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Jan 24, 2018 - Zoltán Kovács
Q&A on the case of Jobbik’s illegal party financing
Hungary’s State Auditor recently imposed a fine on the political party Jobbik. Some reports of the decision missed some essential details, so I thought a little briefer, in the form of a Q & A, would be helpful
party financing state audit Jobbik
Q: Why is Hungary so strict about political party financing?
In fact, the Hungarian rules are not any stricter than regulations we find in other European countries. The point is to regulate the funding to prevent the possibility that political parties receive financial support from unknown or illegal sources.
Q: What is illegal financing?
As stated in Act 33 of 1989 on the functioning and financing of political parties, political parties in Hungary may receive funding from three sources: party membership fees, subsidies from the central budget and individual donations of natural persons with Hungarian citizenship. The funding, according to the law, should be transparent. Anything that’s not transparent – as in this case with Jobbik where a company provided billboard space at little or no cost – is illegal.
Political parties in Hungary are prohibited from receiving donations from the following entities: foreign states, foreign organizations (irrespective of their legal status), persons and organizations without a legal personality in Hungary, natural persons without Hungarian citizenship. Parties in Hungary are also barred from accepting money from anonymous sources.
Q: But Hungary’s ruling alliance, Fidesz-KDNP, changed the election laws to make it more difficult for opposition parties. No?
The limitations on television media – the rule that requires that airtime during the campaign period must be provided to all parties equally or not at all – are favorable to smaller parties who would otherwise be at a disadvantage in paying for television advertising time.
The law also explicitly prohibits political parties from receiving billboard space for less than the official list price and prohibits them from running billboard campaigns outside of the election campaign period.
Yes, the previous parliament passed new election laws, but the new rules favor the smaller and financially weaker parties by reducing the possibility for illegal funding and by creating a more level playing field.
At the same time, the rules come down hard on those who try to break them. Infamous cases like the CDU’s Schwarzgeldaffäre (‘black money affair) in 1999 are examples of how hidden donations or undisclosed donations to political parties can have grave consequences.
Q: On the surface, though, it seems like the government has used a state body to cause a major setback – in the form of a fine of over one million euro – for one of its political opponents, Jobbik.
That’s why the details here are important. In fact, the State Auditor, in the course of a routine audit that all political parties have to undergo, caught Jobbik carrying out what is possibly the biggest case of party financing fraud in Hungary’s democratic history.
According to media reports, Jobbik signed a contract with a company to rent billboard space. The contract says that Jobbik would pay 27.5 million HUF (90 thousand EUR) for space that was in fact worth 129.4 million HUF (430 thousand EUR). If Jobbik failed to pay, then Jobbik would “buy” the actual ownership of 1019 billboard spaces for about 430 thousand euros (129,4 M HUF), but – here comes the twist – would only pay about 90 thousand euros (27.5 M HUF). If it fails to pay the rest, the billboards go back to their original owner after May 31, 2018. When they signed the contract the exact date of the elections was not announced, but it was clear they would be in the spring.
That would mean that Jobbik would receive a billboard space for about 12 euros per month during an eight-month period. Putting that in perspective, the same billboard space would normally go for 370 to 1000 euros per month.
That’s a donation that has a very real cash value and Jobbik did not disclose it properly. According to the law, a party that is caught cheating suffers a fine twice the amount of the value of the illegal financing.
Back in 2013, during the parliamentary debate these party financing rules, Jobbik argued for a penalty twice as high, according to Gergely Gulyás, Fidesz parliamentary group leader. Had Jobbik’s proposal passed the parliament, the party would today be facing a fine double the amount of the current penalty.
Q: But isn’t the head of the State Auditor a former member of Fidesz?
True, however it is also true that during the audit, the second in command at the State Auditor’s office was a member of the Socialist Party. The State Auditor is an independent body, and the government has no authority over it.
Q: Will Jobbik be forced to pay the fine prior to the April 8 parliamentary elections?
No. Minister for National Economy Mihaly Varga instructed the country’s tax authority to delay the collection of fines until after the elections. Gulyás also suggested that the law may be changed so that penalties would be suspended for an interim period of six months prior to the elections.
Q: But why has the State Auditor inspected only Jobbik’s compliance with the rules and not Fidesz’s?
Fidesz was audited as well. The act on party financing (cited above) calls upon the State Audit to look into party finances every second year.
The penalty imposed on Jobbik became news because of the large size of the fine in the case. Other parties were also audited, and the State Auditor found irregularities in those cases as well. But nothing compares to the magnitude of the fraud that Jobbik committed.
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Mar 27, 2018 - Zoltán Kovács
The Soros ‘mercenaries’ working against Hungary
According to a recently uncovered statement by Tracie Ahern, former chief financial officer of the Soros Fund Management, the billionaire financier commands a quasi-mercenary force of at least 2,000 people, tasked with achieving three goals: bringing down Prime Minister Orbán’s government, dismantling the border fence, and promoting immigration to Hungary.
Soros plan soros army Soros network Illegal Migration
The statement marked the latest in a series of revelations of Soros-funded efforts that attempt to influence public life in Hungary and oppose the work of the democratically elected government. Earlier this month, the Jerusalem Post broke a story about how a Soros-funded NGO in Berlin, headed by a Hungarian national, is actively lobbying the German government to apply pressure on Hungary to change laws on NGO transparency. A few weeks ago, I posted on a Hungarian media report about an astonishing revelation that George Soros spent more than 14 million USD in 2017 lobbying the US government against Hungary. We’ve also called attention repeatedly to his Open Society network’s lobbying efforts in Brussels (here and here). Hungarian media also reported on a Soros-funded NGO illegally collecting data on migrants.
Following this latest report, I have called upon these Soros organizations to make public the names of those 2,000 people and list the names of opposition party politicians on Soros’ payroll. The pending legislation that would require greater transparency from foreign-funded organizations that promote pro-migration policies and oppose our government’s efforts to curb immigration will make it more difficult for these activists to work without accountability. Until then, the Hungarian Government will resist all outside attempts to politically influence our immigration policy – a position that has broad popular support – and will apply all means necessary to prevent organizations from performing unlawful political activities.
Though there are at least 2,000 people working against Hungary’s interests, “there is no shortage of such people in Brussels either,” said Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in a Facebook video prior to last week’s EU summit. Their aim is to make Hungary an immigrant country, he said, and “this we shall not allow to happen.”
Prime Minister Orbán reiterated at the summit his government’s firm opposition to the mandatory quota system and any other policy that supports immigration. “As long as I am prime minister, there is no possibility of any such agreement,” he said.
“Europe is full up,“ the prime minister said, therefore we must focus our attention on defending our external borders.
Those who still see immigration of this scale as a positive phenomenon – despite considerable experience that suggests otherwise – have a fundamentally different vision for the future of our country and of Europe. For us, security comes first, and we must stop any organization that promotes illegal migration for ideological or other reasons that have no democratic mandate.
Is Hungary's economy growing?
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Be My Lover - La Bouche
dance 90s eurodance pop techno
"Be My Lover" is a song recorded by German Eurodance group La Bouche. It was released in March 1995 as the second single from their album, Sweet Dreams. It is one of their biggest hits alongside their other major hit "Sweet Dreams". This song was dubbed into many megamix tracks and has had remix versions. It reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. It also topped the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs for two weeks in December 1995 and hit number one in Australia, Germany and Sweden. Two different music videos were made for this song, a first (European version), which is filmed in the city, and a second (American version), which is filmed in the television studio. The song was played in the 1995 Brazilian soap opera A Próxima Vítima, in the 1997 movie Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, in the 1998 movie A Night at the Roxbury, in the 1999 movie Earthly Possessions, in an episode of the sitcom Step by Step. It was also spoofed as "One Zero 001" on the computers-themed episode of Bill Nye the Science Guy and used in Audition Online Dance Battle as a song. It can be vaguely heard in the background in the "World's Greatest Dick" episode of the 3rd Rock from the Sun, in the Gay Bar that Sally and Harry walk into at the beginning of the episode. In 2003, the song was covered by Hysterie. In 2013, Romanian dance pop singer Inna used the song as inspiration of her original composition also titled "Be My Lover". The song for her third studio album Party Never Ends and released it as an official single.
La Bouche is a Eurodance/Dance-pop duo based in Germany, originally fronted by Black American-German singer Melanie Thornton, who was killed in a plane crash near Bassersdorf, Switzerland, in November 2001. Their most successful hit "Be My Lover" was top 10 across Europe and peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1996. The group was the brainchild of German producer Frank Farian. In 2000, after Melanie Thornton left the group to pursue a solo career. Show more ...
La da da dee da da da da
La da da dee da
La da da da dee da
La da da dee da da da da da
Wanna be me lover
[Verse:]
Looking back on all the time we spent together
You oughta know right now if you wanna be my lover
Wanna be my lover
Go ahead and take your time, boy you gotta feel secure
Before I make you mine, baby, you have to be sure
You wanna be my lover, wanna be my lover, wanna be my lover
Chorusx2
A ha ye heyee wanna be my lover
Girl, yes, I wanna be your lover
Take a chance, my love is like no other
On the dancefloor getting down
Hold tight, I'll never let you down
My love is definitely the key
Like boyz ii men I'm on bended knee
Loving you, not like your brother, aw yeah
I wanna be your lover
[Verse 2:]
I hear what you say, I see what you do
I know everything I need to know about you
And I want you to know that it's telling me
You wanna be my lover
Bridgex1
Oh be my lover yeeeeehhhh.
Until the end of time, wont you be mine on mine,
Oh be my lover, I know you wanna be my love, I know you wanna be miiine.
Oh be my lover, yeeehhhh.
Ice MC
1) Be My Lover
2) Sweet Dreams
3) Where Do You Go
4) SOS
5) Fallin' In Love
6) I Love To Love
7) In Your Life
8) Be My Lover (Club Mix)
9) You Won't Forget Me
10) Be My Lover - Radio Edit
11) Forget Me Nots
12) Do You Still Need Me
13) Sweet Dreams (Radio Version)
14) Rhythm Of The Night
15) Unexpected Lovers
16) Another Night Another Dream
17) Rhythm Is A Dancer
18) tonight is the night
19) Take Me 2 Heaven 2 Night
20) Be My Lover (House Mix)
21) Bolingo (Love Is In The Air)
22) A Moment Of Love
23) Whenever You Want
24) Say You'll Be Mine
25) Be My Lover [1996]
1) La Bouche - Sweet Dreams
2) Culture Beat - Mr. Vain
3) Mr. President - Coco Jambo
4) Real McCoy - Another Night
5) 2 Unlimited - No Limit
6) Dr. Alban - It's My Life
7) Snap! - Rhythm Is a Dancer
8) Corona - The Rhythm of the Night
9) Amber - This Is Your Night
10) Mr. President - Coco Jamboo
11) Ice MC - Think About The Way
12) DJ Bobo - Everybody
13) Haddaway - What Is Love
14) Corona - Baby Baby
15) Whigfield - Saturday Night
16) No Mercy - Where Do You Go
17) Aqua - Barbie Girl
18) Ace of Base - Beautiful Life
19) Gala - Freed from Desire
20) Ace of Base - All That She Wants
21) Masterboy - Feel the Heat of the Night
22) Technotronic - Pump Up the Jam
23) Reel 2 Real - I Like to Move It
24) Scatman John - Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop)
25) 2 Unlimited - Get Ready For This
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Exclusive: Bermuda air disaster, 50 years on
50 years after an air disaster here killed 17, their loved ones to make a poignant visit
Simon Jones, Senior Reporter
Follow @SimonJonesSun
Wednesday, January 22, 2014 7:00 AM
JAN 22, 2014: 17 Perish after Two U.S. Air Force planes take off on a routine astronaut recovery practice mission over Bermuda, but collide in mid-air. *Film from buyoutfootage.com
Mid-air disaster: Seventeen US airmen died in Bermuda in 1964 when a US Air Force HC-54 (the model is pictured below left) suddenly banked right and collided with a US Air Force HC-97 (see below right), sheering both its wing and tail section off and sending the two planes careering into the sea off St David’s Head. *USAF photos
When tragedy struck
It was one of the worst incidents in Bermuda’s aviation history, claiming the lives of 17 airmen.
Two US Air Force planes collided in mid-air off St David’s.
The disaster was caught on film by stunned onlookers on the ground who had been tasked with recording the NASA mission.
In happened in June, 1964 and this summer, half a century later, the families of those who were killed will return to Bermuda to remember their loved ones.
It’s likely to be a highly emotional trip for the 20-strong group, who will drop a wreath at the spot where the shattered debris of the two planes hit the sea.
And for Michael Belter, who was just eight when he lost his father Lowell in the crash, it will provide a degree of closure to an incident that is still shrouded in mystery.
Those who lost family members on that fateful day in 1964 have never been told why the two aircraft collided with such disastrous consequences.
All they know is their loved ones died serving their country and taking part in a NASA mission designed to ensure the safe recovery of lunar capsules and astronauts from space.
Son of air crash victim recalls day his ‘whole life changed’
Families of those killed in one of Bermuda’s worst air disasters will return to the island this year to mark the 50th anniversary of the tragedy.
Seventeen airmen died on June 29, 1964, when two US Air Force aircraft collided in mid-air while conducting NASA operations.
Michael Belter was just eight years old when his father, Lowell ‘Mick’ Belter, a radio operator, was killed on board one of the planes.
Left, Lowell ‘Mick’ Belter with sons Doug and Ken at the front of their Blowwinds home on North Shore.
