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Finance for the most vulnerable
A decade on from its creation, how successful is the Green Climate Fund in translating finance from rich countries into climate action for the most vulnerable?
Attapeu, southeastern Laos. Families evacuate after their village was destroyed following flash floods and a subsequent dam collapse. The GCF is currently working on a project with Laos to develop ecosystem-based defences against flooding, which depresses the economy by around 3 per cent annually. © Jes Aznar/Getty Images
By Laetitia De Marez , Head of Implementation Strategies, Director of Climate Analytics (CA) New York
The year 2020 has been dubbed a climate ‘super year’. All signatories of the Paris Agreement are requested to revise the (currently insufficient) ambition of their pledges to achieve the Paris goals, known as nationally determined contributions or NDCs. Though the COVID-19 pandemic has created immense disruption worldwide, and caused major international climate meetings and negotiations to be postponed, many developing countries continue to work towards developing new and stronger NDCs that will help limit global warming and increase their populations’ resilience.
A key condition in these countries’ efforts to transition to low-carbon and resilient economies will be access to financial support, as recognised in the international climate policy framework. In 2010, developed countries agreed to a goal of jointly mobilising $100 billion per year by 2020 to help developing countries reduce emissions and adapt to the impacts of unavoidable climate change. While this $100 billion will flow through a variety of channels, one key conduit is the Green Climate Fund (GCF). Established in 2010, the GCF aimed to rebuild trust between developed and developing countries after they collectively failed to adopt an encompassing global climate agreement at the previous year’s Copenhagen Climate Summit.
In its initial round of fundraising in 2014, the GCF received pledges of approximately $10 billion. While well short of target requirements, the mobilisation of these funds sent a strong signal and contributed to the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015.
Since its inception, the GCF has been different from existing international financing institutions (IFIs) such as the multilateral development banks or the Global Environment Facility. For one, while other IFIs have a range of developmental and environmental focus areas, the GCF is solely focused on climate action.
Furthermore, unlike traditional official development assistance, which is only eligible to countries below a certain per capita income threshold, GCF support is available to all developing countries that are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Finally, while governance of other IFIs tends to be dominated by donors, the GCF Board features equal representation of developed and developing countries.
The GCF further seeks to correct previous imbalances in the provision of international climate finance. To prevent the poorest and most vulnerable countries from being overlooked in the provision of support, the GCF has specific goals for providing adaptation finance to these countries. It has adopted a number of modalities and procedures to improve these countries’ access to GCF funds. It is also the only climate fund mandated to strive for an equal split of its resources provided between mitigation and adaptation.
The GCF further complements other sources of finance by maintaining a higher risk appetite, which allows it to de-risk potentially transformational climate investments for other financiers and private investors.
In addition to, and by function of, its role as a central provider of climate finance, the GCF is also expected to make a critical norm-setting contribution to the international climate finance landscape. First, the Fund put at the centre of its operation the principle of country ownership, bringing to scale a relatively recent business model responsive to recipient countries’ needs. The GCF even allows countries to access resources directly through their national agencies, provided these agencies meet international standards.
From its inception, the GCF was designed to strongly interface with the private sector – both at a global level and within developing countries. It does so by offering a wide range of financial instruments to help mobilise domestic capital, de-risk investments, accredit private entities to serve as intermediaries who receive the funds and implement projects, and to work with governments to improve regulations and create a friendlier business environment for low-carbon and resilient investment.
Significant resources
While GCF resources are significant compared with other climate funds, with close to $20 billion already mobilised through its financing and co-financing over the last five years, they still represent a drop in the ocean relative to anticipated need. It is estimated that the world’s urban, energy and land-use infrastructure will require investment of $90 trillion to achieve the type of global transformation needed in the face of climate change. This fact is why the GCF needs to provide support in a strategic and catalytic manner, and is central to the Fund’s objective of seeking to promote a global paradigm shift toward low-carbon and resilient development.
And the GCF is growing ever more successful in doing so. Despite a somewhat politicised decision-making process, the Fund has proved agile, programming billions of dollars in its first few years of operation. In addition, the quality of projects it receives is improving, with bolder ideas and more ambitious impacts. This improvement is due in no small part to the Fund’s capacity-building programmes, such as the GCF Readiness Programme, as well as other ad hoc and ongoing support provided to developing countries.
This is not to say it has been all success. For one, the GCF has not yet achieved the mitigation–adaptation parity it strives for. Additionally, some sectors, considered a priority to meet the Paris Agreement’s goals, are still under-represented in its portfolio. This is particularly the case for cross-sectoral projects seeking to encourage low-carbon transport (electrification) and a ‘mode shift’ to lower-carbon forms of transportation. Aware of these issues, the Fund’s Board and Secretariat are working to improve on these results.
The Fund’s recent replenishment in 2019 further raised some cause for concern. Over the course of the year, contribution promises amounted to $9.8 billion, from 27 countries. Though the bulk of the contributions came from national governments of developed countries, contributions were also made by the governments of Indonesia and Republic of Korea. The total level of pledges fell short of the initial aspiration of doubling the GCF’s resources.
This was due in large part to the withdrawal of the United States, which had pledged $3 billion in the GCF’s first fundraising round in 2014 and provided $1 billion to the Fund prior to reneging on its remaining $2 billion in commitment in 2017. Another loss to the Fund’s balance sheet came from Australia, who provided $200 million in 2015, but declined to contribute in 2019. However, several other countries signalled their confidence in the Fund by doubling their contributions, including Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Norway.
Empowering developing countries’ governments and agencies, enhancing those countries’ climate policy and regulatory frameworks, building resilience of the most vulnerable communities and catalysing investment shifts from brown to green assets at a regional and global scale; after five years of a taxing learning-by-doing process, the GCF strategic support role is progressively coming into focus.
By seeking science-based, innovative and paradigm-shifting approaches compatible with the Paris Agreement’s goals, the GCF is setting the bar higher to allocate its support and is working across the board to move the world towards a low-carbon and resilient future.
OTHER STORIES ALSO IN THIS SECTION
Focus on action
Transforming agriculture
Raising climate ambition in the time of COVID-19
No time for fatalism
Reversing atmospheric infection
Ocean health
Why coral matters
A new deal for nature?
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Axis Bank 668.80 (-0.9%)
GAIL 136.70 (-1.3%)
Axis Bank 668.80(-0.9%)
Home Retail
Livspace raises $70 million from Goldman Sachs, TPG Growth, others
Updated : September 19, 2018 11:00 AM IST
The funds would be utilised to expand its operations to six more metros by 2019 to a total of 13, while achieving deeper penetration in existing markets, it added.
Avendus Capital was the financial advisor to the company for the latest fund raise.
Before this round of funding, Livspace had raised $33.6 million from Jungle Venture Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Helion Ventures, and UC-RNT.
Livspace, an online home interior and renovation platform, Wednesday said it has raised $70 million from investors, including TPG Growth and Goldman Sachs, to fund its expansion plan.
"Livspace... has raised $70 million in Series C funding. The round was led by TPG Growth and Goldman Sachs, a global investment bank and active investor in India, and included participation from existing investors Jungle Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners and Helion Ventures," a company statement said.
Avendus Capital was the financial advisor to the company for the latest fund raise. Before this round of funding, Livspace had raised $33.6 million from Jungle Venture Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Helion Ventures, and UC-RNT.
Launched in 2015, Livspace has emerged as the top organised player in India's very fragmented home interiors and renovation market, which is expected to exceed $23 billion by 2022. It has presence in seven major metros where it delivers interiors, including kitchens, wardrobes, furniture, decor and provides all contracting services from flooring and false ceilings to painting.
"This August, Livspace launched operations in Hyderabad and is on track to hit over $125-135 million in annualised gross revenue by March 2019," the company said.
Over the last 18 months, Livspace said its gross revenue has more than quadrupled.
Livspace co-founder and CEO Anuj Srivastava said the support from investors in this round would help propel the company to its next phase of growth.
"Our vision is to evolve Livspace into one of the biggest and most admired consumer internet companies to emerge out of India," he added.
Ramakant Sharma, co-founder and COO, Livspace, said, "We have ambitious plans to expand across top knowledge cities, and are excited to partner with TPG Growth and Goldman Sachs on this exciting journey."
Akshay Tanna, Principal, TPG Growth said Livspace is disrupting the fragmented interior-design-and-renovation ecosystem in India.
"Livspace is an innovative and fast-growing Indian B2C internet company, said Niladri Mukhopadhyay, a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs.
To fuel its expansion efforts, Livspace plans to grow its offline footprint through Livspace Design Centers, the company's experiential stores, that play a key role in its omnichannel strategy.
Tags Avendus Capital Goldman Sachs Livspace Retail TPG Growth
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USAF conducts first-ever formation of F-16 fighters equipped with AESA radars
by Blog Before Flight Staff on August 07, 2020
Eglin four-ship conducts advanced radar test.
A combined developmental and operational test team successfully tested a new F-16 radar capability during a four-ship formation of F-16s at Eglin AFB, Florida, July 2.
The mission was the first of its kind to test the APG-83 Active Electronically Scanned Array radar on four fighter aircraft at the same time. The Operational Flight Program Combined Test Force, 40th Flight Test Squadron and the 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron were responsible for fielding the radar for the Air Force’s F-16 fleet.
The radar equips F-16s with 5th generation radar capabilities similar to F-22s and F-35s. The system is used in the suppression or destruction of enemy air defenses, to include targeting radars and surface-air-missiles. It also improves existing air-to-air capabilities and enhances air-to-ground mapping.
“This capability allows us to target the northwest corner of a small building or the cockpit of an aircraft from several miles away, beyond line-of-sight,” said Jack Harman, 40th FLTS F-16 fighter test pilot. “[The radar] improves our ability to identify the threat prior to us being targeted – we no longer have to be inside a threat envelope in order to detect it.”
By testing four AESA radars at the same time, the team assessed whether the aircraft experience interference and evaluated if the signal improved or degraded while operating together. The four-ship is the basic fighting formation of fighter aircraft, allowing testers to see how the radar responds in a combat scenario.
“From an F-16 standpoint, we haven’t received significant hardware in years,” said Harman. “We’re undergoing at least 13 new programs for the aircraft and it’s happening almost simultaneously.”
The OFP CTF specializes in managing the integration of developmental and operational tests allowing for combined test teams to fully field requirements under one commander.
“Not only do we go out and fly the hardware and test it – we’re responsible for making sure it’s suitable and meets the needs and requirements of operators,” said Lt. Col. Ben Wysack, F-16 Test division director. “We’re always updating the software, making it better, fixing bugs and adding new capabilities.”
As the lead subject matter expert for the F-16 AESA radar, Wysack teaches other pilots across the Air Force how to use the radar and works on the curriculum for the next software version.
This radar test included F-16 and F-15 personnel representing civilian, contractor, Reserve, National Guard and active duty components. Additionally, the 309th Software Maintenance Wing out of Hill AFB, Utah, produced the code for the test software.
“From a program manager’s perspective, this has been a rewarding journey – from managing the program at Wright-Patterson to test and fielding here at Eglin,” said Lt. Col. Alec Spencer, 40th FLTS director of operations.”
While the radar will continue to be tested here for the foreseeable future, the system is expected to be operational across the F-16 fleet later this year.
“Accomplishing this, especially under COVID-19 conditions, was a herculean effort. We’re seeing flexibility from different organizations in order to make it happen,” said Harman. “This test alone is a huge win for the F-16 community.”
Source, Images: USAF
F-16 USAF
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(The Abandoned Paradise)
• Under Re-Construction •
El Tecuán is an abandoned hotel 9.6 km off the highway at mile marker 33, just 5.5 km north of the junction for playa Tenacatita. Look for the old Lighthouse sign at the road entrance. Although officially closed with posted signs, there is vehicle access to this pristine beach area via a paved road. The property of El Tecuán was given by a former Mexican president to General Marcelino Garcia Barragan, Mexico's Secretary of Defense in the 50's, for services to his country. The general completed the hotel, swimming pool, tennis court and airplane landing strip, but he died in 1979 before he could finish his "El Tecuán Marina Resort". The town of Cuautitlán is named in his honor, with a statue in the plaza. The hotel was leased out by his son for a few years, but he had no interest to complete the project, so he closed it down completely. The thirty-eight room hotel has be vandalized and stripped of anything valuable, but some of it's former glory still shines through. El Tecuán was the setting for most of the action in the Film "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer", filmed recently. They named the hotel Tower Bay in the movie. This presidential deeded property is (900+ hectors) in size. GPS N19º21´56" W104º54´37"
BEACH WARNING
The beaches at El Tecuán are some of the roughest in the Costalegre due to the exposed shoreline and westerly winds. Swimming is not recommended when the surf is up as breaking waves and undertows here are dangerous. The playas however, are a perfect place for experienced surfers.
Bahía de Tenacatita Map No Hotels, Restaurants or Services
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Toronto Blue Jays ace Hyun-Jin Ryu named finalist for American League Cy Young Award
Toronto Blue Jays' Hyun-Jin Ryu pitches to the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning of Game 2 of an American League wild-card baseball series Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Published Monday, November 2, 2020 8:24PM EST
Toronto Blue Jays ace Hyun-Jin Ryu has been named one of three finalists for the 2020 American League Cy Young Award.
The finalists were announced on Monday, and are voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
Shane Bieber of the Cleveland Indians and Kenta Maeda of the Minnesota Twins are the other AL finalists, with the winner being announced Nov. 11.
Meanwhile, skipper Charlie Montoyo has been named as a finalist for manager of the year after guiding the Blue Jays to a 32-28 record and a spot in the expanded post-season, where they lost to the Tampa Bay Rays in the opening round.
He joins Kevin Cash of the Rays and Rick Renteria, who was fired after the season, of the Chicago White Sox.
Ryu signed a four-year, US$80 million contract in the off-season with Toronto after spending his entire career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and he didn't disappoint once a 60-game season resumed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 33-year-old Ryu went 5-2 with a 2.69 ERA in 12 starts while striking out 72 hitters in 67 innings.
It's the second straight season the lefty has finished as a Cy Young finalist after posting a 2.32 ERA in 29 starts with the Dodgers in 2019, coming in behind National League winner Jacob deGrom of the New York Mets.
Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander took home the AL Cy Young award last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published November 2, 2020.
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Standoff in Oakville ends with arrest
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SoHo Bloomingdale's delays opening
The opening of a new Bloomingdale's in SoHo has been pushed back to February, while renovations continue at the building.
Original plans called for an opening this fall, but because of "structural issues" at the new location, 504 Broadway between Broome and Spring streets, it has been delayed, Woman's Wear Daily reports today.
The 124,000-square-foot building, built in 1823, was owned and occupied by Canal Jeans.
Renovation plans called for an extensive remodeling to create a modern six-level store, offering men’s and women’s apparel, cosmetics, shoes and accessories, and home merchandise.
Bloomingdale’s, a division of Federated Department Stores, operates 26 stores including its flagship on 59th Street in Manhattan.
Sponsored Content: Lessons learned: navigating financial assistance in a crisis
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No link found between brain tumors and cell phones, study says
DOT chief 'deeply concerned' about dangers of cell-phone use while driving
Elgan: Is your cell phone trying to kill you?
Study: Mobile phone use increases brain tumor risk
Study revives debate over cancer from cell phone use
Group says upcoming study funded by carriers will underestimate dangers
By Matt Hamblen
Senior Editor, Computerworld |
A group of international scientists today released a report that again raises concerns about the possibility of a connection between cell phone use and brain tumors, noting that a recent Swedish study saw a 400% increase in risk for teenage cell phone users.
The 37-page report, from a group called the International EMF [Electromagnetic Field] Collaborative, summarized what it said are the dangers of cell phone use, especially for children, and attempted to counter the upcoming Interphone study, which is supported by the wireless industry in 13 countries, mainly in western Europe.
"Some countries are already banning cell phones over health concerns, with France saying children in elementary schools can only use them for texting," said the report's author, Lloyd Morgan, in an interview.
"Cell phones can be used appropriately and have a certain usefulness, but I fear we will see a tsunami of brain tumors, although it is too early to see that now, since the tumors have a 30-year latency," he added. "I pray I'm wrong, but brace yourself."
However, John Walls, vice president of public affairs for the CTIA, a group representing wireless carriers and handset makers in the U.S., issued a statement today saying "peer-reviewed scientific evidence has overwhelmingly indicated that wireless devices do not pose a public health risk." He noted that the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute, the World Health Organization and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have all concurred that wireless devices are not a public health risk.
Morgan, a retired electronics engineer based in Berkeley, Calif., and a member of the Bioelectromagnetics Society, wrote the report, "Cellphones and Brain Tumors: 15 Reasons for Concern," with the endorsement of 43 scientists and experts from the U.S., Australia, Brazil, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Russia, Spain, Sweden and the U.K. Groups endorsing the findings include the EMR Policy Institute, the Peoples Initiative Foundation, ElectromagneticHealth.org, The Radiation Research Trust and Powerwatch. A copy of the report and a short video are available at RadiationReserarch.org.
Morgan said the most compelling research linking cell phone usage to brain tumors was noted in a study published in May 2009 in the International Journal of Oncology by a Swedish team of scientists led by professor Lennart Hardell. It noted that use of digital cell phones and cordless phones by people who started using such devices when they were teenagers or younger led to a 420% increase in the risk of brain cancer. Hardell had earlier found that use of analog cell phones caused a 700% increase in the risk of cancer; today's digital phones have lower power requirements and don't represent as much of a threat as analog phones.
The cancer risk comes from holding a cell phone close to the head over longer periods of time, the International EMF Collaborative study notes. It recommends eight steps for reducing exposure to cell phone radiation for adults and children. The steps include using wired headsets rather than wireless headsets and sending text messages instead of talking on the phone. Also, the study recommends avoiding the use of cell phones in moving vehicles, since the devices require more power and radiation as they move farther away from cell towers. And it suggests that people avoid using cell phones inside of buildings, because phones need less power and radiation outdoors.
The study also recommends keeping cell phones away from your body, including in pockets, and it suggests using cell phones like answering machines -- keeping them off until you're ready to return calls. It also urged people to use corded, land line phones whenever possible. Moreover, it recommended that children not be allowed to sleep with cell phones under their pillows, and it cautioned parents not to allow children under 18 to use cell phones except in emergencies.
The International EMF Collaborative's study details 11 flaws in the upcoming Interphone study, which is due to be released this fall by major carriers in 13 countries, not including the U.S. Based on components of the Interphone report that have already been published, the International EMF Collaborative says that study has a number of flaws. Among other things, it excluded people who use portable phones, even though those devices also emit microwave radiation, just as cell phones do. The Collaborative said the Interphone study also excluded many types of brain tumors and eliminated subjects who died or were too ill be interviewed. Moreover, the Interphone study did not include children and young adults, who are more vulnerable, according to the International EMF Collaborative.
Matt Hamblen is a multi-media journalist covering mobile, networking and smart city tech. He previously was a senior editor at Computerworld.
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Dallas Daily Post
Dallas’ sudden spike in homicides has officials perplexed. And not everyone agrees that state troopers are helping.
2 weeks ago TROY CLOSSON
DALLAS — As Joseph Pintucci’s 18th birthday approached, his aunt and legal guardian Andrea Haag spent dinners listening to the Highland Park High School graduate rattle through the list of cars for sale he’d flagged throughout the day. His maternal uncle Ben Harrington would chime in on whether each one was worth the money.
A few years after Pintucci learned how to drive, his adoptive parents finally had the financial means to buy him a vehicle, which was all he wanted for his birthday. Haag was worried — like she’d been when Pintucci first got behind the wheel — that the search would be a rough experience. But the process of finding Pintucci’s white 2002 Lincoln town car ended up bonding their family.
“Shockingly, we got along beautifully,” Haag said. “Teenagers are rarely described as patient and discerning or judicious — especially my teenager. But he absolutely was all those things through this project, and just a joy. You can imagine how grateful we are for that experience with Joey now.”
Less than six months later, Pintucci was shot and killed in that sedan in the parking garage of Dallas shopping complex near the city’s NorthPark Center. The teenager was waiting to sell marijuana. But when the buyers — three male suspects — showed up, police said, they placed guns to the heads of Pintucci and others in the car and took the vape cartridges. Before running away, one of the suspects shot and killed Pintucci.
The suspects laughed as they headed for the garage exit, witnesses said.
Pintucci is one of at least 135 homicide victimsin Dallas this year as the city is expected to reach its highest homicide rate in more than a decade. Meanwhile, other large Texas cities such as Houston, San Antonio and Corpus Christi are on pace for declines.
After Dallas experienced 40 killings in May — its highest monthly total since the 1990s — Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott directed the state’s Department of Public Safety to send state troopers to reduce violent crime in a city that has struggled for years with a massive shortage of police officers. Since the troopers’ arrival, they’ve seized more than 70 guns, according to the Dallas Police Department. Violent crime — though still up compared with last year — has also dropped by nearly 30% in the areas of Dallas where they’re deployed.
But some city officials now say the troopers are doing more harm than good as an “overwhelming” number of residents complain that they are over-policing neighborhoods; questioning people about their immigration status; and stopping people for soon-to-expire, but still valid, inspection stickers. Dallas City Council member Adam Bazaldua recently called for Dallas police to indefinitely pull state troopers from his district that covers parts of southern and eastern Dallas where residents are more likely to live in poverty and be people of color.
“Small, tangible results may be good in the now,” Bazaldua said. “But when this initiative is over and DPS leaves our community, it’s going to be our city’s mess to clean up. We’re going to be the ones fixing these wedges that have been created between the community and law enforcement.”
Even before that tension boiled over into public view, people were already attributing the homicide spike to city officials’ and law enforcement’s historically lackluster engagement with such residents. But that’s not the only theory.
Others point to understaffing in the Dallas Police Department’s homicide unit.
Yet as conjecture about potential causes seems as endless as the homicides themselves and officials remain mum on their strategy for using state troopers to combat the violence, many agree that the partnership won’t be a long-term solution.
While the pace of slayings has slowed since May, Dallas is still on pace to experience nearly 220 homicides this year. The city hasn’t reached that figure in any one year in more than a decade.
As local and state officials quarrel over the best strategy to stem that dramatic rise, consensus on the underlying explanations eludes one of America’s largest cities. Meanwhile, outside of public view, relatives of some of Dallas’ homicide victims are left in sorrow as their loved ones’ killers remain at large.
“The grief has been horrific. I mean, truly, truly horrific,” Haag said. “This is not a club you ever want to be a part of — and you just feel terrible knowing more people will.”
A lack of homicide detectives
While they’ve tried to go about life as usual over the past six months, Haag and Harrington said that under the facade, everything has changed.
After Pintucci’s death, a Dallas detective visited to go over the case. Two of the suspects in the murder have not been found. The 23-year-old man who was caught and charged with capital murder has been out of jail on bond awaiting his trail, according to court records.
Both Haag and Harrington said they’ve felt supported by the detective. He’s responded quickly to all of their calls and texts. While he doesn’t often reach out first, Harrington said that’s partially because he’s “just incredibly busy.” In one instance, the detective received a tip for a possible lead in the case but had to wait to follow up on it because of other work, Harrington said.
“I understand that you have to prioritize,” Haag said, “but when you are waiting to pull the person off the streets who shot and killed your child, that’s not what you want to hear. Someone who runs away laughing is going to do that again.”
Local activists and some police union presidents say such tradeoffs stem from an overworked homicide unit. According to a 2018 report by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, homicide units are optimally staffed when each detective is the lead investigator on an average of three to four new homicide cases per year. Some Dallas homicide detectives would have shouldered that much in May alone, based on the numbers of new cases and officers in the unit. Still, the department is posting a higher homicide clearance rate for the year than the national average.
At the end of the month, Assistant Chief Avery Moore announced eight detectives were added to the department’s homicide unit, bringing the total up from 14 to 22.
But Dallas has a 2019 homicide rate of more than 9.37 victims per 100,000 residents.
Houston police, on the other hand, have more than 80 detectives assigned to homicide. The year-to-date homicide rate there is about 6.24 victims per 100,000 residents. And other cities with homicide rates less than a quarter of Dallas’ have more than half the number of detectives.
“Working as many cases as these detectives are working puts a strain on everyone involved,” said Mike Mata, president of the Dallas Police Association. “It’s just impossible to manage everything.”
That’s something Latina Sanders said she’s felt all too often over the past month and a half. Her child, 13-year-old Malik Tyler, was shot and killed in June after he was caught in crossfire in southeast Dallas. Malik, a seventh grade student, was an innocent bystander, according to police, who have since charged two suspects, one within 48 hours of the boy’s death.
But as the search for the second suspect progressed, Sanders and her boyfriend, Christopher White, said they felt left out of the process. After Malik was killed, Sanders said, she asked the detective on her son’s case to keep her informed. If there was ever a fresh lead on another suspect — or even just more dead ends — she wanted to know.
“They’re failing to do that,” Sanders said. “I’ve been texting him, calling him, reaching out, and I haven’t gotten anything. I just need to know they’re working on the case because my son can’t rest until everybody’s caught — and neither can I.”
Dallas police declined requests for interviews with the lead detectives assigned to her son’s and Pintucci’s cases. In a statement, Dallas police said there are certain aspects of investigations that can’t be shared with a victim’s family to prevent compromising a case. They acknowledged that can cause relatives to “feel a disconnect from the detectives.”
When Sanders first spoke with police after Malik’s death, she told them she didn’t want her son, who loved dance-offs and video games, to become “another black boy swept up into a statistic.” She fears that’s happening.
“As time fades on, there’s other issues happening in Dallas. It’s something new everyday, so I understand how it can lose focus,” Sanders said. “But this has made me feel like they have just completely forgotten about my son.”
A deeper staffing problem
The Dallas Police Department employs about 3,000 officers, according to department records. That’s down from more than 3,500 a few years ago as failing pension plans and low pay in comparison to that of neighboring cities pushed many young patrol officers to leave for suburban departments.
Everyone, from City Council members and the mayor to the police chief and union presidents, agrees on one thing: Dallas needs more cops. The consensus ends over whether that need has contributed to the violent crime the city is experiencing. Some say while an issue like homicide obviously can’t be boiled down to a single cause, violent criminals feel emboldened with fewer officers to deter them.
Dallas City Council member Adam McGough said as much at a June meeting of the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee that he chairs. He also pointed to Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot’s decision to stop prosecuting some low-level crimes.
“Whether it’s the fewer officers, whether it’s cameras in different locations and not working, whether it’s response times,” McGough said, “there’s a feeling that if somebody wants to commit a crime, they can get away with it.”
Creuzot said in a statement that McGough’s beliefs aren’t based on facts and that there’s no correlation between his office’s reforms on low-level offenses and the city’s murder rate.
Meanwhile, experts say there’s little direct evidence that having more officers leads to fewer crimes.
“Police themselves can do very little about preventing homicides from occurring in the first place because homicides are very situational,” said Alex Piquero, a criminology professor at the University of Texas at Dallas. “It can become less about the numbers than what you’re doing with them.”
Others also warn against placing blame on the police department when there’s little that more bodies on the ground might be able to fix.
“We want to say all this stuff about police chief this, Dallas lost all these officers that, we’re looking at the wrong things,” said Terrance Hopkins, president of the Black Police Association of Greater Dallas. “We’ve never been able to be everywhere all the time.”
But some officials said that creates a contradiction: If the department’s understaffing isn’t the problem, why would sending state troopers to Dallas and beefing up police numbers be the solution?
“When we have 40 murders in a month, the city comes out and says, ‘Well, there’s not a whole lot we can do about this because they were family violence related,'” Mata said. “Then the next month comes, there’s about 20 murders and they want to extol how we went 12, 13 days without a murder. You can’t have it both ways — and the fact is, what they’ve tried won’t have lasting result.
This isn’t the first time Abbott has sent state troopers to help a city police department. In October 2017, when he directed troopers to assist San Antonio police to combat a wave of violent crime, the Alamo City’s violent crime and homicide numbers went down within six to 12 months, said Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson.
For security reasons, city and state officials have remained tight lipped when it comes to details on how many troopers were deployed to Dallas, how long they’ll be there or what strategies they’re using to curb the city’s violent crime. Spokespeople from Abbott’s office, DPS and Dallas police declined multiple requests for additional details.
Bazaldua, Creuzot and Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price said they welcome the additional help, but the troopers don’t understand the city well enough to adequately police it. At the start of the month, DPS announced state troopers had made 9,000-plus traffic stops and issued more than 12,000 warnings. That’s an average of about 260 warnings per day, and troopers have made one arrest for every 22 stops — figures, the three officials say, that would likely be matched anywhere in Dallas with such wide-ranging efforts.
Instead, they say, these policing tactics have disproportionately affected residents of color and often haven’t aligned with the goal of lowering violent crime. They’ve heard from residents, for example, who are too afraid of being pulled over to even travel to nearby businesses — and from shop owners who complain that has led traffic in their stores to plummet.
“Those same types of policing policies would not be tolerated in other portions of this city,” Creuzot said. “If you go up to North Dallas or Highland Park, put DPS there and have them stop, pull over all the sports cars and give them a ticket for not having a front license plate, you’re going to have some problems.”
DPS spokesperson Katherine Cesinger said in a statement that the agency “rejects” claims that state troopers are harassing residents.
Responding to the rise
As city officials explore solutions to Dallas’ homicide uptick, they’ve floated around ideas such as creating a gun buyback program, strengthening conflict resolution initiatives and improving community relations. But when asked whether enough has been done to curb the city’s violent crime, longtime Dallas resident Eric Adejuwon had two words: “absolutely not.”
The issue’s personal for him. Over the past few years, he’s run a mentorship program for high school boys. One of his mentees, 17-year-old college football signee Leroy Hawkins, was killed in June in downtown Dallas. Just six days after he celebrated his graduation from Desoto High School — and less than 24 hours after Malik Tyler’s shooting — Hawkins was found shot to death in his car.
“It’s hard not to be numb,” Adejuwon said. “When you see all of these black people being maimed, shot, assaulted — it becomes a nightmare that translates into reality.”
Black residents represent the third-largest racial demographic in Dallas, or about 24% of the population, according to the most recent estimates. Yet more than half of all Dallas homicide victims since 2014 have been black, department data shows.
As homicides rose this year, they followed that trend. Advocates have pushed for the department and the city’s black residents to forge stronger relationships to start changing the situation. Adejuwon worries it still isn’t a priority for officials.
“This murder spike should only be pushing the envelope for them to have better engagement with the community so this can stop — and that has not happened,” Adejuwon said. “When you want to create a better relationship with this community that you serve, you have to be able to make a connection with those people. When you’re isolating yourself or only showing your face on Fourth of July events, you’re not going to see any change.”
City Council member Carolyn King Arnold, who represents District 4, a southern Dallas area where most residents are black — and where the most homicides this year have occurred — did not respond to multiple requests for an interview.
Aside from Abbott’s deployment of state troopers, Dallas police established a summer crime initiative to place more cops in eight “hot spot” areas for high crime and intensified operations through Project Safe Neighborhoods, a nationwide program bringing in federal law enforcement agencies’ resources to help cities. The department has also tried to deter crime by increasing its presence in three locations identified for potential violent incidents and brainstormed new methods of community engagement, among other measures.https://graphics.texastribune.org/graphics/dallas-murders-2019-07/stacked-bar-poverty/?initialWidth=320&childId=pym-3-ie9d1&parentTitle=In%20Texas%2C%20cities%27%20murder%20rates%20are%20declining%2C%20but%20Dallas%27%20is%20rising%20%E2%80%94%20why%3F%20%7C%20The%20Texas%20Tribune&parentUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.texastribune.org%2F2019%2F08%2F15%2FDallas-crime-murder-rate-rises-state-troopers-resident-complaints%2F
A smaller, still vocal group of community members — among them Bazaldua, the District 7 council member whose constituents have seen the second-highest number of homicides this year — has warned that those steps miss another layer and a simpler answer to what Dallas has experienced this year: the correlation of high concentrations of violent crime with high concentrations of poverty. Over 280,000 people in Dallas live in poverty, according to the most recent estimates, and that figure’s grown more than five times faster than the city’s population rise.
Experts say income inequality predicts homicide rates better than any other variable. And Dallas is one of the 10 most unequal U.S. cities among those with populations greater than 250,000, according to measurements of income distribution.
“It’s indicative of a long history of our city allowing the southern sector specifically to continue to concentrate poverty populations,” Bazaldua said. “We’re not going to be able to address this head-on until we pay more attention to that.”
Although they make up roughly 68% of the city’s population, black and Hispanic residents comprise about 83% of those living in poverty. And it’s those intersections of race, ethnicity and poverty that Bazaldua argues deserve a brighter spotlight.
“We need more of those loud voices that are pointing fingers to come to the table and put their heads together to figure out what is going to be the best way forward,” Bazaldua said. “No matter what side of this issue you’re on, we all want a safer, better Dallas. We’re going to have to be able to actually start working together if we want to find that solution.”
Finding a way forward
Since taking office as mayor in June, Johnson has avoided playing into narratives that Dallas is facing a crisis. He doesn’t believe the murder count represents a spike and doesn’t believe it’ll become one. Coming at the issue with a set of fresh eyes, Johnson’s advocated for a layered approach to tackling the uptick, one encompassing many of the problems others have underscored in isolation.
The issue might be a matter of the department’s staffing numbers, Johnson said, but it doesn’t just land on one factor. It’s also about retaining officers, marshaling other personnel more efficiently, looping in other sectors of government to help — the list goes on.
“This is a challenge that cities face from time to time and, in fact, that this city has faced before,” Johnson said. “But we are going to meet that challenge.”
When pressed for specifics, Johnson deferred to the city manager’s office, which pointed toward the department’s ongoing crime initiatives. As Dallas takes on that challenge, some people who’ve already been affected are trying to move on with their lives as they await further arrests in their loved ones’ slayings.
Pintucci’s four-door sedan is still taken out on the road and retains its parking spot one block down the street from Haag and Harrington’s home. But they’re now the ones behind the steering wheel. Sometimes, they cruise through their neighborhood in the sedan, Haag said, bringing them back to a time before they received the phone call saying their son had been shot.
Malik’s mom and her boyfriend plan to soon move to Fort Worth. Sanders and White had already weighed leaving their Dallas apartment complex prior to Malik’s death, but they’ve since sped up the process.
Malik’s four siblings struggle with reminders of their 13-year-old brother’s shooting while they live close to the area where he died.
Neither family has a concrete answer for why this year has seen a rise in homicides, but both believe there’s more that could be done in the meantime— from offering additional resources for grief counseling to families to establishing better liaisons to provide them updates and information. As the two-month mark since Malik’s death passes, Sanders said she still feels emotionally numb. She hopes that over time, that’ll go away. White isn’t sure it will.
“I don’t know how to fix this, but there has to be a way — because there’s no way you can prepare yourself for this. All I could tell anyone is be prayed up, try and stay close to the people who love you,” White said, “and maybe you’ll have enough strength to go through it.”
This article was originally published on Dallas’ sudden spike in homicides has officials perplexed. And not everyone agrees that state troopers are helping.
TROY CLOSSON
http://www.dallasdailypost.com/
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2020 Mahindra Thar Launched From Rs. 9.8 Lakh [Variant Wise Prices]
The second generation Mahindra Thar created a huge buzz like no other in the recent Indian automotive history upon its global premiere on the Independence Day in August. Today, the all-new model’s prices have been unveiled as it costs between Rs. 9.8 lakh and Rs. 13.75 lakh (ex-showroom). The reservations for the 2020 Mahindra Thar are already underway across Mahindra showrooms present in the country. The new-gen Thar has been made available in LX, AX and AX(O) trims. The first unit of the Thar has already been auctioned out for Rs. 1.1 crore and the proceeds will go for a good cause. The off-roader was on sale for more than ten years as the original model was given the fare well through a Final Edition limited to just 700 units. The new model is based on a heavily upgraded ladder frame chassis and it is longer as well as wider than the previous model with a longer wheelbase stretching 20 mm more at 2,450 mm. The leaf springs are replaced by independent wishbones at front and multi-link rear suspension for better ride quality while the shift-on-fly low-range transfer case has 2H, 4H and 4L options.........Read more
In Letter to Country, PM Modi Speaks of 'Tremendous Suffering' of Migrants in Battle Against Coronavirus
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Gold prices hit record high, surpass Rs 43,000 per 10 grams; check what’s fuelling the rally in yellow metal
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Jeff Bezos’s Girlfriend Gave Their Intimate Chats to Her Brother Who Leaked it to Newspaper, Reveals WSJ
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Maruti differs with Nirmala Sitharaman, says Ola, Uber not big factor in auto crisis
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Security Agencies on Alert in Kashmir After Intel Confirms Presence of 45 Al-Badr Terrorists
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Donald Trump Attacks India Over Tariffs on American Products
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Bitcoin consumes more energy than Switzerland, according to new estimate
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Supreme Court upholds appointments of central vigilance commissioner and vigilance commissoner
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Indu Malhotra sworn in as Supreme Court judge, administered oath by CJI Dipak Mishra
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JEE questions identical to 2016 test in coaching class?
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Rong Ying, Vice President of China Institute of International Studies (CIIS), a think-tank affiliated to Chinese Foreign Ministry, said over the past three years, India's diplomacy has been vibrant and assertive, and has formed a distinctive and unique "Modi Doctrine", a strategy for the rise of India as a great power in the new situation.........Read more
KTM RC390 R Costs INR 6.71 Lakh; Goes Over INR 15 Lakh With The SSP300 Race Kit
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LV to Invest 3000 Cr in Patanjali?
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Anil Agarwal increases stake in Anglo American to 19%
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Two years of AAP govt: Model clinics give healthcare a new face in Delhi
Over five months, 110 mohalla clinics have treated 8 lakh patients, as per the government data. The AAP government showcased this as a path breaking achievement and received international acclaim. However, insiders believe that the project is still in its nascent stage and is far from being a game changer for health sector. ........Read more
Hyderabad based startup Smartron announces investment in Volta Motors to develop electric vehicles
Smartron, a Hyderabad-based start-up, Monday announced that it will invest in Volta Motors, a Chennai-based automotive company that is designing and developing sustainable electric vehicles. This company will be eventually christened as Tron Motors, a Smartron Company. It, however, did not disclose the investment figures.........Read more
Toyota Reportedly Approaching Technology Partnership Agreement With Suzuki
The advent of driverless cars has brought together many companies across the world in an endeavour to further develop the technology. The latest pair reportedly on its way to announcing a partnership are Toyota Motor Corp and Suzuki Motor Corp. According to business daily Nikkei, the two are approaching an agreement to develop technology, including self-driving. The publication adds that the two companies could announce a deal as soon as Monday.........Read more
Bengaluru ATM attacker who hacked woman with a machete caught after 3 yrs
Superintendent of police, G Srinivas, on Saturday identified Madhukara Reddy, a local criminal from Chittoor district, as the accused who attacked 45-year-old Jyothi Uday in an ATM booth in November 2013. “We got information that Reddy visits Madanapalli (a small city in Chittoor) as he is a native of the town,” Srinivas said. “When he visited this time, we nabbed him and he confessed to having committed the crime in Bengaluru.”........Read more
Beauty and the Beast Trailer Is Finally Out and It Is Absolutely Magical
The final trailer of Disney's highly anticipated Beauty and the Beast is out and it is absolutely magical. Featuring Emma Watson as Belle and Dan Stevens as the beast, the film has been directed by Bill Condon. A musical, the film has the lead actors doing their own playback. The film also features Luke Evans, Kevin Kline, Josh Gad, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci and Audra McDonald. It will release in theatress on March 17th. So getset to witness one of the finest fairy tales that one has ever read and relive the magical love story.........Read more
Alibaba's financial arm acquires MoneyGram for $880 million
Ant Financial, e-commerce giant Alibaba's financial arm, has reached an agreement to acquire American money-transfer major MoneyGram for $880 million, in a deal that will expand the firm's business in the US after India and Thailand. The acquisition of MoneyGram is a significant milestone in our mission to bring inclusive financial services to users around the world.........Read more
This may be the world's most expensive dual-SIM Android smartphone
Luxury smartphone maker Vertu has launched its latest smartphone, dubbed Constellation. The company has so far not revealed the price of the smartphone set to be launched on February 10. However, going by the prices of its earlier smartphones, Vertu Constellation is sure to not come cheap. The company's earlier launched Signature Touch phone has a starting price tag of Rs 500,000.........Read more
BSNL to set up 1,000 hotspots across Kerala as spectrum for 4G was too expensive
Public-sector BSNL is all set to set launch 1000 high-speed Wi-Fi hotspots across the state to address the challenges posed by its absence in the 4G data services. Kerala Circle CGM of BSNL, R Mani told reporters here that the proposed hotspots would provide 4.5G speed and it would be commissioned within a months’ time. Huge cost to buy the 4G spectrum was the hindrance for the state-run service provider to plunge into 4G service but it is expected to happen by this March.........Read more
RBI raises cash withdrawal limit from ATMs to Rs 10,000 per day from current Rs 4,500
The RBI has enhanced cash withdrawal limits from ATMs and current accounts with immediate effect. Customers can now withdraw Rs 10,000 per day from automated teller machines, as against Rs 4,500 earlier.........Read more
Baghdad suicide car bomb blast kills 32
A suicide car bomb attack in a densely-populated neighbourhood of Baghdad on Monday killed at least 32 people and left dozens wounded, police and hospital officials said. Many of the victims were daily labourers waiting for jobs at an intersection in Sadr City, a sprawling majority Shiite neighbourhood in the northeast of the capital that has been repeatedly targeted.........Read more
RS passes bill on rights of differently-abled, discrimination may earn upto 2-yr jail term
The bill, which was moved in Upper House earlier this month by Social Justice Minister Thaawar Chand Gehlot, also gives effect to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and related matters.........Read more
To remove Nusli Wadia, Cyrus Mistry, Tata Motors files caveat in Bombay High Court
Tata Motors Ltd on Tuesday has filed caveat against Nusli Wadia and ousted Tata Sons chairperson, Cyrus Mistry in the Bombay High Court. A caveat is filed to ensure that there are no ex-parte orders in a case. Tata Motors has called an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on December 22 to seek shareholders’ approval for removing Mistry and Wadia as directors of the company. Wadia has claimed that he has been targeted for his “independence of mind and action” and he is not required to act in their interest as he does not serve the Tata group in any capacity.........Read more
Deutsche Bank cuts ties with 3,400 clients in global markets division
Deutsche Bank’s global markets division will cut ties with about 3,400 clients in its debt and equities sales activities, the bank said on Friday. Deutsche Bank will immediately cease debt sales services to some financial institutions and hedge funds as well as equity sales activities, the execution of equities trading orders and equity structuring activities for some clients, a spokesman said, citing an internal memo.........Read more
The religious brain reacts to God like a drug
The neural circuitry involved in feeling religious experiences has been identified. Brain regions associated with reward lit up when devout Mormons said that they were feeling the Spirit. The brain areas that responded included reward circuits that respond to romantic love, appreciation of music, cocaine and methamphetamines.........Read more
Modi Govt Spent Rs 10 Crore on Demonetisation Ad Campaign
Quoting an unnamed sources, the report said that expenditure on demonetisation is lesser than ads of other government schemes such as Swachh Bharat Abhiyan for which the government allegedly paid Rs 100 crore. This expenditure was 23 percent of the total advertising budget of Rs 170 crore allotted to the ministry of information and broadcasting.........Read more
Ranchi Rays buy Gurbaj for $99,000 in HIL 2017 closed bid
Gurbaj Singh turned out the most expensive buy in the closed bid for Hockey India League 2017, picked up for a whopping $99,000 by Ranchi Rays. German forward Christopher Ruhr was the costliest among foreign players, going for $75,000, also to Ranchi Rays.........Read more
Many Telecom Operators Have Executed 100-Day Call Drop Plan, Says COAI
"Many of the operators have executed the 100-day plan. There is substantial reduction in call drop problem now," Mathews told IANS ahead of Communications Minister Manoj Sinha's November 1 meeting with CEOs of telecom companies to take stock of the call drop issue.........Read more
Patna Kidnapping: SSP Manu Maharaj Walked 15 Km And Lead The Operation For 10 Hours
Patna police have rescued two brothers kidnapped from the Patna airport premises after an encounter with the alleged abductors in the Maoist-dominated Kajra hills in Lakhisarai district, about 160km east of Patna. The whole operation was led by Patna superintendent of police Manu Maharaaj. An IPS officer from 2005 batch, he is known as Singham of Patna.........Read more
One of the world’s largest legacy tech companies is going all out to woo India’s startups
“It is important for us, our market, our business, and our customers that we are out there and work with young companies and learn in the process,” Mehrotra, vice-president for strategy and growth initiatives across Asia at IBM, said. “The best ideas don’t necessarily come from within.”........Read more
Airports in border states, Delhi, Hyderabad put on high alert
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Sofia Vergara is world’s highest paid TV actress again; Priyanka Chopra is 8th
Sofia Vergara of Modern Family is the highest paid TV actress in the world for the fifth year in a row. Priyanka Chopra stood at eighth position for her work in Quantico.........Read more
So-Called “Employment Protection Legislation” Is Bad News for Workers
A sloppy economist looks at the recipients of government programs and declares that the economy will be stimulated by this additional money that is easily seen, whereas a good economist recognises that the government can’t redistribute money without doing unseen damage by first taxing or borrowing it from the private sector.........Read more
Kangana Ranaut wants to be Chetan Bhagat's 'One Indian Girl'
Kangana, who had received a manuscript of Chetan Bhagat’s latest, 'One Indian Girl,’ reportedly was so impressed by its modern, urbane female protagonist and its portrayal of feminism, that she immediately picked up her phone and called up the writer, to tell him, “Did you really write this? It's a wonderful book, a must-read! I'm definitely playing the lead whenever you turn the book into a film."........Read more
Netaji did not die in air crash: AIFB national secretary Saini
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AAP MLA jailed for 18 months over labourer's death at his factory
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Why Rahul is now ready to face trial for 'RSS killed Gandhi' remark
Congress is trying hard to reclaim lost ground and win back the support of minorities and other groups that have deserted it.........Read more
Super Star Learnt Telugu in Just 1 Week
Malayalam and Telugu are two different languages totally and hardly have any similarities. Notwithstanding the difficulty........Read more
‘I’ll Die Fighting’ Said Sumegha, Journalist Who ‘Dated’ Cancer
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Jaguar Land Rover Showcases Autonomous All-Terrain Driving Technology
The British manufacturer had forayed into autonomous technology for its vehicles a while ago. Recently, it showcased brand new innovative research technologies which will allow its future autonomous cars to drive over any terrain unhindered. Jaguar Land Rover has spent millions of pounds into its Autonomous All-Terrain Driving research project.........Read more
The real tragedy: There will never be a solution to the Kashmir problem
We are not Canadians or British who would conduct a referendum to decide on a state’s demand to secede.........Read more
Use of DNA Fingerprinting in Indian Criminal Law
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter In this blog post, Abhiraj Thakur, a 1st-year student of NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, writes about the DNA fingerprinting technology which is widely used to secure convictions. This technique being reliable and accurate should be adopted at full scale in India. However, our country still suffers from some issues which ...........Read more
Ford Endeavour 2016 Review: The Most Desirable Beast For Now
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No Indian Cricketer Involved in Alleged Rape in Zimbabwe: MEA Sources
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China is not opposed to India's NSG bid, we will convince Beijing: Sushma Swaraj
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Very hot drinks 'probably' cause cancer: UN agency
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Why are Indian Muslims using the Arabic word ‘Ramadan’ instead of the traditional 'Ramzan'?
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Wearable artificial kidney may replace dialysis, shows new clinical trial
The findings provide proof of concept that a wearable device along these lines could be developed as a viable, novel dialysis technology.........Read more
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Germany: Violent anti-Semitic attack at train station, man accused of attempted murder
Sep 30, 2016 | News
A 49-year-old German man has been accused of attempted murder after violently attacking a 57-year-old man at a train station in Nuremberg.
The attack happened when the 49-year-old started insulting the man, saying he “smelled like a Jew” and that he wanted to kill him for being Jewish.
The suspect then physically attacked the man and threw him onto the train tracks. The victim tried to climb back up on the platform, but each time his attacker kicked and stamped on his hands and head, stopping him from climbing back up.
An employee witnessed the incident and stopped all incoming trains before staff subdued the suspect and rescued the victim, saving his life.
The attacker was arrested and is quoted as saying things such as, “I hate all Jews” and “I did it because he is a Jew. Next time I’m doing it right.”
The suspect was allegedly drunk at the time of the attack. He has admitted to the offences, apologised to the victim. The suspect is accused of attempted murder and sedition. He is currently on trial.
While the attack is considered anti-Semitic because of the comments of the man, it is not clear if the victim was Jewish. Neither the identity of the attacker or the victim have been released by Germany officials.
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Linden eyes purchase of new backhoe
By Teresa Boykin
Published 2:55 pm Thursday, May 24, 2018
Linden Public Works Director Terry Tyson was granted permission to get quotes for purchasing a new backhoe for the street department during Tuesday’s Linden City Council meeting.
Tyson said that the department’s current backhoe is in need of repairs that are too complicated to fix themselves. Tyson has received a quote for repairs for $20,000 from Cowin Equipment Company. He also received a $10,000 quote from River City Diesel, but that does not include the price of a used transmission.
He was able to get a general price of a new backhoe, which would be approximately $78,000.
Tyson wants to purchase a new one so the street department doesn’t have to share with the utility department in case both departments need the machine at the same time or if two machines are needed for a project.
“If I had anyone working — let’s just say we were working in Pine Crest — we had a machine down there and we dug a pole out and we needed dirt or we needed asphalt, I’d have to run that machine back through town, and we’d have to get another scoop of dirt and have to town and do the work,” he said.
Tyson said that the street department may be able to fix it with parts from a salvage machine if the parts are interchangeable. The salvage machine would cost $7,500. He also said that he found a remanufactured transmission for $6,800 but was concerned given the short warranty offered.
“If they won’t stand behind it for more than six months, what have you got?”
According to Tyson, the City of Linden used to lease backhoes for three years at a time for $11,000 a year before purchasing one in 2007 for $60,000.
“If a machine will last you 11 or more years, when you divide it all out it’s not that expensive,”
Other items discussed by the council include the following:
• approving a Children at Play sign on Greene St.
• discussing placing speed breakers on Martin Luther King Drive. Tyson said that he would get prices on speed breakers and on the city putting them in.
• discussing adding two new streetlights on the corner of Lawrence Street. and East Coats Avenue.
• Councilwoman Jan Cannon introduced Barbara Cannon as the new city clerk.
• tabling a letter regarding giving a one-time bonus to retirees.
• entering executive session.
The Linden City Council meets at 4:30 p.m. on the first and third Tuesday of each month at city hall.
(This article originally appeared in the Saturday, May 19 issue of the Demopolis Times.)
Library to ‘rock’ during summer reading program
“Libraries Rock!” Summer Reading Program will rock the Demopolis Public Library in June and July. Participants are given a reading... read more
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Home / Lifestyle / Home Front
The Best Flat Panel TV’s
The best models, and what’s next.
By Frank Vizard on March 30, 2010
The bigger the television screen, the better the viewing experience. Or so popular wisdom would have it. But that’s no longer the whole story. The technology used in the original flat panels—plasmas and LCDs—has become more sophisticated, while even more innovative types of screens have been developed. New TVs are also more energy efficient and interactive, with Internet access bringing online entertainment to the home theater.
The most advanced TV today—Mitsubishi’s $7,000, 65-inch LaserVue—uses red, green, and blue lasers to create images with an astounding depth of color. Equally cutting edge are the superthin organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays, some of which are bendable and seem to promise a future where TVs can be neatly folded up or wrapped around an arm like a bracelet.
It may be years before laser and OLED displays become widespread, though, and plasma and LCD screens are hardly antiques. The latest of these have been slimmed down to the point that they’re generally one inch thick or less, meaning they can, for example, slide into a wall recess when not in use. Plasma sets still have the edge when it comes to picture quality, but LCD TV makers like Samsung are replacing the old fluorescent backlighting with LEDs that yield deeper blacks, making the whole picture that much better. LCD producers are also working to eliminate kinks that have caused complaints, especially motion blurring during fast-action sequences. New LCD models will feature 240Hz motion compensation circuitry that processes these sequences at four times the speed of earlier models.
Every major TV manufacturer now offers models that can access a specified menu of Web sites, allowing viewers to stream movies from Netflix or video clips from YouTube directly to the TV screen. In addition, many producers have started adding energy-saving functions. For example, Sony’s new Bravia VE5 models use motion detectors to shut off the TV automatically after a set period, turning back on when a presence is detected. A light sensor also automatically regulates backlighting to reduce unnecessary brightness, thereby lowering power output.
Alas, all these new developments can make finding the right set overwhelming. Here’s a closer look at the best models out there.
