pred_label
stringclasses 2
values | pred_label_prob
float64 0.5
1
| wiki_prob
float64 0.25
1
| text
stringlengths 66
999k
| source
stringlengths 37
43
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
__label__wiki
| 0.822739
| 0.822739
|
Maura Reilly in an Interview - Towards a Just Art World
Elena Martinique
A philosophy graduate interested in critical theory, politics and art. Alias of Jelena Martinović.
A curator and arts writer, Maura Reilly has dedicated her career to contemporary art in/of/from the margins. She was the Founding Curator of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist at the Brooklyn Museum, the first museum exhibition space of its kind in the world. Established through the generosity of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Foundation, it is an exhibition and education environment dedicated to feminist art — its past, present, and future. While working at the Center, Reilly organized multiple exhibitions, including the permanent installation of Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party and the blockbuster Global Feminisms co-curated with Linda Nochlin.
Reilly has curated, lectured, and published extensively, both nationally and internationally, and has been a regular contributor to Art in America since 1998. She is the author and editor of many books and articles on contemporary art, including a monograph on Ghada Amer, ARTnews Special Issue on Women in the Art World, Women Artists: The Linda Nochlin Reader and Curatorial Activism: Towards an ethics of Curating.
She has received numerous awards, including a prestigious Future Women Leadership Awards in celebration of ArtTable’s 25th year Anniversary, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Women’s Caucus for Art, and in 2015 was voted one of the 50 most powerful people in the art world by both Blouin Art Info and Art+Auction.
Installation view of Ghada Amer: Love Has No End at the Brooklyn Museum, curated by Maura Reilly
On Curatorial Activism
This year, Maura Reilly has published Curatorial Activism: Towards an Ethics of Curating, a handbook of new curatorial strategies, based on pioneering examples of innovative recent efforts to offset racial and gender disparities in the art world. Addressing the current art world statistics and the continual underrepresentation of female artists, Reilly asks:
How can we get people in the art world to think about gender, race, and sexuality, to understand that these are persistent concerns that require action?; How can we all contribute to ensuring that the art world becomes more inclusive?
Indeed, Reilly’s book urges us not to sit and wait for change to come, but calls to action in order to create an art world that is just. Focusing on feminism, race and sexuality in thematic sections, the author exposes disparities and exclusionary models of collecting and display, but at the same time examines and illustrates pioneering exhibitions and initiatives that show that new approaches and inclusive solutions are possible.
Celebrating the work of numerous curatorial activists that have committed themselves to insurrectionist initiatives, including Jean Hubert Martin, Okwui Enwezor, Rosa Martinez, Jonathan Katz, Camille Morineau, Michiko Kasahara, and Paweł Leszkowicz, Reilly offers a compelling manifesto for change in the art world.
We had a chat with Maura Reilly to find out more about her latest book and her inspiring work in general. In an exclusive Widewalls interview, Maura talks about curatorial activism, her work at the Sackler Center for Feminist Art, the Linda Nochlin Reader, counting as a feminist strategy, and much more.
Left: Curatorial Activism by Maura Reilly / Right: Women Artists: The Linda Nochlin Reader, edited by Maura Reilly
The Work at the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art
Widewalls: You are the Founding Curator of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art at the Brooklyn Museum, where you established the first exhibition space in the world dedicated exclusively to feminist art. How do you see the role of such a space in a renewed mainstream interest in feminist art?
Maura Reilly: I don’t agree that there is a sustained interest in feminist art. I think there is a temporary, fleeting interest at the moment.
Widewalls: While at the Sackler Center for Feminist Art, you organized several exhibitions, including the permanent reinstallation of Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party. The museum is now revisiting this acclaimed piece with a show examining its formal, material, and conceptual development. How would you describe the legacy of this work and its relevance today?
MR: The Dinner Party is one of the most significant artworks of the 20th century—in scale, content, and influence. It’s also very dated—specific to the 1970s. In order to remain relevant today, I believe its content needs to be shared online and brought-up-to-date, which is why, while there, I built the Dinner Party database, which has entries for all of the 1,083 women featured therein. That database needs to be expanded, renewed; more lectures on the work and its legacy held, especially given the installation is meant to be on view permanently.
Judy Chicago – The Dinner Party, 1974–79. Ceramic, porcelain, textile, 576 × 576 in. (1463 × 1463 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Foundation, 2002.10. © Judy Chicago. (Photo: Donald Woodman)
Linda Nochlin and Counting as a Feminist Strategy
Widewalls: Over 40 years ago, Linda Nochlin posed the controversial question regarding the existence of “great” women artists, arguing it was opportunity, not ability, that held women back historically. Her groundbreaking body of work that continues to inform feminist artists and art theoreticians is honored in the “Women Artists: The Linda Nochlin Reader,” which you edited in 2015. What was your motivation for editing this book?
MR: Linda was my MA and Ph.D. advisor at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. Over the years, we became close friends and collaborators—co-writing essays and co-curating exhibitions, notably the Global Feminisms show we organized for the Brooklyn Museum in 2007. Towards the end of her life, I felt compelled to pay homage to her and thought a compilation of her writings on women artists would be a wonderful contribution to the fields of art history, women’s studies, and visual art, in general. She was very proud of that book. It was a labor of love, but I’m thrilled I did it.
Widewalls: In 2015, you published an essay titled “Taking the Measure of Sexism: Facts, Figures, and Fixes” where you present the factual data that illustrates the gender gap in the art world. What is the significance of statistics and empirical data in the methodology of a feminist theoretician?
MR: Counting is a feminist strategy—or so the Guerrilla Girls have demonstrated. One can argue that women artists are discriminated against but with a graph or chart chockfull of empirical data there can be no denying it. Numbers don’t lie.
Installation view of Burning Down the House: Building a Feminist Art Collection at the Brooklyn Museum, curated by Maura Reilly
Curatorial Activism
Widewalls: In the last few years, we are witnessing a resurgence of all-women shows, as well as the rise of major solo shows of women artists. What do you think is the reason behind this and what kind of impact could it have regarding the gender disparity?
MR: Again, I don’t think a handful of all-women or solo women shows represents a “resurgence.”
Widewalls: This year, you have published a book titled “Curatorial Activism: Towards an Ethics of Curating”. Could you tell us something about this publication? What does curatorial activism mean to you?
MR: “Curatorial activism,” is a term I use to designate the practice of organizing art exhibitions with the principal aim of ensuring that certain constituencies of artists are no longer ghettoized or excluded from the master narratives of art. It is a practice that commits itself to counter-hegemonic initiatives that give voice to those who have been historically silenced or omitted altogether—and, as such, focuses almost exclusively on work produced by women, artists of color, non-Euro-Americans, and/or queer artists. The thesis of my book takes as its operative assumption that the art system—its history, institutions, market, press, and so forth—is a hegemony that privileges white male creativity to the exclusion of all Other artists. It also insists that this white Western male viewpoint, which has been unconsciously accepted as the prevailing viewpoint, “may––and does––prove to be inadequate not merely on moral and ethical grounds, or because it is elitist, but on purely intellectual ones.”
The book itself is a manifesto for change in the art world.
Editors’ Tip: Curatorial Activism: Towards an Ethics of Curating by Maura Reilly
Arranged in thematic sections focusing on feminism, race, and sexuality, Curatorial Activism examines and illustrates pioneering examples of exhibitions that have broken down boundaries and demonstrated that new approaches are possible, from Linda Nochlin’s “Women Artists” at LACMA in the mid-1970s to Jean-Hubert Martin’s “Carambolages” in 2016 at the Grand Palais in Paris. Profiles key exhibitions by pioneering curators including Okwui Enwezor, Linda Nochlin, Jean-Hubert Martin and Nan Goldin, with a foreword by Lucy Lippard, internationally known art critic, activist and curator, and early champion of feminist art, this volume is both an invaluable source of practical information for those who understand that institutions must be a driving force in this area and a vital source of inspiration for today’s expanding new generation of curators.
Featured image: Maura Reilly, photo by Andrew Watson.
Artemisia Gentileschi – From Facts and Fiction to Feminist Inspiration
Art History Anika D.
Inside Womanhouse, A Beacon of Feminist Art
Art History Balasz Takac
Miriam Cahn As Human at Kunstmuseum Bern
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1667
|
__label__cc
| 0.546175
| 0.453825
|
Dean of the J. Whitney Bunting College of Business
Georgia College, the state's only designated public liberal arts university, invites inquiries, nominations, and applications for the position of Dean of the J. Whitney Bunting College of Business (CoB).
The CoB enrolls more than 1,400 BBA majors, 225 BS majors, and 200 graduate students. The CoB offers undergraduate majors in Accounting, Computer Science, Economics, Management, Management Information Systems, and Marketing. In addition to the MBA, the CoB offers specialty master’s degrees in Logistics, Management Information Systems, and Accountancy. The College is accredited by AACSB and the Computer Science program is accredited by ABET. The CoB has 45 tenured/tenure-track faculty members, ten permanent lecturers, and a staff of eight. For more information about the CoB visit: http://www.gcsu.edu/business.
Georgia College is a member institution of the University System of Georgia and serves as the state's designated public liberal arts university. Georgia College is regionally accredited by SACSCOC, and is a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC). Georgia College enrolls approximately 6,900 undergraduate and graduate students and is prominently ranked in a number of leading publications. Georgia College has a number of high rankings including US News and World Report Top 10 in “Top Public Schools in the South” and Kiplinger’s “Best College Value.”
The Dean will serve as the chief academic and administrative officer of the College responsible and accountable for the strategic and academic direction of its operations. The Dean has primary responsibility for the leadership of the College, the well-being and development of the College, its faculty and staff, its students, its courses of study and other activities. The Dean will be an experienced leader, knowledgeable about every aspect of the College’s operations, and committed to transparency, shared governance, and collaborative leadership. The Dean should be experienced in external resource generation through industry partnerships, alumni engagement, development, and fundraising.
The preferred candidate will have an earned Ph.D. in an appropriate field and demonstrated successful experience in academic administration within an accredited business school. Qualified applicants should have evidence of scholarly and professional achievement that merits a tenured faculty appointment at the rank of professor within the college. The Dean should be experienced in external resource generation through industry partnerships, alumni engagement, development, and fundraising. Furthermore, the incoming Dean will be expected to collaborate with the institution to help develop and promote entrepreneurial activity, innovation, and accountability.
Inquiries, nominations, and applications should be directed via e-mail to the University's consultants, Ann Yates and Jessica Herrington at GCSU-DeanCOB@wittkieffer.com. Candidates should provide a curriculum vitae and a letter of application that addresses the responsibilities and requirements described in the Leadership Profile, available at www.wittkieffer.com. All inquiries will be treated in confidence. For fullest consideration, applicant materials should be received by September 15, 2019.
Georgia College is committed to the fundamental principle of equal opportunity and equal treatment for every prospective and current employee and strives to create a campus environment which understands, fosters, and embraces the value of diversity. No person shall, on the grounds of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or genetic information, be excluded from employment or participation in, be denied the benefits of, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination, under any program or activity conducted by Georgia College.
Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning and Dean o…
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1668
|
__label__cc
| 0.685252
| 0.314748
|
‘Dirty’ politics destroys Zambias economy
As we approach August 11, 2016 presidential and general elections, one expects each political party contesting in such elections to improve on its popularity to increase its chances of winning in the forthcoming elections. But if a party seems to be doing things which makes it more unpopular in the eyes of many Zambians, one wonders how such a party can win with a landslide victory in the first round; thereby creating no need for a presidential re-run.
Although Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) hasn’t announced the official date for starting political campaigns, what one knows is that every time of the existence of a political party is a political campaign time. This implies that Zambians always watch the behavior of each political party; and of its top leadership and those of its members before, during and after elections.
Any deviant behavior or doing anything that is against the morals, values, beliefs and practices of that society erodes chances of that political party winning in the next elections. Do you know of any political party that you feel has already lost the August 11, 2016 presidential and general elections because of bad conduct of some top party officials?
While Zambians have been condemning vulgar language, hate speech and political violence, it appears some political parties’ top leadership contesting in the forthcoming elections have high appetite for such vices; and seem to fail to restrain themselves and their agents from participating in such unusual and unacceptable behavior in our society.
As a result, the images of some parties and their respective top leaders seem to be moving from good to worse among majority Zambians. As stated several times under this column and its related one on Monday, Zambians are peaceful people. Additionally, our country is a Christian nation. From the background of first republican president, Dr Kenneth Kaunda’s philosophy of Humanism, Zambians enjoy love, unity and co-operation among themselves.
This is why, despite some economic hardships here and there, Zambians appear to be happy. It’s only some of the top officials in some opposition parties who seem to be annoyed. No one knows why they are vexed?
To hear someone is vomiting vulgar language against a fellow Zambian or to a certain group of Zambians, one wonders to what extent is such a person a Zambian. Are true Zambians sarcastic, violent with immeasurable high levels of hatred against each other?
While, as human beings, we might hurt each other in some ways; and with political ambitions, we can have different views from other political parties and their leaders, we should always know and practice Christian values and principles of love, unity, reconciliation and leaving in peace with all our fellow human beings. Vulgar language, hatred, hate speech and political violence are enemies of many Zambians.
With few months before August 11, 2016 presidential and general elections, one expects most parties contesting in such elections; through their respective leadership and membership at various levels of our society, will demonstrate how they will promote love, unity, peace and stability in Zambia while promoting sustainable socio-economic national development process.
Strangely, some political parties and their leadership are getting worse in their conduct against public interest; especially when it comes to vulgar language, hatred, promotion of hate speech and political violence. Because of overwhelming anger in some opposition leaders, some resort to physical fight against their political opponents. Why? Where are such levels of anger coming from?
It’s from such a background that Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia executive director, Rev. Phukuta Mwanza said: ‘It’s extremely worrying that people who aspire to take up leadership of this country can be highly unpalatable in their choice of language.’ Rev. Mwanaza added that insults and vulgar language are generally unacceptable in society…(Daily Nation: 15/4/2016; p.1).
Could this be a demonstration of immense frustration from a clear picture that some opposition political parties won’t make it to be a ruling party after the August 11, 2016 presidential and general elections? Why are some politicians behaving like wounded buffalos?
Arising from such observations, Rev. Mwanza advised Zambians that leaders who have a tendency of verbally abusing and disrespecting citizens shouldn’t be allowed to ascend to positions of authority because they have the ability of fracturing the moral and democratic values of the country(ibid).
Some opposition top officials have really messed up the image of their respective parties. Instead of painting their political parties with nice colours like those of the rain bow which can attract many voters in the forthcoming elections; and beyond, they have painted their respective parties with cow dung which have disfigured the whole image of their respective parties.
Involved in various vices against our society; some political parties have ruined their image among many electorate; thereby giving more chances to other parties to win the August 11, 2016 general elections.
Such a situation reminds one of need to have selection criteria for recruiting top leadership and members in a political party. Some members; especially if they are in top leadership position can worsen the image of a political party to the disadvantage of such a party being a ruling party; or sustaining their power in government.
The current behavior of some party top leaders proves that such parties don’t have Public Relations (PR) experts in their respective parties; and that they are also too mean to hire PR consultants to advise them accordingly. If they have such experts, from the strange behaviour most Zambians see or learn about some top party leaders, one can conclude that such party leaders have an incurable vulgar language, anger, cruelty and bad behaviour; and that their ‘I-know-it-all attitudes are too high to be advised accordingly; especially on PR related issues.
But because of delicate nature of politics, one of the factors that contributed greatly to the development of professional PR was growth in the need for democracy with its effects on demand for multi-party politics. In early forms of democracies, each political party; including respective governments engaged PR practitioners to advise politicians, political parties and government leaders on how to conduct themselves; and giving guides on handling certain PR related issues before or as they crop up.
Probably because of high levels of ‘I-know-it-all’ attitudes in some top political leaders in developing countries, rarely does one see political parties hiring PR specialists to play their roles in situations like when we are nearing presidential and general elections when critical PR related issues easily germinate; thereby making most top party leaders and their supporters scatter in different directions and sweat from panic from the effects of a crisis created.
Consequently, as we approach August 11, 2016, if issues and some personalities are not managed properly, more critical issues will sprout one after another. To avoid political crisis arising from mismanagement of such issues on a political party, such organizations need to be pro-active in many areas; including avoiding vulgar language, hate speech and political violence.
Vulgar language, demonstrating high levels of hatred, promoting hate speeches and being involved in political violence create bad image for any party in Zambia.
Therefore, as most political parties claim that they have active structures on the ground, as we move towards the forthcoming presidential and general elections, one expects each political party contesting in the August 11, 2016 elections to, firstly, engage PR specialist; and secondly, ensure that such PR specialists orient all party leaders from the national committees to grass-root structures to ascertain that PR related issues are handled in a pro-active manner; or that when they emerge, such issues are managed in a professional way to avoid creating a crisis for the party.
