread media coverage about the use of Clearview’s app, followed by a wave of announcements from various governments and police agencies about how Clearview’s app would be banned. The reaction played out against a backdrop of news reports about China’s nearly ubiquitous facial recognition-based surveillance networks.
Canada was not exempt. To Surveil and Predict, a detailed examination of “algorithmic policing” published this past fall by the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab, noted that officers with law enforcement agencies in Calgary, Edmonton and across Greater Toronto had tested Clearview’s app, sometimes without the knowledge of their superiors. Investigative reporting by the Toronto Star and Buzzfeed News found numerous examples of municipal law enforcement agencies, including the Toronto Police Service, using the app in crime investigations. The RCMP denied using Clearview even after it had entered into a contract with the company — a detail exposed by Vancouver’s The Tyee.
With federal and provincial privacy commissioners ordering investigations, Clearview and the RCMP subsequently severed ties, although Citizen Lab noted that many other tech companies still sell facial recognition systems in Canada. “I think it is very questionable whether [Clearview] would conform with Canadian law,” Michael McEvoy, British Columbia’s privacy commissioner, told the Star in February.
There was fallout elsewhere. Four U.S. cities banned police use of facial recognition outright, the Citizen Lab report noted. The European Union in February proposed a ban on facial recognition in public spaces but later hedged. A U.K. court in April ruled that police facial recognition systems were “unlawful,” marking a significant reversal in surveillance-minded Britain. And the European Data Protection Board, an EU agency, informed Commission members in June that Clearview’s technology violates Pan-European law enforcement policies. As Rutgers University law professor and smart city scholar Ellen Goodman notes “There’s been a huge blowback” against the use of data-intensive policing technologies.
There’s nothing new about surveillance or police investigative practices that draw on highly diverse forms of electronic information, from wire taps to bank records and images captured by private security cameras. Yet during the past decade or so, dramatic advances in big data analytics, biometrics and AI, stoked by venture capital and law enforcement agencies eager to invest in new technology, have given rise to a fast-growing data policing industry. As the Clearview story showed, regulation and democratic oversight have lagged far behind the technology.
U.S. startups like PredPol and HunchLab, now owned by ShotSpotter, have designed so-called “predictive policing” algorithms that use law enforcement records and other geographical data (e.g. locations of schools) to make statistical guesses about the times and locations of future property crimes. Palantir’s law-enforcement service aggregates and then mines huge data sets consisting of emails, court documents, evidence repositories, gang member databases, automated licence plate readers, social media, etc., to find correlations or patterns that police can use to investigate suspects.
Yet as the Clearview fallout indicated, big data policing is rife with technical, ethical and political landmines, according to Andrew Ferguson, a University of the District Columbia law professor. As he explains in his 2017 book, The Rise of Big Data Policing, analysts have identified an impressive list: biased, incomplete or inaccurate data, opaque technology, erroneous predictions, lack of governance, public suspicions about surveillance and over-policing, conflicts over access to proprietary algorithms, unauthorized use of data and the muddied incentives of private firms selling law enforcement software.
At least one major study found that some police officers were highly skeptical of predictive policing algorithms. Other critics point out that by deploying smart city sensors or other data-enabled systems, like transit smart cards, local governments may be inadvertently providing the police with new intelligence sources. Metrolinx, for example, has released Presto card user information to police while London’s Metropolitan Police has made thousands of requests for Oyster card data to track criminals, according to The Guardian. “Any time you have a microphone, camera or a live-feed, these [become] surveillance devices with the simple addition of a court order,” says New York civil rights lawyer Albert Cahn, executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (STOP).
The authors of the Citizen Lab study, lawyers Kate Robertson, Cynthia Khoo and Yolanda Song, argue that Canadian governments need to impose a moratorium on the deployment of algorithmic policing technology until the public policy and legal frameworks can catch up.
Data policing was born in New York City in the early 1990s when then-police Commissioner William Bratton launched “Compstat,” a computer system that compiled up-to-date crime information then visualized the findings in heat maps. These allowed unit commanders to deploy officers to neighbourhoods most likely to be experiencing crime problems.
Originally conceived as a management tool that would push a demoralized police force to make better use of limited resources, Compstat is credited by some as contributing to the marked reduction in crime rates in the Big Apple, although many other big cities experienced similar drops through the 1990s and early 2000s.
The 9/11 terrorist attacks sparked enormous investments in security technology. The past two decades have seen the emergence of a multi-billion-dollar industry dedicated to civilian security technology, everything from large-scale deployments of CCTVs and cybersecurity to the development of highly sensitive biometric devices — fingerprint readers, iris scanners, etc. — designed to bulk up the security around factories, infrastructure and government buildings.
Predictive policing and facial recognition technologies evolved on parallel tracks, both relying on increasingly sophisticated analytics techniques, artificial intelligence algorithms and ever deeper pools of digital data.
The core idea is that the algorithms — essentially formulas, such as decision-trees, that generate predictions — are “trained” on large tranches of data so they become increasingly accurate, for example at anticipating the likely locations of future property crimes or matching a face captured in a digital image from a CCTV to one in a large database of headshots. Some algorithms are designed to use a set of rules with variables (akin to following a recipe). Others, known as machine learning, are programmed to learn on their own (trial and error).
The risk lies in the quality of the data used to train the algorithms — what was dubbed the “garbage-in-garbage-out” problem in a study by the Georgetown Law Center on Privacy and Technology. If there are hidden biases in the training data — e.g., it contains mostly Caucasian faces — the algorithm may misread Asian or Black faces and generate “false positives,” a well-documented shortcoming if the application involves a identifying a suspect in a crime.
Similarly, if a poor or racialized area is subject to over-policing, there will likely be more crime reports, meaning the data from that neighbourhood is likely to reveal higher-than-average rates of certain types of criminal activity, a data point that would justify more over-policing and racial profiling. Some crimes are under-reported, and don’t influence these algorithms.
Other predictive and AI-based law enforcement technologies, such as “social network analysis” — an individual’s web of personal relationships, gleaned, for example, from social media platforms or examined by cross-referencing of lists of gang members — promised to generate predictions that individuals known to police were at risk of becoming embroiled in violent crimes.
This type of sleuthing seemed to hold out some promise. In one study, criminologists at Cardiff University found that “disorder-related” posts on Twitter reflected crime incidents in metropolitan London — a finding that suggests how big data can help map and anticipate criminal activity. In practise, however, such surveillance tactics can prove explosive. This happened in 2016, when U.S. civil liberties groups revealed documents showing that Geofeedia, a location-based data company, had contracts with numerous police departments to provide analytics based on social media posts to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. Among the individuals targeted by the company’s data: protestors and activists. Chastened, the social media firms rapidly blocked Geofeedia’s access.
In 2013, the Chicago Police Department began experimenting with predictive models that assigned risk scores for individuals based on criminal records or their connections to people involved in violent crime. By 2019, the CPD had assigned risk scores to almost 400,000 people, and claimed to be using the information to surveil and target “at-risk” individuals (including potential victims) or connect them to social services, according to a January 2020 report by Chicago’s inspector general.
These tools can draw incorrect or biased inferences in the same way that overreliance on police checks in racialized neighbourhoods results in what could be described as guilt by address. The Citizen Lab study noted that the Ontario Human Rights Commission identified social network analysis as a potential cause of racial profiling. In the case of the CPD’s predictive risk model, the system was discontinued in 2020 after media reports and internal investigations showed that people were added to the list based solely on arrest records, meaning they might not even have been charged, much less convicted of a crime.
Early applications of facial recognition software included passport security systems or searches of mug shot databases. But in 2011, the Insurance Corporation of B.C. offered Vancouver police the use of facial recognition software to match photos of Stanley Cup rioters with driver’s licence images — a move that prompted a stern warning from the province’s privacy commissioner. In 2019, the Washington Post revealed that FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) investigators regarded state databases of digitized driver’s licences as a “gold mine for facial recognition photos” which had been scanned without consent.
In 2013, Canada’s federal privacy commissioner released a report on police use of facial recognition that anticipated the issues raised by Clearview app earlier in 2020. “[S]trict controls and increased transparency are needed to ensure that the use of facial recognition conforms with our privacy laws and our common sense of what is socially acceptable.” (Canada’s data privacy laws are only now being considered for an update.)
The technology, meanwhile, continues to gallop ahead. New York civil rights lawyer Albert Cahn points to the emergence of “gait recognition” systems, which use visual analysis to identify individuals by their walk; these systems are reportedly in use in China. “You’re trying to teach machines how to identify people who walk with the same gait,” he says. “Of course, a lot of this is completely untested.”
The predictive policing story evolved somewhat differently. The methodology grew out of analysis commissioned by the Los Angeles Police Department in the early 2010s. Two data scientists, Jeff Brantingham and George Mohler, used mathematical modelling to forecast copycat crimes based on data about the location and frequency of previous burglaries in three L.A. neighbourhoods. They published their results and soon set up PredPol to commercialize the technology. Media attention soon followed, as news stories played up the seemingly miraculous power of a Minority Report-like system that could do a decent job anticipating incidents of property crime.
Operationally, police forces used PredPol’s system by dividing up precincts in 150-square-metre “cells” that police officers were instructed to patrol more intensively during periods when PredPol’s algorithm forecast criminal activity. In the post-2009 credit crisis period, the technology seemed to promise that cash-strapped American municipalities would get more bang for their policing buck.
Other firms, from startups to multinationals like IBM, entered the market with innovations, for example, incorporating other types of data, such as socio-economic data or geographical features, from parks and picnic tables to schools and bars, that may be correlated to elevated incidents of certain types of crime. The reported crime data is routinely updated so the algorithm remains current.
Police departments across the U.S. and Europe have invested in various predictive policing tools, as have several in Canada, including Vancouver, Edmonton and Saskatoon. Whether they have made a difference is an open question. As with several other studies, a 2017 review by analysts with the Institute for International Research on Criminal Policy, at Ghent University in Belgium, found inconclusive results: some places showed improved results compared to more conventional policing, while in other cities, the use of predictive algorithms led to reduced policing costs, but little measurable difference in outcomes.
Revealingly, the city where predictive policing really took hold, Los Angeles, has rolled back police use on these techniques. Last spring, the LAPD tore up its contract with PredPol in the wake of mounting community and legal pressure from the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition, which found that individuals who posed no real threat, mostly Black or Latino, were ending up on police watch lists because of flaws in the way the system assigned risk scores.
“Algorithms have no place in policing,” Coalition founder Hamid Khan said in an interview this summer with MIT Technology Review. “I think it’s crucial that we understand that there are lives at stake. This language of location-based policing is by itself a proxy for racism. They’re not there to police potholes and trees. They are there to police people in the location. So location gets criminalized, people get criminalized, and it’s only a few seconds away before the gun comes out and somebody gets shot and killed.” (Similar advocacy campaigns, including proposed legislation governing surveillance technology and gang databases, have been proposed for New York City.)
There has been one other interesting consequence: police resistance. B.C.-born sociologist Sarah Brayne, an assistant professor at the University of Texas (Austin), spent two-and-a-half years embedded with the LAPD, exploring the reaction of law enforcement officials to algorithmic policing techniques by conducting ride-alongs as well as interviews with dozens of veteran cops and data analysts. In results published last year, Brayne and collaborator Angèle Christin observed “strong processes of resistance fuelled by fear of professional devaluation and threats of performance tracking.”
Before shifts, officers were told which grids to drive through, when and how frequently, and the locations of their vehicles were tracked by an on-board GPS devices to ensure compliance. But Brayne found that some would turn off the tracking device, which they regarded with suspicion. Others just didn’t buy what the technology was selling. “Patrol officers frequently asserted that they did not need an algorithm to tell them where crime occurs,” she noted.
In an interview, Brayne said that police departments increasingly see predictive technology as part of the tool kit, despite questions about effectiveness or other concerns, like racial profiling. “Once a particular technology is created,” she observed,” there’s a tendency to use it.” But Brayne added one other prediction, which has to do with the future of algorithmic policing in the post-George Floyd era — “an intersection,” as she says, “between squeezed budgets and this movement around defunding the police.”
The widening use of big data policing and digital surveillance poses, according to Citizen Lab’s analysis as well as critiques from U.S. and U.K. legal scholars, a range of civil rights questions, from privacy and freedom from discrimination to due process. Yet governments have been slow to acknowledge these consequences. Big Brother Watch, a British civil liberties group, notes that in the U.K., the national government’s stance has been that police decisions about the deployment of facial recognition systems are “operational.”
At the core of the debate is a basic public policy principle: transparency. Do individuals have the tools to understand and debate the workings of a suite of technologies that can have tremendous influence over their lives and freedoms? It’s what Andrew Ferguson and others refer to as the “black box” problem. The algorithms, designed by software engineers, rely on certain assumptions, methodologies and variables, none of which are visible, much less legible to anyone without advanced technical know-how. Many, moreover, are proprietary because they are sold to local governments by private companies. The upshot is that these kinds of algorithms have not been regulated by governments despite their use by public agencies.
New York City Council moved to tackle this question in May 2018 by establishing an “automated decision systems” task force to examine how municipal agencies and departments use AI and machine learning algorithms. The task force was to devise procedures for identifying hidden biases and to disclose how the algorithms generate choices so the public can assess their impact. The group included officials from the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio, tech experts and civil liberties advocates. It held public meetings throughout 2019 and released a report that November. NYC was, by most accounts, the first city to have tackled this question, and the initiative was, initially, well received.
Going in, Cahn, the New York City civil rights lawyer, saw the task force as “a unique opportunity to examine how AI was operating in city government.” But he describes the outcome as “disheartening.” “There was an unwillingness to challenge the NYPD on its use of (automated decision systems).” Some other participants agreed, describing the effort as a waste.
If institutional obstacles thwarted an effort in a government the size of the City of New York, what does better and more effective oversight look like? A couple of answers have emerged.
In his book on big data policing, Andrew Ferguson writes that local governments should start at first principles, and urges police forces and civilian oversight bodies to address five fundamental questions, ideally in a public forum:
Can you identify the risks that your big data technology is trying to address?
Can you defend the inputs into the system (accuracy of data, soundness of methodology)?
Can you defend the outputs of the system (how they will impact policing practice and community relationships)?
Can you test the technology (offering accountability and some measure of transparency)?
Is police use of the technology respectful of the autonomy of the people it will impact?
These “foundational” questions, he writes, “must be satisfactorily answered before green-lighting any purchase or adopting a big data policing strategy.”
In addition to calling for a moratorium and a judicial inquiry into the uses of predictive policing and facial recognition systems, the authors of the Citizen Lab report made several other recommendations, including: the need for full transparency; provincial policies governing the procurement of such systems; limits on the use of ADS in public spaces; and the establishment of oversight bodies that include members of historically marginalized or victimized groups.
Interestingly, the federal government has made advances in this arena, which University of Ottawa law professor and privacy expert Teresa Scassa describes as “really interesting.”
The Treasury Board Secretariat in 2019 issued the “Directive on Automated Decision-Making,” which came into effect in April 2020, requires federal departments and agencies, except those involved in national security, to conduct “algorithmic impact assessments” (AIA) to evaluate unintended bias before procuring or approving the use of technologies that rely on AI or machine learning. The policy requires the government to publish AIAs, release software codes developed internally and continually monitor the performance of these systems. In the case of proprietary algorithms developed by private suppliers, federal officials have extensive rights to access and test the software.
In a forthcoming paper, Scassa points out that the directive includes due process rules and looks for evidence of whether systemic bias has become embedded in these technologies, which can happen if the algorithms are trained on skewed data. She also observes that not all algorithm-driven systems generate life-altering decisions, e.g., chatbots that are now commonly used in online application processes. But where they are deployed in “high impact” contexts such as policing, e.g., with algorithms that aim to identify individuals caught on surveillance videos, the policy requires “a human in the loop.”
The directive, says Scassa, “is getting interest elsewhere,” including the U.S. Ellen Goodman, at Rutgers, is hopeful this approach will gain traction with the Biden administration. In Canada, where provincial governments oversee law enforcement, Ottawa’s low-key but seemingly thorough regulation points to a way for citizens to shine a flashlight into the black box that is big data policing.
Source: From facial recognition, to predictive technologies, big data policing is rife with technical, ethical and political landmines
Filed under Multiculturalism Tagged with AI, big data, Clearview AI, facial recognition, police
#COVID-19: Comparing provinces with other countries 13 January Update, including vaccinations
As vaccination data is becoming available, I have started to compile this data (number of vaccinations administered) by province and my standard list of countries. Some countries have yet to publish vaccination data. While Canada is far behind the UK and USA, it is ahead of China and France:
The standard charts can be found below.
Minor week to week changes:
Infections per million: California ahead of USA, Ontario ahead of Canada less Quebec, Japan ahead of Pakistan, Atlantic Canada ahead of Australia
Deaths per million: Alberta moved ahead of Canada less Quebec
Filed under Immigration Tagged with comparison, comparisons, COVID-19, monthly, provinces
How Executive Action Can Build a More Fair, Humane, and Workable Immigration System
From the Democrat think tank, the Center for American Progress, a likely indicator of what to expect from the Biden administration:
Over the past four years, the Trump administration wreaked havoc on the nation’s immigration and humanitarian protection systems, all without enacting a single law—and often in violation of existing laws. Building on a set of laws that were already outdated, overly inflexible, and poorly suited to meet the country’s realistic wants and needs, the administration made full use of the significant amount of executive authority that Congress has both explicitly and implicitly delegated to the president over many decades. As many commentators observed when looking at the administration’s relentless anti-immigrant agenda, cruelty was often the point. Now, the incoming Biden administration—which recognized early on that “we are living through a battle for the soul of this nation” and centered its presidential campaign around a pledge to “restore the soul of America”—will need to similarly use executive authority to repair much of the damage done over the past four years, as well as in previous years. By doing so, it can help build an immigration system that is more fair, humane, and workable.
Given the substantial task at hand and the nature of both the administrative state and administrative law, some of this will take time. But because the stakes are so great for so many—indeed, for the country as a whole and for its future—the work must begin immediately and it must be sustained for the duration of the administration. By the end of his first week in office, President Donald Trump had already issued three separateexecutive orders pertaining to immigration.
During his first days in office, President-elect Joe Biden should issue a single omnibus executive order that 1) lays out a condemnation of the damaged system that he is inheriting, 2) articulates a vision for the direction in which he will take things over the course of his term in office, and 3) makes initial, urgently needed changes consistent with that vision, including the imposition of a 100-day moratorium on deportations while the administration conducts a comprehensive review of outstanding cases and develops a set of sensible enforcement priorities.
What the first executive order on immigration should include
The executive order should begin with a high-level description of the breadth of damage done by the Trump administration, including but not limited to:
The termination of protections for hundreds of thousands of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries
The systematic and intentional separation of thousands of children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border
The wanton cruelty caused by an immigration enforcement policy that puts everyone in its crosshairs
Expansive entry bans for immigrants, nonimmigrants, refugees, and asylum-seekers, with a targeted focus on people from Muslim-majority countries and countries in Africa
The decimation of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, which has been a strength at home and abroad
The enhanced politicization of the immigration court system and Board of Immigration Appeals
The creation of a “wealth test” that has scared immigrant families away from seeking necessary medical care, even in the midst of a pandemic
The transformation of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services from an agency that fairly adjudicated applications into one that arbitrarily denies them
Providing a concise but comprehensive condemnation of the damage done by the Trump administration is necessary to convey to the public and to both political appointees and career staff that the Biden administration recognizes the challenge at hand and will waste no time in beginning to build immigration and humanitarian protection systems that are far better than what exists today.
The executive order should then address issues by category, articulating generally what values and objectives should guide the development of policy in each area. Where possible, it should immediately rescind executive orders and policies that run counter to those values and objectives—for example, various entry bans issued pursuant to section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the nationwide expansion of expedited removal, and the so-called asylum cooperative agreements with Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. The order should also task Cabinet secretaries with the responsibility of studying different aspects of the issues within their jurisdiction and reporting back in fixed periods of time with new plans and policies consistent with the administration’s vision.
For example, the secretary of homeland security should be tasked with establishing new civil immigration enforcement guidelines; developing a range of community-based supervision programs to significantly decrease the country’s overreliance on a punitive detention system; conducting an immediate audit of the current detention population to release those at heightened risk of developing serious health consequences if they were to contract the coronavirus, as well as vulnerable populations and others for whom detention is not strictly necessary; establishing a protocol to promote cooperative enforcement strategies designed to enhance compliance with U.S. immigration laws; and reviewing extant agreements with state and local law enforcement agencies, including all forms of 287(g) agreements, to begin the process of phasing them out entirely.
Similarly, the attorney general should be directed to take steps to significantly reduce the immigration court backlog by removing low-priority cases from the docket and to review immigration decisions issued by prior attorneys general and the Board of Immigration Appeals to identify cases ripe for certification and prompt reissuance to correct inconsistencies with law. In addition, the secretaries of state and health and human services should be ordered to engage stakeholders and review policies and procedures to ensure that a rebuilt U.S. Refugee Admissions Program is more resilient. The secretaries of homeland security and state, meanwhile, should develop a plan to restore an orderly and efficient asylum system that lives up to our highest ideals, including by dismantling the “Remain in Mexico” program.
While this bureaucratic process takes place and the administration studies each of these issues and designs appropriate solutions or harm-mitigation plans, it should issue a moratorium on deportations and associated detentions and arrests for a 100-day period, ensuring that enforcement actions going forward follow sensible enforcement priorities and are aligned with the new administration’s vision and values and not those of its predecessor.
Congressional engagement and steady policy rollouts in furtherance of the administration’s vision
During this time, the administration should work closely with the new Congress to use all necessary legislative tools to enact legislation without delay. This should include permanent protections for Dreamers and TPS holders—such as those covered by the American Dream and Promise Act, H.R. 6, which passed the House in 2019 with bipartisan support—as well as undocumented farm workers, who would have received protection under the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, H.R. 5038, which also passed the House in 2019 with even greater bipartisan support. Both of these bills ultimately died in the Senate under Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) leadership, but they should be high priorities for the new-look 117th Congress. In addition, as the Biden administration and Congress work to enact a long overdue national coronavirus relief and recovery package that rises to the significant challenges facing the country today, they should ensure that undocumented essential workers and their families—who continue to play an important role in the nation’s fight against the coronavirus pandemic and will play a similarly critical role in the country’s efforts to rebuild—are placed on a path to citizenship.
Of course, necessary policy changes should be announced when they are ready. For instance, the administration should, without delay, begin the process of identifying and reuniting in the United States parents and children separated under the Trump administration’s family separation policy. Additionally, as part of a broader strategy of constructive reengagement with Central America, the secretary of homeland security should issue new TPS designations for El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua on account of the two unprecedented hurricanes that devastated those countries in November and exacerbated their ongoing public health and food insecurity crises.
At the conclusion of this 100-day period, the administration should be prepared to issue new policies governing future civil immigration enforcement practices. At this time, in the event that Congress does not act, the administration should also take strong executive action consistent with its ample authority under law—for instance, by granting “significant public benefit” parole in place to individuals who perform work that Trump’s Department of Homeland Security deemed essential to the critical infrastructure of the country as well as to their spouses and minor children.
The executive actions described above—and even the tailored legalization bills—would not eliminate the need for the significant legislative reforms required to create an immigration system that is more fair, humane, and workable and that restores faith in the rule of law. Core features of such a system would include a generous and well-functioning legal immigration system responsive to the nation’s changing needs; an asylum and refugee system that guarantees humane and efficient processing without sacrificing fairness; a new paradigm for enforcement committed to proportionality, accountability, and due process; and a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and others who have long resided in this country. There must also be legal mechanisms, such as a rolling registry date, designed to prevent a recurrence of the current problem.
Collectively, these structural reforms will create an immigration system that lives up to the country’s best values, meets its realistic wants and needs, and is both capable of being followed and deserving of being enforced in a fair and just way. But the fact that legislative reforms are undeniably needed does not obviate the need or the justification for steady and aggressive use of executive authority permitted under law. In fact, the decades of legislative paralysis—and the national nightmare from which we will soon emerge—ultimately demand it.
Source: How Executive Action Can Build a More Fair, Humane, and Workable Immigration System
Filed under Immigration Tagged with Biden administration, Center for American Progress
ICYMI: While millions of Indians seek better lives abroad, India treats its immigrants poorly
As I normally use MIPEX to compare OECD country policies, missed just how low India’s rank is:
India ranked the lowest among 52 countries assessed for key indices of migrant inclusivity in 2020, shows the recently launched Migrant Integration Policy Index.
India scored the least, 24 out of 100, far lower than the average of 50, putting it in a category where migrant integration is deemed “denied”.
The index, a policy tool that measures a country’s national policies on international immigrants across eight parameters, is published jointly by two European think-tanks, the Migration Policy Group of Brussels and the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs, and was first released in 2014.
While other Asian countries such as China and Indonesia have improved their integration policies, India’s score has remained unchanged in the last five years. India’s Migrant Integration Policy Index scores fell below 20 in key policy areas including the labour market, education, health, access to nationality and anti-discrimination actions.
This is significant for two reasons: Although not the world’s most important migrant destination, India is home to 5 million immigrants, according to the Census 2011. Data from 2019 from the Population Division of the United Nations’ Department of Economic and Social Affairs noted a decline in immigrant numbers in India from 7.6 million in 1990 to 5.1 million in 2019.
Although the number of refugees and asylum seekers has gone down between 1990 and 2019 (from 212,700 to 207,600), they constitute an increasing proportion of the total immigrant population in India (2.8% in 1990 to 4% in 2019). Similar estimates from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees suggest that the number of refugees and asylum seekers in 2020 was 210,201, according to their January 2020 India Factsheet.
Further, 95.3% of India’s immigrants in 2019 also originated in the same SDG region (Central and Southern Asia comprising neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan) – a number that has not changed significantly from 1990 (96.8%).
This characteristic of immigration to India is also highlighted in a 2017 article by the Pew Research Center. However, the existing immigrant population continues to face integration barriers in various aspects of daily life, which impact their entry into the workplace, access to justice, and educational experiences, concluded the Migrant Integration Policy Index analysis.
India also sends out the world’s largest number of emigrants – 17.5 million as per estimates from the International Organisation for Migration’s (UN-IOM) World Migration Report 2020, and is, therefore, a critical voice in immigrant integration.
Migrants move seeking better livelihoods and education, so an increase in immigration rates is an indicator of a country’s growth and development trajectory. As India develops in the coming decades and takes on a leadership role in the South Asian region, integration of immigrants and their issues will only become more important, experts say.
“There is very little by way of comprehensive immigration policy in India today – access to social security benefits or the labour market is limited and often foreign nationals face discrimination as reported in the media,” said migration policy expert Meera Sethi, formerly of the UN-IOM.
Originally devised to measure the integration of Third Country Nationals – or non-European Union nationals – in the EU, Migrant Integration Policy Index is now a major policy tool to analyse and measure migrant integration in destination countries around the world: in developed countries including the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan and Norway, as well as in developing countries such as Brazil, Indonesia, China, India and Turkey. The assessment for India was conducted by Migration Policy Group’s country partner India Migration Now, a Mumbai-based research non-profit.
Low scores across key indices
India’s overall Migrant Integration Policy Index score is the lowest because of below-average scores in all policy areas except for family reunion (assessing how easy it is for immigrants to reunite with their families) where the score is 75, compared to the Migrant Integration Policy Index average of 58. The country fares worse in certain policy areas such as anti-discrimination, health, labour market mobility and access to nationality.
In the area of labour market mobility, India scored 17 while the Migrant Integration Policy Index average is 51. Accessing an employment visa in India carries certain conditions – only those from highly skilled backgrounds earning more than $25,000 per annum are eligible.
Furthermore, employment visas are not granted for jobs for which qualified Indians are available, according to informationput out by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Foreign residents on business visas have the option of self-employment, but no measures exist to promote access to the labour market or provide support to improve professional skills or opportunities.
In education too, India scored 19, less than half the Migrant Integration Policy Index average of 40. There are no measures in place in the country that recognise the unique requirements of immigrant children. They only benefit from general measures available for all children in India under the Right to Education Act, 2009. This is a lacuna evident for India’s interstate migrants as well, who face exclusion when they move from one state to another, found IMN’s IMPEX analysis of 2020. Typically, states require migrants to furnish proof of residence, which can be in the form of a domicile certificate or a school transfer certificate from the destination state, which migrants often find difficult to produce because they are not domiciles of the destination state and had acquired education in their source states, the IMPEX analysis showed.
These issues are further aggravated for immigrant families and while many have managed to utilise Right to Education provisions, their children often face discrimination and cultural barriers at Indian schools, according to this January 2020 articlein The Wire, which focuses on the Rohingya refugee community. Refugee communities such as the Rohingya are reliant on philanthropic initiatives and the work of NGOs to fill these crucial policy gaps, according to an earlier 2018 field report from The Wire.
In the area of political participation, India scored 0. The right to vote, to stand in elections, and form political parties/associations are limited to the citizens of India. These limitations often also extend to interstate migrants as voter identity is connected to the electoral roll at the place of origin, found IMN’s IMPEX analysis. Although Indian citizens are eligible to transfer to new electoral rolls when they move, the process is not easy, particularly for short-term seasonal migrants who move often.
Poor access to health
In the field of health, immigrants and asylum seekers face additional requirements to access the Indian health system and enjoy little information or support targeted to meet their specific health needs. Schemes such as Ayushman Bharat extend to those families categorised in the lower-income brackets as defined by the socio-economic and caste census of 2011 and therefore exclude immigrants. However, schemes under the Integrated Child Development Services, which provides supplementary nutrition, pre-school and non-formal education, immunisation, and health check-ups to children aged 0 years to 6 years, can usually be availed without proof of identity.
The services of public health facilities like primary healthcare centres are also open to immigrant communities and asylum seekers in India – both of these options are recommended for the communities by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in India as well. These schemes may be utilised by immigrants in the same manner as RTE is.
Schemes of the Delhi government such as the Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinic serve all residents living in areas deemed eligible (usually slum and jhuggi jhopri areas) and are available to immigrants as well.
Specific health schemes exist for Tibetan and Sri Lankan Tamil refugees as part of central level integration policies for these communities – these include the Tibetan Rehabilitation Policy of 2014 and specific schemes for maternal and child health by the government of Tamil Nadu for Sri Lankan Tamil refugees. However, these communities number approximately 200,000 in total and only form 3%-4% of the estimated legal immigrant population. Covid-19 has aggravated the existing policy gaps for refugee communities, as IndiaSpend reported in April 2020 and as argued by this September 2020 opinion editorial in Migration Policy Institute, a migration research think-tank based out of Washington DC, USA.
India’s score in the policy area of anti-discrimination is 9, compared to the Migrant Integration Policy Index average of 71. There is currently no legislation related to discrimination against immigrant communities. Article 15 of the Constitution of India addresses direct and/or indirect discrimination and/or harassment and/or instruction to discriminate on grounds of race, ethnicity, religion and belief – a provision that only exists for citizens.
It has also been argued that these provisions are, in themselves, inadequate, and India needs a comprehensive internal anti-discrimination law. Discrimination against immigrant communities is an issue and has occurred against various refugee groups as well as student groups from African countries such as Nigeria who have faced racist attacks.
In India, the path to permanent residence is mainly linked to the ability to fulfil certain economic requirements. However, even permanent residents are denied equal treatment with Indian nationals in key areas of life such as social security and assistance. For accessing citizenship in India, a person can apply for citizenship by naturalisation if they meet certain qualifications such as residence in India or service in the central government for a certain period of time: (i) for the 12 months immediately preceding the application for citizenship, and (ii) for 11 of the 14 years preceding the 12-month period, as specified in The Citizenship Act, 1955 Act. The process of accessing citizenship requires more than 10 years of residence and India does not offer dual nationality.
Among the eight policy areas, India has the highest score in family reunion. This policy area assesses if foreign residents can reunite with their families – for instance, whether legally resident foreign citizens can sponsor their entire families. Whether family members need prerequisites such as learning a language before departure for the destination country.
Whether the state protects family members from discretionary procedures (such as in deciding permit durations, considering personal circumstances when allowing or refusing entry, and giving the applicant a chance to appeal) and whether the family members get the same rights as their sponsor. Although India scores 75 in the policy area and many foreign citizens are eligible to apply for their dependent family members, according to information provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs, there are no additional integration measures for these reunited families.
Flawed public perception
The understanding of the impacts and contributions of immigrants to developing countries’ economies is limited. Besides adding to the overall social and cultural diversity, immigrants from neighbouring countries such as Nepal have been contributing to the Indian economy in the informal sector as construction workers, domestic help, cleaners, bar and restaurant workers, and petty traders. Unfortunately, such contributions have not been assessed or measured, found a 2015 paper published in the Economic and Political Weekly.
Cross-border migrants often face harassment, are exploited by brokers, paid irregularly and sometimes substantially less than what they are promised by the employers, and are often ill-treated by the border security forces – as reported in this 2015 research study by the Mahanirban Calcutta Research Group, which conducted fieldwork with cross-border Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants. India has no formal immigration policy framework but existing policies regulate the entry and exit of people through the border.
The Indian government has also set up special tribunals for the determination of the question of whether a person is an illegal immigrant as per the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act, 1983. Beyond this, there are ad hoc policies and executive orders for the entry and rehabilitation of Tibetan and Sri Lankan refugees and for religious minorities from neighbouring Muslim majority countries. Even the Citizenship Amendment Act of 2019 – facilitating citizenship for religious minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh – is estimated to actually benefit only 31,313 people, as detailed in the joint parliamentary committee report on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (then, a Bill) in 2016.
The lack of policy intervention is further aggravated by the public perception and rhetoric around illegal immigration (mostly from Bangladesh), which have often been election issuesin India. The data, however, do not bear this out: Improved developmental outcomes in Bangladesh in recent years have brought the two countries on par, argues this opinion editorial in The Indian Express – as a result, immigrants from Bangladesh may no longer be seeking out India as a destination.
In a fast globalising world, as Indian emigrants in various destination countries benefit from effective integration schemes, policy in India for the country’s over 5 million immigrant population has clearly not kept pace, said experts.
“Countries have already started to invest in ensuring basic rights and a secure future for international migrants. Now, they need to guarantee migrants the same equal opportunities as nationals,” said Giacomo Solano, policy and statistical analyst at MPG, Brussels, where the Migrant Integration Policy Index was formulated.
Source: While millions of Indians seek better lives abroad, India treats its immigrants poorly
Filed under Immigration Tagged with India, MIPEX
Let’s make 2021 the year we eliminate online hate in Canada
Of note, along with contesting Isreal’s non-vaccination of Palestinians, which is a legitimate criticism of the Israeli government, not “a demonstrably false accusation tantamount to a modern-day blood libel.” One can also question the further codification of the IHRA definition, given its sometimes being used more broadly than intended. The other specific recommendations, however, are reasonable:
2020 was challenging. In addition to the horror of disease, the pandemic brought other troubling developments, including a sharp rise in hatred disseminated online. Canadians are clearly immune neither to the pandemic nor to the growing hate it appears to be exacerbating.
Online hate is not a new phenomenon. At my organization, CIJA, we have been working on the issue since 2013. But, like the coronavirus, online hate has exploited weaknesses in our society to the detriment of all. As our lives continue to migrate online, the very platforms that proved to be a lifeline in so many ways also served as a springboard for spreading vicious hatred.
Asian Canadians have been wrongfully and absurdly accused of deliberately unleashing COVID-19.
Indigenous people, subjected to hatred and mistreatment since generations before the invention of the internet, many living in conditions that should embarrass all Canadians, are experiencing vicious online attacks on their culture and identity.
Muslims, women, and the LGBTQ2+ community are regularly targeted by haters online, where Islamophobia, misogyny and homophobia continue to flourish.
Good old-fashioned racists seized the opportunity provided by a global discussion about anti-Black hatred to, paradoxically, spread anti-Black hatred.
And, of course, Jews were accused of this conspiracy or that one, from creating COVID-19 to profiting from the pandemic to claiming that Israel has leveraged the pandemic to oppress Palestinians by denying them the vaccine – a demonstrably false accusation tantamount to a modern-day blood libel, and one that the Palestinians themselves have refuted.
All deeply offensive, to be sure, but being offensive is the only causes for concern.
If online hate were simply offensive, it would be easier to dismiss. However, CIJA and the many partners we have worked with over the years – including those who have recently joined us to form the Canadian Coalition to End Online Hate – have increasingly observed, online hate can, and too often does, turn into real-world violence.
This. Must. Stop.
The federal government should deliver on its commitments
Following the 2019 election, the Liberals committed to devising a national strategy to end online hate, an issue that was explicitly included in the Prime Minister’s mandate letters to the Ministers of Justice, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Heritage and Diversity and Inclusion and Youth.
They have a very good blueprint to work from: the June 2019 report on online hate produced by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, then chaired by Montreal-area MP Anthony Housefather. The report followed the murders in Christchurch, Pittsburgh, and Poway, all cases of online hate morphing into real world violence.
It is now time to take the next steps. We, and the groups we work with through the Canadian Coalition to End Online Hate, a broad-based alliance of close to 40 (and growing) organizations representing a diverse array of communities, are calling for the following concrete actions.
We propose:
Increasing resources for law enforcement, Crown attorneys, and judges to ensure they receive sufficient training on how to apply existing laws to deal with online hate
Directing Statistics Canada to address the gap in data to help us determine the scope of the problem and monitor progress
Ensuring we achieve balance between combating online hate and protecting freedom of expression, notably by formulating a definition of “hate” and “hatred” that is consistent with Supreme Court of Canada jurisprudence
Creating a civil remedy to address online hate and
Establishing strong and clear regulations for online platforms and Internet service providersabout how they monitor and transparently address incidents of hate spread on their platforms.
The Role of Social Media Giants
Platforms and providers do not have the best record when it comes to tracking and eliminating online hate. They must do better. And they will only do so with government pressure. Canadian law must be strengthened to put the onus on platforms and providers to ensure that hateful content does not get published in their spaces.
A national strategy to address online hate must include both the development of clear, harmonized, and uniform regulations, which apply to all platforms and providers operating in Canada, and an independent regulator to enforce them.
These regulations should include a mandatory directive that providers incorporate appropriate definitions of hate and hatred. In the case of the Jewish community, we are advocating for the adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism to be included in their user codes of conduct, algorithms, moderator policies, and terms of service.
We also strongly believe that providers must make it easier for users to flag hateful content and be transparent about how complaints are adjudicated.
COVID-19 has significantly accelerated our migration online, which was already well underway. It is imperative that we collectively do what is necessary to ensure the online space is a safe and hate-free place for everyone.
Source: https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2021/01/11/lets-make-2021the-yearweeliminateonline-hatein-canada.html
Filed under Hate crimes, Multiculturalism Tagged with Canadian Coalition to End Online Hate, CIJA, IHRA
Syrians in Turkey in precarious situation as citizenship applications indefinitely suspended by authorities
Nearly 10 years after the civil war began in Syria, refugees are still struggling with their precarious status in Turkey as most have not been able to acquire Turkish citizenship and their applications have been indefinitely suspended by the authorities, Deutsche Welle Turkish service reported.
Thousands of Syrian refugees who have been in Turkey for more than five years submitted their application documents to obtain citizenship and were interviewed by authorities. However, they have found that their citizenship process was suspended without reason.
“I applied for citizenship and then waited three years, after which they told me that my application had been suspended,” said Fatma Tata, a young Syrian woman. “I will graduate this year, but I won’t be able to work under these conditions.”
Musab Hawsa, 29, who fled to Turkey eight years ago and works as a practitioner at a medical school, said his citizenship application was also abruptly suspended after waiting three years.
“If they had told me earlier, I would have planned accordingly. I would like to get a residency [at the medical school] but was waiting to get my citizenship for that. I think I may need to leave Turkey,” he said.
In some cases, parents have become Turkish citizens while their children were not able to. This has become a problem, especially since most children were born in Turkey and do not have Syrian citizenship, either. “It has become a bureaucratic hassle to prove the children are ours each time the police ask for our documents,” said one Syrian mother whose children were stateless.
According to a report drafted by Solaris, an NGO that words to support vulnerable populations, the law stipulates that if the parents have Turkish citizenship then the children also should be given citizenship. “Giving children of Turkish citizens temporary protection, which is the case for refugees, is against the law,” said the report.
A Syrian parent who gave an interview for the report said their children were stateless. He said they could not plan anything for their future until their children obtained citizenship.
Another parent, Abdurrahman Abdulkerim, 33, said he felt unwanted in Turkey and planned on moving to Europe. He said his three children were stateless and he believed they would not be able to acquire citizenship at this point.
An estimated 3.6 million refugees have been granted temporary protection in Turkey. The majority of them live outside camps, in precarious and challenging circumstances.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had promised Syrian refugees Turkish citizenship in 2016. However, he did not explain how this would happen or the criteria for applying for citizenship. Dr. Murat Erdoğan, an immigration expert at the Turkish-German University, said granting citizenship to almost 3 million people at once was unheard of.
Source: Syrians in Turkey in precarious situation as citizenship applications indefinitely suspended by authorities
Filed under Multiculturalism Tagged with Syrian refugees, Turkey
Military medical intelligence warnings gathered dust as public health struggled to define COVID-19
Sigh… Yet another oversight. So PHAC relied exclusively on the WHO which appears to have relied exclusively on the Chinese government, and did not explore other data sources:
Public health officials failed to cite early warnings about the threat of COVID-19 gathered through classified military intelligence as the pandemic crisis emerged a year ago, CBC News has learned — an oversight described as a strategic failure by intelligence and public health experts.
For over seven decades, Canada and some of its closest allies have operated a largely secret formal exchange of military medical intelligence. That relationship regularly produces troves of highly detailed data on emerging health threats.
The small, specialized unit within the Canadian military’s intelligence branch began producing warnings about COVID-19 in early January of last year — assessments based largely on classified allied intelligence. Those warnings generally were three weeks ahead of other open sources, say defence insiders.
But documents show the Public Health Agency of Canada’s (PHAC) COVID-19 rapid risk assessments — which politicians and public servants used to guide their choices in early days of the pandemic — contained no input from the military’s warnings, which remain classified.
Three of the five PHAC risk assessments — obtained under access to information law by one of the country’s leading intelligence experts and CBC News — show federal health officials relying almost exclusively on assessments from the World Health Organization.
Even those writing the risk assessment reports acknowledged the dearth of intelligence.
Confidence level ‘low’
“Due to the limited epidemiologic data from China, and limited virologic information available for the etiologic agent, the confidence level for this assessment is considered as ‘low’ and the algorithm outputs remain uncertain at this time,” said the Feb. 2, 2020 PHAC risk assessment report.
The analysts at PHAC were uncertain because — as the world learned later — China was stonewalling the WHO about the extent of the Wuhan outbreak and assuring international health experts that everything was under control.
Meanwhile, in the military medical community, alarm bells were ringing. In the U.S., the National Center for Medical Intelligence (NCMI), located in Fort Detrick, Maryland, was not only gathering raw intelligence through various classified means — it was producing comprehensive assessments of the trajectory of the virus as of last February.
“This coronavirus pandemic is right in their wheelhouse, which is part of their core mission — to be on the lookout for any early indications of infectious disease,” said Dr. Jonathan Clemente, a physician practicing in Charlotte, North Carolina who has researched and written extensively about the history of medical intelligence.
‘Strategic surprise’
The original purpose of military medical intelligence among the allies was to assess sanitary and health conditions in the places around the globe where their troops were deployed.
But over the years, Clemente said, the mandate evolved to include “preventing strategic surprise” — such as pandemics and deliberate biological attacks.
“So there’s a wide range of reports, from your short-form daily bulletins to long-form assessments,” he said.
“It’s important to know that this is different from, say, the World Health Organization because the NCMI has access to all-source intelligence, meaning they have access to the most secret levels of intelligence, including clandestine human reporting, satellites, signals intelligence and … open reporting.”
The information gathered through such intelligence channels would be knowledge “that other traditional health care and public health agencies” don’t have, he added. It’s also the kind of knowledge that would have informed the Canadian military’s medical intelligence branch as the pandemic was gathering momentum.
‘A terrible failure’
The fact that PHAC didn’t track what the military medical intelligence branch was seeing, coupled with changes to the federal government’s own Global Pandemic Health Information Network (GPHIN), represent “a terrible failure,” said Wesley Wark, a University of Ottawa professor who studies intelligence services and national security. He requested the documents through the access to information law.
The auditor general is reviewing what went wrong with the country’s early warning system, including the risk assessments. Flaws in those assessments may have affected the introduction of anti-pandemic measures such as border closures and mask mandates.
A second, separate independent review of Canada’s early pandemic response has been ordered by Health Minister Patty Hajdu.
CBC News first reported last spring that the military medical intelligence branch (MEDINT) began writing reports and issuing warnings about COVID-19 in January 2020. At the time, a spokesperson for MEDINT would not comment “on the content of intelligence reports that we receive or share.”
A follow-up investigation by CBC News has shed more light on the long-established secret network the allies use to warn each of health threats.
It’s governed by an obscure forum going by a rather clunky name: the Quadripartite Medical Intelligence Committee (QMIC).
A ‘Five Eyes’ network for pandemics
Originating in the Second World War, the forum allows the American, Canadian, British and Australian militaries to exchange classified global health data and assessments about emerging health threats.
Clemente describes it as the medical equivalent of the better-known Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance between Canada, the United States, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand.
Clemente said that, through U.S. freedom of information law, he has compiled a comprehensive, declassified portrait of the deep health intelligence ties between allies — especially between Canada and the U.S.
He said he also has collected reports and analyses on how NCMI tracked and assessed previous pandemics and disease outbreaks, including SARS, H1N1 and Ebola.
Those assessments — copies of which were obtained by CBC News — are very precise and complete. The U.S. military’s assessments of the novel coronavirus and the disease it causes remain classified, but Clemente said it’s certain that NCMI was doing similar surveillance on COVID-19 which would have been shared with allies.
Wark said Canada’s public health system was redesigned almost two decades ago with the aim of preventing “strategic surprise,” but many of initiatives planned or implemented following the SARS outbreak were allowed to wither away and die.
One 2004 proposal which fell by the wayside was to find a mechanism that would allow PHAC to seamlessly incorporate classified intelligence into its system of reporting.
Greg Fyffe, the former executive director of the Intelligence Assessment Secretariat in the Privy Council Office (which supports the prime minister’s office), said military medical intelligence assessments rarely came across his desk during his tenure a decade ago.
He said that when intelligence reports reach the highest levels of government, they often arrive in summary form and analysts occasionally have to seek out more details.
“There’s so much intelligence information out there that it’s not a matter of saying … ‘I have a little bit of something that you’d like to see,'” said Fyffe. “We’re talking about huge volumes of material which can’t all be shared.”
In a year-end interview with the CBC’s Rosemary Barton, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau dismissed the suggestion that better early warnings could have stopped COVID-19 from spreading to Canada.
“I think we used all the resources that we always have to follow and monitor,” he said. “I don’t know that it would have made a huge difference for us to have extra reporting on top of what we were getting.”
The prime minister said that, in hindsight, there were things “we probably would have wanted to have done sooner in terms of preparing,” such as bolstering stocks of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other medical supplies.
‘We could have been much better prepared’
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan indicated in a year-end interview that he shared the information he had and there were “many conversations” within the government.
While he cautioned that military intelligence alone can’t cover global disease surveillance, he did acknowledge that Canada’s early warning mechanisms need a serious review “from a whole-of-government perspective … making sure we have the right sensors out.”
Preparation is the whole point of early warning, said Wark, who agreed with Trudeau’s assessment of the volatility of the novel coronavirus’s transmission.
“We wouldn’t have stopped it from coming to Canada,” said Wark. “That would have been impossible. But we could have been much better prepared to meet its onslaught, and we were not. We suffered a terrible failure of early warning, of intelligence, of risk assessment.
“And the main lesson that has to be drawn … from the experience of COVID-19 is that we have to fix all of those things. We have to have a better early warning system.”
Source: Military medical intelligence warnings gathered dust as public health struggled to define COVID-19
Filed under Government Tagged with COVID-19, GPHIN, Greg Fyffe, MEDINT, military intelligence, PHAC, Wesley Wark
Knock down anti-Black racism in medicine, two powerhouse advocates tell health-care sector in new CMAJ article
More on process-type recommendations to identify approaches to address issues, many of which reflect social determinants of health:
When rapper John River went to a hospital emergency room in 2017 with shortness of breath and severe headaches, he was treated like he was faking his symptoms to get drugs. When he turned to social media for help, well-wishers told him how he and his family acted and dressed at the hospital would impact the kind of care he would receive. No hoodies, for instance. His mother tried to button a dress shirt on to him as he lay unconscious on a stretcher. He was eventually diagnosed with a spontaneous cerebrospinal fluid leak from a prior procedure.
For years, Black people have shared, with data scientists, governments, academics, journalists and each other, terrifying stories of not being believed in hospitals, of receiving substandard care, of feeling like they were left to die.
In this COVID-era, race-aggregated data showing Black people disproportionately impacted by the virus has rightly raised awareness and alarm over the impact of racism across systems leading to that outcome.
“The field of medicine can no longer deny or overlook the existence of systemic anti-Black racism in Canada and how it affects the health of Black people and communities,” write OmiSoore Dryden of Dalhousie University and Onye Nnorom from the University of Toronto.
In a Canadian Medical Association Journal article released Monday, the two powerhouse experts in the field of anti-Black racism in medicine say the health-care system needs to focus on — and redress — not only the reasons that send Black Canadians to hospitals but how they’re treated when they get there.
Despite protests against anti-Black racism this summer, despite the UN expressing concern in 2017 of the plight of Black Canadians, “the impression that we got is that many Canadian physicians did not think that anti-Black racism is a problem in Canada,” Nnorom told the Star. And that “most physicians do not have an understanding of how racism operates as a system such that some groups are disproportionately disadvantaged.”
With this article, Dryden said, the authors aimed to “tell practitioners and clinicians that your patients are not just bodies in front of you. They come with experiences. One of the experiences your Black patients come with is anti-Black racism.”
Dryden is the James R. Johnston (JRJ) Chair in Black Canadian Studies at Dalhousie University’s faculty of medicine. Nnorom is trained as a public health physician and a family physician and has published several articles in medicine.
About a year ago, they set up Canada’s Black Health Education Collaborative by bringing together a group of scholars of Critical Race Theory from across Canada and working on creating curriculum around how anti-Black racism affects health outcomes in medical schools.
