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Carrie Underwood Debuts ‘Spinning Bottles’, Wins Favorite Female Country Artist at 2018 AMAs
Getty Images for dcp
Carrie Underwood was the sole country music performer during Tuesday night's (Oct. 9) 2018 American Music Awards ceremony. The country star performed her new song "Spinning Bottles."
Underwood co-wrote "Spinning Bottles" with David Garcia and Hillary Lindsey. The song appears on her new album, Cry Pretty, which was released in mid-September, and is about a woman who is in a relationship with an alcoholic.
"This ain't a game / Nobody wins," Underwood sings in "Spinning Bottles." "Yeah, nobody gets lucky when that bottle spins / Again and again, again and again, again and again ..."
Underwood's trip to the 2018 American Music Awards was her first awards show appearance since announcing her second pregnancy. In November, she will be co-hosting the 2018 CMA Awards, with Brad Paisley, for the 11th consecutive year; later this month, she'll be honored at CMT's 2018 Artists of the Year event as well.
Underwood was a 2018 American Music Awards nominee for Favorite Female Artist -- Country. Her fellow nominees included Kelsea Ballerini and Maren Morris; Underwood won the category, and was presented the honor by Thomas Rhett and actress Sara Gilbert.
Readers can flip through the photo gallery above to see Underwood onstage and on the red carpet at the 2018 American Music Awards.
Unforgettable Carrie Underwood Moments
NEXT: More From the American Music Awards
Source: Carrie Underwood Debuts ‘Spinning Bottles’, Wins Favorite Female Country Artist at 2018 AMAs
Filed Under: american music awards, carrie underwood
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COVID-19: Check here for the latest information on visitor restrictions, virtual care, and testing, as well as other helpful resources.
•WVU Medicine News•Six WVU Medicine hospitals recognized by U.S. News & World Report
Six WVU Medicine hospitals recognized by U.S. News & World Report
Adult Urology program nationally ranked, Ruby top hospital in state
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Six WVU Medicine hospitals – four member hospitals and two managed hospitals – have been recognized in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals 2020-21. This year’s rankings also include the WVU Medicine Urology Program’s fourth consecutive national ranking, and WVU Medicine J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital’s designation as the number one hospital in the state.
In addition to Urology, which was ranked 40th in the country, Ruby Memorial Hospital’s Nephrology, Neurology and Neurosurgery, Orthopaedics, and Pulmonology and Lung Surgery programs were all recognized as High Performing specialties.
Six WVU Medicine hospitals were designated as High Performing in the Procedures and Conditions category. They are:
Berkeley Medical Center – High Performing in COPD
Camden Clark Medical Center – High Performing in COPD and Heart Failure
Ruby Memorial – High Performing in COPD and Heart Failure
Uniontown Hospital (managed hospital) – High Performing in COPD
United Hospital Center – High Performing in COPD and Heart Failure
Wheeling Hospital (managed hospital) – High Performing in COPD and Heart Failure
“We are thrilled to have more specialties and more hospitals recognized by U.S. News and World Report. These rankings validate the strides we have made in strengthening our System and the care we provide throughout it,” Albert L. Wright, Jr., president and CEO of the West Virginia University Health System, said. “Of course, none of this would be possible without the hard work and dedication of our employees, and we thank them for making WVU Medicine the world-class healthcare system that it is.”
The annual Best Hospitals rankings and ratings, now in their 31st year, are designed to assist patients and their doctors in making informed decisions about where to receive care for challenging health conditions or for common elective procedures.
For the 2020-21 rankings and ratings, U.S. News evaluated more than 4,500 medical centers nationwide in 26 specialties, 10 procedures and conditions. In the 16 specialty areas, 134 hospitals were ranked in at least one specialty. In rankings by state and metro area, U.S. News recognized best regional hospitals based on high performing rankings across multiple areas of care.
“For more than 30 years, U.S. News & World Report has been helping patients, along with the help of their physicians, identify the Best Hospitals in an array of specialties, procedures and conditions,” said Ben Harder, managing editor and chief of health analysis at U.S. News. “The hospitals that rise to the top of our rankings and ratings have deep medical expertise, and each has built a track record of delivering good outcomes for patients.”
The U.S. News Best Hospitals methodologies in most areas of care are based largely on objective measures such as risk-adjusted survival and discharge-to-home rates, volume, and quality of nursing, among other care-related indicators.
Best Hospitals was produced by U.S. News with RTI International, a leading research organization based in Research Triangle Park, N.C.
For more information about the 2020-21 rankings and ratings, please visit the FAQ. The rankings will be published in the “Best Hospitals 2021” guidebook (ISBN 9781931469951), available in stores October 6.
ABOUT THE WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SYSTEM
The West Virginia University Health System, the state’s largest health system and largest private employer, is comprised of 12 hospitals – its flagship hospital, J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown and Fairmont Medical Center in Fairmont; Berkeley Medical Center in Martinsburg; Braxton County Memorial Hospital in Gassaway; Camden Clark Medical Center in Parkersburg; Jackson General Hospital in Ripley; Jefferson Medical Center in Ranson; Potomac Valley Hospital in Keyser; Reynolds Memorial Hospital in Glen Dale; St. Joseph’s Hospital in Buckhannon; Summersville Regional Medical Center in Summersville; United Hospital Center in Bridgeport; and Wetzel County Hospital in New Martinsville. It also provides management services to Barnesville Hospital in Barnesville, Ohio; Garrett Regional Medical Center in Oakland, Maryland; Harrison Community Hospital in Cadiz, Ohio; Highland-Clarksburg Hospital in Clarksburg; Uniontown Hospital in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, and Wheeling Hospital in Wheeling. The WVU Health System also includes five institutes – the WVU Cancer Institute, the WVU Critical Care and Trauma Institute, the WVU Eye Institute, the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute, and the WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute. For more information, visit WVUMedicine.org.
ABOUT U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT
U.S. News & World Report is the global leader in quality rankings that empower people to make better, more informed decisions about important issues affecting their lives. A digital news and information company focused on Education, Health, Money, Travel, Cars and News, USNews.com provides consumer advice, rankings and analysis to serve people making complex decisions throughout all stages of life. More than 40 million people visit USNews.com each month for research and guidance. Founded in 1933, U.S. News is headquartered in Washington, D.C.
Attention reporters and editors: To speak with WVU Medicine leadership, please contact Angela Jones-Knopf at 304-285-7259 or knopfa@wvumedicine.org. To speak with leadership at Berkeley Medical Center, please contact Teresa McCabe at 304-264-1223 or tmccabe@wvumedicine.org. To speak with leadership at Camden Clark Medical Center, please contact Roger Lockhart at 304-424-2071 or roger.lockhart@wvumedicine.org. To speak with leadership at Uniontown Hospital, please contact Josh Krysak at 724-430-8634 or krysak@utwn.org. To speak with leadership at United Hospital Center, please contact Matt Chisler at 681-342-1611 or chislerm@wvumedicine.org. To speak with leadership at Wheeling Hospital, please contact Thea Gompers at 304-243-3705 or tgompers@wheelinghospital.org.
For media inquiries: Angela Jones-Knopf, Corporate Director of Media Relations and Public Affairs, 304-285-7259
knopfa@wvumedicine.org
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Jennifer Aniston Is People Mags World's Most Beautiful Woman
Jennifer Aniston has been named People magazine’s 2016 World’s Most Beautiful Woman.
The 47-year-old actress says she was “very, very flattered” when she found out she was being named the World’s Most Beautiful Woman. She says, “There was this sort of very excited, teenage-y kind of moment.” Asked how she defines beauty, Aniston explains, “Inner confidence. Peace. Kindness. Honesty. A life well-lived. Taking on challenges and not feeling shame for things that haven’t gone the way you felt they should have. And not feeling like a failure or allowing people to critique your life and make you feel like you’ve failed at something. That’s just toxic noise.”
Jennifer was previously named People’s Most Beautiful Woman back in 2004.
Aniston stole the top spot from Sandra Bullock who was the publication’s “Most Beautiful Woman” last year.
Others due to grace this year’s issue include Carrie Underwood, Christina Milian, Reese Witherspoon, Sofia Vergara, Keke Palmer and Selena Gomez
Finding Your Passenger Uber Rating
Carlos Santana on New Reunion Album
Paul McCartney and Nirvana's Krist Novoselic Helter Skelter
Kurt Cobain's guitar From Final Nirvana Tour up for auction
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Statutory regulators issue joint statement
Home > Statutory regulators issue joint statement
The General Optical Council (GOC) has joined the statutory regulators of health and social care professionals in issuing a joint statement, setting out their approach to carrying out their role during the pandemic.
The statement reads: “In March last year, at the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic, we issued a statement to support our registrants in dealing with the unprecedented challenges that they were facing. As the pandemic continues, we know that health and social care professionals continue to work in very difficult situations and under extreme pressures. We want to thank all health and social care professionals for the care they have continued to provide to patients and those who use health and social care services through these very difficult and challenging circumstances.
“With the production and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines underway, some of our registrants are leading the effort to vaccinate people as quickly as possible, while others continue to play a vital role in helping to treat and care for people with coronavirus and to contain its spread. We know that the current surge in cases means that all health and social care professionals are likely to face an increased burden, and they may continue to have concerns about decisions they need to take in order to provide the best care in challenging circumstances.
“When the pandemic began last year, we as professional regulators across the UK, set out how we would carry out our roles during this time. We would like to set out our approach again in the following joint statement, which re-iterates the principles we said we would rely upon, and will continue to rely upon as the pandemic continues.
“We hold the registers of health and social care professionals in the UK. We support those professionals to deliver better, safer care by setting the standards they need to meet, to act in the best interests of patients and people who use health and social care services at all times.
“As registered professionals, the first concern of the individuals on our registers will be the care of their patients and people who use health and social care services. We encourage health and social care professionals, working in partnership with each other and people using services, to use their professional judgement to assess risk and to deliver safe care informed by any relevant guidance and the values and principles set out in their professional standards.
“We recognise that in highly challenging circumstances, professionals may need to depart from established procedures in order to care for patients and people using health and social care services. Our regulatory standards are designed to be flexible and to provide a framework for decision-making in a wide range of situations. They support professionals by highlighting the key principles which should be followed, including the need to work cooperatively with colleagues to keep people safe, to practise in line with the best available evidence, to recognise and work within the limits of their competence, and to have appropriate indemnity arrangements relevant to their practice.
“We recognise that the individuals on our registers may feel anxious about how context is taken into account when concerns are raised about their decisions and actions in very challenging circumstances. Where a concern is raised about a registered professional, it will always be considered on the specific facts of the case, taking into account the factors relevant to the environment in which the professional is working. We would also take account of any relevant information about resource, guidelines or protocols in place at the time.
“We will continue to issue profession specific guidance to our registrants to provide additional support where that is needed.”
The statutory health and care regulators that have agreed to this statement are:
General Chiropractic Council
General Optical Council
Health and Care Professions Council
Nursing and Midwifery Council
Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland
Social Work England
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Alice Lloyd Baseball Eagles Sweep Cincinnati Christian University
Game 1 – The Eagles jump on Cincinnati Christian University early and coast to 13-6 win
The Eagles jumped out to an early lead on Cincinnati Christian University and captured a 13-6 victory on Tuesday.
Eight runs in the first three innings allowed the Eagles to put the game away early.
An RBI single by Alan Silva, an error, and a groundout by Alex White during the first inning and and an RBI single by Hunter Millsap in the second inning supplied the early offense for the Eagles.
Josh Antwine reached base four times in the game for the Eagles. He scored two runs and had one RBI. He singled in the first, fifth, and sixth innings.
Broderick Moore recorded the win for the Eagles, allowing five runs over five innings. He struck out four, walked five and surrendered five hits.
Clay Kramer couldn’t get it done on the rubber for Cincinnati Christian University, taking a loss. He allowed nine runs in four innings, walked four and struck out one.
Game 2 – Cincinnati Christian University outdone by the Eagles, 6-3
The Eagles beat Cincinnati Christian University 6-3 in seven innings on Tuesday
On the mound, Ryan Lavy recorded the win for the Eagles. He allowed three runs over five innings. He struck out six, walked one and surrendered six hits. CCU’s lineup had no answer for relief pitcher Alan Silva. Silva held Cincinnati Christian University hitless over two innings, allowed no earned runs, walked none and struck out three.
The Eagles were sparked by Hunter Millsap and Ryne Loggins, who teamed up for five hits and three RBIs. Austyn Turner had two extra base hits, as he doubled in the second and fifth innings.
Jared Seibert was charged with the loss. He lasted just 2 2/3 innings, walked four, struck out one, and allowed five runs.
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Chicago Architecture Center
The new venue stirs the public’s interest in architectural history and innovation with dynamic exhibits and programs for visitors of all ages. It’s one of a handful of models that AIA Minnesota is paying close attention to as it envisions its own center.
For decades, Lynn Osmond, Hon. AIA, had been weighing the merits of a facility expansion. As president and CEO of the Chicago Architecture Foundation, she had seen the nonprofit’s tour offerings and educational programs grow significantly since her arrival in 1996, and space for the organization’s retail, programming, and administrative headquarters in the Railway Exchange Building on Michigan Avenue was increasingly tight. Additionally, Osmond and her board were envious of the architecture and design centers they saw popping up in New York, London, Paris, and Shanghai, as well as in smaller cities, including Seattle. “At some point, we knew we wanted to be our own center,” says Osmond.
In 2016, those dreams snapped into focus when the foundation learned its lease in the Railway Exchange Building would not be renewed. Osmond and the board of trustees decided to seize the moment and make the leap. “In just 18 months, we had to raise $12 million. We had to come up with architectural drawings. We had to come up with the exhibition plan,” Osmond recalls. “It was a very stressful year and a half.”
Last fall, Osmond and her team celebrated the opening of the Chicago Architecture Center, an elegant, two-story, architecture-and-design venue located just off Michigan Avenue on the Chicago River. The 20,000-square-foot facility houses exhibition space, a retail shop, a design studio, and a lecture hall. At its heart is an enormous model of downtown Chicago that helps tell the story of architecture and design in the Windy City—from the indigenous people who first inhabited the land to the famous fire that leveled the town to the postwar expansion that gave rise to its international renown—alongside displays on the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, the destruction of predominantly African American neighborhoods in the 1950s and 1960s to make way for highways, and post-industrial development. A second gallery tells the story of the rise of the skyscraper—a building type invented in Chicago that’s now the hallmark of modern cities around the globe.
More than 30,000 people have already toured the center. Architecture critic Blair Kamin, writing in the Chicago Tribune, called it “the latest jewel in Chicago’s architectural crown.” But Osmond says that accolades from design experts are just icing on the cake. It’s everyday Chicagoans and tourists that she most wants to lure into the space: “We have a model that’s really based on public engagement,” she says.
Established in 1966, the Chicago Architecture Foundation—now called the Chicago Architecture Center—has no official link to the American Institute of Architects’ Chicago chapter. But the center’s ties to the city’s architecture community are many, and when Osmond and her board decided to forge ahead with an expansion, they turned to the design community for assistance.
Architect Gordon Gill, FAIA, was among the local talent asked to help with site evaluation. “The location was critical on a project like this,” says Gill. “It wasn’t a standalone building, so it had to be visible. It’s also a cultural project, so it had to be easily findable and accessible to the public.”
Of the five sites preselected for investigation by the foundation, Gill chose to study a ground-level space in 111 East Wacker Drive, a 1970 office tower designed by the studio of famed modernist Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The location offered high visibility, close proximity to the boat launch where many of the organization’s tours began, and a central spot between two of the city’s biggest tourist destinations—Millennium Park and North Michigan Avenue. The site was also symbolic: “The river and Michigan Avenue are really the heartbeat of Chicago on any given day,” says Gill.
Osmond and her board agreed, and they tasked Gill, a principal at Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, with designing the buildout. They also hired the museum planning firm Gallagher & Associates to advise them on exhibits and operations. That latter decision proved crucial, says Osmond. “Exhibit design is a science. It’s not about just doing something that looks pretty,” she explains. “If you want to charge admission, there’s certain testing that you have to do. We realized that if we wanted people to spend $12, we had to provide a certain kind of experience—something of a certain caliber, and something at least an hour long.”
Meanwhile, fundraising began in earnest. “It wasn’t a surprise to anyone that we had been contemplating this,” says Osmond. “Butpeople don’t give until you actually know the location and have a clear vision of what you intend to do. The bull’s-eye on the river made it real.”
REFLECTION AND ILLUMINATION
The new center occupies the ground floor and a former terrace space (now glassed in) at the base of 111 East Wacker. During the day, its glass exterior—marked with the Chicago Architecture Center logo, a red dot ringed by a white letter C—reflects the profiles of several iconic Chicago buildings, including the Tribune Tower and the Wrigley Building. At night, passersby on both sides of the river can see into the illuminated Drake Family Skyscraper Gallery on the upper level. Gill says the floor-to-ceiling glass gives visitors a chance to make both conscious and unconscious connections between the building models in front of them—including a nearly 40-foot-high likeness of Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah Tower, which, at 3,280 feet, will be the world’s tallest building when it opens in 2020—and the Chicago skyline. “It creates a subtle but intentional dialogue,” says Gill. “You’re looking at models of buildings from around the world, but Chicago is the backdrop.”
Smaller gallery spaces house rotating exhibits that examine issues like the effects of climate change and population growth on the built environment. Behind the scenes, a design studio accommodates K–12 classes and other learning activities. A 140-seat lecture hall in the back of the building provides space for guest lectures and presentations.
Osmond says staff members, most of whom office on a higher floor in the building, are still catching their breath after the opening. “All of a sudden, you’re open every day with paid gallery experiences,” she says. “You have to have visitor-experience guides, you have to have facilities. You’re running your box office and admissions. You’re learning how the visitor moves through the space.”
Still, all the growth and activity haven’t stopped Osmond from setting her sights on the future. “This fall, we’ll rotate out the models and make some exhibit changes,” she says. “We need to fundraise to get more digital interactive components both downstairs and upstairs. And we want to expand the portion of the Chicago City Model Experience that interacts with data so people can use the model in even more ways.” She then adds, with a smile: “I’m thrilled with what we have, but to be honest, I would like to have had about 3,000 more square feet of exhibit space.”
MADE IN MINNESOTA: AIA MINNESOTA AND THE MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY TEAM UP TO EXPLORE OPTIONS FOR A MINNESOTA ARCHITECTURE CENTER
Minnesota boasts a number of iconic buildings, from the IDS Center in Minneapolis to the state capitol in St. Paul to Enger Tower in Duluth. But the stories of their design and construction—and of the political, social, and environmental forces that helped shape them—often go untold. A proposed architecture-and-design center could change that.
“We want to help the public better understand what architects and designers do,” says Meredith Hayes Gordon, AIA, an architect with HGA Architects and Engineers and one of the co-chairs of the AIA Minnesota task force examining the concept. Seattle, Boston, and New York are among the cities where AIA chapters have successfully launched such a venue.
The center, which could open as early as 2025, according to Hayes Gordon, is expected to be developed in partnership with the Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS). One potential location is within or adjacent to MNHS’s Mill City Museum in Minneapolis. Melanie Adams, deputy director of learning initiatives for MNHS, says she’s excited about the early conversations she’s had with AIA Minnesota. “They’re thinking big—how we can create a space that serves all of Minnesota,” she says.
The center would be a hub for K–12 educational programs, says AIA Minnesota executive vice president Mary-Margaret Zindren. It would also house exhibits on topics ranging from affordable housing to climate change and show how teams across sectors can work with the public to create spaces that are healthy, safe, beautiful, equitable, and sustainable. “Ultimately, we want people to see how the built environment shapes them,” says Zindren. “The more they understand about the design process, the more they can get involved and shape the outcome of what gets built and how.”
INSIDE STORIES: THIS SPRING, DOORS OPEN MINNEAPOLIS WILL INVITE TOUR-GOERS INSIDE NOTABLE BUILDINGS ACROSS THE CITY
Even before the Chicago Architecture Center opened its doors in September 2018, the organization drew tens of thousands of architecture enthusiasts to its annual Open House Chicago weekend, a free, citywide event that opens the doors of landmark buildings old and new. This past fall, the 279 participating sites included the Inland Steel Building, Illinois Institute of Technology’s Crown Hall, and the Poetry Foundation’s headquarters.
Soon, Minnesotans will enjoy a similar opportunity.
On May 18 and 19, Doors Open Minneapolis will make architecture the talk of the town. The free, self-guided tour, modeled in part on Open House Chicago and similar events in other cities, will allow the public to explore a variety of buildings of architectural, cultural, or social significance. The Federal Reserve, Orchestra Hall, the State Theatre, and Kramarczuk Sausage Company are among the buildings whose owners have volunteered to open their doors for the inaugural event. Sponsors, which include AIA Minneapolis, believe the list of venues will top 100 buildings.
“We think it’s a great way to deepen your knowledge of Minneapolis and to develop pride in the community,” says organizer Scott Mayer.
Potential tour sites include a police station, a mosque, collegiate buildings, churches, a government center, theaters, hotels, and a lock-and-dam facility. The full list of venues will be available in March at www.doorsopenminneapolis.org.
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Home » Jewish Holidays » Israel Independence Day
https://www.aish.com/h/iid/The-Meaning-of-Israel-A-Personal-View.html
The Meaning of Israel: A Personal View
by David A. Harris
Tired of all the anti-Israel bashing? Read this and take pleasure in the miracle of Israel.
Against the backdrop of recent efforts in some academic circles to vilify and isolate Israel, let me put my cards on the table right up front. I’m not dispassionate when it comes to Israel. Quite the contrary.
The establishment of the state in 1948; the fulfillment of its envisioned role as home and haven for Jews from around the world; its wholehearted embrace of democracy and the rule of law; and its impressive scientific, cultural, and economic achievements are accomplishments beyond my wildest imagination.
For centuries, Jews around the world prayed for a return to Zion. We are the lucky ones who have seen those prayers answered. I am grateful to witness this most extraordinary period in Jewish history and Jewish sovereignty.
The age-old biblical, spiritual, and physical connection between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel is unique in the annals of history.
And when one adds the key element, namely, that all this took place not in the Middle West but in the Middle East, where Israel’s neighbors determined from day one to destroy it through any means available to them – from full-scale wars to wars of attrition; from diplomatic isolation to international delegitimation; from primary to secondary to even tertiary economic boycotts; from terrorism to the spread of anti-Semitism, often thinly veiled as anti-Zionism – the story of Israel’s first 65 years becomes all the more remarkable.
No other country has faced such a constant challenge to its very right to exist, even though the age-old biblical, spiritual, and physical connection between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel is unique in the annals of history.
Indeed, that connection is of a totally different character from the basis on which, say, the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, or the bulk of Latin American countries were established, that is, by Europeans with no legitimate claim to those lands who decimated indigenous populations and proclaimed their own authority. Or, for that matter, North African countries that were conquered and occupied by Arab-Islamic invaders and totally redefined in their national character.
No other country has faced such overwhelming odds against its very survival, or experienced the same degree of never-ending international demonization by too many nations that throw integrity and morality to the wind, and slavishly follow the will of the energy-rich and more numerous Arab states.
Yet Israelis have never succumbed to a fortress mentality, never abandoned their deep yearning for peace with their neighbors or willingness to take unprecedented risks to achieve that peace, never lost their zest for life, and never flinched from their determination to build a vibrant, democratic state.
This story of nation-building is entirely without precedent.
Here was a people brought to the brink of utter destruction by the genocidal policies of Nazi Germany and its allies. Here was a people shown to be utterly powerless to influence a largely indifferent world to stop, or even slow down, the Final Solution. And here was a people, numbering barely 600,000, living cheek-by-jowl with often hostile Arab neighbors, under unsympathetic British occupation, on a harsh soil with no significant natural resources other than human capital in then Mandatory Palestine.
That the blue-and-white flag of an independent Israel could be planted on this land, to which the Jewish people had been intimately linked since the time of Abraham, just three years after the Second World War’s end – and with the support of a decisive majority of UN members at the time – truly boggles the mind.
And what’s more, that this tiny community of Jews, including survivors of the Holocaust who had somehow made their way to Mandatory Palestine despite the British blockade, could successfully defend themselves against the onslaught of five Arab standing armies that launched their attack on Israel’s first day of existence, is almost beyond imagination.
To understand the essence of Israel’s meaning, it is enough to ask how the history of the Jewish people might have been different had there been a Jewish state in 1933, in 1938, or even in 1941. If Israel had controlled its borders and the right of entry instead of Britain, if Israel had had embassies and consulates throughout Europe, how many more Jews might have escaped and found sanctuary?
Instead, Jews had to rely on the goodwill of embassies and consulates of other countries and, with woefully few exceptions, they found there neither the “good” nor the “will” to assist.
I witnessed firsthand what Israeli embassies and consulates meant to Jews drawn by the pull of Zion or the push of hatred. I stood in the courtyard of the Israeli embassy in Moscow and saw thousands of Jews seeking a quick exit from a Soviet Union in the throes of cataclysmic change, fearful that the change might be in the direction of renewed chauvinism and anti-Semitism.
Awestruck, I watched up-close as Israel never faltered, not even for a moment, in transporting Soviet Jews to the Jewish homeland, even as Scud missiles launched from Iraq traumatized the nation in 1991. It says a lot about the conditions they were leaving behind that these Jews continued to board planes for Tel Aviv while missiles were exploding in Israeli population centers. In fact, on two occasions I sat in sealed rooms with Soviet Jewish families who had just arrived in Israel during these missile attacks. Not once did any of them question their decision to establish new lives in the Jewish state. And equally, it says a lot about Israel that, amid all the pressing security concerns, it managed to continue to welcome these new immigrants without missing a beat.
And how can I ever forget the surge of pride – Jewish pride – that completely enveloped me in July 1976 on hearing the astonishing news of Israel’s daring rescue of the 106 Jewish hostages held by Arab and German terrorists in Entebbe, Uganda, over 2,000 miles from Israel’s borders? The unmistakable message: Jews in danger will never again be alone, without hope, and totally dependent on others for their safety.
Not least, I can still remember, as if it were yesterday, my very first visit to Israel. It was in 1970, and I was not quite 21 years old.
After centuries of persecutions, pogroms, exiles – and after centuries of prayers, dreams, and yearning – the Jews had come back home and were the masters of their own fate.
I didn’t know what to expect, but I recall being quite emotional from the moment I boarded the El Al plane to the very first glimpse of the Israeli coastline from the plane’s window. As I disembarked, I surprised myself by wanting to kiss the ground. In the ensuing weeks, I marveled at everything I saw. To me, it was as if every apartment building, factory, school, orange grove, and Egged bus was nothing less than a miracle. A state, a Jewish state, was unfolding before my very eyes.
After centuries of persecutions, pogroms, exiles, ghettos, pales of settlement, inquisitions, blood libels, forced conversions, discriminatory legislation, and immigration restrictions – and, no less, after centuries of prayers, dreams, and yearning – the Jews had come back home and were the masters of their own fate.
I was overwhelmed by the mix of people, backgrounds, languages, and lifestyles, and by the intensity of life itself. Everyone, it seemed, had a compelling story to tell. There were Holocaust survivors with harrowing tales of their years in the camps. There were Jews from Arab countries, whose stories of persecution in such countries as Iraq, Libya, and Syria were little known at the time. There were the first Jews arriving from the USSR seeking repatriation in the Jewish homeland. There were the sabras – native-born Israelis – many of whose families had lived in Palestine for generations. There were local Arabs, both Christian and Muslim. There were Druze, whose religious practices are kept secret from the outside world. The list goes on and on.
I was moved beyond words by the sight of Jerusalem and the fervor with which Jews of all backgrounds prayed at the Western Wall. Coming from a nation that was at the time deeply divided and demoralized, I found my Israeli peers to be unabashedly proud of their country, eager to serve in the military, and, in many cases, determined to volunteer for the most elite combat units. They felt personally involved in the enterprise of building a Jewish state, more than 1,800 years after the Romans defeated the Bar Kochba revolt, the last Jewish attempt at sovereignty on this very land.
To be sure, nation-building is an infinitely complex process. In Israel’s case, it began against a backdrop of tensions with a local Arab population that laid claim to the very same land, and tragically refused a UN proposal to divide the land into Arab and Jewish states; as the Arab world sought to isolate, demoralize, and ultimately destroy the state; as Israel’s population doubled in the first three years of the country’s existence, putting an unimaginable strain on severely limited resources; as the nation was forced to devote a vast portion of its limited national budget to defense expenditures; and as the country coped with forging a national identity and social consensus among a population that could not have been more geographically, linguistically, socially, and culturally heterogeneous.
Moreover, there is the tricky and underappreciated issue of the potential clash between the messy realities of statehood and, in this case, the ideals and faith of a people. It is one thing for a people to live their religion as a minority; it is quite another to exercise sovereignty as the majority population while remaining true to one’s ethical standards. Inevitably, tension will arise between a people’s spiritual or moral self-definition and the exigencies of statecraft, between our highest concepts of human nature and the daily realities of individuals in decision-making positions wielding power and balancing a variety of competing interests.
Even so, shall we raise the bar so high as to ensure that Israel – forced to function in the often gritty, morally ambiguous world of international relations and politics, especially as a small, still endangered state – will always fall short?
Yet, the notion that Israel would ever become ethically indistinguishable from any other country, reflexively seeking cover behind the convenient justification of realpolitik to explain its behavior, is equally unacceptable.
Israelis, with only 65 years of statehood under their belts, are among the newer practitioners of statecraft. With all its remarkable success, consider the daunting political, social, and economic challenges in the United States 65 or even 165 years after independence, or, for that matter, the challenges it faces today, including stubborn social inequalities. And let’s not forget that the United States, unlike Israel, is a vast country blessed with abundant natural resources, oceans on two-and-a half sides, a gentle neighbor to the north, and a weaker neighbor to the south.
Like any vibrant democracy, America is a permanent work in progress. The same holds true for Israel. Loving Israel as I do, though, doesn’t mean overlooking its shortcomings, including the excessive intrusion of religion into politics, the dangers posed by zealots, and the unfinished, if undeniably complex, task of integrating Israeli Arabs into the mainstream.
In just 65 years, Israel has built a thriving democracy, unique in the region, a feisty parliament that includes every viewpoint along the political spectrum, and a vigorous press.
But it also doesn’t mean allowing such issues to overshadow Israel’s remarkable achievements, accomplished, as I’ve said, under the most difficult of circumstances.
In just 65 years, Israel has built a thriving democracy, unique in the region, including a Supreme Court prepared, when it deems appropriate, to overrule the prime minister or the military establishment, a feisty parliament that includes every imaginable viewpoint along the political spectrum, a robust civil society, and a vigorous press.
It has built an economy whose per capita GNP exceeds the combined total of its four contiguous sovereign neighbors – Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.
It has built universities and research centers that have contributed to advancing the world’s frontiers of knowledge in countless ways, and won a slew of Nobel Prizes in the process.
It has built one of the world’s most powerful militaries – always under civilian control, I might add – to ensure its survival in a rough-and-tumble neighborhood. It has shown the world how a tiny nation, no larger than New Jersey or Wales, can, by sheer ingenuity, will, courage, and commitment, defend itself against those who would destroy it through conventional armies or armies of suicide bombers. And it has done all this while striving to adhere to a strict code of military conduct that has few rivals in the democratic world, much less elsewhere – in the face of an enemy prepared to send children to the front lines and seek cover in mosques, schools, and hospitals.
It has built a quality of life that ranks it among the world’s healthiest nations and with a particularly high life expectancy, indeed higher than that of the U.S.
It has built a thriving culture, whose musicians, writers, and artists are admired far beyond Israel’s borders. In doing so, it has lovingly taken an ancient language, Hebrew, the language of the prophets, and rendered it modern to accommodate the vocabulary of the contemporary world.
It has built a climate of respect for other faith groups, including Baha’i, Christianity and Islam, and their places of worship. Can any other nation in the area make the same claim?
It has built an agricultural sector that has had much to teach developing nations about turning an arid soil into fields of fruits, vegetables, cotton, and flowers.
Step back from the twists and turns of the daily information overload coming from the Middle East and consider the sweep of the last 65 years. Look at the light-years traveled since the darkness of the Holocaust, and marvel at the miracle of a decimated people returning to a tiny sliver of land – the land of our ancestors, the land of Zion and Jerusalem – and successfully building a modern, vibrant state against all the odds, on that ancient foundation.
In the final analysis, then, the story of Israel is the wondrous realization of a 3,500-year link among a land, a faith, a language, a people, and a vision. It is an unparalleled story of tenacity and determination, of courage and renewal. And it is ultimately a metaphor for the triumph of enduring hope over the temptation of despair.
Essay Contest: "What Israel Means to Me"
David A. Harris
David A. Harris is the Executive Director of the American Jewish Committee.
(14) Anonymous, July 17, 2014 6:34 AM
Religion is the ONLY reason we are still here. There is nothing else but HaShem.
(13) Zalmen, May 12, 2014 11:26 PM
Israel, light of nations!
Suscintly, what Jewish tradition have granted to the world, since Moshe, is the Love on freedom and the USE of oure great mistery of REASON,,,and respect to the other!
Which still today makes a BIG difference!,
The LOVE of life!, and the use of oure God guiving faculties to make from beasts, hunan beeings!
(12) dr tony vadynizk, January 23, 2014 9:39 PM
a jew till i die
Thanks for an inept history of who iam and will always be. Iam a Nigerian citizen of Jewish faith and soul.
(11) Basha, January 23, 2014 7:45 AM
Thank you for your indepth, heartfelt reminder of who we are, what we have survived and what we have given to the world. We have evolved, remarkebly like seedless grapes, never fully understanding how we reproduce but still it happens. Bless you for such a quantatitive and educated outline of our heritage.
(10) Jorge Lichi, January 22, 2014 9:40 PM
Beautiful and very well presented
You mention that since Abraham the Jewish people have been blessed with miracles. I would say that sometimes we use the word miracles afraid of referring to the creator of these miracles by its name "God".
Since I don't live in Israel, I don't know or understand what do you mean by "excessive intrusion of religion". What I can say is that God has never give up on us even though He has been excessively and extremely generous with us.
(9) Tirtza, January 22, 2014 8:46 PM
The prayers for a return to Zion have not been answered
A beginning of that dream is perhaps being witnessed in the establishment of a Jewish State in our ancient and eternally promised homeland. This may very well be the "beginning of the redemption", yet there is no guarantee that we are privileged to return. However,it may not be that we are privileged to return but only that the persecution against Jews has reached it's limit that G-d will have mercy and facilitate this long sought total redemption. Understanding between groups,lack of baseless hatred, primarily, will aid us immeasurably. So, value those "religious zealots," they are as much, if not more, of the key to Israel's survival as any other group.
(8) Wallace Brand, January 22, 2014 8:21 PM
The Jewish People's state was established in 1920, not 1948.
In 1919 the Arab People and the Jewish People filed competing claims for Palestine at the Paris Peace Talks. When the Principal Allied War Powers reconvened at San Remo in 1920 they decided to recognize the Jewish People as the owners of the political rights to Palestine. Because the Jews at that time were just a minority in all Palestine, they placed the political rights in trust, to vest when the Jews attained a population majority and the capability to exercise sovereignty.
See: Brand, Roots of Israel's Sovereignty and Boundaries in International Law: In Defense of the Levy Report.
Nor does International Law provide any support for the proposition that the alleged "Palestinian People" have a right to self-determination as they would have to secede from the Jewish People's state. When there is a tension between the rights of a "people" to self-determination, and the right of a sovereign state to territorial integrity, the right of the state is paramount. That is because such rights are the mainstay of the new world order established in 1648 after the Peace of Westphalia.
Dvirah, January 29, 2014 5:58 PM
True Up to a Point
The "Jewish People's State" may have been established on paper in 1920, but it was not a reality, nor recognized as such. Also, whatever decisions were taken at the Paris Peace Talks were superceded by the 1947 Partition Plan. Which, it may be, was since superceded by the 2002 Roadmap and now...?
(7) scott, January 22, 2014 8:03 AM
Intellectual dishonesty is the best cover for Anti-Semitism
I'm from Texas originally. It's a patch of land whose indigenous people-native americans, not mexicans- were run off the land by the Spanish, the French, the Mexicans, the Texans and finally the Americans. They got a raw deal. Rounded up into tiny reservations where they watch their culture die a slow death generation after generation. What they got now? A proud people reduced to fronting for casinos. It's horrible.
Say there arose a leader or a generation of native americans that picked up pens and petitioned the UN for better treatment and a place of their own in their native land. They moved home and bought up land in Texas and built an economy that benefited the whole state. Then, still facing regular attacks by whites where their families were murdered and their property destroyed without legal recourse from a racist (this is a hypothetical-not an accusation) legal system they picked up guns and formed militias to protect themselves. Let's say that after all that they decided the only safe thing for them was to carve out a piece of land for themselves-the UN and the whole world agreed. It was legal. And when they went to raise their flag over that land-not intending to take away the property or lives of the white folks who lived there-just to create safety for themselves-white folks not only living on that land, but white folks from Arizona and Oklahoma and New Jersey descended on Texas to kill every native american in that land to make sure that couldn't happen. Here's the really unbelievable part...what if the native Americans won? What if the Apache or Comanche or Tejas Republic was born?
With whom would the worlds intelligentsia side in this struggle?
Now imagine it isn't native americans, but Jews.
And there's the rub. Everything else is smoke and mirrors. It just that it's Jews.
Linda, January 22, 2014 10:33 AM
Beautiful...you state the position, using Native Americans, perfectly. I support Israel. I support Native Americans too...because it IS as you say. Wish my daughter could see this comment and would read this article.
(6) Jack bender, January 22, 2014 2:48 AM
Tell this to your rabbi
There is an ongoing effort amongst many reconstruction and reform rabbis...to denigrate and to poison the minds of Americans against Israel....they are pushing the bds effort of Israel's Arab enemy's....we need to fight these traitor self hating rabbis at every turn
(5) Marnie, January 21, 2014 10:44 PM
This was such an informative article for me. I wish everyone could/would read it. I've never been to Israel like most of my friends. But, I will make it there one day! Thank you so much!
(4) Jorge, January 21, 2014 9:49 PM
The only way to understand your excellent explanation is by faith. It can only happen in a Holy Land with a chosen people
(3) Patty Ann Smith, January 21, 2014 8:06 PM
Israels Land
Israel was given all of the land that Abrahams feet touched, One day it will be 1500hundred miles wide, 1500 hundred miles long and 1500 hundred miles high. How do I know?, the bible tells me so.
(2) Zamira Rajchgod, January 21, 2014 5:51 PM
This is the most informative and articulate article about Israel I've ever read. I don't think you left out one thing, Mr.Harris. Kol Hakavod to you and thank you. When will you be making aliya? We need you here!!
S.w., January 21, 2014 8:02 PM
Yes one thing was left out...G-d. Credit is given to the Jewish people but not for the overt miracles We have witnessed in every war with the Arabs. And don't forget the prophecy that the land will only bloom when the Jews come back to the land. So let's not take all the credit for ourselves.
Anonymous, January 21, 2014 9:01 PM
yes, splendid
The lawyers say it, that wonders never cease, they only increase. Our Creator said it:segulah with God breathed boundaries, so who's sufprised at more settlements
Anonymous, January 22, 2014 2:46 AM
one thing left out..
wonderful article. BUT there was one thing that was left out....none of these accomplishments would have been possible but for the grace of God.
(1) Josephine Bacon, January 21, 2014 4:18 PM
Jews don't moan they just get on with it
As a member of a congregation founded by refugees from Germany, I know first-hand how amazing Jews are when under pressure. They don't kvetch like the Arabs, they get on and DO! When I came to Israel in 1958, it was a third-world country. Now it's going to be the third country to land on the moon! So Alan Sherman's Jewish astronaut can indeed enjoy his seder in a crater!
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Comics Lists Marvel Movies
Why Iron Man Should Be Worthy Enough To Lift Mjolnir!
By Swagata Das December 11, 2020No Comments
Iron Man played by Robert Downey Jr. was officially the start of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. For 10 years, the character of Tony Stark evolved, and became so much more than a cocky, arrogant playboy we had met at the beginning.
At the end, Tony Stark even sacrifices his own life to win the biggest fight the Avengers and their allies had ever fought. That too against one of their most formidable enemy – Thanos. But this is not the first time the Iron Man was a self sacrificing hero, worthy of our praises.
At the end of The Avengers movie, contrary to what most thought of the ‘Tin Man’, Stark put his own life on the line when he carried the missile through the open portal to save Manhattan and its inhabitants. Despite Captain America taunting him to be someone who only looks for his own gain in everything, Iron Man did the complete opposite of what people thought of him.
Iron Man became someone worthy of being called a hero. Someone, who knows what it means to sacrifice their own lives for the good of the people, someone who is so much more than what people give him credit for.
Iron Man – The Hero
And that brings a question of if he is so worthy, why wasn’t the character of Iron Man let to lift up the hammer of Thor – Mjolnir?
“Whosoever holds this hammer, if they be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.”
That is exactly what the inscription says on the enchanted hammer, which can only be wielded by someone who is worthy of it. In the Marvel comics, that fortune was admitted to a handful of people. Thor himself, The Vision, and Captain America.
In Avengers: Age of Ultron, in the beginning of the movie we see all the Avengers sans Black Widow and Thor trying to lift up the hammer. The hammer won’t budge for anyone, although there is a second when it moves by millimeters when Steve Rogers tries to lift it. The moment passes soon enough, much to the relief of Thor, who declares them all unworthy to lift it.
But this is where the argument arises. In the first Thor movie, after Thor is banished from Asgard by Odin, and he lands on Earth, he is unable to lift the hammer for days. The hammer itself deems him unworthy to wield it. but by the end of the movie, when Thor sacrifices himself for his friends against the Destroyer (sent by Loki, of course!), the hammer flies up from the containment one of SHIELD and lands on Thor’s hand. He is Thor once more, and thus, worthy to lift the hammer again.
Heroes Wield Hammer!
But if being self sacrificing is the criteria to wield Mjolnir, then when Tony Stark tried to wield the hammer at the beginning of the second Avengers movie, he should very well be worthy of it. He sacrificed his life for his teammates (most of whom he doesn’t even know for more than a day), and the rest of the city.
So does that not make him equally worthy to wield the hammer?
The Vision is only a day old, and thus removed from the all the corruption of the society. For him to wield the hammer is a sign that he is pure, even though he is not the self sacrificing here. At least, not yet, as his sacrifice comes later in Avengers: Infinity War.
But Iron Man has gone on to prove again and again, that when push comes to shove, he is someone his team can always trust. The whole idea of Ultron, even though it backfired hugely, was so as to keep the world safe from alien threats. And even that was a result of the vision shown to Tony by Wanda Maximoff. His intentions have always been good, even if his methods maybe questionable.
When Captain America lies to Iron Man in Captain America: Civil War about the death of Howard and Maria Stark, and Bucky’s involvement in their deaths, it’s a showcase on how even the most pure and principled man can be deceiving when it comes to save the people they love.
Despite that, we see Captain America being able to wield the hammer at the end of Avengers: Endgame when they battle Thanos at the end, before Tony sacrifices his life to erase Thanos and his army into nothingness.
Is Iron Man Worthy?
How can a man who is able to wear all the infinity stones at once, despite being a mere human without any super powers, and still have enough energy to snap all their enemies our of existence, not be worthy of wielding Thor’s hammer?
Maybe Iron Man is not as pure and clear hearted as Captain America or Thor or The Vision, but he has proved it over and over again, that he is a worthy hero. And he is no less that his teammates in any capacity, even if he might not be similarly super powered as the rest (sans Hawkeye, of course!).
PS. Hawkeye doesn’t need superpowers. He is awesome! That’s his superpower.
Tags •Captain AmericaIron ManMarvel ComicsMCUMjolnirThorTony StarkVision
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Home / Publications / Uniform Evidence Law (ALRC Report 102) / List of Recommendations / 10. Admissions
10–1Section 85(1) of the uniform Evidence Acts should be amended to provide that the section applies only to evidence of an admission made by a defendant: (a) to or in the presence of an investigating official who was at the time performing functions in connection with the investigation of the commission or possible commission of an offence; or (b) as a result of an act of another person who is capable of influencing the decision whether a prosecution of the defendant should be brought or should be continued. A consequential amendment should be made to s 89(1) to incorporate (a) above.
10–2To ensure that evidence of admissions in criminal proceedings that are not first-hand are excluded from the ambit of s 60, s 82 of the uniform Evidence Acts should be amended to provide that s 60 does not apply in a criminal proceeding to evidence of an admission.
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Traditional Investors are Making Their Methods Felt in the Cannabis Industry
Newcomers find an edge to bridge business understanding between cannabis entrepreneurs and skittish investors
Are traditional investors ready to throw their hats into the cannabis market?
All you have to do is look at the Tilray run recently – crashing from a high of $300/share to $99/share in just a few days in September – to see why they are not jumping in just yet. Too much regulatory and legal uncertainty. Too much volatility in how the company stocks react, even with the guidance of leaders who have outstanding pedigree in business development.
Ruth Epstein is taking her shot. Epstein is a Harvard MBA who spent ten years working with Goldman Sachs in investment banking. She currently serves as Chief Financial Officer/Chief Operating Officer of Treez, creators of a relatively new point-of-sale (POS) enterprise retail management system launched in 2016 in Oakland, California. Treez, which was founded by two energized entrepreneurs - John Yang, Chief Executive Officer with a background in software engineering, and Shareef El-Sissi, Chief Product Officer with deep cannabis industry experience - is going after the same market as competitors like GreenBits, Cova and MJFreeway.
On August 31, Treez closed a Series A funding of $11.5 million, led by Intrinsic Capital Partners, including a $10 million investment by Intrinsic, along with investments by AFI Capital Partners and Welcan Capital.
Treez is currently being used in over 100 of the largest dispensaries in the country. The new funding will allow them to pursue market expansion opportunities and invest in partnerships, acquisitions and product expansion.
Epstein’s solid investment background provides a source of comfort to skittish investors. “I have been told by investors that it’s nice to be able to talk to someone who speaks their language,” Epstein says. “Most entrepreneurs in the cannabis industry grew up in cannabis and they have a very different way of looking at business. The fact that I come from the traditional capital-raising world means I just have a better understanding of what makes investors comfortable – what they are looking for in terms of financial information, organizational structure, controls, corporate governance and how they manage the risks inherent in this industry.”
Epstein got involved with Treez as an investor at first because she was very intrigued by the opportunity, especially after the leading POS system developer, MJ Freeway, ran into serious trouble with data handling issues in 2017. “I liked the way Treez’ founders combined deep knowledge of the cannabis space and enterprise technology expertise. I thought the marriage of those skills was really compelling and different from what others in the space were doing.”
She realized that the company was short-handed, much like many startups, and wanted to help them raise additional capital, working with them at first on a volunteer basis. It soon became clear that it would be a full-time gig – not only helping Treez raise capital but helping to create the necessary financial controls and organization to facilitate the company’s growth. So she joined the company as their interim CFO/COO in January.
Treez’ initial capital raise in 2016 and 2017, totaling about $3.5 million, did not come easy, even with California’s looming 2018 legalization. “What we discovered in that seed round was that it was more difficult to raise money, and took much longer than we had anticipated,” Epstein says.
The checks were relatively small, many at $50,000 to $100,000. “So when we decided to go to market with a larger Series A raise during the second quarter of 2018, we were pleasantly surprised by the new level of interest,” Epstein says. “It had taken us 15 months to raise around $3 million, but in just three months, we were able to raise $11.5 million.”
She says that, today, she is starting to see more traditional capital coming into the market, which in turn is driving other previously-sidelined investors to get involved, with some reacting to the performance of Canadian stocks and the opportunities those companies represent.
Epstein says that MJ Freeway continues to be a major competitor in this space – they just secured $10 million series C financing - but Treez leadership is “seeing them less and less” in deal discussions. “They never fully recovered,” she says. “But we are going up against a changing cast of characters.”
Other POS companies such as Green Bits in Portland, Oregon, and Flowhub in Denver, are all after the same customers as Treez, which positions itself as a more enterprise quality platform for larger, sophisticated dispensaries. “It’s really a premium product,” Epstein says. “It’s much more than just a front-end cash register. Treez is designed to be a retail management solution, providing enhanced functionality that offers significant business efficiencies in terms of workflow improvements, as well as data for inventory and personnel management.”
As the industry grows in states where both medical and recreational use are legal, there are more dispensaries that have multiple stores in one state, or stores in multiple states. For example, one of the clients of Treez, Surterra Wellness, has 25 licenses in Florida. They operate ten wellness centers across Florida, and recently closed a $65 million Series C equity fundraising effort. “There is a consolidation of dispensaries and a growth of enterprise retailers beginning,” she says. “Treez is perfectly positioned for that consolidation and growth, and that is where the market is going. That is the target.”
The Treez platform allows dispensaries to scan IDs, which not only ensures compliance but also allows a busy budtender to know more about their customer instantly. The software also stacks discounts without the budtender having to do the math. “For instance, imagine that you are a veteran and it’s Tuesday and you are buying a vape product’,” Epstein says. “The software automatically creates a discount on that purchase, making the dispensary run much more efficiently. With the exponential growth in the number of consumers, that’s a critical success factor for dispensaries.”
The future of Treez, like many companies in the cannabis industry, is a bit of a
moving target given how business developments go and the volatility of the cannabis stock market. Epstein says that she would have said earlier, “with a have a high degree of certainty”, that within a couple of years, Treez would be acquired by a large traditional technology company like Oracle or SAP.
Epstein now expects that the company may choose to go public in a couple of years if the market holds. “Ultimately, we want to be in the business-to-business space and create this linked ecosystem of growers, manufacturers and dispensaries, scaling up to become the largest, most successful technology platform for cannabis.”
Ruth Epstein
cannabis financing
Cannabis Business Solutions
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ATAC TERRORISTA A CATALUNYA
Rambla terror attacks: the three moments where it could have been different
The trial reveals occasions when Mossos and terrorists coincided
4 min. Barcelona 23/11/2020 11:13 Traduccions: Cat Cas Eng
987x555 An image of the terrorist Younes Abouyaaqoub fleeing through the streets of Barcelona after the attack on the Rambla
An image of the terrorist Younes Abouyaaqoub fleeing through the streets of Barcelona after the attack on the Rambla / ARA
PAU ESPARCH
The images once again overshadowed the trial for the Barcelona and Cambrils terror attacks in their second week. After the videos of the terrorists preparing explosives in Alcanar, unpublished images of the attack on the Rambla and the escape of the perpetrator were seen. The stories of the two Mossos d'Esquadra who shot down Younes Abouyaaqoub in Subirats were also heard for the first time. Almost all the testimonies of the week were Mossos, three of whose statements included moments where things could have been different.
One of those who testified arrived on August 17, 2017, shortly after the terrorist attack on the Rambla, in Plaça Gardunya, behind the Boqueria market. "I see a man of Arab origin with a striped polo shirt and sunglasses. He stops and looks at the scene with a face of satisfaction and overexcitement," recalled the agent, who was in civilian clothes and had broken into the place with a car without logos, only with the siren. "We crossed our eyes. We stared at each other for five or ten seconds. As the Boqueria was evacuated, I received the message with the description of the driver of the van: "We are looking for a lad dressed in stripes, says the Guardia Urbana".
"I realise that this is the lad that I have come across", explained the Mosso, who immediately made a connection and warned that he had left from behind the Boqueria in the direction of Plaça Catalunya. "It seemed that he was hiding something in his right arm. I didn't see what he was hiding. He stayed about five or six meters away". Despite the alert, Abouyaaqoub was not caught as he fled the centre of Barcelona. The day after, the officer was shown some images of the possible terrorists so that he could recognise who he had seen and pointed out the driver of the van.
A chance meeting at the roundabout
The second week of the trial also revealed another moment when Mossos and terrorists met without the police knowing who they were. At 3.25 p.m. on 17 August, the police were told of an accident in Cambrils. "The first information was that it had occurred on the N-340," said one of the agents who went to the scene. As they could not find it and the stretch coincided with the AP-7, they headed for the other road. "We went to a roundabout. To get there, we had to turn around. I was driving, with the siren on, and I looked to the left to see if any vehicles were coming. I saw a person on foot about 50 meters away. It was only a glimpse because I was watching the traffic.
"We went around the roundabout and he was gone. The person who had caused the accident had left the place. I slowed down and asked my partner. He saw that he was walking towards the motorway and since he said that he is walking and not running, I didn't pay any more attention to him", he added. They still didn't have a description of the person who had left the accident, but when they had left the roundabout 10 seconds earlier, another patrol car arrived at the scene of the accident and witnesses said it was a boy in a pair of grey trousers and a grey T-shirt. "I connect him with the person I saw. We tried to turn around and couldn't find him." It was Mohamed Hichamy, who a few hours later would carry out the attack in Cambrils.
Judge Alfonso Guevara, who conducted the trial on 17-A at the Audiencia Nacional and showed a change of attitude in the second week after the lawyers' complaint, uncovered a third situation in which things could have been different. In the statement of another mosso, he asked about the shots fired by two officers when Abouyaaqoub rammed the checkpoint on Diagonal Avenue at 6.45 p.m. on 17 August. Two bullets hit the Ford Focus driven by the terrorist but two more ended up in a passing Citroën Xsara. According to the eye inspection report, one of the shots went through the headrest of the driver of this second vehicle.
"The headrest of the driver's seat has two bullet holes at the end of it, one in the rear and one in the front," states the report in the case file of the attacks. The bullet did not injure anyone. Faced with the judge's perplexity that this shot had not caused any personal damage, the Mosso admitted: "It was a very unlucky day but in this case there was some good fortune".
Ex-King Juan Carlos I hid millions of euros in shares in Switzerland
Antoni Bassas's analysis: 'Sánchez, the vaccines are not to your credit. The economic aid should be"
To sow salt
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It is possible to create a very large possibility of proposals with a personal character, maintaining the aesthetical and functional point of view, that place themselves individually in very different spaces and atmospheres.
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The panels of Diva screen have different dimensions and can be composed, according to customer’s needs.
Claudine L
Floating on an upturned edge, reminiscent of the dress collar known in France with the name of "col Claudine".
Luca Nichetto was born in 1976 in Venice, where he studied at the Art Institute. Afterwards he attended the University Institute of Architecture of Venice (IUAV), where he earned a degree in Industrial Design. He began his professional career in 1999 by designing his first projects in Murano glass for Salviati. In the same year he began his collaboration with Foscarini, for whom he not only designed products, but also worked as a consultant on new materials research and product development (2001–2003). In 2006 in Porto Marghera, near Venice, he launched his own design studio, Nichetto&Partners, which specializes in industrial design and offers its services as design consultancy. In 2011 he decided also to open a new professional office in Stockholm, Sweden
Over the course of his career, Nichetto has been awarded a number of international prizes, including the Gran Design Award 2008, the Chicago Atheneum Museum of Architecture’s Good Design Award (2008), the IF Product Design Award (2008) and the Elle Decoration International Design Awards’ (EDIDA - 2009) as designer of the Year award in the Young Designer Talent category.
He held numerous lectures and workshops at various universities, both in Italy and abroad and taught at the Iuav of Venice, Faculty of Design and Arts. Apart from participating in various design exhibitions in Europe, in the U.S.A. and in Japan, Nichetto has also been the subject of important retrospective shows mounted in prominent European cities, including Venice, London, Paris and Stockholm and he served, as art director, for a number of international design events. In addition, he has been invited to sit on prestigious juries for a variety of design competitions, held both in Italy and abroad. Today, Nichetto collaborates with a wide variety of Italian and international companies, including arflex, Bosa, Casamania, Cassina, David Design, De Padova, Discipline, Established & Sons, Fornasarig, Foscarini, Fratelli Guzzini, Gallotti & Radice, Glass, Globo, Italesse, La Chance, King’s, Kristalia, Mabeo, MG Lab, Moroso, Offecct, Ogeborg, Petite Friture, Salviati, Skitsch, Skultuna, Tacchini and Venini.
Armchairs Ladle - Low version
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Mick Garry
Argus Leader
When the Vikings first began showing up in Mankato in 1966, it was truly a camp. Athletes spent six weeks there and lived a barracks-like existence at Gage Hall, the dormitory the school has since blown up to make way for nicer stuff.
There was no air conditioning for most of its 40-some years hosting the Vikings and the beds, well, they were dorm beds.
Now that’s what I call a camp.
The Albatross was the bar where you went if you wanted to see what some of the Vikings were up to after their work day was complete. If 20 percent of the stories I’ve heard over the years from reporters covering the team and Vikings support personnel are true, you’ve got yourself an HBO 10-part docu-drama.
Not that it would be different at any other training camp, of course, but as one who grew up in southern Minnesota a little more than an hour from Mankato, the connection to the team always seemed stronger because they came down out of the Twin Cities for a month or so every August.
We’ve re-posted a terrific column colleague Stu Whitney wrote two years ago chronicling the stages of the Vikings’ dalliance with Sioux Falls for four dramatic months back in 2003. I’d forgotten what a big deal it was at the time, both in South Dakota and in Minnesota.
In hindsight I always wondered why none of us anticipated how it was going to play out. When it became clear that the Vikings, then owned by Red McCombs, were serious about leaving Mankato, Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty spoke up. If you’re envisioning the taxpayers of Minnesota are some day going to bankroll a new stadium for you, he said, you might think twice about moving training camp across the border.
And that was it. There would be no Vikingland with carnival rides and a field-goal kicking machine in the parking lot at Howard Wood Field.
Though it was politics that ultimately killed the deal on the Minnesota side, more anecdotally it was surprising to me how the battle lines were drawn locally. If you were a Viking fan you loved the idea regardless of your political affiliation. If you were a fan of another team you thought it was financially irresponsible to get state dollars involved in bringing in them in.
It was difficult enough, I heard from my non-Viking friends, to deal with the fans and the media attention directed toward a team you despise. Two or three weeks of nothing but Purple Pride all over town? Over my crumpled triangular foam-rubber Cheesehead hat.
Favorite moments from my time spent watching the Vikings in Mankato? I’ve got a few.
The first I remember as a kid is seeing Dave Osborn walking down a sidewalk in street clothes alongside a rookie trying to make the team. The rookie was wearing a loud yellow shirt, a white belt and maroon bell-bottoms. Ozzy was in a t-shirt and cutoffs and had the legs of a draft horse. Score one for the UND kid.
The others I remember were from my early years as a sportswriter. Through a short but eventful tenure as an intern and then full-time writer for Tommy Kramer’s Viking Report in the mid-1980s, I’d gotten to know Viking assistant athletic trainer Larry “Stosh” Neumann. Neumann, who lost a long battle with cancer while still a young man, would seek me out at practice over the next few years and start a conversation if he wasn’t too busy. Just an incredibly funny, irreverent and kind human being. On this day there was a special teams drill going on and we got to talking about, of all things, the soap opera “All My Children”.
I told him what I knew to be a spectacular lie about what had happened in that day’s episode. He immediately asked the assistant coach standing near us on the sidelines if he ever watched “All My Children”. The assistant, who will go nameless here, acted like this was a normal part of practice. And knowing Neumann, perhaps it was.
“Once in a while,” he said, without taking his eyes off the field.
“Well today,” Neumann said, repeating to the assistant what I’d just told him, “Mona grabbed baby Bianca around the ankles and threw her into the fireplace.”
The assistant turned to us, ignoring the action in front of him.
“No ----? Really?” he said.
The other one involved quarterback Wade Wilson, who played 17 years in the NFL and would have, at the time, been reaching that point where he was challenging Kramer’s starting status.
That spring – my Viking Report gig collapsed over the winter with the company pursuing bankruptcy -- I’d gone on a road trip with a college buddy to Dallas in pursuit of good times with a high school friend who’d just gotten his first job out of college. In the middle of a weekday afternoon that week on a scorching hot day we decided to stop at a wretched-looking city driving range.
Way down at the other end was a tall guy in basketball shorts hitting balls. As he began walking toward the gate to leave, I told my friend the man looked a little like Wade Wilson. He regarded this as nonsense. No way is Wade Wilson hanging out at this armpit.
The guy would be 50 yards away at the exit so we’d never know for sure. Then I yelled “Hey Wade!” and both my friend and I looked down at the ground and teed up two more golf balls. If it wasn’t him, who cares? He’d be confused for a second and keep walking.
When we looked up, he was standing there. He had a look on his face that said “Dudes, you just yelled at me. Now I’m standing here. What do you want?”
He was very friendly, and after I told him where I used to work I think he sort of remembered me. Two days later we were at a bar in a different part of town and damned if we didn’t see him again. He encouraged me to tell women I was from the north and needed to be taught how to two-step.
About three months later I made an appearance at training camp, now reppin’ the Crookston Daily Times. I was walking along and talking with a few of the other writers when we heard “How’s that man about Dallas?” from where the quarterbacks were warming up.
As a reporter, even as a young one working in the sticks, you’re supposed to pretend these things don’t make any impression. I retold the story a hundred times over the next six months.
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Does musical training improve school performance?
Wetter, O. E., Koerner, F., & Schwaninger, A. (2009). Does musical training improve school performance? Instructional Science: An International Journal of the Learning Sciences, 37(4), 365-374.
The researchers used a descriptive, retrospective study to ascertain if students involved in practicing music outperformed their counterparts, who did not practice music, in school. Teachers of two school centers in the suburbs of Bern, Switzerland submitted annual reports of average grades for 134 students in grades three through six. The teachers identified students who received music training either at home or at school and researchers compared the annual grades of this group of 53 children to the grades of the remaining students who did not take music lessons. Results showed that overall, and for all individual subjects except sports, students who engage in music had higher average grades than students who do not engage in music. The study also suggests that duration of music participation impacts academic achievement.
Statistical analysis comparing grades showed that children involved in music had significantly higher average grades than children in the control group. Moreover, the music group had significantly higher average grades in all individual subjects except sports.
When researchers considered factors known to affect achievement including gender, grade level, parent income, and handicraft participation—in addition to music participation—music was still a significant predictor of overall average grades. Grade level and parent income were found to have higher correlations to student achievement than music participation, though combined, music participation, grade level, and parent income explain 43 percent of the variance (the size of the difference between groups) in grades between students.
The research did not find a significant difference between music and non-music students at the third grade level, when students would just be starting musical training. However, at all other grade levels, students who participate in music achieved higher average grades than their non-music peers. This finding suggests that duration of musical training has a more significant effect on student achievement, meaning that the longer students practice music the stronger the impact will be on their academic achievement.
Findings suggest that participation in music correlates with higher academic performance in elementary grades, even when factors known to influence academic performance are considered. Further, no difference was seen between students who participate and who do not participate in music in third grade, but a difference was seen from fourth grade on; this may suggest greater benefit from sustained music involvement. Differences between music and non-music students are seen across subjects, suggesting a correlation between music and general cognitive performance. The study adds to an emerging body of research that aims to identify and explain the ways in which music is processed in the brain, and how those processes relate to other academic learning.
Teachers from two school centers in the suburbs of Bern, Switzerland submitted copies of average grades for 134 students in grades three through six. Teachers identified for researchers, students who participated in music, as informed through discussions with the students or their parents. Researchers divided the students into three groups; students who participate in music in school or out of school (53), students who do not participate in music or a handicraft (67), and students who participate in a handicraft instead of music (14). The researchers compared grades for the groups of students in various subject areas including French, German, mathematics, history/natural history/geography, handicrafts, music, and sports, and used statistical analysis to determine correlations between academic achievement and grade level, gender, income, music participation, and enrollment in school handicraft class.
This study is most limited by self-selection bias. Because the students considered in the study chose (or, at least, their parents chose) to enroll or not to enroll in music lessons, it is not possible to determine if higher average grades of students involved in music are the result of participation in music or other factors not accounted for in the study, such as high levels of motivation or prior academic success. Similarly, the duration and intensity of music training could not be determined for each student, and therefore “participation in music” is loosely defined. Because the scope and quality of music participation cannot be determined, it is harder to draw correlations between music study and academic achievement in terms of the cognitive processes present in both.
Replication of this study using design features such as random assignment or pre- and post-test measures could provide information on the strength of the correlation between music participation and academic achievement. Alternatively, the inclusion of additional variables that may affect achievement such as a motivation would provide additional evidence on the role that music participation plays specifically.
Since this study is suggestive of a possible relationship between music participation and academic achievement, qualitative research such as case studies on students who engage in musical activities could provide valuable information on the mechanisms at work in this relationship.
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Report Finds Asbestos, Other Risks in Military Family Housing
U.S. military families around the world are living in government-owned and -operated housing containing serious health and safety risks, according to the most recent report by the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General.
The report stems from the inspection of eight military installations — seven outside the U.S. — that uncovered systemic deficiencies in the management and mitigation of asbestos-containing materials, lead-based paints and radon in family housing units.
According to the report, the safety hazards were so rampant — and so lacking in oversight — in all eight installations that other government-run military bases likely have the same issues.
“If the DoD [Department of Defense] and the Services do not improve policies and procedures to identify, mitigate or minimize, monitor, disclose, and oversee health and safety hazards in GO-GC [government-owned and government-controlled] military family housing, the DoD and the Services will continue to risk the health and safety of Service members and their families,” the report stated.
Defense Department Report Finds Problems Around the World
The military installations involved in the report are:
U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys, Republic of Korea
U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden, Germany
Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
Commander Fleet Activities, Yokosuka, Japan
Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan
Kadena Air Base, Japan
Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio
The Air Force, Navy, Army and Marine Corps own and operate more than 36,000 housing units combined outside the United States.
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Member Research and Reports October 22, 2015
Columbia Finds Where You Grow Up May Influence Sensation-Seeking Behaviors
Teenagers are known for taking unnecessary risks, from reckless driving to smoking marijuana, but some seek out risky experiences more than others. A new study of sensation-seeking behavior led by a researcher at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health with colleagues from Columbia University’s department of psychiatry and the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, shows that children growing up in the United States versus Puerto Rico were more likely to seek out new and risky behaviors. Results of the study, the first to look at sensation-seeking patterns in young children and teenagers, are published online in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
[Photo: Dr. Silvia Martins]
“Sensation-seeking behavior in adolescents has been shown to be a factor in health risks from suicide and frequent illegal drug use to problem gambling and unprotected sex,” noted first author Dr. Silvia Martins, associate professor of epidemiology. “Our study shows that sensation-seeking behaviors don’t follow the same trajectory from childhood to adolescence in all populations: context matters.”
The researchers studied likely predictors of sensation-seeking trajectories in nearly 3,000 children all of Puerto Rican background, approximately half of whom lived in Puerto Rico and half in the South Bronx. Children were asked to agree or disagree with statements like “Sometimes you like to do things that are a little scary,” and “Riding very fast and doing tricks on a skateboard are fun.” Results were measured on a ten-item sensation-seeking scale.
In children living in both settings, the researchers observed a spike in sensation-seeking behavior was first seen at ages 10 and 11, with rates climbing to age 17. More than three-quarters of the children were in the “normative” and “low–sensation-seeking” classes, in which sensation-seeking scores increased as expected with age. However, 16 percent had sensation seeking scores that increased faster than expected with age, and 7 percent started with high sensation-seeking scores that decreased over time.
Rates of sensation-seeking were consistently higher in the South Bronx than Puerto Rico, and youth in the South Bronx generally reported sensation-seeking at an earlier age. “Children born into families of migrants scored higher in sensation-seeking either because they inherited a ‘novelty-seeking’ trait from their parents,” explains Dr. Martins, “or because they were exposed to family environments and different parenting practices that promoted certain behaviors.” Martins also noted that besides poverty, children living in the South Bronx very frequently face exposure to violence, peer delinquency or stressful life events compared to their counterparts in Puerto Rico.
The researchers also found that boys and young men had higher levels of sensation-seeking than girls and young women — a finding Martins says is likely linked to testosterone, which is associated with the behavior, as well as culturally-mediated gender differences.
“There is growing understanding that sensation-seeking is not just a personality trait or a rite of passage,” says Dr. Martins. “There is growing evidence that this behavior is mediated by factors, including where a child grows up.”