Among other factors, such an approach to political party management can increase a respective political party’s popularity; and heighten its chances to win the August 11, 2016 presidential and general elections.
Failure to consider such factors in our society, even without any form of manipulating the results of an election, political parties with top leaders of strange personalities cannot win the forthcoming elections.
Cell: 0977/0967 450151
E-mail: sycoraxtndhlovu@yahoo.co.uk
Categorized | Analysis, features
← Electoral falsehood
Nchito loses Supreme Court bid →
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1670
|
__label__wiki
| 0.689357
| 0.689357
|
Celebrate the 100-Year Anniversary of the Panama Canal with a Daylight Transit and Exclusive Tour
Zegrahm Offers Small-Ship Expedition Cruise to Five Central American Countries during Panama Canal Centennial Year
Seattle, WA (August 1, 2013) – Zegrahm Expeditions, the world leader in small-ship cruising and overland adventures, is pleased to present its 15-day Rain Forests & Reefs expedition, departing February 7, 2014. At the crossroads of two continents, this expedition reveals the wonders of five countries, including Belize, Honduras, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Panama and is ideally timed during the centennial year of the Panama Canal.
A particular highlight in Panama will be the opportunity for travelers to not only complete a daylight transit of the Panama Canal, but also be treated to a VIP tour of the five billion dollar Panama Canal expansion project that began a decade ago and is scheduled to be completed in 2015. Travelers will go behind the scenes at the Panama Canal Expansion Observation Center near the Gatun Locks on the Caribbean Sea. Here, travelers can observe the four billion cubic meters of structural concrete that is being poured into the ditches that comprise the new set of locks from a vantage point rarely visited by the public, plus will have the opportunity to meet with one of the authorities currently working on the expansion project.
“This is an extraordinary opportunity for our travelers to experience history in the making and we couldn’t be more excited to secure this exclusive access during our visit,” states Zegrahm president, Edwin Blythe. “In addition to learning about the history of this engineering marvel, travelers will also be enlightened on the natural history and culture of this dynamic region with our experienced expedition team, including Panamanian native, Rich Cahill, plus Conrad Weston and Dennis Wille, who both hail from Costa Rica.”
Additional highlights of Zegrahm’s time in Central America include searching for Central America’s incredible diversity of wildlife during Zodiac cruises and nature walks—over 750 species of birds have been recorded in Costa Rica alone; meeting the Kuna Indians of San Blas and the Emberá Indians of the Darién who proudly preserve their cultural heritage; experiencing world-class snorkeling from Belize’s Half Moon Caye to one of the world’s largest marine parks in Coiba, Panama; and stepping ashore on seldom-visited Isla de Providencia, Colombia—its long history includes tales of colonization, conquest, and buried treasure.
This expedition is aboard the all-suite, 100-guest Island Sky and is priced from $11,980 per person. For more information about Zegrahm or to make a reservation on an upcoming expedition, please visit www.zegrahm.com or call 1.800.628.8747.
Seattle-based Zegrahm Expeditions Inc., founded in 1990, is a leading adventure travel company specializing in small-ship expedition cruises, tours, and safaris to remote and intriguing destinations around the world. Led by expert guides and lecturers, Zegrahm itineraries are carefully crafted and all-inclusive, feature deluxe accommodations, and operate in all seven continents.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1671
|
__label__wiki
| 0.692343
| 0.692343
|
Meet our Team Worldwide Runners – it’s Liam O’Sullivan!
Posted 5 months ago by Debbi Jennings •
To take part in such an iconic race through the sights and sounds of London is something that many people spend years dreaming of. One of our supporters, Liam Roberts O’Sullivan, is realising his dream of running the London Marathon this year in memory of his dad, Kevin, who took part in one of the first ever London Marathons in 1983.
“Growing up, we did a lot of running together,” says Liam. “It was always my dad’s dream for us to run the London Marathon together. But as I grew up, I fell out of love with it. When my dad was ill and then passed away, I decided that it was time for me to finally do it in his honour.”
Liam’s dad Kevin O’Sullivan was diagnosed with Oesophagus cancer at the end of 2016. Sadly, he passed away in May 2017 at the age of just 60.
“Dad passed away peacefully at home. The cancer had spread so quickly and robbed him, like many others, of time and life he still had to live,” says Liam. “Running suddenly became my way of dealing with the guilt, the anger, the sadness. Running helped me focus my thoughts and keep my mind healthy.”
Kevin O’Sullivan worked as a Deputy Head at a junior school and retired only a couple of years before he died.
“Generations of people knew him, and he ended up teaching children whose parents he had taught,” says Liam. “He’s my inspiration for running, it’s such a shame that we never got to run the marathon together as he wished.”
Liam set it upon himself to run the marathon himself for a charity close to him and his dad. “I tried the ballot a couple of times for a place to run but was unsuccessful but then I found out about Worldwide Cancer Research on Twitter and I took it as a sign, it was the perfect opportunity,” he says.
“The charity spoke to me and I learned that they currently have a study underway in Belgium to further understand oesophagus cancer. More than 8,500 new cases of Oesophageal cancer are diagnosed in the UK every year. That means over 23 people receive a diagnosis every day. This is why such research is vital and I wanted to help.”
Liam’s father had the race time of 4 hours and 19 minutes and Liam is hoping to better it and complete the marathon in a time close to 4 hours. He hopes to raise £2500 for Worldwide Cancer Research.
If you’ve been inspired by Liam's story and would love to be part of Team Worldwide, check out our list of fantastic events suitable for everyone! And if you would like to donate in support of the incredible work Worldwide Cancer Research funds, please click here.
Meet our Team Worldwide runners – it’s Laura Rawlings!Shonagh and Eric Fick walk marathon miles in memory of their mothersRavi Ettadi Raised over £3,000 for Worldwide Cancer Research Climbing Kilimanjaro
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1674
|
__label__wiki
| 0.953636
| 0.953636
|
HP Names Todd Bradley as Executive Vice President of Personal Systems Group
PALO ALTO, Calif., June 13, 2005
HP today announced that it has appointed R. Todd Bradley to serve as executive vice president of its Personal Systems Group (PSG), which includes the company's notebook and desktop PCs, handhelds, monitors, workstations and related support services.
Bradley, 46, most recently spent four years at palmOne, Inc., three as president and chief executive officer. His appointment re-establishes PSG as a standalone business, following its combination in January 2005 with the Imaging and Printing Group (IPG). Vyomesh (V.J) Joshi, who had served as executive vice president of the combined Imaging and Personal Systems Group, will resume his former role as executive vice president of IPG.
Bradley has a 25-year management career with extensive international experience. Prior to palmOne, he spent three years at Gateway, Inc., most recently as executive vice president, global operations, and previously ran its operations in Europe, Middle East and Africa. He has also held senior roles at GE Capital Corp., The Dun & Bradstreet Corp. and FedEx Corp.
Bradley will join HP's Executive Council as its 10th member, marking HP's second expansion of the council this month.
"Todd Bradley is an outstanding executive with a long track record of growing businesses, executing against plans and exceeding targets," said Mark Hurd, HP chief executive officer and president. "His experience driving growth and profitability in highly competitive hardware fields makes him well-suited for this position.
"Under VJ's leadership, the PC business has continued to grow and improve its profit margins, and I'd like to congratulate him on those efforts. Now, by managing PSG and IPG as separate, highly focused organizations, we can further sharpen our competitiveness and improve our cost structures."
HP is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and institutions globally. The company's offerings span IT infrastructure, global services, business and home computing, and imaging and printing. For the four fiscal quarters ended April 30, 2005, HP revenue totaled $83.3 billion. More information about HP (NYSE, Nasdaq: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com.
This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. If such risks or uncertainties materialize or such assumptions prove incorrect, the results of HP and its consolidated subsidiaries could differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including anticipated expected financial results ; statements of expectation or belief; and any statement of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include the achievement of expected financial results and other risks that are described from time to time in HP's Securities and Exchange Commission reports, including but not limited to HP's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended Jan. 31, 2005, and other reports filed after HP's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended Oct. 31, 2004. HP assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1680
|
__label__cc
| 0.653492
| 0.346508
|
Ashley Lowery - VILLAGE HEALTHCARE EXPERIENCE
Michigan State University 2017
Village Healthcare Experiences, Sri Lanka Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka Kandy
During my trip to Sri Lanka with Work the World, I chose to spend a week in a small rural village situated inland, in the North Central province of Sri Lanka. I chose to add the week to my city-based placement because I was really interested in learning about Ayurvedic medicine and how alternative medicine was practised in Sri Lanka. Ayurvedic medicine is a traditional holistic natural medicine, said to be one of the oldest in history, originating from India. I had heard of this type of medicine before in the US, however it’s more often associated with spa treatments. I thought it would be really interesting to learn more about the attitudes to Ayurveda, as well as the practice and actual treatments.
At the end of my city based placement, I spent the weekend in Trincomalee (known as Trinco), a beachside resort, which was pretty close to the village. The journey was less than an hour, and when we arrived we came into a very small, quiet, rural village. The Work the World guide met us when we arrived at the village, and we felt very welcomed by the guide into their village, and I was both nervous and excited for the week ahead. I knew it would be very different to the Work the World house because, you are living with a Sri Lankan community rather than other students from around the world.
It was definitely a big change, but a good one, too, and I felt WtW had prepared us well for the week.
The week overall was jam packed. In the morning, we would go to the Ayurvedic clinic and see patients with different conditions, such as slipped discs and fractures, dislocated shoulders, skin conditions and much more. We got to see how the doctor assessed these patients, how he assigned their treatments and also how he made the medicine. We got involved by helping make some of the treatments, such as cooking oil in a big pot, crushing willow bark, leaves and bamboo. This concoction would go into the treatment they were using; they would use these leaves, bark and oils, and wrap it in a bandage on the area that needed treating. The doctor also had a big stack of old cards, where he had all of his recipes and potions for the medicines he was using, which had been passed down from generation to generation. These were absolutely fascinating!
It was definitely a whole different way of care. It was more holistic than we’d seen, and the doctor really wanted to know about the patient's lifestyle and what treatments they had already tried. He also didn’t charge money for treatment, however, they would give donations wrapped in betel leaves which symbolises good fortune and prosperity.
The actual facilities are so different to the city hospital. You definitely had to re-shape your thinking and realise that Ayurvedic medicine, whilst it’s not evidence based science, the patients and the doctor truly place all of their faith and really believe in the treatments. A lot of it obviously is the different herbs they use; oils, leaves, spices and natural ingredients–but also the mindset that they come in to the clinic with.
They have a ward where the patients that are staying long term receive daily treatments which we got to assist with. We also got to see cupping therapy and the practitioner demonstrated on us, which was really interesting, because we had never experienced that before. It was very insightful to see a different way of thinking and a different way of treating people. It is quite common that patients may have left a city hospital after receiving all possible treatments and now are trying alternative therapies.
I remember one older lady who had come with her family, on a homemade stretcher made from leaves and bamboo. She had a severe back problem. The doctor suggested the patient return on a daily basis to receive treatment as the family lived nearby. He thought that over time he could help her. It was very interesting, there was not an immediate result but even just knowing she was receiving the medicine seemed to make her pain less: perhaps it was her faith in the medicine, or knowing that she was finally receiving treatment that helped her.
Sometimes, it was strange seeing treatments we would not using in hospitals in the US. I think whilst the treatments aren’t necessarily evidence based or scientific, there is definitely a point to them. When using natural things that have real qualities/curatives, they put all their faith in the treatment and the doctor, which for some is almost more important, even if it doesn’t necessarily cure their condition.
It helps how they mentally view their condition; there’s a psychological benefit, and it’s almost religious.
The clinic itself felt much more like a home, there was one building where the doctor intakes patients. They just show up without appointments, with their donation wrapped in leaves. He sees them in a small examination room with just a table. Patients were very respectful, remained silent, listening, and most were clearly pleased to see him. Patients often gave a bow and this proved how respected and trusted the Ayurvedic doctor was. He would examine and decide on the form of treatment, and would either perform the treatment there in the examination room or he would do the treatment on the ward.
There was also a pharmacy, which was unlike any pharmacy I have ever seen, which had all sorts of different oils, herbs, and leaves and different little bottles of things (which we had no idea of the contents) stacked around. He uses all these ingredients and prescribed them to people…it was certainly very different from the pharmacy back in the city, let alone a pharmacy in the US!
The house we stayed in during the week was absolutely lovely. There was 5 girls including me staying there the week that I was there. We had bunk beds and we ate all 3 meals a day at the house, and it was wonderful food, including chicken curry and mango curry. It was wonderful to get to try the dishes and see what the traditional food was like.
Our guide looked after us every day, and he would escort us around and show us all the sites, take us to the clinic, and really help us get involved, as well as translate for the doctor so we could understand what was he was saying. He was very helpful and friendly.
Each morning was spent at the clinic and each afternoon was jam-packed diving into cultural experiences. One day we did a train ride, which went to the beautiful Minneriya National Park, and we also did a jeep safari. We got to see wild elephants which was my favourite memory of the whole time I was with WtW! We hiked a mountain to a ruin of an old buddhist monastery, which had amazing views and we got to see Sri Lankan monks, too. We didn’t get to talk to them, but we got to see them in their natural environment which was fascinating. It was the full moon holiday when we were at the temple, so we got to participate in a ceremonial walk. After the ceremony we got to serve the community a meal which was a really special way to show our appreciation for being accepted into their community.
Day to day life in the village was very interesting. It was fascinating to see how a traditional Sri Lankan families live, and the village was very family oriented and traditional. We got to see how they do laundry, we received a cooking lesson where we learned how to prepare a traditional curry and noodles from scratch.
We truly had a new experience every day.
I would absolutely recommend the experience, it gave me a whole different perspective on Sri Lankan medicine, and I was grateful to really able to see how a traditional Sri Lankan community lives, and really interact with the local people. We got to do amazing experiences we maybe wouldn't have been able to do in the city hospital, too. I would 100% recommend it - it was an amazing experience, and I really gained so much during the week.
My one piece of advice for anyone considering the Ayurvedic week is to go in with an open mind, and to try to put aside your preconceived notions of holistic therapy and medicine. Try to see what the patients are going through, understand that whilst the medicine isn’t necessarily evidence based or scientific, it’s what they place their faith in and so should be respected.
Explore Sri Lanka - Kandy
"Life in the village exceeded my every expectation. My advice, if you’re considering a week in the village? Do it."
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1682
|
__label__cc
| 0.642164
| 0.357836
|
Vineyards »
June Carey »
Vineyard Before the Harvest
by June Carey
"This is how I remember wine country when I first discovered it," recalls June Carey. "I couldn't believe that such a lush and verdant region existed in the hill country between the Central Valley and the coast. There was a pastoral magic in the air. Nearly every twist and turn in the road presented a view that seemed to say, 'Yes, it's that's beautiful here. Don't you wish this was where you lived.' "In fact, I lived in Chico, CA with my late husband, the marine artist David Thimgin. He and I would always make painting trips from our home in Chico to the coast via the main highways. One mid-summer day, I was driving back and decided we would go a different route. That decision was one of the best I made in my life, it opened a whole new world to me. "I grew up in farm country back East and never encountered anything like it in the areas of California I had visited. I missed the sense of a personal connection that the small farms and communities had to the land they cultivated. And here, in the Alexander Valley, I discovered it again. Added to all this beauty - they were growing grapes for wine." Vineyard Before the Harvest is a stunning wine country panorama presented as a 48" x 19" Fine Art Canvas. The edition is set at 45 pieces. Hang this exquisite work of art in your dining room and you'll be able to savor the brilliance an Alexander Valley summer day, every day, wherever your home may be.
Born in Takoma, Maryland, June enjoyed many hours with her family visiting The Smithsonian and The National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. In 1984 she began painting full-time. As a self-taught artist she says "I just learned everything the hard way."
June has recieved numerous awards for her California landscapes and coastal scenes, including the Arts for the Parks Region II Award in 1997 and 1998. Like many Californians, June started out on the East Coast. As a teenager, she came to California. In the 1980s Carey found herself painting desert scenes and became known for this, and participating in a lot of Western art shows and competitions. Then she met her husband David Thimgan, a historical Marine artist. The two began to enjoy frequent trips to the beautiful northern California coast together and before long June began painting vineyards as well as water.