The many manifestations of racism in society — being passed over for a job or a promotion, being treated with suspicion in public spaces, being denied homes to rent, being unduly disciplined in school — all boil down to one unspoken assumption: that the person in question is not credible because they are not innocent. An assumption we like to give the innocuous label of “implicit” bias, even though its consequences can be tragically explicit.
“This article and the conversations many of us have been having is identifying that racism is not an anomaly, it’s an everyday experience,” Dryden said.
When Black people go to the hospital in pain, they are profiled as drug seeking, she said. Or the assumption is they don’t feel pain at the same level. Or if they are given medication that they’re not compliant and won’t follow guidelines.
In her many public talks to health and medical professionals, Dryden tells them, “If you have a patient that doesn’t return, instead of thinking they’re not compliant, you might want to start with, ‘Did something racist happen and how do I find out?’
Although modern science conclusively busts the myth that race has biological origins, medical stereotypes rely on the belief that Black people are a different genetic species of humans.
“Yes, the human genome has been mapped,” Nnorom said. “Yes, we know a person’s postal code has more impact on their health than their genetic code but it is difficult to completely remove that type of thinking. The history of medicine and these genetic biological associations with race dates back centuries.”
The first program of medical education began in Montreal about 20 years before the end of slavery in Canada, Dryden said. “So it began at a time when Black and Indigenous are enslaved and that becomes the continuing flavour of education in Canada.”
If studies show how African-Americans have higher rates of diabetes or hypertension, the medical approach is there’s something wrong with their genetics or their culture or their practices that needs to be fixed.
“The way we’ve been traditionally taught in medicine is to pathologize the marginalized group.” Nnorom said. “We’ve been taught to assume there is something wrong with the group that has been marginalized as opposed to thinking there was something wrong with society to create the conditions in which those communities find themselves.
“The process (of learning), you’d almost have consider it an unlearning.”
To address racism, the authors say health-care professionals should acknowledge its existence first. “We can do this by listening to the voices of Black Canadians, patients and health care professionals who have been grappling with anti-Black racism for generations, and by engaging with the many communities that have made recommendations for meaningful change to address the problem,” they write.
What would listening look like?
“That’s a very good question,” said Nnorom, because while organizations might engage in consultations with focus groups in different communities, “what ends up coming out of that is not what the community has recommended. That is not true listening.”
Hospital leaders, administrators and academics would have to take up hard, uncomfortable work of “actually looking at recommendations by Black communities, to hold town halls start, to have Black community members at the board — and not just with one person because that would be tokenism.”
Said Dryden: “There’s always an excuse for why something isn’t anti-Black racism as opposed to sitting with it for a moment (and thinking) ‘If this is racism what should I be doing differently?’ And nobody asks themselves that question. That’s the thing we want them to ask themselves.”
This article is intended as a building block in that journey towards change, Nnorom said.
“So that we can see a Black patient can come into a hospital and be treated with dignity, where their pain is recognized and they receive respect and empathy and not be treated worse because of the colour of their skin.”
Source: https://www.thestar.com/opinion/star-columnists/2021/01/11/knock-down-anti-black-racism-in-medicine-two-powerhouse-advocates-tell-health-care-sector-in-new-cmaj-article.html
Filed under Multiculturalism, Racism Tagged with healthcare, OmiSoore Dryden, Onye Nnorom
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RuPaul's Drag Race: 'We're not a dirty little secret anymore'
Brooke Lynn Hytes, star of RuPaul's Drag Race series 11, speaks to Sky News on the red carpet at the People's Choice Awards in LA.
By Gemma Peplow and Bethany Minelle, entertainment reporters, in Los Angeles
Tuesday 12 November 2019 09:04, UK
Image: Brooke Lynn Hytes was runner-up in the latest US series of RuPaul's Drag Race
RuPaul's Drag Race is shimmying its way back to the UK for a second season - and it turns out stars of the US show are big fans of our British queens.
The hit show, a TV phenomenon in the US having run for 11 seasons, launched in the UK with a pink carpet ceremony in October, and has already been confirmed to return to our screens.
During its 10-year reign in the US, the show has become an Emmy award-winning hit, and has also sparked conversations around LGBT+ matters, discussing issues such as living with HIV, the Orlando gay nightclub mass shooting, and gay marriage.
Image: The drag queen showed off her poses on the red carpet at the People's Choice Awards in LA
The US series was up for best competition show and best competition contestant at the People's Choice Awards, where star Brooke Lynn Hytes won the Most Hypeworthy Canadian award.
"I love it, it's so good," she told Sky News. "I love how different it is from the American one. Totally. Drag in the UK is so different, it's very campy, it's very cabaret. We don't get a lot of that in America, it's a very different style. It's very, very cool. The queens are amazing. I'm such a huge fan."
Brooke Lynn, a dancer who worked as a professional ballerina, was the first Canadian contestant to take part in RuPaul's Drag Race in the US, and came runner-up in the 11th series, which aired earlier in 2019.
She says the show has "introduced drag to the world and made us mainstream".
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"We're not kind of bottom basement, dirty little secret anymore," she said. "I think my favourite thing about the show is how it's humanised drag queens. I think before, people considered drag queens like circus freaks, kind of. But with Drag Race it shows that we have stories and we have lives and you get to see what's behind the mask. I think that's so special."
People's Choice Awards: All the best red carpet looks
Fashion Icon winner Gwen Stefani, Zendaya, Jennifer Aniston and more outfits from the People's Choice Awards
After launching in 2009, RuPaul's Drag Race has risen to prominence especially in the last few years, receiving 23 Emmy nominations and nine awards since 2015. It also picked up the Critics' Choice TV award for best host last year.
Listen to "His Dark Materials, Felicity Jones & Eddie Redmayne and The Irishman" on Spreaker.
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The show pits drag performers against each other to test their dancing, lip-syncing, sewing and acting skills.
Brooke Lynne says the series' success shows the world is changing when it comes to diversity.
Image: RuPaul's Drag Race UK launched in October and has been confirmed for a second series
"I think it's a slow change, but I think it's definitely happening. I think people are becoming more aware and realising some things are okay, some things are not okay."
So what would her advice be to any queens thinking about applying for the second series in the UK?
"Learn how to sew," she said. "You can use that anywhere in life."
And when it comes to posing?
"It's all about the leg. Do the Angelina Jolie leg."
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From the desk of Jamie – Spring 2020
Wealthwise Team news
We would like to welcome Lilly Walker, Reikki Newman and Sarah O’Sullivan to the Wealthwise team. Lilly is relatively new to the workforce, having completed an Accounting degree and Sarah joins our para-planning team after a number of years working with AMA Financial Planning.
The number of cases worldwide is now fast approaching 40 million with tragically 1.1 million deaths. Australia’s management of the pandemic has fared better than arguably any other nation with just over 27,000 confirmed cases and 905 deaths at the time of writing. Whilst Victoria has gone through a disturbing second wave, the State does appear to now have the spread under control with the rolling day average in single digit figures.
The somewhat besieged Victorian premier announced a relaxation of restrictions, with a travel distance limit increase from 5km to 25km and the time limit for going out to exercise / socialise being removed. Other states are in a much better position, though WA and NT appear to be the only one’s maintaining the hard border approach.
This week has unfortunately seen the 90th consecutive day of 200,000 plus cases being recorded. The U.S. has the highest number of recorded cases (so far) of 8.15 million and India not far behind at 6.2 million. Perhaps one of the few good numbers, although still tragic, is that the number of deaths from the disease has declined marginally to 2.79%.
On a lighter note there was some humour in a Facebook post providing advice to President Trump in light of him contracting the disease – the caption was “Stay Positive”.
Pfizer, a large American pharmaceutical company, have announced that the vaccine it has been testing is unlikely to be available until late November and other than the testing phase would be unable to prove whether or not the vaccine works for several weeks afterwards, or if it is safe to actually use. The U.S. President has been extremely positive about a vaccine being available before the election, which has become increasingly unlikely.
Markets have recovered strongly since the trough in March of this year. Indeed; the U.S. markets have recovered to all new time highs. However, the recovery is not consistent across all sectors, with the main positive areas being; Consumer discretionary (+54%), IT (+52%), Materials (213%) and communication services (+33%). The NASDAQ technology bourse has been particularly strong.
By comparison, the Australian share market recovery has been much more subdued, held back in part by a struggling financial sector and an absence of technology stocks.
In general, markets have been quite volatile with September seeing both our own and the U.S. retrace some of the recovery. This was largely due to a lack of further stimulus from the U.S. a topic hotly debated in congress. Unfortunately, there was no resolution with Trump stating that he would not sanction any further major spending until after the election, which brings us to what appears to be more of a Broadway show.
The U.S. Election
The U.S. Election will be held on Tuesday 3rd November. Wealthwise holds no view or informed opinion as to the result. However, we do believe that there will be considerable market volatility over the next couple of weeks until the uncertainty over who wins is decided. Whilst the early polls and postal ballots are predicting a win for the Democrats, the most recent polls suggest the gap is narrowing and there is potentially a replay of 2016 on the cards. Either way, the removal of uncertainty and a new stimulus spend from either party should help to stablise investment markets. In the meantime enjoy the show; the U.S. election.
Categories: From the desk of Jamie
ASX ends up as early guidance arrives: Wednesday 13 Jan
Industry rails against opt-in superannuation model
Disclosure: Wealth Wise Pty Ltd ABN 70 104 359 211 is an Authorised Representative of Fortnum Private Wealth Ltd ABN 54 139 889 535 AFSL 357306 General Advice Warning: This information is of a general nature only and has been prepared without taking into account your particular financial needs, circumstances and objectives. Terms and Conditions.
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Kate Moss' daughter Lila Grace, 18, shares throwback snap to mark her mum's 47th birthday
Pelosi Gets Emotional Talking About Her Staffers Hiding Under Desks Amid Capitol Riot – Newsweek
Speaker Nancy Pelosi teared up on Friday revisiting the Wednesday mob attack on the U.S. Capitol and how her staffers were forced to hide under tables in the dark for hours as supporters of President Donald Trump searched for her.
In an interview with CBS‘ 60 Minutes, which aired Sunday night, Pelosi described to host Lesley Stahl her experience on Wednesday, when a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol building. The Democrat explained that Capitol Police escorted her from the podium to an undisclosed location as the threat emerged. At first, she resisted and wanted to stand her ground, but soon relented and went to safety.
“What happened was a terrible, terrible violation of the first branch of government, the legislative branch by the President of the United States,” Pelosi said as she teared up. “The mob was free to roam the halls, one group making it right up to Speaker Pelosi’s suite of offices.”
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi calls for the removal of President Donald Trump from office at the U.S. Capitol on January 7, 2021.
Samuel Corum/Getty
Pelosi described a scene where her staff had barricaded the door, hiding under tables with the lights turned off for two and a half hours. “You see what they did to the mirror there? The glass was all over the place,” said she, gesturing at the mirror.
The House Speaker revealed that there’s evidence to suggest that the mob was searching for her. “It was a well-planned, organized group with leadership and guidance and direction. And the direction was to go get people,” she said. “They were vocally saying, ‘Where’s the speaker? We know she has staff. They’re here someplace. We’re gonna find them.'”
As protesters scoured the building, Pelsoi and incoming Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, from their undisclosed hiding location, urged Trump to direct his followers to leave.
“The president said, ‘Go home,’ but the election was—you know, went on with his lies, his misrepresentations, his delusion that he won in a landslide in this election,” she told Stahl.
Pelosi said top lawmakers, including Schumer and outgoing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, believed that returning to the Capitol to finish certifying President-elect Joe Biden‘s election win was the right thing to do.
“There was some suggestions that it may take too long, and we should do it at the undisclosed location,” she said. “But there was a general belief that it—from the message of strength that we needed to send, we had to go back to the Capitol as soon as possible.”
The violent storming of the Capitol left five people dead, including one Capitol police officer.
Hours after her interview with CBS on Friday, Pelosi warned Trump that lawmakers will begin impeachment proceedings if he does not resign before Biden’s inauguration. Calls for the president’s impeachment have grown over the past few days, with more than 200 members of Congress in support of removing him from office.
Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment.
New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees readies for ‘inevitable’ playoff matchup vs. Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers – ESPN
Sounds Like Those Lambs Are Just Getting Their Second Wind in CBS’s Clarice Trailer – Vulture
England’s streets lie almost deserted amid Covid-19 lockdown
Britain’s streets were left nearly empty today as Covid-conscious Britons followed Boris Johnson‘s order to ‘stay...
Amazon driver caught on camera defecating on a customer’s driveway
This is the disgusting moment an Amazon delivery driver appears to defecate outside a customer’s home...
Hospitals in the UK today recorded 904 coronavirus deaths as the number of fatalities rose 15...
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DOJ convenes 3-day Human Rights Summit | Inquirer News
newsinfo / Headlines
DOJ convenes 3-day Human Rights Summit
By: Tina G. Santos - Reporter / @santostinaINQ
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 04:51 AM December 07, 2020
Human rights guarantees under the controversial Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 will be among the issues that will be taken up during the three-day Human Rights Summit to be convened starting on Dec. 7, by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra told reporters that experts on the promotion and protection of human rights would also speak at the forum to be held at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.
Asked if complaints about recent incidents of human rights abuses like the killing of National Democratic Front consultant Randall Echanis, the “desecration” of the body of alleged New People’s Army medic Jevilyn Cullamat and accusations of Red-tagging would be be taken up, Guevarra replied: “This project was conceived months ago. It is possible though that any of the participants may take up more recent specific incidents as part of the discussions.”
Guevarra said the summit was one of several projects proposed by the DOJ as part of the joint program on technical cooperation between the United Nations and Philippine government pursuant to the latest resolution of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
The UNHRC resolution approving the program for technical cooperation with the Philippine government was adopted in October after Guevarra spoke before the council in June. INQ
Robredo urges gov’t to solve murder of Los Baños mayor, others
TAGS: DoJ, Human Rights Summit
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FedEx Express Launches the First Route Connecting Guangzhou, China and Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.A.
Increases Shipping Capacity Between Asia and North America
HONG KONG, April 19, 2018 — FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and the world’s largest express transportation company, announced the launch of a new route which, for the first time, connects the FedEx APAC Hub in Guangzhou, China and the FedEx World Hub in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.A.
Currently, a FedEx Express MD-11 freighter is being used for the new route but it will be replaced with a B-777 freighter in May to meet increasing shipping demand. The new route has five flights per week from Tuesday to Saturday.
In April, the flight departing from Guangzhou stops in Osaka, Japan and Anchorage, Alaska, U.S.A. Beginning in May, the flight from Guangzhou will stop in Osaka before flying directly to Memphis. From Tuesday to Friday, the flight returning from Memphis stops in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.A. and Anchorage before flying directly to Guangzhou, while the Saturday flight stops in Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A. and Anchorage.
“As our business continues to develop across the Asia Pacific region, we constantly adjust our network and routings to better meet dynamic market needs,” said Karen Reddington, president, Asia Pacific, FedEx Express. “Adding volume and a faster, more direct connection to our Memphis World Hub will give Asia Pacific businesses a stronger competitive advantage in connecting to customers in North America and beyond.“
The Asia Pacific region is predicted to grow at a rate of 6.5% in 2018, 2% faster than the projected global growth rate[1]. Boeing forecasts that air cargo flowing from Asia to North America is expected to increase by 4.7% per year over the next 20 years.[2] In addition, Guangdong province, where the APAC Hub in Guangzhou is located is one of China’s major trade centers. In 2017, Guangdong’s total import and export value of goods grew by 8% year-on-year, while the total import and export value with the United States grew by 10.4% year-on-year.[3]
FedEx Express launched two new routes last year – one connecting Liège, Belgium and Memphis, with stops in Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.; Anchorage; and Shanghai, China, and another linking Shanghai and Oakland, California, U.S.A. Early this year, FedEx Express officially opened its FedEx Shanghai International Express and Cargo Hub, the second international hub in China.
Currently, FedEx operates more than 250 flights per week in China, with more than 160 of these flights going through the FedEx APAC Hub.
[1] World Economic Forum, This is how China’s economy has changed in the last 10 years, June 22, 2016
[2] Boeing, World Air Cargo Forecast 2016-2017, October 2017
[3] Guangdong Statistics
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My Dream 1920 Summer Vacation
My years of reading as if I were living 100 years ago haven’t turned me into much of a nostalgist. In general, whatever is awful in the early 21st century was even worse in the early 20th century. Back then, the United States was a racist, sexist, war-scarred country. The white supremacist violence of the Red Summer of 1919 was far worse than what we’re experiencing now. We lost half a million more lives to the Spanish influenza than we’ve lost so far to COVID, among a population a third the size of today’s.
Poster, United States Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation, 1918 (Free Library of Philadelphia)
Not that I’m minimizing what we’re going through now. We’re supposed to be better than our predecessors, and the fact that we can even draw parallels between that terrible time and our own shows that we haven’t done a very good job of learning lessons from the past.
Still, as this awful summer crawls to an end, I’m starting to feel like I wouldn’t mind spending some time in 1920.
Women have the vote!
League of Women Voters poster, 1920
Corsets are going out of fashion!
Ladies’ Home Journal, June 1920
The pandemic is over, and people are free to go places and do things!
Sounds nice, doesn’t it? The perfect destination for an imaginary vacation. You can come too!
A house at the seaside is just the thing, wouldn’t you agree?
Ladies’ Home Journal, July 1920
We’ll pack our clothes,
making sure not to forget to bring along our white shoes,
or our maid, whose greatest joy in life is cleaning them.
We’ll round up the kids,
but not the scary-looking ones,
and set out overland in the Overland.
Whew! That was quite a journey.
I need to freshen up.
I brush my hair,*
Ladies’ Home Journal, August 1920
sprinkle on a little talcum powder,**
dab on some Odorono,
and I’m all set to go.
Of course we brought along the Grafonola.
Or the Victrola. Whatever! It’s party time!
We’ll go swimming
and play games
and watch fireworks
and go on picnics
and Sunday drives.
If it gets too hot, we’ll just loll around in fetching outfits.
The fresh air will do the children a world of good
and maybe wean them off their weird obsession with bread.
And of course it wouldn’t be summer without some romance.
Enjoy it while you can! All too soon we’ll be cleaning up the summer house
Ladies’ Home Journal, May 1920
(just kidding, that’s the maid’s job),
heading back home,
and sending the kids off to school.
But it’s nice to get away for a while, isn’t it?
*I try to keep this a family blog, but oh 1920, you test me sometimes.
**A very little, since it’s full of asbestos.
This entry was posted in Magazines and tagged advertising, Coronavirus, COVID, Ladies' Home Journal, Spanish influenza, summer on August 31, 2020 by Mary Grace McGeehan.
Are You H.L. Mencken and George Jean Nathan’s Ideal Woman? A Quiz
Hi, everyone! It’s been a while. For a few weeks I was working full-time and also taking this online course at MIT, which taxed my ability to maintain a basic level of sanitation, let alone write a blog. Now that I’ve switched to part-time I have quite a backlog,* but if a post sits around in my head for too long it starts to feel like homework, and it’s Fourth of July weekend and who wants to do homework?
Smart Set, July 1920 (modjourn.org)
Luckily, 1920 came through, in the form of an article by H.L. Mencken and George Jean Nathan in the July 1920 issue of Smart Set called “Répétition Générale.” There are often articles called “Répétition Générale” in Smart Set, consisting of Mencken and Nathan, the magazine’s co-editors (and literary critic and drama critic respectively), going on about whatever they feel like.**
This time, what they feel like going on about is The Ideal Women. Italics theirs, followed by a list of 57 qualities this paragon possesses.
“Yay!” I said. “Quiz time!”
Longtime readers might be thinking, well, she has some nerve, given that I wrote an entire blog post on how Mencken is not my romantic ideal, and another one rejecting Nathan as a possible suitor. But just because you don’t love someone doesn’t mean you don’t want them to love you. So I got out my pen to tally my score. You can follow along, marking your answers as true or false. Because one can only endure so much perfection, I pared the 57 questions down to 25. There’s a scoring chart at the end.
Here goes!***
The Ideal Woman—
1. In writing a letter, she never adds an apostrophe to every word ending with S, and, when she makes a blot, never undertakes facetiously to comment on it.
TRUE. I never, ever get apostrophes wrong. Admittedly I don’t make many ink blots these days, but due to the ferocity with which I oppose misplaced apostrophes I will give myself full credit here.****
2. Upon deliberately touching a man’s foot under the table, she never makes a pretence of having believed it was the leg of the table and of ejaculating, “Oh, sorry.”
Norman Rockwell, May 1, 1920
TRUE. Side note: I think Mencken and Nathan are deluding themselves here.
3. After eating a particularly sticky piece of candy, she doesn’t place her hand on one’s shoulder under the guise of a sudden burst of affection.
Saturday Evening Post, May 22, 1920
TRUE. Because I’m not five years old.
4. If she desires to say “I love you,” she says it in English and doesn’t go in for “je t’aime.”
A Dance in the Country, Auguste Renoir, 1883
5. She can drink a lemonade or an orangeade, a gin daisy, a milk punch or a mint julep through a straw without making a noise like the last quart of water running out of the bath-tub when she gets to the bottom of the glass.
prices4antiques.com
TRUE. See #3.
6. She never makes use of such phrases as “yes indeedy.”
TRUE. As far as I can recall I have never in my life said “Yes indeedy.”
7. She signs her name simply and doesn’t put a bow-knot with two dots underneath it below the signature.
TRUE. Viz:*****
8. Her handbag contains just and only such articles as she needs, and isn’t packed full of two month’s old streetcar transfers, tops of pill boxes, keys the identity of which she has long forgotten, addresses of dressmakers long since deceased, cigar bands with sentimental histories, and a number of archaeological fuzz-covered salted almonds.
FALSE. It’s only because Coronavirus has brought my handbag-carrying days to a temporary halt that you are not being subjected to an inventory or, worse, a photograph.
9. When tiffing with one over the telephone and at a loss for an appropriate retort, she never tries to gain time by resorting to the subterfuge of clicking the hook up and down and, blaming it on Central, exclaiming, “Isn’t that ma-ddening?”
C&P Telephone Exchange, Washington, D.C., ca. 1920 (Herbert E. French)
FALSE. I was going to give myself this one until I remembered the time back in the eighties when, desperate to shake off a cluelessly persistent admirer, I unplugged the phone in mid-sentence, and then blamed the phone company when he called back.
10. It is possible for her to pucker up her lips and whistle without imparting to her face the aspect of a dried-up lemon.
FALSE. I can’t whistle so am thankfully spared the dried-up lemon test.
11. She is able to find the telephone number of John Smith & Co. without first looking through all the B’s, M’s, and P’s.
New York Telephone directory listings, 1920 ( Bell Telephone News, Volume 9, Number 9, April 1920)
TRUE. (UPDATE 7/5/2020: Hey, I know one of these guys! The last person on the list, Walter C. Arensberg, was a would-be poet and noted modern art collector. I made fun of one of his poems here.)
12. Entertaining a male guest in her home, she is able imperturbably to observe a spark fall from the latter’s cigarette without following it with her eyes and making sure that it doesn’t burn the carpet.
H. L. Mencken caricature by McKee Barclay, 1920 (Digital Maryland)
FALSE. Okay, it’s their ideal, but “willingness to risk having your house catch on fire to accommodate my sloppy habits” is pushing it.
13. She is able to pass the windows of a man’s club-house without looking in.
Townsend House, now the Cosmos Club, Washington, D.C., 1915, Francis Benjamin Johnson (Library of Congress)
TRUE. Granted, I haven’t had a lot of opportunities lately, but I lived not far from the Cosmos Club in D.C. before it went coed in 1988, and I never tried to peek inside.
14. When in a theater, she doesn’t give birth to a look of annoyance when someone (who has paid for it and has a perfect right to it) comes and takes the seat next to her upon which she has placed her hat.
Plaza Theatre, Geelong, Victoria, Australia, ca. 1920 (Museums Victoria)
TRUE. But I’m lucky this is about theaters, not trains.
15. She is able to walk through one of the poor tenement districts and observe a small child without remarking that the child looks as if it didn’t get enough to eat.
Lower East Side, ca. 1915 (Library of Congress)
16. When, in an elevator, an operator calls out the sixth floor, at which she desires to get out, she gets out without asking the operator whether it is the sixth floor.
Still from “High and Dizzy,” 1920
FALSE. Although with me it’s more a case of the door opening, people starting to get out, and me saying, “Oh, wait, is this six?”
17. She is able to play a sentimental song on a piano without trying to sing it.
Sheet music, 1920 (indianahistory.org)
FALSE. First of all, there’s my inability to play a sentimental song on a piano, period. But there’s also my desire to sing along with whatever music is playing under whatever circumstance, which I often, but not often enough, manage to suppress.
18. She has the kind of lips that look permanently as if they had just said “if.”
FALSE. Although be careful what you wish for:
Me when I just said “if”
Me when I didn’t just say “if”
19. She never asks one to explain to her just what it is that causes the illumination on fireflies.
Erté, May 1918
TRUE. The master****** of my house in college was one of the world’s foremost experts on bioluminescence, and I never even asked him that. Although that’s a bad example, since I went through college with the extremely misguided policy of never asking anyone in a position of authority anything.
20. She never has her photograph taken showing her looking wistfully at a lily.
Calla Lilies, Irises and Mimosas, Henri Matisse, 1913
FALSE. When I lived in Cambodia, this was the default photographic pose for women.
21. She has never read Laurence Hope’s “India Love Lyrics.”
From “India’s Love Lyrics,” by Laurence Hope, 1902
TRUE. Although naturally I had to check it out, and if this passage is anything to go by, it’s pretty steamy by ca. 1900 standards.
22. When a phonograph starts playing a swinging fox-trot, she is able to sit still and behave herself instead of standing up and vouchsafing a movement or two symbolic of her gracefulness and irrepressible gypsy blood.
Leo Feist Inc., 1919 (National Museum of American History)
FALSE. See #17.
23. When lunching and shown the tray of French pastry, she is able to make her selection at once, without rolling her eye lingeringly around the platter three or four times.
The Book of Cakes, T. Percy Lewis and A.G. Bromley, 1904
FALSE. I see no need whatsoever to justify myself here.
24. There is in her family no rich relative of whom she is very proud but to whom, by way of screening the pride, she is in the habit periodically of alluding in derogatory terms.
Publicity photo of Irene Ryan, 1930 (beverlyhillbillies.fandom.com)
TRUE. Irene Ryan, best known as Granny on The Beverly Hillbillies, was my grandfather’s cousin’s wife. I have never in my life said a word against her.*******
25. She has at no time in her life evinced any curiosity to see Chinatown.
FALSE. I have, in fact, evinced so much curiosity about Asia as to move not only to Cambodia but also to Laos. Here I am at the Plain of Jars in Xieng Khuong, Laos, in 2008.
That’s it! Time to tally up your scores.
21-25: You are silent film star LILLIAN GISH, with whom Nathan was desperately in love, but who turned down his many marriage proposals.********
Lillian Gish, ca. 1919
16-20: You are writer and college professor SARA HAARDT, whom Mencken married in 1930, when he was 49 and she was 32. She was in poor health at the time of their marriage and died five years later.
Sara Haardt Mencken, 1919
11-15: You are Mencken’s longtime lover MARION BLOOM, of whom he wrote in a letter to her sister (!), “Like all other right-thinking gals she wants a husband…For me to marry her would be sheer insanity. The first time she began her childish nonsense about Kant, Hegel, materialism, etc., I’d walk out of the house and never come back.”
Marion Bloom, date unknown
1-10. You are a PROVINCIAL SCHOOLMA’AM, a SUPERSTITIOUS BLUESTOCKING, a SUNDAY SCHOOL-TEACHING VIRGIN, or any of the other terms that Mencken hurled at women, real and imagined, who didn’t share his taste in literature. Although, given the wording of the questions, you’re more likely to be one of the less intellectual members of the Ziegfeld Follies chorus.
I got a 15, so I’m a Marion, one point away from being a Sara. That’s fine with me. They both seem like decent people, dubious taste in men aside. But don’t worry, whatever your score, there’s no chance whatsoever that Mencken or Nathan will call you up, forcing you to cut off the line and blame Central.
Have a safe and happy July 4 weekend, everyone!
*Including, as I tweeted, a post about the (arguably) first gay American novel, which I didn’t finish in time for LGBT Pride month but will get to sometime. (Except that, oops, I just invoked the promised post curse.)
**Must be nice, I thought reflexively, until I remembered that I don’t exactly have a lot of editorial restrictions here.
***As always, men are welcome to play along! You’re at an unfair advantage, though.
****Apostrophized plurals are a particular scourge in South Africa, where I live most of the time, because in Afrikaans you put an apostrophe before the S when a word ends with a vowel (e.g. foto’s), and this spills over into English.
*****This isn’t my real handwriting–it’s a not completely successful effort at library hand. I don’t think signature forgery is much of a thing anymore, but best to be on the safe side.
******A title that was, amazingly, only retired four years ago. We used to actually call the person “Master So-and-So.”
*******I learned just now that she and her husband Tim Ryan were a well-known vaudeville duo, and that they divorced in 1942.
********And, according to some sources, dumped him when she found out he was Jewish.
This entry was posted in Magazines, Quizzes and tagged 1920, Coronavirus, George Jean Nathan, H.L. Mencken, Lillian Gish, Marion Bloom, Sara Haardt Mencken, Smart Set, Women on July 4, 2020 by Mary Grace McGeehan.
Bernice Bobs Her Hair–and I Bob Mine!
In 1920, 23-year-old F. Scott Fitzgerald was flying high. His first novel, This Side of Paradise, the story of a Princeton student who’s a lot like F. Scott Fitzgerald, was published in March. Reviews were glowing* and sales were strong.
He married Zelda in April.**
F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald on their honeymoon, 1920 (Library of Congress)
The real money was in short stories, and his were starting to sell.*** “Bernice Bobs Her Hair” appeared in the May 1 edition of the Saturday Evening Post.
Meanwhile, back in 2020, my hair was getting long. Not this long,
Ladies’ Home Journal, April 1920
but long.
It could be months before the salons opened in D.C. Something had to be done.
Hey, I thought, how about a bob of my own to celebrate Bernice’s centennial? I had read the story in college and vaguely recalled it as the jolly tale of a popular young woman who gets her hair bobbed to the shock of all around her, but then all her friends decide she looks fantastic and they all go dance a celebratory Charleston.**** Or something along those lines.
The real story turned out to be nothing like that at all.***** Here’s what really happens.
Bernice, who hails from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, is visiting her aunt and cousin Marjorie, who live in an unnamed city that that could be Fitzgerald’s home town of Minneapolis-St. Paul. Bernice is attractive enough, but she’s a total buzz-kill. No one ever cuts in on her at dances. (She’s more popular in Eau Claire, but it hasn’t dawned on her that this might have something to do with her father being the richest man in town.) Warren, who’s miserably in love with Marjorie, has the misfortune of sitting with Bernice on the veranda at intermission at a country club dance. “He wondered idly whether she was a poor conversationalist because she got no attention or got no attention because she was a poor conversationalist,” Fitzgerald writes.
“She’s absolutely hopeless,” Marjorie complains to her mother one night. “I think it’s that crazy Indian blood in Bernice. Maybe she’s a reversion to type. Indian women all just sat round and never said anything.”
Marjorie’s mom calls her “idiotic,” more fondly than you should when your daughter’s being racist.
Bernice, you will not be surprised to hear (especially if you looked at the picture), has been standing behind the door the whole time. The next day at breakfast, she tells Marjorie that she heard everything. If that’s the way things are, she says, she might as well go back to Eau Claire. Marjorie is not as horrified by this concept as Bernice had expected, so she goes off and cries for a while.
Then she goes to confront Marjorie. She has barely gotten three words into her little lecture on kindness when Marjorie cuts her off, saying, in essence, “Cut the Little Women crap.” Bernice ponders this while Marjorie’s off at a matinee and when Marjorie returns she proposes a new plan: she’ll stay, and Marjorie will give her popularity lessons. Marjorie agrees—IF Bernice promises to do every single thing she tells her to. Deal, says Bernice.
Saturday Evening Post, May 1, 1920
The Eliza Dootlittle-ing of Bernice begins. There’s some eyebrow-tending and remedial dancing, but most of the focus is on repartee. A few days later, Bernice tries out her new line at a country club dance. “Do you think I ought to bob my hair, Mr. Charley Paulson?” she asks. “I want to be a society vampire, you see.” Mr. Charley Paulson has nothing useful to say on this subject, but Bernice announces that the bobbing is on. Servier Barber Shop. The whole gang’s invited.
Of course she’s not really going to have her hair bobbed. Short hair on women is considered immoral in respectable circles in 1920 (or 1919, if you allow for publication lead times). It’s just a line. But it works! The new Bernice and her inane babble are the toast of the town. As the weeks go by, she compiles an impressive list of admirers. Including—uh oh!—Warren. Remember him? Marjorie’s admirer who got stuck with Bernice on the veranda? Marjorie, who is not as indifferent to Warren as she lets on, is NOT amused.
At a bridge party, Marjorie confronts Bernice. “Splush!” she says. The hair bobbing business is just a line—admit it! Bernice is out of her league here, and next thing she knows the gang is at Servier Barber Shop. “My hair—bob it!” she says to the nearest barber.
And the barber does. Or, rather, he hacks it off. And…disaster! It turns out that Bernice’s lustrous brown locks were a major element of her attractiveness. Now, with her hair hanging in lank lifeless blocks, she looks, she thinks, “ridiculous, like a Greenwich Villager who had left her spectacles at home.” Warren and the other guys are instantly over her.
But Bernice has more spirit than we’ve given her credit for. That night, as Marjorie lies sleeping, her blond hair in braids, Bernice steals into her room and picks up a pair of shears. Snip snip, good-bye golden locks! As Marjorie sleeps on, Bernice heads out for the train station, braids in hand, and flings them into Warren’s front yard.
“Ha!” she giggled wildly. “Scalp the selfish thing!”
Then picking up her suitcase she set off at a half run down the moonlit street.
Saturday Evening Post, May 1, 1920.
All of this left me cheering for Bernice but second-guessing my choice of her as a tonsorial role model. The barber at Servier might not have been a bobbing expert, but at least he was a hair-cutting professional. Maybe I should leave well enough alone. Hardly anyone ever sees my hair these days, and when they do it’s tied up under a mask.
But I have to look at my hair constantly, what with all the hand-washing while reciting 20-second snippets of The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. I can’t take it anymore, I decide. Steeling my courage, I set a towel on the floor, wet my hair, and prop up my iPad to use as a mirror.
Towel around my head, I tell myself it’s not too late. I can still back down. But Marjorie’s mocking voice says in my head, as it said in Bernice’s, “Give up and get down. You tried to buck me and I called your bluff.”
Am I going to take that from a twit like Marjorie? No, I’m not! I lift the scissors****** to my head and start to snip.
Halfway through, no turning back now. I smile bravely.
I show myself the back, like a real hairdresser. A little crooked, but not too bad considering the awkward angle and lack of visibility.
But the blow-dry is the true test. Which will it be? Limp, lifeless blocks, or chic new do?
Just kidding. That’s Bernice. I love it!
When the decade changed, a few friends asked me if I was excited to be moving into the 1920s. The answer was no, not really. Everyone knows about the Jazz Age and the Lost Generation. The 1910s felt more mine, somehow. But, as I read “Bernice Bobs Her Hair” in its original setting, with the illustrations and the ads and this photo stuck under the end of the story,
I felt like I was discovering Fitzgerald–not the canonic writer everyone reads in high school, not the man who knew so much disappointment and misery in his short life, but an ambitious and promising young man who brilliantly skewers the young people in his privileged social circle but rises above satire because he loves them too. I’m in at the beginning of something exciting and important, and I’m looking forward to seeing it unfold.
Stay safe, everyone, and don’t fear the scissors!
*Here’s the opening of the New Republic review:
The New Republic, May 12, 1920
**The timing was not a coincidence. The sale of This Side of Paradise sealed the deal on the engagement.
***Fitzgerald’s first published short story, “Babes in the Woods,” appeared in The Smart Set in September 1919. Summary: popular boy and popular girl meet at a party. Will they kiss? (UPDATE 12/20/2020: I realized while rereading This Side of Paradise that “Babes in the Woods” is an excerpt from the novel. In the Smart Set version, Amory Blaine is still called Stephen Palms, Fitzgerald’s original name for him.)
****Yes, I know, the Charleston wasn’t actually a thing until 1923.
*****In my defense, college was quite a while ago.
******Presciently ordered way back in March.
This entry was posted in Books, Fiction and Poetry, Magazines, My Life in 1918 and tagged Coronavirus, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Saturday Evening Post, This Side of Paradise on May 25, 2020 by Mary Grace McGeehan.
5 Old Posts That Might Come in Handy Around Now
Hi everyone, I hope you’re all where you want to be, with the people you want to be with. I’m in my studio apartment in D.C., feeling lucky that, unlike many people I know, I’m able to see friends and family (from a distance) and go for long walks.
Me in my studio apartment
Here are some old posts that might come in handy if you’ve had enough Marie Kondo-ing and binge-watching and need something to occupy your mind. And, if you’re feeling competitive, there’s a prize!
1. Are you a superior adult? Take this 1918 intelligence test and find out!
Tobias “ToMar” Maier
For this post, my most popular of 2018, I took a totally scientific intelligence test from the February 16, 1918, issue of Literary Digest that measures your intelligence by your ability to define 100 words. You, too, can find out whether you’re a superior adult!
2. Did College Shrink Your Breasts? A Quiz
Barnard College, 1918
In 1875, an awful guy named Dr. Henry Maudsley wrote an article called “Sex in Mind and Education” in a British journal. It was about how women are unfit to go to college with men, because menstruation. (And other things too, but that’s the main deal-breaker.) In 1918, the Education Review, an American journal edited by Columbia University’s horrible president Nicholas Butler,* for some reason saw fit to republish it. I took Maudsley’s arguments one by one and turned them into a quiz where you, too, can see if you’re unfit to go to college. (And like any highly scientific inquiry it needs a control group–that’s you, men!)
3. Can you beat me at this 1918 intelligence test? Probably!
American magazine, March 1919
All smug over my 1918 performance, I set out to take a 1919 intelligence test. And, well, the title says it all. Would you fare better than me in the post-WWI workplace?** Find out here!
4. Are You A Stagnuck? A 1918 Year-End Quiz (With a Prize!)
New York Evening World, November 7, 1918 (Library of Congress)
In December 2018, as I wrapped up my year of reading as if I were living in 1918, I posted this quiz. The response was a resounding, “I give up! This is way too hard!” A year of immersion in 1918, it turned out, had left me severely delusional about normal people’s knowledge about the false armistice, the staffing of the Wilson administration, modernist literary criticism, and the like. But you have way more time on your hands now, so here’s your chance to give it another shot! The prize for the highest number of correct answers received by April 15, 2020 (or the first person to get them all right if more than one person does, which judging from previous experience is highly unlikely), is a book of your choice that was written in 1920 or before and is priced at $25 or below on Amazon or through your local independent bookseller. Answers are all on the blog, and there’s a hint right here on this page!***
5. Ten 1919 Illustrators I’m Thankful For
Maybe by now you’re thinking, “Really? She thinks what I need right now is to take a test? She doesn’t get me at all.” If that’s the case, you can relax your mind and feast your eyes on these wonderful illustrations from some of my favorite illustrators of 1919. I’ve been obsessed with Coles Phillips since I wrote this. The image at the top is from a 1917 ad of his from the Overland automobile company.
Stay safe and healthy, everyone!
*Last May, when I was watching Jeopardy, Alex Trebek said, “The 1931 Nobel Peace Prize was shared by 2 Americans…” and I yelled from the kitchen, “Nicholas Butler!” He continued, “…Nicholas Butler and this Hull House cofounder.” “Jane Addams!” I yelled, as the contestants all sat there like dummies.
**Leaving aside that if you’re a man you definitely would.
***Submit your answers through the Contact page. If you win and you live outside the United States, I can’t promise to be able to send you your prize, but I’ll do the best I can.
This entry was posted in My Life in 1918, Quizzes and tagged Coles Phillips, Coronavirus, Henry Maudsley, intelligence tests, Nicholas Butler on March 28, 2020 by Mary Grace McGeehan.
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(click the image to view the full program)
Nicholas Alexander Solomon 1988-2019
Nicholas Alexander Solomon 31, of Desoto, TX; passed Dec. 01, 2019
September 27, 1988 – December 01, 2019
Nicholas Alexander Solomon, 31, was a Texas native, born and raised in Dallas, Texas on September 27, 1988. He spent some time growing up in Houston, Texas and has traveled to Trinidad and Tobago and to the United States Virgin Islands where many of his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins reside.
Nicholas enjoyed participating in school plays and was a bright student during his school days. As he grew older, he developed a passion for writing poetry and music. He spent a lot of his days writing; sing music to pour his heart out. He was a very talented lyricist and went by the name “A-Rex”. He had a love for art, which can be seen through his drawings and many tattoos. He was very creative and through his art he expressed his complex feelings about life. He loved being with his family and making others laugh. Nick was a comedian, he enjoyed playing tricks on those who he could fool; most would say he was the “Will Smith” of the family. He took joy in playing and wrestling with his nephews whenever he was with them. One of his favorite things to do was to visit his step-grandparents, who have since passed on.
His favorite meal was “salmon and rice” that his mother would always cook for him. He also liked grilling for his dad, his favorite thing to grill was chicken and ribs. He loved mustangs and anything that was flashy. He had a bold and passionate spirit; not afraid to take chances or to speak up. In a letter he wrote, he stated, “I believe in destiny, and there’s no such thing as coincidence.” Nicholas’ path here on earth ended on December 1, 2019.
Nicholas will forever be remembered by his affectionate and humorous spirit. He was compassionate towards those whom he loved. He touched the lives of many people with his Infectious smile and laughter and the care he had for them. He was a loving son, brother, nephew, uncle, cousin and friend and will be deeply missed.
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Quentin Tarantino is definitely getting The Hateful Eight together this time, you guys, for real
William Hughes
In a scene straight out of a formulaic romantic comedy that he would never in a million years make, Quentin Tarantino announced this weekend at Comic-Con that he just can’t stay mad at The Hateful Eight, and that even though it betrayed him by letting its script be leaked all over the Internet, he’s still going to do his best to make it work.
Tarantino—who you should probably imagine as Zac Efron, or maybe a pre-Magic Mike Matthew McConaughey—has already hinted that it was really, really good to catch up with The Hateful Eight at the public cast-reading of the script that he organized in April. It was a great reminder of how good they were, before the claustrophobic tale of various Western types trapped together in a saloon betrayed him by running around with Gawker and the rest of the Internet.
And so, when a fan asked Tarantino whether he was continuing with production, the celebrated director metaphorically raced to the airport to present The Hateful Eight with a heartfelt declaration of love before it could fly away forever. Which is to say, yeah, he’s definitely going to make the movie. Cue the rising strings as the two reunited parties embrace tenderly in the rain, ready for a happy ending of beautifully stylized Western violence and eclectically perfect soundtrack choices.
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HPV Also Linked with Adenocarcinoma of the Cervix
According to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, infection with high-risk types of human papillomavirus (HPV) increases the risk of adenocarcinoma of the cervix (a relatively uncommon type of cervical cancer) in addition to increasing the risk of the more common squamous cell cancers of the cervix.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a sexually transmitted infection that is the primary cause of cervical cancer. Different types of HPV are classified as “low-risk” or “high-risk” based on how likely they are to cause cervical cancer. While several types of HPV have been linked with cervical cancer, HPV types 16 and 18 appear to pose the greatest risk.
Though there is evidence linking HPV with both squamous cell cancer of the cervix (the most common type of cervical cancer) and adenocarcinoma of the cervix (a less common type of cervical cancer that has increased in frequency in recent years), studies of HPV and adenocarcinoma have tended to be small.
To evaluate the link between HPV and adenocarcinoma of the cervix in a larger number of women, researchers in Spain conducted a combined analysis of several studies conducted throughout the world. The studies included a total of 167 women with cervical adenocarcinoma and 1881 women without cervical cancer. All women were tested for infection with 33 different types of HPV.
HPV infection was strongly linked with cervical adenocarcinoma:
Women infected with HPV were more than 80% more likely to have cervical adenocarcinoma than women who were not infected with HPV.
HPV type 16 or 18 was detected in 82% of women with cervical adenocarcinoma.
Among HPV-infected women, other factors that increased the risk of cervical adenocarcinoma included less education, history of another sexually transmitted infection, early age at first sexual intercourse, and long-term use of a hormonal contraceptive.
The researchers conclude that “HPV appears to be the key risk factor for cervical adenocarcinoma.” HPV vaccines that are in development are likely to greatly reduce the occurrence of both cervical adenocarcinoma as well as cervical squamous cell cancer.
Reference: Castellsagué X, Diaz M, de Sanjosé S et al. Worlwide Human Papillomavirus Etiology of Cervical Adenocarcinoma and Its Cofactors: Implications for Screening and Prevention. Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 2006;98:303-15.
Overview of Cervical Cancer
CancerConnnect - Overview of Cervical Cancer
Treatment & Management of Cervical Cancer
Treatment for cervical cancer may require surgery, radiation, chemotherapy or a combination.
Treatment of Stage III Cervical Cancer
Treatment of stage III cervical cancer may include surgery, radiation, chemotherapy or precision cancer medicines.
Gardasil and Ceravix Effectively Prevent Cervical and Other HPV Related Cancers
ACS lowers recommended age of HPV vaccination to 9 years of age for both boys and girls.
HPV Test is a Valuable Diagnostic Tool for Cervical Cancer
Michelle Whitlock: Cervical Cancer Survivor
Michelle Whitlock discusses cervical cancer treatment and fertility options
HPV Testing Reduces Cervical Cancer Deaths
HPV Testing Reduces Cervical Cancer Deaths.
Checkpoint Inhibitor Immunotherapy for Treatment of Advanced Cervical Cancer
Checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy: promising treatment for patients with advanced cervical cancer.
Tisotumab Vedotin – Promising in Advanced Cervical Cancer
Novel precision cancer medicine promising for treatment of advanced ovarian cancer.
TILS-Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes: Safe and Promising for Cervical Cancer
Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes is a from of adoptive immunotherapy for the treatment of advanced cervical cancer.
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Chief of the Defence Force - Opening statement - Budget Estimates hearing
General David Hurley, AC, DSC
Opening statement
Budget Estimates hearing
***As delivered***
Good morning Chair and Senators. I would like to begin this morning by recording my condolences to the family and friends of Corporal Scott Smith who was killed in action when an improvised explosive device detonated during a clearance operation in Uruzgan on the 21st of October 2012. Corporal Smith was a talented soldier who was highly respected by his peers in the Special Operations Engineer Regiment. There is no doubt his actions that day saved many other Australian lives and his dedication to duty was formally recognised on Australia Day when he received a posthumous Commendation for Gallantry.
Corporal Smith was one of more than a hundred Australian Defence Force members whose efforts were acknowledged on Australia Day but there are thousands more Defence personnel who are doing an outstanding job at home and on deployments around the world. Many of those who were recognised have been part ofAustralia's ongoing contribution to the mission in Afghanistan. Senators, in the four months since my last operational update to this Committee, we have continued to make tangible progress in the transition to Afghan National Security Forces lead in Uruzgan province. The four infantry Kandaks we have mentored since 2008 are now conducting independent operations and have assumed the lead for security in their respective areas. As a consequence, the ADF's composition in Afghanistan has shifted from a Mentoring Task Force of 680 personnel to a smaller 330 strong Advisory Task Force. The last Australian Force elements have redeployed from the Patrol Bases and Forward Operating Bases in Uruzgan and are now permanently based at Multi National Base - Tarin Kot.
While these activities highlight our ongoing progress they do not signal the end of our combat operations in Uruzgan. Our Special Operations Task Group will continue to operate against the insurgency and the Advisory Task Force will also retain a combat-ready capability, but our main focus throughout 2013 will be on 4th Brigade Headquarters and the Provincial Operations Coordination Centre where the ADF will continue to advise and train the Afghan National Army' logistics, engineer and other combat support elements.
It is sometimes difficult to appreciate the scale and significance of progress in Afghanistan when looking from a distance and from ‘the outside’ where we tend to apply our own western perceptions of 'normal'. This is further complicated when we attempt to assess the scale and implications of the many serious challenges that the Afghan people still unquestionably face.
ISAF’s assessment of progress in Afghanistan is founded on a comprehensive 11 year engagement with the Afghans and a ‘real world’ understanding of the people, their history, their aspirations, their concerns and the enduring purpose of our commitment. Significant progress has been made which has provided the Afghans with the opportunity and capacity to manage their own future and to assist the international community in defeating and deterring threats emanating from Afghanistan.
These conclusions are based on four key indicators.
First is the trans-national terrorist threat. The al Qa'eda threat has been confronted, reduced and largely neutralised in Afghanistan. This task commenced in 2001 and it has required an ongoing, collaborative international effort. This has been a long-term combined fight that has required close cooperation with the Afghans to ensure the threat is identified, relentlessly pursued, and systematically degraded. With international assistance, the Afghans have steadily grown the organisations, knowledge and institutions necessary to take on and counter this threat linked with broader multinational counter terrorist efforts.
Second, is the state of the insurgency. The Taliban are resilient but their narrative and key messages have less resonance with the Afghan people today than ever before. Regular nation wide surveys show the majority of Afghans, including the southern Pashtuns, do not want the Taliban to return to power. The Taliban are increasingly fighting Afghans on Afghan soil and the senior insurgent leadership now operates largely from outsideAfghanistan. While they retain the capacity to conduct occasional and spectacular attacks their military options are limited. They increasingly rely on terror tactics such as insider attacks, improvised explosive devices and the use of suicide bombers to exert their influence.
The third key indicator is the Afghan National Security Forces' leadership of security operations. Afghan Security Forces are now leading more than 80 percent of operations countrywide. The 2013 campaign plan is Afghan planned and will be Afghan executed. The Afghan National Army is recruited and will be fully fielded in 2013 and they will continue to operate in close collaboration with the other security arms, principally the Police and National Directorate of Security. Afghanistan has a very good and active Special Forces component. The ministerial and institutional management of the security force continues to evolve and grow with direction, execution and oversight now in Afghan hands. The ANSF is now a force able to confront and defeat the insurgents increasingly in its own right.