At the top of the performance pyramid is Mitsubishi’s 65-inch LaserVue, which, as the name implies, uses a combination of lasers (red, green, and blue) to generate images. The company has been coy about how exactly it works, but the results are startling: The color range is double that of standard high-definition TVs. The LaserVue is also a good choice for the energy-conscious. It consumes just 135 watts of electricity, less than one-third that of LCDs and one quarter that of plasmas. A 73-inch version is scheduled for release later in 2009. From $7,000; laservuetv.com
The future of television is the Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) display, built from carbon-based compounds. While other manufacturers are still working on prototypes, Sony has released an OLED model, the 11-inch XEL-1. What’s remarkable is the TV’s thinness—it’s only three millimeters (0.12 inches) deep. Just as important, OLED displays provide a brighter picture, with better contrast than LCD or plasma models. And, because the screens themselves are light-emitting and don’t require a separate light source, they use less energy. $2,500; sonystyle.com
Pioneer’s Elite Kuro models have set the gold standard for plasma televisions with their ability to reproduce absolute black, a baseline that yields finer picture detail, greater contrast, and deeper colors. Kuro screens also adjust the picture in response to changes in both exterior lighting conditions and onscreen color temperature resulting from changing content. And there are ten AV setting options tailored to, for example, sports, movies, or games. 50-inch model, $4,500; 60-inch model, $6,500; pioneerelectronics.com
Making space for a new Blu-ray Disc player is unnecessary with Sharp’s new line of Aquos BD LCD HDTV Series. That’s because the Blu-ray player comes built-in as a side-loading slot. The Blu-ray player also features an Internet connection called BD-Live that allows viewers to access extra disc-related content online. Film lovers will appreciate that Aquos BD TVs automatically adjust a movie’s aspect ratio for optimal viewing. They also feature 120Hz scanning to reduce motion blur. From $1,100 (32 inches) to $2,600 (52 inches); sharpusa.com
Viera Cast, Panasonic’s innovative TV-Internet connection, provides access to a limited number of Web sites, such as Amazon, which offers video on demand, Picasa Web Albums, YouTube, and some news sites. Debuting this summer, Panasonic’s top-of-the-line model, the Z1, has an unusual two-part configuration: It is composed of a 54-inch plasma screen and a separate tuner box. The tuner transmits video signals to the display using a 60GHz millimeter wave radio beam, eliminating the need for any connecting wires. Viera HDTV PZ850 models, $2,500–7,000; panasonic.com
Pantel
Now the truly indulgent can lie back in a tub and channel their inner Michael Phelps as they watch a swimming competition on Pantel’s new Waterproof LCD Mirror TVs. And when not bathing, they can admire themselves in the display, which doubles as a mirror when switched off. Pantel’s waterproof models have the same 1080p high-resolution picture as most standard LCDs, and two external speakers offer crystal clear sound quality. From $2,000 (20 inches) to $4,500 (42 inches); panteltv.com
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Dictionary of Irish Architects 1720 - 1940
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Irish Architectural Archive
BROWNRIGG, JOHN
Born: 1746/7 Died: 1838
Land surveyor, of Dublin and Edenderry, Co. Offaly. John Brownrigg was probably, like THOMAS SHERRARD THOMAS SHERRARD , a pupil of BERNARD SCAL BERNARD SCAL É. At the Society of Artists in Ireland in 1770 he exhibited a survey drawing of Passage, Co. Waterford, and in 1771 a survey drawing of the demesne of Wentworth Thewles at Harristown, Co. Kildare. His address at this time is given as 'At Mr Jones's Cabinet maker in Charles-Street'. In about 1773 Scalé took Sherrard and Brownrigg into partnership at 123 Lower Abbey Street; later Sherrard and Brownrigg formed a partnership of their own,(1) which was dissolved in 1778,(2) when Brownrigg set up independently in Grafton Street. Brownrigg is listed in Wilson's Dublin Directory for 1779 at 63 Grafton Street and in the directories for 1780-1809 at 64 Grafton Street, from 1801 until 1809 as 'John Brownrigg & Co.' From 1799 he was in partnership with JOHN LONGFIELD [1] JOHN LONGFIELD [1] and Thomas Murray. The partnership came to an end in 1805.
From the 1780s or earlier Brownrigg worked for the Grand Canal Company. He supervised the laying out of the Barrow Branch of the canal(3) and in 1788 prepared a map and section of 'that part of the Grand Canal now perfected',(4) which he published the following year.(5) He also produced a plan for linking the canal with the Liffey at Dublin in about 1785.(6) In 1789 he was engaged by the Directors of the Royal Canal Company to make a survey of the proposed route for the Royal Canal. He prepared another survey of the Royal Canal in 1801 including the proposed extension to Coolnahay, Co. Westmeath.(7) He also appears to have designed the Company's hotel at Moyvalley in 1805-6.(8) Around 1803, together with JOHN KILLALY JOHN KILLALY , he was appointed engineer to the Directors-General of Inland Navigation; in 1833 he applied for a pension, stating that he had held the post for thirty years.(9)
Brownrigg's connection with Edenderry appears to have begun when he surveyed parts of the Earl (later Marquess) of Downshire's property there (perhaps in connection with the development of the Grand Canal) and became a tenant of Clonlack townland on the estate. He was appointed Downshire's agent on a temporary basis in 1799 and handed the post over to his son JAMES BROWNRIGG JAMES BROWNRIGG about a year later. Following his son's premature death in 1817, he again became temporary agent, holding the post until the appointment of Matthew Lyne the following year.(10) By the end of his long life he had become a magistrate for Co. Offaly.
Brownrigg was admitted a freeman of the city of Dublin in 1794 as a member of the Carpenters' Guild by Grace Extraordinary,(11) which suggests that he was not a native Dubliner, and from circa 1799 until circa 1806 was Surveyor of the Dublin Paving Board, a post which had previously been held by Thomas Brownrigg.(12) His plan for a road linking Kevin Street and Portobello is mentioned in the Wide Streets Commissioners minutes of 13 June 1806.(13) In the 1820s he was the government's examiner of surveys of Crown lands.
John Brownrigg died on 29 September 1838 at the age of ninety-one. He had married Elizabeth Campbell (1757?-1827) and was the father of JAMES BROWNRIGG. JAMES BROWNRIGG. (14) 'J. Brownrigg, Esq., Edenderry', was a subscriber to Edward Barwick's A Treatise on the Church (1813) which set out to prove that the 'reformed Episcopal church' was 'a sound and orthodox part of the Catholic Church'.
Letters from John and James Brownrigg and James Brownrigg's wife to Lord Downshire and others, 1810-1837, are in PRONI, Downshire Papers, D671/C/232. The National Library of Ireland has a large collection of maps produced by the firm of Brownrigg, Murray & Longfield, which was presented by William Longfield's nephew in 1908.(15)
See WORKS.
All information in this entry not otherwise accounted for is from V.T.H. & D.R. Delany, The Canals of the South of Ireland (1966), 46, 47, 50, 81-3, 107, 197, from J.H. Andrews, Plantation Acres (Ulster Historical Foundation, 1985), 133, 143, 170, 181, 199, 264, 265, 278, 279, 282, 365,443, and from the entry by C.J. Woods in Dictionary of Irish Biography, ed. by James McGuire and James Quinn, 9 vols. (Cambridge University Press, 2009), 941, which see for a fuller account of Brownrigg's life.
(1) Andrews, op. cit, 279 says they did so in 1777; Wilson's Dublin Directory for 1777 lists both Scale & Brownrigg, surveyors, and Sherrard & Brownrigg, land surveyors, at 123 Lower Abbey St.
(2) Faulkner's Dublin Journal, 27-29 Sep 1774, 3-5 Nov 1778.
(3) According to Andrews, op. cit., 220, his manuscript survey of the Grand Canal from Dublin to the Barrow at Monasterevan, 1787, is in the collection of CIE, Pearse Station.
(4) Castletown House drawings collection, no. 19.
(5) Faulkner's Dublin Journal, 21-23 Apr 1789.
(6) Map in National Archives, Pembroke Estate Papers, 2011/2/4.
(7) For Brownrigg's association with the Royal Canal Company, see Peter Clarke, The Royal Canal (1992),23, 25, 27-35, 44, 46-7, 49, 52-56, 65,89,90.
(8) 11 sheets of designs from the Henry, Mullins & McMahon collection, sold at auction by Allen & Townsend, 8 July 1865, Lot 1278.
(9) NA/SPO CSORP 1832/Treas 81 (IAA, Edward McParland files, Acc. 2008/44). He gives his age as eighty-four, but, if he was ninety-one when he died in 1838, as stated by Woods, loc. cit., he was even older. Woods also states that he had been engineer to the Directors-General since 1793 or earlier.
(10) W.A. Maguire, 'Missing Persons: Edenderry under the Blundells and the Downshires, 1707-1922', in Offaly: History and Society (Dublin: Geography Publications, 1998), 526,531.
(11) 'An alphabetical list of the Freemen of the City of Dublin, 1774-1824', The Irish Ancestor XV (1983), Nos. 1 & 2, 18.
(12) Watson's Almanack 1797,1799, 1803,1806.
(13) NA/PRO, Wide Streets Commissioners minutes, 13 Jun 1806.
(14) R. Refaussé, Register of the parish of St Thomas, Dublin (1994), 64.
(15) Longfield Map Collection, NLI MSS 21 F 32-21 F 49 (for list by Karen de Lacey, 2009) see http://www.nli.ie/pdfs/mss%20lists/158_Longfield_Map_Collection.pdf (last visited Nov 2010).
2 work entries listed in chronological order for BROWNRIGG, JOHN
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Building: CO. KILDARE, MOYVALLEY, ROYAL CANAL HOTEL
Nature: Designed by JB. Contractor: ?David Henry.
Refs: 11 sheets of designs, signed 'J. Brownrigg' and dated 1806-7, from the Henry, Mullins & McMahon collection, sold at auction by Allen & Townsend, 8 July 1865, Lot 1278.
Building: CO. ARMAGH, CARRICKROVADDY (JERRETTSPASS), BRIDGE
Date: 1808ca
Nature: New bridge on Newry canal. Builder: John Chebsey.
Refs: Kevin V. Mulligan, The Buildings of Ireland: South Ulster (2013),360.
Copyright IAA 2021 ©
The Dictionary of Irish Architects lists the work and biographies of architects, builders, and craftsmen who were active in Ireland between 1720 and 1940. rev. 31
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Congress Passes Maternal Mortality Prevention Bill
It may be surprising to many, but medical experts have reported for years that America has the highest maternal mortality rates of any developed country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate more than 50,000 women annually experience severe complications related to childbirth, and that up to 700 of them will die during pregnancy or delivery.
While experts disagree about the root causes behind this statistic, there’s a stronger chance than ever before that the data will finally reveal the problems – and allow for crucial medical reforms to follow. That’s because Congress recently approved more than $60 million in allocated funding for maternal mortality prevention efforts, in what health advocates are hailing as a groundbreaking first step towards a real solution.
Why Are Maternal Mortality Rates So High?
In recent years, there has been significant pressure from public health officials and mother’s rights groups to investigate our nation’s maternal mortality epidemic. Although some states have attempted to blame the mothers for everything from lifestyle choices to simple negligence, other experts have come to the conclusion that there’s a deeper problem with our healthcare system.
Their claim? That obstetric specialists, doctors, nurses, and other physicians often neglect the needs and stated preferences of expecting mothers. From performing unnecessary C-sections to increase hospital profits, to failing to diagnose life-threatening pregnancy conditions such as preeclampsia, some experts now believe that American health practitioners do not always apply the full standard of care to maternal patients.
What Does the Maternal Mortality Prevention Bill Entail?
For these public health advocates, the new bill represents a significant victory in the fight against maternal mortality. The bill, unanimously passed in Congress last week, will allow for the creation of maternal health review committees in every state. For the next 5 years, these review boards will collect data on exactly which factors are killing pregnant women, ensuring that there will be enough comprehensive research to begin finding a solution for the future.
Dedicated and Experienced Medical Malpractice Lawyers
As Kansas City birth injury lawyers, our team at Cullan & Cullan handles many cases of physician negligence during pregnancy and delivery. Whether harming the mother or her unborn child, doctors who are negligent in the delivery room should be held fully accountable for their actions. As medical doctors ourselves, we have the ability to determine when negligence has taken place; As personal injury attorneys, we have an unyielding commitment to helping injured victims move forward with their lives.
Do you believe that you suffered from a maternal birth injury? Contact our team at (816) 253-8606 for the compassionate counsel you need.
Posted By Cullan & Cullan
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[1] Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
[2] He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
[3] He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
[4] Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.
[5] But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
[6] We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
[7] He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
[8] By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken.
[9] He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
[10] Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days,and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
[11] After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.
[12] Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Do you know Him?
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The King of Staten Island (2020)
The King of Staten Island DVD and Blu-ray release date was set for August 25, 2020 and available on Digital HD from Amazon Video and iTunes on August 11, 2020.
Ricky Velez
Barry Mendel
Scott's life has never been the same since his firefighter father passed away when he was seven years old. Now, in his mid-20s, he's discarded his dreams of becoming a tattoo artist to smoke weed, hook up with friends, and chill-out in his mother's basement. Meanwhile, everyone else in his family is trying to move on. When his younger sister moves out to attend college, and his mother begins to date a brash firefighter, Scott is forced to finally process his grief, clean up his act, and move his life forward.
Mac & Devin Go to High School
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Facial Recognition Tech in Schools Prompts Lawsuit, Renewed Racial Bias Concerns
By Mark Lieberman — June 24, 2020 4 min read
A New York state school district’s controversial facial recognition system hit several new snags this week, as the New York Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against the state education department’s decision to approve the system, and two state lawmakers called on the district to deactivate the system.
The latest developments in a long unfolding saga come on the heels of intense scrutiny of police departments’ use of facial recognition software and growing awareness of the systems’ tendency to perpetuate racial bias.
News of the lawsuit was first reported by the Lockport Union-Sun & Journal, whose extensive coverage of the school district’s security efforts is among the materials cited in the suit.
On Jan. 2, the Lockport school district near the Canadian border activated a high-tech security system that uses a facial recognition database of flagged individuals to detect intruders. The district has said it began considering using the software after a pro bono visit from a security consultant in 2012 following the elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn. The consultant had connections to the Canada-based company Aegis, so the district began researching the product and eventually spent $1.4 million of a $4.2 million grant from the state to purchase it.
The state education department last May halted the planned implementation of the system, asking the district for more assurances that it would protect students’ privacy. The district and the state reached an agreement at the beginning of this year, and they now contend that because the database does not include students, their data aren’t at risk.
Monday’s lawsuit against the state department (not the district) argues the opposite: that the system must use students’ data in order to verify that they’re not included in the database. Hackers could infiltrate the system and use those data for their own purposes, the lawsuit argues.
District superintendent Michelle Bradley did not respond in time for publication to an interview request and email questions from Education Week.
In an op-ed for the Lockport newspaper, plaintiff Jim Shultz, whose daughter attends a Lockport district school, explained the reasoning behind the suit: “The case filed this week by NYCLU is not a demand for money and it is not against the Lockport school district,” he wrote. “What the case does is call on New York state education officials to apply the same parental rights and student privacy protections to these high-tech recordings that we use to safeguard other student information—their grades, their teacher comments, or videos of them giving presentations.”
More Calls to Deactivate
New York state senator Brian Kavanagh and state assembly member Monica Wallace on Tuesday issued a statement calling on the district to deactivate the system and the state education department to ban the use of facial recognition software in schools, the Union-Sun & Journal reported Tuesday.
Wallace and Kavanagh have previously proposed legislation that would establish a statewide ban on facial recognition in schools.
Critics of facial recognition, including Kavanagh and Wallace, point to an extensive 2019 study of more than 200 systems showing that Black and Asian faces are between 10 and 100 times more likely to be misidentified by facial recognition software than white faces. The software has been controversial for years, even as some school districts explored it as a potential tool in reducing the prevalence of school shootings.
Frustrations with the technology have intensified recently as nationwide protests against racial injustice and police brutality have put police departments’ use of the technology under new scrutiny. IBM, one of the world’s largest technology companies, announced this month that it will no longer produce, develop, or even research facial technology systems. Other companies, such as Microsoft and Amazon, have temporarily restricted police departments from using their facial recognition tools.
“Artificial Intelligence is a powerful tool that can help law enforcement keep citizens safe,” Arvind Krishna, IBM’s CEO wrote in a June 8 letter to Congress calling on more stringent technology regulation. “But vendors and users of Al systems have a shared responsibility to ensure that Al is tested for bias, particularity when used in law enforcement, and that such bias testing is audited and reported.”
Sarah St. Vincent, a human rights attorney and surveillance and digital rights expert who serves as director of Cornell Tech’s Computer Security Clinic, shared with Education Week in December a list of ten questions school districts should ask before moving forward with facial recognition tools.
Among them: How many false positives did the company’s testing of the product turn up? Has the manufacturer commissioned a third party to test the system? Have community members been given opportunities to weigh in? Are there options that are less intrusive?
“People of color fought and suffered for the right to be able to get into schools and other buildings the same way that white people do,” St. Vincent said in December. “If facial recognition is a barrier to that, that’s a problem.”
Federal privacy laws that restrict the collection of student data make exceptions for security purposes, “but it’s not a free for all,” said Linnette Attai, president of PlayWell, a privacy compliance consulting firm with education clients. Other questions worth considering, Attai said, include whether parents have been fully briefed on how their students are being monitored, and whether the facial recognition database is stored on school or company servers.
“There is the law, there’s school policy, and there’s community norms,” Attai said. “All of that needs to come together in order to create smart, sensible policies and practices in a district.”
Mark Lieberman
Reporter, Education Week
Mark Lieberman is a reporter for Education Week covering technology and online learning.
Artificial Intelligence Data Privacy
A version of this news article first appeared in the Digital Education blog.
iStock/Getty
Privacy & Security Schools Aren't Doing Enough to Protect Their Networks, Top Cybersecurity Official Warns
Mark Lieberman, December 3, 2020
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Britain sees surge in diabetes
Novo Nordisk, the world's largest maker of diabetes drugs, has invested millions in a new research centre in the UK. [Shutterstock]
Languages: Français | Deutsch
New figures show that the number of persons living with diabetes in the UK has risen by 1.2 million in just one decade.
According to Diabetes UK, 3.3 million people in Britain are now diagnosed with diabetes, up from an estimated two million in 2005.
Moreover, the figures, which were compiled by the National Health Service (NHS), don’t take the number of undiagnosed people into account, which is estimated to be 600,000.
“Over the past decade, the number of people living with diabetes in the UK has increased by over one million people, which is the equivalent of the population of a small country such as Cyprus. With a record number of people now living with diabetes in the UK, there is no time to waste – the government must act now,” Barbara Young, the CEO of Diabetes UK, said in a statement.
Every two minutes, an EU citizen dies of diabetes-related diseases, according to the European Diabetes Leadership Forum (EDLF), a stakeholder organisation which aims to move diabetes up the public health agenda.
50% of all people with diabetes die of cardiovascular disease, making diabetes the fourth most common cause of death in Europe, EDLF figures show. Meanwhile, 10-20% die of kidney failure, 10% develop severe visual impairment and 50% suffer from diabetic neuropathy, it says.
Diabetes UK warns that the growth in numbers reflects an urgent need for effective care for people living with diabetes. The charity also highlighted the importance of prevention and that failure to act threatens to bring down the NHS.
Young pointed to the fact that diabetes already costs the NHS £10 billion a year ( €14.1 billion), with 80% spent on managing avoidable complications.
“So there is huge potential to save money and reduce pressure on NHS hospitals and services through providing better care to prevent people with diabetes from developing devastating and costly complications,” she said.
Denmark is another country which has witnessed a surge in the number of diabetes cases. From 2002 to 2012, the country saw an 84% rise, from 174,000 to 320,500 diagnoses. The country expect this number to double by 2025.
Diabetes describes a group of diseases in which an individual has high blood sugar, because insulin production is inadequate, or because the body's cells are not responding properly to insulin, or both. High blood sugar leads to frequent urination, increased thirst, and increased hunger.
Untreated, diabetes can cause many complications including heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, foot ulcers and damage to the eyes.
14 November: World Diabetes Day 2015.
Diabetes UK: Number of people with diabetes up 60% in last decade
0 responses to “Britain sees surge in diabetes”
Was in Uk (Chester as it happens) – vast numbers (+/- 35 – 40%) of clinically obese people – who are at significant risk of diabetes. Large numbers of the men looked as though they were about to give birth (possibly to a beer barrel). The problme is diet and exercise (or lack thereof). Doubtless there are other factors – but these are the core ones – people becoming lard arses because they eat too much and fail to undertake exercise.
mgdanimals9 says:
When I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes a year ago, the first thing I did was examine my lifestyle and diet. The ADA diet coupled with my doctor’s Metformin were ineffective, however. Thank goodness I found Max Sidorov’s book the 7 Steps to Health and the Big Diabetes Lie (reviewed here: http://steamspoils.com/7-Steps-to-Health-and-The-Big-Diabetes-Lie-Review ) and I’m starting to see incredible results. I’ve dropped 25 pounds slimmed 4 inches off of my waist. I have more energy than ever. I’m glad I decided to give the natural treatments a try before blindly trusting the pharmaceutical companies. Wake up folks, they make their money when we’re sick over a longer period.
http://steamspoils.com/7-Steps-to-Health-and-The-Big-Diabetes-Lie-Review
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Europe & World News
Pelosi says Trump would have admitted to being involved in “bribes” in the Ukrainian scandal
By November 15, 2019
Nancy Pelosi – Alex Edelman – Archive
MADRID, Nov. 14 (EUROPE PRESS) –
The president of the House of Representatives of the United States, Nancy Pelosi, said Thursday that the president of the country, Donald Trump, would have admitted to having been involved in “bribes” in the framework of the scandal for his call with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodimir Zelenski
“What the president has admitted to doing and says that it is 'perfect', I say it is perfectly wrong. It is a bribe,” he said, according to the CNN television network. Trump has said several times in the past that his telephone conversation with Zelenski was “perfect.”
After being asked about what the bribe would be in the case under investigation, Pelosi has argued that “it was to guarantee or block military aid in exchange for a public statement or a false investigation into the elections.” “That's a bribe,” he has riveted.
Congress on Wednesday hosted the first public hearings in a new phase of the impeachment process against Trump over alleged pressure on Ukraine to investigate a political rival, Democratic candidate Joe Biden.
The House of Representatives has become the epicenter of US policy by hosting the sessions of the mixed commission that has been trying to determine for months if there is a legal basis to press charges against Trump and unleash an impeachment process that could end his cease just one year from the next presidential elections.
In these months, the commission has questioned behind closed doors the witnesses of the alleged maneuvers of Trump and his closest collaborators to get the Ukrainian authorities to open an official investigation against Biden and his son Hunter for alleged corruption in their business with a company Energy of Ukraine.
The alarms were activated when the content of a telephone conversation took place on July 25 between Trump and Zelenski. “What you can do with the attorney general will be great,” the New York tycoon told him, according to the transcript released by the White House itself.
Now, in this series of public hearings that will take place between Wednesday and Friday, the commission will investigate whether Trump tried to condition the military aid that the United States provides to Ukraine, in the framework of the armed conflict in Donbas and the Russian annexation of Crimea , to investigations against the former Democratic Vice President and his son.
With these public hearings, which are being broadcast live by the main televisions and are expected to have a considerable audience, the mere investigation phase is closed.
Once concluded, the commission will have to decide whether to press charges against Trump, which would lead to the impeachment process in the strict sense, that is, a political trial in the Senate that would end his acquittal or dismissal.
Only three US presidents have undergone an 'impeachment'. The first was Andrew Johnson after the civil war and, more recently, Bill Clinton, who was tried and acquitted for lying about his relationship with former White House Fellow Monica Lewinski. Richard Nixon, on the other hand, resigned before being dismissed by the 'Watergate'.
The political and media expectations for these open views contrast with the apparent disinterest of Trump himself. “I am too busy to see it … I am sure they will give me a summary,” he said Wednesday to press questions from the White House. In addition, he stressed that it is “a witch hunt”. “There is nothing,” he said.
The first anniversary of the death of the young Mapuche Camilo Catrillanca marks a new day of protests in Chile
The Senate of Bolivia unanimously approves the appointment of Eva Copa as president of the Chamber
Toronto Landscaper Killed at Least 5 Men, Police Say
ByEurope World News January 29, 2018
Photo Toronto investigators this month outside a house in Madoc, Ontario, that was part of their inquiry into the killings of at least five men.Credit Lars Hagberg/Canadian Press, via Associated Press A Toronto landscaper killed at least five men and hid some of their remains in planters where he worked, the police said on Monday….
When an Erotic Photographer’s Muse Becomes His Critic
ByEurope World News May 5, 2018
“I want them to know what happened in the past between me and Araki,” Kaori said last month. “I was not allowed to speak out. People should know, and they should look.” Mr. Araki declined repeated requests to comment. Mr. Araki’s work has long ignited controversy, given the provocative nature of his images, which include…
Billy Graham’s faith lacked the hypocrisy that defined fellow televangelists
ByEurope World News February 22, 2018
Get the Think newsletter. SUBSCRIBE For anyone who has read Sinclair Lewis’s “Elmer Gantry” or lived through the televangelist scandals of the 1980s — Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart, Jerry Falwell, Oral Roberts — it is not difficult to identify Billy Graham’s most remarkable accomplishment. Over the course of a public career that…
France rejects any dialogue with jihadist groups in Mali
ByDarryl S. Slawson October 26, 2020
The French government this Monday decided against the possibility of maintaining a dialogue with terrorist groups in Mali, reflecting the differences with the Malian transitional prime minister Moctar Ouane, who has defended the need for a contact process with the armed groups they work in the country.
‘At least 41 dead’ and dozens injured in hospital fire
Firefighters said the fire is thought to have broken out in the emergency room of the hospital in Miryang on Friday morning. Officials said there are around 79 people injured, eight of those in a critical condition. Yonhap news agency reported the death toll stood at 41 people. ‘At least 41 dead’ and dozens injured…
‘Lando is pansexual’: LGBT characters that are all talk
ByEurope World News May 17, 2018
Image copyrightGetty Images We’ve had Ewoks, Hutts and Jawas but it has taken 41 years of films to introduce a hint of LGBT characters to the Star Wars movies. The writer of Solo: A Star Wars Story says iconic character Lando Calrissian is pansexual in the sci-fi series. Just don’t expect to see any LGBT…
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Trump Seeks to ‘Equalize’ China Auto Tariffs
November 29, 2018 • by Tariq Kamal
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer described China’s heightened U.S. auto import tariffs as “egregious” in a statement announcing President Donald Trump ordered a review of the country’s trade policies in advance of a private meeting with President Xi Jinping.
Photo courtesy The White House
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump ordered U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to “examine all available tools to equalize the tariffs applied to automobiles” built here and sold in China, Lighthizer said in a statement Wednesday, describing China’s 25% hike on American imports as “egregious.”
“As the president has repeatedly noted, China’s aggressive, state-directed industrial policies are causing severe harm to U.S. workers and manufacturers,” Lighthizer said.
China raised its tariff on U.S.-built cars from 15% to 40% in July, days after the Trump administration raised levies on imported steel and aluminum. The current U.S. rate on cars imported from China is 27.5%. The latest figures from Autodata suggest about 71% of the cars sold by all Asian manufacturers stateside are built in North America, as are about 69% of those OEMs’ light trucks.
The light trucks category includes SUVs, which are not subject to the 25% “chicken tax” enacted against foreign manufacturers in the 1960s. Applied specifically to light trucks and work vans — and, initially, to other, nonautomotive goods — the Johnson administration levied the chicken tax in retaliation for European tariffs on American-grown poultry.
In a series of tweets Wednesday, Trump tied the Chinese tariff imbalance to General Motors’ plant closures and suggested a chicken tax on China-built vehicles was overdue. Trump is set to dine privately with President Xi Jinping on Saturday in Buenos Aires, which will host the upcoming G20 summit.
“The reason that the small truck business in the U.S. is such a go-to favorite is that, for many years, Tariffs of 25% have been put on small trucks coming into our country. It is called the ‘chicken tax,’” Trump tweeted. “If we did that with cars coming in, many more cars would be built here … and GM would not be closing their plants in Ohio, Michigan & Maryland. … Also, the countries that send us cars have taken advantage of the U.S. for decades.
“The President has great power on this issue — Because of the G.M. event, it is being studied now!” Trump added.
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Movies Like 21 Jump Street: Action Comedies
Like watching action comedy movies like 21 Jump Street then check our list of recommendations for movies similar to 21 Jump Street. It is a 2012 action-comedy movie directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller based on an 1987 TV series of the same name. The story follows two underachieving cops (Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum) who are assigned an undercover operation of busting synthetic drug ring posing them as high school students. Since its obvious that 22 Jump Street will be similar to 21 Jump Street (Dah! it a sequel to it.) we are not including it in the list watch it if you haven't already. Don't forget to mention if we miss any other movies similar to 21 Jump Street as we keep on updating this list.
Movies Similar to 21 Jump Street:
Superbad is a 2007 American comedy film directed by Greg Mottola and starring Jonah Hill and Michael Cera. Two co-dependent high school seniors are forced to deal with separation anxiety after their plan to stage a booze-soaked party goes awry.
Hot Fuzz is a 2007 action comedy movie directed by Edgar Wright. The story follows two police officers (an exceptional Nicholas Angel and his witless partner Danny Butterman) who are assigned to solve mysterious deaths in the sleepy village of Sandford.
The Other Guys (2010)
The Other Guys is a 2010 action comedy movie directed by Adam McKay. The movie follows two New York City desk cops (Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg) who seize an opportunity to step up their game and solve a huge crime like the top NYPD Detectives whom they idolize.
Pineapple Express (2008)
Pineapple Express is a 2008 action comedy movie directed by David Gordon Green. The movie follows a pair of pot-smoking buddies (Seth Rogen and James Franco) who become involved with a vicious gang of drug dealers after one of them witnesses a drug-related murder.
Project X is a 2012 comedy film directed by Nima Nourizadeh. The story follows 3 anonymous high school seniors Thomas (Thomas Mann), Costa (Oliver Cooper) and J.B. (Jonathan Daniel Brown) who plan to throw a birthday party that no one will forget. As the night progresses, word spreads and things go out of control.
More movies like 21 Jump Street:
Starsky & Hutch (2004),
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013),
Ted (2012),
The Sitter (2011),
The Hangover (2009),
Kick-Ass (2010),
The Departed (2006),
Class Act (1992),
Get Him to the Greek (2010),
Young Policemen in Love (1995),
This Is the End (2013),
Tropic Thunder (2008),
Knocked Up (2007),
21 & Over (2013),
Galaxy Quest (1999),
The Watch (2012),...if you can think of more don't forget to mention them in comments.
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17 Gory Horror Movies Like Wrong Turn
Chris Finn, a young doctor on his way to a work appointment finds the road blocked due to an accident in which dangerous chemicals were spilled. While looking for a phone, Chris finds a gas station where a map indicates a dirt road that will allow him to get to his destination on time.
Chris doesn't know it, but by taking this road he puts his life in danger. The first scare takes him away when he crashes into a truck parked in the middle of the road. It is the vehicle of five young men who were in the woods on a hike and were forced to stop when a piece of barbed wire thrown on the road destroyed their tires. Is this a trap? Is someone playing a dangerous game?
Discover more scary movies like Wrong Turn where the characters face difficult circumstances after taking a wrong turn and have to overcome mysteries and pure evil to survive.
Best Movies Similar to Wrong Turn (Series):
Kristy, Ben and Liz are three young hikers who go into Wolf Creek National Park in Australia. The trouble starts when their car won't start. While looking for help, they run into Mick Taylor, a nice local resident who promises to repair their car.
The young people agree to accompany him to his camp, not knowing that their journey will become deadly. The trip turns out to be a nightmare when, once there, the man turns out to be a sadistic murderer who plans to torture them to death.
A very scary thriller that is perfect for fans of Wrong Turn, both in action, suspense and jump scares.
Also Recommend: 45 Extremely Disturbing Movies of All Time
House of Wax (2005)
A road trip to one of the biggest college soccer games of the year takes a dramatic turn for Carly, Paige and their friends when they decide to camp overnight before heading to the game. A confrontation with a mysterious trucker at the campsite leaves everyone restless.
When she wakes up the next morning, they realize that her car may have been forced deliberately. At the risk of being stranded, they accept an invitation from a local neighbor to take them to Ambrose, the only town for several kilometers.
Once there, they are drawn to Ambrose's main attraction - Trudy's Wax House, which is filled with incredibly realistic wax sculptures. But, as they soon discover, there's an eerie reason why the pieces look so real. A great cast and similar to Wrong Turn, this too turns out to be quite the wrong turn for our heroes.
Also Recommend: Movies Like The Conjuring
Vacancy (2007)
A late night detour leads to an unimaginable nightmare when a couple's car breaks down on a remote road. Finding themselves stranded on a dark and deserted two-lane highway, David Fox and his next ex-wife Amy are forced to spend the night in a seedy motel run by a strange but seemingly harmless owner.
As this is a list for films like Wrong Turn, this movie also features a wrong turn for our main characters, one that they will have to try and get out alive.
Also Recommend: Movies Like Escape Room
Cabin Fever places the viewer in a fairly typical location for teenage horror films. A group of young people make a weekend getaway to a cabin in the middle of a forest, and once there, things get out of hand.
In this case there is no killer to kill them in various and intelligent ways: here, the monster is a virus (a particularly bloody and nasty one, but a virus after all). Cabin Fever is a very entertaining film, with a lot of strength and a lot of very powerful scenes, made by a great lover of horror films (and that shows).
It doesn't complicate existence, it doesn't seek anything else than to entertain, but that makes it VERY good.
Also Recommend: Movies Similar To Bird Box
Cabin In The Woods (2011)
The story follows a group of very stereotypical friends like the nerd, the pretty one, the virgin, the tough guy and the drug addict, on a weekend in a small cabin in the middle of the forest where they start being chased by some monster or paranormal entity that they themselves will choose without realizing it.
All of this is orchestrated by an organization that is dedicated to killing people in very strange ways for scientific purposes.
This can be a satire or a tribute, it can even be a study of horror stories because you may or may not be a fan of the genre, this movie can be very entertaining and a great watch for fans of movies like Wrong Turn.
Also Recommend: Movies Like Contagion
More films to watch if you liked Wrong Turn (Series):
Saw (Series)
The Midnight Meat Train (2008)
Cube (series)
Eden Lake (2008)
The Strangers (2008)
Evil Dread (2013)
Dead End (2003)
The Ward (2010)
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Justin Timberlake Releases New Video for “Can’t Stop The Feeling!”
Source: Antonio Scorza / Shutterstock.com
Best Soap Opera Recasting Decisions
Justin Timberlake just released the video for his newest song, “Can’t Stop The Feeling!” and it’s the summer song we’ve been waiting for!
The song is the lead single for Dreamworks Animations upcoming musical comedy Trolls, set for release in November 2016. Justin will voice one of the lead characters of the film along with Anna Kendrick.
The music video is the perfect mix of silliness and fun, with Justin refusing to take himself too seriously. The pop performer dances his way through a grocery store, at one point using a banana as a microphone! In a similar fashion as Pharrell William’s video for “Happy,” Justin’s music video shows an array of interesting characters dancing at their places of work. Whether it’s Cristy at the laundromat, Dave at the car wash, or Stevie at the barber shop, these people refuse to be shown up by Justin’s signature dance moves. Near the end of the clip, the group get together for a dance mob that’s too fun to miss. The feel-good video is sure to get your hands clapping and feet tapping!
Oh, and we mention Justin dances with a wacky inflatable tube man?
Check it out (and turn it up!):
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**Ask a monkey a physics question thread**
10-24-2020 02:00 PM #2176
MadMojoMonkey
AINT SHOVELING SHIT
P dV is mechanical work.
Work is energy, as the Work/Energy Theorem reminds us. Both have units of Joules.
So does torque, which is a little confusing, but also interesting. 1 Nm = 1 J. It results from radians being a dimensionless unit, so angular velocity squared has the same units as angular acceleration, which is not true for linear terms.
Defining radians: radius*{radians} = arc length
{radians} = {arc length} / {radius}
Both arc length and radius are measured in length, so the units of radians vanish:
[radian] = [m/m] = 1
So the angular velocity, squared has the same units as the angular acceleration:
[rad/s]^2 = [rad/s^2]
but this is not true for linear motion, because the numerator has non-vanishing units.
[m/s]^2 != [m/s^2]
Square brackets indicate I'm only talking about the units.
Like the pushing of a piston in a car engine. There's an increase in pressure due to the combustion, the piston moves, changing the volume, and the work (energy) transmitted to the piston is P(x) * A dx, since the area of the piston head is constant, and the changing volume is due to movement in 1-dimension. Here, P(x) is the pressure as a function of x, and A is the surface area of the top of the piston, dx is the distance traveled by the piston, due to the volume of the cylinder changing by a factor of ~7 in a gasoline engine, the pressure change is not negligible.
(The volume change is only more dramatic in diesel engines, which initiate combustion only by compression of the fuel-air mixture, without the injection of heat cause by a spark, so they need to compress the fuel-air more to achieve the heat needed for spontaneous combustion.)
You can find any pattern you want to any level of precision you want, if you're prepared to ignore enough data.
Oh... What? But... Yeah... OK... So...
https://www.youtube.com/c/veritasium/videos
I still kinda have this issue with the CMB, though.
If the speed of light is not the same in all directions to the extend that it's c/2 in one direction and inf in the opposite, then that means that when we look one direction, we see that the universe was hot and dense in the past, and when we look the other direction, we see the universe is hot and dense right now, in the naive sense of now.
Which I guess isn't necessarily a problem, but it kinda throws cosmology on its head when it comes to determining the age of the universe. It destroys the Hubble Constant, too.
OngBonga
I saw that vid and thought of a few problems. For one, doppler. Also, he's saying that if c is different in two directions, then so too is time dilation. If that's true, then so too is length contraction, which means it's meaningless to even say the light travelled the same distance in both directions. In fact, if time dilation is balancing it so it appears c is the same, even if it is not, then length contraction must balance it, which in turn means c was constant after all.
Basically it's clickbait. I like veritasium a lot, I watch his uploads as soon as they are released, but it's his job to find things to talk about. I think he's getting a bit thin on ideas, frankly.
And yeah, the CMB is a problem too.
Originally Posted by wufwugy
ongies gonna ong
Oh... I bet even poopy will love this one.
I hate thinking about free will in physics. It's a real conflict for me. On the one hand, I think the universe is completely deterministic, while on the other it horrifies me to think I am not in control of my future. I kinda don't want science to resolve it for me, because either way I'd be unhappy.
On another note, I've been thinking about the heat death of the universe, something else I've always felt uncomfortable with. I propose that the second law of thermodynamics actually forbids heat death. Here's why...
The entropy of a system always increases with time. That's the 2nd law. But heat death is the spreading out of all energy into perfect equilibrium. The "final state" of the universe is pure radiation. But radiation moves at light speed, and therefore has no mass. So the final state of the universe is massless, and therefore lacking in gravity, which critically implies no time.
With no time, there is no space. So it is meaningless to say there is space between each unit of energy. This makes the end of the universe indistinguishable from the beginning of the universe, where all energy was compressed into a singularity. A universe with no time is a singularity.
Heat death implies a new big bang. And the big bang is as low entropy as possible. So the 2nd law is broken, entropy decreased.
Sounds like you're familiar with Penrose's conformal cyclic cosmological model.
If not, look into it... it puts a physics underpinning to what you've described.
I've heard of it but will watch a refresher.
Yeah, I'm familiar with it, though it was five months ago when I saw this so I'd kind of forgotten. But this is where I'd have picked the ideas up from.
Watching that again reminds me of another problem... if all energy is radiation, then does that not imply that quantum information is lost? How can you go back in time to calculate the events of the universe if... there is no time?
Originally Posted by OngBonga
All that matters is that the path of the photons could be time reversed, such that they would be traveling in the opposite directions, and that doesn't change the laws of physics or what you would observe in the universe, which is still true.
There wont be anything non-photon to observe this universe, but that doesn't mean there's no spacetime, I think. I didn't follow your argument that without matter, there's no space. I don't see that at all. Without matter, there's only flat spacetime, sure, but to say that spacetime cannot exist unless there's mass to curve it doesn't sound right to me.
Quantum information is like, the energy of the photon, the fact that it's a boson, not a fermion, it's a spin 1 object that propagates in c in all inertial reference frames. All that information is there, and there's no problem with quantum information loss in the production of photons in the first place, so the continued existence of produced photons is indeed the conservation of that information.
EDIT: I think the mere fact that photons are in the universe implies inertial reference frames through which they travel. It's not only mass that curves spacetime, because of the mass-energy equivalence, the photons will still curve spacetime as they propagate. Maybe.
IDK. It just doesn't seem right at all to assume that just 'cause no matter = no space and/or no time.
Last edited by MadMojoMonkey; 11-19-2020 at 09:13 PM.
11-20-2020 02:52 AM #2186
CoccoBill
Finding my game
Interesting read guys, thanks. Ong, stick to physics, political science isn't your forte.
Our brains have just one scale, and we resize our experiences to fit.
There wont be anything non-photon to observe this universe, but that doesn't mean there's no spacetime, I think.
I think no spacetime is exactly what a universe full of photons implies.
I didn't follow your argument that without matter, there's no space.
Let's just clear up what we mean by "matter"... I would say anything with mass. Things with mass are the only things that experience time, photons do not. A photon travels from the sun to Earth instantly, from the FoR of the photon. It takes 8.5 minutes from our FoR, but not the photon due to time dilation. This can only make sense when we also factor in length contraction... from its FoR, the distance the photon has travelled is zero, so of course it takes zero time.
So if the universe is full of photons, there is no time, and if there is no time, there is no space.
Flat spacetime is a concept that doesn't exist in the universe. Spacetime can only be flat in the absence of mass, and the absence of mass means no time. How can there be space but no time?
I'm probably wrong about quantum information, I can't say I have a good understanding of that. But I don't think I'm wrong about flat spacetime. Although your counterpoint that photons curve spacetime is something I need to consider.
Originally Posted by CoccoBill
The difference between physics and politics is that physics is not a subject that generally causes division. I'm either right or wrong. Politics is a great deal more subjective. When we talk politics, neither is right or wrong, we're discussing opinions and ideology.
Ok a quick bit of googling seems to suggest photons do not curve space, rather anything that absorbs a photon curves space. I'm going to have to do more reading to get a grasp of this.
I don't even use google anymore.
A quick bit of duckduckgoing.
Let's look at this another way. If we accept that a photon travels from the sun to Earth in zero time through zero space from its FoR, then we accept the photon does not exist in a universe with space and time. It is the observer who lives in this world. Spacetime emerges when an observer is moving at less than c.
If all that exist are photons, then each photon is moving through zero space in zero time, and there exist no observers to contradict this. So how is this any different to all photons existing in the same place at the same time? That's how they "observe" the universe.
Spacetime is something that exists to an observer. A photon is not an observer, as it has no clock.
You're messing with my head with this line of reasoning. Because as a physicist, I don't want to talk about what cannot be observed under the banner of physics.
What each specific physicist means exactly when they use the word "observe" can vary widely. Especially in the early days of QM. The great pioneers of QM in the last century had little to no agreement on what was meant by "observation."
It's not that observation is not well defined. It's that each of them found a consistent way to think about observation and so long as you just pick one definition, you can remain consistent. It will change the specific way you describe things, but not the actual content of your meaning.
So that much is a minefield. You can't just read 1 physicist and think, OK, that's what observation is, then read another physicist and expect them to be using the same definition of observation.
For me, I find the most consistency between authors if I start from the assumption that "all interaction is observation." That means when we talk about something like Young's double-slit experiment, we can say, "If the wave function observes the slits, it changes." or "When the wall's wave function observes the electron's, there is an interaction that changes them."
In this way, the observation simply means, it "saw" the other particle in a metaphorical way... it "saw" it by interacting.
So as long as the photons are capable of interacting, then nothing has changed. But... in the Heat Death scenario... enough time passes that all potential interactions have happened, and everything is just photons zipping away from each other, with none of them left on a "collision" course to interact with another photon.
... and I'm back to the top of this page. We agree that there wont be anything to observe the universe, so the question is whether observation creates spacetime, or if spacetime creates a playground for observations.
This is a fine point. If the end of the universe is spaceless and timeless, and therefore unobservable, does that mean it isn't physics?
The problem with this though is that it implies the interior of a black hole is not physics.
What each specific physicist means exactly when they use the word "observe" can vary widely.
My understanding of the word "observer" in GR is basically anything with an internal clock, since without an internal clock no observation is possible, no measurement is possible, due to the lack of time. So a photon is not an observer, but a neutrino is. Perhaps this definition is not right.
I think physics breaks down again here. You talk about "enough time" and photons "zipping away from each other". This doesn't make sense if the universe contains only photons. Let's assume a photon is an observer. It observes the universe to be spaceless and timeless. On this we surely agree. GR teaches us that no frame of reference is preferable to another, so we can't say the photon's FoR is wrong. If only photons exist, it's the only FoR we can use. So in a universe with only photons, the only observers that exist will agree there is no space and no time. So how can they zip away from each other? That implies movement through space.
I think this paradox probably implies that actually a universe with just photons is not possible, ie heat death is wrong.
I think mass creates spacetime.
It means that we're into speculation range. We know the laws of physics now (pretty good at least), and I think if we extrapolate to the "final" interaction before the Heat Death, then we are pretty safe in asserting that the laws of physics as we know them still describe that final interaction. (This is a clear bias, but it's one that we get a lot of mileage out of in physics).
What you're suggesting is that the moment of that final interaction is a significant phase change in the character of spacetime and the universe as a whole.
What about the problem of simultaneity? Are you assuming that from the origin of the final interaction, there's an expanding wavefront, moving at c that is devoid of spacetime? Wouldn't that mean there's now an expanding sheet of spacetime, with spacetime neither inside nor outside of it?
In the sense that we're trusting a model that is making predictions that cannot be observed, I think we're well-suited to keep this in mind.
It is not to say there are no laws which describe what happens on the other side of an event horizon. It's only saying we cannot know if the laws on the other side are identical to the laws on this side. We can only assume they are, and draw the conclusions our model describes.
There could well be differences between what GR calls an observer and what QM calls an observer.
The best way to move forward is probably for me to just accept what you mean by observer and let my notions go. So long as we're consistent, we'll be able to tell if your definition creates paradoxes or not. That may indicate it's not the best way to think of observers, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
ehhh... IDK, still.
GR teaches that no inertial frame of reference is preferable to another.
A frame moving at c is not inertial.
What else could happen? The Heat Death is simply what happens if no hypothetical catastrophe prevents the physics we currently understand from playing out in the fullness of time.
In order to get around Heat Death, all you have to do is end the universe sooner. If Entropy runs its course, the Heat Death is as inevitable in one direction of time as the big bang is in the other.
But if we're to assume the universe had a start, and that start was a singularity containing all the energy that exists, then we have the same problem. There is a transition from no space and time, to space and time.
To say this transition cannot happen is the same as saying the universe had no beginning.
No idea, but this does remind me of a long forgotten recurring dream I had as a young child, it's hard to explain but there was basically a line moving through space and on the one side everything was normal and on the other side it was black, this line was basically consuming the universe. I don't think that happens but it's interesting that this caused me to remember a childhood dream.
I mean, I would imagine a sudden collapse. If there's nothing but photons, it becomes meaningless to even talk of the speed of light. Speed through what? At the instant of the last interaction, spacetime suddenly collapses into a singularity. All of it, instantly. Nothing else can make any sense to me.
What acceleration is this frame undergoing?
We also have to understand that we know that we don't understand physics completely yet. We can't actually expect to successfully predict what happens in the very late universe based on a current understanding of physics that is yet to unify QM and GR. There's always got to be a certain amount of philosophy to physics. The goal is to convert philosophy into fact over time. Science starts with banging rocks together. It's all philosophy and no fact. If we ever achieve complete knowledge, then it's all fact and no philosophy. The relationship between physics and philosophy is kinda like converting potential energy into kinetic energy.
So I don't think it's unreasonable to answer the question of "what else could happen" with "something", and to then speculate. I assume the universe had a beginning, and it certainly appears that it did, so I assume it has an end. And since it can be argued that the beginning and end are indistinguishable from one another, ie all the energy compressed into a singularity, then my best guess on what happens next is a new big bang.
A complete decay into radiation takes me down this path. I can imagine a heat death that is basically like counting to infinity, where it approaches heat death while never actually getting there, but the problem I have here is that it implies there was a start but not an end. It also implies an infinite universe with infinite time, because otherwise we're not counting to infinity, just a very large number.
So for me, heat death means a total decay, followed by a collapse of space and time since there is nothing left to observe it, there is no more mass to cause gravity, there is nothing left that experiences time. At this point all of the photons, which is all of the energy in the universe, are in the same place at the same time... a singularity, and, based on observations from the very distant past, I assume that a singularity that contains all of the energy that exists is not stable and will explode.
Or we're counting to infinity. It's one or the other.
You said it correctly that we assume the universe had a start. We assume this start was a singularity. We don't know that.
The most popular model rising in support among cosmologists now is not of a singular point going all Big Bang. The exponential expansion of the universe doesn't have to start after the Big Bang. It could be the entire Big Bang. That is to say, the Universe may extend into the infinite past to where it was a singularity, and it has been undergoing exponential expansion forever.
Either way, the symmetry of having a beginning and an end is nice from a human storytelling perspective, but I don't see any reason the Universe should follow rules of plot.
I have real difficulties with the simultaneity, here. You're invoking GR to support this hypothesis, but you're ignoring GR in the conclusion.
If there's 1 thing the Universe loves to do to us as physicists, it's remind us that all equivalent descriptions are equivalent. I.e. if you can describe something with a function, and there are mathematically equivalent ways to construct that function, then the Universe "sees" all those descriptions as valid, and will do anything any of those descriptions allows.
Like the fact that linearly polarized photons have their electric fields disturbed only parallel or anti-parallel to some vector (which is itself perpendicular to the direction of propagation and the disturbances in the magnetic field). However, mathematically, a sine wave in a plane is equivalent to the sum of 2 counter-rotating helices. We observe interactions which can only be described as those 2 helices interacting with 1 molecule in different ways, rotating the plane in which the linearly polarize photon's electric field disturbances occur.
So if there is a mathematical equivalence to a photon being described as a disturbance in the EM fields that propagates through spacetime, then I have a very strong suspicion that description will always be a way the Universe "sees" what photons are.
I only know for certain that Einstein said so. What follows is some guesswork on my part that seems to make some sense of why.
The frame undergoes no accelerations, not because the sum of forces = 0 N, but because all the laws of forces and motion break down when you have infinite relativistic gamma factor.
You could say that with infinite relativistic mass, no matter how big a force you apply, F = ma will mean that a is always 0, because m is infinite. So no matter what force is applied, it cannot be enough to accelerate any mass moving at c.
Or you could say that with infinite time dilation, there is no passage of time that allows a force to apply a change in momentum via F = dp/dt. Anything described mathematically with a d/dt in it becomes undefinable when dt can only equal 0 s.
This is all pretty great thinking, IMO. It's fine to be lead by your suspicions, or your intuition, or whatever you want to call it. I'd even argue that this purely subjective drive is the backbone of excellent science. Just follow it up with research and experiment and try to prove yourself wrong. If you can't... you might be on to something.
The Universe doesn't seem to have any issues at all with things moving ever-toward infinite values.
Well, physics shouldn't care about the direction of time. And it's not just because it's a nice story. It's consistent with the argument that the hypothesised beginning in indistinguishable from the hypothesised end. And if they're indistinguishable, then we should expect them to behave the same. But you are of course right, I'm making assumptions, about there being a beginning, and about the final state of the universe being pure radiation. But I think the least unrealistic assumption I'm making is that space and time do not exist in a universe full of photons. That kinda seems inevitable.
There are only photons left, the concept of simultaneity kinda becomes redundant. From the FoR of each photon, everything in the universe happens in the exact same instant. You're invoking time in a universe where there is nothing left to experience time. You're an imaginary observer with an internal clock, in a universe with no clocks.
A photon already breaks simultaneity, if this is what you think is happening. A photon that leaves the sun and is then absorbed on Earth by leaf, from our FoR that took just over 8 minutes. From its FoR, it took zero time. So observers on Earth already disagree with the photon about the order of events. The photons says everything that happened during its existence happened at precisely the same time. The observer says no, this happened and then this happened. Simultaneity only holds if you actually have clocks.
I only know for certain that Einstein said so.
Fair enough. In a universe with only photons though, with there only being one FoR that exists, is it still non-inertial? Once we have only photons, this FoR is not accelerating relative to every other FoR that exists... it is now truly inertial, surely? There is no other frame it has relative motion to.
Unless the universe is infinite, then decay must eventually be completed. Why would the last interaction never happen? Why would the last particle not decay into a photon if all the others did? Even if the time between each particle decay was increasing at an exponential rate as the mass in the universe slowly evaporated, it's still finite.