"A large part of what drives me to paint is a passion to create a place I want to be. No place on earth is more inviting to me than the wine country of Northern California. The vineyards I paint become mine." - June Carey
June is a Fellow in the American Society of Marine Artists and an Artist Member of the Californian Art Club.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1683
|
__label__wiki
| 0.579411
| 0.579411
|
Martinez, Ceja, Washington: Media workout quotes/images
Showtime 25/02/2016
Stephanie Trapp
Former world champion Kiko “Sensacion” Martinez (35-6-0, 26 KOs) participated in a media workout Wednesday at the City of Angels Boxing Club in Los Angeles as he prepares to face undefeated WBA Featherweight World Champion Leo Santa Cruz (31-0-1, 17 KOs) on Saturday, Feb. 27 live on SHOWTIME® (7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET) from Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
In the co-feature Mexican warrior Julio Ceja (30-1, 27 KOs) meets Hugo Ruiz 35-3, 31 KOs) in a long-awaited Super Bantamweight World Title rematch and undefeated heavyweight Gerald Washington (16-0-1, 11 KOs) will face unbeaten Oscar Rivas (18-0, 13 KOs). Both Ceja and Washington joined Martinez to give the media a preview of what’s to come on Saturday.
Martinez spoke about the adjustments he’s made as his trainer Gabriel Sarmiento was unable to obtain a Visa in time to travel to the United States and will not be able to serve in his corner come Saturday. Martinez is confident that renowned Southern California trainer Robert García will be able to lead him to a world title on Saturday night.
Tickets for the live event, which is promoted by TGB promotions, are priced at $27, $54, $104 and $199 and are on sale now via ticketmaster.com, Ticketmaster retail locations, by calling 800-745-3000 of by stopping by the Honda Center Box Office.
Here is what the fighters had to say:
KIKO MARTINEZ
“I’m very happy to have Robert Garcia in my corner. He has led so many fighters to world titles. I’m excited and I’m anxious to get things going. I’m ready to collaborate and I think we’ll do great things Saturday.
“The people who doubt that I will take this title only make me stronger and more dangerous.
“Training camp has been extremely tough with lots of demands due to facing a champion like Leo Santa Cruz because he’s an excellent boxer who I admire. I have completely devoted myself to training for this fight.
“On Saturday everyone will get to see the best Kiko Martinez. I am going to be bringing the pressure and giving you all a great fight with power punches to disarm Santa Cruz and take the title.
“I hope that fans will change their mindset of seeing me as the underdog and support me because I am here to show something else.
“I am very happy to be here and have the opportunity to fight in the United States again.
“I love this California weather, it reminds me of the weather of El Canario where I was training and I am feeling great.
“I am ready. Now all there is left is to wait. We’ve got the weigh-in ahead of us and I’ve already made weight. I will be working up a sweat just to remain active and distracted because I am ready to jump in the ring and start the best fight of my life.
“I have won a world title in the United States and became a world champ here and I am expecting to become the world champ here once again. That fight was how I became known here, now this fight will be the biggest fight of my career.
“I’ve been studying [Santa Cruz] for quite some time now, since I’ve been waiting to fight him previously, now it has come to this point in this time of my life. I have grown and learned so much since then that I truly feel that I have learned from my mistakes and grown to the best of my life yet.”
“Luckily [trainer Gabriel Sarmiento] has been training me up until this point. We’re on the same team and we have each other’s backs and he is still fully supportive. I have him in my heart and I know that he will be supporting me all the way.
“I am not worried about what anyone is saying. All I want is to get in the ring come Saturday and demonstrate that Leo and I will put on a huge fight and the audience will not be bored for a single minute.”
JULIO CEJA
“We have had a long and very intense camp. We are prepared and know what is on the line here because we know that Hugo comes at it with everything he’s got. This is a prestigious opportunity that I have been presented with and we can forecast that it will be an all-or-nothing fight.
“This will be a toe-to-toe fight because we both know each other’s strengths and having fought before we know this rematch will be explosive.
“From the second we knew there would be a rematch, we immediately started training. We knew going in to this again that it will be a tough fight and this one will be better than the first. It will be more dangerous and more of a fight than the last because of what the rematch represents.
“I have trained very hard because I know what is on the line and I am not going to allow Ruiz to take that title from be so easily. It is going to be an all-out battle.
“Hugo has reach and height on me but all I know is that once I hear that bell, none of that matters. There’s a reason why they call me the champ and I am confident in my skill to show that.
“I am looking to show up and give the fans an entertaining show. I will be looking for a fight all throughout and keep it exciting for the fans who are coming out to see a good fight.
“I devoted my life to becoming the champion and my life dream was always to be a champ, so this is something that I will fight to the end for.
“I became a champ here in the United States and now that I am blessed with the opportunity to get a rematch here. I’m ready to take full advantage of this chance to give it 100 percent.”
GERALD WASHINGTON
“I grew up boxing and boxing was always my passion as a kid. I used to go to the local Boys & Girls Club as a kid and I’ve been in love with it since. It’s always been a part of me and I’m glad I can do it again and take over this division.
“There are lot’s similarities in football and boxing. You watch film, break your opponent down. We take everything from sparring and practice and take them out to the game.
“This is going to be a great fight. It’s always a good battle when you have two undefeated fighters. It’s going to be a night full of action. I look forward to the action. I love stepping up and facing top-flight competition.
“Rivas has an extensive amateur background. He’s a big, strong guy who likes the knockout. He’s going to go for it. I’m prepared for a fight like that. I know the pressure is coming. We’ve worked hard since my last fight.
“The jab is the key for everything. It opens up all the other shots and keeps the opponent off balance. I’m going to hammer him with it. It’s a major tool.
“It’s a great honor to be fighting here in Los Angeles. My whole life has taken place in this state and everyone who has supported me is coming together on Saturday to see it all in action.
“Heavyweight boxing is always exciting. We’re the hardest hitters in the game. I can’t wait to show everyone the hard work I’ve put in and give a great performance.
“I’m going to be smart and disciplined in the ring. But you also have to have a strong will and have the determination to keep moving forward. You have to step to the guy and apply the pressure.
“My height and reach is always to my advantage but it’s not that. It’s the legs, the mind, the combinations. It’s everything.
“You will see a smart and aggressive style from me on Saturday and I’m going to take that into the next level of my career.”
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1684
|
__label__wiki
| 0.658989
| 0.658989
|
Exploration & development
BHP and Mitsubishi sign up to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
Published by Stephanie Roker, Editor
World Coal, Thursday, 20 June 2019 10:45
BHP and Mitsubishi Development Pty Ltd have signed a MoU agreement to work together in the pursuit of emissions reductions, including from the lifecycle use of marketed products.
In Tokyo on 20 June, BHP Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Mackenzie, said the MoU marked the start of an important collaboration with one of BHP’s essential long-term industry partners.
“BHP is committed to accelerating the development of emerging technologies that have the potential to achieve material reductions in greenhouse gas emissions,” Mackenzie said.
“Our new collaboration with Mitsubishi Development demonstrates the important role the private sector can play in bringing these technologies to market.
“Both companies are committed to emissions reductions in a range of industries, including the steel industry.
“Our Japanese partners and customers are critical to the development of new technologies and approaches to emissions reductions that stand to benefit countries across the globe.”
Mitsubishi Development Pty Ltd (MDP) Managing Director and CEO, Sadahiko Haneji, said this MoU is an important initiative for a company engaging in mineral resource activities in Australia, such as MDP.
“Mitsubishi Corporation Group, and therefore MDP, is committed to simultaneously generating economic value, environmental value and societal value through all business activities it conducts,” Haneji said.
“In line with this principle and guided by commitment to corporate social responsibility, as well as global climate targets, MDP is enhancing its efforts to generate further environmental value, to help society transition to a low carbon future.
“We are confident that this partnership with BHP will help us to achieve our goal, as well as contribute to the sustainable future of our local and global communities.”
BHP and Mitsubishi Development Pty Ltd are reviewing opportunities to undertake research, pilot new ideas, and develop and deploy new emissions reduction technologies.
The collaboration with Mitsubishi Development forms part of BHP’s global programme of projects in China, Canada, the US and Australia to progress low emissions technology. This is in addition to the near-term and longer-term targets BHP has set for emissions reductions within the company’s global operations.
“At BHP, we work with customers, suppliers and parties along our value chain to influence emissions reductions across the full lifecycle of our products,” Mackenzie said.
“As well as investments in emerging technologies, we set greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets for our operations, we build the resilience of our operations and communities to the physical impacts of climate change, and we work across sectors to strengthen the global policy and market response.”
Examples of BHP’s low emissions technology investments are:
Trials of light electric vehicles powered by lithium ion batteries in BHP’s Olympic Dam underground fleet of light vehicles.
Participation in the Lakeland Battery Storage and Solar project featuring a 13 MW solar PV installation with storage of 5 MW/hr in regional Queensland, Australia.
US$7.37 million three year partnership with Peking University to identify barriers to carbon capture and storage (CCS) deployment in the industrial sector, with a particular focus on the iron and steel industries.
CAN$20 million to establish the International CCS Knowledge Centre to promote the lessons learned from the Boundary Dam project in Saskatchewan (Canada), the world’s first commercial-scale CCS process on a coal-fired power plant.
US$6 million equity investment in Canadian-based Carbon Engineering Ltd, leading the development of direct air capture, an innovative technology with the potential to deliver large-scale negative emissions by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
In collaboration with Australia’s national research agency, CSIRO, BHP is scoping a project designed to determine the viability of measuring fugitive methane emissions in near real time from opencast coal mining environments.
BHP’s 50 year relationship with Japan
Japan is BHP’s second largest customer. Sales to Japan were US$4.7 billion in FY18, up 50% on the previous year.
BHP’s partnership with Japan began in the 1960s. The company opened its first office in Tokyo in 1965 – its first shipment of coal was sent in 1968 and the first shipment of iron ore in 1969.
Today, BHP supplies iron ore, coal, copper, nickel, uranium, LPG and LNG to its Japanese customers.
BHP has joint ventures with Japan’s major corporations:
The BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) is Australia’s largest coal producer and supplier of seaborne metallurgical coal. BMA is owned 50:50 by BHP and Mitsubishi Development Pty Ltd. BMA operates seven Bowen Basin mines and owns and operates the Hay Point coal terminal near Mackay.
Mitsui as part of BHP Mitsui Coal (BMC) owns and operates metallurgical coal assets in the Bowen Basin in Central Queensland (Australia).
Itochu and Mitsui for iron ore assets in Western Australia.
Mitsubishi Corporation in copper, through Escondida and Antamina in South America.
Mitsubishi Corporation and Mitsui are also partners in the North West Shelf project, Australia’s largest oil and gas development which supplies LNG to Japan and other countries in the Asia Pacific.
Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/power/20062019/bhp-and-mitsubishi-sign-up-to-reduce-greenhouse-gas-emissions/
Queensland coal exports set new record
The 11% increase on the same month last year highlights the increasing demand from world markets for Queensland’s coal.
BHP Billiton news
Copyright © 2019 Palladian Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | Tel: +44 (0)1252 718 999 | Email: enquiries@worldcoal.com
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1685
|
__label__cc
| 0.531194
| 0.468806
|
Daily Archives: 30 May 2012
Robert Cargill Has Changed Since He Moved to Iowa…
Humor 30 May 2012
And I mean CHANGED! Take a look!
Via Irene Hahn
The moral? DON’T move to Iowa! It ruins you!!!!!
How They Go Boating in Australia…
Humor, Pentebabbleists 30 May 2012 Comments: 4
If You Take the Long Ending of Mark Literally, You’ll Die (and You’re Silly)
Pentebabbleism, Pentebabbleists, pseudo-christianity, pseudo-theology 30 May 2012 Comments: 6
Pastor Mack Wolford, the son of a snake-handling pastor who died from a rattler bite, lived by faith and died on Sunday, like his father before him, from a serpent bite. Julia Duin has the riveting story of belief in miracles that defies mere rational understanding. Wolford, 44, “a flamboyant Pentecostal pastor from West Virginia,” refused treatment for snake bites and, like his father before him, died within hours of a Sunday afternoon service in an isolated park.
Guess they didn’t have sufficient faith then… Crazy Pentebabbleists.
[Yes, I feel badly for their family. Yes, it’s tragic. But it’s lunacy. And the long ending of Mark isn’t even authentic!]
Pastor Mack doing his thing…
‘Serpent Pastor’ Dies of Snake Bite (newser.com)
Snake-handling pastor dies from bite (upi.com)
Serpent-handling pastor dies from rattlesnake bite (bangordailynews.com)
Oded Golan Sentenced and the Fate of the ‘James Ossuary’ Decided
pseudo-archaeology 30 May 2012
Matthew Kalman reports
The Tel Aviv antiquities collector acquitted in March after a seven-year trial of faking the burial box of Jesus’s brother, an inscribed tablet that may have adorned Solomon’s Temple, and dozens of other valuable antiquities was sentenced Wednesday to a month in jail and fined 30,000 NIS for three minor charges of illegal trading in antiquities and handling goods suspected of being stolen.
[Judge] Farkash ordered the prosecution to present detailed arguments by July 1 justifying the confiscation of each item, including dozens of ancient seals and seal impressions, inscribed pottery, lamps, decanters and other artifacts seized on suspicion of being fakes.
Farkash also revealed that he had been petitioned by two other collectors – Shlomo Moussaieff and George Weill – for the return of items belonging to them.
“Antiquities theft in the land of Israel has become a national plague,” Judge Farkash said in an eight-page written decision that he read out to an almost empty courtroom. “Antiquities theft damages various sites spread out across the land of Israel, sites which are an inseparable part of the history and culture of this land and its inhabitants, who lived here from thousands of years ago until the present day. Antiquities theft also damages the ability of experts to document the history of the people of Israel in its land.”
There’s a lot more but that’s the core of the matter.
Fingers Crossed, The Jehoash Tablet and the James Ossuary Might be Destroyed (zwingliusredivivus.wordpress.com)
Oded Golan Found Innocent (zwingliusredivivus.wordpress.com)
The Verdict in the ‘James Ossuary’ Trial in the News (zwingliusredivivus.wordpress.com)
Matthew Kalman’s Report on the Trial Verdict (zwingliusredivivus.wordpress.com)
The Nature of Sin Explained
Theology 30 May 2012
Sin makes us believe that what it wants for us is more important than what God wants for us.
Evangelical Exegetical Commentary: 1-3 John
Bible, Books 30 May 2012 1 Comment
Newly published, the latest volume of the EEC covers 1-3 John. The commentary’s author, Gary Derickson, asserts both Johannine authorship and the traditional time, place, and occasion for the epistles. As with Philemon, the structure of the commentary is original (language) text followed by textual notes, then translation, then commentary proper. So, for example, of 1:1 Derickson writes (in considerable detail)-
1:1 Ὃ ἦν ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς, “That which was from the beginning.” This initial series of relative clauses serves to describe the nature of John’s eyewitness understanding of Jesus, who is Eternal Life personified, described initially as “the Word of Life.” These clauses describe his understanding as the result of personal experience. Further, they are introduced with an initial relative clause that takes the reader back to the prologue of his Gospel.
John introduces his subject with the repetition of “that which” in a parenthetical statement describing his authority to speak as an eyewitness. The difficulty of determining John’s exact meaning results from his choice to use the neuter relative pronoun ὃ rather than the masculine which might seem more appropriate grammatically. Culy (2) sees this as “a topic (or ‘cleft’) construction” wherein John introduces his topic through a “series of appositional relative clauses” whose relative pronoun is in the case it would have within the clause that follows it. Whereas the masculine would clearly refer to Jesus, the neuter allows additional referents. Five possible meanings for the pronoun translated “that which” have been proposed: (1) John might be referring to revelation about Christ (Painter, 120). This would fit with some of the doctrinal issues raised in the epistle. (2) It could refer to the teachings of Christ, which would fit with some of the ethical issues raised in the epistle. (3) It refers to the eternal life manifested by Christ. (4) It could refer to Christ Himself. On one hand, this option may initially appear less likely because it would be much clearer with the masculine pronoun.
However, elsewhere John uses the neuter pronoun to refer to people (1 John 5:4) and Christ (John 3:6; 6:37, 39; 17:2 and 24). Finally, (5) it could refer to all of Jesus’ life, teachings, as well as His person (Burge, 53; Haas, de Jonge, and Swellengrebel, 11; Strecker, 10). This use of the neuter avoids the confusion of thinking he is referring exclusively to “life,” a feminine noun, or “word,” a masculine noun. The neuter pronoun focuses the reader on Jesus as both, the “Word” and “Life.” Thus it communicates John’s comprehensive view of Christ. Further, his use of “heard,” “saw with our eyes,” “beheld,” and “handled” points his readers to the person of Christ. His reference to “the Word of Life” clearly alludes to the prologue of the Gospel, wherein the Word of God is the incarnate Word, Jesus. Finally, it could be that John intended both Jesus as eternal life incarnate and His teachings about eternal life to be in view (Kistemaker, 8). As Akin notes, “The message and the person ultimately cannot be separated. Each explains the other” (Akin, 51).