Progress is not limited to the military sphere. For example, Special Afghan police units are increasingly effective against drug trafficking networks in cooperation with a variety of international agencies. The Australian contribution in Uruzgan reflects the national level development and growth. Many challenges remain, including higher level command and control and logistics but it is a fact that the Afghans have lead carriage and responsibility for their security and this has the strong support of the Afghan people.
This brings me to the final indicator - population perceptions. Throughout 2012, nation wide surveys identified that security is no longer the average Afghan's primary concern. Basic services, such as power and roads, employment opportunities and corruption are now the top concerns. It is clear that the path ahead will require an Afghan political solution which can only be designed, agreed and implemented by Afghans and on an Afghan timeline.
The ISAF global coalition effort in Afghanistan has provided the time, space and opportunity to build and field an Afghan National Security Force and to establish the institutional building blocks that provide the foundation for a new Nation. The ADF has made a significant contribution to this in Uruzgan. This progress is demonstrated in the Afghans assumption of leadership and responsibility in the province. A small example is when an Afghan National Army soldier was injured in a motor vehicle accident recently, the ANA's 4th Brigade provided initial treatment at the scene and evacuated the injured soldier to a garrison health facility without coalition assistance. These milestones illustrate how our military effort is changing to support and training assistance which will extend beyond 2014.
At this point I would like to acknowledge outgoing ISAF Commander, General John Allen, who will soon take up his new appointment as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander, Europe after 19 months heading the coalition mission in Afghanistan. General Allen is admired for his diplomacy as much as his military leadership and I would like to thank him for the support and friendship he has shown to Australian Forces during his tenure. I look forward to working with General Joseph Dunford who assumed Command this week. General Dunford faces the challenging task of steering Coalition and Afghan forces through transition at a time when international support to Afghanistan remains critical to bolstering and sustaining the confidence and hopes of the Afghan people.
As transition progresses our role in Afghanistan will continue to change. We will see infrastructure, equipment and other assets that are no longer required to support our mission returning to Australia. The ADF has developed an extensive footprint within Afghanistan over the past 10 years; redeploying that infrastructure is an enormous logistic task so additional specialist personnel will be deployed throughout 2013 to assist. This means the total number of ADF personnel deployed to the Middle East Area of Operations will remain about the current average of 1550 people until the end of the year. I understand there is a great deal of public interest in knowing when Australia's operations in Afghanistan will begin to wind down. The first significant decrease in the number of ADF personnel in Afghanistan will coincide with the end of transition in Uruzgan. Based on our current assessments, transition will be complete and the majority of ADF personnel will be withdrawn from Uruzgan by the end of the year.
Closer to home, two operations are close to completion. For the past 13 years Australian troops have been deployed in Timor-Leste. From the early days of the International Force for East Timor through to the International Stabilisation Force and the United Nations Mission in Timor-Leste, our mission was to assist the Timorese Government to maintain a secure and stable environment while the fledgling nation state matured into a fully functioning democracy. Following the successful national elections in 2012, the ADF began to drawdown personnel and equipment ahead of the UN Mission's conclusion on the 31st of December. Approximately 60 ADF personnel remain in Timor-Leste as part of Operation ASTUTE and I expect the withdrawal to be completed during the first quarter of 2013. In addition, 25 military specialists continue to train and mentor the Timor-Leste Defence Force under the Defence Cooperation Program. Their focus is on increasing the indigenous capacity in medical and infantry skills, logistics, maritime security, engineering and governance. Australia has committed to continuing the Defence Cooperation Program in Timor-Leste once the International Stabilisation Force mission is complete.
In the Solomon Islands, it is our intent to maintain an enduring Defence Cooperation Program once the Regional Assistance Mission Solomon Islands or RAMSI effort concludes. Continued stability has allowed us to begin planning for our withdrawal. Defence is currently working with RAMSI, contributing nations (New Zealand, PNG and Tonga) and Australian Government agencies to implement a transition strategy throughout 2013 that is sympathetic to the security environment. The ADF will also maintain an 'over the horizon' response capability that ensures we are prepared to redeploy to the Solomon Islands at short notice if the security situation deteriorates rapidly or unexpectedly.
In parallel with these overseas operations, Defence has continued to contribute to Australia's border protection operations and over the summer, the ADF has provided assistance to Fiji, Samoa and Solomon Islands and to flood and fire affected communities in Queensland, Tasmania, New South Wales and Western Australia. The positive response on social media from grateful Australians was overwhelming.
At the height of the flood emergency in Queensland, four Blackhawk helicopters and their crews airlifted more than 260 people including 10 stretcher-bound passengers while an Air Force C-130J Hercules crew and specialist aero-medical personnel evacuated 90 patients from Bundaberg Hospital to Brisbane. As the waters began to recede, a 200 strong Emergency Support Force (ESF) was deployed from Enoggera to northern Queensland to help. The team included Army electricians, plumbers, carpenters and combat engineers who assisted local authorities to restore basic utilities and infrastructure. Members of the ESF also worked shoulder to shoulder with the local community to clean up after the flood. They removed water damaged medical equipment from Bundaberg Hospital and stripped sodden carpets from the local state school. They cleared vehicles and debris to reopen main roads and brought fresh drinking water and supplies to areas cut off by floodwaters. Air Force flew more than a dozen sorties in support of Operation Queensland Flood Assist II carrying approximately 77 tones of equipment.
Personnel from the Brisbane based 2nd Combat Engineer Regiment (2 CER) designed and built a temporary bridge to re-open the vital heavy vehicle link between North and South Bundaberg. When the job was done, the soldiers took on members of the Queensland Fire Service in a 20/20 cricket match, raising 17 thousand dollars for the Red Cross Flood Appeal.
During the bushfire emergency in New South Wales the Naval Air Station in Nowra acted as a base for Rural Fire Service and civilian aircraft being used to fight the fires. HMAS Albatross assisted with aircraft refuelling and provided a base for mission planning. HMAS Albatross and RAAF Wagga also provided accommodation and meals for NSW fire fighters. In Tasmania, Regular and Reserve Army and Air Force personnel worked with local authorities to ensure houses were safe for residents to return. Air Force also transported generators from RAAF Amberley to Hobart to restore power to fire ravaged communities. In Western Australia over the weekend RAAF Base Pearce supplied water and access for civilian aircraft.
I think that these activities reflect an ADF that is from the Australian community and readily identifies with it.
Senators, I have just spoken about one aspect of ADF culture. Let me turn to another. You will be aware that on the 26th of November last year I issued an apology to those who have suffered sexual, physical or mental abuse while serving in the ADF.
As the Chief of the Defence Force I believe it is my responsibility, I know it is my responsibility, to lead the ADF in assisting the Government to implement the processes that it has put in place to respond to the DLA Piper Report. Together with the ADF’s senior leadership, I am committed to ensuring we provide a fair, just and inclusive work environment. I have given my personal undertaking to endeavour strenuously to defend the right of all ADF members to serve in an environment free from abusive behaviour of any kind.
Defence is working with the Honourable Len Roberts-Smith and the Defence Abuse Review Task Force. To date, we have established protocols and commenced the transfer of Defence records requested by the Task Force. We will continue to cooperate fully as the Task Force undertakes this important body of work.
That said, it is important to note that when media organisations seek information from Defence about individual persons, investigations or inquiries which may be before the Task Force, there are a number of restrictions that prevent Defence from disclosing specific information. In addition to provisions of the Privacy Act 1988, Defence, like the media, is unable to comment on matters where the information has the potential to cause a miscarriage of justice. Defence tries to be as open and transparent as possible, while protecting the rights of individuals and the legal limits concerning disclosure of information. It is important that we allow the Task Force to conduct its work without prejudice.
Finally it is almost 12 months since the Pathway to Change strategy was released in response to the suite of reviews in 2011-12. I am pleased to report that we are making progress. Of the 160 recommendations, 41 are complete and another 115 are in progress. The four remaining recommendations will commence as other related recommendations mature. We recognise change takes time and the challenge over the next 12 months is to maintain the momentum so that we continue to build a culture that gives confidence to the Australian people and a work force that reflects the community it serves.
Since the first of January, women who are already serving in the ADF have been able to apply to become clearance divers, mine warfare and clearance diving officers in the Navy; airfield defence guards and ground defence officers in the Air Force; and they can apply to join the infantry and armoured corps, explosive ordnance disposal and combat engineer squadrons in the Army. Next month Defence will host the inaugural Gender in Defence and Security LeadershipConferencehere in Canberra. Senior government, military and business representatives from the US, the UK, Canada and New Zealand will share their experiences and discuss the issues challenging gender equality.
The operational update I have provided this morning shows why our Defence Force personnel are renowned not only for their skill and professionalism but for their resilience and ability to overcome adversity. These are the qualities I see in the men and women of the Australian Defence Force and in the families who support them. They are also the qualities that reinforce my optimism about the future of our organisation.
Other Story content
RAAF dogs looking for new homes
IPE 19 prepares for explosive regional engagement
Planning for success
Remembering Cyclone Pam
Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2019 departs
On-the-record list
© Copyright / Defence News
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Stewart speaks out staunchly against blocking
By Tony DiZinnoApr 6, 2013, 2:00 PM EDT
Tony Stewart took time to meet with the media Friday at Martinsville Speedway to dismiss “hypocrite” claims after he was blocked at the end of NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway two weeks ago.
“I don’t like blocking. I never have, never will,” Stewart said. “It’s our job as drivers to go out there and try to pass people. That’s what racing is about. We didn’t have blocking 10 years ago. I don’t know where all the sudden it became a common deal and some people think it’s alright to do now and is just common practice. I don’t believe in it and don’t believe it should be common practice.”
Stewart explained the different dynamic between blocking at a place like Auto Club in Fontana, a 2.0-mile oval, versus the restrictor plate tracks of Daytona and Talladega. Contact between he and Michael Waltrip at the end of last fall’s Talladega race triggered a multiple car pileup.
“I don’t like it at Daytona and Talladega, either – but it’s the position we’re put in there,” he said. “What happened at California is a different deal. The people that are trying to compare the two, honestly, I’ve read (which reporters) wrote it and it’s disappointing they don’t understand the sport any better than that. There is a huge difference between the two.”
Stewart also said he and Logano haven’t spoken by phone, nor would it matter to Stewart, because disagreements can’t necessarily be settled by such conversations.
Ryan Newman, Stewart’s teammate, made a few waves earlier in the week when he called blocking a “chicken way of driving.”
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Button, Merhi hit with post-race penalties in China
By Luke SmithApr 12, 2015, 9:00 AM EDT
Jenson Button and Roberto Merhi have both been hit with time penalties following today’s Chinese Grand Prix following an investigation by the race stewards in Shanghai.
Button endured a difficult race for McLaren, finishing 13th on track as the team continued to struggle to find its feet with the new Honda power unit.
The Briton had been fighting for position with Lotus’ Pastor Maldonado in the final few laps of the race before the two came together heading into the first corner.
Although both cars spun off, Maldonado was left with enough damage on his Lotus to warrant retiring from the race. Button finished the race in P13, but was handed a five second time penalty for causing the crash, dropping him to 14th behind Carlos Sainz Jr.
“Regarding the collision with Pastor, I thought there was room on the inside,” Button said. “A collision is something you never want to see happen. It was just a misjudgment, I guess.
“Still, we go to Bahrain hoping for more progress, although the circuit configuration doesn’t suit us, so heading to Europe will hopefully work out a little bit better for the team.”
Button was not the only driver to be summoned before the stewards on Sunday, as Manor’s Roberto Merhi was penalized for going too quickly behind the safety car at the end of the race.
“Car 98 did not stay above the minimum time set by the FIA ECU when following the safety car,” a brief statement from the stewards read, who handed the Spaniard a five second time penalty, keeping him 16th.
Despite being hit with a penalty, Merhi was pleased with the weekend as Manor got both of its cars to the finish for the first time.
“I’m really pleased that we’ve completed another race and this time with both cars, steps which are really important for the team,” Merhi said. “Looking back across the whole weekend we’ve made a lot of progress since Malaysia and the pace is improving all the time from session to session.
“I hope we can continue this progress in Bahrain next weekend.”
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The Green Scene
Posted on December 17, 2008 March 20, 2015 by Margaret Williams
Government agencies—not to mention Congress—are great at saying a task will take one month and then having it take six, U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler observed during a Dec. 8. congressional hearing on the former CTS of Asheville site. On hand at the Skyland Fire Department were representatives of the Environmental Protection Agency, the N.C. Division of Waste Management, a local real-estate professional and an area resident. At issue was what to do next to address the problem.
Bullish on CTS cleanup: “I am determined to ensure that damage is contained, hazards are eliminated and long-term health effects are addressed,” Rep. Heath Shuler declared at a Dec. 8 congressional hearing in Skyland on the CTS contamination in the Mills Gap Road area. Photo by Margaret Williams
There were few new suggestions, though Shuler promised to “do whatever is in [his] power” to move the cleanup forward. He also urged everyone to do a better job of working together.
Shuler got involved in the issue in September, when he wrote a letter to the various agencies involved requesting information, cooperation and action. At the hearing, he emphasized that it’s time to move beyond the past and work together to get the CTS site cleaned up. “It’s very, very important that we don’t make the same mistakes that were made in 1991,” said Shuler.
That year, high levels of trichloroethylene—a suspected carcinogen—and other hazardous chemicals were discovered in a nearby residential well (see “Fail-Safe,” July 11, 2007 Xpress). But federal and state officials concluded that no further action was needed, EPA Region Four Superfund Director Franklin Hill noted in an overview of the issue. Saying he didn’t know why investigators hadn’t dug deeper, he speculated that poor communication and cooperation between agencies that did their respective jobs individually but failed to take the best action collectively may have been a factor.
“If I had been doing the investigation, I would gone a good deal further,” said Hill. (A year ago, he testified before Congress concerning the cleanup of the Superfund site at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, where TCE contamination was also found.)
At CTS, Hill reported that a company-funded soil-vapor-extraction process has removed thousands of pounds of contamination since 2006, and an improved process came online earlier this month, reported Hill. Further studies are under way to better determine where the remaining TCE and other pollutants may be moving—and to pinpoint the exact source of the contamination. “This investigation could potentially show other sources,” said Hill.
Dexter Matthews, director of the Division of Waste Management, added that negotiations are under way with the Elkhart, Ind.-based CTS Corp. (a multinational manufacturer of electronic components), which formerly owned the site. But other companies may also bear some responsibility and could potentially share in the cleanup costs, he noted, mentioning Mills Gap Road Associates—which sold part of the original 57-acre site for development as Southside Village, a residential subdivision, and which still owns the remaining 10 acres. In any case, said Matthews, “The cleanup could take several years to complete.”
On top of the time already lost, that timetable creates an “untenable situation” and a “hardship” for both residents and other property owners, said Neal Hanks Jr., president of Beverly-Hanks & Associates. The CTS site is having a negative effect on property values and small businesses alike, he said.
Meanwhile, the situation continues to threaten human health, said Tate MacQueen, representing the CTS Community Monitoring Council appointed last year by the Buncombe County commissioners. Besides contaminating wells, TCE can permeate the clay beneath houses and emit toxic vapors, he reminded Shuler. The city and county teamed up to run public water lines to the affected homes, but the contamination may still be migrating to other residential wells. Residents are also awaiting the results of a more comprehensive study than the one completed earlier this year that found no cancer clusters, despite anecdotal evidence from families who drank the water for years and now cite numerous cancer cases.
“We need action to rectify this problem,” said MacQueen.
Given the number of wells and the thousands of people who live within a few miles of the Mills Gap Road site, said Tate, “The ground-water pathway is of concern.” So are possible airborne emissions.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” said Shuler. He called for cooperation among all parties, asking the government agencies to provide timetables for action—and to stick to them.
After the meeting, one county resident told Xpress, “They need to tear down that building and remove the soil down to the bedrock. As long as the source [of contamination] is there, it’ll keep migrating.”
Presented with this suggestion, however, Hill was careful in his reply. “Any additional site cleanup would be the result of findings in a comprehensive ground-water evaluation,” he said, adding that while future action “could include removing the building,” it’s also possible that the structure is “serving as a cap” on the contamination.
With CTS negotiations with the state moving forward, the results of a more thorough cancer study due in February, a ground-water evaluation under way and plans for further public comment and participation, Shuler appeared hopeful. He said, “We have a plan now.”
For more background coverage, see these previous Xpress reports: “Fail-Safe?” (July 11, 2007), “Looking for Answers” (Nov. 7, 2007) and “CTS Cleanup Proceeding” (Nov. 5, 2008). To view documents related to contamination at the CTS site, visit www.mountainx.com/xpressfiles.
Send your environmental news to mvwilliams@mountainx.com or leave a message 251-1333, ext. 152.
like1.0 K viewsEnvironmentSustainabilityCTS of AshevilleHeath Shuler
About Margaret Williams
Editor Margaret Williams first wrote for Xpress in 1994. An Alabama native, she has lived in Western North Carolina since 1987 and completed her Masters of Liberal Arts & Sciences from UNC-Asheville in 2016. Follow me @mvwilliams
View all posts by Margaret Williams →
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The Last Champion (2020)
Watch The Last Champion (2020) Online
When his mother dies, scandal-ridden ex-Olympian John Wright returns to a hometown that has not forgiven him.
Genre: Drama, Family, Sport
Director: Glenn Withrow
Actors: Annika Marks, Bob McCracken, Cole Hauser, Hallie Todd, Peter Onorati, Randall Batinkoff, Sean H. Scully
Kickboxer: Retaliation (2018)
One year after the events of “Kickboxer: Vengeance”, Kurt Sloan has vowed never to return to Thailand. However, while gearing up for a MMA title shot, he finds himself sedated…
Blonde Fist
A woman attempts to escape her domestic problems by fleeing to New York in search of her father. She finds him, and also new problems, some friendship, a romance, and…
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A widowed child psychologist lives in an isolated existence in rural New England. When caught in a deadly winter storm, she must find a way to rescue a young boy…
Country: Canada, France, India, USA
Set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, Moonrise Kingdom tells the story of two twelve-year-olds who fall in love, make a secret…
Adam Resurrected
Before the war, in Berlin, Adam was an entertainer- cabaret impresario, magician, musician-loved by all until he finds himself in a concentration camp, confronted by Commandant Klein. Adam survives the…
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Enough (2002)
Working-class waitress Slim thought she was entering a life of domestic bliss when she married Mitch, the man of her dreams. After the arrival of their first child, her picture…
Manifesto (2015)
An outstanding tribute to various (art) manifestos of the nineteenth and twentieth century, ranging from Communism to Dogme, in connection with thirteen different characters, including a homeless man, a factory…
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As a young and naive recruit in Vietnam, Chris Taylor faces a moral crisis when confronted with the horrors of war and the duality of man.
The Remaining (2014)
When a group of close-knit friends assemble for the marriage of Skylar and Dan, they have no idea they will witness The Rapture and face a series of catastrophic events…
Snow Beast (2011)
Jim (John Schneider) and his research team study the Canadian Lynx every year. This year, he has to take his rebelling 16 year-old daughter, Emmy (Danielle Chuchran), with him. But…
Caius Martius, aka Coriolanus, is an arrogant and fearsome general who has built a career on protecting Rome from its enemies. Pushed by his ambitious mother to seek the position…
Genre: Drama, Thriller, War
Break Night (2017)
A lifetime hood has one night to repay a debt to an up and coming shot caller before he can leave town, all the while trying to duck a crooked…
Trailer: The Last Champion (2020)
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Our Beloved: Remembering Toni Morrison
10/7/2019 by Janell Hobson
I write this Tribute to one of America’s greatest writers, Toni Morrison—novelist, editor, educator, mentor, mother, Black feminist, legacy builder. I write between the seasons, or rather, just before “summer [is] hooted offstage, and autumn with its bottles of blood and gold [gets] everybody’s attention.”
This perceptively colorful line from her most celebrated novel on slavery, Beloved, is a reminder of Morrison’s poignant gift for language. In her novels, even the landscapes come alive, engaging in as much action as her complicated human characters. How sadly fitting that she left us in the summer of 2019, when the planet rages against climate change and after a weekend in which multiple mass shooters had proven her point about the dangers of “othering others,” as she explored in one of her many meaningful collections of essays on race, The Origin of Others.
(Angela Radulescu / Creative Commons)
Born Chloe Anthony Wofford on Feb. 18, 1931, Morrison was blessed with 88 years of life, and her contributions were remarkable. During her lifetime, she completed 11 novels and was working on a 12th when she died. Beyond novels, she gave us a short-story roman à clef on race, Recitatif, and two plays: Dreaming Emmett and Desdemona. Both plays centered on ghosts, not unlike the spectral eponymous character of Beloved or the historical figure who haunts the libretto she wrote for Margaret Garner, an opera based on the slave mother who not only inspired the character Sethe from Beloved but infamously fueled abolition debates in 1856 when she killed her baby daughter to prevent her return to slavery. Morrison also ventured into poetry, including Five Poems, and a song cycle, Honey and Rue, set to music by André Previn and premiered by opera singer Kathleen Battle. She even wrote children’s books with one of her sons, Slade Morrison. From novels to poetry to drama and song, Morrison’s writing encompasses every performative form of storytelling. Even more important is her potent imagination.
It is astounding that—given her tremendous gifts—many of her interviews during the prime of her career in the late 20th century were conducted by white journalists and critics, whose usual line of inquiry questioned why her writings explored only the African American experience, implying that her subject matter should somehow be broader and “more universal.” Imagine delving through the richness of Morrison’s stories—in which characters like the titular Sula announce their return to a village via a “plague of robins”; or a travel-weary Pilate (Song of Solomon) navigates her life without a navel; in which a formerly enslaved Baby Suggs (Beloved) emerges as a messianic leader for her community and preaches a profound sermon on freedom for the ages; or in which a group of women mysteriously disappear after an assassination attempt on their lives in Paradise—and the only detail on which to comment is their Blackness and their womanhood. Before there was Twitter and the useful hashtag #BlackGirlMagic, Morrison illuminated the magical means of Black women’s survival and thriving in ways that complicate representations of race and gender.
Yet despite her obvious brilliance and intellectual acumen, her very Blackness and womanhood was enough for some to question her assured place in the canons of both American and world literature. There was the controver sial moment when—to the shock of various scholars, writers and artists—Beloved did not win the coveted National Book Award in 1987, although it did win the Pulitzer Prize the following year. Even when she won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993, some critics opined on whether her selection was a political choice. This was just one demonstration of what Morrison called the severe “distraction” of racism that keeps Black artists and intellectuals from doing their important work. Her illustrious and productive career is a model for how to transcend the low expectations of bigotry.
Watching Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’ documentary about her life, The Pieces I Am—which played in theaters earlier this summer—we get only brief glimpses of the writer, literal “pieces” of her life. Morrison, larger than life yet personable in the film, is oftentimes cagey about her own experiences, in comparison to other self-revelatory Black women writers like Audre Lorde, Alice Walker and bell hooks.
We know something of her childhood upbringing in a working-poor, mixed-race neighborhood of Lorain, Ohio, during the Great Depression, and she mischievously described herself as “loose” when she found freedom as a college student at Howard University. A single mother of two sons, she stole quiet moments in the predawn hours to write before going to work—the first of her novels, The Bluest Eye, published in 1970 when she was already nearing 40—and she capitalized on her position as a Random House editor to not only publish her own work but also to edit and promote the work of other African American writers, from Angela Davis to Gayl Jones to Toni Cade Bambara.
Quiet as it’s kept, Morrison’s many hats enabled the beautiful flowering of African American and women’s writings, which built the foundations on which women’s and gender studies, ethnic studies and diverse contemporary literature have flourished.
Morrison changed the course of how, who and what we read. If we cannot imagine a “universal” world without the presence of women, people of color, living environments and various marginalized “others,” that is the work of Morrison and others of her generation who dared to imagine differently. This is a lesson she imparted to her many students at Princeton University and other institutions where she taught, including the University at Albany, where the office she once used is now my own. In The Pieces I Am, she reveals that she told her writing students not to write about what they know, but instead to write what they don’t know.
What an extraordinary lesson for all of us: to step out of our comfort zones and consider the lives of others. This would take not just skillful imagination but loads of compassion and humility. Morrison has taught us well in this regard.
Tagged: Black Women, Fall 2019, Milestones, Rest in Power, Toni Morrison, Women Writers
About Janell Hobson
Janell Hobson is professor of women’s, gender and sexuality studies at the University at Albany, State University of New York. She is the author of Body as Evidence: Mediating Race, Globalizing Gender.
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Migraine Monitor
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Living with Migraine
“For the First Time, I am Completely Present in My Life!”
By webmaster April 23, 2019 Inspiration
Today, Andrea says she feels “in control.” It’s a dramatic change from the decades when Chronic Migraine ruled her days. The active wife, mom and health writer credits a breakthrough therapy.
—BY AMY CAPETTA
On a typical day, Andrea Pesate Belozercovsky can be found either keeping up with her two children, Alan and Alexandra, writing articles about her personal health journey, or going out with her husband, Carlos, and their friends. And the 34-year-old from Miami, FL, couldn’t be more grateful for her busy days and nights — it’s a dramatic departure from the last 20 years, most of which were ruled by Chronic Migraine.
Her first memories of dealing with near constant head pain go back to her mid-teens. Her doctor diagnosed her with migraines, but the only preventive options at the time were prescription drugs designed for other illnesses. “One med was for epilepsy and another one was for cardiovascular issues — and the side effects from them were terrible,” recalls Andrea. A few of the adverse reactions included numbness in her face and hands, dry mouth, body tremors, thyroid complications and hair loss. “I felt that the side effects outweighed the benefits, so when I was in my mid-20s, I decided to stop taking them.”
“I couldn’t function for days”
Over the next eight years, Andrea gave birth to two children, and when the migraines hit, she’d try her best to manage them with rescue medications. But as the years went on, the migraines came on stronger and more frequently. “My menstrual migraines were the worst — I’d need to be in bed with no lights, no sounds, not even my kids’ voices. I couldn’t function for days.” Luckily, her parents lived nearby, and they helped out with the children.
It wasn’t uncommon for her to suddenly head home due to a migraine (“Then I’d need to rest for two hours”) or to avoid fun activities with the kids since the conditions would be “too hot” or “too loud.” “The migraines really limited my family’s life,” she admits.
Then in 2015, when she and Carlos moved the family to Miami — and away from her parents—she renewed her efforts to find lasting migraine relief.
“I resigned myself to living as best I could with the pain!”
Working with a neurologist, she tried new prescription meds, which brought on new side effects. “I felt like I was drugged,” says Andrea. She was so “off” that she was involved in a small car accident. “The crash was upsetting, but nothing compared to not being able to speak,” she continues. “I couldn’t put words together, so I stopped taking meds — again.”
Now suffering from daily migraines (at a pain level between six and eight out of 10), in early 2018 Andrea underwent a seven-hour migraine surgery that involved surgical decompression of the sensory nerves in the head and neck known to trigger migraine. Unfortunately, it offered minimal relief. Despite the poor outcome, Andrea says, “I decided I had a choice — to be depressed or to be positive. So I chose to be happy, to continue taking OTC meds and drinking caffeine, and to try to function as best I could.”
“Now I feel almost cured!”
Andrea’s hopes rose when she read about a new FDA-approved medication designed to prevent migraine. It works by blocking the pathway of the CGRP (calcitonin gene-related peptide) receptor, which has been shown to play a significant role in migraines. She called her doctor immediately and said she wanted to give it a try.
Andrea experienced some improvements during the first two months. “When you suddenly go three days without a migraine, your expectations become more real,” she adds. After the third month, her health drastically improved.
“It’s been life-changing — I feel almost cured!” she says. “I’m down to four or five migraines a month that are much less intense and can be treated with acetaminophen. If someone would have told me six months ago that I’d be able to have the TV on during a migraine, I would have laughed!”
“I can be there for my kids”
Andrea wants other migraine sufferers to know hope exists. “What I love the most today is being able to take care of my children and to be present in every moment,” she concludes. “My son used to say to me, ‘Mommy, you always need to go to bed and I can’t talk to you.’ But now my kids won’t always have these memories of me — and that’s the most rewarding.”
PHOTOS BY TOLGA KAVUT
Q & A: Managing Your Migraines
It’s Time to Take Your Life Back!
“You Can Live Your Best Life, Too!”
Never Give Up Hope!
Feel Your Best
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Submit an Alumni Connection
From STEM to STEAM: A heightened focus on the arts is breeding a new generation of renaissance scientists
by Lisa Shumate | Jul 6, 2017 | Feature Stories, Lead Story, Summer 2017
For Richard Sebastian-Coleman ’16, senior year at Mines was an exceedingly busy one. But not in the way some might imagine for a budding engineer.
On weeknights, he raced from his last lab to rehearse with the orchestra or string quartet. Weekends brought rehearsals with Mines Little Theatre, where he portrayed Egeus in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Monster in Young Frankenstein, while also serving as the club’s president. In the wee hours of morning, after his homework for his wastewater treatment class was complete, he often turned to reviewing poetry and art submissions for High Grade, the school’s literary arts journal, of which he coedited.
“In terms of breadth, Mines had a huge amount of opportunity for a student interested in the arts,” says Sebastian-Coleman, who now works as an environmental engineer in Colorado Springs. “I felt like it gave me a unique mindset. It also kept me sane.”
Sebastian-Coleman’s experience illustrates what many see as a welcome new embrace of the arts by Mines and other STEM-focused institutions in recent years.
“In the past 10 years, there has been a growing interest in reintegrating STEM and the arts—in turning STEM into STEAM,” says Mines literature professor Toni Lefton, referring to a burgeoning national movement calling for science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) to become the new acronym for informing policy and education.
While art and science were once viewed as inextricably linked—think Leonardo da Vinci and other polymaths of the Renaissance era—that ideal largely fell away with the Industrial Revolution, explains Lefton, replaced by silos in which science was seen in one realm, driven by facts, and art in another, driven by emotion. This disconnect was exacerbated in part by the budget cuts of the 1980s, which hit the arts hard, and educational policies of the 1990s and 2000s, which emphasized STEM education while deemphasizing the humanities, she notes.
But as a new generation of students seek more creative learning opportunities and employers call for graduates more willing to take risks and think outside the box, arts are making a comeback, not just as a hobby, but as an integral part of science education.
Today, Mines hosts more than a dozen arts-related clubs, arts-themed communities in the residence halls, minors in music and literature and an artist in residence who teaches an arts-related course each semester. It also hosts a STEAM alumni interest group, a growing number of “maker spaces” where students can spontaneously come together to create things and a growing array of classes that meld art with science.
“There is a ton of progress being made around this issue,” says Lefton, who arrived at Mines in 1999 and has been instrumental in boosting arts-related offerings at Mines. “I’d love to see us get back to that era of Renaissance thinking.”
The Link Between Art and Science
Reach back into the history books and you’ll find a long list of famous scientists who got their start in the arts. Long before Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, he was a gifted childhood pianist. Samuel Morse, who developed Morse code, was an accomplished painter. Rufus Porter, who founded the magazine Scientific American, was a muralist and drummer.
One recent study titled “Arts Foster Scientific Success,” by Michigan State University physiology professor and creativity researcher Robert Root-Bernstein, suggests that the most accomplished scientists also tend to be the most artistic. For instance, Nobel laureates, when compared to other scientists, were 22 times more likely to be actors or dancers, seven times more likely to be visual artists, and two to four times more likely to be musicians. They were also three times more likely to engage in some kind of art than members of the general public.
“In sum, successful innovators in sciences and technology are artistic people. Stimulate the arts and you stimulate innovation,” concluded Root-Bernstein.
But exactly how does art inspire scientific advancement?
Neuroscience offers a few clues: A sweeping 2008 review by the Dana Arts and Cognition Consortium, a collaboration of neuroscientists using brain imaging to look at the link between arts and cognition, concluded that participating in performing arts boosts internal motivation and the ability to sustain attention: dance training strengthens neural networks that help students learn by observing, and music training enhances working and long-term memory as well as reading acquisition.
Others have pointed out that, fundamentally, artists and scientists have similar goals.
“Both are dedicated to asking the big questions placed before us: What is true? Why does it matter? How can we move society forward?” writes John Maeda, president of the Rhode Island School of Design and a leader of the STEM to STEAM movement. Creativity, he and others say, is central to finding the answers.
In engineering, a field where communication with diverse stakeholders is vital, the metaphors that art and literature provide can also serve as a common language, says Lefton, noting how illustrations, artistic graphic representations, storytelling and even poetry are being used in Mines’ classrooms to elucidate everything from quantum physics to the structure of DNA.
“We have to come up with more innovative ways to teach this material, and integrating the arts into it makes it more accessible to different types of learners,” she says.
The arts and humanities also foster something else that science, traditionally, has not been known to cultivate: empathy. And in careers like oil and gas development and mining, where decisions made can have a big impact on people’s lives, empathy is key.
“How do you walk a moment in another’s person’s shoes? How do you empathize with your stakeholders and end users? There is no equation or textbook that is going to teach you that. That is what literature and music and the visual arts can do,” Lefton says.
How Art Informs Science
For Lydia Muwanga ’07, the choice between arts school and an engineering education was an agonizing one. Growing up in Aurora, Colorado, she was winning coloring contests early in elementary school. By middle school, she realized she “had a gift.” And by high school, her art teacher was urging her parents to send her to art school. Wanting the best for her, they steered her toward Mines instead, where they imagined her skills in math and physics would take her far.
“I was determined to find a way to combine the two,” says Muwanga, who came to Mines in 2002 to study mechanical engineering.
At first, she was disappointed by the lack of arts offerings. “They didn’t have much. I knew we needed to do something about it.” She found a few like-minded visual artists looking for a place to come together, reserved a small room in the Student Center and displayed over 50 pieces of art from students across campus for the first art show. The Creative Arts Club was born.
Muwanga now owns a business, Suubi Innovations, using her unique skillset to create digital products, including websites and mobile apps. She notes that artists and engineers have something else important in common: they both “start with a purpose” and must create something out of nothing.
“Artists have a time when they diverge to generate as many ideas as possible and a time when they must converge and create the piece. It is a similar process for today’s engineers,” she explains, pointing to a trend toward “design thinking”—a creative early-stage brainstorming process with its roots in Silicon Valley. She learned design thinking after graduating from Mines from a product design firm that had creative engineers focused on brainstorming innovative ideas and creating one prototype to learn and iterate quickly. Muwanga says this process combined with creativity and innovation can help the world move forward.
For her, the earliest stage of the engineering process—the innovation—has come easier to her due to all those years of starting with a blank canvas and playfully experimenting with strokes before zeroing in on a strategy. “I think my background as an artist has made me willing to take more risks,” Muwanga.
How Science Informs Art
Award-winning photographer Evan Anderman MS ’93, PhD ’96 says that not only can art fuel good science—a science background can inspire novel forms of art.
“I was always interested in the technical aspects of photography—how the camera worked, what it would take to make a good exposure,” he recalls of a childhood in which he traveled the globe snapping photos alongside his dad (who operated an oil and gas company).
After more than a decade as a geological engineer, Anderman retired in 2005 to pursue a full-time career as a photographer, using his technological savvy and scientific eye to develop a unique craft he calls “social landscape photography.” An avid pilot, he bought a single-engine Cessna 206, had an autopilot installed to enable him to take photos from the air and fine-tuned his photographic techniques to reduce blur despite the plane’s swift forward motion. He has since dedicated himself to shooting photos of the Colorado landscape to bring awareness to things people might otherwise not see.
One bird’s-eye view collection of photographs, “In Plain Sight,” recently on display at the Denver Public Library, illustrates how humans have imposed themselves on the landscape, via everything from feed lots and chicken farms, to sprawling subdivisions, to coal-fired plants and oil and gas drilling operations. “I realize these are activities we need to help keep our society going, but I also think it’s important for people to know what the environmental costs are,” he says. “I hope my work will spark a conversation.”
Job skills aside, other alumni say the arts offerings at Mines gave them something that was harder to come by a few decades ago on campus: a reprieve from the academic pressure.
“There were days when I would go to the music room and just barricade myself in with my cello to get away,” recalls Jess Allen ’16, who turned to composers like Bach and Rachmaninov for comfort when calculations and labs left her feeling stressed or hungry for something deeper.
“Engineering is wonderful. But there are certain things it just can’t give you, and for me, the arts have kept that part of me alive,” says Allen, who now works as a water resources engineer for Denver-based Calibre Engineering and plays in the Arapahoe Philharmonic.
Sebastian-Coleman has also maintained his double life.
By day, he works to keep Schlage Lock Company in compliance with environmental regulations. By night, he dons wigs and costumes and rehearses with one of several local theater companies, which quickly welcomed him into the community and helped him meet people when he first moved to Colorado Springs to start his new job.
He believes that engineers today need the arts more than ever.
“Before computers could do huge calculations, engineers had to do as much number crunching as designing. Today, much more is being asked of engineers. Being able to think creatively and about the broader impacts of your work can really set you apart, and it’s through participation in the arts that you get experience in asking larger questions,” he says. “I credit my arts background for helping me land my first job out of college. I was lucky to be at Mines when I was, at the beginnings of this movement toward more artistic thought. I hope it continues.”
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The New Steel Age
Current Issue: Winter 2021
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The Cop Who Said Police ‘Only Kill Black People’ Just Got What He Deserves
Vinnie Longobardo
Vinnie Longobardo is a 35-year veteran of the TV, mobile…
Trump’s Defense Secretary Just Humiliated Himself At A Press Conference On North Korea
It was a story that provoked knowing nods from African-Americans and caused soul searching amongst the enlightened white populace. A car was pulled over by a white police lieutenant at a traffic stop for suspected DUI in Cobb County, Georgia. The cop goes over to the car and speaks with the occupants.
A white woman is in the passenger seat, and apparently the police officer doesn’t like the attitude he’s getting from her. He tells her that its OK for her to use the cell phone that’s sitting in her lap. She replies that she doesn’t want to move her hands because she’s seen “way too many videos” of what happens when police stop motorists who subsequently reach for something in their car.
Sadly, there are too many examples of exactly what can happen in these situations to cite, but the shootings of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and Philando Castile in Minnesota are perhaps the most well-known.
The story might have ended there were it not for the next thing that Lt. Greg Abbott said, a sarcastic comment that would change his life, thanks to the dash camera in his patrol car that recorded the exchange.
“But you’re not black. Remember, we only kill black people. Yeah. We only kill black people, right? All the videos you’ve seen, have you seen white people get killed?”
When word of the incident reached TV station WSB in Atlanta, they filed an open records request and got a copy of the dash-cam video. After they posted it, the video went viral, and the clamor for Lt. Abbott’s dismissal began.
Now, word has come that Lt. Abbott, who tendered his resignation last week after the interaction became public, would be instead terminated from the Cobb County Police Department, an action that reportedly won’t affect his retirement benefits from 30 years of service.
At a news conference, Cobb County Police Chief Mike Register said that Abbott was an “honorable” officer who had made a mistake, but that he would be fired nonetheless.
“I don’t know what is in his heart, but I know what came out of his mouth….No matter what the context, statements like these are unacceptable and are not indicative of the type of culture we are trying to facilitate here in the police department, as well as within the county,”
Lt. Abbott may have thought he was just joking sarcastically, but in the times in which we now live, his thoughtless words bring up too many reminders of the imbalance of power that occurs in situations like this and of the too many innocent people who were killed in similar circumstances. Now he will have to live with the consequences of his behavior.
Watch the video of the encounter below.
Vinnie Longobardo is a 35-year veteran of the TV, mobile & internet industries, specializing in start-ups and the international media business. His passions are politics, music and art.
Vinnie Longobardo September 3, 2017
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| History
Legal Momentum is the oldest non-profit legal organization dedicated to advancing the rights of women and girls by using the power of the law and creating innovative public policy.
We were founded as the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund in 1970 and have been at the forefront of this movement for over 50 years. A sampling of our accomplishments over the decades illustrates Legal Momentum’s breadth and impact—in the courts, in policy, in legislation, and most importantly, in the lives of women and girls.
[collapsed title="The 2020's"]
Women Valued rapidly responds to the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure hard fought gains for women are not undone by the pandemic. We published a National and NY State based resource guide for women workers including Spanish and Chinese translations.
We joined an amicus brief with a historic alliance of women and civil rights organizations to challenge Alabama’s proposed rollbacks of women’s reproductive freedoms and healthcare due to the virus.
Legal Momentum submitted public comments to the Equal Employment Opportunities Commision (EEOC) challenging actions taken that negatively impact pay transparency.
Legal Momentum entered into a historic partnership with the National Organization for Women (NOW) as part of a national awareness campaign for the SYMS | Legal Momentum Helpline.
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In response to the federal Department of Education’s proposed amendments to Title IX’s implementing regulations respecting sexual harassment in schools at all levels, NJEP submitted a statement opposing the proposed regulations on several grounds.
The National Judicial Education Program (NJEP) presented several programs at the New Jersey Supreme Court’s Gender Violence and Bias Summits for all New Jersey judges in response to several judges’ ill-informed comments in rape cases.
Legal Momentum joined with three law professors to file an amicus brief in the New York Appellate Division in support of New York City’s statute permitting gender-motivated violence victims to sue their abusers and assailants. The Breest v. Haggis brief educated the court on the legislative history and intent of the federal and New York City civil rights remedy for gender-motivated violence as only Legal Momentum and these three law professors could, all of whom were closely involved in drafting, passing and defending the constitutionality of the federal VAWA civil rights remedy, ultimately deemed unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in a widely criticized decision. The Court upheld New York City’s statute.
LM’s written testimony and recommendations to the NYC Commission on Human Rights on pregnancy and caregiver discrimination were cited in the City’s final report .
Legal Momentum, with pro bono partner Arnold Porter Kaye Scholer, filed an amicus brief in the California Court of Appeal First Appellate District in Kain v. King. The case involves the denial of a domestic violence restraining order after a trial and decision influenced by gender bias and myths about domestic violence and sexual assault. The brief educates the court about the realities of domestic violence, particularly the elements of coercive control. It identifies the concerning pattern of conduct perpetrated against appellant that the trial court failed to appropriately consider and the trial court’s misapplication of the laws that permit granting domestic violence restraining orders when evidence of coercive control is presented. Unfortunately the court upheld the lower court's order denying the order of protection
Legal Momentum joined numerous women's rights organizations in submitting an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in June Medical Services v. Gee. This case involves the constitutionality of a Louisiana law requiring abortion providers to have hospital admitting privileges, similar to a Texas statute found unconstitutional in 2016 in a case referred to as Whole Women's Health. The brief argued that such abortion restrictions violate people’s constitutionally protected liberty to make the private decisions about child-bearing that are intertwined with their broader economic rights and security. The Supreme Court heard oral argument on March 4, 2020.
Following the 2017 launch of the Women Valued Initiative, Legal Momentum publishes the Legal Toolkit for Women's Economic Equality, a comprehensive New York State guide that educates woman and advocates about rights and benefits in 13 cross-cutting areas that relate to women’s economic security. The guide includes specialized guidance for low-wage and immigrant women. Additional resources include the Working Women's Bill of Rights.
Legal Momentum greatly expands the Rights Now! program, doubling the class of peer educators, expanding the curriculum content and extending the reach of the peer-led workshops throughout New York City.
Legal Momentum continues its work with pro bono partner Orrick, Herrington Sutcliffe LLP to advocate for laws throughout the country to ensure sextortion offenders can be held accountable. In 2018, sextortion laws passed in Arizona, West Virginia, New York, Maryland, and Rhode Island, joining Alabama, Arkansas, California, Texas, and Utah, which passed such laws in 2017.
The National Judicial Education Program (NJEP) receives a $250,000 grant from the Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women to carry forward its work on Teen Dating Violence, begun under prior OVW grants with the posting of NJEP’s Teen Dating Violence Information and Resources Sheets.
In Purcell v. Purcell, a case about intimate partner sexual abuse and bias against marital rape claims in the courts, Legal Momentum joins an amicus brief filed by the University of California Family Protection and Legal Assistance Clinic in the Fourth Appellate District of California. The Superior Court denied a victim of domestic violence and intimate partner sexual abuse a domestic violence protective order despite her pleadings of continuous physical and sexual abuse and coercive control. The trial judge was completely dismissive of the victim’s claim of repeated marital rape. The brief sought to educate the Court on the history of marital rape laws and the dynamics of the intersection of domestic violence and intimate partner sexual abuse. Unfortunately the protective order was denied.
Legal Momentum joins amicus briefs in cases before the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the First, Third and Ninth Circuits opposing the federal government's rulemaking which would provide exception to the Affordable Care Act's mandate to provide no-cost contraception for employers and universities based on moral or religious obligations.
The documentary film, “I Am Jane Doe,” about victims of online sex trafficking, features Legal Momentum’s President and CEO and its Executive Vice President and Legal Director, along with Legal Momentum’s pro bono counsel David Boies, highlighting Legal Momentum’s work with Boies to end online sexual exploitation of vulnerable girls and women.
Along with Boies Shiller Flexner, Legal Momentum filed lawsuits against Backpage.com in Arizona and Florida on behalf of trafficking victims and organizations that provide services to trafficking survivors.
The Rights Now! Peer Educator Empowerment Program was launched. This peer education program empowers youth to identify and respond to forms of discrimination and understand their rights while helping them to build leadership skills. Rights Now! is funded by a grant from the New York City Council’s Young Women’s Initiative.
Legal Momentum joined Sanctuary for Families as co-lead on an amicus brief in a case under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, Davies v. Davies involved the intersection of sexual assault and domestic violence, which is the subject of the National Judicial Education Program’s web course on Intimate Partner Sexual Abuse. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s ruling denying return of the child to his violent father.
Legal Momentum assists a former U.S. Marine, victimized by her landlord in a sextortion scheme, in filing a civil suit in New York State.
Along with pro bono partner Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, Legal Momentum is nominated for a 2017 TrustLaw Impact Award for our work to combat sextortion, a growing form of cyber-crime that often targets young girls.
Legal Momentum works with Chicago Says No More to bring its "This Workplace is a DV-Free Zone" domestic violence model policy to employers in the Midwest.
Laws criminalizing sextortion pass in several states, including Utah, Arkansas, Texas, and California, thanks in part to the work of Legal Momentum and pro bono partner Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.
Legal Momentum joins other leading labor and women’s rights organizations in the #EnoughisEnough national campaign aimed at bringing about substantive change to prevent, address and remedy sexual harassment in the workplaces and schools, spearheaded by the National Organization for Women (NOW).
Legal Momentum provides recommendations to the New York City Commission on Human Rights on key steps to protect vulnerable women from sexual and gender-based harassment in the workplace.
Legal Momentum settles the pregnancy discrimination case of Welfare v. American Airlines. In 2006, baggage handler Welfare was denied a light duty accommodation and forced to take unpaid leave—without health benefits—during her pregnancy. The case was delayed by the airline’s bankruptcy. While it was pending, Welfare became a strong advocate for pregnant workers and testified in New York City Council for City’s Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which was passed in 2014.
Legal Momentum published an op-ed in the Seattle Times on March 10, titled “Congress must lead charge to block Backpage.com sex ads.”
Legal Momentum was deeply involved in the New York City Council’s Young Women’s Initiative (YWI), which released its Phase I findings in May. The initiative was the first of its kind and crafted policy recommendations to address racial, gender, and other disparities that have an impact on the city’s young women and girls. Legal Momentum’s involvement in the YWI continues with Phase II.
Along with pro bono partners the Thomson Reuters Foundation and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, Legal Momentum released a hard-hitting report, “A Call to Action: Ending Sextortion in the Digital Age,” that provides a framework for increasing public awareness and improving the law to combat sextortion, or online sexual extortion.
Legal Momentum created a broad coalition of local and national anti-trafficking organizations, including survivor-led organizations, to work together and support each other’s efforts on the issue of online sexual exploitation of vulnerable women and children, especially teen girls.
In October, Legal Momentum, together with pro-bono partner Boies, Schiller Flexner submitted an amicus curiae brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case of Jane Doe et al. v. Backpage.com et al. Numerous anti-trafficking organizations and activists signed on to the brief. The brief was later cited in a U.S. Senate committee report on its investigations into the business activities of Backpage.com and its owners.
In March 2015, Legal Momentum launched “This Workplace Is a DV-Free Zone,” a model policy for employers to address domestic violence in the workplace, whether employees are victims or perpetrators. A webinar for more than 50 service providers and legal professionals and a comprehensive social media campaign, including a “DV-Free Zone Bill of Rights” poster to display in workplaces, accompanied the launch of the model policy, which is designed to be easy for employees to understand and for employers to adopt.
On July 7, 2015, “Enough Is Enough,” groundbreaking legislation to combat sexual violence on college and university campuses in New York State, was signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo. Legal Momentum advocated successfully for the new law, which provides comprehensive policies to prevent sexual abuse and assault on campus and support victims.
Throughout the year, Legal Momentum participated in advocacy and educational efforts, including testifying before the New York City Council, conducting a “teach-in” at Columbia University, and participating in the Dartmouth and Annapolis national summit meetings on campus sexual assault. Legal Momentum also published “Know Your Rights” fact sheets for survivors of campus sexual assault.
Legal Momentum was awarded a grant by the Department of Justice Office of Violence against Women (OVW) to develop an introduction to the issues involved in teen dating violence and its intersections with other areas of the law. The new educational materials present an opportunity for judges, courts, and court-related professionals to protect victims, intervene with perpetrators, and educate the communities they serve on prevention.
The National Judicial Education Program (NJEP) continued its outreach to educate judges and other court professionals on the realities of sexual and domestic violence, providing trainings in Illinois, New York, Oklahoma, Washington, and Wyoming, and for the National Association of Women Judges. NJEP also presented two free webinars, The Intersection of Stalking and Sexual Assault and Intimate Partner Sexual Assault: The Hidden Dimension of Domestic Violence.
Legal Momentum was awarded a second grant from OVW that provided $600,000 over three years to develop a new web course that will train sexual assault victim service providers to help their clients navigate the criminal justice system.
In 2015, the United States Supreme Court decided several cases in which Legal Momentum filed amicus briefs. In Young v. UPS, the Court upheld some of the key provisions in the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, as Legal Momentum had urged it to do in our amicus brief. In Texas v. Inclusive Communities, the Court reaffirmed the Fair Housing Act as an important tool for combating not only racial segregation, but also denials of housing to victims of domestic violence. As our brief explained, victims of domestic violence are often evicted in response to municipal nuisance ordinances. In King v. Burwell, the Court affirmed a key component of the Affordable Care Act, allowing millions of women to access affordable health insurance.