If the universe is infinite, then I can see how decay will take forever. But if it's finite, then I can't.
Well, physics shouldn't care about the direction of time. And it's not just because it's a nice story. It's consistent with the argument that the hypothesized beginning in indistinguishable from the hypothesized end. And if they're indistinguishable, then we should expect them to behave the same. But you are of course right, I'm making assumptions, about there being a beginning, and about the final state of the universe being pure radiation. But I think the least unrealistic assumption I'm making is that space and time do not exist in a universe full of photons. That kinda seems inevitable.
The notion of there being a direction of time is presupposing the existence of time, and you go back and forth on whether you talk about time being a property of the Universe. The fact that you're asserting what time must be in order to satisfy your hypothesis is fine, but keep an eye on that assumption.
I.e. the Big Bang may be an exponential expansion that goes back into infinite time. We do not understand what caused inflation, nor what failed to turn the Big Bang into a black hole. We can only use our current models from what would be something like 10^-35 s after what would be a singularity if we project constant contraction in backwards time. But we don't know anything about what could have happened before that moment in time.
Maybe it was a true singularity that was somehow not a black hole that experienced a sudden inflation. That Universe has a "beginning" as you say.
Maybe the inflation goes back to the infinite past, asymptotic to a singularity, but never truly a singularity in any "real," "finite" time. That Universe does not have a "beginning" as you describe.
Just because there is one way to view the universe that contains only non-inertial frames, that doesn't mean it's the only way to view the universe. Physics doesn't actually care if anyone is there to observe anything, it only describes what you would observe if you were there. That doesn't change. If you were an inertial observer in the Heat Death universe, you would see photons moving at c. I don't see anything in your arguments that invalidates that (albeit conditional) statement. If you're asserting that the laws of physics as we know them now describe the Universe getting to Heat Death, then it seems inconsistent to toss this principle out at the end-game.
Whether or not there is an observer to observe doesn't change the physics of what an observer would observe if they are there. It's all conditional statements in physics.
Which is why I'm saying that if your specific hypothesis is that we rule out anything depending on an observer, then I have nothing to comment on that as a physicist.
Emphatically no. Photons define simultaneity, they don't break it. There's no problem with causality that different observers see the same events happen in different orders. That's not causality. The apparent order of events to a naive observer is not fixed unles c is inf.
What all observers will agree on is whether or not event A could have caused event B (or vise versa), based on applying relativity correctly and determining the "light cones" of each event, and seeing if one event lies inside or outside the other event's light cone. If it is inside, then it could have been caused by the other event. If it is outside, then it could not have. The only way for both events to be able to "cause" each other, is if both events happened at the identical same point in space-time. I.e. that it was indistinguishable from a single event.
The "simultaneous" connection of light is a prerequisite for causality, as light moves at c, the speed of causality. (most popular opinion)
I know a physicist with a doctorate who says it's not necessary that c is the same for light and for information, we only know those 2 speeds are currently indistinguishably close based on our ability to measure these things. So there could be a tiny discrepancy to causality to be measured that we haven't yet been able to measure, but there's nothing to suggest it's there... just that as good scientists, we must acknowledge the limitations of our equipment.
There's isn't 1 FoR, there's a unique non-inertial FoR for each photon.
If you want to talk about an (any!) inertial FoR, then all the photons are moving at c.
If we have a universe of photons, it would be something like the total mass-energy of the photons is exactly enough to create exactly the right spacetime curvature to drive all photons to infinite red-shift, but only given infinite time.
This is talked about in physics as the universe being "open" or "closed." What I just described would be the critical point between open and closed. If open, the photons keep being red-shifted, but it's never ever going to be enough to infinite red-shift them (making them 0-energy / non-existent). If closed, then the infinite red-shift happens in less than infinite time.
Good point, noted. I'm not sure time is a property of the universe, rather a property of mass.
I.e. the Big Bang may be an exponential expansion that goes back into infinite time
Sure, but it certainly appears that the universe was once very small, at least in terms of the Plank scale. I know we've discussed the Plank unit before and you didn't seem to think it was an important threshold, but everything I have read about it seems to imply it is. That is, if everything occupies a single Plank volume, then we might as well call it a singularity. The significance of the Plank scale is related to it being smaller than the shortest wavelength of light. So even to a photon, it's a significant measure. If the universe is less than a Plank volume, then light cannot even propagate. That is, it no longer a wave.
...nor what failed to turn the Big Bang into a black hole.
How do we know we're not inside a black hole? I mean, cosmic expansion is indistinguishable to the accelerating spacetime within a black hole.
That Universe does not have a "beginning" as you describe.
Again, Plank units come into play here. If light cannot exist as a wave, then nothing exists that is slower than light. So again we come to the problem of what time actually means in this world. It seems to me that a beginning of time is inevitable, it emerges when something moves slower than light. That can't happen until light can actually move. But of course there's a paradox here... it takes time for this process to happen. I have no idea how to resolve this paradox.
Physics doesn't actually care if anyone is there to observe anything, it only describes what you would observe if you were there.
I understand this, but in a universe of photons, a physical observer appearing radically changes the entire landscape of the universe. How can we possibly imagine what the universe would be like if we were a non-physical (imaginary) observer?
If you were an inertial observer in the Heat Death universe, you would see photons moving at c.
Indeed, because you exist. But if you're, idk, an observer from another universe somehow peering into this universe, things could be very different. If only photons exist, what does it mean to move at c? Does a photon move at c relative to another photon? Or does it move at 0?
Whether or not there is an observer to observe doesn't change the physics of what an observer would observe if they are there.
I think this is only true in a universe with mass. A massless universe is a different ball game altogether. An observer appearing introduces gravity to the universe. Without mass, there is no gravity. Like I say, a radical change of landscape.
I appreciate physics cannot answer these question, not now and probably never, because we're talking about things that can never be measured. Ultimately, we're talking here about what time actually is, not how we observe it and measure it. And we're talking about a massless universe, something that will never exist while we exist. So it's always going to be philosophy.
What all observers will agree on is whether or not event A could have caused event B (or vise versa), based on applying relativity correctly and determining the "light cones" of each event, and seeing if one event lies inside or outside the other event's light cone.
I'm pretty sure that here you imply that all observers have mass. A photon is clearly a different kind of observer to a human, or a cat, or a hydrogen atom. How does a photon observe causality? To the photon, the past, present and future are all the same thing. A photon can say "A could have caused B, but B could have caused A", because the photon observes everything happening at the same time. In fact it's absurd to even say the A could have caused B, or B caused A, rather the photon would say A and B are the same thing because they happened at the same time in the same place. The universe is a completely different world to a photon, due to infinite time dilation and length contraction.
The only way for both events to be able to "cause" each other, is if both events happened at the identical same point in space-time. I.e. that it was indistinguishable from a single event.
Exactly! I didn't read this before making that last comment! The difference between an observer with mass and an observer without mass is not to be ignored. If you don't have mass, then you're moving at c. It's absurd to assume an observation from the FoR of something that has no mass yet doesn't move at c.
This feels like as much an assumption as saying the opposite, that a photon's FoR is indistinguishable from another photon's FoR. Only the latter seems to make more sense to me, because it experiences no time, and therefore no space. It exists in a singularity for all existence. That's its FoR. Only things that move slower than it will disagree.
I don't see why it would be an infinite red shift. The universe seems to be quantum. There's a minimum unit of energy, there's a minimum wavelength of light, so there comes a point where something can't red shit any more because it's already at the minimum "colour".
A cookie for the first person to find my outstanding typo.
I don't want your cookie. It's probably what caused that "typo."
The reference frames of the photons in your description are not equivalent. They may lack time, and see the universe as a volumeless sheet, but they all see a different sheet. Their FoR's are not equivalent.
E = hf for a photon.
There's no minimum energy, E, nor minimum frequency, f. h is Plank's Constant and describes the proportional relationship between energy and frequency.
There is no quantization of allowed energies aside from the maximum wavelength that could fit in the Universe, stretching from end to end. So long as the universe is finite, that wavelength is non-0. If the universe can reach "infinite" length across it, then there can be photons which are infinite red-shifted... Stretched to non-existence.
It's interesting to speculate a quantum entangled ground state where all photons have been stretched to overlap... that's at least like what you're describing... though from a QM argument and not a GR argument.
More fibre needed.
There's no minimum energy, E, nor minimum frequency, f
I don't think this is right. I'm not trying to outsmart you or anything, I'm not waving my dick about. I just believe this contradicts Planck's discovery, where he assumed a minimum energy value to predict the black body spectrum, and his "hack" solved the problem of predictions failing to match observations, aka the Ultraviolet Catastrophe. The "hack" in question was to assume that energy is quantum, that it is found in integer values. Planck himself expected his "constant" to be zero, but instead it was a very small but non-zero number. This was the birth of quantum mechanics. Well, perhaps not the birth. The maturity. Planck's work was built on foundations laid during the 19th century, but his constant was confirmation that light comes in discrete packets - photons - and allowed physicists of the day to develop quantum theory.
I could definitely be jumping to conclusions, failing to fully understand what Planck actually discovered, but it seems to me to be the first concrete evidence of the quantum nature of the universe, including space, time, length, and indeed energy. That is, a minimum integer value. It's so tiny that from the pov of the macro world, it appears infinitely divisible, but this doesn't seem to be the case.
By the way, I made a schoolboy error with my assumptions. Where I say "minimum frequency", I actually mean "maximum frequency", or "minimum wavelength". But of course, shorter wavelengths mean more energy, not less. So there would likely still be a "minimum frequency" associated with the lowest energy level possible for a photon. But that "minimum frequency" or "maximum wavelength" could be larger than the universe, frankly I can't even begin to guess at that.
The blackbody radiation spectrum describes the emission of photons by electric charges that are not at absolute 0. There is a conservation of angular momentum involved, in that the photons are spin-1 objects, and the object emitting it will have to be able to shed rotation (if you'll allow the sloppy language) to emit the photon. The rotational states are quantized, so the emitted photons have quantized energies.
More broadly and more generalized, particles in bound states have quantized "allowable" states. Among those parameters confined by the boundaries of the system is the energy of a particle.
The blackbody spectrum is emitted by accelerating particles in a bound system - an atom for instance, or an ion in a plasma. The "allowed" energy of those particles in the bound system are quantized, and thus the photons they emit when changing energy states are discrete in frequency, corresponding to the difference in energy between the final and initial state of the particle's transition.
In the Heat Death universe, there are no particles left to be bound to any system. Thus the only boundary left is mere existence. The photons exist "in" the universe. So if the universe has a finite size, then that size quantizes the minimum frequency that can resonate, but it's not quantized unless the size of the universe is quantized. I.e. so long as the boundaries of the universe expand "smoothly" and not like a step function, then there is nothing left to quantize the bound states.
I suspect you'll dither over the propagation of photons in the EM fields being observation by the EM fields, and without that, there are no photons at all... but if those photons propagate through EM fields, then the expansion of spacetime will inevitably stretch their wavelengths to longer and longer lengths, corresponding to lower frequency and thus energy.
There's an open question in physics about the Conservation of Energy and how it relates to the changing energy of photons as they propagate through spacetime. It is readily observable that photons decrease in energy as they travel through expanding spacetime, but it is not remotely clear where that energy goes.
Something I watched earlier seems to imply there is compelling evidence (though far from proof) that light from before the big bang survived into what we call our universe. This supports Penrose's CCC theory, indeed he even went as far as to predict such "rings" of light in the CMB. It does seem there was a "before", but I still have a huge problem with the concept of time, and therefore space, in a massless universe.
It seems the theory predicts that the last "universe" ended after the last supermassive black holes evaporated... it's still leading me down the path that a massless universe is unstable and marks an important threshold that radically changes the nature of the universe. If the last universe really did end with Hawking radiation, why did the new universe begin? And should we not expect a heat death to have the same effect?
It is readily observable that photons decrease in energy as they travel through expanding spacetime, but it is not remotely clear where that energy goes.
It kinda feels like we're stretching an elastic band. The energy is converted from kinetic energy into potential energy - tension. If expansion stops, all that tension is released. Maybe this is what causes the big bang... when there is no mass left in the universe, there is nothing left to experience time, and therefore space, expansion ceases, and all these "stretched" photons "snap" from maximum red shift to maximum blue shift. Obviously this is highly speculative, and the tension analogy is very classical and not remotely quantum, but it's appealing.
Going back to the discussion about causality. In the very early universe, cosmic inflation was insanely fast... as in, much faster than the speed of light. It took a fraction of a second to go from near singularity to a massive universe. Furthermore, we observe spacetime expanding faster than c when we observe very distant galaxies.
If spacetime can expand faster than light, why should we assume it can't contract faster than light?
We don't have a model for the cause of inflation or the cause of the accelerating expansion of the universe we currently observe.
We don't have any good reason to assert that something like cosmic inflation but in reverse could never happen because we don't even know how it happens forward. All we know is that we do not observe anything moving faster than c, no matter how hard we try to. And we have to accept that as a fact and find the consequences, which bear out more facts. Those predictions are observed, so we're probably on to something, but we can never know how far from "finished" physics is because physics describes what we observe and we can never prove that we have observed all there is to observe.
So ... yeah.
I do like the idea that once it's a universe of photons, the expansion of the universe keeps stretching those photons to lower and lower frequencies, longer and longer wavelengths, and (if there is space and time) that is asymptotic behavior to a ground state like a Bose-Einstein condensate... where all the bosons (photons are bosons) in the system share the ground state. 'Cause there's an opposite effect on Bosons to Fermions - where fermions express what manifests as a force pushing out another identical particle from being in the same state at the same time, bosons actually express what manifests as a force pulling identical particles into the same state at the same time.
And if everything is tending toward that ground state where literally everything in the universe is in the same state at the same time... then I think we have your model though QM arguments without denying the existence of space or time in the universe.
Oh, my idea doesn't work for a lot of reasons.
In an expanding universe, the energy density can only go down, and the effect on the photon's wavelengths is less than the effect on the space they traverse... in short... it stretches the photons, but never in a way that the photon's wavelengths are longer than the space expanded... so they will not expand to "fill" the space.
There something called the Schwinger limit that I need to look into that probably has something to do with this.
Me asking questions of a proper PhD in GR physics in another forum.
Me: I have a friend asking a lot of questions based on his uneducated (but nonetheless pretty darn good) understanding of GR. And he's got this notion that in a universe of only photons, it becomes meaningless to talk about inertial reference frames, and since all that's left is photons, the only things left to observe the universe see it with no volume or time.
ProbablyMagnets: I think he's mostly right about a universe of just photons, under some assumptions that theres no unification. It's true at least that to completely describe the hilbert space of that universe you dont need the whole thing, only a single lightcone.but in that context theres no analogy to measurement so you're bound to find some things that dont make sense
IDK exactly what he just said, but I'm pretty sure he said you're onto something, ong.
EDIT: Dafuq happened to the formatting when I copy/pastad?
That's definitely not easy to understand word salad, but I'm glad your colleague didn't just laugh and say "yeah uneducated lol".
I really don't know about "onto something", I still haven't resolved the paradox of a process that takes time in a universe with no time. The best I can do is to say the "timeless" era is instant and actually does not take time to transition from massless to big bang to mass. At the instant of the "final interaction", a new big bang. But that's still cause and effect, so there's something not right.
As for the copy/paste, hold down shift with ctrl/v and it'll "paste in plain text" instead of whatever font you copied it.
I'm pretty sure that "uneducated (but nonetheless pretty darn good) understanding of GR" is a good way to describe what you understand. Maybe it's harsh that someone with a PhD considers anyone without a PhD uneducated, but I have a BS and next to ProbablyMagnets, I just have my foot in my mouth the whole time. I wouldn't consider myself educated in GR, so don't take it like a casual comment that you're uneducated.
You 'tard.
His attitude on Conformal Cyclic Cosmology is pretty much a brick wall. He says it's too far fetched to bother with applying actual physics to it because there are much better things to spend time on, basically. That statement reflects a typical attitude among people elbows deep in their tiny corner of post doctoral research.
I think you sussed out part of what he meant with a measurement problem. If what he means is that distances are ill defined, then it is equivalent to saying time is ill defined, and thus we have problems with saying a "timeless, volumeless" universe, because those words are meaningless in that universe.
I am uneducated, it's definitely not a term I have a problem with. And actually it's kinda liberating, as I feel I have more freedom to speculate and to philosophise.
This really does come down to what time actually is. It's not really about measurement, which is why it's not physics. I can totally understand why someone educated would dismiss these kind of speculations, because like your friend says, it's a waste of time when there are more productive things to think about. I'm not living within that boundary.
in ur accounts... confiscating ur funz
I'll just leave this here:
(vrchat map of a rotating space station)
Would these need energy to keep spinning? I know conservation and all that, but every time you move weight up and down its radius you make it spin slightly faster/slower. There could be various losses there, right? I saw two guys fight about it on quora. seemed inconclusive.
The strengh of a hero is defined by the weakness of his villains.
I don't think so. If you move up and down, you're just converting one form of energy to another, and then converting it back. It might spin slightly faster as you move to the centre, and then slow down again as you return to the edge. The total mass, and therefore inertia, remains constant. If such a city were to rely on imported resources such as water, then its mass is increasing, and this would slow the rotation down as inertia increases.
That's my best guess anyway. I look forward to mojo's comments.
Space isn't a perfect vacuum, so there would be very slight friction, which converts rotation into heat, but the energy lost will be miniscule on short timescales. A boost every century or so should sort that problem out.
I'd be more worried about asteroids. I can't imagine that would end well, what with there being no atmosphere to burn up the approaching danger.
The total angular momentum of an isolated system never changes. So long as nothing is carrying angular momentum away from the ship, any changes in the rate of spinning due to changes of geometry will return to the same rate of spin for each geometry. (I specifically mean the geometry of mass distribution about the rotational axis, here).
I_total * {omega} = [constant]
Where I_total is the total moment of inertia for the object about its rotational axis, {omega} is the angular velocity of rotation about that axis, and [constant] is whatever number that is at one time is the same number at all times.
If the spaceship burns fuel or otherwise transfers angular momentum away from itself, that is an "external" angular momentum in my model, just for clarity. It's arbitrary where we draw our boundary, but if we don't care about the angular momentum of the spent fuel, then we should not consider it "internal" to our system. Even though the fuel leaves the ship in a straight line, IF that straight line does not intersect the ship's axis of rotation, THEN it is carrying angular momentum away from that ship/system.
Yes, moving mass toward or away from the axis changes the moment of inertia of that object about the ship's axis of rotation, and if the I_total increases, then the {omega} decreases and vise versa. Moving enough mass could well move the axis of rotation, relative to the ship. Like making the station "wobble." However, provided those masses are moved about inside the ship by forces inside the ship, then there is no transfer of angular momentum away from the ship, and so it's total is constant.
The ship can wobble if the masses are pushed out of line, and you could effectively deform the ship into a rotated copy of it's prior self with enough moving of mass in the right ways. So while the direction of the ships angular momentum cannot change, the ships orientation with respect to that axis can change. Assuming one goes moving masses around willy nilly with no care to the greater effect on the stations dynamical false gravity.
I mean... an nice circular space station spinning the way it should could end up spinning like a flipped coin, but about the same rotational axis, if the movement of masses isn't done carefully or with a reactive system to counteract the humans moving about in their "random" ways.
Last edited by MadMojoMonkey; 12-08-2020 at 01:26 AM.
I did think when I watched it that it was a little unrealistic to go the the centre. The closer to the centre you are, the more centrifugal force you experience and the "gravity" is stronger. If the ship is too small, even at the edge the "gravity" your head feels is more than your feet, to the point you would notice. I would imagine this would be very noticeable in the centre.
You have it backwards. The "gravity" is really a centripetal acceleration in this rotating reference frame.
a_cent = -{v_perp}^2 / r
where a_cent is the centripetal acceleration felt by the object, v_perp is the speed of the object perpendicular to the vector r, which points perpendicularly from the axis of rotation to the object.
(bold indicating a vector)
Note the - sign indicates a_cent is in the opposite direction of r, as a_cent points toward the center and r points away from the center.
v_perp is proportional to |r| for an object in circular motion, and always perpendicular to r.
We can derive this from the definition of radians {arc length} = r {theta} if we take the time derivative of both sides.
v_perp = r {omega}
where omega is the angular velocity of the spaceship, and r is the distance from the axis of rotation.
Plugging this in to the first equation above, dropping the - sign and vector notation to talk about the magnitudes of these forces, now.
a_cent = (r {omega})^2 / r = r {omega}^2
We see that for a given omega, increasing r is increasing a_cent, which means we feel that gravity increases with increasing distance from the axis of rotation.
EDIT: we also see that when we move toward the center, we keep decreasing our distance from the axis of rotation. Decreasing r decreases the a_cent, i.e. the strength of the artificial gravity. At the axis of rotation, there is no a_cent, and the artificial gravity is 0 m/s^2 at the axis.
EDIT2: OH FFS!!! Me losing points for rookie mistakes!!! a force is not equal to an acceleration!!! Gah!
Shame on me!!
All those times I talk about F_cent I really meant to say a_cent, the centripetal acceleration.
I am so ashamed. I have corrected my errors.
So wrong inertial force and wrong vector. Oops!
80 second physics demonstration showing the relationship between moment of inertia, I, and angular speed {omega} being conserved.
This system is analogous to moving masses about on a rotating spaceship. In this model, all the masses move in a spherically symmetric way, but that's not a necessary part of the law of conservation of angular momentum.
EDIT: the V-sauce video "Laws and Causes" gives a beautiful link between the conservation of angular momentum and forces. I can link that, too if you're interested.
I came across this post on youtube...
Einstein Violated? Objects lower in altitude accelerate toward the ground at a greater rate than those higher up by the ratio of the squares of their distances from the center of the attracting mass. So wouldn’t someone in a very long windowless elevator falling toward the ground of an atmosphere-less planet see a free floating object that is closer to the floor of the elevator than the observer (and thus at an incrementally lesser altitude) see that object drift away from him toward the floor of the elevator since it is accelerating downward at a greater rate than he is? If so that would violate Einstein’s principle of equivalency because an observer in a window-less elevator free-floating in deep space far removed from any gravitational field would see such an object within its walls not moving at all.
I replied with this...
This is actually a good thought experiment. I'm not sure of this, but my best guess is that time dilation (and therefore length contraction) becomes a factor. The person looking at the ball won't see it accelerate at all, it will appear the same distance away until it hits the ground, even though it is subject to greater gravitation. This is because the observer and the object are not experiencing time flowing at the same rate... the lower object is "slower" from the point of view of the person.
This is just my speculation though. I'm going to ask someone smarter than me their opinion on this. I'll update if I get a reply.
Am I thinking along the right lines here? Or is there a simpler explanation?
Einstein's thought experiment elevator is in a uniform gravitational field. The one described in by the poster is not a uniform field, it varies in magnitude.
In the Einstein elevator, the acceleration of gravity is the same everywhere, the elevator isn't falling "toward a planet," it's in a hypothetical universe where gravity points the same direction with the same strength everywhere... or a "hand of God" is pulling the elevator "upward" with a constant force - giving the illusion of a constant acceleration due to gravity pointing "down."
EDIT: this uniform gravitational field in Einstein's thought experiment is not caused by any mass. It's simply hypothesized to illustrate a point.
A mass distribution that would create this kind of uniform field would be an infinite flat Earth. It's analogous to an infinite capacitor plate, replacing electric charge with gravitational mass and the Electric field with a gravitational field.
So you're saying that the observer would see the object moving away from him?
The gradient in the gravitational potential is observable. Take it to the extreme. You're falling into a black hole. You experience spaghettification. This is perfectly in line with GR, and not in violation of the Equivalence Principle.
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USDA Inspector General investigates possible poultry sabotage
By News Desk on March 11, 2016
Eleven fresh and further processing poultry plants in five southern states owned by Wayne Farms LLC are on guard after foreign materials found in the company’s Laurel, MS, facility are being investigated as possible sabotage. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Inspector General (IG) has been brought in to lead the investigation of the the March 3 incident. A spokesman for Wayne Farms said the company is “working in collaboration” with the IG’s investigation and cannot comment further until it is complete. When the material was found by the on-site USDA inspectors at the beginning of the second shift, all the product involved was immediately put on hold without the need for a recall. Production has continued at the fresh processing plant and the Wayne Farms spokesman said food safety was never compromised. The Laurel plant where the foreign material was found is going through cutbacks due to the closure of deboning lines, which will result in layoffs of 500 workers by June. About 200 jobs will remain to prices about 650,000 birds a week. Some Laurel workers are being re-located to other Wayne Farms locations. Two days later and about 400 miles away, extraneous plastic material was found in a chicken nugget product being prepared by Perdue Foods LLC in Gainesville, GA. That spurred the recall of 4,530 pounds of chicken nuggets produced for Applegate Farms. The nuggets, however, were produced during the previous fall, on Sept. 28, 2015, and the foreign material was discovered by consumer complaints. Small, clear plastic was found inside the nuggets. USDA has not disclosed the foreign substance found at Wayne Farms. While not frequent, it is not all that usual for food to be recalled for contamination with non-food substances. However, the deliberate planting of any such material is extremely rare. Wayne Farms is the sixth largest poultry processing in the United States with annual sales approaching $2 billion. It processes more than 2.6 billion of poultry products each year. Wayne Farms is a subsidiary of the Continental Grain Co., headquartered in Oakwood, GA. (To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here.)
Tags: Laurel, MS, Perdue Foods, poultry plants, Sabotage, Wayne Farms
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Arizona Indian Gaming Association supports ICE Totally Gaming 2016
(PRESS RELEASE) -- The Arizona Indian Gaming Association (AIGA) has become the latest high-profile nonprofit organisation in the gaming space to give its support to ICE Totally Gaming 2016 (2, 3 & 4 February, ExCeL Centre, London). The AIGA is launching its support by promoting a free trip to the London show, the winner of which will be announced at the forthcoming AIGA EXPO, 28 – 30 October, Talking Stick Resort, Scottsdale, Arizona, US.
Heralding the support, AIGA Executive Director, Valerie Spicer said, "We are very excited to be able to officially announce our relationship with ICE in the lead-up to our own EXPO at the end of October. ICE is widely respected throughout world gaming and it is the most appropriate event for us to expand the reach of Tribal Gaming into the international space."
Marketing Director, Jo Mayer, believes that the link-up with the Arizona Indian Gaming Association, sits perfectly with the ICE mandate and vision. She explained: "First of all, I would like to place on record how delighted we all are at ICE to be working with the AIGA, a highly respected organisation which is committed to advancing the lives of American Indian people, economically, socially and politically in pursuit of the ultimate goal of self-reliance.
"The AIGA speaks on behalf of its member Tribes with a unified voice and I believe that in a similar way, ICE represents the entirety of the gaming experience. Our mission statement is to represent the 'totality of gaming' which we achieve by working with a wide range of international representative bodies and organisations. At ICE 2015 the number of supporting associations totalled 26 and I am delighted to be able to add to this the influence of the AIGA."
Talking Stick Resort Details
ICE Totally Gaming 2016
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'You are not your disease': COVID-19 long haulers find hope in recovery program
Adrianna Rodriguez
Jenny Berz was infected with the coronavirus in March after returning from a trip to Hawaii.
The 50-year-old wife and mother from Boston never received a positive test for COVID-19, but she had all the standard symptoms: fever, chills, body aches and shortness of breath.
A few days later, her husband got sick and tested positive. Then her kids began exhibiting symptoms, although the doctor wouldn’t test them.
They all quarantined at home, hoping to get better in a few weeks. Though Berz’s husband and children recovered, she got worse.
Throughout her illness she experienced gastrointestinal, cognitive and pulmonary symptoms. She had asthma attacks, lost her sense of smell and had a burning sensation in her arms, also known as neuropathy.
“Somewhere along the way, I had everything,” she said.
Berz is one of the many so-called COVID-19 long haulers, whosuffer through symptoms months after their initial diagnosis. Many fear they will never recover.
A new treatment program originally intended for geriatric patients has showed promising results for these long-suffering COVID-19 patients.
Noah Greenspan, a cardiopulmonary physical therapist and founder of the Pulmonary Wellness Foundation in New York City, said about 750 patients have enrolled in his COVID Bootcamp program and many report progress – including Berz.
'Long haulers':Long-lasting COVID-19 symptoms from lungs to limbs linger in coronavirus patients
Although the program was created around patients older than 70, Greenspan quickly realized it was too vigorous for his long haulers, mostly patients in their 30s, 40s and 50s.
“It’s a very delicate balancing act,” he said. “We had to come up with a very specialized rehab and learn fast what’s detrimental to people.”
Bootcamp patients are asked to walk for four minutes, in two two-minute intervals, increasing a minute each day. Before the program, Berz could barely make it to her mailbox. Now she walks 12 minutes a day.
The program incorporates breathing exercises and weight training, which could be as simple as lifting an arm over the head for a minute.
“Little by little, it’s like putting together a jigsaw puzzle and disarming a bomb at the same time,” Greenspan said. “We put together things so that we see the entire picture … but we want to make sure we don’t cut the wrong wire.”
Doing so could put a patient in bed for the whole day.
Joel Hough, 56, of Northern Virginia, still suffers from intense fatigue after getting sick in late April. He used to ride his bike every day, but now after riding justtwo hours at 30% of his original speed and intensity, he feels like he got hit by a truck.
“You have to meter yourself and then wait a day or two and then see how good or bad you feel,” he said. “You can feel so great, but you’re actually hurting yourself."
Although patients such as Hough and Berz still experience symptoms and can’t function at their full capacity, thanks to the boot camp, they have hope. They encourage other long haulers to not give up.
Greenspan is grateful he can help his patients get back a slice of their former life, even if it’s just an extra minute on the treadmill.
“When somebody is diagnosed with a chronic disease … their lives become the disease, or the disease becomes their lives,” he said. “You are not your disease.”
Follow Adrianna Rodriguez on Twitter: @AdriannaUSAT.
Health and patient safety coverage at USA TODAY is made possible in part by a grant from the Masimo Foundation for Ethics, Innovation and Competition in Healthcare. The Masimo Foundation does not provide editorial input.
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Rout of Churches (Dalcahue-Quinchao Island)
Turismo Pangue
Castro, Chile
Religious Tour, Sightseeing
$75 USD per trip
Avg Distance
Castro, Chiloe Island
Guides, Ferries
Chiloe Island
Quinchao Island
Churches World Heritage
Christian Araos
Our tour begins with the transfer of passengers to head northeast, towards the town of Dalcahue, a sector where we will visit its typical craft fair and its church declared a World Heritage Site in 2000.
Then, on a trip that lasts no more than 15 minutes, we will cross to Quinchao Island through a ferry, to continue towards Huyar (typical small town of the island) and Curaco de Vélez, which is an old Chilote hamlet, emerged at the beginning of the 17th century, which is marked by the commercial and port development that the province experienced from the mid-19th century until the 1960 earthquake. Today it stands out in the archipelago for its rural towns, its architecture, religiosity, folklore and crafts local.
Continuing with the route, we will arrive at Achao, a town built on a flat sector surrounded by hills and facing a shallow sandy beach. In front are the islands of Llingua and Linlin. In the surrounding hills there are abundant viewpoints, such as the Alto de la Paloma.
It is the main Chilote town that is outside the Big Island and as such is highly visited by inhabitants of the smaller islands, who come to study or carry out commercial activities.
The architecture of Achao stands out for the multiple forms that the larch tiles that are used to cover the houses adopt. Inside this is the Church of Santa María de Loreto de Achao, declared a World Heritage Site. It is the oldest church in Chiloé.
Finally, we will visit Villa Quinchao, where we will find the largest traditional Chilota churches and then we will reach the end of the island to the Chequian sector
Company dedicated to make tours and trekking in the Island of Chiloe.Chile
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Corruption in Albany: Will Anything Really Change?
September 07, 2016 | by Bruce W. Dearstyne
Gov. Cuomo (photo via The Governor's Office on Flickr)
Can legal restrictions halt corruption in the state Legislature? History suggests that they are necessary but limited.
A new ethics law, more of the same
Several state legislators have been charged with corrupt practices in recent years and the leaders of both houses of the Legislature found guilty of violating federal laws. Sheldon Silver and Dean Skelos are headed to prison unless their appeals succeed. The Legislature considered several basic remedies in the 2016 session. It passed a bill championed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo at the very end, introduced so late in the session that many leaders did not have time to read it and speeded through with the help of a "Message of Necessity" from the governor, which enabled the Legislature to dispense with requirements for deliberation that would at least have provided time for news media and other watchdogs to dissect it and legislators to read it.
After waiting as long as possible, the governor signed it in late August with no public ceremony and only a brief statement that “New York is taking aggressive action to restore the people’s faith in government and increase accountability and transparency in the electoral process.”
"They needed an ethics reform so people knew they could trust Albany and this is a great first step," he added. "If people don't trust the system, the system can't function." That was a tepid endorsement at best. This is the fourth state ethics bill that Cuomo has signed and this one has almost nothing to do with the practices of state lawmakers.
The new law places new restrictions on independent expenditure campaign contributions but does not close the so-called "LLC Loophole,"which allows firms that control several limited liability companies to multiply the means of giving to campaigns. It doesn't restrict legislators' outside incomes or create blockades against a pay-to-play culture of campaign contributions and government decision-making. One of the things that it does do is force issue-oriented lobbying groups to disclose more donor information. That may undermine some of the good-government groups that pressed for more sweeping ethics legislation.
Dick Dadey, executive director of Citizens Union, a government reform group, is among those who have said that the law is probably unconstitutional. Dadey said that "my organization's board was astonished by this piece of legislation."
"Common Cause/NY is deeply disappointed that Governor Andrew Cuomo has chosen to ignore the causes of systematic corruption in Albany, and instead wrongfully punish organizations' proper and lawful collaboration to more effectively advocate for their causes,” said its executive director, Susan Lerner.
Business, money and politics -- an old story in New York
As noted, Gov. Cuomo calls this new law a good first step. But is it really that?
In his annual message to the Legislature, the governor denounced "political contributions by business corporations" as "morally wrong....Its contributions are influenced by business and not by patriotism and, like other investments, are made in the hope and expectation of financial return or to avert threatened pecuniary injury." The governor recommended making political payments by corporations a criminal offense.
Cuomo in 2016? Actually, it was Governor Frank W. Higgins, in 1906.
Higgins was reacting to the long history of scandals over corporate funds swaying political elections in New York, allegations of large secret corporate campaign contributions in the 1904 presidential election and the 1905 mayoral election in New York City, and a recent legislative investigation that had revealed insurance companies spending to influence legislation affecting them.
The Legislature took up and quickly passed three pieces of legislation. One prohibited corporate campaign contributions. Another required candidates and political committees to make public a record of their campaign receipts and expenditures. A third redefined corrupt practices by defining what campaign expenditures were acceptable. They went into the statute books as chapters 239, 502, and 503 of the Laws of 1906.
Since then, the campaign ethics laws have been amended and updated, and impacted by court decisions. But the role of money in politics has continued. There have been lots of legislative scandals, but they have usually led to meager ethics reform, as they did this year.
Good government groups often call on the Governor to pressure the Legislature to adopt more sweeping measures. That would require the Governor to expend political capital and rally the citizens to pressure the Legislature.
"It is easy for an executive to run against the Legislature," said Governor Cuomo. "We want an ethics bill. [But] I cannot get an ethics bill by piling up political victory after political victory on the editorial pages."
That sounds like the rationale for Andrew Cuomo's seeming casualness about ethics reform this year. Actually, it was his father, Mario Cuomo, in 1987, explaining yet another stunted reform initiative.
What might help, beyond the law and the prosecutor?
Legal proscriptions, and vigorous prosecution of corruption, such as that carried out by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in recent years, are essential to good government. But history suggests that other factors are also important:
* The tone starts at the top. If the Speaker of the Assembly and the Majority Leader of the Senate are models of probity, they set the right tone and their example may cascade down through the two houses of the Legislature. One example is Oswald D. Heck, New York's longest-tenured Assembly Speaker (1937-1959): scrupulous, honest, personally modest, but a very effective leader. Assembly scandals were very rare in his 22-year tenure.
*Real competition in legislative elections. It keeps incumbents on their toes, discourages ethics lapses that their opponents might use, and forces them to really explain and defend their records at election time. Throughout much of New York's history, most State Assembly and Senate seats were contested. More recently, particularly because of redistricting and gerrymandering, many districts are overwhelmingly Democratic or Republican. That discourages opposition, advantages incumbents, and may help promote a feeling of complacency.
*Giving rank-and-file legislators more power in their respective houses. The prosecution and conviction of Assembly Speaker Silver revealed his power to designate committee chairs and control the flow of legislation. Members of the Assembly's Democratic majority felt inclined, or compelled, to "go along" rather than take principled, independent stands that might have earned them the speaker's enmity. Silver stamped out potential opposition, e.g., from Majority Leader Michael Bragman who lost his position after challenging Silver for the Speaker's post in 2000 and resigned the next year.
Speaking in Albany last February, Bharara decried the complacency of legislators, whom he called "enablers" in the "rancid culture" at the Capitol. The current Speaker of the Assembly and Majority Leader of the Senate have both indicated they are giving more leeway to individual legislators. But still more is needed.
*Aggressive news media. Over the course of our history, the Albany press corps has exposed more corruption than any U.S. Attorney. Journalists’ vigilance and oversight help legislators avoid temptation. The hometown press follows, or should follow, local legislators' committee assignments, bills introduced, position statements, speeches, and to the degree possible, campaign contributions. The advent of 24/7 news, online forums, and social media can shed even more light and promote transparency.
*Widespread public frustration with government. Work by the Pew Research Center shows the distrust and disappointment. Public officials are seen as needing more integrity, values-based judgment, and application of personal ethics in their service to the public. Those are not easy things to impose by ethics laws or threats of prosecution for unethical or illegal acts. They are more deep-seated, character-based. Perhaps we should require every legislator, or at least every new one, to read Clayton Christensen's 2012 book “How Will You Measure Your Life?” It's about achieving a fulfilling life through ethically-based service to others, a reminder that pursuing -- or spurning -- corrupt practices is, fundamentally, a personal choice.
Dr. Bruce W. Dearstyne's latest book is The Spirit of New York: Defining Events in the Empire State's History, published in 2015 by SUNY Press.
Have an op-ed idea or submission for Gotham Gazette? Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Note: Gotham Gazette is an independent publication of Citizens Union Foundation, sister organization of Citizens Union.
Tags: Andrew Cuomo • State Legislature • Ethics Reform • Mario Cuomo • corruption
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Relationship logic
Relationship logic is totally backwards.
I spent quite a lot of time with Owen this weekend. It was good. Very good. We ate dinner, watched The Philadelphia Story and laughed a lot.
However, on Friday, we had an awkward conversation that was close to our undoing. He said, "I don't want to hold you up." Meaning: given my age, he didn't want to waste my time. I thought that was crazy because who says that we're even going to be together long enough for that to be an issue? I said, "Let me decide what is a waste of my time." Somehow, we continued to enjoy ourselves but it left me wondering, "What the hell is going on?" We have a connection, a closeness, and real affection, but we need more time to figure out what is there before worrying about the rest. It's true that I've thought down the road, and I told Owen as much, but I know better than to bring it up. It's not time for us to discuss it. Those issues do not need to be on the table now. Also, dating anyone, at any time, is a risk. But I have such a good time with Owen, I could never think of it as a waste. I want more time with him and if I don't get it, I'll be sad. But do I want to marry him? How the hell should I know?
The plan was to meet again on Saturday afternoon, with his friends, for our second date of the weekend. I wasn't sure what would happen. How would he act? Would he be happy to see me? I couldn't get my head around our prior conversation. A friend reassured me that, "He's just confused. It's normal." That made sense. I was confused too. And if Owen was scared, so was I. It's easy to say 'life is short, it's good to take chances' but to act on it? So much harder. I was the one saying, let's have fun and enjoy spending time together and not try and figure everything out. But Owen put some tremendous pressure on himself. Would he be able to relax and enjoy spending time with me? Could I walk the "let's just have fun" walk?
When I got to the bar, Owen was there with a bunch of his friends and co-workers. I'd only met one of them before, and I didn't know him very well, but I was at ease. It helped that Owen was happy to see me. He was friendly, affectionate (but not over the top) and it was easy. It was our first time out with friends and everyone perceived us a couple. That wasn't a bad thing, but it was odd, particularly in light of the awkward conversation we'd had.
More people arrived and I hit it off in particular with "Teri," the wife of one of Owen's co-workers. She and I bonded over our inability to participate in all the work talk around us. Owen joined our conversation and we told Teri how he'd forgotten that we'd met in that very bar and had her in stitches. Then Teri said, "Do you guys want to go to see [obscure band] in a few weeks?" I didn't know what to say. She continued, "My friend wants to get a whole bunch of people to go. It's in November…"
I looked at Owen and he said nothing. I turned back to Teri and said, "November? I don't know if we're going to be together in November!" I laughed. Teri didn't seem to pick up on what I said but Owen heard me. He said, "I can't believe you said that! That's awesome." He gave me a big smile.
I said, "What?" I didn't know why he was smiling.
"The fact that you said that…it's so great. It makes me think we will be together in November."
Huh? I don't know what I was supposed to say. Did he think I would presume to start making plans for him (for "us"?) in NOVEMBER? I'm not asking for exclusivity or saying he's my boyfriend yet, let alone making plans that far into the future. It's just all so cart before the horse.
Apparently saying, in effect, "I'm not counting on this. I'm not assuming you'll be around or that there will be an 'us'" caused Owen to think that there would be an "us." Classic relationship logic. Gotta love it.
I'm still not counting my chickens. With age comes extreme caution, that's for sure.
Here's the crazy thing--the day after I met Owen for the second time, I was sure he was going to be around, that I really liked him and that things were going to "work out." I've been a lot less sure ever since because reality and time have intruded, but there it is. I was sure because of how I felt: calm, happy and satisfied. That's still how I feel.
Grateful for: a great weekend.
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It's the beginning of the end at Hanover Mall
By Anastasia E. Lennon The Patriot Ledger
Mar 3, 2020 at 12:30 PM Mar 3, 2020 at 12:30 PM
Demolition started Tuesday at the Hanover Mall to make way for a new, open-air shopping center.
HANOVER — Excavators took the first big bites out of the Hanover Mall on Tuesday morning, setting off an approximate six-month demolition process that will make space for a new open-air shopping center.
"Malls are tired," Mike Hoban, 22-year director of operations for the Hanover Mall, said Tuesday as construction equipment went to work on the building. "People shop differently these days and aren't coming to the mall anymore, so this is an exciting new project for the South Shore and it's long overdue."
John Silva, the project manager for demolition contractor Regional Industrial Services, said there are three phases for the demolition. First will be Walmart and Sears, then J.C. Penney, then the rest of the interior stores.
With the exception of Macy’s, the entire mall is set to be demolished this spring to make way for nine new buildings situated around parking lots and a grass common. The development, called Hanover Crossing, will be an open-air shopping center set to include a Market Basket, numerous restaurants and nearly 300 housing units.
Hoban estimates that once demolition is complete, it will take from 18 to 20 months to build Hanover Crossing.
While workers were busy tearing into the building, local union groups stood at the edge of Washington Street with signs, protesting Regional Industrial Services and its alleged failure to hire union workers.
"They won't call or talk to us, so we're just here trying to get work for local residents," Thomas Troy, the business manager of Local 1421 union, said.
Troy also cited the company for unsafe practices and putting their workers "in jeopardy." He many are often without protective masks, leaving them to inhale harmful chemicals like silica during demolitions.
Silva denied Troy's claims, and said the CEO of Regional Industrial Services has spoken with Local 1421. He said the company will soon be hiring union workers for the job.
"We all have hard hats and masks, we're very big on safety," said Silva. "If [Occupational Safety and Health Administration] shows up, we have to be ready."
Silva also said a safety officer visited the site Tuesday morning to ensure workers were following proper protocol.
The demise of the 50-year-old mall is a case study of the changes in retail habits nation wide. Like Derby Street Shoppes in Hingham, Colony Place in Plymouth and Legacy Place in Dedham before it, Hanover Crossing is a "lifestyle center" that experts say is better suited to the shoppers of today.
Hanover Crossing will be anchored by an 80,000-square foot Market Basket grocery store, as well as an entertainment complex that will include a 10-theater Showcase Cinemas location and a Ten Pin Eatery, which will have food, bowling and an arcade. A restaurant called Barstow Tavern has also been confirmed for the site.
The developer plans to sell and demolish Patriot Cinemas for the development of 297 new housing units scheduled to open in 2022. The movie theater will stay open for now.
As demolition continues at the mall, many of the current building’s features will be lost, including the colorful, hand-laid mosaic of local birds and flowers in the central atrium.
The pale blue pergolas that line the hallways were saved, however, and the Cardinal Cushing Centers — a nearby school for children and adults with developmental and intellectual challenges — will use them to build swing sets.
The new development will have about 600,000 square feet of retail, some 200,000 square feet less than the current structure. It is expected to be finished in 2021.
Reach Anastasia E. Lennon at alennon@patriotledger.com.
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How the ‘Russian Threat’ Is Being Used to Scare Scots Away from Independence
By Johanna Ross
Region: Europe, Russia and FSU
Theme: Intelligence
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has – albeit inadvertently – single-handedly done his utmost to encourage the Scottish independence movement since he took office, even last week causing more offence north of the border with his ‘devolution was a disaster’ comments. But while the PM himself may be somewhat oblivious to cracks that are emerging in the Union, others are less indifferent. Indeed, the British military and security establishment is getting increasingly flustered about the fact that, with every day that passes, Scotland is edging closer to independence.
An article in The Economist this month aptly summed up this newfound worry. It’s an extraordinary piece, containing rhetoric and ideas which plunge us right back into the depths of the Cold War. To summarise, it asserts that England needs Scotland to defend itself from Russia. The scenarios presented wouldn’t be out of place in a James Bond plot. Allegedly, the ‘threat from Russia has grown’ and because of Scotland’s northerly position it’s in an ideal position to ‘intercept Russian bombers from Murmansk’. Not just that, but the west coast of Scotland provides ‘the simplest and safest way’ for British submarines to take ‘nuclear missiles…over the Arctic to Russia’. (I kid you not, it talks about nuclear missiles.)
It also describes how the Scottish Highlands and Islands have been used for generations for the testing of various weaponry. Apparently the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) uses 115,000 square kilometres of airspace over the Hebrides archipelago for testing missile defence systems. And the UK’s only naval firing range is in Cape Wrath. So it’s clear that Scotland provides the ideal, remote, playground for the British army. Conveniently, the article fails to mention the negative side of the MOD’s experimentation, such as the anthrax testing on Gruinard island in the 1940s which led to its contamination for decades; or the presence of nuclear weapons at Faslane, which the majority of Scots oppose.
There are so many things to take issue with in this piece it’s hard to know where to begin. First of all there’s the implication that Russia poses a real military threat to Britain. As if the Russian Federation is the least bit interested in combat with our island. What would it have to gain? More territory? Hardly likely for the largest country in the world. There is of course the widely held view in the west that Putin is about to invade the Baltic states at any minute. But this view is devoid of any logical basis. As eminent scholar Professor Stephen Cohen (now sadly deceased) noted in his book ‘War with Russia’ in 2019, Vladimir Putin tends to react to events rather than initiate them. Instances of so-called ‘Russian aggression’ are in fact more acts of self-defence. The ‘invasion of Ukraine’ is cited in The Economist article as being the starting point for the growth of the ‘Russian threat’. Yet this really is a twisted version of events as it ignores the role played by western regime change efforts in initiating what is an ongoing civil war in Ukraine. As Cohen wrote:
‘The 2014 crisis and subsequent proxy war in Ukraine resulted from the longstanding effort to bring that country, despite these large regions’ shared civilization with Russia, into NATO.’
Cohen also cites the Russian conflict with Georgia in 2008 as another example of western meddling, as Saakashvili, the Georgian leader who mounted his attack on South Ossetia, was backed by the US. In both these conflicts, frequently cited as examples of Russian aggression, the only intervention Russia has made has been to defend the rights of ethnic Russians living in these former Soviet regions.
The reality is, that if any real war was to break out between ourselves and Russia, and as is suggested, nuclear missiles were used, our whole island would be swiftly decimated. In 2019 Russia unveiled its new Avangard supersonic nuclear missile, the first of its kind in the world. You don’t want to play games with a country that has this kind of technology. Not only that, but why on earth would Russia want to engage in military conflict of this kind? To suggest as much is to completely misunderstand Russia’s geopolitical strategy. One cannot help but think that once again Russia has become a useful scapegoat in other peoples’ political agendas.
There is no doubt of course that an independent Scotland would have a completely different approach to diplomacy and defence from the United Kingdom, which reflects the nation’s age-old internationalist outlook. In a proposal drawn up by think-tank Commonweal back in 2014, it is suggested that an independent ‘Scotland would be an international actor of a completely different character to the UK’. The paper proposes that Scotland would aim to reduce defence spending and abandon its nuclear weapons, promoting instead a “distinctive, Scottish ‘international brand’ which emphasizes cooperation, dialogue, and peace”. The country could aim to be a ‘middle-power’ peacekeeper like Canada, Norway or Ireland. The role, it is said, would contrast greatly with Great Britain’s traditional one of ‘projecting power’ abroad which has (it is politely expressed) ‘invited international criticism due to the damage that has sometimes been visited on the ‘recipients’ of this projected power.’ In other words, Scotland would not be looking to follow the same interventionist and expansionist path which has been tread by the United Kingdom in times past.
Such a divergence between Scotland and England over defence will of course concern London. Currently there is no indication that Scotland shares English fears of an imminent Russian invasion, and any reduction on defense in the northern part of the British isles will likely be opposed by the English military. However, there is also another objective to the UK government raising concerns in this area. As the desire for independence increases in Scotland, so will the amount of propaganda produced by the UK government as to why it should remain in the union. By exaggerating the threat from Russia, the English can persuade Scots of the need to retain the Union. What seems obvious in any case, is that even in this one area of defence, England needs Scotland more than the other way around.
Note to readers: please click the share buttons above or below. Forward this article to your email lists. Crosspost on your blog site, internet forums. etc.
This article was originally published on InfoBrics.
Johanna Ross is a journalist based in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Credits to the owner of the featured image
Copyright © Johanna Ross, Global Research, 2020
Articles by: Johanna Ross
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With the UK leaving the EU and now acting as an independent nation signing new trade deals to enable UK exporters and importers to access new markets across the world, it is more important for traders to understand in more depth what rules of origin are and how they can have preferential or non-preferential access in those markets based on the origin of their goods.
Most of the current queries our International Trade team is receiving from traders revolve about whether their goods meet rules of origin and thus claim preferential duty rates.
The reality is that Rules of Origin may vary from Trade Agreement to Trade Agreement, and there is much confusion, especially under the new EU-UK TCA.
So take a look at some of the basics:
What are Rules of Origin?
Origin is essentially the economic nationality of goods. All internationally traded goods are required to have an origin when declared to customs at the point of import. Rules of origin enable to establish the origin of the goods.
There are two types of origin: preferential, when there is a trade agreement, and non-preferential, when there are not trade agreements in place. Both are determined by respective rules of origin.
Preferential Origin
Preferential origin is linked to FTAs which grant members access to domestic market at preferential tariffs. Thus, preferential rules of origin help to determine whether goods qualify for the preferential tariff. They are a set of criteria that the goods need to comply with to be considered originating in the territory of the trade agreement when exported to an FTA partner. These rules are based on the HS Classification and are in most cases specific to a product.
Rules of origin are negotiated separately for every FTA and are attached to the main agreement in the form of a protocol or an annex on product specific rules of origin. Therefore, rules of origin vary significantly across agreements.
There are two main types of product specific rules of origin, wholly obtained and Substantial transformation
a) Wholly obtained products are goods obtained entirely in the territory of an FTA party without the addition of any non-originating materials. In some agreements, there is also a wholly produced category goods which are produced or manufactured exclusively from wholly obtained inputs and are treated a wholly obtained products.
b) Substantial transformation is a type of rule of origin that requires goods to undergo a certain process in order to be considered originating in a given country. This transformation can be expressed in three different ways.
Change in tariff classification: a rule that requires non-originating materials to have undergone a change in HS Classification in order to obtain originating status.
Value added calculations: a rule that requires a certain percentage of the total value of the final product to be added in the FTA territory.
Specific processing: a rule that requires that a specific processing be undertaken at a particular stage of the production process.
The three types of substantial transformation can be used in combination with one another. Additionally, different types of exceptions and allowances can be used within each of the three types.
In addition to the product specific rules, each agreement also includes general provisions related to the administration of rules of origin and claiming preferential tariffs. These rules cover additional relaxations such as cumulation or de-minimis as well as administrative provisions around the proof of preferential origin.