“The beginning” is equally ambiguous. (1) It could refer to the beginning of time or creation (Brooke, 1; Burge 53; Haas, de Jonge, and Swellengrebel, 11; Smalley, 7; Strecker, 9). This would give it an identical meaning as the term in John 1:1. John would be consciously developing the prologue of his epistle along the lines of that of the Gospel. However, though John clearly intends to allude to the prologue of the Gospel, his focus on “life” over “word” in the parenthetical statement mitigates against having the same meaning (Harris, 50). (2) It might allude to the beginning of the reader’s faith in Christ (Westcott, 6–7). This could only work if “the Word of Life” had referred to the apostolic teachings. However, the context of the other descriptives makes it more likely a reference to Jesus’ earthly ministry since John is describing Jesus as eternal life itself, and so “Word of Life” refers to Him. (3) It could be the beginning of Jesus’ earthly life, His incarnation (Kruse, 50–51; Mitchell, 22). (4) It could mean the beginning of Jesus’ ministry (Brown, 158; Walls and Anders, 155). This would accord with his reference at the end of the epistle to Jesus coming “by water and blood” (1 John 5:6). John’s use of ἀπό rather than ἐν also strengthens this view (Culy, 2). (5) It could refer to the beginning of the church in Acts 2 (Williams, 17). In this context it would not be a reference to a commonly held tradition whose details were in dispute. Nor does it serve as an allusion to the apostles’ true claims about Jesus as opposed to the claims of the heretics (Brown, 71–72). It should, though, be seen as an initial indication of John’s continued emphasis on the deity of Christ and the christological focus of this epistle with Jesus’ incarnation in view, as will be evidenced in the phrases that follow.
John chooses first person plural verbs throughout this descriptive prologue to describe his experience of the incarnate Christ. His use of “we” is seen by some as a reference to (1) John himself, equivalent to “I,” as an “authorial plural” (Schnackenburg, 52; Strecker, 11), (2) including both John and his readers (Dodd, 9–10), (3) referring to the “Johannine school” (Brown, 160), (4) to “all Christians” (Williams, 17), or (5) referring to the apostolic band of eyewitnesses, which includes John (Hodges, 47; Kistemaker, 204–5). The last view seems most reasonable since, as Kistemaker says, “[o]nly Jesus’ original disciples can say and write that they touched him with their hands, as John states in the introductory verses of his first epistle” (Kistemaker, 205). Further, John uses the first person singular to refer to himself elsewhere in his epistles, and so should be seen as fully capable to doing so here in order to be clear (Harris, 51).
John’s use of “we” includes himself and, most likely, the other apostles as eyewitnesses (Haas, de Jonge, and Swellengrebel, 8). This places him within a larger group of eyewitnesses who are testifying to the church (in this case the recipients of this epistle) their experience of Christ. Culy (3) rightly notes that this emphasizes his “status as one of the limited group of eyewitnesses” and strengthens the epistle’s authority by his association with them. In this epistle it is very important to note the person of the verbs and pronouns. Both the verbs and pronouns often occupy emphatic positions in their sentences and are critical to understanding both his meaning and emphasis. Thus, his use of “we” is not as an authorial “we” equivalent to “I,” however as the spokesman for a group of eyewitnesses whose experience matches his own. Later this will become significant as he develops his “we” versus “them” distinctions between the apostles and false teachers.
ὃ ἀκηκόαμεν, ὃ ἑωράκαμεν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ἡμῶν, “which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes.” John describes his experience of Christ as eternal life incarnate through the perfect tense verbs ἀκηκόαμεν and ἑωράκαμεν. By these he indicates the continuing impact of his having heard and seen Jesus. The significance of his having seen Jesus is made through what would at first seem a redundant reference to having seen “with our eyes” (τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ἡμῶν). This would place him in contrast to the false teachers who might claim revelations, however could never claim eyewitness status. It also establishes a different level of authority from those who were merely eyewitnesses of Jesus’ resurrection such as the five hundred who saw the living Jesus following His resurrection (1 Cor 15:6). Additionally, the perfect clarifies that though he saw Him in the past, Jesus’ impact on him continues to the present, and so his status as an eyewitness remains valid.
ὃ ἐθεασάμεθα καὶ αἱ χεῖρες ἡμῶν ἐψηλάφησαν, “which we beheld and our hands handled.” John’s deliberate movement from the perfect toaoristin the next two verbs ἐθεασάμεθα and ἐψηλάφησαν to describe his seeing and handling of Jesus clarifies that, though he and the other eyewitnesses had touched and seen Jesus during His earthly ministry, they no longer do at the time of writing. Jesus is no longer with them and John is not claiming any special appearances of Jesus beyond the corporate experience of the apostles. In contrast to the secret knowledge of Gnosticism, what John testifies to is common knowledge, experienced and known by a group that extends beyond him and his followers. Granted, Paul does meet Jesus on the road to Damascus and in subsequent revelations.
However, his experience is not being alluded to by John here. Furthermore, John will again experience a personal appearance of Jesus on the Isle of Patmos some years after the writing of this epistle. However, that is a story waiting its telling!
John’s use of ἐθεασάμεθα can simply mean looking intently at something, though it may also be used as a synonym of the more common ὁράω. Contra Hass et al., John’s choice seems to be more than to provide variation in the text, but to heighten the significance of his eyewitness status by the distinction created (Haas, de Jonge, and Swellengrebel, 12). He not only saw Jesus (ἑωράκαμεν), but he paid close attention to Jesus (ἐθεασάμεθα). Thus his understanding of Jesus from personal experience could be seen as both thorough and reliable.
Finally, John affirms further that he not only saw Jesus, but he was in personal, physical contact with Him during His earthly ministry. He uses ἐψηλάφησαν to emphasize the reality of Jesus’ corporeality, by noting that his experience of Jesus was physical as well as aural and visual (Haas, de Jonge, and Swellengrebel, 12). Thus, all of these verbs of perceiving serve to verify John’s status as an eyewitness with the right to relate His teachings with authority.
περὶ τοῦ λόγου τῆς ζωῆς, “concerning the Word of Life.” What John experienced was “the Word of Life.” This is best seen as a reference to Jesus, who is the living “Word” of God (John 1:1, 14) and the “Life” (John 14:6), not just the source of that life (Haas, de Jonge, and Swellengrebel, 19). Some see this referring to revelation: Jesus reveals truths about spiritual life.
Just as Jesus is not referred to as “the Word” in the Gospel after the prologue, John’s use here seems to follow the same pattern (Haas, de Jonge, and Swellengrebel, 12). However, although in his Gospel he has the preincarnate “Word” in view, here John has the incarnate “Word” in view. This is likely an allusion to the Gospel account, or at least reflects a conceptual connection. In this prologue, Jesus as eternal life incarnate is introduced with the movement from “Word of Life” to “Life,” and then to “Eternal Life.” Just as John’s use of “Word” in the Gospel prologue more likely expressed the Old Testament concept of God’s Word in creation, revelation, and salvation, here he appears to intend the same connection. Thus, rather than seeing this as an allusion to the gnostic concept of the logos, John is still speaking in terms of the Old Testament concept of divine revelation embodied in the person of Jesus. However, as he develops this concept in these three steps, he takes it further, moving from revelation to source.
Jesus is not simply the One who gives life. He is life itself. Yet, Scripture also speaks of eternal life as something we possess as a gift from God, freely given and never revoked. This reference may be taken as an objective genitive, referring to the word concerning life. This is supported by passages such as 1 John 1:10; 2:5, 7 and 14 where “word” does not refer to Jesus but to biblical revelation. Some take this as a reference to the gospel message rather than the person of Jesus (Brown, 182; Westcott, 6–7). Yet the subject of the prologue is not the message about Jesus and eternal life, but Jesus, who is eternal life. The subject is better seen as the person of Jesus rather than the topic of life.
Certainly this gives readers and potential readers a fair representation of what Derickson is about here. But is he right? In many respects he is. In others, however, there are problems. Primarily his seeming assumption of the existence of full blown gnosticism is problematic. However, on the whole, there is more here that is right than is not.
Exposition is followed by biblical theology and application. D. also includes, from time to time, additional and supplemental exegetical notes (footnotes, as it were with other more in depth observations on the Greek text).
Derickson has assembled an impressive amount of information which I believe readers will find exceedingly useful.
The Evangelical Exegetical Commentary: Philemon (zwingliusredivivus.wordpress.com)
Lending a Hand and Promoting a Worthy Project
Bible 30 May 2012
My friend Cliff Kvidahl writes on the facebook-
Help me bring French scholarship to English readers.
And then he links to Ceslas Spicq’s two volume commentary on Hebrews which Logos is considering publishing in English if there is sufficient interest. Apparently they’re almost there- so I’m happy to mention it and bring attention to it.
Tale a look- it certainly might be something you’d find useful.
Modern Culture 30 May 2012
Big News! Joel Watts has Taken a Position in the Romney Campaign
Humor 30 May 2012 Comments: 4
Far be it for news organizations to cast stones at typos, but a glaring error from the Romney campaign has led to some online ribbing.* A new photo-sharing iPhone app unveiled by the campaign misspells the most important word for any American presidential campaign: America. The homepage on the app invites users to envision “A Better Amercia.” The campaign has already commissioned a correction.
‘Amercia’… Welcome to the Romney camp, Joel….
Mark Zuckerberg is a Jerk
Total Depravity 30 May 2012 Comments: 8
Waiters and Waitresses get terrible pay and when people don’t tip they make far less than minimum wage. Enter the world’s newest billionaire Mark Zuckerberg- whom one would imagine to be a generous guy- tipping at least 15% like the rest of us do (and more) when we get good service:
Mark Zuckerberg’s latest status update should read: “cheapskate.” The Facebook CEO, who’s worth billions, couldn’t spare a lousy eight bucks to tip a waiter at a Rome restaurant after a honeymoon nosh with his new wife. Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan lunched on fried zucchini blossoms and a plate of sea bass and tomato ravioli at Nonna Betta, running up a tab of 32 euros — about $40. But when the tight-fisted techie settled up, he stiffed the waiter — leaving him exactly zero percent.
Jerk. Totally depraved selfish jerk.
Murfreesboro Tennessee Absurdity
Modern Culture, Total Depravity 30 May 2012 Comments: 3
On behalf of sensible Tennesseans, I apologize to the world for the feckless and senseless anti-Islamic racism exhibited by some of the residents of Murfreesboro and the hate-mongers seeking to deprive American citizens of their right to practice their religion freely in a building of their own.
It is absolutely inconceivable to me that these ‘god-fearing ‘Mericans’ wish to deny their fellow citizens religious liberty. It is appalling and it is authentically disgusting and I’m ashamed of them. They are far more a threat to American democracy than any decent Muslims simply wishing to worship.
A judge ruled Tuesday that construction of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro must stop because the county government failed to give adequate public notice of the plans. Chancellor Robert Corlew issued his opinion that plans for the mosque approved by the Rutherford County Planning Commission are “void and of no effect”. “After consideration of the law and the evidence presented, the Court finds that the action of the county was not sufficient to provide the type of notice to citizens of the county that such matters were to be presented at the meeting of the Rutherford County Regional Planning Commission which should be expected under law,” the ruling stated.
If it had been a Church under construction or a Synagogue no such ruling would have been made and we ALL know it.
So again, decent people, I apologize for these wicked anti-democratic sub-Christian people. They don’t represent Tennessee and they certainly don’t represent me or Christianity.
Judge’s ruling stops construction of Tennessee mosque (theglobeandmail.com)
Judge’s ruling stops construction of Tenn. mosque (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
STEP Volunteers Needed
Bible, Biblical Studies Resources 30 May 2012
Tyndale House, Cambridge, UK
From Tyndale House this note-
STEP (Scripture Tools for Every Person) our project to provide Scripture study tools freely to the world’s poorest people will include a new Bible Encyclopaedia for all the places, people and difficult words in the Bible. We have already compiled all the data from older Bible dictionaries, and now need to rewrite these succinctly for a modern generation, so that relevant information is offered to the reader while reading a passage. If you have editing skills and good Bible knowledge, we’d love to have you in our team! More details here.
If you can help, please do.
Where In the World is Chris Tilling Now?
Heresy and Heretics, Humor, Pentebabbleists, Theodicy, Total Depravity 30 May 2012
In jail…
A streaker who ran naked onto the field during a Cardinals game says he did so because he lost a bet. Twenty-two-year-old Chris Tilling of Battersea, UK Collin Grundstrom of Jefferson City was captured at Busch Stadium after shedding his clothes before the start of the seventh inning Thursday night. Officers retrieved his shorts from the stands and made him put them back on before leading him away. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/LmQZa2 ) reports that Tilling Grundstrom is charged with violating two city ordinances — being a spectator running on the playing field, and lewd and lascivious behavior. He was jailed overnight. The head of security at the stadium, Joe Walsh, says Tilling Grundstrom “appeared to have been drinking.”
Tilling… streaking…. cover your eyes friends, cover your eyes!
[Of course he had been drinking. Of course he had. Drinking makes you an idiot and idiocy makes you get drunk. Drinking and stupidity are twin sisters.]
Jumpin Jehosaphat!
Modern Culture 30 May 2012 1 Comment
A New Jersey man allegedly cut out his entrails in front of police and then threw bits of his flesh and intestines at them. The gruesome scene played out at a home in Hackensack, N.J., where 43-year-old Wayne Carter allegedly barricaded himself in on Sunday, NBC New York reported. Officers got a call that morning when a witness said Carter was threatening to harm himself with a knife. Two cops responded, kicked in the door and found Carter in the corner, the station reported. Carter allegedly ignored officers’ orders to put down the knife, and instead began stabbing himself in the abdomen, neck and legs. An attempt to pepper spray the bleeding man had no effect, the Associated Press reported. That’s when Carter — disemboweled but responsive — reportedly threw bits of his skin and intestines at the officers.
Truly speechless…
Hackensack man critical after allegedly stabbing self, throwing intestines at police (nj.com)
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1689
|
__label__wiki
| 0.894806
| 0.894806
|
Versioni Shqip
Agriculture and commerce, the lowest paid sectors in the country
By Erdi Ibro Posted on: 10-05-2019, 10:09
Unfortunately, the sectors with the lowest average pays are the ones who employ the largest number of people.
People who work in agriculture, commerce or craftsmanship are the lowest paid jobs in Albania. This is confirmed by experts of statistics, according to which there’s a big difference between these sectors and other sectors of the country.
“In 2018, jobs which are paid below the average were qualified workers employed in agriculture, forests and fishing, but also craftsmen, artisans and other professionals like these ones”, the Institute of Statistics says in its latest study about the labour market, adding that the highest paid jobs are lawmakers, senior employees of the state administration and executive directors, but also specialists and technicians. INSTAT confirms that last year, average gross salary in Albania was 50.589 leks. This salary is higher in financial activities, insurance, public administration, etc. Meanwhile, people who work in sectors such as commerce, agriculture, fishing, etc, get paid less.
What catches the eye in the latest study made by INSTAT is the fact that the sectors with the lowest salaries are the ones who employ more people. This shows that there are more people nationwide who get paid less than the average salary of 50.589 leks. What’s more is that the majority of these people who work in these sectors are self-employed and do not get a fixed salary.
“The service sector and agriculture have the highest of employees with 42.9% and 37.4% of the total”, says Institute of Statistics.
BLOGVIEW
Copyright © 2017 Albanian Free Press. All Rights Reserved.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1690
|
__label__wiki
| 0.913026
| 0.913026
|
Home \\ Saudi Arabia \\ Saudi makes US$1 billion bid for pa... 08 Nov, 2018
A corporate logo is seen outside the Rheinmetall Denel munitons plant near Cape Town, South Africa, November 6, 2018. Picture taken November 6, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings
JOHANNESBURG - Reuters
Saudi makes US$1 billion bid for partnership with South Africa defense group Denel
Saudi Arabia has made a US$1 billion bid for a broad partnership with South African state-owned defense group Denel that would include acquisition of a minority stake in a joint venture with Germany's Rheinmetall , a source familiar with the offer said.
Currently heavily dependent on imports, Saudi Arabia, the world's third-largest defense spender, is seeking partnerships to develop its own domestic defense industry with the goal of localizing half of its military spending by 2030.
Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI), the kingdom's state defense company, told Reuters last month that it was in discussions with all major South African firms and aimed to conclude the first deals by the end of this year.
According to the source, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the talks, Saudi Arabia was targeting Denel's 49 percent stake in Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM).