But the devastating events that took place in the air off Bermuda almost half a century ago had a profound and life-changing effect on the Belter family.
Mr Belter hopes the trip he has helped orchestrate this summer will provide some kind of closure for him as well as the eight other family members that will join him in Bermuda.
Mr Belter, who went on to become an officer in the United States Army, said: “There is a sense that we never got closure after the accident.
“And speaking to others who lost family members in the crash many feel the same way.
“It was a very tough time. I remember people telling me that I was the man of the house now and needed to look after my family.
“I remember seeing the planes on the day they crashed. I was out playing with my brother in the sea and as they came past our home on the North Shore they wing-wagged us and we waved back.
“In those days everyone in the military knew where everyone lived on the island — we were a close community.
How the Bermuda Sun reported the crash. The article contained a quote from a former US pilot who described the crash
as a great blaze of fire accompanied by a massive explosion and a huge atom-bomb-type-mushroom cloud of black smoke.
“But my dad did not come home that night. I was told he was missing after an accident. And the next day it was determined he was dead.
“Suddenly my whole life changed.
“My family had been with the Air Force my whole life, and now we were moving back to Pittsburg to live with my aunt Lil.
“I don’t remember much about the day of the accident, but I remember a memorial service at the Base chapel and family members coming over to Bermuda to help us move home.”
Mr Belter Snr, his wife, Jayne, and their four children, Michael, Doug, Ken and Johnna, moved to Bermuda in February 1964.
They lived in an old house called Blowwinds on the North Shore of Pembroke, and the children enjoyed the island life.
But soon after the crash the family were forced to leave and return to the US.
Over the past decade Michael Belter has spearheaded a project to find out what went so tragically wrong to cause the mid-air collision in 1964.
He has organized the memorial trip for families and relatives of the servicemen who died and set up a Facebook page called Bermuda Air Collision – June 29, 1964.
Left, the crash widowed Jayne — pictured with her four children, Johnna, Michael, Ken, Doug, without a father.
Mr Belter told the Bermuda Sun: “We hope to have around 20 people in Bermuda for the memorial in June.
“There are nine members of my own family who will be coming, including my wife and my grown-up son and daughter.
“My sister, my mother’s sisters and my mother’s brother also want to be there.
“But there will also be other guys ranging from servicemen who were at the base at the time and remember the sirens going off in the aftermath of the crash to a retired medic who was part of the rescue and recover operation.”
Through his work, Mr Belter has made contact with a host of former US military families that were posted in Bermuda. He has even been in touch with the ground crewman, Bill Martin, who held up the plane so his father did not miss the fateful flight on June 29, 1964.
Mr Belter said: “My father was running late, and the plane should have left without him.
“But one of the ground crew saw him running down the runway with all his stuff and they held the flight up for him. He helped him get on to the flight and put his flight bag on behind him.
‘Emotional trip’
“I have spoken to Mr Martin and he told me that he thought about letting the flight go without my dad that day, but he did not want my dad to get in any trouble.
“He says he has thought over the years about ‘what if’ he had not done that’.
“I’m looking forward to meeting Mr Martin so we can share experiences and our memories. I’m sure it will be a very emotional trip.”
Michael with his own family in the US.
The group will arrive in Bermuda in June and as part of their trip will charter a boat and visit the site where the planes crashed into the sea to lay a wreath.
Mr Belter has visited Bermuda on three occasions since the 1964 crash and now works as a finance manager for a regional group of power plants in Columbus, Ohio.
He added: “Thirteen of the 17 airmen that died in the collision had wives and children so this disaster had a huge impact on many families.
“My father’s body was never recovered like other servicemen that died that day. And speaking to their relatives they are still haunted by dreams of their loved one being washed up on a beach with amnesia and living a new life.
“We have all been affected in different ways but I hope this memorial trip will provide closure for the families who died 50 years ago, but it will also be a chance for people to reminisce about their time in Bermuda.
“Bermuda will always be a special place in my heart for the fun times an eight-year-old had for about six months to the times I have been on holiday there.”
Gone... but not forgotten
Seventeen crew were killed on 29 June, 1964:
• Major Otto William Boyd, 43, a veteran pilot from San Francisco.
• Major Martin Nisker, 43, from Minneapolis.
• Major John L Mallen from Rochester, NY.
• Major Richard ‘Dick’ F Pendleton, 40, a World War II and Korean War veteran from South Orange, New Jersey.
• Captain Donald H. Aungst, 32, from Overland Park, Kansas.
• Captain Charles C Decker from Columbus, Ohio.
• Captain Harry K.L. Lai from Waniawa, Hawaii.
• Master Sergeant Raymond K. Showalter, 44, from Miami, Florida.
• Technical Sergeant Lowell Mick Belter, 32, from Marion, Wisconsin.
• Technical Sergeant Robert A. Kramer, 36, from Dallas, Texas.
• Technical Sergeant Edward Neal Jr, 34, from Chester, Pennsylvania.
• Staff Sergeant Robert A. Maynard, 33, from Huntington, West Virginia.
• Staff Sergeant Albert Roy Everhart, 30, from Ithaca New York.
• Staff Sergeant Genero J. Gonzalez, 33, from Gatonia, North Carolina.
• Staff Sergeant Alva H. Rankin.
• Airman First Class Ernest E Chavers from Foley, Alabama.
• Airman First Class Larry W Carleton, 22, from Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
HORRIFIC: Left, the dramatic collision was captured on camera and the Denver Post carried this pictured in their report. Above, the seven who jumped prior to the crash are pictured in front of an HC-97 shortly after the accident. *Photos supplied
• Read more: Report shows cause of the collision remains a mystery
Report shows cause of the collision remains a mystery
Diver offers to lay wreath next to plane wreckage
Do you know where these planes crashed?
Families pay tribute to air disaster victims
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Filter: The Man in the Iron Mask
QUESTION: The Three Musketeers are Athos, Aramis, and…?
A) D'Artagnan
B) Porthos
C) Pathos
D) Pierre
Alexandre Dumas is one of the best-loved and prolific authors of the nineteenth century. French by birth, his novels tapped into a love of adventure that inspired translations into almost one hundred different languages. Eventually, two hundred interpretations of his films would also be created over the years. Of course, Dumas' most famous characters are the Three Musketeers, colorful characters who created waves during the reign of Louis XIV. He serialized their stories during the day, including one loosely based on the true story of The Man in the Iron Mask. The "real" man in the iron mask was a prisoner of the king from right around 1670 until his death in 1703. One of the great mysteries of history is who the man was. Dumas contended that he was the twin brother of the king.
Around a dozen interpretations of the story of The Man in the Iron Mask have been made since its first interpretation in 1909, but the one displayed in the Music Room here at the American Treasure Tour is from 1998. Its international cast includes Leonardo diCaprio, Jeremy Irons, Gabriel Byrne, John Malkovich, and even a Frenchman - Gerard Depardieu! The storyline only nominally follows the inspiration of Dumas, with the greatest differences being the character of the king versus that of his imprisoned brother. In Dumas' original, some of the Musketeers actually consider Louis XIV to be a better option as leader than his brother, while in the 1998 film written, directed and produced by Randall Wallace, Louis XIV was presented as evil and dangerous. A financially successful film, The Man in the Iron Mask was crititcally panned. DiCaprio even 'won' a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screen Couple, due to a lack of chemistry between his Louis XIV and his identical twin brother Phillippe. C'est la vie.
ANSWER: B) Porthos. D'Artagnan would have been the fourth Musketeer if there was such a thing.
Tagged: The Man in the Iron Mask, Alexander Dumas, Randall Wallace, Gabriel Byrne, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jeremy Irons, Gerard Depardieu, John Malkovich, Golden Raspberry
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Celebrating the ICC's 10 years of fighting impunity
By Anjie Zheng
Ten years ago, the International Criminal Court became the world’s first permanent international tribunal, dedicated to investigating and prosecuting those responsible for the most serious war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Since 2002, 121 countries, or nearly two-thirds of the United Nations General Assembly, have ratified the Rome Statute to become States Parties to the Court. The Court has carried out investigations in seven countries, undertaken 15 cases, and issued 20 arrest warrants. Among those sought are high-level individuals accused of orchestrating brutal policies of genocide, widespread rape, and use of child soldiers, including Joseph Kony of Uganda, Omar al-Bashir of Sudan and Muammar Gaddafi of Libya.
The current US engagement with and support for the Court reflects a positive shift in US-ICC relations. After the ICC issued its first verdict in March 2012, finding Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga Dyilo guilty of deploying child soldiers under age 15 in armed combat, the US government praised the verdict as historic. Additionally, President Obama established the US's first Atrocities Prevention Board, an interagency, high-level body on mass atrocity prevention, which met for the first time in April 2012. The ICC's tenth anniversary in 2012 underscores not only the progress of the Court, but also the increasing amount of international support for the Court's work.
The Court will use lessons learned from the Lubanga case to speed up and increase efficiency of ongoing and future cases, as Deputy Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda takes over as Chief Prosecutor on June 15, 2012. She will be the first female Prosecutor of the Court as well as the first Prosecutor from Africa.
To commemorate this milestone occasion, AMICC members will be hosting commemoration events across the country, as well as writing blog posts, Op-Eds and Letters to Editors to a variety of media outlets. Please contact us via Twitter or visit our website if you would like more information. For more information on global activities, please visit the ICC’s tenth anniversary website.
Closing Statements Begin in the Katanga and Ngudjolo Case, the ICC's Second
Germain Katanga listens to the OTP's closing statements in the Hague on May 15, 2012.
Photo credit: ICC-CPI
The Prosecutor began closing arguments in the case against alleged Congolese warlords Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui in Trial Chamber II of the ICC today. This is the second ICC case to reach this stage. It is the first case against two jointly accused defendants, and the first to deal with charges of sexual violence.
The defendants are co-charged with seven counts of war crimes and three counts of crimes against humanity allegedly committed against ethnic Hema in Bogoro, a village of the Congo's Ituri region, in February 2003. Katanga was the former commander of the Force de Resistance Patriotique en Ituri (FRPI); Ngudjolo the former leader of the Front des Nationalistes et Integrationnistes (FNI). Both militia were engaged in fighting against the rival Union des Patriotes Congolese (UPC) militia, led by recently convicted Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, in a conflict that devastated the resources-rich Ituri region.
In 2009, when the Katanga and Ngudjolo trial began, the Prosecutor noted it would be the final ICC trial regarding the Ituri conflict. The OTP indicated it would shift future focus to atrocities committed in the Kivu region. Following years of investigation, the OTP filed an arrest warrant application yesterday for Sylvestre Mudacumura, leader of one of the most active militia in the Kivu provinces. The application charged Mudacumura with five counts of crimes against humanity and nine counts of war crimes, including murder, rape, and torture.
Along with submitting an arrest warrant application yesterday, the OTP requested to add more charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes to the arrest warrant against Bosco Ntaganda. Ntaganda was co-accused in 2006 with Thomas Lubanga, yet remains at large.
After the Prosecution's closing arguments in the Katanga and Chui case, the Defense will make closing statements on May 21-23, 2012. The hearings may be viewed on the ICC's official YouTube channel.
ICC in the Media, Update #64
In the last several weeks the media has focused on a range of both old and new ICC situations. Of particular concern has been the ongoing dispute between the ICC and Libya over where Seif al-Islam, Gaddafi's son, should be tried. On a recent visit to Libya the ICC prosecutor learned that Libya has been carrying on its own investigation against Seif which has reportedly yielded "great" evidence. If Libya hopes to succeed in its appeal to have the case remain in Libya, it will have to demonstrate to the judges that it has sufficiently investigated the case and is capable of holding a fair and independent trial. Unfortunately for Libya, the ICC judges rejected its appeal as inadmissible. Representatives from Libya have reportedly insisted that they will continue to push for the trial to be held in Libya, and are continuing to actively investigate the case against Seif. Reportedly Libya's investigations are in "an advanced stage" and are expected to be completed shortly.
In other news, increasing violence and threat of violence in the Democtratic Republic of the Congo has lead to growing international pressure for the government to arrest Bosco Ntaganda and deliver him to the ICC. Recently Ntanganda reportedly mounted a rebellion against the Congolese army and has taken hold of two towns in the east. The government has not commented on how these events affect its ability or desire to arrest and extradite Ntaganda.
In the Kenya case, suspects Kenyatta and Muthaura applied to the judges of Trial Chamber V to postpone setting a date for their trial until their challenge to the court's jurisdiction is finally resolved by the Appeals Chamber. Also in the Kenya case, the East African Legislative Assembly reportedly recently adopted a motion urging the ICC to transfer the cases to the East African Court of Justice. Several days later the East Africa Community Summit resolved to extend the mandate of the EACJ to include crime against humanity, which it did not previously encompass. Critics of the move have pointed out that setting up the EACJ to deal with crimes against humanity would add years of extra delay at best, and at worst a total denial of justice. In the on-going Bemba trial, victim testimony is set to continue. To date there are reportedly 2,744 victims participating in the trial. Finally, the ICC has been closely monitoring the situation in Mali, and is continuing to investigate whether war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide have occurred. The Office of the Prosecutor has not yet determined whether a formal investigation into the matter will be opened. Photo credits: CNN, Capital FM.
Celebrating the ICC's 10 years of fighting impunit...
Closing Statements Begin in the Katanga and Ngudjo...