Non-preferential Origin
Non-preferential origin applies to goods traded between countries not linked by any preferential trade agreement. It does not lead to a reduction in tariffs but is used for other purposes such as quotas, anti-dumping and countervailing duties. It is also used for trade statistics and for the purpose of labelling.
Non-preferential rules of origin are decided by each country and are based on two criteria.
a) Wholly obtained – similarly to preferential rules, wholly obtained products are goods obtained entirely in the territory of one country without the addition of any non-originating materials.
b) Last substantial transformation – in a case where more than one country was involved in the production of the goods, the country where the last substantial transformation took place determines the origin of the goods.
If you would like to obtain product specific guidance on rules of origin you may refer to Gov.uk. Additionally, for more information from the EU perspective refer to the Access to Markets database.
Need to understand Rules of Origin in more detail?
Join our next Rules of Origin: Preferential and Non-preferential training course that will be delivered on the 9th of February. We still have places available!
Need Certificates of Origin ( UK / Arab) or UK EUR1s as a way to prove origin? Check our Export docs services here
Need more guidance on Rules of Origin, check our Brexit Hub – UK Gov Section as we compiled a series of useful guidance links including the new EU-UK TCA.
Have more specific questions regarding your business model? Why not used our Bespoke Service?
UK Trader Scheme to facilitate trade with Northern Ireland
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Colyton 1831
A Topographical Dictionary of England
Samuel Lewis (1831)
Transcript copyright Mel Lockie (Sep 2016)
COLYTON, a market-town and parish in the hundred of COLYTON, county of DEVON, 22 miles (E.) from Exeter, and 151 (W. S. W.) from London, containing 1945 inhabitants. This place derives its name from the river Cole, on which it is situated, near its confluence with the river Axe. In the reign of Edward III. it obtained the grant of a weekly market and an annual fair. During the parliamentary war, the royal forces in possession of the town were attacked and defeated by a detachment of the parliamentarian army stationed at Lyme. The town is pleasantly situated in a fertile vale, surrounded by fine pasture land and orchards, and abounding with excellent timber: the houses, many of which are very ancient, are in general irregularly built of flint, with thatched roofs; the inhabitants are supplied with water from two conduits connected with springs a little south of the town. The principal branch of manufacture is that of blue, brown, and common white paper; there are also two tanneries. The market days are Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, which last is the principal market: the fairs are on May 1st and November 30th, for cattle. The petty sessions for the division are held here; and two constables and a tythingman are annually appointed at the court leet of the lord of the manor. The living is a vicarage, with which the perpetual curacies of Monkton and Shute are annexed, rated in the king's books at £40. 10. 10., and in the peculiar jurisdiction and patronage of the Dean and Chapter of Exeter. The church, dedicated to St. Andrew, is a spacious and handsome cruciform structure, in the later style of English architecture, with a low square-embattled tower rising from the centre, and surmounted by a handsome octagonal lantern turret with pierced parapets: the south transept is separated from the nave by an elaborately carved stone screen; and in the chancel is a beautiful altar-tomb, with the effigy of the daughter of one of the Courtenays, earls of Devonshire, richly enshrined in tabernacle work. There are places of worship for Independents and Unitarians. A school, in which twenty boys are taught reading, writing, and arithmetic, is supported by part of a fund given to the parish by Henry VIII. for divers charitable purposes, amounting to about £220 per annum, out of which the schoolmaster is paid a salary of £30; and a Sunday school for one hundred and forty children is supported partly by an endowment of £200 in the five per cents., given in 1816, by its founder, the Rev. James How, and partly by subscription.
COLYFORD, a hamlet in the parish of COLYTON, and hundred of COLYTON, county of DEVON, 1 mile (S. S. E.) from Colyton, with which the population is returned. Colyton was made a borough before the reign of Edward I.: it is governed by a mayor, who is chosen annually at the court of the lord of the manor. The tolls of a large cattle fair, held on the first Wednesday after March 11th, belong to the mayor, and the great tithes within the limits of the borough to the vicar of Colyton. Sir T. Gates, who discovered the Bermuda Isles, was born here.
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Making noise about keeping the decibels down in Japan
OCT 10, 2014, DANIEL KRIEGER
Yoshimichi Nakajima was waiting for the train one day at his local station in Tokyo when he politely asked the station attendant to lower the volume on his microphone. He was told that would be “difficult,” so Nakajima lent a hand by grabbing the mic and throwing it onto the track. He then recounted all of this to the station master, who was speechless. Nakajima, a rare breed of Japanese anti-noise crusader, has also taken a speaker from a liquor store and tossed it outside as well as seized a megaphone from a police officer.
“I’ve done such things on numerous occasions,” he said recently in an email. “And I never once regretted doing them.”
For a culture that places a high value on quiet, Japan can get pretty noisy sometimes, whether it’s the loud and long-winded announcements on trains and buses, the big cacophonous TV screens around shopping centers, the right-wing nationalists’ trucks that drive around blaring marching music and imperialist slogans out of loudspeakers or the infamous election campaigners who likewise promote themselves at ear-splitting volumes.
Though there are laws that limit most amplified sounds in public spaces, they typically aren’t enforced. Campaign trucks are even exempt from the laws, so in 2007 Yu Ito, then a member of the Metropolitan Assembly, set up the No! Senkyo Car network, whose anti-noise logo conveys that message.
When it comes to making noise in public, free speech trumps the right to privacy, a state of affairs that has driven Nakajima to distraction ever since he returned to Japan from Europe several decades ago and realized how noisy his native country is.
Nakajima, 68, is a philosopher and author of a series of books about noise in Japan, including his “Japanese are Half Fallen” (2005), where he provides an account of Japan’s irksome “culture of noise” that includes unnecessary announcements in train stations, the endless loops played in stores, talking escalators and ATMs, and the use of cranked-up loudspeakers just about everywhere. In addition to being a profound annoyance, he argued that such relentless noise desensitizes and even infantilizes people, rendering them docile. But despite his bold acts of protest, he acknowledged that ultimately nothing can be done because “most Japanese people don’t see ‘noise’ as a problem, and a large percentage of them actually want this ‘noise.’ “
Daniel Dolan, a professor of business communications at Waseda University, discovered this when he was writing a paper about the issue titled: “Cultural Noise: Amplified Sound, Freedom of Expression and Privacy Rights in Japan,” published in the International Journal of Communication in 2008.
Dolan, 54, who moved to Japan 20 years ago from Seattle, found that his Japanese wife and acquaintances couldn’t fathom the fuss when he broached the subject and expressed his dismay. Talking to Westerners, however, he encountered understanding, which jibed with a study cited in his paper that found Japanese are far more tolerant of environmental noises than Americans (and less likely to complain about them).
Nevertheless, Japan does have legally binding sound ordinances, much like those of the United States. To prove that these laws were being broken, Dolan took decibel readings with a sound meter where announcements were publicly broadcast and confirmed that they often exceeded the 70-decibel limit. But when he brought the evidence to officials at the local city office and asked why these infractions were permitted, they shrugged and explained that they were understaffed and just had to let it go.
From his research, which focused only on amplified sounds that can’t be avoided, such as those heard outside of stores or in the streets, rather than in places people choose to frequent, such as a pachinko parlor or train, he concluded that there’s one simple way to lower the volume of the soundscape.
“Sound management reform would consist of enforcing laws that are already there,” he said, “not necessarily creating new ones.” But despite the fact that such noise can raise stress levels and cause discomfort, to some at least, he has abandoned this line of inquiry. His paper didn’t lead to any discussion of the matter, and continuing to harp on about it would only alienate people anyway.
“It’s got to be something that Japanese people care about and push to change,” he said. “And I haven’t felt that at all.”
Chris Deegan, an anti-noise activist who hasn’t yet given up the fight, agreed that reform must come from within. Deegan, a 70-year-old translator from London who has lived in Tokyo for over four decades, was once all set to leave Japan because of this very issue. But then, by chance, he heard about an all-Japanese anti-noise group, Shizuka na Machi wo Kangaeru Kai — The Group that Thinks about a Quiet Town — and buoyed by a new sense of solidarity, decided to stay. After the founder quit out of despair, Deegan became the director of the group, which he said has about 60 members nationwide, who are “striving to make Japan just a little quieter.”
He is in charge of the group’s annual publication, Amenity, and organizes get-togethers among members, most of whom are Japanese who have spent some time in the West. Considering the Sisyphean struggle they are up against, they are utterly willing to compromise and have to settle for tiny victories. He and a few members once gently asked an agent at Tachikawa station to turn down the volume or increase the interval of a no-smoking announcement loop they found intrusive. To their surprise, he shut it off. However, six months later it was back on because, the agent said, lots of people had asked why that announcement was no longer broadcast.
“The problem was ordinary people,” Deegan said. “They don’t seem to be affected by it.” Group members also send letters to railway companies and local municipalities and write about their experiences for Amenity, whose latest issue is out this month. For him, the greatest sonic nuisance comes from the emergency PA systems in smaller locales that play melodies and regular announcements that can mercilessly go on and on.
“Ultimately, if we could get Japan down to the level of a Western European country, that would be fantastic,” he said. “But for the time being, if we can just drop the noise any small degree at all, we’ll be happy.”
India, Fancy horns deafen city, noise levels high
noise barriers for LTA in Singapore
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History of Mathematics at GVSU
The Mathematics Major
The Calculus Sequence
General Education and Basic Skills Courses
MTH 210 Communicating in Mathematics
The Cluster Colleges
Current Faculty
Open Source Textbooks
Sabbatical Awards
Dept. Programs
Department Seminars
Mathematics in Action
The Mosaic Lecture
Degrees Awarded
Degrees Awarded by Gender
Degrees Awarded by Ethnicity
Number of Majors Each Year
In the late 1970s, Grand Valley State Colleges decided to switch from the quarter system to the semester system. This took effect for the 1980-81 academic year. For that academic year, the College of Arts and Sciences added two new graduation requirements, which were the Basic Skills Requirements and the Supplemental Writing Skills Requirements. At that time, the Supplemental Writing Skills (SWS) Requirement was that “each degree candidate was required to complete two additional courses in which writing is emphasized.” These two courses could be courses that counted in the student’s distribution, major, or minor program.
The SWS Requirement in Mathematics
Because of the change to semesters, departments and programs were encouraged to review the requirements for their majors. Due to the inspiration and leadership of Dr. Virginia Muraski, the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science decided to institute a supplemental writing skills course that would be required of all mathematics majors and all mathematics minors seeking secondary certification. This course was MTH 235 Communicating in Mathematics. (Note: The course was renumbered as MTH 210 for the 1995-96 catalog.) Following is the description of this course from the 1980-81 catalog.
235 Communicating in Mathematics. A study of the logical and rhetorical techniques of exposition in the language of mathematics. The reading and discussion of selected mathematical writings. Intensive practice in communicating in the language of mathematics through analyzing and critiquing compositions based on the selected readings. Prerequisites: Mathematics 120 and a basic writing skills course. Offered fall semester of even-numbered years.
It is interesting to note that even though it was required of all majors, it was only offered in the fall semester of even-numbered years. This is undoubtedly why the prerequisite for the course was only a precalculus course. The course was changed to being offered every fall semester in the 1986-87 catalog and to being offered fall and winter semesters in 1991-92.
After being taught several times, the department began a discussion about the role of MTH 235 . Most faculty members liked the idea of having a course in mathematics that emphasized writing but some also felt it a “transition course” from the problem solving orientation of lower-level courses to the more theoretical and abstract upper-level courses was needed. In particular, many faculty members felt that before they took upper-level courses, students needed a course in which they would learn how to construct and write proofs. In the fall of 1987, the department had several discussions during department meetings about changing MTH 235 to a 300-level course, drop the SWS designation, and have the course focus more on mathematical proofs. (The course was to be called MTH 305 – Fundamental Concepts of Mathematics.) However, this proposal did not seem to gain a great deal of enthusiasm since many faculty members thought the course should remain an SWS course.
The Transition to a Course Emphasizing Proofs
Because of these discussions, however, it seemed clear that many faculty members wanted MTH 235 to focus more on mathematical proofs. As a result, the department to begin a conversation about what the prerequisite for MTH 235 should be. For the 1989-90 catalog, the prerequisite was changed to MTH 201. The rationale for this change was that from the experience of the instructors, it was determined that students needed the mathematical maturity obtained by completing a formal course in the calculus in order to obtain a greater understanding and appreciation of the objectives of this course. In addition, most faculty members felt that it was not appropriate for students to take both MTH 235 and the first semester of calculus at the same time.
Until the Winter 1990 semester, Virginia Muraski was the only faculty member who taught MTH 235 when Karen Novotny taught the course. Fall 1990 was the first semester that two sections of MTH 235 were taught. (Taught by Drs. Muraski and Novotny). Eventually, Dr. Muraski convinced a few others (including Tom Gruszka, Ted Sundstrom, and Steve Schlicker) to teach the course, and more faculty who were involved with upper-level mathematics courses began teaching MTH 235.
Many of these faculty members began working with students to help them construct and write proofs since they felt that this was one of the most important aspects of communication in mathematics. As a result of this, those teaching the course began a discussion about whether certain content should be specified for MTH 235. Consequently, the department decided to look at the content for this course in light of the courses for which MTH 235 was a prerequisite. After many discussions, the department decided to include certain material for the course that was not adequately covered in other parts of the lower-level curriculum and would be of benefit in upper-level courses. Because of this, a new description for MTH 235 was approved by the department for the 1994-95 catalog. Following is this description.
MTH 235 Communicating in Mathematics. A study of proof techniques used in mathematics. Intensive practice in reading mathematics, expository writing in mathematics, and constructing and writing mathematical proofs. Mathematical content will be selected from the areas of logic, set theory, number theory, relations, and functions. Prerequisite: 201. Three credits. Offered fall and winter semesters.
The following two paragraphs are from the Course Change Proposal to change the description for MTH 235 that was approved by the department and university for the 1994-95 catalog.
This course has always been offered as a Supplemental Writing Skills course since one of the major objectives for this course is to improve the students' abilities to write in the language of mathematics. However, the course was also intended to serve as a transition from the problem solving approach of the lower level courses in vie major (such as calculus) to the more abstract, theoretical approach of the upper level courses in major (such as geometry and abstract algebra). One of the difficulties for students in mis transition has been in properly writing in the language of mathematics, and in particular, in the constructing and writing of mathematical proofs. Consequently, as the course has developed over the years, the emphasis in writing in the course has become constructing and writing mathematical proofs. This indeed is one of the most important aspects of communication in mathematics. We now want the course description for MTH 235 to reflect this emphasis on constructing and writing proof}.
As we started emphasizing proofs in the course, we realized mat we needed to specify some mathematical content for the course since the students had to write proofs in some areas of mathematics. Consequently, the department decided to look at the content for this course in the light of the courses for which MTH 23 5 is a prerequisite. After many discussions, the department decided on certain material for this course that was not adequately studied in other parts of the lower level curriculum and would be of benefit in the upper division courses. The new course description reflects our choice of content for this course.
The last change for this course was approved for the 1995-96 catalog. The course was renumbered from MTH 235 to MTH 210. The main rationale for this change was to reinforce the message that mathematics majors should take this course as soon as possible after MTH 201. In doing this, the faculty was attempting to produce more uniform mathematical backgrounds of the students enrolled in MTH 210. At this time, the department approved the following objectives for MTH 210.
1. To enhance the ability to construct and write mathematical proofs using standard methods of mathematical proof including direct proofs, mathematical induction, case analysis, and counterexamples.
2. To develop logical thinking skills and to develop the ability to think more abstractly in a proof oriented setting.
3. To improve the quality of communication in mathematics. This includes improving writing techniques, reading comprehension, and oral communication in mathematics.
4. To explore and understand the concepts described in the following course content: Elementary logic, sets, axiomatic systems, elementary number theory, relations, functions, and methods of mathematical proof including direct proofs, indirect proofs, mathematical induction, case analysis, and counterexamples.
For the 2000 – 2001 academic year, the course objectives were revised. The new course objectives approved then continue to be the course objectives, which are the following:
To develop the ability to read and understand written mathematical proofs.
To develop the ability to construct and write mathematical proofs using standard methods of mathematical proof including direct proofs, mathematical induction, case analysis, and counterexamples.
To develop logical thinking skills and to develop the ability to think more abstractly in a proof oriented setting.
To develop talents for creative thinking and problem solving.
To improve the quality of communication in mathematics. This includes improving writing techniques, reading comprehension, and oral communication in mathematics.
To explore and understand the concepts described in the following course content: Elementary logic, sets, axiomatic systems, elementary number theory, relations, functions, and methods of mathematical proof including direct proofs, indirect proofs, mathematical induction, case analysis, and counterexamples.
The Proofs Portfolio for MTH 210
Although there have been no other changes in MTH 210 that were sent to the curriculum committee for approval, there have been significant changes in the way that MTH 210 has been taught. One of the things that was difficult to deal with was the Supplemental Skills Writing requirement that the instructor must work with the students on revising drafts of their papers, rather than simply grading the finished pieces of writing. Perhaps the most common method of meeting this requirement was that some of the assignments required handing in draft versions for the instructor to make comments and suggestions to the student and then have the student hand in the final version of the assignment to be graded.
In his second year at Grand Valley (Winter 1997), Dr. Ed Aboufadel experimented with a new type of assignment in MTH 210 that is still being used in all sections of MTH 210. Inspired by an article in a mathematics journal by Stephen Post, “Teaching the Art of Problem Solving,” Dr. Aboufadel developed a so-called “Proof Portfolio” requirement MTH 210 as a way for students to learn how to do proofs, and to satisfy the “writing with revision” requirement for SWS courses. Although there have been many variations of this assignment developed by various instructors over the years, the basic idea, as introduced by Dr. Aboufadel, is as follows:
The portfolio consists of ten proofs or propositions to be proven or disproven. Students may hand in each proof to the professor two times to be critiqued. (Some instructors allow more than two submissions.) Most of the critique is directed toward the student's writing, but quite often, give some “mathematical direction” must be given to the student. However, most of the time this is quite general, such as, ``You have an algebra mistake here.'' The goal is that each student will have a completed a ``Portfolio of Proofs'' at the end of the semester. The proofs in the portfolio are chosen to illustrate the various proof techniques discussed in the course. Since students have the opportunity all semester to submit proofs for comments, in order to receive full credit, a proof or solution must be correct, complete, and well written with no spelling or grammatical errors. Hopefully, the students will be able to use their portfolios to provide examples of various proof techniques if they are required in later courses. The techniques are the usual ones discussed in this type of course, direct proof, proof of the contrapositive, proof by contradiction, proof using cases, and mathematical induction. For an example of a portfolio assignment used by Dr. Ted Sundstrom, please click here.
Textbooks and the Teaching of MTH 210
In the late 1990’s many faculty members were becoming more and more dissatisfied with the textbooks that were available for MTH 210. It was felt that most textbooks did not really address the issue of writing mathematical exposition. Although the instructors were trying to handle this during the course, it was felt that it would be nice if the textbook addressed this specifically and then used practices of good writing throughout the textbook. In addition, it was felt that most textbooks did not address the actual process of writing a proof. There were textbooks that did discuss how to construct a proof but for the most part, these textbooks did not provide any guidelines for writing a proof and did not cover material that the department wanted to be included in this course.
One other problem with textbooks was that they were not up-to-date with the way that the teaching of mathematics courses had changed during the 1990’s. Faculty at Grand Valley were requiring students to explore mathematical concepts rather than having the text or the instructor simply tell them about these concepts. That is, the faculty wanted students actively involved in the learning process. This often involved collaborative learning where students work in groups to brainstorm, make conjectures, test each others’ ideas, reach consensus, and hopefully, develop sound mathematical arguments to support their work. Most textbooks for this “transition” course were quite traditional and simply presented the material and then had the students attempt to work exercises or write proofs.
Because of these concerns with the available textbooks for MTH 210, the department approved a sabbatical leave proposal for the winter 2000 semester for Ted Sundstrom to develop text materials for MTH 210. This project was done with the assistance of Dr. Karen Novotny and Dr. Matt Boelkins and resulted in a textbook, Mathematical Reasoning: Writing and Proof, that was eventually published by Prentice-Hall. Some edition of this textbook (including preliminary editions) has been used as the textbook for MTH 210 since the 2000 – 2001 academic year. (Click on this link to see a list of some of the textbooks that have been used for MTH 210.)
MTH 210 and the Mathematics Minor
One interesting aspect of MTH 210 (MTH 235) has been its use within the mathematics minor. When it was first introduced, MTH 235 was required for the mathematics minor for secondary certification but not for the mathematics minor for those not seeking certification. The primary reason for this was that the department wanted to make it relatively easy for engineering and physics majors to obtain a mathematics minor. In 1995-96, a new minor was introduced. This was a mathematics minor for elementary certification and MTH 210 was required for this minor. For the 1996-97 catalog, the requirements for mathematics minor for those not seeking certification was changed. Prior to this, the requirements were MTH 201, MTH 202, MTH 227, and at least three mathematics or statistics courses at the 300 – 400 level. The new requirement added a requirement of MTH 203 Calculus III or MTH 210 and changed the number of 300 – 400 mathematics or statistics courses to from three to two. This still made it reasonable for engineering and physics majors to obtain a mathematics minor.
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Ringed seals are one of the most abundant marine mammals in the Arctic, but as the climate continues to warm, their dependence on snow and ice could threaten the species. Photo by Danny Green/NPL/Minden Pictures
The Precarious Protection of Alaska’s Ringed Seals
The State of Alaska is petitioning the federal government to take ringed seals off the endangered species list. Others say not so fast.
by Sarah Keartes
June 5, 2019 | 850 words, about 4 minutes
Alaska’s ringed seals need snow to protect their pups. By the end of the century, there may not be enough in their icy habitat for the species to survive. That dispiriting future is what a 2012 decision to list the species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) sought to prevent. Now, for the second time in just seven years, the listing is facing political pushback. The State of Alaska has petitioned the US federal government to remove the seal from the ESA, arguing there are too many question marks to justify preemptive protections.
The petition to delist was jointly filed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) and three Alaskan Indigenous organizations on the basis that ringed seal populations appear stable.
Recent data collected from subsistence harvests across Alaskan waters indicates the animals are well fed. Their blubber is within healthy levels, and the proportion of pups seems to be on the rise. Aerial surveys peg the population between two and seven million.
“Ringed seals seem to be doing pretty well right now,” says ADFG wildlife science coordinator Chris Krenz. Given that there are millions of these animals, there is a lot of flexibility within the population, says Krenz, adding that conservation resources are finite. “This listing takes away from other species that need help more than ringed seals do.”
But other experts caution against removing protections, stating that a warming Arctic could deliver a fatal blow to the species in the future. The seals raise their young in deep snow lairs, which provide both warmth and protection from predators. Recent models suggest that changes in snow accumulation could see ringed seal populations drop by at least 50 percent by 2100.
And changing sea ice conditions could also be problematic. “Snow that falls in the autumn may fall on open water, so an increase in snowfall over an area may not necessarily translate to more snow available to ringed seals,” explains University of Alberta researcher Jody Reimer, who led the population modeling study.
Peter Boveng, a marine biologist at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center, feels it’s too early to give ringed seals a lasting bill of health. Summer ice hit record lows last year and, even though the seasonal winter ice these seals rely on has remained comparatively stable, that security is likely temporary. The original listing, says Boveng, was largely a prophylactic measure against what’s to come: “Major habitat loss for the species.”
For this reason, the United States Court of Appeals ruled to uphold protections for ringed seals when the listing came under fire last year. The ESA states that a species must be listed if the threat of extinction exists in the foreseeable future.
Staff with the ADFG argues the definition of foreseeable is too muddy when the various long-range climate forecast methodologies produce different predictions. “The projections suggest it will be decades before we even anticipate seeing [population] declines,” says Krenz. “And we don’t really understand the mechanism that will drive them.” Premature listing, he says, causes more problems than waiting for clearer data.
Supporters of the listing, however, believe removing protections ignores the legal obligations set forth by the ESA.
“The argument that we should only list once a population is declining—or once the species is seriously hurting—undercuts the whole purpose of the ESA,” says Emily Jeffers, a lawyer with the Center for Biological Diversity. Along with her colleagues, Jeffers is working to fight the Trump administration’s recent decision to deny another Arctic pinniped—the Pacific walrus—ESA status.
“No one is really disputing that the ice is melting,” says Jeffers. “It’s clear. And yet, the arguments to deny protections for wildlife are getting more and more convoluted.” The walrus denial document, for example, states that the species is “intelligent, adaptable, and able to make the necessary adjustments needed to persist.”
“It’s easy to say ‘Well, we don’t know. Maybe they’ll be fine’,” says Jeffers. “It’s very common for [petitioners] to hang their hats on scientific uncertainty.”
The ringed seal delisting petition also points to added costs and regulatory steps for resource extraction and other industrial activities, and threats to traditional harvests.
Ringed seals are culturally important to Alaskan Indigenous communities. While the ESA does include robust exemptions for subsistence hunting, they can be overruled if species conservation deems them necessary. “That’s a major concern for these coastal communities,” says Krenz. “They hunt seals for food, materials, and traditional crafts. Restricting harvest threatens their heritage.”
A 90-day assessment period for the petition began on March 26, and the debate surrounding the document is just as important as its outcome.
“There are a lot of unknowns,” says Reimer. “And we may very well not be able to say anything with enough certainty to list a species under the ESA.” The recent decisions are likely the first in a wave of future listing proposals with climate change as the main threat. Very few such listings are currently standing.
“This is one of the contemporary challenges in conservation biology,” says Reimer. “It will be interesting to see how we, as a society, decide to handle these many layers of uncertainty.
Sarah Keartes is a science and wildlife journalist based in the Pacific Northwest. When she’s not serving up stories for PBS Digital Studios, Earth Touch News, Popular Science, and elsewhere, she can be found climbing mountains with a board on her back.
Cite this Article: Sarah Keartes “The Precarious Protection of Alaska’s Ringed Seals,” Hakai Magazine, Jun 5, 2019, accessed January 18th, 2021, https://www.hakaimagazine.com/news/the-precarious-protection-of-alaskas-ringed-seals/.
Bearded Seals Are Maturing Younger and Having More Pups
Both are signs of a healthy population—but scientists caution these Arctic animals are no champions of climate change resilience.
May 6, 2019 | 700 words, about 3 minutes
Ringed Seals Adapt Quickly to Climate Change
But there is one major drawback that may limit their long-term survival.
Jan 17, 2018 | 550 words, about 2 minutes
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Looking Back at Some of the Hurdles Houston's Gay Community Had to Overcome (Part I)
William Michael Smith
William Michael Smith | June 20, 2014 | 9:00am
Part one in a series for gay pride week.
With the 36th annual Pride Week Festival and Parade upon us, the largest city in a leading Tea Party state finds itself on the cutting edge of gay politics, culture, and history.
With a three-term, recently-married, openly-lesbian mayor, a brand new city equality ordinance, an influential, politically active gay community thought to be the largest in the South, and a gay pride parade that draws 350,000 participants and onlookers, Houston defies conventional perceptions about the Texas of Rick Perry, Dan Patrick, and Ted Cruz. While their state party apparatus only two weeks ago endorsed "gay conversion therapy" as part of its platform, at almost the same moment Houston City Council passed HERO, the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance.
Check. And checkmate.
But the current progressive climate in the Bayou City didn't come easy, and much of the history of gay life and struggle in Houston isn't that well known, even in the LGBT community. When the taboo, mainly-closeted gay scene began to move out of downtown bars like the Exile (1011 Bell) and Pink Elephant in the late Sixties and, in short order, transform Montrose from a sleepy neighborhood of empty-nesters and widows into what would become cheekily identified as the Gayborhood, gays were not always welcomed with open arms.
Old-timers recall that Art Wren's, an all-night restaurant on Westheimer, became a late-night, after-the-bars-close hang for many gays. The area already had a bohemian counterculture quality that was relative gay-friendly, rents and property values were considered cheap, and by 1970 numerous gay bars, including the now legendary Mary's, the second oldest gay bar in Texas at the time of its closing, had opened in the area.
While gays had become more political during the Sixties, the decade of the Seventies saw gays openly banding together, forming political and charitable organizations, and forcibly shouldering their way into the city's political life, where changes that eventually led to the recently passed equality ordinance were brought about via calculated political action and the ballot box. Acceptance and equality didn't come easy. It was fought for.
Shortly after two-month-old Pacifica radio station KPFT was bombed off the air, the banner headline on the September, 1970, local gay magazine Nuntius (Latin for "messenger") screamed, "$10,400.00 Reward In Gay Club Fires," with a sub-head that asked, "Bullseye Fire -- Arson? - Accident?" The club, owned by Richard Caldwell, is described as "the first dinner club for the Gay Set and fast becoming one of the more popular dining and drinking spots." Located at 1212 Westheimer, the club was torched August 17, only one month after its opening.
This marked the third in a rapid series of gay-club arsons. The original Plantation Club on West Gray was burned out, causing owner Gene Howle, who also owned the Houston Fun Club, to relocate to the corner of Montrose and Chelsea, where he immediately became embroiled in a lawsuit that prevented him from opening.
Just prior to the Bullseye fire, the Palace Club, located on Berry Street and owned by Ron Levine, was torched. Levine took his insurance proceeds and swooped into the upscale tenth-floor club space with a spectacular view of downtown on top of the Southern States Life Insurance building at 3400 Montrose that eventually became Scott Gertner's Sky Bar. The building was only recently demolished.
This is the first in a series of posts marking Houston Pride Week.
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The HPI
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© 2013 Heinrich Pette Institute, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology
Dr. Pietro Scaturro (©photo: private)
New Junior Research Group "Systems Arbovirology" at the Heinrich Pette Institute
Monday, 04. May 2020
Hamburg. The Junior Research Group "Systems Arbovirology" headed by Dr. Pietro Scaturro will start its work at HPI on May 1, 2020.
The independent HPI Junior Research Groups give young scientists the opportunity to address current issues in virology. As of May 1, 2020, Dr. Pietro Scaturro and his new Junior Research Group "Systems Arbovirology" will start their research at the HPI, expanding the spectrum of viruses studied at the institute.
With his research, Dr. Pietro Scaturro concentrates on the molecular biology of arboviruses, with a special focus on virus-host interactions in flavivirus infections. Arboviruses are viruses that are transmitted by arthropods such as mosquitoes, sand flies or ticks. These include Dengue and Zika viruses, on which Scaturro has already conducted extensive research in the past.
At the HPI, his research team will now focus on the question of how pathogenic arboviruses manipulate their host for their own benefit. "The overall goal of my laboratory will be to better understand the molecular basis of arboviral pathogenesis studying how these viruses manipulates their hosts and hence, to identify new antiviral therapeutic approaches", explains Dr. Pietro Scaturro.
Scaturro is happy to be doing research at the HPI: "I believe that the Heinrich Pette Institute is an ideal research environment for me and my Junior Research Group: The mission of the institute, the existing infrastructure and the broad expertise in the field of virus research of the different research groups will certainly contribute positively to my research and provide us with an excellent scientific environment."
"We're happy to welcome Pietro Scaturro to our institute. His research approach creates a clear added value that will further strengthen the research profile of the HPI", says Prof. Thomas Dobner, Scientific Director of the HPI.
Dr. Pietro Scaturro
Dr. Pietro Scaturro was born in 1985 in Palermo (Italy). After a bachelor's degree in Biotechnology and a master's degree in Molecular Biotechnology, he received his doctorate in Molecular Virology from the University of Heidelberg in 2015.
From 2015 to 2018, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Munich-Martinsried in the department "Proteomics and Signal Transduction" headed by Prof. Matthias Mann. Since 2018 he has been working as a senior scientist at the Technical University of Munich, in the group "Immunopathology of Virus infections", headed by Prof. Andreas Pichlmair.
Dr. Franziska Ahnert
presse@leibniz-hpi.de
Heinrich Pette Institute, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology,
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Gender stereotypes keeping girls from choosing STEM A levels
Posted by Steff Humm | Aug 12, 2015 | Diversity News | 0 |
Gender stereotypes are still prevalent among teenagers choosing their A level subjects, an analysis of school exam results data from infrastructure services firm AECOM has shown.
Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects in UK schools are still more likely to be selected by boys at A level, despite evidence that female students in these classes have been performing better in their GCSEs, resulting in a lack of gender diversity in technical careers.
Richard Robinson, Chief Executive, Civil Infrastructure, EMEA and India, at AECOM, explained:
“Technical industries such as engineering need to capture the imagination of young people, and girls in particular, to encourage them into technical professions. Stereotypes about construction sites are still very much in existence, but the reality is very different.
“Young people need to hear about the exciting, intellectually challenging work engineers do to build a better world, from designing sustainable transport and energy infrastructure to protecting people from floods or planning cities of the future. If more teenagers are made aware of the opportunities to travel the world and work on high-profile projects that really benefit society, the numbers seeking to enter the profession will inevitably increase.”
In 2009, 66 percent of girls achieved grade C or above in STEM subjects, narrowly beating the 63 percent of boys achieving the same level. Yet within five years (by 2014), the gap in performance more than doubled, with 72 percent of girls achieving grade C or above compared to just 66 percent of boys.
Despite this, and while overall selection of STEM A levels is up by 19 percent over the same five-year period, the number of male candidates rose much faster than the number of female candidates in many core STEM subjects.
Based on their research, AECOM believe that, when faced when selecting a narrower number of subjects, gender stereotypes about education and careers are still ingrained in the minds of teenagers.
They are calling for educators and businesses to re-frame the way opportunities in STEM subjects are presented to girls, to get them excited about careers in technical industries.
Robinson added:
“Attracting and developing a diverse range of people from a variety of different backgrounds is vital to our success as a business and the projects we deliver. The industry needs to be smarter at tapping into the engineers of the future, in particular young women, many of whom don’t consider engineering a career option.”
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Steff Humm
Steff joined the HRreview editorial team in November 2014. A former event coordinator and manager, Steff has spent several years working in online journalism. She is a graduate of Middlessex University with a BA in Television Production and will complete a Master's degree in Journalism from the University of Westminster in the summer of 2015.
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Doug Richard to lead government Apprenticeships review
Posted by Pamela Flores | Jun 19, 2012 | L&D News | 0 |
Entrepreneur and founder of School for Startups, Doug Richard, is to lead an independent review into the future of Apprenticeships for the Government.
The Richard Review of Apprenticeships will look at how to build upon the record success of recent years by:
* Ensuring that Apprenticeships meet the needs of the changing economy
* Ensuring every Apprenticeship delivers high quality training and the qualifications and skills that employers need
* Maximising the impact of Government investment.
Looking to the future, the review will examine how Apprenticeships can continue to best meet the needs of employers, individuals, and the wider economy; which learners and employers can and should benefit most from Apprenticeships; and what the core components of a high quality apprenticeship should be.
Mr Richard was selected by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for Education for his strong reputation in the spheres of both business and business education, enabling him to provide an independent analysis of the future priorities of the Government’s scheme.
A senior figure in the UK and global business communities, with over 20 years’ experience in the development and leadership of start-ups and established businesses, Mr. Richard will bring unrivalled commercial insight to the study.
His commercial expertise is matched by hands-on experience in the teaching of business skills. Through his social enterprise, School for Startups, Mr. Richard has delivered practical and theoretical instruction to more than 10,000 business owners and in 2009 he received the Enterprise Educator of the Year award for the excellence of his teaching.
Today’s announcement marks the continuation of Mr. Richard’s involvement in enterprise policy. He previously published the Richard Report in 2008, his investigation into the British government’s support of small businesses. Earlier this year he partnered with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to stage his ‘Web Fuelled Business’ initiative – a nationwide series of bootcamps helping small businesses exploit and leverage the internet.
Business Secretary Vince Cable said:
“To build a prosperous economy we need a skilled workforce. The Apprenticeship programme has been a real success, not only boosting chances for young people, but also helping businesses to address their skills gaps.
“However in the past vocational youngsters have been let down by weak courses and our competitors have stolen a march. I have just come back from a fact finding mission to Germany where two-thirds of young people take some form of apprenticeship by the time they are 25.
“To keep pace it is vital that we build on our initial success and continue to look at how Apprenticeships can adapt to meet our future needs in the fast-evolving global economy.
“The Richard Review will do just that, establishing the core principles that will keep Apprenticeships relevant to the future needs of individuals, employers and the wider economy. Doug Richard’s experience as a business mentor and setting up his School for Startups make him the perfect candidate to complete this task.”
Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove said:
“Doug Richard is a proper entrepreneur not a corporate bureaucrat. That’s why he’s the right man to get Apprenticeships right. It’s great that the numbers taking up Apprenticeships has grown. But there are still serious issues – there is still too much bureaucracy getting in the way of small firms taking people on, too much money appears to be going to middle men and the quality of some vocational qualifications taken by apprentices is still not good enough. Doug will help us get that right.”
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Your guide to the Spanish Inquisition
What was the Spanish Inquisition and when was it held? BBC History Revealed explores the brutal period of religious persecution, torture and burnings at the stake (but perhaps not as many as you might think) that raged for more than 350 years...
When was the Spanish Inquisition, and who started it?
The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition, or the Spanish Inquisition, was established in 1478 under the reign of Ferdinand II of Aragon and his wife Isabella I of Castile. The Catholic monarchs wished their country to unite under one religion and one culture.
Was it the Spanish Inquisition the only inquisition?
It may be the most remembered, but other inquisitions had existed since the 12th century, designed to combat religious sectarianism. The Medieval Inquisition, for example, was developed by the Roman Catholic Church to suppress heresy.
During the 14th century, these inquisitions had expanded to other European countries including Spain, which set up its own, this time controlled by the crown and not the church.
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Who did the Spanish Inquisition target?
Originally, the Inquisition was to ensure that those who had converted to Catholicism from Judaism or Islam had done so properly. This regulation intensified after two royal decrees were issued (in 1492 and 1501) ordering Jews and Muslims to choose baptism or exile.
In the wake of the first decree, more than 160,000 Jews were forced to leave Spain. Anybody suspected of being a heretic was investigated – even those who had converted to Christianity.
The Moriscos (former Spanish Muslims who had accepted baptism) faced persecution, as did followers of humanist scholar Desiderius Erasmus.
Did you know: not everyone in the Middle Ages was very bothered with religion, and certainly not everyone went to Church on a Sunday
How was the Spanish Inquisition run?
The Inquisitor General presided over the six members of the Council of the Suprema. They would meet every morning, as well as an additional two hours, three afternoons a week. Morning sessions addressed faith-related heresies, while afternoons were dedicated to minor heresies, such as sexual offences and bigamy.
Fourteen tribunals fed into the Suprema. These were initially set up in areas where they were deemed to be needed, but were later established in fixed locations.
Two inquisitors and a prosecutor sat in each tribunal, with one inquisitor, the alguacil, being responsible for detaining, jailing, and physically torturing the defendant.
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What happened during an inquisition?
The arrival of the Spanish Inquisition must have been truly terrifying. Congregations were, at first, encouraged to come before a tribunal voluntarily so that they could confess their heresies, for which they would usually receive lighter punishments. But they were then cajoled or threatened to turn informant on their families, friends and neighbours.
Once someone was accused and the presence of heresy had been established, they would be imprisoned. Their property would be confiscated to cover expenses and maintenance costs, while the imprisonment could last months, if not years.
When a case, finally, came before a tribunal, the process consisted of a series of hearings during which both denouncer and defendant gave their version of events.
The Templars on trial: a very muted inquisition
Were people really tortured?
Yes, but historians are still divided as to the extent to which torture was used and how far it went. Methods of torture seem to have been used to extract confessions, as opposed to a punishment in its own right, but it seems little distinction was given to who was tortured. Women, children, the infirm and the aged were not exempt.
A popular torture method was the rack, which would stretch victims, while others involved suspending a person from the ceiling by the wrists. The accused could also be forced to ingest water with a cloth in the mouth, so they felt like were drowning.
Punishments ranged from wearing a penitential garment for various lengths of time (the rest of their life in some cases), to acts of penance, lashings or, in the case of unrepentant or relapsed heretics, burning at the stake.
How many died during the Spanish Inquisition?
Again, this is hotly debated with estimates ranging from 30,000 to as many as 300,000. There are some, however, who believe that the horrors of the Inquisition have been exaggerated, and that just one per cent of the 125,000 people believed to have been tried were executed.
An A-Z guide to the history of executions
How did the Spanish Inquisition end?
Napoleon Bonaparte’s elder brother, Joseph , King of Naples and Sicily (1806-08) and King of Spain (1808-13) is the man credited with ending the Spanish Inquisition, although it wouldn’t be officially abolished by royal decree until July 1834.
This content first appeared in the Christmas 2015 issue of BBC History Revealed
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Paul McCartney Hints His New Album Will Have a Song About Donald Trump
2:16 PM PDT 7/30/2017 by Steve Marinucci, Billboard
Scott Legato/Getty Images
During a visit last week to the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, the Liverpool Echo newspaper reports that McCartney told the students, “Sometimes the situation in the world is so crazy that you’ve got to address it."
Paul McCartney may have something to say about Donald Trump on his forthcoming untitled album, according to the Liverpool Echo.
During a visit last week to the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, the paper reports that McCartney told the students, “Sometimes the situation in the world is so crazy that you’ve got to address it." The Liverpool Echo says the song he's written will pertain to President Trump. Billboard has reached out to McCartney's reps for details.
McCartney is a co-founder of the institute, also called LIPA, and was a student there when it was known as Liverpool Institute High School for Boys. The high school closed in 1985 and reopened as LIPA after an extensive renovation. McCartney is the school's Lead Patron.
He didn't elaborate further on the song according to the report, but given some other recent comments he has made, Trump and his followers probably won't be a fan of the song.
In an interview with the Australian newspaper The Daily Telegraph published at the beginning of July, McCartney told writer Cameron Adams, “I'm not a fan at all. He’s unleashed a kind of violent prejudice that is sometimes latent among people," he said.
“He’s unleashed the ugly side of America," McCartney continued. "People feel like they have got a free pass to be, if not violent, at least antagonistic towards people of a different color or a different race. I think we all thought we’d got past that a long time ago.” His support for Trump's opponent, Hillary Clinton, was revealed during the 2016 campaign when a picture of McCartney and Clinton was taken before a show he was to do in Cleveland. McCartney's comment on the picture in a tweet said, “She's with me.”
Trump has made comments about McCartney in the past as well. In a 2006 interview on CNN with Larry King, Trump criticized McCartney for not getting a prenuptial agreement before marrying Heather Mills, who McCartney later divorced.
“[McCartney] insisted on no prenup and it's going to cost him a lot of money. And, I told him ... prenups are very tough,” Trump told King. “So, there's nothing really nice about it, but in our world with the long courts and with the vicious lawyers and with all of the problems if you have money or if you think you're going to have money, you have to have a prenuptial agreement.”
The list of musicians who have sung or tweeted opposition to Trump includes Fiona, Death Cab for Cutie, Roger Waters, Joan Baez, Carole King, Loudon Wainwright III, Billy Bragg and Lady Gaga, among others. Gaga issued a blistering declaration on Twitter on Wednesday after Trump announced his surprise ban of transgender soldiers in the military.
Steve Marinucci, Billboard
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What's the Deal With PFAS? What Water Lab Managers Should Know
Jeff Rowe
You may have only heard of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) because of recent media coverage. But unless you've steered clear of packaged food and most household products, you've probably been exposed to them. That's because this group of chemicals is in the makeup of many everyday items.
Unfortunately, these man-made chemicals don't break down easily and can build up over time — in both the natural environment and the human body, explains the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Moreover, there is a growing body of evidence that PFAS, which are also found in drinking water, can lead to human health problems.
What Are PFAS?
PFAS were developed in the mid-20th century and are used in industries across the U.S. and throughout much of the world. As a result, most people have been exposed to PFAS.
While the EPA says more research needs to be done to determine the precise effects of these chemicals on humans, studies on animals indicate PFAS can cause reproductive and developmental, liver and kidney, and immunological effects. Currently, the most consistent finding on human subjects links PFAS to elevated cholesterol levels. Other more limited studies have suggested the chemicals may impact infant birth weights, immune systems, cancer development, and hormone levels.
The Push to Regulate Exposure to PFAS
According to an article in Consumer Reports, concerns have been raised about the extent and level of human exposure to PFAS. Regulators and legislators alike have taken steps to understand these potential impacts more thoroughly and increase public awareness.
For example, in February, the EPA announced an Action Plan to better understand and address PFAS contamination. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) soon followed suit by announcing plans to expand a program studying the PFAS levels in people living near military bases. In March, a Congressional bipartisan group pushed to have these chemicals declared as "hazardous substances" eligible for Superfund cleanup resources. Another group introduced legislation that would provide the U.S. Geological Survey funds to develop new ways to detect and test for PFAS.
Multiple states, including Michigan, New Jersey, and Washington, have taken measures to address and control PFAS contamination, according to the Consumer Reports article.
Who's Testing for PFAS?
Currently, the EPA doesn't regulate the presence of PFAS in public water systems; but in light of its Action Plan rolled out earlier this year, that could change. The agency has, in the meantime, released health recommendations for water tests that address PFAS levels in drinking water.
According to the EPA blog, if municipalities or building owners find PFAS in drinking water systems above 70 parts per trillion, system operators should promptly take additional samples to examine the source and extent of the contamination. They should also notify state drinking water agencies and consumers, with outreach to pregnant women being particularly important considering the potential impact these chemicals may have on fetal development and infant nutrition.
How to Address Customer Concerns
According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, given the ubiquity of PFAS, it is unrealistic to expect people to avoid them altogether. If you run into a customer who's concerned about the chemicals, offer these recommendations on ways to reduce their chances of exposure:
Consider using an alternative or treated water source if you suspect your water contains PFAS above the EPA's designated safe levels.
Check advisories for water bodies where you fish to see if there are reported cases of waters contaminated with PFAS or other compounds.
Read consumer product labels and avoid using products with PFAS.
The Future of PFAS
As regulators and researchers grapple with PFAS contamination and its related effects, the search is on for newer, safer chemicals that serve the same purpose. In 2006, the EPA asked eight leading companies to reduce their use of specific PFAS by 95% by 2010, which helped spur the development of some alternative chemicals.
Experts point out that comprehensive chemical evaluation takes time, and given the need for accurate, long-term data, some chemicals have seen decades of use before they are considered dangerous. Given their important role in keeping drinking water safe for communities, lab managers should remain alert to public health advisories, such as those concerning PFAS contamination, in order to maintain strong service and support for their customers.
Legionella Pneumophila Causes 97% of Legionnaires' Cases. Here's How Water Testing Can Save Lives
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For the past 25 years, Jeff Rowe has worked as a writer and an editor for the nonfiction and professional markets, including researching, writing, and editing feature articles, blog posts, speeches, project reports, and magazine essays. He has published numerous articles and essays on developments in health care and health information technology, the home medical equipment market, natural resource and environmental issues, and food topics. He has also been editor and community manager for numerous industry-targeted websites, as well as author of a developing series of novels set in medieval Spain.
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Free Expression Awards 2011: Journalism
BY INDEX ON CENSORSHIP
Awards judge Lindsey Hilsum introduces the nominees for the Guardian Journalism award
“In the era of new media, some might think traditional journalism is yesterday’s story, but this year’s entries prove that’s not so. Today’s facebookers and tweeters are building on the bravery and dedicated investigative skills of old-school journalists, many of whom still face persecution. I’m struck by how those on this year’s shortlist don’t give up, whatever the forces brought to bear against them. When their publication is closed down, they start a new one. When released from prison, they start reporting where they left off. They are an inspiration.”
Chiranuch Premchaiporn
Chiranuch Premchaiporn is the executive director and co-founder of the Thai online news site Prachatai (“Thai people”). She is also a founding member of Thai Netizen Network (TNN), a group of media activists, internet users, bloggers and IT academics who monitor violations of freedom of expression on the internet.
She is currently on trial, facing up to 50 years in jail, for comments posted on Prachatai that were critical of the monarchy. The comments were posted by a user; Chiranuch removed the comments after she was contacted by officials from the Ministry of Information. She is being prosecuted under both the Computer Crimes Act of 2007 and lèse majesté legislation, which makes criticism of the king an offence. The case is seen as part of a crackdown on the media in Thailand, targeting satellite television news stations, community radio stations, print publications and websites aligned with anti-government advocates. The trial resumes in the autumn.
Ibrahim Eissa
Ibrahim Eissa is Egypt’s leading independent editor, described as a “one-man barometer of Egypt’s struggle for political and civic freedom”. Throughout his career, he has faced prosecution when his push for media freedom has fallen foul of the government. In 2010, he was fired from his position as editor of the independent newspaper al Dostour, after new owners bought the paper; his popular satellite talk show was also taken off air. His sacking came in the midst of a wider media crackdown in the run-up to the parliamentary elections, when Mubarak’s ruling National Democratic Party emerged victorious amid accusations of unprecedented vote rigging.
When Eissa was sacked from his job last year, the novelist Alaa al Aswany wrote: “Ibrahim Eissa did not oppose the government; he opposed the system … He called for real democratic change through free and fair elections and regular change at the top.
One response to “Free Expression Awards 2011: Journalism”
Minas Monir says:
25 March at 14:27
My name is Minas Monir, a Desk editor at al-Majalla magazine in London. I was wondering if it’s possible to contact mr. Ibrahim Eissa while he is in the UK.
I appreciate any information at your earliest convenience.
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Darrell Dunn
AMD Sees Growth In Specialized Chips
While AMD is certainly not proclaiming the death of the standalone processor, the company believes it is at the end stages of the "one size fits all" computing model.
Eighteen months after first announcing its "accelerated computing" initiative aimed building out an ecosystem of third party-enabled products that compliment and enhance its own processor platform; Advanced Micro Devices has about two dozen partners developing new products.
Although only few commercial products have emerged as yet from the accelerated computing initiative announced by AMD in June 2006, the company believes it has moved the effort past the first phase of a three-stage strategy to make specialized processing engines more commercially viable, according to Doug O'Flaherty, division manager for acceleration strategies at AMD.
"While we are certainly not proclaiming the death of the standalone processor, AMD believes we are at the end stages of the 'one size fits all' computing model," O'Flaherty said. "The ability to tailor parts of your platform with specialized silicon or software to gain specific application performance benefits will be a reality of the next generation of silicon."
The first phase of AMD's effort has been a bit of a "chicken and egg" effort as the company has attempted to promote its approach and worked with industry bodies to define standards that will enable tighter integration of processors such as AMD's Opteron with co-processors, graphics processor and other logic arrays that can improve overall performance and efficiency.
Announced "acceleration" products include Activ Financial System's use of the open-socket Torrenza platform that combines AMD's Opteron processor with a field programmable gate array that provides hardware acceleration specifically for running critical financial software applications. Hewlett-Packard has said some "select" upcoming quad-core Opteron-based servers will provide support that will enable end-users to deploy customized acceleration solutions.
AMD believes it is entering the second phase of its accelerated computing effort and that there will be much broader support and commercialization of customized and optimized processor chip-sets over the next 12 to 18 months. In the third phase, rapid adoption would make the third-party enabled platforms significant contributors to AMD's bottom line.
Nathan Brookwood, an analyst with Insight 64, said he has remained "pretty consistently skeptical" about AMD's ability to make specialized accelerated processing platforms into significant mass market products, but believes the approach is a reasonable strategy for markets where the specialized improvements are critical to success, such as high-performance computing, academia and security.
"The effort has began to find some homes in niches where the people inside are really smart and have the time to invest effort in special purpose hardware," Brookwood said. "The kinds of things you can do with these extensions are very specialized and deal with signal processing or making specific algorithms go faster, but for most people it's not going to merit the effort and will fall to the bottom of the list of things they could potentially do."
But AMD believes as demands for peak performance at higher efficiencies will necessitate the move to accelerated computing platforms, and that its early efforts to work with equipment designers and innovative chip developers will pay off in the years ahead.
"We believe that freedom of choice is important, and that's what accelerated computing is all about," O'Flaherty said. "We are offering choice is how you can go about solving technical problems. We've got the early adopters and we are continuing to work to identify markets that have very specific and real needs that can be more adequately addressed by this approach."
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Disputatious legacies: examining the historic ties that bind Okinawa and China
The Seiden, the main structure of Shuri Castle, is decorated in symbolism derived from China. | STEPHEN MANSFIELD
by Stephen Mansfield
Commenting on the pervasiveness of his own culture while on a trip to Indonesia, the Nobel Prize-winning poet Rabindranath Tagore wrote, “I see India everywhere.” A traveler to Okinawa today from continental Asia, might well say, “I see China everywhere.”
When coins made during the Chinese Kingdom of Yan, a feudal dynasty that fell in 265 B.C., were unearthed at a shell heap in Gusukudake, a short distance from Naha, the assumed timeline for contact between Okinawa and the Chinese imperium that would come to play such an important role in the history of these southern islands shifted from centuries to millennia.