RDM is a South African-based joint venture formed in 2008 between Denel and Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH, which holds the remaining 51 percent stake. It specializes in the development, design and manufacture of medium and large-caliber ammunition including artillery shells.
Industry sources said RDM operates independently and is subject to South African law, which means exports from the unit are not subject to German government oversight. The sources said they did not expect that a change in the ownership of the venture would require a German government review.
Under the Saudi offer, SAMI would also finance research and development in other Denel divisions including Denel Dynamics, which develops and produces tactical missiles and precision guided weapons.
Denel and SAMI would share intellectual property and under a new joint venture would target defense export markets in the Middle East and North Africa.
Finally, Saudi Arabia - already a top Denel customer for military vehicles, artillery munitions and radar equipment - would purchase a certain amount of the group's production. The Saudis expect an answer from the South African authorities by the end of December.
"Saudi Arabia has made a unique business proposition to the South African government. As our discussions are not finalised yet we cannot provide any comment," SAMI CEO Andreas Schwer wrote in response to Reuters' questions.
"RIPE FOR PARTNERSHIPS"
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa last week said Denel was "ripe for joint-venture partnerships". But he added that the government had not yet weighed the Saudi bid or proposals from what he said were a number of other suitors looking to partner with Denel.
A Denel spokesperson would not comment on any specific bid, saying that such negotiations take place on a state-to-state basis.
Ramaphosa's spokeswoman Khusela Diko said the president would only make a decision on the Saudi offer to partner with Denel once it was discussed by cabinet.
"No decision has been made yet," Diko told Reuters.
The source with knowledge of the Saudi bid told Reuters that Rheinmetall informally approached Denel's board last year aiming to deepen its collaboration with the company.
The source said Rheinmetall had, like Saudi Arabia, expressed interest in acquiring Denel's minority stake in RDM and other Denel divisions but was rebuffed.
Rheinmetall declined to comment.
Denel is grappling with an acute liquidity crunch and is struggling to pay salaries and deliver on roughly 18 billion rand (US$1.29 billion) of outstanding orders.
Following seven years of modest profits, the company said last week it had made an operating loss of 1.7 billion rand in the 2017/18 financial year.
Sector observers say finding an equity partner is essential to Denel's survival.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1691
|
__label__wiki
| 0.678985
| 0.678985
|
Amazon announced to debut the Amazon 4-star in New York, Soho neighborhood Spring Street between Crosby and Lafayette on 27 September 2018. The store carries the 4-star and above rated products from around New York.[64] The amazon website searches for the most rated, highly demanded, frequently bought and most wished for products which are then sold in the new amazon store under separate categories. Along with the paper price tags, the online-review cards will also be available for the customers to read before buying the product.[65][66]
Depending on which options you choose, using an online marketplace like Amazon can make the fulfillment process easier for new and small businesses. Not only can Amazon interact with customers on your behalf, saving you time while protecting your personal and private information, but it can also handle the entire shipping process, including returns. As a result, owners can concentrate on building their businesses.
Shelfari was a social cataloging website for books. Shelfari users built virtual bookshelves of the titles which they owned or had read and they could rate, review, tag and discuss their books. Users could also create groups that other members could join, create discussions and talk about books, or other topics. Recommendations could be sent to friends on the site for what books to read. Amazon bought the company in August 2008.[100] Shelfari continued to function as an independent book social network within the Amazon until January 2016, when Amazon announced that it would be merging Shelfari with Goodreads and closing down Shelfari.[102][103]
In early 2018, President Donald Trump repeatedly criticized Amazon's use of the United States Postal Service and pricing of its deliveries, stating, "I am right about Amazon costing the United States Post Office massive amounts of money for being their Delivery Boy," Trump tweeted. "Amazon should pay these costs (plus) and not have them bourne [sic] by the American Taxpayer."[167] Amazon's shares fell by 6 percent as a result of Trump's comments. Shepard Smith of Fox News disputed Trump's claims and pointed to evidence that the USPS was offering below market prices to all customers with no advantage to Amazon. However, analyst Tom Forte pointed to the fact that Amazon's payments to the USPS are not public and that their contract has a reputation for being "a sweetheart deal".[168][169]
Since its founding, the company has attracted criticism and controversy from multiple sources over its actions. These include: supplying law enforcement with facial recognition surveillance tools;[154] forming cloud computing partnerships with the CIA;[155] luring customers away from the site's brick and mortar competitors;[156] placing a low priority on warehouse conditions for workers; participating in anti-unionization efforts; remotely deleting content purchased by Amazon Kindle users; taking public subsidies; claiming that its 1-Click technology can be patented; engaging in anti-competitive actions and price discrimination;[157] and reclassifying LGBT books as adult content.[158][159] Criticism has also concerned various decisions over whether to censor or publish content such as the WikiLeaks website, works containing libel and material facilitating dogfight, cockfight, or pedophile activities. In December 2011, Amazon faced a backlash from small businesses for running a one-day deal to promote its new Price Check app. Shoppers who used the app to check prices in a brick-and-mortar store were offered a 5% discount to purchase the same item from Amazon.[160] Companies like Groupon, eBay and Taap.it countered Amazon's promotion by offering $10 off from their products.[161][162] The company has also faced accusations of putting undue pressure on suppliers to maintain and extend its profitability. One effort to squeeze the most vulnerable book publishers was known within the company as the Gazelle Project, after Bezos suggested, according to Brad Stone, "that Amazon should approach these small publishers the way a cheetah would pursue a sickly gazelle."[122] In July 2014, the Federal Trade Commission launched a lawsuit against the company alleging it was promoting in-app purchases to children, which were being transacted without parental consent.[163]
As it stands today, Amazon employs more than half a million people, more so than any other technology company in the country and second only to Walmart in the US. But the eventual result of its investments in robotics and AI is that technology’s biggest and fast-growing workforce could see that growth start to slow and, perhaps years down the line, even shrink as robots tackle ever more complicated tasks. In the process, the company may develop robots for use outside its fulfillment centers. Amazon has already changed how we shop and, by extension, how we live our lives. Its next big step could be changing how we work.
Quick-Step flooring has earned the prestigious FloorScore certification for indoor air quality by passing the most stringent tests in the world. All Quick-Step products are officially FloorScore certified, giving families living on our flooring peace of mind that they are bringing a product into their home that meets strict indoor air quality standards.
In June 2017, Amazon announced that it would acquire Whole Foods, a high-end supermarket chain with over 400 stores, for $13.4 billion.[14][41] The acquisition was seen by media experts as a move to strengthen its physical holdings and challenge Walmart's supremacy as a brick and mortar retailer. This sentiment was heightened by the fact that the announcement coincided with Walmart's purchase of men's apparel company Bonobos.[42] On August 23, 2017, Whole Foods shareholders, as well as the Federal Trade Commission, approved the deal.[43][44]
Given that trust, Amazon has only escalated up its expansion into more industries and markets over the years, with that expansion accelerating since the introduction of the first Amazon Echo speaker with Alexa a little less than four years ago. To fully comprehend just how big the company has grown over the last 25 years, we’ve put together a guide on every major sector, product category, and market Amazon has entered into either by developing its own products or services, or by acquiring an existing provider with an established position.
When it comes to which shopping holiday will save you more—Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday—for years, Black Friday dominated, a tried and true tradition for many deal-saavy families. However, as retailers have rolled out sales on Thanksgiving (and even earlier) and more people have gravitated to online shopping, Cyber Monday has become a big draw for those who want to forgo the early wake-up call and long lines, and shop from the comfort of their couch.
Amazon runs data centers for its online services and owns generators or purchases electricity corresponding to its consumption, mostly renewable energy.[139] Amazon contracted with Avangrid to build and operate the first wind farm in North Carolina to power Amazon's Virginia data centers. The wind farm was built and began operating in December 2016 despite opposition from President Trump and some North Carolina Republican legislators.[140][141][142][143][144]
Go digital. Even though you’re not shopping online, embracing technology can help you save. “Sign up for email alerts from your favorite retailers and follow them on Facebook and Instagram for exclusive offers,” says Freeman. Last year, for example, Walmart promoted hourly manager specials to their Facebook fans, points out Andrea Woroch, a consumer and money saving expert.
Amazon.com operates retail websites for Sears Canada, Bebe Stores, Marks & Spencer, Mothercare, and Lacoste. For a growing number of enterprise clients, including the UK merchants Marks & Spencer, Benefit Cosmetics' UK entity, edeals.com and Mothercare, Amazon provides a unified multichannel platform where a customer can interact with the retail website, standalone in-store terminals or phone-based customer service agents. Amazon Web Services also powers AOL's Shop@AOL.[citation needed]
Barnes & Noble sued Amazon on May 12, 1997, alleging that Amazon's claim to be "the world's largest bookstore" was false because it "...isn't a bookstore at all. It's a book broker." The suit was later settled out of court and Amazon continued to make the same claim.[36] Walmart sued Amazon on October 16, 1998, alleging that Amazon had stolen Walmart's trade secrets by hiring former Walmart executives. Although this suit was also settled out of court, it caused Amazon to implement internal restrictions and the reassignment of the former Walmart executives.[36]
In November 2015, Amazon opened its first physical bookstore location. It is named Amazon Books and is located in University Village in Seattle. The store is 5,500 square feet and prices for all products match those on its website.[149] Amazon will open its tenth physical book store in 2017;[150] media speculation suggests Amazon plans to eventually roll out 300 to 400 bookstores around the country.[149] Amazon plans to open brick and mortar bookstores in Germany.[151]
Summer break may be over, but you can still sign up for Amazon Prime Student! When you start an Amazon Prime subscription for Students, you'll get a 6-month free trial and then 50% off your Amazon Prime membership (just $6.49/mo!). There are a lot of other perks of having Prime Student, too: watch Amazon Prime streaming exclusives like "Alpha House," and other TV & movies, get free 2-day shipping on textbooks, and more. Plus, get exclusive coupons for Prime members only.
Bezos and those he’s hired over the years have been prescient about a vast number of shifts in how people spend money, buy products, and use the internet. But none of their predictions may have panned out quite as lucratively as Amazon Web Services, the company’s cloud computing division that loans server space and other computing resources at massive profit margins.
In the course of a single generation, Amazon has grown from fledgling online bookseller to one of the most valuable and powerful corporations in modern history. The empire of CEO Jeff Bezos has grown so vast that critics, overseas regulators, and Washington politicians are all now wondering whether the company has become an unstoppable force, and what, if anything, is capable of reining in its reach. A recent spat with Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) resulted in a minimum wage hike for tens of thousands of employees, but Amazon still operates largely without any meaningful checks on its power even as it aggressively expands into physical retail, the smart home, and warehouse and aviation robotics.
Hi, To provide a more secure and pleasant fashion experience at hm.com you will login by using your email. Just enter your current password to continue. If you need help, feel free to get in touch with us at {0} Make sure to be the first to know what’s going on in the world of fashion, sign up to our newsletter. Hi, To provide a more secure and pleasant fashion experience at hm.com we ask you to use an email address as your Username. If you need help, feel free to get in touch with us at 1-855-272-7007.
When you sign up and get approved for the Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card from Chase (no annual fee!), you'll get $50 off your next purchase instantly. Click here for more details. Collect points and coupons as you shop at Amazon and use them to redeem more Amazon goods! You can also redeem for cash back, gift cards and travel. Get 3% back at Amazon and 1-2% back elsewhere! It's a win!
Bezos selected the name Amazon by looking through the dictionary; he settled on "Amazon" because it was a place that was "exotic and different", just as he had envisioned for his Internet enterprise. The Amazon River, he noted, was the biggest river in the world, and he planned to make his store the biggest bookstore in the world.[25] Additionally, a name that began with "A" was preferential due to the probability it would occur at the top of an alphabetized list.[25] Bezos placed a premium on his head start in building a brand and told a reporter, "There's nothing about our model that can't be copied over time. But you know, McDonald's got copied. And it's still built a huge, multibillion-dollar company. A lot of it comes down to the brand name. Brand names are more important online than they are in the physical world."[26]
While Amazon grew in the ‘90s largely thanks to its growing share of the print book market and its dominance of online book sales, it was its early investments in ebooks and e-readers that turned it into a digital publishing and book-selling powerhouse. Amazon began work on its first Kindle e-reader starting in 2004 under codename Fiona, with its internal Lab126 hardware division leading the product development process. The first device was released in November of 2007 and sold for $399. Amazon has since released numerous iterations of the Kindle, and it now dominates the e-reader market after edging out competing products from Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and others.
Compare prices and availability by typing in your search, scanning a barcode or an image with your camera, or using your voice. Never miss a deal with easy access to Lightning Deals and the Deal of the Day. You can also sign-up for shipment notifications to know when your order ships and arrives. You have full access to your Shopping Cart, Wish Lists, payment and Prime shipping options, Subscribe & Save order history, and 1-Click settings, just like on the full Amazon.com site. All Amazon Shopping app purchases are routed through Amazon's secure servers to encrypt and safeguard your personal information.
Throughout the summer of 2018, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders criticized Amazon's wages and working conditions in a series of YouTube videos and media appearances. He also pointed to the fact that Amazon had paid no federal income tax in the previous year.[170] Sanders solicited stories from Amazon warehouse workers who felt exploited by the company.[171] One such story, by James Bloodworth, described the environment as akin to "a low-security prison" and stated that the company's culture used an Orwellian newspeak.[172] These reports cited a finding by New Food Economy that one third of fulfilment center workers in Arizona were on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).[173] Responses by Amazon included incentives for employees to tweet positive stories and a statement which called the salary figures used by Sanders "inaccurate and misleading". The statement also charged that it was inappropriate for him to refer to SNAP as "food stamps".[171] On September 5, 2018, Sanders along with Ro Khanna introduced the Stop Bad Employers by Zeroing Out Subsidies (Stop BEZOS) Act aimed at Amazon and other alleged beneficiaries of corporate welfare such as Wal-mart, McDonald's and Uber.[174] Among the bill's supporters were Tucker Carlson of Fox News and Matt Taibbi who criticized himself and other journalists for not covering Amazon's contribution to wealth inequality earlier.[175][176]
According to an August 8, 2018 story in Bloomberg Businessweek, Amazon has about a 5 percent share of U.S. retail spending (excluding cars and car parts and visits to restaurants and bars), and a 43.5 share of American online spending in 2018. The forecast is for Amazon to own 49 percent of the total American online spending in 2018, with two-thirds of Amazon's revenue coming from the U.S.[51]
World-famous action movie and television star Chuck Norris has stood behind the Total Gym exercise machine for more than 30 years. The Total Gym provides a complete exercise experience in one simple product. Because the product is able to fold out to become different machines, this gym allows a person to stay in peak physical condition without wasting a lot of money. Norris himself is world famous for his physique and has used the Total Gym for decades to maintain that condition.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1692
|
__label__cc
| 0.534577
| 0.465423
|
Wealth, Health and Disability
In 2001, while Executive of the New Jersey Developmental Disabilities Council, I began to teach a class on disability policy at the School of Public Health at The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ), now part of Rutgers University.
As a disability advocate, I had testified before five Congressional committees and participated in numerous public hearings conducted by the N.J. legislature. I had even drafted legislation passed by both bodies and served on the Task Force that drafted the transportation section of the ADA.
I knew a lot about disability policy but not about public health and I was about to lecture a bunch of graduate students who did. I rushed to Amazon and ordered a couple of books to cover my ignorance.
The work of one man stuck with me after my panic subsided. Richard Wilkinson, an English epidemiologist, had studied the impact of wealth on public health since 1973 and had found statistical evidence that the public health of a nation depended on the size of the gap between its richest and poorest residents, not on their average wealth.
Thus the Japanese were healthier than their richer American counterparts because the gap between rich and poor there was smaller. They lived longer, had lower infant and maternal death rates, less teen pregnancies, and lower rates of most diseases.
And this wasn’t just true of the Japanese. It was true of all the other developed countries with a smaller wealth gap than the United States, and that meant all of them because the gap here is largest and has grown much larger since Wilkinson first published his research.
Although he didn’t make a point of it, one thing in Wilkinson’s research. struck me where I live. All of his results had implications for disability policy. High maternal death rates and teen pregnancies as well as high rates of the illnesses he studied were associated with high rates of disability. I knew that from my work as staff director of the Delaware Task Force on Disability Prevention (1988-89). Was there a direct cause and effect relationship? I waited for more data.
It came in 2007, when Wilkinson and his partner, Kate Pickett, published “The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger.” In it, they summarized the research on the causal relationship between public health and other social problems that had been done since Wilkinson first published. In every instance, there was a cause and effect relationship between income inequality and social ills in developed countries.
The United States, where the gap between rich and poor is by far the largest, has the highest rates of child abuse, drug and alcohol addiction, juvenile delinquency, violence, crime, incarceration, homelessness, air and water pollution as well as discrimination, and police and civilian violence against racial, ethnic and LGBT minority groups, women and people with disabilities.