Legal Momentum produced several acclaimed new reports that highlighted the gender aspect of poverty, including 50 Years of the War on Poverty: Too Little Progress; Women’s Poverty in the United States, 2013—Poverty Rate Remains High, Gender Poverty Gap Persists; A TANF Misery Index 2014 Update; Update of Single Parenthood in the United States–A Snapshot.
The National Judicial Education Program (NJEP) was invited to give numerous trainings for judges and multidisciplinary professionals based on its new online curriculum modules as well as on its previously published training materials. Training presentations included webinars, conference presentations, and workshops throughout the year and across the country.
Legal Momentum filed a charge on behalf of a New York City Police Officer who was denied the opportunity to take the promotional examination for sergeant due to her pregnancy.
Legal Momentum filed an EEOC charge on behalf of women sheet metal workers subjected to discrimination, including unfair termination related to pregnancy. One of the women was harassed and fired after asking for accommodations to express breast milk for her infant. The case set an important legal precedent and achieved a significant settlement for the women.
Legal Momentum helped file a formal complaint with the Montana judicial disciplinary board against a judge who made appalling remarks about the victims in a statutory rape case and imposed minimal sentences. The Montana Supreme Court ordered both a public censure and a 31-day suspension for the judge.
Legal Momentum filed federal civil rights complaints with the U.S. Department of Education against an Ivy-league university under Title IX and the Clery Act in connection with its failure to expel a student whom it had found responsible for sexual misconduct. The DOE started an investigation in response to the complaints.
Along with scores of other women's and civil rights organizations, Legal Momentum marked the 20th Anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in September 2014 with celebratory events and a successful social media awareness campaign.
The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act 2013 (VAWA) is signed in March. Legal Momentum, at the helm of the National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence against Women, led efforts to pass this important legislation and expand its protections for immigrant, Native American, and LGBT victims of sexual and domestic violence.
The National Judicial Education Program (NJEP) continues to educate judges nationwide about the realities of sexual assault. More than 170 college administrators, rape crisis centers, mental health professionals, and justice system professionals order NJEP's training DVDs on understanding and addressing sexual violence.
Legal Momentum issues numerous studies and reports about issues affecting women’s economic security, including Beyond the Myths about Single Motherhood, the TANF Misery Index, and Still Excluded: There Are Still Virtually No Women in the Federally Created and Supervised Apprenticeship System for the Skilled Construction Trades.
Legal Momentum testifies in New York City Council urging passage of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which requires that employers provide reasonable accommodations in the workplace to those who suffer medical conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth. The Council unanimously passes the PWFA.
The National Judicial Education Program (NJEP) works with the Tulalip Nation in Washington state to present a specially tailored version of its curriculum, Understanding Sexual Violence: The Judicial Response to Stranger and Nonstranger Rape and Sexual Assault, under a Court Training and Improvements grant from the Office of Violence Against Women (OVW). The program provides information and tools critical to the fair hearing of cases involving Native victims and perpetrators of sexual assault or domestic violence.
Legal Momentum launches the Single Parent Policy Advocacy Network (SPPAN), a network of advocates, government officials, academics, and journalists who share and discuss information on the status of single parents in the U.S., the vast majority of whom are women.
Legal Momentum forms the National Task Force on Tradeswomen's Issues, a coalition of national and regional advocacy organizations and tradeswomen. The Task Force works to ensure that women in New York City—and across the country—can access and thrive in careers in the construction trades.
Legal Momentum’s Pipeline Project transitions from an on-site research and direct-outreach initiative in nine New York City pilot schools to a full-time advocacy effort documenting recruitment best practices and advocating for their adoption system-wide.
Legal Momentum receives the 2011 Advocacy Award from the National Council for Research on Women for its Women and Poverty Program.
The National Judicial Education Program (NJEP) publishes Judges Tell: What I Wish I Had Known Before I Presided in an Adult Victim Sexual Assault Case, addressing common misconceptions about rape that undermine fair adjudication of sexual violence cases. This publication is utilized by judges and justice system professionals nationwide.
Legal Momentum continues to play a vital role in reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). VAWA funds are critical for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Legal Momentum leads reauthorization efforts to ensure the passage of this critical legislation.
Through amicus briefs and legal assistance, Legal Momentum successfully fights to overturn the most controversial parts of SB 1070, the Arizona immigration law that would have caused severe hardship for immigrant women and their families.
Legal Momentum educates policymakers and others about women’s poverty and much-needed reforms in TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), the nation’s social safety net for women and children, through reports and Congressional briefings.
The National Judicial Education Program (NJEP) establishes its campaign to integrate and sustain judicial, probation, and community education about adult victim sexual assault cases in jurisdictions throughout the country with its first regional team meeting.
The Immigrant Women Program initiates its advocacy program for the rights of immigrant women calling for comprehensive immigration reform through Congressional briefings, constituent advocacy, and reports.
Through roundtable discussions of tradeswomen, policy experts, and researchers, Legal Momentum works to increase and retain the number of women on federally-funded construction sites.
Through our Pipeline Program, Legal Momentum worked to increase girls’ enrollment in 14 career and technical education (CTE) high schools throughout New York City. Despite the protections of Title IX, girls are often underrepresented in CTE. Through CTE girls can gain skills necessary to enter higher paying "nontraditional" occupations for women, which in turn will have an effect on closing the gender wage gap.
After several years of advocacy, Legal Momentum, along with sister organizations, lauds the passage and signing of the Lilly Ledbetter Act, the first legislation signed by newly inaugurated President Barack Obama. The Act overturns the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. (550 US 618) 2007 and provides that each paycheck that contains discriminator compensation is a separate violation, no matter when the discrimination began, and contains a specific retroactivity provision.
In response to the 2008 economic crisis, Legal Momentum mounts a campaign to ensure that women benefit from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding and that federal contracts address occupational discrimination and create opportunities for women in non-traditional jobs in growing industries like energy and engineering.
In partnership with the New York City District Council of Carpenters Women’s Committee and NEW (Non-Traditional Employment for Women), and representative tradeswomen from most New York City trade unions, Legal Momentum’s Equality Works co-hosts the first-ever conference for women union members in the trades.
Legal Momentum successfully fights to expand unemployment insurance to previously ineligible women workers: victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking forced to leave their jobs for safety concerns, part-time workers, and those who must leave a job to attend to ailing family members.
Legal Momentum hosts a Symposium Celebrating the 15th Anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and honoring its initiator and champion, Vice President Joe Biden. We have worked with Senate Judiciary Committee staff beginning in 1990 to draft and pass VAWA and its subsequent reauthorizations. The symposium is a collaboration with the Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law.
Legal Momentum launches a new initiative to educate policymakers about much needed reforms in TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), the nation’s social safety net for women and children.
Legal Momentum, as co-counsel in Germain v. The County of Suffolk,wins a jury verdict for plaintiff thereby vindicating the theory that an employer violates the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) when it denies its light duty policy to a pregnant employee.
Equality Works launches the Pipeline Project, aimed at increasing the number of high school girls in high-wage non-traditional career tracks in New York City Career and Technical High Schools.
Legal Momentum publishes From the Ground Up: Building Opportunities for Women in Construction, a report based on our ground-breaking conference, Women re:BUILD NY. The report focuses on the four pillars needed to make equal opportunity a reality for women in the construction trades.
Legal Momentum, publishes Sex, Lies, and Stereotypes: How Abstinence-only Programs Harm Women and Girls, a report exposing the misleading messages of abstinence-only programs and the risks they pose to the health and safety of women and girls in particular.
The National Judicial Education Program (NJEP) posts an extensive web course on an almost invisible issue with critical implications for risk assessment, Intimate Partner Sexual Abuse: Adjudicating This Hidden Dimension of Domestic Violence Cases. Focused on judges but useful for multidisciplinary audiences, the web course is free and open to all. The web course was funded by the State Justice Institute and the Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women (OVW).
In Olvera Morales v. International Labor Management Corp. Legal Momentum achieves a path-breaking settlement in a class action discrimination suit against organizations that recruit and supply non-immigrant guest workers to U.S. farms. Settlement includes injunctive relief to prevent any recruitment discrimination against women.
Legal Momentum writes and publishes Women: A Celebration of Strength. This very colorful book of uniquely complex pop-ups celebrates U.S. women's history by highlighting topics from the suffrage movement to the fight for equal educational opportunities to the rise of female leaders in politics, business, sports, education, and the law.
The Immigrant Women Program is instrumental in the creation of U-visas and T-visas, which enable immigrant victims of crime to come forward and cooperate with investigations without fear of deportation.
Equality Works Project holds a conference for 250 representatives of government, labor, private developers, educators, and tradeswomen titled “Women Re:BUILD NY.” The conference fosters new dialogue among construction industry stakeholders, tradeswomen and advocates centered on best practices and concrete improvements for women working in the construction and skilled trades.
In Miller v. Conti Enterprises, Legal Momentum appears on behalf of a woman laborer who tried, repeatedly and unsuccessfully, to be hired on a state-funded road construction project in lower Manhattan. The EEOC finds not only that the firm discriminated against her, but that it had engaged in a pattern and practice of discrimination against women generally.
Legal Momentum files sweeping sex discrimination charges against utility-giant Con Edison, alleging systemic unfair treatment of women in hiring, training, treatment and promotion, leading to an ongoing EEOC investigation.
In the lead up to the 2008 Presidential Elections, Legal Momentum launches "Women Decide 2008" a comprehensive effort to engage the public and policy makers in a new dialogue on issues that impact women disproportionately, but that are a priority for all Americans.
The National Judicial Education Program (NJEP) helps to organize and presents at the Air Force’s groundbreaking, week-long Symposium on Sexual Assault Prevention Education and Risk Reduction.
Legal Momentum, as co-counsel in Wedow and Kline v. City of Kansas City, wins a landmark ruling from the Eighth Circuit, holding that providing inadequate gear and facilities for women firefighters is discrimination in violation of Title VII. The strongly-worded opinion is seen as a warning for fire departments nationwide.
The Equality Works Project stands up for tradeswomen, as Legal Momentum files three separate sex discrimination cases in New York against a construction company, a painting contractor, and an airline.
Bringing a fresh eye to U.S. Census data, Legal Momentum publishesReading Between the Lines: Women’s Poverty in the United States, a statistical analysis of Census data showing that a woman in the U.S. is 45 percent more likely to be poor than a man.
The Sexuality and Family Rights Program convenes “Teaching Only Abstinence: Consequences for Girls and Society” with Harvard Law School and the Harvard School of Public Health. The expert roundtable exposes the harms of not providing the comprehensive information necessary for healthy decision-making about sexuality and preventing unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.
The Immigrant Women Program publishes the first-ever Legal Rights of Immigrant Victims of Sexual Assault Manual to address the unique challenges for these victims.
Legal Momentum represents the plaintiff in Greer v. Beck’s Pub Grille, winning the first-ever ruling in Iowa that discharging an employee because of domestic violence is illegal.
Legal Momentum’s ongoing efforts as chair of the National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence results in the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 2005, which becomes law in 2006. It provides $3.95 billion over five years to continue previously authorized services and establishes new protections and programs for battered and trafficked immigrant women, Native women, and other underserved populations.
The Family Initiative publishes Early Childhood Education for All: A Wise Investment, which reports recommendations arising from a 2004 conference co-sponsored by the MIT Workplace Center. The report demonstrates how public investment in quality child care and early education benefits all taxpayers and enhances economic vitality.
Legal Momentum's Employment and Housing Rights for Survivors of Abuse project continues to represent battered women who have lost jobs or housing because of the violence, filing Blackwell v. H.A. Housing in Colorado on behalf of a woman whose landlord refused her request to transfer to a safer location after she was brutally beaten by her ex-boyfriend. The case is later settled with damages for the plaintiff and a new transfer policy for victims of violence.
Legal Momentum launches the Sexuality and Family Rights Program to increase public awareness that abstinence-only programs threaten women’s and girls’ health, autonomy and well-being, and calls for comprehensive sex education programs.
The National Judicial Education Program (NJEP) creates a three-volume, 1,000-page resource manual on sexual assault information, law and policy for the Air Force’s new sexual assault prevention and response initiative.
Legal Momentum appears as an amicus in New York’s highest court in a case that produces a landmark decision protecting battered mothers. The case, Nicholson v. Scoppetta, challenges New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services’ practice of bringing child neglect proceedings against battered mothers on the basis of their having “allowed” their children to witness domestic violence.
Legal Momentum is co-counsel in Second Circuit Court of Appeals cases that produce the first-ever circuit court ruling that welfare recipients employed in “workfare” projects as a condition of receiving benefits are employees protected by Title VII, in Colon v. City of New York andUnited States v. City of New York.
Legal Momentum represents 27 groups and individuals in an amicus brief submitted to the North Carolina Supreme Court in Imes v. City of Asheville, arguing that it should declare it unlawful to fire an individual for being a victim of domestic violence. The court rejects the argument, but its decision stimulates enactment of new employment protections for victims of domestic violence in the state.
The Immigrant Women Program publishes Breaking Barriers: A Complete Guide to Legal Rights and Resources for Battered Immigrants, an unprecedented comprehensive work relied on by service providers nationwide.
Legal Momentum submits a amicus brief to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in United States v. Bird, arguing that the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE), originally drafted by Legal Momentum, is a constitutional exercise of congressional power. The court upholds FACE.
As part of its Equality Works Program, Legal Momentum represents a female elevator mechanic in Mahl v. Schindler Elevator Corp., a federal sex discrimination and harassment suit in New York that results in the company adopting strong new anti-discrimination policies.
In Hernandez v. Ashcroft, Legal Momentum argues for relief under the immigration protection provisions of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals offers the first clear definition of extreme cruelty under immigration law in domestic violence cases and quotes Legal Momentum’s amicus brief extensively.
Legal Momentum launches its Family Initiative for Child Care, Preschool and Afterschool to promote universal, affordable, quality child care and early education.
The National Judicial Education Program (NJEP) publishes Evaluating the Evaluators: Problems with Outside Neutrals in The Judge’s Journal. The article describes gender bias in custody evaluations and is selected as one of the best articles of the year in an American Bar Association publication.
The Immigrant Women Program serves as co-chair of the National Network to End Violence Against Immigrant Women and spearheads the implementation and planning of the Network’s national conference, bringing together more that 475 participants from federal agencies and advocacy organizations.
NJEP publishes Gender, Justice and Law: From Asylum to Zygotes—Issues and Resources for Judicial, Legal and Continuing Legal Education, a 500-page guide to the myriad ways gender bias may be a factor in civil, criminal, family and juvenile law.
Legal Momentum’s amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in Lawrence v. Texas—a challenge to a Texas law that criminalizes some sexual acts only between same-sex couples—demonstrates why the statute is unconstitutional under the Court’s precedents against sex discrimination. This analysis helps the Court to place discrimination against lesbians and gay men within the framework of established law, defusing claims that proponents of equal rights are asking the Court to establish “new” rights.
In Apessos v. Memorial Press Group, Legal Momentum wins a precedent-setting ruling in Massachusetts Superior Court prohibiting employers from firing domestic violence survivors who must take time off from work to obtain a court order of protection.
In Sojourner v. N.J. Department of Human Services and Mason v. State of Nebraska, Legal Momentum challenges New Jersey and Nebraska laws limiting welfare for poor children. New Jersey denies welfare benefits to children born while someone in their family is receiving welfare assistance. The Nebraska law applies to children of disabled parents. The Sojourner case fails when the state supreme court decides the restrictions support legitimate state interests, but the Nebraska Supreme Court issues an injunction preventing its law from applying to households where neither parent is able to work.
The National Judicial Education Program (NJEP) releases a two-hour training video, Presenting Medical Evidence in an Adult Rape Trial.
Legal Momentum publishes a second edition of Creating Solutions—Creating Change: The Impact of Violence in the Lives of Working Women. This popular manual helps employers adopt legally sound policies and create a workplace environment that supports employees impacted by domestic violence.
Legal Momentum files a critical amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in Nevada Department of Human Resources v. Hibbs, which upholds the applicability of the Family and Medical Leave Act to state employers.
In Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger, Legal Momentum’s amicus brief shows how international human rights law supports affirmative action admissions policies for the University of Michigan’s undergraduate and law school programs. The Supreme Court upholds the law school’s policy.
Legal Momentum commences federal class action in New York on behalf of Mexican women on temporary guest worker visas, Olvera-Morales v. ILMC. The case alleges that immigrant worker recruiting companies illegally steer women into jobs under a less desirable visa classification and men into higher paying, job-protected positions.
Legal Momentum brings McGilvray v. District of Columbia, a federal case, on behalf of a married couple denied a birth certificate for their new child because they gave their baby the mother’s last name. This results in a law permitting married parents in the District of Columbia to name their children after either parent, or both.
In Ferguson v. City of Charleston, Legal Momentum submits an amicus brief representing 21 pro-choice and women’s organizations before the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court rules that a state hospital policy of conducting drug tests on pregnant women without their consent and informing police if a woman tests positive is unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment.
Legal Momentum plays leading role in successful advocacy for refundable Child and Dependent Tax Credit as part of federal tax cut package. This refund is critical for low-income families to help them pay for child or dependent care so they can work.
In the wake of the September 11th attacks, Legal Momentum launches its Equality Works Program. First focused on ensuring equal opportunity for women in rebuilding New York, the program presses to increase the number of women in high-paying, male-dominated fields, such as construction and firefighting, and to end discrimination and stereotyping that stop women from being hired, safe and respected on the job.
The Equality Works Project produces awarding-winning Women of Ground Zero video, honoring heroic contributions of women in non-traditional jobs on 9/11.
The Equality Works Project, in conjunction with the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, publishes Working First, But Working Poor, which shows how job training offered to welfare recipients tracks women into sex-stereotyped, low-paying jobs. As a follow-up, Legal Momentum hosts two-day meeting for tradeswomen and policy advocates from the seven states studied in the report to discuss nontraditional employment for low-income women.
Claiming that a landlord’s “zero tolerance for violence” policy violates the Fair Housing Act’s prohibition against sex discrimination, when used to evict a victim of domestic violence, Legal Momentum wins favorable settlement for victim in United States and Alvera v. C.B.M. Group, filed in federal court in Oregon.
Legal Momentum argues before the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of plaintiff in Brzonkala v. Morrison, to defend the constitutionality of the civil rights provision of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). In a widely-criticized decision, the Supreme Court holds that Congress lacks power to give victims of gender-motivated violence a federal court remedy.
Legal Momentum is amicus in Planned Parenthood v. Perdue, which results in an Alaska Supreme Court ruling requiring that Medicaid funding be equally available for childbirth and abortion for poor women in the state.
Legal Momentum files amicus brief on behalf of 75 organizations committed to women’s equality in Stenberg v. Carhart, where Supreme Court strikes down a Nebraska abortion restriction as unconstitutional. The brief argues that statutes banning safe abortion procedures interfere not only with women’s privacy rights, but also with their aspirations to equality.
Legal Momentum submits brief to Nebraska Supreme Court in Brandon v. Richardson County, the case whose story was made famous by the 1999 film Boys Don’t Cry. The court upholds a damages award to Brandon Teena’s mother in her action against the county for failing to protect Brandon from being murdered.
Legal Momentum convinces the federal government to enhance child care access for welfare recipients via financial incentives aimed at states, and publishes Nowhere to Turn, which exposes New York City’s failure to inform parents on welfare of their child care rights.
As part of its work to bring attention to the eradication of poverty, Legal Momentum co-sponsors the conference To Promote the General Welfare: Ending Women’s Poverty with the Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law and Policy.
Legal Momentum leads anti-violence advocates in another victory when Congress reauthorizes the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), providing $3.3 billion over 5 years to continue existing programs and to create new ones, including civil legal assistance, transitional housing, and a range of services for battered immigrant women and victims of dating violence.
Legal Momentum wins Saenz v. Roe, a Supreme Court ruling that California’s one-year residency requirement for full welfare benefits violates the U.S. Constitution. Legal Momentum brings into the case the perspective of battered women who must flee their abusers across state lines.
Legal Momentum establishes Building Opportunities beyond Welfare Reform grassroots coalition to fight for policies to end women’s poverty, and publishes What Congress Didn’t Tell You: A State-by-State Guide to the Welfare Law’s Hidden Reproductive Rights Agenda, to highlight state participation in new initiatives to undermine poor women’s reproductive autonomy.
Legal Momentum founds Immigrant Women Program to advocate for legal protections, social services and economic justice for immigrant women.
Legal Momentum publishes Nontraditional Employment for Low Income Women: A Guide for Advocates. The booklet outlines the benefits of nontraditional work and identifies funding sources and other resources for advocates interested in promoting such programs.
Legal Momentum’s amicus brief is key to outcome in Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Fischer, deciding that the defendant in an acquaintance rape case cannot ask the judge to instruct the jury that it could find he mistakenly believed his victim consented when she had testified to her vigorous struggle against him.
Legal Momentum is successful in freezing airline frequent flyer miles of anti-choice leader Randall Terry, who owes thousands of dollars in attorney fees awarded to pro-choice groups for successful suits against him and Operation Rescue.
Legal Momentum files amicus brief to persuade Supreme Court that Title VII covers same-sex sexual harassment, in Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services. The Court rules that Title VII does cover same-sex harassment because it is usually based on stereotypes about masculinity and femininity.
NJEP publishes model judicial education curriculum, When Bias Compounds: Insuring Equal Justice for Women of Color in the Courts and pilots it in California and Georgia.
Legal Momentum submits amicus brief that informs the now-famous Eighth Circuit case Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Co., which awards damages to the sexually harassed employees of a Minnesota mining company. In 2005 this case was depicted in the Oscar-nominated movie North Country, based on the book Class Action.
Legal Momentum launches Employment and Housing Rights for Survivors of Abuse project by bringing sex discrimination suit, Valdez v. Truss Components, on behalf of a woman whose abusive former partner, who also worked with her, smashed her headlights in the company parking lot and threatened to kill her. The court rules that the company’s decision to fire the victim while retaining the abuser/co-worker may violate Title VII.
Legal Momentum victoriously argues NYS NOW v. Terry in the Second Circuit defending the federal court order protecting women, doctors and clinic workers from anti-choice blockades and violence.
As amicus in Bruneau v. South Kortright Central School District, Legal Momentum argues before Second Circuit that schools, like employers, have a responsibility to stop sexual harassment but case is unsuccessful.
Legal Momentum files amicus on peer sexual harassment case in Murrell v. School District No. 1, and is invited to argue before Tenth Circuit, which allows claims to go forward.
Legal Momentum submits amicus briefs in federal courts across the country to support constitutionality of civil rights remedy in VAWA, which permits victims of gender-based violence to sue their attackers in federal court.
Legal Momentum argues successfully as co-counsel in Pro-Choice Network v. Schenck in the U.S. Supreme Court that “fixed buffer zones,” which protect reproductive health clinics from violent protestors, are constitutional.
Legal Momentum issues Drawing the Line: A Handbook for Creating Community Residential Picketing and Buffer Zones, to show local activists and reproductive health care providers how to combat anti-choice violence through buffer zone ordinances and laws prohibiting residential picketing.
Legal Momentum issues report documenting that up to 75 percent of women in welfare-to-work programs have been battered.
Legal Momentum’s amicus brief contributes to landmark Supreme Court ruling U.S. v. Virginia that opens the doors of Virginia Military Institute to women, and secures stronger principles of constitutional equal protection for women.
NJEP publishes model judicial education curriculum, Adjudicating Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse When Custody is in Dispute, and pilots it in Alabama and Colorado.
Legal Momentum submits amicus brief on behalf of 15 women’s and reproductive rights groups in U.S. v. Bird to support federal criminal prosecution for FACE violations. The Fifth Circuit affirms that the case should be tried.
Legal Momentum writes a brief challenging the military’s policy of excluding gay men, lesbians and bisexuals under its “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy for the Fourth Circuit case, Thomasson v. Perry.
In American Life League v. Reno at the Fourth Circuit, Legal Momentum wins first federal appeals case upholding the constitutionality of FACE.
In the Second Circuit case Pro-Choice Network v. Schenck, Legal Momentum files a brief arguing that “sidewalk counseling” by anti-abortion protestors can constitute harassment and may be restricted.
Legal Momentum works with Congress to develop legislation prohibiting insurance companies from denying battered women health and life insurance coverage.
Legal Momentum as co-counsel wins the landmark Ninth Circuit case Doe v. Petaluma City School District, which establishes that a school is liable for sex discrimination for failing to address student-to-student sexual harassment.
The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) passes Congress. VAWA culminates an intensive campaign led by Legal Momentum that mobilizes a 1,000-member task force to support the bill. VAWA secures $1.6 billion over six years for a National Domestic Violence Hotline and state programs to address domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking. It successfully integrates issues of importance to immigrant women and women of color.
Congress enacts Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE). Legal Momentum helps to write the bill and provides extensive legal analysis and assistance to legislative sponsors.
Legal Momentum publishes STOP THE TERRORISM: Understanding Your Rights Under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, and delivers it to every governor and state attorney general in the country.
In Madsen v. Women’s Health Center, Legal Momentum submits brief to the Supreme Court supporting constitutionality of injunctions to stop clinic blockades.
NJEP publishes Understanding Sexual Violence: The Judicial Response to Stranger and Nonstranger Rape and Sexual Assault. This model curriculum is used to educate judges about myths and attitudes that undermine full and fair legal remedies for rape victims.
In Maryland Insurance Commissioner v. Equitable Life Assurance Society, Legal Momentum argues before Maryland’s highest court that gender-based discrimination in insurance ratemaking violates the state’s Equal Rights Amendment.
Legal Momentum submits amicus brief in Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc. The U.S. Supreme Court rules unanimously that plaintiffs in sexual harassment cases do not need to prove psychological injury to recover damages from the employer.
Legal Momentum wins an appeal before the Seventh Circuit Co nurt of Appeals in Townsend v. Indiana University, a sexual harassment case involving psychological distress. The court rules that a worker does not have to be fired to win her case under Title VII. The issue is whether the discrimination inflicts the kind of harm for which Title VII offers a remedy.
Legal Momentum submits amicus brief to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in Steffan v. Aspin, arguing that the military’s ban on homosexual members institutionalizes lesbian-baiting, the practice of threatening the careers of military women, whether or not they are lesbians, by calling them lesbians.
Legal Momentum is co-counsel in C.K. v. Shalala, a class action suit charging that New Jersey’s Family Development Plan, which restricts aid for children born to a woman already on welfare, violates federal and state laws by coercing reproductive choice. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals upholds the Plan, stating that it serves a legitimate state interest.
Legal Momentum publishes Manual for Survival for Women in Nontraditional Employment with the Association for Union Democracy, to help women succeed in the skilled trades.
Legal Momentum argues unsuccessfully before the U.S. Supreme Court in Bray v. Alexandria Women’s Health Clinic that the Ku Klux Klan Act should apply to women who are blocked from access to reproductive health care clinics.
Legal Momentum’s Project on Equal Education Rights (PEER) program launches Project TEAM-The Education of Adolescent Mothers.
Legal Momentum, with the HIV Law Project and the ACLU AIDS Project, files petition challenging FDA’s guidelines that exclude women of childbearing potential from clinical trials for new drugs. As a result, the FDA now requires drug trials to include women.
In Doe v. Detroit Board of Education, the Board of Education agrees to admit girls to three previously all-male academies. This settlement results from lawsuits brought by Legal Momentum and the ACLU of Michigan in federal court.
In Alison D. v. Virginia M., Legal Momentum submits an amicus brief to New York State’s highest court arguing that non-biological lesbian co-parent should have standing to seek visitation after the adults separate.
Legal Momentum worked closely with Senate Judiciary Committee staff to draft VAWA and then founded the National Task Force on The Violence Against Women Act to urge its passage, ultimately achieved in 1994. That task force became the National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence with which we have continued to work closely on VAWA’s subsequent reauthorizations.
Legal Momentum files amicus brief in Honigman v. Honigman, a pivotal case in New York’s appellate court, where the court holds that a mother’s career cannot be considered evidence that she is less qualified to have custody of a child than the father who is also employed.
Legal Momentum files amicus brief in Herald v. Hood, in which the Ohio Supreme Court affirms that an adult survivor of childhood sexual abuse may bring suit against her abuser when she discovers her injuries, no matter how long ago the abuse was committed. Legal Momentum argues to protect the rights of incest survivors in several other cases including Barnes v. Barnes in the Indiana Supreme Court and Farris v. Compton in the D.C. Court of Appeals.
Legal Momentum submits an amicus brief in United Auto Workers v. Johnson Controls arguing that “fetal protection policies,” which prevent fertile women, but not men, from working violate Title VII. The Supreme Court rules that such policies are unlawful.
Legal Momentum files Women’s Voices amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, documenting in their own voices the abortion experiences (legal and illegal) of thousands of American women and making an eloquent case for reproductive freedom. A plurality of the Court upholds many of the restrictions in the Missouri law including those on the use of public facilities for abortions, a viability test, and language in the preamble of the law claiming life begins at conception.
Legal Momentum files suits in Virginia and Washington, D.C. to force Operation Rescue to stop abortion clinic blockades.
Legal Momentum’s amicus work in Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins results in an important U.S. Supreme Court victory holding that in sex discrimination cases the burden of proof is on the employer to show that gender and sex-stereotyping play no part in its employment decision.
The National Judicial Education Program (NJEP)’s efforts lead to first National Conference on Gender Bias in the Courts at the National Center for State Courts, based on the reports of the state supreme court task forces on gender bias in the courts for which NJEP’s programs were the catalyst.
NJEP publishes Promoting Gender Fairness Through Judicial Education: A Guide to the Issues and Resources, a 200-page overview of gender bias in 60 substantive and procedural areas of law and legal process.
As a result of NJEP’s efforts, the Conference of Chief Justices and the Conference of State Court Administrators adopt resolutions that every state should have task forces to examine gender bias and minority concerns in its courts.
Legal Momentum launches Sexual Harassment Education and Prevention Project and produces videotape and handbook for employers.
In NOW v. Terry, filed in federal court in New York, Legal Momentum brings first clinic violence case under the Ku Klux Klan Act, an 1871 civil rights law that prohibits private conspiracies to deprive persons of civil rights.
Legal Momentum publishes State by State Guide to Women’s Rights, a comprehensive guide to laws affecting women’s lives on a state-by-state basis.
Legal Momentum takes leading role in civil damages suits for incest survivors, developing model amicus brief arguing the constitutionality of filing suit when a survivor first discovers her psychological injuries during adulthood.
Legal Momentum becomes counsel in Robinson v. Jacksonville Shipyards, a sexual harassment case filed in federal court in Florida that establishes pornography in the workplace can create an unlawful hostile environment, and that sexual harassment plaintiffs need not submit to offensive discovery into their sexual and intimate lives.
Legal Momentum submits amicus briefs in growing body of reproductive rights cases: In re A.C. in the Washington, D.C. courts, supporting right of terminally ill woman to make reproductive decisions; and In re Pamela Rae Stewart in California state court, opposing prosecution of a woman for not following her doctor’s advice during pregnancy.
The National Judicial Education Program (NJEP) and National Association for Women Judges publish “how-to” manual detailing procedures for establishing and running state supreme court task forces on gender bias in the courts.
Legal Momentum submits amicus brief to First Circuit Court of Appeals in National Education Association v. Garrahy, which strikes down two Rhode Island statutes limiting insurance coverage for abortion procedures.
Legal Momentum files an amicus brief in Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson. In this landmark case, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rules that sexual harassment creating an intolerable work environment, with or without tangible economic loss, violates Title VII.
As counsel for plaintiffs Dorothy Wade and Ruby Reeder, Legal Momentum files suit against the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture charging sex discrimination in employment and promotions. Wade and Reeder v. Block settles with reinstatement andsubstantial back pay awards for plaintiffs.
Our Project on Equal Education Rights (PEER) publishes reports and action kits focused on theme Equal Education for Girls Is Poverty Prevention For Women.
PEER announces its Silver Snail Awards to spotlight sluggish performance in bringing about gender equity in education.
ERA Impact Project wins Hartford Accident Indemnity Co. v. Insurance Commissioner, in Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, holding that sex-based pricing of auto insurance violates Pennsylvania’s Equal Rights Amendment.
Legal Momentum files an amicus brief in AFSCME v. State of Washington on issue of pay equity for jobs performed predominantly by women that are paid less than comparable jobs performed mostly by men. In a blow to the pay equity movement, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals holds Title VII does not require equal pay for jobs of comparable value.
Legal Momentum is amicus in Roberts v. U.S. Jaycees. The U.S. Supreme Court affirms a decision that the Jaycee are “a place of public accommodation” and strikes down male-only membership policy of U.S. Jaycees.
Legal Momentum files amicus briefs in Title VII employment discrimination cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, Boston Chapter NAACP v. Beecher and Memphis v. Stotts. The briefs urge that minority police officers and firefighters hired under court orders to remedy past discrimination should be exempt from “last hired – first fired” layoff policies. The Boston case becomes moot when legislature reinstates all laid-off employees, while Court rules against black firefighters in Memphis case.
Legal Momentum files amicus briefs in U.S. Supreme Court cases Planned Parenthood v. Ashcroft and Akron Center for Reproductive Health v. City of Akron to challenge restrictions on abortion. While in Planned Parenthood, the Court upholds parts of the law, it strikes down entire law in City of Akron.
In LaRue v. LaRue, Legal Momentum persuades West Virginia Supreme Court to recognize a homemaker’s non-monetary contribution to the marriage in dividing assets at divorce.
Legal Momentum establishes Insurance and Pension Project to protect economic security of older women.
ERA Impact Project wins first state ERA case, Tallon v. Liberty Hose Company No. 1, supporting the right of Pennsylvania women to be volunteer firefighters.
Legal Momentum seeks enforcement of Title IX in landmark caseGrove City College v. Bell, where the U.S. Supreme Court holds that Title IX’s protection against sex discrimination in federally assisted education applies only to particular college program that receives federal aid, not school as a whole.
Legal Momentum is co-counsel in American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists v. Thornburgh, challenging Pennsylvania’s Abortion Control Act, which attempts to regulate in minute detail abortion procedures, physicians and clinics providing abortions. The U.S. Supreme Court strikes down most of the statute.
As a result of the National Judicial Education Program (NJEP)’s judicial education programs, New Jersey’s Chief Justice appoints the first state supreme court task force on gender bias in the courts.
In Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan, the U.S. Supreme Court adopts analysis in Legal Momentum’s amicus brief, ruling that sex-segregated public nursing schools are unconstitutional.
Legal Momentum works to pass Uniform Services Former Spouse Protection Act enabling state courts to award ex-spouses of military members a percentage of members’ pensions. The Act protects spouses who forfeited their own earning opportunities to move repeatedly with, and make new homes for, the service members.
Legal Momentum’s Media Project helps FCC address lack of women’s ownership of broadcast channels.
Legal Momentum joins family law cases: Kuchta v. Kuchta in Missouri state court, about equitable division of pension plans; Roberto v. Brown and Lundberg v. Lundberg in Wisconsin state court, about compensation due to spouse whose employment enables other spouse to obtain an education; and McCarty v. McCarty in U.S. Supreme Court, seeking equitable division of pension for ex-spouses of military personnel.
Legal Momentum files amicus brief in U.S. Supreme Court case Rostker v. Goldberg, arguing on behalf of men that the male-only military draft discriminates against women under the 5th Amendment. The Court rules that national defense is a sufficiently important governmental interest to justify distinguishing between the sexes for the draft.
The National Judicial Education Program (NJEP) presents pilot course, Judicial Discretion: Does Sex Make a Difference?, at California Center for Judicial Education and Research. This is the first course of its kind ever presented for the judiciary.
Legal Momentum files amicus brief supporting extension of time period to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court rules case moot because Congress has already passed a 7-year extension.
Legal Momentum with the National Association of Women Judges establishes the National Judicial Education Program to Promote Equality for Women and Men in the Courts (NJEP) to identify and eliminate gender bias in the courts.
Legal Momentum fights for equal employment and wages as amici in August v. Delta Airlines in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals; Briggs v. City of Madison in federal court in Wisconsin; and County of Washington, OR v. Gunther. In Gunther, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that women prison guards can sue under Title VII for being paid less than male prison guards for similar work.
Legal Momentum convenes National Assembly on the Future of the Family. Over 2,000 leaders attend first major public forum to dramatize how American families have changed and to search for solutions for new family problems.
Legal Momentum fights discrimination as amicus in several employment cases. In Continental Can Co. v. Minnesota, the Minnesota Supreme Court decides that employers failing to respond to sexual harassment violates the state law against sex discrimination in employment. Wengler v. Druggists Mutual Insurance Company leads to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that sex-based discrimination in a state workers compensation law violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. International Union of Electrical Workers v. Westinghouse, in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and NOW v. Hughes Aircraft both challenge wage discrimination.
Legal Momentum and Women’s Law Project establish ERA Impact Project to develop principles of sex equality under state constitutions’ equal rights provisions.
Legal Momentum files amicus brief in Personnel Administrator of Massachusetts v. Feeney, where the U.S. Supreme Court rules that a Massachusetts law giving veterans civil service employment preferences does not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, despite its discriminatory impact on women.
Legal Momentum challenges Louisiana Head and Master Law, which gives exclusive control of marital property to husbands, by helping Selina Martin petition U.S. Supreme Court.
Legal Momentum joins historic affirmative action case, United Steelworkers v. Weber, where the U.S. Supreme Court rules that a voluntary affirmative action plan designed to redress past race segregation in employment does not violate Title VII; presses for law reform in Hisquierdo v. Hisquierdo, where a divorced woman seeks to share her husband’s pension, but is denied by the U.S. Supreme Court because the applicable law prevents pensions from becoming “community property” in marriage; and participates in Califano v. Westcott challenging discriminatory welfare policies, where the Supreme Court strikes down provisions in the Social Security Act that provide benefits for families with unemployed fathers, but not those with unemployed mothers.
In Bruno v. Codd, Legal Momentum assists New York State’s highest court in challenging failures by police and courts to respond seriously to domestic violence calls.
Judicial Appointment Project established to increase number of women appointed as federal judges.
The Project on Equal Education Rights (PEER) publishes Cracking the Glass Slipper, a guide for parents seeking to ensure equal education for their daughters.
Legal Momentum publishes The Supreme Court Decision on Pregnancy Disability: How It May Affect You and The Equal Rights Amendment: Ratification and the Seven-Year Provision.
Legal Momentum is an amicus in two U.S. Supreme Court Title IX cases to challenge sex discrimination in education: Alexander v. Yale University and Cannon v. University of Chicago. In Alexander, several female Yale students allege pervasive discrimination and sexual harassment in the university. The Court rules that the students lack standing to sue the University and cannot prove a distinct injury by the University. However, the Court rules in favor of the women in Cannon by establishing a right to sue a university under Title IX for denial of admission due to sex.
Legal Momentum co-organizes campaign to End Discrimination Against Pregnant Workers.
Legal Momentum files amicus briefs with U.S. Supreme Court defending affirmative action in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke and challenging “separate but equal” public education opportunities for girls, in Vorchheimer v. School District of Philadelphia. In Bakke, the Court upholds affirmative action policies that give limited consideration to race for university admissions, while striking down racial quotas. In Vorchheimer, a divided Court affirms a lower court ruling that Philadelphia can admit only boys to its prestigious Central High School. (A later lawsuit succeeds in opening the school to girls.)
The Project on Equal Education Rights (PEER) pressed White House staff on how to strengthen Title IX enforcement and mobilized a national coalition in support.
Legal Momentum joins other women’s groups to issue first-of-its-kind report on the criminal justice system’s response to rape.
Legal Momentum co-publishes first bibliography on rights of older women.
Legal Momentum collaborates in publication of A Woman’s Guide to Marriage and Divorce in New York State.
Legal Momentum establishes Project on Equal Education Rights (PEER) to realize the promise of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Title IX is the federal law designed to eliminate sex discrimination in the nation’s schools, colleges, and universities.
PEER completes landmark study exposing sex role stereotypes in elementary school texts, and publishes Stalled at the Start, documenting a consistent pattern of neglect by the federal government in enforcing Title IX.
Legal Momentum convenes economic Think Tank for Women, challenging feminists, corporate and labor leaders, economists, and social planners to move women up the ladder in the economy.
Legal Momentum launches first national public service ad campaign: Woman-Power: It’s Much Too Good To Waste. The advertisement, “Hire Him, He’s Got Great Legs,” is reprinted around the country.
When Title VII is amended so that it no longer exempts educational institutions, Legal Momentum helps bring federal court cases claiming discrimination against women on university faculties: Johnson v. University of Pittsburgh and Cassler v. University of Maryland.
Legal Momentum files an amicus brief in Sprogis v. United Airlines in federal court in Illinois. The court strikes down the airline’s discriminatory policy of firing female flight attendants if they marry, ruling that it is unlawful sex discrimination under Title VII because no such policy applies to any male employees.
Legal Momentum is incorporated on March 16, 1970 as the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund. Created by the founders of the National Organization for Women (NOW), Legal Momentum was established as a separate national 501(c)(3) organization to provide legal advocacy for women’s rights. In 2004, NOW Legal Defense changes its name to Legal Momentum, but continues its mission.
Legal Momentum begins work with legal docket of several employment cases including Bowe v. Colgate in the Seventh Circuit, which strikes down a company’s policy barring women from jobs that require lifting more than 35 pounds. The case is brought under Title VII, the federal law enacted in 1964 that prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sex as well as race, religion and national origin.
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Sci-Fi / Fantasy3
Mystery / Thriller1
2010s & Newer4
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Farrah Fawcett (February 2, 1947 – June 25, 2009, height 5' 6½" (1,69 m)) was an American actress and artist. A multiple Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she first appeared as private investigator Jill Munroe in the first season of the TV series Charlie's Angels, in 1976. Fawcett later appeared Off-Broadway to critical approval and in highly rated and critically acclaimed television movies, in roles often challenging (The Burning Bed, Nazi Hunter: The Beate Klarsfeld Story, Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story, Margaret Bourke-White) and sometimes unsympathetic (Small Sacrifices). Fawcett was a sex symbol whose iconic poster, released the same year Charlie's Angels premiered, broke sales records, making her an international pop culture icon. Her hairstyle was emulated by millions of young women in the 1970s and early 1980s.
The Cannonball Run (DVD)
Dr. T and the Women (DVD)
Saturn 3 (Blu-ray + DVD)
The Six Million Dollar Man - Pilot, TV Movies, and Season 1 (6-DVD)
Logan's Run (DVD)
Charlie's Angels - Complete Series (20-DVD)
Myra Breckinridge (DVD)
Harry O - Complete 2nd Season (6-Disc) (DVD)
The Apostle (DVD)
The Burning Bed (DVD)
The Cannonball Run (Blu-ray)
Man of the House (DVD)
The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars (DVD)
The Partridge Family - Season 1 (2-DVD)
See You in the Morning (DVD)
Partridge Family - Season 1 (4-DVD)
Logan's Run (Blu-ray)
The Six Million Dollar Man - Season 2 (6-DVD)
Extremities (DVD)
Silk Hope (DVD)
Baby (DVD)
The Burning Bed (Blu-ray)
The Cookout (DVD)
Charlie's Angels - Complete Series (Blu-ray)
The Lovemaster (DVD)
Charlie's Angels - Complete 1st Season (4-DVD)
Charlie's Angels - Complete 1st Season (5-DVD) [Tin Case]
Partridge Family - Season 1 [Lunchbox] (3-DVD)
Extremities (Blu-ray)
An Evening of Mystery & Suspense (Murder on Flight 502 / Seduced) (DVD)
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Tag Archives: The Last 5 Years
The Last 5 Years – Tabard Theatre
The play that kicked this all off was The Last 5 Years. It’s one of my favourite plays – a song cycle with an innovative structure that follows the doomed relationship of a couple in their mid twenties living in New York. Written by Jason Robert Brown and first staged off-Broadway in 2002, it was based on his failed first marriage, and has since been performed all over the world, acquiring somewhat of a cult following amongst musical theatre fans.
The play starts with a song from Cathy at the end of their 5 years together, and then the songs alternate between her and her partner Jamie – she progressing backwards through their time together and he going from start to finish. They only meet once, in the middle song, and the accompaniment for all of the songs causes them to bleed into each other, leaving a seemless transition from one to the next. There is certainly no time for applause in between numbers, let alone for the actors to rest their voices, in what must be a hugely demanding show to perform, running for 80 minutes with no interval and minimal straight speech.
The Tabard staged it interestingly – the tiny 80 seater theatre above a pub in Turnham Green is the perfect setting for such an intimate show – with the stage split in two, digital photos on the back wall lighting up/extinguishing as each character progressed through their story. It looked good and worked well, although by not moving into each other’s space the characters seemed more disconnected than in other productions I have seen, where their proximity really highlighted the tragedy of whichever character’s early excitement is being expressed.
In such a song-heavy show the singing voices have to be faultless, and Lauren Samuels (of Over the Rainbow fame) was astonishing. Note perfect and achieving the balance of vulnerability, neediness and optimism that made her Cathy sympathetic rather than the whiny that can sometimes be the result, she completely blew my socks off. This girl is without doubt one to watch.
The trouble with the 2-man play is that comparing the two leads can’t be helped, and unfortunately Samuels’ co-star came away as the definite loser. An understudy for Christopher Pym whose name I can’t even find, he did a stirling job of getting through (god knows how understudies stay motivated when there isn’t even a chorus part) and undoubtedly warmed up as he went, but his Jamie came across as smarmy, his performance was a little shaky at times and his voice just couldn’t live up to Samuels’ high standard. It’s particularly upsetting to see an actor forget his lines… however this may well have been lost on members of the audience with a lower lever of ‘L5Y’ geekery… and certainly didn’t drag down the whole show.
I came away feeling my favourite music theatre glow and extremely impressed with both the theatre and lead actress. Unfortunately the run ended this week, but keep an eye out for Samuels and future productions at the Tabard – both gained strong recommendations as a result of this performance.
Tagged Jason Robert Brown, Lauren Samuels, Musicals, Tabard Theatre, The Last 5 Years, Top Tiny Theatres
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A quaint but well-established coffee shop, the Hot New Cafe, wants to build a new cafe for increased capacity. Expected sales are $800,000 for the first 5 years. Direct costs including labor and materials will be 50% of sales. Indirect costs are estimated at $100,000 a year. The cost of the building for the new cafe will be a total of $750,000, which will be depreciated straight line over the next 5 years. The firm’s marginal tax rate is 37%, and its cost of capital is 12%. For this assignment, you need to develop a capital budget. It is important to know what the cafe managers should consider within their capital budget. You must also define the key terms necessary to understand capital budgeting. In this assignment, please show all work, including formulae and calculations used to arrive at financial values. You must answer the following: Using the information in the assignment description: Prepare a capital budget for the Hot New Cafe with the net cash flows for this project over a 5-year period. Calculate the payback period (P/B) and the net present value (NPV) for the project. Answer the following questions based on your P/B and NPV calculations: Do you think the project should be accepted? Why? Define and describe Net Present Value (NPV) as it pertains to the new cafe. Define payback period. Assume the company has a P/B (payback) policy of not accepting projects with life of over 3 years. Do you think the project should be accepted? Why? Your submitted assignment must include the following: A double-spaced, two-page Word document that contains answers to the word questions. You must include a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet for your calculations. Either the Word document or the Excel spreadsheet must have all of your calculation values, your complete calculations, any formulae that you used, the sources you wish to cite, and your answers to the questions listed in the assignment guidelines.
A quaint but well-established coffee shop, the Hot New Cafe, wants to build a new cafe for increased capacity. Expected sales are $800,000 for the first 5 years. Direct costs including labor and materials will be 50% of sales. Indirect costs are estimated at $100,000 a year. The cost of the building for the new cafe will be a total of $750,000, which will be depreciated straight line over the next 5 years. The firm’s marginal tax rate is 37%, and its cost of capital is 12%.
For this assignment, you need to develop a capital budget. It is important to know what the cafe managers should consider within their capital budget. You must also define the key terms necessary to understand capital budgeting. In this assignment, please show all work, including formulae and calculations used to arrive at financial values. You must answer the following:
Using the information in the assignment description: Prepare a capital budget for the Hot New Cafe with the net cash flows for this project over a 5-year period. Calculate the payback period (P/B) and the net present value (NPV) for the project. Answer the following questions based on your P/B and NPV calculations: Do you think the project should be accepted? Why? Define and describe Net Present Value (NPV) as it pertains to the new cafe. Define payback period. Assume the company has a P/B (payback) policy of not accepting projects with life of over 3 years. Do you think the project should be accepted? Why? Your submitted assignment must include the following:
A double-spaced, two-page Word document that contains answers to the word questions. You must include a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet for your calculations. Either the Word document or the Excel spreadsheet must have all of your calculation values, your complete calculations, any formulae that you used, the sources you wish to cite, and your answers to the questions listed in the assignment guidelines.
The CEO has asked you and Jane to create a chart that he might use as part of his decision process in deciding what countries in which to locate overseas factories. He also wants an accompanying recommendation summary from an HR perspective. Prepare a 6-column, 5-row chart for the following countries and parameters: Columns (countries) are: Japan Mexico India China Italy Germany Rows (factors to research) for each country are: Average manufacturing wage Country’s minimum wage Typical restrictive work rules where there are unions How unions enhance or detract from company results Country’s unemployment rate It is unlikely that you will find all of the necessary data in one online database. Instead, you will have to research a number of different ones. In addition, in some cases you may have to make calculations from a “base=100” report to get an actual dollar figure. Ensure that you cite the references used, in proper APA format. Wikipedia is an unacceptable reference For minimum wages, try one of the following sites: Minimum Wages database List of minimum wages by country For unemployment percentages try the following site: Unemployment rate (most recent) by country (be sure to note the year of the data) Your recommendation summary should explain which country you recommend for the future overseas expansion, based solely on the HR in your chart.
Discrimination in Employment 1. How Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination based on many different factors. 2. Employment practices that may put a business at risk for claims of discrimination. Employment Laws 3. The authority of an agent to act on behalf of a principal and the resulting ethical considerations. 4. The necessity of adequate and detailed documentation to justify employer decisions. What Does an Inclusive Work Environment Look Like? 5. The need for flexibility to accommodate a diverse workforce. 6. The benefits of an inclusive workplace environment. Definition of an Employee 7. The rise of non-standard workers who operate outside the confines of traditional full-time employment. 8. The differences between employees and independent contractors. 9. The factors a business must weigh when determining employment status of its workers. Civil Rights Act 10. Under Title VII if the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, may an action be brought through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for discriminatory acts based on the individual’s sexual orientation? Why or why not? State Acts 11. Under Title VII if the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, may an action be brought through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for discriminatory acts based on the individual’s sexual orientation? Why or why not? Bullying Versus Harassment 12. When bullying rises to the level of illegal harassment. 13. The need for workplace policies addressing all negative behaviors.