Trade with China and other Asian nations was already well-established by the 14th century, at which time Okinawa’s three separate principalities competed with each other for Chinese attention and recognition. The first emperor of the Ming dynasty, Hung Wu Ti, had sent envoys to Okinawa in 1372. Cognizant that their prosperity depended upon marine commerce, Okinawan rulers formally submitted to Chinese hegemony, sending their own representatives to Nanking with gifts sealing the recognition of Chinese suzerainty over the islands. A senior Chinese official accompanied the Okinawan mission on its return, carrying a seal and documents that would grant China the right to confirm and oversee the official investiture of kings. From this point onward, Ryukyu royalty could only be officially enthroned once they were granted permission from the Chinese emperor, the Son of Heaven.
Commenting on the significance of the year 1372, George H. Kerr, in his “Okinawa: The History of an Island People,” wrote that “it marked the beginning of a formal relationship between the court of China and the Ryukyu Islands that was political, cultural and economic in character, and was destined to be maintained without interruption for 500 years.” By and large, it was a hugely beneficial arrangement for the kingdom. Provided that Okinawans accepted the tributary relationship and were willing to fulfill ceremonial obligations regulating relations, China would not interfere in its internal affairs.
A community of Chinese craftsmen, officials and specialists in specific scholastic fields were sent by the imperial government to assist Okinawans in the running of their affairs. The newly arrived immigrants were well-received, especially by officials grateful for the transmission of expertise that would significantly raise levels of both civic administration and civilization. Among the Chinese who settled on land provided with tax-free privileges in the Naha district of Kume were navigators, shipwrights and practitioners of arts and crafts. Highly literate paper, brush and ink makers were eagerly sought out as teachers in the writing of the Chinese language, a requisite skill for engaging in communications over an increasingly thriving trade with China.
Okinawa had considerably less to offer China, a great imperial nation, then, as now, the most powerful economic machine in Asia. Okinawan horses, textiles, fishing nets, copper and shells were well-received, but its role as a trans-shipment point for goods coming from Japan and traveling in the opposite direction from China and Southeast Asia made it a major entrepot. The Ryukyu Kingdom also stood as a further example of the expanding Chinese sphere of influence in Asia.
Sanshin maker Toshio Matayoshi plays one of his creations. This instrument originated in China, where it was known as the sanxian. | STEPHEN MANSFIELD
Ryukyuan emissaries to the Qing dynasty court were pleased to note that the emperor was enthralled by the seashells that were plentiful on Miyako Island. The profits they made — from an object that was of little use to them — inspired them to establish a maritime network that would scour the seas for items likely to please the Chinese court. The more novel, they soon discovered, the higher its value. This included quantities of whale excrement, an ambergris matter that fascinated Chinese emperors.
The Chinese officials and craftsmen living in Kume — disseminating skills in governance, shipbuilding, food preparation, music and religion — were creating a new social ecology. Promising young Okinawan men, initially recruited from the royal household and families of high-ranking retainers, were eligible to enroll in the Kuo Tzu Chien, a school for foreign students in the imperial Chinese capital. The institution served to facilitate smooth diplomatic relations between China and its tributary states and, in the case of the Ryukyu Kingdom, promote stronger trading ties. The school taught ethics, history and poetry, but also an appreciation of the fine arts and the mastery of the civilized discourse so valued by the Chinese. The two or three years Okinawan students spent in China exposed them to not only the intricacies of diplomatic language, but also the administrative system in China, which would eventually influence bureaucratic practices in the kingdom.
Chinese influence would spread beyond the waterfront quays, the cultural and civic workshop of Kume Village and royal chambers of Okinawa, seeping into remote villages and outer islands, where it would blend with indigenous culture as well as social and religious life. Even festivals such as dragon-boat racing, a popular event in southern China, were adopted by coastal villages and are still practiced today.
Pig’s trotters reflect Okinawans’ love of pork, a taste acquired from China. | STEPHEN MANSFIELD
The design of traditional Okinawan tombs is based on those found in China’s Fujian province. Okinawan faith is a holy blender of ancestor worship introduced from China, native shamanism and animism, and the later import of Shinto and Buddhism. The configuration of traditional Okinawan sarcophagi, known as kameko-baka (“turtle-back tombs”), is said to resemble the position taken by a pregnant woman when giving birth, the inner crypt forming the shape of a womb. Here is the reassuring synergy of life and death offering the prospect of rebirth. Part of the great Chinese legacy that impregnates these islands, this style of tomb was introduced to Okinawa some 700 years ago.
In April, families gather around these tombs to honor their ancestors. After cleaning them, songs and dances are performed to entertain the souls of the dead and food offerings are made at the entrances to the tombs. The observance, known as Seimeisai, is of Taoist origin. Adapted by King Sho Boku in 1768, it was practiced exclusively by members of the royal family before the ritual was adopted by commoners.
Interestingly, the performance of meditational rituals at tomb sites, strictly practiced according to Chinese geomantic principles determining the management of social space and measured by the lunar calendar, were synchronized with rituals at both the Ryukyuan court and China’s imperial court. Some of the grander private residences in Okinawa conformed to this divine schemata. The compound of Nakamura-ke, for example, a well-preserved home in the district of Nakagusuku, was constructed in a design that would incorporate it into both the Ryukyu Kingdom and the Chinese court’s spatiotemporality. Christopher Nelson writes that the colonization of Okinawa by the Japanese, its evisceration of the kingdom and termination of relations with China “fragmented the ostensive referentiality of these practices.”
Enter the dragon: A monument to Chinese sailors lost off the coast of Ishigaki Island. | STEPHEN MANSFIELD
Okinawa fell under the heel of Kagoshima’s Satsuma clan after its invasion of the kingdom in 1609. Largely unbeknown to China, they swiftly took over the lucrative trading expeditions. Extracting the lion’s share of the profits and imposing harsh taxes on Okinawa, the Satsuma invaders inflicted unspeakable suffering. Their monopolizing avarice and insensitivity to the well-being of Okinawans was expressed by the Okinawan scholar Iha Fuyu, when he wrote, “The Okinawans must be compared with the cormorants of the Nagara River in Japan; they are made to catch fish that they are not permitted to swallow.”
Okinawa, however, even under the suzerainty of Satsuma, continued to maintain a formal — though increasingly fictive — subordination to China as a vassal or tributary state. Its age-old status was a point of dispute that would dog Sino-Japanese relations in the 19th century, as a more assertive, ascendant Japan faced off with an increasingly emaciated China.
The unilateral seizure of Okinawa by Japanese forces in 1879, executed against the will of its populous, the removal of the royal family to Tokyo and the subsequent enforcement of programs designed to assimilate Okinawans into mainstream Japanese life and culture were only partially successful in erasing a resilient identity among islanders cognizant of their own distinct history and strong Chinese links.
The effort among academics and ethnographers to disassociate Okinawa from China was apparent in the 1920s in the work of Kunio Yanagita. His trips to Okinawa convinced him that the islands represented a living embodiment of ancient, premodern and, thereby, unsullied Japanese culture. Closer to wishful meditations on the past than empirical ethnography, Yanagita’s fantasies of returning to a purer, premodern Japan had a profound effect on the way mainland Japanese have perceived the southern islands. Okinawa was crucial to Yanagita as his earlier theories of the Japanese as a mountain people shifted into a new characterization of them as the inhabitants of a collective island culture. This severance from continental Asia, represented by China, and countries in Southeast Asia such as Malaysia, Siam (Thailand) and Indonesia, with which Okinawa enjoyed fruitful trade and cultural links, was engineered to reinforce the notion of Okinawa’s cultural ties to mainland Japan.
According to Yanagita and those who shared his views, the emphasis on social harmony and spirituality that supposedly characterize island cultures was irrefutable evidence of a historical commonalty between Okinawa and mainland Japan. Yanagita’s theories on the quintessentially Japanese character of Okinawan culture required some careful tinkering with the facts. In his first book on Okinawa, “Kainan Shoki” (“A Brief Record of the Southern Seas”), published in 1925, Yanagita went to considerable lengths to minimize the influence of China and Southeast Asia on Okinawa and promote the essentially Japanese nature of Okinawan culture.
Yanagita also posited the idea that Okinawa had acted as a conduit for the transmission of wet rice culture into mainland Japan, thereby linking the islands with a crop embodying a potent symbol of Japanese cultural identity. His claims to have rediscovered a shared cultural evolution and ethnicity appealed to a growing nationalist movement promoting racial and cultural homogeneity.
The Chinese legacy, openly acknowledged by Okinawans, is being contested once again. Writing for Japanese-run publications, I have been asked to excise positive remarks pertaining to China’s transference of culture and knowledge to Okinawa.
A Chinese moon door frame in Naha’s Fukushu-en. | STEPHEN MANSFIELD
Sadly, the mood has turned nasty in regard to current Japan-China relations, with large segments of the Japanese public dutifully echoing the hostilities of the government. The sentiments of the Japanese public, increasingly embittered at being supplanted by an economically ascendant China, are not necessarily shared by Okinawans with their more benevolent view of China. History is a thorny issue in Japan. China’s long and largely cordial relations with Okinawa do not square with the nationalist political script being penned by Tokyo, where contested history is invariably reducible to the sensitive issue of national identity and ethnicity.
Perhaps the final word should go to the photographer Shomei Tomatsu, who, seeking the origins of Japanese identity in these southern islands, concluded that centuries of cultural accretion resulted in a rich Okinawan mix, the “qualities of which are not southeastern Asian, not Chinese and not Japanese.” Special to the Japan Times
Miyara Dunchi might well have been built by a Chinese wizard, or an eccentric Taoist, perhaps, so fabulist are the garden’s rock clusters. One could easily imagine the Western Jin dynasty poet Pan Yue idling away his time in contemplation of the garden’s craggy landscapes.
Built in 1819 by the magistrate for Okinawa’s Yaeyama Islands, one Miyara Peichin Toen, a Chinese-style screen wall greets visitors once they step into the garden. Behind this barrier against evil spirits is a shallow pond supporting water plants, and small, jagged rocks. These bear a strong resemblance to suiseki displays, the term meaning “water stone.” Originating some 2,000 years ago in China, interesting, rare or well-formed stones were placed and displayed in watered trays.
A statue of the Chinese sage Confucius at Fukushu-en in Naha. | STEPHEN MANSFIELD
A fondness for stones — the sharp, spiny rocks of their own coral islands, so different from the smooth, darker varieties found in mainland Japanese gardens — typifies this and many other Okinawan landscapes. If rocks represent mountain ranges, they also evoke the coastal cliffs and offshore formations of Okinawa. Never far from the sea, these stone arrangements are doubtless modified versions of the complex, interlocking rock piles found in classic Chinese gardens, many of them representing the mythic Islands of the Immortals. The coral and limestone compositions of the Chinese garden consisted of piles of energizing rocks full of blowholes, scooped surfaces, cavities and hollows, a playful effect still much beloved of the Chinese. The texture of Ryukyu sekitangan, the local coral stone, lends itself to similar flights of fancy.
Any direct or overwhelming resemblance to the literati gardens of China dissolves, however, when one reflects on the absence of any figures akin to the scholar-philosophers of the Middle Kingdom in Okinawa. The stone clusters of this small garden may resemble Chinese rockeries in their wrinkled and perforated forms, but in place of the lotuses, chrysanthemums and willow trees of the Chinese garden are fallen bougainvillea and hibiscus petals, a barrier of typhoon-resistant fukugi trees and the ghostly roots of the ficus tree.
Naha has its very own Chinese garden: the Fukushu-en. Its reconstructions of buildings from the province of Fujian are connected by carp ponds, moon doorways, stone paths and fantastically shaped rocks. It’s a good introduction to some of the Chinese influences that have been soaked up elsewhere in Okinawa.
Assertively Okinawan but with unmistakable Chinese influences, the formal grounds of the royal garden of Shikina-en served as the second residence for the royal family in the days when Okinawa was an independent kingdom. Its red-tiled, detached villa was used to host Chinese envoys attending coronations. Much of this UNESCO World Heritage site resembles a flourishing botanical garden, an arboretum of tropical specimens such as banyan, clumps of birds’ nest fern, cycads and even a grove of banana trees. Strolling its expansive grounds, we might be excused for thinking we are in the Chinese landscape world of the Humble Administrator’s Garden or the Garden of Cultivation in Suzhou.
But the Chinese influence, however important, should not be overemphasized at the expense of native Okinawan instincts. Although there was symbolism embedded in the gardens of the Okinawan royalty, the adoption of Chinese forms was mostly visual and aesthetic.
Complex notions such as the belief among Taoist scholars that a private garden — “simple, formless, desireless, without striving” — was an articulation of a yearning for a graceful, happy, long life in retirement had little place in the exuberant flower- and plant-filled gardens of these islanders. Metaphysics have never much appealed to the Okinawan mind.
China, Okinawa, Timeout
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Invest HOME PAGE NEWS NEWS FROM TURKEY Istanbul aims for mega canal project
Istanbul aims for mega canal project
Reuters - Turkey plans to build a vast waterway to relieve congestion in Istanbul's Bosphorus Strait, said Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday. The project involves a canal between Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara, effectively turning a large portion of Istanbul’s European side to an island.
"Istanbul will become a city with two seas passing through," said Erdogan, a former mayor of Istanbul, in his presentation that lasted around an hour and was broadcast live. "We are building the canal of the century, a project of such immense size that it cannot be compared to Panama or Suez canals."
The aim is to relieve congestion through the Bosphorus Strait and reduce chances of an environmental disaster as tankers carrying oil and gas from Russia and Central Asia pass through the waterway separating the Asian and European halves of Istanbul. "We are going to put an end to the heavy burden of traffic on the Bosphorus. Our aim is for between 130 and 160 ships passing through the Canal Istanbul," said Erdogan.
Turkey; istanbul; canal project; canal istanbul; black sea; sea of marmara; bosphorus; turkish straits; recep tayyip erdogan
Hyundai hints at new investments in Turkey
Turkey’s unemployment to continue dropping, CB survey says
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Sessions orders federal probe into Charlottesville violence
Jaclyn Belczyk
August 14, 2017 02:03:38 pm
US Attorney General Jeff Sessions [official website] on Saturday announced a federal civil rights investigation into the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend. A “Unite the Right” rally turned deadly when counter-protesters clashed with members of white nationalist groups and 20-year old James Alex Fields drove a car into a crowd, killing 32-year old Heather Heyer and injuring others. Sessions condemned the violence and announced a federal probe:
The violence and deaths in Charlottesville strike at the heart of American law and justice. When such actions arise from racial bigotry and hatred, they betray our core values and cannot be tolerated. I have talked with FBI Director Chris Wray, FBI agents on the scene, and law enforcement officials for the state of Virginia. The FBI has been supporting state and local authorities throughout the day. U.S. Attorney Rick Mountcastle has commenced a federal investigation and will have the full support of the Department of Justice. Justice will prevail.
Mountcastle issued a separate statement [press release] in conjunction with the FBI and DOJ’s Civil Rights Division: “The Richmond FBI Field Office, the Civil Rights Division, and the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia have opened a civil rights investigation into the circumstances of the deadly vehicular incident that occurred earlier Saturday morning. The FBI will collect all available facts and evidence and will ensure that the investigation is conducted in a fair, thorough and impartial manner.”
The “Unite the Right” rally took place Saturday to protest the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee from the recently renamed Emancipation Park. The rally drew members of white nationalist groups who marched through the streets of Charlottesville Friday night carrying torches and chanting racist and anti-Semitic slogans. Counter-protesters clashed with these groups Saturday, and 34 were injured. In addition, two state troopers were killed Saturday when the helicopter they were using to monitor the protests crashed.
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Justia Lawyer Directory Products Liability Indiana Avon Attorneys
Avon Products Liability Lawyers
Compare 209 top rated Indiana attorneys serving Avon.
Drugs & Medical Devices Motor Vehicle Defects Toxic Torts
Richard Douglas Hailey
Indianapolis City (Balance), IN Products Liability Attorney
(317) 299-0500 3891 Eagle Creek Pkwy
Indianapolis City (Balance), IN 46254
Products Liability and Medical Malpractice
William Winingham
Indianapolis, IN Products Liability Lawyer with 41 years of experience
(800) 525-8028 2859 N. Meridian Street
Indianapolis, IN 46208
Free ConsultationProducts Liability, Asbestos, Medical Malpractice and Personal Injury
I was formerly an Assistant U.S. Attorney and Marion County deputy prosecutor and have worked for over 25 years in private practice representing people harmed by others. Wilson Kehoe Winingham deals in a wide range of personal injury law including automobile & truck collisions, aviation disasters, medical malpractice, brain and spinal cord injuries, birth injuries, bad faith insurance, pharmaceutical litigation, fires and explosions and premises liability. Our firm focuses on complex litigation and we are frequently called upon by other attorneys to assist with cases on a referral basis. Please give us a call at...
Paul S. Kruse
Indianapolis, IN Products Liability Attorney with 52 years of experience
(888) 337-7766 251 North Illinois Street
Offers Video ChatProducts Liability, Medical Malpractice, Nursing Home and Personal Injury
Indiana University School of Law--Indianapolis
For over 35 years, Mr. Kruse has represented injury victims in over 50 counties across the State of Indiana, as well as Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, and Michigan. He has resolved thousands of personal injury claims, through settlements, court trials, and jury verdicts in nearly every type of personal injury matter, including motor vehicle accidents, premises liability, product liability, and medical malpractice.
Since 1988, he has been a board member for the Indiana Trial Lawyers Association. He serves as a faculty member for the Annual Litigation Skills Workshop for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA), training younger litigation attorneys. He has...
Steve Willsey
(888) 783-2500 6435 S East St #A
Free ConsultationProducts Liability, Medical Malpractice, Nursing Home and Personal Injury
Tony W. Patterson
Free ConsultationOffers Video ChatProducts Liability, Insurance Claims, Medical Malpractice and Personal Injury
Tony Patterson has extensive experience representing personal injury victims and wrongful death survivors throughout Indiana and the Midwest. He has worked hard for victims with serious injuries, including brain injury and spinal cord damage. Mr. Patterson’s personal injury practice includes diverse concentrations in areas such as automobile and trucking accidents, medical malpractice mass torts and all other areas of the firm’s injury practice. Mr. Patterson has obtained numerous million dollar verdicts and settlements on behalf of his clients, including working to obtain compensation on behalf of the victims of the Indiana State Fair Sugarland Stage Collapse, litigation in which he...
Jon Noyes
Indianapolis, IN Products Liability Attorney with 7 years of experience
(800) 525-8028 2859 N Meridian St
Jon Noyes earned his J.D., cum laude, from the Indiana University—Robert H. McKinney School of Law in 2013. Prior to moving to Indianapolis, Jon graduated from Millikin University in Decatur, IL with a degree in political science. Jon is originally from Clearwater, FL, but spent a majority of his life in St. Louis, MO. In his free time, Jon enjoys murder mystery dinners, biking, jogging, cooking and kayaking/canoeing.
Daniel Buba
(317) 844-9999 600 East 96th Street
Free ConsultationProducts Liability, Medical Malpractice and Personal Injury
Dan Buba is a partner at the Indianapolis personal injury law firm of Doehrman Buba. Mr. Buba has represented victims of accidents and negligence for over 20 years.
In his 20 years as a trial lawyer in Indiana, Mr. Buba has been named to the Best Lawyers in Indiana and name as a SuperLawyer.
John M. McLaughlin
John McLaughlin graduated magna cum laude from Indiana University School of Law at Indianapolis before joining Parr Richey Frandsen Patterson Kruse LLP as an attorney. He has focused his practice on representing personal injury victims since joining the firm. John primarily has experience handling automobile and trucking accident cases involving serious injuries, and he also handles all other areas of the firm’s injury practice including medical malpractice.
John has enjoyed working with his clients in reaching numerous settlements and jury trial verdicts since his first year of practice, including working to obtain compensation on behalf of victims injured in the Indiana...
Kerri Farmer
(888) 599-2640 8900 Keystone Crossing
Products Liability, Medical Malpractice and Personal Injury
Born and raised in Kokomo, Indiana, Kerri Farmer obtained a management degree from Krannert School of Management at Purdue University in 2001. She then received her J.D. from Indiana University School of Law in Indianapolis. Kerri began working with Craig, Kelley & Faultless LLC before she earned her law degree. Once she was admitted to the bar in 2004, she immediately began taking on cases and zealously pursuing justice for personal injury victims throughout Indiana. She expanded her scope in 2005 with admission to practice in Kentucky. Kerri takes pride in helping clients fight back against insurance companies who seek...
John G Shubat
(317) 269-3500 1311 West 96th Street
Free ConsultationOffers Video ChatIndianapolis, IN Products Liability Lawyer with 32 years of experience
Products Liability and Personal Injury
Indiana University School of Law Indianapolis
John is a lifelong resident of Zionsville, where he has been an active member of the community. He has served on the school board of Zionsville Community Schools, as well as the school board for Traders Point Christian Academy. He is a founding member of the Zionsville Education Foundation and, as an attorney, he has represented local civic organizations in various legal matters.
John graduated from the Kelly School of Business at Indiana University and then worked in the medical and dental industry. After gaining experience in the business world, he decided he wanted to combine his business background with a...
Chris Stevenson
After graduating from Purdue University’s flight program, Chris Stevenson began his professional career flying as a commercial pilot. As an associate attorney, Chris now focuses his efforts on the firm’s aviation and product liability case load, using his technical and engineering background as an invaluable resource in litigation. In Chris’ free time, he enjoys spending time with his wife and kids and also working on his farm, with the help of his 5 sons, of course. He also enjoys horseback riding and is involved with 4-h.
Edward B. Mulligan V.
(317) 636-6481 One Indiana Square
Ned is a member of Cohen & Malad, LLP’s Mass Tort/Products Liability, Personal Injury, and Business Litigation teams. Ned has experience representing the victims of dangerous drugs and medical devices, aviation disasters, automobile and tractor trailer accidents, drownings, day-care negligence, and medical malpractice. Ned has also represented individuals and organizations in a variety of business disputes.
Ned has served on multiple trial teams, secured favorable decisions from multiple state and federal trial courts, and served in leadership roles in several multi-district litigations and class actions, including:
- Co-Lead of Narrative Committee; discovery and law & briefing committees, In Re: Zofran (Ondansetron)...
Michael S. Miller, a native of Indianapolis, graduated from North Central High School, after which he attended Hanover College, receiving his B.A. in 1969. Following two years of military service, he attended Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law on the G.I. bill, graduating in 1974. After his admission to the Bar, Mr. Miller served as a law clerk for the Indiana Court of Appeals and for four years as a Marion County Deputy Prosecutor.
Mike’s practice includes all categories of civil litigation involving medical malpractice, personal injury and wrongful death.
Mike is a Fellow of the American College of Trial...
Colin Edward Flora
(317) 251-1100 6507 Ferguson St.
Free ConsultationProducts Liability, Appeals, Medical Malpractice and Personal Injury
I was born and raised on a small family farm as the son of two high school math teachers. I had the great fortune of growing up next door to my grandparents. My grandfather taught me the meaning and rewards of a hard day's work. I used those lessons to excel both academically and personally resulting in the great honor of being named in the inaugural class of Indiana University’s Herbert Presidential Scholars. While in undergrad, I was fortunate enough to be granted the opportunity to work as a research assistant for Professor David C.W. Parker which gave me the...
Free ConsultationProducts Liability, Construction, Medical Malpractice and Personal Injury
Nathan Miller, an Indianapolis native, graduated from Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School in 1994. He received his B.A. degree from Stetson University, DeLand, Florida in 1998 and his J.D. degree from Ohio Northern University Law School in 2002.
Nate serves clients with needs in the areas of complex medical malpractice, personal injury litigation, product liability and wrongful death.
Mr. Miller is a member of the Indianapolis Bar Association, Indiana State Bar Association, Indiana Trial Lawyers Association and the American Association of Justice.
Trevor J. Crossen
(317) 827-7264 2555 East 55th Place
Products Liability, Medical Malpractice, Personal Injury and Workers' Comp
With over 20 years of outstanding legal representation, Attorney Trevor Crossen has earned a reputation as the Indianapolis personal injury lawyer clients can trust. As founder of Crossen Law Firm, he has handled thousands of cases over his career, earning a 10.0 Superb Avvo Rating and nearly a decade of consecutive rankings to Super Lawyers® in the process. If you were injured as a result of someone else’s carelessness, now is the time to contact Crossen Law Firm and schedule a free consultation about your case. They can help you better understand your situation and proceed through your legal challenges...
Robert E. Feagley II
(800) 781-5151 151 N. Delaware St., Suite 1500
Valparaiso University School of Law
Supervising Litigation Counsel at LEE & FAIRMAN, LLP. Supervises the litigation team, and maintains an active file load focused on Plaintiffs personal injury claims including serious personal injuries and wrongful death claims. Attorney Feagley is also a Court approved Civil Mediator for the State of Indiana.
J. Brad Kallmyer MD, JD
J. Brad Kallmyer, was born and raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In high school he became an Eagle Scout and participated in an exchange program in Germany. He studied chemistry at Earlham College and graduated in 1984. He obtained his MD from Indiana University School of Medicine in 1988. He remains Board Certified in Family Medicine and a licensed physician, is a Fellow in the American Academy of Family Practice, and has additional training in Occupational and Environmental Medicine from the University of Cincinnati. Brad sought training in providing care to the underserved in tropical...
W. Scott Montross
Indiana University and University of Michigan Law School
W. Scott Montross, born Milwaukee, Wisconsin, April 16, 1947, attended the University of Michigan on a full basketball scholarship, receiving his B.B.A. in 1969. Mr. Montross attended Indiana University and was awarded his J.D. degree in 1971.; also admitted to practice before U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit; U.S. District Courts, Southern District of Indiana, Southern District of Ohio and Southern District of Wisconsin.
Scott’s practice includes serious personal injury, wrongful death, medical malpractice, products liability and aviation law.
He is a frequent lecturer and contributor on trial practice, as well as handling several landmark decisions before the Indiana Supreme and Appellate...
Linda George
(317) 637-6071 151 North Delaware Street
Products Liability, Civil Rights and Personal Injury
Carol Nemeth
Indianapolis City, IN Products Liability Attorney with 27 years of experience
(800) 905-2856 301 Massachusetts Ave
Indianapolis City, IN 46204
Products Liability, Business, Civil Rights and Legal Malpractice
Carol Nemeth Joven’s practice focuses on plaintiffs’ complex civil litigation, including antitrust and other business disputes, professional malpractice, civil rights, and personal injury. She has extensive experience as a litigator, having tried cases and argued appeals in state and federal courts. Carol formerly served as a Deputy Attorney General in the Office of the Attorney General of Indiana, where she represented the state, its agencies and employees in trial and appellate litigation, including over two hundred appeals. Carol also previously served as a Judicial Law Clerk for Judge John Baker of the Indiana Court of Appeals. Carol is actively involved...
Matthew M Golitko
(317) 566-9600 9450 N. Meridian St.
Free ConsultationProducts Liability, Construction, Personal Injury and Workers' Comp
Matthew Golitko focuses his practice on work injury cases only! He is experienced in areas of Workers' Compensation and all types of work injuries, as well as, any serious injuries involving paralysis and death. Mr. Golitko has handled several million dollar work injury cases and has experience in complex work injury cases. All cases are reviewed for free and you only pay attorney fees if there is a successful recovery on your behalf. Visit us at golitkolegal.com or indianaworkers.com for more information.
John F. Townsend III
(317) 264-4444 151 N. Delaware Street suite 770
Free ConsultationProducts Liability, Insurance Claims, Medical Malpractice and Personal Injury
Indiana University - Indiana University-Bloomington
John F. Townsend, III has exclusively represented individuals involved in accidents and the families of people killed due to the negligence of other people or corporations since 1996. John has taken numerous cases through jury trials and appeals. You pay no attorney fees unless we recover money on your behalf either through settlement or trial. Townsend & Townsend, LLP was founded in 1941 by John F. Townsend, Sr. and Earl C. Townsend, Jr.. Since then, three generations of Townsend attorneys have represented thousands of people in personal injury and wrongful death cases.
Belinda J. Kunczt
Belinda J. Kunczt was born in California, at Beale Air Force Base in 1971, and grew up in northern Indiana. She attended University of Miami, Florida and Ball State University where she played basketball receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Legal Administration/Criminal Justice in 1995 from Ball State.
Her history with the firm is extensive. She started working at Montross Miller Muller Mendelson & Kennedy LLP in 1996 as a paralegal. She found helping patients injured by substandard medical care to be very rewarding. So rewarding, in fact, that she made the decision to go to law school. While in...
Randall Sevenish
(800) 278-9200 101 West Ohio Street
Randy Sevenish is an Indiana personal injury lawyer who has devoted his practice to defending the rights of accident victims throughout the state of Indiana, whether involved in auto, truck or motorcycle cases. A former police Captain, Randy has devoted his life's work to defending citizens and holding those who cause injuries through negligence and insurance companies who try to deny rightful compensation accountable for their actions.
Timothy Caress
Indianapolis City (Balance), IN Products Liability Attorney with 9 years of experience
(317) 255-5400 5420 N College Ave
I have lived and worked my whole life in Indianapolis, and I am extremely proud to be a Hoosier. I care very deeply about my community and the people that live in it.
I have spent my entire legal career representing individuals who have been injured and families who have lost a loved one, and I purposefully chose this area of law because it affords me the opportunity and the privilege to make a real and meaningful difference in the lives of people from all walks of life. I am deeply fulfilled when I am able to help make life a...
Gregory L. Laker
Michael Walschlager
Indianapolis, IN Products Liability Lawyer
(317) 236-9000 3610 River Crossing Parkway
Jeff S. Gibson
(888) 204-8440 201 N. Illinois St., 16th Floor - South Tower
Katherine Brown-Henry
(317) 488-5500 951 N. Delaware Street
Stephanie Cassman
Indianapolis, IN Products Liability Attorney
201 North Illinois Street
16th Floor - South Tower
Stephanie Cassman is an experienced attorney at Wagner Reese. An aggressive and seasoned litigator, Ms. Cassman has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in a wide variety of matters. With every case she takes on, Ms. Cassman seeks to fully understand her clients’ situations so that she can better prepare their cases and fight for the maximum recovery they are owed. She is a frequent speaker and author on jury selection and trial advocacy and a faculty member at the Trial Advocacy Skills College. She has been named in the Top 50 Attorneys and Top 25 Women by Indiana Super Lawyers®.
Vernon Petri
Indianapolis City (Balance), IN Products Liability Lawyer
(317) 780-6610 2124 E Hanna Ave
Stephen Wagner
Carmel, IN Products Liability Lawyer
(888) 710-9377 11939 North Meridian St.
Carmel, IN 46032
Products Liability, Civil Rights, Medical Malpractice and Personal Injury
Dean Barnhard
Indianapolis, Indiana Products Liability Attorney
(317) 231-7501 11 South Meridian Street\n
Indianapolis, INDIANA 46204
Products Liability, Appeals, Business and Personal Injury
Frederick R. Hovde
(317) 818-3100 201 W. 103rd Street
Thomas Froehle Jr
Indianapolis, Indiana Products Liability Attorney with 33 years of experience
(317) 237-1121 300 N. Meridian Street
Products Liability, Antitrust, Appeals and Arbitration & Mediation
David B. Allen
Russ Sipes
(855) 747-3752 133 W Market St #201
Free ConsultationProducts Liability, Asbestos, Civil Rights and Personal Injury
Nancy Menard Riddle
Products Liability, Arbitration & Mediation, Business and Personal Injury
Scott Gilchrist
(317) 636-6481 One Indiana Square Suite 1400
Products Liability, Antitrust and Securities
Products Liability Lawyers in Nearby Cities
Products Liability Lawyers in Nearby Counties
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Where to get treatment in Saudi Arabia
Health Insurance in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia - Health
The standard of health services in Saudi Arabia is high, as health care is given priority and plenty of investment, and there’s a wide range of facilities in clinics and hospitals across the nation.
Public and private health care are available to all residents, although you’re less likely to need to wait for private treatment. Private care is, however, expensive and it’s therefore important to be covered by a health insurance plan.
All cities and major towns have at least one modern hospital and usually several others with highly trained staff and state-of-the-art equipment. Poorer sections of the cities have older facilities, which nevertheless offer acceptable services. Hospitals are listed in telephone directories and the yellow pages, and addresses can be found in tourist publications. When choosing a hospital, your best bet is to seek recommendations from colleagues and friends.
There are several different types of hospital, including public and private hospitals and military establishments. Some hospitals in the private sector are luxuriously appointed and could easily pass as five-star hotel accommodation. Their prices are at a similar level.
Most of Saudi Arabia’s private hospitals have an out-patients’ department and an accident and emergency unit, although casualties are likely to be directed towards public hospitals by the emergency services, e.g. in the case of road accidents.
The term ‘clinic’ is used to denote a general practitioner’s surgery.
There’s little overcrowding in hospitals and clinics in Saudi Arabia, where hospitals and major clinics are open 24 hours a day and usually operate on a first come, first served basis. Arabic and English are widely spoken, English being frequently used in private hospitals, where many staff and most patients are foreign. Accommodation in private hospitals is generally in single rooms rather than wards, and parents can stay with their children. Facilities usually include such ‘luxuries’ as a television and radio in every room, a cafeteria, a mosque or prayer room and a library. Costs for accommodation vary considerably, according to whether a hospital is super-luxurious (i.e. with a large mosque and library) or more modest (i.e. with small ones). Treatment costs usually vary according to the standard of accommodation.
Some of the country’s hospitals aren’t only regionally renowned, but internationally recognised for their quality, particularly the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (Tel. 966-1-464 7272) and the King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital (Tel. 966-1-482 1234). Other hospitals include the Maternity and Children’s Hospital (Tel. 966-2-665 2600) and King Fahad Hospital in Jeddah (Tel. 966-2-665 6436) and the King Fahad National Guard Hospital (Tel. 966-1-252 0088), King Khaled University Hospital (Tel. 966-1-467 0011), Riyadh Royal Armed Forces Hospital (Tel. 966-1-477 7714) and Security Forces Hospital (Tel. 966-1-477 4480) in Riyadh.
Introduction: An introduction to healthcare in Saudi Arabia
Doctors & Dentists: Appointments, visits & fees
Medicines: How to get medication in Saudi Arabia
Emergencies: What to do in case of an emergency
Health Insurance: Private health and dental insurance in Saudi Arabia
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An oral history of the “fuck” scene in The Wire
In the fourth episode of the first season of The Wire, the one that really hooks you fully into the show, detectives Bunk and McNulty enter a crime scene and scour it for potential clues, communicating with each other almost entirely using variations of the word “fuck”.
It’s a great scene, almost pure visual filmmaking and an homage to a singularly versatile word. In his new book, All the Pieces Matter: The Inside Story of The Wire, Jonathan Abrams details how this scene came to be made. New York Magazine has an excerpt.
David comes up to us and describes a scene. He says, “You’re going to go to the scene. You’re going to realize that [the previous] detective, he did a bad job. Wendell, you’re going to see the photos of the girl. Dominic, you’re going to start getting the stats, looking at what the report was. Going back over, you’re going to realize it’s impossible to have gone down the way it was reported, because the guy would have to be like eight feet tall to get that trajectory. If he did, then something must be left in here, and you’re looking for any evidence that may be around, and Wendell, you discover that there’s a shot through the window. The glass is on the inside. It means it came from the outside. That means whoever the perpetrator was wasn’t inside, like the person they say in the report. The bullet came from outside. From there, let’s see the trajectory. It would be right here, in the refrigerator. Let’s see, not the wall. In the refrigerator, we find the bullet here. Let’s go outside, make a new discovery.” He explained the whole scene to us. He said, “Now you guys are going to do that whole thing, but they’re going to be on me about the profanity and language that we use.” So, I said, “Let’s just come out the box with it.” He said, “You’re going to do that whole scene, but the only word you can say is ‘fuck.’” I said, “What?”
All the Pieces Matter
Jonathan Abrams
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A self-ruled democracy China claims as its own, Taiwan is up against a formidable campaign from Beijing.
Why China wants its citizens to boycott a South Korean television show
China’s social media users have called for a boycott of a popular South Korean variety show saying the latest episode of Running Man is "an insult". "I feel speechless, I will no longer watch the show," one user posted on China’s Twitter-like Weibo. The offending episode - and the uproar that followed - occurred as members of the show played a board game, similar to Monopoly. Eagle-eyed viewers noticed China and Taiwan were placed side by side - on equal footing - along with Taiwan’s official flag, in what they regarded as a violation of the ‘One China’ policy. Within hours of the episode being aired, China’s Twitter-like platform Weibo was flooded with posts, earning more than 1.5 billi
Phoebe Zhang
Taiwan’s pork protest against the US
Thousands of people in Taiwan’s capital Taipei have joined an annual demonstration against the easing of restrictions against imports of American pork which contain a controversial food additive.
Jack Lau
Taiwan’s latest US weapons ‘boost its ability to fight off Chinese invasion’
Taiwan’s ability to strike back at a potential attack from mainland China has received a further boost after the US approved its second arms sale to the island in a week, to boost its coastal defenses. The Taiwanese defense minister said the deal would help the island achieve its goal of being able to destroy half of any invading force. In a statement on Monday, the US state department said it had notified Congress of its approval for the $2.4 billion package, which includes 400 Harpoon anti-ship missiles, 100 launcher transporters, radar and support systems. The arms deal is the ninth approved since Donald Trump became president in 2017. According to the state department, Taiwan will be abl
Kristin Huang and Lawrence Chung
US missiles give Taiwan ability to strike Chinese mainland
The United States has offered to supply Taiwan with weapons that can strike targets on the Chinese mainland as it helps the island increase its ability to counter any attack from Beijing. Military experts said the latest US arms sales, the first of their kind for more than four decades, were intended to enable Taipei to counter the increasingly modernized firepower of Beijing, which considers the self-ruled democracy to be part of its territory and has vowed to take the island – by force if necessary. The latest batch of proposed arms sales – the eighth to be approved during Donald Trump’s presidency – was welcomed by Taipei on Thursday in the face of growing military intimidation from Beiji
Lawrence Chung
Greta Thunberg declares support for ‘Hong Kong 12’
Greta Thunberg, the high-profile global environmental activist, has waded into sensitive Chinese politics by demanding the release of 12 Hong Kong fugitives detained in mainland China after being arrested at sea while fleeing to Taiwan. The Swedish environmentalist shared on Twitter a picture of her holding a whiteboard bearing the message “#SAVE12HKYOUTHS” in response to a direct appeal to back the cause from Joshua Wong Chi-fung, the poster boy of Hong Kong’s protest movement. She also wrote, “12 is more than just a number” and called on three other environmental activists to join her in the cause. The arrest of 12 Hong Kong activists in August has made international headlines and turned
Jeffie Lam
Two Taiwanese musicians may get fined for performing in China
The Taiwanese authorities have threatened to fine two singers for taking part in a mainland Chinese state media show. Ouyang Nana, a Taiwanese cellist and singer, will join singers from Hong Kong in a performance that will be broadcast on CCTV on Wednesday, ahead of the October 1 anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. The gala will also feature Angela Chang, another Taiwanese singer, in a chorus celebrating the contributions of those who helped fight Covid-19. The singers have millions of fans on the mainland, but Taiwanese authorities said their participation was an attempt by the Beijing authorities to put pressure on the self-ruled island and promote a “one count
Skepticism of China is pushing this island toward an independence vote
When China officially opened its embassy to the Solomon Islands on Monday, exactly a year after wooing the Pacific Island nation away from Taiwan, there were smiles all around. During an opening ceremony in the capital Honiara, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said the diplomatic switch to Beijing had been the “right thing to do” and put the archipelago of about 690,000 people on the “right side of history.” At the same moment about 60 miles away – authorities in Malaita, the most populous of the country’s nine provinces – were in the middle of preparations for an independence referendum fueled by growing suspicion and acrimony toward China. The planned vote, which Malaita’s
John Power
US presidential election: China, Trump and red lines on Taiwan
For Beijing, there is one very clear red line on Taiwan. If the self-ruled island moves toward independence, Beijing has said that it would be justified in “reunifying” Taiwan with the mainland by force, a position it spelt out 15 years ago in its Anti-Secession Law. Despite dramatic lows and opposing stands in their relationship, both sides of the Taiwan Strait have so far managed to avoid crossing that line and engaging in a direct confrontation. But in the last few months, in the lead-up to the US presidential election, Washington has tried to capitalize on anti-China sentiment by offering strong support for the island. Beijing has branded the actions “US provocations” and promised to def
Kinling Lo
Taiwan redesigned its passport so people won’t mistake it with China
Every Tuesday and Thursday, Inkstone Explains unravels the ideas and context behind the headlines to help you understand news about China. After Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 summit in 2017, the White House issued a transcript of what the American president told reporters before he went into the meeting. It was a routine practice, except that the Trump administration made a mistake: the statement called Xi the president of the Republic of China. The Republic of China (ROC) is Taiwan’s government, which sits in the Taiwanese capital of Taipei. Xi is the president of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and he rules from the lush quarters of Zhongnanhai in Bei
Holly Chik
Taiwan unveils new passports to avoid ‘China confusion’
Taiwan unveiled a new passport design on September 2, 2020, to prevent their nationals from being mistaken for mainland Chinese nationals.
Yuki Tsang
© 2021 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
TRANSLATING CHINA
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Home Small Business Asiaonair To Go Regional With Streaming Solutions
Asiaonair To Go Regional With Streaming Solutions
By Raymond Hor | August 10, 2001
Malaysian streaming media solutions provider Asiaonair Digital Broadcast Network is planning a regional expansion drive as early as end-2001, after reaping profits just 15 months into the game. Its target: to expand into Singapore, Indonesia, China, Korea and Australia by 2002.
"We expect streaming media to grow into a huge business over the next five years and dominate the current media businesses. Digital convergence is inevitable and we will be conducting most of our communications, information search, entertainment and commercial transactions on broadband networks," said founder and chief executive officer David Yong.
The company had spent the past year building its brand and promoting its localized services (its streaming solutions are developed by local talent). Asiaonair's streaming content consists of more than 1,500 original video clips in English and Mandarin, and it boasts a stable of 60 international broadband content partners.
According to Yong, the company's revenue from providing services, solutions and content redistribution in Malaysia has grown threefold from RM50,000 (US$13,200) a month in January this year to a current figure of approximately RM150,000 (US$39,500) a month.
He acknowledges that the local environment is not conducive enough to help sufficiently grow Asiaonair's business. A lack of venture capitalists and technology exchange to help fast-growing IT companies, as well as the slow development of broadband infrastructure in the country, are obstacles that Asiaonair must overcome as a pioneer in the streaming media industry, he said.
Yet another challenge is the relatively slower acceptance of new technologies and growth of the IT sector in Malaysia, as compared to those in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, China, Japan and Australia, Yong added.
To date, Asiaonair has spent RM3.2 million (US$842,100) to build its business in Malaysia and finance its expansion into China, Singapore and Indonesia beginning end-2001.
It is currently on the lookout for a strategic partner to expand into Southeast Asia to gain market share in broadband applications as broadband access in the region becomes more affordable and consumer demand becomes more sophisticated.
On Asiaonair's regional expansion drive, Yong is confident that the company's client list and its competitive pricing will help mitigate the threat of competition in China and Singapore.
He believes that companies in China are ready to accept streaming media as a new way of advertising, as they are aware of the convergence of rich, digital and streaming media types.
As for the economic downturn experienced by companies in Singapore, and the current climate of political uncertainty in Indonesia, Yong is of the opinion that businesses will still need to market their products or services; they will continue to allocate funds for marketing or streamline business processes to reduce cost and enhance efficiency.
Asiaonair expects to venture into Australia and Korea - markets that have high Internet usage - by 2002, armed with a stronger range of products, services and content offerings.
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Home Security Google May Be Set to Depart China Soon
Google May Be Set to Depart China Soon
By David Needle | March 20, 2010
It looks like neither side is going to give in the battle of wills and words between Google and China. So how long before Google makes good on its promise and pulls up stakes and departs the Middle Kingdom? Not long, perhaps as soon as next month. eSecurity Planet has the dates and details.
Google may finally be ready to call it quits in China following a protracted war of words with the nation's government over censorship and cybersecurity.
The Bloomberg news service, citing a report by Shanghai-based China Business News, said Google "may announce" an April 10 pullout as soon as next week on March 22. That's in keeping with recent comments by Eric Schmidt, Google's CEO, who in recent weeks has said several times that Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) expects to announce a decision "soon" on its China operations.
The issue exploded in January when Google's head legal counsel, David Drummond, wrote in a blog post that the company planned to stop abiding by the Chinese government's censorship restrictions on search results for its Google.cn search engine site. At the same time, Google also said it, and dozens of other U.S. corporations had been subject to various unauthorized attempts to hack its network and some of its users' accounts.
Google also said its investigation indicated the attacks, which have become known as "Operation Aurora," originated in China, possibly with the complicity of the government there, a charge Chinese officials hotly denied.
Google May Soon Quit China Over Cyber Attack, Censoring
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Home Storage EMC Cuts 1,100 Jobs
EMC Cuts 1,100 Jobs
By internetnews.com Staff | May 29, 2001
Data storage systems maker EMC Corp. on Tuesday said it will cut 1,100 jobs, or 4 percent of its global work force, as it tries to reach 2001 revenue growth targets of 20 percent or more, grow market share, and cut expenses.
The company said in a statement it would post a one cent charge in the second quarter for the job cuts and redeployments that are part of its efforts to increase its market share. EMC said it still expects to invest $1 billion in research and development during 2001. It is investing heavily in its internal information technology infrastructure and looking for areas where it can build talent in several strategic areas.
The job cuts, which will be implemented over the next several weeks, will leave its total headcount at about the same level as it was when the current year began.
The measures, which also include reducing use of consultants and contractors and delaying facilities expansion, target costs built in anticipation of higher 2001 revenue growth before the impact of the slowing economy and the dot-com shakeout had been felt.
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Home Lifestyle Article
Are petitions ever worth it? They are to save the BBC
By Nicky Marr
Published: 15:06, 07 March 2020
The BBC may not be perfect, but it remains largely independent of government and big business. Picture: HNM
The rise of online petition companies like Change.org and 38Degrees.org.uk make it easy for us to add our voices to causes we believe in, and to stand up and be counted.
A petition is a hammer in our toolbox of democratic options – if 100,000 of us add our names to a cause, it will be considered by the UK government’s petitions committee. Isn’t that fantastic? Doesn’t that make you feel listened to?
To be honest, if it does, it shouldn’t. The important word here is ‘considered’. The petitions committee might have an obligation to consider, but they have no obligation to act. Looking at the impact of recent petitions, it would appear that the hammer in our toolbox is made of nothing stronger than cotton wool.
By March 2019, 6.1 million of us had signed a petition requesting the government revoke Article 50 to allow the UK to remain in the EU – we can all see how well that went.
Previously, 4.2 million of us had petitioned for a second referendum; that fell on deaf ears too. And in January 2017, 1.8 million of us called for Donald Trump to be banned from an official state visit to the UK. In response, our nation rolled out the red carpet.
On that record, one might question the point of the petitions committee at all. Clicking and sharing is easy, but potentially too easy. Does signing a petition make us feel as though we’ve done our bit, so we can tick ‘protesting’ off the list and go back to our daily lives? It probably does.
Is the real role of the petitions committee then, to make us feel listened to, in order to stop us from rebelling?
If your Facebook and Twitter feeds are anything like mine (and I’ll admit I follow lots of news outlets, journalists, commentators and politicians) then most days you’ll be faced with two or three petitions and asked to sign and share. It takes seconds to do so. But increasingly, I’m not bothering.
In fact, until today, the last one I signed was to pardon Alan Turing and the 49,000 other gay men who had been convicted under gross indecency laws. Common sense prevailed; those pardons were granted.
One current petition that I do support, though, is to save the BBC.
I love the BBC. It’s not without its critics, but that’s because it is far from perfect. Its news coverage too often follows the pattern of a BBC anchor in the studio interviewing a BBC reporter on the scene, rather than interviewing the people at the centre of the story.
It is constantly under fire for left-wing bias, right-wing bias or anti-SNP bias – almost every bias there is. But for 42p a day it is incredibly good value, and I’d like to keep it at least as independent from government and big business as it is.
You’ll have heard the rumours – Downing Street is apparently planning to scrap the licence fee, prune down the service and replace it with a Netflix-type subscription model.
I have both Netflix and Prime, but I am a tireless consumer of the BBC too. I turn to it for news, drama and documentaries. I download whole series and box-sets to watch on long train journeys and flights. I check its apps for the weather too. But most of all, I listen to its radio stations and podcasts.
I must declare an interest here – I am an occasional contributor to Radio Scotland – I express opinions, share experiences, and review theatre, books and TV. But it’s not my pocket-money earnings that I’m trying to protect, it’s my precious hours of listening; the podcasts and programmes that surprise me, educate me, and make me think, laugh and change my mind.
Where would I be without the brilliant Beyond Today podcast, or my nightly fix of The Archers? I can nosily dip in and out of other people’s lives with Desert Island Discs and The Life Scientific, experiment with quirky wellness tips thanks to All Hail Kale, and Sara Cox lets me know the weekend is nearly here with the joyous All Request Fridays on Radio 2.
It’s a tough one. We must all stand up for what we believe in, and petitions are quick to sign, are reported upon in the media and do sometimes put pressure on our elected representatives to do the right thing.
But with so many petitions being ignored, we can’t think of them as the only way to make our voices heard. And without the BBC, our voices will be a little quieter.
Nicky Marr Nicky Marr
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Reflections, jGeens’ sophomore album, is named after the introspective state of mind jGeens had while writing this album. Despite lacking lyrics, he hopes that each song evokes similar emotions from his audience. The opening track, “Solace”, sets a somber tone for the album right off the bat before a quick change in tone brought forth by “Heart of Stone”.
From there, “Loneliness Calls” returns listeners to a downtrodden mood, containing alternating sections of both clean and distorted guitars before the hard-hitting solo. Finally, the album closes out with a stark change of moods thanks to the energetic and synth-filled “Long Way Home”. Sharp-eared listeners may recognize the outro, which pays homage to the opening track and provides closure for the album.
In keeping with the tradition first started with Against All Odds, the songs on Reflections appear in the order that they were written. Rather than rearrange them to try and find the perfect flow, jGeens believes the order of the songs provides insight into his journey, both musically and personally.
Whether you’re into slower songs, harder rock, or you just like music, jGeens hopes that you’ll find a song or two (or ten) that you can enjoy. The album is now available on all major music stores and streaming platforms, and jGeens encourages comments and feedback through any and all channels.
jGeens is a solo instrumental project by a Minneapolis musician that loves all things rock. He has always enjoyed music, but it wasn’t until high school that he actually picked up an instrument (unless you count the recorder, which he rocked back in elementary school). Much to the chagrin of his family, his first instrument of choice was a drum set. To his parents, siblings, and neighbors: he apologizes.
He grew up (attempting to) drum tracks from bands such as Demon Hunter, Disturbed, Five Finger Death Punch, Ill Niño, Linkin Park, Red, Skillet, and Three Days Grace. Those same bands shaped his musical tastes as he grew up. He moved to Minneapolis in 2012 and unfortunately had to leave his drum set at home because, well, apartments don’t lend themselves to loud noises. Enter the guitar.
It wasn’t until he purchased his first guitar (a super-fancy Gibson Maestro for those who are wondering) that he decided he wanted to start creating his own songs. He ended up purchasing an electronic drum set to allow him to record in his apartment, and then wrote his first song (“The Beginning”) in 2014. He proceeded to write, record, and mix the songs for his debut album (Against All Odds) over the following years.
So, here we are! jGeens has released two albums out into the world, and he hopes that his audience enjoys listening to his music as much as he enjoyed creating it. He encourages feedback and comments, so feel free to tweet him, leave a comment on YouTube or Facebook, or send him a message on SoundCloud or ReverbNation!
press@jgeens.com
merch@jgeens.com
info@jgeens.com
©jGeens Entertainment, LLC
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Tag Archives: media
Humanitarian challenges in Syria
Written by Joakim Hertzberg Ulstein (NUPI)
NCHS arranged a seminar on the humanitarian situation in Syria. During the discussions it was made clear that the world had not seen a humanitarian emergency of this scope since Rwanda 1994. Lack of access inhibits humanitarian operations directed at the Syrians in Syria, while the programs for the protection of refugees are still underfunded. There are many potential partner NGOs operating inside Syria, but the large international humanitarian NGOs have a hard time finding implementing partners. NGOs that are reliably neutral and have a full mastery of Western accounting standards – are in short supply. It was noted that work in Syria was very dangerous for both the media and the humanitarians; kidnappings, arrests, and executions have effectively blinded the international community and largely incapacitated the humanitarian response.