All of these social ills result in higher rates of disability.
Next month, I’ll look at why and what we can do about it.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1694
|
__label__cc
| 0.74645
| 0.25355
|
Warning: A non-numeric value encountered in /kunden/460812_10587/webseiten/binka/wordpress/wp-content/themes/Divi/functions.php on line 5852
Researchteam
Field of Work-Studies (Arbeitslehre) / Economy of Sustainable Consumption
In the special field of Work Studies / Economy of Sustainable Consumption, under the direction of Prof. Dr. Ulf Schrader, an interdisciplinary team is researching on topics of Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainable Marketing, Innovation Management and the effect of mindfulness on Sustainable Consumption. Obtained research insights are incorporated into the education of teachers for the school subject of “Work-Studies”. Training and education of future school teachers is the main focus of the department, which also takes the managing role for BiNKA.
Prof. Dr. Ulf Schrader
Ulf Schrader holds the chair of Economic Education and Sustainable Consumption of Technische Universität Berlin since 2008. In addition, he is since 2016 the director of the School of Education of TU Berlin (SETUB).
He studied economics, business administration, political sciences and sociology in Göttingen, Dublin and Hannover and holds degrees as “Diplom Ökonom (1995)” and “Magister Artium (2004)”. He did his PhD and his post-doc-degree (Habilitation) at the Leibniz Universität Hannover.
Ulf Schrader is the chairman of the Co-operation Council for Teacher Education of the state of Berlin. From 2011 to 2015 he was also a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the German Federal Ministry for Nutrition, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (since 2014: Ministry for Nutrition and Agriculture) and until 2013 member of the Innovation Advisory Board of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Consumer Policy.
Besides his teaching, he co-ordinated numerous research projects in the fields of sustainable consumption and corporate social responsibility. Currently (2015 – 2018), he is heading the research projects “BiNKA – Education for Sustainable Consumption through Mindfulness Training (Bildung für Nachhaltigen Konsum durch Achtsamkeitstraining)” and “IMKoN – Integrating Employees as Consumers into Sustainability Innovation Processes (Integration von Mitarbeitern als Konsumenten in Nachhaltigkeitsinnovationsprozesse)“, both funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) as part of the Social-Ecological Research (SÖF) framework. In addition, he is co-chairing the suprojects „Social Utility Value and Profession Choice Motivation for Technical-Oriented Vocational School Teachers” and „Teach-Learn-Laboratories in Work-Studies (Arbeitslehre)”, both part of „TUB-Teaching“, the joint project of TU Berlin in the framework of the “Qualitätsoffensive Lehrerbildung [Quality Campaign for Teacher Education]”.
Surgery while semester: Wed. 4.00-5.00 pm and as agreed; Surgery while semester break: as agreed. Please subscribe per Mail in order to make sure you won’t come unsuccessfully.
Ulf Schrader is from August 2017 till Februray 2018 in research semester.
Institut für Berufliche Bildung und Arbeitslehre
Marchstraße 23, Room: MAR 1.016
Fon: +49 30 – 314 28769
Fax.: 030 – 314 21120
E-Mail: schrader[at]tu-berlin.de
Laura Sophie Stanzus
Laura Sophie Stanszus, born 1984, studied business administration in Berlin and Singapore (BA) as well as Corporate Social Responsibility (MSc) in Nottingham, UK. In her research, she focused on the substance of sustainability in the fashion industry as well as the discourse of youth consumers about green fashion. As part of an internship in the CSR department of Ernst & Young India, she conducted a survey on the correlation between the rise in disposable income of the Indian middle-class and consumer awareness of organic food and fair trade. After her studies, Laura Stanszus helped building up the master program “Sustainability in Fashion” at the International University of Art for Fashion, ESMOD Berlin.
From March 2012 (until September 2014) on, she started working at the TU Berlin, in the project “live and work sustainably“, which was funded by the German Federal Foundation for the Environment (DBU). In the frame of the project and inspired by her own interests and experience, she developed her dissertation topic “Education for Sustainable Consumption through mindfulness training” (German acronym: BiNKA) because even though she was passionate about Education for Sustainable Consumption, she also felt the affective components of education as well as a more inclusive approach engaging the whole person were clearly missing from the discourse. In the project, she is, apart from pursuing her thesis with a qualitative study, responsible for coordination and organization of BiNKA (with Ulf Schrader). She loves yoga and meditation and is equally keen on practicing her mindfulness through enjoying lots of home baked cookies (such as: https://detoxinista.com/vegan-peanut-butter-date-cookies/) and healthyfied chocolate pudding (see: http://whatfoodcan.com/project/chocolate-avocado-mousse-video/).
Marchstraße 23, Room: 1.025
Fax: +49 30 – 314 21611
E-Mail: laura.stanszus[at]tu-berlin.de
Dr. Dipl.-Psych. Sonja Marie Geiger
Sonja Geiger studied psychology at the Humboldt Universität zu Berlin (Master in Psychology 2004) and did her PhD in cognitive psychology at the Universität Potsdam, followed by a Post-Doc position at the Cognitive Science Lab at the UWA, in Perth, Australia. The turn towards environmental psychology was paved by her practical work experience over three years in the environmental NGO “Amigos de la Tierra” (FOEI, Argentina) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This is where she lived from 2008 to 2012 passing on her experiences with environmental problems to the first environmental-psychological research project at the UBA (Universidad de Buenos Aires). An especially lasting impression on her made the natural philosophy of the first nation people in South America, where she learned that the idea of a “good life” (from the Quechua expression “sumac kawsay”) has been based on the wellbeing of Mother Nature (Pacha Mama) for millennia. A lot of the constructs that are being researched in modern environmental psychology can be found in this philosophy (e.g. connectedness to nature, a future perspective aimed at seven generations to come or sufficiency as consumption principle, to name but a few). Since March 2015 she is bringing her research experience in these topics to the BiNKA-table. Particularly interested in the interplay between mindfulness and further factors that affect sustainable behavior, as e.g. the role of general values in life, the above mentioned future time perspective or objective knowledge of environmental issues.
In a second research project at the Ulm Universität she is researching psychological factors of sustainable clothing consumption in a living laboratory (https://www.uni-ulm.de/mawi/reallabor.html and http://dietenheim-zieht-an.de/ ). Teaching experiences span universities in different countries (Uni Potsdam, TU, SRH Germany, UWA Australia, UBA, UAI, Argentina), languages (German, English, Spanish) and subjects (Statistics and Empirical methods of the Social Sciences, Fundamentals of General Psychology, Environmental Psychology, Sustainability and Society).
Marchstraße 23, Room: MAR 1.017a
E-Mail: sonja.m.geiger[at]tu-berlin.de
Tina Böhme
Tina Böhme has been working in the BiNKA-project since November 2015 and studied psychology and Scandinavian studies at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (Master of Science in Psychology 2015). At Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Max-Planck-Institute for Human Development she worked in different research projects in the fields of neurocognitive, clinical neuro- and developmental psychology. In her master thesis she investigated the effects of a mindfulness training (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, MBSR) on the creativity of students and teachers (cooperation with Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg). For many years, she has been involved with various sustainability topics as well as within the educational work with children, adolescents and adults in different countries, e.g. as a volunteer with “kulturweit” (German Commission for UNESCO) at a school in the south of Chile. In her doctoral thesis, Tina investigates the effects of the BiNKA-training on sustainable behavior of adolescents in the school context. Moreover, she is a licensed Vinyasa Yoga teacher and practices mindfulness meditating at home, moving through asanas on the yoga mat, or floating through the bustle of Berlin.
E-Mail: tina.boehme[at]tu-berlin.de
Maxie Riemschneider
Maxie Riemenschneider has been working as a student assistant for the BiNKA-project since March 2017. She finished her Bachelor of Science in Psychology at Freie Universität Berlin in 2014. She is about to finish her Masters in Clinical- and Health Psychology at Freie Universität Berlin and currently working on her master thesis within the BiNKA-project: the development and validation of the German Material Value Scale for Youth which is been used within the project. She discovered her passion for environmental psychology at her first congress for environmental psychology of the “Initiative Psychologie im Umweltschutz” (Initiative for environmental psychology). Across the years, she participated in numerous other congresses of this kind, gave and gives workshops on topics related to environmental psychology and since 2016 she is part of the executive committee of this association. Her first contact with mindfulness was in 2012, when she participated in a ten day Vipassana meditation retreat in Italy.
E-Mail: maxie.riemenschneider[at]tu-berlin.de
Julia Lichtenberg
Julia Lichtenberg had been working in the BiNKA-project from January 2017 till July 2017 as a student assistant. She is studying Work- Studies (Arbeitslehre) and Sport Science since 2014 at the Technische Universität Berlin and Humboldt- Universität zu Berlin. She is aiming to become a teacher. Education for Sustainable Consumption is a high importance to her.
Lena Kaupmann
Lena Kaupmann had been working as a student assistant for the BiNKA-project from May 2015 till April 2016. In the context of the project, she got a first view in the topic of mindfulness. She finished her Bachelor in Business and Philosophy with the focus on Sustainability Marketing Management and Public/Non-Profit-Management at Universität Potsdam. Besides the assistance in the project, she absolved her Masters in Business with this focus.
The teaching focus and the main research are in theory construction and professionalisation in the field of sustainable communications (especially education, journalism and scientific communication) of the interdisciplinary team of the UNESCO Chairs Higher Education for sustainable development. The main research for Education of Sustainable Consumption (ESC) has already been deepened among SÖF-Verbundvorhaben “BINK” (educational establishment and sustainable consumption, www.konsumkultur.de), which is benefited of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (FMER).
http://www.leuphana.de/unesco-chair.html
Dr. Daniel Fischer
Daniel Fischer is an educator and social scientist. He graduated from the University of Osnabrück and received a Master’s degree in Educational Management and School Development at the University of Osnabrück and the Pädagogische Akademie des Bundes in Vienna, Austria. At the Faculty of Sustainability of the Leuphana University of Lüneburg, he promoted a cumulative work on the contribution of the school to addressing the global consumer demand for Dr. rer. Soc .. Since 2008 Daniel Fischer has been a research assistant at the UNESCO Chair “Higher Education for Sustainable Development” at the Leuphana University Lüneburg, where he coordinated several research and development projects. The certificate course sustainability and journalism. His research focuses on education for sustainable development, consumer education, sustainability communication, journalism and consumer research. Within the framework of the project he is interested in the potential of mindfulness from the point of view of education and social sciences to promote reflexive competences and to empower individuals to emancipate themselves from traditional cultural practices of need satisfaction. In the project, he heads the Lüneburg subproject and represents the focus on education for sustainable consumption.
UNESCO Chair Hochschulbildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung
Scharnhorststr. 1, Room: C14.105
Fon: +49 4131 – 677 2927
E-Mail: daniel.fischer[at]uni.leuphana.de
Prof. Dr. Gerd Michelsen
Prof. Dr. Gerd Michelsen is a graduate economist and environmental scientist. He studied at the universities of Kiel and Freiburg im Breisgau. In 1995, he began teaching at the Leuphana University of Lüneburg as a professor of environmental and sustainability communication. Since 2013 he has been a senior researcher for sustainability research. Gerd Michelsen founded and headed the Institute for Environmental Communication and has held the UNESCO Chair “Higher Education for Sustainable Development” since 2005. He was a member of the Executive Board of the German Commission for UNESCO on the Decade “Education for Sustainable Development” (2005-2014), as a German representative in the task force UN ECE “Strategy for Education for Sustainable Development”. In the project BiNKA, Gerd Michelsen brings his many years of experience in the field of sustainability research, in particular (university) education for sustainable development and sustainability communication.
Universitätsallee 1, Room: C14.104
Fon +49 4131 – 677 – 2920
E-Mail: michelsen[at]leuphana.de
Pascal Frank
Pascal Frank was born in 1985 in the beautiful Eifel. From 2005 to 2010 he studied cultural studies (focus: sociology) at the Fernuniversität in Hagen and as a second student in psychology at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität in Bonn. He absolved his Masters degrees in “Ethics, Responsibility and Development” (2014, University of Friborg, Switzerland) and “History, Philosophy and Sociology of Science Technology and Medicine” at the prestigious University of Cambridge. Since September 2015, Frank has been working as a teacher at the Hagen Fernuniversität in the area of Sociological Presence Diagnosis and since August 2016 as a research assistant at the BiNKA project. His research concerns in particular individual discrepancies between moral claims and actual action. In this context, he (using the example of the consumption of animal products) examines the role of affective-motivational influencing factors for the personal development of knowledge, which in turn codify concrete action. He relied on mindfulness techniques as a systematic-controlled method of introspection.
For Pascal Frank, the past eleven years have been extensive traveling years, during which he also dealt with the issue of (socially and ecologically) sustainable travel and also published it. He also worked on a voluntary basis in various institutions on the subject of sustainability (for example as president of the civil society platform “Clear up” or as a green officer at Wolfson College, University of Cambridge). Since September 2015, he has also been trained as a Iyengar yoga teacher at the Iyengar yoga institute Rhein-Ahr.
Institut für Umweltkommunikation
Scharnhorststr. 1, Room: C14.113b
E-Mail: pascal.frank[at]leuphana.de
Anna Sundermann
Anna Sundermann has been a research associate at the Institute for Environmental Communication and the UNESCO Chair for “Education for Sustainable Development” since 2013. She studied diploma psychology with a focus on pedagogical and economic psychology. Her research focuses on the topic of higher education for sustainable development and the recording of learning processes and results of students. She is especially interested in how to implement education for sustainable development in higher education institutions and what effect this integration has on the students. The psychologist is currently working on the project “Longitudinal Study on the Integration of Sustainable Development in Higher Education (LISHE)” at Leuphana University. Anna Sundermann supports the project BiNKA with her expertise in the field of mixed methods, longitudinal section design and quantitative analysis methods.
Higher Education for sustainable development
Institution for environmental communication
Project „LISHE – Longitudinal study about the integration of education for sustainable development on institutions of higher education”
Scharnhorststr. 1, Room: 14.105
Fon: +49 4131 – 677 29 36
E-Mail: anna.sundermann[at]leuphana.de
European Center for Mindfulness
The center is dedicated to deepening and expanding professional and personal experiences in dealing with mindfulness and other elements of Buddhist psychology. This is especially the case for people who already practice and use mindfulness both in their professional activities and in their personal growth. We hope that the Center will help to improve the quality of mindfulness in a professional setting. It is conceived as a place where the practice of meditation is in harmony with its Buddhist origins, and in this way is able to shape different aspects of life. In addition, the EZFA provides the opportunity for a deep exchange on how science and Buddhist psychology can be combined.
http://www.ezfa.eu/
Dr. Paul Grossmann
Paul Grossman, PhD is the founder and director of the European Center for Mindfulness, Freiburg, Germany, a meeting place and for Buddhism-inspired, continuing contemplative learning and a training center for mindfulness-based stress reduction. He is also Research Director, Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland. Over three decades, Dr. Grossman has investigated relations between psychological function and cardio-respiratory physiology, as well as the adoption of mindfulness and other elements of Buddhist psychology in the health-related sciences. He has also been principal investigator of several clinical trials of mindfulness-based interventions for serious medical conditions.
Europäische Zentrum für Achtsamkeit
Merzhauser Str. 173
DE-79100 Freiburg
Phone: +49 761 – 55729336
Mobil : +49 177 – 3478787
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1697
|
__label__wiki
| 0.975676
| 0.975676
|
Ethan's Story
Suicide is Never an Option
Lauren's Story
Stetson's Story
Tyler's Story
Brandon's Story
Kaylea's Story
Katy & Micki's Story
Brittany's Story
Chevelle's Story
Claire's Story
Ashley's Story
Mazie's Story
Heavyn's Story
Natalee's Story
Zeta's Story
Kaden's Story
Monica's Story
Greyson's Story
Trouble at School
Two years had passed, but Ethan didn't appear to be nervous about returning to the familiar grounds of Roadrunner Elementary School. His mother, though, was worried about what other kids might say.
"Hey, Ethan!" one boy called out. "Are you going to get in trouble all the time again?"
Ethan, unruffled by the question, answered simply, "No, I'm not that way anymore."
Students who knew Ethan as a third-grader remembered an angry child who swore on the playground, threatened classmates and destroyed school property. But two and a half weeks in the psychiatric unit at Barrow at Phoenix Children's, regular sessions with a psychiatrist, and two years in a special classroom for emotionally-disturbed children had changed his behavior.
Ethan's problems had begun early in his third grade year, shortly after his uncle died. At first there was a sadness that seemed a natural part of grief. "From there, he just changed," his mother, Yvonne, said. "We went through a really, really rocky time and wondered, 'Will we ever come out of this?'"