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Twenty years of trade: Canadians solidly support CETA in 2014; soundly opposed NAFTA in 1993
Two decades after Angus Reid Global first asked Canadians their opinions about the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the trade pact between Canada, the US and Mexico is still dividing Canadians.
However, they are more accepting of CETA, the proposed trade deal between Canada and the European Union. These are the results of public opinion surveys commissioned and conducted by Angus Reid Global.
The surveys asked Canadian adults their views in 1993 and 2014 about NAFTA, and about the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) in 2014. A majority (58%) opposed NAFTA two decades ago, while support for CETA is the majority view (68%) now.
Opinions on CETA:
Nearly seven-in-ten Canadians (68%) say they either strongly (25%) or moderately (43%) support CETA, the yet-to-be-concluded trade deal between Canada and the European Union. Just over one-in-ten (11%) either moderately (7%) or strongly (4%) oppose the pact.
A significant number of Canadians don’t offer an opinion in regards to CETA. In 1993, four per cent of Canadians responded that they were “unsure” about NAFTA. This is five times higher (22%) for CETA, reflecting the lack of public detail about this yet-to-be concluded agreement.
NAFTA: then and now
In 1993, the 58 per cent of Canadians surveyed were either strongly or moderately opposed to NAFTA. Of note, the ratio of strong opposition (39%) over moderate opposition (19%) was 2:1. By contrast, 39 per cent said they were either moderately or strongly supportive of the trade pact between Canada, the US and Mexico. Here, moderate support (26%) doubled strong support (13%).
Just over twenty years later, Canadians are more evenly divided on the benefits and/or harm caused by NAFTA. One-third (34%) say the trade pact has benefitted this country, and about the same number (31%) say it has hurt Canada. Slightly more respondents (35%) say it hasn’t had an impact on the country one way or the other.
Views are more polarized when analyzed by age. Canadians aged 18-34 are nearly twice as likely to point to the benefits of the trade deal as middle aged and older Canadians; middle aged and older Canadians are more likely to say NAFTA has hurt the country.
Competitiveness:
Regardless of their views on individual trade agreements, just over half (54%) of Canadians say their nation is “falling behind other countries” when it comes to international competitiveness, while 46 per cent say Canada is “keeping up with other countries and competing as well as we should be”. This national sentiment is generally mirrored regionally in BC, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada. Respondents in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba hold the inverse view.
Preferred Trading Partners:
When asked which countries or regions Canada should develop closer trade ties to in the future, Canadians put the EU, US and China at the top of their list (37%, 36% and 34% respectively), followed by India (18%), South and Central America (16%) and South East Asia (12%).
Respondents from British Columbia and the western provinces – Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba) were more inclined to look east to Asia Pacific trading partners. Atlantic Canada, Quebec and Ontario respondents preferred the Americas and European countries as trading partners.
Click here for detailed provincial results, charts, tables and methodology
Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA)FeaturedInternational TradeThe North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
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Johnson & Johnson faces more than 14,000 lawsuits claiming harm from its iconic talc products. (J&J)
Earlier this year, Johnson & Johnson disclosed that it had received federal subpoenas into its talcum powder products, but the company didn’t say whether the investigations were civil or criminal. Now, Bloomberg reports the company is under a criminal probe at the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Federal investigators are likely looking into whether the company misled the public with statements that its talc has always been asbestos-free, Bloomberg reports, citing legal experts. Amid a swell of talc litigation, documents from the 1960s and 1970s have surfaced showing J&J employees detected asbestos in the product and debated internally about how to respond.
J&J maintains there’s nothing new in the reporting, with a spokeswoman telling the publication it has “been fully cooperating with the previously disclosed DOJ investigation and will continue to do so.”
“Johnson’s Baby Powder does not contain asbestos or cause cancer, as supported by decades of independent clinical evidence,” she added, as quoted by the news service.
Investors saw things differently, sending the company’s shares down 5% Friday after the news. Bloomberg also reports a grand jury has been empaneled as part of the probe.
The company in February disclosed subpoenas from the DOJ, Securities and Exchange Commission and office of U.S. Senator Patty Murray. After a high-profile Reuters report last year that J&J’s talc has contained asbestos, Sen. Murray reached out to J&J CEO Alex Gorsky asking for answers.
As the federal and congressional investigations play out, J&J is also defending against thousands of lawsuits claiming the iconic product caused harm. While J&J has had success defending itself in many cases, juries have hit the company with billions of dollars in verdicts. In the case of each loss, J&J has said it’ll appeal. It’s succeeded in overturning every case that’s made it through appeals, a spokeswoman said last month.
FiercePharma: Pharma
Category: News Tags: criminal, faces, Johnson, over, probe, Report, statements, talc
← In Hawaii, Rat Lungworm Disease Infects People but Eludes Researchers Meet Robin, Stranger Things’ Newest and Best Character →
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Take Your Company From Idea to Seed Funding Under One Roof. Welcome to Startup Hall.
Techstars Seattle used to be located in the South Lake Union, surrounded by Amazon buildings, construction cranes, and food trucks. But in July, we cranked it up a notch, by moving into Startup Hall in the University District. Here is the story and vision behind Startup Hall and why this is the perfect marriage.
In the early beginnings of Startup Weekend in 2010 (Now UP Global) the passionate team lead by Marc Nager worked out of the same office as Founder’s Co-op and Techstars in Seattle’s South Lake Union. But as UP Global expanded, the team behind the success had to relocate. However, already at that point there was a mutual understanding that Founder’s Co-op, UP Global, and Techstars one day should share an office again. The three organisations are natural continuations of each other. Startup Weekend is where your idea is first tested, Startup Next (also by UP Global) helps turn your idea into a business, Techstars helps refine and accelerate your business, and Founder’s Co-op helps with Seed-funding. The three organisations are natural fits and the missions are aligned.
Fast forward to 2013. Chris Devore is invited to join The Economic Development Committee created by the Mayor and Seattle City Council in 2013 with the vision of “creating and maintaining an innovative economy”. On the committee is also Michael Young, President of University of Washington. When Chris and Michael compared notes, they started seeing an opportunity for establishing a partnership. Michael Young wanted to boost commercialization at the University of Washington, and Chris Devore, similarly, had the vision of creating a mini-ecosystem, where entrepreneurs could easily move from hatching an idea all the way to receiving funding. Chris envisioned an area with a high density of academic research, startups, and venture capital firms, not unlike that of his graduate school, Stanford.
Chris Devore, Dave Parker, Marc Nager and I knew we were taking a chance by moving Founder’s Co-op, UP Global, and Techstars away from South Lake Union, but the idea of becoming the first vertically integrated startup hub in the country, possibly the world, that caters to all stages of a business, was too good an opportunity to pass up. In only 8 months, Chris Devore, Dave Parker, Michael Young, and the University of Washington took it from idea to reality. The University of Washington really pushed its boundaries, and was incredibly helpful in making this happen. The University’s Real Estate department cleverly suggested using a, basically, vacated building on campus to create an entrepreneurship powerhouse - Startup Hall.
The 70’s brutalist style building isn’t an architectural gem, but like the startups that it will house, it is a diamond in the rough - a perfect space to get the job of generating the next generation of awesome companies to IPO in the Pacific Northwest. The space creates the perfect environment for startups, and even though it still needs the final touches, a lot has happened in a short amount of time. On the north side of the second floor, it is already buzzing with activity from UP Global and the new Techstars class, and on September 19, the south side of the floor will be rented out to startups.
This unique place will become a bridge between academic research and cutting edge technology, and the opportunities for cross-pollination of ideas creates a very powerful foundation for innovation. All thanks to Michael Young, Chris Devore, Marc Nager, Dave Parker and the University of Washington without whom, this vision would not have become reality.
- Andy
August 25, 2014 by Andy Sack.
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My Work, My Choice Rally
Posted by DSPN, Inc. on October 22, 2013 at 10:46am
Commuters during the morning, noon and night Wednesday will see a rally in Portage in front of Northwoods Inc. of Wisconsin. The My Work My Choice Rally is an effort to bring awareness to a proposed federal rule that would shift funding away from facilities, like Northwoods, that offer job skills training and employment for adults with disabilities.
The proposal from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid would halt Medicaid dollars from going to such programs, based on the argument that they discriminate against the disabled population in a segregated work environment.
"They're saying we're segregated, we don't feel we are, we're part of the community and it's a training place. I like to equate it to when people without disabilities graduate high school: they go on to a training program or college before they start their life's work," said Jeff Aerts. "Northwoods provides specialized training for adults that come out of the special education system and need to have opportunities to learn how to work in a competitive job. There are a lot of people that have been put in competitive employment because of us."
Aerts is the CEO and president of Northwoods, a non-profit facility.
The rally will be in front of Northwoods at N6510 Highway 51 at intervals from 8:30 to 10 a.m.; 11:30 to 12:30 p.m.; and 4 to 5:30 p.m. Free hot chocolate, coffee and cookies will be on site for people who stop at the rally and sign on to a group letter opposing the change. In case of cold weather there will be a canopy and heaters. There is also an "advocacy" tab on Northwoods website for the public to download a letter and send it. Rep. Keith Ripp will be in attendance at about noon, and staffer Camille Solberg will stand in for Sen. Ron Johnson at about 4 p.m.
Lisa Pugh, public policy coordinator for Disability Rights Wisconsin, is one of the groups in favor of the proposal. The office is based in Madison.
"Currently, our system supports an employment model that destines a person with a disability to a life of poverty and an on-going support significantly on Medicaid dollars. This rule says we want states to invest money in a different type of employment support that will allow them to be out in the community, in a more natural setting with people without disabilities because we think it's healthier for the people and an opportunity to earn a wage to reduce reliance on public funding," Pugh said. "The rule is literally about wanting people with disabilities to be in more integrated settings. But, what we're saying is that when people can earn a competitive wage in a community-based job they can use that money in the community, pay taxes, contribute to society in a number of ways and reduce reliance on Medicaid."
Read more AND comment here.
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Alexandria’s Environmental Action Plan
Alexandria seeks comments on its draft Environmental Action Plan, on 10 topics including tree canopy, climate change, energy conservation, air quality and reducing automobile dependency.
Drones in Fairfax County
On May 21, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved the Public Safety Unmanned Aircraft Systems program developed by staff for law enforcement and emergency management operations.
The Future of Claude Moore Park
The National Park Service (NPS), George Washington Memorial Parkway office, is undertaking a planning process to decide on the future of Claude Moore farm area of Turkey Run Park near McLean.
Elect Conservation-minded Officials
Virginians will elect the entire Virginia General Assembly this year and local officials in some jurisdictions. It’s important to elect candidates who support conservation and the environment. Primary elections to elect the candidates for the Democratic Party in all jurisdictions and for the Republican Party in some jurisdictions will be held on June 11. Information on the election and candidates can be found on the website for each county and city.
Fairfax County Community-Wide Energy and ...
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is developing an energy and climate action plan and expects to invite assistance from our local organizations, as Board Chair Sharon Bulova wrote to ASNV, “to encourage community engagement and input . . . it is encouraging that the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia is willing to assist in the creation of the plan.” The schedule and next steps have not been announced.
Fairfax County Community-Wide Energy and Climate Action Plan (CECAP)
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and School Board to Form Joint Environmental Task Force
On April 2, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and the Fairfax County School Board formed a joint task force to discuss ways to collaborate on initiatives related to climate and energy, called the Joint Environmental Task Force (JET). Members of both the Board of Supervisors and the School Board will serve on this committee.
Arlington County Adopts Bicycle Plan with ASNV Improvements
ASNV efforts succeeded in convincing Arlington County officials to alter plans for two proposed bike paths that would have run through designated conservation areas in Glencarlyn and Barcroft Parks.
Report Loggerhead Shrike Sightings
The loggerhead shrike, or butcher bird, has seriously declined over the last half century, with current numbers estimated to be only a quarter of what they were in 1966. The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF) is currently working to understand what is driving the decline.
Apply for ASNV Conservation Grants
Do you have a great idea for how to improve habitat for birds and other wildlife, but don’t have the funds to do it? Audubon Society of Northern Virginia can help your idea come true. We have budgeted $3,300 for conservation grants for this year, and applicants may apply for all or any part of the available funds.
On February 5, 2019 the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors met to consider whether to remove two proposed bike trails through Huntley Meadows Park in southeast Fairfax County from the County’s Comprehensive Plan and Bicycle Master Plan.
Oppose Development in Arlington County
Last month, ASNV sent comments to Arlington County staff (and Board members) on a proposed Bicycle Element to the County’s Master Transportation Plan. ASNV forcefully opposed two proposed off-street bike trails that would endanger natural resources in Glencarlyn and Barcroft Parks, including Moses Ball Spring, the associated creek to Long Branch Creek, and the globally significant Magnolia Bog. ASNV also opposed widening or adding lighting to the W&OD and Four Mile Run trails in natural areas of Glencarlyn and Bluemont Parks.
Attention Prince William County Members: We Need Your Help!
Prince William County is reviewing its Comprehensive Plan this year. The Comprehensive Plan is vitally important for county planning of amenities such as parks and natural recreation areas. The county has far less parkland per resident than is called for by its own standards, a situation that will only get worse as population increases.
Loggerhead Shrike Sightings
The loggerhead shrike, or butcher bird, has seriously declined over the last half century, with current numbers estimated to be only a quarter of what were in 1966. The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF) is currently working to understand what is driving the decline.