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PH agri products enter new markets
8 May 2020, 8:03 pm ·2 min read
THE country’s agricultural exports have entered three new international markets, despite the Covid-19 pandemic and local community quarantines.
In the past two months, maiden shipments of avocados arrived in China, cacao in Belgium and coconut milk in Russia.
Philippine avocados officially entered China through a 7.7-ton shipment from the fruit company Dole Philippines. The avocados were shipped from Davao and arrived in the Dole China processing plant in Shanghai on March 31, 2020. The avocados will be first sold by Alibaba Group’s supermarket chain Hema Xiansheng and will be available in more stores in the future.
On the other hand, Auro Chocolate brought Philippine cacao beans to the European market through a shipment to Antwerp, Belgium on April 16. The shipment, which brought 20,000 kilograms of Mindanao-sourced premium cacao beans, was composed of five different cacao varieties, including the Paquibato Origin, a winner of the Cocoa Excellence Award in 2019.
Moreover, Philippine brand Coco Daily organic coconut milk arrived at the port of St. Petersburg in the first week of April. Russian importer PanAsia Impex Ltd. said that the one-liter packages of Coco Daily that arrived in the 40-foot shipping container will be available to the mainstream consumers during the spring in Russia, which typically runs from March to May.
“Now is the time for Philippine agricultural products to thrive,” said Department of Trade and Industry-Export Marketing Bureau (DTI-EMB) director Senen Perlada.
He said that DTI-EMB will strengthen its coordination with the Department of Agriculture and DTI-Foreign Trade Service Corps to match supply with demand. In turn, DTI-EMB will capacitate existing and aspiring exporters for them to be able to comply with international standards.
“Covid-19 may lead to market access issues and non-tariff measures. It may be more difficult to comply with stricter regulations, certifications, external and domestic regulations. The DTI-EMB commits to assist exporters, especially micro, small and medium enterprises to comply with these requirements and introduce their products to the world,” said Perlada. (PR)
ISL 7: Jamshedpur FC, NorthEast United eye consistency to revive playoff hopes
Vasco (Goa) [India], January 16 (ANI): Back-to-back defeats in the ongoing seventh season of the Indian Super League (ISL) has seen Jamshedpur drop from the top-four slot.
A team of Nepali climbers on Saturday made history after becoming the first to summit Pakistan's K2 in winter, singing their country's national anthem as they reached the top.
At least five people have died at a nursing home in Italy from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning, local media and officials said on Saturday. Seven people, including two health workers, are being treated in hospital for symptoms related to carbon monoxide poisoning, the ANSA news agency said. "It's a tragedy," Interior Ministry Undersecretary Carlo Sibilia wrote in a Facebook post.
Thai students mark Teachers' Day with paint-soaked protest
Students piled bamboo canes and stationery in front of Thailand's Ministry of Education and splashed crimson paint on it to protest corporal punishment, one of several protests that took place across the capital on Saturday.
Rocky road beckons as new CDU chair Laschet seeks to fill Merkel's shoes
As premier of the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous, Armin Laschet has a background in executive leadership lacked by the rivals he defeated on Saturday to become chairman of the Christian Democrats (CDU). A centrist, he had presented himself as the man with the best credentials to plough the same political furrow as the party's long-time leader Angela Merkel - and to run as its candidate for chancellor in federal elections in September. But Laschet lacks her popular support and, after Saturday's narrow run-off victory, he must move swiftly and convincingly to unite a divided party or risk leaving it in a weaker position as it transitions towards the post-Merkel era.
Volkswagen's Skoda Auto will not sponsor this year's ice hockey world championship if the event is held in Belarus, due to the host country's recent human rights record, the carmaker said on Saturday. Belarus, which is due to host the tournament in May-June, is facing calls for it to be stripped of the event because of President Alexander Lukashenko's crackdown on protesters opposing his re-election.
Root urges patience from England bowlers in search of win
Captain Root starred with the bat as he scored 228 to lead England to 421 in their first innings, but Sri Lanka showed determination and grit to close the day on 156 for two in their second innings, though they still trail by 130 runs. The tourists failed to get enough balls in the right areas to trouble the batsmen on Saturday, especially spinners Dom Bess and Jack Leach, on what is a wicket already taking prodigious turn.
Like many Brazilian public health experts, Dr. Regina Flauzino spent most of 2020 watching with horror as COVID-19 devastated Brazil. When the opportunity to join the government’s vaccination effort came, she was thrilled: She would be able to share her decades of on-the-ground experience. Flauzino, an epidemiologist who worked on Brazilian vaccine campaigns for 20 years, became frustrated with what she described as a rushed, chaotic process.
Female prison officer who sent sex pictures to teenage inmates is jailed
Married mum-of-one Jordan Trainor also smuggled parcels into prison.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni won a decisive re-election victory on Saturday, elections officials said, but his main rival Bobi Wine alleged widespread fraud and said citizens should reject the result. Museveni won 5.85 million votes, or 58.6 per cent, while main opposition candidate Wine had 3.48 million votes (34.8 per cent), the Electoral Commission said at a news conference on the final results from Thursday's election. Earlier, Wine accused Museveni of fabricating the results and called the poll "the most fraudulent election in the history of Uganda". In a phone interview before the final results were announced, he urged citizens to reject the results. Wine, a singer-turned-lawmaker, also said his home in the capital, Kampala, was surrounded by hundreds of soldiers and that the military was not allowing him to leave.
White-tailed-deer are beautiful creatures that roam freely through many forests on North America and a few other countries in Europe. Shy and reclusive, these deer will often avoid contact with humans. Their keen hearing and smell allow them to detect predators and other animals long before they are seen. Deer are surprisingly stealthy in their retreat and they can slip away into trees and brush easily without making a sound. Deer are herbivores and they are hunted by many predators, and by humans, making the extremely difficult to approach. Even a large male, commonly referred to as a stag or a buck, will avoid people, despite the fact that they have formidable antlers that can be used as weapons in self defence. During the rut, or breeding season, stags have increased testosterone and they can be very aggressive, even towards humans. Their hooves and their antlers are capable of causing very serious injury. But as with almost all wild animals, keeping a respectful distance and acting in a non-threatening manner will usually be enough to prevent an unpleasant or dangerous encounter. This man has found that sitting very still and silently in a remote forest will occasionally provide him with a close look at the wildlife as they wander past him or around him. He set up a camera and took a seat on a gentle slope, deep in the woods. Before long, he heard the rustle of footsteps in the autumn leaves. A few female deer (does) appeared behind him grazed on the patches of green grass that still remained. A large stag with an impressive set of antlers followed close behind them and it wandered straight towards the man. He remained motionless and quiet as the deer came very close and stared at him curiously. Although they could smell him, and undoubtedly recognized him as human, they seemed unafraid. One of the females approached so closely behind that this man could feel her breath as she sniffed him and the camera. Something that this man has learned from being close to deer for prolonged periods is that they communicate with each other far more than we once believed. Even the most subtle ear or tail movement can have meaning in a herd and can raise the alarm if danger is perceived. They are attune to the eye movements and even the breathing of the animals around them, taking cues from small changes in behaviour. This man is breathing slowly and keeping his eyes slightly averted. His relaxed posture is meant to tell the deer that he is not in a position to give chase or cause them harm. It is believed that deer have hearing so keen that they can even hear the heartbeat of a human or an animal that is close enough. In this case, patience has paid off and the deer soon relaxed enough that even slow movements do not scare them off. Spending time in a tranquil forest with wild deer almost close enough to touch is one of the most peaceful experiences imaginable.
Dougie just can't contain his excitement as he runs and plays in the first snowfall of 2021. Hilarious!
5 fast facts about the Sinulog
THE Sinulog Festival is one of the most attended festivals in the country. It has gathered millions of people since its inception.Throughout centuries, the Sinulog has evolved from simple foot movements
An aftershock jolted Indonesia’s Sulawesi island on Saturday (January 16) as rescue workers combed the rubble of collapsed buildings for survivors after an earthquake killed over 40 people Friday and sent thousands of residents fleeing in panic. The country’s disaster mitigation agency said no damage or casualties were reported from Saturday’s magnitude-5.0 tremor in the West Sulawesi districts of Mamuju and Majene, which shook the area a day after the magnitude-6.2 quake. Agency head Doni Monardo told local TV the search continued for people who could still be trapped alive under rubble, and a spokesman told reporters emergency measures had been put in place in the province to help rescue efforts. More than 820 people were injured and about 15,000 left their homes after the quake, the agency said. Some sought refuge in the mountains, while others went to cramped evacuation centres, witnesses said.
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Tag Archive | Her Majesty’s Coronation Ball
StarChoice 23: MRS. ‘ARRIS GOES TO PARIS
The day was wet and windy when we learned that an unexpected restriction was rightly slapped on visitors’ entry to the top of Gustave Eiffel’s Tower, the emblem of Paris. For Bianca, a first-time visitor to Paris at that time, the spectacular view from the third inner platform at 276m had to be compensated with a panoramic view from the second inner platform (115m) of the Eiffel Tower which was overcrowded with visitors despite the chilly wind. The night before from the window of our hotel rooms, we had seen the tower fizzes with champagne sparkle (336 600-W projector sodium lamps and 20,000 bulbs for the Sparkling Tower) periodically from sundown to the early hour while the old moon gleamed over it. Why does Paris hold a special place in many hearts? Most visually recognisable in Europe, the city’s beauty is undeniable. From where my wife Carina, Bianca and I stood on the second platform, not in the very distance was the Arc de Triomphe. Our eyes shifted from the Arc and trailed over the tree-lined straight boulevard of the Avenue des Champs-Élysées with its lovely sense of space now obstructed from view by the masses of buildings, to Le Grand Palais with its iron and glass domes. Scanning past the city’s oldest monument, Obélisque de Luxor in the vast Place de la Concorde; and the splendid Jardin des Tuileries, we can’t miss architect I M Pei’s pyramid and that honourable house of La Gioconda, Le Musée du Louvre, where I have spent many many days over many years discovering the magnificent genius of our gifted ancestors, each object d’art systematically displayed for global citizens. Further to our right on the eastern half of the natural island, Île de la Cité in the Seine, loomed the 90m Gothic spire of Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris, beyond which is Gare de Paris-Bercy from where we would catch the night train to Milan four days later. Gazing at the distance to the left, our eyes fell on the dome of that neo-Romanesque-Byzantine edifice, Sacré-Cœur (Sacred Heart) Basilica on the Montmartre (Mount of Martyrs) hill where we had chosen our hotel for this time to explore the life in Montmartre. Each arrondissement of this legendary metropolis is self-contained for necessities, its treasures, and its secrets. All life is here – in Paris. Bianca, our eldest daughter, with her imminent degree in Fashion Design on her mind, had her thinking caps on for ideas and inspirations of the French fashion: Chanel, Dior, Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent,… – all the more reason, this is the age where luxury fashion endeavours to be more accessible to the public. Her eyes were now busy trying to locate the Christian Dior Couture building on Avenue Montaigne which she finally found straight ahead of us, few blocks up the Pont de l’Alma Tunnel where Princess Diana with two others was killed in a car crash on the night of 31 August, 1997. Well, Dior would be our next destination for the day, the first of the haute-couture houses she intended to trail to “catch the fresh French fashion touch.” True to the word: Fashion is followed!
Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris (1992)
Interestingly, renowned American novelist Paul Gallico (Paul William Gallico – July 26, 1897 – July 15, 1976) in his beautiful short novel, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, published in 1958, tells the story about a widowed English working class woman’s visit to Paris to buy a beautiful dress. This book forms part of the four “Mrs. Harris” books Gallico wrote, viz., Mrs. Harris Goes to New York (1959), Mrs. Harris Goes to Parliament (1965, aka: Mrs Harris, M. P), and Mrs. Harris Goes to Moscow (1974). Adapted as a TV play with some alterations by John Hawkesworth, “Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris” was filmed on locations in London, Paris and Budapest. Synopsis: It was the London of 1953. Our protagonist, Mrs. Ada Harris, the charwoman somewhere in her late 50s or early 60s, led a regular-as-clockwork life in Battersea cleaning homes of well-to-dos living in and on the fringes of fashionable Eaton Square and Belgravia – 10 hours a day – 5 ½ days a Week. One morning after she had reported for work at the luxurious home of Lord and Lady Dent, one of her rich clients, Ada was sent to her Ladyship’s bedroom to collect some letters. There, Ada saw an invitation to Lord and Lady Dent to attend Her Majesty’s Coronation Ball at Buckingham Palace on Friday, 5th June 1953. It was then she saw two lovely gowns hanging by the wardrobe – one red and the other in pale blue. Ada had never seen anything so beautiful in her whole life. When Lady Dent found Ada admiring her pale blue gown, she informed Ada that they are from Dior in Paris and the pale blue gown cost a pricey 450 guineas, an astronomical sum in 1953. Lady Dent plans to wear one of the gowns to the Coronation Ball. When Ada was given the chance to select one of the gowns for Lady Dent to wear for the Ball, the blue gown was Ada’s choice since she thought that the pale blue was the best for the Palace. Besides, they say Her Majesty liked pale colours. Lady Dent was apparently impressed by Ada’s selection. In next to no time, Ada was besotted by the desire to own a similar Dior gown, but the cost, of course, was beyond her financial capacity. Having played in the weekly football Pool, Ada won 174 pounds 6 shillings and 4 pence – not much – but it was a good start for her to edge closer to owning a Dior dress. Mrs. Butterfield, her Cockney neighbour and close friend in the same profession was taken aback by Ada’s new interest in getting dressed up. She was all questions: from where will Ada find that kind of money with her low salary? Where will Ada wear the gown after all? Play dress-up in the attic? Ada had her reasons: they may only be charwomen – but they certainly can have their dreams – there is no law against that. As with everything in life, money buys quality. She would work hard enough. She is going to get a Dior gown. Seriously! As a Chinese proverb goes, “To get through the hardest journey we need take only one step at a time, but we must keep on stepping”. She “scrimped and saved and slaved” with unwavering determination for three long years until she possessed just sufficient money to see her through her travel to Paris and return, plus the cost to acquire the gown. Perfect! The year would be about 1956 by now when Ada, upon arrival in Paris, was confronted by the reality that obtaining an original couture creation from Christian Dior’s Salon is a challenging task. Then again, at the House of Christian Dior in the Avenue Montaigne, she was lucky enough to have met Mme Colbert, the Chief Vendeuse of Dior who was at that time in the middle of organising a Collection to be shown to a selected audience that afternoon where the guest of honour will be Her Royal Highness Princess Margaret, famed for her love for Christian Dior’s creations in the 1950s. As it turned out, with Mme Colbert’s help, Ada ended up sitting in the front row of the show next to a Ministre, Marquis Hippolite, who would soon become fascinated by her charming personality. In a little while, as the Dior show proceeded with the display of magnificent haute couture creations, a young model named Natasha appeared dressed in a most gorgeous dress no: 89 “Temptation” which was the dream of Mrs. Ada Harris. Overwhelmed with admiration for that soft-pink gown, Ada’s incessant clapping was disdainfully stared at by the room full of high-society women in their aura of riches, getting their fashion fix here. Following the show, Mme Colbert was delighted to accept Mrs. Harris’ booking for the gown “Temptation” at the cost of 437,000 francs (£450). Arrangements were swiftly made with the head dressmaker, Monsieur Marcel and his assistant Mme. Claudine who agreed they would spin into overdrive to get her dress done within a week. Accommodation was arranged quickly for Ada’s one-week stay in Paris. However, to get Ada measured and fitted, it was found necessary to evade an antagonist in the form of the pompous director of the House of Dior, Monsieur Armont, who appeared to be an expert in brewing up anxiety in the salon. Mrs. Harris had never thought of that possibility. And so, Ada slips under the protective umbrella of the triad: Mme Colbert, M Marcel and Mme Claudine. Keep the fingers crossed – everything comes to the one who waits. Ada’s forced and unforeseen stay in Paris was not in vain. By the time the week has come to a full circle, she had sown the magical seeds of sure-fire success all around her: to put a bachelor’s house tidier; to bring together two lovers; mend the stormy time between the Marquis, his daughter Mme Louise and granddaughter Claire; and arranged a much needed letter for Mme Colbert from Le General de Gaulle conferring the Order of Croix de Guerre with palm posthumously on her husband M Michelle Colbert, a member of La Résistance Française who was shot dead 12 years ago during the German occupation of France. As luck would have it, not only M Michelle’s name will be inscribed in the book of the Heroes of the Resistance, but Mme Colbert will also be given the Médaille de la Résistance from the General himself. Wonderful! In spite of this, M Armont still persisted on her neck. However, as in all stories trailing the legend of Cinderella, Ada Harris’ had her saving grace in a friendship to help her through her hurdles and finally finger-point M Armont as the bad leaf on the lettuce. Friendship isn’t a big thing – it is a million little things. Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris is a Canada-United Kingdom-Hungary co-production, and filmed with the production assistance of Air France and Christian Dior. It was produced by Susan Cavan and Andras Hamori and directed by Anthony Shaw (the first son of Angela Lansbury and Peter Shaw). The ensemble of crew consists of: Stanley Myers (music); Laszlo George (Director of Photography); Sidney Wolinsky (Film Editing); Roger Murray-Leach (Production Design); Jane Robinson (Costume Design); Tamas Hornyanszky (Art Director), Virginia Gallico (Creative Consultant), etc. One of the seasoned pros of the past, the performance of British actress Angela Lansbury, CBE (born on 16 October, 1925 in London) as Mrs. Ada Harris, a honest, working-class widow without children, is heart-warming. Out on a long-distance adventure, Angela’s Ada is a delight to watch as she braves the hurdles on the Parisian scenery. Daughter of Irish stage/screen actress Moyna MacGill, and granddaughter of George Lansbury, the British Labour Party leader, the Strawberry blonde Angela had her screen debut in the role of the sly maid in Gaslight (D: George Cukor, 1944) which earned her nomination for Academy Award for best Supporting actress. MGM soon regarded her as a rising young star. Although she had to content with supporting roles owing that she was considered not pretty enough to be a leading lady, film after film she lured the limelight away from the top-billed stars of her movies. Early in her career, she appeared in the post-war colour remake of the costume drama The Three Musketeers (D: George Sidney, 1948) in which Angela portrayed the role of Queen Ann. Next, I saw her in the biblical tale Samson and Delilah (D: Cecil B. DeMille, 1949) as the Philistine Semadar who was romanced by Victor Mature’s young Danite Samson. She favoured her appearance in a string of movies: The Red Danube (D: George Sidney, 1949), The Purple Mask (D: Bruce Humberstone, 1955), All Fall Down (D: John Frankenheimer, 1961), The Manchurian Candidate (D: John Frankenheimer, 1962), Harlow (D: Gordon Douglas, 1965), etc. Success in movies drove her further to establish careers on stage and in television shows. She appeared in the long-run stage musical hit Mame (Jerry Herman); in TV productions including Murder, She Wrote, launched in 1984; in the musical Sweeney Todd (D: Stephen Sondheim); in Barry Sandler’s adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple mystery The Mirror Crack’d (D: Guy Hamilton, 1980), etc. It is Angela’s sweet singing voice that we hear when the housekeeper Mrs. Potts sings in Beauty and the Beast (D: Garry Trounsdale & Kirk Wise, 1991) in the scene where the Beast romances Belle with dinner and a dance. Egyptian actor Omar Sharif (born Michael Shalhoub) was already a Romantic/sex symbol of the Egyptian cinema before he rose to international stardom with his role as the fierce tribesman in Lawrence of Arabia (D: David Lean, 1962). While Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris was preparing for production, Sharif was already working in Continental Europe acting in two films by French director Henri Verneuil: Mayrig (1991, and later, a TV play in 1993), 588 Rue Paradis (1992), and in Italian director Duccio Tessari’s Beyond Justice (1992). Omar Sharif was contracted as a guest star to portray the wealthy and charming Ministre, Le Marquis Hippolite de Chassagne. Sharif’s physical presence gave character of Marquis more than the film could have acquired from the script alone. Diana Rigg (born Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg in Doncaster, England) is the Tracy (Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo) of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (Peter Hunt, 1969), the only woman 007 James Bond married. Dame Diana had already established her reputation in Shakespeare plays before international fame came her way for her role as the secret agent Emma Peel in the TV series The Avengers (1961–1969). The performance of Diana Rigg was first-rate as the brainy and fair Mme Colbert who tries to assert her authority as the in-charge of the sales in the House of Dior, and lock horns with M Armont who threw his weight around and refused to let Mrs. Harris, a commoner, have the gown. Montréal, Québec, Canada actor Lothaire Bluteau (Jesus of Montreal, 1989) is the dignified André Fauvel, the Dior accountant who was shy to reveal his fancy for model Natasha but thought that she deserved better than a “pen-pusher” like him. A talented British actor, whenever John Savident (A Clockwork Orange, 1971) appears as the assertive and aggressive M Armont, it is like watching a snake come out of a basket. Lila Kaye (An American Werewolf in London, 1981) acts as Mrs. Butterfield with the cockney dialect matching Mrs. Harris’, which is at its most distinctive during their journey to their workplaces by the doubledecker London bus no: 19 to Victoria. In her screen debut role, Winnipeg Manitoba, Canada-born Tamara Gorski (Murder at 1600, 1997) is exquisite as the small, fair-haired young Dior model Natasha Petitpierre, truly blessed with the loveliest of natures and the sweetest smile in that part of Paris. Also on the supporting cast are: William Armstrong (M. Marcel), Barbara Barnes (Mme. Claudine), Tamsin Olivier (Mme. Louise), Trudy Weiss, Jenö Pataky, Jason Carter, Alex Knight, György Emõd, Mel Martin, Toby Whithouse, David Sterne, Anna Safranek, Ottó Szokolay, Tibor Medveczky, Kieron Jecchinis, Fruzsina Radnai, amongst others. The film rightly features the period-details of the fairy-tale storyline: the white horse-driven van of Lambs Farm Dairy delivering milk in silver-topped bottles; the street-cleaner with his pulling cart; the old Harrods delivery van; the style of dressing, etc. Complemented by the melodious music of Stanley Myers, Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris, with competent cast of actors and some interesting plot twists, is a nice and gentle family film, that lifts our hearts with a positive assurance that things can turn up right if you set your mind to it. Watch it if you can – there is nothing wrong in having a little fantasy now and then to lift the spirits. Jo. Notes: 1.. This illustrated article is an affectionate nosegay to the movie reviewed above. Please refer to “About” of my webpage for more details. 2.. The DVDs of the movies referred above are available with main dealers such as amazon.com, TCM Shop, etc. 3.. The novel “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” (original UK title: Flowers for Mrs. Harris) by Paul Gallico is available with leading book dealers.
(©Joseph Sébastine/Manningtree Archive)
This entry was posted on August 2, 2015, in Memories, Paris, StarChoice Film Reviews, Travel All-Inclusive and tagged Agatha Christie, Air France, Angela Lansbury, Arc de Triomphe, Avenue des Champs-Élysées, Île de la Cité, Beauty and the Beast, Belgravia, Buckingham Palace, Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris, Cecil B. DeMille, Chanel, Christian Dior, Cinderella, David Lean, Diana Rigg, Dior, Duccio Tessari, Eaton Square, Eiffel Tower, Gare de Paris-Bercy, Gaslight, Gustave Eiffel, Guy Hamilton, Her Majesty’s Coronation Ball, Jardin des Tuileries, John Frankenheimer, John Savident, Joseph Sebastine, La Gioconda, La Résistance Française, Lawrence of Arabia, Le Grand Palais, Le Musée du Louvre, Lila Kaye, Lothaire Bluteau, Manningtree Archive, Médaille de la Résistance, Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris, Murder, Obélisque de Luxor, Omar Sharif, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Order of Croix de Guerre, Paris, Paul Gallico, Place de la Concorde, Pont de l'Alma Tunnel, Princess Diana, Sacré-Cœur, Samson and Delilah, She Wrote, Tamara Gorski, The Avengers, The Manchurian Candidate, The Mirror Crack’d, the Seine, The Three Musketeers, Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent. 12 Comments
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Digital & analog I/O modules
CAN-2053D
ICP DAS USA | CAN-2053D | User manual | User`s Manual - ICP DAS USA`s I
DeviceNet Slave Device
Application User’s Manual
Without contrived damage, all products manufactured by ICP DAS are
warranted in one year from the date of delivery to customers.
ICP DAS revises the manual at any time without notice. However, no
responsibility is taken by ICP DAS unless infringement act imperils to patents
of the third parties.
Copyright © 2010 is reserved by ICP DAS.
The brand name ICP DAS as a trademark is registered, and can be used
by other authorized companies.
CAN-2053D User’s Manual (v1.00, Aug/2010)
Introduction.............................................................................................3
1.1 Overview.........................................................................................3
1.2 Hardware Specifications ...............................................................4
1.3 Features..........................................................................................5
1.4 Application .....................................................................................5
Hardware .................................................................................................6
2.1 Structure.........................................................................................6
2.2 Node ID & Baud Rate Rotary Switch ............................................7
2.3 LED Description.............................................................................8
2.4 PIN Assignment ...........................................................................10
2.5 Wire Connection .......................................................................... 11
DeviceNet Profile Area .........................................................................12
3.1 DeviceNet Statement of Compliance..........................................12
3.2 Identity Object (Class ID: 0x01) ..................................................13
3.3 Connection Object (Class ID:0x05) ............................................14
3.4 Assembly Object (Class ID: 0x04) ..............................................15
3.5 Application Object1 (Class ID: 0x64)..........................................17
4 Application ............................................................................................19
Appendix A: Dimension...............................................................................20
DeviceNet is one kind of the network protocols based on the CAN bus and
mainly used for the embedded network of the machine control, such as
industrial machine control , aircraft engines monitoring, factory automation,
medical equipments control, remote data acquisition, environmental
monitoring, and packaging machines control, etc.
The CAN-2053D follows DeviceNet specification Volume I/II, Release 2.0.
User can access the digital output status and set the configuration via
DeviceNet EDS file. CAN-2053D has 16-channel isolated sink/source input
and it can be used to various applications, such as PNP, NPN, TTL, relay
contact and so forth. By owing to the DeviceNet masters of ICP DAS, you can
quickly build a DeviceNet network to approach your requirements.
1.2 Hardware Specifications
z Input Channels: 16 (Sink/Source)
z Input Type: 4 commons for all inputs.
z On Voltage Level: +3.5 ~ +30 VDC.
z Off Voltage Level: +1 VDC max.
z Input Impedance: 3 kΩ, 0.3 W
z Intra-module Isolation, Field to Logic: 3750 Vrms.
z ESD Protection: 4 kV Contact for each channel.
z DeviceNet Status: 3 LEDs for PWR / NET / MOD.
Terminal Resister: 1 LED as terminator resister indicators
DI LED: 16 LEDs as digital input indicators.
Power Requirement: +10 ~ +30 VDC, 1.5 W.
Operating Temperature: -25 ~ +75 ℃.
Storage Temperature: -30 ~ +80 ℃.
Humidity: 10 to 90% RH, Non-condensing.
Dimensions: 32.3 mm x 99 mm x 77.5 mm (W x L x H) Detail.
DeviceNet general I/O slave devices.
Comply with DeviceNet specification Volume I, Release 2.0 &
Volume II, Release 2.0, Errata 5
Group 2 Only Server (non UCMM-capable)
Support Predefined Master/Slave Connection Set
Connection supported:
1 connection for Explicit Messaging
1 connection for Polled I/O
1 connection for Bit-Strobe I/O connection
Support DeviceNet heartbeat and shutdown messages
Provide EDS file for standard DeviceNet master interface.
NET, MOD and PWR DeviceNet status led indictors
1.4 Application
(Top View)
(Bottom View)
2.2 Node ID & Baud Rate Rotary Switch
The rotary switches of node ID configure the node ID of the CAN-2053D
module. These two switches are for the tens digit and the units digit of the
node ID. The node ID value of this demo picture is 32.
The rotary switch for baud rate handles the CAN baud rate of the
CAN-2053D module. The relationship between the rotary switch value and the
practical baud rate is presented in the following table.
Baud rate rotary switch
Rotary Switch Value
Baud rate (kbps)
2.3 LED Description
PWR LED
The CAN-2053D needs the power of 10 ~ 30 VDC. Under a
normal connection, a good power supply and a correct voltage
selection, as the unit is turned on, the LED will light up in red.
NET LED
The NET LED indicates the current status of the DeviceNet
communication link.
indicates
Init Off
Device is not online
Connection timeout
I/O connection timeout
Device is on line, but not
Init solid
Link failed
(Critical) Device has detected an
error that has rendered it incapable
of communicating on the link; for
example, detected a duplicate node
address or network configuration
On line, communicating
Device is online and communicating
MOD LED
This LED provides the devices status. It indicates whether or not
the device is operating properly.
Critical fault
Device has unrecoverable fault.
Non_critical fault
Device has recoverable fault to
recover. If users want to fix the
problem, reconfiguring device’s
MAC ID or resetting device may
Terminal Resistor LED
When enable the 120Ωterminator resistor, the LED will turn on.
DI LED
If the DI LED turns on, it means that the corresponding DI
channel receives an ON voltage-level digital signal.
2.4 PIN Assignment
2.5 Wire Connection
3 DeviceNet Profile Area
This section documents the detailed functions for each object class that is
implemented in the CAN-2053D DeviceNet network.
3.1 DeviceNet Statement of Compliance
General Device Data
Version Description
DeviceNet Volume I, Release 2.0 &
Volume II, Release 2.0
Device Profile Name
Production Revision
DeviceNet Physical Conformance Data
MAC ID Setting
Switch (0 ~ 63)
Default MAC ID
Communication Baud Rate Setting
Switch (125, 250, 500 kbps)
Default Baud Rate
Predefined Master/Slave Connection Group 2 Only Server
3.2 Identity Object (Class ID: 0x01)
This object provides the identification of and general information about the
Class Attribute (Instance ID=0)
Attribute ID
UINT
Max Instance
Class Service
Service Code
0x0E
Get_Attribute_Single
Instance Attribute (Instance ID=1)
DeviceNet Data
Major. Minor of firmware
Struct of
USINT
UDINT
Short_String
Heartbeat Interval
Get/Set
0(default)
Instance Service
Set_Attribute_Single
Note: Use the Instance Service 0x05 will reboot the device.
3.3 Connection Object (Class ID:0x05)
This section presents the externally visible characteristics of the
Connection Objects associated with the Predefined Master/Slave Connection
Set within slave devices.
The default IO connection path is as follow.
Connection Path
Class ID
Instance ID
Poll Produced
Poll Consumed
Bit Strobe Produced
Bit Strobe Consumed
References the Explicit Messaging Connection into the Server
References the Poll I/O Connection
References the Bit–Strobe I/O Connection
3.4 Assembly Object (Class ID: 0x04)
The Assembly Object binds attributes of multiple objects, which allows
data to or from each object to be sent or received over a single connection.
Assembly objects can be used to bind input data or output data. The terms
of ”input” and ”output” are defined from the network’s point of view. An input will
produce data on the network and an output will consume data from the
Get DI value
Contents of Each Assembly Object Instance
Channel 0 ~ 15 DI value
Parameter description of Assembly Object Instance
Data Range
0x0000 ~ 0xFFFF
Parameter Description
Bit 0 => channel 0 DI value
Bit 15 => channel 15 DI value
Instance attribute (Instance ID=0x64)
Dependent on
3.5 Application Object1 (Class ID: 0x64)
Application objects are the interfaces between an application and the
DeviceNet Layer. The attributes of application Objects contain the data for the
application, which are accessed and exchanged via DeviceNet. DeviceNet
accesses application data by invoking read and write functions. These
functions need to be provided by an Application Object. DeviceNet provides
Get_Attribute_Single and Set_ Attribute_Single to read and write CAN-2053D
Application Object1 defines digital output channels configuration.
DI value
Save all Configuration to
Parameter description of Application Object1 attributes
0x01: Use default configuration
0x02: Save all Configuration to
0x01: After restarting the device, all
configurations will become factory
setting.
0x02: Save all channels configuration
into EEPROM
Application Object1 (Class ID:0x64) lists all the parameters of the module. By
using “Set/Get Attribute Single” service, you can read/write all the parameters.
Example1:
Get DI data (Class ID: 0x64, Instance ID: 0x01, Attribute ID 0x01).
If the node ID of the CAN-2053D is 1, the master (ID: 0x0A) has completed
“Explicit” connection with the device. By owing to get the Attribute ID 0x01, you
can get the DI data of the channel 0 ~ channel 15.
IDENTIFIER BITS
Destination MAC ID
8-byte Data (byte)
(HEX)
(CAN-2053D)
Source MAC ID
Get Application Object1 with Instance ID 0x01 and Attribute ID 0x01.
After sending the “Get Attribute Single”, the slave device will respond the DI data
(0x000F) at byte 2 and byte 3. The data 0x000F means that the DI channels of
DI3, DI2, DI1 and DI0 are turn on and others are turn off.
Through changing the Attribute ID of the Application Object1, you can get
other parameters of this device.
Appendix A: Dimension
DeviceNet Slave Device CAN
CAN-2054D spec eng
User`s Manual - ICP DAS USA`s I
Manual - ICP DAS USA`s I
I-7231D CPS_DCON Gateway - icpdas
ICP DAS USA CAN-2017D User Manual
I-7231D CPS_DCON Gateway
CAN-8424(I-8420) spec eng
MicroNode I/O DeviceNet AI User Manual
MicroNode I/O DeviceNet COMBO User Manual
CDN466 / CDN467 - MKS Instruments, Inc.
6. Configuring the Gateway
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CMS User Manual for MAC OS_2
Central Management Software
User Manual of CMS Client
TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1. Overview ..........................................................................................................................................................3 Chapter 2. Starting CMS Client .......................................................................................................................................3 2.1 User Registration .................................................................................................................................................. 3 2.2 Wizard for Importing Device ................................................................................................................................ 3 2.3 User Login ............................................................................................................................................................ 8 2.4 Control Panel and Main Menu Bar Introduction .................................................................................................. 9 2.5 Account Management ......................................................................................................................................... 11 Chapter 3. Connecting and Local Management for DVR, NVR and Network Cameras .........................................13 3.1 Device Adding in the Device Management Interface ......................................................................................... 13 3.1.1 Adding Device ..........................................................................................................................................13 3.1.2 Device Configuration ................................................................................................................................15 3.2 Adding a Camera Group ..................................................................................................................................... 16 3.3 Live View............................................................................................................................................................ 17 3.3.1 Basic Operations in Live View .................................................................................................................19 3.3.2 Capture in Live View ................................................................................................................................20 3.3.3 PTZ Control in Live View ........................................................................................................................21 3.4 Alarm and Event in Live View ........................................................................................................................... 25 3.4.1 View Alarm /Event Information ...............................................................................................................25 3.4.2 Alarm Log Linkage ...................................................................................................................................26 3.4.3 Block the Alarm from Certain Device ......................................................................................................26 3.5 Local Recording and Capture ............................................................................................................................. 28 3.5.1 Recording and Picture Capturing on the host PC for the CMS Client......................................................28 3.6 Local Playback .................................................................................................................................................... 29 3.6.1 Playback of Local Stored Files .................................................................................................................29 3.6.2 Instant Playback ........................................................................................................................................31 3.7 Managing E-map ................................................................................................................................................. 31 3.7.1 Adding an E-map ......................................................................................................................................31 3.7.2 The Hot Spot Function ..............................................................................................................................33 3.7.3 The Hot Region Function..........................................................................................................................36 Chapter 4. Remote Control and Management for DVR, NVR and Network Cameras ............................................39 4.1 Remote Recording .............................................................................................................................................. 39 4.1.1 Recording on the Storage Device on the DVR, NVR or Network Camera ..............................................39 4.1.2 Recording on the Storage Server ..............................................................................................................44 4.2 Remote Playback ................................................................................................................................................ 48 4.3 Remote Device Management and Configuration ................................................................................................ 50 4.3.1 Basic Information......................................................................................................................................51 4.3.2 General Settings ........................................................................................................................................52 4.3.3 Camera Management ................................................................................................................................53 4.3.4 Network Settings .......................................................................................................................................53 4.3.5 Alarm Settings ..........................................................................................................................................55 4.3.6 User Management .....................................................................................................................................57 4.3.7 HDD Settings ............................................................................................................................................58 4.3.8 Exception Settings ....................................................................................................................................58 4.3.9 File Management ......................................................................................................................................59 4.3.10 Log Management ....................................................................................................................................60 4.3.11 Holiday Settings ......................................................................................................................................61 4.3.12 Other Settings (RS-232 Settings, Remote Upgrade and DST Settings) .................................................61 4.3.13 Channel-zero Settings .............................................................................................................................63 4.3.14 Resource Usage .......................................................................................................................................64 4.4 Camera Settings .................................................................................................................................................. 64 1
4.4.1 Picture Settings .........................................................................................................................................66 4.4.2 Video Quality ............................................................................................................................................67 4.4.3 Record Schedule .......................................................................................................................................68 4.4.4 Video Display ...........................................................................................................................................70 4.4.5 Motion Detection ......................................................................................................................................71 4.4.6 Tampering Alarm ......................................................................................................................................73 4.4.7 Video Loss Detection ................................................................................................................................74 4.4.8 PTZ Parameters Settings ...........................................................................................................................75 4.4.9 Configuring Network Connection.............................................................................................................75 Chapter 5. Forwarding Video Stream from Stream Media Server ............................................................................77 5.1 Adding a Stream Media Server ........................................................................................................................... 77 5.2 Forwarding Video Stream via the Stream Media Server .................................................................................... 78 Chapter 6. Log Management ..........................................................................................................................................79 6.1 Local Log Search ................................................................................................................................................ 79 6.2 Log Backup ......................................................................................................................................................... 79 6.3 Opening Log Files............................................................................................................................................... 80 Chapter 7. System Configuration ...................................................................................................................................81 7.1 General Configuration ........................................................................................................................................ 81 7.2 File Saving Path Configuration ........................................................................................................................... 82 7.3 Alarm Sound Configuration ................................................................................................................................ 82 7.4 Email Configuration............................................................................................................................................ 83 Chapter 8. FAQ ................................................................................................................................................................84 2
Chapter 1. Overview
CMS Client is a video management software using a distributed structure to provide centralized management to all the
connectable devices. It can manage the NVR, DVR, IP cameras, and compression cards. With different management and
configuration modules and a reasonable collocation, it provides many solutions for different surveillance scenario with
medium or small scale. It is a steady and reliable system with functions like real-time monitoring, video recording and
searching, file backup, etc.
This user manual describes the function, configuration and operation steps of CMS Client software. To ensure the properness
of usage and stability of the software, please refer to the contents below and read the manual carefully before installation and
operation.
Chapter 2. Starting CMS Client
2.1 User Registration
For the first time to use the CMS Client software, you need to register a super user for login.
Enter the super user name, password and confirm the password in the dialog box and click Register. Then, you can log in as
the super user.
Note: Enter, Space, and TAB keys are invalid for the user name and password. The password cannot be empty, and it should
not be less than six characters and can’t be copied and pasted.
2.2 Wizard for Importing Device
The main function of the CMS Client is to manage network devices remotely. Thus the task on the top hierarchy is to register
the device to the management list.
For the first time user, the wizard message box pops up to ask you whether you want to be guided for the basic operation of
the client software.
If this is not the first time you use the client software, the wizard doesn’t pop up, and you can also use the wizard, click
to start the wizard, or click
to exit the wizard.
According to the hint, click
icon to add devices to the management list of the software.
Create a nickname for the device, enter the IP address and the port number, the user name, and the password of the
to add the device.
If you add the device with a domain name, you can check the Private Domain Mode checkbox. And create a nickname,
enter the domain name and port number, and enter the admin name and password of the device to add the device.
You can also click
to show the device connected to the same Local Area Network.
Adding the active online devices
1) Select the device in the device list, and the information of the device such as the MAC address the software
version and the serial number is shown in the left part. The information in this part can’t be modified.
2) In the Network information area, you can modify the IP address the Subnet Mask and the Port number with
entering the admin password of the device.
3) You can also recover the default password for the device, with the code provided by the authorized engineers.
Adding Camera Group
When adding a device, you can check the
checkbox to export the device you added to a certain camera group. By
default, the name of the group is the same with the name of the device you just added.
If you want to customize the camera choosing for the group and the group name, uncheck the
Next page on the Wizard, to enter the adding group interface.
checkbox and click
to add a new user. Click Modify to change the settings for the new user.
on Group dialog box. Edit the name of group and then click
added group will be displayed in the list.
to save your settings. The
6. Import Channels to Group
In the left area on the Camera Import interface, click to select the channels and then click Import button to import the
selected channels to the Group on the right.
You can drag and select multiple channels to import them to the group you added.
• The devices to be added must be online currently.
• One channel can be added to different groups.
• Up to 256 groups can be added, and 64 channels can be added to each group, with a maximum of 1024 channels for
all the groups totally.
• After importing the selected channels to the group, you can return to the control panel and then enter the Main View
interface to get a live view of the added channels.
2.3 User Login
When you open the CMS Client software after registration, the login dialog box pops up, shown in the following figure:
Input the user name and password, and then click Login.
next time.
checkbox to enable auto-login, and then the user name and password are not needed for the login
2.4 Control Panel and Main Menu Bar Introduction
The main control panel of the CMS Client is shown in the following figure:
Menu Bar:
About CMS Client
Quit CMS Client
Open Captured Picture
Open Video File
Open Log File
Import Configuration File
Export Configuration File
Most Adaptive Screen
Remote Playback
Import Camera
View information of the client software, including software
name, version, etc.
Exit the CMS Client remote client.
Enter the setting interface to browse the folder in the host PC
for the exported captured picture file (s) and view the
captured pictures.
Open the video player and browse the folder location of the
exported video file (s), click
to browse the folder in the host PC of the record files.
You can also capture pictures when playing of the video file.
Enter the Log File interface to browse the folder in the host
PC for the exported log file(s).
Lock the screen operation. You must log in after locking the
Switch login user.
Enter the System Configuration interface.
Import client configuration file from your PC.
Export client configuration file to your PC.
Display window at size of 1024*768.
Display window at size of 1280*1024.
Display window with most adaptive screen.
Enter Control Panel.
Enter Main View interface.
Enter E-map interface.
Enter Event Search interface.
Enter Remote Playback interface
Enter Import Camera interface.
Stream Media Server
Device Arming Control
Open Wizard
User Manual (F1)
Enter Camera Setting interface.
Enter User Account Management interface.
Enter Device Management interface.
Enter Storage Server Management interface.
Enter Stream Media Server Management interface.
Quick setting for arming the device for alarms.
Use the guide for camera import.
Click to open the User Manual; you can also open the User
Manual by pressing F1 on your keyboard.
There are 12 icons on the control panel, and their functions are described in the following table:
Local Log Search
Viewing live video and playback record files and
other operation (e.g., picture capture, recording,
PTZ control, etc.).
Managing and displaying E-Map and hot areas and
spots; realize E-Map operation (e.g., operate map
zoom in/out, view hot spot, display alarm, etc.)
Searching and playback of the event record files;
realize playback operation.
Playback the recorded video and audio composite
stream or only video files in the remote client.
Adding, modifying or removing the camera
groups; import/export of cameras.
Searching, viewing and backup of local logs
(alarm, operation, system logs).
Adding, modifying or removing the user account
parameters; assign operating permission to each
user.
Adding, modifying or removing the DVR device;
configuring parameters (e.g., network, alarm
input/output, HDD, etc.) for the added DVR.
Adding, modifying or removing the storage server;
configuring parameters (e.g., record schedule,
network, HDD, etc.) for the added storage server.
Adding, modifying or removing the stream media
server; configuring parameters (e.g., RTSP port,
upper/lower limit, etc.) for the added stream media
Configuring camera parameters (e.g., image
quality, record schedule, motion detection, etc.).
Configuring the general parameters (e.g., saving
path of files, alarm sound, Email, etc.).
2.5 Account Management
In the CMS Client client software, many user accounts can be added, and for the different users, different permissions can be
granted.
to enter the account management interface:
to enter the pop-up Add User dialog box as follows:
User Information:
User Type: you can select in the drop-down list of the two kinds of user types (Administrator and Operator) to create the
users with different permissions.
User Name &Password: Customize the login user name and password.
User Permissions
There are 22 operating permissions to be selected. And the permissions for accessing different cameras are also provided.
Note: The Admin user has all the permissions as default and operator user’s permission should be selected in the list. All the
selected permissions take effect immediately.
Chapter 3. Connecting and Local Management for DVR, NVR
and Network Cameras
Before any operation, you need to add a device and import cameras. There are many ways to add the device in the
management list. You can add devices follow the guide of wizard.
Please refer to Section 2.2 Wizard for Importing Device.
This chapter introduces the connecting and management of the devices.
3.1 Device Adding in the Device Management Interface
3.1.1 Adding Device
to enter the device management interface.
Create a nickname for the device and then input it with other information, the User Name and Password are admin and
12345 respectively and the port number is 8000 by default.
in the Device Management interface.
If you check the
checkbox, you should enter the DNS address and Device Domain Name as well.
The CMS Client also provides the searching the active online devices function.
1. Click the Show Online Devices icon to search the online devices. All the online devices will be searched and shown on
Click to select the online devices you want to add, and then click
Enter the nickname, the user name and the password of the device to add it to the management list.
Index shows the numbers of the devices found.
Added status shows the adding status of the device, if the device is already added in the management list of the software, Yes
is shown in this list.
Device type shows the type of the device, whether it is a camera or a DVR and so on.
1. Select the device in the device list, and the information of the device such as the MAC address the software
2. In the Network information area, you can modify the IP address the Subnet Mask and the Port number with
3. You can also recover the default password for the device, with the code provided by the authorized engineers.
3.1.2 Device Configuration
After adding the device, you can follow the procedure in this section to configure the device.
1. Click the device name to select the device in the Device Management interface.
You can click
to edit the device basic information as device name and address.
You also can double click the device to modify it.
icon to delete the selected device and you can also configure the settings of the device by clicking
. For the detailed procedures of remote configuration, please refer to 4.3 Remote Device Management
and Configuration.
3.2 Adding a Camera Group
A camera group must be added for the live view and other operation. After adding the device, please return to the control
panel interface and click
to enter camera group configuration interface.
In the Import Camera interface, click Add to create a group in the right area.
Select the camera in the left area, and then click
to add the cameras to the group.
You can also hold the Ctrl key and select multiple channels or drag and select the channels to import.
3.3 Live View
A camera group is required to be defined before live view. For the grouping operation, please refer to 3.2 Adding a Camera
Group. And the group name is shown in the list on the left bar.
Entering the Live View Interface:
Click the main view icon
in the control panel, or click View -> Main View on the toolbar to enter the live view
The main view interface is shown in the following figure:
Camera Status:
Camera is online and works properly.
Camera is offline.
Camera is in live view.
Camera is in recording status.
Main View Toolbar:
Select different layout modes.
Stop All
Stop the display of all the cameras.
Manual Record
Start manual record for the selected channel, click again to stop.
Previous and Next
Click to view previous and next camera.(Available only when autoswitch.)
Start auto-switching the screen by cameras or by groups.
Adjust the volume for live audio.
Enable/disable live audio.
, the following box pops up, you can choose the screen layout by clicking the certain icon.
3.3.1 Basic Operations in Live View
Start live view for one channel:
To view the live video, drag the camera from the list to the display window, or double-click the camera name after you select
one screen.
Start live view for camera group:
You can also get the live view for the whole group and display the live view of all the cameras in the group on the screen.
Click the group name, and then click the Play button at the bottom of the screen, see the following figure.
Double-click the group name.
Stop live view:
To stop the live view for all the channels, click
on the bottom bar.
Cycle Live View:
Cycle live view mode includes the auto-switch in one screen or the auto-switch in multi-screen.
next to the
Choose the auto-switch mode and set the interval for the switching.
on the toolbar on the bottom to start the cycle live view.
3.3.2 Capture in Live View
1. Select the screen.
icon on the bottom toolbar of Main View.
A small window of the captured picture will be displayed to notify you whether the capture is done or not.
If the capture is successful, there will be a link to the saving path of the picture, and if not, there will be error messages
To view the captured pictures:
l Click the small window of the picture showed on the right bottom after capture.
l
icon on the left panel; all the pictures captured on the remote client for the selected group are
stored here.
Click File button on the toolbar and select Open Captured Picture.
3.3.3 PTZ Control in Live View
For the PTZ control, click the
icon on the toolbar on the screen for each camera, and the PTZ control panel will be
displayed on the left side of the Main View.
Note: This chapter only shows the operation of the PTZ control, to configure the PTZ parameters see 4.4.8 PTZ
Click on those directional buttons to control the PTZ function, or click the directional buttons on the PTZ control panel. You
can also control the PTZ direction by the directional buttons on your keyboard.
You can control PTZ by dragging and clicking the mouse on the display screen window.
Use the mouse to click on the video image, and then drag the mouse to different directions by following the arrows displayed
on the video: Upper Left; Up; Upper Right; Left; Right; Lower Right; Down; Lower Right. The PTZ
will move to the direction as the arrow goes.
Description of buttons on PTZ Control Panel:
3D Positioning
Direction buttons, click
to start/stop auto-scan.
Speed adjustment for PT function
Preset configuration
Pattern configuration
Patrol configuration
Calling function
Adding and editing function
To add a preset for the PTZ:
1. Click the direction buttons to move the PTZ to a desired location,
Select a PTZ preset number from the preset list, and then click
to add the preset and name this PTZ preset.
To delete a preset, select the PTZ preset from the preset list, and then click
to remove it.
To add a pattern for the PTZ,
button to enter the PTZ pattern path setup panel.
Select a PTZ pattern path number from the pattern list, click
to start recording of this pattern path.
Use the direction buttons to control the PTZ movement.
to stop the pattern recording. Click
to enter edit mode.
to save the pattern path.
After adding two or more presets for one channel, you can set a patrol with presets for PTZ.
To add a patrol path for the PTZ:
button to enter the PTZ patrol path setup panel.
Select a track number from the list.
to add a preset (including the dwell time and PTZ speed for the preset) for this patrol path.
Repeat the above operation to add other presets to the patrol.
to call the patrol path or click
to stop calling.
to edit a preset in the patrol path.