The sadness spiraled into deep depression. Ethan's face was expressionless most of the time, but in the shower he cried hysterically and begged to be killed. Yvonne wondered if her son might commit suicide, as her father had two years before.
"It was very scary," Yvonne said. "He wanted to die."
The family's insurance plan covered in-home mental healthcare, but the medications prescribed through the program had little effect. Finally, Yvonne took her son to a behavioral health facility, where a therapist dismissed the seriousness of Ethan's condition.
"Children don't commit suicide," she said, and sent them home.
Progressively Getting Worse
Yvonne wasn't convinced. Ethan's behavior was becoming worse and worse. Now, he was spending most of his school hours in detention. One day, he told his mother he was going to run away from home and Yvonne knew her son was making more than an idle threat.
"The look in his eyes — I knew he was either going to be dead or in the streets," she said. In one more desperate attempt to find help, Yvonne called Ethan's pediatrician and gave a tearful description of his behavior.
"I want you to call Phoenix Children's and get him in today," the doctor said, his voice full of urgency. The psychiatric unit was full when Yvonne called, but a discharge that evening made room for Ethan.
"I was amazed Phoenix Children's took him so fast," Yvonne said. "We were basically off the street."
Yvonne and her husband were reassured by their frequent meetings with the psychiatrist who was overseeing Ethan's treatment.
"He was calm," Yvonne said. "He told us, 'This is going to be OK.'"
Getting the Help He Needed
Ethan was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, once known as manic depression. By observing his behavior, staff at Phoenix Children's were able to prescribe appropriate medications. They also taught coping skills, such as taking 10 minutes to think through a situation before reacting to it.
Yvonne admitted it was difficult to leave her child in a psychiatric unit — especially since visiting hours for parents were restricted. She was confident Ethan was getting the help he needed.
"We felt really secure with him in there," she said. "All the nurses there were wonderful." She was impressed, too, that costs did not appear to be an issue. When Yvonne told Ethan's psychiatrist their insurance plan only covered 50% of mental health care, he quickly squelched her concerns.
"We'll work with you," he said. "Whatever he needs, he's going to get that help."
Top of His Class
Ethan is now a different child. Once known for how much trouble he got into in school, he is now a top student in his sixth grade class. Even more important than his academic success, he has regained his easygoing composure. His mother takes delight in the simplicity of hearing him laugh with his friends.
"It's just so nice to hear," she said. "This is the way it's supposed to be."
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1705
|
__label__wiki
| 0.798062
| 0.798062
|
The Federative Republic of Brazil signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified it on 30 April 1999, becoming a State Party on 1 October 1999. Brazil is a former antipersonnel mine producer, importer, and exporter. Since 2012, Brazil has stated that it has not produced or exported landmines since signing the Mine Ban Treaty.[1] Brazil has never used antipersonnel mines. Legislation to enforce the antipersonnel mine prohibition domestically was enacted in 2001. In 2013, Brazil submitted its 14th Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report.
Brazil completed destruction of its stockpile of approximately 27,852 antipersonnel mines in March 2003, ahead of its 1 October 2003 treaty-mandated destruction deadline. Brazil initially retained 17,000 mines for training purposes, but this was reduced to 10,051 by the end of 2009.[2] The number was further reduced in 2012, when 1,063 mines were destroyed for training purposes.[3] According to the 2013 report, another 1,326 mines were destroyed by December 2012, bringing the total number to 6,587: 1,400 T-AB-1 held by the Brazilian Navy and 5,187 held by the Brazilian Army (5,151 NM-409 mines and 36 DFC-19 mines).[4] Brazil has stated its intention to keep mines for training up to 2019.[5]
Brazil attended the Mine Ban Treaty Twelfth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in December 2012. Brazil did not attend intersessional Standing Committee meetings in Geneva in May 2013 but participated in the intersessional meetings in May 2012 and June 2011.
Brazil is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Amended Protocol II on landmines. It has provided national annual reports as required by the amended protocol, most recently on 3 April 2013 (for calendar year 2012). Brazil joined CCW Protocol V on explosive remnants of war on 30 November 2010 and has delivered the annual reports required by the protocol since 2011, most recently on 5 March 2013 (for 2012).
In 2011, Human Rights Watch (HRW) documented the use of Brazilian-produced T-AB-1 plastic antipersonnel mines in Libya by Qaddafi government forces in six separate locations.[6] In December 2011, Brazil condemned the landmine use and said it intended to make a financial contribution to Libya’s mine action program and provide technical cooperation.[7] Brazilian officials said that an internal investigation had been opened into the origins and transfer of the T-AB-1 mines to Libya, but the results were not known as of September 2013.[8]
[1] Brazil has also reported: “In early 1998, the Brazilian Armed Forces received its last shipment of landmines, which had been bought in 1996 and produced by the manufacturer in 1997.” See Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report 2012 (for calendar year 2011), Form E; Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) Amended Protocol II Report 2013 (for calendar year 2012), Form C, 3 April 2013. Before 2012, it stated, “Brazil has not produced or exported landmines since 1989.” See Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report 2011 (for calendar year 2010), Form E; CCW Amended Protocol II Report 2010 (for calendar year 2009), Form C, 22 July 2010.
[2] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report 2010 (for calendar year 2009), Form D.
[3] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report 2012 (for calendar year 2011), Form G.
[4] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report 2013 (for calendar year 2012), Forms D and G.
[6] HRW, “Landmines in Libya: Technical Briefing Note,” 19 July 2011.
[7] Statement of Brazil, Mine Ban Treaty Eleventh Meeting of States Parties, Phnom Penh, 2 December 2011. Notes by the ICBL.
[8] There is no export record of the shipments because arms export records are not held for longer than 10 years. HRW meeting with Brazilian delegation to intersessional Standing Committee meetings of the Mine Ban Treaty, Geneva, 27 June 2011. In June 2011, the ICBL asked that Brazil publicly condemn the use of antipersonnel mines in Libya and provide detailed information on the transfer of T-AB-1 antipersonnel mines to Libya, including the date of manufacture and transfer, as well as the number of mines exported. ICBL letter to Antonio de Aguiar Patriota, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, 13 June 2011.
The Federative Republic of Brazil has not acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
Brazil made no policy statements on the matter in 2013 and the first half of 2014. In September 2013, a government representative informed the CMC that Brazil has nothing to say publicly on its position on accession to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[1]
Brazil has long objected to the non-traditional diplomatic process that brought about the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which, in its view, did not balance legitimate defense needs with humanitarian concerns.[2] During the Oslo Process that created the convention, Brazil maintained that cluster munitions were effective militarily and said the most appropriate way to address cluster munitions was through existing international humanitarian law and the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW).[3] Brazil supported an effort to conclude a CCW protocol regulating cluster munitions that failed in 2011, effectively ending CCW deliberations on the weapons and leaving the Convention on Cluster Munitions as the sole multilateral instrument to specifically address cluster munitions.
There has been no further progress on draft legislation (Bill 3228/2012) to ban cluster munitions that was introduced by Congressional Deputy Rubens Bueno, leader of the Socialist People's Party (Partido Popular Socialista, Brazil) on 15 February 2012.[4] Other draft legislation to ban cluster munitions, introduced by Congressional Deputy Fernando Gabeira in the Chamber of Deputies in 2009, was removed from consideration after he left office at the end of 2010.[5]
Brazil participated minimally in the Oslo Process that produced the Convention on Cluster Munitions and did not attend the formal negotiations in Dublin in May 2008.[6] It has criticized two provisions in the convention: the provision that excludes from the ban munitions that contain submunitions but may not have the same negative humanitarian effects as cluster munitions, and the provision designed to facilitate “interoperability” (joint military operations with states not party).[7]
Brazil has participated in some work of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, mainly by attending intersessional meetings of the convention in Geneva, including those held in April 2014. Brazil has attended one annual Meeting of States Parties of the convention as an observer, the Second Meeting of States Parties in Beirut, Lebanon in September 2011. It was invited to, but did not attend, the convention’s Fourth Meeting of States Parties in Lusaka, Zambia in September 2013.
Brazil has not made a national statement on the Syrian government’s use of cluster munitions, but it voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution 68/182 on 18 December 2013, which expressed “outrage” at Syria’s “continued widespread and systematic gross violations of human rights…including those involving the use of…cluster munitions.”[8]
Brazil is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is also party to the CCW.
In June and July 2014, CMC members participated in an advocacy initiative held during the World Cup football tournament that aimed to encourage Brazil to stop its production and export of cluster bombs and join the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[9]
Brazil has stated several times that it has never used cluster munitions.[10] It produces, exports, and stockpiles cluster munitions.
In 2010, the Ministry of Defense stated that national military doctrine prohibits the use of cluster munitions in urban areas, that Brazil’s stockpiles of cluster munitions are limited, and that cluster bombs held by the air force should be destroyed soon because they are out of date. It also asserted that Brazil needs to retain its cluster munition production capacity at current levels in order to support local defense manufacturing capacity.[11]
At least three companies have produced cluster munitions in Brazil, according to the companies’ own materials and to standard reference works: Avribrás Aeroespacial SA, Ares Aeroespacial e Defesa Ltda, and Target Engenharia et Comércio Ltda.
Avribrás Aeroespacial SA has produced the ASTROS family of surface-to-surface rockets with submunition warheads.[12] These weapons have been exported to Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia.[13] Brazil also exported the ASTROS system to Malaysia in 2002 and an additional sale of more launch units was completed in 2010, but it is not known if the ammunition types include the variant with a submunition payload.[14] The ASTROS multiple launch rocket system was used by Saudi Arabian forces against Iraqi forces during the battle of Khafji in January 1991, leaving behind significant numbers of unexploded submunitions.[15]
Ares Aeroespacial e Defesa Ltda has produced the FZ-100 70mm air-to-surface rockets, similar to the Hydra M261 multipurpose submunitions.[16] Target Engenharia et Comércio Ltda has produced two types of cluster bombs (BLG-120 and BLG-252) for the Brazilian Air Force and reportedly for export.[17]
In July 2012, a major newspaper reported that Brazil had sold cluster bombs to Zimbabwe a decade earlier.[18]
In 2011, Deputy Gabeira said the government had refused “as a matter of security” to respond to his request for a list of the countries where Brazil has exported cluster munitions.[19]
[1] CMC meeting with Ambassador Ana Maria Moreleni, Embassy of Brazil in Zambia, Lusaka, 12 September 2013.
[2] For example, statement of Brazil, CCW Group of Governmental Experts on Cluster Munitions, Geneva, 7 November 2008. Notes by Landmine Action.
[3] Statement of Brazil, Latin American Regional Conference on Cluster Munitions, San José, 5 September 2007. Notes by Human Rights Watch (HRW).
[4] The bill was referred to committee for further consideration. Chamber of Deputies, Proposition PL-3228/2012.
[5] Chamber of Deputies, Proposition PL-4590/2009.
[6] For more details on Brazil’s policy and practice regarding cluster munitions through early 2009, see Human Rights Watch and Landmine Action, Banning Cluster Munitions: Government Policy and Practice (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada, May 2009), pp. 191–193.
[7] Statement by Santiago Irazabal Mourão, Director, Disarmament and Sensitive Technologies, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hearing Committee on Foreign Affairs and National Defense of the Chamber of Deputies, Brasilia, 4 May 2010; and “Report on the Hearing,” provided by Gustavo Oliveira Vieira, Brazil Campaign to Ban Landmines and Cluster Bombs, received 13 August 2010.
[8] “Situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic,” UNGA Resolution 68/182, 18 December 2013.
[9] CMC web post, “Campaigners demand fair play for kids at risk from Brazil’s cluster bomb policy,” 12 June 2014.
[10] Statements of Brazil, CCW Group of Governmental Experts on Cluster Munitions, Geneva, 8 April 2008, 16 February 2009, and 14 April 2009. Notes by Landmine Action.
[11] Statement by Marcelo Mário de Holanda Coutinho, Ministry of Defense, Hearing, Committee on Foreign Affairs and National Defense of the Chamber of Deputies, Brasilia, 4 May 2010; and “Report on the Hearing,” provided by Gustavo Oliveira Vieira, Brazil Campaign to Ban Landmines and Cluster Bombs, received 13 August 2010.
[12] In 2010, a representative from Avribrás said that the company generates US$60–70 million per year from cluster munitions and claimed that cluster bombs produced by Avribrás have a failure rate of less than 1%. Statement by José de Sá Carvalho, Jr, Commercial Director–Brazil and Americas, Avribrás Aeroespacial SA, Hearing Committee on Foreign Affairs and National Defense of the Chamber of Deputies, Brasilia, 4 May 2010; and “Report on the Hearing,” provided by Gustavo Oliveira Vieira, Brazil Campaign to Ban Landmines and Cluster Bombs, received 13 August 2010. In a letter to the minister of defense, the CMC noted this claim and stated, “However, failure rates in combat are always higher than failure rates in tests and so reliability performance in tests does not prevent the humanitarian harm that is caused in reality. The majority of the world has already rejected a prohibition based on failure rates as it cannot safeguard against the humanitarian impact of these weapons.” Letter from the CMC to Nelson Jobim, Minister of Defense, 17 May 2010.
[13] Terry J. Gander and Charles Q. Cutshaw, eds., Jane’s Ammunition Handbook 2001–2002 (Surrey, UK: Jane’s Information Group Limited, 2001); and Jonathan Beaty and S.C. Gwynne, “Scandals: Not Just a Bank,” Time Magazine, 2 September 1991.
[14] Federative Republic of Brazil, UN Register of Conventional Arms, Submission for Calendar Year 2002, 28 April 2004. It reported the transfer of 12 launch units. The Arms Transfers Database of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute notes that the US$300 million deal was signed in 2007 and deliveries began in 2009.
[15] HRW interviews with former explosive ordnance disposal personnel from a western commercial clearance firm and a Saudi military officer with first-hand experience in clearing the unexploded dual-purpose improved conventional munition (DPICM) bomblets from ASTROS rockets, names withheld, in Geneva, 2001–2003.
[16] Aeroespacial e Defesa Ltda, “Cabeza Cargo de Submuniciones” (“Head charged submunitions”).
[17] Brazilian Association of the Industries of Defense Materials and Security, “Product List, 2000 to December 2005.”
[18] Rubens Valente, “Brasil vendeu bombas condenadas a ditador do Zimbábue” (“Brazil sells condemned bombs to Zimbabwe dictator”), Folha de São Paolo, 22 July 2012. A review by Folha de São Paolo of 1,572 pages of Ministry of Defense documents obtained under the Law on Access to Information shows that, in the period from January 2001 to May 2002, Brazil transferred 104 BLG-250K and four BLG-60K cluster bombs and various components for BLG-500K, BLG-250K, and BLG-60k cluster bombs to Zimbabwe. This was the most recent period that could be obtained by Folha de São Paolo, as the information is considered confidential for the first 10 years. Email from Rubens Valente, Folha de São Paolo, 24 July 2012.
[19] Gabeira Brasil media statement, “Líbia e os outros,” 3 April 2011.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1707
|
__label__cc
| 0.57405
| 0.42595
|
Russian and Soviet Music
The Art-Music Forum > Forum > Little-known music of all eras > Downloads discussion > Russian and Soviet Music > Message #3514
Author Topic: Russian and Soviet Music (Read 9537 times)
Neil McGowan
Re: Russian and Soviet Music
Quote from: Holger on August 31, 2012, 01:26:26 pm
I miss a sort of clear intention, an inner drive within the music. It somehow starts, takes a while, some things may happen but when it's over I fail to remember much of it
I recognise that feeling very well
He's clearly a well-schooled composer, and he has the technical facility at his disposal to write well - his orchestration is imagninative. But he appears to have lost the creative spark that enlivened his early work... as though he's just 'going through the motions'? The score for LOLITA is very peculiar in that regard. Apparently he wrote the second act much later than the first, having put it in a drawer for a while in the interim. A completely different style dominates in the second act, and it appears to be going nowhere.
I wonder if it is too fanciful to imagine that he was brought up and trained during the soviet period - which then rapidly and rather unexpectedly ended, leaving him unequipped to write for a post-soviet age? Or perhaps just unsure what kind of music that age might want or need? I'm reminded of the hero of Viktor Pelevin's novel "Generation P" [mysteriously released under different titles in English translation, where it's been called both "Homo Zapiens" (Penguin) and "Babylon" (Faber & Faber). The "P" in the title stands for "Pepsi" - the text tells us explicitly - so I can't understand why that title couldn't be used?]. "Vavilen Tatarsky" is trained and schooled from his earliest years in the finest elite soviet schools and universities as a "Soviet Poet". On the day of his graduation from University, the Soviet Union falls to pieces, and he is a Soviet Poet without a Soviet Union to write for. Thus begins his nightmarish journey....