The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health grants MH56401, DA033172, AA020191, MH098374, HD060072, and T32DA031099.
October 22, 2015 "Columbia Reports No Increased Dementia Risk Found in Diagnosed Celiac Patients" October 22, 2015 "Harvard Professor Elected to National Academy of Medicine"
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ASPPH News
ASPPH News August 20, 2020
Global Network for Academic Public Health Statement on the Beirut Explosion
The Global Network for Academic Public Health (Global Network) released a statement about the August 4th explosion in Beirut, Lebanon that left more than 170 people dead, an unknown number still missing, 6,000 wounded, and 300,000 homeless.
The Global Network, recently founded by regional associations that represent schools and programs of public health around the world (APACPH, ASPHA, ASPHER, ASPPH, and SEAPHEIN), stand in solidarity with Dean Iman Nuwayhid and the faculty, staff, and students of the American University of Beirut (AUB), the Lebanese public health community, and all of the people of Lebanon.
Read the full statement in the ASPPH Newsroom.
August 20, 2020 "The Society for Epidemiologic Research (SER) Presents the CSTE Applied Epidemiology Fellowship Program In September" August 27, 2020 "Berkeley: Republican-Controlled States Continue to Block Medicaid Expansion"
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Member Research and Reports April 13, 2016
GW Study Finds Fast Food May Expose Consumers to Harmful Chemicals Called Phthalates
People who reported consuming more fast food in a national survey were exposed to higher levels of potentially harmful chemicals known as phthalates, according to a study published April 13 by researchers at Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH) at the George Washington University (GW). The study, one of the first to look at fast-food consumption and exposure to these chemicals, appears in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
[Photo Credit: Mr. Matthew Golden, Milken Institute School of Public Health]
Dr. Ami Zota, an assistant professor of environmental and occupational health at Milken Institute SPH, and her colleagues looked at data on 8,877 participants who had answered detailed questions about their diet in the past 24 hours, including consumption of fast food. These participants also had provided researchers with a urinary sample that could be tested for the breakdown products of two specific phthalates — DEHP and DiNP.
Dr. Zota and her colleagues found that the more fast food participants in the study ate, the higher the exposure to phthalates. People in the study with the highest consumption of fast food had 23.8 percent higher levels of the breakdown product for DEHP in their urine sample. And those same fast food lovers had nearly 40 percent higher levels of DiNP metabolites in their urine compared to people who reported no fast food in the 24 hours prior to the testing.
Phthalates belong to a class of industrial chemicals used to make food packaging materials, tubing for dairy products, and other items used in the production of fast food. Other research suggests these chemicals can leach out of plastic food packaging and can contaminate highly processed food. Studies suggest phthalate exposure can lead to a number of serious health problems in children and adults.
Read more about findings from the study, “Recent Fast Food Consumption and Bisphenol A and Phthalates Exposure Among the US Population in NHANES, 2003-2010,” which was funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
April 13, 2016 "Columbia Research: Challenging the American Consensus on E-Cigarettes – The English Raise the Ante" April 13, 2016 "American Cancer Society Launches RFP Under the Tobacco-Free Generation Campus Initiative Grant Program"
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The end of a business can trigger the normal stages of grieving over a loss
Niki ScottTHE BALTIMORE SUN
You've struggled with it, taken risks for it, poured your heart and soul and dreams into it. It's your company. Your business. Your "baby."
Now it's failing -- near death. You can't meet your payroll or pay your bills. You can't buy materials or adequate insurance coverage. You can't get more credit. Every day you go to work filled with desperation, but what shocks you most is how heartbroken you are -- and paralyzed.
You can't find the energy to rise to this final crisis. You can't bring yourself to notify your few remaining customers or cancel your lease, see the people at the bank or tell the people who work for you to start looking for new jobs.
Instead, you stare at the phone, willing it to ring. Or you cry until you're sure you have no tears left, then cry some more. You can't eat, or you can't stop eating. You can't sleep, or you can't stop sleeping. You can't feel much of anything one minute, then suddenly feel so sad and angry that you want to break out walls.
The one thing you can't seem to do -- and the one thing you must do -- is accept the inevitable, walk away, and get on with your life.
If your company is one of the more than 75,000 small businesses the Small Business Administration estimates will fail this year, it may help you to know that your feelings of shock, depression, grief, anger and despair are perfectly normal.
Most people in your situation go through all the stages of grief that we experience after a divorce or the death of a loved one: shock, denial, bargaining, anger, grief, depression and, finally, acceptance.
"I'm coming out of the denial stage, I guess. A year ago, I'd have killed anyone who hinted at the possibility that my shop might fold," said a friend whose one-of-a-kind-jewelry business is folding because too many of her best customers also are feeling the effects of this recession.
"I've certainly been bargaining -- with bankers and creditors and my landlord and my suppliers -- and with myself," she added, rubbing eyes red from nights spent crying instead of sleeping.
"I tell myself, 'If I can just pay off a few more bills, then I'll be ready to close up shop,' or 'If I can just get one more big contract and pay off some old bills, then I'll quit,' or 'If I can just hold out a little longer, maybe I won't have to quit after all.' "
When it becomes clear that bargaining won't work -- that the RTC divorce or death or failure of a business is inevitable -- numbness usually sets in, followed by -- or coupled with -- grief, anger and depression.
"I haven't felt angry yet, but I'm incredibly sad," said my friend. "I haven't cried like this since my divorce, and I haven't lost a loved one or gotten a divorce; I'm just going out of business!"
What's important to remember, if your business has become a casualty of this recession, is that all grief is about loss, and losing a business into which you've poured your hopes, dreams, energy, assets, pride and identity is a terrible one. It's also important to remember that grieving is a process, and that it will end one day, as unlikely as this seems now.
"I know I'm grieving, but when do I get to the acceptance stage?" asked my friend through her tears. "When is it going to be possible for me to let go of this damned company and get on with my life?"
The answer is painfully simple: When you've done all the denying and bargaining, crying and raging that you need to do.
"At least it's good to know that I won't always feel this terrible," she added with a lopsided smile. "It's good to know that I'll be able to pick up the pieces one day and find something else to do. It's good to know that I will stop hurting this much -- eventually."
The best way to ensure that you'll stop hurting -- eventually -- if your business is dying is to neither edit your feelings nor second-guess and judge yourself, but to experience each stage of the grieving process in your own way, and in your own time.
Universal Press Syndicate
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Sprinkle: A national disgrace with no clean hands in sight | COMMENTARY
Chris Davis' slam ends Orioles' four-game slide with 5-1 win over Rays
By Eduardo A. Encina
The Baltimore Sun |
ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. — Chris Davis acknowledged that the Orioles hitters might have been pressing over the past three weeks, trying to do too much with one swing as they collectively struggled to score runs. But Davis provided the Orioles with more offense with one swing Saturday night than they had at any point during their four-game losing streak.
The Orioles needed just one clutch hit to propel them to a 5-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays, ending their four-game skid in front of an announced 24,327 at Tropicana Field.
Davis gave the Orioles all the offense they'd need on his fifth career grand slam in the third inning. Starting in the No. 2 spot of the batting order for the fourth time in his career, Davis took a full-count 93-mph fastball from Rays starter Erasmo Ramirez into the right-field seats.
"I think it gives you a little bit of breathing room and allows the pitching staff and the defense to go out and relax a little bit," Davis said. "I think we did a great job tonight of having good at-bats, making them work and taking advantage of opportunities to score."
The Orioles have won just six times in their past 21 games and have scored more than four runs just twice in their past 14 games.
Orioles right-hander Miguel Gonzalez held the Rays scoreless for the first seven innings before allowing a solo homer to Curt Casali in the eighth. Overall, Gonzalez held Tampa Bay to one run in 7 2/3 innings, his longest start since going eight innings May 29.
"I think there were situations where we probably pressed a little bit," Davis said. "I think it's natural when you're scuffling to try to score runs to try to go out there and do too much. I thought it was a great inning for us to put together some base hits and come through with a big hit, and for Miggy to shut them down was big."
Davis' blast provided a lead the Orioles hadn't had often over the past week. It was the team's second lead since Sunday. They took a 1-0 lead into the eighth inning Friday before losing, 3-1, to the Rays for their first loss in 40 games when taking a lead into the eighth.
Gonzalez (9-6), who has won three of his past four decisions, allowed five hits, struck out five and walked none. His 107 pitches were one shy of his season high and it marked just the third time he has gone over the 100-pitch mark in 18 starts this season.
"I think there's times that you are going to have your ups and downs and you just have to go out there and minimize it," Gonzalez said. "We've pitched well here, attacking guys and staying ahead, that's what helped me get to the eighth inning. … My curveball was really good today and my slider. … It's important to throw in to hitters early in the game and that's what really changed the game for us."
Gonzalez improved to 5-2 with a 1.92 ERA in eight career starts at Tropicana Field. Among pitchers with at least 50 innings at the Trop, he has the fourth-best ERA there, trailing Mariano Rivera (1.18), Jarrod Washburn (1.89) and Clay Buchholz (1.91).
In four starts against Tampa Bay this season, Gonzalez is 2-1 with a 0.93 ERA, allowing three runs in 29 innings.
"Same as I've been telling you all every game for a while now, we've got to create some margin of errors for our pitchers," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "Some guys don't perform as well with that, but our guys know I think right now that runs are at a premium for us offensively until we get it going. To go out there and throw a zero after that four-spot, which I thought was big, then Miguel really got in step. I thought in the first couple of innings, he was up with some pitches, and we were able to catch it."
Ramirez (8-4) had not allowed a run in 10 1/3 innings against the Orioles this season until the third inning, when singles by J.J. Hardy, Jonathan Schoop and David Lough loaded the bases for Davis.
"It was pretty big, especially with the way Miguel's been throwing the ball against these guys," Davis said. "Everybody that inning did a great job of not trying to do too much, just taking what Ramirez gave them. And obviously with a full count and bases loaded, I know he's not going to walk me, he's not trying to walk me, so I just look for a pitch over the plate and I was able to put a good swing on it."
Davis' grand slam was his 22nd homer of the season, giving him sole possession of the team lead. All five of Davis' career grand slams have come with the Orioles, most recently on Aug. 29, 2014 against Minnesota Twins right-hander Trevor May.
It was the Orioles' third grand slam of the season, and first since Steve Pearce hit one May 21 off Seattle Mariners lefty J.A. Happ.
With his grand slam, Davis has 29 RBIs in 30 career games at Tropicana Field, his most in any opposing ballpark.
Lough rounded the bases for an insurance run in the eighth, hitting a ball down the right-field line for a triple, then scoring on second baseman Logan Forsythe's errant relay throw to third.
"I was pretty gassed coming around second, I'm not going to lie," Lough said. "I'm not used to running around the bases like that, but it was good. Once I saw the ball get away from third and I was able to score, it was a good feeling."
Lough, making his second start at leadoff this season and his first since April 23, was 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
"David has that ability," Showalter said. "I think when he saw the lineup, he was looking forward to giving us something that we were in need of. We've hit Chris second two or three times. I was hoping David would get on and get a few more fastballs, too."
Orioles right-hander Chaz Roe relieved Gonzalez and recorded the final four outs of the game.
eencina@baltsun.com
twitter.com/EddieInTheYard
Buck Showalter
Erasmo Ramirez
Clay Buchholz
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Three staff from The Royal London awarded an OBE in New Year's Honours | Our news
Three staff from The Royal London awarded an OBE in New Year's Honours
Posted Friday, 28 December 2018 by Megan Skinner
Three members of staff from The Royal London who cared for patients following last year's London Bridge attacks have been awarded an Office of the British Empire Awards in the 2019 New Year's Honours list.
Joy Ongcachuy, robotic lead nurse, Dr Malik Ramadhan, emergency consultant, and Emma Senyard, associate director of nursing, have collectively cared for patients in east London for 58 years and are familiar faces to many across the hospital.
The Royal London pulled together on the night of 3 June 2017 when there was a terrorist attack on London Bridge. “I was working the night shift that night and I heard the anaesthetist’s bleep go off. We already had a really sick patient in one of our theatres, so I had to get our other theatres ready and pull a team of nurses, allied health professionals and operating department practitioners together," Joy said.
“We opened an additional six theatres that night and everyone I called dropped everything they were doing to come to the aid of the patients. No one panicked; everyone was calm and so supportive.”
“Everyone rallies around in a crisis; it’s what we’re all built for," said Malik. "I was the resuscitation room commander. I ensured the injured patients had their scans and surgery at the right time and always had the right number of people looking after them.
“We performed emergency surgery on six patients lasting between an hour and three to four hours. Two people had been stabbed in the neck and another had been stabbed in the torso. The other three had blunt force injuries, including pelvic fractures, limb fractures and head injuries. We had one patient who had been shot.
“The sort of injuries that we saw are not uncommon at The Royal London, but we don’t normally have so many patients coming in at once."
“The London Bridge attack was a difficult time for my team," said Emma. "I arranged daily support from our psychologist and counsellor to help us move forward. In times like this, London really pulls together and although the circumstances weren’t ideal, the support we received from Londoners, gifts from the community, and a very special visit from HRH Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, was really appreciated."
"We couldn't be prouder that Joy, Malik and Emma were recognised in the 2019 New Year's Honours list," said Jackie Sullivan, managing director Royal London and Mile End hospitals. "Their leadership, compassion and integrity is inspiring every day, but was especially true at a time when Londoners relied on us to be there for them."
"It is incredibly humbling to have three of our staff recognised in this prestigious list," said Alwen Williams, chief executive. "I'm grateful for the way we pulled together as a team to respond to such a horrific event, and would like to specifically thank and congratulate Joy, Malik and Emma for being recognised for their courage, calmness and care they provide to our patients on a daily basis."
* Spam Guard: Does a dog tweet or bark?
Deborah Pollard Sunday, 30 December 2018 at 09:03 PM
It's wonderful reading these posts of achievement...well done you 3 guys and gals :)
Deborah Okojie Monday, 31 December 2018 at 09:20 AM
Congratulations to you all and Barts Health as a whole.
John Wells Monday, 31 December 2018 at 06:16 PM
Many congratulations, richly deserved.
Debra Knapp Thursday, 3 January 2019 at 10:32 AM
absolutely well deserved, congratulations to you all
Ryan Tobierrie Thursday, 3 January 2019 at 12:22 PM
well done proud of you all
Rita Duke Thursday, 10 January 2019 at 11:14 AM
Matron Emma I am not surprise u were a very good matron were always checking on the staff when u were in ccu newham university hospital well done.
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Coaches and Personnel
Our Commitment to Equity and Inclusion
Tackling it all
Lawrence native making gains from financial district to football field
By Bill Burt | The Eagle Tribune
As a business professional working in the financial district of Boston, Stephanie Pascual is accustomed to the strange looks she often gets when she tells people she plays football.
“They say, ‘Do you play tag football?’ Or worse is, ‘or Lingerie Football?’ — like those girls in the bikinis,” she said. “That one really ticks me off.”
A Lawrence native, Pascual was a youth basketball star in high school at Proctor Academy and in college at Mount Holyoke. Nowadays, though, when she’s not working at a major asset management firm, she plays hard-nosed, tackle football with the Boston Renegades.
The undefeated team is headed to Golden, Colorado, for the third straight year to play in the Women’s Football Alliance national championship Saturday night.
“I grew up loving football, watching Patriots games on Sundays like everybody else,” said Pascual, who is the top wide receiver for the Renegades. “I played a lot of sports growing up,” she continued. “I was probably best at basketball, but I also started playing field hockey in college and liked that, too.”
Football didn’t come until later for 27-year-old Pascual. She learned about the women’s semi-pro tackle team from a friend. Three years ago she and her sister Angelica Pascual tried out. Both made the team.
“When we first saw Steph, we had her pegged as a linebacker,” said Renegades head coach John Johnson. “She was tough. She was strong. And she wasn’t very tall. She looked like a linebacker.”
But as the season wore on and Johnson saw Pascual playing receiver on the scout team, he realized his first impression was off.
“She got open every time,” Johnson recalled. “And she never dropped the ball. I’m like, ‘We need this girl on offense.'”
She’s been a Renegades wide receiver ever since, scoring eight touchdowns this spring and summer.
“The feeling after you make a big catch, moving the chains,” Pascual said. “I love the fact that I know I’m going to run a certain route and the defender is reacting. The adrenaline that runs through my body feels amazing.”
Johnson has high praise for her presence on and off the field.
“She’s a captain, which says something being this is only her third year playing,” Johnson said. “But she’s really our MVP. She produces on the field. She makes great catches. She’s always making plays. But honestly, she’s one of our leaders. She’s constantly talking to players, lifting them. I don’t know where I’d be without her.”
While Pascual has never played soccer, she was a big fan of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer team that won the World Cup last weekend.
“That was a group of women, using their platform, to help break barriers,” Pascual said. “I loved it. We are sort of doing the same thing. Women love football, too. We want to play. Trust me, I’m out recruiting players whenever I can.”
Pascual said the biggest misconception about women’s semi-pro football is concerns its physical nature. Women, she claimed, love it.
“For me, I love to take out my aggression during practices and games,” she said. “And I’m not alone. We wear pads. We like hitting. Sometimes we talk trash, too. It’s part of the game. I love it.”
2019, Bill Burt, Eagle Tribune
PrevPrevious2 Athletes Talk About Women Playing Football & Why They Win (Exhale Lifestyle)
NextNorth Andover’s Fournier, Renegades seek second straight title (Eagle Tribune)Next
© 2020 Boston Women's Football
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Global Electric Motors Market Size, By Type (AC Motors, DC Motors, and Others), By Voltage (High voltage, Medium voltage, and Low voltage), By Output Power (Integral horsepower (IHP), and Fractional horsepower (FHP)), By Application (Industrial machinery, Motor Vehicle, HVAC Equipment, Aerospace & transportation, Household appliances, and Other Commercial Applications), By Speed (Low Speed, Medium Speed, High Speed, and Ultra-high Speed), and by Region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa and Latin America); Trend Analysis, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2016-26
Electronics and Components
Global High-Speed Camera Market, By Frame Rate (1,000–5,000 fps, >5,000–20,000 fps, >20,000–100,000 fps &>100,000 fps), By Resolution (0–2 MP, >2–5 MP &>5 MP), By Usage (Rental High-Speed Camera, Used High-Speed Camera & New High-Speed Camera), By Throughput (0–2,000 MPPS, >2,000–5,000 MPPS, >5,000–10,000 MPPS &>10,000 MPPS), By Application (Automotive & Transportation Industry, Industrial Manufacturing Plants, Food & Beverages Industry, Consumer Electronics Industry, Entertainment & Media Industry, Sports Industry, Paper & Printing Industry, Aerospace & Defense, Research, Design, & Testing Laboratories, Healthcare Industry & Others(building materials inspection, tobacco product inspection, and nonwoven textile inspection)), By Component (Image Sensors, Lens, Batteries, Image Processors, Fans and Cooling Systems, Memory Systems & Other Semiconductor Components), By Spectrum (Visible RGB, Infrared & X-ray), By Region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America); Trend Analysis, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2020-2026
Global EMI Shielding Market, By Material ( EMI Tapes & Laminates, Conductive Coatings & Paints, Metal Shielding, Conductive Polymers, and EMI / EMC Filters), By Method (Radiation and Coduction), By Application (Automotive, defense, consumer electronics, telecommunications, aerospace, and medical) By Region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa and Latin America); Trend Analysis, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2015-2025
India Washing Machine Market by Type (Fully Automatic, Semi-Automatic and Other), By Capacity (Below 6 kg, 6 to 8 kg and Above 8kg) By End-Use (Commercial and Residential), and By Region (Eastern India, Western India, Northern India, Southern India); Trend Analysis, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2016-2026
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Faith Focus: Nowhere else to turn
By John Hall
Ruby didn’t know where to turn. She had nowhere to live, and no real prospects for her and her daughter. She did the only thing she could think to do.
“So I, literally, called Buckner Family Pathways and I was on top of Sindy every single day until I got in. Every single day.”
Sometimes, it feels like life limits our options. We find ourselves in a difficult spot and it feels like Ruby did – left with only a desperate phone call and a prayer.
Fortunately for us, that’s enough. Time and again, the Bible reminds us that God listens to our prayers. He loves us and is active in our lives. He may not always give us the answer we want, but he does answer.
1 John 5:14 says, "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us."
Ruby and her daughter now are thriving in the Family Pathways program. With a new address came a new sense of calm. Ruby could focus on making herself a better person and caring for her family. She just finished at Midland College and is now pursuing a bachelor’s degree at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin.
As Ruby accomplishes her academic goals, she prays it sets the example for her daughter.
“If I'm going for a master's, then I want her to have something, but I want her to have her doctorate,” Ruby said. “I want her to be bigger. I don't want her just to stop there. I want her to keep moving on. I feel like it's really important that you learn something new every day.”
This week, let’s approach God with the confidence mentioned in 1 John. Take heart, God is listening to you.
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11 Books About True Love That Will Make You Seriously Believe In Fate
Instagram/twirlingpages
By Melissa Ragsdale
Do you believe in true love? Fate? Destiny? Love at first sight? With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, love is certainly in the air. It’s time to dust off your inner romantic, and do a little reading on that special something that makes the heart tick.
Literature has always shown us that true love can be magical, and it can be quotidian. Readers have seen true love exist in the smallest parts of life, as well as in the grand romantic gestures. In literature, true love can move the earth and stars, and it can withstand the most intense obstacles. Every time you read about true love, you get the chance to discover something new about yourself and the way that you bring love into this world.
But books have also asked a lot of important questions about love. What makes love true love? And, where does love come from? Love is not always straight forward, and there are many books out there that challenge our perceptions of what true love really means.
So, let’s get our swoon on. Here are 11 books that have their own special take on true love, perfect to read on Valentine’s Day 2018:
'The Love That Split the World' by Emily Henry
Described as Friday Night Lights meets The Time Traveler's Wife, this book has a little magic, a little adventure, and a lot of love. When small-town Kentucky girl Natalie Cleary starts to see strange things, a mysterious apparition tells her she has "three months to save him." The next night, she meets a boy named Beau, and falls instantly in love. Now everything is on the line.
Click here to buy.
'The Princess Bride' by William Goldman
OK, if you want a little farse in your life, you've got to pick up this classic. The Princess Bride is a zany, hilarious, unforgettable adventure story, but it actually spends a lot of time poking fun at true love — and the ridiculous things we do in its name.
'The Sun Is Also A Star' by Nicola Yoon
This stunning YA novel makes a scientific argument for love at first sight and fate through the story of two New York teens — one, a Jamaican immigrant set to be deported; the other, the American-born child of Korean immigrants — who fall in love over the course of one day.
'Wild Beauty' by Anna-Marie McLemore
In the lush gardens of a beautiful estate lives the Estrella women, all of whom are cursed. Any person they fall in love with will vanish, the legend says.. But when a mysterious boy appears in the gardens, everything changes.
'The Raven Boys' by Maggie Stiefvater
This four-book series centers on Blue, a girl who has grown up knowing that if she kisses her true love, he will die. So when she gets wrapped up with a group of boarding school boys — the Raven Boys — and their quest for an ancient Welsh king, everything becomes hopelessly, thrillingly tangled.
'Ali and Nino' by Kurban Said
This underappreciated classic tells the story of two people whose love conquers every imaginable obstacle. Set in Azerbaijan, Ali is a Muslim schoolboy from an aristocratic family, and Nino is a Christian girl. When they fall for each other, their love must withstand the pressures of cultural differences, and the dangers of war.
'The Unbearable Lightness of Being' by Milan Kundera
This beautiful book asks a lot of questions about love: Is it meant to be, or did it just happen by coincidence? This is perfect if you're in the mood for an intellectual exploration of love, fate, and everything in-between.
'The History of Love' by Nicole Krauss
In this beautiful read, a book ties together two people who have lost each other across time, distance, and generations. This is a lovely exploration of love and the remarkable ways it can endure.
'The Passion' by Jeanette Winterson
Set against the backdrop of magical Venice during the Napoleonic Wars, this story about a French soldier and the daughter of a Venetian boatman whose destinies become intertwined is hopelessly romantic.
'Stardust' by Neil Gaiman
In this fantasy adventure, a star falls from the sky in the shape of a girl and gets mixed up with Tristan, a boy from a small town determined to bring her back to the mortal world as a present for his crush. Pirates, witches, royal feuds, and more populate this original fairy tale, told only as Gaiman can.
'Everything Leads to You' by Nina LaCour
Film is at the heart of this beautiful love story. Set designer Emi is at the start of her Hollywood career, and would label her love life as A Mess. But when a mysterious letter leads her to Ava, her world is turned upside down in the best of ways.
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16 MLK Jr. Day Instagram Caption Ideas That Pay Respect To This Special Day
By Jessica Booth
Jan. 15 is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It's a day dedicated to celebrating the extraordinary life of activist and humanitarian Dr. King, who helped to teach us about courage, equality, truth, justice, compassion, and humility. A true leader, Dr. King worked to bring justice, equality, and power to the black community, and he was instrumental in tearing down racist, bigoted laws targeting African-Americans during the '50s and '60s. He did this, always, in a peaceful manner, and encouraged others to do the same. To commemorate the occasion, you may be planning to post a photo on Instagram of Dr. King — and, if so, you're probably looking for a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Instagram caption idea for it.
This national holiday always serves as an important reminder of some of life's most important values, but this year it feels even more important than ever before. Even though it's 2018, 50 years since the death of Dr. King, we still have a long way to go to reach true social peace and harmony. Racism still runs rampant. Conflict and anger are prevalent throughout the world. The United States is being led by a president who is, literally, a big bully. Now more than ever, we need to remember the words of Dr. King and really reflect on what he was saying.
Putting up a quote that speaks to you for Martin Luther King Jr. Day could touch at least one person, and honestly, that's worth it. Besides, Dr. King's words deserve to be given all of the recognition out there. This Martin Luther King Jr. Day, celebrate by spreading his message with a smart, inspirational Instagram caption.
"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." - Martin Luther King Jr.
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." - Martin Luther King Jr.
"We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope." - Martin Luther King Jr.
“We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right." - Martin Luther King Jr.
"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity." - Martin Luther King Jr.
“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant." - Martin Luther King Jr.
"I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear." - Martin Luther King Jr.
"Only in the darkness can you see the stars." - Martin Luther King Jr.
“There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe nor politic nor popular, but he must take it because his conscience tells him it is right." - Martin Luther King Jr.
"No person has the right to rain on your dreams." - Martin Luther King Jr.
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." - Martin Luther King Jr.
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." - Martin Luther King Jr.
“Never, never be afraid to do what’s right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society’s punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way." - Martin Luther King Jr.
"Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle." - Martin Luther King Jr.
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." - Martin Luther King Jr.
"Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor, it must be demanded by the oppressed." - Martin Luther King Jr.
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16 Body Positive Artists You Need To Follow
Share if you're a little hairy, sometimes chubby, not "Fair & Lovely" – and happy as hell.
by Nirali Shah
BuzzFeed Staff, India
1. Jasjyot Singh Hans
https://www.instagram.com/p/BE131cYJOiS/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BEHPsdspOti/
"I refuse to be made to feel like I'm part of any preference or fetish. Body shaming, race shaming and behavioural shaming are not cool, for any person belonging to any sexuality. So why not just spread ❤️? It's easier."
Follow here.
2. Ayqa Khan
https://www.instagram.com/p/BCss6TUzebT/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BEhXRoFTeZq/
@ayqakhan
“It is important for me to normalise body hair because it is something that shouldn’t be a huge deal considering body hair is natural and the removal of it is a social construct.”
3. Kully Rehal
https://www.instagram.com/p/BB8EwinI4lQ/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BBz-kSOo4qt/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BCtPEf_I4nL/
Rehal draws about breaking gender stereotypes, powerful women role models and just the general struggles of being desi.
4. Hana Shafi AKA Frizz Kid Art
https://www.instagram.com/p/BECZqtlk-lX/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BECZuKOk-ld/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BDoGBcdk-s5/
Hana's drawings celebrate South Asian beauty and badassness. She even has daily positive affirmations to make you feel lovely.
5. Nimisha Bhanot
Nimisha Bhanot
Bhanot draws Indian women as badass pinup girls and superheroes.
6. Reshidev Rk
https://www.instagram.com/p/BBwnXSAGL-C/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BBDddyQmL8E/
Reshidev's digital art work of Kerala beauties is spectacular.
7. Ruwani
https://www.instagram.com/p/BE78C3bka-R/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BDFmlfOka4f/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BCmVkqOkawW/
"It makes me ache to imagine the young girls who walk through art galleries and museums, looking up at another "classic" painting depicting a white body, meant to set the standard of beauty," says Ruwani.
8. Adrita Das
@adritadas / Via Facebook: dasnaiz
Adrita makes beautiful GIFs of aunties and hyper-relatable problems.
9. Khushboo Gulati
https://www.instagram.com/p/y3LBjKwFUr/
https://www.instagram.com/p/x23dMlwFWj/
Gulati draws about being brown and proud and also queer, trans and non-binary desis.
10. Hiranyakshaya
https://www.instagram.com/p/BDcfumklE52/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BBe2sj1lE1X/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BBnj1NyFE8I/
Hiranyakshaya's work is a mix of hyper desi models and anime.
11. Baljinder Kaur
https://www.instagram.com/p/BE8NnybKjOh/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BB4X7yJqjMb/
Baljinder just completed her ‘Thank You’ project, "which began as an exploration of my relationship with everyday personal objects and life."
12. Debangshu Moulik
https://www.instagram.com/p/BCo_0wJvG3x/
https://www.instagram.com/p/q43kbLvG2j/
Moulik takes inspiration from every thing and every one around him and the resulting sketches are amazing.
13. Babbu The Painter
https://www.instagram.com/p/BAYGMlNJWYM/
https://www.instagram.com/p/-b4KR2JWQe/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BAFn2K8JWTz/
Babbu can make anything desi – The Simpsons, emojis, pretty much anything. She also draws about desi sisterhood and being Sikh.
14. Jas from PotatoIsDrawing
https://www.instagram.com/p/BD1PxJwEnPk/
https://www.instagram.com/p/_dN7DrknPP/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BE4GATEknO4/
Jas's drawings represent people of different colour, culture, gender and size. She reimagines cisgendered white heroes with different identities.
15. Shreya of 360.jpg
https://www.instagram.com/p/_a2GEbMvVY/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BDqbkbnMvb2/
Shreya's drawings in support of the #UnfairAndLovely movement show that melanin is something to be worn with pride.
16. Anannya Roy
https://www.instagram.com/p/BEQWKqJMR0-/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BD5q57usR37/
Anannya's art encourages you to be your own kind of beautiful and the captions will hit you straight in the heart.
Body Positivity Week is a week of content devoted to exploring and celebrating our complicated relationships with our bodies. Check out more great Body Positivity Week content here.
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"A Honeypot For Assholes": Inside Twitter’s 10-Year Failure To Stop Harassment
Ariel Davis / BuzzFeed News
For nearly its entire existence, Twitter has not just tolerated abuse and hate speech — it’s virtually been optimized to accommodate it. With public backlash at an all-time high and growth stagnating, what is the platform that declared itself “the free speech wing of the free speech party” to do? BuzzFeed News talks to the people who’ve been trying to figure this out for a decade.
Charlie Warzel BuzzFeed News Reporter
Posted on August 11, 2016, at 8:43 a.m. ET
On May 22, 2008, Ariel Waldman ran out of options. Waldman, then a community manager and blogger, had signed up for Twitter in March 2007 and in months had become one of the platform’s 100 most followed accounts. She was, by her own account, “addicted” to the service.
But soon after, the abuse began — for no reason other than that Waldman was a woman writing articles that occasionally touched on sex and technology. In June 2007, a stalker posted some of her private information in a string of threatening tweets. Waldman contacted Twitter, which banned the user in question from the public timeline. But over the next eight months, the targeted abuse and stalking intensified. By March 2008, exhausted and disillusioned by a torrent of tweets calling her a “cunt” and a “whore” and publicizing personal information like her email address, Waldman reached out to Twitter again, this time to the company’s CEO, Jack Dorsey. After a series of phone calls to the company went nowhere, Dorsey and Twitter went silent. So in May, Waldman went public, detailing her ordeal in a blog post, which caught fire in media circles.
Twitter, then still a startup, was fresh off a buzzy SXSW debut, and Waldman’s post was an unfamiliar bit of bad press, depicting Dorsey in particular as an unsympathetic, even cowardly, chief executive. “Jack explained that they’re scared to ban someone because they’re scared if it turned into a lawsuit that they are too small of a company to handle it,” Waldman wrote. While Twitter founder Biz Stone issued a formal acknowledgment of the problem, arguing that “Twitter is a communication utility, not a mediator of content,” Dorsey was silent. Co-founder Ev Williams was more critical, posting tweets that cast doubt on Waldman’s claims and halfheartedly apologizing with a simple “our bad.” Waldman was crushed. “Prior to my coming out, I had great relationships with them and considered some of them my friends,” Waldman told BuzzFeed News this month of the fallout. “I took it very personally. It sucked.”
More than eight years after Waldman’s ordeal, harassment on Twitter is rampant — so much so that it has become a primary destination for trolls and hate groups. So much so that its CEO declared, “We suck at dealing with abuse and trolls on the platform and we've sucked at it for years.” So much so that numerous high-profile users have quit the service, citing it as an unsafe space. Today, Twitter is a well-known hunting ground for women and people of color, who are targeted by neo-Nazis, racists, misogynists, and trolls, often just for showing up. Just this summer, actor Leslie Jones was driven off Twitter after a barrage of racist comments and death threats, only to return after a personal reassurance from Dorsey himself. Last week, Normani Kordei of the pop group Fifth Harmony also stepped away from the service after suffering years of “horrific and racially charged” tweets. Despite its integral role in popular culture and in social justice initiatives from the Arab Spring to Black Lives Matter, Twitter is as infamous today for being as toxic as it is famous for being revolutionary. And unless you're a celebrity — or, as it turns out, the president of the United States of America — good luck getting help.
According to 10 high-level former employees, the social network’s long history with abuse has been fraught with inaction and organizational disarray. Taken together, these interviews tell the story of a company that’s been ill-equipped to handle harassment since its beginnings. Fenced in by an abiding commitment to free speech above all else and a unique product that makes moderation difficult and trolling almost effortless, Twitter has, over a chaotic first decade marked by shifting business priorities and institutional confusion, allowed abuse and harassment to continue to grow as a chronic problem and perpetual secondary internal priority. On Twitter, abuse is not just a bug, but — to use the Silicon Valley term of art — a fundamental feature.
If you want to fully understand Twitter’s abuse problem, a good place to start is at Google, years before the first tweet was ever sent. While working at Blogger, the wildly popular Google-owned publishing tool, Ev Williams, Biz Stone, and Jason Goldman — all of whom went on to found or work at Twitter — were faced with what now feels like a familiar predicament.
Like Twitter, Blogger had grown quickly as a broadcast tool, becoming home to a wide spectrum of voices, no small number of which were loud and obnoxious and objectionable. But rather than censor the unsavory blogs, Williams and company saw an opportunity to build a platform committed to free expression and the democratic spirit of the internet. That decision was fought internally, pitting Goldman against Sheryl Sandberg, at the time head of Google AdWords, in what Goldman called “a straight-up turf war.”
Goldman won. Working with Alexander Macgillivray, a die-hard free speech advocate who was then a Google attorney, Blogger made a core principle of the universal right to publish, despite outside criticism. “We don’t get involved in adjudicating whether something is libel or slander,” Goldman told Forbes in 2005. The passage that followed reads like it could be written about Twitter today: “In squabbles between anonymous bloggers and victims Google sides with the attackers, refusing to turn over any information unless a judge orders it to open up. 'We’ll do it if we believe we are required to by law,' [Goldman] says."
Less than a year later, when Williams and Stone founded Twitter along with Dorsey, they brought along Goldman and continued largely where they’d left off. “We worked hard at the outset of Twitter to maintain freedom of speech with clear limits,” Stone told BuzzFeed News in a recent email. “This stemmed from my time at Google working on the same issues with Blogger.” But as Waldman’s case exemplifies, even early on, Twitter’s “freedom of speech with clear limits” found critics who saw those limits as opaque and arbitrary.
And while Blogger’s free speech problems were novel, small-scale, and often abstract, Twitter’s follower model and public reply system proved thornier to manage. There’s a big difference between people saying hurtful things on the easily moderated comment section of a hard-to-find blog and people showing up in your mentions spewing hate speech. “The product quirks were secondary ... to free speech,” one former employee said of the company’s early days. “The Blogger brain trust’s thinking was set in stone by the time they became Twitter Inc.”
In the summer of 2009, the company’s values were validated when Twitter was lauded for its role in giving voice to Iranian election protesters. By the time the State Department asked Twitter to delay scheduled maintenance on its servers in order to keep protest communication lines open during the election, Twitter’s reputation as a powerful broadcast tool was solidified. Just weeks later, the company hired Macgillivray away from Google as its first general counsel.
“What was once lauded as a virtue has now become the company’s Achilles' heel.”
“Here you have a great, influential lawyer who philosophically believed you don't shut down a platform because of controversial speech,” one former employee who worked during Macgillivray’s tenure told BuzzFeed News. “That ethos was bought into by everyone in the company. Hard.” 2011 brought the Arab Spring and more international acclaim for Twitter as a platform for revolutionaries. That same year, Twitter fought secret government order to provide user information for WikiLeaks. According to a source, Macgillivray and Stone spent months working on a blog post that would be published during the WikiLeaks controversy, titled “The Tweets Must Flow.” It was Twitter’s boldest commitment to free speech to date. “There are Tweets that we do remove, such as illegal Tweets and spam,” the post read. “However, we make efforts to keep these exceptions narrow so they may serve to prove a broader and more important rule — we strive not to remove Tweets on the basis of their content.” Not long after, Twitter executives began publicly touting that “Twitter is the free speech wing of the free speech party,” a phrase sources attribute to Macgillivray.
This maximalist approach to free speech was integral to Twitter’s rise, but quickly created the conditions for abuse. Unlike Facebook and Instagram, which have always banned content and have never positioned themselves as platforms for free speech, Twitter has made an ideology out of protecting its most objectionable users. That ethos also made it a beacon for the internet’s most vitriolic personalities, who take particular delight in abusing those who use Twitter for their jobs. This spring, the Just Not Sports podcast posted video of sports fans reading a sampling of the hateful tweets that the sportswriters Sarah Spain and Julie DiCaro received while writing and reporting. The video amassed over 3.5 million views on YouTube. Its message: This level of depravity is commonplace on Twitter.
“What was once lauded as a virtue has now become the company’s Achilles' heel — it’s the axis around which all this shit with harassment rotates,” a former senior employee told BuzzFeed News. Nearly all former employees BuzzFeed News spoke to in the course of reporting this story said the same thing. “The whole ‘free speech wing of the free speech party’ thing — that's not a slogan, that's deeply, deeply embedded in the DNA of the company,” Twitter’s former head of news, Vivian Schiller, said. “The people that run Twitter ... are not stupid. They understand that this toxicity can kill them, but how do you draw the line? Where do you draw the line? I would actually challenge anyone to identify a perfect solution. But it feels to a certain extent that it's led to paralysis.”
A senior engineer who left the company before its 2013 IPO echoed Schiller’s point. “You have this opposition between defending the user’s experience and not shutting down speech all while there's this big, toxic mass of people that are abusing,” the source said. “That tension has now, I think, in the past few years, flipped on its head. It’s clear something needs to be done.”
Looking back on Twitter’s early years, multiple former senior employees cite Twitter’s disproportionately white, male leadership — a frequent, factual critique of Silicon Valley’s biggest and most influential tech companies — as creating an environment where building tools to combat harassment was a secondary concern. “The original sin is a homogenous leadership,” one former senior employee told BuzzFeed News. “This is part of what exacerbated the abuse problem for sure — because they were often tone-deaf to the concern of users in the outside world, meaning women and people of color."
“The original sin is a homogenous leadership.”
Talk to enough Twitter insiders and one thing becomes painfully evident: The company’s understanding of its platform hasn’t always been clear to employees, even at senior levels — a problem that has made it difficult to understand how to police harassment. One source recalls that, when asked, Jack Dorsey refused to answer exactly what kind of tool Twitter was. “He said, ‘Twitter brings you closer,'” the former employee recalled. “And I said, ‘To what?’ and he replied, ‘Our users always finish that sentence for us.’ And to me, I thought, Well, it’s going to be really difficult to set policy in place if we can’t define what this thing is."
Internally, employees have long raised questions about whether Twitter was a media company — a broadcast platform that should be governed by content standards and practices similar to a a television network — or a piece of the internet’s infrastructure, like an ISP, that should remain open and free.
“If Twitter is the pulse of the planet, then you’re in the realm of Verizon,” one former senior employee said. “And you don’t tell Verizon that they have to police the words and topics coming in over their phone lines. I think part of what exacerbated the abuse issue for so long is that there's an absence of a clear thesis from Twitter.”
To hear former employees tell it, the better part of Twitter’s corporate history is defined by a seemingly unending set of problems, from keeping the servers running in the early days (Twitter’s service disruptions were so frequent, its ‘Fail Whale’ error page became famous) to IPO fundraising to a sharp pivot to mobile. “There were literally always other fires to put out, always growth targets being missed and execs leaving,” one former employee told BuzzFeed News. One source described the internal culture as “never once tranquil” and another said it was “intense, chaotic, and morale-draining, despite working with some of the best people I’ve known.”
“They had the ability to step up and be a leader in this space — to be proactive instead of reactive. That they haven’t done that is beyond me.”
All the while, the abuse intensified and the public began to take notice. In 2013, Caroline Criado-Perez launched a campaign to put Jane Austen on UK currency and quickly became the target of more than 50 rape threats per hour — which forced Twitter to roll out a “report abuse” feature for individual tweets. The feature came roughly six years into the company’s history and more than five years after Waldman’s ordeal. “It feels like, not only did they have opportunities early on to tackle this, but they had the ability to step up and be a leader in this space — to be proactive instead of reactive,” Waldman said. “That they haven’t done that is beyond me and it's reckless.”
Around that time, high-profile harassment cases became a weekly, if not daily, occurrence, especially in the UK. Sinéad O’Connor was driven off the service in 2011; she later told the Daily Mail she was “getting too much abuse.” Downton Abbey actor Lily James quit after she became the target of hundreds of hateful tweets about her appearance. Actor Matt Lucas had to shut down his account after trolls wouldn’t stop harassing him after the death of his partner.
In the US, stories of Twitter harassment of women, people of color, and religious minorities appeared with increasing frequency, coming to a head in August 2014, when Robin Williams’ daughter Zelda was forced to quit Twitter after trolls flooded her mentions with photoshopped images of her recently deceased father. Williams’ departure from Twitter went viral and prompted Twitter’s Trust and Safety head, Del Harvey, to condemn the attacks. “We will not tolerate abuse of this nature,” she said, noting that the company would work to find policy fixes to prevent cases like Williams’.
It was also around this time that Twitter began broadcasting grisly ISIS beheadings and Gamergate’s multipronged misogynist harassment campaign toward female gamers. Harvey’s team rolled out more streamlined forms for reporting abuse, dispensing with its cumbersome nine-part questionnaire and adding back-end flagging tools for Twitter’s Trust and Safety team. One month later, Anita Sarkeesian, a feminist writer and video game critic, took to her Tumblr page and posted 157 of examples of misogyny, gendered insults, victim blaming, incitement to suicide, and rape and death threats she’d received in a recent six-day stretch on Twitter. Despite the overtures from Twitter, the trolls were winning.
On October 25, 2013, Twitter released video of its IPO roadshow presentation to Wall Street underwriters. The 37-minute pitch, which resembles a grainy Skype session crossed with a PowerPoint presentation, features a well-dressed Dick Costolo (then Twitter’s CEO) in front of a blue background, staring down the barrel of the lens. “We think we’ve only scratched the surface of everything we think Twitter can become,” Costolo said unblinkingly into the camera. “There are over 2.4 billion connected people worldwide and over 230 million users on Twitter — we are less than 10% penetrated across the globe.” The implied logic: Twitter intends to connect the world and grow exponentially in the process.
That didn’t happen. Twitter’s lead-up to its public offering and subsequent lackluster Wall Street performance did, however, create a laundry list of new challenges that, according to some former employees, kneecapped Twitter’s product. “Leading up to IPO, it was all about revenue growth, from CEO on down,” a former member of Twitter’s product team told BuzzFeed News. “All investments went into revenue, and I know definitely that the consumer product suffered. Forget abuse — I don’t think we did anything with core consumer at that time, and I think that's somewhat justified if the goal is going public,” the source said.
And if Twitter was far from tranquil before the IPO, it only became less so after. Though the company was bringing in considerable revenue, the fear of disappointing Wall Street with stagnant user numbers led Costolo and the executive team to reshuffle Twitter’s priorities again and again, according to multiple senior sources who worked closely with Costolo during this time. According to those sources, Costolo and the company’s newly hired banker turned CFO, Anthony Noto, were so reactive strategically that employees began referring internally to them as the company’s “ad-hocracy.”
“If there's a trash fire burning in your front yard, saying you don't want to call the fire department because you don't want to get the house wet is not really a sensical thing.”
Nowhere was this felt more than on Twitter’s product team, the part of the company in charge of developing, testing, and rolling out new user features for Twitter across mobile and the web. “We had this area of intense, shifting focus in every area of the company around almost every issue other than abuse,” one former product team member said.” The result was that since 2010, Twitter has had seven heads of product (eight if you count Dorsey’s brief interim tenure in early 2016), with five of those job changes coming since 2014. “There were like four VPs of product during my time on the team ... just never any continuity at all,” one former team member said. “There’s a lot of jokes you can say about the length of tenure of product heads,” another former employee said. “That lack of continuity means it’s difficult to get stuff done.”
“Finding a product solution for abuse was like looking for a moonshot,” another former employee said. “But NASA wouldn't have put a person on the moon if between ’59 and ’69 there were seven heads of NASA.”
Sources inside the company in the years after Twitter’s IPO also said that product decisions were often scrapped or never advanced out of initial tests if they were thought to inhibit user growth. “I did see a lot of decisions being made in terms of growth when it came to how to handle abuse, which I get,” former engineering manager Leslie Miley told BuzzFeed News. “But on the other side, if there's a trash fire burning in your front yard, saying you don't want to call the fire department because you don't want to get the house wet is not really a sensical thing.”
Miley — who was helping to roll out two-factor password authentication for the platform — described lobbying for a year to require all Twitter employees to enable two-factor for their own Twitter accounts. “I was adamant that there was no good reason not to do this, because who’s a bigger target for a Twitter hack than a Twitter employee,” he recalled. But Miley’s pleas went unheeded inside the executive branch, who worried the product was too hard for employees to use and might stop many inside the company from tweeting. “I was like, 'Uh, what better way to fix that than deploying it to thousands and getting their input,’” Miley said. “But they said, ‘It's still too hard to use and we want our people using the product.’” Shortly after Miley gave up on convincing company leadership to safeguard their accounts, Noto’s Twitter account was hacked.
Many former employees cite the stagnation of Twitter’s product team as a chief reason for the rise in harassment after 2012. “I think product has failed users,” one former senior employee told BuzzFeed News. Part of what makes Twitter so powerful is its ability to level the communication field; tweets from a non-famous, little-followed user, are, in theory, just as easy to surface as a celebrity’s. Simply, Twitter is built differently than most social networks. Two accounts don’t have to follow each other to interact, and once a tweet is out in the world, the original tweeter doesn’t have the ability to moderate responses, like they might on an Instagram or Facebook comment. This unique design is responsible for some of Twitter’s most revolutionary and serendipitous moments; it’s also perfect for abuse.
“For years, it allowed this equal footing, where a troll you didn’t follow and your best friend who you follow and interact with all the time were given equal weight, and that's crazy,” a former senior employee said. "Seriously, if you were an alien and you came down to look at this thing, you’d say, ‘Oh, the product was basically built for maximum ease of trolling.' Like, they must have built this for trolls.”
Employees close to the product team echoed these frustrations. “There are easy anti-abuse ideas that product managers brought up like 10 times — like, when you open any famous person tweet, the first reply you see should be somebody the tweeter follows, not just a rando,” one former employee said. “We talked about this idea five years ago — that’s an eternity in tech — and they’re not executed, and that does not give me hope that they think about this problem.”
Or, as one former employee said, “product inaction created a honeypot for assholes.”
“Product inaction created a honeypot for assholes.”
Sarah Hagi, an identity-focused writer who is perhaps best known for coining the phrase “Carry yourself with the confidence of a mediocre white man," told BuzzFeed News she has been subject to intense abuse on Twitter since she started writing professionally. Hagi said that the harassment centered on her is mostly for being black, Muslim, and female — "any variation of me being a crazy Muslim animal or being a disgusting oppressed Muslim woman," she said. "When I first started getting abusive comments, which would be anywhere from people insulting aspects of my identity to sending me photos of female genital mutilation, I would respond, but I quickly learned that makes it worse. Now, I either block or mute right away and try to not pay any attention." The abuse can manifest in the form of an isolated response after a seemingly innocuous tweet; other times, it comes from a mob of accounts set upon her by a single troll with a large following. "I think because nothing really has changed with how Twitter deals with harassers, it has gotten worse," she said. "They know nothing really will happen to them, so they continue doing whatever they want. "
In 2015, Guardian columnist Lindy West wrote about her years-long experience with Twitter harassment. In response, Dick Costolo wrote his leaked “we suck at dealing with abuse” staff memo. At the time, employees inside Twitter thought the attention — and the memo — might provide some motivation to improve the product, but little changed once the media maelstrom shifted its focus. “There would be pressure after high-profile abuse that was getting press,” one former employee said. "But it was mostly, ‘Well, if we fix this problem this way it won’t happen again.’ And that’s too reactive — it felt like firefighting rather than asking, ‘How do we prevent fires?’"
Nearly all the former employees BuzzFeed News spoke to praised Harvey’s Trust and Safety team for its commitment to curbing harassment, but suggested that failures on the product side left it hamstrung. “They were on the front lines working with users and trying so hard,” a former senior employee said, “but getting caught in a rock and a hard place between what the stated mission of the company was and the resources available to create that environment."
“If Twitter had people in the room who'd been abused on the internet when they were creating the company, I can assure you the service would be different.”
They were also limited by a workforce that multiple former employees say fundamentally didn’t understand what abuse looks and feels like. “The decision-makers were not people who got abuse and didn't understand that it’s not about content, it's about context,” Miley said. “If Twitter had people in the room who'd been abused on the internet — meaning not just straight, white males — when they were creating the company, I can assure you the service would be different.” A 2015 Women, Action, and the Media study revealed that, as of 2014, Twitter’s leadership was 79% male and 72% white.
Miley was adamant about finding a proactive engineering solution for Twitter’s troll problem, but he said he consistently came up against opposition from a product team that favored content-based filters (preventing abusive tweets based on keywords) over context-based prevention (identifying and stopping harassment based on the accounts involved and the subject matter). In one instance, Miley argued to the company’s product safety team that a filtering algorithm for the keyword “cunt” was too broad and would censor accounts (in the UK, the word can be used as a slang term of endearment). “If you try to focus on keywords and the number of blocks and unfollows, you'll end up with an algorithm or bot that doesn't have the level of precision you need.”
Numerous former employees described Twitter’s approach to harassment as mimicking the company’s approach to fighting spam. “The focus on the engineering side was first on the spam problem, and it was a much more visible thing for more users than user safety and abuse problems,” a former employee familiar with the product team said. Miley echoed this: “Spam is a solved problem — we know how to detect and filter that. If you approach abuse like spam, you'll never put a dent in abuse.”
According to former employees, the external pressures — stagnant growth, media scrutiny, and constant personnel shifts — even created fissures in Twitter’s once rock-solid free speech defense. Shortly after news broke that Zelda Williams was leaving Twitter, Costolo was getting DMs and texts from Hollywood agents at firms like CAA, threatening to pull their high-profile celebrity clients off Twitter if Costolo didn’t stop harassment. Costolo scrambled, ordering teams to delete offending accounts and tweets. Weeks later, when a rash of beheading videos appeared, Costolo gave similar takedown orders, causing Twitter’s free speech advocates, Gabriel Stricker and Vijaya Gadde, to call an emergency policy meeting.
Inside the meeting, attended by Costolo, Stricker, Gadde, and product head Kevin Weil (now Instagram’s product lead) and first reported by BuzzFeed News, tensions rose as Costolo’s desire to build a more palatable network that was marketable and ultimately attractive to new users clashed with Stricker and Gadde’s desire for radically free expression.
“You really think we should have videos of people being murdered?” someone who attended the meeting recalls Costolo arguing, while Stricker reportedly compared Costolo’s takedown of undesirable content to deleting the Zapruder film after objections from the Kennedy family. Ultimately, the meeting ended with the group deciding to carve out policy exceptions to keep up grisly content for newsworthiness, according to one person present. Though Stricker and Gadde won, one source described a frustrated Costolo leaving in disagreement. “I think if you guys have your way the only people using Twitter will be ISIS and the ACLU,” Costolo said, according to this person.
“I think the pressure over user growth totally exacerbated Dick’s decision-making at this time,” the source told BuzzFeed News. “Looking back, it’s that ongoing part of the ad-hocracy — we can’t have big policy precedents being set by one person for one small scenario when nobody’s watching. Meanwhile, we have teams also talking with Russian and Turkish dictators asking us to censor the platform for them and we’re telling them to fuck off. There’s no continuity.”
But, according to sources, Costolo continued making censorship decisions for celebrities — sometimes in secret. In the middle of 2015, Costolo and Noto, frustrated that Reddit had become the internet’s go-to destination for celebrity Q&A sessions, made a push via Twitter’s media team to facilitate more live town-hall discussions with influential users. In May 2015, after the company secured an #AskPOTUS Q&A with President Obama, Costolo secretly ordered the media partnerships team inside Twitter to use an algorithm to filter all tweets directed at the president for abusive language.
According to one source, the algorithm was fed thousands of examples of abusive and harassing language in order to block vitriolic tweets. Another source said the media partnerships team also manually censored tweets, noting that Twitter's public quality filtering algorithms were inconsistent. Participants in the #AskPOTUS town hall were never informed that tweets would be censored, and two sources told BuzzFeed News that the decision to filter was kept from specific senior company employees, for fear they would object to the decision.
Another source alleges that Twitter also deployed the censoring algorithm for a Q&A with Caitlyn Jenner. “This was another example of trying to woo celebs and show that you can have civilized conversations without the hate even if you’re a high-profile person,” one former employee said. “But it’s another example of a double standard — we’ll protect our celebrities, while the average user is out there subject to all kinds of horrible things.” Costolo did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Just a month after the Obama Q&A, Costolo stepped down as CEO, retaining a seat on Twitter’s board. In an exit interview with The Guardian on June 30, 2015, he defended Twitter’s commitment to free speech. “I will say directly that I think regulation is a threat to free speech,” he said.
The Jenner and Obama incidents weren’t the only time Twitter’s seeming double standard for celebrities and non-celebrities was thrown into relief. This July, when Ghostbusters actor and Saturday Night Live cast member Leslie Jones was subject to a cascade of racist and sexist harassment led by conservative blogger Milo Yiannopoulos, Jones quit the service. Twitter’s current CEO, Jack Dorsey, reached out to Jones and, following a conversation, permanently banned Yiannopoulos. Jones returned, but Twitter’s process for handling high-profile instances like Jones’ remains opaque.
And a simple Twitter search for “harassment” turns up dozens of frustrated non-celebrity users, many of whom experience daily threats and abuse, and almost none of whom have a direct line to Dorsey. One tweet from author and writer Jessica Valenti suggested that the trolls were unfazed by Twitter’s ban. “This morning I woke up to a rape and death threat directed at my 5 year old daughter. That this is part of my work life is unacceptable,” it read.
Last month, during the company’s most recent earnings call, Dorsey made a familiar declaration, vowing to combat abuse in the coming months. “No one deserves to be the target of abuse on Twitter," Dorsey said. "And we need to do better.” Former employees are skeptical at best. “I think any time you have a change in leadership, the priorities shift a bit," Miley, who left Twitter early in 2016, told BuzzFeed News. “When Dick left and Jack came on there was a lot of jockeying on what are the priorities are for Twitter, and I think the focus dropped off of abuse,” he said. Another source was concerned that Dorsey’s other day job — as CEO of Square — might make solving harassment more difficult. “Jack is wonderful and truly cares deeply about harassment, but as a part-time CEO, it's really difficult to keep the pressure on,” the source said. “He's incredible, but at least on the Twitter side, the company needs 1,000% focus.”
As always, there’s hope from executives that Twitter will make things right. In February, Twitter formed a Trust and Safety Council, with more than 40 partners, including Anita Sarkeesian, to provide product and policy input. Co-founder Biz Stone told BuzzFeed News that, behind the scenes under Dorsey, “Twitter is working hard, and making progress in this space.” And he added that Twitter needs to evolve with the times: “No employee should ever be in the position of having to decide, subjectively, what qualifies as free speech and what does not. A strong constitution goes a long way here." A former senior executive suggested that Twitter has new plans in the works, and that he has even mocked up comprehensive product solutions to combat abuse, which have been given to Dorsey.
Others suggest that forthcoming changes, while necessary, might be too little, too late. “If tomorrow Twitter implemented a set of super reasonable reforms, it would rightly suffer the criticism that, while this is great, it took too long,” a former senior employee told BuzzFeed News. “The longer you wait to take steps, the better the fixes need to be. It’s like, ‘Awesome! But it took took you 10 years. What's wrong with you people?’”
When reached for comment, a Twitter spokesperson emailed the following statement: "Safety on Twitter is a top priority for us. No one deserves to be subjected to abuse online and our rules prohibit inciting or engaging in abuse or harassment."
Eight years after her blog post, Ariel Waldman, the first public case of Twitter harassment, has moved on. Waldman chose not to quit Twitter, opting to endure the trolls and slurs in favor of its benefits.
“It feels like so much work to use Twitter, and that should be a real red flag.”
But things have grown worse. In the last two weeks she was barraged with dozens of abusive tweets after she posted a photo of herself wearing a headscarf she bought for an upcoming trip to Iran. “Within seconds I had a deluge of people tweeting the most racist stuff at me — it was bordering on murderous,” she said. So she deleted the tweet, blocked dozens of users, and posted the photo to Instagram, where she isn’t harassed. A few days ago Waldman tweeted about an upcoming NASA grant and the tweet was seized upon by neo-Nazis advocating for the genocide of all people of color.
Waldman, like every single one of the dozen people interviewed for this story, stressed that she loved Twitter; that when it works as it should, it’s empowering, exciting, even life-changing. But, like almost every participant in this story, Waldman’s voice grew tired while making excuses for Twitter's shortcomings. “I mean, the thing is that it’s just getting to that point where it’s become such an exhausting service to use,” she said with a heavy sigh. “That blocking 20 awful people every day has to be a part of my logistical reality — even when I’m not seeking abuse out. It’s just — it feels like so much work to use Twitter, and that should be a real red flag. They’ve clearly showed they don’t want to make abuse a priority.
“It’s like, who would reasonably want to use a service that does this to you?”
Charlie Warzel is a Senior Technology Writer for BuzzFeed News and is based in Missoula, Montana
Contact Charlie Warzel at charlie.warzel@buzzfeed.com.
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The Mormon Church Has Explicitly Condemned White Supremacism
The condemnation comes as a community of far-right Mormons grew their online influence by sharing white supremacist content.
By Jim Dalrymple II
Jim Dalrymple II BuzzFeed News Reporter
Last updated on August 15, 2017, at 10:52 p.m. ET
Posted on August 15, 2017, at 5:00 p.m. ET
George Frey / Getty Images
The LDS church's temple in Salt Lake City.
The Mormon church condemned white supremacism Tuesday, issuing a sharply worded statement three days after a deadly rally in Virginia and as a far-right movement within the church's own ranks grows increasingly vocal.
The Utah-based faith — officially called The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but better known as the Mormon or LDS church — said it had learned there were people "among the various pro-white and white supremacy communities who assert that the Church is neutral toward or in support of their views. Nothing could be further from the truth."
"White supremacist attitudes are morally wrong and sinful, and we condemn them," the statement continued. "Church members who promote or pursue a 'white culture' or white supremacy agenda are not in harmony with the teachings of the Church."
The statement was posted as an update to the church's first response following a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, Saturday. One person died during that rally when a man drove a car into a crowd of counterprotesters.
But the statement also serves as the church's latest effort to grapple with a growing alt-right movement within its own ranks. Though the number of people who count themselves members of that movement is difficult to track, numerous Twitter accounts and blogs have sprung up in recent months that blend LDS theology with far-right, often racist, views. And while the vast majority of Mormons condemn white supremacism, far-right Mormons have nevertheless been rapidly expanding their reach on social media.
Some members of that movement responded with dismay Tuesday to the church's statement. In a series of tweets, a woman who uses the Twitter handle @apurposefulwife and goes by the pseudonym Ayla said the Mormon church "just declared that I, as a white person, have no culture. Despite my never claiming supremacy of any kind & advocating for ALL ppl."
Twitter / Via Twitter: @apurposefulwife
Ayla is the best known and most widely followed purveyor of Mormon-inflected alt-right views, but others responded by saying that "white culture" was not the same as "white supremacy," and by arguing that the new statement was not written by top church leadership.
When reached by BuzzFeed News Tuesday, the church declined to describe the process that produced the new statement. It also would not say if Mormons who espouse white supremacist views would face disciplinary action, such as excommunication or disfellowship.
However, the statement was celebrated by members of the more mainstream Mormon community, many of whom have pushed back against the alt-right.
Tuesday for example, Janan Graham-Russell — who has written about race and her experiences as a black Mormon — told BuzzFeed News that the church's statement was "a step forward in light of the Church's history with race."
"It's significant that the term white supremacy and 'white culture' were used (especially the use of quotes around the word white culture) in the sense that it cleared up previous ambiguous statements given by past and present church leaders regarding racial issues," Graham-Russell added.
Also Tuesday, well-known Mormon writer Jana Riess said in a post that she was "glad to see the LDS Church come out swinging on this issue." She also noted that members the alt-right had seized on the church's earlier statement about Charlottesville and claimed it supported them.
"It’s rare for the LDS Church to issue a clear and unambiguous smackdown to anyone," Riess wrote. "It's rarer still for the Church to state openly that it is issuing said smackdown because its previous message was so blatantly and recklessly misunderstood."
This week numerous other Mormon bloggers have repeatedly tackled race and the alt-right. One of those bloggers, Jonathan Decker — a practicing Mormon who wrote about white privilege this week — told BuzzFeed News he was "doing cartwheels" after Tuesday's statement, which he described as "proclaiming what’s aways been true, which is that people of every race and every color are children of God."
"Most of the members of my faith are applauding this announcement," Decker continued, adding that people who use their faith to support extremism are "twisting their beliefs to fit a prejudice."
George Andrew Spriggs — a non-practicing Mormon who this week described the church's previous statements as being written with "seemingly intentional ambiguity" — also generally praised the church's new comments on white supremacism.
"I think that this represents the church recognizing from a PR perspective that it just won't work to be seen as giving cover to white nationalist views," Spriggs said.
He added that there are "a lot of practical issues still to be addressed," and wondered if church leaders would question white supremacist members about their online comments. Still, Spriggs welcomed the church's condemnation of white supremacism.
"To see the church be explicit made me pretty happy," he said.
Meet The (Alt-Right) Mormons: Inside The Church's Vocal White Nationalist Wing
Jim Dalrymple is a reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in Los Angeles.
Contact Jim Dalrymple II at jim.dalrymple@buzzfeed.com.
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Why Bank Deposits Have Surged
Given the choice, which do Americans prefer: to spend or to save? In light of the fact that consumer spending consistently represents over two-thirds of the economy — 68% to be precise, according to official estimates from the White House — their partiality to spending might be a safe bet. Yet as numerous polls have shown over the years, most recognize the importance of saving for a rainy day. And over the past several months now, they are clearly putting their money where their checking and/or savings account is.
Tracing back to when COVID-19 first showed up on the U.S. mainland, bank deposits have soared. Indeed, according to figures from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, they're up a record-breaking $2 trillion. At the height of the lockdown in April, deposits rose $865 billion over a 30-day stretch, CNBC pointed out.
Brian Foran, analyst at the independent global financial sector fact-finding firm Autonomous Research, told the NBC News' cable network that the amount of money Americans are stowing away for safekeeping is without precedent.
"Any way you look at it, this growth has been absolutely extraordinary," Foran remarked. "Banks are flooded with cash, they're like Scrooge McDuck swimming in money."
"The pandemic was the primary motivator for checking and saving account growth."
Experts believe the fallout from the pandemic is the primary motivator. In an extraordinarily short period of time, tens of millions of people across the country filed for unemployment benefits. Indeed, in the six weeks spanning between the middle of March and April 30, the total who did so eclipsed 30 million, CNN reported at the time from Labor Department figures. Furthermore, personal consumption expenditures dipped approximately 13% in April, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, as Americans braced for the worst. The latest figure for July showed a modest adjustment of 2% growth.
Big banks received most of the deposits
Most of the deposits that account holders have made were managed by the U.S.' largest financial institutions, accounting for 66% of the volume, FDIC figures indicate. This was partially due to the fact that these same FI's were highly involved in the government Paycheck Protection Program, which gave thousands of small businesses the added financial cushion to make ends meet and keep their companies afloat, CNBC reported. Furthermore, since the nation's 25 largest institutions have the most branch offices, it only makes sense that they ultimately received the lion's share of the federal government's stimulus package, whereby eligible recipients got $1,200 checks and eligible families of four or more at least double that amount. Brian Moynihan, chief executive officer at Bank of America, told CNBC that as much as 40% of personal check accounts with less than $5,000 prior to the lockdown were above that once checks were distributed, a clear indication of recipients preference to save.
Americans plan to keep saving if possible
How long will the savings binge last? As long as it can. While some people are not in a position to save given financial stressors, those that can will likely keep putting money away until there is a viable vaccine. In a survey conducted by Gallup in early August, more than three-quarters of respondents said that they will continue to build a larger cash reserve for the foreseeable future as opposed to buying. Of these, nearly 80% noted they'll keep that money where it already is, in their established checking or savings accounts — a boon to financial institutions both large and small. The second most common response was increasing balances in 401(k), IRA or other retirement plans. As many as 45% of those surveyed said the development of an effective vaccine would have a "major impact" on their willingness to increase their spending, with 26% saying it would have a "minor impact."
These trends represent an opportunity for banks and credit unions to lean into optimizing the retail experience to boost retention and support the bottom line. Whether it's streamlining layouts and creating customer options via branch transformation or improving service with deeper staff engagement, your FI is in a position to capitalize on building a level of trust that is critical for ongoing retention.
As you support your customers and members, BranchServ stands at the ready to fully support your institution however you need us. Contact us today for speed, savings and solutions all rolled into one.
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New home for blind and partially sighted adults rated ‘Very Good’ in first inspection
The Care Inspectorate has praised the ‘positive and happy atmosphere’ of Royal Blind’s new residential home for disabled adults in its first ever inspection of the service.
Allermuir, in Edinburgh, was opened in August 2016 as an extension to Royal Blind’s Adult Services, to provide a home for life for adults with sight loss and additional disabilities who need 24-hour support.
Now the Care Inspectorate has given the home a rating of 5 (Very Good) across all four themes – as residents and staff are celebrating its first anniversary.
Julie Jamieson, Head of Care (Children and Adult Services) at Royal Blind, said she was ‘delighted’ with the report. She said: “I am very proud of the team who have worked so hard during the past year to make Allermuir feel like home for our residents.
“The aim of opening Allermuir was to provide a highly specialised service for people who would otherwise struggle to find an appropriate place to live with the right support, so it’s fantastic to read such a positive first report.”
The Care Inspectorate reviewed Allermuir’s performance in a number of areas including quality of care and support, environment, staffing and management and leadership during its inspection in July.
The report produced by the Care Inspectorate highlighted the good relationships between residents and staff.