More Drones Coming
Fairfax County law enforcement and emergency management staff are drafting an operations manual for using drones in their work. ASNV is participating in the task force drafting the manual. Below is the schedule. ASNVers may wish to speak at some of the public meetings or submit comments.
ASNV Speaks Out for Arlington County Natural Areas
ASNV submitted comments to the Arlington County Board in December on the final draft of Arlington County’s Public Spaces Master Plan (PSMP), which will guide public-space decisions for the next 20 years. ASNV urged the Arlington County Board to consider making the PSMP more unambiguously reflect the need for preservation of natural resources in Arlington County and the need for expansion of natural areas for public benefit.
12 Things to Know About ASNV Conservation Actions
ASNV’s Annual Report, now online, reviews major activities from July 2017 through June 2018, underscoring that ASNV has had a very productive fiscal year.
A Greener Loudoun?
Loudoun County officials are updating the county’s comprehensive plan, a guiding land-use document.
More Native Plants and Habitat
At the initiation of Mount Vernon Supervisor Dan Storck, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on November 20th authorized consideration of a comprehensive plan amendment to include natural landscaping at county facilities in the county’s Policy Plan.
The New Congress
The November 6th election brought a change in party leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives in the 116th Congress. Many Washington observers predict that House committees will conduct more oversight of federal-agency actions.
Localities Request Legislation
Every year, area jurisdictions prepare requests for legislation that they send to the Virginia General Assembly.
Keeping Drones Under Control
ASNV is participating in a Fairfax County drone task force, called the Public Safety Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Task Force, led by the Office of Emergency Management, which is reviewing practices for use of these systems and focusing on how to “effectively and safely implement a UAS program” in the county.
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NYPD Officer Will Not Face Federal Criminal Charges In Eric Garner's Death
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The Jewish Agency / Jewish Social Action / Fund For The Victims Of Terror / Fund For The Victims Of Terror
The Jewish Agency for Israel ©
To contribute by phone in the US: 1 (212) 318-6105
For program support in Israel: +972-3-762 8372 or 8373
The Jewish Agency's Fund for the Victims of Terror offers assistance to individuals and families in Israel who suffer hardship as a result of a terror attack or other national crisis. It offers two categories of assistance: immediate, emergency financial grants to families who have been affected by terror in the past 48 hours, to help them immediately replace damaged material necessities; and grants given in the months or years after an attack, to help victims overcome trauma and establish skills for success. Assistance is coordinated with the government of Israel to avoid duplication of services, and to complement the limited funds provided by government agencies.
After a terror attack, victims and their families often need funds quickly to rebuild what they have lost. The Jewish Agency For Israel helps them fast, providing immediate, direct assistance so that they can start the process of healing – often within 24 hours. The Fund has helped hundreds of Israeli families. Please join us in providing comfort for those whose lives are suddenly overturned by trauma. With your help we can ease their recovery and help them move on.
The Jewish Agency for Israel North American Council is a tax-exempt public charity in the United States under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by U.S. law.
Taking kids out of Gaza rocket range
Giving kids respite from the explosions: one day at a time
Jewish Agency aid helps family after rocket hit
A Sderot family was devastated by a direct rocket strike on their home
Toulouse: One Year After
'We cannot bring back your family, but we must learn a serious lesson from the attack'
Collective pledge against terror
Professor Judea Pearl, father of slain journalist Daniel Pearl, speaks to The Jewish Agency
Agency Aids Old City Stabbing Victim
Funds are 'a symbol of solidarity between Jews worldwide and those who are victims of terror in
From Victim to Healer
Tamar Amar-Polak, 28, was once a recipient of Jewish Agency services for victims of terror. Now, she
An Orphan With 300 Mothers
Approximately 300 children ages 6-16 participated over 10 days in the annual summer camp organized
Meeting with Victims of Terror
The Jewish Agency met with several victims of terror and their families in the past week to give
The Jewish Agency Responds to Terror
An Emotional Meeting with a Terror Victim’s Elderly Mother and Israel’s President, Reuven Rivlin
Terror Strikes Our Family
Last week’s terror attack, at a bar in the heart of Tel Aviv, was a tragedy that struck close to
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Tag: paintings
From Richard Mulholland
[Author Richard Mulholland will give a lecture on Ferdinand Bauer and his colour code at the Weston Library on 3 June at 1 pm]
With the end of the annual RHS Chelsea Flower show on Saturday, and the masses returning to their own English gardens inspired, it’s worth looking back to the 18th century, to the golden age of botanical exploration and to an artist who was arguably the finest botanical painter in history, Ferdinand Bauer. Now the Bodleian’s Conservation Research department are helping to unravel his meticulous and unusual painting technique.
Ferdinand Bauer, Iris Germanicus, watercolour on paper (MS. Sherard 245/70) © Bodleian Library, University of Oxford 2015
Outside of the natural sciences, Bauer (1760-1826), is little known. However, along with his equally talented brother Franz, he is certainly known to botanists. He has been called ‘the Leonardo of botanical illustration’, and is known in particular for the beauty and accuracy of his illustrations of flowers. Nowhere is this seen more clearly than in the paintings he made for the exquisite Flora Graeca, one of the most rare and expensive publications of the 18th century, and certainly one of the greatest botanical works ever produced.
Unprecedented in the quality of its illustrations, its printing and its attention to naturalistic detail, the Flora Graeca described the flowers of Greece and the Levant, and was published in ten lavishly-printed volumes between 1806 and 1840, purchased by an elite list of only 25 subscribers. It was the legacy of the third Professor of Botany at Oxford University, John Sibthorp (1758-1796) who funded much of the endeavour out of his own funds. Sibthorp met Bauer in Vienna in 1786, and immediately engaged him to join his expedition to collect and record specimens, and ultimately to paint the almost 1500 watercolours of plants and animals he sketched on his return to Oxford in 1787.
James Sowerby (after Ferdinand Bauer), Frontispiece [Mons Parnassus] for The Flora Graeca, 1806-40, hand coloured engraving (MS. Sherard 761). © Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, 2015
What is of interest to us however is that Bauer used a particularly unusual technique to record his specimens in the field.
Bauer is exceptional among travelling botanical artists for the unusual techniques he employed for recording colour. He certainly observed and sketched live specimens, but he did not annotate these sketches with colour in the field as other artists did. Rather, subject to the limitations of working in the field – moving from place to place quickly in often difficult territory, and unable to carry large amounts of painting materials with him, he made only very basic outline sketches in pencil on thin paper.
He recorded the vital colour information, lost almost immediately after a specimen had been picked by annotating these with a series of numerical colour codes which likely referred directly to a painted colour chart, now lost. That Bauer’s paintings were created using only this colour reference system during his 6 years in Oxford, painting them sometimes up to five years after seeing the original plants, and that they are highly regarded even today for their botanical accuracy, speaks to his expertise as an artist and his astonishing memory for colour.
Page from sketchbook for Iris Germanicus showing numerical colour codes, graphite pencil on paper, 1786-7 (MS. Sherard 247/107). © Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, 2015
More pertinently, Ferdinand Bauer (and to a lesser extent his brother Franz) appear to be the only significant natural history artists to have used this kind of colour code in a practical way. Numerical codes of up to 140 different colour tones are found on early drawings by both Bauers from the 1770s. However, where Ferdinand seems to have continued to develop this initial system of some 140 colours into one of at least 273 colours for the Flora Graeca (and from then into a considerably more complex system of 1000 colours for a later expedition to Australia in 1801-5 – though how he could have used this practically is anybody’s guess), Franz Bauer, who was by then official botanical painter to Joseph Banks at the Botanical gardens at Kew, did not did not appear to use the system after he came to London in the late 1780s. Ferdinand of course, spent a significant amount of his time working in the field, and therefore much more in need of a system of shorthand than his brother. However, it’s interesting to note that no other travelling botanical artist used such a system to the extent that Bauer did.
An early colour chart (below) that appears likely to have been used by the brothers was found in 1999 at the Madrid Botanical Gardens, but Ferdinand Bauer’s 273 colour chart from the Sibthorp expedition and the 999 colour chart he may have used for the Matthew Flinders expedition to Australia, if they ever existed, have never been discovered.
Colour chart (c.1770s) discovered in the Archives of the Botanical Gardens in Madrid in 1999, and likely to have been used by the Bauer brothers © Archivo del Real Jardín Botánico, CSIC, Madrid.
This fact, however, presents a unique opportunity for us to carry out technical research into Bauer’s materials. The Conservation Research department at the Bodleian Libraries together with the Plant Sciences Department at the University are working on a three year Research project on Bauer’s techniques, funded by a Leverhulme Trust Research Project Grant. Collaborating with the V&A, Durham University and the University of Northumbria the project aims to understand what the Flora Graeca colour chart may have looked like, and how Bauer might have used it. A large part of the project involves identifying the pigments used by Bauer in his magnificent Flora Graeca watercolours, cross reference these results with the numerical codes in his field sketches, and ultimately create a historically-accurate reconstruction of the lost colour chart.
Professor Andy Beeby from Durham University setting up a portable Raman spectrometer to analyse red pigments used on one of Bauer’s paintings © Bodleian Library, University of Oxford
How will we do this? Often it is permitted to remove a minute sample of paint from a work of art in order to identify the material components. However this is rarely possible with works of art on paper, and is most certainly not possible for one of the treasures of the Bodleian’s collection! The work therefore is carried out in situ, bringing portable instruments to the object itself, rather than the other way around. For this we currently use three analytical techniques at Oxford: Raman spectroscopy, X-ray Fluoresce spectroscopy (XRF) and Hyperspectral imaging (Imaging spectroscopy).
Durham and Northumbria Universities have particular expertise in Raman Spectroscopy of cultural heritage objects, and Durham has built a portable instrument that is capable of positively identifying many of the pigments that Bauer used. The V&A Conservation Science section has a long history of collaborating with universities on technical research, and also has a great deal of expertise in Raman spectroscopy and its use in identifying pigments on artists’ watercolours.
In addition to the excitement of recreating Bauer’s lost colour chart, the project showcases the value of technical art history, a relatively new field that encompasses both scientific analysis and historical research into the materials and methods of the artist. It will go some way toward an understanding of Bauer’s extraordinary feel for colour and pigment, how he utilised his colour code, and ultimately how he was able to achieve such an impressive degree of colour fidelity in his work.
As we progress with the project, and as we learn more about Bauer’s materials and techniques, I’ll post again with more results. But should you find yourself in Oxford before September, a copy of both the Flora Graeca, and Bauer’s original illustrations for it are on display in the Marks of Genius exhibition at Bodleian’s Weston Library.
Author Andrew BonniePosted on May 27, 2015 Categories Conservation, Manuscripts, Rare books, Visiting FellowsTags graphic arts, paintings3 Comments on Colouring by numbers: botanical art techniques investigated
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« How Are You Really Feeling? | Main | Musical Interlude »
Getting Into the Reading Zone
By Anthony Rebora on March 6, 2010 1:18 PM
Live from the Celebration of Teaching and Learning, New York
I just got back from a talk by Nancie Atwell, a 7th and 8th grade English teacher at nonprofit demonstration school in Maine and author of The Reading Zone, among other books. Atwell told the story of a former student of hers named Mike, an 8th grader who'd been transplanted to her school from California (apparently after a divorce) and who had severe ADHD. When Mike arrived in Atwell's class, he had very little interest in reading and writing--indeed had indicated on a start-of-the year survey that he was a "bad" reader and hadn't read a single book in the previous year. But over the course of the year, while he continued to struggle as a student, he become an adept and engaged writer and reader. He read 26 books, and completed dozens of writing projects--some of which (as presented by Atwell) were extremely clever and well-done. She saw his growth as one of her "small victories" as an teacher.
So what was Atwell's secret? She claims it was simply--or maybe not so simply--a matter of putting the power of independent reading and creative expression at Mike's disposal. She encouraged him to write in a variety of forms--poems, memoirs, movie reviews, parodies--about topics that interested him. (Along the way, she says, "He discovered he could be funny in print"--which she calls a major turning point for many middle school writers.) Meanwhile, she led him to young adult novels that might interest him (staring with one about baseball) and gave him "time to get lost in good stories" in a community of other student readers. This approach, she contends, was more important than plying him with comprehension, decoding, and meta-cognition strategies. As standardized tests show, she said, "the best student readers are the students who read the most." You don't want to discourage the practice, in other words.
With reference to a poem by William Stafford, Atwell described the power of reading and self-expression as a "thread" that language arts teachers must hang on to, despite the doubts of administrators and policymakers. "If we trust in the power in the reading, writing, and our students humanity," she said, "we can never be lost."
Celebration of Teaching and Learning
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Home Unlabelled Lola rennt (1998) Directed by Tom Tykwer
Lola rennt (1998) Directed by Tom Tykwer
Actually I can see very well how someone could watch this movie nowadays and say; so what? By today's standards, it's still being a very original movie but nothing that comes across as anything revolutionary. But you perhaps more need to put this movie and its perspective and go back to 1998 to see and realize how revolutionary and fresh this movie was at the time that it got made at.
The storytelling and its overall style is the main reason why this movie works out and why it's also such a refreshing one. You could say that it's visual style, with its camera-work and editing, inspired many later movies, especially within the action genre, even though this movie by itself is not an action movie.
It's a fast paced movie, that yet feels a lot longer than its 81 minutes. It's because this movie has 3 stories, with each a beginning, a middle and an end to it. These 3 stories however are also all about the same. Basically it's 3 times the same story, each with some minor difference to it, that eventually change the outcome of the story. It doesn't always feel very natural how one small thing can change the faith and outcome of certain people and events but it at least is fun to watch all.