• Up to 16 patrols can be configured.
• The patrol time can be set to 1~255 sec, and the patrol speed to level 1~40.
3.4 Alarm and Event in Live View
3.4.1 View Alarm /Event Information
The Main View interface provides the
buttons at the left bottom toolbar.
Click the button to view the alarm or event information as shown in the panel.
icon to lock the toolbar and show the information in the main view. Or click
to hide the list.
icon to maximize the alarm/event log display panel and enable it to be shown in a new tab page.
As shown in the figure above, in the alarm log display panel, there are 4 different alarm types: “Motion”, “Video Abnormal”,
“Alarm Input” and “Device Abnormal”.
Check the checkbox to show the alarm of the type.
You can select a log and right-click it to remove it from the list or right-clicking the mouse and then click
3.4.2 Alarm Log Linkage
Each alarm log shows the related alarm information, including occurred time, source and type of the alarm.
You can click the
button to preview or send email of the selected alarm information and video.
Live View: View the live video of the selected alarm source camera.
Send Email: Send the alarm information by Email.
Note: You need to configure Email settings in Control PanelàSystem ConfigurationàEmail before using this function.
3.4.3 Block the Alarm from Certain Device
Sometimes, the blocking of the alarm information from certain device is needed. This is especially useful when you use more
than one client to manage many devices.
on the menu bar.
Check the checkbox to enable the alarm or uncheck it to block the alarm information. There are tabs to list different
kind of connected devices.
to enter the alarm enable or disable interface.
to confirm your settings.
Note: This function only blocks the selected alarm information from being received by this client only; the alarm information
can also be received by other clients. And when you block the alarm information from certain devices, all the alarm
information is not shown in the client and all the linkage methods in the client such as the audible warning, pop-up image,
and email sending are not taken as well.
3.5 Local Recording and Capture
CMS Client software provides the local recording and remote recording.
Local recording refers that you record the video from the remote device in the local PC runs the CMS Client software. Local
recording for the CMS Client can only be manual recording, and the schedule recording is not valid.
The remote recording refers to the remote control of the device in the management list to record on the HDD of the device
3.5.1 Recording and Picture Capturing on the host PC for the CMS Client
Local Recording (also called Manual Recording) function allows you to record the live video in the Main View mode. And
the record file is recorded in your PC.
1. In the main view interface, select a channel in the group and double-click it to view the live video.
Then click
button at the bottom of main view panel to start to record the live video.
To stop recording, please re-click
button. A prompt box with the saving path of the video files you just
recorded will pop up if all the operations succeed.
To change the saving path of the record files and captured pictures, go to the files configuration interface; see 7.2
File Saving Path Configuration for detailed information.
Quick View the Manual Recording File:
You can open the folders to find the record file, or you can click All File(s) icon to show the record files in the CMS
You can double-click the record file to play it. For detailed information, see 3.6.1 Playback of Local Stored Files.
To manual capture in the live view, see 3.3.2 Capture in Live View.
3.6 Local Playback
Based on the different recording modes, there are two playback modes: Local playback and remote playback.
3.6.1 Playback of Local Stored Files
Play back the video files created in local recording mode which is restored in your PC.
1. Go to Main View panel and click the All File(s) icon to enter the Local Record Files interface. Select a camera and
specify the start time and the stop time, and then click Search button to search the video clips. The matched video found
will be listed in the display panel below.
2. Double click the record file to play it back.
button to save as the selected record file. You can click
to delete the clip from the panel, or click
button to send the selected video clip by Email (The size of video clip must be less than 5M).
Note: To send the record file to an Email address, you must configure Email settings. For detailed instruction, see 7.4
Email Configuration.
3.6.2 Instant Playback
1. Go to Main View panel, left-click a channel to enable the menu shown as follows, and click
2. In instant playback interface, please click
button to start instant
button to start playback the first video files of current day; click
buttons to fast forward or slow forward. And you can also left-click on the playback panel to show the menu
with multiple playback function.
3. You may also use the timeline at the bottom of the Main View panel to adjust the playback progress. And the tag you just
added is shown as a flag icon on the progress bar.
Managing E-map
Relating certain camera group to an E-map allows you to visualize the location and distribution of cameras. The E-map is
beneficial especially when alarm is triggered.
3.7.1 Adding an E-map
For the first time to use E-map function, you are required to add a map first.
Click View->E-map View on the menu bar or click
the following figure:
on the Control Panel to enter the main interface of E-map. Refer to
Note: Only one map can be added for each camera group.
to add a map related to the camera group.
to browse the directory where the map is stored.
Note: The picture format of the map should be *png, *jpg or *bmp.
Enter a name of the map.
to confirm your selection.
After adding map successfully, it shows on the window and name of map also appears on the list of group.
Map view adjusting
3.7.2 The Hot Spot Function
You can add the camera label in the map to show the location of the camera. The label is called hot spot. And with the hot
spots added the cameras are linked to the map, in the map preview interface, you can see the live view of the camera and if
there is an alarm triggered, icon
appears near the camera label.
Adding a hot spot:
and select which camera you want to add on the map as a hot spot, and choose the color of the hot spot.
Check the checkbox of the camera name to select them as the hotspots.
You can choose many cameras at the same time.
You can choose the hot spots label color in this interface.
After being added as a hot spot, the camera icon in the camera list change to
Drag the camera icon to certain location on the map.
Editing the hot spot:
Double-click the hot spots icon on the map to modify the hot spot name and the color of it.
Right-click the hot spot and choose Modify.
Select a hot spot on the screen and click the
icon on the toolbar.
Deleting the hot spot:
Right click on the hot spot and choose delete.
Select a hot spot on the map and click
on the toolbar to delete the hot spot.
Previewing the map with the hot spot:
After all the settings are done for the hot spots, click
distributed on the map to show the location of the linked cameras.
on the toolbar to see the E-map. The hot spots are
Double-click the hot spot, the live view of the camera is shown in the interface.
If an alarm is reported from certain cameras, the
icon shows in the map to alert you.
For the detailed alarm information, double click the alarm icon.
icon to clear all the alarm information.
3.7.3 The Hot Region Function
The hot region function links a map to another map. When you add a map to another map as a hot region, an icon of the link
to the added map is shown on the map. And the added map is called child map while the map to which you add the hot
region is the parent map.
Note: A map can only be added as the hot region for one time.
in the toolbar.
In the message box, select the map you want to add as a hot region. And you can also select the color of the map
icon.
Drag the map icon on the map to certain location.
You can double-click the map icon to modify the map name and the icon color.
on the toolbar to modify it.
Or you can right-click the icon and choose
to modify it.
To delete the hot region:
Select the hot region icon on the map and click the
Right-click the hot region icon and choose Delete.
to delete the hot region.
Map Previewing with the Hot Region:
After the successful adding and setting of the hot region, go back to the map preview interface.
Clicking the hot region icon now can take you to the child map.
to go back to the parent map.
Chapter 4. Remote Control and Management for DVR, NVR and
Remote control and management means that you operate the CMS Client software to control the devices, such as control the
device to record, to capture, to change parameters and reboot. And you can also get the record files stored in the HDD of the
4.1 Remote Recording
When the video storage devices are HDDs, NetHDDs or SD/SDHC cards installed in the DVR, NVR or IP cameras, or when
you have a storage server connected you can configure the recording of via the CMS Client.
4.1.1 Recording on the Storage Device on the DVR, NVR or Network Camera
For the newly installed storage devices, you need to initialize them.
Note: This is not a mandatory procedure. If the storage devices are already in use, and some record files are recorded on it,
the initialization operation should be considered carefully. If the initialization is not needed, start your setting with step 4.
1. Format the HDD or SD/SDHC card: After adding the devices into CMS Client, enter the
interface of the selected device.
Click HDD sub-menu to format the storage devices first, shown in the figure below.
of the HDD.
to format the HDD installed in the device. And the process bar shows the formatting process
Enable Local Recording: Go to Camera Settings > Schedule and check the checkbox of the Local
Recording.
Note: In this interface, the Local Recording refers to the recording on the HDD of the DVR or IP Camera.
Recording Schedule Configuration: click
icon and configure the schedule template shown below:
for all-day continuous recording
for working-hours continuous recording from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM;
for all-day event recording.
Editing the recording schedule template:
You can edit the template name and time schedule in this interface.
means normal scheduled recording. The schedule time bar is blue.
means schedule recording for events. The schedule time bar is yellow.
means schedule recording triggered by command. The schedule time bar is green.
Note: Command recording function is only available when CMS Client added ATM DVR while the ATM transactions are
taking place.
When the cursor turns to
, you can edit the schedule.
, you can move the schedule you just configured.
, you can lengthen or shorten the time bar you configured.
to save the schedule you just set.
The configuration of the capture schedule is the same with that of the record schedule.
for the record files.
in the schedule interface to set the Pre-record time, Post-record time and the storage parameters
Pre-record: Normally used for the event triggered record, when you want to record before the event happens.
Post-record: After the event finished, the video can also be recorded for a certain time.
Video Expired Time: The time for keeping the record files in the HDD, once exceeded, the file is deleted.
4.1.2 Recording on the Storage Server
Using CMS Client software, you can configure the recording schedule for any added channels and store the recorded files in
the NVR storage server.
The storage server can be configured for recording the video files. And the storage server application software is also packed
in the CMS Client software package.
Adding and configuring the storage server
button in the control panel of CMS Client, and then click
2. Create a nickname for the storage device and input other information.
The IP address should be the IP address of the PC on which the storage server runs.
button and go to
recorded files, then click
button to add the storage server.
sub-menu and select a local HDD in the server for storing
button to format the HDD, shown as figure below:
And in this interface you can also configure the network parameters, the user information, the exception handling
method and so on.
Setting storage server recording schedule
Add Recording Channels: Click
record file to the storage server.
button to enter the interface to choose the camera and add the
and the following message box pops up.
Check the checkbox to select the cameras for which you want to record on the storage server. And then click
Set Recording Schedule: click Schedule on the left to enter schedule configuration interface.
Select the camera from the dropdown list, then click
icon and configure the schedule template shown as
If you want to change recording resolution, bit rate or other recording parameters, please click Image Quality button in the
Camera Settings panel and modify the main stream quality as needed.
To ensure that event recording works properly, please set motion detection &video tampering area, schedule/alarm schedule
first and then enable trigger camera recording. More details in Camera Settings Chapter.
Command recording function is only available when CMS Client added ATM DVR while the ATM transactions are taking
4.2 Remote Playback
The remote client can search the record files on the Storage Server and the DVR, and it can also do the smart search for the
event triggered record files during playback.
in the control panel to enter the Remote Playback Interface.
Toolbar Description:
1, 4, 9, 16 screen-mode
Stop all the playback video.
Record file searching:
1. Searching for all the files:
Check the checkbox on the camera list, and then on the calendar below, select the day you want to search. Then click Search.
Note: If there are record files for that camera in that day, in the calendar, the icon for that day is displayed as
it is displayed as
The timeline indicates the time duration for the record file.
. Otherwise
2. Searching by card number:
Note: This function is only applied to the ATM DVR, you can search the record files by the DVR card number.
Note: You still need to choose the date and camera to search the files.
3. Searching by File Type:
You can select the file type to restrict the searching condition and search for only the record files for certain types.
Playback management:
1. Left-click the mouse on the screen of which camera you’d like to manage. A toolbar is showed at the bottom.
Pause the video
Stop playing
Playback by single frame
Smart Search (Only for the devices with the smart search function)
Clip the record file
Audio on/off
Capture in the playback mode.
Note: Click
, and the video move forward to next frame.
You can enable audio on only one channel at one time.
Smart search management:
on the left-click toolbar, and the smart toolbar is showed up.
Note: The smart search function should be supported by the remote devices you connected.
Click to draw the smart search area and click
to start the smart search.
Draw Area
Delete Area
If there are eligible record files for smart search, there are red areas on the time line.
Download record files:
to download the files you selected.
Sensitivity of Event
Note: The saving path for the downloaded files can be set in the System Configuration interface. See Chapter 7.2 File
Saving Path Configuration.
Event playback
Play back the record files of event type.
1. Go to Event Search interface and select an event type: motion or alarm input.
2. Select a camera in the group and specify a start time, and then click
3. Select a window, and double-click a video file from the search results list to play.
• Event playback function is only available for NVR/DVR which support event recording.
• Make sure to import all the channels that you wish to play back in Import Camera panel.
• It is also required to enable continuous recording on all the alarm/motion-triggered channels before event playback.
4.3 Remote Device Management and Configuration
The remote configuration and management for the connected devices are provided. You can configure the parameters for the
basic settings, the image and the network transmission of the device.
Note: For different devices the remote configuration interface are different.
icon on control panel to enter device management interface.
2. Select the device you want to configure, and click
button to enter the device management
interface. You can also enter the device management interface by clicking the Remote Configuration
Import Camera interface.
button in
4.3.1 Basic Information
On the Information page, you can check the basic information of the device, including device type, total channel number,
HDD number, physical Alarm I/O number, Device Serial Number, and version information.
On the general settings page, you can set the basic parameters of the device.
Device No.
Table. General Parameter Descriptions
Define the name of the device, and it will be displayed on the device
list of the client
Device number for remote control
Record Replace
Overwrite HDDs when HDDs are full
Main BNC Scaling
Scale image display on the main BNC output
Spot BNC Scaling
Scale image display on the spot BNC output
4.3.3 Camera Management
If the managed device is a DVR/NVR with multiple cameras connected, you can find the camera management page. You can
enable and disable the analog cameras and add, change, and delete the IP cameras in this interface.
4.3.4 Network Settings
On the network settings page, you can configure network parameters of the device. Two tabs are available for general and
advanced settings.
Table. General Network Settings Descriptions
Working Mode
NIC Type
Device IP Address
Subnet Mask
MTU(Byte)
Device Port
HTTP Port
Main NIC
RTSP Port
Set working mode as Net Fault-tolerance, Load Balance or Dual-NIC
Settings for DVRs/NVRs (Only available for the devices with dualNIC interface)
NIC types of the device
IP address of the device
Sub net mask IP for the device
Default gateway IP for the device
Mac address of the device; this is a read-only field
The maximum transport unit; the default value is 1500
Network port of the device, the default port number is 8000
Multicast address of the device. Please leave this field empty if
multicast is not required
Web servicer port; the default port number is 80
Set the main NIC for DVRs/NVRs.(Only applicable for the devices
with dual-NIC interface)
Real time streaming protocol port; the default port is 554
Table. Advanced Network Settings Descriptions
Set server, port, interval and time for NTP time synchronization.
Email account settings for the device
Set DDNS address, username and password for PPPOE
Set protocol type, server, port, account and domain for DDNS
Configure FTP- related parameters for picture upload.
Set SNMP version, read/write community and trap address.
Set UPnP and forwarding port.
Configure DNS server addresses, alarm host IPs and ports.
Configure wireless networking related parameters
Note: You can click each Set button for the advanced settings.
4.3.5 Alarm Settings
On the alarm parameter page, you can configure alarm I/O and linkage actions for the device.
Alarm input parameters description
Alarm Input
Alarm Name
Alarm Status
Select an alarm input channel for configuration
IP address of the digital alarm input. “Local” stands for the hardwired alarm input interface on the device. This is a read-only field.
Define a name for the alarm input channel
“Normal Open” stands for normally open status and “Normal Closed”
stands for normally closed status.
Check the checkbox to activate alarm linked action settings
Set the time schedule to handle the alarm triggered actions. The
Arming Schedule
schedule template can be configured in Schedule settings page of
Camera Settings.
Check the alarm actions which are required to be activated when the
alarm input triggered, and select corresponding channel number if
Alarm Output Parameter Descriptions
Alarm Output
Select an alarm output channel for configuration
IP address of the digital alarm output. “Local” stands for the hard-
wired alarm input interface on the device. This is a read-only
Output Delay
Select the delay duration for the alarm output
Set the time schedule to handle the alarm output. The schedule
template can be configured in Schedule settings page of Camera
Check the alarm actions which are required to be activated when
the alarm input triggered, and select corresponding channel
number if required.
4.3.6 User Management
You can also add or delete users for the connected device.
In the user management page, you can create/delete user accounts and configure permissions for each user account.
To add a user account:
Click the Add icon on user management interface.
Choose user type (Guest/Operator), enter username and password.
Grant the account privileges to this device.
4. Click Confirm to finish.
The created user accounts will be listed in the user list with basic information.
4.3.7 HDD Settings
On the HDD settings page, all the HDD installed on the device are listed with basic information. You can configure network
disk, HDD groups ,modify the information or format the disks.
4.3.8 Exception Settings
In exception settings interface, you can select the exception type, and check the linkage actions accordingly under Alarm
Triggering Mode section and select the channel number in Alarm Output section. Different linkage actions can be configured
for different exception type.
4.3.9 File Management
On the file management page, you can search and view the record files of the device. Select the camera number, file property
(all, locked, or unlocked), define the start and end time of the record files, and then click Search. The matched record files
will be listed accordingly.
If the device supports remote backup function, you can also select files and click Backup to back up all the selected record
Captured pictures and record files stored on local devices can also be searched, played back and backed up. Picture types
include motion detection, alarm, continuous capture and etc.
4.3.10 Log Management
You can query log files of the connected device in log management interface. Select the search mode, major type and minor
type, define the start and end time of the log files, and then click Search. The log will be listed accordingly.
If the device supports remote backup function, you can also select logs and click Backup to back up all the selected log files
4.3.11 Holiday Settings
Note: This chapter is only for the remote device with holiday schedule function.
In the holiday setting interface, you can check the holiday settings and edit the holiday schedule.
To edit the holiday schedule, click the Edit icon, set the start and end time for the holiday and click Confirm.
4.3.12 Other Settings (RS-232 Settings, Remote Upgrade and DST Settings)
In this interface, you can set the RS232 information and remotely upgrade the device.
For remote upgrade function, click
button to browse and select the upgrade file, and click Upgrade to start upgrading.
The upgrade process will be displayed and a reboot is required when it’s finished.
To enable the DST function, click the
button and enable DST.
4.3.13 Channel-zero Settings
Channel-zero is a feature designed for DVRs/NVRs to decrease the required bandwidth when remotely viewing several
channels at a time by web browser or remote client software.
Note: This function must be supported by the device connected.
On this page, you can enable/disable channel-zero coding, set the encoding parameters (max bitrate and frame rate),
screening-split settings (working mode and switching intervals) and camera order for displaying.
Note: The Max. Bitrate and Frame Rate should be set according to the real network condition.
4.3.14 Resource Usage
The resource usage tab is only valid for some DVRs or NVRs.
In this interface, you find the network resource usage status, including preview, playback and IPC module.
4.4 Camera Settings
Click Camera Settings icon on control panel to enter the camera setting interface.
Select a camera from the dropdown list in the upper left corner of the interface. The live image of the camera will be
displayed on the screen below.
Click the icons in the bottom left area to enter each configuration pages. You can also click Device Settings icon to
manage the device. Please refer to section 4.3 for Device Management.
Description of the Camera Setting interface:
Set camera parameters of the device
Set image quality, resolution and other encoding
parameters of the camera
Set recording schedule of the camera
Set camera display parameter. E.g. OSD and privacy
Set motion detection parameters of the camera
Set tampering alarm parameters of the camera
Set video loss alarm parameters of the camera. E.g.
arming schedule, linkage mode, and etc.
Set PTZ parameters. E.g. baud rate, protocol and etc.
Set connection parameters of the camera
4.4.1 Picture Settings
The quality of the picture can be configured in the picture settings interface. You can adjust the brightness, contrast,
saturation and hue of the video image.
Click the Advanced Settings icon to configure parameters below.
Picture Advanced Setting Descriptions
Configure the brightness, contrast, saturation, hue, sharpness and
AGC for the video.
Configure the white balance.
Configure the exposure time and iris type (auto/manual)
Enable or Disable wide dynamic mode.
Day/Night Switch
Configure the day/night mode and define the filtering time.
Configure the digital noise reduction mode and level.
Configure parameters including flicker filter, mirror, PTZ and local
4.4.2 Video Quality
On this page, you can configure parameters for main stream and sub-stream separately. You can set video quality and
resolution on the main interface. To configure steam type, bitrate type, max bitrate, frame rate, frame type, frame interval and
encoding type, please click Advanced Settings button to enter advanced setting interface.
icon, you can copy the settings to other cameras within the same group.
For the direct connected IP cameras, the audio parameters can also be set. Choose the audio encoding type and the audio
input type. You can choose mic in for using the microphone as the audio input and choose the line in for using pickup.
4.4.3 Record Schedule
You can set recording schedules parameters to enable the automatic recording in certain time duration.
Note: Parameters in the Record section are set for the camera you’ve selected. For Storage Server Recording parameters, you
need to add a storage server first. To assign a Storage Server for the recording schedule, please click Storage Server button.
You can follow below steps to set the record schedule templates.
Click the template selection button of Record Schedule to enter template configuration interface.
You can choose pre-designed All-day Template, Weekday Template or Alarm Template, or customize your own record
template.
Choose one of undefined templates or click Customized to activate the edit mode. Click Schedule Recording, Event
Recording or Command for different recording types. Drag the mouse on the time bar to define the record time window
for each day.
Click the colored bar to display the specific time schedule. You can also shorten or extend the time window by amending
the length of the bar.
For more details of record schedule, please refer to the table below.
Record Schedule
Delete the selected schedule
Clear all the record schedules of the selected template
Copy the selected schedule section to other day (s)
Normal scheduled recording. The schedule time bar is blue.
Schedule recording for events. The schedule time bar is yellow
Schedule recording triggered by commands. The schedule time bar is green.
(Only available for ATM DVR.)
icon to copy the settings to other cameras within the same group.
4.4.4 Video Display
On the video display page, you can define the following parameters for the camera.
Video Display Parameters
Display week
Enable Privacy Mask
Text Overlay
The camera name displayed on the live video
Display the date on the live video and choose the date format and
Display the week on the live video.
Enable privacy mask function on the live video. You can drag the
mouse of the live video to set the mask.
Edit user-defined text to be displayed on the live video.
You can set privacy masks, configure OSD and define the text locations on the live video. Please follow steps below to
enable the functions.
To draw a privacy mask:
1. Check the Enable Privacy Mask checkbox.
2. Drag the mouse to draw a square on the live video. You can move it to change the location or change the size by
enlarging or reducing the area.
Delete or Delete All icon under the view to delete the privacy mask.
to finish.
To configure the OSD and text:
To define the text overlay, check one of the text checkboxes and enter the content. Click
text shown in the left upper corner of the live view area.
Drag the mouse to move the OSD or the defined text window to change the location on the live video.
Note: You can configure up to 4 privacy masks.
4.4.5 Motion Detection
You can configure motion detection parameters in Motion Detection interface.
. You can see the
1. Check Enable Motion Detection checkbox to enable the function.
2. Draw the detection area on the video image by dragging the mouse and set the sensitivity on the value bar under the live
view.
3. You can click the
icon to set the whole video area as detection area; click the
detection area; or click the
icon to delete the selected
icon to delete all the motion detection areas.
4. Click the template selection button of Arming Schedule to setup the schedule for motion detection. The steps are similar
to record schedule configuration. You can refer to section 4.4.3 for more information.
5. Configure linkage methods for motion detection.
to save the changes.
Notify Surveillance Center
Linkage Method for Motion Detection
Trigger audible warning on the device when motion detection is
triggered.
Upload alarm information to the CMS software when motion
detection is triggered.
Activate one or multiple channels of alarm output when motion
Trigger Alarm Output
detection is triggered. Users need to specify the corresponding alarm
output channel (s) in Alarm Output Settings.
Triggered Camera
Start recording of the selected cameras when motion detection is
Email Linkage
Full Screen Monitoring
Send out an Email when motion detection is triggered. Please refer to
section 7.4 for emails parameter settings
Switch to full screen to monitor the motion detection video when
motion detection is triggered.
Upload Captured Picture To
When motion detection is triggered, several pictures will be captured
and uploaded to FTP server.
4.4.6 Tampering Alarm
Tampering Alarm is an alarm triggered when the camera is covered and the monitored area can’t be seen. You can configure
tempering alarm parameters in this interface.
Check Enable Tampering Alarm checkbox to enable the function.
Draw the tampering detection area on the video image by dragging the mouse and set the sensitivity on the value bar
under the live view.
icon to set the whole video area as detection area and click the
detection area.
Click the template selection button of Arming Schedule to setup the schedule for tempering alarm. The steps are similar
Configure linkage methods for tampering alarm. Please refer to Table 9.5 for linkage method details.
Linkage Method for Tampering Alarm
Trigger audible warning on the device when alarm is triggered.
Upload alarm information to the remote management software when
alarm is triggered.
Activate one or multiple channels of alarm output when alarm is
triggered. You need to specify the corresponding alarm output
channel (s) in Alarm Output Settings.
Send out an Email when tampering alarm is triggered. Please refer to
section 7.4 for emails parameter settings.
Switch to full screen to monitor video when alarm is triggered.
4.4.7 Video Loss Detection
Video Loss detection is used to detect the disconnection of the channels. You can configure video loss alarm parameters of
the camera in Video Loss interface.
Check Enable Video Loss Detection checkbox to enable the function.
Click the template selection button of Arming Schedule to setup the schedule for video loss detection. The steps are
similar to record schedule configuration. You can refer to section 5.4.3 for more information.
Configure linkage methods for video loss detection. Please refer to Table 9.6 for linkage method details.
Linkage Method for Video Loss Detection
Upload alarm information to the remote management software
when alarm is triggered.
triggered. Users need to specify the corresponding alarm output
Send out an Email when tampering alarm is triggered.
4.4.8 PTZ Parameters Settings
On the PTZ parameters configuration page, you can specify the PTZ connection parameters, such as baud rate, data bit, stop
bits, parity, flow control, PTZ protocol and PTZ address.
Note: The PTZ parameters should be consistent with the settings of the PTZ on the DVR or IP camera side to ensure valid
PTZ control.
to save the changes, you can also click
icon to copy the settings to other cameras within
the same group.
4.4.9 Configuring Network Connection
On the Network Connection configuration page, you can specify the protocol, choose the stream type of the camera, and
configure stream media server.
To configure the steam media server, check Obtain Video Stream via Stream Media Server checkbox .
For the detailed configuration of the stream media server, see chapter 5.1 Adding a Stream Media Server.
Chapter 5. Forwarding Video Stream from Stream Media Server
5.1 Adding a Stream Media Server
When there are too many users want to get a remote access to the devices to get the live view or management, you can add
the stream media server and get the video data stream from the stream media server, thus lower the load of the device.
to enter the Stream Media Server configuration interface.
, the dialog box pops up.
Create a nick Name, enter IP address of the PC on which the stream media server is running, and Port number (the Port
554 is the default RTSP port number), and then click Add to save it.
Note: When you install the CMS Client, you can install the stream media server in your computer too, you can also run the
stream media server on the same computer on which you run the CMS Client.
5.2 Forwarding Video Stream via the Stream Media Server
§
to configure the stream media server you selected.
The Port Config tab:
The RTSP Listening port is 554 by default.
The maximum and minimum value of the port pool is 13000 and 12000 respectively.
In the Channel Config. tab, you can select and choose the device which you want to add to the stream media server and get
stream form the media server.
§ The Channel Config. tab:
Select the camera group which you want to add to the stream media server.
Choose the cameras to add by check the checkbox or check the
stream media server.
to add all the cameras in the group to the
to confirm the settings you made.
After the successful configuration, you can get the data stream from the device via the forwarding of the stream media server.
Chapter 6. Log Management
This chapter explains how to search and backup system logs and open saved local log files in the client.
To enter local log management interface, click Local Log Search icon on control panel.
6.1 Local Log Search
Set “Log Type”, “Minor Type’, ”User Name”, “Group”, “Camera” and the time window of the log you intend to search.
Click “Search” button.
The matched logs will be listed on the display pane.
6.2 Log Backup
After searched the logs, click “Backup” button.
button to select the saving path on the “Backup Log” dialog box, and define the file name. Click
and “Backup” buttons.
6.3 Opening Log Files
For the log files that have been backed up to local PC, you can open them in this interface for management purpose.
Navigate to File→ Open Log File from the menu bar.
After selecting the log file, click
button to browse the folders where the log files are located.
to open the log file.
Chapter 7. System Configuration
This chapter includes instructions of general configuration, file saving path configuration, alarm sounds and email
configurations for the system. Click “System Configuration” icon on control panel to enter system configuration interface.
7.1 General Configuration
On the General configuration page, you can configure the general settings for the local system.
Log Keeping Time
The expiration time of the system logs.
View Scale
It can be set as Full Screen, 4:3 or 16:9.
Instant Playback Time
It can be set as 30s, 1min, 3min, 5min or 10min
It can be set as low, middle, or high.
Enable Auto-login:
Automatically login the software without user account validation.
Prioritize the playback of record
Enable record files on storage server priority during playback
files on storage server
Resume Live View Status
Enable resume review option
Auto Time Adjustment
Set the time auto adjust time
To finish general settings, you can click
button to save the changes or click “Default” to restore the default
7.2 File Saving Path Configuration
In the File configuration tab, you can set the saving paths to store video files, captured pictures and configuration files.
Click each
button to select the saving paths respectively for .video files, pictures and configuration files.
button to save the new settings, or click “Default” to restore default settings.
7.3 Alarm Sound Configuration
In the Alarm Sound configuration interface, you can configure audio (.wav) files for alarms of motion detections, video
exceptions, alarm inputs and device exceptions.
button to open the file browser, and select an audio (.wav) file for the selected alarm type.
button to listen to the selected audio file.
7.4 Email Configuration
In the email configuration interface, you can set the SMTP server, and account information for the alarm actions of the client.
Enter SMTP server, Port, User Name, Password, Sender’s Address and Receiver’s Address.
Click “Send Test Email” to check email configured successfully.
Chapter 8. FAQ
Symptom:
Failed to get the live view of a certain device
Unstable network or the network performance is not good enough. The device is offline.
Too many accesses to the remote device cause the load of the device too high.
The current user has no permission for live view.
The version of the client software is below the needed version.
Check network status and disable other not in use process on your PC.
Check the device network status.
Restart the device or disable other remote access to the device.
Log in with the admin user and try again.
Download the client software of the newest version.
Normal recording and the remote recording are confusing.
When we say local recording when we use the client software, it refers to the recording on the PC running the client.
And remote recording refers to the recording action commanded by the client on the device side, which stores the record files
in the HDD of the device.
Failed to download the playback file or the downloading speed is too slow.
Unstable network or the network performance is not good enough.
The NIC type is not compatible.
Too many accesses to the remote device
The current user has no permission for playback.
Directly connect the PC running the client to the device to check the compatibility of the NIC card.
iVMS-4200 Client Software User Manual - Tri-Ed
CMS Manual for MAC - Tri
Neutral_User Manual of CMS
MAZi CMS User Manual
2.2.4 Adding Devices - Tri
max-i2 CMS User`s Manual
CMS Client Software User Manual - AGI Security
Accessing via Web Browser
iVMS-4200 Client Software User Manual Version 1.02 - avs-sise
NVMS-7000 Client Software User Manual Version 1.03
User Manual - Balloch Security
User Manual - Foro SYSCOM
CMS 3.0 English Manual
DSC_VM-114_user_manual - Tyco Security Products Asia Pacific
User Manual iVMS-4200 Client Software
HRG Multi-site 4200 Remote Software User Guide (Windows)
User Manual - Surveillance
User Manual - PI Manufacturing Corp
Multi-Site 4200 Remove Viewing Software User Guide for Mac
User Manual - Domar Solutions Ltd
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The Independent Data Center Alliance to Host Data Center Discussions at The INCOMPAS Show
Three panels scheduled for Wednesday, September 16, 2020, will address independent data center operator challenges, connectivity trends and capabilities, and data center valuations
The Independent Data Center Alliance, a consortium of global independent data center operators who collaborate to create single-sourced solutions for buyers of colocation and data center solutions is set to host a series of data center-centric panels at The 2020 INCOMPAS Show taking place online from September 14-16, 2020. INCOMPAS, the internet and competitive networks association, is the leading trade group advocating for competition policy across all networks. The INCOMPAS Show brings together competitive communications professionals to network, learn and do business.
The Independent Data Center Alliance hosted sessions are outlined as follows:
Wednesday, September 16, 2020 from 1:00-1:30 p.m. EST: Independent Data Center Operators Address Network Aggregation. This session will share insights from data center operators highlighting the shifts required by operators and the growing need for network aggregation points, interconnectivity, regional network partnerships and more. Panelists include: Tom Brown, CEO of DataGryd; Hugh Carspecken, co-founder and chief strategy officer for DartPoints; Phil Koblence, co-founder and COO of NYI; and Michael Morey, CEO of Bluebird Network and the Bluebird Underground Data Center, moderated by Peter Judge of DatacenterDynamics.
Wednesday, September 16, 2020 from 1:30-2:00 p.m. EST: Data Center Interconnection Trends and Capabilities. This session will bring together leading industry solution providers enabling data centers to provide smart connectivity solutions powered by software-defined networks, the internet and more. Panelists include: Ed d’Agostino, VP and general manager for DE-CIX North America; Bill Norton, co-founder of NOIA; Dave Tomassoni, senior account director for PacketFabric; and Mary Stanhope, chief marketing officer for Unitas Global.
Wednesday, September 16, 2020 from 2:00-2:30 p.m. EST: Data Center Valuations: From shell/core to network connectivity, what makes a data center valuable or invaluable in the markets they serve? This session brings together the leading investment bankers and valuation experts to provide insights on what makes data center valuations stronger and more marketable for a sale, merger, acquisition or for financing. Panelists include: Rich Lukaj, senior managing director of Bank Street Group; Tom Watts, managing partner of private equity firm Radius Capital; Will Cooper, Technology, Media & Telecom for Houlihan Lokey (formerly of MVP Capital Partners) and will be moderated by Miles Loo, Jr., the Global Valuation and Advisory Data Center lead for Newmark Knight Frank.
“We are honored to bring together such an esteemed group of data center industry experts and service providers to have frank and insightful conversations about the state of data centers and their important role in bridging the digital divide,” comments Ilissa Miller, a co-founder of the Independent Data Center Alliance, CEO of iMiller Public Relations and President of NEDAS.
“The Independent Data Center Alliance’s contributions to the INCOMPAS Show illustrate our ability to provide insights and sound guidance to any company looking for information about colocation and data center capabilities throughout the world,” adds Tom Brown, a co-founder of the Independent Data Center Alliance and CEO and President of DataGryd, a founding company of the Independent Data Center Alliance. “As a collective group, we don’t just provide services for buyers of data centers, we provide market intelligence, resources and guidance to ensure the important decisions about providers are made with as much information from as many operators as needed. The panels we have organized for The INCOMPAS Show illustrate our network of trusted advisors and contacts that, when you choose to engage with the Independent Data Center Alliance, enable you to learn from to make solid decisions about your business’ data center needs.”
In addition to the Independent Data Center Alliance expert led panels, The INCOMPAS Show features three-days of keynotes, panel discussions and workshops from a range of industry leaders covering Digital Infrastructure, Investors and Lenders, Policy Workshops, Emotional Intelligence Superpowers, Keynotes from FCC Commissioners, Broadband Solutions for Schools and Communities, Funding Insights, Compliance, Automation and more. The event hosts a Buyers Forum daily and enables attendees to network one-on-one and access all educational content through ConnectIN, the show’s virtual portal.
Registration for The INCOMPAS Show is now open. Rates are $150 for Members or $195 for Non-Members. For the latest information about the event, visit show.incompas.org. To learn more about The Independent Data Center Alliance please go to: http://www.ind-dca.org.
Source: The Independent Data Center Alliance media announcement
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Cavaliers-Warriors Finals rematch headlines 69th edition of NBA on Christmas Day
NEW YORK – The NBA on Christmas Day holiday tradition returns this year for the 69th time in league history. Five games will be televised in the United States on ABC and ESPN and will be seen in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages on Sunday, Dec. 25 (see schedule below), with more than 1.3 billion fans following the league on social media.
Christmas Day promises to be packed with star power. The winners of the last eight Kia NBA MVP Awards and the previous nine scoring titles as well as 15 players selected to the 2016 NBA All-Star Game and all five members of the 2015-16 All-NBA First Team are set to take the court. Four of the five teams currently with the NBA’s best records will be in action, including the defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers and the 2015 champion Golden State Warriors, who will play each other for the first time since The Finals 2016.
Here are some additional numbers surrounding the NBA on Christmas Day:
625 Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs have won 625 regular-season games together, by far the most among active duos. Only four duos in NBA history have won more games as teammates than Ginobili and Parker, who are in their 15th season together in San Antonio. The Spurs host the Chicago Bulls on Dec. 25.
399 Cleveland’s Tristan Thompson is on track to make Christmas Day his 399th consecutive regular-season game appearance, the longest active streak in the NBA and the longest in Cavaliers history. Thompson has played in every game since Feb. 10, 2012.
277 Chicago’s Dwyane Wade is the active scoring leader on Christmas Day with 277 points, the third-highest total all time behind Kobe Bryant (395 points) and Oscar Robertson (377). Wade is also the active leader in games played on Christmas (11 entering this year).
242 After this year’s slate of games, the NBA will have played 242 games on Christmas Day since 1947.
51 The New York Knicks will play on Christmas Day for the 51st time, the most in NBA history, when they host the Boston Celtics (30th appearance). The Los Angeles Lakers will be making their 43rd appearance, second on the all-time list, when they face the LA Clippers.
44 Golden State’s Kevin Durant owns the highest-scoring game on Christmas Day among active players, recording 44 points for the Oklahoma City Thunder against the Denver Nuggets in 2010. (Bernard King holds the all-time single-game Christmas Day record with 60 points for the Knicks against the New Jersey Nets in 1984.)
37 Thirty-seven players from outside the U.S. representing 22 countries are on the rosters of teams playing Christmas Day. The Spurs have the most international players (six), while the Knicks, Thunder, Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves all have five each. Spain is the country represented by the most players (five).
34.3 New York’s Carmelo Anthony has averaged 34.3 points per game on Christmas Day, the highest mark among all players with at least four appearances. Anthony will play in his fifth Christmas game this year.
31.5 The Warriors are averaging a league-best 31.5 assists per game this season. The NBA single-season record is 31.4, set by the 1984-85 Lakers.
30 This year marks the 30th anniversary of Patrick Ewing hitting a buzzer beater to give the Knicks an 86-85 victory over the Bulls in one of the NBA’s most memorable Christmas Day games. In that same game, Chicago’s Michael Jordan scored 30 points in the first of his six Christmas Day appearances.
21 The Lakers have won 21 games on Christmas Day, the second-most victories all time behind the Knicks’ 22. Los Angeles has a 21-21 record on the holiday.
9 For the ninth consecutive year, the NBA will play five games on Christmas Day.
8 DeAndre Jordan of the Clippers holds the NBA record for most blocks in a Christmas Day game, rejecting eight shots against Golden State in 2011.
7 Play-by-play announcer Mike Breen and analysts Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson will broadcast their seventh Christmas Day game together when they call the Cavaliers-Warriors game on ABC.
5 Five players have recorded a triple-double on Christmas Day, including two who will be in action this year: Cleveland’s LeBron James and Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook, who has an NBA-high 13 triple-doubles this season. The other three players with triple-doubles on Christmas are Billy Cunningham, John Havlicek and Oscar Robertson.
4 The four 21-year-old players who are currently averaging at least 20 points per game will make their Christmas Day debuts: Minnesota’s Zach LaVine, Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins and New York’s Kristaps Porzingis.
2 The two players who have scored the most points in a quarter in NBA history will square off on Christmas Day. Golden State’s Klay Thompson set the NBA record by scoring 37 points in the third quarter against the Sacramento Kings on Jan. 23, 2015. Cleveland’s Kevin Love is second on the list after scoring 34 points in the first quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers on Nov. 23, 2016.
1 The Timberwolves will make their first Christmas Day appearance in franchise history.
NBA ON CHRISTMAS DAY SCHEDULE
Game Time Network
Boston Celtics at New York Knicks Noon ET ESPN
Golden State Warriors at Cleveland Cavaliers 2:30 p.m. ET ABC
Chicago Bulls at San Antonio Spurs 5:00 p.m. ET ABC
Minnesota Timberwolves at Oklahoma City Thunder 8:00 p.m. ET ESPN
LA Clippers at Los Angeles Lakers 10:30 p.m. ET ESPN
Grizzlies at Timberwolves game postponed
Pacers at Suns game postponed
Wizards at Pistons, Warriors at Suns games postponed
Hawks at Suns game postponed
Jazz vs. Wizards game postponed
« Westchester’s Chasson Randle named NBA D-League Performer of the Week
Trail Blazers’ CJ McCollum receives November NBA Cares Community Assist Award »
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W.E. (2011)
Watch W.E. (2011) Online
In 1998, an auction of the estate of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor causes great excitement. For one woman, Wally Winthrop, it has much more meaning. Wally becomes obsessed by their historic love story. As she learns more about the sacrifices involved, Wally gains her own courage to find happiness.
Genre: Drama, History, Romance
Director: Madonna
Actors: Abbie Cornish, Andrea Riseborough, David Harbour, James D'Arcy, James Fox, Judy Parfitt, Richard Coyle
The Milagro Beanfield War (1988)
In Milagro, a small town in the American Southwest, Ladd Devine plans to build a major new resort development. While activist Ruby Archuleta and lawyer/newspaper editor Charlie Bloom realize that…
Ideal Home (2018)
A couple is going through marital troubles made worse when a previously unknown grandson shows up.
Nineteen-year-old Danny Flynn is imprisoned for his involvement with the I.R.A. in Belfast. He leaves behind his family and his sixteen-year-old girlfriend, Maggie Hamill. Fourteen years later, Danny is released…
Country: Ireland, USA
Genre: Drama, Romance, Sport
Fist of Legend (1994)
Chen Zhen, a Chinese engineering student in Kyoto, who braves the insults and abuse of his Japanse fellow students for his local love Mitsuko Yamada, daughter of the director, returns…
Tangerine (2015)
It’s Christmas Eve in Tinseltown and Sin-Dee is back on the block. Upon hearing that her pimp boyfriend hasn’t been faithful during the 28 days she was locked up, the…
This Christmas (2007)
This year Christmas with the Whitfields promises to be one they will never forget. All the siblings have come home for the first time in years and they’ve brought plenty…
New York, New York (1977)
An egotistical saxophone player and a young singer meet on V-J Day and embark upon a strained and rocky romance, even as their careers begin a long uphill climb.
A taciturn loner and skilled cook has traveled west and joined a group of fur trappers in Oregon Territory, though he only finds true connection with a Chinese immigrant also…
Lars and the Real Girl (2007)
Extremely shy Lars finds it impossible to make friends or socialize. His brother and sister-in-law worry about him, so when he announces that he has a girlfriend he met on…
Gangs of New York (2002)
It’s 1863. America was born in the streets. Amsterdam Vallon returns to the Five Points of America to seek vengeance against the psychotic gangland kingpin, Bill the Butcher, who murdered…
Country: Italy, USA
Albino Alligator (1996)
Three petty thieves who the police believe to be major criminals are chased into a basement bar where they take five hostages including all the bar employees. The rest of…
A salesman for a natural gas company experiences life-changing events after arriving in a small town, where his corporation wants to tap into the available resources.
Country: United Arab Emirates, USA
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✆ Confidentiality Guaranteed (843) 757-4391
Investigations in South Carolina
Attorney Services in South Carolina
Nearly 800 accuse Boy Scouts of failing to protect them from sex abuse as new lawsuit is filed
Leave a Comment / Background Checks / By pisghost
Another example of our children being placed in seemingly respected and trusted organizations without proper background checks. This very disappointing story today illustrates the need for parents to take every precaution possible to protect their children.
As a former Boy Scout, it is very disheartening to read this story. Over the years, the Scouts were among the most trusted and well respected of youth organizations. Unfortunately, even this revered organization has been targeted by sexual predators exploiting our children.
It is unclear here what the true nature of the problem is, but no matter the organization or trusted status of the adults involved, take an extra step to protect your children and conduct an independent background check on those organizations you entrust your children to. In Beaufort County SC,
from Hilton Head Island to Bluffton to Beaufort, Private Investigation Services Group stands ready to conduct a background check that helps verify the credentials of the organization, and those individuals responsible for your children.
A lawsuit filed late Monday against the Boy Scouts of America says hundreds of former Scouts have come forward in recent months with accounts of sexual abuse, allegations from across eight decades that reach nearly every state.
Lawyers began collecting the accounts this spring as they prepared a suit, which they filed on behalf of a client who alleges his former scoutmaster plied him with drugs and alcohol before repeatedly sexually abusing him.
At a news conference Tuesday morning, the lawyers said they have nearly 800 other clients who were abused while Scouts. The suit says at least 350 abusers do not appear in the Boy Scouts’ disciplinary files, citing that as evidence that the organization has not adequately vetted its volunteers and hidden the extent of the sexual abuse scandal.
“It is apparent that the Boy Scout Defendants continue to hide the true nature of their cover-up and the extent of the pedophilia epidemic within their organizations because the vast majority of new victims coming forward involve claims of abuse at the hands of pedophiles who are not yet identified by the Boy Scouts of America,” the complaint reads.
The law firm’s client list, obtained by USA TODAY, alleges molestation ranging from fondling to sodomy. Some of the men accused by former Scouts ended up in court or were punished administratively for similar crimes, sometimes many years after their alleged assaults. About two dozen of the men were kicked out of Scouting for abuse. USA TODAY is naming only those who fit one or more of those categories.
The accused tend to be men of stature in their communities, most of whom volunteered as troop leaders or assistant troop leaders. They were police officers and members of the military, teachers and a mayor, doctors and a child psychologist.
Their prominent positions offered them easy access to children. They allegedly caught their prey in tents and homemade shelters in the wilderness, in their cars shuttling young boys back and forth to Scouting activities, and sometimes in the children’s own homes.
Their access was unique to the Boy Scouts itself – at giant Jamborees and secretive Order of the Arrow ceremonies, isolated summer campgrounds and well-used church recreation halls. They’re accused of trading on the youth organization’s all-American wholesomeness to assuage parents who might not otherwise have allowed young boys to be alone with adult men.
“Looking at the hidden predators we’re uncovering, it sends chills down my spine,” said Tim Kosnoff, an attorney in the case who led abusedinscouting.com, a campaign to encourage victims to come forward before the lawsuit was filed late Monday in Pennsylvania state court. “It remains an open question of just how dangerous Scouting is today.”
One client claimed a licensed doctor instructed members of his troop to sleep in the nude during campouts, fondling them after they fell asleep. The abuse allegedly continued during medical exams. Decades later, the man would lose his license after a similar claim emerged.
Another client accused the former mayor of a small town of fondling him from the time he was 7 until he turned 18. Parents trusted the mayor with the care of their sons in Scouts, the client said. In July, the son of a former employee sued the former mayor, alleging abuse that went on for years. Boy Scouts of America also is named as a defendant.
Although Boy Scouts of America has been dogged by allegations of sexual abuse in recent years, the sheer volume of men lining up to be represented by the law firm hasn’t been seen since the release more than a decade ago of the Boy Scouts’ own ineligible volunteer files. Those confidential records, which became public during an earlier lawsuit, were kept by the organization on suspected or known abusers from 1947 to 2005.
A USA TODAY review of the law firm’s client list found only 28 of the alleged abusers were named in Boy Scouts’ files, known internally as the “perversion files.” In those cases, the incidents on the new client list allegedly happened either before or around the time the Scout leader was blacklisted.
The Boy Scouts of America will have 20 days to respond to the lawsuit after it is served. In a statement late Monday, the organization said it has taken steps to ensure that “we respond aggressively and effectively to reports of sexual abuse.”
“We care deeply about all victims of abuse and sincerely apologize to anyone who was harmed during their time in Scouting. We believe victims, we support them, we pay for counseling by a provider of their choice, and we encourage them to come forward,” the statement said. “Upon receipt of this information from the group of plaintiff’s attorneys, we immediately investigated the limited information provided and our efforts have already resulted in approximately 120 reports to law enforcement. We are continuing to manually search old paper records at the local level and will continue to notify law enforcement.”
Matt Stewart, who with his brother filed the lawsuit in 2003 that exposed the ineligible volunteer files for the first time, is not surprised by the avalanche of allegations, even so many years later.
“Some people never want to come forward,” Stewart said. “Some people have buried this chapter of their life deep inside of them. Some people don’t want to relive the victimization. They don’t want to go up against Big Brother in a court of law like I did.”
Read more: ‘There’s no rehabbing the Boy Scouts.’ Former scout speaks out about latest allegations
Michael Robinson, a law firm client who agreed to speak publicly, waited more than 40 years to come forward to accuse his pediatrician, Alan Schwartz, of fondling him during campouts.
“It’s kind of embarrassing,” he said. “You hide it, you don’t want to talk about it. But it needs to be talked about now. The public needs to know about it.”
The Boy Scouts’ response over the years has been “totally unacceptable,” Robinson said. “I just hope to God they’re not still doing it to kids.”
New allegations highlight where Boy Scouts may have missed signs of abuse
Woven through the law firm’s list is evidence that the organization either was unaware or failed to keep records of some of the Scout leaders accused of abuse. Several cases reviewed by USA TODAY suggest the Boy Scouts of America could have done more to prevent abuse.
New allegations collected by the law firm include those made against Gary Stroup, a former troop leader and teacher. He was banned from Boy Scouts after being accused of groping 11-year-old boys in 1989. Yet he remained a member of the National Eagle Scout Association, according to a letter Boy Scouts sent to his council two years later, reminding them Stroup was ineligible as a Scout volunteer.
Stroup achieved Scouting’s highest rank, Eagle Scout, and as an adult worked as a camp counselor and aquatics instructor at camps in central Ohio and at the 1981 National Jamboree. He repeatedly appealed his ban. Boy Scout leaders decided the only way Stroup could participate again was if he had a child of his own who joined the Scouts.
“As a scout, I was taught that to be a good leader it is my business to find out the other person’s point-of-view before we actually press our own,” Stroup wrote to Scout leaders in 1990. “I am hoping that as the leader of our great movement you will take the time to find out my point-of-view. I am putting my trust in you to do the right thing.”
Stroup was indicted on seven counts of “gross sexual imposition” after the abuse allegations in 1989. Shortly after he was acquitted in early 1990, his lawyer again appealed his Boy Scout membership revocation and submitted 41 letters of support, including from the principal of Avondale Elementary School where he worked, the local scoutmaster and camp director, the parents of Scouts and the pastor of his Methodist church.