It says: “We saw that staff knew the adults very well and responded appropriately to their wishes and needs. We found that the service had a very positive and happy atmosphere, with a purposeful rhythm to daily life.”
It also commented on the wide range of activities including horse riding, trampolining, music and shopping, and the residents’ inclusion in the local community.
It adds: “We found that transitions from school and home to Allermuir were managed well and sensitively, with staff, on occasion, transferring with the adult from their previous placement. This promoted consistency of care and expectations.”
It comes after Royal Blind’s first service for vision impaired adults, Forward Vision, was also rated as 5 (Very Good) by the Care Inspectorate in June.
Royal Blind
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Home care company receives royal recognition from HRH Princess Anne
A home care company is celebrating after being commended with a Princess Royal Training Award for its workplace learning at a ceremony held at St James’s Palace in London.
Presented by HRH Princess Anne and delivered by the City and Guilds Group, the Princess Royal Training Awards, now in their fourth year, celebrate exceptional training and development programmes across the country.
Home Instead Senior Care, a national franchise with more than 200 offices, is one of only 44 organisations to receive the prestigious accolade for its End of Life training. It’s the second time the company has picked up the award for its training as in 2016 it was recognised for the expert dementia training it offers.
The award for end of life training was picked up by CEO Martin Jones, head of people Karen Dakin and learning and development partner, Tim Howell.
The specialist training was developed to give its 9,000 caregivers the personal skills and knowledge to deliver the very best quality care to people during what can be a very difficult and emotional time. It also equips the caregivers to cope with the practical and emotional demands of delivering end of life care.
Commenting on the award, Martin said: “It was an honour to attend St James’s Palace and to meet with HRH Princess Anne to tell her more about our training and the impact it has on the lives of our clients.
“The award is a fantastic accolade, showing our dedication to providing the highest level of training to equip our caregivers with the skills needed to help a person during the emotional end stage of their life. To achieve this award alongside such a small number of other global businesses really is testament to the quality of training we’re passionate about delivering.”
Tim added: “We know that an estimated 60 per cent people wish to die at home where they feel most comfortable. By supporting our caregivers through training, our teams are able to make that wish a reality for people. Home Instead is passionate about delivering the very best training right across its network of offices which ultimately means we can help deliver the very best care possible to older people at home.”
Commenting on this year’s recipients and ceremony Chris Jones, Chief Executive of the City and Guilds Group, said: “The Princess Royal Training Awards are a highlight of the year, as we come together to celebrate the outstanding work of businesses around the country who put learning and development firmly at the top of their agenda. The remarkable employers we recognised demonstrate the power that comes from investing in people and training as a vehicle to strengthen organisations and open up opportunities for people.”
Princess Royal Training Award
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Home » News » Multi-Platinum Producers Joins BIMM Berlin
Multi-Platinum Producers Joins BIMM Berlin
We’re extremely excited to announce that influential record producers, Gordon Raphael, Michael Zimmerling and Pete Smith will be joining the team at BIMM Berlin as visiting faculty to the Music Production course, which started in September 2016.
Gordon Raphael is a producer and musician from Seattle, Washington and New York, currently living in Berlin. He is most widely known for his work with The Strokes, having produced their debut EP The Modern Age as well as their first two albums Is This It (which was voted Best Album of the Decade by the NME in the UK and No 2 in Best of the Decade in The USA by Rolling Stone) and Room On Fire. Gordon has travelled the world producing dozens of records across Mexico, America, Perú, South Africa, Argentina and Brazil.
Michael Zimmerling has worked in some of the most renowned recording studios in the world including Abbey Road, Hansa Studios and Riverside Studios and has worked with international artists such as Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Depeche Mode, David Sylvian, Einsturzende Neubauten and Simply Red. In the mid 80’s Michael was in such high demand by the Japanese music scene that he moved to Tokyo and became one of the most requested engineers of the Japanese Pop and Rock scene, which resulted in working on over 150 albums (including at least 50 Top Ten Hits).
Pete Smith started his career in 1979 as an engineer at Utopia Studios, working with such acts as The Boomtown Rats, The Police, Stevie Wonder, Joan Armatrading, Sheryl Crow, Alex Harvey, Sting, Randy Crawford, Spandau Ballet, Doll By Doll, Van Morrison, Light of the World, Central Line, Duran Duran, Landscape, Orange Juice, and many more. Pete has produced dozens of albums across England and main land Europe, including the Grammy award-winning Dream of the Blue Turtles (live) by Sting.
BIMM Berlin is our newest college campus and our first on mainland Europe. The BA (Hons) Music and Sound Production degree at BIMM Berlin is a specialist programme designed for those wishing to pursue a career in a range of music industry roles, such as producer, sound engineer or creative artist. The aim of the course is to nurture creative flair while developing a skill-set as a music producer across a wide range of contexts, including traditional studio and live recording, songwriting, live sound and music for moving image. Students study the context of contemporary music and the industry that supports it, as well as learning personal, project-management and business skills.
Networking and collaboration are central to the degree, and students are encouraged to create music projects with their peers on other courses at BIMM Berlin.
Berlin’s position as a hub of the European music industry and a magnet for creativity makes it the ideal location for our new campus. With our partners Noisy Musicworld we aim to provide students with access to state-of-the-art equipment in contemporary learning spaces. With these facilities in place, we plan to attract first-rate undergraduates and – with such exemplary resources to draw on – we have appointed an equally ambitious standard of teaching staff!
View all Music Production Degree courses at BIMM
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Frequent loss-of-heterozygosity in CRISPR-Cas9-edited early human embryos
Gregorio Alanis-Lobato, Jasmin Zohren, Afshan McCarthy, Norah M.E. Fogarty, Nada Kubikova, Emily Hardman, Maria Greco, Dagan Wells, James M.A. Turner, Kathy K. Niakan
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.06.05.135913
Gregorio Alanis-Lobato
aHuman Embryo and Stem Cell Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK
Jasmin Zohren
bSex Chromosome Biology Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK
Afshan McCarthy
Norah M.E. Fogarty
cCentre for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, King’s College London, Guy’s Campus, Great Maze Pond, London SE1 9RT, UK
Nada Kubikova
dUniversity of Oxford, Winchester House, Heatley Road, Oxford Science Park, Oxford OX4 4GE, UK
Emily Hardman
Maria Greco
eAncient Genomics Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK
Dagan Wells
fJuno Genetics, Winchester House, Heatley Road, Oxford Science Park, Oxford OX4 4GE, UK
James M.A. Turner
Kathy K. Niakan
gThe Centre for Trophoblast Research, Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EG, UK
For correspondence: kathy.niakan@crick.ac.uk
Data/Code
CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing is a promising technique for clinical applications, such as the correction of disease-associated alleles in somatic cells. The use of this approach has also been discussed in the context of heritable editing of the human germline. However, studies assessing gene correction in early human embryos report low efficiency of mutation repair, high rates of mosaicism and the possibility of unintended editing outcomes that may have pathologic consequences. We developed computational pipelines to assess single-cell genomics and transcriptomics datasets from OCT4 (POU5F1) CRISPR-Cas9-targeted and control human preimplantation embryos. This allowed us to evaluate on-target mutations that would be missed by more conventional genotyping techniques. We observed loss-of-heterozygosity in edited cells that spanned regions beyond the POU5F1 on-target locus, as well as segmental loss and gain of chromosome 6, on which the POU5F1 gene is located. Unintended genome editing outcomes were present in approximately 16% of the human embryo cells analysed and spanned 4 to 20kb. Our observations are consistent with recent findings indicating complexity at on-target sites following CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing. Our work underscores the importance of further basic research to assess the safety of genome editing techniques in human embryos, which will inform debates about the potential clinical use of this technology.
Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-CRISPR associated 9 (Cas9) genome editing is not only an indispensable molecular biology technique (1) but also has enormous therapeutic potential as a tool to correct disease-causing mutations (2). Genome editing of human embryos or germ cells to produce heritable changes has the potential to reduce the burden of genetic disease and its use in this context is currently a topic of international discussions centred around ethics, safety and efficiency (3, 4).
Several groups have conducted studies to assess the feasibility of gene correction in early human embryos (5–7) and they all encountered low efficiency of gene repair and high levels of mosaicism (i.e. embryos with corrected as well as mutant uncorrected blastomeres or blastomeres with unintended insertion/deletion mutations), which are unacceptable outcomes for clinical applications. In 2017, Ma et al. set out to correct a 4bp pathogenic heterozygous deletion in the MYBPC3 gene using the CRISPR-Cas9 system (8). The experimental strategy involved co-injection of Cas9 protein, a single guide RNA (sgRNA) that specifically targeted the MYBPC3 mutation and a repair template into either fertilised eggs (zygotes) or oocytes, coincident with intracytoplasmic sperm injection. Analysis of the resulting embryos revealed a higher than expected incidence, with respect to controls, of samples where only wild-type copies of the gene were detectable (8). Intriguingly, the excess of apparently uniformly homozygous wild-type embryos in both cases was not associated with use of the provided repair template for gene correction. Instead, the authors suggest that in edited embryos the wild-type maternal allele served as a template for the high-fidelity homology directed repair (HDR) pathway to repair the double-strand lesion caused by the Cas9 protein in the paternal allele (8).
Ma and colleagues’ interpretation of gene editing by inter-homologue homologous recombination (IH-HR) in the early human embryo has been met with scepticism because alternative explanations can account for the observed results (9–11). One of these is that the CRISPR-Cas9 system can induce large deletions and complex genomic rearrangements with pathogenic potential at the on-target site (9, 10, 12–14). These events can be overlooked because genotyping of the targeted genomic locus often involves the amplification of a small PCR fragment centred around the on-target cut-site. CRISPR-Cas9-induced deletions larger than these fragments in either direction would eliminate one or both PCR primer annealing sites. This in turn can lead to amplification of only one allele, giving the false impression that targeting was unsuccessful or that there is a single homozygous event at the on-target site (9, 10, 15). Loss-of-heterozygosity (LOH) can also be the result of more complex genomic rearrangements like inversions, large insertions, translocations, chromosome loss and even IH-HR with crossover, whereby a large piece of one parental allele is integrated by the other parental chromosome at the on-target cut-site (15).
The reported frequencies of unintended CRISPR-Cas9 on-target damage are not negligible. Adikusama et al. targeted six genes in a total of 127 early mouse embryos and detected large deletions (between 100bp and 2.3kb) in 45% of their samples using long-range PCR (10). Of note, large deletions were generally more prevalent when they targeted intronic regions (>70%) than when they targeted exons (20%). Consistent with this, Kosicki and colleagues observed large deletions (up to 6kb) and other complex genomic lesions at frequencies of 5-20% of their clones after targeting the PigA and Cd9 loci in two mouse embryonic stem cell (mESC) lines and primary mouse cells from the bone marrow, as well as the PIGA gene in immortalised human female retinal pigment epithelial cells (12). Moreover, Owens et al. used CRISPR-Cas9 with two sgRNAs to delete 100-150bp in the Runx1 locus of mESCs and found that 23% of their clones had large deletions (up to 2kb) that escaped genotyping by short-range PCR (giving the impression that they were homozygous wild-type clones), with these complex on-target events becoming evident using long-range PCR (14). Similar damage and frequencies were also observed with the Cas9D10A nickase (14). More dramatic events were identified by Cullot et al., who CRISPR-targeted the UROS locus in HEK293T and K562 cells for HDR correction with a repair template (13). Their experiments suggest that CRISPR-Cas9 can induce mega-base scale chromosomal truncations (~10% increase compared to controls). However, these cells have abnormal karyotypes and are p53 deficient, which may impact on their DNA damage repair machinery. In fact, they did not see the same effect in human foreskin fibroblasts but knocking-out of TP53 in these primary cells increased the large deletion events by 10-fold (13). More recently, Przewrocka and colleagues observed a 6% incidence of chromosome arm truncations when targeting ZNF516 in p53-competent HCT116 cancer cell lines with CRISPR-Cas9, suggesting that TP53 expression alone may not predict predisposition of cells to large on-target mutations (16).
Our laboratory used CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing to investigate the function of the pluripotency factor OCT4 (encoded by the POU5F1 gene on the p-arm of chromosome 6) during human preimplantation development (17). We generated a number of single-cell amplified genomic DNA (gDNA) samples for genotyping and confirmed on-target genome editing in all microinjected embryos and a stereotypic insertion/deletion (indel) pattern of mutations with the majority of samples exhibiting a 2bp deletion (17). However, we noted that in 5 of the samples analysed, the genotype could not be determined because of failures to PCR amplify the on-target genomic fragment. This finding suggested complexity at the on-target region that may have abolished one or both PCR primer binding sites. Moreover, we identified that 57 of the 137 successfully genotyped samples (42%) exhibited a homozygous wild-type genotype based on PCR amplification of a short genomic fragment (17). We originally interpreted these cases as unsuccessful targeting events, however, given the frequencies of the on-target complexities noted above, we speculated that our previous methods may have missed more complex on-target events.
Here, we have developed computational pipelines to analyse single-cell low-pass whole genome sequencing (WGS), transcriptome and deep-amplicon sequencing data to assess the prevalence of LOH events in the context of CRISPR-Cas9-edited early human embryos (Fig. S1). Our results indicate that LOH events on chromosome 6, including chromosomal and segmental copy number abnormalities, are more prevalent in OCT4-edited embryos compared to both Cas9-injected and uninjected controls, adding to the growing body of literature reporting that CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing can cause unintended on-target damage. Altogether, this underscores the importance of evaluating genome-edited samples for a diversity of mutations, including large-scale deletions, complex rearrangements and cytogenetic abnormalities, undetectable with methods that have routinely been used to interrogate targeted sites in previous studies. Our results sound a note of caution for the potential use of the CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing technology described here for reproductive purposes.
Segmental losses and gains at a CRISPR-Cas9 on-target site identified by cytogenetics analysis
In our previous study (17), in vitro fertilised zygotes donated as surplus to infertility treatment were microinjected with either an sgRNA-Cas9 ribonucleoprotein complex to target POU5F1 or Cas9 protein alone as a control and cultured for up to 6 days (targeted and control samples, respectively). We collected a single cell or a cluster of 2-5 cells from these embryos for cytogenetic, genotyping or transcriptomic analysis (Fig. S1).
To determine whether CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing leads to complex on-target DNA damage that would have been missed by our previous targeted amplicon sequencing, we reanalysed low-pass WGS data following whole-genome amplification (WGA) from 23 OCT4-targeted and 8 Cas9 control samples (SI Appendix, Table S1). Given the small sample size, we microinjected additional human embryos with a ribonucleoprotein complex to target POU5F1, or the Cas9 enzyme as a control, followed by single-cell WGA and low-pass WGS, as before (17). Here and below, the prefix that distinguishes the processing steps is followed by an embryo number and a cell number. The samples used for low-pass WGS were identified with prefix L_ (Fig. S1). The letter C precedes the embryo number to distinguish CRISPR-Cas9 targeted from control samples (Fig. S1). Low-pass WGS data were used to generate copy number profiles for each sample to investigate the presence of abnormalities with a focus on chromosome 6 (Fig. 1A). As an additional comparison, we performed single-cell WGA and low-pass WGS of uninjected control embryos and distinguish these samples with a letter U preceding the embryo number (Fig. S1)
Fig. 1. Segmental losses/gains of chromosome 6 are prevalent in OCT4-targeted embryo samples.
(A) Copy number profile of sample L_C12.02. The segmental gain of chromosome 6 is highlighted. The profile was constructed with 26,000 bins of size 100 kbp, which produced 29 segments. The expected (Eσ) and measured (σ) standard deviation of the profile are reported. (B) Zoomed-in view of the copy number profile for samples with segmental losses or gains of chromosome 6. (C) Zoomed-in view of the copy number profile for samples with normal chromosome 6. The Eσ and σ reported in B and C correspond to the chromosome only. The approximate position of the POU5F1 gene is indicated by a red arrow. The red dashed line indicates a copy ratio of 3:2, while the blue dashed lines corresponds to a copy ratio of 1:2. (D) The percentage of control and targeted samples with whole or segmental losses/gains of chromosome 6 according to their copy number profiles. P-values are the result of two-tailed Fisher’s tests.
After pre-processing and quality control, we examined the profiles of 65 samples (25 CRISPR-Cas9 targeted, 16 Cas9 controls, and 24 uninjected controls Figs. S2A and S2B). 56 samples exhibited two copies of chromosome 6 with no obvious cytogenetic abnormalities (Figs. 1C, 1D and S3-S5). 17 of the CRISPR-Cas9 targeted samples, or 68%, had no evidence of abnormalities on chromosome 6. By contrast, we observed that 8 out of the 25 targeted samples had evidence of abnormalities on chromosome 6. 4 targeted samples presented a segmental loss or gain that was directly adjacent to or within the POU5F1 locus on the p-arm of chromosome 6 (Figs. 1B, 1D and S5). Interestingly, this included two cells from the same embryo where one exhibited a segmental gain and the other a reciprocal loss extending from 6p21.3 to the end of 6p (Fig. 1B). Altogether, segmental abnormalities were detected in 16% of the total number of CRISPR-Cas9 targeted samples that were evaluated. We also observed that 4 targeted samples had evidence of a whole gain of chromosome 6 (Figs. 1B, 1D and S5), which also represents 16% of the targeted samples examined. Conversely, a single Cas9 control sample (6.25%) had evidence of a segmental gain on the q-arm of chromosome 6, which was at a site distinct from the POU5F1 locus (Fig. S4). The uninjected controls did not display any chromosomal abnormalities (Figs. 1D and S3).
The number of segmental and whole-chromosome abnormalities observed in the CRISPR-Cas9 targeted human cells was significantly different from that in the Cas9 (P = 0.0144, two-tailed Fisher’s test) and uninjected control (P = 0.0040, two-tailed Fisher’s test) samples (Fig. 1D). Moreover, this significant difference can be attributed to the observed segmental abnormalities on 6p, because excluding them from the comparison results in a negligible difference in whole-chromosome abnormalities between targeted and Cas9 control samples (P = 0.1429, two-tailed Fisher’s test). This conclusion is further supported by the fact that none of the targeted samples show segmental losses or gains on the p-arm of chromosomes 5 and 7, the closest in overall size to chromosome 6, but the frequency of whole chromosome abnormalities is similar to that observed for chromosome 6, suggesting that genome editing does not exacerbate the rates of whole chromosome errors (Fig. S2C). The comparison we performed between Cas9 control and CRISPR-Cas9 genome edited samples includes a combination of both cleavage and blastocyst stage samples (Table S1). Because rates of aneuploidy are known to be significantly higher at the cleavage stage compared to the blastocyst (18), we wondered whether excluding the samples at the earlier cleavage stage would alter the conclusions drawn about the rates of aneuploidy in CRISPR-Cas9 targeted cells. Here, we found that in comparison to uninjected controls there remained a significantly higher proportion of chromosome 6 aneuploidies in OCT4-targeted cells collected at the blastocyst stage (Fig. S2D). Altogether, low-pass WGS analysis suggests that a significant proportion of unexpected on-target events leads to segmental abnormalities following CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing in human preimplantation embryos.
Loss-of-heterozygosity identified by targeted deep sequencing
The copy-number profiles described above with low-pass WGS data can only provide a coarse-grained karyotype analysis. To independently investigate the prevalence of LOH events at finer resolution and increased sequencing depth, we designed PCR primer pairs to amplify 15 fragments spanning a ~20kb region containing the POU5F1 locus. We also included a control PCR amplification in the ARGFX locus located on chromosome 3 (SI Appendix, Table S4). The PCR amplicons were used to perform deep sequencing by Illumina MiSeq using the gDNA isolated and amplified from 137 single cells or a cluster of 2-5 microdissected cells (111 CRISPR-Cas9 targeted and 26 Cas9 controls) (Fig. S1 and SI Appendix, Table S2). The prefix W_ distinguished samples whose gDNA was isolated solely for WGA and the prefix G_ was used to demarcate samples that underwent WGA via the G&T-seq protocol (19). All of these samples were different from the samples used for the cytogenetic analyses above.
We then took advantage of the high coverage obtained at each of the sequenced fragments to call single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), which allowed us to identify samples with putative LOH events: cases in which heterozygous variants, indicative of contribution from both parental alleles, cannot be confidently called in the amplicons flanking the CRISPR-Cas9 on-target site directly. Since we do not have the parental genotype from any of the samples that we analysed, we cannot exclude the possibility that they inherited a homozygous genotype. Therefore, we required the presence of heterozygous SNPs in at least one additional cell from the same embryo to call putative LOH events.
The variant-calling pipeline that we implemented was specifically adjusted for MiSeq data from single cell amplified DNA and includes stringent pre-processing and filtering of the MiSeq reads (Methods). To have sufficient depth of coverage and to construct reliable SNP profiles, we only considered samples with ≥ 5x coverage in at least two thirds of the amplicons across the POU5F1 locus (Methods and Fig. S6A). This threshold allowed us to retain as many samples as possible and still be confident in SNP calling (20). In addition, we implemented a step in our SNP calling pipeline to control for allele overamplification bias, which is a common issue with single cell amplified DNA (21). This step changes homozygous calls to heterozygous if the fraction of reads supporting the reference allele is above the median value across samples (Figs. S6B and S6C and Methods). Thus, we proceeded with 42 CRISPR-Cas9 targeted and 10 Cas9 control samples with reliable SNP profiles for subsequent analysis. These data led to the identification of four different patterns: samples without clear evidence of LOH, samples with LOH at the on-target site, bookended and open-ended LOH events (Fig. 2A and Figs. S7-S12).
Fig. 2. LOH in the POU5F1 locus is prevalent among OCT4-targeted embryo samples.
(A) Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) profiles constructed from deep sequencing of the depicted amplicons. The four types of loss-of-heterozygosity (LOH) events observed are exemplified. Note that there are amplicons with ≥5x coverage in which SNPs were not called because all reads agree with the reference genome. (B) The frequency of each type of LOH event in control and targeted samples. P-value is the result of a two-tailed Fisher’s test.
In samples without LOH (20% of control and 11.9% of targeted samples), we were able to call heterozygous SNPs in multiple amplified fragments (G_8.04, G_C16.05 and W_C16.05, Fig. 2A). Cases with putative LOH at the locus have heterozygous SNPs in the amplicons covering exons 1 and 5 of the POU5F1 gene (fragments E1-2, G1 and E4 in Fig. 2A) and homozygous SNPs in between (50% of control and 2.4% of targeted samples). These putative LOH samples would have had to have a cell isolated from the same embryo that had a detectable SNP(s) anywhere in between these flanking exons (e.g. see samples G_8.03 versus G_8.04 in Fig. S7). Interestingly, this was the most prevalent pattern in Cas9 control samples (Fig. 2B and Fig. S7), which may indicate the possibility of technical issues due to sequencing or overamplification of one parental allele (see below). Bookended samples have two heterozygous SNPs flanking the cut site but in fragments outside the POU5F1 locus (20% of control and 23.8% of targeted samples). These LOH events could represent deletions of lengths between ~7kb (G_C12.03, Fig. S10) and ~12kb (W_C11.04, Fig. S9). Finally, in open-ended samples (10% of control and 61.9% of targeted samples) it was not possible to find heterozygous SNPs in any of the amplified fragments (G_C12.07, Fig. 2A) or there was one or a few heterozygous SNPs on only one side of the region of interest (G_C16.02, Fig. S12). This was the most common pattern in targeted samples (Fig. 2B and Figs. S8-S12) and could represent large deletions of ~20kb in length (the size of the region explored) or larger.
As mentioned above, the MiSeq data must be interpreted with caution given the presence of “LOH events” in Cas9 controls. The gDNA employed in these experiments was extracted and amplified with a kit based on multiple displacement amplification (MDA, Methods), which is common in single cell applications but is known to have high allelic dropout and preferential amplification rates (22). Even though, as mentioned above, we implemented a step to control for these biases, this estimate likely under-calls samples with heterozygosity. For example, some homozygous SNPs had 5% of reads mapping to the reference allele but remained homozygous because they fall below the threshold that we used. Considering that we lack the parental genotypes as a reference to choose a more informed cut-off, our method to calculate one from the data represents an unbiased means to correct the presumed allele over-amplification in the samples. Moreover, we cannot exclude the possibility that the analysed single cells inherited a homozygous genotype in the explored region. Nevertheless, the fact that there is a significant number of CRISPR-Cas9 targeted samples with the largest LOH patterns is notable (Fig. 2B).
Unexpected CRISPR-Cas9-induced on-target events do not lead to preferential misexpression of telomeric to POU5F1 genes
Our low-pass WGS and SNP analysis above indicate mutations at the POU5F1 locus that are larger than discrete indels. We therefore wondered if this on-target complexity may encompass the mutations of genes adjacent or telomeric to POU5F1 that could complicate the use of CRISPR-Cas9 to understand gene function in human development or other contexts where the analysis of primary cells is required. To address this, we reanalysed the single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) transcriptome datasets (Table S6) we generated previously (17) and focused on the chromosome location of transcripts (Figs. 3A-C). This analysis indicated that differentially expressed genes are not biased to a specific chromosome (Fig. 3A). Moreover, differentially expressed genes are not enriched to either chromosome 6 or the region telomeric to the CRISPR-Cas9 on-target site (Fig. 3D). These results suggest that the transcriptional differences observed as a consequence of POU5F1 targeting are not confounded by mutations of genes adjacent, or telomeric, to the on-target locus. This could be due to a number of reasons. For example, given that the proportion of samples that exhibit unintended CRISPR-Cas9-induced mutations (e.g. segmental aneuploidies or LOH events) is low, the sample size used is sufficiently high to mask any transcriptional differences in genes adjacent to the cut site in samples with segmental loss of the p-arm of chromosome 6. It is also possible that the extent of the on-target complexity is exaggerated using the gDNA-based pipelines we developed. Notably, because we use single-cell samples, as mentioned above, these are prone to allele over-amplification and this can confound the interpretation of on-target mutation complexity.
Fig. 3. LOH in OCT4-targeted samples does not lead to preferential misexpression of genes located on chromosome 6.
(A) The fraction of differentially expressed genes per chromosome from the comparison between OCT4-null samples and Cas9 controls. (B) Location of differentially expressed genes along chromosome 6. (C) Volcano plot summarising the comparison between OCT4-null samples and Cas9 controls with differential gene expression analysis. The chromosome location of some of the most dysregulated genes is shown (absolute log2 fold change > 20 and Benjamini-Hochberg adjusted P < 0.05). The red dashed lines correspond to absolute log2 fold changes > 1 and Benjamini-Hochberg adjusted P < 0.05. (D) Genes located on chromosome 6 are not overrepresented in the list of loci whose expression is disturbed upon OCT4 knock out. The same applies for genes directly upstream to the POU5F1 gene. P-values are the result of two-tailed Fisher’s tests.
No evidence of on-target complexity using digital karyotype and LOH analysis of the single-cell transcriptome data
The use of RNA-seq data to detect chromosomal abnormalities (23) has great potential to complement the informative low-pass WGS or array CGH methods currently used for embryo screening in the context of assisted reproductive technologies (24, 25). In addition to karyotype analysis, transcriptome data may also provide information about embryo competence at the molecular level. Groff and colleagues have demonstrated that aneuploidy can be estimated based on significant variations in gene expression in the affected chromosome(s) compared to reference control samples (24). In addition, Weissbein et al. developed a pipeline, called eSNP-Karyotyping, for the detection of LOH in chromosome arms (26). eSNP-Karyotyping is based on measuring the ratio of expressed heterozygous to homozygous SNPs. We applied these two approaches, hereinafter referred to as z-score- and eSNP-Karyotyping, to the single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) samples (distinguished with the prefix T_) obtained using the G&T-seq protocol (14) (SI Appendix, Table S3). This allowed us to investigate whether transcriptome data could be used to determine the frequency of LOH events in CRISPR-Cas9 targeted embryos.
Since eSNP-Karyotyping relies on SNP calls from gene expression data, it is very sensitive to depth and breadth of sequencing (26). Therefore, we used results from this method as a reference to select high quality samples for our transcriptome-based analyses (Fig. S13A-C). After these filtering steps, we retained 38 samples (22 CRISPR-Cas9 targeted and 16 Cas9 controls) to analyse further.
In general, we found good agreement between the chromosomal losses detected by z-score-karyotyping and the LOH events identified by eSNP-Karyotyping (Fig. S14A and S14B). For example, the digital karyotype of Fig. S14A shows the loss of chromosome 4, the p-arm of chromosome 7 and the q-arm of chromosome 14 in sample T_7.01, as well as the loss of chromosome 3 and the p-arm of chromosome 16 in sample T_C16.06. These abnormalities are identified as LOH events in the eSNP-Karyotyping profiles of the same samples (Fig. 14B). Moreover, the copy number profiles built from low-pass WGS data for different cells from the same embryos also corroborates these chromosomal abnormalities (Fig. S13D and S13E). In terms of events that could be associated with CRISPR-Cas9 on-target damage, z-score-karyotyping identified the loss of chromosome 6 in sample T_C12.07 (Fig. 4A), which is consistent with the open-ended LOH pattern observed in the gDNA extracted from the same cell G_C12.07 (Fig. S10) and the segmental loss detected in sample L_C12.01 from the same embryo (Fig. 1B). Also, the gain of the p-arm of chromosome 6 was detected in sample T_C12.15 (Fig. 4A), which is consistent with the segmental gain observed in sample L_C12.02 from the same embryo (Fig. 1B). The gains and losses of chromosome 6 in samples T_2.02, T_2.03, T_2.14, T_7.02 and T_C16.06 (Fig. 4A) are difficult to interpret due to the low quality of their MiSeq data or the lack of amplicon information for the q-arm (Fig. S7 and Fig. S12). Interestingly, eSNP-Karyotyping did not detect any LOH events in chromosome 6 (Fig. S15), suggesting that this approach is not sensitive enough to detect segmental abnormalities in single cell samples. Overall, the transcriptome-based karyotypes did not confirm the trends observed in the gDNA-derived data (Fig. 4B).
Fig. 4. Transcriptome-based karyotypes do not capture segmental losses/gains of chromosome 6 in OCT4-targeted embryo samples.
(A) Digital karyotype based on the total gene expression deviation from the average of each chromosome arm (z-score-karyotyping). Only chromosome 6 (see Fig. S14A for the rest of the chromosomes). (B) The percentage of control and targeted samples with segmental losses/gains of chromosome 6 according to their transcriptome-based karyotype (see Figs. S14A and S15). P-value is the result of a two-tailed Fisher’s test.
In all, we reveal unexpected on-target complexity following CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing of human embryos. Our data suggest approximately 16% of samples exhibit segmental losses/gains adjacent to the POU5F1 locus and LOH events that span 4kb to at least 20kb. Chromosome instability, including whole or segmental chromosome gain or loss, is common in human preimplantation embryos (27, 28). However, in contrast to Cas9 control embryos, we noted a significantly higher frequency of CRISPR-Cas9 targeted embryos with a segmental gain or loss that was directly adjacent to the POU5F1 on-target site. The segmental errors were observed in embryos from distinct genetic backgrounds and donors. Therefore, together with their on-target location, this suggests that the errors may have been an unintended consequence of CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing. This is supported by the higher frequency of larger LOH events that we observed in CRISPR-Cas9 targeted embryos compared to Cas9 controls using an independent targeted deep-sequencing approach. However, due to the nature of our datasets (shallow sequencing, MDA-amplified gDNA, lack of parental genotypes) we may be overestimating LOH events. This may explain some of the on-target complexity observed in Cas9 control samples but does not account for the significantly higher proportion of LOH in the CRISPR-Cas9 targeted samples. It is important to note that 68% of CRISPR-Cas9 targeted cells did not exhibit any obvious segmental or whole chromosome 6 abnormalities, indicating that their genotype and phenotype, with respect to OCT4 function, are interpretable. Moreover, our transcriptome-based digital karyotypes and differential gene expression analysis indicate biallelic transcripts and gene expression up- and down-stream of the POU5F1 locus in so far as is resolvable from scRNA-seq data, suggesting that in these samples the LOH does not lead to the misexpression of other genes adjacent to the POU5F1 locus. Also, our work and previous accounts of unexpected CRISPR-Cas9 editing outcomes (9, 10, 12–14, 16) indicate that the frequency of discrete on-target events predominates, which should increase the confidence of the interpretation of functional studies in human embryos. Given the likelihood of mosaicism, it is unclear whether the segmental abnormalities we observed in any one cell analysed from each embryo are representative of the entire CRISPR-Cas9 targeted embryo or a subset of cells within the embryo. Altogether, this points to the need to use robust techniques to distinguish cells affected by on-target complexity and large deletions following CRISPR-Cas9-mediated genome editing from cells with less complex mutations and our computational pipelines and multi-omics analyses are approaches that may be used in the future.
By contrast, we did not observe significantly more abnormalities on chromosome 6 using methods to determine LOH or karyotype from scRNA-seq datasets. There are several factors that could account for the discrepancy between these datasets. Firstly, we do not have the transcriptome from the same samples that showed gains and losses of chromosome 6 in the cytogenetics analysis. A follow-up study in which both transcriptomics and cytogenetics data are extracted from the same sample would be very informative and could be performed by modifying the G&T-seq protocol (19) to incorporate a multiple annealing and looping-based amplification cycles (MALBAC) method for WGA (29) in place of MDA, which was used here due to the proofreading activity of the phi29 MDA polymerase at the expense of high preferential amplification rates (22). Secondly, mosaicism is common in human preimplantation embryos (30) and this could explain why the digital karyotypes based on gene expression did not detect abnormalities at the same rate as the copy number profiles. Another possibility is that the LOH events are not sufficiently large to impact total gene expression of chromosome 6, which is what z-score- and eSNP-Karyotyping rely on. This could also account for the cytogenetics results, as LOH up to a few Mb in size could cause mapping issues due to the very low coverage of shallow sequencing that are reflected as gains and losses of whole chromosome segments. Finally, the LOH events detected by gDNA-derived data may only affect genes that are not expressed in the embryo context or whose expression is so low that it cannot be accurately measured by scRNA-seq. So, when z-score- and eSNP-Karyotyping compare gene or SNP expression of targeted versus control samples, no significant differences are identified.
The segmental aneuploidies identified by cytogenetics analysis (Figs. 1B and S3-S5) most probably point to the occurrence of complex genomic rearrangements in OCT4-targeted samples, such as chromosomal translocations or end-to-end fusions, as it seems unlikely that the rest of the chromosome would continue to be retained without a telomere (31–33). It is likely that human embryos tolerate aneuploidy up to embryo genome activation, given that even embryos with observed multipolar spindles continue to develop during early cleavage divisions (34). Following this, chromosomal anomalies are likely to become increasingly detrimental to cellular viability, although a degree of tolerance may persist in trophectoderm cells (28). Why early embryos fail to arrest despite chaotic chromosomal errors such as multipolar spindle formation or presumptive unresolved double strand breaks following CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing is unclear and crucial to understand. An important next step to gain insights into the extent of the damage would be to use alternative methods. One possibility to understand the complexity would be to perform cytogenetic analysis using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) (35) to probe for segments of chromosome 6. Another option is a chromosome walk-along approach to amplify genomic fragments even further away from the 20kb genomic region that we evaluated, in order to bookend heterozygous SNPs on either side of the POU5F1 on-target site. This may be kilo- or mega-bases away from the on-target site based on previous publications in the mouse or human cell lines (9, 10, 12–14).
Based on our data, the possibility of gene editing via IH-HR cannot be definitely excluded. A pre-print by Liang et al. (36) suggests that IH-HR could be one of the major DNA double-strand break repair pathways in human embryos. Following a similar approach to their previous study (8), the authors used CRISPR-Cas9-mediated genome editing to target a paternal mutation and were able to amplify an ~8kb genomic DNA fragment which, together with G-banding and FISH of ESCs derived from targeted embryos, suggests that repair from the maternal chromosome by IH-HR results in a stretch of LOH. Of note, due to the selection bias that occurs during ESC derivation and the mosaicism observed following genome editing, it is not possible to draw definitive conclusions about the extent of LOH or its cause in an embryo context, whereby cells with complex mutations may be preferentially excluded from ESC derivation. By contrast, another pre-print by Zuccaro et al. using the same microinjection method suggests that the LOH observed following CRISPR-Cas9-mediated genome editing is a consequence of whole chromosome or segmental loss adjacent to the on-target site and that microhomology-mediated end-joining (MMEJ) is the dominant repair pathway in this context (37). This corroborates our previous findings in human embryos targeted post-fertilisation, where we noted a stereotypic pattern to the type of indel mutations and speculated that this was likely due MMEJ (17). Although microhomologies can promote gene conversion by, for example, inter-chromosomal template switching in a RAD51-dependent manner (38), based on our previous transcriptome analysis, we found that components of the MMEJ pathway (i.e. POLQ) are transcribed in early human embryos, while factors essential for HDR (i.e. RAD51) are not appreciably expressed. This suggests that MMEJ-derived large deletions (14, 37) are more likely than microhomology-mediated gene conversion in this context, though protein expression has yet to be fully characterised. Consistent with this, a significant fraction of somatic structural variants arises from MMEJ in human cancer (39). Moreover, microhomology-mediated break-induced replication underlies copy number variation in mammalian cells (40) and microhomology/microsatellite-induced replication leads to segmental anomalies in budding yeast (41). The discrepancy between the Liang et al. and Zuccaro et al. studies could be due to locus-dependent differences of CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing fidelity. For example, Przewrocka et al. demonstrate that the proximity of the CRISPR-Cas9-targeted locus to the telomere significantly increases the possibility of inadvertent chromosome arm truncation (16). To fully elucidate the LOH that has occurred at the on-target site in our study, and to resolve the controversy over the IH-HR reported by others (8, 9, 36, 37), will require the development of a pipeline to enrich for the region of interest and then perform deep (long-read) sequencing to evaluate the presence and extent of on-target damage. By bookending SNPs on either side of an LOH event, primers could be designed to incorporate the SNPs and ensure that both parental alleles are amplified. However, this is difficult to perform, and alternative methods include using CRISPR gRNAs to cut just outside of the LOH region followed by long-read sequencing (42).
It would also be of interest to evaluate whether other genome editing strategies, such as prime and base editing, nickases or improvements in the efficiency of integrating a repair template, may reduce the on-target complexities observed by us and others using spCas9. However, non-negligible frequencies of editing-associated large deletions have been reported after the use of the Cas9D10A nickase in mESCs (14) and prime editing in early mouse embryos (43). By contrast, while proof-of-principle studies suggest that base editors could be used to repair disease-associated mutations in human embryos, further refinements to reduce the likelihood of unexpected conversion patterns and high rates of off-target edits would be of benefit (2). There are too few studies to date using repair templates. Of the studies that have been conducted, the reported efficiencies of repair with templates in human embryos are very low (5, 7, 8). Modulation of DNA damage repair factors or tethering Cas9 enzymes with a repair template may yield improvements that could allow for the control of editing outcomes.
Our re-evaluation of on-target mutations, together with previous accounts of unexpected CRISPR-Cas9 on-target damage (9, 10, 12–14), strongly underscores the importance of further basic research in a number of cellular contexts to resolve the damage that occurs following genome editing. Moreover, this stresses the significance of ensuring whether one or both parental chromosome copies are represented when determining the genotype of any sample to understand the complexity of on-target CRISPR mutations, especially in human primary cells.
We reprocessed the DNA and reanalysed the data generated in our previous study (17). This corresponds to 168 samples (134 OCT4-targeted and 34 Cas9 controls) across 32 early human embryos (24 OCT4-targeted and 8 Cas9 controls). For the present work, we used 56 additional single-cell samples (19 OCT4-targeted, 12 Cas9 controls and 25 uninjected controls) across 22 early human embryos (1 OCT4-targeted, 1 Cas9 control and 20 uninjected controls). This study was approved by the UK Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA): research licence number R0162, and the Health Research Authority’s Research Ethics Committee (Cambridge Central reference number 19/EE/0297). Our research is compliant with the HFEA code of practice and has undergone inspections by the HFEA since the licence was granted. Before giving consent, donors were provided with all of the necessary information about the research project, an opportunity to receive counselling and the conditions that apply within the licence and the HFEA Code of Practice. Specifically, patients signed a consent form authorising the use of their embryos for research including genetic tests and for the results of these studies to be published in scientific journals. No financial inducements were offered for donation. Patient information sheets and the consent documents provided to patients are publicly available (https://www.crick.ac.uk/research/a-z-researchers/researchers-k-o/kathy-niakan/hfea-licence/). Embryos surplus to the IVF treatment of the patient were donated cryopreserved and were transferred to the Francis Crick Institute where they were thawed and used in the research project.
CRISPR-Cas9 targeting of POU5F1
We analysed single cells or trophectoderm biopsies from human preimplantation embryos that were CRISPR-Cas9 edited in our previous study (17) plus an additional 56 samples used in the present work. In vitro fertilised zygotes donated as surplus to infertility treatment were microinjected with either a sgRNA-Cas9 ribonucleoprotein complex or with Cas9 protein alone and cultured for 5-6 days (targeted and control samples, respectively). The sgRNA was designed to target exon 2 of the POU5F1 gene and experiments performed as previously described (17). Genomic DNA from Cas9 control and OCT4-targeted was isolated using the REPLI-g Single Cell Kit (QIAGEN, 150343). DNA samples isolated for cytogenetic analysis were amplified with the SurePlex Kit (Rubicon Genomics). See the SI Appendix for more details.
Low-pass whole genome sequencing (depth of sequencing < 0.1x) libraries were prepared using the VeriSeq PGS Kit (Illumina) or the NEB Ultra II FS Kit and sequenced with the MiSeq platform as previously described (17) or with Illumina HiSeq 4000, respectively. Reads were aligned to the human genome hg19 using BWA v0.7.17 (44) and the copy number profiles generated with QDNAseq v1.24.0 (45). See the SI Appendix for more details.
PCR primer design and testing
PCR primer pairs were designed with the Primer3 webtool (http://bioinfo.ut.ee/primer3/, Table S4). We restricted the product size to 150-500bp and used the following primer temperature settings: Min=56, Opt=58, Max=60. We tested all primers using 1uL of genomic DNA from H9 human ES cells in a PCR reaction containing 12.5 uL Phusion High Fidelity PCR Master Mix (NEB, M0531L), 1.25 uL 5 uM forward primer, 1.25 uL 5 uM reverse primer and 9 uL nuclease-free water. Thermocycling settings were: 95°C 5min, 35 cycles of 95°C 30s, 58°C 30s, 72°C 1min, and a final extension of 72°C 5min. We confirmed the size of the PCR products by gel electrophoresis. See the SI Appendix for more details.
PCR amplification and targeted deep sequencing
Isolated DNA was diluted 1:100 in nuclease-free water. We used the QIAgility robot (QIAGEN, 9001531) for master mix preparation (see above) and distribution to 96-well plates (Table S5). Then, the Biomek FX liquid handling robot (Beckman Coulter, 717013) was used to transfer 1uL of DNA to the master mix plates and to mix the reagents. The PCR reaction was run with the settings described above. PCR products were cleaned with the Biomek FX robot using the chemagic SEQ Pure20 Kit (PerkinElmer, CMG-458). Clean PCR amplicons from the same DNA sample were pooled to generate 137 libraries that were sequenced by Illumina MiSeq v3. See the SI Appendix for more details.
SNP-typing
We trimmed the MiSeq paired-end reads with DADA2 (46), corrected substitution errors in the trimmed reads with RACER (47) and mapped the corrected reads to the human genome hg38 with BWA v0.7.17 (44). Subsequently, SAM files were converted to the BAM format and post-processed using Samtools v1.3.1 (48). SNP calling was performed with BCFtools v1.8 (49) using mpileup and call. SNPs supported by less than 10 reads and with mapping quality below 50 were filtered out. To control for allele overamplification, homozygous SNPs were changed to heterozygous if the fraction of reads supporting the reference allele was at least 6% of the total (21). This threshold corresponds to the median of the distribution of the fraction of reads supporting the reference allele across samples. See the SI Appendix for more details.
scRNA-seq data analysis
scRNA-seq reads from G&T-seq samples were processed as previously described (17). Samples with a breadth of sequencing below 0.05 were not considered for any downstream analysis (Fig. S13A-C). Differential gene expression analysis was carried out with DESeq2 v1.10.1 (50). For digital karyotyping based on gene expression, we adapted the method described in (24) to identify gains or losses of chromosomal arms (z-score-karyotyping). For digital karyotyping based on SNP expression, we applied the eSNP-Karyotyping pipeline with default parameters (26). See the SI Appendix for more details.
Data and software availability
All data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article and its supplementary information. MiSeq and low-pass WGS data have been deposited to the Sequence Read Archive (SRA) under accession number PRJNA637030. scRNA-seq data was extracted from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GE) using accession GSE100118. A detailed analysis pipeline is available at the following site: https://github.com/galanisl/loh_scripts.
K.K.N. conceived the project. N.M.E.F. generated the genomics and transcriptomics datasets. A.M., E.H. and G.A-L. designed and tested primers. N.K. and D.W. generated the low-pass WGS data. M.G. performed the PCR amplification experiments with the robotics equipment. J.Z. implemented the variant calling pipeline for the amplicon sequencing data. G.A-L. collected, processed and analysed all the datasets. J.M.A.T. provided advice on the project design. G.A-L. and K.K.N. wrote the manuscript with the help from all other authors. All authors assisted with experimental design and figures.
We thank the generous donors whose contributions have enabled this research. We thank Robin Lovell-Badge, James Haber, Alexander Frankell, Aska Przewrocka, Charles Swanton, Maxime Tarabichi, the Niakan and Turner laboratories for discussion, advice and feedback; the Francis Crick Institute’s core facilities including Jerome Nicod and Robert Goldstone at the Advanced Sequencing Facility; D.W. was supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Centre Programme. N.K. was supported by the University of Oxford Clarendon Fund and Brasenose College Joint Scholarship. Work in the K.K.N. and J.M.A.T. labs was supported by the Francis Crick Institute, which receives its core funding from Cancer Research UK (FC001120 and FC001193), the UK Medical Research Council (FC001120 and FC001193), and the Wellcome Trust (FC001120 and FC001193). Work in the K.K.N. laboratory was also supported by the Rosa Beddington Fund.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/PRJNA637030
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Posted October 31, 2020.
You are going to email the following Frequent loss-of-heterozygosity in CRISPR-Cas9-edited early human embryos
bioRxiv 2020.06.05.135913; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.06.05.135913
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Because life on Earth developed only once all organisms are interrelated, and birds are no exception. The closest living relatives of birds are crocodiles, alligators and caimans (Crocodilia). The group uniting birds and crocodilians is referred to as Archosauria. Turtles and lizards, respectively, are the next taxa most closely related to Archosauria.
Dating back to the year 1758 when the tenth edition of the Systema Naturae of the famous Carl Linnaeus was published, birds are referred to by zoologists as Aves. There is, however, a dissent among present-day scientists on the proper definition of the term. Personally, I prefer considering Aves as being represented by the last (i.e. the most recent) common ancestor of all extant birds and all its descendants. According to this definition, the term Aves is synonymous to modern (or crown) birds. For historical reasons, however, many avian researchers still use the term Aves in a broader sense to include the famous Archaeopteryx and other bird-like fossils; in this case modern birds are referred to as Neornithes.
Fossils not included in modern or crown birds but still closer to this group than to any other group of living organisms are treated as members of the avian stem group. Stem-group fossils either pertain to the stem line itself, in which case they represent direct ancestors of the crown birds, or to extinct side branches. Stem and crown birds together constitute the Pan-Aves, or total birds. Pan-Aves originated ~250 million years ago (mya), when the last common archosaurian ancestor split into two species, one giving rise to the crocodilian and the other to the bird lineage.
Reconstructions of phylogenetic relationships among representatives of stem groups are exclusively based on fossilized bones. Nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences, routinely used to reconstruct relationships among living groups, are usually not available. As a consequence, inferring relationships among members of the avian stem-group is inherently problematic and the figure below depicts just one possible hypothesis. Despite this limitation, a relatively coherent picture of stem avian evolution has developed over the last few decades:
Reconstruction of the evolutionary history of birds. Evolution from the earliest avian ancestors towards modern birds progresses along the avian stem-line (red) from Pan-Aves towards Aves. A number of stemline clades havn't been named yet (n.n.). For some clades the supposed age (in million years: Ma) is given in parentheses (green). Note that the popular Dinosauria clade comprises modern birds and almost all stem-birds (except Pterosauromorpha, Lagerpetonidae and Marasuchus). This means that dinosaurs didn't become extinct (a popular misconception), but are represented in the present-day fauna by modern birds. In fact, dinosaurs probably never were as diverse as they are today being reperesented by approximately 10.500 bird species.
The successive transformation into more and more bird-like creatures started with the enlargement of the rear limbs. Initially, stem-birds possibly ran on their hind legs only for short periods, while moving on all four legs most of the time. Bipedalism may have evolved in order to enhance the acceleratory phase when trying to escape from predators. In the course of evolution, stem-birds became lighter and smaller, showing increased levels of activity and higher body temperatures. All living birds have body temperatures above 40° Celsius.
Along with increased body-temperature birds developed proto-feathers for better insulation and possibly display. Later, the forelimbs became significantly longer than the hindlimbs, and the long bony tail disappeared. Ultimately, complex contour feathers developed and birds learned to fly as an effective way of escaping from earth-bound predators. Considering the clumsy flight of extant tinamous and landfowl, avian flight almost certainly evolved from the ground with a subsequent gliding phase.
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Home > Childhood cancer Info > Research Projects > Immunotherapy for relapsed paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukaemia
Stem cell transplant is used as a treatment of last resort in young patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) whose disease has failed to respond to or relapsed after chemotherapy. Only half of patients undergoing transplant are cured long-term, and disease relapse is the major cause of treatment failure. Professor Amrolia is pioneering the development of a new immunotherapy approach to treat relapsed ALL. If successful, this should not only improve survival but also reduce toxicity and improve quality of life for children with this disease.
Immunotherapy for relapsed paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukaemia
Professor Persis Amrolia
UCL Institute of Child Health, London
London WC1N 1EH
Although the great majority of children and young adults suffering from acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) are now cured, approximately 35 such patients in the UK still die each year from disease. Just as importantly, many of those cured suffer significant short- and long-term side-effects from the intensive treatments used.
Our traditional approach to treatment relies on chemotherapy in the first instance. For patients who relapse after chemotherapy, doctors rely upon stem cell (bone marrow) transplant (SCT), in which patients are given very high dose chemotherapy combined with radiation treatment to eradicate as much of the leukaemia as possible. This is followed by a graft of healthy donor blood stem cells to replenish the patient’s immune system. The donor immune cells present in the graft have a beneficial effect known as “graft versus leukaemia”, recognising and eradicating any residual leukaemia.
Sadly SCT is not a panacea. It only works in 50 of every 100 cases. Of the remaining 50, 10 to 20 children die from toxicity due to the transplant and the rest from disease relapse. At present children who have relapsed after SCT have no curative option and almost all will die of disease within a year.
It is now clear that the level of control of the disease immediately prior to SCT is the critical determinant of the risk of relapse following the transplant. Relapse occurs in 70 per cent of patients who have pre-transplant levels of residual disease greater than 1 in 1,000, which is common in patients with aggressive disease.
There is now a potential solution to this problem – this is known as “Chimeric Antigen Receptor therapy”(“CAR therapy”). In this exciting new approach, gene therapy is used to increase the ability of immune cells known as T-cells to recognise leukaemic cells. There have already been encouraging results from trials of the technique in the US, where more than 90 per cent of patients with ALL have responded to treatment and some have achieved long-term remission.
There is wide agreement that CAR therapy is the most exciting development in ALL for many decades. Parallel CAR protocols have been developed in the UK but these use so-called first generation CARs which are much less effective than the second generation technology used in the US. This problem is compounded by the fact that the US CAR technology has been patented by drug companies and is not currently available to patients in the UK.
Professor Persis Amrolia is now pursuing the rapid development and clinical trial of a second generation CAR in the UK, with partnership funding from Children with Cancer UK and Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity. Critically this study will determine if the responses to CAR T-cell therapy are long-lived and could thus avoid the need for stem cell transplant and its attendant toxicity.
This project will enable the development of second generation CARs to benefit young patients in the UK. It will take these CARs to clinical trial to test their safety and efficacy. This is expected to happen within 12 months, offering one last hope to patients who have run out of all other treatment options.
If this new technology is successful and the responses observed are durable, this may avoid the need for stem cell transplant in patients with ALL, reducing toxicity and improving quality of life for young survivors.
The clinical trial for this project is well underway, with patients successfully treated using the CAR T-Cells. The results to date have been positive, with a similar level of success to existing CAR T-Cell treatments like Kymriah.
In the first ‘cohort’ or group, 14 children were treated with the modified T-cells of whom 12 cleared their disease and 5 remain disease-free. Importantly, the safety profile of the treatment developed by Professor Amrolia seems to be better, with less severe side effects than other trials. A second group of patients have recently been enrolled and are currently undergoing treatment with the CAR T-Cells.
Professor Amrolia’s team have been working with a pharmaceutical company with a view to making the treatment widely available to patients with both childhood and adult ALL in the future.
I’m delighted to say we’ve now completed treatment for our initial group of patients and the outcomes have been very promising. Without the support of Children with Cancer UK, these children would not have had access to this ground-breaking new treatment over the last two and a half years. I am very grateful to you all.
Read more about the clinical trial
Professor Amrolia is Professor of Transplantation Immunology at UCL Institute of Child Health (ICH) and Honorary Consultant in Bone Marrow Transplant at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) which has the largest paediatric SCT programme in Europe.
Professor Amrolia leads a group working on the development of T-cell therapy to improve anti-viral and anti-leukaemic responses after transplant as well as more gentle methods of transplantation and has an established track record in the translation of basic scientific work into clinical practice for patients undergoing SCT
He is collaborating with colleagues from within GOSH, UCL and other centres around the UK to ensure the success of this project.
Refining our knowledge about the genetic causes of leukaemia
Refining our knowledge - Beth Payne
A large number of genetic mutations have been identified in childhood acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), with any one child having
Developing models to test new drug treatments for childhood leukaemia
Testing new drug treatments - Owen Williams
New approaches to the treatment of childhood leukaemia are being developed all the time, and with this project, Owen is
Our welfare work
At Children with Cancer UK, we fund innovative welfare projects to provide better care and practical support for young cancer Read more
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Grace and Baptism
by Bradley Eli, M.Div., Ma.Th.
Mark 16:16: "He who believes and is baptized shall be saved but he who does not believe shall be condemned"
Baptism is the removal of original sin by an infusion of the Holy Spirit, Who enters the soul of the baptized and imparts to it sanctifying grace. A baptized person is justified and made righteous by partaking in the justice of God, which removes all guilt of sin and its punishment.
Baptism is accomplished in three ways: by water, by blood (or martyrdom) and by desire. Only baptism of water, called the sacrament of baptism, impresses a permanent baptismal character on the soul, enabling a person to receive the other sacraments. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) in paragraph 1258 speaks of all three means of baptism: "This Baptism of blood, like the desire for Baptism, brings about the fruits of Baptism without being a sacrament." Baptism of blood occurs when a person willingly dies for Christ or some Christian virtue. Martyrdom of a formerly unbaptized person remits all of his sins and ushers his soul into Heaven.
In his 13th-century Summa Theologica, St. Thomas Aquinas calls the desire for baptism a baptism of repentance: "In like manner a man receives the effect of Baptism by the power of the Holy Ghost, not only without Baptism of Water, but also without Baptism of Blood: forasmuch as his heart is moved by the Holy Ghost to believe in and love God and to repent of his sins: wherefore this is also called Baptism of Repentance."
In John 3:5 Christ declares, "Unless a man be born again of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." Saint Thomas explains, "The other two Baptisms are included in the Baptism of Water, which derives its efficacy, both from Christ's Passion and from the Holy Ghost. Consequently for this reason the unity of Baptism is not destroyed."
In a letter approved by Pope Pius XII in 1949, the Holy Office states that a desire for baptism may be "implicit" but to "produce its effect" must be rooted in "supernatural faith" and "animated by perfect charity."
Find out why being called Catholic isn't enough for salvation in episode 11 of Church Militant's Premium show Baptize All Nations—Evangelization and Eternal Salvation.
Bradley Eli, M.Div., Ma.Th. is a staff writer for ChurchMilitant.com.
Follow Bradley on Twitter: @BradleyLEli
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MPD ACQUIRES ALS MOTOR PARTS
The ALS sites neatly bridge the gap to the 15 Kevin Cooper Motor Factor sites acquired earlier in the year, and now Shah is looking for others in the Exeter area as well expanding in Hampshire, Somerset and Kent.
“It was our strategy to link our branches on that route into Cornwall, so let’s hope we can get a couple more.”
While Kevin Cooper has been rebranded to MPD, ALS will not undergo the same treatment until operations have bedded down.
Shah thinks redundancies are unlikely at ALS, although staff may be redeployed to other locations or into different roles.
He says that ALS was making small loses, not on the same scale as Kevin Cooper which has taken longer to turnaround than originally thought. Shah is confident they will be back in the black in 2014.
“We’re turning the boat around, but it’s a challenging market. It’s been quiet and when that happens people start doing silly things and slashing prices.”
Shah has the goal of 80 branches and turnover of around £75 over the next two years with both acquisitions and new sites, four of which MPD opened in 2012.
“We’re looking at both, but if the perception of the sellers is that the business is worth more than it is it’s likely to be more greenfield sites.
“We’re focussed on the south of the country, so let’s hope we can do the job correctly and make a good profit.”
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Policy Report
The Success of Chile’s Privatized Social Security
By José Piñera
It’s an honor for me to share with you some of the experiences we have had in Chile with our new private pension system. I would like to comment on how the new system works, how we were able to make the transition from the old system to the new one, and what have been the main economic, social, and political consequences of the new system. I will not explain the shortcomings of the old pay‐as‐you‐go system in Chile. Those shortcomings are very well known because that is the system that is failing all over the world.
In Chile we accomplished a revolutionary reform. We knew that cosmetic changes — increasing the retirement age, increasing taxes — would not beenough. We understood that the pay‐as‐you‐go system had a fundamental flaw, one rooted in a false conception of how human beings behave. That flaw was lack of a link between what people put into their pension program and what they take out. In a government system, contributions and benefits are unrelated because they are defined politically, by the power of pressure groups.
So we decided to go in the other direction, to link benefits to contributions. The money that a worker pays into the system goes into an account that is owned by the worker. We called the idea a “capitalization scheme.”
We decided that the minimum contribution should be 10 percent of wages. But workers may contribute up to 20 percent. The money contributed is deducted from the worker’s taxable income. The money is invested by a private institution, and the returns are untaxed. By the time a worker reaches retirement age — 65 for men, 60 for women — a sizable sum of capital has accumulated in the account. At retirement the worker transforms that lump sum into an annuity with an insurance company. He can shop among different insurance companies to find the plan that best suits his personal and family situation. (He pays taxes when the money is withdrawn but usually at a lower rate than he would have paid when he was working.)
As I said, a worker can contribute more than 10 percent if he wants a higher pension or if he wants to retire early. Individuals have different preferences: some want to work until they are 85; others want to go fishing at 55, or 50, or 45, if they can. The uniform pay‐as‐you‐go social security system does not recognize differences in individual preferences. In my country, those differences had led to pressure on the congress to legislate different retirement ages for different groups. As a result, we had a discriminatory retirement‐age system. Blue‐collar workers could retire at 65; white‐collar workers could retire more or less at 55; bank employees could retire after 25 years of work; and the most powerful group of all, those who make the laws, the congressmen, were able to retire after 15 years of work.
Under our new system, you don’t have to pressure anyone. If you want to retire at 55, you go to one of the pension‐fund companies and sit in front of a user‐friendly computer. It asks you at what age you want to retire. You answer 55. The computer then does some calculations and says that you must contribute 12.1 percent of your income to carry out your plan. You then go back to your employer and instruct him to deduct the appropriate amount. Workers thus translate their personal preferences into tailored pension plans. If a worker’s pension savings are not enough at the legal retirement age, the government makes up the difference from general tax revenue.
The system is managed by competitive private companies called AFPs (from the Spanish for pension fund administrators). Each AFP operates the equivalent of a mutual fund that invests in stocks, bonds, and government debt. The AFP is separate from the mutual fund; so if the AFP goes bankrupt, the assets of the mutual fund — that is, workers’ investments — are not affected. The regulatory board takes over the fund and asks the workers to change to another AFP. Not a dime of the workers’ money is touched in the process. Workers are free to change from one AFP to another. That creates competition among the companies to provide a higher return on investment and better customer service, or to charge lower commissions.
The AFP market opened on May 1, 1981, which is Labor Day in Chile and most of the world. It was supposed to open May 4, but I made a last‐minute change to May 1. When my colleagues asked why, I explained that May 1 had always been celebrated all over the world as a day of class confrontation, when workers fight employers as if their interests were completely divergent. But in a free‐market economy, their interests are convergent. “Let’s begin this system on May 1,” I said, “so that in the future, Labor Day can be celebrated as a day when workers freed themselves from the state and moved to a privately managed capitalization system.” That’s what we did.
Today we have 20 AFPs. In 14 years no AFP has gone bankrupt. Workers have not lost a dime. Of course, we created a regulatory body that, along with the central bank, set some investment diversification rules. Funds cannot invest more than x percent in government bonds, y percent in private companies’ debentures, or z percent in common stocks. Nor can more than a specified amount be in the stock of any given company, and all companies in which funds are invested must have credit ratings above a given level.
We set up such transitional rules with a bias for safety because our plan was to be radical (even revolutionary) in approach but conservative and prudent in execution. We trust the private sector, but we are not naive. We knew that there were companies that might invest in derivatives and lose a lot of money. We didn’t want the pension funds investing workers’ money in derivatives in Singapore. If the system had failed in the first years, we would never have been able to try it again. So we set strict rules 14 years ago, but we are relaxing those rules. For example, only three years ago we began to allow the funds to invest abroad, which they weren’t allowed to do initially, because Chilean institutions had no experience in investing abroad. The day will come when the rules will be much more flexible.
Let me say something about the transition to the new system. We began by assuring every retired worker that the state would guarantee his pension; he had absolutely nothing to fear from the change. Pension reform should not damage those who have contributed all their lives. If that takes a constitutional amendment, so be it.
Second, the workers already in the workforce, who had contributed tothe state system, were given the option of staying in the system even though we thought its future was problematic. Those who moved to the new system received what we call a “recognition bond,” which acknowledges their contributions to the old system. When those workers retire, the government will cash the bonds.
New workers have to go into the new private system because the old system is bankrupt. Thus, the old system will inevitably die on the day that the last person who entered that system passes away. On that day the government will have no pension system whatsoever. The private system is not a complementary system; it is a replacement that we believe is more efficient.
The real transition cost of the system is the money the government ceases to obtain from the workers who moved to the new system, because the government is committed to pay the pensions of the people already retired and of those who will retire in the future. That transition cost can be calculated. In Chile it was around 3 percent of gross national product. How we financed it is another story. It will be done differently in each country. Suffice it to say that even though governments have enormous pension liabilities, they also have enormous assets. In Chile we had state‐owned enterprises. In America I understand that the federal government owns a third of the land. I don’t know why the government owns land, and I don’t know the value. Nor am I saying that you should sell the land tomorrow. What I am saying is that when you consider privatizing Social Security, you must look at assets as well as liabilities. I am sure that the U.S. government has gigantic assets. Are they more or less than the liabilities of the Social Security system? I don’t know, but the Cato project on privatizing Social Security will study that. In Chile we calculated the real balance sheet and, knowing there were enough assets, financed the transition without raising tax rates, generating inflation, or pressuring interest rates upward. In the last several years we have had a fiscal surplus of 1 to 2 percent of GNP.
The main goal and consequence of the pension reform is to improve the lot of workers during their old age. As I will explain, the reform has a lot of side effects: savings, growth, capital markets. But we should never forget that the reform was enacted to assure workers decent pensions so that they can enjoy their old age in tranquility. That goal has been met already. After 14 years and because of compound interest, the system is paying old‐age pensions that are 40 to 50 percent higher than those paid under the old system. (In the case of disability and survivor pensions, another privatized insurance, pensions are 70 to 100 percent higher than under the old system.) We are extremely happy.
But there have been other enormous effects. A second — and, to me, extremely important — one is that the new system reduces what can be called the payroll tax on labor. The social security contribution was seen by workers and employers as basically a tax on the use of labor; and a tax on the use of labor reduces employment. But a contribution to an individual’s pension account is not seen as a tax on the use of labor. Unemployment in Chile is less than 5 percent. And that is without disguised unemployment in the federal government. We are approaching what could be called full employment in Chile. That’s very different from a country like Spain, with a socialist government for the last 12 years, that has an unemployment rate of 24 percent and a youth unemployment rate of 40 percent.
Chile’s private pension system has been the main factor in increasing the savings rate to the level of an Asian tiger. Our rate is 26 percent of GNP, compared to about 15 percent in Latin America. The Asian tigers are at 30 percent. The dramatic increase in the savings rate is the main reason that Chile is not suffering from the so‐called tequila effect that plagues Mexico. We do not depend on short‐run capital flows because we have an enormous pool of internal savings to finance our investment strategies. Chile will grow by about 6 percent of GNP this year, the year of the “tequila effect.” The stock exchange has gone down by only 1 or 2 percent and will be higher at the end of the year. Chile has been isolated from short‐run capital movement because its development is basically rooted in a high savings rate.
Pension reform has contributed strongly to an increase in the rate of economic growth. Before the 1970s Chile had a real growth rate of 3.5 percent. For the last 10 years we have been growing at the rate of 7 percent, double our historic rate. That is the most powerful means of eliminating poverty because growth increases employment and wages. Several experts have attributed the doubling of the growth rate to the private pension system.
Finally, the private pension system has had a very important political and cultural consequence. Ninety percent of Chile’s workers chose to move into the new system. They moved faster than Germans going from East to West after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Those workers freely decided to abandon the state system, even though some of the trade‐union leaders and the old political class advised against it. But workers are able to make wise decisions on matters close to their lives, such as pensions, education, and health. That’s why I believe so much in their freedom to choose.
Every Chilean worker knows that he is the owner of an individual pension account. We have calculated that the typical Chilean worker’s main asset is not his small house or his used car but the capital in his pension account. The Chilean worker is an owner, a capitalist. There is no more powerful way to stabilize a free‐market economy and to get the support of the workers than to link them directly to the benefits of the market economy. When Chile grows at 7 percent or when the stock market doubles — as it has done in the last three years — Chilean workers benefit directly, not only through higher wages, not only through more employment, but through additional capital in their individual pension accounts.
Private pensions are undoubtedly creating cultural change. When workers feel that they own a fraction of a country, not through the party bosses, not through a politburo (like the Russians thought), but through ownership of part of the financial assets of the country, they are much more attached to the free market, a free society, and democracy.
By taking politicians out of the social security business we have done them a great favor because they can now focus on what they should do: stop crime, run a good justice system, manage foreign affairs — the real duties of a government. By removing the government from social security, we have accomplished the biggest privatization in Chilean history — someone even called it, paraphrasing Saddam Hussein, the mother of all privatizations, because it has allowed us to go on to privatize the energy and telecommunications companies.
That has been our experience. Of course, there have been some mistakes. There are some things that should be improved. There is no perfect reform. With time and experience, I know I would do some things differently. But on the whole, I can tell you that it has been a success beyond all our dreams.
Download the Policy Report
cpr-17n4.pdf
José Piñera
José Piñera, who as Chile’s minister of labor privatized the state pension system, is president of the International Center for Pension Reform and co‐chairman of the Cato Institute’s Project on Social Security Privatization.
National Security? Or Just Cold, Cruel Nativism?
Reducing Moral Hazard at the Expense of Market Discipline: The Effectiveness of Double Liability before and during the Great Depression
A Lesson in the Virtue of a Stable Currency
Macri’s Kiss of Death: Argentina’s Peso and the IMF
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Celebsolino
Everything about celebs
Businessmens
Nicole Richie Net Worth 2020, Bio, Age, Height
Nicole Richie is a young and skilled American actress, TV personality, author and fashion designer who became worldwide popular through her role in a TV show titled “The Simple Life”.