The seminar was opened by a rough introduction to the current positions in the civil war: The cleavages are many and, unfortunately, multiplying. A rough summary is that the Assad regime controls areas to the south and west; the opposition controls areas in the north and east – while the northern most area is controlled by Kurdish nationalists. The conflict threatens the stability of the entire region. Turkey is under pressure by a massive influx of people fleeing the conflict, Jordan is hard-pressed by its’ own population which can potentially gain support from Syrian refugees, and the population of Syrians in Lebanon is closing in on the 25 % mark. Considering Hezbollah’s close affiliation with the Shiite regime in Syria, and that the majority of fleeing Syrians are Sunni, this can potentially destabilize the political balance in Lebanon.
It was claimed that the international actors have a disproportionate focus on refugees; to the detriment of the internally displace inside Syria. A partial explanation for this is that it is very difficult to act inside Syria. The security situation is tough for the international humanitarians and the complex political situation makes it difficult to choose local implementing partners. It was also emphasized from many speakers that the neutrality had become an impossible ideal inside Syria. It is virtually impossible to get a full overview of political implications and potential offences taken at any given course of action. Meanwhile the UN is forced to work within the framework of Syria as a sovereign state, granting the Assad regime authority over how they conduct their humanitarian efforts. The national Red Cross Society also has close ties to Assad’s administration. Concern was expressed by several speakers that humanitarian relief could be abused by Islamist elements in the opposition. To this it was objected that the Islamists were there to stay. Neglecting humanitarian obligations in fear of supporting radical Islamists could potentially lead to a failure similar to the one faced in Somalia. The consequences could be catastrophic for the Syrian population.
The potential for abuse of humanitarian aid to promote political and military goals is large. At the same time the situation is dire. With winter on the way it can become necessary to sacrifice neutrality in order to ensure that the aid can reach those in the greatest of needs.
The complete video of the “Humanitarian Challenges in Syria” seminar (in Norwegian) is available here:
This entry was posted in Blog and tagged aid workers, humanitarian aid, humanitarianism, IDP, Lebanon, media, NGOs, refugees, Syria, Turkey on September 2, 2013 by joakimu.
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Williams College Senior Reported as Missing Found Unharmed
Staff Reports 01:47PM / Thursday March 09, 2017
Nathaniel Whittle
Updated, March 10, 2 p.m.
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Williamstown Police Department announced Friday afternoon that a Williams College student who had been reported missing on Wednesday was found unharmed.
Police said Nathaniel Luke Whittle, 23, a senior from Texas, was safe and in contact with his family.
Whittle was reported missing to police on Wednesday after last having been seen Monday at a bank in Bloomfield, Conn.
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Williamstown Police Department is seeking the public's assistance in locating a missing Williams College student.
Nathaniel Luke Whittle, 23, a senior from Texas, was reported missing to police on Wednesday. At this time, law enforcement does not believe this is a matter of suspicious circumstances. However, authorities are concerned for Whittle's well-being as he may be in need of mental health treatment.
He was last seen Monday at a bank in Bloomfield, Conn.
Whittle is described as a white male, standing 6-foot-1, weighing 180 to 200 pounds and operating a gray Toyota Tacoma extended-cab pickup truck with Texas plate number CBJ0333.
A nationwide broadcast has been sent to all law enforcement agencies requesting assistance.
If anyone has information concerning this matter, contact Sgt. Scott McGowan at the Williamstown Police Department at 413-458-5733.
Williamstown Woman Charged in Hit-And-Run Accident
12:45PM / Wednesday October 12, 2016
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — A 34-year-old Williamstown woman has been charged in an apparent hit-and-run accident on Cold Spring Road on Oct. 1, police announced on Wednesday.
Shannon Dandurand will answer in Northern Berkshire District Court to charges of leaving the scene of a personal injury accident and negligent operation of a motor vehicle, police said.
"We wish to thank the public once again for the help, as it was the sharing of the original post that led to Ms. Dandurand contacting us about the incident," according to the news release posted on Facebook Wednesday morning.
Wendy McCarthy, 51, of Cold Spring Road suffered serious, non-life threatening injuries to the right side of her body in the Saturday night incident, according to a police report shortly after the accident.
Witnesses Sought in Williamstown Hit-and-Run
01:42PM / Monday October 03, 2016
Police are searching for a vehicle like this one in connection with the accident.
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Police are seeking witnesses to an apparent hit-and-run accident on Saturday on Route 7.
At about 9:30 p.m., Williamstown Police officers responded to a 911 call for an injured woman in the roadway on Cold Spring Road (Route 7), just south of the ‘6 House Pub.
Officers found Wendy McCarthy, 51, of Cold Spring Road had been struck by a southbound vehicle. Vehicle parts recovered at the scene indicate it was a 2014 Ford Escape, color black.
McCarthy suffered serious, non-life threatening injuries to the right side of her body.
Police are seeking the public’s health in identifying the vehicle involved. It may have damage to the driver’s side front, and it is missing the driver side mirror.
Anyone with information is asked to call 413-458-5733.
Williamstown Man Sentenced in Child Sex Abuse Case
06:39PM / Monday August 15, 2016
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — A local man was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court in Springfield in connection with persuading a 16-year-old boy to travel to New York three years ago to engage in sexual activity.
Ronald S. Brown, 53, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to 15 years in prison and 10 years of supervised release.
In November 2015, he pleaded guilty to one count of interstate travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor and one count of possession of material involving the sexual exploitation of minors.
Brown, a registered sex offender based upon a prior conviction for a sexual assault of a 14-year-old, engaged in thousands of online interactions with a 16-year-old boy between Dec. 27, 2012, and Jan. 19, 2013, to persuade him to run away from his Midwestern home to engage in sexual activity.
On Jan. 7, 2013, Brown sent the boy a one-way ticket to fly to Newark International Airport in New Jersey, and on Jan. 19, 2013, Brown picked the boy up at the Newark airport, and then transported him to New York to engage in sex. On three separate dates, Brown also sexually exploited the teenager by producing visual images of the minor engaging in lewd and lascivious conduct.
The boy was recovered in New York after his mother alerted police that her son was missing and believed to be meeting with Brown. During an interview on Jan. 20, 2013, Brown falsely told a federal agent that he believed the child to be 18 years old.
U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Harold H. Shaw, special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement. The case was investigated with assistance from the Massachusetts State Police, the Williamstown Police Department and the New York State Police. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven H. Breslow of Ortiz's Springfield Branch Office.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse.
Williamstown Couple Arraigned in Hit-and-Run Incident
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — An elderly Williamstown couple were arraigned Thursday afternoon in Berkshire Superior Court on charges of covering up a motor vehicle accident that severely injured their neighbor.
John T. Gould and Sally J. Gould of White Oaks Roads enter not-guilty pleas on a host of charges related to the Feb. 9 hit-and-run incident in which pedestrian Cheryl J. Leclaire, 54, was found injured on North Hoosac Road.
Leclaire was taken to Berkshire Medical Center with serious injuries after a passing motorist found her lying by the side of the road.
Sally Gould, 71, was allegedly driving the car that hit Leclaire and her husband allegedly aided her in covering up the incident.
Sally Gould entered a not-guilty plea on leaving the scene of a personal injury accident.
She and her husband, 69, both entered pleas of not guilty on single counts each of misleading a police officer or other person; conspiracy, to wit: misleading a police officer or other person; and conspiracy, to wit: filing a false motor vehicle claim; and two counts each of filing a false motor vehicle insurance claim.
Judge John A. Agostini released both Goulds on personal recognizance.
Police say that after Leclaire was struck on Feb. 9 while walking her dog, the Goulds gave false statements to investigators and filed false insurance claims. Those incidents are alleged to have occurred in Williamstown between Feb. 10 and Feb. 16. They were arrested in late February.
The investigation was conducted by members of the Williamstown Police Department and state police detectives assigned to the district attorney's office with assistance from the Massachusetts State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section.
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Home › The Top 6 Things the Media Won't Tell You About Vaping
The Top 6 Things the Media Won't Tell You About Vaping
In, January 2020 the IBVTA released a leaflet 'Vaping Saves Lives' which gives a brief but factually referenced overview behind the 4 most commonly discussed topics about vaping...
1. Vaping is much, much safer than smoking.
2. Vaping is the most effective aid to quitting smoking ever known.
3. E-liquid flavours are important to vapers.
4. Vaping is not a gateway to smoking for young people.
It also explains what happened in the USA in 2019 and why it is not happening in the UK. This information is supported by fact based credible sources of medical and scientific research.
A 2017 survey of smokers in the United Kingdom found that more than a third of adult smokers hadn't tried e-cigarettes yet. Among those people, the most common reason for not trying e-cigarettes was the belief that e-cigarettes are more addictive or more harmful than tobacco cigarettes. We suspect that the trends are similar elsewhere in the world due to the strong negative slant of most media portrayals of vaping. We think the fear mongering is unfortunate because the available information doesn't suggest that e-cigarettes are more dangerous or addictive than tobacco cigarettes. In fact, everything that we know suggests that the exact opposite is true -- and those aren't the only facts that the media gets wrong about vaping.
These are the top 6 things that the media won't tell you about vaping.
1. The world's governments disagree on how best to regulate e-cigarettes.
We'd love to sell nicotine e-liquid in Australia -- from within Australia's borders -- but we can't. It isn't legal to buy e-liquid with nicotine in Australia, but it is legal to import it. We ship e-liquid to Australia from our parent company in the United Kingdom, but arrival takes a few days. We wish we could get it here more quickly. The Australian government is currently taking a different stance on vaping to other leading western governments. While the approach here is more restrictive, some other governments are treating e-cigarettes as a lower-risk alternative to smoking.
United Kingdom E-Cigarette Regulations
The United Kingdom leads the pack. The UK National Health System says that e-cigarettes "are a great way to help combat nicotine cravings and carry a fraction of the risk of cigarettes." The UK Tobacco Product Directive is a common-sense regulatory framework that prohibits the use of known unsafe e-liquid ingredients, requires child-proof bottles and limits the maximum size of bottles and tanks.
United States E-Cigarette Regulations
In the United States, e-cigarette regulation is in flux. In 2016, the Food and Drug Administration announced a ruling that would require all e-cigarette and e-liquid companies to obtain FDA approval of their products by August 2018 -- a process that would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per product, essentially killing the vaping industry in the US. In 2017, the FDA pushed the deadline back to August 2022. As a growing body of studies continue to conclude that e-cigarettes are a significantly less risky alternative to smoking, it seems likely that the FDA will change its regulations. As of now, every product that was on the market in 2016 is still legal to sell in the United States.
New Zealand E-Cigarette Regulations
New Zealand has emerged as a leader in determining how best to regulate e-cigarettes. In 2017, the New Zealand government announced plans to legalise e-cigarettes by 2018. Regarding the plan, Associate Health Minister Nicky Wagner said, "I suggest anyone who smokes … has a go at vaping." The New Zealand government also decided against taxing e-cigarettes at the same rate as tobacco cigarettes because they want smokers to see vaping as a less expensive option. Liberty Flights Andrew Dent is a member of the New Zealand government's Electronic Cigarette Technical Expert Advisory Group. As a member of the group, Andrew will help the New Zealand Ministry of Health shape its vaping regulations.
2. Vaping is not smoking -- and many who vape no longer smoke.
In 2017, the market research firm YouGov conducted a survey of nearly 13,000 adults to learn more about the effects that e-cigarettes have had on smokers. YouGov concluded that out of about 2.9 million people in the UK who use e-cigarettes, about 1.5 million -- more than half -- no longer smoke.
It's no coincidence that smoking rates have plummeted where smokers are allowed to vape freely. In 2010 -- just before e-cigarettes exploded in popularity -- 21 percent of UK adults smoked. Among young adults aged 18-24, 26 percent smoked. By 2016, the smoking rate among those groups had fallen to 15.8 and 19 percent respectively.
The smoking rate in Australia also dropped from 2010-2016 -- but not as dramatically. In 2010, 18 percent of Australian adults smoked. By 2016, the smoking rate had dropped to 14.2 percent. That's a reduction of 26.7 percent. The smoking rate in the UK dropped by 32.9 percent in the same time span. It is possible that the challenges associated with obtaining nicotine e-liquid have contributed to Australia's inability to reduce its smoking rate as dramatically as some other areas of the world.
Protecting Public Health
Smoking is the world's leading preventable cause of death. At least half of the people who smoke will eventually die from their habit. If the world's health authorities truly want to reduce the smoking rate to zero, they should build regulatory frameworks that encourage innovation in the vaping industry rather than stifling it. We should not be asking ourselves how we can protect the general public from nicotine addiction; we should be asking how we can save the millions who are already addicted. Further innovation in the e-cigarette industry -- and fair, balanced news reporting -- could go a long way toward protecting public health.
3. Innovation makes e-cigarettes safer, more satisfying and more reliable.
The e-cigarette industry is a young one that hasn't yet reached a consolidation stage. E-cigarette manufacturers are doing everything they can to differentiate their products, and the continued innovation is great for consumers. Only about seven years ago, most e-cigarettes were tiny devices that had poor battery life, didn't produce vapour reliably and held a small amount of liquid in plastic disposable cartridges. Competition and innovation have given us:
Increased battery life and vapour production
Improved e-liquid flavours
E-cigarettes that automatically detect unsafe usage conditions
Temperature detection and limiting technology
Tanks that hold plenty of e-liquid and resist leaking
Downward pricing pressure that has made vaping more affordable
Every time an e-cigarette manufacturer produces an innovative breakthrough, we all win. E-cigarettes that refuse to operate in unsafe conditions help to prevent accidents when using powerful lithium ion batteries. E-cigarettes with temperature limiting features help cloud chasers avoid inhaling the byproducts of burned cotton. E-cigarettes that work reliably and produce plenty of vapour make it easier for smokers to switch to vaping. During the time in which they've been available, e-cigarettes have improved in every possible way. The innovation in the e-cigarette industry is the reason why so many smokers have switched successfully to vaping -- and those who would discourage further innovation only doom those who haven't made the switch yet.
4. E-cigarettes have great potential for tobacco harm reduction.
Vaping is massively popular around the world. In the United States, more than 9 million people vape. In the UK, there are more than 2.9 million e-cigarette users. The e-cigarette industry is truly disruptive. When you read news stories about e-cigarettes, it's wise to treat those stories with scepticism and consider whose interests those stories protect.
Scientific Studies About Vaping
Do you want to get the facts about e-cigarettes? One way to start is by reading scientific studies. While we aren't health experts and can't make health-related claims about our products, many studies have produced promising results. These are just a few examples:
E-cigarettes are estimated to be about 95 percent safer than tobacco cigarettes.
When used normally, e-cigarettes pose a much lower cancer risk than tobacco cigarettes.
Switching to e-cigarettes and discontinuing tobacco use significantly lowers your exposure to toxins.
E-cigarettes have had a significant effect on the rate of smoking cessation in the United States.
Switching from tobacco cigarettes to e-cigarettes may improve lung function in smokers with asthma.
Inhalation of second-hand vapour appears to carry little to no risk.
Groups That Support E-Cigarettes
Are you still unsure about whether switching from smoking to vaping is the right decision for you? Medical experts around the world support vaping for tobacco harm reduction. To name a few:
A growing number of independent physicians around the world have also said on record that they support e-cigarettes as an alternative for those who already smoke.
5. E-cigarettes are less addictive than tobacco cigarettes.
Those who speak or write negatively about e-cigarettes often focus on the dangers of nicotine addiction. Nicotine is a highly addictive chemical, and those who don't use it already shouldn't start. For current cigarette smokers, though, e-cigarettes aren't more addictive -- they're less addictive because the body absorbs less nicotine during vaping than it does during smoking. In fact, it would take an e-liquid with a massive nicotine strength of 50 mg for an e-cigarette to deliver nicotine with efficiency approaching that of a tobacco cigarette. We recommend a nicotine strength of just 18 mg for smokers who are switching to e-cigarettes for the first time; it's the ideal strength for most new e-cigarette users.
Tobacco Cigarettes Increase Nicotine Addiction
In an e-cigarette, nicotine is the only active ingredient. The other ingredients in e-liquid are flavours and carriers. They don't interact with the body in an addictive way. Commercially produced cigarettes, on the other hand, have been around for more than 100 years -- and we still don't know everything about their effects on the body. For many years, doctors have noticed that chronic depression appears to be more likely among cigarette smokers. In 1996, a study may have uncovered the reason: Tobacco smoke is a monoamine oxidase A inhibitor. In a healthy brain, tobacco smoke can disrupt neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine. The fact that tobacco smoke is an MAO-A inhibitor doesn't just mean that the smoke disrupts normal brain activity; it also makes cigarettes more addictive. A 2005 study showed that rats -- when given the ability to administer nicotine to themselves -- administered nicotine more often when they were given MAO inhibitors. Nicotine alone, though, is not an MAO inhibitor. The property only exists in tobacco smoke; scientists don't know why.
6. Most people who vape are just like you.
If you've spent any time reading about e-cigarettes, you've probably noticed that vaping has become more prevalent. Just like smoking, though, vaping is something that appeals to all types of people. Most people don't vape because they want to enter cloud chasing competitions. They vape because they're looking for an alternative way to consume nicotine and for some to save money as the cost of buy cigarettes continues to rise.
Sign up to get latest info on the impending Australian nicotine prohibition & how we'll support vapers. We also send ocassional discount offers. We won't inundate your inbox, we promise!
E-cigarettes: A Beginner's Guide to Vaping
NZ Call: 0800 260 378 - AU Call: 1300 662 689 • Contact Us
You can reach us 7 days a week between 9am and 6pm.
WARNING: Nicotine is a poison. Nicotine is toxic if swallowed or comes in contact with skin. Keep out of reach from children and pets and please keep e-liquid locked away in a safe place. In case of an accident or if you feel unwell seek medical assistance immediately.
For a poison emergency see World Directory of Poison Centres Emergency contact number In New Zealand: 0800 764 766 In Australia: 13 11 26.
DISCLAIMER: We do not produce or sell medical products nor make any therapeutic claims that our products will assist smokers to quit their addiction to smoking. Our vape devices if used with nicotine will deliver nicotine to the user. If you wish to stop smoking and quit your nicotine addiction we recommend you first reach out to your healthcare provider and/or local quit smoking help lines. Disruptive Space Ltd assumes all Australian customers (if required by their local laws) have obtained a prescription for nicotine from a registered Australian medical practitioner before importing our products for personal use in Australia.
© 2021 Disruptive Space Ltd - All Rights Reserved | Liberty Flights Australia & New Zealand | Liberty Flights Japan |
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Recent Result: Victory for Respondent on an $8.5 Million Claim in a 36-day AAA Securities Arbitration. In Addition, Respondent was Awarded $4.1 Million Net on Its Counterclaims.
Sep 13, 2018 | Other News, Securities
Keesal, Young & Logan shareholders Neal Robb and Esther Cho obtained a defense award in an arbitration before the American Arbitration Association that spanned nearly 7 years of litigation. The main Claimant, a CPA, had been the partner and a client of Respondent’s former broker who was ultimately sentenced to federal prison for acts related to those alleged in the Statement of Claim. The claims involved allegations of fraud in connection with penny stocks, including stocks involved in pump and dump schemes, and conversion. Respondent out-maneuvered the Claimant early on in the litigation by entering into a favorable settlement with former clients of both the broker and the Claimant which included an assignment of whatever claims they held against the main Claimant. In response to the Statement of Claim, which ultimately sought around $8.5 million in damages, Respondent asserted counterclaims based on the assigned claims, equitable indemnification, and tort of another attorneys’ fees. The arbitration hearing lasted for 36 ½ days, consisted of thousands of exhibits, 26 witnesses, and extensive written briefs. The Panel ultimately awarded damages to both the Claimant and Respondent, but Respondent’s award completely zeroed out and exceeded Claimant’s award, leading to a net recovery to Respondent in the amount of $4.1 million.
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Kurdistan Regional Government Foreign policy Perspectives and Diplomacy
The international role of the KRG and the future development of its para-diplomacy
The Kurdistan Region is an autonomous region in the northern parts of Iraq comprising the four Kurdish-majority populated governorates of Dohuk, Erbil, Halabja and Sulaymaniyah and borders Iran, Syria and Turkey.
To develop the best possible relations with the Iraqi federal government.
The KRG believes that any outstanding issues, or any new disagreements that may emerge, should be resolved within the framework of the Iraqi Constitution.
Close cooperation between the institutions of the Kurdistan Region and the federal government is essential to a stable and prosperous Iraq.
The major Kurdish parties have supported the formation of successive Iraqi governments since the removal of Baath regime and will continue to participate in the national affairs of Iraq so long as our rights and freedoms are protected by the constitutional order.
à propos du livre Kurdistan Regional Government Foreign policy Perspectives and Diplomacy
Kemal Yildirim is a professor in comparative Politics and works on Middle eastern studies as well as South east Asia and Africa.
He has more than 50 books and 100 articles published in peer journals.
He has also a number of feature films and Documentaries.
He acted as a Film director and Film Producer.
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Education and training of barristers
The centre for the education of barristers in Ireland is the Honorable Society of King’s Inns, founded in 1541 during the reign of Henry VIII.
It is the oldest institution of legal education in Ireland and was modelled on the four Inns of Court in London. Unlike the UK, there is only one Inn of Court in Ireland, and so the overwhelming majority of barristers in Ireland are products of King’s Inns. Other members of the Irish Bar have also trained abroad, either at an Inn of Court in London, or in other jurisdictions, or previously practised as solicitors and converted to practise at the Irish Bar.
Completion of the Kings Inns training gives rise to what is known as the Barrister-at-Law degree, usually depicted by the abbreviation BL. Upon qualification, a newly qualified barrister must work for a period of at least one year with an established barrister, commonly referred to as a ‘Master’, to become acquainted with court work, preparation of cases, legal documents and so on. This is commonly known as ‘devilling’, and the devil, or pupil, does not receive any fee for this work.
Further information on education and training to become a barrister is available at www.kingsinns.ie
Specially qualified applicants
Qualified lawyers from outside Ireland and Irish solicitors who wish to practise at the Bar in Ireland (be a member of the Law Library and The Bar of Ireland and work as a barrister) should go to the ‘specially qualified applicants’ section of the King's Inns website.
For other candidates you must complete three stages to qualify as a barrister. They are the:
academic stage;
vocational stage; and
apprenticeship stage.
Academic stage
Students must undertake and pass an approved law degree or the King's Inns Diploma in Legal Studies.
Vocational stage
Students must undertake the one-year full-time, or the two year-modular (part-time), Degree of Barrister-at-Law at King's Inns. You can only be admitted to this professional course after you have completed an approved law qualification and satisfied the entry requirements for King’s Inns, which include passing an entrance examination.
Apprenticeship stage
Once you have passed the Degree of Barrister-at-Law you will be ‘called to the Bar of Ireland’.
Entering practice
When you have completed these three stages you will be admitted to practice by the Chief Justice of Ireland and will be eligible to become a member of the Law Library.
The first year of your practice must be spent as a pupil (also known as a one-year ‘pupillage’) with an approved Dublin-based practitioner. You must complete a course of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) during this year. Undertakings must also be given in respect of certain areas of practice. You must also have professional indemnity insurance.
During the year of pupillage (also known as “devilling”) the pupil or devil must carry out their master’s instructions and learn about the nature of professional practice. During this year, the pupil is not paid.
You must apply to The Bar of Ireland to become a member of the Law Library before the 30th June of the year in which you intend to begin your practice. Once a barrister becomes a member of the Law Library they are free to take up work in their own right, and to start to build up a practice.
Competitive profession
The Bar of Ireland is a competitive profession and it usually takes many years to become sufficiently established enabling a reasonable level of income. It is estimated that more than half of those who qualify as barristers never practise in the courts and of those who do, more than half drop out within five years.
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No Meteorite Behind 'Jelly Doughnut' Mars Rock, Pictures Show
By Megan Gannon 20 February 2014
This image was taken with the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on Feb. 14, 2014. The red arrow points to the Mars rover Opportunity, while the blue arrows highlight the tracks left by the rover since it entered the area in October 2013.
(Image: © NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona )
New photos of the Martian landscape further rule out a meteorite impact as the culprit behind the "jelly doughnut" rock that mysteriously appeared in front of one of NASA's Mars rovers last month.
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter snapped pictures as it flew above the Opportunity rover on Feb. 14, and this week, the space agency released a photo from that flyover campaign. In a view that covers a patch about 0.25 miles (0.4 kilometers) wide, Opportunity looks like a speck and some of the rover's faint tracks are visible, but there are no new impact craters in sight, NASA officials say.
A fresh meteorite scar might have explained how a rock got tossed in front of Opportunity last month. The rock was dubbed "Pinnacle Island," and Steve Squyres, the rover's lead scientist at Cornell University, had noted its resemblance to a jelly doughnut. The strange feature materialized in Opportunity's field of view on Jan. 8, and it was absent in pictures of the same place just days before.
NASA scientists had already concluded that the rock was most likely kicked up by one of Opportunity's wheels. Using further observations from the rover, researchers said they could trace where the rock had been struck, cracked and moved.
But that conclusion hasn't stopped fringe theories from cropping up. One person has even filed a lawsuit against the space agency, alleging that NASA has failed to properly investigate what is likely a mushroom-like fungus growing on the Red Planet.
Opportunity, which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary on Mars, is now exploring Murray Ridge, a spot on the western wall of Endeavour Crater, which spans about 14 miles (22 km) in diameter. With the Pinnacle Island enigma behind it, Opportunity is being steered uphill to check out exposed rock layers on the slope of the ridge.
Follow Megan Gannon on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @SPACEdotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.
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2016 ASCE Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award for Dragon Bridge
Dragon-Bridge_Danang-8772_ehrin-macksey_noi-pictures_web220.jpg
Ehrin Macksey / Noi Pictures
Da Nang People's Committee
Fire-breathing Dragon Bridge | Da Nang, Vietnam
Louis Berger and Ammann & Whitney received the 2016 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) for their work on the Dragon Bridge in Da Nang, Vietnam during the society’s Outstanding Project and Leaders Gala on March 17, 2016.
Since its opening on March 29, 2013, the Dragon Bridge has become an icon to the community of Da Nang. The 666-meter structure links the city with the developing eastern sectors and the region’s world-renowned beach resorts. Illuminated by 15,000 LED lights that allow it to change color at night, the bridge also breathes fire and water on weekends, drawing thousands of domestic and international visitors.
The client, the Da Nang People’s Committee, selected Louis Berger and Ammann & Whitney’s design of a low-deck bridge emulating a dragon flying across the Han River after an international design competition.
Established in 1960, the Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award is bestowed upon the project that best illustrates superior civil engineering skills and represents a significant contribution to civil engineering progress and society. Honoring an overall project rather than an individual, the award celebrates the contributions of many engineers.
Fire-breathing Dragon Bridge | Vietnam
The fire-breathing Dragon bridge across the Han River in Da Nang emulates the shape of the dragon in the Ly Dynasty. The six-lane bridge serves as a tourist attraction and a boon for economic growth. More >
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A47 junction connecting King's Lynn to Cambridgeshire gets go-ahead for £14 million work
A key A47 junction which connects Lynn to Cambridgeshire will be given a £14 million upgrade, which starts next month.
Highways England has today announced the A47 Guyhirn junction, which is used by more than 20,000 vehicles per day, will be developed.
The project will increase the size of the roundabout by creating two lanes on all approaches. This will include an additional lane over the existing carriageway on the River Nene Bridge.
The £14m upgrade for the A47 Guyhirn junction has been approved. Picture: SUBMITTED
The work is expected to be completed in April 2022 and officials say the upgrade will help reduce delays and traffic queues at the roundabout, as well as improving safety.
New pedestrian crossings and footpaths will be introduced as part of the scheme.
For the safety of the public and workers, road closures will be required when work starts in February and then in autumn 2021 for resurfacing.
The Guyhirn A47 junction will be upgraded by Highways. Picture: SUBMITTED
Advanced notice of these road closures will be given on the project website, via social media and through early warning road signage.
North West Norfolk MP James Wild said: “Investing in better road connections is important to support people, jobs and investment in West Norfolk as well as to improve safety. It is encouraging that work will begin shortly on the scheme to ease congestion at the A47 Guyhirn junction which I pressed the Chancellor and Roads Minister to approve.
"This investment is part of the biggest one time investment in the A47 and I will continue to campaign for further schemes that will boost jobs and investment.”
Chris Griffin, Highways England programme lead for the A47 schemes, said: “The Guyhirn roundabout is a key junction along the A47 which connects people, communities and businesses in Cambridgeshire and Norfolk through to King's Lynn and the A1(M).
"Around 15 to 20 percent of traffic here is lorries, which is higher than average, and shows the importance of this stretch of road for connecting communities and services in this rural location.
“Upgrading the junction will not only help reduce delays and make journey times more reliable, it will also provide the additional capacity which will be crucial to the proposed commercial and housing developments in the area, which is good news for the local, regional and national economy.”
During construction, Highways say they will aim to provide a safe environment for all those working on or travelling through the roadworks, while keeping delays to a minimum and informing motorists.
Highways is improving the A47 in six places between Peterborough and Great Yarmouth as part of a £300 million-plus investment, including the Guyhirn junction.
Traffic and TravelTransport Ben Hardy
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Now is the time to digest changes ready for 2021, says Stephenson Smart accountant
There’s no denying that 2020 has been a strange year, and already it’s nearing the end.
People keep talking about us flying through it, but I suspect others would agree that it has been one of the most challenging and difficult periods of our generation.
Thankfully, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and now is the time that we make the most of the time we are being given to reunite with our families this Christmas.
Neil Gayton, accountant with Stephenson Smart (43553332)
The countdown has already begun for the boys, and as usual they are beside themselves with excitement.
Everything is on the list from a Playstation to Lego.
Samuel has requested a hoverboard. But let us be realistic – with his track record, it will only end in tears. So, a new scooter it is.
Oh, and Oliver wants a sausage dog bedding set. Where we are meant to get that from is anyone’s guess.
We will also have the usual antics with trying to sneak all the presents under the tree without either of them coming down and being caught red-handed. They seem to have ears like elephants even when they are asleep.
This year I may resort to crawling across the floor. Apparently my footsteps in socks are too noisy.
And while we clink glasses to celebrate the end of 2020, it will also signal the end of the Brexit transition period.
After December 31, anyone trading with countries in the EU should be aware of changes to customs procedure and VAT reporting.
Any goods crossing the UK/EU border and customs declarations for imports or exports will have to be submitted to HMRC.
Traders who are new to customs can apply for up to £1,000 of support with the initial costs of basic customs training. Grants are also available.
I’ve wrapped that up in a nutshell, but now is the time to digest all these changes ready for the new year.
Thank you for sticking with me. I’ll attempt to be witty in 2021.
BusinessOpinion Lynn News Reporter
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Hinduism Paper
Submitted By Carrie3809
The Hindu religion is one that is lacking a uniting belief system, but is made up from many different Indian religious ways that have been categorized together as if they were a single tradition named “Hinduism.” This term is derived from a name applied by foreigners to the people living in the region of the Indus River, and was introduced in the nineteenth century under colonial British rule as a category for census-taking. Some of the unified religious systems that are included are Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. Some cultural and societal influences that have made Hinduism vital to the religion in which is originated are influenced in their everyday life by devotional traditions. Their lives are so imbued with spiritual meaningful aspects that spiritually are never far from one's mind. Rituals, castes and social duties, life stages, home puja, homage to the guru, fasting, prayer, auspicious designs, and reverence paid to trees and rivers, pilgrimages, and religious festivals and a few things that make up the Hindu way of life. Rituals from a cradle to the cremation ground, the Hindu's life are wrapped up in rituals. Life stages of attaining spiritual realization or liberation is thought to take at least a lifetime, and probably many lifetimes. Hindus believe that the death of a human being only extinguishes the bodily form of existence as the soul reincarnates in another life form. The exercise of Sanatana Dharma (the central theological system) is to gain the favor of the powers of creation so that the soul finds a happier and an elevated existence in its next life-episode. A failure to live a virtuous life would force the human soul to find the body of a lesser animal in its next life. These reincarnations are not meant to go on in never-ending cycles. The purpose of a Hindu’s life is to achieve the ultimate experience of Absolute Reality, through the achievement of which there should be no more re-births and the soul merges into this ultimate reality. This liberation from sensual realities to the absolute reality is called Moksha. A human being has it within his ability to attain Moksha by applying the principles suggested by the scriptures. Now, an animal, lacking in powers of higher cognition and control of the self cannot ever achieve Moksha. This makes it important for a Hindu to utilize the precious occasion of human life toward reaching the ultimate goal. It also explains why Hindus desire liberation from earthly existence. Moksha is a core concept in Hinduism and all other philosophical discourses in the Vedas and Upanishads revolve around this core. To attain Moksha, a Hindu subject embraces principles such as Bhakti Yoga in his daily life. Application of Bhakti Yoga is said to help the individual overcome hurdles and challenges (also known as Karma) in his march toward enlightenment. Tensions
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Daytona 500 up for grabs as no clear theme has emerged
Alex Bowman (88) and Jimmie Johnson (48) lead the field to start the second of two NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying auto races at Daytona International Speedway, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2020, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)
By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The first four events leading into the Daytona 500 have produced four different winners. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. put his new team on the pole, while Erik Jones outlasted a crash-fest to win a qualifying race. Joey Logano and William Byron won the qualifying races.
No clear favorite has emerged for “The Great American Race.” No single manufacturer has a demonstrated edge going into NASCAR’s version of the Super Bowl. It was a Toyota 1-2-3 sweep for Joe Gibbs Racing last year, in part because of mandated manufacturer alliances for drivers to work together, but there’s so far been little indication the race will play out the same way Sunday.
Instead, this is a wide-open field of 40 drivers and all believe they have a shot at the life-changing victory and the record $23.6 million that will be divvied by among the drivers. And why not? The unpredictability of Daytona allowed Justin Haley to gamble on rain strategy last July and shock the field with a win in his third and final start of the season.
Now Haley is back at Daytona for his debut in the Daytona 500, just one of a handful of drivers in a watered-down field that includes six Cup Series rookies, a 10-year veteran who had failed to qualify for the race in his only other previous attempt and a slew of others chasing the payout that can extend the season for any fledgling team.
Timmy Hill raced his way into Sunday’s field in a qualifying race and said his Daytona 500 debut will keep tiny MBM Motorsports in business for the foreseeable future. More important? Hill thinks he’s got a chance to be competitive Sunday.
“My car is very capable of running competitively in this race,” Hill said. “I feel like we’re not just here to participate, we’re here to race.”
But no one knows what that racing will look like when the flag drops on the 62nd running after President Donald Trump, named the grand marshal for the race, gives the command for drivers to start their engines. The exhibition Busch Clash was a demolition derby as drivers shook off the offseason rust and adjusted to NASCAR’s new rules package.
The superspeedway rules implemented last season put a taller spoiler on the cars and made for unpredictable closing rates — and they were not used in the Daytona 500. Teams raced the package twice at Talladega, and in the July race at Daytona that was shortened 82 miles by rain. Moments before the sky opened, former Daytona 500 winner Austin Dillon wrecked the favorites with an aggressive move as the leader.
The Busch Clash last weekend was similar as Logano threw a block on reigning series champion Kyle Busch that caused a wreck that collected Logano teammate Brad Keselowski. Angry words were exchanged, cars destroyed and only six drivers were running at the end. Keselowski and Logano are downplaying any feud, but blocking is a legitimate concern for Sunday.
“At the end of the day, you block because it works. It works until it doesn’t,” Clint Bowyer said. “That’s successful until it’s not, and then you’re the bad guy. You’ve wrecked the whole field because it was an untimely block, and you wrecked everybody, but if you didn’t, you should have and you’re going to lose the race.
“So it’s a tricky thing to judge. It puts you on the spot. And it’s do or die, and it’s a decision that has to be made that fast.”
Kevin Harvick, the 2008 Daytona 500 winner, thinks smart racing will be critical Sunday with drivers having to ignore the way they’ve previously raced the speedway.
“I think survival will be more talked about this year than any year in the past,” Harvick said. “We have all been programmed to block and do things with the old package for so many years, and this is not the old package. The runs are happening faster. The cars are kind of lining up and spin out really easy to the right when you push them wrong. They are fast compared to where we were before.”
Two-time and defending race winner Denny Hamlin is the William Hill betting favorite at 10-to-1 and his Toyota has indeed been good every time he’s hit the track. And even after he suffered extensive damage in the Clash, he was still able to push teammate Jones to the victory.
The Daytona 500 has not had a back-to-back winner since Sterling Marlin in 1994 and 1995, and he’s one of only three drivers to accomplish the feat.
“It’s tough, but there is more confidence,” Hamlin said. “I think it’s been really a great run we’ve had over the last eight years in particular. We’ve been a factor to win every Daytona 500 it seems like for the last decade. I come here thinking there’s no reason that should be any different.”
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MaxTV - Entertainment and MoreGeneral News
Dr Bawumia: Coronavirus has jump-started our ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ mission
By Christian Danquah
Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, has indicated the coronavirus pandemic afforded an opportunity to establish policies intended to encourage the expansion of domestic industries and reduce imports.
According to Dr Bawumia, the domestic production of personal protective equipment (PPEs) has jump-started Ghana Beyond Aid efforts.
Dr Bawumia, speaking during an interview with the Oxford Business Group (OBG), explained, “In a sense, COVID-19, in some paradoxical way, has jump-started our ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ mission. It has allowed us to be more self-reliant and we have now, by way of policy, through this whole experience said government procurement should be very much directed, when possible, to the local industries. We’re seeing a good response and that is going to drive our policy going forward.”
He added that Ghana’s progress in digitalisation had also proved beneficial when the coronavirus pandemic emerged.
“The pandemic has facilitated the implementation of innovative public health solutions that even included the use of drones, while also providing citizens with access to key government services online and allowing many of them to work from home,” the Vice President added.
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President Akufo-Addo sworn in for his second term
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On January 7, 2020, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was sworn...
Alban Bagbin elected as Speaker of Parliament
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The Dinners Project: Art. Food. Democracy
The Dinners Project is designed to bring together artists, community leaders, and neighbors to explore the role of art in building a strong democracy and imagining a better future!
In these challenging times, what we need most is imagination and vision. Artists have always been at the forefront of movement building and cultural evolution—bringing imagination and vision to life. What role will you play in shaping the future of our country and democracy?
The Dinners Project is a non-partisan initiative of Creative Capital, in partnership with For Freedoms 50 State Initiative and #LoveArmy. We’re proud to be part of the 50 State Initiative, a platform that is activating a national network of artists and arts institutions to serve as civic forums for action and political discourse leading up to the mid-term elections.
October 06, 2018 at 6pm - 10pm Eastern Time (US & Canada)
Edge Zones Gallery
3317 NW 7th Ave Cir
Did a host refer you? No Pearce Godwin
Add to Calendar 6-10-2018 18:00:00 6-10-2018 22:00:00 15 The Dinners Project: Art. Food. Democracy The Dinners Project is designed to bring together artists, community leaders, and neighbors to explore the role of art in building a strong democracy and imagining a better future! In these... 3317 NW 7th Ave Cir, Miami, FL 33127, United States DD/MM/YYYY
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NR Live: Obama Faith-Based Office Insider on Christians, Politics and the White House
By Ericka Andersen
About Ericka Andersen
Michael Wear has written a book that gives fascinating insight into life working for the Obama Administration and the way the White House approached issues pertaining to the faith community. Wear was in the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and worked on both the 2008 and 2012 campaigns. Jim Geraghty wrote a review of “Reclaiming Hope” here, so you can glean some insight on the book.
In this interview, we discuss everything from the role President Obama’s faith played in his decision making to how Christians can deal with some of the hostility coming at them in the political public square. Take a listen, consider reading the book and if you aren’t already, begin to approach politics as a Christian with “joyful confidence” knowing that our job, in the end, isn’t victory — but faithfulness.
Ericka Andersen is a freelance writer in Indianapolis, Indiana. She is the author of Leaving Cloud 9: The True Story of a Life Resurrected From the Ashes of Poverty, Trauma and Mental Illness.
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Words Matter: You Can’t “Murder” Animals
Human Exceptionalism
About Wesley J. Smith
Follow Wesley J. Smith on Twitter
Murder is defined as the unlawful killing of a human being by another human being with malice aforethought. In other words, only humans can be murdered and only humans can murder (because only we have the moral agency to allow us to be held accountable for unlawful homicides).
Two congressmen pushing for a new law banning videos that depict animal abuse–which depending on the details, would be fine with me–misuse the word in support of their bill. From their column:
Last week, the House of Representatives voted to outlaw the sale and distribution of graphic videos depicting the murder or abuse of animals by an overwhelming margin, passing the Prevention of Interstate Commerce in Crush Videos Act, 416 to 3.
This may seem like a small thing, but it really isn’t. Using the word “murder” to describe the unlawful killing of animals is just another way to blur the crucial distinction between us and fauna. Animals can certainly be abused. They cannot be murdered.
Wesley J. Smith is an author and a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism. @forcedexit
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Review: The Innocents (Tango Co.)
May 8, 2012 Michelle Barker
The Innocents is playing at Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre
In the end, it’s usually all about sex. Maybe. I think.
The Innocents, a play written by Daniel Karasik, is currently playing in its latest version at Tarragon Theatre. Karasik himself is backed by a stellar cast, but the production itself left me somewhat bewildered.
The Innocents is the story of Aaron, a twenty-something rich kid from the suburbs, who is being represented by a wunderkind lawyer called Stanley after confessing to murdering an old woman in a botched robbery. The plot becomes a psychological profile of the two men and their overlapping love interests as the murder investigation unfolds.
I last saw The Innocents when it played at the Summerworks festival in 2010 and I was interested to see what it had evolved into over the course of the last couple of years. It continues to play in Germany to sold-out houses, but this marks the production’s return to Canada.
Okay. Here’s what I liked about it: I have seen Amelia Sargisson and Virgilia Griffith perform before and to say that they both have whatever ‘it’ is that makes an actor captivating and luminescent onstage would be an incredible understatement. They squeezed every interesting nuance out of their characters and contrasted each other beautifully. Their scenes provided most of the successful darkly comical and moving moments in the script.
Unfortunately, I can praise little more than that in this production. While the rapid-fire dialogue is well-navigated with the help of director Jordan Tannahill, a lot of the movement and silences seem aimless and unmotivated. And while I appreciated the statement made by the fluorescent lights mounted in the corners of the stark white set, their flickering had a nauseating effect that I found unsettling. But maybe that was the point.
In the end, I’m not certain what point the script was trying to make. A comment on the tedium of privilege? Our unfulfilled youth? Some great performances and funny moments, yet I still left feeling, like the characters in the script, unfulfilled.
–The Innocents is playing at Tarragon Theatre (30 Bridgman Ave) until May 13, 2012
-Shows run Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday at 8:00 p.m. with a 2:30 p.m. matinee on Sunday.
-Ticket prices range from $17 – $22
-Tickets are available online, or by calling 416.531.1827
Photo of Nathan Barrett, Daniel Karasik, Amelia Sargisson, and Virgilia Griffith by Jordan Tannahill
Previous PostReview: Pantheon by Kids on TV (Hatch at Harbourfront)Next PostCheap Theatre in Toronto for the Week of May 7, 2012
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My Dear Children
Share the Film
Pogrom Accounts & Resources
Nearly 100 years ago, Feiga Shamis, a Jewish mother of 12, was driven by a little known humanitarian tragedy to send two of her youngest children to an orphanage a continent away. They were just eight and ten years old. Some 20 years later, she hand wrote a 174-page letter to the children, trying to explain to them why she made the decision she did.
Unfortunately, by the time the children received the letter, they could no longer read Yiddish. It was only after the two children had grown and died that the letter was translated into English and printed into a small book to be given to Feiga’s descendants. This book is the basis for the documentary My Dear Children.
Feiga’s letter reveals a horrific and little known piece of Jewish history. Her letter is in many respects a memoir of her life from her birth in 1878 through 1921, the year she sent her two children away. The bulk of the letter, however, recounts incident upon incident of anti-Jewish violence during the period 1917-1921. Up until this time, such incidents were known as pogroms. But the pogrom scholars consulted for My Dear Children say the more appropriate word for this time period is “massacres.”
Feiga’s written account is unique. It was rare for a woman to write such a letter, and many survivors simply didn’t want to re-live what they had endured. But her story is not unique. What happened to her, happened throughout the former Pale of Settlement in what is today Ukraine, Moldova, and Belarus. It is a story unknowingly shared by Jews around the world. Perhaps Shalom Shalom will shed light on your family’s past, too.
Preface by My Dear Children Co-Producer/Director LeeAnn Dance
Original Preface by Nora Favish, wife of one of the two children sent to South Africa
New introduction by Natan Meir, Lorry I. Lokey Chair in Judaic Studies at Portland State University
Map of Feiga’s path as a refugee in the former Pale of Settlement
Shalom Shalom: My Dear Children
© 2020 Golden Rule Productions
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Richest musicians of the decade
Source: Ghana News | MyJoyOnline.com
26 December 2019 12:27pm
Though the art of making, buying and releasing music has changed dramatically over the past decade, the money-making capabilities of certain artists has not.
Yes, artists may have had to diversify their revenue streams, as people have stopped flocking to the local Woolworths or HMV to buy CDs, but you can argue that technology has brought huge investment opportunities or that the focus has shifted to huge, sell-out stadium world tours. Anyone who has waited in an hour-long Ticketmaster queue for Beyoncé tickets will know that the demand is high, and tickets are as expensive as ever.
As 2019 draws to a close, Forbes has amalgamated its annual musicians rich lists to reveal just who has made the most millions throughout the decade, from 2010 – 2020. The magazine uses touring data, music consumption numbers, interviews agents and managers to assess the estimated wealth of living musicians.
Click through for a list of surprising and not-so-surprising revelations as to which musicians have made the big bucks this decade, in ascending order.
NEILSON BARNARD/GETTY IMAGES
The A Star Is Born actress has amassed $500 million (£386m) thanks to the five albums she released throughout the decade (Born This Way, Artpop, Cheek to Cheek, Joanne and the A Star Is Born album) and live shows, including her Las Vegas residency.
9. Katy Perry
PUNIT PARANJPE/GETTY IMAGES
The California Girl singer has earned $530 million (£410m) over the past 10 years, largely thanks to multiple huge world tours – California Dreams, Prismatic and Witness.
8. Sir Paul McCartney
Despite The Beatles breaking up in 1969, the 77-year-old has earned $535 million (£413m) between 2010 and 2012 thanks to his ongoing solo career, which has involved world tours, a collaboration with Kanye West and Rihanna and a number one album with Egypt Station in 2018.
7. Jay-Z
CRAIG BARRITT/GETTY IMAGES
The rapper, producer and entrepreneur has earned $560 million (£433 m) over the past ten years, according to Forbes. His accumulation of wealth has mainly come from the many companies he’s built and invested in (champagne and cognac brands, Tidal, art collections and more) but he’s also earned a tidy sum of money from two tours and an album with Beyoncé. Considering all this, it’s no surprise that Forbes titled him the first billionaire rapper earlier this year.
6. Sir Elton John
EAMONN M. MCCORMACK/GETTY IMAGES
The legendary musician has earned $565 million (£436m) largely through years of stadium concerts and his Las Vegas residency.
5. Diddy
SCOTT DUDELSON/GETTY IMAGES
The rapper and businessman – who just celebrated his 50th birthday with a star-studded party – has amassed $605 million ($467m) in this last 10 year period. Forbes attributes his impressive earnings largely to his business deals, like with Cîroc vodka.
4. U2
DAVE J HOGAN/GETTY IMAGES
The Irish rock band, fronted by Bono, have earned a tidy $675 million (£521m) thanks to their tours. Their 2011 360 tour grossed the most amount of money ever, according to the money magazine.
The ELLE cover star earned an estimated total of $685 million (£529m) over the past decade, largely in part to her successful decade as a solo artist. Over the past 10 years, Beyoncé has released five albums – 4, Beyoncé, Lemonade, Everything Is Love with husband Jay-Z and to cap of the year The Gift, a soundtrack from The Lion King, and toured extensively.
2. Taylor Swift
JAMIE MCCARTHY/GETTY IMAGES
The pop singer is ranked the second-highest earning musician of the decade – and the highest earning female musician of the decade – due to her multiple stadium-packed tours and albums – the latest of which, Lover, was released this year and no doubt added to the impressive bank balance of $825 million (£637m).
1. Dr Dre
AXELLE/BAUER-GRIFFIN/GETTY IMAGES
The richest musician, in terms of earnings throughout the decade, is rapper, producer, former NWA member and businessman Dr Dre. The 54-year-old does not top the list for albums, tours or songs but because he co-founded Beats headphones, which was famously bought by Apple for $3 billion in 2014 – earning him $950 million (£734m) over the past 10 years.
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Sep '20 21
Baseball Mexico: Monday, September 21, 2020
Baseball Mexico No Comments
by Bruce Baskin, Baseball Mexico, http://baseballmexico.blogspot.com/
TIGRES FOR SALE? PEREYRA SAYS YES, TEAM SAYS NO
A Twitter entry by Proceso writer Beatriz Pereyra regarding rumors that former Cy Young Award winner Fernando Valenzuela and his wife Linda Burgos are trying to sell the Quintana Roo Tigres has raised several eyebrows across the country, with the team office denying Pereyra’s claim a day after it was first posted.
Pereyra’s translated comment on Twitter last Wednesday was that “the Tigres for sale. There are several interested, mainly in northern states of the country. The team will inevitably change owners. The Valenzuela family will say goodbye to the project.”
A translated tweet from the Tigres team office in Cancun on Thursday read in part, “The Tigres de Quintana Roo organization categorically denies the rumors that occurred in the last hours about its sale. The team remains under the leadership of the Valenzuela Burgos family based in Cancun, Quintana Roo. We appreciate the support and endorsement of the fans to our team during all these years.”
Still, Pereya doubled down on her claim following the Tigres’ tweet. “I maintain that the team is for sale,” she said. “Time will tell who is right. Fact: Do you remember when Mr. Murra denied that he was not the owner of the Union Laguna Algodoneros? It is something similar.” Pereya’s reference is to Union Laguna’s current president Guillermo Murra Marroquin, who denied his family was buying the Cottoneers from the Arellano brothers (also co-owners of the Yucatan Leones) in January 2019, a month before the Murras were announced as the franchise’s new owners.
Longtime Mexican baseball coach, scout and administrator Carlos Fragoso of Mexico City says simply, “Fernando Valenzuela declared that the Tigres are not for sale, so as of now they will continue being part of LMB.”
Valenzuela fronted a group of unnamed investors that bought the Mexican League heritage franchise from Carlos Peralta (son of team founder Alejo Peralta) for an undisclosed amount in February 2017. Almost immediately, the former Dodgers All-Star and his wife were confronted by challenges when their partners reportedly bailed out on the investment, leaving them sole owners of the 12-time LMB champions. Then it was discovered that a number of prospects who’d been on a list of protected players given to the Valenzuelas prior to the sale had been surreptitiously transferred to the Mexico City Diablos Rojos, touching off the Rookiegate scandal that rocked the LMB for months.
The common denominator in Rookiegate appears to be Francisco “Pollo” Minjarez, who worked in the Tigres’ front office prior to the sale before taking the Diablos’ general manager’s job shortly afterward and was thus the recipient of the six prospects, two of whom were subsequently sold to the Texas Rangers for more than two million dollars combined. Former LMB president Javier Salinas eventually ruled that the rights to the prospects be returned to the Tigres along with the money received from the player sales but at last report, the Diablos have honored neither order.
Minjarez was also placed on suspension by the Liga office, but reportedly never gave up his duties in the Red Devils’ front office. He’d previously been suspended indefinitely by the Mexican League in 2013 after allegedly violating internal agreements and using inappropriate behavior as general manager of the Obregon Yaquis and has not worked in the Mex Pac since.
Although Cancun has grown to over 700,000 residents and has a 9,500-seat ballpark (Estadio Beto Avila), the city has never greatly supported baseball. An earlier LMB team, the Langosteros, played in Cancun from 1996 through 2005, when Hurricane Wilma devastated the ballpark and forced the team to move to Poza Rica after ten seasons of tepid response from the local audience. The Tigres moved to the tourist mecca in 2007 and despite four division titles and three pennants since, the club is usually in the middle of Liga attendance tables. In 2019, they finished eighth with 226,525 fans over 59 home dates for an average of 3,839 per opening. The Tigres have never drawn 4,000 a night.
If the Valenzuelas do sell the Tigres, it would mark the end of a 43-month era in Cancun that began with great fanfare accompanying the purchase of one of Mexico’s most-storied baseball teams by perhaps its most popular Major League star. Instead, the Tigres have since seen middling success on the field accompanied by a rising tide of red ink in the franchise’s coffers.
There have been calls over the years for the team to move back to its original home of Mexico City but given their enmity towards the Diablos, Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is more likely to renounce baseball for cricket than the Valenzuelas sharing the capital city with the Red Devils.
Nobody from the “northern cities” Pereyra mentioned in her initial tweet has been identified, but Septima Entrada’s Jose Alfredo Ortiz reported earlier this month that the Aguascalientes Rieleros are rumored to be moving to Veracruz for 2021. Otero mentioned nobody in his story either, but it’s been said that sisters Regina and Fabiola Vasquez Saut (who operated the now-defunct Veracruz Winter League in 2018-19 and owned the rights to the Acayucan Tobis franchise) are interested in bringing an LMB team back to Veracruz.