The movie also did another thing; it launched Franka Potente's career. And really, she also is the heart and soul of this movie and mostly has to carry the movie on her own. She did a great job with all of it and her performance is worthy of all the praise.
A very refreshing and even revolutionary German movie, that helped to change cinema.
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The Liberal Democrats march to the sound of gunfire
As the phony election campaign drags on -and on- a huge number of new pollsters from around the world are descending like flies onto the carcass of the 54th Parliament of the United Kingdom. Polls are being published on a daily interval. Like many things these days it seems to be a case of a lot of data but very little information. We still don't feel that we have a very strong sense of what the result of the vote is going to be. Mostly, this is a function of the way the current electoral system warps the result, so that topping the popular vote does not necessarily mean having the largest number of MPs.
Nevertheless the polls are becoming consistent in a few features: Labour is behind- sometimes, it appears, substantially behind- the Conservatives. The Tories are consistently polling at above a third of the electorate, while the Labour Party consistently polls below this, and sometimes not much more than a quarter of the vote. Indeed the pattern is so consistent for so long, it is hard to read the runes in any other way than to forecast that Labour are headed for a thumping the like of which they have not seen since the 1980s.
However, there is another factor to consider, and this is what is making the overall outcome apparently unpredictable. The 1950s saw the two party system reach its zenith, with high turn outs and over 90% voting either Conservative or Labour. It was at this time that we could talk of governments gaining a majority- i.e. more than 50% of the vote- rather than, as now, a plurality- i.e. merely being the largest party. Indeed the fall in support for either Conservative or Labour is one of the most consistent changes over the course of the last ten elections. This is where the distortions of the electoral system become most obvious. Margaret Thatcher could gain a Parliamentary majority of 43 on a vote of 43.9% in 1979. In 1997, however, Tony Blair could get a Parliamentary majority of 179 on just a slightly smaller share of the vote, 43.2%. Indeed in 2005, Mr. Blair could still hold a larger Parliamentary majority- of 67- than Margaret Thatcher gained in 1979, on only 35.3% of the vote.
All of which is to say that the proportion of the vote matters less than the distribution. In Scotland, the Liberal Democrats do proportionately much better than the Conservatives, because the Liberal Democrat vote has historically been concentrated into certain regions, while that of the Conservatives is more evenly disseminated across the country.
So where is this leading?
Well, although many opinion polls should be taken with a whole cart load of salt, it does mean that there comes a critical point where parties can either win or lose a large number of seats on very small changes in the overall vote. There is the possibility that Labour may be in danger of getting into this position now. Although the surprise of the phony campaign has been how resilient Labour has been in the face of the multiple economic heart attacks now afflicting the UK, the story of the campaign itself could be remarkably different.
A reason for this is that one recent, but consistent, trend in the polls is that it looks very much like the Liberal Democrats are going to enter the 2010 campaign at virtually the same level as they finished the 2005 general election: 22.1%. Why is this significant? Firstly, the party nearly always benefits from the greater exposure that fair broadcasting rules allow it once the official campaign gets under way. The fact is that this election we will finally see debates between the party leaders with the Liberal Democrats getting equal billing with Labour and Conservatives. This can only benefit the Liberal Democrats- short of some unlikely utter debacle- simply by showing Nick Clegg to the British electorate in the same light as his party political rivals, Gordon Brown and David Cameron.
So, if the Lib Dems enter the campaign roughly where they finished in 2005, then the party can look forward to an increased level of voter support in 2010. This is not what punters have been forecasting ever since Charles Kennedy was forced to step down just over four years ago.
That begins to make the General Election of 2010 very interesting indeed. The party high command has been extremely astute about the way in which the inevitable "hung Parliament" question- who would you support?- has been finessed. The majority of commentators still cling to the 1950s idea that the ideological battle in British politics ultimately comes down to a choice between old left and old right. They assume that the Liberal Democrats are centrist in this battle, but spend most of their time trying to get an answer to the forced choice question: "are you closer to left or right?". They generally do not understand that the answer is "neither": we oppose the very basis of the question, and with it the two party system that it has created. By saying that -in any event- the choice lies with the voters, not the parties, the Liberal Democrats can now move on to actually discussing why their policies are better- which is what the forced choice question has always stopped them from doing before.
Socialism as a political ideology is bankrupt and has been since at least the end of the Cold War. Tony Blair was only able to win power for his party because he transformed it from being a labour movement representing trade unions to being a vaguely progressive coalition of different social movements. The combination of his own failures in office, not least the Iraq war- and the later advent of Gordon Brown, whose sympathies remained more Socialist, has meant the breakdown of the Blair coalition. Those votes are up for grabs. This is why David Cameron has attempted, only partially successfully, to appeal to former members of Blair's progressive coalition. The problem is that the Conservative brand- indeed the Cameron background- remains unpopular with large parts of the former Blair coalition. It is not the issue of being public school educated- everyone knew that Tony Blair went to Fettes. It is the attitudes of afterwards, and the disconnect between the "Bullingdon" issues plus the Cameron PR background which makes many voters doubt the sincerity of Mr. Cameron's "New Man" credentials (which is why the apparent air-brushing in his poster was such a catastrophe).
So, in fact the 2010 election is turning into a real thriller. Socialism is dead, Brown a liability. Yet Cameron is still seen as insincere and the Conservatives no longer have the novelty interest that they had. Meanwhile the Liberal Democrats vote share could get to the point where they make major rapid progress against both parties, but particularly against Labour.
On the eve of the campaign itself, after the absurd months of the phony campaign, the party is in good heart and ready for the fight. The feedback we are getting from our most winnable seats across the country is very positive. The organisation is in generally very good shape, and money and support is flowing in to the party at an historically high level.
The result could even be beyond our wildest hopes.
2010 election Liberal Democrats Liberalism
Labels: 2010 election Liberal Democrats Liberalism
Joe Kay said…
Grimmond's phrase was marching toward the sound of gunfire. Marching to the sound of gunfire means something slightly different.
Newmania said…
Chris said…
Dear Cicero,
My name is Chris Henry, I'm a reporter from Winkball.com, a video based communication
website, we would like to interview you and get your opinions on the upcoming election. Currently, Winkball is running a campaign called 'Do you know who you're voting for?' It offers every MP/PPC to tell their constituents why they should vote for them.
http://www.winkball.com/users/Election2010/
We are also interviewing political commentators, bloggers, campaigners and high profile individuals:
http://www.winkball.com/walls/Election2010/political_commentato/44801/
http://www.winkball.com/walls/Election2010/political_campaigner/
We would like to add your opinions on the upcoming election.
Chris Henry
Correspondent Corp.
Waterside House
9 Woodfield Road
London W9 2BA
Email:election2010@winkball.com
Reception: +44 20 8962 3030
mattydug said…
loved cable asking the treasury for a meet, had 20 mins and spun it into major story.
all politicians really are the same but that is the way we do politics.
see that the libs have nothing on public debt on their website.
do you think cable will commit?
Not a good name...
Barely worth a mention...
The Taken
Russia begins to rattle
Vince Cable for Chancellor
The Liberal Democrats march to the sound of gunfir...
Calling Time for Parliament
Trading Down
Stands Scotland where it did?
Perth: the Fairer City
Back in the Fair City
A Matter of Trust
What's the big idea?
Taking a Pounding
No Notes but Nothing to Say
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Mary J. Blige Interview THE HELP
by Christina Radish August 10, 2011
The Help, adapted from the best-selling novel of the same name, is one of those films that makes you laugh and cry, and then think of the Oscars. The performances are terrific from everyone, the story is both heartwarming and heartbreaking, and the music is perfectly complimentary. Multiple Grammy Award-winning recording artist Mary J. Blige contributed to the score by writing and recording the original end-credit song, “The Living Proof,” after she was touched when she saw an early screening of the film. Inspired by the women in the story, she was moved by the celebration of courage and wanted to help get the film’s message out to audiences.
At the film’s press day, music superstar Mary J. Blige, who has sold over 50 million albums in her career, talked about how easily the end-credits song for The Help came from her emotional reaction to the film, how she hopes the song gets recognized come award season, the secret to sustaining a 20-year career in the music industry, how she keeps her live performances fresh and exciting for each audience, and how she is finishing up her next album, My Life II: The Journey Continues. She also talked about her desire to do more acting, her upcoming role in the highly anticipated Rock of Ages, opposite Tom Cruise and Julianne Hough, and how she would like her career to follow in the footsteps of Queen Latifah, whose proven that you can do it all. Check out what she had to say after the jump:
Here’s the film’s synopsis:
At the dawn of the Civil Rights movement, 22-year-old Skeeter (Emma Stone) has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss and her mother just won’t be happy until she finds a husband. Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis), a wise African-American maid and caretaker suffers after the loss of her only child. And Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer), Aibileen’s sassy best friend, has a reputation as the best cook in Mississippi, but struggles to find and hold a job. Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. Through it all, a remarkable sisterhood emerges from their improbable alliance, instilling all of them with the courage to transcend the lines that define them, and the realization that sometimes those lines are made to be crossed.
Question: How did you get involved with The Help? Were you brought in to specifically write a song for the film, or did you wait to decide that until you saw the film?
MARY J. BLIGE: I was brought in specifically to write a song. I was asked to see a screening first, and I saw it twice. I began to write different things down, when I saw the movie. I wrote down when I cried, I wrote when I laughed, I wrote when someone said something, and I wrote different things that jumped out at me. The film and television department at my label asked me to do it, and of course my management asked me to do it. I loved the movie. I cried really hard, I laughed really hard, I got angry, and I went through all kinds of different things. I typed all those things into my phone, and by the time I got to the studio to write the song, it was almost basically written.
Being from New York, how aware were you about what went on in the South during this time period?
BLIGE: Both sides of my family are from Savannah, Georgia, and my aunt was a maid. We used to go down South every summer, and she was the maid for a wealthy white family. I remember her bringing the children to my grandmother’s house to play with us, and I remember the family loving her. I don’t know if she had to use the bathroom outside or anything like that, but I know the family loved her. Just like Aibileen in the movie, she would encourage them. Whatever she would say to them, it helped them through college. They’re grown people now.
What most impressed you with the performances in The Help?
BLIGE: What most impressed me was Aibileen’s courage and Minnie’s strategic plays. At a time like that, they didn’t think she was that smart to use the shit-pie as leverage to get out of that stuff. She was very strategic. All the women did great.
Was this the first time you’ve written a song specifically for a film?
BLIGE: No, this is actually the second one that I wrote that was tailor-made for a film. It’s just that this one is a real situation where it’s being placed where they said it was going to be placed. The first time was Precious.
What was the biggest challenge in writing this particular song?
BLIGE: The only obstacle was me trying not to be literal. I didn’t want to call the song, “You Are Smart, You Are Kind, You Are Important.” I didn’t want to call it, “Chicks that Stick Together.” That was the challenge. The challenge was, “What is it?” So, when Aibileen was fired and walking up the road, I just saw that her journey was going to be long because that was such a long walk she had. She was by herself and she had come to a conclusion that, “I’m free and I’m a writer, so I can speak to my people.” She’s the living proof. She’s proof that you can come out of something terrible and still have the rest of your life ahead of you.
With the state of record companies and record sales, is writing songs for movies the way to go?
BLIGE: Nowadays, with the state of the music business, for any artist, whether you’re up-and-coming or you’ve been in it for awhile, you have to explore different revenues and different ways of expressing yourself. Because this one is closing in and is becoming a place where it’s not about your talent, but it’s about you being a needle in a haystack, or how skinny or fat you may be, or how light or dark you are. It’s really that intense, in this music business, and so many artists don’t get a fair shot because they might be too heavy or too dark. I’m not a writer for movies. This was just a blessing that fell in my lap, just like Precious was a blessing that fell in my lap. I wasn’t beating someone’s door down, saying, “I’ve gotta write a song for your movie.” This is a beautiful thing because all the businesses are suffering, so you can’t just look at it like, “Well, what about me?” You have to look at it like, “Okay, what else can I do?,” so that I’m not beating down someone’s door that don’t want me in. The music business is really, really small. The real music is becoming almost extinct, if you don’t stay true to who you are. This is me staying true to who I am, and this is a place where I actually get a chance to continue to flourish as the artist that I am. A great story in music is missing these days. We’ve got a couple. Adele has got a good story, and that’s what people want. From the beginning to the end, what’s going to happen? By the end, you’re cheering for her.
Is that why you think your career has lasted 20 years now? Is your secret that you know what your story is?
BLIGE: Yes.
Is it easier for you, as a writer, to determine ahead of time what you’re going to write about for an album, rather than trying to figure out what you want to say, song by song?
BLIGE: It’s easier to know what you’re going to do. You have to have a plan. Everything has to be planned. For me, I start with the title of my album, before I even start with the songs. My album is called My Life II: The Journey Continues. And then, it’s about, “What do I want this album to say?” I write down different things that I want it to say, and then the songs come from the different words. You’ve gotta have something to draw from.
When you’ve been in this business as long as you have and you tour all the time, is there something that you do for yourself to keep the performance fresh and exciting for each audience?
BLIGE: You have to create different things, either through lighting or changing the format of the songs and how you’re going to sing them, and even sometimes props. I can go out raw with nothing and my fans would still be happy, but I feel that I owe it to them to give them almost like a Broadway musical, at this point in my life. I have to give them something more, so I do have to think of different ways to do it.