She was a part of this reality show alongside a rich celebrity socialite and the daughter of a prominent hotel owner, Paris Hilton. This is how many people got to know her.
She gained a lot of attention through the show and was one of the most wanted celebrities during the show’s five seasons.
She was born as Nicole Camille Escovedo on September 21, 1981, in the town of Berkeley, located in California, United States.
Her childhood was very interesting and it’s something that she gets asked about a lot since she has been adopted by a famous singer whose surname she carries.
She is of mixed ancestry and has roots in England, Mexico and Africa. She is not the biological daughter of Lionel Richie, a famous singer. She was adopted by him because her parents wanted o give her a better life opportunity.
She says that she is very thankful for that, but she still likes to spend time with them and meet them every once in a while. Her biological parents are Peter Michael Escovedo and Karen Moss.
Nicole was only three years old when her parents, who were friends with Lionel Richie, made an agreement with Lionel to let her move in and live with him because he will provide better for her. That is how Richie became her guardian and eventually adopted her when she was nine.
She connected with Lionel and it took her a lot of time to actually process that she isn’t his daughter.
Lionel’s wife Brenda was happy about this and Nicole was very happy about it. But tables have turned a little later when Brenda learned about Lionel’s mistress and the couple separated. It was a bit of a controversy for the family, but in the end, everything was fine for the kids.
Brenda and Lionel split but it was an ugly public split that left Nicole in the middle. Both of her adoptive parents indulged her in every way so she would not feel hurt by their split but it turned out to be a solution that made Nicole very spoiled.
Brenda and Lionel divorced very soon and Lionel got married again. Nicole gained stepbrother Miles and a stepdaughter Sofia later on.
Nicole Richie’s godfather was Michael Jackson. She said that she was devastated when she learned about his death and that she misses him a lot because he was very fun to hang out with and he would always be very nice and supportive to the whole family.
After finishing high school, Nicole enrolled in the University of Arizona because she decided to study Arts and Media where she met Kourtney Kardashian.
She said that they clicked right away and they started to hang out more,e but the more they spent time together, the more they realized that they were both great for showbiz.
She wasn’t that much interested in this education area so she decided to return home to California after finishing two years of studies.
Her best friend from childhood was Paris Hilton and she had spent a lot of time with her, going out and socializing.
They were good friends, but Richie was tired of all of the noise and controversy a lot so the two used to argue most of the time.
In 2003, Fox’s producers decided to offer her and Paris Hilton roles in a reality show about two of them and their everyday lives but living with another family in Arkansas.
The show premiered in December 2003 under the name “The Simple Life”.
The reality show became very popular and due to its big success, it continued to be filmed and aired for two more seasons. It was a great opportunity to get a lot of screen time and meet new people that could help you with your career.
The show was planned to continue longer but Nicole and her friend Paris began a dispute which eventually made it hard to film so Fox decided to drop it.
However, the series later continued to the fifth season but the behavior of the lead actresses made the series hard to make and the producers were facing a lot of complications.
One of them was charged for DUI which both ladies received. They also served jail time: Paris and Nicole both spent several days in prison.
In 2005, Nicole accepted her first movie role and she appeared in a comedy movie “Kids in America”.
In 2005 she was nominated for the Teen Choice Awards in the category of Best Female TV Personality.
During the next years, she appeared as a guest star in many TV series, from “Six Feet Under” to “8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter”.
In 2005 she had published her novel named “The Truth About Diamonds”, which was later adapted into a TV-series.
The Truth About Diamonds is a partially autobiographical novel and has some similarities with her life, but most of the story is fictional.
The novel came to 32nd place on The New York Times Best-Seller List.
She has released her second novel in 2010 and was named “Priceless”.
In 2010, Nicole appeared on a contest show Project Runway in the role of a guest judge.
In 2016, she went on an audition for a lead role in “Great News”, a sitcom which aired on NBC. She was not picked for the role but shews later chosen for the supporting role of Portia.
She was a part of the series for two seasons and was very well received by the viewers.
In 2019, she appeared in a comedy series “Richard Lovely”.
In 2012 she entered the world of business by releasing her own line of sunglasses named “House of Harlow”.
Nicole became a very successful model too and had appeared in magazines like Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire, Elle, and Teen Vogue.
She also has her own jewelry line named House of Harlow 1960 which was released for sales in 2008.
In 2010 she also released a clothing line and even her own line of shoes.
In 2009, Nicole ha a collaboration with a maternity store named “A Pea in the Pod” and has created a line of clothing for them. The name of the line was “Nicole”.
Her next release of clothes was named after her daughter Kate and was named Winter Kate.
Her great business skills brought her a title for the “Entrepreneur of the Year” in 2010.
She had also won the Glamour Women of the Year Awards.
In the summer of 2011, she had released her own collection of handbags named again House of Harlow.
In 2012 she launched a special collection made exclusively for Macy’s which was a huge hit in the stores and was sold in a short period of time.
In 2012, her perfume “Nicole” was launched in autumn. It was her first fragrance, and the second one came out two years later under the name “No Rules”.
She became the brand ambassador for a popular brand titled Urban Decay. She advertised their “Troublemaker” mascara.
In the spring of 2018, she released a limited edition of her collection for Urban Decay. the line was available only online.
In 2005, Nicole appeared to live on a TV show aired on ABC where she played the piano.
In 2010, she was invited to join the artists in recording a charity single “We Are the World 25 for Haiti” after the big earthquake there. She was very emotional about it since her father sang at the original song “We Are the World”.
In 2013 she was featured on a music video for the single “Let There Be Love” performed by Christina Aguilera.
In 2019 she became a part of a comedy series “Grace and Frankie” with Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda in lead roles. She plays the role of a pop star named Kareena G and she loved every part of this project.
Nicole dated Elijah Blue Allman in 2000. He came to fame as Cher’s son. They met each other at teenage celebrity children parties and is still good friends with him.
She was dating a popular DJ Adam Goldstein or DJ AM in the period from 2004 until 2006. They got engaged in 2005 but the relationship did not last. They even tried to work things out but it was not successful. DJ Adam later died of a drug overdose in his apartment in New York and it was devastating for her.
In 2006 she had a short relationship with an artist named Steve-O but the fling was a huge failure.
In 2006 she had a fling with Jeff Goldblum but it never became anything more, especially because Jeff is over 20 years older than her.
In 2005, the reporters found out that she is no longer close to her longtime friend Paris Hilton. They stopped every communication and neither of them spoke about the reason for the termination of their friendship. In 2006, Nicole and Paris reconciled.
She dated Brody Jenner for a few months in 2006, but this relationship had no future.
One year later Nicole started going out with Joel Madden, a singer of a group Good Charlotte.
They were blessed by their first child, a beautiful daughter in 2008, and soon after in 2009 with a son.
They named their daughter Harlow Winter Kate and the son was Sparrow James Midnight.
They got engaged in 2010 and married a while after, the same year.
She was involved in several controversies during her life. She was arrested in 2002, after being in a bar fight in NYC
In 2003 she was arrested for DUI and also for drug possession. This made her enter a rehabilitation center but also brought her three-year-long probation.
In 2006 she was stopped by the California Highway Patrol on the road and was charged with DUI charge. The charges were severe since she was seen driving in the opposite direction on the road.
She was driving while being under the influence of Vicodin and marijuana.
She was sentenced for four days in jail in the summer of 2007 but was in the cell for approximately 2 hours. She was released so soon because the jail was too crowded.
She had to enter an 18-month long program for drivers who drove under influence and had to educate themselves about the dangers of DUI.
Since she missed several of her anti-drinking classes her probation was prolonged for a year. The probation ended in 2010.
Nicole is known for her philanthropic character which came to the surface after she became a mother.
Together with her husband singer Joel Madden, she founded “The Richie Madden Children’s Foundation”.
She has done a lot of work with the Red Cross, UNICEF, Playing for Changes many more philanthropic organizations.
Nicole Richie is also a member of the board of Baby2Baby organization.
She likes tattoos so she has several tattoos like one of the ballerina slippers close to her bikini line, tiara, and wings.
She likes animals and has many pets, mostly dogs and cats. They are named Honey Child, Chi-Chi-Cheeta, Foxxy Cleopatra, and Gypsy.
Full name: Nicole Camille Escovedo
Birthplace: Berkeley, California, United States
Profession: actress, singer, musician, philanthropist, author, designer
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JOIN CAP
About CAP
Women in Planning
Young Planners
CAP Awards
The CAP Awards for Outstanding Planning Achievement in the Commonwealth seek to champion the very best examples of planning practice in the Commonwealth.
The Awards aim to:
Disseminate outstanding planning practice in the Commonwealth, particularly where applicable across different Commonwealth countries.
Demonstrate the valuable role that planners and planning have in the Commonwealth in helping to create resilient and sustainable communities and adequate shelter for all.
Promote the ways in which the science and art of planning can benefit the public and improve the well-being of society in the Commonwealth.
The winners of the 2020 CAP Awards for Outstanding Planning Achievement in the Commonwealth were announced in a special web-based event on World Town Planning Day, 8th November 2020, hosted by CAP President, Mrs Dyan Currie AM.
Winners and Commendations
The winners of the 2019 CAP Awards for Outstanding Planning Achievement in the Commonwealth were announced on the 9th November 2019 at the 50th anniversary conference of the Ghana Institute of Planners in Accra, Ghana.
Shortlisted Entries
The inaugural CAP awards were announced on 16th of October in Capetown during the SAPI Planning Africa Conference and CAP biennial Business Meeting.
THE COMMONWEALTH ASSOCIATION OF PLANNERS
Connecting Planning and Planners across the Commonwealth
CAP gratefully acknowledges the support of our members and the Commonwealth Foundation.
Commonwealth Association of Planners (known as CAP) is a Scottish Charity, SC034482, regulated by the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR)
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Pioneers of the Private Cloud
The Bumpy Road to Private Clouds
How to Avoid the Stormier Implications of the Cloud
Cloud security: Try these techniques now
Cloud vs. in-house: Where to run that app?
Options include public clouds and external private clouds. Here's how to choose wisely.
By Bill Claybrook
Computerworld |
One of the biggest decisions IT managers have to make is how and where to run data center applications. Fortunately, there are multiple choices that lower costs and increase business agility, including server virtualization, internal clouds, public clouds and external private clouds.
Many IT organizations are taking advantage of these options. Server virtualization is currently being used by more than 70% of enterprises to reduce costs, and cloud computing is being used or planned for use by more than 10% of corporations, according to Antonio Piraino, research director at Tier1 Research.
It can be confusing and difficult to determine which cloud environment to use (see sidebar below for descriptions of the most popular types of clouds). There are few, if any, guidelines, and each company will almost certainly have a unique discussion about its choices because each will have varying requirements and different views of what cloud computing means.
To take advantage of the new opportunities afforded by cloud computing, IT organizations have to learn the differences between server virtualization and various types of clouds, and understand the risks associated with using each execution environment in terms of the characteristics of various applications.
What is a cloud?
One may wonder why there's an interest in cloud computing when server virtualization is already providing significant cost savings by reducing the number of physical servers that enterprises buy. But it's not the same thing at all.
Different clouds to choose from
There are basically two types of clouds: public clouds and private clouds. Cloud types can generally be characterized by their location (on-premises or off-premises) and the perceived degree of security that they provide.
A public cloud is one in which a cloud service provider makes resources such as servers, storage, networking and, possibly, applications available to users over the Internet. Public clouds are off-premises by definition. A customer's applications may be running in an intermingled style on the same physical server as another customer's applications, meaning public clouds are multitenant. Public cloud services, such as Amazon's EC2, are usually offered on a pay-per-usage model -- you pay for what you use.
Private clouds take two forms: internal clouds and external private clouds. An internal cloud is inside your data center (on-premises), giving IT managers complete control over the available resources. A typical internal cloud relies on the security measures available within the cloud and within your data center. Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud and Microsoft Azure are examples of packaged software for creating internal clouds.
External private clouds combine characteristics of internal clouds and public clouds. They are like public clouds because they are off-premises. But unlike public clouds, applications run on dedicated servers, and the cloud provider has built container walls around the external private cloud to make it more secure than public clouds. IT managers have more control over the resources in a private cloud than over resources in a public cloud. Amazon's Virtual Private Cloud is an example of an external private cloud.
"Clouds provide automation and orchestration not found with server virtualization," says Jeff Deacon, cloud computing principal for Verizon Business. (Although Deacon's day job is helping figure out which of Verizon's internal applications should go on the cloud, his company also sells a public-cloud offering called Computing as a Service.)
In other words, Deacon says, cloud computing involves imposing a layer of abstraction between the applications and servers -- physical or virtual -- that automates many tasks typically done manually.
"Clouds can be viewed differently, depending on what you want from a cloud," adds David Escalante, director of IT security at Boston College. "We view cloud computing as running software applications that you would normally run in your own data center in someone else's data center. It is very important to create a definition of cloud computing for your organization." Armed with that definition, Boston College can focus on determining whether cloud computing is right for its data center needs, and which applications can be run on clouds.
Because clouds are based on virtualization, applications have to be virtualized before being moved to any of the cloud environments. But some cloud vendors can help with this, especially if the vendor supports a specific hypervisor.
On the other hand, organizations that already have their applications virtualized in a server virtualization environment may be able to move them to a public cloud without any extra work. Also, the operating systems supported by server virtualization and clouds play a role in where applications can be run. For example, clouds based on Microsoft's Azure support only Windows applications.
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DRC North Kivu Militia Leader Surrenders to UN
VOA News - October 29, 2007
U.N. and Congolese officials say a local militia leader has surrendered to peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo's restive North Kivu province. The officials say Mai Mai militia leader Kibamba Kasereka turned himself over to U.N. forces earlier Saturday after his fighters were surrounded by government troops.
Bush Meets DRC President Kabila at White House
U.S. President George Bush and Congolese President Joseph Kabila met at the White House Friday to talk about economic development and efforts to re-establish security in eastern Congo.
President Bush Meets with President Kabila
White House - October 26, 2007
We talked about the need to work together to help consolidate the gains. We talked about the need to -- for the United States to partner with the country to help on economic development. One of the things the President recognizes is the need for there to be investment in his country, so people can find work, and the stability that comes with economic development. And I appreciate your recognition of the opportunity to work together.
Ban Ki-moon deeply concerned about increased suffering in DRC, as fighting continues in North Kivu
United Nations Secretary-General - October 25, 2007
The Secretary-General is deeply concerned about the increased displacement, human suffering and sexual violence in North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as a result of fighting in the area between Congolese forces, dissident troops and armed militias, as well as elements of the Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda (FDLR).
Caught in a web of clashes between armed groups
IRIN - October 25, 2007
At Masisi hospital in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's North Kivu province, ill and wounded women shifted uncomfortably in their beds as several men and youths in uniform picked at bandages covering their gunshot wounds.
Nkunda's men fail to show up at integration centre
Some 200 men under the command of dissident Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) General Laurent Nkunda failed to show up at a centre for integrating armed groups into the regular army, a UN official said - a day after Nkunda's top aide announced their handover.
Amnesty: Torture and killings by state security agents still endemic
Amnesty International - October 25, 2007
This report documents serious violations of human rights that took place in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), during and after the 2006-2007 electoral period. In particular, the report highlights two government security forces that were responsible for the majority of politically-motivated violations against both real and supposed political opponents of President Joseph Kabila and his ruling party.
Bush extends sanctions against those involved in Congo violence
The situation in or in relation to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which has been marked by widespread violence and atrocities that continue to threaten regional stability and was addressed by the United Nations Security Council in Resolution 1596 of April 18, 2005, Resolution 1649 of December 21, 2005, and Resolution 1698 of July 31, 2006, continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the foreign policy of the United States.
Nkunda set to hand over 200 men for integration into army
Dissident General Laurent Nkunda, who has been battling government forces in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is set to hand over 200 men for integration into the regular army, a process he has so far bitterly resisted.
Bush To Congratulate Kabila Personally on Congo's Elections
US Department of State - USINFO - October 24, 2007
President Bush's October 26 meeting with President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will provide an opportunity to underscore U.S. support for the DRC's "remarkable progress" since Kabila assumed office in 2001, including the country's historic 2006 elections, a State Department official said.
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Schedule A Free Consultation. Available 24 Hours A Day.
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Virginia Law Firm
Former NFL player charged with assault
On behalf of The Collins Law Firm, P.C. | Jul 30, 2014 | Domestic Violence
Domestic violence has become an unfortunate part of households all across the country. Former NFL player, Fred Davis, recently turned himself into police after an arrest warrant was issued charging him with assault. Davis was suspended from the NFL in February for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. He was also charged with a DUI in Virginia earlier this year, but the charges were dismissed.
Officers had been searching for the former Washington Redskins tight-end after an alleged domestic assault incident involving his ex-girlfriend. The domestic dispute allegedly occurred in early June at a diner in Washington, D.C. Police say that the victim and a man were eating at the restaurant when Davis approached and put his hands on the woman’s shoulders. He spun the woman around and asked the man why he was with her.
When the woman walked outside, Davis allegedly followed her and threw a handful of dirt and flowers at her. The woman went back inside and tried to grab a condiment bottle to squirt at Davis, but she was stopped by another person. Davis and the woman continued to argue for a while before he drove off. The woman did not call police until the next day when she told them she was uninjured.
Davis turned himself in and was freed from custody that same day. He has been warned by the judge to stay away from the woman. At the initial hearing, Davis was charged with one count of assault and one count of attempted threats. If Davis is convicted, he could be facing serious consequences. These consequences could include up to 180 days in jail and up to $1000 in fines. Davis’s attorney, however, says that his client did nothing wrong and that the woman was simply trying to get back at Davis. Davis’s next hearing is scheduled for late August.
Source: The Washington Post, “Former Redskins player Fred Davis surrenders to D.C. police on warrant,” Peter Hermann and Keith L. Alexander, July 24, 2014
Drug Treatment (1)
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The need for police reform in Virginia
5 things not to do if police stop you for drunk driving
Should Virginia Police Be Able To Stop People Because Of Scent?
Virginia program aims to decrease drunk driving
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To arrange a free initial consultation with our experienced Virginia lawyers, contact The Collins Law Firm, P.C., at 757-818-9539. You may also complete our online form, and we will be in touch with you shortly.
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Home Publishers DC The Hall of Lost Comics: Jerry Lewis and Bob Hope
The Hall of Lost Comics: Jerry Lewis and Bob Hope
In the evolution of the comics industry from an insular genre aimed at teenage boys to a wide-ranging medium with material for people of every age, gender and race, I like to point out that the period of “Comics are just for boys!” was a comparatively brief phenomenon, if you call 25 years brief.
The period from the rise of the direct market in the mid 70s to the rise of manga around the turn of the century represented an aberration from the early days of comics publishing, when even superhero comics were considered proper reading for young girls. The most successful US publisher ever, at least in terms of monthly sales, could well be Dell/Western who claimed sales of 23 million copies a month in 1953. Using a 10¢ cover price and converting to 2017 dollars that’s $26.7 million in sales a month. By contrast in January, the entire comics industry sold 15.41 million copies, according to Comichron.
Dell/Western published a lot of comics in the humor and “funny animal” (including Disney) genres. There were also tons of celebrity based comics that sold well, showing that today’s comics written by Milo Ventimiglia and Avril Lavigne (memba her?) are just carrying on in a proud tradition.
Anyway, that’s all a preamble to talking about two of the longest running humor/licensed comics of all. Both were published by DC Comics, and both enjoyed something of a proud place in DC history but neither is likely to be seen ever again aside from the quarter bins of history. I speak of The Adventures of Bob Hope and The Adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, later shortened, as all Hollywood historians know, to The Adventures of Jerry Lewis following Lewis’s tragic sundering from Martin, an event that still brings a tear to the eye of old ladies shopping at Ralphs on Sunset.
Lest you think these comics were short term flash in the pans, Bob Hope ran for 109 issues and 18 years (1960-1968) and Jerry Lewis, with or without Dean, ran 124 issues
from 1952 to 1971. Arnold Drake is credited with writing the Hope book, while Neal Adams had significant stories on both titles, his facility with likenesses doubtless contributing to his success.
Bob Oskner was the major artist on both books, a similar skill at caricature making him a go to guy for these kinds of tie ins.
As I went through the years being told that only superhero comics could sell in the world, I often thought of these two titles. Clearly a product of their times, but just as obviously successful enough to run for nearly 20 years on the basis of tropey japes and two comedians with strong personas and incredible longevity. (Could you imagine a Louis CK comic running for 20 years?) Hope had one of the greatest careers in show biz history, dying a few days after turning 100 and, it’s rumored, enjoying a daily gin and tonic up to the end. Lewis, improbably, is still alive at age 91, although his recent TV appearances are saddening.
But, if Bob Hope and Jerry Lewis could be successful in comics, anything could, I reasoned, and luckily that view has come back into fashion.
But what of these two titles themselves? So obscure that the Comic Book Database doesn’t even have credits for most issues, they’ve never been reprinted, and remain unlikely to be seen again because of copyright problems.
It’s just such a thing that tireless Tony Isabella mentioned today on Facebook, that while working on his own book, JULY 1963: A PIVOTAL MONTH IN THE COMIC-BOOK LIFE OF TONY ISABELLA VOLUME ONE (which is not a joke,. BTW), he’d noticed the copyright information on an issue of Jerry Lewis:
One of the requests I often hear from comics fans is that they’d love to see “Best Of” collections of titles like Bob Hope and Jerry Lewis. Given some of the great artists who worked on those titles and some of the crossovers with DC super-heroes, I figured those would sell decently. I also figured that if DC approached the Hope estate or whoever handles Lewis’ merchandise would go along with this if there was a charitable component. Both Hope and Lewis have supported many good causes.
Yesterday, while putting together copyright information for my just-finished book – JULY 1963: A PIVOTAL MONTH IN THE COMIC-BOOK LIFE OF TONY ISABELLA VOLUME ONE – I saw copyright information I had not noticed before:
Adventures of Jerry Lewis #78:
Copyright 1963 by Patti Enterprises, Inc.
This seems to indicate Lewis owns the rights to this material. A publisher could, conceivably, go to “Patti Enterprise” and cut a deal to reprint this material. That’s pretty what happened with Dark Horse and Sarah Karloff for the former’s Boris Karloff Archives.
Such a book might not be able to include the DC super-heroes crossovers, but that would still leave a lot of good issues to be considered.
Just something I’m throwing out there.
As it emerges in the comments, the Lewis corporation owns the copyright but DC owns the actual stories so both would have to get together to make it happen. Former DC editor Paul Kupperberg recalls that he had an actual deal in the works to reprint the material but repeated letters to the Lewis organization and his son, Gary Lewis over a period of two years produced…no response.
It is possible that Jerry Lewis does not want us to see these comics again.
And that is sad.
With so many golden age comics from small publishers in public domain and reprinted constantly from IDW, Dark Horse, Fantagraphics and more, you forget that so many other treasures are still locked away, never to be seen by a modern audience eager to dissect them.
So Jerry Lewis and the estate of Bob Hope, if you are listening, let these comics be reprinted! It is time to rediscover our comics heritage.
arnold drake
bob oskner
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Sam Gafford 04/06/2017 2:14 pm At 2:14 pm
Oh, I WISH these comics were still in quarter bins! (Or that quarter bins still existed, for that matter.) Both are excellent series and I’ve been trying to pick up issues as often as I can find them inexpensively. I wonder if anyone actually has complete RUNS of these titles?
The Library of Congress has the Bob Hope archives, but it’s uncertain if he kept the comics.
The comics do exist in their comics vault, via copyright deposit:
https://lccn.loc.gov/sf94092294
(And while you’re there, take a look at the Swann collection!)
Matthew OHara 04/06/2017 2:47 pm At 2:47 pm
A great article. And a nice palate cleanse after the BC trainwreck. I would question saying “it emerges in the comments, the Lewis corporation owns the copyright but DC owns the actual stories so both would have to get together to make it happen.” That seems to be jumping to conclusions. Paul Kupperberg mentions having to get DC to sign off on his proposed reprint project, but he also said it was intended to include stories using DC heroes. Based on the copyright information in the books themselves, I would guess that Tony is correct that only Jerry Lewis would have to authorize reprints that didn’t feature DC characters.
Johnny Bacardi 04/06/2017 3:08 pm At 3:08 pm
You’ve got Bob Hope running from 1960-68, I think you meant 1950.
Even though I’m still known in certain parts of the Comics Blogosphere, or what’s left of it, as Super-Hip’s biggest fan, I’d love to see ’em all reprinted so I could see more of the excellent Owen Fitzgerald art that graced the pre-Oksner issues…
[email protected] 04/06/2017 8:35 pm At 8:35 pm
I wonder when the copyright expires on these issues? Isn’t there a time limit before the copyright holder needs to reprint them or lose copyright?
George 04/06/2017 9:43 pm At 9:43 pm
DC published a lot of licensed titles based on radio and TV shows (Big Town, Mr. District Attorney, Gang Busters, A Date with Judy, Dobie Gillis) and celebrities (Alan Ladd starred in a DC comic).
https://www.comics.org/issue/7929/cover/4/
I assume none of these can be reprinted without some legal wrangling. And, let’s face it, today’s readers aren’t clamoring for reprints of Big Town (a radio, TV and B-movie series they’ve likely never heard of). Issues I’ve seen had nice art, though, by Infantino, Toth and Kane.
And I’ve read that Marvel can’t reprint Master of Kung Fu because of the licensed character Fu Manchu, to which Marvel no longer has the comic-book rights.
Allen 04/07/2017 12:55 pm At 12:55 pm
The Grand Comics Database (GCD – http://www.comics.org ) has the credits for many of these comics:
https://www.comics.org/series/695/
https://www.comics.org/series/1243/
Indeed, while Jerry Lewis is indeed a lot of Oksner, art, Bob Hope is not (more by Owen Fitzgerald and Mort Drucker).
I also vaguely remember a post by someone who looked into getting the rights to the Jerry Lewis books, and DID get an answer back from the Lewis people, and they wanted WAY too much money, which made the project nonviable. But I can’t find the reference.
Darren Hudak 04/07/2017 1:03 pm At 1:03 pm
Marvel (or IDW for that matter). also can’t reprint ROM, who was a pretty big part of the MU back in the 80’s, and Marvel and Hasbro are currently arguing over who owns the rights to ROM’s enemies the Dire Wraiths.
“I also vaguely remember a post by someone who looked into getting the rights to the Jerry Lewis books, and DID get an answer back from the Lewis people, and they wanted WAY too much money, which made the project nonviable.”
Hey, 45 minutes of THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED surfaced on YouTube last year, so anything might happen — even Jerry Lewis comics reprints!
These comics obviously have a limited (and probably aged) audience. Sort of like the audience for Patsy Walker and Millie the Model reprints, which Marvel has no interest in publishing — even though they own those characters. Would be nice to see them, just to make people aware of a time when superheroes were just one of many genres in comics.
Ffej 04/07/2017 10:01 pm At 10:01 pm
Proud owner here of THE ADVENTURES OF JERRY LEWIS #105, where Lex Luthor mistakenly deduces Superman’s secret identity as, well, you guessed it.
And in this case, hilarity *does* ensue.
Marvel obviously didn’t have the money in the ’50s to cut a deal with Martin and Lewis. But, hey, they had “The Adventures of Pinky Lee”! Can’t imagine why Marvel hasn’t tried to reprint this …
https://www.comics.org/issue/205206/cover/4/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinky_Lee
Marvel did publish a comic based on the radio (and later TV) sitcom, “My Friend Irma.” (Martin and Lewis made their film debut in a 1949 movie version). Written by Stan Lee and drawn by Dan DeCarlo, “Irma” gave Stan plenty of practice in writing “dumb blonde” jokes. Probably too offensive to reprint now!
INTERVIEW: Subverting expectations with the cast & crew of BATMAN: SOUL...
ROBIN ongoing series by Joshua Williamson & Gleb Melnikov coming in...
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"I'm going to battle through it. I'm going to keep trying to play," the Grizzlies point guard said when asked about his availability going forward with an abdominal/back injury.
The Grizzlies play at Oklahoma City in an ESPN-televised game Wednesday night. While the Thunder could be without sharpshooter Kevin Durant because of a big toe injury, Conley's plan is to push himself through another injury in a big game. The sixth-place Griz and third-seeded Thunder would collide again if the playoffs began today.
The Griz presumably have a goal of moving up in the Western Conference standings to gain a more favorable postseason matchup. Climbing to fourth or fifth in the West could mean earning home court and dealing with an opponent (the Los Angeles Clippers or Dallas Mavericks) the Griz match up better against.
Once upon a time, Oklahoma City's local newspaper referred to Durant as "Mr. Unreliable" in a headline because of his playoff struggles.
There is no question that Conley is considered the opposite in Memphis.
Mr. Reliable should not have played Monday in the Grizzlies' win over the Portland Trail Blazers by most accounts. He didn't perform well offensively, finishing with nine points on 3-of-13 shooting. But asking Conley to take a game off is like asking a kid to pass on getting a new bike.
Conley reiterated what he's always said through the years: If he can ride out the pain, he'll roll with the punches to his body.
"It was tough, to be honest. I didn't think I'd play," Conley said about the Portland game. "I just tried to loosen up and see what happens. I could tell from the beginning that it wasn't going to be good. Thankfully, Mario (Chalmers) did a good job of holding it down while I was able to rest a little bit. I'll play and rely on Mario to pick up a lot of the slack."
Chalmers is the only other true point guard on the roster. When asked Monday how he would handle point guard duties if Conley couldn't play, Griz coach Dave Joerger cited forward Jeff Green as a capable backup.
Conley logged just 26 minutes, and limiting his playing time will be the game plan for the foreseeable future. He suffered what is believed to be a strain to an internal oblique muscle that affects his abdomen and lower back.
The injury occurred on a routine basketball play during the first quarter of the Grizzlies' road loss against the Utah Jazz last Saturday.
Despite showing no ill effects the rest of the game, Conley experienced great discomfort on Sunday and was listed as questionable for the Portland game.
"I felt my abs and all of my back just pop," Conley said. "It was tough breathing in that (Utah) game. (Monday) it was tough moving, dribbling and lifting my arms. You don't realize how much you use your abs until they're hurting. It's a tough thing to go through."
Conley, though, rode a stationary bike to get loose for the Portland game.
"Mike is hurt. He looked hurt but he gutted it out," Joerger said. "He gave us everything he had."
What else is new?
Last season alone, Conley played with injuries to his neck, shoulder, foot, both ankles, wrist and face. He performed in the Western Conference semifinals against the NBA champion Golden State Warriors just days after surgery to repair several facial fractures.
As for his current injury, Conley is optimistic.
"Maybe," he said, "a day of rest and treatment will be good for me."
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New Client: Unicomer Caribe
Cerca Technology is proud to partner with another world-class company to optimize its operations with the Infor WMS in Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados and Belize
In December 2006, Grupo Unicomer acquired the operations of Courts in the Caribbean. This brand of English origin has more than 160 years of experience and worldwide recognition in the home appliances and household goods sector.
Due to the success and operation that Infor SCE has had in the operation of Unicomer in Costa Rica, the group has made the decision to unify the logistic language of its companies in a project that will gradually involve 5 distribution centers located in Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados and Belize.
Courts implementation project
Courts, founded in the region 60 years ago, is the largest retailer of furniture, appliances and household goods in the Caribbean. The 93 stores in operation in the 11 countries and the opening of its last two stores in the city of New York, United States are a sample of this.
As for its operation, Courts has a local ERP and due to the lack of software for its supply chain, logistics processes are mostly manual, which has made it difficult to measure the real cost of the operation regarding sales.
René Armando Molina, Logistics Project Manager of the Unicomer Group, indicated that the increase in productivity, the total use of the winery, the reduction of time in picking processes and in general the control of the entire chain, were motivators to continue the work that had begun in Central America.
The project that began in February 2019 at the Guyana distribution center and is estimated to end in the first half of 2021 with the successful implementation in the 5 countries.
Unicomer Group Comment
“The reference we have from Cerca Technology is positive, we feel calm because the implementation methodology is quite disciplined, controlled and that ensures that we will meet the times“
Armando Molina, Logistics Project Manager for the Caribbean at Grupo Unicomer
Comment Cerca Technology
“The work carried out with the implementation of Infor SCE in the Costa Rican operation, and the proximity to the Unicomer Group work team, allowed us to become the technological ally to optimize the logistics operation of its distribution centers throughout the region. We started this project with the clear objective of optimizing the operation of Guyana and continuing with the implementations throughout the Caribbean”
José Luis Gomes, SOLA Commercial Manager
Cerca Technology Releases New Website!
New Client: Grupo Melo in Panama
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US Jurisprudence
UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT DECISIONS ON-LINE
US Supreme Court Decisions On-Line> Volume 412 > SCHNECKLOTH V. BUSTAMONTE, 412 U. S. 218 (1973)
SCHNECKLOTH V. BUSTAMONTE, 412 U. S. 218 (1973)
Subscribe to Cases that cite 412 U. S. 218
Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218 (1973)
Schneckloth v. Bustamonte
Argued October 10, 1972
CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
During the course of a consent search of a car that had been stopped by officers for traffic violations, evidence was discovered that was used to convict respondent of unlawfully possessing a check. In a habeas corpus proceeding, the Court of Appeals, reversing the District Court, held that the prosecution had failed to prove that consent to the search had been made with the understanding that it could freely be withheld.
Held: When the subject of a search is not in custody and the State would justify a search on the basis of his consent, the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments require that it demonstrate that the consent was in fact, voluntary; voluntariness is to be determined from the totality of the surrounding circumstances. While knowledge of a right to refuse consent is a factor to be taken into account, the State need not prove that the one giving permission to search knew that he had a right to withhold his consent. Pp. 412 U. S. 223-249.
448 F.2d 699, reversed.
STEWART, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which BURGER, C.J.,and WHITE, BLACKMUN, POWELL, and REHNQUIST, JJ., joined. BLACKMUN, J., filed a concurring opinion, post, p. 412 U. S. 249. POWELL, J., filed a concurring opinion, in which BURGER, C.J.,and REHNQUIST, JJ., joined, post, p. 412 U. S. 250. DOUGLAS, J., post, p. 412 U. S. 275, BRENNAN, J., post, p. 412 U. S. 276, and MARSHALL, J., post, p. 412 U. S. 277, filed dissenting opinions. chanrobles.com-red
MR JUSTICE STEWART delivered the opinion of the Court.
It is well settled under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments that a search conducted without a warrant issued upon probable cause is "per se unreasonable . . . subject only to a few specifically established and well delineated exceptions." Katz v. United States, 389 U. S. 347, 389 U. S. 357; Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 403 U. S. 443, 403 U. S. 454 455; Chambers v. Maroney, 399 U. S. 42, 399 U. S. 1. It is equally well settled that one of the specifically established exceptions to the requirements of both a warrant and probable cause is a search that is conducted pursuant to consent. Davis v. United States, 328 U. S. 582, 328 U. S. 593-594; Zap v. Unite,d States, 328 U. S. 624, 328 U. S. 630. The constitutional question in the present case concerns the definition of "consent" in this Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment context.
The respondent was brought to trial in a California court upon a charge of possessing a check with intent to defraud. [Footnote 1] He moved to suppress the introduction of certain material as evidence against him on the ground that the material had been acquired through an unconstitutional search and seizure. In response to the motion, the trial judge conducted an evidentiary hearing chanrobles.com-red
where it was established that the material in question had been acquired by the State under the following circumstances:
While on routine patrol in Sunnyvale, California, at approximately 2:40 in the morning, Police Officer James Rand stopped an automobile when he observed that one headlight and its license plate light were burned out. Six men were in the vehicle. Joe Alcala and the respondent, Robert Bustamonte, were in the front seat with Joe Gonzales, the driver. Three older men were seated in the rear. When, in response to the policeman's question, Gonzales could not produce a driver's license, Officer Rand asked if any of the other five had any evidence of identification. Only Alcala produced a license, and he explained that the car was his brother's. After the six occupants had stepped out of the car at the officer's request, and after two additional policemen had arrived, Officer Rand asked Alcala if he could search the car. Alcala replied, "Sure, go ahead." Prior to the search, no one was threatened with arrest, and, according to Officer Rand's uncontradicted testimony, it "was all very congenial at this time." Gonzales testified that Alcala actually helped in the search of the car by opening the trunk and glove compartment. In Gonzales' words:
"[T]he police officer asked Joe [Alcala], he goes, 'Does the trunk open?' And Joe said, 'Yes.' He went to the car and got the keys and opened up the trunk."
Wadded up under the left rear seat, the police officers found three checks that had previously been stolen from a car wash.
The trial judge denied the motion to suppress, and the checks in question were admitted in evidence at Bustamonte's trial. On the basis of this and other evidence, he was convicted, and the California Court of Appeal for the First Appellate District affirmed the conviction. chanrobles.com-red
270 Cal.App.2d 648, 76 Cal.Rptr. 17. In agreeing that the search and seizure were constitutionally valid, the appellate court applied the standard earlier formulated by the Supreme Court of California in an opinion by then Justice Traynor:
"Whether, in a particular case, an apparent consent was, in fact, voluntarily given, or was in submission to an express or implied assertion of authority, is a question of fact to be determined in the light of all the circumstances."
People v. Michael, 45 Cal.2d 751, 753, 290 P.2d 852, 854. The appellate court found that,
"[i]n the instant case, the prosecution met the necessary burden of showing consent . . . , since there were clearly circumstances from which the trial court could ascertain that consent had been freely given without coercion or submission to authority. Not only officer Rand, but Gonzales, the driver of the automobile, testified that Alcala's assent to the search of his brother's automobile was freely, even casually given. At the time of the request to search the automobile, the atmosphere, according to Rand, was 'congenial,' and there had been no discussion of any crime. As noted, Gonzales said Alcala even attempted to aid in the search."
270 Cal.App.2d at 652, 76 Cal.Rptr. at 20. The California Supreme Court denied review. [Footnote 2]
Thereafter, the respondent sought a writ of habeas corpus in a federal district court. It was denied. [Footnote 3] On appeal, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, relying on its prior decisions in Cipres v. United States, 343 F.2d 95, and Schoep v. United States, 391 F.2d 390, set aside the District Court's order. 448 F.2d 699. The appellate court reasoned that a consent was a waiver of a person's Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights, and that the State was under an obligation to demonstrate, chanrobles.com-red
not only that the consent had been uncoerced, but that it had been given with an understanding that it could be freely and effectively withheld. Consent could not be found, the court held, solely from the absence of coercion and a verbal expression of assent. Since the District Court had not determined that Alcala had known that his consent could have been withheld and that he could have refused to have his vehicle searched, the Court of Appeals vacated the order denying the writ and remanded the case for further proceedings. We granted certiorari to determine whether the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments require the showing thought necessary by the Court of Appeals. 405 U.S. 953.
It is important to make it clear at the outset what is not involved in this case. The respondent concedes that a search conducted pursuant to a valid consent is constitutionally permissible. In Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. at 389 U. S. 358, and more recently in Vale v. Louisiana, 399 U. S. 30, 399 U. S. 35, we recognized that a search authorized by consent is wholly valid. See also Davis v. United States, 328 U.S. at 328 U. S. 593-594; Zap v. United States, 328 U.S. at 328 U. S. 630. [Footnote 4] And similarly, the State concedes that,
"[w]hen a prosecutor seeks to rely upon consent to justify the lawfulness of a search, he has the burden of proving that the consent was, in fact, freely and voluntarily given."
Bumper v. North Carolina, 391 U. S. 543, 391 U. S. 548. See also Johnson v. United States, 333 U. S. 10; Amos v. United States, 255 U. S. 313. chanrobles.com-red
The precise question in this case, then, is what must the prosecution prove to demonstrate that a consent was "voluntarily" given. And, upon that question, there is a square conflict of views between the state and federal courts that have reviewed the search involved in the case before us. The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuity concluded that it is an essential part of the State's initial burden to prove that a person knows he has a right to refuse consent. The California courts have followed the rule that voluntariness is a question of fact to be determined from the totality of all the circumstances, and that the state of a defendant's knowledge is only one factor to be taken into account in assessing the voluntariness of a consent. See, e.g., People v. Treymayne, 20 Cal.App.3d 1006, 98 Cal.Rptr. 193; People v. Roberts, 246 Cal.App.2d 715, 55 Cal.Rptr. 62.
The most extensive judicial exposition of the meaning of "voluntariness" have been developed in those cases in which the Court has had to determine the "voluntariness" of a defendant's confession for purposes of the Fourteenth Amendment. Almost 40 years ago, in Brown v. Mississippi, 297 U. S. 278, the Court held that a criminal conviction based upon a confession obtained by brutality and violence was constitutionally invalid under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In some 30 different cases decided during the era that intervened between Brown and Escobedo v. Illinois, 378 U. S. 478, the Court was faced with the necessity of determining whether in fact the confessions in issue had been "voluntarily" given. [Footnote 5] It is to that body chanrobles.com-red
of case law to which we turn for initial guidance on the meaning of "voluntariness" in the present context. [Footnote 6]
Those cases yield no talismanic definition of "voluntariness" mechanically applicable to the host of situations where the question has arisen. "The notion of voluntariness,'" Mr. Justice Frankfurter once wrote, "is itself an amphibian." Culombe v. Connecticut, 367 U. S. 568, 367 U. S. 604 605. It cannot be taken literally to mean a "knowing" choice.
"Except where a person is unconscious or drugged or otherwise lacks capacity for conscious choice, all incriminating statements -- even those made under brutal treatment -- are 'voluntary' in the sense of representing a choice of alternatives. On the other hand, if 'voluntariness' incorporates notions of 'but-for' cause, the question should be whether the statement would have been made even absent inquiry or other official action. Under such a test, virtually no statement would be voluntary, because very few people give incriminating statements in the absence of official action of some kind. [Footnote 7]"
It is thus evident that neither linguistics nor epistemology will provide a ready definition of the meaning of "voluntariness."
Rather, "voluntariness" has reflected an accommodation of the complex of values implicated in police questioning chanrobles.com-red
of a suspect. At one end of the spectrum is the acknowledged need for police questioning as a tool for the effective enforcement of criminal laws. See Culombe v. Connecticut, supra, at 367 U. S. 578-580. Without such investigation, those who were innocent might be falsely accused, those who were guilty might wholly escape prosecution, and many crimes would go unsolved. In short, the security of all would be diminished. Haynes v. Washington, 373 U. S. 503, 373 U. S. 515. At the other end of the spectrum is the set of values reflecting society's deeply felt belief that the criminal law cannot be used as an instrument of unfairness, and that the possibility of unfair and even brutal police tactics poses a real and serious threat to civilized notions of justice.
"[I]n cases involving involuntary confessions, this Court enforces the strongly felt attitude of our society that important human values are sacrificed where an agency of the government, in the course of securing a conviction, wrings a confession out of an accused against his will."
Blackburn v. Alabama, 361 U. S. 199, 361 U. S. 206-207. See also Culombe v. Connecticut, supra, at 367 U. S. 581-584; Chambers v. Florida, 309 U. S. 227, 309 U. S. 235-238.
This Court's decisions reflect a frank recognition that the Constitution requires the sacrifice of neither security nor liberty. The Due Process Clause does not mandate that the police forgo all questioning, or that they be given carte blanche to extract what they can from a suspect.
"The ultimate test remains that which has been the only clearly established test in Anglo-American courts for two hundred years: the test of voluntariness. Is the confession the product of an essentially free and unconstrained choice by its maker? If it is, if he has willed to confess, it may be used against him. If it is not, if his will has been overborne and his capacity for self-determination critically impaired, the use of his
confession offends due process."
Culombe v. Connecticut, supra, at 367 U. S. 602.
In determining whether a defendant's will was overborne in a particular case, the Court has assessed the totality of all the surrounding circumstances -- both the characteristics of the accused and the details of the interrogation. Some of the factors taken into account have included the youth of the accused, e.g., Haley v. Ohio, 332 U. S. 596; his lack of education, e.g., Payne v. Arkansas, 356 U. S. 560; or his low intelligence, e.g., Fikes v. Alabama, 352 U. S. 191; the lack of any advice to the accused of his constitutional rights, e.g., Davis v. North Carolina, 384 U. S. 737; the length of detention, e.g., Chambers v. Florida, supra; the repeated and prolonged nature of the questioning, e.g., Ashcraft v. Tennessee, 322 U. S. 143; and the use of physical punishment such as the deprivation of food or sleep, e.g., Reck v. Pate, 367 U. S. 433. [Footnote 8] In all of these cases, the Court determined the factual circumstances surrounding the confession, assessed the psychological impact on the accused, and evaluated the legal significance of how the accused reacted. Culombe v. Connecticut, supra, at 367 U. S. 603.
The significant fact about all of these decisions is that none of them turned on the presence or absence of a single controlling criterion; each reflected a careful scrutiny of all the surrounding circumstances. See Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U. S. 436, 384 U. S. 508 (Harlan, J., dissenting); id. at 384 U. S. 534-535 (WHITE, J., dissenting). In none of them did the Court rule that the Due Process Clause required the prosecution to prove as part of its chanrobles.com-red
initial burden that the defendant knew he had a right to refuse to answer the questions that were put. While the state of the accused's mind, and the failure of the police to advise the accused of his rights, were certainly factors to be evaluated in assessing the "voluntariness" of an accused's responses, they were not, in and of themselves, determinative. See, e.g., Davis v. North Carolina, supra; Haynes v. Washington, supra, at 373 U. S. 510-511; Culombe v. Connecticut, supra, at 367 U. S. 610; Turner v. Pennsylvania, 338 U. S. 62, 338 U. S. 64.
Similar considerations lead us to agree with the courts of California that the question whether a consent to a search was in fact, "voluntary" or was the product of duress or coercion, express or implied, is a question of fact to be determined from the totality of all the circumstances. While knowledge of the right to refuse consent is one factor to be taken into account, the government need not establish such knowledge as the sine qua non of an effective consent. As with police questioning, two competing concerns must be accommodated in determining the meaning of a "voluntary" consent -- the legitimate need for such searches and the equally important requirement of assuring the absence of coercion.
In situations where the police have some evidence of illicit activity, but lack probable cause to arrest or search, a search authorized by a valid consent may be the only means of obtaining important and reliable evidence. [Footnote 9] In the present case, for example, while the police had reason to stop the car for traffic violations, the State does not contend that there was probable cause to search the vehicle or that the search was incident to a valid arrest chanrobles.com-red
of any of the occupants. [Footnote 10] Yet the search yielded tangible evidence that served as a basis for a prosecution, and provided some assurance that others, wholly innocent of the crime, were not mistakenly brought to trial. And in those cases where there is probable cause to arrest or search, but where the police lack a warrant, a consent search may still be valuable. If the search is conducted and proves fruitless, that, in itself, may convince the police that an arrest with its possible stigma and embarrassment is unnecessary, or that a far more extensive search pursuant to a warrant is not justified. In short, a search pursuant to consent may result in considerably less inconvenience for the subject of the search, and, properly conducted, is a constitutionally permissible and wholly legitimate aspect of effective police activity.
But the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments require that a consent not be coerced, by explicit or implicit means, by implied threat or covert force. For no matter how subtly the coercion was applied, the resulting "consent" would be no more than a pretext for the unjustified police intrusion against which the Fourth Amendment is directed. In the words of the classic admonition in Boyd v. United States, 116 U. S. 616, 116 U. S. 635:
"It may be that it is the obnoxious thing in its mildest and least repulsive form; but illegitimate and unconstitutional practices get their first footing in that way, namely, by silent approaches and slight deviations from legal modes of procedure. This can only be obviated by adhering to the rule that constitutional provisions for the security of person and property should be liberally construed. A close
and literal construction deprives them of half their efficacy, and leads to gradual depreciation of the right, as if it consisted more in sound than in substance. It is the duty of courts to be watchful for the constitutional rights of the citizen and against any stealthy encroachments thereon."
The problem of reconciling the recognized legitimacy of consent searches with the requirement that they be free from any aspect of official coercion cannot be resolved by any infallible touchstone. To approve such searches without the most careful scrutiny would sanction the possibility of official coercion; to place artificial restrictions upon such searches would jeopardize their basic validity. Just as was true with confessions, the requirement of a "voluntary" consent reflects a fair accommodation of the constitutional requirements involved. In examining all the surrounding circumstances to determine if in fact, the consent to search was coerced, account must be taken of subtly coercive police questions, as well as the possibly vulnerable subjective state of the person who consents. Those searches that are the product of police coercion can thus be filtered out without undermining the continuing validity of consent searches. In sum, there is no reason for us to depart in the area of consent searches, from the traditional definition of "voluntariness."
The approach of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit finds no support in any of our decisions that have attempted to define the meaning of "voluntariness." Its ruling, that the State must affirmatively prove that the subject of the search knew that he had a right to refuse consent, would, in practice, create serious doubt whether consent searches could continue to be conducted. There might be rare cases where it could be proved from the record that a person in fact, affirmatively knew of his chanrobles.com-red
right to refuse -- such as a case where he announced to the police that, if he didn't sign the consent form, "you [police] are going to get a search warrant;" [Footnote 11] or a case where, by prior experience and training, a person had clearly and convincingly demonstrated such knowledge. [Footnote 12] But, more commonly, where there was no evidence of any coercion, explicit or implicit, the prosecution would nevertheless be unable to demonstrate that the subject of the search in fact, had known of his right to refuse consent.
The very object of the inquiry -- the nature of a person's subjective understanding -- underlines the difficulty of the prosecution's burden under the rule applied by the Court of Appeals in this case. Any defendant who was the subject of a search authorized solely by his consent could effectively frustrate the introduction into evidence of the fruits of that search by simply failing to testify that he in fact, knew he could refuse to consent. And the near impossibility of meeting this prosecutorial burden suggests why this Court has never accepted any such litmus paper test of voluntariness. It is instructive to recall the fears of then Justice Traynor of the California Supreme Court:
"[I]t is not unreasonable for officers to seek interviews with suspects or witnesses or to call upon them at their homes for such purposes. Such inquiries, although courteously made and not accompanied with any assertion of a right to enter or search or secure answers, would permit the criminal to defeat his prosecution by voluntarily revealing all of the evidence against him and then contending that he acted only in response to an implied assertion of
unlawful authority."
People v. Michael, 45 Cal.2d at 754, 290 P.2d at 854.
One alternative that would go far toward proving that the subject of a search did know he had a right to refuse consent would be to advise him of that right before eliciting his consent. That, however, is a suggestion that has been almost universally repudiated by both federal [Footnote 13] and state courts [Footnote 14] and, we think, rightly so. For it would be thoroughly impractical to impose on the normal consent search the detailed requirements of an effective warning. Consent searches are part of the standard investigatory techniques of law enforcement chanrobles.com-red
agencies. They normally occur on the highway, or in a person's home or office, and under informal and unstructured conditions. The circumstances that prompt the initial request to search may develop quickly or be a logical extension of investigative police questioning. The police may seek to investigate further suspicious circumstances or to follow up leads developed in questioning persons at the scene of a crime. These situations are a far cry from the structured atmosphere of a trial where, assisted by counsel if he chooses, a defendant is informed of his trial rights. Cf. Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U. S. 238, 395 U. S. 243. and, while surely a closer question, these situations are still immeasurably far removed from "custodial interrogation" where, in Miranda v. Arizona, supra, we found that the Constitution required certain now familiar warnings as a prerequisite to police interrogation. Indeed, in language applicable to the typical consent search, we refused to extend the need for warnings:
"Our decision is not intended to hamper the traditional function of police officers in investigating crime. . . . When an individual is in custody on probable cause, the police may, of course, seek out evidence in the field to be used at trial against him. Such investigation may include inquiry of persons not under restraint. General on-the-scene questioning as to facts surrounding a crime or other general questioning of citizens in the factfinding process is not affected by our holding. It is an act of responsible citizenship for individuals to give whatever information they may have to aid in law enforcement."
384 U.S. at 384 U. S. 477-478.
Consequently, we cannot accept the position of the Court of Appeals in this case that proof of knowledge of the right to refuse consent is a necessary prerequisite chanrobles.com-red
to demonstrating a "voluntary" consent. Rather, it is only by analyzing all the circumstances of an individual consent that it can be ascertained whether, in fact, it was voluntary or coerced. It is this careful sifting of the unique facts and circumstances of each case that is evidenced in our prior decisions involving consent searches.
For example, in Davis v. United States, 328 U. S. 582, federal agents enforcing wartime gasoline rationing regulations arrested a filling station operator and asked to see his rationing coupons. He eventually unlocked a room where the agents discovered the coupons that formed the basis for his conviction. The District Court found that the petitioner had consented to the search -- that, although he had at first refused to turn the coupons over, he had soon been persuaded to do so, and that force or threat of force had not been employed to persuade him. Concluding that it could not be said that this finding was erroneous, this Court, in an opinion by MR. JUSTICE DOUGLAS that looked to all the circumstances surrounding the consent, affirmed the judgment of conviction:
"The public character of the property, the fact that the demand was made during business hours at the place of business where the coupons were required to be kept, the existence of the right to inspect, the nature of the request, the fact that the initial refusal to turn the coupons over was soon followed by acquiescence in the demand -- these circumstances all support the conclusion of the District Court."
Id. at 328 U. S. 593-594. See also Zap v. United States, 328 U. S. 624.
Conversely, if, under all the circumstances, it has appeared that the consent was not given voluntarily -- that it was coerced by threats or force, or granted only in submission to a claim of lawful authority -- then we have found the consent invalid and the search unreasonable. See, e.g., Bumper v. North Carolina, 391 U.S. at 391 U. S. 548-549; Johnson v. United States, 333 U. S. 10; Amos v. chanrobles.com-red
United States, 255 U. S. 313. In Bumper, a 66-year-old Negro widow, who lived in a house located in a rural area at the end of an isolated mile-long dirt road, allowed four white law enforcement officials to search her home after they asserted they had a warrant to search the house. We held the alleged consent to be invalid, noting that,
"[w]hen a law enforcement officer claims authority to search a home under a warrant, he announces, in effect, that the occupant has no right to resist the search. The situation is instinct with coercion -- albeit colorably lawful coercion. Where there is coercion, there cannot be consent."
391 U.S. at 391 U. S. 550.
Implicit in all of these cases is the recognition that knowledge of a right to refuse is not a prerequisite of a voluntary consent. If the prosecution were required to demonstrate such knowledge, Davis and Zap could not have found consent without evidence of that knowledge. And similarly, if the failure to prove such knowledge were sufficient to show an ineffective consent, the Amos, Johnson, and Bumper opinions would surely have focused upon the subjective mental state of the person who consented. Yet they did not.
In short, neither this Court's prior cases nor the traditional definition of "voluntariness" requires proof of knowledge of a right to refuse as the sine qua non of an effective consent to a search. [Footnote 15] chanrobles.com-red
It is said, however, that a "consent" is a "waiver" of a person's rights under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. The argument is that, by allowing the police to conduct a search, a person "waives" whatever right he had to prevent the police from searching. It is argued that, under the doctrine of Johnson v. Zerbst, 304 U. S. 458, 304 U. S. 464, to establish such a "waiver," the State must demonstrate "an intentional relinquishment or abandonment of a known right or privilege."
But these standards were enunciated in Johnson in the context of the safeguards of a fair criminal trial. Our cases do not reflect an uncritical demand for a knowing and intelligent waiver in every situation where a person has failed to invoke a constitutional protection. As Mr. Justice Black once observed for the Court: "Waiver' is a vague term used for a great variety of purposes, good and bad, in the law." Green v. United States, 355 U. S. 184, 355 U. S. 191. With respect to procedural due process, for example, the Court has acknowledged that waiver is possible, while explicitly leaving open the question whether a "knowing and intelligent" waiver need be shown. [Footnote 16] See 405 U. S. 185-186; Fuentes v. Shevin,@ 407 U. S. 67, 407 U. S. 94-96. [Footnote 17]
The requirement of a "knowing" and "intelligent" waiver was articulated in a case involving the validity of a defendant's decision to forgo a right constitutionally guaranteed to protect a fair trial and the reliability of the truth-determining process. Johnson v. Zerbst, supra, dealt with the denial of counsel in a federal criminal trial. There, the Court held that, under the Sixth Amendment, a criminal defendant is entitled to the assistance of counsel, and that, if he lacks sufficient funds to retain counsel, it is the Government's obligation to furnish him with a lawyer. As Mr. Justice Black wrote for the Court:
"The Sixth Amendment stands as a constant admonition that, if the constitutional safeguards it provides be lost, justice will not 'still be done.' It embodies a realistic recognition of the obvious truth that the average defendant does not have the professional legal skill to protect himself when brought before a tribunal with power to take his life or liberty, wherein the prosecution is presented by experienced and learned counsel. That which is simple, orderly and necessary to the lawyer, to the untrained layman may appear intricate, complex and mysterious."
304 U.S. at 304 U. S. 462-463 (footnote omitted). To preserve the fairness of the trial process, the Court established an appropriately heavy burden on the Government before waiver could be found -- "an intentional chanrobles.com-red
relinquishment or abandonment of a known right or privilege." Id. at 304 U. S. 464.
Almost without exception, the requirement of a knowing and intelligent waiver has been applied only to those rights which the Constitution guarantees to a criminal defendant in order to preserve a fair trial. [Footnote 18] Hence, and hardly surprisingly in view of the facts of Johnson itself, the standard of a knowing and intelligent waiver has most often been applied to test the validity of a waiver of counsel, either at trial, [Footnote 19] or upon a guilty plea. [Footnote 20] And the Court has also applied the Johnson criteria to assess the effectiveness of a waiver of other trial rights such as the right to confrontation, [Footnote 21] to a jury trial, [Footnote 22] and to a speedy trial, [Footnote 23] and the right to be free from chanrobles.com-red
twice being placed in jeopardy. [Footnote 24] Guilty pleas have been carefully scrutinized to determine whether the accused knew and understood all the rights to which he would be entitled at trial, and that he had intentionally chosen to forgo them. [Footnote 25] And the Court has evaluated the knowing and intelligent nature of the waiver of trial rights in trial-type situations, such as the waiver of the privilege against compulsory self-incrimination before an administrative agency [Footnote 26] or a congressional committee, [Footnote 27] or the waiver of counsel in a juvenile proceeding. [Footnote 28] The guarantees afforded a criminal defendant at trial also protect him at certain stages before the actual trial, and any alleged waiver must meet the strict standard of an intentional relinquishment of a "known" right. But the "trial" guarantees that have been applied to the "pretrial" chanrobles.com-red
stage of the criminal process are similarly designed to protect the fairness of the trial itself.
Hence, in United States v. Wade, 388 U. S. 218, and Gilbert v. California, 388 U. S. 263, the Court held
"that a post-indictment pretrial lineup at which the accused is exhibited to identifying witnesses is a critical stage of the criminal prosecution; that police conduct of such a lineup without notice to and in the absence of his counsel denies the accused his Sixth [and Fourteenth] Amendment right to counsel. . . ."
Id. at 388 U. S. 272. Accordingly, the Court indicated that the standard of a knowing and intelligent waiver must be applied to test the waiver of counsel at such a lineup. See United States v. Wade, supra, at 388 U. S. 237. The Court stressed the necessary interrelationship between the presence of counsel at a postindictment lineup before trial and the protection of the trial process itself:
"Insofar as the accused's conviction may rest on a courtroom identification in fact, the fruit of a suspect pretrial identification which the accused is helpless to subject to effective scrutiny at trial, the accused is deprived of that right of cross-examination which is an essential safeguard to his right to confront the witnesses against him. Pointer v. Texas, 380 U. S. 400. And even though cross-examination is a precious safeguard to a fair trial, it cannot be viewed as an absolute assurance of accuracy and reliability. Thus, in the present context, where so many variables and pitfalls exist, the first line of defense must be the prevention of unfairness and the lessening of the hazards of eyewitness identification at the lineup itself. The trial which might determine the accused's fate may well not be that in the courtroom but that, at the pretrial confrontation, with the State aligned against the accused, the
witness the sole jury, and the accused unprotected against the overreaching, intentional or unintentional, and with little or no effective appeal from the judgment there rendered by the witness -- 'that's the man.'"
Id. at 388 U. S. 235-236.
And in Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U. S. 436, the Court found that custodial interrogation by the police was inherently coercive, and consequently held that detailed warnings were required to protect the privilege against compulsory self-incrimination. The Court made it clear that the basis for decision was the need to protect the fairness of the trial itself:
"That counsel is present when statements are taken from an individual during interrogation obviously enhances the integrity of the factfinding processes in court. The presence of an attorney, and the warnings delivered to the individual, enable the defendant under otherwise compelling circumstances to tell his story without fear, effectively, and in a way that eliminates the evils in the interrogation process. Without the protections flowing from adequate warnings and the rights of counsel,"
"all the careful safeguards erected around the giving of testimony, whether by an accused or any other witness, would become empty formalities in a procedure where the most compelling possible evidence of guilt, a confession, would have already been obtained at the unsupervised pleasure of the police."
The standards of Johnson were, therefore, found to be a necessary prerequisite to a finding of a valid waiver. See 384 U.S. at 384 U. S. 475-479. Cf. Escobedo v. Illinois, 378 U.S. at 378 U. S. 490 n. 14. [Footnote 29] chanrobles.com-red
There is a vast difference between those rights that protect a fair criminal trial and the rights guaranteed under the Fourth Amendment. Nothing, either in the purposes behind requiring a "knowing" and "intelligent" waiver of trial rights, or in the practical application of such a requirement suggests that it ought to be extended to the constitutional guarantee against unreasonable searches and seizures.
A strict standard of waiver has been applied to those rights guaranteed to a criminal defendant to insure that he will be accorded the greatest possible opportunity to utilize every facet of the constitutional model of a fair criminal trial. Any trial conducted in derogation of that model leaves open the possibility that the trial reached an unfair result precisely because all the protections specified in the Constitution were not provided. A prime example is the right to counsel. For without that right, a wholly innocent accused faces the real and substantial danger that simply because of his lack of legal expertise he may be convicted. As Mr. Justice Harlan once wrote:
"The sound reason why [the right to counsel] is so freely extended for a criminal trial is the severe injustice risked by confronting an untrained defendant with a range of technical points of law, evidence, and tactics familiar to the prosecutor but, not to
himself."
Miranda v. Arizona, supra, at 384 U. S. 514 (dissenting opinion). The Constitution requires that every effort be made to see to it that a defendant in a criminal case has not unknowingly relinquished the basic protections that the Framers thought indispensable to a fair trial. [Footnote 30]
The protections of the Fourth Amendment are of a wholly different order, and have nothing whatever to do with promoting the fair ascertainment of truth at a criminal trial. Rather, as Mr. Justice Frankfurter's opinion for the Court put it in Wolf v. Colorado, 338 U. S. 25, 338 U. S. 27, the Fourth Amendment protects the "security of one's privacy against arbitrary intrusion by the police. . . ." In declining to apply the exclusionary rule of Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U. S. 643, to convictions that had become final before rendition of that decision, the Court emphasized that "there is no likelihood of unreliability or coercion present in a search and seizure case," Linkletter v. Walker, 381 U. S. 618, 381 U. S. 638. In Linkletter, the Court indicated that those cases that had been given retroactive effect went to "the fairness of the trial -- the very integrity of the factfinding process. Here . . . the fairness of the trial is not under attack." Id. at 381 U. S. 639. The Fourth Amendment "is not an adjunct to the ascertainment of truth." The guarantees of the Fourth Amendment stand
"as a protection of quite different constitutional values -- values reflecting the concern of our society for the right of each individual to be let alone. To recognize this is no more than to accord those values undiluted respect."
Tehan v. United States ex rel. Shott, 382 U. S. 406, 382 U. S. 416.
Nor can it even be said that a search, as opposed to an eventual trial, is somehow "unfair" if a person consents to a search. While the Fourth and Fourteenth chanrobles.com-red
Amendments limit the circumstances under which the police can conduct a search, there is nothing constitutionally suspect in a person's voluntarily allowing a search. The actual conduct of the search may be precisely the same as if the police had obtained a warrant. And, unlike those constitutional guarantees that protect a defendant at trial, it cannot be said every reasonable presumption ought to be indulged against voluntary relinquishment. We have only recently stated:
"[I]t is no part of the policy underlying the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to discourage citizens from aiding to the utmost of their ability in the apprehension of criminals."
Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 403 U.S. at 403 U. S. 488. Rather, the community has a real interest in encouraging consent, for the resulting search may yield necessary evidence for the solution and prosecution of crime, evidence that may insure that a wholly innocent person is not wrongly charged with a criminal offense.
Those cases that have dealt with the application of the Johnson v. Zerbst rule make clear that it would be next to impossible to apply to a consent search the standard of "an intentional relinquishment or abandonment of a known right or privilege." [Footnote 31] To be true to Johnson chanrobles.com-red
and its progeny, there must be examination into the knowing and understanding nature of the waiver, an examination that was designed for a trial judge in the structured atmosphere of a courtroom. As the Court expressed it in Johnson:
"The constitutional right of an accused to be represented by counsel invokes, of itself, the protection of a trial court, in which the accused -- whose life or liberty is at stake is without counsel. This protecting duty imposes the serious and weighty responsibility upon the trial judge of determining whether there is an intelligent and competent waiver by the accused. While an accused may waive the right to counsel, whether there is a proper waiver should be clearly determined by the trial court, and it would be fitting and appropriate for that determination to appear upon the record."
304 U.S. at 304 U. S. 465. [Footnote 32] chanrobles.com-red
It would be unrealistic to expect that in the informal, unstructured context of a consent search, a policeman, upon pain of tainting the evidence obtained, could make the detailed type of examination demanded by Johnson. And, if for this reason a diluted form of "waiver" were found acceptable, that would itself be ample recognition of the fact that there is no universal standard that must be applied in every situation where a person forgoes a constitutional right. [Footnote 33]
Similarly, a "waiver" approach to consent searches would be thoroughly inconsistent with our decisions that have approved "third party consents." In Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 403 U.S. at 403 U. S. 487-490, where a wife surrendered to the police guns and clothing belonging to her husband, we found nothing constitutionally impermissible in the admission of that evidence at trial, since the wife had not been coerced. Frazier v. Cupp, 394 U. S. 731, 394 U. S. 740, held that evidence seized from the defendant's duffel bag in a search authorized by his cousin's consent was admissible at trial. We found that the defendant had assumed the risk that his cousin, with whom he shared the bag, would allow the police to search it. See also Abel v. United States, 362 U. S. 217. And chanrobles.com-red
in Hill v. California, 401 U. S. 797, 401 U. S. 802-805, we held that the police had validly seized evidence from the petitioner's apartment incident to the arrest of a third party, since the police had probable cause to arrest the petitioner and reasonably, though mistakenly, believed the man they had arrested was he. Yet it is inconceivable that the Constitution could countenance the waiver of a defendant's right to counsel by a third party, or that a waiver could be found because a trial judge reasonably, though mistakenly, believed a defendant had waived his right to plead not guilty. [Footnote 34]
In short, there is nothing in the purposes or application of the waiver requirements of Johnson v. Zerbst that justifies, much less compels, the easy equation of a knowing waiver with a consent search. To make such an equation is to generalize from the broad rhetoric of some of our decisions, and to ignore the substance of the differing constitutional guarantees. We decline to follow what one judicial scholar has termed
"the domino method of constitutional adjudication . . . wherein every explanatory statement in a previous opinion is made the basis for extension to a wholly different situation. [Footnote 35]"
Much of what has already been said disposes of the argument that the Court's decision in the Miranda case requires the conclusion that knowledge of a right to refuse is an indispensable element of a valid consent. The considerations that informed the Court's holding in Miranda are simply inapplicable in the present case. chanrobles.com-red
In Miranda, the Court found that the techniques of police questioning and the nature of custodial surroundings produce an inherently coercive situation. The Court concluded that,
"[u]nless adequate protective devices are employed to dispel the compulsion inherent in custodial surroundings, no statement obtained from the defendant can truly be the product of his free choice."