FOUR SINALOAN LMP TEAMS ALLOWED 40% CAPACITY AT GAMES
With the opening of the 2020-21 season less than a month away, there was concern among the ten Mexican Pacific League teams that they may all have to play games with no fans in the stands due to health concerns over the Wuhan virus. Some welcome news arrived last week when the governor of Sinaloa said in an interview that the four LMP teams within the state will be allowed to play before live audiences comprising up to 40 percent of each ballpark’s capacity, depending on each facility’s regular season and layout.
According to Puro Beisbol, Sinaloa governor Quirino Ordaz Coppel told the Linea Directa website that protocols required by the Ministry of Health will be carried out so fans in Culiacan, Guasave, Los Mochis and Mazatlan can attend games this season. A Mex Pac press release says the the league will work “hand in hand with government and health authorities” to ensure that people can see games in person.
Culiacan will be able to sell 8,000 tickets at 20,000-seat Estadio Tomateros while the Mazatlan Venados can play with 6,400 aficionados at Estadio Teodoro Mariscal (capacity 16,000). In Los Mochis, 4,800 seats at Estadio Emilio Ibarra Almada (12,000) can be filled for Caneros home games while in Guasave, the Algodoneros may play for up to 4,200 fans at 10,000-seat Estadio Francisco Carranza Limon. The regular season is due to open Thursday, October 15 with games in Culiacan, Los Mochis and Mazatlan among the five scheduled for that night.
According to the press release from the Mex Pac’s Guadalajara office, “Each of the 35 games that these organizations have on their calendar for the regular season, plus the eventual playoffs, will have the proper controls and limitations, for all areas such as locker rooms, entrances, corridors, toilets and restaurants with the sale of drinks and food, respecting the protocols of their sectors at all times.”
Masks will be required (and make for great fashion statements) at all times while spaces designated for handwashing with antibacterial gel will be installed at each ballpark. Fans failing to comply with the rules will be forced to leave the ballpark.
RAMOS, PAREDES SEEK MEX PAC RETURN THIS WINTER
A pair of Hermosillo products, one who’s become one of the top sluggers in Korean baseball and a highly-touted infield prospect who made his MLB debut last month, want to play in Mexico this winter once their current seasons end. Puro Beisbol editor Francisco Ballesteros reports that LG Twins first baseman Roberto Ramos is hoping to suit up for his hometown Naranjeros while Detroit Tigers third sacker Isaac Paredes seeks to perform in Mazatlan after being traded by Obregon to the Venados for veteran catcher Sebastian Valle in the offseason.
The 25-year-old Ramos was an obscure power-hitting minor leaguer in the Colorado Rockies minor league system for six years before his contract was sold to the Korea Baseball Organization’s Busan-based Twins in January, with whom he reportedly signed a one-year, U$500,000 contract. His batting average has cooled down after a sizzling start to his first year in the KBO (although he’s brought it back up to .285 in recent games), but Ramos recently belted his 33rd homer of 2020 to extend his single-season record of most homers for a Mexican-born player in South Korea after breaking Karim Garcia’s old standard of 30 earlier this month.
Ramos has spent parts of the past five winters as an unheralded member of the Orangemen, hitting .220 with 14 homers in 145 games, but his newfound celebrity status in Korea will likely carry home with him. Naranjeros GM Juan Aguirre says that with the Twins expected to reach the KBO playoffs, they don’t expect Ramos in Estadio Sonora until the second half of the Mex Pac season. “We have spoken with Roberto and we are aware that the first round would be lost,” said Aguirre. “In fact, we will give him enough space to see if we can count on him as of December.” With the Twins likely interested in signing Ramos for 2021, they’d need to sign off on him playing winterball back home.
The 21-year-old Paredes, who signed as a free agent with the Chicago Cubs in 2016 and came to the Detroit organization a year later as part of a five-player trade, was a midseason All-Star with Class A Lakeland in 2018 and Class AA Erie last year. He spent this season practicing and playing intrasquad games at the Tigers’ alternate training site in Toledo before being called up August 17. Paredes went 1-for-4 that night with a two-run single during a 7-2 loss to the White Sox in Chicago and was batting .318 after one week (belting a grand slam in 10-5 win at Cleveland on August 21). He was still hitting .258 at the end of August before going into a September slump that saw him go 4-for-36 to start the month as his averaged plummeted to .176.
His plate woes haven’t affected his work at the hot corner, as Paredes committed just one error over his first 23 games and took part in seven double plays for a .981 fielding percentage. While the Tigers are concerned over his tendency to take first-pitch strikes, they love his ability to play three infield positions (Paredes appears best-suited for second base despite his 5’11” 210-pound frame) and think his patience at the plate will be a virtue.
Baseball Mexico: Monday, October 12, 2020
Baseball Mexico: Mexican League 2019 Directory
Baseball Mexico: Monday, November 2, 2020
Major League Baseball Expands Presence in Mexico Ahead of 2016 Season
MLB to Play Regular Season Baseball in Mexico City in 2020
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Serena Williams to Play 1st Competition Since Giving Birth
Williams has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, a record for the professional era. She is expected to compete for her 24th at the Australian Open, the first major of the year
Published December 24, 2017 • Updated on December 24, 2017 at 4:42 pm
Serena Williams is returning to competition with an exhibition match Saturday in Abu Dhabi against French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.
Williams has not competed since winning the Australian Open last January while she was pregnant. She will face Latvia's Ostapenko at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in the first year that women will be taking part, tournament organizers announced Sunday.
"I am delighted to be returning to the court in Abu Dhabi for the first time since the birth of my daughter in September," the 36-year-old Williams said in a statement.
FBI 1 hour ago
Capitol Riot 18 hours ago
Williams has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, a record for the professional era. She is expected to compete for her 24th at the Australian Open, the first major of the year.
Williams gave birth to a girl named Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. on Sept. 1. She married Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian in November.
"The Mubadala World Tennis Championship has long marked the beginning of the men's global tennis season and I am excited and honored to be making my comeback as part of the first women to participate in the event," Williams said.
The Australian Open starts Jan. 15.
co-founderSerena WilliamstennisAbu DhabiFrench Open
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California governor issues statewide stay-at-home order
by: KATHLEEN RONAYNE and DON THOMPSON, Associated Press
Posted: Mar 19, 2020 / 10:18 PM EDT / Updated: Mar 20, 2020 / 12:33 AM EDT
Homeless people camp out in from of the San Francisco Ballet Wednesday, March 18, 2020, in San Francisco. Officials in seven San Francisco Bay Area counties have issued a shelter-in-place mandate affecting about 7 million people, including the city of San Francisco itself. The order says residents must stay inside and venture out only for necessities for three weeks starting Tuesday. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) —
California’s 40 million residents should stay home indefinitely and venture outside only for essential jobs, errands and some exercise, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday, warning that the coronavirus threatens to overwhelm the state’s medical system.
The move, the most sweeping by any state so far, was an exclamation point at the end of a week of increasingly aggressive moves meant to keep the virus in check by forcing people to stay away from each other as often as possible.
“I can assure you home isolation is not my preferred choice, I know it’s not yours, but it’s a necessary one,” Newsom said at an evening news conference streamed on social media.
He assured residents that they “can still take your kids outside, practicing common sense and social distancing. You can still walk your dog.” Restaurant meals can still be delivered to homes.
The announcement came after the release of a letter to President Donald Trump where Newsom warned the virus was spreading quickly and eventually could infect more than half the state’s population. A spokesman later clarified that the figure did not take into account the aggressive mitigation efforts that have been made.
The governor said he doesn’t expect police will be needed to enforce his stay-at-home order, saying “social pressure” already has led to social distancing throughout the state.
“I don’t believe the people of California need to be told through law enforcement that it’s appropriate just to home isolate,” he said.
The Democrat who is barely a year into his first term also called up 500 National Guard troops to help distribute food. The move comes after panic buying led to massive lines at some grocery stores.
Newsom also outlined a series of steps aimed at providing more space for hospital patients.
He said the state has taken over a 357-bed bankrupt hospital in the San Francisco Bay Area, soon will announce the purchase of a similarly sized hospital in Southern California and may use dormitories at the state’s public colleges and universities. He also asked Trump to dock the Navy’s 1,000-patient Mercy hospital ship in the Port of Los Angeles.
The coronavirus is spread through sneezes and coughs. There are at least 1,030 confirmed cases in California and 18 people have died, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
Newsom’s statewide order came after counties and communities covering about half the state’s population already had issued similar edicts. He said the restriction is “open-ended” because it could raise false hopes if he included an end date.
However, he did offer a glimmer by saying he didn’t expect it would last “many, many months.”
Just before Newsom’s statewide declaration, Los Angeles announced what officials there called a “Safer at Home” order that carried the same restrictions.
“We’re about to enter into a new way of living here in Los Angeles,” Mayor Eric Garcetti said. “What we do and how we do it and if we get this right will determine how long this crisis lasts.”
In the letter to Trump seeking the hospital ship, Newsom said California’s infection rates are doubling every four days in some areas and that 56% of the state’s population could contract the virus in the next eight weeks, which would be more than 22 million people. He later said the “overwhelming majority won’t have symptoms” and will be fine but that up to 20,000 could be hospitalized.
“If we meet this moment we can truly bend the curve” of escalating cases, Newsom said.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. It can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, for some people, especially older adults and those with existing health problems.
Most people recover — those with mild illness in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks, according to the World Health Organization.
Also Thursday, Newsom asked U.S. House and Senate leaders for $1 billion to support state and local health systems. He said that money would be needed to do things like set up state-run and mobile hospitals, housing options to help people socially distance and testing and treatment for people without health insurance.
He also asked for assistance so the state can extend unemployment benefits beyond the usual 26-week limit, expand food assistance programs, resources for the homeless and tribal communities and boost childcare programs. He further asked for assistance for schools, aid to local and state budgets and transportation relief.
“While California has prudently built a sizable Rainy Day Fund over the past ten years, the economic effects of this emergency are certain to mean that the state and its 58 counties will struggle to maintain essential programs and services,” he wrote.
Newsom earlier announced $150 million of a $1 billion emergency state appropriation would go toward getting homeless people off the streets. He has estimated up to 60,000 of the state’s homeless could get infected.
Associated Press writer Adam Beam contributed to this story.
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Honoring essential workers on Labor Day
by: Anya Tucker
CAPITAL REGION, N.Y. (NEWS10) — For many of us, Labor Day has traditionally been a sign of the end of summer. But in 2020, all of our traditions and schedules kind of went sideways.
And through it all, there were people who did things like:
Ensure we could feed our families;
Care for our elderly,
or teach our children.
Think of what could have happened had these essential workers had just stayed home during these very difficult times.
You would not have had people like Martin Bachner, who helped clean environmental spills for the Department of Environmental Conservation.
Or Sgt. Norah Harrington, of the Albany Police Department.
There’s also Paula Stit, a manager of a Stewart’s Shop in Loudonville.
And Dr. Kate Tauber, who cares for infants at Albany Medical Center’s NICU.
NEWS10’s Anya Tucker asked these essential workers to share the challenges of working during the coronavirus pandemic.
Dr. Kate Tauber: “So, our jobs didn’t change on a day-to-day basis. But what did change is the stress and anxiety of going to work with this potential unknown.”
Martin Bachner: “Are you taking the right precautions, so that you don’t take [coronavirus] home because everyone else has been at home.”
Sgt. Norah Harrington: “Many community outreach programs are put on pause. The challenges come between bridging the gap between the police and the community.”
Paula Stit: “What’s changed the most is the wearing of the mask has become the new normal. Some of our customers sometimes they forget. So we have to remind them at the door.”
So on this Labor Day, what does being an essential worker mean to them?
Sgt: Harrington: “We have an obligation to the community to come here and uphold their safety and their mental health.”
Dr. Tauber: “I think now we have a new appreciation for other people in our community who are essential workers like grocery store employees, gas stations, pharmacists.”
Paula Stit: “Whether it’s a fireman, a Stewart’s employee, a grocery store employee. We are all needed, and we were needed through the entire pandemic. So, I feel all the people out there, I just want to say ‘thank you’.”
From those of us at NEWS10 ABC, we also say “Thank you essential workers everywhere”.
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) - Police in Albany are investigating after a man was shot in the foot on Sunday afternoon. A 43-year-old man walked into the emergency department of Albany Medical Center with the wound at around 5:50 p.m. police say.
The victim later told officers he received the injury while in the area of Lexington Avenue and Sherman Street.
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo Sunday announced a proposal to require companies to prominently disclose information about devices that can record, store, and transmit recordings, like smartphones, smart speakers, and smart TVs.
The Governor will reportedly propose legislation requiring the disclosure so that New Yorkers can make informed decisions when they choose to buy an internet-connected device that is capable of recording, and so that written warnings about recording are not hidden or written in small print. The bill would make it so that smart devices disclose that they are recording their owners before a device is set up, so that owners can change their settings as needed.
by Jack Summers / Jan 17, 2021
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Albany FBI arrested Brandon Fellows, 26, of Schenectady following his reported involvement in last week's Capitol riot in Washington D.C.
The following statement was issued regarding his arrest:
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1.3.5 Coping with relocation
We have seen that attachment to place can be important in terms of developing and maintaining feelings of security and a sense of self-identity However, care for some people involves relocation.
Changes of place often involve people in coping with other types of change such as:
changes of role (for example from being a homeowner to being a resident of a home; or from being a hospital resident to being a resident in the community)
1.3.4 Change on a daily basis: Day unit care
The importance of maintaining continuity of people and places is important in both cases. Many people attend day care services and find that the change is a stimulating experience, widening their daily contacts and allowing them to become part of another group. The issues of continuity of experience raised here will be familiar to day care workers.
Click below to hear an audio clip describing Redwood Day Unit.
1.3.3 Change on a daily basis: shared care for the elderly
In the case of Mr Bright care is shared between his wife and formal carers and changes in the place of care are primarily to give Mrs Bright a break and Mr Bright a change of scene.
Click below to hear an audio clip describing a day in the life of Mr and Mrs Bright.
1.3.1 The impact of surroundings
Thinking about attachment to places leads us to think about just the opposite: how do people feel when they have to change places and move from one situation to another? Some people are always on the move while others seem to stay put for long periods of their lives. For children and adults receiving care services moving between places may be a common occurrence.
These moves may be:
daily, part of a shared pattern of care where a person
1.2.4 Places and spaces as resources
Attachment to places can be a resource within care relationships, especially where people have a shared history of attachment to places. An older couple may have experienced the ups and downs of moving between places together for much of their lives. Or a daughter may be caring for her mother in the home where she was born and brought up. A shared understanding of the home environment and the support which may be available locally can be invaluable in developing a care relationship. Such know
The content acknowledged below is Proprietary (see terms and conditions) and is used under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Licence.
Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources:
Text: 'Dream parents': courtesy of Anastasia Lee-
1.5.4 Networks
The way Katrina's story is presented leaves out others who may be involved with the family. This is because the story was part of a campaign by Community Care magazine to highlight the plight of young carers. It made sense to emphasise Katrina's role and omit information which might detract from the impact of a single-issue campaign.
The discovery of young carers is an interesting example of what happens when the official spotlight is turned on a particular group in society. Ther
2.4.3 abelling
The term ‘informal carer’ is a label. It was coined to describe people who take on unpaid responsibility for the welfare of another person. It is a term which has meaning only when the public world of care provision comes into contact with the private world of the family where caring is a day-to-day, unremarked-upon activity, like reminding a young child to clean her teeth. Labelling yourself as an informal carer requires a major shift in the way you see yourself, a shift neither Arthur n
1 Caring: a family affair
Dream parents
Mummy would love me, daddy would too,
We'd go out on picnics or off to the zoo,
We would play in the park and feed the birds,
Listen to their songs and imagine their words.
My life would be full of joy and laughter,
All because they cared, my mother and father,
Never would I feel all cold and alone,
Knowing that I could always go home.
They wo
Enid and Sarah mentioned relatives and friends, but the others sounded as if they were managing on their own, or within their immediate family unit. Care work can be an isolating experience. The hours are long. Sometimes they are unpredictable, and being cared for doesn't always mean that you're necessarily going to be able to have the time or energy to develop other relationships. You might like to consider whether demographic changes are likely to have an effect on who is available for care
8.1 Feelings about care relationships
Diane couldn't imagine being paid for what she did. She thought that, if she was paid, she would, ‘have felt obligated to do it’. This way it felt like her choice. ‘I wanted to make those choices freely.’
John described the basis of his caring for Mr Asghar as, ‘a mutually beneficial friendship … always has been’.
Enid emphasised that she looked on her caring as a parental responsibility. ‘They're my children and it's my duty to look after them … they weren't ask
7.3 Other kinds of help
Diane said that Paul and Stanley helped her with dog minding, gardening, shopping and other jobs around the house. Sometimes they bought her presents.
John said that what he got from Mr Asghar was the reliability of long-term friendship, advice and support through his various recent problems.
Enid mentioned help from relatives and friends, whom she had come to rely on.
At home, Sarah got help from her mother, who was also disabled. She also got help from other students in he
7.2 What people do with the money?
Diane and John didn't get any money.
Enid saved her ‘lads’ money for them, and bought them clothes and other things from what she saved. She spent her ICA on herself, though it didn't sound as if she treated herself to many luxuries.
Sarah's payments went towards the allowances for her volunteer helpers at university. They helped her with making meals, mobility around the campus and getting into town. Sometimes she needed help with personal care, such as washing her hair.
7.1 Payments received
Diane Mallett said she didn't get any payment, though she used to get Invalid Care Allowance (ICA) when her mother-in-law was alive. Her brother-in-law, Paul, only got the lower level of Disablility Living Allowance. Diane pointed out that, if he'd been assessed before she intervened, he might have got a higher amount. John Avery said that Mr Asghar got Attendance Allowance. He thought he wouldn't be able to get Invalid Care Allowance, as this would affect his benefits.
Enid Francis' so
On completion of this unit, you should be able to:
understand that people who give and receive help and support depend on a mix of paid and unpaid sources.
Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources for permission to reproduce material in this unit:
The content acknowledged below is Proprietary and.is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Licence See Terms and Conditions.
2.4 The body's different components
Looking at the body this way means thinking about things as small as atoms and molecules, and as large as whole body parts. This allows us to think about how everything works at an appropriate level. If we want to understand breathing, for example, we need to think about tiny things such as the oxygen molecules that are absorbed in the body. Similarly, if we want to understand eating, we have to think of complicated internal structures such as the stomach. If we want to understand how the bod
Glaser, B. G. and Strauss, A. L. (1965) Awareness of Dying, Chicago, Aldine.
Foucault, M. (1977) Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison (trans. Sheridan, A.), Harmondsworth, Penguin.
Hochschild, A. (1983) The Managed Heart: The Commercialisation of Human Feeling, Berkeley, University of California Press.
2.2 Neuronal changes during grief
Recently medical researchers have been joined by neuroscientists determined to pin down precisely those parts of the brain that are activated by the experience of grief. Although this approach might be considered to be reductionist, it demonstrates the way in which some scientists are attempting to explain complex behaviour in neuroscientific terms.
Eight volunteers who had experienced the death of someone close in the previous year agreed to be studied as part of a research project con
understand how carers can sometimes perceive their role.
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Protests in top 25 virus hot spots ignite fears of contagion
by: MICHELLE R. SMITH and NICKY FORSTER, Associated Press
Demonstrators, who had gathered to protest the death of George Floyd, begin to run from tear gas used by police to clear the street near the White House in Washington, Monday, June 1, 2020. Floyd died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — As demonstrators flooded streets across America to decry the killing of George Floyd, public health experts watched in alarm — the close proximity of protesters and their failures in many cases to wear masks, along with the police using tear gas, could fuel new transmissions of the coronavirus.
Many of the protests broke out in places where the virus is still circulating widely in the population. In fact, an Associated Press review found that demonstrations have taken place in every one of the 25 U.S. communities with the highest concentrations of new cases. Some have seen major protests over multiple days, including Minneapolis-St. Paul, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles.
The protests have come just as communities across the nation loosen restrictions on businesses and public life that have helped slow the spread of the virus, deepening concern that the two factors taken together could create a national resurgence in cases.
“As a nation, we have to be concerned about a rebound,” Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser warned Sunday after days of protests rocked the nation’s capital. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo bemoaned the crowds, saying that hundreds could potentially have been infected, undoing months of social distancing.
A fresh outbreak in the places where protesters gathered could lead to reinstituting shutdowns.
The AP’s review focused on large metro counties — the central counties within metro areas with more than 1 million people — that showed the highest rates of new cases per capita over the past 14 days.
While case numbers and deaths have been trending down in several of the cities where the largest protests have occurred, the number of people in those places infected with the virus — and with the ability to spread it — remains high. And in some of the communities, such as Minneapolis, the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 has been rising.
Floyd died May 25 after a Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee into his neck for several minutes, even as he pleaded that he couldn’t breathe. Minneapolis has been ground zero for the sprawling protests, which have crossed the Mississippi River into neighboring St. Paul.
The unrest has coincided with “the very worst days of the pandemic so far” in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, said Michael T. Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
“Our ICU bed care is at its all-time high and is really on the edge,” he said.
Ramsey and Hennepin counties, home to the Twin Cities, ranked seventh and eighth for the highest per capita new cases in the AP analysis. Each has seen more than 250 cases per 100,000 population in the past two weeks, together reporting nearly 2,000 new cases in the last week alone.
Experts point out that other factors associated with protests could accelerate the spread of the virus. For instance, tear gas can cause people to cough and sneeze, as can the smoke from fires set by people bent on destruction. And both also prompt protesters to remove their masks.
Crowding protesters who have been arrested into jail cells can also increase the risk of contagion. An AP tally found that, thus far, more than 5,600 people have been taken into custody.
Protesters and police shouting at one another nose-to-nose also is raising alarms.
Osterholm and other public health experts note, however, that the protests aren’t necessarily as alarming as other events that could fuel new cases because they take place outside and many people are wearing masks. In some cases, hand sanitizer also is being informally distributed.
And Dr. David Eisenman, director of the Center for Public Health and Disasters at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, said he feared partisan forces might accuse cities of bringing fresh cases on themselves.
“I’m actually more worried about how, if those spikes occur, how that information will be weaponized against the notion of protests,” he said.
Eisenman called protesting an “essential activity,” possible to practice with reduced risk. He said his grown children protested in Los Angeles and are taking safety precautions now, including isolating themselves at home. They plan to get tested for COVID-19 in about a week.
Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and public health professor at George Washington University, said the hospitalizations for coronavirus in the Washington metro area have been on the decline but that she knows that could change.
“There are a lot of unknowns about what happens next,” she said.
Wen was the health commissioner for the city of Baltimore during the 2015 uprising after the death of Freddie Gray in police custody and said many health clinics were closed and pharmacies burned down, making it difficult for members of disadvantaged communities to access health care.
It’s a concern for her now, too.
“You will have compounded health issues that go beyond COVID-19,” she said.
Public health experts said it will take two to three weeks to know whether the protests cause a surge in coronavirus cases. And even then, they can’t definitively tie it to the demonstrations.
The unrest is happening in tandem with the reopening of gyms, hair salons, restaurants, parks and beaches. It also comes on the heels of the Memorial Day weekend, when many people attended large gatherings, so experts already were bracing for a case increase, said Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University.
In Los Angeles, barbershops and in-person dining were allowed to resume last weekend, just as protests descended into destruction and more than 1,000 people were arrested. Nearly 10,000 new cases have been reported in Los Angeles County in the past week.
Hundreds of people also were arrested in Chicago, where Cook County has had among the highest per capita rates of new cases of any large county in the nation, with 283 new cases per 100,000 population in the past two weeks.
“The absolute number of cases is still high. We feel good about the fact that we’ve established a decreasing incidence, but we have a ways to go,” said Dr. Ronald Hershow the director of the Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of Illinois-Chicago.
Hershow and others noted that the racial disparities laid bare by coronavirus — with communities of color bearing a disproportionate burden of infections and deaths — overlap with the issues being protested on streets across America and around the globe.
“Racism kills,” Hershow said. “Sometimes that’s direct, as in the case of George Floyd. And sometimes it’s through a virus like COVID-19.”
Forster reported from Berkley, Massachusetts.
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Michigan Senate Candidate Who Questioned Nassar Judge's Sex Life Drops Out of Race
By Zola Ray On 2/1/18 at 5:51 PM EST
Judge Rosemarie Aquilina talks during the hearing regarding Larry Nassar's molestation of girls during his career as a doctor for Michigan State University and for USA Gymnastics. Scott Olson/Getty Images
U.S. Michigan Senate Judge
When Judge Rosemarie Aquilina sentenced USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar to 175 years in jail for abusing young women and girls, she was lauded across the internet. The judge also received criticism from a Michigan state Senate candidate who was forced to step down from the race.
Michael Saari, a fringe candidate in the state Senate race, wrote a Facebook comment that referred to Aquilina as a "feminazi" and commented on a hypothetical sexual act in her marriage. The comments garnered tremendous backlash and ultimately resulted in Saari's decision to drop out of the race, Patch reported Thursday.
"I am going to recuse myself. I'm dropping out of the race," Saari told Patch, adding that he was not defending Nassar's actions. "It was never to protect Nassar. The sentencing was proper."
Facebook user Andrea Karmeisool Austin shared a screenshot of the comment, which was eventually removed from Facebook.
Saari's post read: "Judge was wrong for her personal vocal opinions on record…That should be a crime against jurisprudence itself...Lastly, what do you think this feminazi judge would say if her husband asked for a BJ?"
Saari claimed not to remember posting the comment, responding "I can't recall the post, I post a lot," when contacted by local television station WWJ. When asked if he'd removed the post, Saari responded "Not that I'm aware of."
Judge Rosemarie Aquilina takes a look at sexual abuser Larry Nassar while victim Jennifer Rood Bedford gives an impact statement. Scott Olson/Getty Images
Yet in an interview with WXYZ-TV the next day, Saari admitted that he had "absolutely" posted the comment. He said he disapproved of Aquilina's behavior, though he might avoid using similar language if he had the chance to comment again.
Another screenshot of a now-deleted Facebook post from Saari was shared in light of the controversy. In the November 2016 post, he allegedly defended pedophilia, Patch reported.
The post allegedly read: "Woman [sic] don't seem to understand that from the very beginning of time men have taken young girls (Prior to periods) as wives and concubines. Even the bible talks of this so don't make it sound like men that are attracted to 12 year old girls are sick... it's you woman [sic] that can't get a grip on reality is whats [sic] sick...it's only normal and you can't change normal or a persons [sic] DNA."
When he was in the running for the 15th district of Michigan, Saari was a "fringe candidate," Deadline Detroit reported. On Facebook, he stated that he was in favor of tuition-free community college and a part-time legislature, referring to himself as the "candidate who cares." He was against police unions, gerrymandering and the selling of plastic straws, WWJ reported.
Who Is Judge Rosemarie Aquilina?
Aly Raisman Says She Was Sexually Assaulted
Mark Hollis Resigns From Michigan State
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Former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee Files To Run For President
By Ahmed Jawadi
The former Rhode Island senator and governor registered his campaign with the Federal Election Commission on Sunday.
Former Rhode Island senator and governor Lincoln Chafee has filed to run for the presidency as a Libertarian.
Chafee registered his campaign with the Federal Election Commission on Sunday. The filing also links to a fundraising website that features such slogans as "Lincoln Leads With Truth" and "Thirty Years, Zero Scandals." According to the Providence Journal, Chafee will formally announce his candidacy on Wednesday.
Chafee began his political career as a Republican: He was appointed to his late father's U.S. Senate seat in 1999 before getting elected for the position a year later. He lost his Senate seat in 2006, but he was elected governor of Rhode Island in 2010 as an independent. Chafee joined the Democratic Party in 2013 and sought the party's presidential nomination in 2015. He participated in the first Democratic debate but ended up dropping out shortly after due to low polling numbers.
For full election coverage visit Election 2020.
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Can Direct-to-Consumer Video Deliver?
By Brent Smith, Evolution Digital 06 September 2016
Is direct-to-consumer online video all it’s cracked up to be? While access to online, live linear video is being widely adopted and accepted, its pitfalls are exposed when there is content that’s in high demand and is of high value, such as the popular TV show Fear the Walking Dead.
Notably, Sling TV dealt with a service outage during the premiere of AMC series Fear the Walking Dead, causing widespread problems for subscribers nationwide. Other virtual multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs), including PlayStation Vue, have experienced latency issues, ranging from buffering screens to blurry pixelation.
So why does this happen? After all, lightly viewed online content is a great source of viewing enjoyment. Mobility has profound value in the industry, as customers increasingly want to take their content on the go. Want to tune into the last five minutes of the game? No problem — simply pull up your smart phone and catch the game-winning slam dunk.
But streaming live TV exposes limitations, as well as the complex infrastructure needed to support these services. That infrastructure includes a content delivery network with enough capacity to deliver the content, the MSO fiber backbone capacity to support over-the-top content, the cable operator’s ability to convert Internet traffic from fiber to DOCSIS RF signals, service levels in each subscriber home and, finally, the capacity of a WiFi or MoCA home network. (To view a graphic of the infrastructure, click here.)
What many don’t realize is that a cooperative relationship with online live video providers, such as Sling TV and Vidgo, and Internet service providers, such as Comcast, would be extremely beneficial and help alleviate the multiple choke points for delivery of high-quality video. Both the online content provider and the ISP likely have the same customer, and want to satisfy that viewer.
If the quality of the content is impaired, such as an interruption in the crucial minutes of a live college-basketball game, either the virtual MVPD has not scaled its distribution network to support high volume, or the ISP is causing the issue. Either way, there’s a problem that cannot be solved singlehandedly. And it’s a big issue, with 49% of viewers citing technological problems when using a streaming service.
There are multiple reasons why this collaborative relationship isn’t quite happening:
• Programmers want direct relationships with their customers.
• MSOs have to manage their bandwidth and want to control the customer experience.
• Virtual MVPD providers are working to supplant the operator’s video service, and replace it with theirs.
• Net-neutrality requirements further complicate the prospects of collaboration between virtual MVPDs and traditional MVPDs, as they restrict any ability to prioritize one data or video service over another.
As high-demand, high-value content is being consumed online at an increasing rate, the Internet very well could “collapse.” What the industry is seeing with Fear the Walking Dead, March Madness and all other big TV events is where online TV could ultimately wind up if streaming content consumption rates continue to rise.
The rules of the game have changed, and it’s time for renewed collaboration between all players involved in the delivery of content to the home.
Brent Smith is president and chief technology officer of Evolution Digital.
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Primetime Ratings: ‘Voice’ Wins the Night for NBC
By Daniel Holloway 12 March 2014
The Voice drew a 3.4 rating among adults 18-49 Tuesday night, according to Nielsen overnight ratings, making it the evening’s top broadcast show. The mark was a season low for the music competition, which declined 17% from last week. About a Boy declined 16% to 2.1. Growing Up Fisher declined 5% to 1.8. Chicago Fire grew 5% to 2.0. NBC was the night’s top network with a 2.4 and an 8 share.
ABC finished second with a 1.4/4. Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. grew 11% from last week to 2.0. The Goldbergs was even with last week at 1.5. Trophy Wife was up 13% from last week at 0.9. Mind Games increased 50% from last week to 0.9.
CBS aired reruns to finish third with a 1.3/4.
Fox finished fourth with a 1.1/3. Glee declined one tenth from last week, tying a series low at 0.9. New Girl was down 13% from last week at 1.3. Brooklyn Nine-Nine fell one tenth to 1.2.
The CW finished with a 0.7/2. The Originals increased one tenth from last week to 0.9, and drew a 0.8 in the network’s target 18-34 demo. The network also reran an episode of Supernatural.
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Australian True Crime Mysteries
Police call off search for Donald Mackay's remains
NFSA ID:
This clip is a brief excerpt from a Ten News at Five report from June 2013.
After 36 years, the latest search for the remains of anti-drugs campaigner and aspiring politician Donald Mackay proves fruitless and police decide to call it off.
Mackay went missing in 1977 from the central NSW town of Griffith in what appeared to be a retaliation against him by local drug syndicates. Mackay's van was found abandoned in a parking lot with bullet holes and blood stains on it, but his body was never found.
A known hitman, James Frederick Bazley, served time for conspiring to murder Mackay, while a Royal Commission named six men who possibly ordered the killing. However, no person has ever been charged with his actual murder.
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Kirk Muller | #22
LW | 6' 0" | 205 lb
1,349 357 602 959 -147
Kirk Muller
Born: February 8, 1966
Birthplace: Kingston, ON, CAN
Shoots: Left
Draft: 1984 NJD, 1st rd, 2nd pk (2nd overall)
View Player Bio +
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NHL Career 1,349 357 602 959 -147 1,228 134 310 12 25 47 5 2,792 12.8
Kirk Muller News
Red vs White Postgame Q and A
Scrum: Kirk Muller
The CHat: Muller & Ott
Muller's return to Montreal
Future Goals launch
Kirk Muller Awards
1992-1993 Montréal Canadiens
Kirk Muller Bio
Muller had a 19-season NHL career that included winning a Stanley Cup championship with the Montreal Canadiens in 1993. But he's likely to be remembered by many as the player taken No. 2 in the 1984 NHL Draft (by the New Jersey Devils) after Mario Lemieux was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins at No. 1.
The Devils selected Muller after he had 94 points (31 goals, 63 assists) in 49 games for Guelph of the Ontario Hockey League in 1983-84, as well as playing for Canada at the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics. He quickly became a cornerstone player in New Jersey, helping the Devils advance to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in 1987-88, his first season as captain, by scoring 37 goals and finishing with 94 points.
Muller scored 31 and 30 goals in the next two seasons. But after he dropped to 19 in 1990-91, the Devils traded him to the Montreal Canadiens on Sept. 20, 1991.
Muller quickly became a favorite in Montreal and his scoring touch also returned; he finished with 77 points (36 goals, 41 assists) in 1991-92, matched his goal, assist and point totals from 1987-88 in 1992-93 and followed that by scoring 10 goals and finishing with 17 points in 20 games to help the Canadiens win the Stanley Cup.
Muller never approached those offensive totals again. He was named captain of the Canadiens for the 1994-95 season, but was traded to the New York Islanders on April 5, 1995, beginning a stretch that saw him traded three times in less than two years. He reached the 20-goal mark for the final time in 1996-97, when he played 66 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs before being traded to the Florida Panthers.
After two more seasons with the Panthers, Muller became a free agent and signed with the Dallas Stars on Dec. 15, 1999. He made it back to the Stanley Cup Final in 2000, although the Stars lost to the Devils in six games, and played four seasons for Dallas before officially announcing his retirement on Sept. 2, 2003. Muller finished with 959 points (357 goals, 602 assists) in 1,349 NHL games, and 69 points (33 goals, 36 assists) in 127 playoff games.
Muller joined the Canadiens coaching staff as an assistant in 2006. He coached the Carolina Hurricanes from 2011-14, but they failed to make the playoffs in any of his three seasons. He rejoined the Canadiens as an associate coach in 2016.
NOTES & TRANSACTIONS
Played in NHL All-Star Game (1985, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1993)
Traded to Montreal by New Jersey with Roland Melanson for Stephane Richer and Tom Chorske, September 20, 1991.
Traded to NY Islanders by Montreal with Mathieu Schneider and Craig Darby for Pierre Turgeon and Vladimir Malakhov, April 5, 1995.
Traded to Toronto by NY Islanders with Don Beaupre to complete transaction that sent Damian Rhodes and Ken Belanger to NY Islanders (January 23, 1996), January 23, 1996.
Traded to Florida by Toronto for Jason Podollan, March 18, 1997.
Signed as a free agent by Dallas, December 15, 1999.
Claimed by Columbus from Dallas in Waiver Draft, September 28, 2001.
Traded to Dallas by Columbus for the rights to Evgeny Petrochinin, September 28, 2001.
Officialy announced his retirement, September 2, 2003.
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Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Classes
Introduction More than 75% of the teenagers that get pregnant do not have the plans to start a family, which means that their pregnancies are consequential to their sexual habits. According to data collected by end of last year, 2013, for every 1,000 female adolescents between the age of 15 and 19, there are on average about 26.6 births that take place. This translates to more than 270000 births, born to teenage girls. These are all births that occur outside any formal marriage institution, but, among teenagers playing around. While this figure may be quite high, there has bee a lot of improvements that have been recorded for the last two decades since 1991. In the year 1991, the birth rate was above 61.8 for every 1000 teenagers between the ages 15 and 19 (Office of Adolescent Health, 2014). This translates to more than 50% reduction in the teenage pregnancies rate. This has been due to the massive campaign efforts tat have gone into sex education and programs aimed at reducing the rate of teenagers getting pregnant including the use of contraceptives. However, while the figure may have reduced over the last two decades, this is still too high compared to other developed nations such as United Kingdom and Canada. Ironically, one in six of the births reported, is a repeat pregnancy
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Movie Churches
Not reviewing movies, not reviewing churches...Reviewing the Churches and Clergy in Movies
Michigan movies on the big screen
The Insanity of God
I was tempted to tattle-tale on the church group. They were in good spirits, obviously excited to be together to see a film promoted by their church, so someone was taking a group photo INSIDE THE THEATER. I witnessed this just moments after I had just been helpfully informed by a Regal theater (assistant?) manager that it’s against Regal policy to take photos inside the building.
I was attempting to take a picture of a display promoting the Regal Theater Membership program, but apparently it’s a secret club, and they don’t want too many people knowing about it. Because secret societies are cool. So, naturally, when I saw people taking pictures inside a theater, I was concerned. What if these people were corporate spies pretending to take a fun group shot but actually scouting out top secret information about Regal Cinema’s seating configurations? I took a risk, gave them the benefit of the doubt, and didn’t report them.
The group, like us, was there to see the first feature film from LifeWays Films, The Insanity of God. LifeWay is a media organization under the auspices of the Southern Baptist Church. (LifeWays used to have a quarterly publication of skits and dramas for church use, and they published some of my work. So obviously they are good people.)
The film is a documentary about Nic and Ruth Ripkin, former missionaries to Africa, based on their book of the same name. The couple narrates the film, telling their life story and about interviews they have conducted with Christians persecuted for their faith. I’m sorry to say that, as a film, The Insanity of God would make a fine series of podcasts.
For some reason Nic and Ruth’s faces are photographed in shadows throughout the film. I assumed they were afraid that if their faces were seen, it would hinder their ministry in the parts of the world where the church is persecuted. But old photos of Nic and Ruth appear frequently. I was concerned that even though their faces were photographed in shadows, a government agency that wanted to know what they really looked like could enhance the lighting of the film. Then my thinking went another direction, and I thought perhaps they had been tortured for their faith. Perhaps their faces were hideously deformed, so they kept them hidden. But at the end of the film, the couple is interviewed with normal lighting, and I realized that there was really no good reason for their faces to be hidden throughout the film. It was just an annoying distraction. As was the fact that the title was never explained.
The film used some dramatic reenactments of events in the couple’s life. From photos we see that Nic in his younger years was bearded and wore glasses and was slightly gawky. But he is portrayed in the reenactments by an actor who looks very much like Chris Pine (Captain Kirk from the new Star Trek films). The same actor portrays Nic throughout several decades of life without aging. This is really the way to do it. If anyone makes a film of my life, I want them to use a young Chris Pratt impersonator to portray me in my 30’s, 40’s and 50’s.
The film does tell some powerful stories of Christians who were persecuted in the 20th century and who continue to be persecuted in Communist and Muslim nations. There is an amazing story of a man in the Soviet Union who was jailed for years. He began every day in prison with a song. The song is performed in the film by Todd Smith, an American Christian singer. In one of several of the film’s epilogues, Smith admits he doesn’t speak Russian and isn’t sure he pronounced things properly. I was curious why they didn’t hire, oh, I don’t know, perhaps a Russian to sing a Russian song. And the song is never, even through subtitles, translated into English for the audience.
Since it is a Baptist film there is, of course, an altar call at the end of the film. After a couple of hours of Nic Ripkin narrating his own story, a LifeWays executive interviews Nic and Ruth Ripkin on camera. Then the pastor turns to the audience and asks if anyone has been led by the film to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. (I do think the percentage of non-Christians who made it to the one-night-only screenings of this film was substantially lower than the percentage of non-Christians who attend an average screening of Suicide Squad, but you never know.)
The pastor on the screen then closes the film in prayer. As the pastor prays, he closes his eyes. Which made me think, should I be closing my eyes even though this isn’t a live prayer? I wondered, did the cameraman close his eyes when the pastor prayed? Did the film editor close his eyes? Could I possibly be the first one watching this footage of this pastor praying? And come to think of it, is there anywhere in the Bible where we are instructed to close our eyes when we pray? This is a film that really made me think.
I admire the Ripkins and the bold believers they interviewed. But this film did not present their story very effectively.
And I do hope you notice that we honored the policy of this Regal Theater and did not post any pictures of the inside of the theater. Perhaps they have this policy because they believe their theater is not properly abiding by sanitation codes and if pictures are posted online, inspectors will close the theater down. Perhaps the employees of this theater would be embarrassed if their families knew they worked for a Regal Cinema. Perhaps this Regal Cinema is used for nefarious criminal activities. We just don’t know the reason for this no photos inside the theater policy, but gosh darn it, we’re going to honor it.
Posted by churchandstates at 6:25 AM
Christmas Movie Churches Repost: The Bishop's Wife and The Preacher's Wife
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50 State Trip Half Way Point - The TV Shows
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Christmas Movies Month: In Theaters Now: Lady Bird
Lady Bird (2017) Lady Bird , a new coming of age story written and directed by Greta Gerwig , opens with a quote from Joan Didion , “A...
Courageous (2011)
I watched Courageous in the most difficult of circumstances for watching a Christian film: in a church. Home video is ideal for watching...
Middle Ages Month: Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) People don’t take comedy seriously enough . When someone’s offended by the material in a comedy, ...
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As always, we're here to talk about the church in The Genesis Code , not the movie itself, but I have to address a couple of other th...
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There is usually something exciting about seeing your hometown mentioned on TV or in a movie. Usually. In the end credits of " Spotl...
Vampire Movie Month: From Dusk Till Dawn
From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) Sometimes, you expect that a salesperson isn’t telling the truth, and that’s alright. For some people, buyi...
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There's not much church in this docudrama of the life of Stephen Hawking , and one assumes that's would be fine with him. When St...
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Western Movie Churches: Sweetwater and 5 Card Stud
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Do political cartoonists really make a difference when it comes to general elections? The former leader of the Labour party, Neil Kinnock, who suffered greatly at the hands of cartoonists during his two election defeats in 1987 and 1992, certainly believed so. According to Kinnock, "political cartoonists are pre-eminent image makers and breakers and, because of that, they wield real power." The legendary editor of the Daily Mirror, Hugh Cudlipp also believed it. He thought that Phillip Zec's cartoon, depicting a wounded war-weary British soldier holding the laurels of peace on the front page of the Daily Mirror, played a major role in winning Labour the 1945 General Election. The cartoon itself was a blunt reminder of David Lloyd George's promise to build "a land fit for heroes" after the First World War. A promise he had not kept, and, by implication, nor would the Tories.
Lord Beaverbrook, who owned the Daily Express and the Evening Standard, also believed that cartoons were a powerful weapon at election time. He was the first proprietor of a newspaper to give a cartoonist a contract which gave them complete freedom in the selection and treatment of their subject matter when he employed David Low on the Evening Standard in 1927. Up until then, cartoonists had been strictly expected to support the editorial line of their respective newspaper. Beaverbrook, a Tory Peer, generally honoured his agreement with Low, whose own politics were more in line with those on the Left. However, at general elections Low's apparent freedoms were severely reined in by Beaverbrook. He was happy for Low to ridicule and attack the then Tory prime minister Stanley Baldwin, of whom the maverick Tory Peer hated in any case. However, during an election period this was unacceptable as Low's cartoons may have actually influenced the electorate into voting against the Tories. During the 1929, 1931 and 1935 general elections, Low had numerous cartoons ridiculing the Tories refused publication. Other cartoons of his were also altered so as to appear as if the cartoons were attacking all three main parties rather than just the Conservatives. During the 1945 election, Low strangely disappeared for two weeks. The Evening Standard explained this by telling its readership that Low's 'health had compelled him to take a rest by the sea…' Daily Express journalist and later Labour MP, Tom Driberg, for one thought it 'suspicious'. It was remarkable, to say the least. Low was missing the first General Election in ten years; one which offered the electorate the chance to decide who would rebuild Britain after the war. Other left-wing cartoonists felt it was an opportunity of a lifetime, and as a result, threw themselves into it. Again, according to Hugh Cudlipp, Zec, for example, "worked overtime" during the 1945 election.
David Low, and to a lesser extent his successor at the Evening Standard, Vicky, was an exception to the rule. The vast majority of cartoonists were and still remain in sympathy with the political line their respective newspapers follow. Those who vehemently disagree with their paper's editorial line tend to not last very long. As Neil Kinnock has said, "whatever their personal political convictions, cartoonists have usually been flag carriers for the preferences and prejudices of the newspapers employing them." Whatever the politics of the paper, the vast majority of cartoonists today admit to being varying degrees left of centre. As a result, they generally prefer it from a professional perspective when the Tories are in power, even though most would prefer a Labour government. It is naturally easier, as a commentator of political events, to be against something rather than for it. Cartoonists react to events and are therefore reactive not proactive. Otherwise they would just become dull and repetitive propagandists for the cause, as Sir Osbert Lancaster, the legendary pocket cartoonist once suggested:
"It's okay when you're in opposition. When you have to be for something then they all fall flat on their faces. Even Low – those splendid attacks on Hitler, Mussolini and the Tories – then he occasionally had to do an idealistic picture of happy young workers marching into the dawn – like a soap ad."
There have only been a few cartoonists who have actively supported the Tories, such as Leslie Illingworth, Sidney Strube and most notably, Michael Cummings. The latter was once described by his editor at the Daily Express, Derek Jameson, as being 'slightly to the right of Attila the Hun'. The two big guns of current British cartooning, Steve Bell and Peter Brookes are well established enough to attack whomever they wish. Both claim to have taken a partisan approach towards Labour in the past, although Brookes admits to having had "one dalliance with the SDP and didn't vote for Miliband this time round." Yet, despite this he and Bell have never felt any qualms about attacking the Labour leadership even at election time. In comparison, Christian Adams describes himself as apolitical which is surprising for a political cartoonist. He says that despite the Daily Telegraph being a Tory newspaper, it enjoys his "plague on all your houses" approach. Adams believes following one political line makes you "boring and repetitive" in what you have to say. Dave Brown is another cartoonist who is also free to attack whomever he likes, but mainly due to The Independent claiming it is, well, independent supporting neither Labour, LibDem, Ukip or Tory. According to Brown, "I have no intention either to promote or refrain from criticising one party or another." However, even at the Independent, one has to work within the confines of appearing impartial. Peter Schrank found himself in hot water after 'going native' during the 1997 election, as he later recalled:
"I got quite excited about Tony Blair and New Labour. I remember waking up on Friday 8 May quite delirious with excitement and lack of sleep. The first rough I submitted to the Independent on Sunday was deemed ‘creepy’, i.e. too enthusiastic. After many other futile attempts, Stephen Fay, the then deputy editor suggested I should calm down and consider the possibility that this might not be the best thing that had ever happened. He was right, of course. Of all the politicians I’ve drawn I think I’ve disliked Tony Blair the most."
Many cartoonists generally have to take a more pragmatic, politically flexible approach to general elections depending on the politics of the paper they work for. Michael Cummings started off on Tribune before he started on the Daily Express, Bob Moran went from the Morning Star to the Daily Telegraph. Stanley Franklin during his long career also worked for two diametrically opposed newspapers, the Daily Mirror in the 1960s and the Sun in the 1970s and 1980s. Franklin had no trouble in changing sides so to speak and vilified both Labour and the Tories depending on who he was working for at the time. Steve Bright, like Franklin, has also worked for newspapers both on the left and right of the political divide, but, as with Adams, he dislikes all politicians and has no problem in following the editorial direction of the newspaper:
"There's no huge difference really. When I was with the Daily Record there was never any doubt about which direction I had to take back then. The Record had always been a staunch Socialist newspaper, and they were obviously backing Blair during the two elections I covered (1997 and 2001). I just ramped up the Tory-bashing in the run-up to both. This time, it was obviously the other way around, with a few others thrown in alongside hapless Ed. Since I generally loathe all politicians fairly equally as politicians, and love them all fairly equally as cartoon fodder, it's all good for me!"
Those cartoonists who are supportive of the newspaper they work for, naturally relish the opportunity to be partisan. The only big drawback is that it could be argued that they are only preaching to the converted, thereby diminishing any influence they may have on the result of an election. Steve Bell's predecessor at The Guardian, Les Gibbard, believed this to be true: "It's easy for us as we identify popular prejudices and push at an open door. Cabinet ministers may read The Guardian but not many Tory voters do." However, today, with the advent of social media, things are very different. Cartoons can now be regularly seen by a much wider audience with different and diverse political opinions. Christian Adams told me that he now gets comments about his cartoons from those on the Left who would never dream of picking up a copy of the Daily Telegraph. Thanks to Twitter, Facebook and political online bloggers, cartoons copied and pasted (generally without copyright approval) from newspaper websites are now, as a consequence, seen by people of all political persuasions,
Cartoonists seem to thrive during general elections because it is a time when the public tend to focus far more attention on politics. Steve Bell told me that he loves elections, "it's a great time for the politically obsessed like me. I also get to see them (politicians) in the round and up close." Bell also states he "enjoy all the daft stuff between the cracks." I got a similar response from Christian Adams. It is the theatre of it all that pleases him most: "It's a time when politicians come out and are prepared to put their heads above the parapet. It's a great opportunity to be really cruel to them." Peter Schrank believes that general elections are a "bit like Punch and Judy on steroids. During an election the sometimes tedious cut and thrust and daily bitchiness of UK politics can become exciting and relevant." Whilst Scott Clissold compares it to Budget day but stretched out over four to five weeks. According to Ingram Pinn, "UK politicians are even more likely to make fools of themselves in the run up to an election and the usual crass advertising campaigns provide a lot of imagery to mock. MP's have to actually leave their cosy nests in Westminster and meet some of their stroppy constituents for a change which often leaves them reeling in panic."
For other cartoonists who are not overtly political, general elections are an opportunity for them to be so. MAC who tends to look on the social and humorous side of British life, finds that at election time his cartoons tend to focus far more on politics. Whilst Ingram Pinn at the Financial Times gets more of a chance to focus on British politics, as most of his cartoons have normally to be of an "international" nature rather than on the domestic political scene.
At election time, some cartoonists take the opportunity to be part of the media scrum that closely follows the party leaders around on their campaign tours. Apart from the party conferences, It is a great chance to see up close how the main propagandists behave and react. However, during the 2010 election, Steve Bell got closer than he could ever have imagined. At a motorway service station on the Tory campaign trail, he literally bumped into Tory leader David Cameron who confronted him and, according to the cartoonist, said:
"The condom, where does that come from? and I said it was to do with the smoothness of his complexion. He seemed genuinely interested, claiming to have enjoyed the one I'd drawn of him that day as a large sausage on a butcher's weighing machine. I said he wasnt supposed to, and ventured to ask what drugs he was on for this lunatic election marathon. He laughed and said he'd just bought a Patricia Cornwell novel to put himself to sleep on the bus."
Not all cartoonists like to be part of the media pack during an election. Dave Brown is one cartoonist who likes to keep his distance mainly for practical reasons. He feels that the drawback of being on the campaign trail, just like at party conferences, is that you can risk picking up an idea for your cartoon which the reader is unlikely to comprehend. This is primarily because, although being on the campaign may give the cartoonist plenty more material, the general public are at best likely to only see a few seconds of actual coverage and are unlikely to pick up on the reference to the story in the cartoon.
This last election, as in 1992, proved a difficult one for the cartoonists as the pollsters once again got it badly wrong. For weeks, cartoonists, influenced by the apparent dead heat in the polls between Labour and Tory, drew cartoons depicting a hung parliament after the election. Bob Moran, for one, believed the pollsters' predictions gave him limited options when it came to covering the election: "I had been looking forward to the election as it was to be my first since becoming a cartoonist. However, a boring campaign and a seemingly predictable outcome made the whole thing feel quite disappointing." However, the exit polls on election day changed all that. Again, according to Moran: "Everything changed when the shock result was announced. All the roughed out ideas based on coalition talks were screwed up, along with the careers of many of the people I'd been drawing for the last five years. So, in the end, it turned out to be a very exciting election to cover."