What’s next for you, career wise? Do you want to do more acting?
BLIGE: Yeah, I’m trying some of that. I’m studying really hard. I have my acting coaches and I’m getting better. I don’t know what else is going to come of it, but I’m definitely going to try it.
What is your next acting project?
BLIGE: I’m doing Rock of Ages. That’s going to be fun.
How has it been to prepare for that?
BLIGE: That’s fine. Preparing is just like preparing for anything. I have to find out who this character is. I play a Gentleman’s Club owner, whose name is Justice Charlier. I have to put together who she is. Does she have struggles? Is she going through things? Is she the person that’s always bubbly and strong, but with the most problems? That’s the inner work. So, I have an acting coach and I’m reading books on acting.
Do you have any scenes with Tom Cruise?
BLIGE: I don’t know. I think we have a singing scene together – all of us.
Are you going to coach him with his singing?
BLIGE: I don’t have to coach Tom. He actually sounds really good. He can do anything.
Who are most of your scenes with?
BLIGE: The lead character – Ryan Seacrest’s girlfriend, Julianne Hough. Most of my scenes are with her.
When do you start working on that?
BLIGE: I start filming July 25th, for about three weeks.
What was it like to have the live theater experience?
BLIGE: I did the Off-Broadway play The Exonerated, and I played Sunny. It was good. I was nervous at first, but once I got into the character, by the time I was done, I wanted to kill myself. I’m serious. It was that much of a depressing role. I really didn’t want to live anymore, and I didn’t understand it, but I think it was Sunny’s character. She went to jail for nothing, for 20 years. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and she had to find the light in such a dark situation. It was about different people that were exonerated and it was the stories of everyone else that were making me depressed. Guys were going to prison and getting raped. It was just crazy.
Would you do it again?
BLIGE: I wouldn’t do The Exonerated again, but I’d do Broadway again.
Are there any singers turned actresses that you’re inspired by and would love to follow the trajectory of their career?
BLIGE: Queen Latifah – that’s it. And, I’m shocked at Justin Timberlake right now.
Do you think this business forces you to make a choice between music and acting?
BLIGE: I think Justin might be loving the acting part of it. I love the music part of it. It’s my baby and my first love. I just want to do this, but do a little of that. Music is where my love is. I don’t think the acting thing is going to start outweighing that, but I think it’s going to start being a good chunk of something I want to do.
Would you like to do a full-blown comedy?
BLIGE: I think I could do comedy.
Have you ever done comedy?
BLIGE: No, but my friends know me for being funny.
Do you have any touring plans?
BLIGE: No, I’m just finishing the album.
When is the album coming out?
BLIGE: Supposedly, October 4th, but I’m trying to get this project right. Based on the title alone, it has to be right. The very first My Life album is just everybody’s favorite, not that I’m trying to beat that first one, ‘cause I can’t.
What was the inspiration for calling this album My Life II?
BLIGE: The fact that we survived My Life. After that album, we were all ready to die. We were ready to jump off a building. Anything to get up off this Earth, we were ready to do. We were very down and depressed. On this one, not only did we learn, but we learned how to regroup and survive. Not that we’re not going to have trials and tribulations or issues, or things like that, that need to be addressed, but now it’s about how to get out of them. I believe there should be no more drama, but it’s everywhere you go. It’s just about how you get out. You’ve gotta bob and weave because it’s everywhere. How do I keep the drama low? It’s about using your head.
Do you hope your song for The Help gets recognized come award season?
BLIGE: I hope so! It would be okay, if it gets nominated. I’m not going to say that I don’t want it to happen. I want it to happen. I really do.
Are there any other musical artists that you would like to collaborate with or do another cover of?
BLIGE: Right now, at the top of my list is Anita Baker, who is a really good friend and almost an angel to my career. I did something with Bono and U2 already. That was a dream come true.
What was it like to work with Anita Baker on your BET Awards performance?
BLIGE: She’s so humble. She’s one of the people in the music industry, out of the older generation, that’s not mean. Patti [LaBelle] is sweet, too. Patti and Anita are just very, very sweet people. They just have a youthful spirit and they’re very humble. Anita just kept saying, “I’m thankful. I’m grateful.” I was like, “Stop bowing. You’re the reason why I’m standing here, right now. It’s your song, ‘Caught Up in the Rapture,’ that I sang at the Galleria Mall that I gave to (record executive) Andre Harrell.” She’s beautiful.
What’s it like to have so many young people look up to you, in the way that you look up to Anita Baker?
BLIGE: It’s beautiful. It’s the real blessing. They like you, so you have to like you. You’ve just got to show them that you love them and you want them to move on and end up, 20 years from now, having to open their arms and embrace a younger generation. Whatever you want them to be, you have to be an example. When I met Ashanti, a long time ago, I just opened my arms and held her because I knew what I was to her. When I met Beyonce or Alicia Keys, or any of the girls, I’ve always been smart enough and loving enough and thankful enough to know that I’m an inspiration to them, so why would I be mean or nasty to them?
Do you mentor anyone in the younger generation?
BLIGE: No, I’m not mentoring anyone. If they called me or asked me a question or needed my help, I would do that, but I’m not a mentor. I have a foundation, where I mentor girls. I have a center in Yonkers, where I grew up, called the Mary J. Blige Center for Women. There’s a GED program there, there’s a child care system that takes care of their children when they’re trying to get jobs, there’s a computer room, we’re going to put a fitness center there too, and stuff like that. We’ve already sent 25 women to college on four-year scholarships, and we’re set up to send 25 more women. We’re a baby in this, but that’s my mentorship.
When the What’s the 411? album came out, did you have a vision that you would still be in this business, 20 years later, or do you just feel blessed to be at this point?
BLIGE: I always knew. No, I’m just kidding. I didn’t have a clue. During the What’s the 411? album, it was a big blur. Right now, I’m so thankful. It does not have to be this way. I don’t have to be here right now, and still be relevant to the new generation. It’s just crazy.
How long do you see yourself doing it?
BLIGE: For a little while longer. When it’s over, it’s over, but it’s not over yet. I don’t know. I’m not going to put a number on it. People can say, “Oh, we love you. We need you. We want you.” When it shifts, you know. When that happens, I’m hoping that my entrepreneurial side will have me at a place where I don’t have to do anything. That’s what I’m striving for.
Morgan Freeman to Play Despised Ex-Magician in NOW YOU SEE ME
Eddie Murphy to Voice HONG KONG PHOOEY
• Entertainment • Interview • Mary J. Blige • Movie • Rock of Ages • The Help
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JET STREAM SHIFT MET OFFICE PAUL HOMEWOOD UK DROUGHT FORECAST 2012 UK SUMMER FORECAST 2012
Paul Homewood: Met Office’s Private Briefing Document For The Environment Agency
Tuesday, April 9th 2013, 3:27 PM EDT
Here is part of a great blog from Paul Homewood concerning the Met Office’s Private Briefing Document For The Environment Agency....below is his section on the location of the Jet Stream, regular readers of Piers Corbyn would know the answer to this issue....
Following the wet summer in the UK last year, the Met Office provided the Environment Agency with a briefing document, giving an overview of the weather. This was discussed at the September Board Meeting of the Environment Agency, which Met Office officials attended.
As far as I know, this document, which I obtained through FOI, has never entered the public domain. It is brutally honest in admitting how little the Met’s scientists understand about what affects our climate, and, in particular, what caused the unusual weather last year. This is in stark contrast to many of the hyped up claims, made in public statements in the recent past by, among others, the Met Office themselves.
The full document is reproduced below, but there are four particular areas I wish to focus on.
....2) Jet Stream Changes
It is now well known that that last year’s wet weather, (and the drought that preceded it), was the result of changes in the position of the jet stream. The Briefing Document has this to say:-
What is causing this summer’s wet weather?
The jet stream has been displaced southwards compared to its climatological summertime position. The jetstream is the fast-moving ‘river’ of air at altitudes of around 30,000ft which forms in the mid-latitudes at the boundary between the cold air surrounding the poles and the much warmer air in the tropics. It usually runs from west to east, and acts to develop and steer the low pressure systems which are responsible for much of the UK’s rain. On average, these systems pass to the northwest of the UK, and hence northwestern parts of the UK – particularly higher ground such as in Western Scotland and Cumbria – receive the most rain.
However, when the jetstream dips to the south of the UK, the distribution of rainfall is skewed away from the climatological average, and southern areas can see periods of significantly above average rainfall and associated higher risk of river and surface water flooding. Not only do the low pressure systems steer across southern areas, but the following factors act to increase the risk of heavy rain and flooding:
· different prevailing wind direction means that different windward slopes will be subject to enhanced rainfall
· the frequent southerly to easterly component to the airflow means that warm, thundery air from the near Continent may be drawn towards the UK, increasing the potential for heavy rainfall
· fronts are more likely to become slow-moving, giving persistent rain in some areas
· between the low pressure systems themselves, the dominant low-pressure (‘cyclonic’) environment is conducive to formation of heavy showers during summer. Again, these may be slow-moving, with an increased risk of intense downpours and surface water flooding.
Low pressure systems of this nature are unusual in summer and because the atmosphere is warmer it can hold more water than in other seasons resulting in significant amounts of rainfall.
The $64000 question, of course, is why has it moved. The Met Office are admirably frank. They admit they do not have a clue. This is what they say:-
The jet stream, like our weather, is subject to natural variability – that is the random nature of our weather which means it is different from one week, month or year to the next. We expect it to move around and it has moved to the south of the UK in summertime many times before in the past. It has, however, been particularly persistent in holding that position this year – hence the prolonged unsettled weather.
This could be due to natural variability – a bad run of coincidence, if you will – but scientific research is ongoing research to investigate whether other factors at play.
Factors which might contribute include:
· North Atlantic Sea Surface temperatures are warmer than normal. These can drive low pressure during summer over NW Europe, and have been a consistent feature of the last five summers (June, July August), all of which have been wetter than the climatological average for 1971-2000;
· It has been suggested that the decline of Arctic Sea Ice may drive low pressure over the UK, although this remains very uncertain at present. Record loss of summer Arctic sea ice cover has also been a consistent feature of the last five summers;
· Recent summers have been under the influence of La Nina-type forcing from the tropical Pacific. Although the tropical East Pacific has warmed in recent months and there are indications of a transition to El Nino conditions, the recent weather patterns in the tropical Pacific are still representative of La Nina conditions, with very disturbed weather over Indonesia and the West Pacific. La Nina drives an increased risk of low pressure over the UK and predisposes the jetstream to shift southwards.
· There is evidence that the circulation changes over the UK are part of a pattern of changes which circumnavigates the whole of the northern hemisphere mid-latitudes.
So, while they are researching various factors, they actually have no evidence on any of them, and certainly none which can link jet stream changes to “climate change”.
But none of this appears to have stopped Julia Slingo telling the Telegraph “The trend towards more extreme rainfall events is one we are seeing around the world, in countries such as India and China, and now potentially here in the UK. “
Or head of the Environment Agency, Lord Smith, informing us “We are experiencing a new kind of rain. Instead of rain sweeping in a curtain across the country, we are getting convective rain, which sits in one place and just dumps itself in a deluge over a long period of time.”
Or DEFRA warning us that “The climate is changing. This means we are likely to experience more flooding”.
Source Link: notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com
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Home Friday on My Mind A degree of merit
A degree of merit
Bob Wilson February 26, 2016 February 26, 2016 Friday on My Mind
(Photo of Lee Mylne by Tommy Campion)
For reasons which may suggest the mind is searching for mental challenges, I have been admiring the initiative of a dozen or so older people who have chosen to go (back) to university. In some cases they are university virgins, spreading their intellectual wings for the first time, post-children, pre-retirement.
Others are going back, 20 or 30 years after their first degree, to take on post-graduate study. The concept of mature age study has been around a long while, but statistics suggest the incidence of older people taking on academia is rising. The Australian Bureau of Statistics says one million Australians aged 25-64 were engaged in study last year, compared with 780,700 in 2004. Merryn Dawborn-Gundlach, a lecturer from the University of Melbourne’s Graduate School of Education, completed a PHD on how mature-age students transition into their first tertiary degrees. Mrs Dawborn-Gundlach told The Age mature age students were motivated by the push for lifelong learning. “These days you don’t have the same job for life, you retrain.”
More than 40% of mature-age students in the study said they found juggling work and study a challenge, and around 60% experienced “a general feeling of stress.”
An expensive learning curve for some
I took on university for the first time aged 30. I’d left school at 15 so was full of trepidation about the challenges ahead. Luckily the academic year was split into four terms, so by Easter I had enough results back to suggest I could finish an Arts degree.
What set me on this subject was a Facebook post by freelance travel journalist Lee Mylne, a former Daily Sun colleague. Lee (pictured above) told her friends this week she was going to university after “many years.”
She was accepted into QUT’s professional doctorate program and in three years will graduate as a Doctor of Creative Industries (Journalism). What surprised me (and Lee) was the enormous amount of support and encouragement from friends; it seems more people would do it if they could afford it.
There is a fair bit of government support out there for study initiatives, including student loans, scholarships and funding for research degrees. For example, a Commonwealth scholarship in 2014 paid just under half the cost of a humanities degree (totalling $11,574), according to data in a piece by Chris Pash in Business Insider. Subsidised or not, it is a big financial and lifestyle commitment. My niece has ventured back into academia, looking to expand on her facility for languages. But at $2000 a subject she is reconsidering.