384 U.S. at 384 U. S. 458. And, at another point, the Court noted that,
"without proper safeguards, the process of in-custody interrogation of persons suspected or accused of crime contains inherently compelling pressures which work to undermine the individual's will to resist and to compel him to speak where he would not otherwise do so freely."
In this case, there is no evidence of any inherently coercive tactics -- either from the nature of the police questioning or the environment in which it took place. Indeed, since consent searches will normally occur on a person's own familiar territory, the specter of incommunicado police interrogation in some remote station house is simply inapposite. [Footnote 36] There is no reason to believe, under circumstances such as are present here, that the response to a policeman's question is presumptively coerced; and there is, therefore, no reason to reject the traditional test for determining the voluntariness of a person's response. Miranda, of course, did not reach investigative questioning of a person not in custody, which is most directly analogous to the situation of a consent search, and it assuredly did not indicate that such questioning ought to be deemed inherently coercive. See supra at 412 U. S. 232.
It is also argued that the failure to require the Government to establish knowledge as a prerequisite to a valid chanrobles.com-red
consent, will relegate the Fourth Amendment to the special province of "the sophisticated, the knowledgeable and the privileged." We cannot agree. The traditional definition of voluntariness we accept today has always taken into account evidence of minimal schooling, low intelligence, and the lack of any effective warnings to a person of his rights; and the voluntariness of any statement taken under those conditions has been carefully scrutinized to determine whether it was in fact, voluntarily given. [Footnote 37]
Our decision today is a narrow one. We hold only that, when the subject of a search is not in custody and the State attempts to justify a search on the basis of his consent, the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments require that it demonstrate that the consent was in fact, voluntarily given, and not the result of duress or coercion, express or implied. Voluntariness is a question of fact chanrobles.com-red
to be determined from all the circumstances, and while the subject's knowledge of a right to refuse is a factor to be taken into account, the prosecution is not required to demonstrate such knowledge as a prerequisite to establishing a voluntary consent. [Footnote 38] Because the California court followed these principles in affirming the respondent's conviction, and because the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in remanding for an evidentiary hearing, required more, its judgment must be reversed.
It so ordered.
Cal.Penal Code § 475a.
The order of the California Supreme Court is unreported.
The decision of the District Court is unreported.
"One would expect a hard-headed system like the common law to recognize exceptions even to the most comprehensive principle for safeguarding liberty. This is true of the prohibition of all searches and seizures as unreasonable unless authorized by a judicial warrant appropriately supported."
Davis v. United States, 328 U. S. 582, 328 U. S. 609 (Frankfurter, J., dissenting).
See Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U. S. 436, 507, and n. 3 (Harlan, J., dissenting); Spano v. New York, 360 U. S. 315, 360 U. S. 321 n. 2 (citing 28 cases).
Similarly, when we recently considered the meaning of a "voluntary" guilty plea, we returned to the standards of "voluntariness" developed in the coerced confession cases. See Brady v. United States, 397 U. S. 742, 397 U. S. 749. See also n 25, infra.
Bator & Vorenberg, Arrest, Detention, Interrogation and the Right to Counsel: Basic Problems and Possible Legislative Solutions, 66 Col.L.Rev. 62, 72-73. See also 3 J. Wigmore, Evidence § 826 (J. Chadbourn rev.1970):
"When, for example, threats are used, the situation is one of choice between alternatives, either one disagreeable, to be sure, but still subject to a choice. As between the rack and a confession, the latter would usually be considered the less disagreeable; but it is nonetheless a voluntary choice."
See generally Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. at 384 U. S. 508 (Harlan, J., dissenting); 3 J. Wigmore, Evidence § 826 (J. Chadbourn rev.1970); Note, Developments in the Law: Confessions, 79 Harv.L.Rev. 938, 95984.
See Note, Consent Searches: A Reappraisal After Miranda v. Arizona, 67 Col.L.Rev. 130, 130-131.
If there had been probable cause for the search of the automobile, a search warrant would not have been necessary in this case. See Brinegar v. United States, 338 U. S. 160; Carroll v. United States, 267 U. S. 132.
United States v. Curiale, 414 F.2d 744, 747.
Cf. Rosenthall v. Henderson, 389 F.2d 514, 516.
See, e.g., Gorman v. United States, 380 F.2d 158, 164 (CA1); United States ex rel. Cole v. Mancusi, 429 F.2d 61, 66 (CA2); United States ex rel. Harris v. Hendricks, 423 F.2d 1096, 1101 (CA3); United States v. Vickers, 387 F.2d 703, 707 (CA4); United States v. Goosbey, 419 F.2d 818 (CA6); United States v. Noa, 443 F.2d 144, 147 (CA9); Leeper v. United States, 446 F.2d 281, 284 (CA10). But see United States v. Nikrasch, 367 F.2d 740, 744 (CA7); United States v. Moderacki, 280 F.Supp. 633 (Del.); United States v. Blalock, 255 F.Supp. 268 (ED Pa.). While there is dictum in Nikrasch to the effect that warnings are necessary for an effective Fourth Amendment consent, the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit subsequently recanted that position and termed it "of dubious propriety." Byrd v. Lane, 398 F.2d 750, 755. The Court of Appeals limited Nikrasch to its facts -- a case where a suspect arrested on a disorderly conduct charge and incarcerated for eight hours "consented" from his jail cell to a search of his car.
See, e.g., People v. Roberts, 246 Cal.App.2d 715, 55 Cal.Rptr. 62; People v. Dahlke, 257 Cal.App.2d 82, 64 Cal.Rptr. 599; State v. Custer, 251 So.2d 287 (Fla.App.); State v. Oldham, 92 Idaho 124, 438 P.2d 275; State v. McCarty, 199 Kan. 116, 427 P.2d 616, vacated in part on other grounds, 392 U. S. 308; Hohnke v. Commonwealth, 451 S.W.2d 162 (Ky.); State v. Andrus, 250 La. 765, 199 So.2d 867; Morgan v. State, 2 Md.App. 440, 234 A.2d 762; State v. Witherspoon, 460 S.W.2d 281 (Mo.); State v. Forney, 181 Neb. 757, 150 N.W.2d 915; State v. Douglas, 260 Ore. 60, 488 P.2d 1366.
This view is bolstered by Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 403 U. S. 443. There, the Court determined that a suspect's wife was not operating as an agent of the State when she handed over her husband's guns and clothing to the police. We found nothing constitutionally suspect in the subjective forces that impelled the spouse to cooperate with the police.
"Among these are the simple but often powerful convention of openness and honesty, the fear that secretive behavior will intensify suspicion, and uncertainty as to what course is most likely to be helpful to the absent spouse."
"The test . . . is whether Mrs. Coolidge, in light of all the circumstances of the case, must be regarded as having acted as an 'instrument' or agent of the state when she produced her husband's belongings."
Just as it was necessary in Coolidge to analyze the totality of the surrounding circumstances to assess the validity of Mrs. Coolidge's offer of evidence, it is equally necessary to assess all the circumstances surrounding a search where consent is obtained in response to an initial police question.
Johnson v. Zerbst, 304 U. S. 458, itself relied on three civil cases, but none of those cases established the proposition that a waiver, to be effective, must be knowing and intelligent. Hodges v. Easton, 106 U. S. 408, which concerned the waiver of a civil jury trial by the submission of a special verdict to the jury, indicates only that "every reasonable presumption should be indulged against . . . waiver." Id. at 106 U. S. 412. Aetna Ins. Co. v. Kennedy, 301 U. S. 389, is to the same effect. Ohio Bell Tel. Co. v. Public Utilities Comm'n, 301 U. S. 292, which involved the possible waiver of procedural due process rights, stands only for the proposition that: "We do not presume acquiescence in the loss of fundamental rights." Id. at 301 U. S. 307.
Cf. Parden v. Terminal R. Co., 377 U. S. 184 (operation of common carrier railroad found to be waiver of State's sovereign immunity despite objection that there was no "waiver" under Johnson); National Equipment Rental, Ltd. v. Szukhent, 375 U. S. 311 (valid waiver of procedural due process found over objection of no compliance with Johnson). See also Employees v. Missouri Public Health Dept., 411 U. S. 279, 411 U. S. 296 (MARSHALL, J., concurring in result).
One apparent exception was Marchetti v. United States, 390 U. S. 39, 390 U. S. 51-52, where we found no meaningful waiver of the privilege against compulsory self-incrimination when a gambler was forced to pay a wagering tax. We reasoned that there could be no choice when the gambler was faced with the alternative of giving up gambling or providing incriminatory information. Analytically, therefore, although the Court cited Johnson, Marchetti turned on the lack of a "voluntary" waiver, rather than the lack of any "knowing" and "intelligent" waiver.
See, e.g., Glasser v. United States, 315 U. S. 60; Adams v. United States ex rel. McCann, 317 U. S. 269; Carnley v. Cochran, 369 U. S. 506; cf. Chessman v. Teets, 354 U. S. 156 (no waiver of counsel shown at settlement of state court record).
See, e.g., Von Moltke v. Gillies, 332 U. S. 708; Uveges v. Pennsylvania, 335 U. S. 437; Moore v. Michigan, 355 U. S. 155; Boyd v. Dutton, 405 U. S. 1.
See, e.g., Brookhart v. Janis, 384 U. S. 1; Barber v. Page, 390 U. S. 719.
See, e.g., Adams v. United States ex rel. McCann, supra.
See, e.g., Barker v. Wingo, 407 U. S. 514.
See, e.g., Green v. United States, 355 U. S. 184.
See, e.g., McCarthy v. United States, 394 U. S. 459; Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U. S. 238.
Our cases concerning the validity of guilty pleas underscore the fact that the question whether a person has acted "voluntarily" is quite distinct from the question whether he has "waived" a trial right. The former question, as we made clear in Brady v. United States, 397 U.S. at 397 U. S. 749, can be answered only by examining all the relevant circumstances to determine if he has been coerced. The latter question turns on the extent of his knowledge. We drew the same distinction in McMann v. Richardson, 397 U. S. 759, 397 U. S. 766:
"A conviction after a plea of guilty normally rests on the defendant's own admission in open court that he committed the acts with which he is charged. . . . That admission may not be compelled, and, since the plea is also a waiver of trial -- and unless the applicable law otherwise provides, a waiver of the right to contest the admissibility of any evidence the State might have offered against the defendant -- it must be an intelligent act 'done with sufficient awareness of the relevant circumstances and likely consequences.'"
(Footnote omitted.)
See, e.g., Smith v. United States, 337 U. S. 137.
See, e.g., Emspak v. United States, 349 U. S. 190.
See In re Gault, 387 U. S. 1, 387 U. S. 42.
As we have already noted, supra at 412 U. S. 232, Miranda itself involved interrogation of a suspect detained in custody, and did not concern the investigatory procedures of the police in general on-the-scene questioning. 384 U.S. at 384 U. S. 477.
By the same token, the present case does not require a determination of the proper standard to be applied in assessing the validity of a search authorized solely by an alleged consent that is obtained from a person after he has been placed in custody. We do note, however, that other courts have been particularly sensitive to the heightened possibilities for coercion when the "consent" to a search was given by a person in custody. See, e.g., Judd v. United States, 89 U.S.App.D.C. 64, 66, 190 F.2d 649, 651; Channel v. United States, 285 F.2d 217; Villano v. United States, 310 F.2d 680, 684; United States v. Marrese, 336 F.2d 501.
"[In] the uniformly structured situation of the defendant whose case is formally called for plea or trial, where, with everything to be gained by the presence of counsel and no interest deserving consideration to be lost, an inflexible rule serves well."
Friendly, The Bill of Rights as a Code of Criminal Procedure, 53 Calif.L.Rev. 929, 950.
While we have occasionally referred to a consent search as a "waiver," we have never used that term to mean "an intentional relinquishment or abandonment of a known right or privilege." Hence, for example, in Johnson v. United States, 333 U. S. 10, this Court found the consent to be ineffective:
"Entry to defendant's living quarters, which was the beginning of the search, was demanded under color of office. I t was granted in submission to authority rather than as an understanding and intentional waiver of a constitutional right."
Id. at 333 U. S. 13. While the Court spoke in terms of "waiver," it arrived at the conclusion that there had been no "waiver" from an analysis of the totality of the objective circumstances -- not from the absence of any express indication of Johnson's knowledge of a right to refuse or the lack of explicit warnings. See also Amos v. United States, 255 U. S. 313.
The Court was even more explicit in Von Moltke v. Gillies, 332 U.S. at 332 U. S. 723-724:
"To discharge this duty [of assuring the intelligent nature of the waiver] properly in light of the strong presumption against waiver of the constitutional right to counsel, a judge must investigate as long and as thoroughly as the circumstances of the case before him demand. The fact that an accused may tell him that he is informed of his right to counsel and desires to waive this right does not automatically end the judge's responsibility. To be valid, such waiver must be made with an apprehension of the nature of the charges, the statutory offenses included within them, the range of allowable punishments thereunder, possible defenses to the charges and circumstances in mitigation thereof, and all other facts essential to a broad understanding of the whole matter. A judge can make certain that an accused's professed waiver of counsel is understandingly and wisely made only from a penetrating and comprehensive examination of all the circumstances under which such a plea is tendered."
It seems clear that even a limited view of the demands of "an intentional relinquishment or abandonment of a known right or privilege" standard would inevitably lead to a requirement of detailed warnings before any consent search -- a requirement all but universally rejected to date. See nn. 13 and < a>| 13 and < a>S. 218fn14|>14, supra. As the Court stated in Miranda with respect to the privilege against compulsory self-incrimination:
"[W]e will not pause to inquire in individual cases whether the defendant was aware of his rights without a warning being given. Assessments of the knowledge the defendant possessed, based on information as to his age, education, intelligence, or prior contact with authorities, can never be more than speculation; a warning is a clear-cut fact."
Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. at 384 U. S. 468-469 (footnote omitted). See United States v. Moderacki, 280 F.Supp. 633; United States v. Blalock, 255 F.Supp. 268.
Our decision today is, of course, concerned with what constitutes a valid consent, not who can consent. But, the constitutional validity of third-party consents demonstrates the fundamentally different nature of a consent search from the waiver of a trial right.
Friendly, supra, n 30, at 950.
As noted above, supra, n 29, the present case does not require a determination of what effect custodial conditions might have on a search authorized solely by an alleged consent.
See, e.g., Clewis v. Texas, 386 U. S. 707; Culombe v. Connecticut, 367 U. S. 568; Reck v. Pate, 367 U. S. 433; Payne v. Arkansas, 356 U. S. 560; Fikes v. Alabama, 352 U. S. 191; Harris v. South Carolina, 338 U. S. 68; Haley v. Ohio, 332 U. S. 596.
MR. JUSTICE WHITE once answered a similar argument:
"The Court may be concerned with a narrower matter: the unknowing defendant who responds to police questioning because he mistakenly believes that he must and that his admissions will not be used against him. . . . The failure to inform an accused that he need not answer and that his answers may be used against him is very relevant indeed to whether the disclosures are compelled. Cases in this Court, to say the least, have never placed a premium on ignorance of constitutional rights. If an accused is told he must answer and does not know better, it would be very doubtful that the resulting admissions could be used against him. When the accused has not been informed of his rights at all, the Court characteristically and properly looks very closely at the surrounding circumstances."
Escobedo v. Illinois, 378 U. S. 478, 378 U. S. 499 (WHITE, J., dissenting).
The State also urges us to hold that a violation of the exclusionary rule may not be raised by a state or federal prisoner in a collateral attack on his conviction, and thus asks us to overturn our contrary holdings in Kaufman v. United States, 394 U. S. 217; Whiteley v. Warden, 401 U. S. 560; Harris v. Nelson, 394 U. S. 286; and Mancusi v. DeForte, 392 U. S. 364. Since we have found no valid Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment claim in this case, we do not consider that question.
MR. JUSTICE BLACKMUN, concurring.
I join the Court's opinion and its judgment.
At the time Kaufman v. United States, 394 U. S. 217 (1969), was decided, I, as a member of the Court of Appeals (but not of its panel) whose order was there reversed, found myself in agreement with the views expressed by Mr. Justice Harlan, writing for himself and my Brother STEWART in dissent. Id. at 394 U. S. 242. My attitude has not changed in the four years that have passed since Kaufman was decided.
Although I agree with nearly all that MR. JUSTICE POWELL has to say in his detailed and persuasive concurring opinion, post, p. 412 U. S. 250, I refrain from joining it at this time because, as MR. JUSTICE STEWART's opinion reveals, it is not necessary to reconsider Kaufman in order to decide the present case. chanrobles.com-red
MR. JUSTICE POWELL, with whom THE CHIEF JUSTICE and MR. JUSTICE REHNQUIST join, concurring.
While I join the opinion of the Court, it does not address what seems to me the overriding issue briefed and argued in this case: the extent to which federal habeas corpus should be available to a state prisoner seeking to exclude evidence from an allegedly unlawful search and seizure. I would hold that federal collateral review of a state prisoner's Fourth Amendment claims -- claims which rarely bear on innocence -- should be confined solely to the question of whether the petitioner was provided a fair opportunity to raise and have adjudicated the question in state courts. In view of the importance of this issue to our system of criminal justice, I think it appropriate to express my views.
Although petitions for federal habeas corpus assert a wide variety of constitutional questions, we are concerned in this case only with a Fourth Amendment claim that an unlawful search occurred and that the state court erred in failing to exclude the evidence obtained therefrom. A divided court in Kaufman v. United States, 394 U. S. 217 (1969), held that collateral review of search and seizure claims was appropriate on motions filed by federal prisoners under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. Until Kaufman, a substantial majority of the federal courts of appeals had considered that claims of unlawful search and seizure "are not proper matters to be presented by a motion to vacate sentence under § 2255. . . .'" Id. at 394 U. S. 220. The rationale of this view was fairly summarized by the Court:
"The denial of Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, the Government's
argument runs, is of a different nature from denials of other constitutional rights which we have held subject to collateral attack by federal prisoners. For, unlike a claim of denial of effective counsel or of violation of the privilege against self-incrimination, as examples, a claim of illegal search and seizure does not impugn the integrity of the factfinding process or challenge evidence as inherently unreliable; rather, the exclusion of illegally seized evidence is simply a prophylactic device intended generally to deter Fourth Amendment violations by law enforcement officers."
In rejecting this rationale, the Court noted that, under prior decisions, "the federal habeas remedy extends to state prisoners alleging that unconstitutionally obtained evidence was admitted against them at trial," [Footnote 2/1] and concluded that there was no basis for restricting
"access by federal prisoners with illegal search and seizure claims to federal collateral remedies, while placing no similar restriction on access by state prisoners."
Id. at 394 U. S. 225-226. In short, on petition for habeas corpus or collateral review filed in a federal district court, whether by state prisoners under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 or federal prisoners under § 2255, the present rule is that Fourth Amendment claims may be asserted and the exclusionary rule must be applied in precisely the same manner as on direct review. Neither the history or purpose of habeas corpus, the desired prophylactic utility of the exclusionary rule as applied to Fourth Amendment claims, nor any sound reason relevant to the administration of criminal justice in our federal system justifies such a power. chanrobles.com-red
The federal review involved in this Fourth Amendment case goes well beyond the traditional purpose of the writ of habeas corpus. Much of the present perception of habeas corpus stems from a revisionist view of the historic function that writ was meant to perform. The critical historical argument has focused on the nature of the writ at the time of its incorporation in our Constitution and at the time of the Habeas Corpus Act of 1867, the direct ancestor of contemporary habeas corpus statutes. [Footnote 2/2] In Fay v. Noia, 372 U. S. 391, 372 U. S. 426 (1963), the Court interpreted the writ's historic position as follows:
"At the time the privilege of the writ was written into the Federal Constitution, it was settled that the writ lay to test any restraint contrary to fundamental law, which, in England, stemmed ultimately from Magna Charta, but, in this country, was embodied in the written Constitution. Congress, in 1867, sought to provide a federal forum for state prisoners having constitutional defenses by extending the habeas corpus powers of the federal courts to their constitutional maximum. Obedient to this purpose, we have consistently held that federal court
jurisdiction is conferred by the allegation of an unconstitutional restraint, and is not defeated by anything that may occur in the state court proceedings."
If this were a correct interpretation of the relevant history, the present wide scope accorded the writ would have arguable support, despite the impressive reasons to the contrary. But recent scholarship has cast grave doubt on Fay's version of the writ's historic function.
It has been established that both the Framers of the Constitution and the authors of the 1867 Act expected that the scope of habeas corpus would be determined with reference to the writ's historic, common law development. [Footnote 2/3] Mr. Chief Justice Marshall early referred to the common law conception of the writ in determining its constitutional and statutory scope, @ 8 U. S. 93-94 (1807); Ex parte Watkins, 3 Pet.193, 201-202 (1830), and Professor Oaks has noted that,
"when the 1867 Congress provided that persons restrained of their liberty in violation of the Constitution could obtain a writ of habeas corpus from a federal court, it undoubtedly intended -- except to the extent the legislation provided otherwise -- to incorporate the common law uses and functions of this remedy. [Footnote 2/4]"
It thus becomes important to understand exactly what was the common law scope of the writ both when embraced by our Constitution and incorporated into the Habeas Corpus Act of 1867. Two respected scholars have recently explored precisely these questions. [Footnote 2/5] Their efforts chanrobles.com-red
have been both meticulous and revealing. Their conclusions differ significantly from those of the Court in Fay v. Noia, that habeas corpus traditionally has been available "to remedy any kind of governmental restraint contrary to fundamental law." 372 U.S. at 372 U. S. 405.
The considerable evidence marshaled by these scholars need not be restated here. Professor Oaks makes a convincing case that, under the common law of habeas corpus at the time of the adoption of the Constitution,
"once a person had been convicted by a superior court of general jurisdiction, a court disposing of a habeas corpus petition could not go behind the conviction for any purpose other than to verify the formal jurisdiction of the committing court. [Footnote 2/6]"
Certainly that was what Mr. Chief Justice Marshall understood when he stated:
"This writ [habeas corpus] is, as has been said, in the nature of a writ of error which brings up the body of the prisoner with the cause of commitment. The court can undoubtedly inquire into the sufficiency of that cause, but if it be the judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction, especially a judgment withdrawn by law from the revision of this court, is not that judgment, in itself, sufficient cause? Can the court, upon this writ, look beyond the judgment and reexamine the charges on which it was rendered. A judgment, in its nature, concludes the subject on which it is rendered, and pronounces the law of the case. The judgment of a court of record whose jurisdiction is final is as conclusive on all the world as the judgment of this court would be. It is as conclusive on this court as it is on other courts. It puts an end to inquiry concerning the fact by deciding it."
Ex parte Watkins, 3 Pet. at 28 U. S. 202-203. chanrobles.com-red
The respect shown under common law for the finality of the judgment of a committing court at the time of the Constitution and in the early 19th century did not, of course, explicitly contemplate the operation of habeas corpus in the context of federal-state relations. Federal habeas review for state prisoners was not available until passage of the Habeas Corpus Act of 1867. Yet there is no evidence that Congress intended that Act to jettison the respect theretofore shown by a reviewing court for prior judgments by a court of proper jurisdiction. The Act
"received only the most perfunctory attention and consideration in the Congress; indeed, there were complaints that its effects could not be understood at all. [Footnote 2/7]"
In fact, as Professor Bator notes, it would require overwhelming evidence, which simply is not present, to conclude that the 1867 Congress intended
"to tear habeas corpus entirely out of the context of its historical meaning and scope and convert it into an ordinary writ of error with respect to all federal questions in all criminal cases. [Footnote 2/8]"
Rather, the House Judiciary Committee, when it reviewed the Act in 1884, understood that it was not
"contemplated by its framers or . . . properly . . . construed to authorize the overthrow of the final judgments of the State courts of general jurisdiction, by the inferior Federal judges. [Footnote 2/9]"
Much, of course, has transpired since that first Habeas Corpus Act. See Fay v. Noia, 372 U.S. at 372 U. S. 449-463 (Harlan, J., dissenting). The scope of federal habeas corpus for state prisoners has evolved from a quite limited inquiry into whether the committing state court had jurisdiction, Ardrews v. Swartz, 156 U. S. 272 (1895); In re chanrobles.com-red
Moran, 203 U. S. 96 (1906), to whether the applicant had been given an adequate opportunity in state court to raise his constitutional claims, Frank v. Mangum, 237 U. S. 309 (1915); and finally to actual redetermination in federal court of state court rulings on a wide variety of constitutional contentions, Brown v. Allen, 344 U. S. 443 (1953). No one would now suggest that this Court be imprisoned by every particular of habeas corpus as it existed in the late 18th and 19th centuries. But recognition of that reality does not liberate us from all historical restraint. The historical evidence demonstrates that the purposes of the writ, at the time of the adoption of the Constitution, were tempered by a due regard for the finality of the judgment of the committing court. This regard was maintained substantially intact when Congress, in the Habeas Corpus Act of 1867, first extended federal habeas review to the delicate interrelations of our dual court systems.
Recent decisions, however, have tended to depreciate the importance of the finality of prior judgments in criminal cases. Kaufman, 394 U.S. at 394 U. S. 228; Sanders v. United States, 373 U. S. 1, 373 U. S. 8 (1963); Fay, supra, at 372 U. S. 424. This trend may be a justifiable evolution of the use of habeas corpus where the one in state custody raises a constitutional claim bearing on his innocence. But the justification for disregarding the historic scope and function of the writ is measurably less apparent in the typical Fourth Amendment claim asserted on collateral attack. In this latter case, a convicted defendant is most often asking society to redetermine a matter with no bearing at all on the basic justice of his incarceration.
Habeas corpus indeed should provide the added assurance for a free society that no innocent man suffers an unconstitutional loss of liberty. The Court in Fay described chanrobles.com-red
habeas corpus as a remedy for "whatever society deems to be intolerable restraints," and recognized that those to whom the writ should be granted "are persons whom society has grievously wronged, and for whom belated liberation is little enough compensation." Id. at 372 U. S. 401-402, 372 U. S. 441. The Court there acknowledged that the central reason for the writ lay in remedying injustice to the individual. Recent commentators have recognized the same core concept, one noting that,
"where personal liberty is involved, a democratic society . . . insists that it is less important to reach an unshakable decision than to do justice (emphasis added), [Footnote 2/10]"
and another extolling the use of the writ in Leyra v. Denno, 347 U. S. 556 (1954), with the assertion that, "[b]ut for federal habeas corpus, these two men would have gone to their deaths for crimes of which they were found not guilty." [Footnote 2/11]
I am aware that history reveals no exact tie of the writ of habeas corpus to a constitutional claim relating to innocence or guilt. Traditionally, the writ was unavailable even for many constitutional pleas grounded on a claimant's innocence, while many contemporary proponents of expanded employment of the writ would permit its issuance for one whose deserved confinement was never in doubt. We are now faced, however, with the task of accommodating the historic respect for the finality of the judgment of a committing court with recent Court expansions of the role of the writ. This accommodation can best be achieved, with due regard to all of the values implicated, by recourse to the central reason for habeas corpus: the affording of means, chanrobles.com-red
through an extraordinary writ, of redressing an unjust incarceration.
Federal habeas review of search and seizure claims is rarely relevant to this reason. Prisoners raising Fourth Amendment claims collaterally usually are quite justly detained. The evidence obtained from searches and seizures is often "the clearest proof of guilt," with a very high content of reliability. [Footnote 2/12] Rarely is there any contention that the search rendered the evidence unreliable, or that its means cast doubt upon the prisoner's guilt. The words of Mr. Justice Black drive home the point:
"A claim of illegal search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment is crucially different from many other constitutional rights; ordinarily, the evidence seized can in no way have been rendered untrustworthy by the means of its seizure, and, indeed, often this evidence alone establishes beyond virtually any shadow of a doubt that the defendant is guilty."
Kaufman v. United States, 394 U.S. at 394 U. S. 237 (1969) (dissenting opinion).
Habeas corpus review of search and seizure claims thus brings a deficiency of our system of criminal justice into sharp focus: a convicted defendant asserting no Constitutional claim bearing on innocence and relying solely on an alleged unlawful search, is now entitled to federal habeas review of state conviction and the likelihood of release if the reviewing court concludes that the search was unlawful. That federal courts would actually redetermine constitutional claims bearing no relation to the prisoner's innocence with the possibility of releasing him from custody if the search is held unlawful not only defeats our societal interest in a rational legal system, but serves no compensating ends of personal justice. chanrobles.com-red
This unprecedented extension of habeas corpus far beyond its historic bounds and in disregard of the writ's central purpose is an anomaly in our system sought to be justified only by extrinsic reasons which will be addressed in 412 U. S. But first let us look at the costs of this anomaly -- costs in terms of serious intrusions on other societal values. It is these other values that have been subordinated -- not to further justice on behalf of arguably innocent persons, but all too often to serve mechanistic rules quite unrelated to justice in a particular case. Nor are these neglected values unimportant to justice in the broadest sense or to our system of Government. They include (i) the most effective utilization of limited judicial resources, (ii) the necessity of finality in criminal trials, (iii) the minimization of friction between our federal and state systems of justice, and (iv) the maintenance of the constitutional balance upon which the doctrine of federalism is founded.
When raised on federal habeas, a claim generally has been considered by two or more tiers of state courts. It is the solemn duty of these courts, no less than federal ones, to safeguard personal liberties and consider federal claims in accord with federal law. The task which federal courts are asked to perform on habeas is thus most often one that has or should have been done before. The presumption that "if a job can be well done once, it should not be done twice" is sound, and one calculated to utilize best "the intellectual, moral, and political resources involved in the legal system." [Footnote 2/13] chanrobles.com-red
Those resources are limited, but demand on them constantly increases. There is an insistent call on federal courts both in civil actions, many novel and complex, which affect intimately the lives of great numbers of people and, in original criminal trials and appeals which deserve our most careful attention. [Footnote 2/14] To the extent the federal courts are required to reexamine claims on collateral chanrobles.com-red
attack, [Footnote 2/15] they deprive primary litigants of their prompt availability and mature reflection. After all, the resources of our system are finite: their overextension jeopardizes the care and quality essential to fair adjudication.
The present scope of federal habeas corpus also has worked to defeat the interest of society in a rational point of termination for criminal litigation. Professor Amsterdam has identified some of the finality interests at stake in collateral proceedings:
"They involve (a) duplication of judicial effort; (b) delay in setting the criminal proceeding at rest; (c) inconvenience and possibly danger in transporting a prisoner to the sentencing court for hearing; (d) postponed litigation of fact, hence litigation which will often be less reliable in reproducing the facts (i) respecting the post-conviction claim itself, and (ii) respecting the issue of guilt if the collateral attack succeeds in a form which allows retrial. . . ."
He concluded that:
"[I]n combination, these finality considerations amount to a more or less persuasive argument against the cognizability of any particular collateral
claim, the strength of the argument depending upon the nature of the claim, the manner of its treatment (if any) in the conviction proceedings, and the circumstances under which collateral litigation must be had. [Footnote 2/16]"
No effective judicial system can afford to concede the continuing theoretical possibility that there is error in every trial and that every incarceration is unfounded. At some point, the law must convey to those in custody that a wrong has been committed, that consequent punishment has been imposed, that one should no longer look back with the view to resurrecting every imaginable basis for further litigation, but rather should look forward to rehabilitation and to becoming a constructive citizen. [Footnote 2/17]
Nowhere should the merit of this view be more self-evident than in collateral attack on an allegedly unlawful search and seizure, where the petitioner often asks society to redetermine a claim with no relationship at all to the justness of his confinement. Professor Amsterdam has noted that, "for reasons which are common to all search and seizure claims," he "would hold even a slight finality interest sufficient to deny the collateral remedy." [Footnote 2/18] But, in fact, a strong finality interest militates against allowing chanrobles.com-red
collateral review of search and seizure claims. Apart from the duplication of resources inherent in most habeas corpus proceedings, the validity of a search and seizure claim frequently hinges on a complex matrix of events which may be difficult indeed for the habeas court to disinter, especially where, as often happens, the trial occurred years before the collateral attack and the state record is thinly sketched. [Footnote 2/19]
Finally, the present scope of habeas corpus tends to undermine the values inherent in our federal system of government. To the extent that every state criminal judgment is to be subject indefinitely to broad and repetitive federal oversight, we render the actions of state courts a serious disrespect in derogation of the constitutional balance between the two systems. [Footnote 2/20] The present expansive scope of federal habeas review has prompted no small friction between state and federal judiciaries. Justice Paul C. Reardon of the Massachusetts Supreme chanrobles.com-red
Judicial Court and then President of the National Center for State Courts, in identifying problems between the two systems, noted bluntly that "[t]he first, without question, is the effect of Federal habeas corpus proceedings on State courts." He spoke of the "humiliation of review from the full bench of the highest State appellate court to a single United States District Court judge." Such broad federal habeas powers encourage, in his view, the "growing denigration of the State courts and their functions in the public mind." [Footnote 2/21] In so speaking Justice Reardon echoed the words of Professor Bator:
"I could imagine nothing more subversive of a judge's sense of responsibility, of the inner subjective conscientiousness which is so essential a part of the difficult and subtle art of judging well, than an indiscriminate
acceptance of the notion that all the shots will always be called by someone else. [Footnote 2/22]"
In my view, this Court has few more pressing responsibilities than to restore the mutual respect and the balanced sharing of responsibility between the state and federal courts which our tradition and the Constitution itself so wisely contemplate. This can be accomplished without retreat from our inherited insistence that the writ of habeas corpus retain its full vitality as a means of redressing injustice. This case involves only a relatively narrow aspect of the appropriate reach of habeas corpus. The specific issue before us, and the only one that need be decided at this time, is the extent to which a state prisoner may obtain federal habeas corpus review of a Fourth Amendment claim. Whatever may be formulated as a more comprehensive answer to the important broader issues (whether by clarifying legislation or in subsequent decisions), Mr. Justice Black has suggested what seems to me to be the appropriate threshold requirement in a case of this kind: "I would always require that the convicted defendant raise the kind of constitutional claim that casts some shadow of a doubt on his guilt." Kaufman v. United States, 394 U.S. at 394 U. S. 242 (dissenting opinion). In a perceptive analysis, Judge Henry J. Friendly expressed a similar view. He would draw the line against habeas corpus review in the absence of a "colorable claim of innocence":
"[W]ith a few important exceptions, convictions should be subject to collateral attack only when
the prisoner supplements his constitutional plea with a colorable claim of innocence. [Footnote 2/23]"
Where there is no constitutional claim bearing on innocence, the inquiry of the federal court on habeas review of a state prisoner's Fourth Amendment claim should be confined solely to the question whether the defendant was provided a fair opportunity in the state courts to raise and have adjudicated the Fourth Amendment claim. Limiting the scope of habeas review in this manner would reduce the role of the federal courts in determining the merits of constitutional claims with no relation to a petitioner's innocence, and contribute to the restoration of recently neglected values to their proper place in our criminal justice system.
The importance of the values referred to above is not questioned. What, then, is the reason which has prompted this Court in recent decisions to extend habeas corpus to Fourth Amendment claims largely in disregard of its history, as well as these values? In addressing Mr. Justice Black's dissenting view that constitutional claims raised collaterally should be relevant to the petitioner's innocence, the majority in Kaufman noted:
"It [Mr. Justice Black's view] brings into question the propriety of the exclusionary rule itself. The application of that rule is not made to turn on the
existence of a possibility of innocence; rather, exclusion of illegally obtained evidence is deemed necessary to protect the right of all citizens, not merely the citizen on trial, to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures."
394 U.S. at 394 U. S. 229. (Emphasis added.)
The exclusionary rule has occasioned much criticism, largely on grounds that its application permits guilty defendants to go free and law-breaking officers to go unpunished. [Footnote 2/24] The oft-asserted reason for the rule is to deter illegal searches and seizures by the police, Elkins v. United States, 364 U. S. 206, 364 U. S. 217 (1960); Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U. S. 643, 367 U. S. 656 (1961); Linkletter v. Walker, 381 U. S. 618, 381 U. S. 636 (1965); Terry v. Ohio, 392 U. S. 1, 392 U. S. 29 (1968). [Footnote 2/25] chanrobles.com-red
The efficacy of this deterrent function, however, has been brought into serious question by recent empirical research. Whatever the rule's merits on an initial trial and appeal [Footnote 2/26] -- a question not in issue here -- the case for chanrobles.com-red
collateral application of the rule is an anemic one. On collateral attack, the exclusionary rule retains its major liabilities, while the asserted benefit of the rule dissolves. For whatever deterrent function the rule may serve when applied on trial and appeal becomes greatly attenuated when, months or years afterward, the claim surfaces for collateral review. The impermissible conduct has long since occurred, and the belated wrist slap of state police by federal courts harms no one but society, on whom the convicted criminal is newly released. [Footnote 2/27]
Searches and seizures are an opaque area of the law: flagrant Fourth Amendment abuses will rarely escape detection, but there is a vast twilight zone with respect to which one Justice has stated that our own "decisions . . . are hardly notable for their predictability," [Footnote 2/28] and another has observed that this Court was "bifurcating elements too infinitesimal to be split.'" [Footnote 2/29] Serious Fourth Amendment infractions can be dealt with by state judges or by this Court on direct review. But the nonfrivolous Fourth Amendment claims that survive for collateral attack are most likely to be in this grey, twilight area, where the law is difficult for courts to apply, let alone for the policeman on the beat to understand. This is chanrobles.com-red
precisely the type of case where the deterrent function of the exclusionary rule is least efficacious, and where there is the least justification for freeing a duly convicted defendant. [Footnote 2/30]
Our decisions have not encouraged the thought that what may be an appropriate constitutional policy in one context automatically becomes such for all times and all seasons. In Linkletter v. Walker, 381 U.S. at 381 U. S. 629, the Court recognized the compelling practical considerations against retroactive application of the exclusionary rule. Rather than viewing the rule as having eternal constitutional verity, the Court decided to
"weigh the merits and demerits in each case by looking to the prior history of the rule in question, its purpose and effect, and whether retrospective operation will further or retard its operation. We believe that this approach is particularly correct with reference to the Fourth Amendment's prohibitions as to unreasonable searches and seizures."
Such a pragmatic approach compelled the Court to conclude that the rule's deterrent function would not be advanced by its retrospective application:
"The misconduct of the police prior to Mapp has already occurred, and will not be corrected by releasing the prisoners involved. . . . Finally, the ruptured privacy of the victims' homes and effects cannot be restored. Reparation comes too late."
Id. at 381 U. S. 637. See also Desist v. United States, 394 U. S. 244 (1969). The same practical, particularized analysis of the exclusionary rule's necessity also was evident in Walder v. United States, 347 U. S. 62 (1954), when the Court permitted chanrobles.com-red
the Government to utilize unlawfully seized evidence to impeach the credibility of a defendant who had first testified broadly in his own defense. The Court held, in effect, that the policies protected by the exclusionary rule were outweighed in this case by the need to prevent perjury and assure the integrity of proceedings at trial. The Court concluded that to apply the exclusionary rule in such circumstances "would be a perversion of the Fourth Amendment." Id. at 347 U. S. 65. The judgment in Walder revealed most pointedly that the policies behind the exclusionary rule are neither absolute nor all-encompassing, but rather must be weighed and balanced against a competing and more compelling policy, namely the need for effective determination of truth at trial.
In sum: the case for the exclusionary rule varies with the setting in which it is imposed. It makes little sense to extend the Mapp exclusionary rule to a federal habeas proceeding where its asserted deterrent effect must be least efficacious, and its obvious harmful consequences persist in full force.
The final inquiry is whether the above position conforms to 28 U.S.C. § 2254(a) which provides:
"The Supreme Court, a Justice thereof, a circuit judge, or a district court shall entertain an application for a writ of habeas corpus in behalf of a person in custody pursuant to the judgment of a State court only on the ground that he is in custody in violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States."
The trend in recent years has witnessed a proliferation of constitutional rights, "a vast expansion of the claims of error in criminal cases for which a resourceful defense lawyer can find a constitutional basis." [Footnote 2/31] Federal habeas chanrobles.com-red
jurisdiction has been extended far beyond anyone's expectation or intendment when the concept of "custody in violation of the Constitution," now in § 2254(a), first appeared in federal law over a century ago. [Footnote 2/32]
Mr. Justice Black was clearly correct in noting that
"not every conviction based in part on a denial of a constitutional right is subject to attack by habeas corpus or § 2255 proceedings after a conviction has become final."
Kaufman, 394 U.S. at 394 U. S. 232 (dissenting opinion). No evidence exists that Congress intended every allegation of a constitutional violation to afford an appropriate basis for collateral review: indeed, the latest revisions of the Federal Habeas Corpus statute in 1966 [Footnote 2/33] and the enactment of § 2254(a) came at the time a majority of the courts of appeals held that claims of unlawful search and seizure
"'are not proper matters to be presented by a motion to vacate sentence under § 2255, but can only be properly presented by appeal from the conviction.'"
Id. at 394 U. S. 220, quoting Warren v. United States, 311 F.2d 673, 675 (CA8 1963). [Footnote 2/34] Though the precise discussion in Kaufman concerned the claims of federal prisoners under § 2255, the then-existing principle of a distinction between review of search and seizure claims in direct and collateral proceedings clearly existed.
There is no indication that Congress intended to wipe out this distinction. Indeed, the broad purpose of the 1966 amendments pointed in the opposite direction. The report of the Senate Judiciary Committee notes that:
"Although only a small number of these [habeas] applications have been found meritorious, the applications
in their totality have imposed a heavy burden on the Federal courts. . . . The bill seeks to alleviate the unnecessary burden by introducing a greater degree of finality of judgments in habeas corpus proceedings."
S.Rep. No. 1797, 89th Cong., 2d Sess., 2 (1966). [Footnote 2/35]
The House Report states similarly that:
"While in only a small number of these applications have the petitioners been successful, they nevertheless have not only imposed an unnecessary burden on the work of the Federal courts, but have also greatly interfered with the procedures and processes of the State courts by delaying, in many cases, the proper enforcement of their judgments."
H.R.Rep. No. 1892, 89th Cong., 2d Sess., 5 (1966).
This most recent congressional expression on the scope of federal habeas corpus reflected the sentiment, shared alike by judges and legislators, that the writ has overrun its historical banks to inundate the dockets of federal courts and denigrate the role of state courts. Though Congress did not address the precise question at hand, nothing in § 2254(a), the state of the law at the time of its adoption, or the historical uses of the language "custody in violation of the Constitution" from which § 2254(a) is derived, [Footnote 2/36] compels a holding that rulings of state courts on claims of unlawful search and chanrobles.com-red
seizure must be reviewed and redetermined in collateral proceedings.
Perhaps no single development of the criminal law has had consequences so profound as the escalating use, over the past two decades, of federal habeas corpus to reopen and readjudicate state criminal judgments. I have commented in 412 U. S. [Footnote 2/37] in terms of demands on the courts, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and other personnel and facilities; the absence of efficiency and finality in the criminal process, frustrating both the deterrent function of the law and the effectiveness of rehabilitation; the undue subordination of state courts, with the resulting exacerbation of state-federal relations; and the subtle erosion of the doctrine of federalism itself. Perhaps the single most disquieting consequence of open-ended habeas review is reflected in the prescience of Mr. Justice Jackson's warning that "[i]t must prejudice the occasional meritorious application to be buried in a flood of worthless ones." [Footnote 2/38]
If these consequences flowed from the safeguarding of constitutional claims of innocence, they should, of course, be accepted as a tolerable price to pay for cherished standards of justice at the same time that efforts are pursued to find more rational procedures. Yet, as illustrated by the case before us today, the question on habeas corpus is chanrobles.com-red
too rarely whether the prisoner was innocent of the crime for which he was convicted, [Footnote 2/39] and too frequently whether some evidence of undoubted probative value has been admitted in violation of an exclusionary rule ritualistically applied without due regard to whether it has the slightest likelihood of achieving its avowed prophylactic purpose.
It is this paradox of a system, which so often seems to subordinate substance to form, that increasingly provokes criticism and lack of confidence. Indeed, it is difficult to explain why a system of criminal justice deserves respect which allows repetitive reviews of convictions long since held to have been final at the end of the normal process of trial and appeal where the basis for reexamination is not even that the convicted defendant was innocent. There has been a halo about the "Great Writ" that no one would wish to dim. Yet one must wonder whether the stretching of its use far beyond any justifiable purpose will not, in the end, weaken, rather than strengthen, the writ's vitality.
Cases cited as examples included Mancusi v. DeForte, 392 U. S. 364 (1968); Carafas v. LaVallee, 391 U. S. 234 (1968); Warden v. Hayden, 387 U. S. 294 (1967).
The Act of Feb. 5, 1867, c. 28, § 1, 14 Stat. 385, provided that
"the several courts of the United States . . . within their respective jurisdictions, in addition to the authority already conferred by law, shall have power to grant writs of habeas corpus in all cases where any person may be restrained of his or her liberty in violation of the constitution, or of any treaty or law of the United States. . . ."
Federal habeas review for those in state custody is now authorized by 28 U.S.C. § 2254(a):
Bator, Finality in Criminal Law and Federal Habeas Corpus for State Prisoners, 76 Harv.L.Rev. 441, 466 (1963); Oaks, Legal History in the High Court -- Habeas Corpus, 64 Mich.L.Rev. 451, 451-456 (1966).
Oaks, supra, 412 U. S. 3, at 452.
Professor Paul M. Bator of Harvard Law School and Professor Dallin H. Oaks formerly of the University of Chicago School of Law. Citations to the relevant articles are in 412 U. S. 3, supra.
Bator, supra, 412 U. S. 3, at 475-476.
H.R.Rep. No. 730, 48th Cong., 1st Sess., 5 (1884), quoted in Bator, supra, 412 U. S. 3, at 477.
Pollak, Proposals to Curtail Federal Habeas Corpus for State Prisoners: Collateral Attack on the Great Writ, 66 Yale L.J. 50, 65 (1956).
Reitz, Federal Habeas Corpus: Post-conviction Remedy for State Prisoners, 108 U.Pa.L.Rev. 461, 497 (1960).
Friendly, Is Innocence Irrelevant? Collateral Attack on Criminal Judgments, 38 U.Chi.L.Rev. 142, 160 (1970).
Bator, supra, 412 U. S. 3, at 451.
The conventional justifications for extending federal habeas corpus to afford collateral review of state court judgments were summarized in Kaufman v. United States, 394 U. S. 217, 394 U. S. 225-226, as follows:
"[T] he necessity that federal courts have the 'last say' with respect to questions of federal law, the inadequacy of state procedures to raise and preserve federal claims, the concern that state judges may be unsympathetic to federally created rights, the institutional constraints on the exercise of this Court's certiorari jurisdiction to review state convictions. . . ."
Each of these justifications has merit in certain situations, although the asserted inadequacy of state procedures and unsympathetic attitude of state judges are far less realistic grounds of concern than in years past. The issue, fundamentally, is one of perspective and a rational balancing. The appropriateness of federal collateral review is evident in many instances. But it hardly follows that, in order to promote the ends of individual justice which are the foremost concerns of the writ, it is necessary to extend the scope of habeas review indiscriminately . This is especially true with respect to federal review of Fourth Amendment claims, with the consequent denigration of other important societal values and interests.
Briefly, civil filings in United States district courts increased from 58,293 in 1961 to 96,173 in 1972. Total appeals commenced in the United States courts of appeals advanced from 4,204 in 1961 to 14,535 in 1972. Petitions for federal habeas corpus filed by state prisoners jumped from 1,020 in 1961 to 7,949 in 1972. Though habeas petitions filed by state prisoners did decline from 9,063 in 1970 to 7,949 in 1972, the overall increase from 1,000 at the start of the last decade is formidable. Furthermore, civil rights prisoner petitions under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 increased from 1,072 to 3,348 in the past five years. Some of these challenged the fact and duration of confinement and sought release from prison, and must now be brought as actions for habeas corpus, Preiser v. Rodriguez, 411 U. S. 475 (1973). See 1972 Annual Report of the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts II-5, II-22, II-232.
MR. CHIEF JUSTICE BURGER has illustrated the absurd extent to which relitigation is sometimes allowed:
"In some of these multiple trial and appeal cases [on collateral attack], the accused continued his warfare with society for eight, nine, ten years and more. In one case, . . . more than fifty appellate judges reviewed the case on appeals."
Address before the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, N.Y.L.J. Feb.19, 1970, p. 1.
The English courts, "long admired for [their] fair treatment of accused persons," have never so extended habeas corpus. Friendly, supra, 412 U. S. 12, at 145.
Amsterdam, Search, Seizure, and Section 2255: A Comment, 112 U.Pa.L.Rev. 378, 383-384 (1964). The article addresses the problem of collateral relief for federal prisoners, but its rationale applies forcefully to federal habeas for state prisoners as well.
Mr. Justice Harlan put it very well:
"Both the individual criminal defendant and society have an interest in insuring that there will at some point be the certainty that comes with an end to litigation, and that attention will ultimately be focused not on whether a conviction was free from error, but rather on whether the prisoner can be restored to a useful place in the community."
Sanders v. United States, 373 U. S. 1, 373 U. S. 24-25 (1963) (dissenting opinion).
Supra, 412 U. S. 16, at 388.
The latter occurs for various reasons, namely, failure of the accused to raise the claim at trial, a determination by the state courts that the claim did not merit a hearing, or a recent decision of this Court extending rights of the accused (although, on Fourth Amendment claims, such decisions have seldom been applied retroactively, see, e.g., Linkletter v. Walker, 381 U. S. 618 (1965)).
The dispersion of power between State and Federal Governments is constitutionally premised, as Mr. Justice Harlan observed:
"[I]t would surely be shallow not to recognize that the structure of our political system accounts no less for the free society we have. Indeed, it was upon the structure of government that the founders primarily focused in writing the Constitution. Out of bitter experience, they were suspicious of every form of all-powerful central authority, and they sought to assure that such a government would never exist in this country by structuring the federal establishment so as to diffuse power between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The diffusion of power between federal and state authority serves the same ends, and takes on added significance as the size of the federal bureaucracy continues to grow."
Thoughts at a Dedication: Keeping the Judicial Function in Balance, 49 A.B.A.J. 943, 943-944 (1963).
The Justice recognized that problems of habeas corpus jurisdiction were "of constitutional dimensions going to the heart of the division of judicial powers in a federal system." Fay v. Noia, 372 U. S. 391, 372 U. S. 464 (1963) (dissenting opinion). Nor have such perceptions ever been the product of but a single Justice. As the Court noted in a historic decision on the conflicting realms of state and federal judicial power:
"[T]he Constitution of the United States . . . recognizes and preserves the autonomy and independence of the States -- independence in their legislative and independence in their judicial departments. Supervision over either the legislative or the judicial action of the States is in no case permissible except as to matters by the Constitution specifically authorized or delegated to the United States. Any interference with either, except as thus permitted, is an invasion of the authority of the State and, to that extent, a denial of its independence."
Erie R. Co. v. Tompkins, 304 U. S. 64, 304 U. S. 78-79 (1938), quoting Mr. Justice Field in Baltimore & O. R. Co. v. Baugh, 149 U. S. 368, 149 U. S. 401 (1893).
Address at the annual dinner of the Section of Judicial Administration, American Bar Association, San Francisco, California, Aug. 14, 1972, pp 5, 9, and 10.
Friendly, supra, 412 U. S. 12, at 142. Judge Friendly's thesis, as he develops it, would encompass collateral attack broadly both within the federal system and with respect to federal habeas for state prisoners. Subject to the exceptions carefully delineated in his article, Judge Friendly would apply the criterion of a "colorable showing of innocence" to any collateral attack of a conviction, including claims under the Fifth and Sixth, as well as the Fourth, Amendments. Id. at 151-157. In this case, we need not consider anything other than the Fourth Amendment claims.
See Bivens v. Six Unknown Fed. Narcotics Agents, 403 U. S. 388, 403 U. S. 411 (BURGER, C.J.,dissenting); Paulsen, The Exclusionary Rule and Misconduct by the Police, 52 J.Crim.L.C. & P.S. 255, 256 (1961); see also J. Wilson, Varieties of Police Behavior (1968); 8 J. Wigmore, Evidence § 2184, pp.51-52 (J. McNaughton ed.1961), and H. Friendly, Benchmarks 260-261 (1967), suggesting that even at trial the exclusionary rule should be limited to exclusion of "the fruit of activity intentionally or flagrantly illegal." But see Kamisar, Public Safety v. Individual Liberties: Some "Facts" and "Theories," 53 J.Crim.L.C. & P.S. 171, 188-190 (1962), and Kamisar, On the Tactics of Police-Prosecution Oriented Critics of the Courts, 49 Cornell L.Q. 436 (1964).
These expressions antedated the only scholarly empirical research, MR. JUSTICE STEWART having noted in Elkins v. United States, 364 U. S. 206, 361 U. S. 218 (1960), that "[e]mpirical statistics are not available" as to the efficacy of the rule -- a situation which continued until Professor Oaks' study. Indeed, in referring to the basis for the exclusionary rule, Professor Oaks noted that it has been supported not by facts, but by "recourse to polemic, rhetoric, and intuition." Studying the Exclusionary Rule in Search and Seizure, 37 U.Chi.L.Rev. 665, 755 (1970). See also Burger, Who Will Watch the Watchman?, 14 Am.U.L.Rev. 1 (1964).
I mention the controversy over the exclusionary rule not to suggest here its total abandonment (certainly not in the absence of some other deterrent to deviant police conduct), but rather to emphasize its precarious and undemonstrated basis, especially when applied to a Fourth Amendment claim on federal habeas review of a state court decision.
The most searching empirical study of the efficacy of the exclusionary rule was made by Professor Oaks, who concluded that "[a]s a device for directly deterring illegal searches and seizures by the police, the exclusionary rule is a failure." Supra, 412 U. S. 25, at 755. Professor Oaks, though recognizing that conclusive data may not yet be available, summarized the results of his study as follows:
"There is no reason to expect the rule to have any direct effect on the overwhelming majority of police conduct that is not meant to result in prosecutions, and there is hardly any evidence that the rule exerts any deterrent effect on the small fraction of law enforcement activity that is aimed at prosecution. What is known about the deterrent effect of sanctions suggests that the exclusionary rule operates under conditions that are extremely unfavorable for deterring the police. The harshest criticism of the rule is that it is ineffective. It is the sole means of enforcing the essential guarantees of freedom from unreasonable arrests and searches and seizures by law enforcement officers, and it is a failure in that vital task."
"The use of the exclusionary rule imposes excessive costs on the criminal justice system. It provides no recompense for the innocent, and it frees the guilty. It creates the occasion and incentive for large-scale lying by law enforcement officers. It diverts the focus of the criminal prosecution from the guilt or innocence of the defend: ant to a trial of the police. Only a system with limitless patience with irrationality could tolerate the fact that, where there has been one wrong, the defendant's, he will be punished, but where there have been two wrongs, the defendant's and the officer's, both will go free. This would not be an excessive cost for an effective remedy against police misconduct, but it is a prohibitive price to pay for an illusory one."
Id. at 755. Despite a conviction that the exclusionary rule is a "failure," Professor Oaks would not abolish it altogether until there is something to take its place. He recommends "an effective tort remedy against the offending officer or his employer." He notes that such a
"tort remedy would give courts an occasion to rule on the content of constitutional rights (the Canadian example shows how), and it would provide the real consequence needed to give credibility to the guarantee."
Id. at 756-757.
"As the exclusionary rule is applied time after time, it seems that its deterrent efficacy at some stage reaches a point of diminishing returns, and, beyond that point, its continued application is a public nuisance."
Amsterdam, supra, 412 U. S. 16, at 389.
Ker v. California, 374 U. S. 23, 374 U. S. 45 (1963) (Harlan, J., concurring in result).
Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 403 U. S. 443, 403 U. S. 493 (1971) (opinion of BURGER, C.J.). THE CHIEF JUSTICE was quoting Mr. Justice Stone of the Minnesota Supreme Court.
Friendly, supra, 412 U. S. 12, at 162-163.
Friendly, supra, 412 U. S. 12, at 156.
See Part II, supra.
The 1966 revision of the Federal Habeas Corpus statute enacted, among other things, the present 28 U.S.C. §§ 2254(a), (d), (e), and (f).
See Kaufman, supra, at 394 U. S. 220-221, nn. 3 and 4, for a listing of the respective positions of the courts of appeals.
The letter from Circuit Judge Orie L. Phillips, Chairman of the Committee on Habeas Corpus of the Judicial Conference of the United States, which sponsored the 1966 legislation, to the Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Improvements in Judicial Machinery also strongly emphasized the necessity of expediting "the determination in Federal courts of nonmeritorious and repetitious applications for the writ by State court prisoners." S.Rep. No. 1797, 89th Cong., 2d Sess., 5 (1966).
See 412 U. S. supra.
Mr. Justice Jackson, concurring in the result 20 years ago in Brown v. Allen, 344 U. S. 443, 344 U. S. 532 (1953), lamented the
"floods of stale, frivolous and repetitious petitions [for federal habeas corpus by state prisoners which] inundate the docket of the lower courts and swell our own."
Id. at 344 U. S. 536. The inundation which concerned Mr. Justice Jackson consisted of 541 such petitions. In 1971, the latest year for which figures are available, state prisoners alone filed 7,949 petitions for habeas in federal district courts, over 14 times the number filed when Mr. Justice Jackson voiced his misgivings.
Brown v. Allen, supra, at 344 U. S. 537.
Commenting on this distortion of our criminal justice system, Justice Walter Schaefer of the Illinois Supreme Court has said:
"What bothers me is that almost never do we have a genuine issue of guilt or innocence today. The system has so changed that what we are doing in the courtroom is trying the conduct of the police and that of the prosecutor all along the line."
Address before Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions, June, 1968, cited by Friendly, supra, 412 U. S. 12, at 145 n. 12.
MR. JUSTICE DOUGLAS, dissenting.
I agree with the Court of Appeals that "verbal assent" to a search is not enough, that the fact that consent was given to the search does not imply that the suspect knew that the alternative of a refusal existed. 448 F.2d 699, 700. A s that court stated:
"[U]nder many circumstances, a reasonable person might read an officer's 'May I' as the courteous expression
of a demand backed by force of law."
A considerable constitutional guarantee rides on this narrow issue. At the time of the search, there was no probable cause to believe that the car contained contraband or other unlawful articles. The car was stopped only because a headlight and the license plate light were burned out. The car belonged to Alcala's brother, from whom it was borrowed, and Alcala had a driver's license. Traffic citations were appropriately issued. The car was searched, the present record showing that Alcala consented. But whether Alcala knew he had the right to refuse we do not know. All the Court of Appeals did was to remand the case to the District Court for a finding -- and, if necessary, a hearing on that issue.
I would let the case go forward on that basis. The long, time-consuming contest in this Court might well wash out. At least we could be assured that, if it came back, we would not be rendering an advisory opinion. Had I voted to grant this petition, I would suggest we dismiss it as improvidently granted. But, being in the minority, I am bound by the Rule of Four.
MR. JUSTICE BRENNAN, dissenting.
The Fourth Amendment specifically guarantees "[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures. . . ." We have consistently held that governmental searches conducted pursuant to a validly obtained warrant or reasonably incident to a valid arrest do not violate this guarantee. Here, however, as the Court itself recognizes, no search warrant was obtained, and the State does not even suggest "that there was probable cause to search the vehicle or that the search was incident to a valid arrest of any of the occupants." Ante chanrobles.com-red
at 412 U. S. 227-228. As a result, the search of the vehicle can be justified solely on the ground that the owner's brother gave his consent -- that is, that he waived his Fourth Amendment right "to be secure" against an otherwise "unreasonable" search. The Court holds today that an individual can effectively waive this right even though he is totally ignorant of the fact that, in the absence of his consent, such invasions of his privacy would be constitutionally prohibited. It wholly escapes me how our citizens can meaningfully be said to have waived something as precious as a constitutional guarantee without ever being aware of its existence. In my view, the Court's conclusion is supported neither by "linguistics," nor by "epistemology," nor, indeed, by "common sense." I respectfully dissent.
MR. JUSTICE MARSHALL, dissenting.
Several years ago, MR. JUSTICE STEWART reminded us that "[t]he Constitution guarantees . . . a society of free choice. Such a society presupposes the capacity of its members to choose." Ginsberg v. New York, 390 U. S. 629, 390 U. S. 649 (1968) (concurring in result). I would have thought that the capacity to choose necessarily depends upon knowledge that there is a choice to be made. But today the Court reaches the curious result that one can choose to relinquish a constitutional right -- the right to be free of unreasonable searches -- without knowing that he has the alternative of refusing to accede to a police request to search. [Footnote 3/1] I cannot agree, and therefore dissent. chanrobles.com-red
I believe that the Court misstates the true issue in this case. That issue is not, as the Court suggests, whether the police overbore Alcala's will in eliciting his consent, but rather whether a simple statement of assent to search, without more, [Footnote 3/2] should be sufficient to permit the police to search and thus act as a relinquishment of Alcala's constitutional right to exclude the police. [Footnote 3/3] This Court has always scrutinized with great care claims that a person has forgone the opportunity to assert constitutional rights. See, e.g., Fuentes v. Shevin, 407 U. S. 67 (1972); D. N. Overmyer Co. v. Frick Co., 405 U. S. 174 (1972); Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U. S. 238 (1969); Carnley v. Cochran, 369 U. S. 506 (1962). I see no reason to give the claim that a person consented to a search any less rigorous scrutiny. Every case in this Court involving this kind of search has heretofore spoken chanrobles.com-red
of consent as a waiver. [Footnote 3/4] See, e.g., Amos v. United States, 255 U. S. 313, 255 U. S. 317 (1921); Zap v. United States, 328 U. S. 624, 328 U. S. 628 (1946); Johnson v. United States, 333 U. S. 10, 333 U. S. 13 (1948). [Footnote 3/5] Perhaps one skilled in linguistics chanrobles.com-red
or epistemology can disregard those comments, but I find them hard to ignore.
To begin, it is important to understand that the opinion of the Court is misleading in its treatment of the issue here in three ways. First, it derives its criterion for determining when a verbal statement of assent to search operates as a relinquishment of a person's right to preclude entry from a justification of consent searches that is inconsistent with our treatment in earlier cases of exceptions to the requirements of the Fourth Amendment, and that is not responsive to the unique nature of the consent search exception. Second, it applies a standard of voluntariness that was developed in a very different context, where the standard was based on policies different from those involved in this case. Third, it mischaracterizes our prior cases involving consent searches.
The Court assumes that the issue in this case is: what are the standards by which courts are to determine that consent is voluntarily given? It then imports into the law of search and seizure standards developed to decide entirely different questions about coerced confessions. [Footnote 3/6]
The Fifth Amendment, in terms, provides that no person "shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself." Nor is the interest protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment any different. The inquiry in a case where a confession is challenged as having been elicited in an unconstitutional manner is, therefore, whether the behavior chanrobles.com-red
of the police amounted to compulsion of the defendant. [Footnote 3/7] Because of the nature of the right to be free of compulsion, it would be pointless to ask whether a defendant knew of it before he made a statement; no sane person would knowingly relinquish a right to be free of compulsion. Thus, the questions of compulsion and of violation of the right itself are inextricably intertwined. The cases involving coerced confessions, therefore, pass over the question of knowledge of that right as irrelevant, and turn directly to the question of compulsion.
Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U. S. 436 (1966), confirms this analysis. There, the Court held that certain warnings must be given to suspects prior to their interrogation so that the inherently coercive nature of in-custody questioning would be diminished by the suspect's knowledge that he could remain silent. But, although those warnings, of course, convey information about various rights of the accused, the information is intended only to protect the suspect against acceding to the other coercive aspects of police interrogation. While we would not ordinarily think that a suspect could waive his right to be free of coercion, for example, we do permit suspects to waive the rights they are informed of by police warnings, on the belief that such information, in itself, sufficiently decreases the chance that a statement would be elicited by compulsion. Id. at 384 U. S. 475-476. Thus, nothing the defendant did in the cases involving coerced confessions was taken to operate as a relinquishment of his rights; certainly the fact that the defendant made chanrobles.com-red
a statement was never taken to be a relinquishment of the right to be free of coercion. [Footnote 3/8]
In contrast, this case deals not with "coercion," but with "consent," a subtly different concept to which different standards have been applied in the past. Freedom from coercion is a substantive right, guaranteed by the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. Consent, however, is a mechanism by which substantive requirements, otherwise applicable, are avoided. In the context of the Fourth Amendment, the relevant substantive requirements are that searches be conducted only after evidence justifying them has been submitted to an impartial magistrate for a determination of probable cause. There are, of course, exceptions to these requirements based on a variety of exigent circumstances that make it impractical to invalidate a search simply because the police failed to get a warrant. [Footnote 3/9] But none of the exceptions chanrobles.com-red
relating to the overriding needs of law enforcement are applicable when a search is justified solely by consent. On the contrary, the needs of law enforcement are significantly more attenuated, for probable cause to search may be lacking but a search permitted if the subject's consent has been obtained. Thus, consent searches are permitted not because such an exception to the requirements of probable cause and warrant is essential to proper law enforcement, but because we permit our citizens to choose whether or not they wish to exercise their constitutional rights. Our prior decisions simply do not support the view that a meaningful choice has been made solely because no coercion was brought to bear on the subject.
For example, in Bumper v. North Carolina, 391 U. S. 543 (1968), four law enforcement officers went to the home of Bumper's grandmother. They announced that they had a search warrant, and she permitted them to enter. Subsequently, the prosecutor chose not to rely on the warrant, but attempted to justify the search by the woman's consent. We held that consent could not be established "by showing no more than acquiescence to a claim of lawful authority," id. at 391 U. S. 548-549. We did not there inquire into all the circumstances, but focused on a single fact, the claim of authority, even though the grandmother testified that no threats were made. Id. at 391 U. S. 547 n. 8. It may be that, on the facts of that case, her consent was, under all the circumstances, involuntary, but it is plain that we did not apply the test adopted by the Court today. And, whatever the posture of the case when it reached this Court, it could chanrobles.com-red
not be said that the police in Bumper acted in a threatening or coercive manner, for they did have the warrant they said they had; the decision not to rely on it was made long after the search, when the case came into court. [Footnote 3/10]
That case makes it clear that police officers may not courteously order the subject of a search simply to stand aside while the officers carry out a search they have settled on. Yet there would be no coercion or brutality in giving that order. No interests that the Court today recognizes would be damaged in such a search. Thus, all the police must do is conduct what will inevitably be a charade of asking for consent. If they display any firmness at all, a verbal expression of assent will undoubtedly be forthcoming. I cannot believe that the protections of the Constitution mean so little.
My approach to the case is straightforward, and, to me, obviously required by the notion of consent as a relinquishment of Fourth Amendment rights. I am at a loss to understand why consent "cannot be taken literally to mean a knowing' choice." Ante at 412 U. S. 224. In fact, I have difficulty in comprehending how a decision made without knowledge of available alternatives can be treated as a choice at all.
If consent to search means that a person has chosen to forgo his right to exclude the police from the place they seek to search, it follows that his consent cannot chanrobles.com-red
be considered a meaningful choice unless he knew that he could, in fact, exclude the police. The Court appears, however, to reject even the modest proposition that, if the subject of a search convinces the trier of fact that he did not know of his right to refuse assent to a police request for permission to search, the search must be held unconstitutional. For it says only that "knowledge of the right to refuse consent is one factor to be taken into account." Ante at 412 U. S. 227. I find this incomprehensible. I can think of no other situation in which we would say that a person agreed to some course of action if he convinced us that he did not know that there was some other course he might have pursued. I would therefore hold, at a minimum, that the prosecution may not rely on a purported consent to search if the subject of the search did not know that he could refuse to give consent. That, I think, is the import of Bumper v. North Carolina, supra. Where the police claim authority to search, yet, in fact, lack such authority, the subject does not know that he may permissibly refuse them entry, and it is this lack of knowledge that invalidates the consent.