Another accuser, who is among the legal firm’s new clients, said that at the time the scoutmaster and camp director lobbied for Stroup to remain in the Scouts, Stroup was abusing him. From roughly 1988 to 1990, the former Scout said, he was molested at least 100 times while on camping trips, in Stroup’s car, at home, at church and at school. He said Stroup threatened that his brother and sister would be put into foster care if he ever told anyone.
In 2005, Stroup was indicted on multiple counts of sexually abusing children at two schools where he had worked. He entered a plea on two counts of gross sexual exploitation and was sentenced to four years in prison.
Stroup could not be reached Monday. No one answered the phone at the company where he works, and a text message sent to a cellphone number listed as his was returned by someone who said they didn’t know Stroup.
Among the firm’s other clients is a man who brought forward accusations against one of the most prominent of the convicted Scout abusers. He agreed to speak publicly about them.
Frederick Gailor Jr. said he still lives two doors down from the house where Carmine Charles Robert Falco abused him in the mid- to late 1970s. Decades before Falco started serving a life sentence for sexually abusing boys, Gailor said, Falco sodomized him during sleepovers, beginning when he was a first-year Scout.
“At about 11 or 12 when I first smoked pot, I thought I was in heaven,” Gailor said. “What attracted me was the dope.”
The abuse continued for months, Gailor said, until Falco threatened him with physical harm.
His account offers an eerie foreshadowing of what was to come.
In 1979, six months after Gailor quit Scouting, Falco was charged with manslaughter after a booby trap with a .22-caliber rifle he set up in his North Miami Beach home shot and killed a 14-year-old Boy Scout. The teen entered the living room after climbing through the bathroom window, according to court records. Falco pleaded no contest to manslaughter and received two years’ probation.
The Palm Beach Post reported police found pictures of nude boys in Falco’s home after the shooting but could not use them in a case because they were obtained in an illegal search.
Three years later, police stopped Falco as he was casing the home of another Boy Scout who had been with the teen who died. Falco planned to abduct the boy, and police found Falco in the car with a third Boy Scout, a gun, silencer and a meat hook, the Palm Beach Post reported.
He was convicted of possession of a firearm by a felon, witness tampering and conspiracy to commit kidnapping, according to Florida Department of Corrections records.
Prompted by the criminal case in 1982, prosecutors investigated allegations that Falco sexually abused boys, including some in his Boy Scout troop. Falco wasn’t charged because the victims were afraid to testify, a prosecutor told the Palm Beach Post.
Two years after his release from prison in 1986, he was appointed Scout leader in a neighboring county. The Post reported that Falco was dismissed from that position because some boys complained about him making sexually suggestive gestures while camping with him.
Falco went on to abuse again.
He was arrested again in 1994 and convicted of sexually abusing five boys, and he received six consecutive life sentences for sexual battery of a child, plus an additional 265 years for 10 counts of sexual activity with a child and one count of promoting sexual activity with a child.
Lawsuits depend on victims coming forward, but many never do
Many survivors, such as Michael Robinson, said their old memories were triggered as sexual abuse in institutions such as the Boy Scouts, the Catholic Church and USA Gymnastics made headlines.
As a kid, Robinson said, he didn’t realize what was done to him was wrong. The abuse was so prevalent, he said, he witnessed another boy being orally molested by Schwartz in the middle of the night. The boys asked each other what was going on, but “it was like the normal standard.”
Schwartz could not be reached for comment Monday after the lawsuit was filed.
In 1997, more than two decades after Robinson said he was abused, Schwartz was accused of sexual misconduct by a 15-year-old patient in California, according to records with the state’s medical board. The boy said Schwartz, while examining his development, told him he needed to measure his penis and to collect a semen sample for testing. The doctor allegedly stimulated the boy until he ejaculated.
An administrative judge revoked Schwartz’s license. The medical board instead placed him on 10 years of probation and told him he needed to have another professional present for any exams of young boys.
In 2007, his license was again revoked, this time permanently, when the board found he had ignored that directive and offered negligent care to patients he treated for autism at a holistic medical practice he founded.
Experts said Robinson’s experience is common for child victims, most of whom never come forward.
“I think it is so hard for victims, particularly young victims, because these events rarely occur with a stranger,” said Deborah Daro, senior research fellow at Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago. “Nine times out of 10, it’s someone the child knows and has trusted … someone in their sphere that probably had some pretty good standing with the other people in their lives.”
Those who share their stories often don’t do so until adulthood. The average age of disclosure is 52, according to CHILD USA, an interdisciplinary think tank focused on preventing child abuse and neglect.
Lawsuits against institutions have increased in recent years as states extend and revive their civil statute of limitations, a push that began with disclosures surrounding abuse by Catholic priests.
Former Scouts have filed hundreds of lawsuits, but many other claims fall outside of the statute of limitations for criminal or civil complaints. That may change as states loosen statutes for child sexual abuse cases.
In the past two years, legislators in 14 states and the District of Columbia passed bills extending the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits relating to child sexual abuse, according to data from CHILD USA. Nine include so-called revival windows that allow individuals to sue over past abuse.
A handful of those newly accused of molestation were cited in Boy Scouts’ own files
USA TODAY was able to match more than two dozen of the men who answered the law firm’s call-out with the Boy Scouts’ confidential records. Some of those internal files pinpoint where different levels of the Boy Scouts were slow to respond to abuse allegations, potentially exposing boys to more abuse.
The 5,000 documents blacklisted men accused of sexual abuse from participating in the Scouts anywhere in the country. The files reveal cases where troops expelled a leader but the national organization waited months before doing the same. Often, the Boy Scouts of America waited for newspaper clippings of convictions to make the ban permanent.
In at least one case, the Boy Scouts failed to report a case of possible abuse to police.
Philmont Scout Ranch spans 214 square miles in New Mexico’s Sangre de Cristo mountain range, a crown jewel in the Scouts’ expansive property holdings, offering more than 1 million Scouts a back-country trekking experience since 1939.
It was there that, in the summer of 1987, the camp’s general manager learned that an assistant trading post manager had been found with photos of nude young campers. The manager confronted the employee, John Duckworth, according to Boy Scout files, and he readily admitted taking them as the boys ran from a “sweat lodge” to the showers. He said he thought it was funny at the time but realized later that it was not.
At the time, Duckworth was a 37-year-old fifth grade teacher in Toledo, Ohio.
Philmont excused the behavior, records show, on grounds that “we had never received any hint of previous impropriety.”
In fact, Duckworth had been arrested eight years earlier for allegedly abusing a child, according to Scout records. Scouts learned of this later from a tip. That case was reportedly resolved, the records say, with “voluntary counseling.”
After a parent complained about new inappropriate behavior, Philmont fired Duckworth in June 1988. The Boy Scouts’ records say Duckworth was told his case would be referred to police if he didn’t leave. Duckworth hired a lawyer and appealed his dismissal from the Boy Scouts, but in March 1989, a panel ruled unanimously against him.
Most Scout leaders are volunteers, but Duckworth was a paid employee. The law firm’s new clients’ claims against him date back before he was hired by Philmont, to 1982 at an Ohio campground.
Duckworth could not be reached for comment on Monday.
Contributing: Trevor Hughes, Marisa Kwiatkowski, Brett Murphy, Matt Wynn, Mark Nichols, Tricia Nadolny, Nick Penzenstadler, Stephen Reilly and Lindsay Schnell
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Boy Scouts hit with pedophile, sex abuse claims in new lawsuit vs. BSA
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Home Economic Policy It’s Time to Nationalize the Airlines
It’s Time to Nationalize the Airlines
America’s most consumer-abusing and environment-degrading industry wants us to bail it out. Instead, we should take it over.
by Alexander Sammon
Andrew Harnik/AP Photo
The nationalization of the airline industry could not only deliver travelers from the horrors of air travel, but also forge new thinking when it comes to public intervention in the market.
In a world free of coronavirus, today might have been a day like any other for the airlines. It may well have been a good day—the past ten years have been full of them. Indeed, American carriers have posted record profits for multiple years running, while boasting sky-high stock prices. Things have been so good, in fact, that in 2017, American Airlines CEO Doug Parker put it succinctly: “I don’t think we’re ever going to lose money again.”
The 2010s were prosperous times for the domestic airline industry thanks in large part to merger-driven consolidation and the sheer innovative force of baggage fees. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s most recent airline baggage fee report, domestic carriers bloated their profit margins with nearly $5 billion in baggage fees in 2018, up from $4.5 billion in 2017, and a mere $1.1 billion a decade ago. American Airlines set the pace with $1.2 billion in baggage fees alone, followed closely by United, with $889 million. They also increased fees for changing one’s flight, got rid of meals and seat-back entertainment systems, and created a new class of ticket, the universally reviled “basic economy” seat.
Meanwhile, in just over a decade the number of large and midsize U.S. carriers shrank from 18 to 10, as American bought US Airways, Continental merged with United, and Northwest merged with Delta. Today, the four largest airlines control about 80 percent of total domestic passenger traffic. (In many cities, it’s even more extreme: At 93 of the top 100 airports, one or two airlines control a majority of the seats for sale.)
More from Alexander Sammon
One might think, with all that extra profit wrung out of thin air and little competition to speak of, the airlines would be in strong shape to weather an exogenous crisis, something like a global pandemic that zaps travel and forces temporary cutbacks in seat purchases and flights. But that is not what has happened. Between 2014 and 2020, in an attempt to boost its earnings per share, American spent more than $15 billion buying back its own stock. The company managed not only to spend down its cash reserves in a stock-buying spree, but it simultaneously engorged itself on cheap loans. It now has debt obligations of nearly $30 billion, almost five times its current market value. And while American was the most egregious of the airline behemoths, it certainly wasn’t the only one: Over the past ten years, the biggest U.S. airlines spent an unfathomable 96 percent of free cash flow on buying back their own shares.
Of course, shareholders saw no problem when the airlines were funneling money back to them at breakneck speed, goosing the stock price to the detriment of investments in equipment, worker pay, and passenger comfort. But now that the full economic impact of the coronavirus has begun to reveal the extreme folly of that approach, the airlines have stuck their hands out for an unprecedented bailout of at least $58 billion. That figure is more than three times the size of the industry’s bailout after the September 11 attacks. The bill has come due for the shareholder frenzy, and those same shareholders expect to avoid a bludgeoning with the help of taxpayer dollars.
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The economic headwinds facing the industry are certainly significant. United announced it would cut its flights by at least half in April and May, and is currently in talks with its unions about steps that could include furloughs, pay cuts, and more. American and Delta, too, have announced severe cuts in flying, hiring freezes, and voluntary unpaid leave for employees. But to simply bail out the airlines would represent a grave missed opportunity to reverse four decades of catastrophic consolidation and help mitigate the climate crisis on a crucial front. It’s time to nationalize the airlines.
The airline industry has become another cautionary tale of the pitfalls of deregulation, the result of extremely misguided policy set loose over decades. Air travel wasn’t always like that. In its early days, between 1937 and 1978, air travel was treated as a public utility. The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) managed domestic flights and was responsible for establishing schedules, fares, and routes. But in 1978, under the guidance of the Jimmy Carter administration, the industry was deregulated, in the name of increasing competition and driving down prices.
What claim do the airlines have to public assistance? If they are going to be on the receiving end of a massive public bailout, it’s time first to admit that deregulation has been a colossal failure.
Initially, that decision was ballyhooed as a free-market triumph, a true success story that made the case for deregulation and privatization. A smattering of startup airlines joined the skies; the price of a plane ticket fell; the number of fares sold increased dramatically.
But quickly, the airlines began to merge, and the industry became an oligopoly (if you’re feeling charitable) or a cartel. The airlines dropped unprofitable routes, many of them direct flights, and went to work upping bag fees and cutting back on meals, entertainment, and the size of their seats in coach, infuriating consumers while racking up massive profits. Study after study began to find that airfares had actually fallen more rapidly before Carter’s Airline Deregulation Act, and that, if the CAB had been allowed to continue enforcing its long-standing formulas for setting maximum fares, prices would have been considerably less than the free-market offering. As a result, U.S. airlines currently pull in net profit margins of 7.5 percent, which is twice the average for airline companies internationally. Meanwhile, the U.S. hasn’t seen a new scheduled passenger airline come into existence since 2007.
So what claim do those airlines have to public assistance? If they are going to be on the receiving end of a massive public bailout, it’s time first to admit that deregulation has been a colossal failure and begin to reverse its course. And if the federal government is going to assume financial responsibility, it should do so only on the grounds that the airlines will be again treated as public utilities, providing a narrowly defined public service that society needs to function.
That could take a number of different forms. The government could set the stock price at zero, while assuming the operations and the debt obligations of the major carriers. Such a decision might make investors howl, but they have little claim to being made whole: They reaped massive financial benefit, in the form of dividends and escalating stock prices, from a risky, self-sabotaging management scheme that they could have sold out of at any time. Already, they benefit from massive public investments in air travel infrastructure and lax environmental standards, and could not exist without them. A refusal to pay them off would help discourage the runaway financialization that has wreaked havoc in the U.S. economy. But even a more generous package—a financial bailout package that results in the public holding a majority of shares—could have a similar salubrious effect on air travel in America.
Such a move would allow the government to rein in an industry that is already abhorred by consumers nationwide, while also, simultaneously, affording the American public a head start on tackling the exorbitant environmental impact of the airline companies, which are some of the most flagrant polluters on the planet. The United Nations has forecasted that greenhouse gas emissions from airplanes would triple by 2050, a figure that recent estimates say is an undercount. The International Council on Clean Transportation found in September that emissions from global air travel may be increasing more than 1.5 times as fast as the U.N.’s estimate. By one count, aviation could take up a quarter of the world’s carbon budget by 2050.
Not only does the U.S. airline industry deliver miserable customer service, but it is also a unique environmental hazard. Last year, flights from airports in the United States were responsible for almost one quarter of global passenger flight–related carbon dioxide emissions. On this metric, we’re number one, above China and Japan.
The nationalization of the American airline industry could not only deliver travelers from the horrors of air travel, but it could also forge a path out of our 2008-grade thinking when it comes to public intervention in the market. The airlines now present an opportunity to remedy some of the most misguided policy decisions, not just of the past decade, but the past 40 years. And instead of wasting our time with marginal environmental improvements like carbon offsets and tighter emissions standards, returning the airlines to public-utility status could set the tone for decarbonization in other industries as well, including the energy system, where it’s sorely needed. As the climate crisis becomes increasingly urgent, these sorts of steps have become essential. It might even bring the end of the basic economy seat.
Transportation Economic Policy buybacks corporate power coronavirus airlines Climate Crisis
Alexander Sammon
Alexander Sammon is a staff writer at The American Prospect.
Read more by Alexander Sammon
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Historic flood begins to abate, but far from over
The Mississippi River flood of 2011 may seem like a thing of the past for people who fled rising waters that never came, yet the final toll is shrouded in murky water for thousands of people devastated as the flood made its way from the Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico.
JACKSON, Miss. – The Mississippi River flood of 2011 may seem like a thing of the past for people who fled rising waters that never came, yet the final toll is shrouded in murky water for thousands of people devastated as the flood made its way from the Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico.
Thousands of acres of crops, timber and catfish farms are still flooded, mostly by tributaries that backed up because the Mississippi River was so high. Hundreds are still displaced from flooded homes. Some people had nothing to go home to.
In the Mississippi Delta, Tim Saxton is still praying for the levees to hold — not the levees on the Mississippi River, but the ones on his 500-acre catfish farm. Saxton is not sure how bad Five Mile Fisheries was damaged because it's still under water. So he waits. And wonders.
"It's going to be tough on a 60-year-old man to start over, but I'm sure going to try," Saxton vowed.
The levees divided the farm into dozens of small ponds for different-sized fish. If he has to rebuild all of those levees, the financial blow will be crippling. Even if the levees survive, it could take Saxton a year or more to get back into production.
He's not the only one starting over. The mobile home park in Memphis, Tenn., where Leandro Lugo lived with his pregnant wife and two young children, is abandoned, like "something out of a movie." Many of the mobile homes were flooded to their roofs. Red stickers mark the ones that are unlivable.
Lugo and his family were among the first to arrive at the Hope Presbyterian Church shelter. Most of the 177 people who stayed there have left for rented apartments or hotel rooms paid for by the federal government. And after more than a month, Lugo and his family left, too. The bed of Lugo's white pickup truck was filled with donated items like baby diapers, chairs and a small bed for his kids.
"We were a little frustrated at one time, but we realized that we couldn't control what God has in store for us," said Lugo, a 37-year-old construction worker. "We have to keep moving forward. We can't look back."
Some were more fortunate.
Hundreds of people living along Louisiana's Atchafalaya River heeded mandatory evacuation orders when the Army Corps of Engineers opened the Morganza floodway north of Baton Rouge for the first time since 1973. The corps had warned residents of Butte LaRose that diverting the Mississippi River's flood waters into the Atchafalaya basin could inundate the town.
Several weeks later, that dire forecast hasn't come close to fruition. The slowly rising water has damaged a few homes in Butte LaRose but spared the vast majority. The mandatory evacuation order has been lifted.
"I said I wanted to give Mother Nature a run for her money. We won this time, but we don't know if we'll win the next time," said Maxim Doucet, a 37-year-old construction company owner who spent thousands of dollars preparing. He built a 6-foot levee around his home on the banks of the Atchafalaya River.
St. Martin Parish President Guy Cormier, who ordered the evacuation, credited the Army Corps of Engineers and National Weather Service for keeping him informed but said he was frustrated the projections were so far off.
"Once this is all said and done, I'm going to want some answers about how they missed this by 4½ feet," he said.
Farther downstream in Morgan City, even worse conditions were predicted. So far, the oil and seafood hub hasn't seen any significant backwater flooding, said Mayor Tim Matte. However, it could be another month before the water levels cease to be a concern. That's left officials consumed with flood preparations at a time they'd normally be focused on the start of hurricane season on June 1. The season is expected to be busier than normal, with government forecasters predicting there could be as many as 18 named tropical storms.
The overestimated flood projections were based on the best data available at the time, corps spokesman Ken Holder said. But the corps didn't open as many gates on the Morganza floodway as initially anticipated, while drought conditions apparently blunted the impact of river water diverted into the basin.
"We plan for the worst and hope for the best — and we got the best," Holder said. "When officials are charged with protecting public safety, they don't have the luxury of not planning for the worst."
Still, the Bonnet Carre spillway is pouring fresh water into Lake Pontchartain, near New Orleans. Eventually, the river water will enter the Gulf of Mexico, raising fears the fragile oyster beds, hit hard by last year's BP oil spill, could suffer again.
Even if the flooding wasn't as bad as initially feared, it's still been treacherous for those affected. Some 5,600 people have applied for government assistance in Mississippi in Tennessee, though the damage is still being assessed because high waters are still causing problems for officials.
And it could take another month to know the extent of damage to catfish farming, said Roger Barlow, president of the Catfish Institute and executive vice president of Catfish Farmers of America, a trade group. Mississippi is the leading U.S. producer of farm-raised catfish, an economic mainstay that generates $200 million in annual sales in the state. It's also not yet clear if the flood will increase prices for consumers.
Meanwhile, early estimates indicate flooding swamped 450,000 acres of cropland and caused more than $250 million in damages to agriculture in Mississippi alone, said Laura Hipp, a spokeswoman for Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour. However, an exact measure of the damage is not yet available because thousands of acres are still flooded.
Nonetheless, some row crop farmers still hope to salvage part of the season. Brett Robinson hopes to start planting soybeans Monday on a small fraction of his land to replace the corn he lost, but most of his land near Yazoo City, Miss., is still flooded. Even the parts he could plant may be littered with logs or other debris.
"We're hoping to just drop down there with a planter," Robinson said. "But we'll just have to wait and see."
Kunzelman reported from New Orleans. Sainz reported from Memphis, Tenn.
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Who Built the Moon?
It's not rocket science, it's...
The Final Frontier
Alternative cosmology
CW Leonis
Exotheology
Titan (moon)
Great and terrible
On our shelf:
Mind and Cosmos: Why the Materialist Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature Is Almost Certainly False
Sex at Dawn
The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience
Who Built the Moon? is a book by Christopher Knight and Alan Butler. It is a collection of incredible coincidental facts about the moon and other astronomical and planetary proportions, which leads the authors to believe that at some point in the future humanity travelled back in time 4.6 billion years to artificially construct the moon. This knowledge is apparently known to the freemasons.
Crank "insights" seldom come alone; the same authors also wrote books on New World Order because there are statues in Washington D.C.
Arguments[edit]
The authors propose a variety of tenuous coincidences whose supposed improbability demonstrate that the moon could not possibly have come about by chance. The moon's size is unusual, both because it is relatively much larger than the moons of other planets[1] and because it appears the same size as the Sun, which supposedly proves the Moon is a "deliberately created scale model of the Sun".[2]
It is generally accepted, based on geological analysis of moonrock, that the Moon was generated from the same material as the earth, and the conventional interpretation is that it was separated due to an asteroid strike, even though there are a few questions in the theory yet to be answered conclusively.[3] But because not every detail of the giant-impact hypothesis is entirely certain, the authors suggest a far less plausible theory with far more unanswered questions: the Moon was deliberate constructed by taking material from the Earth and sticking it in space.[4] Why? No idea. By whom? Um...
Their argument for the moon as a created object bizarrely mirrors the argument from design often used by creationists: there is no way the moon could just appear like this.[5] But it also draws heavily on numerology and numerical coincidence, some of which make no sense: "The Earth is 3.66 times bigger than the Moon and the Earth year (thanks to the presence of the Moon) takes 366 days"[6] - the length of a day has actually changed significantly so this may be true now but won't be in the past or future.[7]
Official webshite
↑ The Strangest of Moons, WhoBuiltTheMoon.com
↑ The Moon is not a Natural Planet, WhoBuiltTheMoon.com
↑ See the Wikipedia article on Giant-impact hypothesis.
↑ How the Moon was Made, WhoBuiltTheMoon.com
↑ Isn't this all Bunkum?, WhoBuiltTheMoon.com
↑ So Far So Good, WhoBuiltTheMoon.com
↑ Earth’s Rotation Changes and the Length of the Day, NASA
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You are here: Parliament home page > Parliamentary business > Publications and Records > Hansard > Commons Debates > Commons Debates by date > Commons Debates - previous sessions > Bound Volume Hansard - Westminster Hall
25 Oct 2005 : Column 1WH
[Miss Ann Widdecombe in the Chair]
Housing (Hampshire)
Motion made, and Question proposed, That the sitting be now adjourned.—[Mr. Cawsey.]
Mr. Mark Hoban (Fareham) (Con): This is a timely debate coming just days after the closure of consultation on the document entitled "Where shall we live?", which sets out the allocation of houses within Hampshire. It might be seen as a curtain raiser for next month's visit by the Minister for Communities and Local Government to Hampshire to discuss the document and its infrastructure implications. I wish to talk about how the plan will affect Hampshire and explain its particular effect on south Hampshire, in which I include the unitary authority areas of Southampton and Portsmouth. I wish first, however, to deal with the issues that will affect the whole of Hampshire.
The consultation process closed on Friday. The county council did as much as it could within the time scale and with the resources available to ensure that the proposals for housing allocation throughout Hampshire were communicated to as many people as possible. I know from a well attended public meeting in my constituency a week last Friday that less than half of the people there had read the document. Furthermore, because of the consultation timetable, some of the work that should have underpinned it, such as understanding the infrastructure needs of the additional houses, had not been completed.
Mr. Desmond Swayne (New Forest, West) (Con): Is my hon. Friend as alarmed as I am that no study has been made to assess the impact on the New Forest of any of the options? Does he agree that infrastructure requirements include day-to-day needs for recreation because, frankly, the New Forest cannot accommodate that?
Mr. Hoban : My hon. Friend makes an important point. Indeed, the New Forest national park authority said that development in the east of the county will have an impact on the New Forest itself, especially on the roads going through it. If more people are to be living in Hampshire, they will want recreation and will look to the New Forest as a natural place to visit.
The lack of detailed preparation applies not only to recreation. There is a lack of detail about some of the transport issues associated with the plan. For example, the consultation document on the strategic development area north of the M27 stated:
"It would have new/improved transport links to Fareham and Portsmouth",
but made no reference to what the links might be. They could range from a better bus service to a new dual carriageway or a new motorway junction. The process is structured in such a way that it is not helpful to those
who wish to participate, to those who want to understand its implications and to those who ultimately have to consent to the development.
"Where shall we live?" sets out the allocation of new housing throughout Hampshire. In south Hampshire, 80,000 homes are planned to be built between 2006 and 2026. It is planned to build 16,000 homes in central Hampshire and the New Forest, and 26,000 homes in north Hampshire. That is a total of 122,000 homes. One in five of the almost 600,000 homes that are to be built in the south-east between 2006 and 2026 will be built in Hampshire.
The new development will be provided in one of three ways. First, there will be development within existing towns and cities. In south Hampshire that will focus particularly on Portsmouth and Southampton. Secondly, there could be urban extensions to towns throughout Hampshire to places such as Waterlooville and, thirdly, there could be two new strategic development areas in south Hampshire. Each method will have its own implications for the communities that it affects. However, one factor unites all the communities: infrastructure. What will it be? Who will pay for it? The centrality of the issue to the people of Hampshire is illustrated by a comment in the consultation document. It states:
"there must be clear guarantees of investment—by the public and private sector together—in physical and community infrastructure to support growth. This means investment to improve such things as roads and other transport facilities, water and sewerage systems, schools and health facilities."
However, local residents are sceptical about the Government's willingness to commit to the funding of the infrastructure needed to support the new development. Although we recognise the important role that developers' contributions will play in funding the infrastructure, we must also recognise that those will be insufficient to meet its full cost and that some of that cost will have to be borne by central Government.
Local people would like to see some conditionality: the Government and local authorities making an objective assessment of what infrastructure is needed—whether improvements to the road network between the M3 and the M4, or the sewerage and water requirements—for the 122,000 homes. Having agreed on that, they should agree on who would meet the cost, when it would be delivered and how housing development should be phased in line with that.
Ultimately, we would like to see the Government sign up to the plan, manage and monitor approach so that development would not run ahead of infrastructure, and that when infrastructure was lagging, the release of land for housing development would slow or stop. In effect, we are looking for a guarantee that the Government will foot their share of the Bill for the major infrastructure investment needed as a precondition for housing development—no infrastructure, no development.
Sir George Young (North-West Hampshire) (Con): Is it not the case that not only local residents have doubts about whether the infrastructure will be made available? A Select Committee of this House also expressed similar doubts when it considered the south-east plan and it looked for similar reassurances from the Government.
Mr. Hoban : Indeed; my right hon. Friend is right—the Select Committee also had doubts. Furthermore, in
its work on sustainable development in the south-east, the Institute for Public Policy Research raised the same issues. There is widespread concern that the Government are not prepared to pay their share for the development. The Government need to recognise the high infrastructure costs associated with this issue and understand how housing development is to be financed and supported, and how the associated infrastructure is to be delivered.
Why is this such an issue in south Hampshire in particular? Why is there such concern about infrastructure? Let me give two examples. The first is Whiteley, a community of 2,500 homes north of the M27, part of which is in my constituency. In many respects, Whiteley is an ideal place in which to live and work, but it has significant drawbacks. Despite the fact that local people are able to live and work there, at 8.30—human nature being what it is—it appears that its whole population spills out to work elsewhere and is replaced by an entirely new population that works in the offices and businesses there. If there were a good road network, that would be fine, but there is one road only in and out of Whiteley and that goes to a busy junction, the M27.
It would cost about £15 million to buy the land to complete the road network and create another exit from Whiteley. After 15 years, there is still only a temporary doctor's surgery in Whiteley; the primary school is not big enough to meet the needs of all the children who live there, so five and six-year-olds have to be bussed to schools the other side of the M27. After sustained pressure from parents, councillors and me, the county council has agreed to build another one-form-entry primary school to meet the needs of the existing community, at a cost of £4 million. Secondary school children living in Whiteley are bussed to Fareham, despite there being another, closer secondary school. However, that secondary school already has 1,700 pupils to meet the needs of the growing population in that part of the area.
Not long after I was elected, I asked why an extra secondary school was not being built to service the housing development in the west of my constituency. The answer was that the Government's funding for additional school places is on a per-pupil basis; there is not the money in the system to build an entire new secondary school. Developers' contributions are sufficient to build a new primary school, but not a new secondary one.
School places, GP surgeries, roads—all the evidence is that there is an infrastructure deficit in Whiteley. The community has seen housing development go ahead of infrastructure provision. Houses were built without adequate provision of roads, community facilities, schools and doctors' surgeries. It is not surprising that my constituents are sceptical about the willingness of central Government to foot their share of the bill for proper infrastructure.
Let me give one further example of the current infrastructure deficit in south Hampshire. Hampshire county council and Portsmouth city council both back a rapid transit scheme to link Fareham and Portsmouth through Gosport. That would relieve the pressure on the A32 between Fareham and Gosport, and on the M27. It
is intended to be phase 1 of a scheme linking those places to Southampton. The Government initially agreed to fund the scheme—they recognise that there is infrastructure need—but there was a cost overrun. The county council and city council went back and reworked the Government's contribution, and brought it down in line with the original estimate. Has a decision been made on the matter? No. The scheme is still sitting in the Department for Transport, awaiting decision by a Minister.
The scheme would tackle some of the infrastructure problems in the area. The south coast multi-modal study described it as a "must do" scheme. All its other improvements to the transport infrastructure of south Hampshire were predicated on the scheme going ahead. So we can understand why people in south Hampshire—and across Hampshire as a whole—are sceptical about the willingness of Government to fund the infrastructure needed to support the housing development set out in the south-east plan. It is in that context that people are considering the proposal set out in "Where shall we live?" and questioning whether the money will be there to provide infrastructure.
I want to touch on the plans for south Hampshire itself. As I said, the greatest burden of house building falls on south Hampshire. The Partnership for Urban South Hampshire is a group of local authorities, including the Southampton and Portsmouth authorities, that has developed a plan for south Hampshire, focusing on the need to raise economic development in the area in line with that of the region as a whole. It argues that a higher rate of housing development will lead to a renaissance for the two cities and other older urban areas. I shall return to that later.
The question asked by my constituents and people elsewhere in south Hampshire is how the additional 80,000 houses will be accommodated. We know that 38,000 will be built on existing sites, principally in Southampton and Portsmouth, and that 11,000 will be built on sites already identified for housing by the borough councils. Two new sites for strategic development areas have been identified, one in the constituency of the hon. Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne), and one north of the M27, in my constituency, where 10,000 houses will be built on greenfield sites between Fareham and Wickham. The balance of the number of houses will be extensions to urban areas.
As for the strategic development area planned for my constituency, its site is along the M27. Anyone who drives along that road can see it. It is currently green fields. There are only two settlements in that area, both quite small—Funtley in my constituency, and Knowle in Winchester. There is little in the way of infrastructure in the area. There is no school and no general practitioner surgery in Funtley. Apart from some small and winding B roads, there is the single-carriageway A32, which leads to Fareham. Through junction 10, it has access eastbound to the M27 towards Portsmouth, but not westbound to Southampton. From the same junction, there is access northbound from the M27 to the A32, but not southbound. There would need to be new shops, community facilities, doctors and dentists.
As local people consider the implication of that SDA for their area, they think back to the experience of Whiteley, just a few miles up the road, where there were
new houses but poor infrastructure. They ask whether the new SDA will suffer from the same problems that bedevil Whiteley, and ask who will meet the cost.
We know that developers' contributions will meet some of that cost; indeed, PUSH has a working assumption that developers will contribute £10 million for every 1,000 houses, so 10,000 houses will bring in £100 million. That sounds like an infrastructure bonanza, but new residents should not expect the roads of the area to be paved with gold. Just think about the costs of the new infrastructure needed for the area: a secondary school costs between £15 million and £25 million, and a single-form-entry primary school costs £4 million. It has been estimated that to convert junction 10 into a fully functioning junction, so that people can access routes north, south, east and west rather than simply north and east, would cost about £80 million.
Although we might quibble about the cost of individual items, it is clear that if we are to fund the infrastructure needed for 10,000 new homes, Government money will be required, but we know that the community infrastructure fund is only about £200 million. As the IPPR said in its report on sustainable development in the south-east,
"The UK needs an open debate about whether, as a nation, we are prepared to devote resources necessary to deliver a range of housing policy objectives . . . and to meet other associated demands for improved infrastructure in areas such as transport."
Local people are looking for a guarantee from the Government that the support will be there. If the Government are not prepared to invest what is required, would it be possible to scale back the level of housing development to bring it in line with the amount that they can afford to contribute towards the cost of the infrastructure? Will they permit local authorities to use the plan, monitor and manage approach to enable them to slow down, or even to stop, land release if the infrastructure does not exist?
Will the Minister make the commitment today that, together with local authorities, the Government will agree the infrastructure needs and their cost, the timing of delivery and how the costs will be met, to ensure that there is a match between infrastructure delivery and housing development? That would mean that if the Government do not meet their side of the bargain, local councils will not be forced to deliver the 80,000 homes in south Hampshire, the 120,000 in Hampshire as a whole or the 600,000 in the south-east, and that residents, new and old, do not have to suffer from the infrastructure lag that has affected other parts of Hampshire.
As I said, one of the objectives of PUSH is to raise the level of development in south Hampshire in line with that of the rest of the region. The argument is that if we are to raise economic growth in south Hampshire, we will need to bring new businesses into the area which offer a higher value added than existing ones. While that is one way to achieve economic growth, on grounds of sustainability surely it would be better to develop the skills of local people first, so that local businesses can move further up the value chain and therefore drive up economic development without having to increase housing development. Indeed, PUSH would have preferred to be able to develop its economic strategy so that it could put housing targets in the context of that
strategy and examine the needs of local people to try to raise their skills and avoid higher and higher levels of housing development.
May I develop the argument one stage further? PUSH has suggested that if economic growth rates in the area were to match the regional rate, the release of housing land would be adjusted to reflect the fact that it had reached its objective. Again, will the Minister confirm that if the economy in south Hampshire meets the targets set by PUSH, using the plan, monitor and manage approach the rate of release of land would be altered?
There is another aspect to this debate; it is not just about what is happening in Hampshire. We see the debate in the context of the Barker report on affordability of housing and its planning implications. Will the Minister elaborate on how the plan, monitor and manage approach that Hampshire local authorities wish to use and adopt on infrastructure development would mesh with the proposals set out in "Planning for Housing Provision"? That recommends an automatic release of extra land for housing development if house prices rise too sharply.
That automatic release mechanism implies that if the housing market was overheated, more land would be released; its release would be accelerated, regardless of the infrastructure provision planned and delivered. Is that the case? If the mechanism were used to release land early, would the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister be able to accelerate the funding of the infrastructure needed to meet the demands of the additional housing?
I have focused on some narrow issues about development in Hampshire. The Hampshire wildlife trust and, as my hon. Friend the Member for New Forest, West (Mr. Swayne) said, the New Forest national park authority have their own concerns. They have contacted me to raise their issues relating to the proposed scale of development and its impact on the environment in Hampshire. I hope that I have given the Minister the flavour of the concerns expressed by my constituents and others across Hampshire about the scale of development and the infrastructure required.
At the heart of the debate there are three questions. If the economic growth targets set by PUSH are met, will house building be scaled back? Will the Government meet their share of the infrastructure cost of the 80,000 homes scheduled for Hampshire? If they are not able to do so, will housing development be scaled back to match the infrastructure that they can afford to finance?
In essence, is the target for Hampshire one that must be hit or will the ODPM recognise that progress will be made towards that goal depending upon the state of the sub-regional economy and the funding of the infrastructure needed? They are key questions for my constituents—questions about the future of the communities of south Hampshire—and ones that the Government must answer.
Mrs. Maria Miller (Basingstoke) (Con): I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) on securing this most timely debate on housing development in Hampshire. The Minister
might know that I initiated a similar debate three months ago, and much remains unanswered on this issue. I shall focus on the sustainability of development, which should be at the core of the Government's strategy on housing, and which should be a fundamental concern in the plan of the Government and the South East England regional assembly for Hampshire and the whole of the south-east.
There has been a barrage of consultation on housing numbers in my constituency and throughout Hampshire in recent months—different consultations continually taking place and the publication of reports such as "Your Shout!" and "Where shall we live?"—but there are few details of their impact on our local communities in respect of environment and services, how local services will be increased to meet the new needs that the housing numbers will dictate, who will pay for the services, and whether the options under consideration are truly sustainable. Several important reports suggest that the Government do not know the answer to those questions for Hampshire or the south-east.
Residents in my constituency and throughout the south-east have been asked to give their considered opinions in surveys, but they have not been given the facts on which to base their responses. It is difficult to make judgments on specific housing numbers without clear facts on the implications of those decisions for future generations. My right hon. Friend the Member for North-West Hampshire (Sir George Young) mentioned reports produced by this House, and I wish to refer to one of them now. The House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee issued a report in May. Its conclusions on the Government's housing strategy stated that
"the Government has been able to take the Review's agenda forward without having to acknowledge the serious environmental implications contained within it."
Indeed, in evidence to the Committee, the Minister admitted that little attention had been paid to environmental and sustainable aspects. In a speech to the Royal Town Planning Institute, the author of the Barker report admitted that she regretted not focusing more on infrastructure issues.
SEERA, which is responsible for implementing Government policy on housing, states that its objective for the south-east is a
"distinctive, outward-looking, accessible region of prosperous, sustainable communities".
One would expect it to know what is sustainable for Hampshire. The south-east plan sustainability report, which it issued in July, stated:
"Achieving the scales of development within the South East that are proposed in the Plan without damaging local quality of life and environmental assets will be a major challenge".
Concern within SEERA about the impact of the plans stretches further:
"It is not known what the overall impact of the strategy will be in terms of numbers of vehicles on the roads . . . The transport policies have to be very effective very quickly to prevent the likely adverse impacts from increased travel."
That is of little comfort to the residents in the west of my constituency who only last week learned that the borough council would be forced to close a major access road if a highly controversial major development area were to go ahead in the neighbouring constituency.
Lack of consideration of the impact of house building targets permeates everything. The south-east plan sustainability report also states that the lack of any policy on historical environment does not seem appropriate, given the extent of the region's historical environment assets, and that policies on water resources will require new supply infrastructure. Indeed, when I last raised that issue in a debate, the Minister had to admit that major concerns had been raised about water and waste in Basingstoke, but that Thames Water and the Environment Agency had yet to find an answer.
The shortfall in investment in local services such as roads, public transport, schools, water supply and sewage disposal is estimated at £l billion for Hampshire. That shortfall exists before the change in magnitude of housing development. The debate is not about whether new homes are needed in many areas of Hampshire but about the scale of development. There is a perverse nature to the process being followed, in which the Government set housing targets before they determine whether local services can cope with them. That is not the right approach. I can give numerous examples of improvements in local services in Basingstoke being promised but not delivered when houses have been built, and I have done so in previous debates.
Trains into Waterloo are overcrowded to breaking point and there is no money for new doctors' surgeries, but we are still building more than 800 new houses a year. A new school was promised in a housing development of 800 but was scrapped once the houses were being built, and a new station that was promised several years ago in the Chineham area of my constituency is yet to be realised. The South East England regional assembly is so distant from my constituency that it is attempting to place some of the most rural parishes in the south of my constituency into the western corridor—a region of high-density development growth—threatening to split rural parishes in the process. I am campaigning vigorously on that issue and I shall continue to do so alongside local residents.
I respectfully suggest to the Minister that the process has started at the wrong end. If she really wants sustainable communities in Hampshire, let our communities determine what is sustainable locally. We must establish what local improvements to services we can afford and what our environment can sustain, particularly given that during the previous debate I had on the matter, the Minister made it clear that the Government would not fill the gap relating to local services. The Government must heed the warnings of the Environmental Audit Committee and SEERA's sustainability report. Nowhere to date has there been an adequate analysis of the impact of what has been suggested.
I must apologise because I am unable to stay for the winding-up speeches today; I have to attend the Trade and Industry Committee. I hope that the Minister will take heed of the need to stop these meaningless consultations, and the need to give residents the facts about what is proposed throughout Hampshire. The implications of this level of development seem to be unknown. Is that really the right approach to such a massive change in housing policy? Is it a responsible plan for our future? The facts to date suggest that it is not.
Chris Huhne (Eastleigh) (LD): I should like to associate myself with many of the sentiments expressed by the hon. Members for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) and for Basingstoke (Mrs. Miller), particularly in their citing of the report from the IPPR on sustainable development in the south-east, which I commend to the Minister. I was a member of the cross-party group that wrote that report and its key point is correct: we must ensure that planned infrastructure is in place before adopting a top-down targeting approach, which the Government seem to have embarked upon.
I represent a Hampshire constituency where more than 4,000 people are on the housing list. Very large numbers of young local people, including young couples with children, who come to my advice surgery cannot afford to get on the first rung of the property ownership ladder. They are forced to wait, often in very difficult circumstances, for accommodation from one of the local housing associations. There are homeless people, too. Some of them are sleeping rough, even as the nights get substantially colder, and recently there have been nights when it has been impossible to find a hostel place anywhere in the county.
In other words, I know that there is a real and pressing problem of housing and homelessness, even in a county as relatively prosperous and affluent as mine undoubtedly is. I shall not, therefore, join the nimby tendency and oppose any and all housing development. I have fully supported Eastleigh borough council in some of the tough choices that it has had to make to ensure that we do not ignore the real problems of homelessness and the lack of adequate social housing. Last year, 906 new homes were built in Eastleigh borough; we have not ignored housing need. I am also pleased to say that those homes were overwhelmingly built in existing communities and not on green fields.
Eastleigh council has pursued a strategy of meeting housing need from brownfield sites, like the Pirelli and Causton sites in Eastleigh, rather than building on the fields that separate and define the towns and villages of the borough. It has not always been easy. The borough has had to take tough decisions, including on a recent proposal to build on allotments. Inevitably that has stirred up much local opposition. Overall, though, the policy has helped to rejuvenate the town of Eastleigh and has ensured that a number of local schools that might otherwise have been under threat of closure due to falling rolls have been able to stay open and continue to serve the local community successfully.
The policy has been overwhelmingly supported by local people for many years and it was set out in the local plan by the borough council. It contrasts with a proposal from Hampshire county council for a 4,000-home major development that would have been a nail in the coffin of many local communities. The new town would have filled in a large part of the countryside between Eastleigh, Bishopstoke and Fair Oak on one side and West End and Hedge End on the other. It would have been a large step towards a Solent city that no one in the area wanted.
Thankfully, the borough council's rejection of the idea in its local plan review to 2011 was upheld after a six-month review by a Government senior planning inspector, Mary Travers. In other words, Ms Travers
25 Oct 2005 : Column 10WH
backed the people on the ground in their judgment of how best to provide necessary housing. Members can therefore imagine the consternation when we found ourselves confronted with a proposal for a strategic development area twice as large—with 9,000 new homes—as the major development area that has just been rejected. The proposed site is north of Hedge End between the Grange Park area and Durley. Effectively, this is another new town proposal. Does Hampshire county council have no respect for local residents' views?
Mr. Hoban : Does the hon. Gentleman accept that the leader of Eastleigh borough council is also part of PUSH, which made these proposals? Its voice is as strong as that of the county council.
Chris Huhne : I assure the hon. Gentleman that the leader of Eastleigh borough council has associated himself with the borough council in its decision not to support the proposals or suggest house-building targets. The crucial point is that, as the hon. Gentleman said earlier, we are attempting to set house-building targets before we have dealt with the issue of how to meet infrastructure provision.
There should be no doubt about local residents' views. Residents in all the surrounding villages have repeatedly supported the borough council's policy against the alternative proposal for a major development area. We have elections by thirds, so we have elections every year for either the borough or the county council. Every year, Liberal Democrat councillors in favour of preserving local communities from being swamped by a Solent city are re-elected.
In the last few weeks, I sent a survey to the residents of Grange Park, the area most affected by the new proposal, and I can report that opposition to the scheme remains both passionate and overwhelming. Just 3 per cent. of the residents who responded backed the idea. Some 21 per cent. said that a new town would be welcome but the location was inappropriate, and 66 per cent. said that development should take place across the county in existing built-up areas.
Every single resident who responded backed the proposal from the borough council for a green belt that would ensure that local communities stay as such, and do not become suburbs of a Solent city. They are right, and the bureaucrats at the Government office for the south-east or in the county council at Winchester castle are wrong. In Eastleigh, we have shown that we can responsibly balance local housing need and the preservation of our quality of life in our local communities, and we should be allowed to do so.
Sir George Young : I have a lot of sympathy with the points that the hon. Gentleman is making. However, is it not the case that the pressure for extra development in his constituency and mine comes not from Hampshire county council, but from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister? In the case that he mentioned, I think he will find that Hampshire county council proposed a much a lower figure for overall development in the county, but was overruled by the ODPM. That is the pressure that is causing the problems that he refers to.
Chris Huhne : I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman. That is exactly why I mentioned the
Government office for the south-east as well as the county council officials at Winchester castle. The reality is that the options that have been set out were set out by the county council.
Mr. Hoban : I am sorry to intervene again, but does the hon. Gentleman not recognise that the proposals set out in "Where shall we live?" have been promoted by PUSH, which includes all the borough councils, the two city councils and the county council? It is unfair to say that the county council is to blame. Liberal councillors have taken part in the process and supported the plans.
Chris Huhne : I can understand the hon. Gentleman's embarrassment that his own borough council, which is controlled by the Conservatives, supports the proposals when he criticises them; however, the reality is that Eastleigh borough has pursued a policy that, for all the reasons that I gave, is at odds with the idea of plonking a new town in the area. Those reasons were enumerated in the IPPR report, part of which deals with our concerns about the Government's inability to meet infrastructure need.
Local councils fairly elected by local people are the best judge of their own circumstances. The top-down approach of setting regional targets that are filtered by the counties to the districts is a recipe for unaccountable and inappropriate decisions. The real problem is that councils do not have the necessary instruments to balance the interests of new and old residents. In Eastleigh, for example, the council's ability to support public transport has been limited. We have had much development during the past 30 years, but we are the constituency with the 26th highest rate of car commuting in the country.
We have been repeatedly promised by the Conservative-controlled county council, not least by the hon. Gentleman's friends there, that its top priority for the county is the building of the Chickenhall lane link road, which would divert traffic around Eastleigh town centre. Yet, proposals have still not been drawn up, let alone investment made to allow the project to progress.
Many of my constituents are bedevilled by problems from the lack of investment in water infrastructure. They were outraged when we discovered this year that nearly half of the sharp increase in the water rate was being levied to pay for capital improvements in the Thames Gateway area in Kent. That seems extraordinary when there are massive gains to be had from granting planning permission for greenfield developments in that area. They should be made available to pay for the infrastructure costs of new developments, rather than the costs falling on the residents of Eastleigh and other parts of Hampshire.
The Barker review found that a hectare of farmland selling for £7,534 could be worth £1,230,000 once planning permission has been granted. There is no way, short of developers' contributions negotiated under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, that a local authority can capture that uplift, even though it is created entirely by the authority and not by the developer.
The problem is even wider than that, because a local authority may invest in new schools, parks, public transport, leisure facilities, or youth facilities, and find
that the value of nearby property rises. Yet it will be able to capture none of the increase in existing property values unless there is a proposal for redevelopment.
A major step forward would be to restructure the business rate so that it was based on the value of the land rather than the building on it, and hand it back to local authorities. Local councils would then be able to capture a substantial part of the uplift in values to the benefit of the local community, and local authorities would have the incentive to invest in facilities that the local community wants, which are woefully inadequate.
We have landed in the worst of all possible worlds. Local authorities have not been given the instruments to reach acceptable trade-offs between development and quality of life for local residents, and as a result they can too easily fall in behind the nimby tendency and ignore local housing needs. The Government then decide that even the small amount of discretion left to local authorities is too much, and that they should dance to a centralised tune of housing targets set by the Deputy Prime Minister and the Whitehall official in the county at Winchester. That in turn increases further the sense of disconnection between local communities and the body politic. It is a vicious circle that needs to be broken by handing back powers to local authorities to make decisions on behalf of local people. In that respect, Hampshire is but a microcosm of the failure besetting an over-centralised system.
In most countries in Europe it would be regarded as extraordinary for a national Parliament to debate a matter that should properly be regarded as local. The sooner we empower our local communities again the better the results will be, not just for local residents who need homes, but for our democracy.
10.9 am
Sandra Gidley (Romsey) (LD): I congratulate the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) on securing this timely debate. I welcome its tenor, in that not too many party political points have been made. I only wish that that were the case at local level.
A huge amount of housing is suggested for the south-east: 122,000 new homes over the next 20 years, equivalent to more than 6,000 a year. The constraints in respect of Hampshire itself, with its national park and the forests of Bere and Eversley, mean that housing numbers have been unfairly concentrated on certain areas. The PUSH alliance has been referred to, and there is a growing sense of unease in many quarters; there seems to be a vision of a huge housing conglomeration along the south coast.
At a very local—parochial—level, it has been somewhat amusing to see the crocodile tears shed by certain Conservative councillors, who do not seem to acknowledge that they are in control at SEERA; they have, to a certain extent, decided the housing allocations. The first ever letter I wrote to the local paper in a political context was a criticism of the then Conservative council for allowing large numbers of such developments, but that seemed to be okay at that time; we had a Conservative Government, and a Conservative-run council which had friends in the building industry. All the infrastructure problems that
have been highlighted in this debate were not addressed at that stage, and we in Hampshire are living with some of those problems today. The worst example of such hypocrisy is the case of a newly elected county councillor who is weeping crocodile tears over new housing, when as leader of Test Valley borough council he supported the development of thousands of houses at Valley Park. We are still living with some of the infrastructure problems caused by that.
Sometimes the debate becomes very simplified: "We don't want the housing, full stop." There is a lack of acknowledgement that there is a need for some affordable housing in the south-east. The suggested quota is about 35 per cent. However, that may not be enough, because we have a real problem in the south-east with first-time buyers not being able to get on the housing ladder, particularly in rural villages. We also have a problem with key workers being unable to find housing that they can afford in the area.
The villages are a particular problem. We have now reached a situation where the sons and daughters of the people who live in the villages cannot afford the housing in those villages. Many villages in the area want small amounts of sustainable development, but the planners at district level just love what is called planning gain; they want large numbers of houses so that the take from the developers is maximised. That is a flawed approach. Large-scale developments are not needed in some areas.