“Academia has gone through some serious changes in the past 12 years since I last studied. Not only do you have the regular essays/presentations, you also are marked on your contribution to online blogs on the weekly topic, adding to the weight of work you have to do. Everyone can see what you write and everyone can critique what you write, and it can’t just be an opinion piece, you have to cite it.”
Back in my day, oh aye
Wind the clock back 35 or so years and the first and best thing I did at university was a touch-typing course. No email or internet research in my day! Just typing and re-typing.
Luckily there was a coterie of mature age journalism students in the first-year intake at the University of Southern Queensland.
After a week or two it started to feel like home and there was the undoubted bonus of studying Australian literature with Bruce Dawe.
It was a bit of a (financial) struggle). I had a permanent debt at the university book shop and was paying off a large dentist bill at $20 a week. But for those of us who went to university in the late 1970s and early 1980s, tertiary education was still free. As music journalist and USQ graduate Noel Mengel says: “My kids would be outraged.”
In the early days I met Kev Carmody in the university library. I knew Kev from the local folk club where he played in a bush band and had lately started singing his own songs. In the late 1970s libraries were still using index cards. Kev says he had no idea how to take a book out of a library, so he sat there reading a book, quietly watching how people went about using the catalogue system.
You’ll get some sense of this Aboriginal man’s strength of character in the documentary Songman which is being shown on ABC TV on March 15. We had a preview at his live concert in Brisbane last month.
A learned foot in the door
There’s a lot to be said for acquiring some life experience and then going for an education. There was initial resistance inside daily newspapers to the idea of academic journalists. The old school, who had started as copy boys and served lengthy cadetships, resented the slow but steady influx of graduates.
By the mid-1990s, newspaper editors were starting each year with a pile of applications from bright young things, all of whom had at least one degree. Even with a Gap Year thrown in, new graduates emerge from the system aged 20 or 21, well-educated but light on life experience.
Mature age students benefit from having acquired some life skills and wisdom, but more importantly, if you are going to university aged 29 or 30, chances are you will be 100% committed to achieving your goal.
While technically not a mature age student, Noel Mengel went back to uni after working for three years in magistrate’s courts in the Queensland public service.
“I realised I was never going to get part-time study done,” he said. “And I had a disturbing vision of winding up as a country town solicitor.”
Noel recently left The Courier-Mail after 25 years as one of the country’s leading music writers. Along the way he wrote an award-winning book (RPM), played in rock bands and still does (The Casuarinas) and his name is frequently on the lists of judges for music industry awards.
Kev Carmody went on to become an internationally known songwriter with six albums to his name, a tribute album (Cannot Buy my Soul) and a collaboration with Paul Kelly, From Little Things Big Things Grow, which as Kelly remarks in Songman, became universally known without ever being played on radio.
Carmody was and still is an important voice for his people. There will be those who would say he would have achieved all that and more without having to go to university. But then we’d not have the wonderful story about his debate with the University of Queensland over parking fines, land tenure and who owed who money!
Is there a doctorate in the house?
Meanwhile my 40-something friend Kelli is on the cusp of graduating with an honours degree in occupational therapy, some new young friends and no regrets.
“I found it agonisingly difficult at times,” she said. There are commitments and expectations for a mature age student that simply aren’t there for most school-leavers. The other issue is I now have a whacking-great debt to the government which may or may not be paid out before I die.
“But I’m an infinitely more balanced person for having completed this study, although apparently I’ve now lost my mind entirely and intend to pursue a PhD!’
“My kids said ‘Mum, didn’t you tell us that if you started talking about a PhD then we should talk you out of it?’…
“Why yes, I did, but don’t worry about what I said then….”
arts degree, Bruce Dawe, free education, Kev Carmody, Mature age students, Noel Mengel, university. Bookmark.
Bedside manners
Richard Tommy Campion
Nice piece Bob, and a bit different. Well done.
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Home / 2016 / December (Page 2)
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Manufacturing in the Third Industrial Age
by Jörgen Eriksson on March 10, 2013
THE first industrial revolution began in England in the late 18th century, with the mechanization of the textile industry. Cloth previously done laboriously by hand in hundreds of weavers’ cottages were brought together in a single cotton mill, and the factory was born. Productivity increased and prices were reduced.
The second industrial revolution came in the late 19th and early 20th century, with the age of mass production. The first two industrial revolutions made people richer and more urban. Now a third industrial revolution is under way and it will mean a new paradigm shift.
The new industrial revolution means that manufacturing is going digital. This could change not just business, but also the way we live and how we use our scarce resources.
A number of remarkable technologies are converging, such as smart software, new materials, more flexible machines and robots, new processes like 3D printing and a whole range of inter-connected, web-based services.
The factory of the past was based on economies of scale, making large series of identical products. Henry Ford once said that car-buyers could have any color they liked, as long as it was black.
But with the new software and manufacturing technologies, the costs of producing much smaller batches of a wider variety, with each product tailored precisely to each customer’s requirements and taste, is falling.
The factory of the future will focus on mass customization and may look more like those weavers’ cottages before the industrial revolution than on Henry Ford’s assembly line.
Towards a third industrial age
The old way of making things involved taking lots of parts and screwing or welding them together. Now a product can be designed on a computer and “printed” on a 3D printer, which creates a solid object by building up successive layers of material. The 3D printer can run unattended, and can make many things which are too complex for a traditional factory to handle. In time, these amazing machines may be able to make almost anything, anywhere, from your shoes and clothes to your garage and your new car. ´
In the news last week it was reported that the burlesque performer Dita Von Teese had performed in a dress made by 3D printing. The dress looked like a cross between the beautiful robot and the art nouveau buildings from 1920s movie Metropolis. Not surprisingly, one of the dress’ designers was an architect.
The applications of 3D printing are especially mind-boggling. The geography of supply chains will change. An engineer working in the middle of a desert who finds he lacks a certain tool no longer has to have it delivered from the nearest city. He can simply download the design and print it on his portable 3D printer.
Other changes will be equally important. New materials are lighter, stronger and more durable than the old ones. Carbon fibre is replacing steel and aluminum in products ranging from airplanes to mountain bikes. New techniques let engineers shape objects at a tiny scale.
Nanotechnology is giving products enhanced features. Genetically engineered viruses are being developed to make items such as batteries and will maybe also replace penicillin. And with the internet allowing ever more designers to collaborate on new products, the barriers to entry are falling. Hierarchical organizations are being replaced by networks.
The capitalists of the second industrial revolution required large investments in capital to build their factories. In the third industrial age, an innovator can start with a laptop and a drive to invent. Not long ago I visited a company in a rural area of Sweden that designs a new generation of solar panels. The company was based in the founders home and manufacturing was contracted in China, with products being delivered to the end customers directly from the factory.
Like all revolutions, this one will be disruptive. Digital technology has already fundamentally changed the media and retailing industries. Most future jobs will not be on the factory floor but in the offices nearby, which will be full of designers, engineers, IT specialists, logistics experts, marketing staff and other professionals. The manufacturing jobs of the future will require more skills. Many dull, repetitive tasks will become obsolete: you no longer need machine operators when there is no mass production assembly line.
The revolution will affect not only how things are made, but where. In recent decades production from the rich world has often moved to low-wage countries to reduce labor costs. But labor costs are growing less and less important. Offshore production is increasingly moving back to rich countries, both because wages are rising in the BRIC countries and also because companies now want to be closer to their customers so that they can respond more quickly to changes in demand. In a world where everything goes faster and faster, close location is again a key competitive advantage.
Consumers will have little difficulty adapting to the new age of better products, swiftly delivered. Governments, however, may find it harder. Their instinct is to protect industries and companies that already exist, not the upstarts that would destroy them. Governments will continue to provide old factories with subsidies and bully capitalists who wants to move production abroad. This winter I have seen many examples of this in the news flow in France where I live. None of this makes sense.
The lines between manufacturing and services are blurring. Aircraft manufacturers no longer sells jets. They or their intermediaries sell the hours that the aircraft is propelled through the sky. Governments have always been lousy at picking winners, and they are likely to become more so, as entrepreneurs make designs online, turn them into products at home and market them globally from their garage.
As the revolution rages, governments should stick to the basics: better schools for a skilled workforce, development of branding factors to attract talents and investors and clear rules and a level playing field for companies of all kinds. Leave the rest to the innovators.
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Tagged as: 3d printing, third industrial age
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Labeling lies and knowing minds
I don't have super strong feelings about whether news outlets should use the word 'lies' to describe Donald Trump's lies. As long are they're super clear about how he's saying that p even though p is false, that seems to me to be the important thing. The controversy over whether to use the 'L-word' doesn't really interest me all that much.
That said, I did find it pretty interesting to read NPR's description of why they don't call Trump's lies 'lies'. The basic thought is this: in order for something to be a lie, it has to be said with an intent to deceive. So in calling something a lie, one is in part making a claim about the intentions behind it. As NPR's Mary Louise Kelly puts it: "without the ability to peer into Donald Trump's head, I can't tell you what his intent was. I can tell you what he said and how that squares, or doesn't, with facts."
This is an epistemological claim—a skeptical one. It's often tempting to say that you can never really know what someone is thinking, because all you really have to go on is how they behave. But skeptical temptations are funny things, and there's probably good reason to resist a lot of them a lot of the time. For example, notice that it's also tempting to say that you can never really know anything about the future, since it hasn't happened yet, or that you can never really know historical facts, since you weren't personally there. At an extreme, Descartes famously argued that you can never really know anything about the external world, since you might be the victim of an evil demon who is manipulating your senses in a way that doesn't correspond to reality.
These skeptical arguments do carry some intuitive force, but most of us—us epistemologists, and us people who do things in the world—are committed to their being wrong. You and I know lots of things about the external world. I know that my dog just left this room, for instance. We know many things we didn't see for ourselves, but instead rely on others to inform us about. For example, I know that Donald Trump fired Sally Yates today, even though I wasn't there. (I read about it via news websites.) We know many things about the future. For example, I know that I will give a lecture on rationalism in the morning. Do you know how you'll get to work tomorrow, or when you'll next see your best friend? I am confident that many readers do.
We also know many things about others' minds. I know that my dog noticed that squirrel—this is manifest from her behaviour. (If you ask me, "did she notice the squirrel?" I will say "yes"; I won't say "there's no way to tell without seeing into her soul".) I know, of some of my friends, that they are terrified by the Trump administration. I know about some people's romantic feelings towards other people. When I watch someone at a sports bar, I often know which team they want to win. When I watch someone struggling with their arms full of groceries fumbling around with their keys, I know what they're trying to do.
There are certainly interesting questions about how we're able to tell what people are thinking and feeling and trying to do, but there's nothing inherently mysterious or spooky about the idea. ("Mind-reading" is an active and lively area of study in psychology and philosophy of mind.) One of the traits of autism is a kind of difficulty in knowing others' minds—conversely, the ability to know others' minds is neurotypical. To use Kelly's term, we really do, in an important sense, have "the ability to peer into someone's head".
To be sure, I can't always tell what someone is thinking. Sometimes they're not giving the kind of outward signs it would require for me to tell. Sometimes I even go wrong, misattributing a mental state to someone. A con artist might deceive me about what they're trying to do, for instance. But this kind of possibility of ignorance or error does not mean we cannot often have knowledge of people's thoughts and feelings. (After all, it's possible to go wrong with our perception, too.)
So I don't think we should take our reluctance to ascribe knowledge to people's inner lives very seriously. If NPR doesn't want to say Trump is lying because it would be unhelpfully inflammatory, I have no problem with that decision. But the line that in general you can't know what's in someone's head is just bad epistemology.
It's also inconsistently applied. I took a look through a number of recent NPR stories, to find examples of reported claims that imply something about someone's inner life. It turns out, there are lots of examples where NPR seems willing to make claims that would require "peering into someone's head". Here are a few:
Frauke Petry's "political allies are worried enough to have taken stances against migrants and the European Union that sound a lot like AfD's positions." Worry is a feeling. Is NPR able to peer into the heads of those allies?
"In response to the order, in Chicago, all remaining detainees were freed after being detained by Customs and Border Protection agents at Chicago O'Hare International Airport Saturday." Here NPR is making assertions about why some people did some things. This depends on their thoughts. What makes NPR so sure that they didn't ignore the order and just coincidentally happen to free them at that moment?
"Now many listeners want to know why Kelly didn't just call the president a liar." But to really make this claim one would have to be able to discern the listeners' true intentions. (Maybe they're just asking for NPR to answer that question, but don't want to know the answer!)
"It'll soon be the Year of the Rooster, and Yuan Shuizhen is preparing chicken feet in her tiny kitchen for the big meal." The reporter can see her preparing the chicken, and they can see where she's doing it, but can they see what she's doing it for? This depends on her intentions.
"Obama oversaw a nation at war every day of his eight-year presidency... However, he tried to deploy a small U.S. military footprint, and the limited air campaigns in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and elsewhere emphasized restraint and patience." In saying that he tried to do something, NPR makes a claim about his inner thoughts; by the standards Kelly articulates, they should have said that Obama took military actions that some people interpreted as an attempt to deploy a small footprint.
"Federer watched the replay on the tournament screen, and leaped for joy when it showed his last shot was in." NPR seems willing to peer into Federer's head to divine the emotion behind his leap. If they were being more careful, they might have said that he leapt in a way similar to the way that joyful people sometimes leap.