If one accepts this view, the question then is a simple one: must the Government show that the subject knew of his rights, or must the subject show that he lacked such knowledge?
I think that any fair allocation of the burden would require that it be placed on the prosecution. On this question, the Court indulges in what might be called the "straw man" method of adjudication. The Court responds to this suggestion by overinflating the burden. And, when it is suggested that the prosecution's burden of proof could be easily satisfied if the police informed the subject of his rights, the Court responds by refusing to require the police to make a "detailed" inquiry. Ante at 412 U. S. 245. If the Court candidly faced the real chanrobles.com-red
question of allocating the burden of proof, neither of these maneuvers would be available to it.
If the burden is placed on the defendant, all the subject can do is to testify that he did not know of his rights. And I doubt that many trial judges will find for the defendant simply on the basis of that testimony. Precisely because the evidence is very hard to come by, courts have traditionally been reluctant to require a party to prove negatives such as the lack of knowledge. See, e.g., 9 J. Wigmore, Evidence 274 (3d ed.1940); F. James, Civil Procedure § 7.8 (1965); E. Morgan, Some Problems of Proof Under the Anglo-American System of Litigation 75-76 (1956).
In contrast, there are several ways by which the subject's knowledge of his rights may be shown. The subject may affirmatively demonstrate such knowledge by his responses at the time the search took place, as in United States v. Curiale, 414 F.2d 744 (CA2 1969). Where, as in this case, the person giving consent is someone other than the defendant, the prosecution may require him to testify under oath. Denials of knowledge may be disproved by establishing that the subject had, in the recent past, demonstrated his knowledge of his rights, for example, by refusing entry when it was requested by the police. The prior experience or training of the subject might, in some cases, support an inference that he knew of his right to exclude the police.
The burden on the prosecutor would disappear, of course, if the police, at the time they requested consent to search, also told the subject that he had a right to refuse consent and that his decision to refuse would be respected. The Court's assertions to the contrary notwithstanding, there is nothing impractical about this method of satisfying the prosecution's burden of proof. [Footnote 3/11] chanrobles.com-red
It must be emphasized that the decision about informing the subject of his rights would lie with the officers seeking consent. If they believed that providing such information would impede their investigation, they might simply ask for consent, taking the risk that, at some later date, the prosecutor would be unable to prove that the subject knew of his rights or that some other basis for the search existed.
The Court contends that, if an officer paused to inform the subject of his rights, the informality of the exchange would be destroyed. I doubt that a simple statement by an officer of an individual's right to refuse consent would do much to alter the informality of the exchange, except to alert the subject to a fact that he surely is entitled to know. It is not without significance that, for many years, the agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation have routinely informed subjects of their right to refuse consent when they request consent to search. Note, Consent Searches: A Reappraisal After Miranda v. Arizona, 67 Col.L.Rev. 130, 143 n. 75 (1967) (citing letter from J. Edgar Hoover). The reported cases in which the police have informed subjects of their right to refuse consent show, also, that the information can be given without disrupting the casual flow of events. See, e.g., United States v. Miller, 395 F.2d 116 (CA7 1968). What evidence there is, then, rather strongly suggests that nothing disastrous would happen if the police, before requesting consent, informed the subject that he had chanrobles.com-red
a right to refuse consent and that his refusal would be respected. [Footnote 3/12]
I must conclude, with some reluctance, that, when the Court speaks of practicality, what it really is talking of is the continued ability of the police to capitalize on the ignorance of citizens so as to accomplish by subterfuge what they could not achieve by relying only on the knowing relinquishment of constitutional rights. Of course, it would be "practical" for the police to ignore the commands of the Fourth Amendment if, by practicality, we mean that more criminals will be apprehended, even though the constitutional rights of innocent people also go by the board. But such a practical advantage is achieved only at the cost of permitting the police to disregard the limitations that the Constitution places on their behavior, a cost that a constitutional democracy cannot long absorb.
I find nothing in the opinion of the Court to dispel my belief that, in such a case, as the Court of Appeals for chanrobles.com-red
the Ninth Circuit said,
"[u]nder many circumstances, a reasonable person might read an officer's 'May I' as the courteous expression of a demand backed by force of law."
448 F.2d 701. Most cases, in my view, are akin to Bumper v. North Carolina, 391 U. S. 543 (1968): consent is ordinarily given as acquiescence in an implicit claim of authority to search. Permitting searches in such circumstances, without any assurance at all that the subject of the search knew that, by his consent, he was relinquishing his constitutional rights, is something that I cannot believe is sanctioned by the Constitution.
The proper resolution of this case turns, I believe, on a realistic assessment of the nature of the interchange between citizens and the police, and of the practical import of allocating the burden of proof in one way rather than another. The Court seeks to escape such assessments by escalating its rhetoric to unwarranted heights, but, no matter how forceful the adjectives the Court uses, it cannot avoid being judged by how well its image of these interchanges accords with reality. Although the Court says without real elaboration that it "cannot agree," ante at 412 U. S. 248, the holding today confines the protection of the Fourth Amendment against searches conducted without probable cause to the sophisticated, the knowledgeable, and, I might add, the few. [Footnote 3/13] In the final analysis, the Court now sanctions a game of blindman's buff, in which the police always have the upper hand, for the sake of nothing more than the convenience of chanrobles.com-red
the police. But the guarantees of the Fourth Amendment were never intended to shrink before such an ephemeral and changeable interest. The Framers of the Fourth Amendment struck the balance against this sort of convenience and in favor of certain basic civil rights. It is not for this Court to restrike that balance because of its own views of the needs of law enforcement officers. I fear that that is the effect of the Court's decision today.
It is regrettable that the obsession with validating searches like that conducted in this case, so evident in the Court's hyperbole, has obscured the Court's vision of how the Fourth Amendment was designed to govern the relationship between police and citizen in our society. I believe that experience and careful reflection show how narrow and inaccurate that vision is, and I respectfully dissent.
The Court holds that Alcala's consent to search was shown, in the state court proceedings, to be constitutionally valid as a relinquishment of his Fourth Amendment rights. In those proceedings, no evidence was adduced as to Alcala's knowledge of his right to refuse assent. The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, whose judgment is today reversed, would have required petitioner to produce such evidence. As discussed infra at 412 U. S. 286, the Court of Appeals did not hold that the police must inform a subject of investigation of his right to refuse assent as an essential predicate to their effort to secure consent to search.
The Court concedes that the police lacked probable cause to search. Ante at 412 U. S. 227-228. At the time the search was conducted, there were three police vehicles near the car. 270 Cal.App.2d 648, 651, 76 Cal.Rptr. 17, 19 (1969). Perhaps the police, in fact, had some reason, not disclosed in this record, to believe that a search would turn up incriminating evidence. But it is also possible that the late hour and the number of men in the car suggested to the first officer on the scene that it would be prudent to wait until other officers had arrived before investigating any further.
Because Bustamonte was charged with possessing stolen checks found in the search at which he was present, he has standing to object to the search even though he claims no possessory or proprietary interest in the car. Jones v. United States, 362 U. S. 257 (1960). Cf. People v. Ibarra, 60 Cal.2d 460, 386 P.2d 487 (1963); People v. Perez, 62 Cal.2d 769, 401 P.2d 934 (1965).
The Court reads Davis v. United States, 328 U. S. 582 (1946), as upholding a search like the one in this case on the basis of consent. But it was central to the reasoning of the Court in that case that the items seized were the property of the Government temporarily in Davis' custody. See id. at 328 U. S. 587-593. The agents of the Government were thus simply demanding that property to which they had a lawful claim be returned to them. Because of this, the Court held that "permissible limits of persuasion are not so narrow as where private papers are sought." Id. at 328 U. S. 593. The opinion of the Court therefore explicitly disclaimed stating a general rule for ordinary searches for evidence. That the distinction, for purposes of Fourth Amendment analysis, between mere evidence and contraband or instrumentalities has now been abolished, Warden v. Hayden, 387 U. S. 294 (1967), is no reason to disregard the fact that, when Davis was decided, that distinction played an important role in shaping analysis.
In Zap v. United States, 328 U. S. 624, 328 U. S. 628 (1946), the Court held that,
"when petitioner, in order to obtain the Government's business, specifically agreed to permit inspection of his accounts and records, he voluntarily waived such claim to privacy which he otherwise might have had as respects business documents related to those contracts."
(Emphasis added.) Because Zap had signed a contract specifically providing that his records would be open at all time to the Government, he had indeed waived his right to keep those records private. Cf. United States v. Biswell, 406 U. S. 311 (1972).
Aside from Zap and Davis, supra, 412 U. S. 229. But, in nearly every case discussing the problem at length, the Court referred to consent as a waiver. And it mischaracterizes those cases to describe them as analyzing the totality of the circumstances, ante at 412 U. S. 243 n. 31. See infra at 412 U. S. 283-284.
That this application of the "domino" method of adjudication is misguided is shown, I believe, by the fact that the phrase "voluntary consent" seems redundant in a way that the phrase "voluntary confession" does not.
The Court used the terms "voluntary" or "involuntary" in such cases as shorthand labels for an assessment of the police behavior in light of the particular characteristics of the individual defendant because behavior that might not be coercive of some individuals might nonetheless compel others to give incriminating statements. See, e.g., Haley v. Ohio, 332 U. S. 596, 332 U. S. 599 (1948); Stein v. New York, 346 U. S. 156, 346 U. S. 185 (1953); Fikes v. Alabama, 352 U. S. 191 (1957).
I, of course, agree with the Court's analysis to the extent that it treats a verbal expression of assent as no true consent when it is elicited through compulsion. Ante at 412 U. S. 229. Since, in my view, it is just as unconstitutional to search after coercing consent as it is to search after uninformed consent, I agree with the rationale of Amos v. United States, 255 U. S. 313 (1921), Johnson v. United States, 333 U. S. 10 (1948), and Bumper v. North Carolina, 391 U. S. 543 (1968). That an alternative rationale might have been used in those cases seems to me irrelevant.
See, e.g., Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 403 U. S. 443 (1971); Chimel v. California, 395 U. S. 752 (1969); Warden v. Hayden, 387 U. S. 294 (1967).
In Chimel, we explained that searches incident to arrest were justified by the need to protect officers from attacks by the persons they have arrested, and by the need to assure that easily destructible evidence in the reach of the suspect will not be destroyed. 395 U.S. at 395 U. S. 762-763. And in Coolidge, we said that searches of automobiles on the highway are justified because an alerted criminal might easily drive the evidence away while a warrant was sought. 403 U.S. at 403 U. S. 459-462. In neither situation is police convenience alone a sufficient reason for establishing an exception to the warrant requirement. Yet the Court today seems to say that convenience alone justifies consent searches.
The Court's interpretation of Johnson v. United States, 333 U. S. 10 (1948), a similar case, is baffling. The Court in Johnson did not, in fact, analyze the totality of the circumstances, as the Court now argues, ante at 412 U. S. 243 n. 31; the single fact that the police claimed authority to search when, in truth, they lacked such authority conclusively established that no valid consent had been given.
The proposition rejected in the cases cited by the Court in nn. 13 and < a>| 13 and < a>S. 218fn14|>14, was that, as in Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U. S. 436 (1966), a statement to the subject of his rights must be given as an indispensable prerequisite to a request for consent to search. This case does not require us to address that proposition, for all that is involved here is the contention that the prosecution could satisfy the burden of establishing the knowledge of the right to refuse consent by showing that the police advised the subject of a search, that is sought to be justified by consent, of that right.
The Court's suggestion that it would be "unrealistic" to require the officers to make "the detailed type of examination" involved when a court considers whether a defendant has waived a trial right, ante at 412 U. S. 245, deserves little comment. The question before us relates to the inquiry to be made in court when the prosecution seeks to establish that consent was given. I therefore do not address the Court's strained argument that one may waive constitutional rights without making a knowing and intentional choice so long as the rights do not relate to the fairness of a criminal trial. I would suggest, however, that that argument is fundamentally inconsistent with the law of unconstitutional conditions. See, e.g., Perry v. Sindermann, 408 U. S. 593 (1972); Shapiro v. Thompson, 394 U. S. 618 (1969); Sherbert v. Verner, 374 U. S. 398 (1963); Speiser v. Randall, 357 U. S. 513 (1958). The discussion of United States v. Wade, 388 U. S. 218 (1967), ante at 412 U. S. 239-240, also seems inconsistent with the opinion of MR. JUSTICE STEWART in Kirby v. Illinois, 406 U. S. 682 (1972). In any event, I do not understand how one can relinquish a right without knowing of its existence, and that is the only issue in this case.
The Court's half-hearted defense, that lack of knowledge is to be "taken into account," rings rather hollow, in light of the apparent import of the opinion that even a subject who proves his lack of knowledge may nonetheless have consented "voluntarily," under the Court's peculiar definition of voluntariness.
ChanRobles On-Line Bar Review
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ChanRobles Special Lecture Series
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Lower court reversed; Piers project moves forward
City of New York • Clinton, Manhattan
First Department rules NYSDEC was not an “involved agency” in project’s environmental review. In 2008, the City’s Economic Development Corporation selected MMPI Piers LLC, a subsidiary of Vornado Realty Trust, to renovate Piers 92 and 94 along the Hudson River between West 52nd and West 55th Streets in Manhattan. The piers have been used as exhibition space and for trade shows, and Pier 92 has served as a cruise ship dock when Piers 88 and 90 have been in use. MMPI intended to expand Pier 94’s headhouse to increase exhibition space, build a new pavilion that could be used for free by the community for up to 30 days a year, alter Pier 92’s ground level to accommodate loading and unloading of trade show materials, and reconfigure the vehicle entrance and exit to alleviate traffic congestion.
MMPI conducted an environmental assessment, and the lead agency for the review, the Department of Small Business Services, found that the project would not have significant adverse environmental impacts and issued a negative declaration. The City Council approved the project in July 2009. (read more…)
Tags : Hell's Kitchen Neighborhood Association, MMPI Piers LLC, Pier 92, Pier 94
Category : Court Decisions
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Global Investment Strategy
International Terrorism Litigation
Middle East & North Africa (MENA) Practice
Practices › International Dispute Resolution › Alerts & Newsletters › Election 2020: U.S.-China Tensio…
Ian A. Laird
George D. Ruttinger
Laurence Winston
Election 2020: U.S.-China Tensions Will Remain Regardless of Who Wins the White House
U.S.-China trade relations and economic policy are highly politicized within the United States, and are key issues in the campaigns of both President Donald Trump and the Democratic nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden. A theme has emerged in the campaign messaging battles, with neither candidate ceding any ground on their “tough on China” bona fides. But as divergent as Trump and Biden are on many policy issues, when it comes to China and trade, there is some overlap between Trump’s executive actions and Biden’s campaign agenda.
Aggressive U.S. policymaking to call-out and sanction interests within China has strong bipartisan support among Washington officials. The expansion of national security laws in Hong Kong, the treatment of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, China’s trade practices and industrial policies, the COVID-19 pandemic, and South China Sea have all converged to put China into the spotlight of the U.S. elections, even more so than in 2016. It can be expected that a challenging U.S.-China relationship will continue regardless of who wins the White House in November. For global businesses, these growing geopolitical and regulatory challenges do not present a static ‘new normal’ to adjust to, but rather an increasingly dynamic environment, requiring more nimble and proactive strategic planning, sourcing, policy, and compliance efforts.
Key Trends to Watch in U.S.-China Relations
A continuing trajectory of a shift in the United States’ posture towards long-term strategic competition with China. The lines between national security interests and technology and economic policies vis-à-vis China are becoming increasingly blurred, with the result that the bilateral economic relationship increasingly will be perceived through the lens of national security.
U.S. economic tools are evolving to sharpen their focus on targeted restrictions, while also broadening their scope and aperture to review key strategic issues, challenges, and vulnerabilities. While China was not expressly named in either bill, Congressional intent was clear in both the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA), which strengthened the U.S. CFIUS investment-review regime, and the Export Control Reform Act (ECRA), which institutionalized new restrictions and sharper scrutiny for the export of so-called "emerging and foundational technologies."
There is an increased risk of technology decoupling as data flows into and out of China and with any Chinese nexus are increasingly under scrutiny. Networks and consumer application products are being examined and challenged over security and surveillance concerns. The State Department’s push for a global “Clean Network” of telecommunications companies raises the potential for further fragmentation in global ICT networks.
A growing scrutiny on supply chains, particularly for linkages with China’s military, state security, and/or police forces, and any other entity that may be involved in human rights in China. This will include more aggressive use of Withhold Release Orders, such as the announcement on September 14 regarding certain products produced in Xinjiang. Areas of U.S. dependence on key supply chains with China – particularly for medical supply chains -- are viewed as potential sources of national economic and political risk.
Accelerating innovation competition with increased focus on intellectual property, R&D investment, and influence in universities and academia.
Growing proxy competition for economic, security, and cultural influence in third countries in South and Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin America and elsewhere. Taiwan and Hong Kong are also at an increased risk of becoming a flashpoint in the U.S.-China relationship.
Increases in the revocations of student and worker visas and further diplomatic restrictions in both directions as retaliatory tools for the United States and China.
2021 Scenarios
President Trump asserts that the U.S.-China trading relationship has not worked to America’s advantage, and Vice President Biden believes China has not met expectations for economic reform following China’s entry into the World Trade Organization. Their specific approaches and tone may differ, but this critical bilateral relationship is trending in a similar direction regardless of which candidate enters the White House in 2021. Many experts believe that Trump will continue with "more of the same," if not an even more pugilistic approach; the question is, therefore, would a Biden Administration seek to create the political space to lessen the tensions, while still maintaining a "tough on China" posture?
Last week, Biden unveiled further elements of his “Made in America” plan which seeks to tighten Buy American provisions and establish an offshoring tax penalty and “Made in America” tax credit. This follows a supply chain plan that the Biden campaign released in July, which aims to implement reforms that will shift production on a range of critical products back to U.S. soil. These types of initiatives are generally aimed toward China, and are not dissimilar to President Trump’s own “tough on China” policies. Under Trump’s “America First” platform, the President has also called for supply chains to leave China and return to the United States, and for creating punishments and incentives for U.S. companies to return to the United States.
However, Trump and Biden do have different perspectives in how they understand the issues and what they believe the solutions are. Biden has a natural predilection toward engagement and may seek cooperation with China on issues such as climate change, but his own evolving personal views on how to handle China and the bipartisan Congressional focus on China will limit engagement options. Biden will likely have greater alignment with traditional U.S. allies like the EU, UK, and Japan, and seek to strengthen international institutions and leverage other democratic partners to develop issue-specific global coalitions. Currently, U.S. imposed and retaliatory tariffs impact over $460 billion worth of imports and exports, and if elected, Biden would have the burden of deciding what to do with the U.S. tariffs that are already in place. While the tariffs have bolstered employment in some key sectors, they have come at a cost to American consumers and U.S. allies. Biden has criticized President Trump for his wide-ranging tariffs imposed on U.S. imports from China, but he has not said that he would do away with the tariffs if elected.
A second term of the Trump administration could provide a possible “cooling-off” during the post-election period as the White House pivots away from campaign mode. There may be renewed efforts to salvage the U.S.-China Phase One trade agreement and focus on the possibility of Phase Two negotiations. However, ‘decoupling’ proponents are likely to remain in a Trump White House (the "hawks" have proven to be more durable in this Administration than their moderate colleagues), and those elements would seek to build on recent momentum in conjunction with Republican allies in Congress. The administration could also seek to pursue its own global coalition approach, building on trilateral talks with the EU and Japan on WTO reform and parallel national security discussions. While a faltering U.S. economy could dissuade Trump's advisors from further tariff implementation, they are likely to continue to use and expand the toolbox of other political and economic interventions, and would be unlikely to lift existing tariffs without a considerable and meaningful reciprocal action from China.
China has been reluctant to react to each U.S. action, but is accelerating efforts to build domestic champions to address any dependencies on U.S. goods. This is expected to continue in 2021 and beyond.
The U.S.-China relationship will remain tense regardless of who wins the election in November. While there may be some differences in how alliances and multilateral institutions are treated from the Oval Office, the tensions of recent years are likely to persist for at least the immediate and medium term. How these issues play out among U.S. and Chinese allies remains to be seen, which could be a durable outcome of the U.S. election.
Joshua Boswell
C&M International Director – Washington, D.C.
Email: jboswell@crowell.com
Clark Jennings
C&M International Managing Director, Asia – Singapore
Phone: +65.9111.0610
Email: cjennings@crowell.com
Shelley Su
C&M International Senior Consultant – Washington, D.C.
Email: ssu@crowell.com
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Alan Paton's lasting message
By HN
ALAN PATON's work touched the lives of millions of people, in his native South Africa and beyond. His first book, ``Cry, the Beloved Country,'' remains popular and timely 40 years after its publishing. A profound examination of wrenched human relationships in a racially partitioned society, it helped turn world attention toward the cruelty of apartheid and established Mr. Paton, who died yesterday at his home near Durban, as a writer of international stature. Paton's life and writings span the evolution of modern South Africa, from the building of apartheid to the stirrings of black nationalism. He felt the system's oppression himself at times. For 11 years he was prevented from traveling abroad. But his renown as a writer shielded him from the kind of direct censure that befell others who held his liberal views.
Paton's voice, appealing for reconciliation and change, was always heard - and will continue to be through his books. The second volume of his autobiography, ``The Journey Continued,'' is due this July.
This author was, in a sense, much more than a crafter of beautiful prose. His words plumbed the depth of South African experience because he plunged so deeply into that experience. He once remarked that racial matters were of little concern to him as a youth of Scottish background, growing up in Natal Province in a devoutly Christian family. That changed radically in the mid-1930s, when he accepted an appointment as principal of the Diepkloof reformatory for black delinquents in Johannesburg. Paton stayed there 13 years.
That's where his probing insights took shape. As a reform-minded principal, he first felt the sharp attacks of South Africa's white establishment. Always one who believed resolutely that South Africa could change from within, the author later helped found the multiracial South African Liberal Party. The Liberals were harassed and finally outlawed by the ruling National Party, which passed legislation prohibiting the association of whites and blacks.
Ironically, the country Alan Paton labored so valiantly to change seems today further than ever from the ideals he espoused. South Africa's most ardent, right-wing defenders of apartheid appear to be wielding increasing political power. It's a time when all whose thoughts and prayers turn to that agonized country could well remember the words Paton put in the mouth of Stephen Kumalo in ``Cry, the Beloved Country'': ``These things are not yet at an end. The sun pours down on the earth, on the lovely land that man cannot enjoy.''
In those words there's both hope and realism. Key ingredients for anyone who firmly believes, as Paton did, that mankind can improve and wants to work toward that end.
Sometimes There Is a Void
JFK's call for religious freedom can transform places like Pakistan
Readers write: Shared reading memories, appreciation of new Daily format
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Radical Left Exits German Green Party After Sharp Dispute
NEUMUNSTER, GERMANY
WITH the departure of the most radical wing of the Greens, Germany's ecological party is now capable of making a comeback. This is the opinion expressed by party pragmatists, known as "realos," at a crucial party congress here in north Germany over the weekend.
Most members saw the congress as the Greens' last chance to send a positive signal to voters after a crushing defeat in national elections last December. At that time, the Greens in west Germany failed to win enough votes to hold on to their seats in the Bundestag, the parliament. The defeat, which no one expected, left them stunned.
Much of the congress was marked by the high-pitched internal arguing that has become the Greens' trademark and one reason for their increasing ineffectiveness in national politics.
But this key problem was swept away at the congress when the radical left wing of the party, led by Jutta Ditfurth, announced it was quitting the party. "The fact is, it's over," said Ms. Ditfurth yesterday, the last day of the congress. "The Greens are not our party anymore."
The realos, she said, had pushed through too many changes at the congress: The party no longer represented the feminists, radical ecologists, and grass-roots fundamental democrats who make up her faction. It is precisely those changes, however, that the realos said were needed to regain trust among voters.
Most of the changes concerned the internal structure of the Greens, which at its founding 11 years ago was meant to preserve grass-roots democracy. These principles included mandatory rotation of office and the rule that no member could hold more than one office at a time. The point of these rules was to prevent one person from amassing too much power. But time has shown, the realos argue, that the structure is impractical and has actually paralyzed the party by perpetuating internal strife.
Rotation in office and the rule against holding multiple office has spread talent too thin, they say. And the board, for instance, often took one position while the members of the Bundestag took a completely different one.
At the congress, delegates eliminated the rotation of office, created a new body to coordinate between the national and regional levels of the party (a body that now allows some multiple office-holding), and reduced the size of the board of directors from 13 to nine to streamline decisionmaking.
But when the realos tried to push through multiple office-holding at the board level, Ditfurth's group became incensed. They swarmed the platform at the congress, pulled out a bull horn when they were denied access to the microphone, and came to near blows with the realos, whom they accused of "manipulating" the congress.
Though the realos failed to win this last item, they are optimistic about the future. Without the argumentative Ditfurth, the Greens are on the road to becoming "competent," said Heide Ruhle, a board member.
Ms. Ruhle regretting that the congress focused so much on structural change and not on the reasons behind last December's defeat. But now, she said, the party is in a better position to discuss this without being distracted by constant inner strife.
An encouragement for the Greens is that they have actually been fairly successful at the regional level in recent months. The realos in the state of Hessen gained the upper hand in January and were able to form a coalition government with the left of center Social Democrats.
In state elections in Rhineland-Pfalz last week, the Greens improved their standing and are being considered for a coalition government with the Social Democrats there.
The overwhelming feeling here is that if the Greens can keep up the momentum at the state level and prove to be dependable - though distinct - coalition partners, they have a chance at the Bundestag next time around.
Liz Cheney wins primary, moves closer to becoming Wyoming rep in Congress
Iraqi protesters end Green Zone sit-in for now after issuing demands
Is populism waning in Germany? The steady rise of The Greens party
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Judges Should Gag the 'Gag Order'
By Kenneth Jost Kenneth Jost is an adjunct professor in media law at Georgetown University Law Center.
THE public airing of additional sexual assault accusations against William Kennedy Smith dramatizes the uneven effects of court-imposed "gag orders" on the participants in a criminal trial. A judicial tool designed to protect defendants from prejudicial publicity now most often operates to prevent defendants and their lawyers from responding to publicity about the prosecution's charges.This prejudicial effect on defendants is likely to be increased by a Supreme Court ruling in June. In that 5-to-4 decision, the Rehnquist Court upheld ethics rules that limit what defense lawyers can say in their clients' behalf even after the prosecution's case has been widely publicized. The new accusations against Mr. Smith, nephew of Sen. Edward Kennedy, were contained in a court document filed by the Palm Beach, Fla., assistant state's attorney who is prosecuting Smith for allegedly raping a Florida woman at the Kennedy Palm Beach estate. The prosecutor, Moira K. Lasch, said she had evidence that Smith had raped a woman in Washington in spring 1988, and had attempted to rape two other women in 1983 and 1988. Ms. Lasch said she plans to introduce the evidence at Smith's trial. Lasch could have filed this evidence under seal, but did not. The charges instantly became worldwide news, undermining the credibility of Smith's prior insistence that he is innocent of the charges in the Palm Beach case. But neither Smith nor his lawyers could respond to these stories, because of a gag order issued by the judge - over their objections. The unfairness of this has nothing to do with Smith's guilt or innocence. As New York University Law School ethics expert Stephen Gillers said on National Public Radio, the prosecutor's actions appeared to be a cynical manipulation of a procedure designed to aid the defendant by giving advance notice of evidence to be relied on at trial. Mr. Gillers suggested Lasch's "dominant motive" was to let potential jurors know about these charges even if the accusations are ultimately not allowed into evidence at Smith's trial. Neatly for the prosecutor, however, the gag order prevents her from responding to obvious questions about her motive. When the free trial/fair press issue emerged in the late 1960s, gag orders were viewed as one option for judges to limit publicity that could jeopardize the defendant's chances for an impartial jury. Judges liked the idea as a way to protect any conviction from reversal on appeal. Lawyers had mixed views, but in general defense attorneys looked on the idea more favorably than prosecutors did. Press groups, on the other hand, viewed gag orders as an unnecessary restriction on the public's access to information since courts had many other ways to protect the legal process, such as thoroughly questioning potential jurors or moving a trial elsewhere. And any number of acquittals in high-profile cases can be cited to support the argument that defendants can get a "fair trial" even after massive publicity. There is still no solid evidence that pretrial publicity makes it impossible to get jurors to decide a case based on court evidence rather than what's in newspapers or on TV. But defense lawyers are more aware of their need to present their clients' case at the same time the public is exposed to the prosecution's charges. Thus, Los Angeles attorney Howard Weitzman, who won an acquittal for automaker John DeLorean despite a videotape showing Mr. DeLorean opening a briefcase full of cocaine, sought out the press before, during, and after trial to explain his entrapment defense. Mr. Weitzman said a criminal defense lawyer would be guilty of malpractice if he did not actively work to clear his client both in the a court of law and the court of public opinion. THE Rehnquist Court has a different view. Ruling in June on a discipline case against a Nevada defense lawyer, the majority upheld a widely adopted ethics rule that forbids lawyers from making comments that would have a "substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing" a pending case. The lawyer, Dominic Gentile, held a news conference the day after his client's well-publicized indictment to insist that the real culprit in the alleged theft was a police detective. Gentile's case was sent back to Nevada to determine whether the ethics rule was too vague, but the legal ruling is a green light for state courts and bar associations to go after defense lawyers for advocating their clients' cause anywhere except the courtroom. Prosecutors face no similar peril because, as the Smith case shows, they can publicize accusations through ostensibly proper court filings. The solution is not to impose gag rules more evenhandedly. In an open society, information about the criminal justice system is desirable and inevitable. Indeed, one of the accusations against Smith had already appeared in The National Enquirer before the court filing. The solution is for judges to do their jobs and make sure courtroom procedures are fair for all - and let others, including defense lawyers and the news media, do their jobs too. Unfortunately, the present Supreme Court seems all too concerned about making prosecutors' and judges' jobs easier, at the expense of uninhibited advocacy by lawyers representing defendants who are entitled to a presumption of innocence until a jury says otherwise.
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Ahmed Abu Khattala in D.C.: Benghazi mastermind appears in US court
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Colombian Stalemate Exacts Heavy Toll
Both sides take tougher line in latest round of peace talks to end 30-year insurgency
By Stan Yarbro Special to The Christian Science Monitor
BARRANCABERMEJA, COLOMBIA
EVEN as representatives of the Colombian government and the country's guerrilla insurgency meet in Tlaxcala, Mexico, this week for renewed peace talks, the cycle of violence perpetrated by both sides continues unabated back home.
Rebel commanders and some government officials say they expect little progress in the current talks because of the continuing bloodshed and the two sides' increasingly hard-line negotiating positions. In the last two months, the rate of killing in Colombia has kept pace with that of 1991, when more than 1,800 died in the bloodiest year of the three-decade-long guerrilla war.
The government's priority at these talks is to reach a bilateral cease-fire; the rebels are calling first for sweeping changes in the national economy and the armed forces.
About 7,000 members of the country's two remaining rebel groups - the Colombia Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN) - are negotiating together under an umbrella organization called the National Guerrilla Coordination Simon Bolivar.
The organization's 12-point platform demands that President Cesar Gaviria Trujillo abandon his economic program to reduce government subsidies and allow more imports and that he restructure the military and fire many commanders. Officials say such radical demands may make the next round of talks the last.
"The possibility of a rapid solution to this conflict is extremely remote," a senior government official says. "The guerrillas don't have a realistic negotiating agenda. The government will grant them political guarantees. But sweeping economic and military concessions are out of the question."
Nowhere are the consequences of the stalemate more deadly than in Barrancabermeja, a strategic port of 157,000 people on the banks of the Magdalena River. The city, a center for the country's oil industry, is also the focus of recent attacks by both the guerrillas and the right-wing death squads.
"Barrancabermeja is a synthesis of abnormal situations throughout Colombia," said Horacio Serpa, the government's chief peace negotiator, in an interview before leaving for Mexico. "Guerrillas, paramilitary groups, and common criminals are all there, and all of these forces are uncaged at the moment."
The free-for-all has sent the Barrancabermeja murder rate soaring. An average of one killing a day last year made it Colombia's most violent city after Medellin, home to the cocaine trade.
More than half of the victims during the first two months of this year were from the poorer eastern neighborhoods, where the largely rural-based FARC and ELN enjoy their greatest urban support. Officials attribute much of the violence both to guerrillas murdering suspected Army informants and to death squads killing suspected rebel sympathizers, often with the security forces' help.
Death-squad flyers began circulating last year in Barrancabermeja announcing the start of an extermination campaign against rebel "sympathizers, combatants, activists, and collaborators." The flyers specifically threatened workers in the human rights and attorney general's offices, calling them fronts for the ELN.
The seriousness of the threat became apparent Jan. 29 when Blanca Valero de Duran, secretary for the human rights office's president, was gunned down.
The president, Jorge Gomez Lizarazo, commented last week: "It's a very grave situation because civilians are caught between these two deadly forces."
Hours earlier, guerrillas had bombed gasoline and oil pipelines at three locations outside the city. The attack cost the state oil company Ecopetrol nearly $1 million and shut down the giant oil refinery in Barrancabermeja. The spilled petroleum also polluted drinking supplies for thousands of residents.
The next day, in retaliation, a squad of assassins murdered five individuals, including a representative of the petroleum workers' union, often accused of being infiltrated by guerrillas.
Mr. Gomez and other human rights workers say the government should take drastic action. The No. 1 priority, they say, is improving living conditions in the city's poorest neighborhoods, where open sewers and lack of water are the norm. They criticize Ecopetrol for exploiting the region's petroleum wealth for decades without a concomitant social spending program.
But ultimately, others say, Barrancabermeja's fate is tied to that of the nation as a whole.
"If the country advances toward peace, this city will also advance," says Juan Francisco Sarasti, the city's Roman Catholic bishop.
Government officials say they are determined to keep moving in that direction even if the Mexico talks fail. Mr. Serpa indicated that the administration may be willing to negotiate with more flexible FARC and ELN fronts in certain regions rather than the rebels' national command. Barrancabermeja, however, may not be a good candidate for local dialogue.
"We know that the peace talks will fail and that we must prepare the people for more war," says an ELN commander in the city. "We have fought for 30 years, and if necessary we will fight for another 30 to reach our objective of social justice."
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Hit by Slump, Labor Gives Bush Raspberry
By David R. Francis
ORGANIZED labor will campaign for the Clinton-Gore ticket in the presidential election.
That is no surprise. But according to Markley Roberts, an AFL-CIO economist, trade unions will be more unified this year in their support of Democratic candidates than they were in the elections of the 1980s. "The unions have no basis for feeling positive about the Bush administration," he said in a telephone interview.
The General Board of the union federation was scheduled to meet yesterday. Mr. Roberts expected the 95 presidents of the member unions at that gathering to vote unanimously to support Bill Clinton - including the Teamsters and some others who have in the past backed a Republican candidate.
As Roberts recalls, about 60 percent of union members voted for Walter Mondale in the 1984 election when Ronald Reagan, a popular Republican president, was running for reelection. He expects a larger proportion of the 16.57 million union members in the United States to vote Democratic in November.
But does organized labor have much political clout anymore?
Union members, after all, now account for only 16.1 percent of those employed full time. That proportion used to be about 35 percent in the 1950s. Since then trade unions have been hit hard by a decline in manufacturing employment as manufacturers increased labor productivity or assigned production to plants abroad. They have also been clobbered by the financial restructuring of some companies, by tough anti-union managements, by the growth of service industries, and other business trends.
Yes, Roberts replies, "Labor does make a difference." The trade unions still have a huge political action force, with thousands of volunteers helping with voter drives and other activities. "We are the most organized and unified of any lobbying and political group," he says. "A lot of our members are convinced their activities can make a difference in the election. This is one of the strengths of American democracy."
It hasn't been an easy year for labor. Unemployment in July was 7.7 percent. August figures are to be released today. Economists do not expect any major change - perhaps a 0.1 percentage point decline. About 10 million are jobless, according to the official number. If workers discouraged from seeking work and part-time workers who would rather work full-time are added in, the number grows to 17 million, Roberts notes. Millions more fear for their jobs as sizable layoffs continue in an uncertain economic recovery.
Moreover, the Commerce Department said Wednesday that the growth in Americans' income lagged behind rising prices in 1991 for the first time in nine years. Per capita income grew just 2.4 percent to $19,092 last year, compared to 4.4 percent inflation registered by the department's index for personal spending. So, adjusted for inflation, incomes declined 1.9 percent last year, the worst on record going back through 1970. Inflation adjusted per capita incomes were unchanged in 1990, rose 1.4 percent in 19 89, and increased 1.9 percent in 1988.
Looking at wages alone, Roberts says the buying power of the average worker has slipped since 1980, especially for those with only a high school education or less. Employees with higher education enjoyed good real income increases in that decade. But the wage gains of those with higher education and the gains of women have been eroding in the 1990s.
Roberts sees irony in all this bad news as Labor Day approaches, a day when labor is supposed to rest and enjoy some praise. He charges the Bush administration with anti-union activity. And the union-busting activity of employers is "still a growth industry," he says. Labor unions are engaged in a "constant battle" to maintain their membership through organization drives. Their best successes are in service fields.
Roberts expects the AFL-CIO to come out soon against the North American Free Trade Agreement between the US, Mexico, and Canada. He holds that the deal will encourage many US industrial concerns to move jobs to Mexico, taking advantage of low wages and less restrictive labor and environmental standards. The treaty may specify high standards, but there are no guarantees they will be enforced, he says.
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Timely South African Play Stands Out in `Mayfest'
The opening of `Mooi Street Moves' at Glasgow's arts festival coincided with Nelson Mandela's historic inauguration
By Christopher Andreae Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
MOOI STREET MOVES. Written by Paul Slabolepszy. Presented by Footpaul Productions. At the Arches Theater in Glasgow.
HE is looking for his brother, this white up-country youth just arrived in a black district of Johannesburg. That much at least emerges from the distracted dialog at the outset of ``Mooi Street Moves.'' In the dismal room where his brother was living, when he last saw him, he finds instead - to his obvious and perspirational embarrassment - a young black man.
They might come from different planets, these two characters. They don't even speak the same slang. They don't like the same games. The black man is soccer-crazy and hilariously mocks, with actions depicting monkeys chasing a banana, the white man's preference for rugby. It is the black man who is all confidence and cockiness. The white man is riddled with nervous prejudice.
This two-character play, invited from South Africa to Glasgow's annual (now 12-year-old) arts festival, ``Mayfest,'' played for six nights and won a significant award.
It had a remarkable topicality. Its opening night coincided with the day on which South Africa's first black president was inaugurated. A poster of Nelson Mandela is stuck on the back wall of the set next to the soccer posters and behind the haphazard piles of cardboard boxes containing TV sets, toasters, shoes, and other dubiously acquired goods.
After the applause at the end of the play, the two actors - Martin le Maitre as the young white man, Henry Stone, and Zane Meas as Sticks Letsebe - announced that their performance was dedicated, on this historic day, to the new South Africa and democracy. The theme of the play had already made its dedication movingly clear.
A confrontation between a South African white man and a black man on a stage inevitably becomes a symbol. They are typical, in a way. But these two also remain individuals - vulnerable human beings - and it is they who come to recognize this as the play develops.
As they begin to see each other's worth and find that they are not so different as they thought, so does the audience.
This play elicits sympathy for both characters by the end, though for much of the time Henry Stone strikes us as seat-squirmingly uncomfortable. It's as if he can't help his prejudice. The black man is a show-off and very funny with it, and his street wisdom is in contrast to the white visitor's suspicious naivete and outright fear.
They are, of course, both in trouble, both at sea with life, but the self-styled ``middleman,'' Sticks, has learned how to cover up his desperation with bravado, criminal ingenuity, and comicality.
He lives by his wits, and not only does he believe this is his only choice, but he also believes it is the white man's only choice, too. So he tries to teach Henry his sales tactics. Henry's resistance is excruciatingly comic and pathetic.
This white man has honest ambitions (to buy equipment so he can make a living drilling for water). Like Samuel Beckett's characters waiting for Godot, however, he can do nothing until he finds his brother; he is helpless without money.
Sticks eventually persuades him that they could help each other. As a white man, Henry can sell goods to people that Sticks, as a black man, could never touch.
So they become interdependent in their efforts to survive. Though in effect the white man is now working for the black man, a kind of honor-among-thieves relationship starts to take root between them.
Disaster ensues, and a moral is drawn. But the much deeper moral question in this play's wider symbolism is not just where is Henry's brother, but who is his brother.
In poignant irony, it turns out that Sticks had actually learned his trade in the first place from Henry's absent brother, who was not the ``businessman'' Henry had thought, but a common crook. Nor is Sticks what Henry thought he was, and by the end they have both dropped their defenses. It is they who might as well be brothers.
This play is a thing of great zest, humor, and verbal wit. The acting matches the writing, and is underplayed at just the right moments so that it does not become too overtly political or moralistic: It stirs feelings, unsettles assumptions, embarrasses, and makes its audience laugh, but it doesn't preach.
I particularly enjoyed Sticks's describing and acting out how he, as a black man, went about looking for better accommodations. It was when he pretended to be an American black that he suddenly and magically became acceptable to white landlords.
The author tells me that last September an American production of his play was staged in Alexandria, Va. Previously (according to Mayfest publicity), it had ``shaken'' Johannesburg's Market Theatre. It has been popular at Glasgow's Mayfest, and is to re-appear (Aug. 23 to Sept. 3) at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. There is also talk of it being seen in London.
The play deserves wide exposure. But wherever it is staged, I suspect that the brick vaults of the Arches Theatre in Glasgow, with its subterranean back-street atmosphere and trains rumbling and shaking overhead, is the best of all possible venues.
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Foreign Ministers of Austria
and Costa Rica call for
US leadership in CTBT
ratification process
PI/2007/12
The Foreign Ministers of Austria and Costa Rica, H.E. Ursula Plassnik and H.E. Bruno Stagno Ugarte, today called for US leadership in the CTBT ratification process at a Conference promoting the Treaty.
Plassnik and Stagno Ugarte share the presidency of the fifth Conference to facilitate the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which is taking place in Vienna, Austria. The two Foreign Ministers were joined at the press briefing by H.E. Sergio Duarte, UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, and H.E. Tibor Toth, Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization.
Stagno Ugarte said that the January 2007 article in the Wall Street Journal by well-known experts on security issues from the US Republican and Democratic parties was reason for optimism. "They all advocated a bi-partisan approach so that the US can become a full party to the CTBT", he said. Plassnik reiterated that the message was, "Yes, we want US leadership in the CTBT ratification process."
Referring to the shared presidency of the Conference as a novum in its history, the Ministers stressed that this symbolized the shared concern with regard to weapons of mass destruction. "The arguments around the CTBT are not a North-South issue or an East-West issue. There is really no geographic divide", Stagno Ugarte said. The two Ministers also stressed the importance of multilateralism as a key mechanism. "We do need multilateralism. Unilateralism has proved to be a dead end", Plassnik emphasized.
UN High Representative Duarte stressed the non-discriminatory character of the CTBT as it applied equally to all parties. Executive Secretary Toth said that the legal norm against nuclear testing created by the Treaty was enjoying increasing support and was becoming more and more universal.
All speakers called for an early entry into force of the CTBT. Particular emphasis was put on the need for the remaining ten Annex 2 States, whose ratification was necessary for the Treaty to enter into force, to come forward and do so.
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Disabled and sexy
The Rose Centre launches its 2014/2015 season with a fashion show
By Jeremy Willard Oct 01, 2014, 3:55 PM EDT
The Rose Centre for Love, Sex and Disability launches its 2014/2015 season with a sexy fashion show featuring both able-bodied and disabled people. Credit: jamiesondean.com
Do disabled people have sex? Do they want it? Are they even capable of it? Some of us assume they won’t. Or can’t. Or, well, we just don’t want to think about it. Stella Palikarova, events and programming co-coordinator at The Rose Centre for Love, Sex and Disability, says that there are disabled people who “probably never even thought they could be recognized as sexual beings.”
Of course there are people who don’t have sex, but in general, yes, disabled people do engage in sexual behaviour. In celebration of that oft-ignored fact, The Rose Centre will soon hold a fashion show called I’m Sexy and I Know It.
The Rose Centre is geared for all sorts of disabilities, visible or not, and one of its aims is to bring together disabled and able-bodied people. So, some of the models will be disabled, some will be able-bodied, and some will strut while others will roll. Everyone will be sexy.
One of The Rose Centre’s directors-at-large, Sara Cancelliere (who uses the gender-neutral pronoun they), says that while businesses and designers have generously donated clothing for the show, it’s not really about the clothing. “It’s more of a self-fashion show,” they say. “It’s about wearing what makes you feel sexy and celebrating your body as it is. So some of the models are wearing their own clothes.”
Formed recently, The Rose Centre is one of few organizations — if, indeed, there are any others — dedicated to addressing the needs of disabled people with respect to love and sex. I’m Sexy and I Know It is the centre’s launch event for the 2014/2015 season. In addition to the fashion show, the evening will include door prizes, a silent auction and musical performances by Harlot Eyes (Palikarova’s stage name) and Scotty Newlands, and a burlesque act by Tiny B Hiney. And, of course, the venue is wheelchair accessible.
I’m Sexy and I Know It is Sun, Oct 5, 6pm, at Buddies in Bad Times, 12 Alexander St. therosecentre.ca
This story is filed under Arts & Entertainment, News & Ideas, Sex, Fashion, Toronto, News
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Russian deputy says gays ‘corrupt’ children and must not raise them
'If necessary,' law enforcement will help identify people with a nontraditional sexual orientation
By Natasha Barsotti Sep 11, 2013, 2:19 PM EDT
State Deputy Alexei Zhuravlev says gays must not raise children. Credit: thenewcivilrightsmovement.com
In an interview with Russian news portal slon.ru, the author of new proposals to make “nontraditional sexual orientation” a basis for removing children from gay parents says homosexuals corrupt children and must not raise them.
“It occurred to me that since we have a law explicitly prohibiting the promotion of homosexuality among minors, the Family Code should be amended in such a way that if a husband or a wife professes a nontraditional sexual orientation, they should be deprived of their parental rights,” State Duma deputy Alexei Zhuravlev said in the Sept 5 interview, translated into English.
“The purpose of this would be to restrict the influence of such a person on his or her own children.”
Zhurvalev added, “The law will only function if information about the sexual orientation of the parent enters the public domain. And that's fine. If a person conceals his orientation and hangs around in cellars, then those are his problems, he should remain alone with that sin. It has little effect on society.”
At the outset of the interview, Zhuravlev, who suggests that gay people make up five percent of the population, said government is not going to “hunt for these people” or task the police with “bringing them to light.”
Later, when asked by interviewer Olga Pavlikova if law enforcement agencies will get involved in determining who is gay, Zhuravlev replied, “If it becomes necessary, yes of course.”
“It is only where there are clear signs that judges are supposed to rule in favour of the parent who has the traditional sexual orientation,” he said. “For identifying such people, we have schools in which children study; there are various groups and clubs, so sooner or later it will become obvious anyway.”
Asked by Pavlikova if that means handing out questionnaires in schools or asking children about their parents’ social life, Zhuravlev said no one will be “going around asking questions.”
“We're talking about clear signs of such an influence,” he said. “If there are clear signs, then the appropriate decision will be made. If a person conceals their identity, then they have had no influence on anybody, but if a person goes out with a placard and talks openly about their sexual orientation and propagandizes it, then obviously, that must be restricted.”
When Pavlikova pressed him for examples of the “clear signs,” Zhuravlev said he’s not a doctor nor an “expert on such matters” and advised her to talk to a sex therapist for that information.
Zhuravlev told Pavlikova he became aware of the “problem” of gay parents as he visited several regions across Russia, saying people “turned” to him because they “didn’t know what to do” about it.
He says he’s “sure” he’ll have the support of parliament for his proposed amendment to Article 69 of the Family Code.
Pavlikova also questioned Zhuravlev about the fate of a child who is being raised by a single mother who is gay.
He replied, “Of course she should definitely be deprived of her rights to the child. We shall see to it, have no doubts.”
Zhuralvev said he’s “deeply convinced” that gay parents do “much more harm” to children than if the children were placed in an orphanage.
He dismissed the notion that Russia will have thousands of children no longer in the care of their parents, saying the state’s primary task is to “raise a healthy generation.”
“It’s hardly likely that both parents will turn out to be homosexual,” he said.
Asked about the effect Russia’s anti-gay laws will have on moves to create a visa-free space between Russia and Europe, Zhuravlev said Europe is viewed as “Sodom and Gomorrah” and must not dictate how Russians should live.
“If negotiations about a visa-free space mean that our streets should have gay parades marching around, I am categorically against international relations of that kind and shall speak out against them.”
This story is filed under News & Ideas, Canada, Rights & Liberties, Sexual orientation, Ottawa, Human behavior, Human sexuality, Toronto, Vancouver, World, News
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Homes & Garden
Upload Social photos
Sand, Shingle and Shipwrecks
PUBLISHED: 10:29 30 November 2007 | UPDATED: 14:57 20 February 2013
COUNTRY AND HERITAGE
In this December/January issue, Derek Stonley unearths some of Cornwall's geological curiosities at Loe Bar, also the grave of HMS Anson, a 44-gun vessel that was shipwrecked 200 years ago this December. These geological curiosities are exposed by...
Cornwall is particularly blessed with what I like to call geological curiosities. They are exposed by the forces of erosion that have been acting upon unique configurations of rock formations. The end products of these forces are the splendid landscape features we see today, each with its own particular history to be unravelled. While the scientific explanation for these features is interesting in its own right, these curiosities are not merely passive in the landscape. They have, over the centuries, exerted a magnetic attraction upon mankind. Fascinating human stories have become inextricably linked to, and determined by, the underlying geology.
Loe Bar is the great strip of sand and shingle that runs for some two-and-a-half miles from Porthleven to Gunwalloe. The beach faces due south-west, and bears the brunt of the fierce Atlantic swells. It shelves steeply into deep water, and signs are all about warning that it is dangerous to bathe at any time. Even on calm days, waves can heave up as if from nowhere, rushing up the sands and sucking back the unwary in the strong undertow. In times of storm, the foreshore is a terrifying maelstrom of wild water.
Loe Bar itself is what is termed a barrier beach. It obstructs the flow of the River Cober to form Loe Pool, the largest freshwater lake in Cornwall. The Bar is now a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a specialised habitat for a number of rare species. The impressive yellow horned poppy, sea holly, sea pea and sea campion all maintain a precarious foothold in the barren, unstable sands. At night, the Cornish sandhill rustic moth, which is found nowhere else in the world, flitters about this strange place.
There are other barrier beaches along the south coast of England. Slapton Sands and Chesil Beach spring to mind, but Loe Bar's formation is enigmatic. Much of its sand and shingle consists of flint, for which there is no known source in Cornwall. Flint originates in the chalk formations in the eastern half of England, and the nearest present-day outcrops of chalk are at Beer in East Devon, a good 100 miles from Loe Bar. It is thought that some 70 million years ago, the seas wherein the chalk was deposited, together with the siliceous skeletons of micro-organisms that produced the flint, covered the lower parts of what is now Cornwall. The soft chalk was subsequently eroded away, leaving a scattering of flint behind as a resistant residue.
We know from history that the town of Helston, which received its charter from King John in 1201, was formerly a small port on the tidal River Cober. During the 13th century, Loe Bar grew to such an extent that the port was cut off from the open sea, forcing the burgesses of Helston to negotiate for rights in the port of Gweek on the Helford River. It is probable that Loe Bar's dramatic growth at that time was a consequence of the final inundation of the forests that once flourished in Mount's Bay. Destruction of the trees would have loosened the soil, releasing an enormous supply of entrapped flints, which were then free to be piled up along this section of the coast by the south-westerly gales.
Loe Bar has been the scene of many shipwrecks. December 2007 marks the bicentenary of one of the most famous sea disasters, the wreck of the frigate HMS Anson, on 29 December 1807. The Anson was a 44-gun vessel that had left Falmouth on Christmas Eve to join a fleet blockading the French port of Brest during the war with Napoleon. She ran into a severe gale, and although she reached the French coast, the captain decided to run with the wind and seek the shelter of Falmouth once again. On the afternoon of 28 December, the ship became embayed in Mount's Bay, could not claw her way to safety against the gale, and was forced to drop anchor off Loe Bar. The anchors held until the following morning, but then the chains parted. An attempt was made to run the vessel aground, but she broached to, and the mainmast crashed down. This fortuitously provided a means of escape for some, but 120 sailors, including the captain, were swept away by the raging waves.
Watching the terrible scene unfold, with people being drowned almost within touching distance of safety, was Henry Trengrouse, the son of a Helston cabinetmaker. He was so affected by the disaster that he began to experiment on a simple means of carrying a lifeline to a wreck. After ten years of struggle and expenditure of his own money, he perfected a portable rocket apparatus which was put into production by the Admiralty. Trengrouse's meagre reward from the Admiralty was £50, and another 35 guineas was forthcoming from the Society of Arts. The rocket apparatus has subsequently been the means of saving thousands of lives, with the catalyst for its invention being that dreadful day 200 years ago at Loe Bar.
In times of storm, Loe Bar's foreshore is a terrifying maelstrom of wild water
The simplest approach is to walk a mile along the coast from Porthleven to the north end of the Bar. Alternatively, take the A3083 south from Helston. After one mile, turn right immediately before the bridge over the road marked 'HMS Seahawk'. Follow this unsigned lane for 1.4 miles to
a junction marked Loe Bar Sands. Continue for 0.5 mile to Chyvarloe National Trust car park. Walk a further 0.5 mile to the south end of the Bar.
• Beside Bar Lodge, above the north end of Loe Bar, is an excellent National Trust explanatory plaque.
• A cross commemorating the HMS Anson disaster is situated close to the coast path.
• Find, but do not pick, rare sea holly, yellow horned poppies, sea campion and sea pea on the Bar sands.
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A perfect blend of antiquity and modernity, Malaga is one of the most beautiful and exciting cities in Andalusia. Capital of the Costa del Sol, it really has a lot to offer the tourists who visit Spanish towns and beaches in hordes every year, hoping for a truly unique and unforgettable holiday. For them, Malaga is a dream come true: museums, Arabic fortresses, colourful streets and trendy areas. All of this, interspersed with beautiful gardens, natural canyons and hiking and walking areas that will take your breath away.
We have selected for you 13 things to see in and around Malaga:
The Roman Theatre
Gibralfaro Castle
The Picasso House Museum
Malaga Fair
The Carmen Thyssen Museum
Malaga area: the King's Path walkway
Malaga area: Gibraltar
Malaga area: Granada
Alhambra (Granada)
Malaga area: Cordoba
Malaga Cathedral
Any city tour worthy of the name must begin with the Cathedral, a colossal jewel of Renaissance art which took more than two centuries to build. Its stands on the site of an ancient mosque, of which only the Orange-tree Courtyard, pervaded by the scent of citrus fruits, is still visible today. Venturing inside, you can admire an impressive, 40-metre high, domed ceiling before climbing to the top of the bell tower - there are 200-steps, but the stunning views of the city and the coast make it worth the effort.
Malaga's Roman Theatre
Amongst the many sights of Andalusia and, in particular, those in Malaga, don't miss the Roman theatre. This charming site is also one of the city's oldest monuments, as well as being one of the very few Roman ruins left in the region. The theatre has been designated a Site of Cultural Interest and every year it attracts tourists and students alike to uncover the history of these special remains. The amphitheatre’s structure is still almost intact: cavea, orchestra and proscenium all still standing in an open area formed by three beautiful stairways. Thanks to the archaeological restoration work, the site can once more be used for its original purpose, and today it can accommodate up to 200 spectators during theatrical performances. In 2010, the Roman Theatre Interpretation Centre was built, to provide information about this valuable relic of Roman times. The building, made of steel and shaped like a prism, was designed by Antonio Tejedor. It offers an excellent introduction to the site you are about to visit. Interactive exhibits further enrich this fantastic experience.
The Alcazar is one of those marvels that serve as a reminder of Malaga's glorious Arab past. However, this splendid residence is actually a mix of cultures: Arab, Roman and Renaissance. To enter, you walk past the Roman Theatre, then pass through a lush garden of palm trees, orange trees and jasmine. The fortress palace of Alcazar was built in the Moorish period, in the 11th century, at the behest of the King of Granada, Badis ben Habùs. The interior is a riot of splendour and beauty, with decorations, jewelled doors, fountains and a marvellous archaeological museum, home to a truly amazing collection of Islamic ceramics and historic pottery.
Malaga's Gibralfaro Castle is probably one of the city's most famous monuments. It rises to a height of 130 metres, right in the heart of the historic old town, next to the Alcazaba fortress. From the top, you can enjoy a stunning view of Malaga, the port, the coast and, of course, the Bullring. With a little luck and clear skies, you will just be able to make out the coast of Morocco in the distance.
Visitors to the city flock here, and with good reason: at Gibralfaro Castle you feel as though you had gone back in time to the days when Malaga was riven by combat and siege. Built by Abderramàn III on the ruins of a Phoenician enclosure, upon the arrival of the Romans the castle was further enlarged. It was used as a barracks for troops and to protect the Alcazar, to which it is connected by La Coracha - an external wall.
Among the areas open to visitors, in addition to the beautiful grounds, don't miss the White Tower, the stables, the parade ground and the troop's quarters in the lower part of the castle. In the upper areas, you can see the Main Tower, 17 metres high, the bathrooms and the very famous Airòn well, more than 40 metres deep. Here, there is a Visitor Centre providing information about what military life in the castle was like, through the years. Among the various exhibits, you will see military uniforms of the various regiments garrisoned at the Castle, as well as the uniform of the 16th century Alabardero Corps.
Anyone who has been to Malaga or has even a basic knowledge of art knows that this city is the birthplace of one of the most famous artists of the 20th century, Pablo Picasso. As per his wishes, the Picasso Museum is located right here in his beloved Malaga, and it was his daughter-in-law, Christine, who established it, even though there were already two other museums in existence: one in Paris and one in Barcelona. A visit to this museum is like taking a journey inside another journey, exploring Picasso's art not only from the artistic point of view but also for its human side, discovering fundamental aspects of the story of this city, the painter and Spain as a whole. The museum also houses temporary exhibitions to enable young local artists to show their work.
The museum collection includes 204 works, 155 of which were donated. The remaining 49 have been lent to the museum from the private collections of Christine Ruiz-Picasso (his daughter-in-law), and Bernard-Ruiz Picasso (his nephew). The exhibition offers a chronological overview of the artist's life, subdividing the works into styles, techniques and experimental materials used by the painter and sculptor throughout his career, right through to his most mature phase. Among the most important works on display here are "Restaurant", oil on glass from 1914, the canvas "The Three Graces", from the artist's golden age, "The Siesta", 1932, and the iconic "Bull's head", a bronze sculpture created using the saddle and handlebars of a bicycle.
The Picasso Museum is located within the Buenavista Palace, a magnificent example of Andalusian Renaissance architecture. Another must is a visit to the museum basement, where construction works uncovered the presence of Phoenician, Roman
Flamenco shows in Malaga
Connoisseurs of flamenco all agree: in the capital of the Costa del Sol this traditional dance is today more vibrant and well-established than ever. Just think of the countless shows organized in the context of events such as the Flamenco Biennial, or the hugely popular August Fair. But anyone visiting Malaga at other times of the year needs to know the right places to go for an experience that is both exciting and, above all, respectful of tradition. Take, for example, peñas, like that of Juan Breva: these are associations which have a statute and rules. The one mentioned above, in particular, is the oldest in Spain and is also known as the "Museum of Flamenco". Upstairs, in fact, you will find various memorabilia evoking the history of the region and the city. The ground floor, on the other hand, is used for displays, which can range from singing and guitar concerts to pictures.
Another interesting place to visit for anyone wishing to know more about flamenco is the Kelipé “Centre for Flamenco Art”, run by a couple, both artists, or else the highly esteemed flamenco school, which also boasts a dancefloor for public use. Their show, "Flamenco del Ley" is staged three nights a week.
It happens in August and is the most important and exciting event anywhere on the Costa del Sol. So, let's take a look at the Malaga Fair, also known as the Big Summer Festival. For the whole week, cities and beaches join in the festivities, partying from dawn to dusk, without a break. Thousands of Spaniards flood into the streets and celebrate, with traditional dancing, live music, cartojal (the white wine typical of the fair) and concerts. It's impossible to adequately describe the atmosphere of the Fair: you have to experience it yourself to really know what it means.
In Malaga, the Villalòn Palace, a 16th-century building, houses the works of the extraordinary Carmen Thyssen collection. With more than 200 works on display, the exhibition begins with a series of paintings by old masters, including the "Santa Marina" by Zubaràn, followed by a section dedicated to romantic landscapes and consumerism, with works by Genaro Pérez Villaamil, Manuel Barrón and Domínguez Bécquer. Then come the works of Marià Fortuny, with her "preziosista" style and natural landscapes, and finally, Spanish fin de siècle works by Joaquín Sorolla, Anglada Camarasa, Ignacio Zuloaga and Julio Romero de Torres. From time to time, the museum also organizes temporary exhibitions.
The King's Pathway (65 km from Malaga)
The King's Pathway lies between the municipalities of Ardales, El Chorro and Alora, and is much admired by visitors for the breath-taking beauty of its scenery. Originally built as a bridge for the maintenance workers at the nearby hydroelectric power station, this walkway, no more than a metre wide, has become a popular tourist destination for thrill-seeking hikers. The name "King's Pathway" derives from the fact that King Alfonso XIII took part in the inauguration of the Conde de Guadalhorce dam. After a series of accidents, safety work was finally carried out on the bridge in 2015 and it is now possible to walk there safely, enjoying the natural beauty of the surroundings without any danger of falling. The pathway is around 7.7 km long, including 3 km on a wooden walkway along the side of the gorge. The remainder of the route proceeds along mountain tracks where you can admire the local flora and fauna and may occasionally see some mountain goats. Due to its unusual geology, fossils can sometimes be found here.
Gibraltar (140 km from Malaga)
A visit to Gibraltar will take your breath away: this unusual Spanish city is a combination of English and North African elements, with a touch of Italy thrown in - Genova, to be specific. When it comes to stories about colonization and cultural exchange, Gibraltar has plenty tales to tell for anyone who is interested. Located in the southern tip of Spain, in Andalusia, it is a few kilometres from Tarifa and is the meeting point between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Visitors shouldn't miss a tour of the city itself, and this Spanish city with an English feel, complete with incongruous Moorish castle, cannot fail to enchant. Although very few traces of that era now remain, it was a period of domination that lingers in the memory of this land. Also worth a visit is the Gibraltar Museum, which houses artefacts from all eras, including the remains of a Neanderthal woman from over 100 thousand years ago. Pay a visit also to the Trafalgar Cemetery and the Alameda Botanical Gardens. Only 20 minutes from the cable car, don't miss a visit to the natural cave of St. Michael, used today for theatrical performances. Another must-see is the Rock of Gibraltar, which not only offers splendid views over the city and the sea, but will also bring you face-to-face with one of the most unusual attractions of the area: the apes.
Granada (150 km from Malaga)
This is one of Andalusia's most fascinating cities, and there are really a lot of things to see in Granada. The Andalusian capital lies at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains and boasts an architectural heritage that is, quite simply, priceless. From its Moorish roots until the Renaissance, not to mention the modern parts and, of course, Alhambra, there is plenty for you to look at in Granada. Take, for example, the Royal Chapel, the city's most important Christian monument. Built-in Gothic style between 1505 and 1517, inside you, can admire the alter and the extraordinary crypts of Isabella, Ferdinando and Giovanna La Pazza, as well as that of Philip I of Spain.
Also not to be missed are the Cartuja and San Jeronimo monasteries to the north of the city of Granada. In baroque style, they boast beautiful golden domes, frescoes and a stunning, polychrome marble altar. Visitors to Granada mustn't miss the Garcia Lorca Park, a little green oasis by the home of one of the most important poets of the twentieth century: Federico Garcia Lorca.
On the hill opposite the Alhambra lies one of the most important districts of Granada: Albayzìn or Albaicìn, which, with its narrow and picturesque streets, has earned a place in the hearts of tourists and, above all, mention as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Alhambra (Granada)
Visitors mainly come to Andalusia for one thing: the Alhambra. This extraordinary fortress, which appears to come straight from the pages of "A Thousand and One Nights" has a tale to tell of many different eras and cultures, reflected for posterity in the architectural styles used in its construction. The main attractions are, without any doubt, the Generalife and Nazaries palaces To optimize visitor experience in this magical location. However, visits are only allowed at certain times. There are actually three palaces: Mexuar Hall, the Comares and Leeuwenhof, and they are the most important examples of the Arabesque style anywhere in Europe.
However, visits to the Alhambra, Granada's great Arabesque complex, usually begin from the Alcazaba, the oldest part of the fortress. Although very ancient, it bears witness to the fact that this place was at the peak of its importance during the Arab period; even today, its walls appear indestructible. From the Alcazaba, you enter the Torre de La Vela, or candle tower: once used as a guard point by soldiers, it was a place from which to observe the borders and is topped by a bell that was used to signal the presence of intruders. Once the Alcazaba no longer had any military role, the Garden of the Ramparts was established, a beautiful garden that runs alongside the entrance and also provides access to the Charles V Palace and the Nazaries Palace complex.
The Calle Real was the fulcrum of city life amongst the buildings of the Alhambra complex, and today it is still the main road for getting from place to place within this splendid structure. Take the opportunity to see the Church of Santa Maria de la Alhambra, right by the entrance and only a short walk from the Charles V Palace. Near the church, you can also find the Museum of Angel Barrious, a famous musician. Go inside for the collection, then stay on for the Arab baths, once connected to the mosque and certainly one of the most beautiful and iconic areas in the complex.
This route down the Calle Real will lead you to some of the most beautiful parts of the city, such as the Justice Gate and Charles V's Pillar. The other gateways to the Alhambra are not as beautiful as the Justice Gate, but they have their own charm and should not be overlooked. Take a trip to the Tower of the Seven Floors, the Arms Tower and Gate of the Poor Quarter, for a truly complete city experience. Near the main Medina road lies the archaeological site of the Abencerrajes Palace, a splendid excavation that reflects the area’s diverse history and where excavation is still in progress.
The Alhambra is synonymous with water: the same water that gurgles in the fountains, waterways and water features that are scattered throughout the city. But how did this precious (and scarce) resource get to the city? Through the Acequia Real, a canal equipped with a sophisticated hydraulic system that for centuries transported water from the Darro river to supply the fountains in the Alhambra complex.
Cordoba (160 km from Malaga)
Undoubtedly one of the most beautiful and evocative cities of Andalusia, Cordoba, ancient capital of the Arab empire and today home to some of the most beautiful mosques in Europe. Despite being quite small, Cordoba is very special: the fact that it contains more UNESCO World Heritage Sites than any other city in the world is the proof.
The first thing to do once you arrive is to go to the Cordoba Mosque (Mezquita de Cordoba), an ancient mosque with a cathedral inside - which claimed it as a sacred place following the reconquest of the territory. The mosque, which stands in the city centre and is a perfect example of Islamic architecture, was used in 711 simultaneously as a church and mosque.
Another important milestone is the Roman Bridge of Cordoba which crosses the Guadalquivir and, at 240 metres long, is one of the city's main attractions. It was built by Augustus, a Spanish-born Roman emperor and is the symbol of the city. At the two ends stand the bridge towers, imposing arches that dominate the structure, and the Calahorra Tower which today houses the Museum of Three Cultures.
Another point of interest in the city is the Juderia, or Jewish quarter of Cordoba, where white houses with little gardens offer the curious tourist a glimpse of life at the crossroads of many cultures, where flowers sprawl over the walls in a display that reaches the height of its beauty at Callejon de las Flores. We suggest you also visit the synagogue, the only one in Andalusia, which is built in Mudejar style.