Test Valley borough council covers one part of my constituency. The situation there is that a decision will be taken on whether we need 2,500, 3,250 or 4,000 houses over the next 20 years. That problem is exacerbated by the fact that the borough local plan, which has just had its examination in public—we are awaiting the inspector's report—did not identify adequate housing. There was a shortfall, and there was a cop-out by the council, which said, "There will be some windfall sites, so we will have those." That has caused two problems. When the plan comes back from the inspector, there will probably be a severe threat of the inspector allocating extra housing. If that does not happen, there will be pressure from developers that cannot be controlled through the local plan process. Unfortunately, that was the result of local councillors not taking the necessary difficult decisions—perhaps the all-up election around that time had something to do with that.
There are significant concerns in Romsey that PUSH's vision seems to suggest that an obvious place for housing might be between Romsey and the urban conglomeration of Southampton. That would cause a number of problems because Romsey is a unique market town with strategic gaps separating it from other development areas, and I think that everyone in the town wants it to remain so. The Romsey and District Society's planning sub-committee chairman, Chris Amery, said:
"We want to defend Romsey's unique character and an independent and vibrant market town. That means above all keeping its geographical expansion to an absolute minimum and preserving clear southern and eastern boundaries. That way we best preserve its character and its traditions and its attractiveness as a centre for all the neighbouring villages. It's very difficult to see how 2,500 homes could be accommodated and very difficult to envisage any more than that."
He added:
"If Portsmouth Fareham"—
I am not sure that this applies to Fareham—
"and Southampton want to grow their economy faster that's fine but Romsey should remain a market town and not become a dormitory for them. Build the houses near jobs."
That seems a sensible approach for sustainability.
My constituency also covers Chandler's Ford, which is part of Eastleigh borough council. My hon. Friend the Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne) has already referred to many of the problems there, but Chris Tapp, the council's chief executive, pointed out in a letter that the government process is dominated by the need to identify new housing numbers and perhaps potential sites at individual district levels at this stage. He described that process as "fundamentally flawed" because, as has been said, there has been no robust appraisal work on issues relating to transport, sustainability, environment and delivery. He said that it
"anticipates certainty where there cannot yet be"
any.
A recent motion from Eastleigh borough council called on Hampshire county council to refuse to put forward those numbers and called on SEERA to do the same. While generally supportive of the PUSH approach, it stressed that it should be focused on Southampton and Portsmouth by improving transport corridors and a balance of growth for each city to the west and east and noted that the consultation proposals do not achieve that. It also restated its commitment to south Hampshire's green belt to prevent the towns and villages merging into a Solent city and called on the county council to support a south Hampshire green belt in the plan for the south-east.
When considering some of the infrastructure problems, one of the frustrations of many local councils and even residents is that when deciding housing developments the question of schools, roads and surrounding facilities such as doctors' surgeries are always raised by the public because they want to know how existing services will cope with the strain. The planners' automatic answer is always that that is not a planning issue. If we are going down the road of more housing, that should become a much stronger planning consideration.
There are severe reservations in many parts of my constituency about numbers. The Hampshire wildlife trust has said that Hampshire has unique areas of considerable benefit and diversity. It seeks reassurance from the Government that appropriate assessments under the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994 will be undertaken in relation to plans for urban growth in the vicinity of the most important wildlife sites. Given the diversity in Hampshire, that is an important consideration.
I am pleased that we have had this debate. I look forward to the Minister's reply; clearly, a lot of questions need to be answered. In the meantime, a bottom-up approach, rather than a top-down imposition of housing numbers, would serve most of our communities much better than the Government approach.
Sarah Teather (Brent, East) (LD): I, too, congratulate the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) on securing the debate. It has been very interesting, and there has been a surprising amount of cross-party agreement, despite a bit of cross-party bickering.
The hon. Gentleman spoke about the need to ensure that building development does not run ahead of infrastructure development, and about the need to upskill the local economy, rather than just relying on drawing people in from outside. The hon. Member for Basingstoke (Mrs. Miller) spoke about the pressures on transport when many people come into an area without making sure that infrastructure is in place. My hon. Friend the Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne) spoke about pressures on housing in his constituency, the good record of Eastleigh borough council on developing new homes on brownfield sites, and the need to build around existing urban centres. My hon. Friend the Member for Romsey (Sandra Gidley) pointed out that there have been long-term problems in the area as a result of development lacking the infrastructure that goes with it.
Few of us who went home by tube last night can have failed to notice Shelter's powerful advert when walking on to the escalator. It points out the terrible problem of overcrowding in this country, particularly in the south of the United Kingdom. It showed a striking image of an overcrowded family in the Chamber of the House of Commons. As one goes into the tube station, there is a whole set of images and adverts reminding us what a lack of housing means for real people's lives.
All of us here are signed up to the need for more homes; the questions about that are how, what sort, when and where. That is what the debate has really been about. My hon. Friend the Member for Eastleigh spoke about pressures in his constituency, and the need for much more affordable housing. What has happened in the area is a classic example of what happens when there is a top-down approach, and when local people have very little discretion in deciding what should be built where and in what order. That adds to the real sense of frustration with the fact that no one is really accountable.
Who do local people get in touch with when they are unhappy about how development happens? It is not clear who is responsible, because people are overruled by higher levels of authority, going all the way up to the ODPM. My hon. Friend spoke with great frustration about a battle that was going on for a new town, and the fact that the ODPM overruled the decision taken locally, although there had been a great deal of support for that local decision.
Why do people oppose the development of new homes? There are two reasons: because they cannot see the benefit to themselves and because they can see the cost. If we are to put new homes in place and deal with the housing crisis, we have to tackle both those problems. People in Hampshire know very well that their young people cannot afford to buy a property, and they know that many people live in appalling housing conditions and that something needs to be done. But they see many new developments of four-bedroomed executive homes that are targeted at people coming in from outside the area, not at local people who need affordable housing, particularly in the social rented sector.
As all hon. Members have said, the real reason why people fear new development is lack of infrastructure. They have already seen that, without infrastructure being put in place, new development creates pressure on existing services. New communities cannot be developed simply by building new housing. In fact, just putting in new housing without all the other things that communities need is the way to destroy communities, not build them. We need roads and transport links. We need doctors' surgeries, schools and community centres. Are the Government proposing to fund that infrastructure, and if so, how? As other hon. Members have said, there is also a need to boost the economy locally. South Hampshire, in particular, is economically underperforming. What are the Government doing to upskill local people, to ensure that its economy is developed internally.
We have seen what happens when new towns are plonked into an area: they are among the 50 per cent. of the most deprived of local authorities and all but two of them are more deprived than the counties in which they reside. That is the reason why Eastleigh borough council has argued that the development needs to happen around existing urban centres. Building on greenfield sites always causes great controversy and concern.
The Government are still not taking the issue of empty homes seriously and they still have not responded to the consultation on empty property management orders. They have dragged their feet on producing that kind of secondary legislation. There are 83,000 empty properties in the south-east—an estimated 11,000 in Hampshire. Such action will obviously not solve the whole problem, but it would make some impact on the problem in Hampshire.
About 1 million residential units could be created in empty commercial space above shops in the UK. Many of those would also be in the south-east. The Government still have a kind of perverse incentive to build on greenfield sites, rather than brownfield ones, given the tax system. When will they consider harmonising VAT to deal with that issue? It would make so much difference in terms of bringing empty properties back into use.
I have been asked to keep my remarks relatively brief, so I shall leave considerable time for the Minister to reply. People in Hampshire, as in many areas, feel that the Government are not taking their concerns seriously. People do not want development to run ahead of infrastructure. They want homes that will meet local need for local people, because that is where the real pressure is.
Mr. Robert Syms (Poole) (Con): First, I declare an interest in a family property and building company, which is listed in the Register of Members' Interests.
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) on securing today's debate. I suspect that if there is to be a theme throughout the Parliament, it will involve many Members from areas that are being encouraged to grow by Government diktat asking the Government for guarantees and reassurances about infrastructure.
The hon. Member for Brent, East (Sarah Teather) made a good speech; I did not disagree with anything in it. She made the good point that people examine the
benefits and costs of development and they think that it is something done to them rather than with them. Although one would not expect any national Government not to have a view about housing growth and a national strategy, the balance that we have is altogether wrong.
Local councils and local government should have a larger say in what happens to them at local level. That is a policy on which we fought the last general election. Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful, but there needs to be a proper balance in the decision making and public policy area, so that local communities have rather more say.
I have great sympathy for Hampshire county council, which is essentially instructed to try to deal with the demands from central Government. A total of 122,000 new homes, with 80,000 in the south Hampshire area, which my hon. Friend mentioned, is a lot to accommodate for a county that has grown substantially over the past 20 or 30 years.
I acknowledge that for a lot of that period we had a Conservative Government and that some of the concerns that people have about the level of growth are to do with the fact that past development has quite often led to problems of a lack of resources, decent roads, doctors' surgeries and schools. This morning, we heard a litany of concerns that infrastructure has not yet caught up with the development that there has been over the past 20 years. A £1 billion deficit was cited. Therefore, there is bound to be great concern when people look ahead and see proposals for new towns and substantial growth. They will be concerned about what that means for them and their immediate local community.
The starting point for this debate is what has and has not happened in the past in terms of infrastructure. We have to be concerned about the level of future development. The South East England regional assembly and the eastern area commissioned Roger Tym & Partners to examine the infrastructure costs of development. The first report, which covered the south-eastern and eastern counties, recognised that the level of housing development expected by the Government would need £45 billion of infrastructure. It identified with that a deficit that is already about £8 billion, and that does not take into account all the transport schemes that will be needed. My hon. Friend mentioned transport; a lot of what we have to discuss when housing is built in an area are the roads, railways, buses and so forth that are needed so that people can move around in that area.
The south-eastern counties are keen to make their views about the real costs of development in their counties known to the Government. I hope that the Minister will say that there will be a proper dialogue both with SEERA and with the county and borough leaders from the south-east, to ensure that there is such development.
Councillor Keith Mitchell is chairman of SEERA. He stated in a letter to me that SEERA had
"been at great pains to make it clear"
to the Government
"that such levels of development are conditional upon the timely delivery of the necessary infrastructure before or in parallel with the housing".
That is a key point.
My hon. Friend made it clear that if that infrastructure were not forthcoming, he would expect the Government to slow down the housing allocations, because these two developments go hand in hand; transport and other major infrastructure schemes have to be carried out before or at the same time as the major housing developments. If they are not, we will end up not with a sensible and balanced development, but with a lot of problems in the south of England.
The Government seem to be set on their course of predict and provide. It appears to me that the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is embarking on the last great crusade of central planning. That will leave communities with real costs, unless we get assurances from the Government that the necessary investment will be forthcoming.
We recently had a debate on the Thames Gateway. Because of its brownfield sites and the nature of the development there, building in that area will be very expensive. I asked for some reassurances about the level of investment there, and the Minister reeled off some of the £6 billion investment that the Government had already committed for that development. I would hope that the Minister could clearly set out—if not today, then in a letter to the Members for Hampshire constituencies—what sums the Government have committed to underpin and sustain the development that they expect the county to undertake, because that will be a key issue for all local Members.
The south-east is a large area and, as my hon. Friend said, it is expected that one in five of the new houses will be in Hampshire. Therefore, this is a key issue, and I suspect that unless the Minister answers the major concerns of Members representing constituencies in that county, they will come back and raise them time and again. Because of the long-term consequences of not providing what is necessary to accommodate this sort of growth, many people will be queuing in surgeries and writing to Members to encourage them to have endless Adjournment debates.
Therefore, I hope that the Minister will give us answers. I hope that she can reassure us about the level of investment that is needed. I would also like her to reassure us that the development will be joined-up—that the ODPM will combine with the Department for Transport to ensure that we have proper, sustainable development.
The Minister for Housing and Planning (Yvette Cooper) : I congratulate the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) on securing this debate, and on using it to raise issues that are of great importance to his constituency.
A series of important points have been raised, and I want to try to address many of them. Some of them were specifically about Hampshire, but others were more general. The hon. Gentleman and many other hon. Members raised the issue of infrastructure. The hon. Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne) was not the only Member who discussed planning for housing. Hon. Members also raised the issue of environmental impact, and the relationship with economic growth.
However, hon. Members will be aware that I will not be able to comment on some of the points that they have raised, as they are currently subject to the planning process and the discussion around the development of the regional spatial strategies. They will know that I am not able to discuss individual proposals for strategic development areas or housing numbers, given the consultation process under way and the role that the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Secretary of State play in the planning process. However, I shall try to address as many of the points as I can in my reply.
First, we need to be clear about the need for new homes in the region. During the past 30 years, there has been a nationwide 30 per cent. increase in the number of households and a 50 per cent. drop in new house building. The south-east has been particularly affected; the ageing, growing population means that building rates there have been at about 75 per cent. of the assessed need.
Faced with that gap between growing demand and constrained supply, it is not hard to see why house prices have risen so significantly in the south-east and the impact that that has had on affordability. There has been a big drop in interest and mortgage rates as a result of decisions made by the Bank of England, and steady economic growth has improved people's standard of living and incomes. Nevertheless, affordability is a serious problem for many across the south-east because of the tight housing market.
The impact will perhaps be even more serious in future. Currently, more than 50 per cent. of 30-year-old couples can afford their own homes. Some of the initial analysis done as part of the response to the Barker review suggests that during the next 20 years, at the current rate of building, that could fall to nearer 30 per cent. We should not be denying the next generation the opportunities that we have enjoyed, nor should we say that the only people who can afford to buy their own homes should be the sons and daughters of those who have owned their own homes—people in a position to inherit money for their deposits or get that first loan from mum and dad to help them on to the housing ladder. Such projections are particularly strong for the south-east.
As hon. Members will know, the children of existing residents in Hampshire face the greatest pressures; people moving to Hampshire from London or other parts of the country tend to be higher-skilled and have higher purchasing power, and that pushes up house prices and the pressures for those who have grown up in the area. Having lived in Hampshire for many years, I know a lot of people with whom I was at school who have struggled to afford their own homes, but have managed to buy them. However, their children will face far greater pressures unless we recognise the pressures on housing and the need to build more new homes in response.
The hon. Member for Eastleigh powerfully set out some of the pressures around homelessness, and there are certainly pressures around overcrowding also. Obviously, those are felt particularly in London, but it is certainly true that pressures for affordable housing are felt across the south-east as well. We have been clear that
we need more affordable housing; we need to increase the building of such housing across the region. We are already spending £700 million over the next two years on increasing affordable housing in the south-east and we also need to build more intermediate housing—shared equity housing, housing that supports key workers—as well. However, we also need to recognise the need for new market housing, otherwise we shall deny people the opportunities for home ownership and for getting a foot on the property ladder that we have had. That is why it is important that local authorities, MPs and other stakeholders in the area work to address that problem.
The right hon. Member for North-West Hampshire (Sir George Young) said that it is not fair because the pressure comes not from individual local councils but the ODPM. The reality is that the pressure is coming from the next generation of people who need their own homes: from the demand for housing. We all have to address that; we cannot simply put our heads in the sand and walk away from those pressures—that would be hugely irresponsible. That is why PUSH is so important; it is about local authorities coming together to try to address long-term housing need and looking at how to work in partnership—local government and national Government together—to address the real pressures from housing need.
It is easy politics for individual Liberal Democrat councillors and Conservative councillors to blame each other, and, every so often, to turn around and blame us. That is the nature of political debate. However, the real tension is not between individual areas or local and national Government, although it is easy to make it into such an argument. Our real challenge for the future is how we balance the interests of the current generation with those of future generations that need more homes, but do not have a voice in the process to say that they need more homes, whether through local or national Government.
We need to accept that the challenge of providing new homes for the next generation is not just about how we manage housing growth and face its difficulties, but how we can make the most of the opportunities, particularly economically. The hon. Member for Romsey (Sandra Gidley) referred to the need for economic growth and to promote jobs in the same areas in which new homes would be built so that we avoid dormitories. We should be building communities not dormitories and looking at long-term, sustainable economic growth alongside housing growth. That is important and the reason why many in the Thames Gateway have embraced the prospect of new homes and new housing growth. They see it as following on from an economic regeneration that is about economic growth, the opportunity to attract new businesses into the area and to use infrastructure investment not only to support new homes but skills, and to attract investment. That is why the business community in Milton Keynes has supported growth in the area; it regards it as an opportunity to address its approval pressures and support economic growth.
It is important to regard PUSH as being able to deal with the fact that the area is not meeting its economic potential. It has huge potential to attract business and investment, and to improve skills in the area. The area must embrace that economic opportunity alongside the
need for new homes. The Government are keen to work locally with those who want to develop an effective partnership in respect of the need for new homes and economic growth. We want to have greater discussion with those areas that are committed to supporting increased levels of new housing and consider how that can be linked with economic strategies.
Hon. Members have raised a series of issues that concern infrastructure. We have already invested substantial additional sums into new infrastructure throughout Hampshire and the south-east. We must regard infrastructure as being not only about transport, which is often easy to do given that it is about the roads that will enable people to go round and past new housing developments, but about health and education. The hon. Member for Fareham cited examples in his constituency and referred to GPs' surgeries and schools. Infrastructure must be about community facilities and skills. Cultural and leisure facilities might be needed in an area. We should not underestimate the need for wider infrastructure to support the sustainability of local communities into the future.
As I said, we have invested considerable sums in expanding public sector infrastructure across the board, particularly in areas for affordable housing. We must also recognise that congestion pressures and demand determine whether there is housing growth. Many areas throughout the country face increasing congestion pressures that are related not just to the number of homes, but to people's increased demand. That is why the Department for Transport has been clear that the long-term way in which to deal with such matters is not only to build more transport infrastructure, but to recognise existing infrastructure pressures and consider demand management.
In the Hampshire area, the Solent transport group has been working with PUSH to draw up common transport strategies. That is important, and there must be a co-ordinated and strategic approach to the consideration of demand management, the need for new investment and sensible prioritisation.
In December last year, the Government announced £950 million during the next three years for investment in south-east transport schemes of local and regional importance. The Highways Agency investment programme includes two schemes to improve the M27 totalling £78.3 million. Construction is planned to start by 2008.
On the railways the south-east is already the beneficiary of a £1 billion power upgrade and train replacement programme, with more than 2,000 Electrostar and Desiro electric train carriages being introduced, and a third-rail power supply upgrade throughout the region. The total project has cost more than £2.7 billion. A lot of additional infrastructure investment is going into the region.
The hon. Gentleman asked what happens if infrastructure is not in place. He knows that the Highways Agency already has powers over the planning system. Planning applications throughout the country often do not go ahead, because the Highways Agency is not satisfied that the appropriate infrastructure is in place, or the solutions to the pressures on the road network have not been properly addressed or resolved.
Looking to the future, we must consider how we address infrastructure pressures throughout the country and those that will occur in growth areas. That is why we have considered the different proposals in the Barker report about how we fund future infrastructure. The Barker review proposed a planning gain supplement, which we are considering. Hon. Members may also be aware that Milton Keynes and Bedford, which are in growth areas, have considered other ways to try to raise more investment for infrastructure, such as tariffs.
Sarah Teather : When does the Minister expect to report on those considerations?
Yvette Cooper : We have said that we shall reply in full to the Barker review by the end of the year. Relatively shortly, we shall be able to say more.
Sarah Teather : Will that reply include any particular proposals about planning gain supplement, planning tariffs or land tax?
Yvette Cooper : We expect to say something about the Barker proposals, including planning gain supplement, ways of raising resources for infrastructure and the need to ensure that we get the right resources into local areas. It is hard for me to respond in any detail, but we intend to say more before the end of the year. We take seriously the need to address the infrastructure that underpins communities throughout the south-east.
I want to address planning for housing and whether it would have an impact on how the developments took place. The hon. Gentleman said that the problem with planning for housing is that it has a market trigger. The way in which he described it was based on the Barker review proposals rather than the proposals set out in "Planning for Housing Provision". In that document we are clear that the planning system must be much more sensitive towards the housing market. There are areas where there is a considerable gap between the demand for and supply of housing. That is not taken into account sufficiently by the planning system, in terms of considering the need for housing during the next five, 10 or 15 years.
We also said that the approach needed for high-growth areas such as Milton Keynes and the Thames Gateway should be different from areas where growth should be constrained perhaps because of environmental pressures or neighbouring areas where there is low demand and other problems. I am happy to discuss the matter further with the hon. Gentleman but the position he describes in his speech is based on a misunderstanding of the way in which planning for housing proposals works.
Hon. Members raised other infrastructure issues concerning schools and health, and we have worked with other Departments to set up arrangements. For example, we have worked with the Department for Education and Skills so that local education authorities in exceptional circumstances of high growth in pupil numbers can apply for additional capital support to ensure that schools are in place to meet needs. We have worked with the Department of Health in order to ensure that its funding approach takes account of planned increases in population in the future rather than responding to an increase after it has taken place. We are clear about the need to support infrastructure.
Hon. Members have recognised the need for housing growth and the need to address the housing pressures that we face in Hampshire and other parts of the south-east. They have made important points about the need for infrastructure that we recognise and are keen to support.
Mr. Hoban : In the time left, would the Minister elaborate on how the mechanism—the interaction between infrastructure provision and housing development—works? That represents the nuts and bolts of the argument. How will they work together in tandem so that the infrastructure is delivered on time and in line with the housing that is built in an area?
Yvette Cooper : As I have said, there are already checks in place within the planning system, such as the way in which the Highways Agency operates regarding roads infrastructure, preventing planning applications from going ahead if there are no appropriate solutions to the pressures on the roads. That is the case in many parts of the country.
We are working very closely in partnership with the areas where the highest levels of growth are taking place to ensure that there is additional support for the particular infrastructure that they need. We are able to ensure that that includes, for example, support for new hospital developments or in the Medway towns, for example, a new university. The projects that are receiving infrastructure support are not limited to roads, where the issues can involve demand as well as the appropriate type of infrastructure.
We are keen to talk further to those who are strongly committed to increasing the number of new homes to meet housing needs and to make the most of economic opportunities. We are keen to work more closely in future with individual areas that want to support higher levels of housing growth, compared with what they have experienced. This is an opportunity for many of those areas and we must not underestimate the importance of linking it with economic strategies for the areas. It should include the regional development agency's strategy and more local economic strategies, too. Too often in the past, there has been failure because such
strategies have been seen as just regarding housing growth, rather than broader economic strategies of which housing growth is an important component.
Sarah Teather : Will the Minister refer to the points I raised about empty homes? The ODPM has closed the consultation on empty property management orders. When will the Government respond to that consultation? It is an issue that many agencies feel will make an enormous impact on dealing with the empty homes problem. As I said, that problem exists particularly in the south-east.
Yvette Cooper : The hon. Lady is right. We want to bring in the empty homes dwelling orders as rapidly as possible because there is a significant opportunity for local authorities to take action on empty homes in their areas. We also need to consider what support and advice should be available for local authorities so that they can make the most of those powers and use them appropriately. We shall respond shortly to the consultation.
We should recognise that there has been a 10 per cent. drop in the number of empty homes during the past eight years, but the real issue that has to be addressed is the number of homes that have been empty for more than six months. The number of homes that are empty for less than six months will be heavily affected by the market at the time. The important thing about the new powers for local authorities is how they can be used for those properties that have been empty for a longer period of time when action could be taken to make them perfectly habitable.
Hon. Members have raised a series of important issues. I have tried to respond as far as possible and we will say more on some of the broader issues raised as part of the Barker review. I leave hon. Members with the assurance that we are keen to work with local authorities who are committed to supporting the new homes that we need, both through further debates on infrastructure and longer term planning to support their economic strategies. We have to take seriously the needs of the next generation; we cannot simply walk away from the housing pressures that we face. We need to respond in the most sensible way possible.
Sitting suspended.
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Home / Switzerland, Zürs
Zürs, Switzerland Add New Run
Destination guide: Zürs, Switzerland
Zürs located Flexenpass has become one of the most sought-after ski resort consists of several luxurious hotels which are located in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg. Zürs comes under the Arlberg ski region and well known among the ski lovers across the globe for its skiing, more importantly, its backcountry skiing as well as Olympic skiing champions.
One can reach Zürs by car as there are smooth roads that are not closed even in winters. However, a risk of an avalanche as well as heavy snowfall. Moving four km towards the north of Zürs you will reach Lech am Arlberg, which is another well-known ski resort and is linked to Zürs via road but also through lifts and pistes. Zurs is a quite a big resort that has around 34 lifts among them there are 18 chair lifts and 11 surface lifts. This resort offers skiers and snowboarders a splendid vertical descent of 730 metres (2395 feet).
Zurs offers 54 pistes, and the total length is 69 miles (110 kilometers). Though the resort is suitable for intermediate skiers and snowboarders, however, beginners can enjoy skiing by the terrain which is offered for beginners as well as experts.
You get to have 50 kilometers (31 miles) ski trails which are a cross country here at Zurs. Along with this snowboarders have terrain park as well as a half pipe.
Snowmaking covers a small portion of pistes at Zurus. Langen, it the near train station to Zurus and Zurich, is the nearest airport, but the transfer time is quite slow. Moreover, you also get accommodations close to pistes, and you also get a free bus that links the other areas on the single Ski Arlberg pass.
The resort offers ample lot of snow, quite an incredible hospitality, sophisticated and tradition tranquility that has become the main attraction people who are enthusiastic about winter sports and this place has been attracting tourist for about a century now to its Eldorado of winter sport that lies in between 1,450 to 2,450 metres when measured from above the sea level and is one of the well-known circle among the 12 locations which is known as “Best of the Alps”.
This is not just a perfect skiing destination for sport and adventure lovers as this places offers something beyond as it has offered for walkers, food lovers as well as culture lovers.
Ski resorts Close By Zürs, Switzerland
Top Advice in Zürs, Switzerland
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Daher-Socata TBM 850 – Operating Costs, Specifications, and Performance Data
Compare the fixed costs, variable cost, and performance of Daher-Socata TBM 850 to over 500 jets, turboprops, helicopters and piston aircraft, with accurate data from Conklin & de Decker.
The original TBM 850 is a more powerful, faster, derivative of the TBM 700 and supercedes the TBM 700C2. Although it retains the same Hartzell propeller as the TBM 700, the TBM 850 is fitted with a more powerful engine. The Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-66D turboprop is flat-rated to 850 shp, which is 150 shp more than the TBM 700’s PT6A-64 produced. The new engine also maintains more power at altitude and in hot conditions
The TBM 700 was designed to offer the owner–pilot fast, safe turboprop transportation. The aircraft was certificated in 1990 and is powered by a single Pratt & Whitney PT6A- 64 turboprop engine. The cabin seats four in club arrangement, with a fifth seat next to the pilot. The selling points of this aircraft are its speed and low cost. The range is also suitable for its cabin as no lavatory is available.
Daher-Socata
Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-66D 1
Garmin G1000
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Leonardo Helicopters AW169 – Operating Costs, Specifications, and Performance Data
Compare the fixed costs, variable cost, and performance of Leonardo Helicopters AW169 to over 500 jets, turboprops, helicopters and piston aircraft, with accurate data from Conklin & de Decker.
The mockup of the AW169 was introduced at the Farnborough Airshow in 2010. It is a smaller version of the AW139 and was designed to compete with the S-76D. The AW169 is nearly identical in size to the S-76D but lighter because of composites used in the airframe. When it was launched it held the distinction of being the first all-new design in its weight category in 30 years.
The AW169 is powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW210A FADEC turboshaft engines with 1,000 shp. Newly developed dampeners were installed between the rotor to reduce vibration levels making the passenger experience better. It utilizes the same modular glass cockpit with four-axis autopilot as the AW139 and AW189.
The AW169 was certified by EASA In 2015, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in mid-2016.
Leonardo Helicopters
- kts
Pratt & Whitney Canada PW210A 2
10.53 ft
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Harriet Miers And The “Bos-Wash Axis of Elitism” Hogwash
One of the most insulting, obnoxious, and “Maureen Dowdishly” silly memes that has sprung up since the Harriet Miers debacle began is that opposition to her nomination is based on elitist snobbery, out-of-touch beltway conservatism, and membership in something called a “Bos-Wash Axis of Elitism” that to the best of my knowledge was heretofore unknown to humanity until the last week or so.
While there have been a few people in the anti-Miers camp who have made a point of noting that Harriet Miers didn’t go to a particularly distinguished law school, none of them, even Ann Coulter who talked about the issue extensively in one of her columns, has treated the fact that Harriet Miers didn’t go to an Ivy League school as a primary reason to oppose her nomination. Nor should they.
Instead, opponents of the Miers nomination, myself included, have noted that:
— Harriet Miers would not have had the slightest chance of being tapped for a Supreme Court appointment had she not been friends with the President. On the basis of cronyism alone, Miers should be voted down 100-0 in the Senate.
— Ms. Miers has led an accomplished life. However, compared to the “A-List” candidates for the Supreme Court, her qualifications for the job are embarrassingly sparse.
— We have no objective proof whatsoever that Harriet Miers believes in originalism.
— Because of Ms. Miers’ almost non-existent track record on questions of Constitutional law, we have little significant evidence to support the contention that Miers will strictly interpret the Constitution beyond the President saying, “Trust me.” After previous Republican Presidents have given us John Paul Stevens, Anthony Kennedy, Sandra Day O’Connor, and David Souter, “Trust me,” just isn’t good enough.
— Moreover, the preponderance of the available evidence seems to suggest that aside from her pro-life position, Harriet Miers is a moderate or perhaps even a left-leaning moderate, not a conservative. In other words, the chances that she’ll turn out to be another O’Connor or even another Souter in the long run, are inordinately high.
— To top it all off, Harriet Miers will have to recuse herself from some crucial war on terror related cases because she worked on those issues as the counsel to the President.
Put it all together and you have a very strong and substantial case to be made, from the right, against the Miers nomination.
Of course, just because it’s a strong and substantial case, doesn’t mean everyone on the right will agree with it. There are also plenty of bright, competent, well meaning conservatives who support the Harriet Miers nomination. While I don’t agree with them, they are, just like those of us who oppose Miers, taking an honorable position and it should be treated as such.
That being said, conservatives who have opposed the Miers nomination should not be slurred as Brie eating, elitist eggheads who have turned up their nose at Harriet Miers because she didn’t go to Yale and doesn’t know how to play Polo.
Consider some of the people that have opposed or at least heavily criticized the Miers nomination:
Gary Bauer, Robert Bork, Pat Buchanan, Mona Charen, Ann Coulter, John Fund, David Frum, Jonah Goldberg, Michael Graham, Bill Kristol, Mark Levin, Rush Limbaugh, Charles Krauthammer, Rich Lowry, Laura Ingraham, Michelle Malkin, Manuel Miranda, Peggy Noonan, John Podhoretz, & George Will among many others.
Now, they’re all snobs, they’re all bad people? Gee, most conservatives didn’t seem to think they were bad people BEFORE they opposed the Miers nomination…well, OK, you got me on Buchanan. Still, if all of these prominent conservatives who’ve hopped into the trenches for the GOP so many times before are saying, “There’s something terribly wrong here,” it should set off alarm bells on the right instead of prompting some Miers defenders to disdainfully assume that her detractors on the right have ulterior motives.
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The Court May Have Ruled, But The Kelo Fight Continues
21 Nov, 2005 by John Hawkins
After the Kelo vs. New London case, in which the 4 liberal members of the Supreme Court (+ moderate Anthony Kennedy) gave the thumbs up to government house grabbers across the country, Americans were appalled. How in the world could members of the government be allowed to snatch your house just so they could hand it over to their developer buddies?
Fortunately, because of that outrage, not only have many states and Congress started taking steps to rein in the vast new powers for government that the Supreme Court incorrectly granted in Kelo, but the people involved in the original Kelo lawsuit may get to keep their homes. Read all about it right here:
“They have still not moved out. Not Susette Kelo. Not the Derys. Not Byron Athenian or Bill Von Winkle or the others.
Five months after the United States Supreme Court set off a national debate by ruling that the City of New London could seize their property through eminent domain to make way for new private development, no one has been forced to leave.
No bulldozers have arrived to level the last houses still standing, and none are expected soon.
Even though the holdouts lost their case, and the development that would displace them finally seems free to go forward, construction has not begun, and some elements of the project have been effectively paralyzed since the court ruling prompted a political outcry.
“I felt relaxed enough to get my checkbook out and put the new roof on,” said Mr. Von Winkle, who owns three buildings with a total of 12 occupied apartments in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood by the Thames River, where the city was sued for claiming 15 properties through eminent domain.
Ms. Kelo, also among the handful of holdouts, said, “We still have hope that we’ll get to keep our homes.”
It is not that Ms. Kelo and the others have chained themselves to their property in a final dramatic defiance of the law.
Instead, wary of public disapproval and challenges from groups like the Institute for Justice, the law firm that represented the holdouts in court, the state and the city have halted plans to evict the remaining residents. Investors are concerned about building on land that some people consider a symbol of property rights. At the same time, contract disputes and financial uncertainty have delayed construction even in areas that have been cleared.
With so many complications, some people are unsure whether the city’s initial vision for the property – a mix of housing, hotel and office space intended to transform part of its riverfront and bolster a declining tax base – is even realistic anymore.
“Winning took so long,” said Mayor Jane L. Glover, “that the plan may not be as viable in 2005 or 2006 or 2007.”
…The Connecticut General Assembly has asked cities to delay using eminent domain while it considers revising state law. Some city and state officials cite the difficulty in finding a balance between using eminent domain to rebuild blighted areas and preventing the potential for abuse that concerned Justice O’Connor.
…Amid all the debate, the Fort Trumbull project has stalled.
“This lawsuit put a chill on the development of the whole 90 acres, no doubt in my mind,” said Thomas J. Londregan, the city’s director of law. “Any developer knew that whatever they did would most likely be appealed to the courts.”
Contentiousness led to stalemate and stumbles. At one point the city severed ties with the New London Development Corporation, only to reverse itself days later under pressure from the state. A key corporation executive was forced out.
…If any construction begins soon, it will happen away from the area where the holdouts remain, said Marty Jones, president of Corcoran Jennison, which has been under contract on the project since 1999.
“We need to have some positive things happening so that every lender and investor I go to doesn’t say, ‘I want to be 100 miles away from here,’ ” Ms. Jones said. “Eminent domain in Fort Trumbull has been on the front page of every newspaper in the country, and it has not put New London in the most positive light.”
Despite losing in court, the holdouts have gained political leverage, largely through the public relations effort led by the Institute for Justice, Mr. Joplin said.
Scott G. Bullock, a lawyer for the Institute for Justice who argued for the resistant property owners before the Supreme Court, said, “We might have lost the battle, but the overall war is really going in our favor.”
“What developer is going to want to build on land that was received through probably the most universally despised Supreme Court decision in decades?” Mr. Bullock asked.
Governor Rell has hired a mediator to meet with the holdouts. The goal is to see what, if any, financial terms, beyond the outdated appraised value they have been offered, might persuade them to leave.
“I’m on the road to search for the proverbial win-win,” said the mediator, Robert R. Albright. “It’s an extraordinarily complex situation. It’s not a two-party situation by any means. I’m not sure I can honestly give you an option set or even fully describe the obstacles.”
Oh, so now, after the negative publicity has gotten to be too much, they’re looking for a “win-win.” If they’d actually started out looking for a “win-win” situation in the first place instead of trying to use the raw power of government to force homeowners to bend to their will, they would have either settled this amicably, one way or the other, years ago.
That should be a lesson to members of government, at every level, all across the United States. But unfortunately, once the spotlight goes off, you find that government is an arrogant, stupid creature that rarely takes to heart the harsh lessons it learned under the withering glare of public scrutiny. Unfortunately, that’s the nature of the beast…
Hat tip to Althouse for the story.
The 50 Most Popular Liberal Websites
After ranking the biggest right-of-center political websites, I thought it might be interesting to see which left-of-center websites receive the most traffic. So, I went ...
My pal Rachel Lucas got a question from one of her readers that read, I'm a former liberal who's made a difficult transformation to a conservative...I'm ...
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Last edited by Vudojind
2 edition of Drug enforcement by police and sheriffs" departments, 1990 found in the catalog.
Drug enforcement by police and sheriffs" departments, 1990
Brian Reaves
a LEMAS report
by Brian Reaves
Published 1992 by U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics in [Washington, D.C.] .
Narcotics, Control of -- United States -- Statistics.,
Drug abuse -- United States -- Statistics.,
Police -- United States -- Drug testing -- Statistics.
Statement by Brian A. Reaves.
Series Special report, Special report (United States. Bureau of Justice Statistics)
Contributions United States. Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Pagination 10 p. ;
Study of Uinds at Sydney Airport Nova Scotia.
United Kingdom hotel industry.
Discourses chiefly on devotional subjects ...
Introduction to Management Science
Compensation of W. H. Arnoux. Letter from the Secretary of the Treasury, transmitting a communication from the Secretary of the Navy requesting an appropriation for compensating W. H. Arnoux for his services as counsel during the Congressional investigation into the facts connected with the Jeannette Arctic Expedition.
The Space Station Task Force report
Data Mining Cookbook
History of the World War- Volume 3
national aspect of the debts of the state of Mississippi repudiated before the Civil War.
Memorandum: Company plans for the regularization of plant operation and employment.
Financing your business dreams with other peopleʼs money
Callipædia
Life of Amos A. Lawrence
Statistical evidence
Staff papers
Drug enforcement by police and sheriffs" departments, 1990 by Brian Reaves Download PDF EPUB FB2
Get this from a library. Drug enforcement by police and sheriffs' departments, a LEMAS report. [Brian Reaves; United States.
Bureau of Justice Statistics.]. Local police and sheriffs' departments. During77% of the Nation's local police and sheriffs' departments. reported they had primary responsibility for the enforcement of drug laws.
in areas under their jurisdiction. Th agencies employedfull-time officers, 92% of. State and Local Police Departments, By Brian A. Reaves, Ph.D. BJS Statistician During nea publicly funded eState and local law enforcement agencies were operating In the United States.
This total included 49 general purpose State po lice departments and an estima general purpose local police departments. Local police departments make up more than two-thirds of state and local law enforcement agencies in the United States.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) defines a local police department is a general purpose law enforcement agency, other than a sheriff’s office, that is operated by a unit of local government such as a town. Law enforcement in the United States is one of three major components of the criminal justice system of the United States, along with courts and gh each component operates semi-independently, the three collectively form a chain leading from an investigation of suspected criminal activity to the administration of criminal punishment.
Global Drug Enforcement: Practical Investigative Techniques provides basic and advanced methods for conducting modern drug investigations. With coverage of source countries, drug identification, conspiracy investigations, clandestine laboratories, drug intelligence, and money laundering, the book includes the topics that every detective Cited by: 6.
DRUG COURTS, CHIEFS OF POLICE AND SHERIFFS: A BROADER LOOK AT LAW ENFORCEMENT Presented in partnership by the National Association of Drug Court Professionals and the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.
NADCP National Association of Drug Court Professionals Seminary Road, SuiteAlexandria, VA File Size: KB. A well-known example of strong cooperation among federal, state, and local law enforcement officers can be seen in the Organized Crime Drug.
This book is written from a criminal justice standpoint, in that, not only does the book discuss the identification and effects of illicit drugs, but also discusses the investigation techniques used by law enforcement to apprehend drug users and traffickers/5(2).
The Bureau of Justice Statistics' Law Enforcement Unit maintains more than a dozen national data collections, covering federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and special topics in law enforcement. Most data collections are conducted every 2 to 4 years and focus on aggregate or agency-level responses, meaning the information that is.
In the book, I interview lots of older and retired police officers, many of them with SWAT experience. I also cite other police chiefs and sheriffs over the years who have raised concerns about militarization. The divide among police on this issue isn't political. The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of also provided funding for tens of thousands of new law enforcement officers.
With new hires also came new guidelines and training standards. This census, known as the Directory Survey, gathers data on 49 primary state law enforcement agencies and all sheriffs' departments, local police departments, and special police agencies (state or local) that are publicly funded and employ at least one sworn officer with general arrest powers.
Drug Enforcement Cops. likes 14, talking about this. This page is for people working any type of drug enforcement, whether street level or majors. The page is run by a retired drug cop Followers: K. Police agencies need to assess whether it makes sense to implement a new technology solution using in-house resources Ohio grandmother in viral heroin OD photo sentenced – Franklin County and Texas County sheriffs' departments.
At these checkpoints, police arrested defendants Richard Damask, Linda Alvarez and Maximo Garcia for possession of drugs. On Novemin an effort to discourage illegal drug trafficking, the Franklin County Sheriff's Department set up a checkpoint along '.
drug education and enforcement The Enforcement Section of the Drug Education and Enforcement Unit works with local, state and federal drug enforcement units, agencies and task forces to target, arrest and prosecute major dealers in Columbia County.
Welcome To The Police Industrial Complex. had received $3 million in federal funding to dress troops up like cacti and position them along the border to hunt for drug smugglers.
And in the summer ofan Army helicopter circled overhead as Massachusetts National Guard troops, some of them undercover, assisted police in identifying. Dec. The arrest of a Bakersfield police officer suspected of using methamphetamine last week has stirred up questions about how law enforcement police their own for possible drug use.
group of law enforcement personnel and other professionals in a national symposium to examine the issue of integrity. In July the National Symposium on Police Integrity took place in Washington, D.C.
The participants included police chiefs, sheriffs, police researchers, police officers, members of other professional disciplines.
Seven sheriffs deputies are now on trial in Los Angeles, charged with stealing $ million in drug money. More than 30 narcotics officers here have been implicated in the largest current police. National Academy: A professional course of study for leaders and managers of state and local police, sheriffs’ departments, military police organizations, and federal law enforcement agencies.
These city police departments were sometimes given authority over some of the duties traditionally left to sheriffs. Sheriffs were then relied on for regulation of affairs outside city limits such as maintenance of roads. However, even these inter-city duties came to be assigned to State law enforcement bodies such as the highway patrol.
Comprehensive overview of the intersections between drug courts and law enforcement, providing information on the role of law enforcement in treatment courts; the barriers to effective collaboration; ways to involve law enforcement in drug court and best practices; and profiles of law enforcement linkages.
Drug testing policies for police and sheriffs' departments vary across California, depending on what agencies' unions and cities or counties negotiate.
6, Drug Enforcement Officer jobs available on Apply to Law Enforcement Officer, Correctional Officer, Probation Officer and more. While federal funding and drug war propaganda have helped drive marijuana arrests, police and sheriffs’ departments have had their own reasons to embrace and fiercely defend the practice.
Police by county and city, law enforcement agencies, sheriff department listings and public safety resources. “Partnership, Pride, and Progress ” Your State Accredited Police Department, in the interest of providing a safe environment for all, and to enhance quality of life in this community, pledges to serve and protect the life and property of the people of goal is to prevent crime, to preserve public peace, and to uphold those guarantees set down in the Constitution of the United.
Participating agencies include the Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville and Zionsville Police Departments along with the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office. The Hamilton/Boone County Drug Task Force often receives drug tip information from citizens contacting their own law enforcement agency.
Carmel Police Department: () Law enforcement in the United States is one of three major components of the criminal justice system of the United States, along with courts and corrections. Although each component operates semi-independently, the three collectively form a chain leading from investigation of suspected criminal activity to administration of criminal punishment.
He has been in law enforcement in Buchanan County sinceworking for the Sheriff’s Office and the Independence Police Department. Sheriff Wolfgram has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in Management from Minnesota State University and graduated from the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy in An organizational style used in police departments that emphasizes peacekeeping without aggressive law enforcement and few controls over rank-and-file officers Legalistic Style An organizational style used in police departments that emphasized aggressive crime fighting and attempts to control officer behavior through a rule bound, "by-the-book.
Example: if you are a police officer in City 'A' and you are on vacation in city 'B' which is in the same state but miles away and you witness a crime, you have the ability to take police action and are expected to. Jurisdiction does not matter.
Your police. The goals of drug enforcement From a police chief's perspective, the drug problem presents distinguishable threats to community security. Most pressing is the violence associated with street-level drug dealing- This is one in a series of reports originally developed with some of the leading figures in American policing during theirFile Size: KB.
All New Jersey law enforcement agencies were provided directives for narcotics enforcement activities. The primary agencies cited in the Action Plan responsible for narcotics enforcement were municipal and county police, the Statewide Narcotics Task Force, the Division of State Police, the Division of Criminal Justice, County Prosecutors, County Sheriffs and the New Jersey Narcotic Enforcement.
Every agency sets its own standards here. Those standards are likely to be considerably more lax than they were 20 or 30 years ago. The longer the span of time since last use of an illegal drug, the better.
I remember interviewing one candidate wh. In addition, the United States Army Aviation & Troop Command (ATCOM) is selling surplus OH-6A scout helicopters to state and local governments for use in drug law enforcement. Helicopters are also routinely used by the National Guard and by local sheriffs departments in marijuana eradication programs.
Tim began his law enforcement career with the Baltimore Police Department in In September ofhe was reassigned to the Education and Training Division as the agency’s primary law instructor. April ofhe assumed command of the Department’s Special Investigation Section within the Internal Investigation Division.
Spotlight on Sheriffs Denver Sheriff Department3 recommendations for DSD on use of force, discipline, complaint investigations, and other areas.2 The report by Hillard Heintze and OIR Group issued 14 findings (including findings on a number of strengths and innovative programs) and recommendations, which were organized into nine categories:3File Size: 2MB.
Police corruption happens in New York, Los Angeles, New Orleans and every major U.S. city and is conducted by officers of all races, creeds and colors.
Here is Author: Cganemccalla.Drug Enforcement The following is a brief overview of my plan that will go immediately into effect as soon as I am elected as your new Sheriff: I assure you, as your Sheriff I will aggressively approach the drug problem in this county head-on.
We will use undercover operations, drug interdiction operations, and patrol operations. Our results suggest that the key to successful drug law enforcement lies in the capacity of the police to forge productive partnerships with third parties rather than simply increasing police presence or intervention (e.g., arrests) at drug by:
howtogetridofbadbreath.club - Drug enforcement by police and sheriffs departments, 1990 book © 2020
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Protecting Multiple Contents with the Cryptographic Message Syntax (CMS)
RFC - Proposed Standard (May 2005; Errata)
Was draft-housley-contentcollection (individual in sec area)
Russ Housley
RFC 4073 (Proposed Standard)
Sam Hartman
Email authors IPR References Referenced by Nits
Network Working Group R. Housley
Request for Comments: 4073 Vigil Security
Category: Standards Track May 2005
Protecting Multiple Contents with the
Cryptographic Message Syntax (CMS)
This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the
Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
improvements. Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet
Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state
and status of this protocol. Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2005).
This document describes a convention for using the Cryptographic
Message Syntax (CMS) to protect a content collection. If desired,
attributes can be associated with the content.
Message Syntax (CMS) [CMS] to protect a content collection. The
content-collection content type is used to transfer one or more
contents, each identified by a content type. If desired, the
content-with-attributes content type can be used to associate
arbitrary attributes with the content.
The convention described in this document is not needed when CMS is
used with MIME [MSG]. MIME multipart [MIME] provides a
straightforward and widely deployed mechanism for carrying more than
one content item, each associated with a MIME type.
However, CMS is not always used with MIME. Sometimes CMS is used in
an exclusively ASN.1 [ASN1] environment. In this case, the content-
collection content type is used to gather more than one content item,
each with an object identifier to specify the content type.
In this document, the key words MUST, MUST NOT, REQUIRED, SHOULD,
SHOULD NOT, RECOMMENDED, MAY, and OPTIONAL are to be interpreted as
described in [STDWORDS].
Housley Standards Track [Page 1]
RFC 4073 Protecting Multiple Contents with the CMS May 2005
1.1. Content Collection Example
This section provides one simple example to illustrate the need for
the content-collection content type. Consider an art collector who
wants to sell one of his pieces, an ancient Greek urn called an
amphora. The collector wants to compose a digitally signed offer for
sale. It includes three parts. The first part contains the owner's
offer for sale, including the asking price. The second part contains
a high-quality image of the amphora. The final part contains an
appraisal from a well-respected ceramics expert. The final part is
digitally signed by the expert. Figure 1 illustrates the structure,
and the CMS SignedData content type is used for the two digital
signatures.
+---------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| ContentInfo |
| +-----------------------------------------------------+ |
| | | |
| | SignedData | |
| | +-------------------------------------------------+ | |
| | | | | |
| | | ContentCollection | | |
| | | +-----------+ +-----------+ +-----------------+ | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Owner's | | Image | | SignedData | | | |
| | | | Offer to | | of the | | | | | |
| | | | Sell the | | Amphora | | +-------------+ | | | |
| | | | Amphora | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | Appraisal | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | of Ceramics | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | Expert | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | +-------------+ | | | |
Figure 1. Sample use of the ContentCollection Content Type
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Russia plans more advanced floating NPPs
24 February 2020 | Neimagazine.com
By mid-2020, Russia’s Iceberg Central Design Bureau (St Petersburg) is tasked by Afrikantov OKBM (Nizhny Novgorod) to develop a preliminary design for an optimised floating NPP intended for export, Ria News reported citing the procurement website of state nuclear corporation Rosatom.
According to the technical requirements for the work, Iceberg is to develop design documentation for a competitive optimised floating nuclear power plant and a 100MW electric power supply vessel (ESR) with a RITM-200M reactor.
The preliminary design will also evaluate the possibility and feasibility of the unit being used to supply heating to coastal consumers and to power an external desalination plant.
Calculations of operating costs should take into account conditions in Russia and in foreign countries.
The world's first FNPP, Akademik Lomonosov, began supplying power to the town of Pevek in Chukotka earlier this year.
The Akademik Lomonosov FNPP is equipped with two icebreaker-type reactors that are capable of generating up to 70MWe and 50 Gcal/h of thermal energy.
Iceberg Central Design Bureau has already proposed a design for an FNPP using two modernised RITM-200M reactors instead of KLT-40S units.
The use of RITM-200M reactors increases the capacity of the FNPP to 100MWe, as well as extending the life of a single load of nuclear fuel up to ten years, which negates the need for used fuel storage and a number of other facilities.
Meanwhile, the press service of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug reported on 20 February that the Akademik Lomonosov will be connected to the city’s heat and water supply networks in three stages.
The first stage was implemented in 2019.
The second stage - installation of engineering networks and the installation of heat supply points in houses - will take place in the summer and autumn of 2020.
The third phase should be completed in 2021.
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