As Bob Moran has just touched upon, the most testing cartoon to draw during an election is actually the one drawn on polling day for the next day's newspaper. Having to predict a scenario for the morning after can be full of pitfalls at the best of times. Peter Brookes states you cannot afford to "take a punt" in case you get it badly wrong and end up with egg on your face. So that is probably why the day after the 2015 election with the Conservatives gaining a surprise majority in the House of Commons, no single cartoonist attempted to have predicted the result. Again, influenced by the pollsters, they all hedged their bets on a hung parliament. In the past, some cartoonists have been brave or foolish enough to risk getting Close up of Les Gibbard's original cartoon for the 1970 general election showing the head of Harold Wilson replaced with the head of Edward Heath following Heath’s unexpected victory.the right result. For example, on the day of the June 1970 general election, Les Gibbard, believing, as the polls suggested, a Labour win, did "take a punt" and drew a cartoon of Harold Wilson as a Jack-in-the-box popping out of the ballot box. When it was realised that Edward Heath had unexpectedly won, Gibbard was forced to quickly adapt the first cartoon, superimposing Edward Heath’s head on top of Wilson's. If the election seems to be a tight one, as we have just seen this past year, cartoonists, as I have said, play it safe. At the 2010 election, this approach paid dividends for Andy Davey in the Sun as he later recalled:
"I had drawn a non-committal cartoon for The Sun since we didn't know what the election result was going to be. So I drew the party leaders all exhausted after having beaten each other up in a Polling Station fight. As they lie there with black eyes, they all share the same thought bubble "Now what?". Nobody knew what to expect and the result was not clear even by Friday morning, so, luckily for me, it turned out to be pretty correct. Paddy Ashdown went on to the Today programme and said: "I don't normally advocate anyone to do this but I urge all readers to go out, buy themselves a copy of The Sun and turn to the cartoon on page 8 which summarises the situation perfectly". This was against the grain because of his chequered history with the paper ("Paddy Pantsdown" etc.). Thank you Paddy."
These days, political parties try their best to manage their parliamentary candidates, during an election campaign. They are warned not to say or do anything untoward which may in any way lessen their chances of winning. Cartoonists find this increasingly frustrating. With candidates, unable to freely speak their minds whilst watching their every word can make commentating on elections, not only difficult but increasingly dull and tedious too. According to Scott Clissold:
"Everything is so stage managed and controlled now during campaigns that it can be a Godsend when something interesting happens. Even if it's John Prescott punching the protester or the Gordon Brown and Mrs Duffy 'bigot' incident. Most campaigns are pretty boring though which is probably how the politicians prefer them."
In comparison to previous campaigns, Peter Brookes also found the last election boring primarily because the candidates were "on message and only invited supporters were allowed at leaders' events." According to Brookes, "I enjoy all election campaigns, so I am enjoying this one... to an extent. It's easily the dullest (so far) that I've worked through, and I just wish something would HAPPEN. Somehow, the fuss generated by that idiot (Michael) Fallon isn't quite enough." Brookes did, however, find the election "much better later on, and of course the (election) night itself was anything but (boring)." Dave Brown thinks another reason elections have become duller is due to the almost total absence of advertising billboards. In the past, they could be seen all over the country plastered with party advertising. "They were great fun to parody" he says. Now, you get the odd mobile van advert, but the imagery is not around long enough to get into the public's conscientiousness.
Because elections are being so effectively stage managed, journalists and cartoonists find they have to work that much harder. At the last election, there was so little to report on, that the Evening Standard even found space to run a story on Peter Brookes's depiction of Ed Balls and Ed Miliband as Wallace and Grommit. The paper alleged that Nick Park of Aardman Productions was becoming increasingly unhappy with Brookes's misuse of his characters. Park, a Labour supporter, felt his creation was being used to damage Ed Miliband's chances of becoming Prime Minister. When I spoke to Brookes, he told me someone who had read the story had rang up Aardman to see if it was true. It turned out not to be as, according to the cartoonist, Aardman Productions were "apparently perfectly happy about me continuing to do it."
Under the old electoral system, Prime Ministers would successfully, albeit for 1970, go to the country a year early if they thought there was a good chance of winning. This, according to Martin Rowson made previous elections boring and predictable as he recalls here:
"In the past its been mainly boring. 1987 foregone; 1992 depressing; 1997 foregone but exhilarating (fresh meat); 2001 boring; 2005 boring and depressing; 2010 foregone but embarrassing, with a nice surprise at the end. I liked 2010 because it gave me an opportunity to engage in a step change with the creation of Clegnocchio. At a deeper level, I think I can date my current feeling of furious ennui to last May, when we should have had an election: every parliament since 1979 has been four years, except Major & Brown, which dragged on cos they knew they'd lose, so the final year was excitingly grim and slapstick chaotic. This time, my inner satirist has been yearning for nine months for fresh meat (which every new govt is, even if same party), hence my fury at how boring it all is."
Martin's wish for "fresh meat" after an election resonates with many cartoonists. It offers them the refreshing challenge of working on new faces and characters thrown up either by a new incoming government or changes within an existing Cabinet. Many tire of having to continue drawing the same old faces year after year. Ingram pinn thinks "there is pleasure in seeing some of them booted out by the voters." For Steve Bell, the 2015 election result was a double whammy. Not only did Labour lose badly, but he has to continue depicting David Cameron as Prime Minister which appears to irk him. According to Bell:
"The election was a disaster. Now we've got Cameron for another five years. I'm so fed up with drawing that cunt!"
Of course it can also work the other way, as Scott Clissold explains; "it might be the last time you get to draw a bunch of politicians you really love drawing or have only just got a good handle on capturing." After the last election, Peter Brookes had mixed feelings about losing his most successful cartoon creation so far, when the Shadow Chancellor, Ed Balls lost his seat and Ed Miliband resigned as Labour leader. His depiction of them as Wallace and Gromit had been hugely successful, frequently mentioned in the House of Commons as well as receiving widespread coverage in the media. Brookes did say that despite losing Miliband and Balls, there had been limitations to what he could do with them as Wallace and Gromit without besmirching what, in essence, is a children's favourite. Most cartoonists were sad to see Ed Miliband go as he offered them such wonderful material with those big panda eyes and teeth that went on for ever. However, the bacon sandwich and the 'Ed stone' moments were themselves beyond parody. According to Bob Moran, "It's nice to have some new faces to draw but Ed Miliband had been my favourite subject and, from that point of view alone, I was sorry to see the back of him." In comparison, no one was sad to see Nick Clegg resign as Libdem leader after his party's disastrous showing at the election. Despite, as Dave Brown has said "everyone had developed their own version of Nick Clegg", it has been a constant struggle for all of them to get a good likeness of him. This most put down to the apparent blandness of his facial features.
So do political cartoonists really make a difference at election time? The answer is probably not. What they do do is to entertain us by visually illuminating the major election issues and incidents. They also add colour, vitriol and great humour to the proceedings. Without them, general elections would simply be far less fun and, undeniably, far less interesting.
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Nancy J Dudney (2015)
For her leadership in the research and development of thin-film energy-storage systems; for advancing the understanding of the architectures, materials, and in-service dynamics of thin-film and 3D batteries; and for her leadership in the development of the lipon electrolyte.
Lonnie J Love (2015)
For his extensive contributions to large-scale and high-speed advanced manufacturing and 3-D printing; for blending additive manufacturing with fluid-powered systems to develop lightweight, high-dexterity, and low-cost prosthetics; and for his tireless mentoring of students at all levels in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
David C Radford (2015)
David C. Radford
“For pioneering nuclear structure studies with radioactive ion beams, development of innovative software for gamma ray spectroscopy, and significant contributions to gamma ray tracking detectors.”
Jon A Kreykes (2009)
For far-reaching accomplishments on national security issues relating to nuclear weapons proliferation, security of nuclear materials, and counterterrorism.
Virginia H Dale (2002)
For pioneering research in disturbance and landscape ecology and in modeling of land-use change with its implications for global changes, which have influenced environmental decision making on a worldwide scale.
Al Geist (2002)
For internationally recognized contributions in distributed and cluster computing, including the development of the Parallel Virtual Machine and the Message Passing Interface standard now widely used in science to solve computational problems in biology, physics, chemistry, and materials science.
Tony A Gabriel (2001)
For his internationally recognized accomplishments in high-energy physics, radiation transport, and detector and neutron target research and development.
Russ Knapp (1998)
For international leadership in developing innovative therapeutic and diagnostic applications of radionuclides for nuclear medicine.
Fred C Hartman (1988)
For advances in protein structure and enzyme mechanisms by use of affinity labeling and site-directed mutagenesis.
(-) Active Research Fellow (5)
(-) Emeritus Research Fellow (4)
Former Research Fellow (7)
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L. G. Christophorou (1990)
For innovative and fundamental contributions to the understanding of the interactions and transport of electrons in gases and liquids, negative ion processes, the interfacing of the gaseous and condensed phases of matter, and the use of fundamental knowledge in the development of gaseous dielectrics, radiation detectors, and pulsed power
Ralph M Moon (1990)
For fundamental studies of the microscopic structure of magnetic materials using neutron scattering methods, and for contributing to the development of neutron polarization analysis as a productive scientific technique.
Rufus H Ritchie (1990)
For fundamental studies in radiation physics, radiation dosimetry, and surface physics and for pioneering theoretical work on collective electron modes, surface electromagnetic waves in solids, and elucidation of the interaction of charged particles with matter.
Liane B Russell (1988)
For discoveries of fundamental importance in mammalian genetics, as well as for studies of genetic and developmental effects in mice, which have provided a broad basis for assessment of the genetic risk to humans from radiation and chemicals, including the development of genetic and early developmental tests now used worldwide.
Sheldon Datz (1988)
For applying molecular beam techniques to study chemically reactive collisions, helping to lay the foundation for the present field of chemical dynamics, and for pioneering studies in accelerator-based atomic physics, ion-solid interactions, and the channeling of ions, electrons and positrons in crystalline solids.
(-) Former Research Fellow (7)
(-) Senior Corporate Fellow (5)
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Give It All Away
Shindig Magazine #68
A substantial Patto article by Marco Rossi in the June 2017 edition of this highly respected rock journal.
Not unreasonably, any discussion about tends to begin and end with the late PeLer "Ollie" Halsall, of whom the band's drummer, 'AdmiraI' John Halsey, sagely noted, "He may not have been the best guitarist in the world, but he was certainly in the top two. Ollie's freakish dexterity was comparable in achievement to free divers who can descend to a depth of 100 metres and hold their breath for six days.
However, there was also an exhilarating. wilful, roughness about his playing - a reckless spontaneity. an impudence, a palpable wit. For sure, he possessed an incendiary, knee-buckling turn of speed but, unlike other contenders in the fastest-guitar shoot-out, Ollie's lines always bristled with exuberant passion. This applied whether it was an immaculate arc-of-the-heavens run unfettered by conventional harmonic and structural propriety, or a doggedly reiterated phrase. The guitar wasn't even his first instrument: Ollie' had hitherto been a vibraphone player by trade.
However, to merely define Patto as an expedient coat peg for Halsall's prodigious gift is a gross oversimplification. Here was a band with formidable collective chops, offset with a sense of humour so ingrained that their gigs were routinely punctuated with scurrilous, absurdist comedy routines. Would they have achieved mainstream success if they'd been able to take themselves, or anything, seriously? It's a moot point: but thinking of Patto as a kind of virtuosic Barron Knights is catastrophically wide of the mark.
XTC's Andy Partridge, a major fan, remarks, "Pretty much everything that Patto recorded is shockingly, wonderfully played. It's stellar on every level. You're often not listening to the construction of the tune, you're listening to the way they pull it apart.
Like a set of really talented wreckers! That's kind of what Patto were."
The Patto parable begins with Timebox, formerly The Take 5, who relocated from Southport to London in October 1966. By the time the band crossed paths with the 22year-old John Halsey, at that point
drumming with a soul band called Felder's Orioles, the Timebox line-up boasted Halsall on vibraphone, bassist Clive Griffiths, keyboardist "Professor" Chris Holmes, guitarist Kevan Fogarty and new recruit Mike Patto (born Michael Pat rick McCarthy), formerly the vocalist in the last line-up of The Bo Street Runners.
Halsey's route into Timebox was facilitated via that most de rigueur ' 60s rite of passage: placing an advert in the Melody Maker. "When I was with Felder's Orioles, we all went professional and jacked our jobs in, but that only lasted a couple of months. Everybody went back to work except for the guitarist and myself! I put an advert in the Melody Maker saying that I was looking for a band to join."
Fortuitously, Halsey's phone rang almost immediately. "Timebox's manager, Laurie Jay, phoned me up. Timebox were playing at The Scotch Of St James, and he asked if I could go down and sit in. I said 'Okay,' so I put on my grooviest flares and my biggest kipper tie and set off. I got there, and it was very dark and dingy. The band were onstage, and Mike Patto was playing drums! Not terribly well, but he could get away with it.
"So, anyway, I went up and played. I was a bit disillusioned about my performance: it was a strange drum kit, and I hate doing anything where I'm being examined. But they still phoned the next day, saying, 'Do you wanna join the band?' They picked me up the same day, and we went straight off to play three one-hour spots at the Lakenheath air base."
And so it was that Timebox, "One of the best discotheque and club groups currently gassing the public," according to a faintly alarmist Melody Maker write-up in March '68, became essentially inescapable. "We were literally working seven nights a week," notes Halsey, "doing London clubs like The Revolution, The Bag 0' Nails, The Scotch Of St James, a support spot at The Marquee on a Tuesday, an~ also air bases like Lakenheath and Bentwaters.
However, the Rubenesque plumpness of the Timebox gig diary didn't necessarily compel punters to buy the records: only their glowing July '68 version of The Four Seasons' 'Beggin" infiltrated the Top 40, and the goalposts were moving both within the band and in the wider world. Halsey takes a deep breath.
"Ollie wanted to play guitar, so Laurie Jay's partner, a guy named Laurie Boost, bought Ollie a guitar. And then Kevan was sort of rowed out - nothing to do with me, I was an innocent party. We soon had a really nice repertoire going: something to be proud of, but it was all other people's numbers. And then the progressive thing came in, and Ollie's guitar playing started to get ... pretty advanced!
"We began writing our own numbers, but Chris Holmes wasn't keeping up with it, so it was explained to Chris that we needed to carry on without him. There again, that was nothing to do with me, it was down to Ollie and Clive. A pretty hard decision, but when you're a business, hard decisions have to be made sometimes."
Holmes would subsequently flex his chops when he joined Harvest label proggers Babe Ruth in the '70s. For his erstwhile Timebox bandmates, meanwhile, their rebirth as Patto was effected by degrees as their original material began to coalesce. "You couldn't really call them songs," chuckles Halsey, "they were 'compositions'. Some were pretty abstract avant-garde things. This was at the time of progressive music, as it was labelled, and it was quite in vogue: and the band as musicians just got better and better."
Judging by Patto's eponymous debut album, released on Vertigo in November '70, an ornery, unruly beast with uncanny telepathic powers had suddenly lurched to its feet. Soul and R&B inflections still informed Mike Patto's emphatic, roughcast vocals; and on stage, the pathological urge to "loon", in the parlance of the day, was if anything taking on a manic aspect (twist competitions, slavering Elvis impersonations, the works). However, the free-jazz improvisation, algebraic time signatures and oblique chord sequences seemed to have sprung from approximately nowhere, salted with a generous measure of pub carpet dirt.
Blossom Toes and BB Blunder guitarist Brian Godding, who became a good friend of Ollie's, remembers the transformation well. "The first time I saw Timebox was at a festival where the Blossies were also playing [Possibly the August '67 National Jazz & Blues Festival, Windsor]. At that time Ollie was mainly playing vibes, but did play some guitar on the Telecaster he'd recently obtained - nothing particularly outlandish.
"The next time I saw them was at The
Rainbow when they had become Patto. Ollie had acquired his legendary white Gibson SG Custom by then, and the band had morphed from a semi-soul outfit into a free-form jazz-rock quartet! Ollie had a fantastic tone, going through a Fender Princeton and Fender Bassman 4x10 combo linked together. .. and when he let rip, it was mind-boggling, like Charlie Parker meets Jerry Lee Lewis!
"I'd never, ever heard anything like it: it just made me laugh with pleasure. The whole band was manna from heaven."
Patto's debut album stands up well as a primer for their unreasonable strength as a unit: witness the extra-sensory interplay of 'Red Glow', the determinedly exploratory 'Money Bag' and Ollie's lambent vibes solo in 'The Man'. In passing, the album also highlights Patto's propensity for pitching curve balls: a tendency that can only have inhibited their saleability. 'Hold Me Back', for example, almost qualifies as generic, flailing blues-rock, if you're prepared to overlook Halsey and Griffiths' furious but sophisticated extemporisation - the jazz-rock Geezer and Bill. Similarly, 'San Antone' could pass as good-time, punter-friendly boogie were it not for the beautifully illogical, right-angled tone clusters jammed into its spokes.
Those who described Patto as "The Faces with A-levels" had a point, up to a point - but it's more like The Faces having a series of jazz seizures and periodically lapsing into a transcendent fugue state.
In early '71, Clive Griffiths fell ill, resulting in erstwhile Jody Grind guitarist Bernie Holland being temporarily drafted, as Halsey recalls. "Clive had pleurisy, I think, or a collapsed lung. Bernie was always around at all the London gigs: he was very, very influenced by Ollie. We had a little tour booked of clubs in Holland and Germany - and Clive was laid up, so Bernie came with us and played bass.
"When we got back home, Clive got out of hospital and we thought it'd be nice to keep Bernie in the band, but it didn't really work out. Ollie was twiddling away like he did, and Bernie was more or less playing the same way, so the whole thing was terribly cluttered. But we were aware of that, and it didn't take long; Bernie knew what was going on anyway."
Holland was just one of several noteworthy guitarists captivated by Ollie's singular talent: Robert Fripp of King Crimson was another, as was Alvin Lee of Ten Years After - despite an ignominious entree when Patto supported TYA in Stockholm. "We went on and did our first song," remembers Halsey. "The place was packed, but when we reached the end of the number, the first we'd ever played in a huge auditorium, there was absolute silence. Nothing. Not one person applauded! "We all looked round at each other and thought: now what do we do? I remember Alvin Lee standing in the wings and watching Ollie with his mouth open: Ten Years After went on after us and were making excuses for not having played for a long time, but for us, it was still a really embarrassing situation."
In December '71, Patto's second album, Hold Your Fire, was released. Vertigo pushed the boat out with a gimmicky, interactive Roger Dean sleeve based on drawings supplied by the band, who would often while away interminable van journeys with games of "consequences". Ollie's compact starburst of a solo on 'Give It All Away' is tacitly acknowledged as one of his finest - and, therefore, one of the finest solos in the entire earthspan - while 'Air Raid Shelter', like 'Money Bag' on the debut album, represents an avant-jazz line in the sand. Andy Partridge admires "the way Ollie gets into the start of the solo section. He plays these very ... hexagonal-sounding runs, it's just this weird witchcraft coming out of the scales he's playing, and he hasn't even got into the ferocious stuff: he's just warming up and getting into it. It's permanently inspirational."
But if Hold Your Fire resounds with appropriately blazing ensemble performances, Mike Patto's lyrics and delivery had also gone up a gear. 'You, You Point Your Finger' issues a heartfelt rebuke to knee-jerking elders, while the title track wryly skewers naIve hippie idealism. "I spent three weeks making necklaces from oriental beads / They were stolen by my guru while I was high on glory seeds."
Intriguingly, Ollie's 'See You At The Dance Tonight' ("I can see you in your plain clothes, standing by the lake") references a brief, surreal phase when Timebox performed for royalty, as Halsey explains. "Christopher Soames, who became a Government minister, and his sister Emma grew to love the band and were always at The Scotch Of St James. Emma Soames booked us to appear at The British Embassy for her 21st birthday party. There were princes, princesses and high-falutin' people from all over the world there.
"We played this bloody party until about 6 o'clock in the morning, and then were invited to go to breakfast with Princess Alexandra and Angus Ogilvy, and Princess Anne, and so on.
And then we were asked to do another one at Crichel House, and we only got out of there by the skin of our teeth, because we were smoking joints down by the lake: the police suddenly realised what we were doing and came rushing down. They attempted to arrest us, but everything had been chucked away when we saw them coming, so we got away with it. I think Prince Charles was at that one."
Hold Your Fire's palpable brilliance somehow wasn't enough to persuade band managers Jay and Boost to keep the faith, so Patto balanced the books themselves throughout '72 until Joe Cocker's manager, Nigel Thomas, made overtures. "He wanted the Pattos to sign for his management company," Halsey remarks, "and the way he got us to sign was to offer us this Joe Cocker tour; quite a big thing."
Patto accordingly spent September '72 supportingJoe Cocker on a US tour that began in Detroit and concluded in Hawaii, before the touring party headed off for New Zealand and Australia, where Patto's ribald 5/4 version of 'Strangers In The Night' instantly aroused the ire of the authorities. Halsey, grinning, softly sings, "Strangers in the fuckin' night, exchanging fuckin' glances, wondering in the fuckin' night, what were the fuckin' chances, we'd be sharing fuckin' love before the fuckin' night was through ... It went like that. Australia in those days was really, really prudish, and when we came offstage in this massive auditorium we were met by the police and warned for obscenity: they were really serious about what wed done. Worse was to come when the tour reached Adelaide on October 14th.
"The police had already frisked everybody at customs when we first arrived," Halsey reflects, "and they were very suspicious. There was some dope flying about, and it didn't take long before they raided the hotel: the police knew all the room numbers and verything.
"Anyway, the Pattos and the road crew weren't on the list, but everyone else was busted for grass! They were all fined, and at the end of the court case, the judge asked if they had any tickets for the concert the next night because he wanted to bring his daughter. It was all rather amicable, really. But then, in a drunken fit one night, Joe got into all sorts of trouble in a hotel lobby and got arrested, and spent the night in the cell. We were put into hiding. All the Australian kids loved the 'flying in the face of the law' aspect. We eventually had to leave, and didn't finish the tour."
In October '72, the very same month that the Australian tour was hitting the wall, Patto's third album, Roll' Em Smoke 'Em Put Another Line Out, was released, this time on the Island label, where Patto's album producer Muff Winwood was head of A&R.
It's an oddly divisive item in the Patto canon, largely because it's less reliant overall on Ollie's inconceivable guitar than of yore. "With the first two, we gave it our all," asserts Halsey, "and they didn't do anything sales-wise, so I think we were a bit disillusioned when we went in to do the third album. Ollie mostly played piano on it, which he did just using two fingers, or three at most."
That said, the berserk 'Loud Green Song' contains the most extreme example of Halsall's untethered guitar work on record - great glittering shards of directed anarchy with no discernible tonal centre. That scalding pepperspray of notes is a defining proto-punk gesture: not only does it wish you'd fuck off, it wishes you'd fuck even further off, and more quickly. It expresses in one hit the complex compound emotions that were Patto's lot by '72; euphoria, frustration, immoderate highs and abyssal comedowns.
Roll 'Em's queasy, dissolute and vaguely subversive feel is strangely addictive. The defiantly frayed sprawl of 'Peter Abraham', 'Singing The Blues On Reds' (complete with vari-speeded, Les Paul-indebted guitar passages) and 'Flat Footed Woman' suggest Little Feat drooling and dangling from the very end of their tether, while Patto's larkish onstage demeanour is manifest in the improvised BDSM incest scenario of 'Mummy' and the Dadaist shanties of 'Cap'n P And The 'Attos'. However, if we're to extend the seafaring metaphor, the ship was taking on water.
"We were always tipped to reach the top," sighs Halsey. "We were always 'bubbling under', always on the verge of making it ... and we just never did. It was bloody hard, we still lived in rented rooms with bloody paraffin heaters; nobody could drive, nobody had a car: we just struggled for six years. We had quite a good following, but we were always the bridesmaids on big tours, always the support band to Ten Years After, or Heads Hands & Feet, or Joe Cocker, or Rod Stewart. Nobody ever got hold of us and said, 'Listen, do this and you can make yourselves a lot of money'."
Matters came to a head during the '73 recording of album number four. "Mike had the world's oldest Wurlitzer piano," remembers Halsey, "which we'd bought off somebody at a gig in Wolverhampton. I think we gave the guy the entire gig money for it, 40 quid. So Mike started learning on that. It had always been Ollie putting the musical side of it together, or Clive and I chipping-in. Mike was always the lyricist: but then Ollie started writing a few lyrics, and Mike started writing entire songs on his own, which was a great improvement when it came to a bit of appeal.
"So when we were in the studio recording [the unreleased album that came to be known as] Monkey's Bum, anything that Ollie wrote himself, or that Clive and I were involved with writing, Ollie played on like he normally played. But for anything that Mike had written on his own, Ollie was doing, like, one-string solos: it was all a bit schoolboy-ish. After about half a day of this, Mike said to him, 'What's going on?
What's the matter with you?' And Ollie said, 'I've had enough of it, I can't do this anymore', and he packed his guitar up and walked out.
"Mike Patto and I more or less finished the album, with Mel Collins putting on horn parts, but Muff Winwood said, 'I think Chris Blackwell's going to turn it down'. You know, 'Without Ollie you haven't really got a band'. Which we did realise: - we weren't completely dim! And that's: precisely what happened. There you go: two years later, Ollie and Mike put Boxer together and picked it up again. It was all a bit odd, but I really think we were heading in a direction where we'd have been in with a chance. "I mean, when we did that Joe Cocker tour, the reaction we got was phenomenal. And we came back from that, started doing Monkey's Bum with all the knowledge we'd gained from playing everything in 4/4, and not odd bars of 5/4 and 7/4 ... and then split up!"
Esoteric's long-anticipated release of the shelved Monkey's Bum bears out Halsey's belief. Ollie's playing sounds surprisingly committed, while 'Sugar Cube 1967', 'Hedyob', 'General Custer' and 'My Days Are Numbered' in particular fair sparkle with rogue charm.
Penury and lack of recognition may have gradually eroded their will, but allied to this was Halsall's seeming indifference regarding his gift and the tools required to disseminate it, as Brian Godding affirms. "I got the impression from Ollie that he didn't rate his own playing at all. In fact, once when I suggested to him that he should maybe go to America, he got really shirty, saying, 'Are you fucking joking? There are guys out there that can play these fucking things properly!' He always cited the likes of James Burton, but then sometimes he'd say he wanted to play the guitar like Ceci] Taylor. A very enigmatic lad, really.
"At one of Patto's gigs in The Country Club in Hampstead, I was having a beer - and things - with them backstage and his Gibson SG was leaning precariously up against the wall, so I moved it somewhere safer and asked if I could have a little noodle on it. What a mess it was: the frets were worn down to the bone, and the strings were so corroded that they cut into your fingers. How he played that and achieved what he did, I have no idea whatsoever."
Ollie would subsequently carve "Blue Traff" into the body of his SG with a penknife, a name (derived from the pastime of lighting flatulence) which he applied to an ad-hoc assemblage of musos, as Halsey explains.
"Mike and Ollie had been involved with this thing called Centipede, put together by Keith Tippett. It was a massive band, there was about bloody 30 or 40 of them! That's what it looked like anyway. At the end of this little Centipede stint, somebody from Ronnie Scott's organisation approached Ollie and said, 'We want you to make an album under your own name', and they got Bob Fripp to produce it.
"So Ollie asked me to play drums on it, with a bassist called Harry Miller, Gary Windo on sax and a bloke who Ollie met in Tesco who played violin. Ollie nicknamed him 'Max Von Schmacks' and this bloke was a little bit. .. disturbed. Anyway, we went into the studio as Ollie & The Blue Traffs, and cut these tracks that were quite amazing. As far as I know, the:~'s not a copy of it to be heard anywhere.
In July '75, a briefly reunited Patto's last hurrah came in the shape of three benefit gigs. "We had a roadie called Eric Swain," Halsey says, "and he had a brother nick-named Barnabas; his real name was Phillip.
Anyway, they were our roadies, and Eric got murdered in Pakistan. He had a wife and a couple of little kids, so it was decided we'd get together and do a couple of gigs. We did one at The Torrington in Finchley, one at Dingwalls and one at The Black Swan in Sheffield. They were all fantastically well attended, and we got the money - possibly the most money we'd ever earned at any gigs! and gave it all to Eric's wife."
Mike Patto and Ollie Halsall have both gone now, sadly: the former taken tragically early, aged 36, by lymphatic leukaemia on March 4th, '79, and the latter, aged 43, of a dismayingly preventable overdose on May 29th, '92. Clive Griffiths, alas, sustained brain damage in the same appalling car crash that left John Halsey disabled when both were returning from a gig as members of Joe Brown's Bruvvers in the late '80s.
Lack of space precludes a full rundown of the various Patto offshoots (not least Boxer and Dick & The Firemen) and Ollie's sterling work with Kevin Ayers, although Shindiggers will revere Halsey's turn as Barry Worn in The Rutles ... who often seem better than The Beatles, depending on one's mood. (That's Ollie singing Eric Idle's Dirk Mc Quickly parts - and his guitar is all over the soundtrack.)
If there's a heartening end to this sobering tale, it's simply that Esoteric have just reissued the Patto albums, including Monkey's Bum, with copious extras on each; and have pledged to ensure that the royalties go to Ralsey, Griffiths and the estates of Mike Patto and Ollie Halsall.
"We released all those albums," reflects Halsey, "including Timebox stuff, and this is gospel truth: I never received one penny from them. They didn't sell a lot, I can appreciate that, but you'd think they might have earned a fiver somewhere. Chris Holmes got in touch a few years back and said that Decca were holding some money from 'Beggin", which sold quite well, and it's on loads of compilation albums. So we all wrote to Decca, but they told me that I didn't have a recording contract with them, so therefore I wasn't going to get any money.
"Now, when my mum passed away, she had scrapbooks, and in one of them, there was a quarter-page article about Timebox. In the picture, I was sitting at a table with a recording contract in front of me and a pen in my hand. Mike and Clive were one side of me, and Ollie and Chris were on the other, and we were surrounded by Decca executives. "The headline said, 'Timebox sign for Decca', and there was a fucking photograph of me signing the contract! And they said it wasn't good enough. They said, 'Have you got a copy of the contract?' I said 'No'. At the time I signed I was young and keen, and I never kept things like that."
Postscript: Surreally, Ollie Halsall and Brian Godding once found themselves making ends meet by playing on a Gary Glitter tour. "I was playing the Silver Star guitar," groans Godding, "with all the strings tuned to A, and Ollie was playing one of my guitars, a Telecaster with Gibson humbuckers - we were both left-handers. We did a couple of standard rock tunes in the show with a few guitar breaks which Ollie knocked off conventionally, but one night he just went into one big time: standing behind Glitter, legs apart, left hand pointing to the sky, he hammered out the most ridiculous flurry of joined-up semi-tonal bullets for about two choruses! Everybody just went, 'What the fuck was that?'
"Unfortunately, Glitter didn't fall off the front of the stage: but it was fucking close."
With special thanks to John Halsey, Brian Godding, Andy Partridge and the impeccable resources www.pattcfan.com and The Ollie Halsall Archive at www.olliehalsall.co.uk
View online here
but please by the magazine, it's an excellent read
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Cuomo And Trump Make Love A Loser
Posted by Larry M. Elkin, CPA, CFP®
Comments Off on Cuomo And Trump Make Love A Loser
Andrew Cuomo photo by Marc A. Hermann, courtesy the
Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York
You could say there is no love lost between President Donald Trump and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, but that’s not exactly true. Between them, the two chief executives actually have managed to make love itself a loser, along with many New Yorkers.
Just before Christmas, Cuomo vetoed a previously uncontroversial, bipartisan bill that would have allowed federal judges who sit outside the Empire State to officiate at weddings within New York’s borders. This would have accommodated, say, the daughter of a jurist from New Jersey or Connecticut who wanted to get married by her parent at Brooklyn’s Liberty Warehouse, a lovely venue that offers panoramic views of the eponymous statue, as well as New York harbor and the lower Manhattan skyline.
Nobody objects to this. But Cuomo objects vigorously to anything associated with Trump, not least the president’s nominees to the federal bench. So the governor turned thumbs down on the law.
“I cannot in good conscience support legislation that would authorize such actions by federal judges who are appointed by this federal administration,” Cuomo wrote in a brief veto message to the Legislature on Dec. 20. “President Trump does not embody who we are as New Yorkers. The cornerstones that built our great State are diversity, tolerance and inclusion. Based on these reasons, I must veto this bill.”
There is very little to add to the existing criticism of Cuomo’s decision. Observers in a variety of forums have called it petty, childish, impotent and even irrelevant. The last came from one of the bill’s sponsors, state Sen. Liz Krueger, a Democrat from Manhattan’s Upper East Side who is no particular admirer of the president.
“I’m certainly no fan of the judges this president is choosing to appoint — but since any New Yorker can become a minister online for $25 and legally perform weddings, I didn’t consider this to be a major issue,” Krueger said in a statement following the governor’s veto.
Cuomo’s decision will not impede Trump from getting married again should the need arise, either in New York or in his newly declared Florida domicile. (If it ever happened, that wedding would be the president’s fourth.) The veto won’t necessarily impede anybody else, either. As Krueger noted, New York allows weddings to be solemnized by a variety of people, including ministers who are ordained over the internet. So the non-New York judge of our example could marry her offspring at Liberty Warehouse after all – just not in her capacity as a jurist. The distinction is trivial, of no consequence to anyone except a bride or groom who might want to honor an officiant’s secular status.
I doubt there was any quid pro quo involved, but the Trump-Cuomo feud resurfaced in short order after the holidays. The Department of Homeland Security announced that New Yorkers need not apply for expedited border crossing under the Global Entry and NEXUS programs. New Yorkers currently enrolled may not renew their status, either. With a major international gateway at JFK International Airport and land borders on two Canadian provinces, international travel is a decidedly nontrivial issue in New York.
The trigger for the Homeland Security action was New York’s “Green Light” law, which took effect on Dec. 16. Under that law, New York will issue driver’s licenses to applicants who are residing in the United States illegally. (Licenses provided to these applicants will not meet Real ID standards, and so cannot be used to fly domestically as of Oct 1.) More than a dozen other states already do the same, according to NPR. But the New York statute also prohibits state motor vehicle authorities from sharing information with immigration authorities except under court order. It further requires the state to notify individuals if federal officials have sought information about them.
Disgruntled New Yorkers have observed that a driver’s license is not even required for acceptance in the expedited border-crossing programs. Besides U.S. citizens and permanent residents, Global Entry accepts Mexican nationals and citizens of nine other countries, plus Taiwan. NEXUS handles Canadians.
But the programs do require information exchange between federal and state authorities. Individuals under criminal investigation or who have convictions, pending charges or outstanding criminal warrants on a wide range of offenses are ineligible. Those offenses include driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. So New York’s refusal to exchange motor vehicle information with immigration authorities does, in fact, run counter to the expedited entry program requirements.
New York may not be the last jurisdiction that Homeland Security blacklists. But Cuomo was quick to allege that the honor of going first was awarded to his state in retaliation for his outspoken criticism of the Trump administration. I am not in any position to take issue with him.
Both the state and the New York Civil Liberties Union promised to go to court to challenge the ban. It would have been astonishing if they did not. I don’t like their chances very much, though. They might get lucky in district court, especially if they don’t have their case assigned to one of those Trump-appointed judges they dislike so much. But appellate courts will probably note that border security is a federal responsibility, that Washington can set pretty much any criteria it wants for programs to expedite cross-border traffic, and that the Constitution clearly subjects states to federal law. Actions have consequences. The act of refusing cooperation with federal law enforcement is apt to bring undesired responses in places far beyond New York.
The latest riposte will disappoint and inconvenience a small number of couples and a considerably larger number of New York travelers. Cuomo and Trump keep reminding us that when couples fight, they tend to make everyone around them miserable too.
Andrew Cuomo, Department Of Homeland Security, Donald Trump, Global Entry, Green Light Law, Marriage, New York, New York State
⇐ Finding Sand For Our Castles
Steerage Would Be An Improvement ⇒
Larry Elkin
Larry M. Elkin, CPA, CFP®, has provided personal financial and tax counseling to a sophisticated client base since 1986. After six years with Arthur Andersen, where he was a senior ... Read Full
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Home Australia New Zealand Christchurch
The diverse mix of fascinating heritage, beautiful coastline and countryside, and wide variety of tourist attractions, provides all the essential elements to make your holiday break extra special. There is probably no place in the world, where you can enjoy skiing at a world-class alpine resort, play golf, ride in hot-air balloons, wind surf, bungee jump, and visit internationally-acclaimed wineries and gardens.
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Farnworth Park 5803
Bolton, England, Greater Manchester
Farnworth Park is a mid-19th-century public park laid out originally on land donated by Thomas Barnes of the Birch Hill estate. The park was extended in the early- and late-20th century.
In 1860 Thomas Barnes announced his intention to lay out a portion of his Birch Hall estate as a park for the use of the people of Farnworth. Barnes appointed landscape gardener William Henderson of Birkenhead to design and lay out the grounds. Henderson did not complete his engagement at Farnworth and Robert Galloway was appointed to complete the park. The official opening of the park, by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon William E Gladstone took place on 12 October 1864 with some 100,000 people present.
Farnworth Park is a district park for general public use.
Overall the park rises some 7 metres from Bolton Road in the north-east to Albert Road in the south-west. The south-east section of the 19th-century park is laid out with sweeping mounds creating the effect of an undulating valley.
www.historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list
A public park designed by William Henderson and Robert Galloway and opened in 1864 by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, William Ewart Gladstone. It was extended in the early and late 20th century.
Farnworth Park is situated in the centre of Farnworth, on Bolton Road. To the north-east is a group of public buildings comprising Farnworth Baptist Chapel, the Public Library, and the Town Hall (each listed grade II). The total area of the park today (2001) is c 9ha.
To the north-east the park is bounded by Bolton Road, the boundary being unmarked except for hedging at the main entrance. To the south-east the park is bounded by a c 6m high brick retaining wall to the former gasworks and a c 1m high stone wall to Wellington Street. In the south-west the boundary line is irregular where a dwelling and a commercial property on Albert Road extend into the park. The boundary with these properties is generally c 2m high late C20 timber fencing with a c 1m high stone wall and hedging marking the C19 park boundary to Albert Road. To the west-north-west a c 1.2m stone wall forms the boundary between the park and early C19 two-storey stone housing in the Greenside area.
To the north-west a former cotton-mill site, Albert Mills, extends into the park. The mill buildings are now demolished (2001) and the site is being redeveloped with two-storey brick housing. A c 50m length of c 2.4m high C19 stone walling remains on the north-east boundary to the park. The north corner of the park adjoins Gladstone Villa and a park depot in the former grounds of the dwelling. A c 20m length of C19/early C20 c 1.2m high iron railings remain adjacent to the north-west entrance from Gladstone Road.
Overall the park rises c 7m from Bolton Road in the north-east to Albert Road in the south-west. The south-east section of the C19 park is laid out with sweeping mounds creating the effect of an undulating valley between the broad walk and the south-east boundary. The park is set in an area of mixed C19, C20, and C21 residential development, interspersed with industrial and commercial uses, public buildings on Bolton Road, and retail shops on Market Street to the east.
The main entrance is at the centre of the north-east boundary with Bolton Road and is marked by a low semicircular hedge set back from the road. Photographs (Briscoe) show a high stone wall and gates to this entrance in 1914 which were altered in c 1930 to leave a low wall and railings. An informal entrance from Bolton Road has been added in the late C20 80m to the south-east of the main entrance.
On the south-east boundary a path enters the park from Wellington Road c 360m south-south-west of the main entrance, marked by a break in the stone boundary wall. From the north a path leads into the park from Gladstone Road to the north-east of the former Albert Mill site and from the west a path enters the park from Albert Road to the south of the boundary to Greenside. The latter two entrances are marked by C20 bollards and all three are indicated on the 1891 OS map. A second entrance from Albert Road, in the south corner of the park, is marked by C20 bollards in a break in the stone boundary wall. This entrance was formed with the extension of the park in the early C20.
Informal access into the park is possible across unmarked boundaries to the north-east with Bolton Road and Park View and to the west for c 45m along the boundary to Albert Road, immediately to the south of the Greenside area.
GARDENS AND PLEASURE GROUNDS
Farnworth Park has many mature trees and is dominated by the tree-lined 6m wide broad walk which commences c 120m south-west of, but slightly off-set from, the main entrance and extends 180m to the south-west to a raised terrace. The terrace, which runs from north-west to south-east, is at a right-angle to the broad walk with views out to the north-east.
From the main entrance from Bolton Road a 5m wide path runs 25m south-west to, and on an axis with, the Cenotaph (1924, listed grade II), set at the entrance to the Garden of Remembrance. The path then divides to enclose a roughly circular area, c 90 in diameter, before rejoining at the north-east end of the broad walk, 120m south-west of the main entrance. The Cenotaph comprises an ashlar Stanton gritstone column surmounted by a bronze sculpture and was designed by J and H Patterson of Manchester. The Cenotaph stands at the head of shallow steps and marks the entrance to the raised ovoid Garden of Remembrance, set within the circular area to the south-west. The Garden of Remembrance rises gently to the south-west with a perimeter path raised above and enclosing planting beds. The whole is enclosed by a brick retaining wall, with brick piers, at a height of c 0.9m above the perimeter path allowing views out over the surrounding park. The 1865 description of the park opening (Barnes 1865) notes a mound within the circular area, which now includes the Garden of Remembrance, and the 1909 OS map indicates a bandstand and flagstaff to the south-west of the area, terminating the north-east view along the broad walk. These features no longer (2001) exist. The Garden of Remembrance was dedicated in September 1951 and a Book of Remembrance, at first kept in a case in the garden, was later transferred to the library (Beevers 1997).
To the south-east of the broad walk and Garden of Remembrance paths wind along and across the contours of the grassed mounds which form an informal valley gently ascending from the north-east to the south-west. A path leading north-west through this area from the Wellington Road entrance meets the broad walk 175m south-west of the main entrance. Paths in the park are generally asphalt but where this path rises up to the broad walk the surface is of stone setts laid diagonally to the route. To the north-east of this path deciduous trees form small informal groups in grass and define the lines of paths. To the south-west of the path, in the southern half of the park, tree planting to the boundary and along the broad walk defines a more open area of undulating grass and winding paths. The 1891 OS map shows an irregular lake at the south of the park and a smaller pond to the north-east, each with rockwork and a fountain. These features no longer (2001) exist but the outline of a paddling pool, formed in 1949 at the south-west end of the lake, can be discerned. Small areas of rockwork remain c 50m to the east and 35m to the north-east of the Barnes Monument.
In the south-west of the park, c 300m south-west of the main entrance, the broad walk meets a path running from south-east to north-west at the base of, and parallel to, a two-tiered grassed embankment below the terrace. On an axis with the broad walk, 2m wide stone steps rise in two flights to the terrace and the Barnes Memorial (1895), terminating the view along the broad walk from the north-east. Some 2m to the north-west and south-east of the steps a low wall of dressed stone follows the line of the flights. The c 5m high square stone memorial is set on a square brick upper plinth and an extended lower brick plinth with battered sides. An inset relief portrait of Thomas Barnes and inscriptions commemorate the park's benefactor and Gladstone as its opener. The north-east side of the terrace is marked by a low wall of dressed stone extending 24m to either side of the steps. A photograph of c 1914 (Jubilee Souvenir) and the 1891 OS map show that the steps were formerly 6m wide; the photograph also shows a stepped base to the Memorial.
To the south-west of the Memorial is an asphalt children's play area with low hedge surround. The 1891 OS map indicates two children's playgrounds in this area, one for boys and one for girls, but extending further south-west towards Albert Road. A church and a grammar school which lay on Albert Road to the north-west of the play area were demolished (C20) and the sites incorporated into the park.
North of the terrace, and to the north-west of the broad walk, the ground slopes gently down to a circular bowling green with C20 pavilion. The bowling green and an earlier pavilion are shown on the 1891 OS map. In the northern section of the park, the area c 140m west-north-west of the main entrance is laid out with a 30m diameter circular path enclosing planting beds set in grass. This area was added to the park in the early C20 and the circular feature is shown on the OS map of 1930.
T Barnes, Proceedings at the Opening of Farnworth Park (1865), pp 6-9, 12-14
Farnworth Journal, 7 April 1899 [extract at Bolton Local History Library]
Souvenir of Farnworth Park Jubilee 1864-1914 (Farnworth Library)
K Beevers, Farnworth (1997), pp 27-36
E Briscoe, Farnworth Town Trail: The Park (no date, late 20th century)
Greenside Conservation Area, (Bolton Metro Environment Department report, no date)
A G Crosby, The Landscape History of Bolton (LA report, no date)
Description written: March 2001
Edited: April 2002
Farnworth Park is off Market Street/Bolton Road.
Thomas Barnes JP, three times MP for Bolton, continued the cotton-spinning and weaving business established by his father, James Rothwell Barnes in Farnworth in the early 19th century. In 1860 Thomas Barnes announced his intention to lay out a portion of his Birch Hall estate as a park for the use of the people of Farnworth, to mark his son's coming of age and in memory of his father.
Barnes appointed landscape gardener William Henderson of Birkenhead to design and lay out the grounds. Henderson was also responsible for designs for Corporation Park in Blackburn (1857), Alexandra Park in Oldham (1865) (there are descriptions of Corporation Park and Alexandra Park elsewhere in the Register), and Queen's (formerly Bolton) Park in Bolton (1866). Henderson did not complete his engagement at Farnworth and Robert Galloway was appointed to complete the park. Galloway was originally from Liverpool where he trained at Scirving's nurseries and had worked with Henderson. In 1844 Galloway moved to Farnworth where he was gardener at Birch House and subsequently at Birch Hall (Farnworth J 1899).
In 1863 Farnworth elected a Local Board and, for the first time, had a public body which could accept the park, which it did in 1864. Robert Galloway was appointed park superintendent, a role in which he continued until his retirement in around 1895. The official opening of the park, by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon William E Gladstone took place on 12 October 1864 with some 100,000 people present (Barnes 1865). In his opening speech, Gladstone remarked that 'The presentation of this Park by Mr Barnes is happily not an isolated act; it is part of a great system, part of a great movement' (Jubilee Souvenir 1914). Barnes' gift of about 4.5 hectares of land was valued at £11,284 with a further £2000 for the cost of laying out the park (Jubilee Souvenir 1914). Two small additional areas of leasehold land made the total area, in 1864, around 5 hectares.
The park was laid out with a continuous belt of boundary planting and intersecting asphalt walks. From the main entrance from Bolton (also referred to as Manchester) Road the main path divided to encircle an 81 metre diameter mound beyond which a broad walk led south-west to a raised viewing terrace (Barnes 1865). In the south-east of the park an irregular lake about 117 metres long was replaced in 1949 with a paddling pool (Beevers 1997). Cricket was not allowed, only games of a quiet nature (Barnes 1865).
In 1888 Farnworth Local Board purchased cottages and land amounting to some 0.5 hectares to the south of the park, adjoining Albert Road and known as Snail Hill. The cottages were demolished and the area incorporated into the park in 1907. To the north of the park, the properties Birch Hall and Gladstone Villa were acquired by the Council in 1893 and an adjoining area, on Gladstone Road, was given by a member of the Barnes family in about 1914. Parts of these two areas are now (2001) incorporated into the park. Birch Hall was demolished in the late 20th century. The Barnes Memorial, in the south-west of the park, was erected in 1895, the Cenotaph in 1924, and a Garden of Remembrance after the Second World War. Two further extensions have been made to the park in the late 20th century: the area to the east bounded by Bolton Road and Park View (formerly Middle Street), and a further area adjoining Albert Road to the west.
Farnworth Park remains (2001) in use as a public park and is in the ownership of Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council.
William Ewart Gladstone
http://www.bolton.gov.uk/website/pages/Parksinformation.aspx
{English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest}, (Swindon: English Heritage, 2008) [on CD-ROM]Historic England Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest
Urban Park
Parks, Gardens And Urban Spaces
Reference: GD4924
Locality: England, Greater Manchester
Farnworth, Bolton, Greater Manchester
BL4 7PD
Historical Location: Lancashire
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Rev. Abbey Tennis, Lead Minister
A life-long Unitarian Universalist from the Boston area, Rev. Abbey Tennis is passionate about vibrant, robustly spiritual, urban ministry in a multi-racial, multi-cultural, multi-generational setting. Her great loves in congregational ministry include worship leadership, collaborative leadership development, institutional anti-racism and anti-oppression work, and the building of resilient networks of pastoral care. A graduate of Starr King School for the Ministry, she was ordained at All Souls Unitarian Church in Washington, DC, where she served as Intern Minister. In 2015, Rev. Abbey completed service as the Interim Advancement Director at Starr King School for the Ministry, overseeing the seminary’s fundraising and Institutional Advancement work, and served as the Minister for Worship and Pastoral Care at the First Unitarian Church of Oakland in Oakland, California from 2015-2016. She is honored to currently serve as the settled minister at the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
You can learn more about Rev. Abbey Tennis on her personal website: www.abbeytennis.com
Rev. Hannah Capaldi, Minister for Faith Formation
Reverend Hannah Capaldi is a lifelong Unitarian Universalist. She was raised in the congregation at First Parish of Concord and was ordained there in December of 2019. She comes to First Unitarian Philadelphia with a passion for preaching an inspiring word, challenging her communities to live into their best selves, and finding joy in pursuit of a better world.
Hannah graduated from Union Theological Seminary in New York City where she taught afterschool to eighth graders, served as a chaplain at a shelter for LGBTQ+ youth, and worked in the college program at the Bedford Hills Women's Prison. She completed her Clinical Pastoral Education at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Hospital and her ministerial internship at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Washington Crossing.
Rev. Hannah lives in West Philly with her wife Livia. She loves to grill, garden, swim, and read long-form journalism. She can be reached at revhannah@philauu.org
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50 Greatest Phillies Games: 42. The wild, the Wagner, the Shea Stadium shuffle
By Michael Sadowski
Until March 27, we’ll be counting down the 50 greatest Phillies games of the last 50 years. This is 50 of 50.
And this is No. 42.
THE DATE: Sept. 11, 2004
THE GAME: Phillies vs. New York Mets, Shea Stadium, Queens, N.Y.
THE STAKES: Another meaningless September game … or was it?
THE GREAT: Visiting New York City always gets your heart pounding. But on Sept. 11, just three years after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center? It was scary. Somber. Sobering. I had flown out of LaGuardia on Sept. 11 the year before, and really, there hadn’t been much change in the feel of the city on the next Sept. 11 anniversary. Who knows if there ever will be? I’ve been to 20 or so Phillies games at Shea (still none at Citi Field for some reason), and I’d never seen people looking over their shoulder walking into a game until this one.
But a random Saturday at the ballpark beats most other days, no matter when and where it’s being played. And when you can see history, even better. The Phillies were still reeling from an infamous 1-9 mid-August homestand that essentially crushed their season, but then a funny thing happened: Baseball.
No less than four wild, historic things happened in the five-hour, 15-minute, 13-inning marathon that featured 483 pitches and five Phillies home runs:
1. Billy Wagner had a meltdown for the ages after he blew a ninth-inning save and was ejected for throwing in the direction of Cliff Floyd. He threw a petulant temper tantrum at home plate ump Dana DeMuth that included the Powerade cooler and his hat, of all things, being thrown into the on-deck circle toward DeMuth.
2. The Phillies tied a National League record by using 10 pitchers in the game, and the two teams combined to use 18 pitchers, tying a major league record. This was a game not for the faint of heart. By the end of the game, managerial trips to the mound for either team were being met with boos. I may or may not have been starting them. When the baseball powers that be talk about speeding up games, and the traditionalists scream, “Heresy!” pop in a tape of this game and see if those traditionalists don’t start coming around to things such as limited mound trips and set times between pitches.
3. Off the top of my head, I can’t tell you two times David Bell was a hero in his three-and-a-half years in Philadelphia. But I can tell you one – this game. Bell was 4-for-7 and had a go-ahead single in the ninth that Wagner later blew, and then came back again in the 13th with a two-out, two-run home run to give the Phillies the lead that, this time, they wouldn’t give up. That pretty much sums up Bell’s time in Philadelphia: Completely forgettable until someone tells you about some instance and then you scratch your head for a second and think, “Ooooohhhhhh right, right, right.”
4. But the most important thing from a historical perspective that happened in this game came in the form of a seventh-inning pinch hitter, a September callup who so far had amassed all of nine at bats. His two-run home run, a no-doubter to straightaway center, was his first major league homer, getting the Phils to within 6-5. I vividly remember watching that pinch-hitter round the bases and telling my girlfriend at the time, “You’re going to tell your grand kids you were at the stadium for his first home run.”
That pinch hitter? Ryan Howard. Maybe she won’t be telling her grand kids she was there, but six years later, it looked like he was on that track until the wheels fell off.
Box score from Baseball Reference
EXTRA: Phillies Nation’s original post about this game (scroll down to read), from the early ages of baseball blogging
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Naming Jeanmar Gomez as closer makes no sense right now
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