Next stop is Medina Azahara, a town 8 kilometres from Cordoba built by the Arab ruler, Aderraman III, which for its construction used 4,300 columns, of which only a heap of rubble remains today. The city was built as a dedication to his wife, az-Zahara, but after only 70 years it was abandoned and destroyed - in spite of which, it is today a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Viana Palace is an essential part of any tour of Cordoba: with its 12 patios, it began its existence as a house and was then extended to become a real palace. The architecture makes use of flowers, natural elements, geometry and water features combined with splendid interiors which house several paintings by Goya, antique furniture and a library containing over 7 thousand books.
Visit Malaga with Costa Cruises
An enchanting mix of cultures and styles, Malaga will take your breath away. Take advantage of Costa Cruises excursions to experience the timeless charm of this enchanting city and admire some of its many treasures, such as the Cathedral, the Alcazaba and the Gibralfaro castle.
Discover Malaga
Find your next cruise
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Land Rover News
Land Rover Discovery Sport News
Land Rover Discovery Sport has 6 seats?
discoveryadmin
Land Rover is teasing its upcoming compact SUV the Discovery Sport in a new set of photos, which confirm that the small crossover will have a third row of seating.
The camouflage on this prototype has been printed to look like it is being peeled back, showing off the two small seats that will be fit in the back of the new Discovery Sport. In the UK, the seven seat configuration will come standard, while U.S. configurations haven’t been announced.
Launching in 2015, the Discovery Sport will be sold alongside the existing Discovery in the UK, and it is still unclear whether or not it will replace the LR2 in the North American market.
Styling will be influenced by the Discovery Vision Concept which was unveiled at the 2014 New York Auto Show. That car packed some innovative features like the ability to be piloted remotely via a smart-phone app and a heads-up display that projected the terrain below the vehicle on the hood of the car.
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About EKOS Politics
We launched this website in order to showcase our election research, and our suite of polling technologies including Probit and IVR. We will be updating this site frequently with new polls, analysis and insight into Canadian politics. EKOS's experience, knowledge and sophisticated research designs have contributed positively to many previous elections.
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For media inquires, please contact: Frank Graves President EKOS Research Associates t: 613.235-7215 [email protected]
« Social Media, Socioeconomic Status, and Democratic Health
LOOKING BACKWARD, LOOKING FORWARD: PART 2 »
LOOKING BACKWARD, LOOKING FORWARD: PART 3
FORCE THREE: SOCIAL MEDIA ISN’T HELPING
[Ottawa – January 3, 2013] Internet 2.0 (surely we are at least at 3.0) is transforming our society in ways we couldn’t even have imagined twenty five years ago. The Internet is the new mass media and social media is now the avidly consumed by most Canadians, particularly those below our median age of 41 years (it was around 26 at the last Centennial celebrations of 1967).
This isn’t merely a change to our popular culture; social media is at the heart of the North American economy with the Facebook IPO the biggest economic event of the past year. Notably, on the day that Facebook purchased Instagram (still too fresh a name to be recognized by my spell check) for one billion dollars the venerable New York Times was valued at 900 million dollars.
When we ask the public their views on what impacts social media are having on overall quality of life in general and democratic health more particularly, the responses are overwhelmingly positive. Virtually everyone thinks that social media is a liberating force which is enriching and broadening democratic and societal health. Putting aside the irony that this consensus comes at a time when barometers of democratic health are at historical low points in our tracking, we are left puzzled about these nearly unanimous thumbs up on the salubrious impacts of social media.
Clearly, there are many wonderful applications of social media and as an enthusiastic fan of twitter I can attest to its value, fun and occasional danger. It is still puzzling to see how in an era where mistrust and scepticism are both very high, social media has largely escaped critical public scrutiny. I will leave the question of the plausibility of building a future economy on the rather ephemeral world of social media to more qualified experts. I will, however, note that the Facebook IPO has become the ‘Faceplant’ event in the minds of burned investors and I never really understood how ‘poking’ our way to recovery was a solid long-term strategy for fending off the emerging Asian economies.
In Canada, there has been an explosion of interest in the use of social media as a form of political expression. Online communities and petitions abound and the Twitterverse is awash in critical commentary of the most dramatic sort. In work presented after the last federal election, Mike Colledge of Ipsos noted that during the 41st election campaign, the tone of the Internet shifted from a relatively balanced ideological tone to a decidedly more left of center tone. More notably, this bore no resemblance to the outcome of the election itself.
Some have argued that the less strenuous ‘click’ democracy available to denizens of the social media universe is becoming an ersatz touchstone which occludes the importance of authentic political participation. Moreover, those who vigorously contest the policies of the day in the world of social media, and who believe that this is really making a difference become more embittered as this delusion is shattered in the real world of elections. In Canada, younger voting hasn’t risen in tandem with the rise of social media (quite the contrary). Social media are crucial tools to fund raising and political mobilisation as we have seen in the past American election (where youth voting was much higher than in Canada’s last federal election).
On a final note, it is worth taking a look at the socioeconomic demographics (i.e., income and education) underlying today’s ‘social mediaphiles’. In the past, Internet consumption was positively associated with socioeconomic status (SES) and labour force outcome. Our most recent labour force study, however, suggests that high social media consumers now display lower SES and are faring more poorly in the labour market.
In the past year, Allan Gregg delivered a penetrating and courageous critique of the current government where he likened the current regime’s strategy to political techniques evident in the nightmarish world of 1984. While applauding this speech, I would demur on the reference to Orwell and the notion that individual rights have been usurped in the service of totalitarian control (I do agree heartily with the assault on reason theme).
Instead, I return to Neil Postman’s seminal 1985 book entitled Amusing Ourselves to Death. In this work Postman argues that it is Huxley’s’ Brave New World which is a more prescient dystopia than Orwell’s 1984. The citizen surrenders their rights unconsciously in a never ending pursuit of mindless entertainment.
Perhaps social media has become the soma of the twenty-first century.
Click here for the full report: Looking Backward – Part 3 (January 3, 2013)
January 4th, 2013 | Category: Democracy, National Results, Technology
Approval Ratings
Commentary by Frank Graves
Election Issues
National Vote Intention
Presentation by Frank Graves
Seat Projection
Tolerance and Diversity
Values and Identity
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The Once and Future Liberal: After Identity Politics
By Mark Lilla
Read by Charles Constant
Mark Lilla HarperAudio, HarperCollins 9780062697431
From one of the most internationally admired political thinkers, a controversial polemic on the failures of identity politics and what comes next for the left — in America and beyond. Following the shocking results of the US election of 2016, public intellectuals across the globe offered theories and explanations, but few were met with such vitriol, panic, and debate as Mark Lilla’s. The Once and Future Liberal is a passionate plea to liberals to turn from the divisive politics of identity and develop a vision of the future that can persuade all citizens that they share a common destiny. Driven by a sincere desire to protect society’s most vulnerable, the left has unwittingly balkanized the electorate, encouraged self-absorption rather than solidarity, and invested its energies in social movements rather than party politics. Identity-focused individualism has insidiously conspired with amoral economic individualism to shape an electorate with little sense of a shared future and near-contempt for the idea of the common good. Now is the time to re-build a sense of common feeling and purpose, and a sense of duty to one another. A fiercely argued, important book, enlivened by acerbic wit and erudition, The Once and Future Liberal is essential listening for our times.
From one of the most internationally admired political thinkers, a controversial polemic on the failures of identity politics and what comes next for the left — in America and beyond.
Following the shocking results of the US election of 2016, public intellectuals across the globe offered theories and explanations, but few were met with such vitriol, panic, and debate as Mark Lilla’s. The Once and Future Liberal is a passionate plea to liberals to turn from the divisive politics of identity and develop a vision of the future that can persuade all citizens that they share a common destiny.
Driven by a sincere desire to protect society’s most vulnerable, the left has unwittingly balkanized the electorate, encouraged self-absorption rather than solidarity, and invested its energies in social movements rather than party politics. Identity-focused individualism has insidiously conspired with amoral economic individualism to shape an electorate with little sense of a shared future and near-contempt for the idea of the common good.
Now is the time to re-build a sense of common feeling and purpose, and a sense of duty to one another. A fiercely argued, important book, enlivened by acerbic wit and erudition, The Once and Future Liberal is essential listening for our times.
“Brief but brilliant book.” —Fareed Zakaria
“After the disaster of November 2016, a wreckage analysis is desperately needed. Mark Lilla offers a deep and provocative brief on what went wrong, and what liberals, moderates, and progressives might do about it.” —Steven Pinker, New York Times bestselling author
“Mark Lilla will make many people mad, but to excellent purpose. He calls for a revived politics of liberty and justice for truly all and a real debate over how to achieve the common good. The job now is to find and include a genuinely diverse set of voices to create the new American ‘we the people’ that Lilla envisions.” —Anne-Marie Slaughter, author of Unfinished Business
“In the age of Trump, Mark Lilla’s engaging and provocative book is a must-read. The Once and Future Liberal is full of insights on the failure of the identity politics movement, and on what progressives have to do to capture America’s imagination and secure the common good.” —William Julius Wilson, author of More Than Just Race
“Though it’s a book written by a liberal Democrat for liberal Democrats, every conservative who cares about the future of American politics should read it…The Once and Future Liberal is a punchy, no-BS guide to how the Democrats can make the future their own…[A] must-read.” —American Conservative
Author Bio: Mark Lilla
Mark Lilla is Professor of the Humanities at Columbia University and a prizewinning essayist for the New York Review of Books and other publications worldwide. His books include The Shipwrecked Mind: On Political Reaction; The Stillborn God: Religion, Politics, and the Modern West; and The Reckless Mind: Intellectuals in Politics. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Publisher: HarperAudio Publisher: HarperCollins Publisher: HarperCollins
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By George Mui, DDS, Ltd. Gentle Dental Care
Tags: dental injury dental emergency chipped teeth
One went over the handlebars of his mountain bike. Another got an elbow going for a lay-up. For a third, it was that tricky maneuver on her new snowboard...
These are just a few of the ways that kids' teeth can be injured. (No doubt, parents can think of plenty more.) The good news is that modern dentistry offers more options than ever for treating the injury and restoring the appearance and function of the teeth.
Teeth that are fractured or dislodged are a serious condition that requires immediate, comprehensive treatment. The majority of dental injuries, however, are less severe: most often, they involve chipped teeth. If chips occur in the upper front teeth — as some 80% of dental injuries do — even small flaws can have a big affect on the appearance. And, especially in the teenage years, appearance can mean everything.
In many cases, small chips in the teeth can be repaired effectively using a procedure called “bonding.” In this treatment, we use a tooth-colored material made by mixing a plastic matrix and a glass-like filler, which provides adequate strength and aesthetic qualities similar to the natural teeth. In fact, this composite material can be matched to an individual's tooth color so accurately that it's hard to notice any difference.
Composite resins can be successfully bonded to most healthy teeth — and they offer some advantages over other restoration methods, particularly for children and teenagers. The bonding procedure avoids making tiny “undercuts” in the natural substance of the tooth, while metal fillings need to “lock in” to the tooth's structure. This means that bondings generally require less tooth preparation, which usually makes bonding a quick and relatively easy method of restoration.
It's true that, over time, some bonded restorations may not stand up to the tremendous biting forces of the jaw as well as porcelain restorations — but in young people whose permanent teeth have large pulp (nerve) chambers, the removal of too much tooth structure could compromise the long-term health of the tooth. Later on, we can look at performing a different type of restoration.
If you have questions about cosmetic bonding or sports-related dental injuries, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can learn more in the Dear Doctor magazine articles “Repairing Chipped Teeth” and “An Introduction to Sports Injuries & Dentistry.”
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Home News Health & Medical Conditions Use of Morning-After Pill, Other Forms of Contraception on the Rise
Use of Morning-After Pill, Other Forms of Contraception on the Rise
More women have used emergency contraception – also called the morning-after pill – as well as other methods of birth control such as implants and intrauterine devices (IUDs), a 2013 government report shows.
Researchers at the National Center for Health Statistics collected data between 2006 and 2010 and reported that 11 percent of women between 15 and 44 had ever used the morning-after pill – up 4 percent from 2002. Of the women who used the pill, 59 percent had used it once, 24 percent twice and 17 percent said three or more times.
Younger women were also most likely to use emergency contraception, and the report shows that most users of the pill were never married and between the ages of 20 and 24.
Condoms are still the most popular form of contraception. Today, 89 percent of women use condoms or some other form of reversible contraception such as the birth control pill, contraceptive patch, intrauterine device such as Mirena or injectable birth control drug — up from 62 percent in 2002.
However, as the number of women using birth control increases, so does the risk of side effects.
Popular Birth Control Options Pose Risks
There are many birth control choices available to women, including hormonal IUD, a vaginal ring and different types of oral contraceptive pills. Depending on the woman, some choices may be better and safer than others. Like all drugs, birth control pills and devices have their own unique set of risks.
The Mirena IUD is manufactured by Bayer and is a flexible, T-shaped, plastic device that is implanted in the uterus. The IUD releases low doses of levonorgesterel, a progestin birth control hormone, directly into the uterus. The device is effective at preventing pregnancy for up to 5 years.
Since it was released in 2000, however, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has received thousands of reports of complications. The most serious complications occur when Mirena migrates from the uterus and perforates the uterine wall and damages other organs. Other side effects include infertility, pregnancy outside the uterus and device expulsion.
NuvaRing is a once-a-month vaginal ring marketed by Merck and approved by the FDA in 2001. The ring uses the hormone etonogestrel, a third-generation progestin hormone, and must be replaced by the woman each month. Some studies have shown an increased risk of blood clots linked to third-generation progestins.
The most concerning side effect of NuvaRing is the higher risk of blood clots. Many women have suffered life-threatening blood clots requiring hospitalization.
Yaz, Yasmin & Ocella
Bayer’s Yaz and Yasmin birth control pills were first released in 2006 and include the hormone drospirenone. The drug is also available in generic form under the name Ocella.
These three birth control pills have been linked to blood clots, stroke, kidney disorders and uterine bleeding. Before choosing a method of contraception, women should always speak to a doctor about the risks and benefits.
Rovner, J. (2013, February 14). More women turning to morning-after pill. NPR. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2013/02/14/171999168/more-women-turn-to-morning-after-pill
Guttenmacher Institute. (2013). Contraceptive use in the United States. Retrieved from https://www.guttmacher.org/fact-sheet/contraceptive-use-united-states
Mirena IUD Litigation Revives Memories of Dalkon Shield Injuries
IUD Birth Control Like Mirena and Skyla Are Safe for Teens, Study Says
Study Says Mirena is Best Treatment for Heavy Periods; Risks Exist
FDA Approves Skyla, First New IUD since Mirena Arrived in 2000
Michelle Llamas January 18, 2013
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The 100 Season 3: Wanheda Part One - has a brand new trailer
The CW has released a new trailer for "Wanheda: Part One", the first episode of Season 3 of "The 100".
Warning! This article contains spoilers.
The CW has released a new teaser of the first episode of Season 3 of The 100. Clarke seems more determined than ever.
The 100: A disturbing teaser
After a successful second season of the show, The 100: Season 3 comes in a few days on the small screen with a first episode. Clarke Griffin will continue his assault course and should find Lexa, in a very tense situation, after the betrayal of the latter at the end of Season 2.
The young Arker may have trouble keeping Clarke. Tensions should be at the reunion and everyone is looking Clarke. The reunion could be fatal for some group members.
Bobby Morley: "Clarke will remain leader"
In an interview with IGN, Bellamy Blake evokes the status of the heroine of the series, "Clarke will remain a leader while Bellamy will continue to carry out his orders. He took a real distance with his desire to become a chef. Bellamy further seeks to understand what it means to be in charge of a people. I think the character of Henry Ian Cusick (Marcus) is a leader and Bellamy learn a lot from him and he tries to make the best decision possible."
The actor emphasizes the relationships between the characters in the series: "I think the show has a very interesting perspective on leadership and the fact of using it in the interest of the greatest number. Being a leader in the show, he already has the power to make decisions and know that the people will follow his instructions. It's very funny to see that many decisions are made in a personal interest while others have a common interest. "
The first episode of The 100: Season 3, Wanheda: Part One, will premier on the CW on January 21.
categories: The 100; Season 3; Wanheda Part One; New Trailer; Teaser
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Young Eagles Helped Airman Get His Wings
In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the EAA Young Eagles program in 2017, we’re featuring 25 Young Eagles whose stories inspire and exemplify the impact of the program.
February 16, 2017 - Tristan Briggs, EAA 1085192, got his first taste of flight in a GA aircraft when he received a Young Eagles flight in 2011.
“I was kind of interested in aviation from a young age,” he said. “[The flight] really showed me that it wasn’t something that was out of reach, that it was a possibility.”
Tristan said that flight and the Young Eagles program were vital to his continued participation in the GA community; after his flight, he went to ground school and was able to take the written private pilot exams for free, thanks to the Young Eagles program, and is now a member of the U.S. Air Force.
“Without the benefits of the Young Eagles program I never would have been able to get my private pilot license in high school,” he said.
After receiving his certificate in 2014, Tristan almost immediately started flying others giving 15 people their first GA flight just two days later. It wasn’t until last year that he began flying Young Eagles partly, he said, because he wasn’t sure he’d be able to as a freshly minted pilot.
“I thought that you had to have like 750 hours or something,” he said. “I talked to a guy at an EAA booth and asked ‘How do those Young Eagles pilots do it?’”
Since then, Tristan has flown a total of 18 Young Eagles from a small GA airport with a grass runway and a “pack of airport dogs.” He said his favorite part of the being a Young Eagles pilot is the reactions from the kids.
“I love to see their faces light up,” he said. “They forget all their worries as they’re taxiing out through the grass and the dogs and then all of a sudden they’re flying.”
In addition to flying Young Eagles, Tristan said he also works with local Boy Scout troops and gives presentations at the middle school to educate more young people on the accessibility of general aviation.
“People have this view of aviation as nothing but TSA and air conditioned terminals,” he said. “They’ve got this idea that you have to have the white shirt and the tie to be a pilot. Aviation is a very American thing that you don’t have to be special or go through a special program to do.”
If you or someone you know has a Young Eagles story to share, e-mail us at khollidaygreenley@eaa.org. You can also share your Young Eagles photos or video with us on Twitter and Instagram using #YoungEagles25.
Read all 25 for 25 stories here >>
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History of Eaton County
Eaton County, named for President Andrew Jackson's Secretary of War (John Eaton), sometimes referred to as a cabinet county, was organized in 1837. Due to lack of population and buildings in the designated county seat (Charlotte), government and judicial functions were performed in the village of Bellevue. However, by 1840 the population of Charlotte had grown sufficiently to warrant the move to this community.
The First Courthouse
Circuit Court proceedings were held in the Eagle Hotel with Circuit rider Epaphroditus Ransom (later Governor of Michigan) as presiding judge. Six years later, the first Eaton County Courthouse was completed at a cost totaling five hundred dollars on land donated for this purpose by Edmund Bostwick.
A New Courthouse
By 1880, growth in Eaton County had outstripped the capacity of the first courthouse. In 1882 the Eaton County Board of Supervisors resolved "to erect a building for court and public office purposes" at no more than $50,000 cost; this was later amended to $40,000. When completed, the cost of this courthouse was nearly $80,000.
The contract for design was awarded to D.W. Gibbs and Company of Toledo, Ohio with the firm of Miles, Cramer and Horn also from Toledo doing construction. The corner stone was laid on July 4, 1883 and this building was ready for use in October 1885. Placed on the register of national historic buildings, the courthouse served the residents of Eaton County as the focal point of County Government for nearly ninety-one years.
Current Governmental Complex
During the late 1960's the county again experienced a tremendous population growth. As a result, the Courthouse of 1885 could no longer house the rapidly expanding County government. Late in 1970, the commissioners began in earnest discussing the need for more space. Several options were weighed; they included building additions on to the present Courthouse, purchasing land surrounding the courthouse annex buildings or the purchasing of land and developing a governmental complex within that area.
Advantages and disadvantages were weighed for each option; however, after months of discussion the final proposal of developing a governmental complex was accepted. With the decision to build a new Courthouse complex the firm of Cain and Associates of Kalamazoo were retained for architectural work on the new building, the TerHorst and Rinzema Construction Company of Grand Rapids as general contractors.
Ground breaking ceremonies for the courthouse were held January 24, 1975, with the building being dedicated on July 4, 1976. This new building was designed to include sixteen county offices and departments, encompassing 87,700 square feet of office and storage space and costing close to $4,000,000 total. The building was constructed without the need for assessing additional taxes upon the residents of Eaton County. The new Courthouse complex typifies the growth development of Eaton County as it moves toward the 21st century. - Douglas C. Kelsey, Eaton County Bicentennial Commission
Date of First Records
Births - 1867
Circuit Court Judgments - 1847
Deaths - 1867
Marriages - 1838
Probate - 1832
Courthouse Details
Contractor: S.E. Millett and Lewis Scour
Eaton County's first Courthouse was moved from the Courthouse square in 1872. It Served as a garage until purchased by Historic Charlotte, Inc. and moved to Bennett Park in 1983 where restoration is in progress.
Built 1883 to 1886
Architect: D.W. Gibbs and Company
Contractor: Miles and Horn and Bradford Kellogg
The Renaissance Revival structure with its walls of sandstone and brick is Eaton's second County Courthouse and is undergoing restoration.
Dedicated: 1976
Architect: Robert Cain and Associates
Contractor: TerHorst and Rinzema Construction.
The New Formalism style Eaton County Governmental Complex located on the outskirts of Charlotte is Eaton's third and present County Courthouse.
Board of Commissioners Home Page
Eaton County Dashboard & Citizens Guide
Local Community Information
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Xbox 360 Unveiled
Xbox 360: The Future of Entertainment
May 12, 2005, New York — Celebrating the dawn of a new era in entertainment, game fanatics across the globe came together tonight for the televised unveiling of Xbox 360, the future-generation game and entertainment system from Microsoft. An audience of millions watched MTV: Music Television as celebrities, professional athletes, musicians, and Xbox officials took the wraps off the much-anticipated system, ending months of intense speculation and satiating consumers worldwide.
The new Xbox 360 places players at the center of powerful next-generation games and entertainment experiences. The elegant design features a breakthrough wireless controller and an array of “Faces,” interchangeable faceplates that let gamers personalize their console. The unveiling spotlighted some of the groundbreaking Xbox 360 games in development for the new system, advancements for Xbox Live–the runaway leader in online gaming services–, and new digital media experiences that only Xbox 360 can deliver.
“With the first generation of Xbox, our ambition was to change the way people think about video games,” said Robbie Bach, Microsoft’s chief Xbox officer. “Starting today with Xbox 360, our ambition is to revolutionize the way people think about fun.”
Xbox 360 will unleash the greatest game lineup in the history of video games when it launches in North America, Europe, and Japan this holiday season. The games that captured the color, drama, and fun of high-definition gameplay at the MTV unveiling included 2K Games’ NBA 2K6; Activision, Inc.’s Call of Duty 2, QUAKE 4, and Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland; Electronic Arts’ Madden NFL 06, Need For Speed Most Wanted, and Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 06; Majesco Games’ The Darkness, Microsoft Game Studios’ Perfect Dark Zero, Kameo: Elements of Power, Project Gotham Racing 3, and Gears of War; THQ’s Saint’s Row; and Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon 3.
Platform and Partners Power the Portfolio
Xbox 360 ignites a new era of digital entertainment that is always connected, always personalized, and always in high definition. It is the only system designed with a singular platform vision that combines the most-powerful hardware with intelligent software and services.
Every Xbox 360 game is optimized for a minimum of 720p high-definition output with anti-aliasing. Regardless of the TV that Xbox 360 connects to, gamers will experience smooth, cinematic experiences that far exceed anything they’ve seen or felt in games before.
Xbox 360 also features software so smart it remembers what gamers have achieved. The Xbox Guide Button is the launch pad that connects gamers to their games, friends, and music from the wireless controller.
With more than one teraflop of system-floating point performance, a three-core PowerPC-based CPU for the most-advanced artificial intelligence and physics processing, a custom ATI graphics processor, and more than 512 megabytes of memory for the ultimate in visual fidelity, the Xbox 360 hardware is a perfect blend of power, elegance, and balance. When combined with unrivaled XNA software development tools, game creators can produce truly believable, thriving worlds.
Fabled game studios such as BioWare, Bizarre Creations, Bungie Studios, and Rare as well as legendary Japanese game creators Hironobu Sakaguchi, Tetsuya Mizuguchi, and Yoshiki Okamoto are harnessing the powerful Xbox 360 platform to create exclusive games for Microsoft Game Studios. Equally commanding, game-changing publishers like 2K Games; Activision, Inc.; Capcom; Electronic Arts; Tecmo; Namco Hometek, Inc; Rockstar Games; SEGA; THQ; and Ubisoft–just to name a few–are flocking to Xbox 360.
“Xbox 360 marks the beginning of a renaissance in video games,” said Don Mattrick, president of Worldwide Studios for Electronic Arts. “The unbelievable Xbox 360 games in development at Electronic Arts will accelerate the industry’s mission to make video games the preeminent form of entertainment.”
“With Xbox 360, a new chapter in video game history is being written,” said Kathy Vrabeck, president of Activision Publishing. “The platform liberates us to achieve new levels of graphics and gameplay so our audiences connect emotionally with more riveting stories, more believable characters, and more open, living worlds.”
Xbox Live–New Levels of Service Get Everyone in the Game
Connect Xbox 360 to a broadband connection, and it’s on. With a free level of Xbox Live service, players can share their Gamer Profile comprised of user-generated information such as Achievements (rewards players have earned in games), Gamerzone (style of play), and a custom-created Gamertile (a visual icon to represents the gamer online)–with their friends in the community. And, with the free level of Xbox Live, players can send and receive text and voice messages to friends, as well as engage in Xbox Live voice chat anywhere, anytime, even if one person is playing a game while the other is watching a progressive-scan enabled DVD movie. Also available is the Xbox Live Marketplace, a one-stop shop to download demos and trailers along with new game levels, maps, weapons, vehicles, skins, community-created content, and more to the detachable Xbox 360 hard drive.
Xbox Live members who subscribe to the premium service can experience the thrill of multiplayer online gameplay. Gamer Profiles will provide a foundation for intelligent matchmaking, so players of similar skill levels and interests can quickly and easily connect, and the Xbox Live Camera peripheral will let gamers add their own faces into games and see their friends while they play. Other Xbox Live features for premium members include video messaging, online tournaments and ladders, and exclusive, original programming such as playing with celebrities online and joining sponsored tournaments to win prizes. And all Xbox 360 owners who sign on to Xbox Live for the first time can kick-start their experience with a free month of the full subscription service, which will let them experience the full power of Xbox Live.
Unlock a New World of Digital Entertainment
With Xbox 360, gamers are always on. At its core, Xbox 360 is an amazing game machine with a wide selection of titles. But it is also an entertainment system that lets people power new experiences. Every Xbox 360 system has built-in progressive scan DVD movie, CD music, and photo playback support. The integration of Xbox Live into the system lets players receive game invites from friends while they’re watching movies or listening to music. And every MP3 player, digital camera, and Windows XP PC can plug right into the Xbox 360 USB 2.0 ports to stream music and photos through any home entertainment system.
Additionally, with built in Windows Media Center Extender functionality in every system, Xbox 360 players can access recorded TV and digital movies, music, video, and photos stored on Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005-based PCs.
Xbox 360 also opens the door to incredible new high-definition entertainment. In addition to optimizing all Xbox 360 games for high definition, Xbox 360 will stream high-definition TV and movies stored on Windows Media Center Edition PCs starting this holiday. As high-definition entertainment becomes more pervasive, Microsoft will offer more ways to experience high-definition TV and movies in any room in the house, any way people want it. Whether through dropping an optical disc in a drive, streaming to Xbox 360, or broadband distribution, Xbox 360 will let players choose how to light up their HD content.
“Xbox 360 is a revolution that promises to ignite new levels of creativity, community, and competition,” Bach said. “Tonight’s unveiling is a signal to the world that this is our industry’s greatest moment.”
About Xbox 360
Xbox 360 is the future-generation video game and entertainment system that places you at the center of the experience. Available this holiday in North America, Europe, and Japan, Xbox 360 will ignite a new era of digital entertainment that is always connected, always personalized, and always in high definition.
Microsoft, Xbox, and Xbox Live are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
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Home > Latest > New Products > Xbox 360 Unveiled
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Leyton Orient are big under-dogs, insists Russell Slade
Leyton Orient manager Russell Slade sang the praises of strike duo Kevin Lisbie and David Mooney after they put Milton Keynes Dons to the sword in a comfortable 3-1 victory.
Lisbie struck twice in the first half before a terrific goal by Mooney wrapped up the three points that meant the O's finish the regular season in third place.
The Londoners' place in the Play-Offs had long been assured, but this result ensured that the second leg of their Semi-Final against Peterborough United will be played at their Brisbane Road home.
Slade said: "They link up very well in the way they play together and the movement and the weight of the pass that Moons has put Kevin through for the second goal was excellent.
"We scored some very, very good goals and the build-up to them was first class.
"That's the sort of standard we need to set ourselves because we're underdogs going into the play-offs, there's no doubt about that.
"You've only got to look at the bookies and we're not being given a chance.
"Peterborough have an excellent record in the play-offs and they're an excellent side - Darren Ferguson has done a great job with them.
"They've already won one competition this season and played at Wembley so they'll be looking to get there again - we know that it's going to be very tough.
"We're into a mini-league now and there's a lot more football to come from our point of view."
Lisbie put Orient 2-0 up at half-time as he first headed in Dean Cox's cross before he finished coolly after Mooney's through-ball had played him in.
Lisbie returned the favour as Mooney smashed in a third from a narrow angle before Ryan Hall's deflected effort provided a consolation for MK Dons.
Dons boss Karl Robinson said: "It's a disappointing way to end the season, but we've been disappointing for four months.
"There's been an accumulation of poor results in recent weeks, but for this team to finish 10th in the league is a tremendous positive to me.
"If we've managed that with six or seven of our best 11 out, what can we achieve when we get those players fit and bring players in during the summer?
"I'm as frustrated as the next guy who wants to criticise, obviously, because I care, but I know that what we are trying to do is right.
"Yes we get frustrated but like I said, to finish 10th with that many people out has got to a positive result of how we have reacted behind the scenes.
"We'll be lucky if 20% of those who started this game start the first game next season and not many teams in this league can say that."
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Share Of Employable Indian Graduates Swells Up From 33% In 2014 To 47.38% In 2019
Banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), software/hardware and manufacturing industries hired the maximum number of people in 2019, according to India Skill Report 2019.
Tahira Noor Khan
Junior Features Writer
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
With 1.3 billion population and a median age of about 28, India is one of the few countries that have the capacity to meet the global talent requirements, according to India Skill Report 2019, a report by Wheebox, an online talent assessment company.
The report states that at present 47.38 per cent of Indian graduates are skilled enough to be employed compared with 33 per cent in 2014. Engineers continue to be the most employable of the lot with a score of 57 per cent. This is a jump of five percentage points from 52 per cent last year.
Critics, however point out that the report does not mention about underutilization of talent prevalent across sectors because of the slump in the hiring capacity.
A stellar performance by Delhi
Delhi topped the list of the state with the ‘most hiring capacity’ and ‘maximum employable talent’ when taking out the average of the last six years.
Maharashtra, Karnataka and Delhi topped the list of states with the most hiring capacity. Delhi has appeared on this list of top-3 five times in the past six years, followed by Maharashtra and Karnataka, which have appeared four times each on the list.
Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh are the states with the maximum employable talent in the country. Delhi has appeared on the list for five out of six times followed by Andhra Pradesh which appeared on the list for four times.
Bengaluru, Chennai and Guntur topped the list of city-wise highest employability opportunity.
Askew Gender Ratio
Percentage of women working in India is shockingly low. It fares worse than Nepal (79.9 per cent of women work in Nepal), China (63.90 per cent of working women) and Bangladesh (57.40 per cent of working women). In India 27 per cent of women are working. It is better than Pakistan where a mere 24.6 per cent of women are part of the workforce.
The women participation at work has reduced in India over the past six years, with 2018 being the worst with a meagre 23 per cent women participation. This year saw a slight improvement of 2 percentage points in women participation in the workforce.
The percentage of graduate women working in India is less than 50 per cent. Around 67 per cent of women graduates do not work in rural India and 68.3 per cent of women graduates do not have paid jobs in urban India.
Gig Economy On The Rise
The report cites that one in every four gig worker globally is from India. Gig work is based on the provision of services at a contractual or freelance basis. It claims that gig opportunities would let people earn at least twice of what they earn from full-time jobs.
However, the report claims that people are apprehensive to take gig offers as there is a lack of defined benefits and legal framework for gig employees. The report states, “Organizations would need to develop capabilities to engage quality fluid talent without having any kind of ‘control’ over them.”
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Game of Thrones' New Promo Is Unlike Anything We've Seen So Far
Watch the promotional video here
By Elyse Dupre Dec 19, 2018 6:56 PMTags
TVGame Of Thrones
You're not the only one who can't wait for the new season of Game of Thrones.
The HBO hit released a new promo on Wednesday, and it's unlike anything fans have seen before. How so? Unlike the last few promos that have teased themes of fire and ice, the new video featured four celebrity super fans who couldn't help but express their enthusiasm for the show.
The stars included Jimmy Kimmel, Kristin Chenoweth, Aaron Rodgers and T-Pain—otherwise known as "Jimmy of House Kimmel," "Lady Kristin of House Chenoweth," "Lord Aaron of House Rodgers" and "Sir T, House of Pain."
"Winter is coming," Chenoweth said.
Each of the celebrities had the opportunity to sit on the coveted Iron Throne.
"I'm thinking about getting one of these in my bathroom," the Jimmy Kimmel Live! host said.
They then got to display their true fandom. The Green Bay Packers quarterback, for instance, summarized the show's plot in 280 characters, and the rapper remixed the show's theme song to be about Twitter. They both also wore a cloak similar to the one donned by Jon Snow.
Kit Harington's "Audition" for Game of Thrones With This Famous Dragon Will Make Your Day
It shouldn't come as a surprise these stars were recruited for the spot. After all, T-Pain has been known to live-tweet the show, and Rodgers has previously named Daenerys Targaryen his favorite character.
"What I've done for the throne is to be loyal," T-Pain said. "I named one of my albums The Iron Way."
Now their watch begins.
Join the conversation on @Twitter with @JimmyKimmel, @KChenoweth, @TPain, and @AaronRodgers12 as they Binge #ForTheThrone and start Season 1 this week. pic.twitter.com/VV0lPwyE17
— Game of Thrones (@GameOfThrones) December 19, 2018
Near the end of the promo, Rodgers encouraged fans to re-watch the previous seasons.
"Binge for The Throne," he said.
However, he wasn't the only one to do so. Sophie Turner, Kit Harington and Maisie Williams also shared a separate promo inviting fans to re-watch the series.
If you think you’re late to @GameOfThrones, don’t worry, I know a couple million people who would love to chat about it. pic.twitter.com/MWzDxn4x86
— HBO (@HBO) December 19, 2018
Sadly, fans still haven't seen actual footage from the new season. However, diehards do know some things. The last promo suggested HBO may introduce ice spiders and the new season is set to premiere in April 2019. Fans can also expect to experience all the feels as the show comes to an end.
"You're going to need therapy," Gwendoline Christie recently told E! News.
We can't wait for the new season!
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9.58 PM Saturday, 16 January 2021
City aim to spike United’s treble dream
Manchester United are on a high after winning all their last seven matches in all competitions. (AFP)
Published Thursday, April 14, 2011
Manchester City would ease some of the hurt inflicted on them over the last four decades by Manchester United if they were to win their FA Cup semifinal at Wembley Stadium on Saturday and end United’s treble hopes.
Whoever does come through will start as favourites to win the FA Cup itself on May 14 when they will face the winners of Sunday’s other semifinal between Bolton Wanderers and Stoke City.
For different reasons both matches have excited the imagination of fans beyond just the teams involved - Saturday’s because of the intense rivalry and significance of the tie to both Manchester clubs, and Sunday’s because Bolton and Stoke rarely come so close to glory.
United have won their last seven matches in all competitions and are on a high after beating Chelsea 2-1 on Tuesday for a 3-1 aggregate success to secure a place in the semifinals of the Champions League.
United are also seven points clear of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League and there is a possibility they could repeat their Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup treble of 1999 as they have hit form at just the right time.
Although they will be without the suspended Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, 37, has been outstanding in their recent run of victories.
“Our confidence is really high and players are coming back from injury and that’s what you want at this stage of the season as there are games every three days,” said Giggs.
“The manager will chop and change the team... but we’ve got 20 players probably competing for 11 places.”
Unfortunately for United, Rooney, who has returned to form with 10 goals since February 1, is unavailable following his swearing incident at West Ham United two weeks ago.
City may also have to make do without the services of former United striker Carlos Tevez, who picked up a hamstring injury on Monday.
His absence could dent their chances of reaching the final for the first time since 1981. Thirty years ago they lost 3-2 to Tottenham Hotspur in a replay while their last FA Cup success was in 1969 when they beat Leicester City.
Although their Abu Dhabi owner has invested hundreds of millions into the club, City have yet to end their 35-year wait for a major trophy and will have to show a dramatic improvement on their abject display in Monday’s 3-0 loss at Liverpool to prevent United rubbing their noses in the dirt again.
While City’s wait for major honours has lasted since 1976 when they won the League Cup, Bolton and Stoke have gone even longer without collecting a major piece of silverware.
Stoke, who have been playing in the FA Cup since 1883, have never reached the final. They last reached the semis in 1972 when they lost to Arsenal. That was also the year they won their only major trophy beating Chelsea in the League Cup final.
Bolton have won the FA Cup four times, the last of those triumphs coming in 1958 when Nat Lofthouse, their greatest ever player who died earlier this year, scored both goals when they beat Manchester United 2-0 at Wembley.
Both sides, sitting comfortably in mid-table, have beaten each other in the Premier League this season, and Bolton manager Owen Coyle says the idea of winning the Cup as a tribute to Lofthouse, has taken hold in the town.
“It would be nice if that comes to fruition but I think there’s a lot of tough obstacles in the way for that to happen,” he said.
“We’re more than up for the challenge and we will do everything we can to reach the final against a very good Stoke side.”
Stoke manager Tony Pulis told reporters: “It’s a great achievement that we have got this far but we are not getting carried away with the idea we have had any sort of success. We have done well in the League and reaching the Cup final would show we are definitely moving in the right direction.”
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Disney Expands Its Reusable Energy Share to Cut Carbon Emissions by 50% from the 2012 Levels
published: 2018-11-01 9:33 | editor: et_editor | category: News Edit
Nowadays, having an environmentally friendly reputation has become important to corporations. Hence, Disney hopes to significantly cut its greenhouse gas emission by 50% from the 2012 level before 2020, across the globe.
To attain this target, Disney has fervently developed its renewable energy source by building a 50-megawatt solar power plant in Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, United States. This new solar power facility will be located near Disney's Animal Kingdom. Taking up 270 acres, this complex will consist of 518,000 solar panels. This new Animal Kingdom power plant is expected to be connected to the grid by the end of 2018, and provide electricity to local grid directly. It can power about 10,000 residential households per year. With this new plant, Disney estimates that it can lower the company's annual carbon emission by 57,000 metric tons, equal to reducing 9,300 vehicles from the roads every year.
Bob Chapek, chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Consumer Products, said that in Disney's parks around the globe, the company will continue to invest in advanced technologies to move down its environmental footprint.
The Animal Kingdom solar power plant was not a first for Disney. In April 2016, near Epcot theme park of Disney in Florida, a 5 MW solar power facility with 48,000 solar panels was built. It is called Disney's Mickey Mouse solar farm, or "Hidden Mickey," because its panels are arranged in the shape of Mickey Mouse's head. With the combination of the 50MW and 5MW solar farms, 25% of Florida Disney World's power demand can be met.
In 2016, a solar system was constructed for Disney California Adventure Park. This solar system uses 1,400 high-efficiency solar panels to generate electricity for the Park.
Disney's green energy plans do not only cover the U.S., but also other overseas theme parks and related facilities. For example, in Tokyo, Japan, Disneyland's electrical parade is powered by solar panels on Disney's eight building rooftops inside the Park. The total power it can provide is 600 KW.
In Disneyland Paris, geothermal energy powers two theme parks and a hotel.
At Shanghai Disney Resort, a heating and cooling plant converts waste heat into electricity and reduced carbon emissions by 60 %.
Disney has been building three new cruise ships that will run on natural gas. Each of them will be launched in 2021, 2022, and 2023, respectively. Disney pointed out that in 2017, the firm's global carbon emission dropped by 41% from the 2012 levels. The Walt Disney Company aims to cut emission by 50% worldwide before 2020.
Consumers are increasingly favoring enterprises whose renewable energy shares are higher and who adopt sustainable materials in their products. According to a survey from the public relation and marketing agency, Cone Communications, in 2017, if a company is more responsible to the environment and society than other companies, then 79% of consumers tend to purchase the firm's products.
Disney's vice president of the Animals, Science and Environment Team, Dr. Mark Penning, stated that "Our guests tell us the environment is important, so it's a big deal for us, not just for creating incredible (entertainment) content, but for being a responsible citizen of the world."
Gregory Wetstone, chief executive of the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), explained that Disney has been a crucial driven force to change the national power grid. 5 years ago, very few companies will actively develop their green energy plan. In comparison, now the majority of the giant companies know how to carry out such a green power endeavor.
Disney resort goes solar with half a million solar panels
The Magic Kingdom Is Going Green
(Image credit: Travis Wise via Flickr CC BY 2.0. Article by Daisy Chuang)
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Describe first generation rights, second generation rights, third generation rights, and why all three are important.
Adah Rubens
Human rights, both natural and legal, are rights to which all humans are entitled to, no matter our race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, age, social status or any other social concept or category, and they are extremely important. When it comes to the evolution of human rights, one of the most basic ways to classify them is into three generations; thus, we have first, second, and third generation human rights.
First generation rights regard civil and political rights and liberties. As political power grew, many philosophers and prominent figures began to write about the importance of freedom and liberty, and the fact that politicians should not be given absolute power and that the people should be allowed to influence the choice on who will rule and govern their state. Thus, documents such as the Magna Carta (1927), The Bill of Rights or the Declaration of Rights (1689), The American Declaration of Independence (1776), and the Declaration of Human and Citizens Rights (1789) were written with the intention of limiting the political power and establishing the fundamental human rights.
The first generation rights include the right to life, freedom of speech, freedom of opinion, freedom of expression, voting rights, equality before the law, as well as equal access to public, citizen control over the administration and other civil and political rights. First generation human rights are also known as blue rights.
Second generation rights are sometimes called red rights and regard socioeconomic and cultural rights and liberties. They are included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. Unlike the first generation rights, which can and should be exercised freely, the second generation rights require the state or the government to respect and fulfill them. Second generation human rights include the right to work, the right to education, the right to privacy, health care, food, social security, and other socioeconomic rights.
Third generation rights, also known as green rights, are relatively recent (the 1972 Stockholm Declaration and the 1992 Rio Declaration) and they are based on the principle of solidarity; they can only be exerted collectively. These include the right to peace, development, healthy environment, self-determination, and others. The third generation human rights are often a subject of debate, as some argue that human rights should only be exerted individually and not collectively.
Last Updated by eNotes Editorial on December 3, 2019
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Latest answer posted November 24, 2019 at 12:31:34 AM
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Latest answer posted May 21, 2016 at 11:46:32 PM
Why are John Locke's ideas important?
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The Most Dangerous Game
by Richard Edward Connell
Annotated Text
What is the theme of "The Most Dangerous Game"?
The theme of "The Most Dangerous Game" is the morality of murder. Its main characters, Sangor Rainsford and General Zaroff, are both hunters, and Rainsford justifies killing by claiming that animals can't feel. This logic fails, however, when Zaroff starts hunting humans. In depicting the cruelty of hunting human beings, author Richard Connell raises the question, is murder of anything ever justifiable?
Carroll Khan, M.A.
Teacher (K-12)
B.A. from Indiana University of Pennsylvania M.A. from Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Top subject is Literature
The main theme of "The Most Dangerous Game" concerns the ethics of killing living beings. Both Sanger Rainsford and General Zaroff are accomplished hunters who enjoy shooting big game animals. Despite their similar views concerning the ethics of killing defenseless animals, the two main characters stand at opposite ends of the spectrum regarding the value of human life. Rainford's views regarding hunting align with society's accepted standards—he is fine with killing animals but also values human life and views hunting humans as unethical and morally reprehensible. In contrast, Zaroff has no qualms about killing "lesser" human beings and views the most dangerous game (i.e. killing humans) as an exciting sport.
Initially, readers may support Rainsford's views and find Zaroff's debased sport to be appalling. However, Connell subtly raises the question of whether taking a human life is ethical in some circumstances and challenges the reader to examine the ethics of killing living beings in general. Despite Rainsford's moral principles, he takes the lives of two people in the story. Rainsford's decision to kill Zaroff in hand-to-hand combat at the end of the story is particularly nuanced. The tables have turned in Rainsford's favor, and he has the opportunity to leave the island, but he kills Zaroff instead. The reader is forced to question whether his actions were justified.
Rainsford's frightening experience of avoiding Zaroff throughout Ship-Trap Island also raises the question of whether the socially acceptable sport of hunting is ethical. After all, Rainsford sympathizes with animals when he experiences the fear and pain of being hunted. At the end of the story, Rainsford even remarks that he feels like a "beast at bay." The reader is challenged to contemplate Rainsford's initial statement about the world being made up of "two classes—the hunters and the huntees" and assess the value of life in general. Therefore, the main theme Connell explores throughout the story concerns the complex ethics of killing a living being.
https://www.enotes.com/topics/most-dangerous-game
Last Updated by eNotes Editorial on December 10, 2020
amy-lepore
Top subjects are Literature, Social Sciences, and History
There are several themes for this short story, but most important among them would be the theme of cruelty and violence, the theme of morality, the theme of individual versus society, and the theme of revenge.
Cruelty and violence are manifest in that Zaroff and his crew purposefully lure people to their lair in order to hunt them down like animals.
Morality comes into play since Rainsford is a renowned hunter in his own right, and he recognizes Zaroff as the author of a book about hunting. However, Rainsford sees Zaroff as immoral and his "recreational hunting" as murder. It is not honorable in any way.
Individual versus Society comes into play as the society is Zaroff and the inhabitants and fellow hunters of the island. They obviously work together to set up the hunt and to trap the hunted...the individual...who is fighting for his life in the ultimate game of survivor.
Revenge is obvious because Rainsford wins the game. He does what he has to do in order to survive--kill or be killed. The question is: is it really revenge or is the result a necessary evil. Did Rainsford premeditate his actions or was it pure instinct? As the reader, you alone will have to come to your own conclusions.
brendawm
Violence and Cruelty is the main theme of “The Most Dangerous Game” “The violence of his malicious host, General Zaroff, initially shocks Rainsford, but as he fights to stay alive he becomes caught up in Zaroff's game. Zaroff attempts to justify his violence with civilized arguments. Issues of violence and cruelty in "The Most Dangerous Game" exist not only on a literal level but on a symbolic level as well. As Connell directs the reader to sympathize with Rainsford, the reader feels what it is like to be a hunted animal. The story also stimulates an array of questions surrounding the nature of violence. Zaroff seems to enjoy violence intensely and thoroughly. Yet another major theme is Revenge. The conclusion of "The Most Dangerous Game'' inspires many questions, including: Has Rainsford become a murderer just like General Zaroff? How has he changed, and why? Although he won the game, and General Zaroff appeared ready to set him free, Rainsford still killed Zaroff. Zaroff's murder, therefore, is not self-defense, as it would have been before Rainsford won the game. It is either an act of revenge or a killing for sport.
bmadnick
I'd like to expand just a bit more on the theme of violence and cruelty. Zaroff enjoys the violence of his hunts for humans, and Rainsford is at first shocked by his knowledge of what Zaroff is doing. Rainsford is famous as a hunter of big game who has previously said that the animals feel nothing when being pursued and killed. Then the reader learns what it feels like to be a hunted animal through Rainsford's fight to stay alive. The author then asks the reader to compare the differences between hunting for animals and hunting humans. Each of us immediately respond that it's worse to hunt humans, but the author wants us to see the cruelty involved in the hunt for any animal, human or not.
Connected to the theme of violence and cruelty is the theme of revenge in the story. Rainsford kills Zaroff, even though Zaroff seems ready to set him free. Does Rainsford kill Zaroff because of what Zaroff put him through? Or, has playing this "game" turned Rainsford into the violent, cruel killer that Zaroff was? He could have had Zaroff punished for his crimes against humanity if he hadn't killed him. Why doesn't Rainsford immediately set the other men (Zaroff's prey) free to eat and to have a restful night's sleep as well? Rainsford knows how these other men feel because he went through the same thing. The theme of violence and cruelty extends beyond Zaroff's hunt for Rainsford. Is violence and cruelty like a contagious disease that spreads to Rainsford? These are the questions the author leaves us with.
Jamie Wheeler
The most prevelant theme is that of violence and cruelty, both literally and symbolically.
Literally, against the animals have died in Zaroff's violent hunts and in the way he is trying to murder Rainsford. Symbolically, part of the terror of Connell's novel is the way the reader empathisizes with Rainsford, experiencing with the character the inherent cruetly in Zaroff's "hunt."
You can learn more about the themes, characters, and other literary elements of this novel by visiting the link below.
Personification In The Most Dangerous Game
What happens at the end of "The Most Dangerous Game"?
What are two examples of irony in "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell? Can you please include text evidence from the story?
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Metaphors In The Most Dangerous Game
Latest answer posted December 12, 2020 at 10:50:46 AM
What are the conflicts of the story "The Most Dangerous Game"?
15 Educator answers
Latest answer posted November 09, 2019 at 6:45:04 PM
What are two examples of foreshadowing in "The Most Dangerous Game"?
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Latest answer posted December 04, 2012 at 2:44:02 PM
What is the climax of "The Most Dangerous Game"?
What is the Irony of the story "The Most Dangerous Game"?
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Happy 10th Birthday to the Office for Tax Simplification
Thomas Slipanczewski
Tom Slipanczewski
On the Office for Tax Simplification’s 10th birthday, Andy Wood & Thomas Slipanczewski look at it’s role in combating the UK’s complex tax code.
Of course, fans of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty Four will recall that the Office for Tax Simplification nestled between the Ministry of Plenty and the Ministry of Peace.
Nah, we’ve made that bit up.
Many happy returns to the Office for Tax Simplification (“OTS”) which is 10 today!
Just before its birthday, the OTS, issued a consultation and review of Capital Gains Tax (‘CGT’), following an announcement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak.
The announcement has sparked significant speculation and conversation in relation to potential reform of CGT, which had been the focus of reform anyway, albeit even more so now, following the need to recover the significant expenditure, following Covid-19.
Despite this, the OTS’ track record in bringing about reform and tax simplification has, in some commentator’s eyes, been somewhat limited.
Such an argument probably comes from the fact that, despite having a body dedicated to simplification, our tax code has exploded in volume and complexity in the same period.
On the other hand, one might say think how bad it would have been without them!
What is the OTS?
The OTS was set up on this day 10-years ago and has since been placed on a statutory footing.
The objective of the OTS is to ‘offer recommendations and advice to the Chancellor about how to make the tax system simple’.
This is, of course, a worthy aim as the UK tax code has spun out of control and, in our view, is verging on being a national embarrassment.
The OTS is independent from Her Majesty’s Treasury and HMRC, however it works in conjunction with the Government and it has regard to those affected by and working within the tax system.
OTS’ Record
Up to date figures in relation to the OTS’ success in relation to implementation of recommendations are not yet available.
However, in 2015, as per the ‘OTS Simplification Recommendations: Summary at March 2015’ document, the OTS confirmed that of 402 recommendations had been made to the Government.
By this point, 118 of the recommendations had been implemented and 72 had been partly implemented.
We await the up to date figures following the first decade.
OTS’ Focus, Scope and Recommendations
One point to note about the OTS’ work is that it appears to be ‘backward facing.’
In other words, its purpose seems to be to look a pre-existing legislation and has no role in providing input to newly proposed tax changes.
Of course, reviewing the existing rabbit warren of taxes, reliefs and exemptions, and to ensure they remain fit for purpose is a worthy cause.
However, it is like trying to clean up a polluted river downstream when there is a factory at the source continuing to pump in tonnes of fresh effluent every year.
One of the significant factors contributing to the complexity of the tax system is the length and inaccessibility of the underlying tax legislation.
It is often cited each year how the UK tax code is the one of the longest in the world. This is compounded by the Legislature seeking to plaster over the cracks, instead of fundamentally overhauling the legislation and seeking to resolve any innate faults, where the underlying code does not meet its objective.
However, this does not seem to be the focus of the OTS.
Despite there being some recommendations that relate to a fundamental overhaul of constituent taxes, such as the recent recommendations in relation to Inheritance Tax (‘IHT’), many of the recommendations do not seek to address the underlying complexity found within the relevant taxes being considered.
This is a shame.
If the fundamental aim of the OTS is to create a simpler tax system then it should have a role nearer the coal face of new tax law – ensuring that new rules are as lean as possible and areas of overlap (and indeed redundancy) are reduced.
Of course, with this wider remit, the OTS would need a bigger budget and more resources to do its work.
However, if this enables us to truly make in-roads in to simplifying our tax system then this would be money well spent by the Government.
If you have any queries about this article on the Office for Tax Simplification, or tax matters in general, then please get in touch.
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lynch (v.)
1835, "inflict severe (but not deliberately fatal) bodily punishment (on someone) without legal sanction," from earlier Lynch law (1811), in reference to such activity, which was likely named after William Lynch (1742-1820) of Pittsylvania, Virginia, who c. 1780 led a vigilance committee to keep order there during the Revolution. Other sources trace the name to Charles Lynch (1736-1796) a Virginia magistrate who fined and imprisoned Tories in his district c. 1782, but the connection to him is less likely. The surname is perhaps from Irish Loingseach "sailor."
It implies lawless concert or action among a number of members of the community, to supply the want of criminal justice or to anticipate its delays, or to inflict a penalty demanded by public opinion, though in defiance of the laws. [Century Dictionary, 1895]
Originally any sort of summary justice, done without authority of law, for a crime or public offense; it especially referred to flogging or tarring-and-feathering. At first the act was associated with frontier regions (as in the above citation), though from c. 1835 to the U.S. Civil War it also often was directed against abolitionists. The narrowing of the meaning to "extra-legal execution by hanging" is evident by the 1880s, and after c. 1893 lynching mostly meant killings of blacks by white mobs (especially in retaliation for alleged sexual assaults of white women). This shift in use seems due in part to the work of African-American journalist and activist Ida B. Wells. Lynch mob is attested from 1838. Compare earlier Lydford law, from a place in Dartmoor, England, "where was held a Stannaries Court of summary jurisdiction" [Weekley], hence:
Lydford law: is to hang men first, and indite them afterwards. [Thomas Blount, "Glossographia," 1656]
Also in a similar sense was Jedburgh justice (1706) and, as a verb, to Dewitt (1680s), a reference to two Dutch statesmen of that name, opponents of William of Orange, murdered by a mob in 1672. Related: Lynched; lynching. The city of Lynchburg, Virginia, dates to the 1750s when John Lynch, brother to Charles but a peaceable Quaker, had a ferry landing on the James River there.
Entries related to lynch
Share lynch
Definitions of lynch from WordNet
kill without legal sanction;
The blood-thirsty mob lynched the alleged killer of the child
Dictionary entries near lynch
lymphatic
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BirthRites
Technological Primates
Where you live shapes how you behave
Ancient DNA sheds light on the peopling of the Mariana Islands
ERC Consolidator Grant awarded to international research team
phone: +49 (0)341 3550 - 0
→→Research Groups→Overview
Max Planck Research Group
Max Planck Research Group BirthRites - Cultures of Reproduction
The BirthRites independent research group (started: December 2019) focuses on the anthropology of reproduction and its implications for cultural evolution and demography.
https://www.eva.mpg.de/birthrites/
Lise Meitner Group
Lise Meitner Group Technological Primates
Tool use paved the way for human development in an evolutionary trajectory. Surprisingly, very little is known regarding the origin and evolution of human tool use. Lydia Luncz studies non-human primates as a model for potential tool behaviour of early hominins. Comparisons between species help to expand our knowledge regarding the adaptive significance of tool use and substantially further our understanding of the cultural and behavioral evolution of humans.
https://www.eva.mpg.de/technological-primates.html
Research groups hosted by the institute
Primate Behavioural Ecology
We are interested in the interplay between behavior, ecology, genetics and fitness which we investigate in several species of primates (e.g., rhesus macaques, crested macaques, Southern pig-tailed macaques, vervet monkeys and Sumatran orangutan), but also in other mammals (e.g. meerkats, Damaraland mole-rats) and birds (e.g. barn swallows).
http://www.eva.mpg.de/pks/
The Cuvette Centrale as Reservoir of Medicinal Plants
Our research of terrestrial biodiversity intends to identify and quantify the flora of specific sites in the Central Congo Basin (Cuvette Centrale) with respect to the historic, current and potential future anthropogenic use. In the long run, identification of these socio-cultural and economic aspects of biodiversity may help to better conserve endangered refuges of local and global significance.
http://www.eva.mpg.de/procuv/
ERC project: The influence of early life experience on later social skills in chimpanzee
In mammals, social bonding success in life impacts on health, survival and fitness. We examine the extent to which early and later social experience, and heritable factors, determine social bonding abilities in adulthood. We examine how variation in social bonding behaviour, and underlying hormonal and cognitive mechanisms, impact on reproductive success in our closest living relatives, chimpanzees.
http://www.eva.mpg.de/primat/staff/catherine-crockford/
Max Planck Weizmann Center for Integrative Archaeology and Anthropology (MPWC)
The Max Planck Weizmann Center for Integrative Archaeology and Anthropology (MPWC) is an interdisciplinary cooperation between the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (MPI-EVA) in Leipzig, Germany, and the Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS) in Rehovot, Israel. The central goal of the MPWC is to better understand human evolution by drawing on expertise from archaeology, anthropology, biology, physics and material sciences.
http://www.eva.mpg.de/mpwc/
Max Planck Research Group on Single Cell Genomics
The Max Planck Research Group on Single Cell Genomics uses single cell genomics data to reconstruct developmental pathways, lineage hierarchies, and tissue heterogeneity in humans. We integrate single cell measurements with signatures of positive selection and comparisons with great apes to understand the molecular mechanisms that define the modern human condition.
https://www.eva.mpg.de/genetics/single-cell-genomics/overview.html
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RICK ROSS MEETS WITH KANYE WEST AS HE CONFIRMS NEW ALBUM ‘RICHER THAN I’VE EVER BEEN’
It has been confirmed that Rick Ross will be releasing his forthcoming album Richer Than I’ve Ever Been. Reveling this announcement via IG yesterday (August 26).
“My new album Richer Than I’ve Ever Been … that’s on the way,” he says in the clip. “The title of my new album is Richer Than I’ve Ever Been.” He adds he had a “short conversation with a very, very wise old person” to come up with the name.
Richer Than I’ve Ever Been will mark the follow-up to 2019’s Port of Miami 2. The 15-track project debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 upon its release, selling roughly 80,000 total album equivalent units sold in its first week.
The announcement follows the release of the project’s first single, “Pinned To The Cross” featuring Finn Matthews, which he dropped on August 6.
Also making time to meet up with Kanye West at one of his warehouses recently. While speaking to Billboard on August 7. Ross didn’t seem at all impressed with Ye’s recent behavior. But wanted to talk to him in person before he came to any conclusions.
“He had somebody reach out to me last week,” Ross said at the time. “I slept through the phone call. I just don’t want to drop him on his head yet because it ain’t clear to me what’s going on.”
“I haven’t really did any due diligence, I just see what headlines come across, and we know a lot of that shit inaccurate. So I’m gonna wait for his phone call again and hopefully, I’m up to catch that muthafucka and ask a few questions. He gotta clarify some things, though. It ain’t looking good.”
On Tuesday (August 25), Ross uploaded a photo of himself with West to his Instagram account to let his 11.4 million followers know they are in communication.
A post shared by Biggest Boss Rick Ross (@richforever)
Shyanna Palmeira
Shyanna Palmeira is an award-winning blogger, vlogger, social media personality and the CEO of R.A.W.R. Breed Promotions. She can often be found offering guidance and inspiration to others and empowering women.
FILED UNDER: Featured, new music
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Report: ASX to Decide on Blockchain in 6-7 Months
ASX is reportedly planning to upgrade its settlement and clearing system by the end of 2016.
Leon Pick | News ( CryptoCurrency ) | Thursday, 24/12/2015 | 12:51 GMT+2 2015-12-24T10:51:22+00:00 2015-12-24T10:51:22+00:00
The timing is almost perfect for the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) to consider a blockchain-powered settlement system, says its CEO, Elmer Funke Kupper.
In October, Australia’s main exchanges operator was reported to be considering the replacement of its current settlement and clearing system with one based on blockchain technology.
Bitcoin’s blockchain and other distributed ledger systems inspired by it are now being explored by a majority of the world’s major financial institutions and several exchange operators. The technology is envisioned to streamline the trading process by enabling real-time settlement, thereby reducing costs, cutting out counterparty risk and freeing capital.
ASX is reportedly planning to upgrade its settlement and clearing system by the end of 2016. Speaking to Financial Times, Funke Kupper commented:
“We’re having a very close look at this. The timing is almost perfect. Where blockchain can make an enormous difference, we’re having a look at whether this is a way to transform our equity markets.”
A decision won’t be made for another 6-7 months, he added. In the meantime, ASX would consider partnering with other companies to build the system.
Also interesting is that the ASX blockchain settlement may be optional for clients. “You want to be able to settle in real time where it’s beneficial and settle later where it is not,” he said.
Several major exchanges, including Nasdaq, London Stock Exchange (LSE) and CME Group have embarked on blockchain projects, but it is not yet clear if/when there will be live implementations. Nasdaq’s trial for its pre-IPO market is taking place, and if successful, the technology would be considered for its main exchange.
Funke Kupper also pointed to the registry system used by ASX, which it also owns, that keeps details of market players on record. “In the US they can’t do it. We have a central ‘know-your-customer’ utility that is incredibly powerful. As we own the central securities depository, it allows us to bring everyone along,” he said.
Tags: Asx / blockchain technology
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NWTF raises $25K for Team Carson
Published 8:16 am Thursday, May 25, 2017
The High Bridge Strutters Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) recently hosted its 10th annual Hunting Heritage Banquet in Farmville. More than 400 outdoor enthusiasts attended the banquet. Each year the chapter selects a local child who has been diagnosed with an illness, to raise monies to assist the family. According to a NWTF press release, the funds help cover medical expenses and other costs they may endure.
This year’s recipient is Carson McCall. Carson McCall, 4, his parents, Jarrod and Terri, and brothers Clayton, 8, and Colton, 5, live in Red Oak, located in Charlotte County. In June 2016, Carson was diagnosed with Globoid Cell Leukodystrophy, also known as Krabbe Disease, which affects the nervous system. In Carson’s case, it affected his ability to walk. There is no cure for Krabbe Disease and most children diagnosed with early infantile Krabbe do not live past age two. Luckily for Carson, his was diagnosed with late infantile Krabbe and he was a candidate for a stem cell transplant.
The release cited that after the diagnosis, Carson’s care was moved from MCV to Duke University Hospital at the urgent request of the doctor, who had previously treated Carson’s cousin, Haley Duffer, for the same disease in 2011. “Carson’s appointments at Duke started June 27, 2016 and will continue for several years post-transplant. On Aug. 1, 2016, Carson was admitted after having surgery to have a triple lumen Broviack placed in his chest and started extensive chemo treatments that night.” According to the release, the chemotherapy was administered for nine consecutive days followed by a day of rest, and received his unrelated cord blood transplant on Aug. 11.
“To give a brief explanation on this type of transplants-the chemo wipes out all of the immune system to the point where white blood cells are considered non-existent and the bone marrow is gone from the body,” officials said in the release. “As the new cells start to grow, the bone marrow starts to regrow. Carson engrafted on Sept. 1, 2016, which meant his white blood count had shown enough growth over three consecutive days for assumption that the transplant was a success.”
According to the release, he was discharged Sept. 13, 2016 to the Ronald McDonald House of Durham and had to remain within a 10-minute drive of Duke. Finally, after 42 days in the highly restrictive hospital unit, that weekend, the family was finally able to spend the night under one roof.
“Carson was released to come home on Dec. 22, 2016, with the understanding that he was to be under strict limitations due to his compromised immune system,” officials said in the release. “The family removed all carpet from their main living space in order to reduce germs and to allow Carson mobility with his walker and wheelchair.”
The release cited that Carson was not allowed to have visitors other than immediate family, not allowed in public places, not allowed fresh fruits or vegetables and also has to strictly limit time in the sun.
“During their stay in Durham, Terri, who worked as a benefit program specialist at Halifax County Department of Social Services, had to resign in order to be Carson’s full-time care-giver,” officials said in the the release. “Together, they attend appointments at Duke, physical therapy three times a week and will soon start weekly occupational therapy and will receive Botox injections to his leg muscles this coming July.”
According to the release, if Carson continues to stay well from post-transplant complications, he will start the weaning process for his immunosuppressant medications around June and once he is weaned, he will restart his immunizations over as if he were a newborn. The family hopes that Carson will be accepted into the fall Pre-K program within the county in order for Carson to re-learn how to socially interact with others and adjust to being in a peer setting with his mobility equipment.
“As far as the progression of the Krabbe Disease, the team at Duke believes they have slowed the disease with hopes the one year post transplant studies will show no further damage has occurred,” officials said in the release. “Currently, Carson wears braces in order to hold his feet in a position that will allow him to do a small amount of walking using his walker.”
The release cited that prayers continue to be answered for this family as Carson, for the most part, has remained a fairly happy little man despite his new disability.
“During this year’s event, the High Bridge Strutters were able to raise $25,000 in donations in less than 30 minutes,” officials said in the release.
“This is by far the best thing we get to do each year. The outpouring of love and support shown each year by our donors and supporters is just overwhelming,” said Sammy Entrekin, High Bridge Strutters president in the release. “The money these folks give changes the lives of a local family each year. I could not be more proud of our committee for their hard work.”
Snakes and Psalm 23
A few years ago, I read the following from, “Jesus Calling” by Sarah Young: “The challenge that continually comes before you... read more
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Video: How COVID-19 Is (and Isn't) Affecting Software Developers
Posted on Jun 04, 2020 | Jason Greer
Jason Greer talks to Far Reach Developer Brian Gorman about COVID-19, remote work, and the future of development careers.
Jason Greer: Alright, so Brian. So I've been on your team now since November and been working with Far Reach and learning all kinds of new stuff. And just wanted to spend a few minutes with you today and ask you some questions. I know you wear many hats. One of them from an education perspective, one of them from a developer perspective. And so just kind of wanted your thoughts on what you think of COVID-19, how that's gonna transform the world and where we go from here. So let me just start with the first one. So as we look at COVID-19, what do you see changing in the technology world? How do you see what we can provide as developers to businesses in this post- or mid post-COVID world?
Brian Gorman: Sure. So I guess, really, as a developer, not much has changed at this point. And I'm not sure a lot will change as a developer going forward in that business processes are going to exist whether or not we work in the same building or have our partners in the same building. Or if we're developing a solution for someone who's 100 or 1,000 miles away. And so COVID-19 has definitely changed the way that we interact as far as humans, but as far as technology goes, we have the tools to solve the business problems that we've always had still available to us. And most developers are fairly comfortable working in an independent setting to solve a business problem. And so we've already kind of started hitting some of the communication things that a lot of people are gonna struggle with out of the gates with COVID-19, eliminating their offices. So for us, really, the main thing is probably gonna be just a little bit more enhanced communication, a little bit more ability to keep people appraised or apprised of where we're at on our projects, what we're doing. But really, in just using the tools that we have already to build out even better solutions based on what we now know that's happened to us with different things that are going on. What are we gonna be able to do differently or what are we gonna have to do differently as we enter this new world of post-COVID-19.