Trump "joked that the senior staff standing near him for the signing had 'one last chance to get out' before they would have to stick to limits on lobbying laid out in the directive." Whether this was a joke depends on the President's intentions.
"Trump knows that many parts of Obamacare are popular with the white, working-class voters that put him in office." Knowledge requires belief, and belief depends on one's internal attitudes. Indeed, this knowledge ascription like it might imply enough about Trump's inner life to render certain possible actions (e.g., asserting that no parts of Obamacare are popular with those voters, lies). So if it's possible to know things like this, it should be possible to know about some lies.
My point isn't that any of these are unreasonable ascriptions. They seem perfectly natural, and I think that's right and good. But they reflect a commitment to anti-skepticism about others' minds. Kelly's claim that as a rule, NPR doesn't report on people's thoughts, is false. NPR is employing a more complicated practice—often, they tell us what people are thinking or feeling or trying to do, but not when it comes to whether the President is trying to deceive. This is not a good justification for declining to call things lies. Maybe there's a different good justification, but this isn't it.
Posted by Jonathan Jenkins Ichikawa at 1/30/2017 11:04:00 PM
Labels: applied epistemology, epistemology, lies, mental states, news, NPR, other minds, Philosophy, politics
Aaron, IL 2/02/2017 11:23:00 AM
Are you aware of the term "principal of charity"?
Could that be a good reason not to call misstatements of facts "lies", even if you "know" (read: believe), in your commitment to anti-skepticism, that the statements are lies?
Could it further be the case that Mary Louis Kelly, in her commitment to the principal of charity and in absence of knowing the Trumpster's intentions, chose to use the words she did?
Could it further be the case that neither NPR nor Kelly ever made the claim that "as a rule, NPR doesn't report on people's thoughts"? And that your claim that Kelly claimed as much is false?
The cited article makes it clear that what is at issue is not "thoughts in general" but the "deceptive intent".
Jonathan Jenkins Ichikawa 2/02/2017 12:15:00 PM
Thanks for your comment Aaron. I certainly agree that Kelly is choosing her words carefully—she gives a pretty specific justification for them. In that spirit, I'm expressing a disagreement with it.
I actually think the principle of charity is super interesting in this context. In many ways in which it's developed—certainly in the seminal work by Donald Davidson on the topic—the principle of charity is a matter of ascribing beliefs in a true or reasonable way. So the principle of charity would have it that as a general rule of thumb, people know what they're talking about. That's exactly the opposite of the assumption NPR is making. They are being deliberately skeptical with respect to whether Trump knows what he's doing. I am questioning the motivation for that. And I think the principle of charity works in my favour. But maybe you have a different understanding of the principle of charity?
You are right that I am interpreting their motivation as instance of a broader epistemic stance about thoughts in general. It seems to be the one suggested by the text, but you're right that they're not super explicit about this. So I guess one good next question would be whether there's reason to be skeptical in particular about deceptive intents, in a way that doesn't apply to thoughts in general. Did you have an idea for why this might be?
"These skeptical arguments do carry some intuitive force, but most of us—us epistemologists, and us people who do things in the world—are committed to their being wrong."
I'm a simple armchair philosopher, but I don't understand why so many philosophers are dedicated to proving Descartes wrong. I see arguments proposing when it is "appropriate" to claim to know something (e.g. Justified True Belief,) but they all seem to be inadequate on closer examination.
From what I've observed, in common use the word 'knowledge' means, "I believe [x] to be true to the extent that I no longer question [x's] truthfulness." Knowledge is simply a stronger form of belief, not something that is separate and distinct from belief.
Why is this not sufficient? Is it because it feels unsatisfactory to admit we don't have knowledge?
There's a lot to say here. I think that knowledge is deeply tied up with action and reasons—so the idea that we don't know anything is tantamount to the idea that we have no reason to do anything, which is a pragmatically disastrous conclusion. But that's controversial.
Maybe this is a useful thing to say in this context. Even if we don't literally know most of the things we take ourselves to know, it's still very important to credential some kinds of claims as established or secure in a way others aren't. Like, if you're a media outlet like NPR, you don't just publish whatever pops into your head, or whatever you overheard somebody say. You're only supposed to publish stuff that X. I think X="you know", but everybody who believes in the idea of journalistic standards should think this is true for some kind of epistemic X.
So you don't actually have to run the argument, as I did, in terms of knowledge. Do it in terms of X if you like. It seems like often, outlets like NPR feel comfortable saying lots of things about people's inner states—so they must think those claims have X—but it seems like they think deceitful intentions aren't like that. My question is: why the disanalogy?
Coming back again to the original question, this is one reason I really do think it's more harmful than people sometimes assume to capitulate to skepticism. If we say one doesn't know anything, it can feel like a short and tempting step to say that all beliefs are equally good. But this is a disaster. To deny this is to establish some epistemic criterion short of knowledge. Fine, go ahead and do so if you like. But a lot of the arguments given in terms of knowledge will be translatable into that framework.
Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. I really do appreciate it. For the record, I don't have any objections to the theme of your article wrt NPR's justification, but I have long wondered why professional philosophers are so dismissive of skepticism. The arguments I've read against it have been rather unsatisfactory. I hope you don't mind that I took the opportunity to question you about something that is not directly related to your post. (And if you choose not to continue this discussion, I totally understand.)
"...so the idea that we don't know anything is tantamount to the idea that we have no reason to do anything..."
Ahh... I see what you're saying. I disagree with this assertion, as for me belief in something is sufficient reason to act. For example, I don't *know* I'll die if I step in front of that train, but I believe I will; therefore, I choose to not step in front of the train. Knowledge is not required for me to function in the world.
"Like, if you're a media outlet like NPR, you don't just publish whatever pops into your head, or whatever you overheard somebody say. You're only supposed to publish stuff that X. I think X='you know...'"
Perhaps the fundamental difference is we're approaching the situation from different directions? It appears you want journalists to "know" the information is true before publishing, therefore you seek some objective definition of knowledge that can be applied. I believe the truthfulness is unknowable in the pure sense, therefore I use other conditions for X while recognizing that whether X has been satisfied is ultimately a subjective evaluation. Your thoughts?
"If we say one doesn't know anything, it can feel like a short and tempting step to say that all beliefs are equally good."
How are you defining "good?" I would say "all coherent belief systems that adequately explain the experiences of the individual are equally valid," by which I mean the individual has no basis to claim one is true and the other is false. Whether or not it is "good" (in a moral sense) depends on what standard it's being measured against. I don't see how a belief can be inherently good or bad.
"But a lot of the arguments given in terms of knowledge will be translatable into that framework."
Sure, but it also changes the tone of the discussion. Generally speaking, when people make a knowledge claim they do not allow for the possibility they are wrong. Further, there is often the expectation that others must agree with their knowledge claim or else the other is ignorant, stupid, irrational, etc. Reframing what we commonly refer to as "knowledge" as "a belief that I do not question" is not only more accurate, but it forces people to acknowledge the inherent uncertainty of their "knowledge."
In most everyday encounters this reframing isn't necessary as we tend to associate with people who agree with us about what is known. In my experience it is most useful when there is significant disagreement. Unfortunately, as long as the word "knowledge" carries a significance beyond "a form of belief," it will be very difficult to get people to question their own beliefs and by extension, understand why others believe what they believe.
Selective Sampling
Facts, Alternative Facts, and Definitions
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BCBH Film Series User’s Guide
About the Film Series
Conversation Guide
Facts About Child Maltreatment
More BCBH Films
Home•et;Building Community, Building Hope•et;Key Facts About Child Maltreatment In The United States
What is the definition of child abuse and neglect?
Child abuse and neglect are defined in both Federal and State laws. The types of maltreatment defined include physical abuse, neglect, emotional abuse, and sexual abuse. Details about how your state’s laws define the conduct, acts, and omissions that constitute child abuse or neglect that must be reported to child protective agencies can be found in the Child Welfare Information Gateway’s Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect.
How many U.S. children are abused or neglected each year?
For 2013, there were a nationally estimated 679,000 victims of abuse and neglect, resulting in a rate of 9.1 victims per 1,000 children in the population. This rate only reflects children for whom a state determined that at least one maltreatment event was substantiated or indicated.[1]
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, the data cited is from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Children’s Bureau (CB). (2015). Child maltreatment 2015. Available from https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/resource/child-maltreatment-2015
How many children die each year due to abuse or neglect?
An estimated 1,520 children died as a result of abuse or neglect in 2013. This national estimate was based on data from State child welfare information systems, as well as other data sources available to the States.
Approximately how many allegations of maltreatment are reported and receive an investigation or assessment for abuse and neglect each year?
During 2013, Child Protective Service (CPS) agencies received an estimated 3.5 million referrals involving approximately 6.4 million children.
Is the number of maltreated children increasing or decreasing?
The number of victims decreased 3.8% from 2009 to 2013.
Who were the child victims?
Approximately one-fifth of the children reported to CPS were found to be victims.
What percentage of children reported to CPS were “screened in” for follow-up action?
The youngest children are the most vulnerable—about 27% of reported victims were under the age of three. Victims in their first year of life had the highest rate of victimization at 23.1 per 1,000 children of the same age in the national population.
What are the most common types of maltreatment?
Neglect, at 80%, is by far, the most common form of maltreatment. Physical abuse, at 18%, is the second most common form of maltreatment.
What are the long-term consequences of child abuse and neglect?
While many children are resilient and can recover from maltreatment, there are significant, widespread long-term consequences for their behavior and physical and psychological development.[2]
[2] For more information about the long-term physical, psychological, behavioral, and societal consequences of child abuse and neglect, see Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2013). Long-term consequences of child abuse and neglect. Washington, DC: HHS, CB. Available from https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/long-term-consequences/
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Incoming priests had varied professions before entering seminary
Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Ind., anoints the hands of Father Nathan Maskal during an ordination Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Fort Wayne June 2, 2018. The new crop of priests being ordained in 2019 had a wide variety of careers before discerning a call to priesthood, according to a report issued May 3 by the Center for Applied Research in the apostolate. (CNS photo/Joe Romie, Today’s Catholic)
By Mark Pattison • Catholic News Service • Posted May 8, 2019
WASHINGTON (CNS) — The new crop of priests being ordained this year had a wide variety of careers before discerning a call to priesthood, according to a report issued May 3 by the Center for Applied Research in the apostolate.
Education was the top career choice of ordinands at 11 percent — more than twice any other field.
Some reported entirely different career endeavors.
“I spent five years playing guitar in a punk rock band that toured the country and recorded albums,” said Patrick Klekas of the Diocese of Reno, Nevada. Klekas’ band was called the Girlfriend Season. In a 2010 interview with his hometown newspaper, the Elko Daily Free Press, he said, “We’re hoping to get to a point where we can do this full time.” Klekas will be doing something else full time instead.
“I have a deep love of astronomy and that the study of the night sky helped lead me to baptism and faith in God at age 20,” said Dean Marshall of the Diocese of Sacramento, California, on a vocations webpage for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
“I was a pole vaulter at a Division I university,” said Derik Peterman of the Archdiocese of Detroit. “I try to keep involved with the sport by coaching and competing.”
“I once drove a taxicab — before Uber or Lyft — on the weekends while holding a full-time job during the week,” said Timothy Kalange, who will be ordained a Benedictine priest.
“I was a dental assistant before I entered the seminary. I have traveled to 15 different countries,” said Charles Moat Jr., who will be ordained for the Society of the Divine Word. “I was a member of the United States Air Force Honor Guard, where I participated in the inauguration of President George W. Bush and the funeral of President Ronald Reagan.”
Then, there are the more circuitous paths to the priesthood. Said Stephen Buting of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee: “I never altar served as a youth and was terrified of lectoring at Mass.”
With data collected annually for the past 20 years, some comparisons between then and now can be made by CARA, which is housed at Georgetown University in Washington.
The average age of ordinands who responded to the 1999 survey was 36. Over the past 20 years, that has trickled downward to 33. The youngest ordinand responding to this year’s survey was born in 1994; the oldest was born in 1949.
One-fourth of all ordinands responding to the survey, compiled by CARA’s Mary Gautier and Sister Thu T. Do, a member of the Lovers of the Holy Cross, reported having education debut before beginning seminary studies. The average debt was a hair under $30,000; some ordinands had debt as high as $119,000. During their years as a seminarian, they were able to reduce that debt by only $3,000 on average.
Religious communities, home to about a quarter of all of this year’s ordinands, did the most to help their seminarians hack away at their debt; 68 percent of religious ordinands reported that their orders helped.
Family members helped 24 percent or ordinands reduce their educational debt, and the Knights of Columbus’ Fund for Vocations helped 16 percent of reporting diocesan ordinands cut their debt, although no help from them was reported by religious order ordinands.
Other sources of financial help included parishes, the Serra Fund for Vocations, friends and co-workers, and the Mater Ecclesiae Fund for Vocations.
The CARA survey also tracks factors that may help lead men to a priestly vocation. Seventy-seven percent reported that both their parents were Catholic when they were children, and 34 percent have had a relative who is a priest or religious.
Seventy-five percent of ordinands responding to the survey said they participated in eucharistic adoration on a regular basis before entering the seminary, and 73 percent prayed the rosary. Next closest was attending prayer group or Bible study, cited by 47 percent.
Fifty-two percent reported participating in a “Come and See” weekend at the seminary or the religious order, while 66 percent have seen the vocational promotion DVD “Fishers of Men,” published by the USCCB.
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