JG: Yeah, so I think you bring up a good point around the communication piece there. So in the past, now I would say for Far Reach, we've worked remote for years. And we work with clients remotely as well. writing out stories and working through the Agile process was everybody in a room with sticky notes or a whiteboard. What are some things you've learned over the years about how to communicate and how to have that communication necessary to be successful with Agile and development in general?
BG: Yeah, that's a great question. Sometimes it's easier to know what to do right if you know what's wrong. So let me just start with a couple of things that really don't work that people will probably try. Pointing a camera at a whiteboard, it's an absolute terrible idea. It seems like it's gonna work but the people watching can't see what you're writing or you can't see the whole whiteboard or you have to zoom in. Then you can't interact with each other face-to-face via the camera, of course. But yeah, so one thing to definitely avoid is trying to design a solution or use the sticky note approach like we used to do when you're all in the same room. So with that, what we need is tools around that process. And there are tools, there have been tools that have already attempted to solve these problems. You have your Basecamps, you have your Kanban boards of Trello or GitHub Pages or GitHub boards or Azure dev boards or whatever. There's hundreds of different solutions available to you to try to figure out how to do a collaboration where you can basically all have the same screen. You can see who's typing notes, who's doing this. You can write your stories. You can have all that information basically online, so then people can interact with each other that way. People will have to remember that it'll be extremely important to tag people. I think that'll be a thing that people forget. Because with all of the change in communication, as I said earlier, for developers, we're kind of used to this. We've been doing it for a long time. But with a new person coming out of the office who's used to being able to just walk over to Mike's desk and say, "Hey Mike, what's going on?" He won't have that or she won't have that anymore. And they'll have to tag Mike because Mike's gonna have so many other people telling things to Mike that he's not gonna hear you and through all the noise unless you highlight it. Or at least get some sort of way that all of your team members have a way to prioritize and know what they're supposed to be working on.
BG: And so again, using some sort of board or some sort of workflow management to do that, it's gonna be really important. That will help with your communication because you'll be able to then look at that. We do daily stand-ups. And with daily stand-ups, it's different for every team I've ever worked on. Sometimes it's very straightforward and sometimes it's actually quite involved. And so I think what you need to do as your team is just kind of experiment a little bit. Figure out how do we use this time in the morning or in the afternoon, whenever your stand-up is, to really communicate effectively so that everybody has what they need, nobody's blocked. And again, using tools to manage that. And not expecting people to remember all this stuff. It's not like when you work in the office. You don't have the visual memory of talking directly with someone anymore. There's something weird about the video camera. It doesn't resonate the same way. It's just like when you first switch from reading a book to reading online, there's something different about it. You have to get used to it. And so I think with that, building your processes around tools that already exist. And that also then opens the door for people to actually build better tools.
JG: So speaking of new tools and where we can innovate, what do you think are some areas that are ripe for new tools and new innovation?
BG: One of the great things about software is that we are always trying to find business processes where problems exist and solve them so that we can make people's lives better. That's basically our purpose in life is to automate processes, enhance processes, take manual steps out of the equation where people can make errors. And so if you were an entrepreneur type of person or if you're a team looking for solutions to build in a time of a down economy, maybe what you could do is consider the tools that are out there right now such as Zoom or the Trello boards or whatever, and figure out a way to make it better. I mean, there's a saying, there's nothing new under the sun. So nothing that we're doing is new under the sun except for somebody does it better. And so it really comes down to execution. If you see holes in the process or if you're experiencing a pain point, there's an opportunity.
BG: So Zoom, Zoom went through a huge pain point just a couple of weeks ago because they experienced basically overnight exponential growth. Which everybody would think, "Ooh, this is the unicorn. "This is what we wanted." But what that did was actually expose them to all sorts of scrutiny where they found out, oh, we have this security hole and that security hole. And to Zoom's credit, I really believe they've done a fairly great job of responding quickly. And not only responding quickly and fixing the problem but also owning it. I think the CEO even came out and said, "Hey, I screwed up." So with all of that, those types of things still have room for improvement. So if you wanted to, you could figure out tools around visual communication. How do I work a Kanban board and a Zoom meeting together so that I don't have to have three different windows open? Or how do I communicate with my team daily without having to make sure everybody's available at 9:00 a.m. Because sometimes that's just not feasible. Especially in a world without daycare. We're juggling that right now. We have some people like myself who, I absolutely have to watch kids in the morning so that my wife can work. And then vice versa in the afternoon. And so a 9:00 a.m. stand-up is sometimes not very feasible. And if it even is feasible, it's extremely distracted. And so when daycares open back up, obviously, we'll have a better solution to that. But the opportunities are ripe right now. I think that this has done nothing but good things as far as exposing opportunities. I think to think that we're all gonna hit this period of not having things to do is a little bit scary. Because that would imply, that's like the guy who said, "There's nothing new to invent," in the 1800s. I don't remember who said it, but he said, "Everything that could possibly be invented has been invented," or something like that. And obviously that was inaccurate. So for us to say, "There's not gonna be any work." Or "There's not gonna be anything to do." That may be accurate if we don't pivot or don't take a mindset shift into well, we are no longer going to provide only cloud services. Or we are no longer going to provide only in-house services. Now we have to figure out a way to adapt and to make. There is work available, there will be work available. We just have to find it. And tools, same thing. There are going to be ways people smarter than me are gonna think of really cool tools. And we're gonna start using them in about six months from now probably and be like, "Wow, why didn't I think of that?"
JG: Yeah, one of the sayings at our house is boredom is the mother of invention. And I think stressful situations like this are as well. This is the only time in history where we literally have taken an entire workforce across an entire country or even the world, and sent them home to try to work. I mean, we flipped the switch in one week. I've talked to some executives and they're like, "Hey, honestly, it worked better than we expected." But then there's others that are dealing with tons of pain because there's some Excel spreadsheets sitting on somebody's desktop still at work or whatever. And they're reeling from these processes that they thought would always be in place. And now they're stuck. One of the areas that we moved to a long time ago was in cloud. Would you mind speaking to cloud a little bit and about how we can use the cloud to help enhance or digitize and manage some of the processes we have?
BG: Yeah, absolutely. So there's a couple of different ways to look at this. The one way is as a business and the other way is just as a person, as an individual. And there's a combination of both of those that comes together as an employee. So yeah, having a spreadsheet where it's only existing on someone's desktop in a physical building, that's not a good solution. And this has highlighted that. But I mean, what if that building would have gotten hit by a tornado or burned down? That's probably, I'm guessing that spreadsheet's pretty important. I'm guessing it's not just a few stats. It's probably managing money or customers or something really important to your business. Especially if you're now considering how do we get this thing off somebody's desktop.
BG: So the cloud is really awesome. And it has evolved in a way that I think a lot of people saw it coming but didn't expect it maybe to happen quite so quickly. With the fact that I think what you're gonna see, and this is speculation, but I think what you're going to see within the next five years, there probably won't be the desktop as we know it anymore. In a way, what I mean by that is as a business person right now, I can spin up a virtual machine on Azure. And on that virtual machine, I can put all the tools that my developers need. And I can make a template that I can spin up a new computer in literally a few minutes. And yes, it costs money. But it also costs money to have physical devices. And so, you're looking at someone being able to use a Chromebook and connect via remote desktop to a fully blown computer on the cloud deployed near them. It could be in one of the regions on Azure that's near you. Or if one of those things fails, there's failovers and stuff too. So you don't have to worry about machines' hard drives going bad. You don't have to worry about people not having access to their machine. The only thing you have to worry about is Internet access. And so as long as someone can get to the Internet, they can actually work off the cloud. The same thing goes for servers. So now, these really expensive, hundreds of thousands of dollars servers that businesses have been procuring, they deprecate over time.
BG: The accounting on that stuff escapes me a little bit but you pay capital expenditures or operational expenditures. So your capital expenditures are gonna be buy all this stuff. And now I have over the next five years, I'm gonna take tax breaks on this stuff. Well, as a business, now you can just say I don't even need the $500,000 server anymore but I will be paying $50,000 a month for servers at Azure or whatever. Which seems daunting compared to the zero dollars you're spending right now per month, which really isn't actually accurate. But what happens for you is that you never have to worry about who's installing updates. You never have to worry about that machine failing because as soon as it does, they put in a new machine for you. So you don't have to upgrade your machine. So you're basically paying a little bit more maybe by month, but you have a lot more available to you. So the cloud gives you that opportunity to leverage the latest machinery with the latest server, tools, the latest processors, the latest drives. That's all gonna be available to you at a lot less money than if had you spend this gigantic amount of money up front. And then also have to put that in a building that you also have to physically secure, and make sure that only the right people have access to the room. All that stuff, the cloud's taking care of that for you. So what you're gonna see is businesses starting to realize, wait a minute. We've been doing this for 50 years, since the '70s or '80s. And it's, we don't have to do this anymore. It's gone it's done. And so we can go on now and change. Which is gonna affect roles as developers I guess a little bit too. Developers now have, or even your server admins. Your server admins won't be going to their physical buildings anymore. They'll be doing stuff through portals and command lines. So that'll be interesting.
JG: It sounds a little bit like a buy versus rent concept.
BG: Yeah, kind of. Yeah, I mean you're basically leasing the equipment. And as soon as that equipment doesn't work anymore or your two years is up, you can just lease a different version of it. It's much more flexible. A little more expensive maybe upfront. Or excuse me, it'd be more expensive upfront to buy a $500,000 server, put it in the building, make sure it's secured all that stuff. And then watch it start to degrade over time versus paying $50,000 a month on a continual basis. So I'm making numbers up by the way.
JG: So you also are a professor. You teach at university.
BG: That's correct.
JG: How do you think that COVID is going to affect education going forward?
BG: So, yeah. Yeah, we were kind of talking a little bit off camera and one of the things that I was thinking about then is the code schools. So, there's one in Cedar Rapids, DeltaV, which our friends at NewBoCo run. And they've already been seeing people before COVID that leave a job such as a teller at the bank or a clerk at Hy-Vee. And they go through a six-month program or whatever the term, 18 weeks, whatever the term is for these code schools. And they land jobs where they literally double their income. And then a couple of years later double their income again. So right now, I think code schools are really, really gonna do well. And the reason being is because number one, those code schools can provide a very quick solution to a huge problem that about, what was it, 30 million people that, I don't know what the number was, that recently just applied for unemployment. Tech fields right now, we're still hiring. And still hiring at ridiculous salaries. Now, that might change in three to six months. I can't predict that it won't depending on how all this continues to go. And who knows what happens with different things. But right now tech is not a bad place to be. And it never really has been.
BG: But now it's kind of like people need solutions and people need their data. And people need the ability to make decisions based on that data. And these code schools, you can learn how to be a programmer on the web. You can learn how to be a data scientist. I mean, they have different options. And a code school might run, depending on which one you go to, 15, $20,000, which seems pretty daunting, especially if you're unemployed. But there are a couple of them out there that do a deferred situation where you don't even have to pay. You can go to school, get your degree from them. It's not a BS degree. But who cares? It's a degree that says I graduated from a school. And that school gave me the ability, and they likely, that school likely has partners that they could even help place you in. So you might even land a job and go from no income or maybe you were working on the line in the factory and making 30 grand or something a year, to all of a sudden making 60, 75 grand a year. And your life has changed. And you don't have to go there for four years. And you don't have to take classes on organizational psychology. And what was it we were talking about before? I can't even remember, but basically, these classes that are required to get a college bachelor's degree, which aren't completely useless by the way. I'm not saying that they're useless. I'm just saying it's bloat.
BG: And so as an educator in a computer science world, I see a huge opportunity for even introductory level programming. People have already started to flock to that. I've seen increases in course sales on my basic introductory courses because people are looking for ways to learn and better themselves. Which has never changed, but now is even amplified. People, some people, and I won't say everybody 'cause certainly not most of us. Some people actually have a lot more time right now to do things like learn. Which opens the door for that. But then going back up to the full, 50,000-foot view of a university. If the universities don't change what they're doing, I think they're gonna be in real, big trouble. And part of that is just around, you gotta bring 25,000 to 50,000 people from all around the world into one city. Which in the past was not a big deal and actually quite enjoyable for most people. But now who's gonna want or who's gonna allow 25,000 people from disparate sources all across the world to come to one place and be like a melting pot of disease. And we have this on our minds. And I'm not saying that this won't clear up. I'm very confident it will. And I'm very confident in three years from now, COVID-19 will be a distant memory as far as how we're being socially isolated. Now, we might still have some practices. Hopefully people will still wash their hands, that'd be great. But we hopefully won't have to be wearing masks in public. I'm not a huge fan of that. So I think what the university in general has to do is figure out how they're going to pivot in order to compete with the code schools that they've basically said aren't really a factor against us right now. Because I think they will be as this develops even more. And also figure out a way that they can get the students to still be able to get a quality education if they can't be in a brick-and-mortar building on a campus in a certain town. So It's gonna be interesting.
JG: Yeah, that's great. So I started as a programmer, I haven't probably programmed in the last 10 years or so. My first programming job was in COBOL actually.
BG: Dude, you should call up New Hampshire or whatever it is.
JG: Yeah, I know, I know. I need to dust off the skills from 20 years ago.
BG: Yeah, no thanks. My first language I programmed in was Pascal, if that dates me at all. What are some of those, people that are maybe laid off or people that are working another job, what are those skills that you see in your students that say this person is going to be very successful in IT? And maybe that's a really broad, because there's a lot of broad areas to go between QA and developer and all those things. But what are those things you look for as a hint to success?
JG: Yeah, that's a great question. Because it's kind of the million dollar question, honestly. How can you tell if someone's gonna be a good programmer? Let's start there. So there are two camps on this actually. The camp of everybody can program and everybody should program. And no, only certain people have the gift of programming, and only those people should do it.
BG: So yeah, there's so much you can say on this. I've gotta keep it kind of short. But basically, when I'm looking at someone, if I was to judge whether or not I think that they'll succeed as a programmer, I think they need about three qualities. One of them is they need to be able to look at a problem and figure out a solution without having to find an answer from someone else. So by that, if you see a problem, you can envision what is the solution to is.
BG: Okay, let's think of it like traffic. I see a problem, there's traffic. How could we make the traffic better? Have you thought about rerouting specific parts of traffic or have you thought about limiting the number of cars that could pass through a stoplight per day, somehow. It doesn't have to be a feasible thing. Just the fact that you could actually envision solutions in your head or think of them. Or even write it on paper. So looking at problems and then being able to actually think about solutions. And I'm not necessarily even saying coming to a good solution. I'm just saying thinking about solutions and being able to articulate them.
BG: Second thing, and this is gonna make a lot of people really upset. But remember how you always said to your algebra teacher, "When am I ever gonna need this?" Well, if you're gonna be a computer programmer, you need algebra. You don't have to know the advanced calculus for most jobs. But you need algebra. And the reason you need algebra is because algebra is all about variable replacement. It's equations and rearranging equations and solving for variables. And that's programming. We take X is equal to two plus five, X is equal to seven. Now I can use that seven and do this thing with it over here. I mean, that's programming. It's algebra, a little bit of matrix theory, which if you want to go into that, that's a little bit harder. But it's kind of like the next step up after algebra. But you still, I mean, you can do great things in calculus too. I'm not saying that someone who's great at calculus wouldn't be a great programmer, I'm not saying that at all. It's completely not transitive that way. I'm talking about someone just wanting to know should I even try it. Well, if you if you hated algebra, if you hated writing equations and you hated solving for variables, programming might not be your favorite thing in the whole world.
BG: Programmers don't work regular hours. There's times when programmers have to work on the weekends. There's times when programmers have to work at night. There's times when you have to take a call at two in the morning and you don't really want to because you're tired. But the servers down so you gotta fix it. Or you gotta fix a process that you don't even know. Somebody else worked on it, and so you gotta solve that. So if you are okay with diversity around that and you have a good work ethic and you're willing to make a few sacrifices, put the time in to learn it. It's not something you can just sit down and do. So the code school idea is great, 18 weeks. But I'm not gonna be an expert programmer in 18 weeks. In the same way that I could sit down in front of a piano and practice for eight hours a day for 18 weeks. I'm probably not gonna be playing a lot of Beethoven, especially not in a recital. Because I wouldn't want anybody to hear that. But I could likely at that point read music well enough to play it slowly. Make a few mistakes here, have someone who's looking over me correct it. So yeah, so those people who are out there who are struggling. Those people out there who have always hated their job. All those people who just always kind of felt held down, to be honest. Or are laid off right now because of this COVID-19 thing. This is an opportunity to at least explore it. There's nothing stopping you from exploring it. In fact, maybe the cards have lined up for you right now to explore it. Maybe this is the time. Maybe this is giving you that chance to explore and figure out, "Hey, maybe I really like this stuff." And you don't have to get a job in programming. That's a great thing. If you're good at programming, you can make your own job. You can make your own solutions. You can solve somebody's problem and make a lot of money. Just ask Mr. Zuckerberg how much money he's made without his college degree. And so I'm not saying you're gonna be Mark Zuckerberg. Please don't infer that because it's a one in a zillian type of thing. I mean, but I'm not, I'm also not saying that you have to have a college degree or even a code school degree to make a solution with programming that solves problems.
JG: Great, great answer. Cool, hey, well, thanks for your time today, Brian. I know this is your afternoon time to be working so I don't want to take too much more of your time. But thanks for being able to answer some questions today. It was great to get your insights.
BG: Yeah, thanks for having me.
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SBE21 Sustainable Built Heritage
Renovating historic buildings for a low-carbon built heritage
Apr 14th, 2021 to the Apr 16th, 2021
NOI Techpark, Via Alessandro Volta, Bolzano, South Tyrol, Italy
From small medieval towns in Italy to the elegant nineteenth-century boulevards in Paris; from the zen Buddhist temples in Kyoto to the colourful cathedrals of Mexico’s colonial cities: buildings reflect our culture and need to be preserved to tell our grandchildren the same story they told our fathers.
In Europe, historic buildings account for a quarter of the existing building stock. Renovating this kind of constructions – be they farmhouses in remote mountain villages or gems of post-war modernism in metropolitan areas – presents many opportunities for reducing carbon emissions and for improving the comfort of the people living and working inside. However, this can be particularly challenging. Each building is unique and needs specific measures to enhance energy efficiency while preserving historic and aesthetic traits. In this sector, the “one-fits-all” approach hardly applies.
From the 14th to the 16th April 2021, the SBE21 Heritage Conference will bring to Bolzano (Italy) experts working in the fields of energy efficiency and historic building conservation. The conference aims at fostering multidisciplinary dialogues and finding new affordable and efficient retrofit approaches to save our common heritage and guarantee a sustainable future. Scholars and practitioners worldwide are invited to send their contributions.
Check the programme and register before 31 March HERE
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Facial Character TD
NPD: World Of Warcraft Dominates Receding U.S. PC Retail In 2007
January 24, 2008 | By Staff
More: Console/PC
The Entertainment Software Association has highlighted new NPD data on the PC game market, following full-year analysis on the $18.85 billion dollar video game industry pertaining specifically to PC software sales.
Computer retail game sales in the United States totaled $910.7 million, or 36.4 million units, a decrease over last year's results, when PC games sold in a retail setting saw revenue of $970 million.
Following the ESA-trailed results, NPD released the top 10 best-selling PC games of 2007 to online outlets including Gamasutra, revealing two major franchises - Vivendi/Blizzard's World Of Warcraft and Electronic Arts' The Sims - dominating much of the charts. The full run-down is as follows:
1. World Of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (Vivendi) - 2.25 million
2. World Of Warcraft (Vivendi) - 914,000
3. The Sims 2: Seasons Expansion Pack (Electronic Arts) - 433,000
4. Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision) - 383,000
5. Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (Electronic Arts) - 343,000
6. Sim City 4 Deluxe (Electronic Arts) - 284,000
7. The Sims 2 (Electronic Arts) - 281,000
8. The Sims 2: Bon Voyage Expansion Pack (Electronic Arts) - 271,000
9. Age Of Empires III (Microsoft) - 259,000
10. The Sims 2: Pets Expansion Pack (Electronic Arts) - 236,000
However, digital downloads were not factored in to the NPD data, since the firm only tracks bricks-and-mortar retail sales currently, making it difficult to track exactly how the PC market is trending as a whole with the rise of casual games and even digital downloads for more 'hardcore' titles.
As an interesting aside, over both PC and console sales in 2007, NPD Group data also released by the ESA indicates that only 15.5 percent of games sold, in terms of unit sales, last year were rated "Mature".
This compared to the 56.5 percent of games sold rated "Everyone 10+" or lower and the 28 percent of "Teen"-rated games. The "Family Entertainment" genre grew 110 percent in 2007 to 17.2 percent of all games sold, up from 9.1 percent in 2006, according to the ESA.
Insomniac Games — Burbank, California, United States
108061 newswire /view/news/108061/NPD_World_Of_Warcraft_Dominates_Receding_US_PC_Retail_In_2007.php Loading Comments
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Koei's Takazumi Tomoike
Takazumi Tomoike is an Executive Officer of Koei's Software Department 4. He is currently heading the company's PlayStation Portable projects. He has also worked on console games for the company, such as the Sengoku Musou (Dynasty Warriors) series and Winback.
GS: Koei is developing Sengoku Musou games for both the PSP and the DS. How different are they?
TT: They're both totally different. The PSP game is a port of the PS2 version, but the DS game is going to be made in a different way. At this point, we can't talk about the DS version, but the PSP version was just finished.
For the PSP version, we know that people won't be satisfied with just a port from the PlayStation 2. People are used to playing games on their cellphones, so we had to make something that would be more entertaining for a short time. We made the game around that kind of theme.
GS: Were there any issues with the port?
TT: There were many problems. For instance, you can't use the exact same models. With the specs, it should work the same as it does in the PS2, but on this hardware it doesn't. So we had various problems like this. We also had problems with the library that Sony gave us. There are still quite a few bugs, and they haven't fixed them yet.
GS: Of the two handhelds, which are you most interested in?
TT: It's hard to say, since I'm not working on any DS titles. But the PSP version's team is Omega Force, the same team that made the whole Dynasty Warriors series, and the DS team is going to be totally different. That's all I can say.
GS: What are your impressions of the PSP in general? How does it compare to the PS2 in terms of power?
TT: Comparing it to the PS2… well, since it's a portable system, it's like a simplified version of the PS2. Our development model for PSP is that it's a portable system, and mobile like cellphones. With the PS2, you can play games at home for as many hours as you like. But we consider the PSP a mobile device, so people can play for a short time, then stop whenever they want.
GS: How easy is it to port a game straight from the PS2 to the PSP?
TT: Of course, ports are easier than making brand new games, but that's not to say that it's easy. The graphics make it tough. The PSP can't keep the framerate high enough. We like to keep the framerate at 60 fps for the PS2, but you can't do the same with PSP. It's very difficult to get it that fast with the lower polygon models. So, in order to get it (Sengoku Musou) fast enough, we lowered the polygon count of the models, and broke up the stage maps.
GS: How long has the game been in development for the PSP?
TT: About half a year. We got the development kit six months ago, and started immediately.
GS: Which game is it specifically based on?
TT: Dynasty Warriors 4.
Koei's Yoshiki Sugiyama
Yoshiki Sugiyama is an Executive Officer in Software Department 2 at Koei. He is currently heading the company's Nintendo DS projects.
GS: So you are working on Sengoku Musou for the DS?
YS: The DS version of Sengoku Musou isn't done - it's still in development so we can't talk about it yet. But we're also making a Mahjong competition game, and a simulation title. The Mahjong game will be our launch title, but Sengoku Musou is planned for Q2 of next year.
GS: what's it like to develop for DS?
YS: Because of the two screens, there are lots of new ways you can use the DS. There are lots of possibilities, so we had to think about this during development.
GS: Have you come up against any hardware limitations? Were there any difficulties in development?
YS: Well, the 3D memory isn't very good, so we can't remake PS2 versions like you can with the PSP. Therefore we're developing entirely new games, more reliant on 2D.
GS: Do you find the DS easy to work with?
YS: Hmm, is it tough? We haven't finished development on any of the DS games yet, so I can't really say, but it's not so hard to use so far.
GS: Are the DS libraries easy to work with?
YS: Yeah, totally fine. The library Nintendo provided allows us to do various things, so we're satisfied.
GS: Which games are you planning to put out on PSP, and which for DS? How are you deciding?
YS: We don't really know the targets yet, since they are both new systems, so we're making the same franchises for both, in the interest of getting games out quickly for both.
GS: Have you worked with both of the new handhelds?
YS: Yes, I have development experience with both.
GS: Which is easier to develop for?
YS: (nervous laughter) Uh…which is easier? You mean, right now? Well it's not really a question of which is easier to develop for - the DS environment is more prepared, so it's easier to release games on it at this stage.
GS: You said that you're releasing the same franchises on both systems. Are you using similar designs, or totally different?
YS: The games aren't the same, just the titles. It's the same lineup, but the games themselves are totally different for each platform. The PSP version of Sengoku Musou is close to the PS2 version, for instance. The DS can't do the higher quality graphics, so the 3D models are pretty tough. As a result we decided to make a game that's simpler looking, and plays simpler too, when compared to the PS2 version.
GS: Are you using totally new game resources for the DS version?
YS: Well, we could re-use art and maps for my version of Sengoku Musou, so it was easier than starting from scratch.
GS: Would people want to get both versions if they had both systems?
YS: Yeah, since they're totally different.
Konami's Yasumi Takase
Yasuimi Takase
Yasumi Takase is a director in KCET's production division. He is responsible for the recent console versions of the Dance Dance Revolution series, and has recently been working on the EyeToy-compatible PlayStation 2 DDR title Dance Dance Revolution Extreme.
GS: How do you go about developing games that require physical motion on the part of the player? What challenges do you face?
YT: Well, of course, we wanted to make a game that makes moving your body fun. In normal character games, moving the character around is the fun part, but we wanted to make a game that moves you instead.
At the beginning, we were very nervous about whether or not players would actually want to move their bodies.
GS: How did you overcome that?
YT: We figured it out, just wait for the release and see!
GS: Is your market the same as normal arcade gamers, or somewhat different?
YT: Yes and no (since this is the home consumer version). Of course, some arcade gamers play it, but there are also those who only play at home.
GS: DDR seems to attract a lot of female players - is this intentional?
YT: Not specifically, but with the two dance pads in the arcades, the original development team was hoping that couples would play together.
GS: Was it your intention to slim down the gaming public (by including diet modes), or was it more for a diversion?
YT: Yeah, not at first - at first it was just for fun, but if people use the game to get thinner, that's great too! I guess maybe some people do that now.
GS: This is also the first time that DDR has involved the EyeToy (in a video-capturing role). How did that partnership begin?
YT: Well, the EyeToy is just another piece of hardware, so we didn't work with the EyeToy team specifically. Sony made it and said that anyone could use it if they wanted to, so that's what we did.
GS: When you first saw the EyeToy, did you think of bringing it into DDR?
YT: Well of course since it's a device designed for body movement, we saw the connection. DDR is the type of game where you want to show off your moves. You can use the camera to capture movies while you play, so we were pretty excited about that.
GS: Did you have to think any differently about developing for the EyeToy, compared to what you are used to?
YT: The hardest part was pretty much just that we hadn't used the hardware before. We had to think carefully about what it could do, and what we could allow it to do without letting it overwhelm the DDR aspect. So it wasn't really difficult to implement, the issue was balancing it.
You know, DDR is played with your feet, and we figured the player's brain would get confused if we used the EyeToy too intensively. It would be too hard.
GS: So how do you gauge difficulty for DDR? Because it seems to have great structure and learning curve.
YT: Basically just trial-and-error, and experience really! Mostly this was done by the original arcade team. In terms of making the game difficult or easy enough for all players, originally they tried to make the machine gauge the ability of the player, but it didn't quite work out. So they set some levels, and tried them out.
GS: Do you test out the levels yourselves?
YT: Uh… sometimes (laughter)!
GS: Where do you think movement games will go in the future, say five years from now?
YT: By now it's been six years since Dance Dance Revolution first came out - 1998, I think. Since DDR has been going strong for six years, I imagine that in five years it will be the same. But of course with the evolution of technology, with hardware like the EyeToy, we think it's necessary to make DDR evolve. So whatever new appropriate hardware comes up, we'll use it.
GS: What kind of new technologies would you like to bring into DDR?
YT: Well if you've got any good ideas, let me know!
GS: How about pairing DDR with Para Para Paradise?
YT: Might be too tough, right? But we've thought about things like that. The first EyeToy games were really simple, which makes sense, because everyone needs to be able to figure it out. But as time goes on, use of the technology gets more complex. So we're not sure where it's going just now.
And of course, the complexity of the foot movements in DDR has been evolving as time goes on, which would make something like that even harder to integrate at this stage.
GS: This is the first major 3rd party title to integrate the EyeToy in Japan, what advice would you give to other companies creating games for the EyeToy?
YT: Well certainly there are some difficult aspects… the DDR pad is a lot more responsive to input than the EyeToy is. But it does have a lot of potential. This is the first time you can really get the user inside of the game. I think that I can really make a game that will surprise people…and actually I'm open to ideas from other developer as well.
GS: How difficult was it to incorporate the interface?
YT: Since our game isn't just about the EyeToy, we focused a bit more on the traditional parts first. Since the main draw of DDR is the pad, it wasn't too hard to integrate the EyeToy. But the interface was a kind of difficult, because the control over the sensors is too sensitive. The interface isn't as transparent as the pad, which has the arrows already on it.
GS: How did playtesting fit into your development process?
YT: Basically we just tried things, then would test if they were fun or not. If it wasn't fun, we had to change it. After all, it's a body movement game… so it's somewhat different from a normal game with a pad. So it's harder to tell what's fun or not for the users, because the standard hasn't been set. We don't know what movements can and can't be done until we test it.
GS: DDR is a game where you see what's happening on the screen, and it's very clear what you have to do. Did you create the EyeToy portion using a similar model?
YT: It should be very clear. We'll use normal arrows and everything.
GS: What games are you playing now?
YT: These days I'm not really playing much… test-playing my own game, I guess? Does that count? I actually like the testing more than the development!
GS: Yeah, it must be fun to try out your own work.
Translator: Well, it's probably not that fun to play your own game…
YT: Hey, it is fun! What are you making me say?
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Football Manager 2014: Watch the improved 3D match engine
By Justin Towell 14 October 2013
New weather effects and camera angles top the feature list
Football Manager 2014 is nearing completion and Sega is keen to show off its improved 3D match engine. This video, taken from a pre-beta build of the new game, shows off the new weather effects, as well as various camera angles including the classic top-down view.
The game is scheduled for release on October 31 on PC, Mac and (for the first time ever) Linux too. The game will also feature cloud saves, allowing gamers to continue playing their game from any computer they like, or on the separate PS Vita version of the game. Dubbed Football Manager 2014 Classic, the Vita version will be the first handheld iteration of the franchise to feature the 3D match engine and will allow players of the main iteration who play in Classic mode to utilise the cross-save functionality.
Justin Towell
Justin worked on the GamesRadar+ staff for 10 whole years. Imagine that. Now he is a contributor, specialising in racing games, retro, and Sanic.
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Lachie
The 11 symbolises transcendence, revelations, intuition, inspiration and the gift of clairvoyance. It is synonymous with a higher intelligence and extremely elevated ideals at an abstract level. It is especially associated with the element of air, the sign of Aquarius, eleventh sign of the zodiac, a… Full description
Diminutive of LACHLAN
With the influence of a master number in this first name, Lachie possesses a strong personality which confers him an ascendency over others. He is active, energetic, dynamic, courageous and of a passionate nature. Seemingly adaptable and accommodating, he is nonetheless capable of gently but firmly asserting his rights and ideas, occasionally with a touch of cunning and opportunism or even by amoral means: like an iron fist in a velvet glove... He has many plans and plenty of great ideas, although he needs to learn to put them into practice. The vibrations of his master number mean that he is very highly strung, so action makes a perfect outlet for this excess energy; otherwise he could experience emotional upheaval and distress. If the intensity of the present moment seems like more than he can handle, he could live these energies an octave below, at the level of the 2 - the reduced expression of the 11: and in this case he will tend to remain in the passenger seat on the journey of life, more of an observer than a true participant; however this would guarantee him a more comfortable ride at a far less hectic pace. However, challenges and difficulties stimulate him and spur him on, as a general rule. He has a profound sense of justice, and can react violently to any kind of iniquity; he feels great compassion for his fellow earthlings which often incites him to get involved with groups and associations that have a social or political objective. He is a highly intuitive man who nevertheless prefers to present his more logical, rational side to the world... He could alternate between total possessiveness and a certain altruism. As a child, Lachie is motivated, determined and a star pupil thanks to his active, industrious nature. He can be a real perfectionist or even quite obsessive in one particular area, while paradoxically revealing himself to be completely undisciplined in another. Group activities should be encouraged and will enable him to develop a sense of solidarity. He could have a disconcerting tendency to alternate between over-activity and apathy.
What does he like?
He is extremely attached to his family and is willing to make great concessions in order to maintain a harmonious relationship with his loved ones. Lachie aspires to peace even though he himself occasionally declares war! He often has an acute sense of esthetics which could lead him to take an interest in art or beautiful objects while he seeks the comfort of a cosy nest that he can call home. In matters of the heart, he is often a difficult case as he is in search of perfection, and happiness could pass him by without him recognizing it, thanks to his intransigent nature. Bossy and pernickety with noble principles, he isn't always easy to live with and tends to quickly tire of relationships, keen to continue his quest for that rare pearl. But does she even exist?
What does he do?
With such a large range of possibilities to choose from, all sorts of doors open up to him, including: occupations involving the art of listening and counselling, anything to do with sales, tourism, marketing or travel..., the artistic or esthetic domains, cuisine, catering or gastronomy..., or occupations requiring accuracy and thoroughness.
Comments about Lachie's description
Share with everyone what you think of Lachie's description!
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B787 dreamliner 3D Model (3ds dxf c4d obj)
3D Models » Vehicles 3d Models » Aircraft » Cargo Passenger » B787 dreamliner
3D Model by tartino
Boeing 787 3D Model.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a wide-body twin-engine jet passenger aircraft developed by the American company Boeing. The maximum number of passengers (in a single-class configuration): from 250 to 330, depending on the variant (in terms of capacity and flight range, 787 is comparable to the Boeing 767). Boeing claims Dreamliner is more economical than previous designs. Boeing 787 was the first passenger aircraft of the company, the design of which is widely used composite materials.
Until January 28, 2005, the 787th was developed under the designation 7E7. The first copy was shown at a presentation at a plant in Everett, Washington on July 8, 2007. After a series of deferments, the Boeing 787 first flew on December 15, 2009. October 26, 2011 the liner made its first commercial flight.
By the end of the 1990s, it became obvious that the Boeing 767 was significantly outdated and could not compete with the new developments of the rival Airbus, such as the Airbus A330. In 2001, Boeing announced the development of a new project, the Boeing Sonic Cruiser. Boeing said that the new aircraft will be able to fly at a speed close to the sound, while on average spending no more fuel (due to reduced flight time) than the 767th or A330. However, due to the September 11 terrorist attacks and rising oil prices, it became clear that airlines were more interested in the economy of flights than in speed, and the Sonic Cruiser project, which was also expensive and technologically complex, was suspended.
Only cinema4d R10 has materials
the model has no textures.
Polygons 9963
Vertices 10741
Download Boeing 787 3D Model on Flatpyramid.
Let’s take a look into more details of this model of Dreamliner.
The B787 Dreamliner is the twin-engine wide-body jet airline manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The first flight of this magnificent plane was done on December 15, 2009. After the successful test flights are trials finally it was introduced on October 26, 2011, for commercial usage. Currently, All Nippon Airways, Japan Airways, American Airlines, and United Airlines are using this airplane for commercial use. Total number 906 such planes are manufactured so far.
The B787 is available in two variants with a seating capacity of 242 and 330 respectively. It was the first plane that was built with composite material. It is intended to produce to replace 767 and it is 20 percent more fuel-efficient. The US FAA and EASA have given it certification to fly.
As you can see in this 3D model of the Dreamliner, this model can be used with various applications such as animated movies, school & college projects, scientific research, education purpose, sci-fi movies, games, and many more projects. This beautiful Dreamliner aircraft model showcases a detailed textured surface of a realistic passenger airplane. It gives us high definition visualization of the object from all angles and the detailed overview of each part of the Dreamliner as you can see its images above.
In the specification section, you can see various file formats for the Dreamliner model. You can use these file formats with various rendering software available.
Thanks for buying this 3D model of Dreamliner from the FlatPyramid.
More products by:tartino
Guardrail bikers-saver
3ds dxf fbx c4d dae obj
Sci-fi mech 3D model
Sci-fi flamethrower
Stylized boy
3ds lwo
Pallets with boxes
3ds dxf obj
AutoCAD (.dxf) 0.22 Mb
Wavefront (.obj) 0.29 Mb
Vertices: 10741
Polygons: 9963
Materials: No
Textures: No
File-formats: 3D Studio (.3ds), AutoCAD (.dxf), Cinema 4D (.c4d), Wavefront (.obj)
Optimized-for: Augmented Reality
Published on: February 13, 2011
Category: Cargo Passenger
Tags: 787-8 aircraft airliner Airlines airplane B787 Boeing cargo Commercial Dreamliner Jet passenger plane
3D Artist: tartino
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Dec 2, 2020, 09:30am EST |
Q&A: The Struts Luke Spiller On How 2020 Inspired The Band’s ‘Strange Days’ And Working With Def Leppard, Tom Morello And More
Steve BaltinSenior Contributor
I write about music and the business of music.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MARCH 03: Singer Luke Spiller of The Struts performs at The Warfield on March ... [+] 3, 2020 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Steve Jennings/WireImage)
Nothing went as expected in 2020. For U.K. rockers the Struts that turned out to be a good thing. Used to laboring for days over one song according to frontman Luke Spiller, the band holed up for 10 days in April planning to make an EP.
Instead, feeling revitalized, creatively free and inspired, they came out with a masterful third album, Strange Days. Featuring Robbie Williams on the title track, Def Leppard's Joe Elliott and Phil Collen on "I Hate How Much I Want You" and Tom Morello on "Wild Child," the record is a drastic departure in the number of guests.
As Spiller explained to me, with no rules, and a lot more confidence, the band felt freer to explore working with different artists and to tap into an array of styles and sounds, from glam to disco rock.
I spoke with Spiller about the making of Strange Days, why the third album was much easier than the debut and the very difficult sophomore record, what each guest brought to the record and more.
Steve Baltin: Strange Days is such an apt title for these times. Does the album reflect the title?
Luke Spiller: It's a very eclectic album. I'd say it's the most glam rock record we've kind of done. So it's quite funny. A lot of people throughout the years, they've been like, "Ah, the Struts is this glam rock outfit from the UK." And we've never really sounded that glam. We've never had Gary Glitter-like driving rhythms and simplistic chord progressions or T. Rex's kind of bluesy swing and Bowie's piano-driven songs. But this really has everything that we're about and more. And a lot of that is the glam stuff. So I think "I Hate How Much I Want You" is one of three really glam songs, like super Slade, stomping your feet, Sweet kind of thing. And then there are a lot of musical twists and turns, from the heaviest song we've ever done to some stuff that is so Exile[On Main Street,[the Rolling Stones]. And then you mention Rod Stewart, there's a little bit of disco rock in there as well at the very end.
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Baltin: How did you come to work with Phil Collen and Joe Elliott from Def Leppard on "I Hate How Much I Love You"? I love that speaking intro bit.
Spiller: That's kind of staged. I did say to Joe, "I have this kind of intro." And I was like, "It needs to be better. Everyone needs to know as soon as they press play on this specific song that you're on it." And I said, "Why don't we do like, going back to the kind of early 2000s rap albums when they had all these amazing skits going throughout them?" Which I always loved. I thought we could have something like that, so like a fake phone call, which is obviously fake. But it's just a bit of fun and it sets up the song so well. So that was the second take I believe. He nailed it, he's a natural.
Baltin: What is the name of the heaviest song you've ever done and what is the litmus level for that? Are we talking Black Sabbath "War Pigs" heavy?
Spiller: It's heavier than Sabbath. It's like Rage Against The Machine heavy and it's actually got Tom Morello on it, so it was a really good fit.
Baltin: So is this a guest-heavy album?
Spiller: We have Robbie Williams on the opening track, the title of the album (Strange Days), we have Morello on a song called "Wild Child," which is really cool. Then we have Joe and Phil, then Albert Hammond Jr., from the Strokes, on "Another Hit Of Showmanship."
Baltin: I once did an interview with Albert where we did yoga just to do something different. His instructor kicked my ass.
Spiller: Maybe our next interview can be in the pub with a few pints. I don't know about yoga.
Baltin: How did all of these artists influence your work?
Spiller: I think I'm at an age where I really just don't give a f**k anymore. I think maybe even four years ago having more than one feature I would have been a bit precious about my album and my music. But with this record I was like, "Let's f**king throw everything we have and the kitchen sink and see what happens." The whole thing has been an amazing experiment, which, thank god, has really kind of paid off. And what was really interesting was that we assigned songs to the different artists. So when we were doing "Wild Child," we all looked at each other and were like, "This is very Morello," cause I'm a massive Rage fan. So when that song was done I hit him up, he said, "Yeah." With "Another Hit Of Showmanship," it was super like early 2000s, indie, a genre myself and the rest of the band are very much into. When I first started hitting the clubs, cause I'm a few years older than the rest of the guys, I remember "Last Night" being on, "Mr. Brightside" [the Killers] and "Can't Stand Me Now," by the Libertines. It was a real great movement in the U.K., both sides of the pond with rock. So "Another Hit Of Showmanship" was very throwback to that and we've been in contact since we did a couple of shows together. So I hit him up to see what he said and he said, "Yeah." And with Robbie, he literally reached out to me completely randomly two weeks before going in. He hit me up on the Gram and he said, "Can I call you?" I was like, "Oh s**t, have I said something mean about Robbie Williams?" And then I just started over playing everything in my head. And of course he called me up and he was such a lovely guy. And we were just talking about UFOs and music and all sorts of stuff for like two hours. Your first conversation, fluid for two hours like this. And I said to him a few days after, "Look, I'm going in the studio. If I can write a really great song would you like to be involved?" And he was like, "What are you thinking?" And I played him something else, it didn't make it. I played him ten seconds of it and he was like, "Stop, stop, just tell me when it's done." And then we ended up writing "Strange Days" with him in mind. So that's why it has a little bit of Brit-poppy very early Robbie Williams kind of flavor to it.
Baltin: What is it about the disco rock? A lot of artists are not fans but I love songs like KISS "I Was Made For Loving You."
Spiller: That's a song that's been floating around my reference playlist for some time because throughout every album that we do we always love to have something like that. It's for the ladies because when we play the disco-y stuff that we've done before, or something that has a bit of a disco flavor, the people who love to dance, especially the girls, it gives them a chance to really let go. There's a reason why those songs are so successful, because chicks dig them, and they'll play them and it was a cool way where rock music could make its way onto the actual dance floors. And people don't really do that anymore. So I like to do it.
Baltin: So what was different this time that allowed you to have all these features and feel more comfortable on this record?
Spiller: Like I said, we had no intention of making an album. This is kind of like the album that was not meant to be written. It's so strange, we were given 10 days and we all got tested and we were gonna camp out at the studio. And the Struts typically would spend four days on one song easily. Between three and four. So we were like, "Okay, we've got ten days so we might do three songs, who knows?" We thought it was gonna be business as usual, sort of just chucking s**t at the wall and seeing what sticks and bashing our heads for the best top line and bashing our heads for the greatest kind of song. And after day four when we had six songs it was like, "What's going on?" We were literally given songs from the ether and all we were doing it was playing it. It's so hard to describe. We didn't second guess anything. We have gone over the hardest hump, which are the debut and the sophomore, as the Americans say, which are really f**king tough. And I'll tell you what that second album was one of the worst creative experiences ever despite it being received really well. But this one wasn't meant to be an album, it was meant to be an EP just for the fans, something we could release just for the whole Covid Armageddon era, And it just turned into an album completely out of the blue. It was the greatest thing that we've done that wasn't even meant to happen.
Steve Baltin
I have written for Billboard, Rolling Stone, the L.A. Times, Yahoo, Vice and every other major publication as well as host the Hulu interview series Riffing With and
I have written for Billboard, Rolling Stone, the L.A. Times, Yahoo, Vice and every other major publication as well as host the Hulu interview series Riffing With and teach music journalism for Grammy Camp. I have had countless amazing experiences in music, from tea with Neil Young and hanging in a limo with Stevie Wonder to drinking beer bongs with the Foo Fighters in Vegas and being onstage with Skrillex. When not writing about music I am hanging with my dog, playing basketball and eating sushi in sunny Southern California.
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Amelia's family 'mislead by cancer clinic'
The parents of Amelia Saunders turned to Dr Stanislaw Burzynski after being told there was no treatment available in Britain
Amelia Saunders collects her Pride of Reading Award from Chris Tarrant with dad, Richard and mum, Chantal
A family who sent their terminally ill daughter to the US for experimental treatment said the clinic misled them about her chances of survival.
The parents of Pride of Reading Child of Courage winner, four-year-old Amelia Saunders who died in January, say they were told she had a 54 per cent chance of survival with the clinical trial in Houston, Texas.
However mum Chantal Saunders, 36, believes the actual figure was just one per cent.
A BBC Panorama investigation shown on Monday questioned whether the Burzynski Clinic was “selling hope” to families.
In it, Mrs Saunders said: “I think that’s wrong [54 per cent figure]. I think that’s a complete lie. I think one per cent is a more accurate figure.”
Dad Richard, 35, says he has only found two patients of Dr Stanislaw Burzynski with the same rare brain tumour as Amelia who survived long-term.
Mr Saunders, from Lower Earley, said: “It didn’t work for Amelia but we absolutely know it works for other people.”
“It’s hard to believe it works for Amelia’s tumour type and that’s what we have found tricky.
“I’ve had all sorts of excuses from them as to why they won’t release data on how many patients they treat and the outcomes.
“I think the figures Panorama were given show there was 700-odd patients they treated and something like 15 per cent survived over five years. If you look at all brain tumours that’s almost identical to any other treatment.
“If you look at Amelia’s tumour alone you’re looking at almost zero per cent.”
Amelia was diagnosed with a rare tumour on her brain stem in February last year. Her devastated family was told by doctors there was no treatment available in Britain.
After finding out about Burzynski’s clinical trial, which has been running for 20 years, Amelia’s family decided to raise the money needed for the ‘antineoplaston’ treatment – a staggering £250,000 – in just a few weeks through donations.
Mrs Saunders, who also has two-year-old daughter Charlotte, said: “He was giving us more hope than I think realistically there was.
“Having said that I don’t regret doing it. When you’re given no hope in this country I think for us it felt like we were trying to do something.
“If we had not gone we would have felt we were just waiting for her to die.”
Mr Saunders added: “We find it very hard to believe the treatment did nothing. We did no chemotherapy with her. To keep it stable for 11 months is incredible in itself, but how do we prove that?
“We can’t.”
Amelia Saunders died in January from a rare brain tumour
In November last year Dr Burzynski told the family a new scan showed Amelia’s tumour was breaking down. UK doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London said it actually showed the tumour was continuing to grow.
The family decided to stop the Burzynski treatment a few weeks later.
Although the family now has doubts over Burzynski’s success rate, Richard says they have spoken to others who have been helped by the drug.
He said: “We asked repeatedly throughout the time Amelia was under treatment for evidence to back up his claims, and he at no point produced this.
“We found patients ourselves through Facebook, forums, email and word of mouth.
“We want everyone to know that there are people who are living proof that the treatment works – but it just didn’t for our little girl.
“We just wish Dr Burzynski would speak the truth, and release proper, tangible results.”
Mr Saunders added: “Our lives were totally shattered when Amelia died. No parent should have to live beyond their child, let alone at such a young age.”
The Saunders family have donated the rest of the money raised for Amelia to cancer research and other charities.
This included £50,000 to a cancer treatment research team at the University of Nottingham.
Its Professor Richard Grundy said it was “unethical” for Dr Burzynski not to publish results from his trial.
“Unfortunately the results from Dr Burzynski’s clinic are not published in any form that’s acceptable to the scientific community,” he said.
A statement from the Burzynski Clinic said: “The Burzynski Clinic does not claim that it can cure all cancers. Cancer is a very complicated group of many diseases for which a ‘magic bullet’ does not exist. While about a quarter of our patients in our clinical trials for brain tumours achieved a survival rate over five years, there are no guarantees and no patient is promised a cure.
“Sadly, many of the patients that come to us are at an advanced stage, in a serious terminal condition, and will often have exhausted all other potential forms of treatment in the UK and elsewhere.”
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George Harrison was a guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist in the Beatles
George Harrison was born on February 25, 1943 in Liverpool, England. He later became a member of the Beatles when they were still known as The Quarrymen after childhood friend Paul McCartney invited him to join the group.
Harrison, like many young guitarists during this time was influenced by American guitarists such as Carl Perkins, Chuck Berry, as well as people like Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly. Harrison as well as the rest of the Beatles tried to emulate their musical heroes with their own music, which can be heard on their early works.
George was known as the shy one during his time as the Beatles and wrote a number of classic songs such as Taxman, Here Comes the Sun, and While My Guitar Gently Weeps. His songs were limited to the Beatles albums during the early years as John Lennon and Paul McCartney were the source of some of the history's greatest songs.
Beyond the Beatles
After the Beatles broke up in 1970, following the release of their final album Let It Be, George Harrison began a successful solo career and his album All Things Must Pass has become a classic album. Famous songs from this album include Wah-Wah, My Sweet Lord, All Things Must Pass, and Isn't It A Pity.
The Concert for Bangladesh
Harrison later went on to mastermind the historic Concert For Bangladesh, which was a charity concert that took place at Madison Square Garden. Many famous musicians appeared as guests including Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, and Ravi Shankar.
During the late 1980's George Harrison, along with his friends Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynn formed The Traveling Wilburys. The Traveling Wilburys formed after Harrison needed to write a single for the B-side for his song This Is Love. After writing working on the song, Handle With Care, the group decided that it was just too good to be a B-side and began to write more songs as a band.
Harrison's Legacy
After The Traveling Wilburys disbanded after the death of Roy Orbison, Harrison continued with his own solo recordings. He released a string of hit albums and continued to work until his death. George Harrison died November 29, 2001 of throat cancer at the age of 58.
George Harrison left behind a vast catalog of music that still remains popular to this day. His work with the Beatles, The Traveling Wilburys, and his solo works all are considered historic and his creativity as a musician will be remembered for years to come.
The year after Harrison's death, long time friend Eric Clapton hosted the Concert For George which was a gathering of all of Harrison's closest friends who payed tribute to their deceased friend. Musicians such as Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynn, and Billy Preston all performed George's hit songs as a remembrance of a great man. Ravi Shankar along with his daughter Anoushka Shankar also performed some of George's favorite Indian music at the event.
Help! 1965
Rubber Soul
The Beatles (White Album)
Electronic Sound
Extra Texture (Read All About It)
Thirty Three & 1/3
Somewhere In England
Brainwashed
The Traveling WIlburys Volume 1
The Beatles: Rock Band September 9, 2009
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Charges: Suspect in Minneapolis stabbing 'didn't know' victim died until he saw the news
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A 25-year-old man is charged with murder after he stabbed a man 14 times in Minneapolis earlier this month.
According to the criminal complaint, Abdirahman Osman Yusuf of Minneapolis is charged with second-degree murder after a man was stabbed to death along West River Parkway on Aug.12.
Police were on patrol near the 200 block of West River Parkway when they came across the body around 11:50 p.m. They immediately called for paramedics after they found the man had suffered trauma and was not breathing.
Upon speaking with witnesses and reviewing surveillance videos, officers learned that the victim and Yusuf were down by the river with a group of people. One witness said the victim and Yusuf were fighting, and then Yusuf stabbed the victim several times.
The witness pulled up Yusuf's Facebook page, which helped police identify him.
According to the complaint, in an interview, Yusuf told police he only stabbed the victim two or three times before the knife broke. He also said he didn't know the victim died until he saw the news the next day.
The autopsy showed the victim suffered 14 separate sharp force injuries, including seven to the chest.
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Palau is an Island nation in the Pacific Ocean, commonly referred to as Micronesia. Known for being one of the best diving locations in the world, Palau also lays claim to an immense expanse of coral reefs, one of the largest upland forests in Micronesia, abundant marine life, extremely diverse native forests, healthy island vegetation and a large number of endangered fish species within its island waters.
The coral reef in Palau is so impressive in fact, that it has been dubbed one of the “7 Underwater Wonders of the World” housing fish populations that would otherwise be extinct. With such an enormous amount of biodiversity, including endangered habitats and animals, Palau is an intense focus for environmentalists in the Pacific Ocean.
Perhaps what Palau is most recently known for, is the location of the popular television show Survivor where it was filmed during its 10th season. Since the show, Palau has become a more popular tourist destination, putting the very thing that brings travelers to the island at risk. While for decades the remote access of the island had helped to preserve its rich biodiversity, the increase in tourism represents a problem for local cultures, governments and wildlife, as overdevelopment becomes a concern. However, Palau’s commitment to maintaining its island paradise makes it an incredible island for ecotourists to visit.
The Palau Conservation Society is one group that has kept the focus of Palau’s popularity on conservation instead of urbanization. The Palau Project has also helped to keep a sharp focus on ecotourism with environmental education in the hopes of preserving this tropical paradise. These groups have helped to promote Palau’s sustainable tourism efforts along with responsible travel for tourists in addition to managing conservation efforts and regions within the islands.
It is important for travelers to respect the conservation efforts in Palau. For example, 460 miles of the coral reef around Palau is a no fishing zone, protecting species that once faced extinction. While travelers who visit the islands can access the many palm-lined beaches and additionally have access to snorkeling and hiking it is critical that green travel ideals and ecotourism be upheld while visiting.
Eco-friendly hotels in Palau
Dolphin Bay Resort
Kosrae Village Ecolodge & Dive Resort
Hotels In Palau
The Carolines Resort
The Cliffside Hotel
Palasia Hotel Koror Palau
Kenya Eco-Tours >>>
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Filed under News Videos
‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ Casts Hailee Steinfeld, Lily Tomlin
Posted on June 6, 2018 June 9, 2018 Written by Victoria
In addition to unveiling a new trailer Wednesday, Sony has added some new names to the cast, while confirming others who had been rumored to be involved. Among those confirmed to join Shameik Moore, who voices Spider-Man/Miles Morales, are Jake Johnson as Miles’ mentor Peter Parker, Hailee Steinfeld as the classic Spider-Man character Gwen Stacy, Mahershala Ali as Miles’ uncle Aaron (the character played by Donald Glover in Spider-Man: Homecoming), Brian Tyree Henry as Miles’ father Jefferson, Luna Lauren Velez as Miles’ mother Rio, and Lily Tomlin as Peter Park’s beloved Aunt May.
Also of news of interest: Liev Schreiber’s character has been revealed as The Kingpin, the formidible crime boss who runs New York.
Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman direct the film, which is produced by Phil Lord and Chris Miller (who just unveiled their Lego Movie 2 trailer). Lord penned the script.
“We are lucky to have such an amazing cast of funny, genuine creative souls to populate the Spider-verse. They have generous minds and great big hearts. And they have very talented throats. Which is where their delightful voices come from.” Lord and Miller said in a statement. “We can’t wait for the world to see Miles Morales on the big screen. He’s such a fun and exciting new character, and telling his story through a revolutionary visual style makes for a totally fresh cinematic experience that, if we may say so, is freaking amazing.”
In the comics, the 2014 “Spider-Verse” storyline ran across multiple issues of The Amazing Spider-Man and other related titles, centering on a teamup of Spider-Men across parallel universes to defeat an entity known as Morlun. Just as Marvel Studios films Avengers: Infinity War or Captain America: Civil War, it seems that Into the Spider-Verse will not closely follow the comic book storyline that gave it its name.
Sony is opening Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Dec. 14.
https://www.haileesteinfeld.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/SPIDER-MAN_-INTO-THE-SPIDER-VERSE-Official-Trailer-HD.mp4
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Humus, Humility and Broadening the Circle of the Restoration Economy
I do not even know the name of the woman who convinced me that the most important work any of us can do, is Bridge the Divides in our Society. She came to talk to an ecological restoration meeting I was attending in the Pacific Northwest.
It was not long after the federal listing of spotted owls forced the closure of logging in many National Forests there. Because she was dressed so unlike the majority of the young environmental activists in the room; most of them categorically dismissed her merely on her looks, and then her vocal tone as well.
She started to explain how her husband had lost his job due to the forest policy changes and that they were now forming crews of unemployed loggers to do salmon stream restoration. But most of the men in the room stilled ignored her, checking their phones, or looking at their computer screens.
At some point near the middle of her allotted time, she asked if she could have a two-minute break to go to the bathroom. When she came back out, she was dressed like us: fleeces, chums, tee-shirts with conservation messages on them, khaki shorts and tevas. “Listen up,” she said. “You dismissed me, but you can’t dismiss the work these men are doing. They are healing the very streams and wildlife habitats you want to save!”
To say that I was humbled and ashamed of my attitude is understatement. I was knocked to the ground, horrified by my own haughtiness.
But that’s what humility should do to us, isn’t it? Humility, from the Greek, humus. Get us back down to earth, to be receptive to the salt of the earth, to those who may look and talk differently than we do, but who deserve to be listened to and supported in their own efforts to heal the earth and to heal our communities.
-Brother Coyote
It seems that we’re beginning to hear some recurrent themes from our friends that live closest to the border.
Gary: It seems that we’re beginning to hear some recurrent themes from our friends that live closest to the border….
Borderlands Dialogues: On Empathy and Accompaniment, Part 2
Gary: Tell me, cousin Kristy, what questions are going through your head right now. Kristy: Thanks for asking this, Gary….
Pilgrimage for Justice Across Borders for All Children – She’s on your case Mr. Sessions.
Don’t talk to me about your patriotism, Mr. Sessions, When you won’t protect our country from the Russians, From Koreans…
Fifty-Two Palestinians Killed and 2500 Injured by the Israeli Military in Just One Day
Fifty-Two Palestinians Killed and 2500 Injured by the Israeli Military in Just One Day, as Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump…
Border Wall Construction: Imperiling Sacred Sites, Churches and Religious Freedom
Most of us have heard the devastating reports of how the new construction of a thirty-foot wall and floodlights along…
Parts of the story of the border are hidden to most Americans.
Kristy: I am feeling that parts of the story of the border are hidden to most Americans, as if these…
‘Put ourselves in others’ shoes, and to go beyond the sound bites.’
Gary: Where else are we seeing signs of hope along the U.S.-Mexico border? Kristy: In the person of Marcos Paredes,…
Earth Day as a Sacred Rite
What if getting our relationship right with the Earth and all its creatures is not just some scenic backdrop to…
We must all take an oath, to do no harm to others.
Our conversations and experiences the past few days have shown us the real harm that walls do to people and…
In my dreams and nightmares, I keep coming back to those eight intense days in five states along the border.
In my dreams and nightmares, I keep coming back to those eight intense days in five states along the border…
There is No Such Thing as the World’s Best Tomato!
Dear Jere Gettle and Friends at Baker Creek Seeds, Have you gone nuts or just gotten greedy? THERE IS NO…
People came together to grieve the construction of an unneeded border wall.
At Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument today, 320 people of different nations, races, cultures and faiths peacefully came together to…
Gary Nabhan requests career counseling from a pomegranate tree
Pomegranate: Next! How can I help you today? Gary: Well, I feel kinda out of balance with my work these…
All have stressed the need to heal the divide that is expanding between us.
Cousin Gary Nabhan and I are having an enriching, educational, and all-around incredible time here on the U.S.-Mexico border. In…
Gary Nabhan Listens as Two Fruits Testify at the Impeachment Hearings
Adam Schiff: Today we will hear from two fruit trees who happened to be in the Ukraine at the time…
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Hanwha Group
Hanwha Group, founded in 1952, is one of the Top-Ten business enterprises in South Korea and a “FORTUNE Global 500” company. Hanwha Group has more than 85 domestic affiliates and over 380 global networks in three major sectors: manufacturing and construction, finance, and services and leisure. With more than 65 years track record of industrial leadership, Hanwha’s manufacturing and construction businesses encompass a broad range of fields from chemicals & materials, aerospace & mechatronics, total solar energy solutions, and global construction. The finance network, covering insurance, asset management and securities, is the second largest non-bank financial group in South Korea. The services and leisure sector offers premium lifestyle services with retail and resort businesses.
For more information, visit: www.hanwha.com
Safe-Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements constitute "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements. Among other things, the quotations from management in this press release and the Hanwha Q CELLS' operations and business outlook, contain forward-looking statements. Such statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in Hanwha Q CELLS filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 20-F. Except as required by law, Hanwha Q CELLS does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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< All News
HarbourVest Promotes Four Managing Directors and Expands Global Presence in Latin America and Asia
HarbourVest Partners, LLC (“HarbourVest” or the “Firm”), a leading global private equity firm, today announced that Jeff Keay, Karin Lagerlund, Sebastiaan van den Berg, and Scott Voss have been promoted to Managing Director. These promotions attest to HarbourVest’s continued commitment to build and maintain one of the most experienced teams of senior investment professionals in the private equity industry worldwide.
In addition to these promotions, HarbourVest is continuing to grow its global presence. The Firm is in the process of establishing a local presence in Latin America and continues to invest in the expansion of its Asia team. HarbourVest currently has team members located in Boston, London, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. The London, Hong Kong, and Tokyo subsidiaries were established in 1990, 1996, and 2010, respectively.
Announcement of New Managing Directors
“We are pleased to recognize these individuals, who each focus on different aspects of our business and represent the breadth of our firm,” said Brooks Zug, Senior Managing Director of HarbourVest. “These promotions illustrate the growing leadership of our firm, our commitment to the development of the next generation of our firm, and the depth of our team.”
• Jeff Keay joined the Firm in 1999 with a focus on global secondary investments in both limited partnerships and portfolios of direct investments.
• Chief Financial Officer Karin Lagerlund joined the Firm in 2000 and oversees the finance teams who coordinate the Firm’s global accounting operations.
• Sebastiaan van den Berg joined HarbourVest Partners (Asia) Limited in Hong Kong in 2005 with a focus on investments in Asia Pacific and emerging markets.
• Scott Voss joined the Firm in 1999 focuses on primary partnership investments in the U.S., Asia, Latin America, and cleantech.
Expanding Global Presence in Latin America
HarbourVest is also establishing a team in Bogotá, Colombia and expanding its team in Asia.
“HarbourVest is investing in areas where we see growth, including Latin America and Asia Pacific,” said George Anson, Managing Director of HarbourVest Partners (U.K.) Limited. “We were one of the first global fund-of-funds to establish a team in Europe in 1990 and in Asia in 1996. We have continued to build a strong global franchise with local teams and regional expertise over the past two decades and look forward to continued growth to support our investment activities and investor relationships.”
Managing Director Peter Lipson is leading the effort to establish a presence in Latin America and has recently moved to Colombia.
“The partners at HarbourVest are enthusiastic about the opportunities for private equity in Latin America. As an early investor in the region in the 1990s, we have seen the markets go through challenges and now move to a much stronger economy and private equity culture,” said Peter Lipson, Managing Director of HarbourVest.
Team Expansion in Asia
In Asia, HarbourVest is expanding the team and actively positioning the firm for future growth. As part of our firm’s long term planning, Philip Bilden, Managing Director of HarbourVest Partners (Asia) Limited since its inception in 1996, has announced plans to transition to a Senior Advisor role in 2012 and become less involved in the management of the Firm. As a Senior Advisor resident in Hong Kong, Philip will remain engaged with senior level relationships with our general partners, investors, and LP advisory boards in the region.
As part of this planned transition, Sebastiaan van den Berg, who is a long-standing resident of Hong Kong with over a decade of Asian investment and private equity experience, will assume day-to-day responsibility for the management of the Hong Kong team as Managing Director. In addition to Sebastiaan and Tatsuya Kubo, Managing Director of our Japan team, the Asia team will be further strengthened through two additional Managing Directors and a Vice President, who are expected to relocate from Boston and London in the third quarter of this year, in addition to two recent regional hires.
Brooks Zug, Senior Managing Director and Co-founder of HarbourVest Partners, LLC, noted, “Philip Bilden has been instrumental in building our Asian franchise over the past two decades. On behalf of our limited partners, he has travelled the globe extensively and worked tirelessly during his 15 years in Hong Kong and 20 years with the firm, leading a team of very capable investment professionals in building portfolios of the highest quality Asia Pacific partnerships over many vintage years. His continued presence as a Senior Advisor to HarbourVest will assure us access to his wisdom and judgment. And, of course, he will remain a close friend of all of his partners for years to come.”
Philip Bilden commented, “I have had the great privilege to build a leading franchise in Asia thanks to the efforts of our dedicated Asia team and the vision and early pioneering work of our founding partners. Looking forward, I am committed to helping my partners and colleagues take the franchise to the next level. The firm’s commitment to the region and the expansion of our local team will allow HarbourVest to continue building valuable long term relationships and top performing investment portfolios at a time of rapid expansion and growth in the region.”
Laura Thaxter
lthaxter@harbourvest.com
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Opinion: Cold, uncaring treatment of immigrants reflects people's hearts
Cathy Norris
Contributed opinion
Immanuel Kant said, “He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.”
Several times a day on TV, you see ASPCA asking for funds to help abandoned and neglected animals. San Angelo’s shelter and animal groups not only seek forever homes for animals but are now working toward a no-kill policy. What is the heart of these people?
What was the heart of those behind the zero tolerance policy? In the past, President Donald Trump has referred to immigrants from Mexico as bad hombres, killers and rapists. Pit bulls were once an American favorite, but exploited by man for dog fights with their strong appearance and man’s cruel training, the dog became a symbol of violence, drug culture and gangs. We’ve all heard the consequences of your actions and probably said it to someone. The consequences of zero tolerance separating families, putting children in cages and whisking parents off to detention centers, may result in Made in America bad hombres, killers and rapists.
We’ve had a love-hate relationship with immigrants over the years. James Chamberlain, a tailor, one of 4.8 million Irishmen who migrated to America from 1850-1929, wrote home lamenting, “Immigration has killed the country. It is nothing to see seventeen hundred immigrants every other week at the wharfs: Swedes, Poles, Russian Jews, Hungarians and Bulgarians and Italians knock them all out.”
It was in the 1830s that the Native Americans trudged the Trail of Tears to Oklahoma, only to be displaced again by the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889 and 1893, to create white communities. The Native Americans were forced to sell their land to the State for the 1889 Land Rush. On Sept. 16, 1893, 125 years ago, 115,000 people raced to claim 42,000 parcels of The Cherokee Strip.
We just came home from a trip out west. While driving through reservations in Arizona and New Mexico, I couldn’t help but wonder, who should have been lamenting immigrants – the Irish immigrant or the Native American?
Stephen Miller, the architect of Trump’s most controversial immigration policies, prompted Stephen’s uncle, David Glosssler to say, “Trump and my nephew both know their immigrant and refugee roots. Yet, they repeat the insults and false accusations of earlier generations against these refugees to make them seem less than human.” He went on to the say had these policies been in effect in 1903, as Jews, they would not have made it to Ellis Island.
When the railroad tracks were being laid for West to meet East, the companies on the West Coast had a hard time hiring a good labor force. As most Caucasians preferred mining and agriculture work, a few Chinese were hired. They proved to be so good, the companies preferred to hire them. While our agriculture and construction business needs the workers from across the border, rather than a good worker’s permit program, Trump wants to build a Wall.
When I pass the dog park and see the humans with their beloved dogs, I can see the heart of men and women by the treatment of their dogs.
And yet, our hearts are cold and uncaring as we inflict pain and trauma on our neighbors, who share the same border with us, and who are longing for the same thing our ancestors crossed the ocean in search of.
Cathy Norris lives in San Angelo.
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