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1712
|
__label__wiki
| 0.944728
| 0.944728
|
Everything posted by Peter T Chattaway
Rambo: Last Blood
Peter T Chattaway replied to Peter T Chattaway's topic in Film
Coming September 20.
Peter T Chattaway posted a topic in Film
Some of the people involved in producing and promoting films like Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie, The Second Chance, War Room and I Can Only Imagine are now developing a movie about the biblical prophet and judge Deborah. This may be the first movie ever about Deborah. (Matt Page has written about a 1911 silent film called Jael and Sisera, which is based on the events described in Judges 4-5, but apparently that film omits Deborah from the story for some reason.)
Peter T Chattaway replied to Overstreet's topic in Film
It's back in theatres today with an extra 12 minutes of footage!!! In other news, I watched all five versions of this story last week -- the 1932 film What Price Hollywood? and the 1937, 1954, 1976 and 2018 versions of A Star Is Born -- and I live-blogged my thoughts at Facebook, one film at a time, but I figured I'd jot a few cross-comparative notes down here. First, a disclaimer: I had not seen any of these films prior to last week, except for the 2018 film, and it's possible that I missed some details, especially as I was busy writing my thoughts down. So consider this a first (or first-and-a-half) draft of sorts (though why there would ever be a second draft, I could not say). Setting: The 1932 and 1937 films are firmly rooted in the movie world, and the 1976 and 2018 films are firmly rooted in the music world. The 1954 film is a transitional film, inasmuch as it is about a musician who gets drawn into the movie world and makes movie musicals. Introductions: The 1932 and 1937 films begin with their female leads, who have ambitions to get into Hollywood; the two films even begin inside the *homes* of the female leads. The 1954, 1976 and 2018 films all begin with their male leads, in their performance spaces, and the female leads are introduced further and further away from those spaces: in the 1954 film, the female lead is revealed to be singing with a band at the same charity benefit the male lead is participating in; in the 1976 film, we first see the female lead when the male lead goes to a pub where she's performing; and in the 2018 film, the female lead is working in a restaurant and breaking up with a boyfriend over the phone (but at least the 2018 film introduces her before the title comes onscreen, so that the film is more clearly balanced as a story about the *two* lead characters). Feminism: The female lead in the 1932 film is pretty spunky. The female lead in the 1937 film also has her moments, though she is also pretty naive at first. The female lead in the 1954 film is perhaps the "weakest" of the bunch (especially in the shorter version of the film, which deletes a subplot that showed her taking greater control of her life after her first encounter with the male lead), and the one most likely to be talked into doing things by the male characters; she even sings a song that talks about casting agents taking advantage of her ("So lock the doors / And call me yours / 'Cause you took advantage of me"). The female lead in the 1976 film gets off the stage in her first scene and assertively tells the male lead, "You're blowing my act," and she makes a point of flipping gendered assumptions on their head (at one point she sings a song about "the *woman* in the moon"; at another, she puts a fake eyebrow or something on the male lead while they're in the bathtub together, a scene that is explicitly homaged in the 2018 film; she also declares, when they get married, that it's "the dawn of a new century" so she won't promise to "obey" her husband); however, just before the male lead commits suicide, the female lead tells him, "I'll have breakfast waiting, like a good little wife." And in the 2018 film, it is the female lead, *not* the male lead, who almost gets into a fight with a "fan" at a bar. On the other hand, it was the female leads who proposed to the male leads in the 1954 and 1976 films -- partly out of emotional desperation in the 1954 film, less so in the 1976 film -- but in the 2018 film it is the male lead who proposes, and it becomes just the latest in a long string of scenes in which the female lead is swept off her feet by the male lead's obsession with her. (I can't recall who proposed or how in the 1937 film. The 1932 film is more complicated because the male lead is a movie director who mentors the female lead but does not marry her; instead, she marries a polo player, and there are some screwball-style power dynamics there.) Emasculation: The 1932, 1937 and 1954 films all contain scenes in which the husband feels belittled when someone calls him "Mister (female lead's last name)". It's a deliberate slight in the 1932 film and an honest mistake in the other films, but the husbands don't like it, either way. Similarly, the male lead in the 1976 film doesn't appreciate it when someone phones the house and asks if he is the female lead's secretary. The male lead in the 2018 film is perhaps the only one who doesn't get into brawls or express any emasculation anxiety. Identity: The female lead in the 1937 and 1954 films is named Esther Blodgett but takes the more marquee-friendly named "Vicky Lester/Lewis" when she becomes an actress; however, in the very last scene of both films, she publicly identifies as "Mrs. Norman Maine", thereby taking the name of her now-dead husband for the first time. The female lead in the 1976 film is named Esther Hoffman, presumably to reflect the actress's Jewish heritage, and she never changes it -- not to sound more Gentile, and not to sound more married. The female lead in the 2018 film is named Ally Campana, presumably to reflect the actress's Italian roots -- and while she performs publicly as one of those one-named singers (Ally, no last name), she never technically *changes* her name, presumably because it's just not an issue today the way it was in those earlier decades. Profanity: In the 1932 film, the male lead is on the phone when he says "You don't give a *what*!?". In the 1954 film, the female lead is told by one of the studio staffers to "Go to L" -- because she has been given a new name that begins with the initial L -- and she, unaware that she has been given a new name, mishears what the guy says. The 1976 film has quite a bit of swearing, right from the opening titles (when we hear the male lead's manager swear at the crowd before the concert starts). The 2018 film would lose half of its dialogue if the f-word was taken out. Addiction: The 1932 film came out during Prohibition (1920-1933), and it takes place over the course of a few years (though it couldn't start any earlier than 1927, since the characters are all working in talkies), so the male lead's alcoholism takes on a certain light there. The male leads of all the other films are alcoholic too, and the 1976 and 2018 films add cocaine to the mix, which reintroduces the concept of *illegal* substance addiction. (Plus, in the 2018 film, the male lead gets injections of some sort, but I don't know enough about pharmaceutical stuff to say what that is all about, e.g. whether it was medically necessary to any degree or purely, uh, elective and/or performance-enhancing.) Sex: The female lead in the 1932 film makes a point of saying that it was a "novelty" when the male lead did *not* make a pass at her while he was drunk; this may be our clue as to why she decides to pursue her Hollywood dreams through *him*. The male lead in the 1954 film goes to a night club where the manager points out a handful of women that he could pair off with that night, but the male lead has various reasons for saying no (e.g. one of them is young and the male lead has already had a "young week", one of them hit him with a bottle and no one gets to hit him more than once, etc.); the female lead also uses the word "sex" when describing a musical that she is starring in; there's also a brief bit where the male lead pats the female lead's bum as though it was a drum, during a musical number that takes place after they are married. The 1976 film is the first film to feature nudity or premarital sex between the two leads, and it is also the only film of the bunch in which the female lead catches the male lead in bed with another woman; it is also, despite its feminism, the only film that gives us male-point-of-view shots of the lead actress's body (clothed or otherwise). The 2018 film may be unique in having the male lead initiate the first sexual encounter between the two leads while the female lead is still asleep; yes, they were making out in his hotel room shortly before he passed out, and she chose to sleep next to him in his bed after he passed out, but still, there are consent issues one might want to discuss here... (On a related note, the 1976 film is the only one in which the female lead is a divorcee when we first meet her, and the 2018 film introduces the female lead by having her break up with someone over the phone; I don't believe the first three films hinted at any sort of sexual, romantic or marital past for any of their female leads.) And of course, the nudity is a bit more overt, however fleeting, in the Lady Gaga-starring 2018 film than it was in the Barbra Streisand-starring 1976 film. Weddings: The 1932 wedding takes place in a church filled and surrounded by obsessive fans. The 1937, 1954 and 1976 weddings are all done before justices of the peace, partly to get away from the fans. And the 2018 wedding takes place in a church again, but this time it's a church pastored by a cousin of a friend of the male lead's -- so there is nobody there but the male lead's friend and the friend's family. Children: The female lead in the 1932 film turns out to be pregnant when her husband leaves her, and she has a son, who she is determined to keep when she thinks the scandal around her director's death might prompt her ex-husband to seek custody of their child. (In the end, her ex-husband asks to be reconciled.) Interestingly, I think the only other time the possibility of children ever comes up in these films is in the 1976 film, when the male lead is driving a motorbike recklessly around his ranch and the female lead asks (rhetorically, perhaps) how will she raise a baby if the male lead is dead. Other family: The female lead in the 1937 film has stodgy older relatives who disapprove of her love of the movies -- but her grandmother gives her some money and tells her to go make her dreams come true, and then her grandmother reappears at the end of the film to give her the courage to keep on going after the male lead has died. I don't think we ever really learn anything about the families of the female leads in the 1954 and 1976 films, but we definitely see a fair bit of the female lead's dad (and his friends) in the 2018 film -- plus the 2018 film may be the only one that gives the *male* lead a family connection, via his older brother. The West: In the 1937 film, the female lead's grandmother recalls how "some Injun devil put a bullet through" her husband, and she compares the female lead's dream of becoming a movie star to her own dream of "conquering the wilderness" many years ago. In the 1954 film, we see actors dressed up as cowboys and Indians at the charity benefit, and again in the movies being produced at the studio. But in the 1976 film, the male lead performs at a benefit for the American Indian Relief Organization, and he buys a ranch in one of the desert states and builds a house there (instead of building a house by the California beach, as the 1954 male lead did); when the two leads go out to the property and are about to make love on the ground, the female lead says she doesn't care about the dirt, and the male lead says, "That's the spirit that built the west." In the 2018 film, the male lead says he grew up on a ranch and bought it and gave it to his brother, and he is pissed off when he learns that his brother sold the ranch and it has now been turned into a wind farm -- but there is no reference, at least not that I can recall, to the traditional notions of the west being conquered or built, etc. Race: The 1932 film features black servants who provide a bit of comic relief, such as it is. I can't recall if there were any black characters in the 1937 film. One of the movie musical numbers in the 1954 film features a couple of tap-dancing black kids (while another number features the female lead singing 'Swanee River' but *not* in blackface the way Al Jolson and others used to do). The 1976 film begins by showing us that the male lead's audience -- and his would-be groupies -- are ever-so-slightly racially integrated, and the female lead is first seen as part of a group called The Oreos, presumably because the female lead is a white woman whose singing partners on either side of her are black; the female justice of the peace who marries the leads is black, too. In the 2018 film, the leads are married in a black church, the pastor of which is cousin to one of the male lead's friends. Employment: The 1932 film begins with the female lead working as a waitress. In the 1937 film, the female lead takes a gig serving food at a Hollywood higher-ups' party to help make ends meet (and also to introduce herself to some movie-industry people), but I don't think she was working full-time in the food-services industry. In the 1954 film, the female lead is already in showbiz when the movie starts, as a singer with a jazz band -- but after meeting the male lead, she quits the band to pursue a career in Hollywood, and in the *restored* version of the film, she briefly works as a waitress at a drive-in diner to help make ends meet. There is no waitressing in the 1976 film, though the female lead there does take gigs recording commercial jingles, just like the female lead in the 1954 film did. The female lead in the 2018 film is the first one since 1932 who is working as a waitress when we first meet her, but she also has some showbiz aspirations; she sings at a drag bar -- possibly just for fun, not for pay -- and in later dialogue, she tells the male lead that music producers have told her she can't be a pop star because of her nose, so she has apparently done *some* looking into her options showbiz-wise. Appearance: The 1937 and 1954 films both feature scenes in which movie-studio makeup artists try to give the female lead a makeover; both films even include a line about giving her the "Crawford smear". The female lead in the 1976 film does a double-take when someone comments on the frizziness of her hair. The female lead in the 2018 film says she was told she couldn't be a star because of her nose, and she eventually hooks up with a business manager who talks about creating an "image" for her, which the male lead doesn't react to well. Journalists: In the 1932 film, the gossip columns say the male lead "stole" the female lead from her job at the Brown Derby, but we know that she was the assertive one in that relationship. The 1937 and 1954 films lean more into the way that studios themselves tell lies for publicity's sake, and in both films the studio publicists are happy to give the male lead a verbal tongue-lashing once he has been let go by the studio; however, after the male lead dies, the publicists go right back to issuing positive-sounding statements about the male lead. The 1976 film features a hostile DJ who flies his helicopter right over the male lead's house, prompting the male lead to fire a gun in his general direction, but after the male lead dies, the DJ claims on-air that the male lead was like a "brother" to him; the male lead also has an affair with a journalist who shows up naked in his swimming pool and offers to sleep with him in order to get an interview with the female lead. I can't recall if there were any journalists in the 2018 film. Fans: The bridal procession in the 1932 film turns kind of horrific as the fans claw at the bride, and women's clubs ban her films after her director commits suicide at her house. In the 1954 film, the fans mob the female lead at her husband's *funeral*. The 1976 film begins by showing us a really chaotic audience (a toddler wanders unaccompanied through one crowd shot), impatient for the male lead to show up and sing; later, a rather toxic "fan" sees the male lead at a bar and demands that he get up on the stage (where the female lead is already performing) and sing for them. The 2018 film is much nicer to the fans -- everybody at the drag bar is, like, really really happy to see the male lead there, and it is implied that the concert in the closing scene is some sort of memorial for the male lead -- but it does include a scene where a guy asks to take a picture with the male lead because his ex-girlfriend slept with a guy who supposedly *looked* like the male lead, and the "fan" wants to prove that the male lead doesn't look like the guy. Awards: The female lead in the 1932 film wins an Oscar offscreen. The 1937 and 1954 films both feature scenes at the Oscars where the female lead wins an award and her husband shows up drunk, verbally slams the industry for abandoning him, and slaps the female lead's face. The 1976 changes this to a scene at the Grammys, where the female lead is knocked down accidentally and a hostile DJ accuses the male lead of attacking the female lead. And in the 2018 film, the male lead doesn't express any hostility to anyone -- there is none of the jealousy or contempt that the male leads of earlier films expressed; instead, he just embarrasses himself -- and he pisses his pants, because body fluids are what we do in our movies now. (Incidentally, the 1937 film explicitly identifies the Oscars in question as the *8th* awards ceremony, which took place in 1936. And the male lead is played by Fredric March, so when he says he's already won an Oscar, it was actually true in March's case -- he won for 1931's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and he went on to win again for 1946's The Best Years of Our Lives. The female lead, meanwhile, was played by Janet Gaynor, who was the very first woman to win an Oscar in 1928, for her roles in 7th Heaven, Street Angel and Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans. The 1976 and 2018 films starred Barbra Streisand and Lady Gaga, respectively, both of whom had already won Grammys -- Streisand had even won an Oscar several years earlier -- and both actresses went on to win even *more* Grammys and Oscars for songs that they wrote for their versions of A Star Is Born.) Sanitariums: The 1937 and 1954 films feature scenes in which the male lead stays at a sanitarium and is followed around by a handler named "Cuddles"; the male lead is visited there by the studio chief, who tries to offer him a comeback role. The 2018 film features a sequence in which the male lead has checked into rehab, and he is visited by the female lead, who has discovered a notebook with songs that he has written. Suicide: The male lead in the 1932 film shoots himself in the chest while he is staying at the female lead's house. The male leads in the 1937 and 1954 films go for a swim with the intention of drowning. The male lead in the 1976 film drives super-fast through the desert while drinking booze. And the male lead in the 2018 film hangs himself in his garage. The first and last deaths are pretty obviously suicides, but the three deaths in the middle are at least *potentially* accidental, and are reported as such by the media in at least one or two of those films. (In the 1932 film, the male lead says he wants to hear the female lead's voice one more time, shortly before he finds her gun and kills himself; and in all of the other films, the male lead says he wants to look at the female lead one more time, which is usually -- maybe always? -- a callback to an earlier scene where the male leads and female leads were first falling for each other.) Endings: The 1932 film ends with the female lead's ex-husband, who once denounced the movie industry as "vulgar", bringing her a message from her producer, telling her she can have a comeback role playing a woman who goes to jail for the man she loves; the ex-husband also asks to be reconciled to her. The 1937 film ends with the female lead going to a premiere and identifying herself, to a radio microphone, as "Mrs Norman Maine". The 1954 film also has the female lead identifying herself by her married name, but this time she does it to a crowded theatre at a charity benefit, and the camera pulls back to reveal everyone applauding her, which sounds supportive but has the odd effect of diminishing the female lead visually. The 1976 film ends with the female lead singing a song about herself that she discovered on one of the male lead's demo tapes after he died, and most (if not all?) of the sequence is shot in close-up. The 2018 film ends with the female lead singing a song about herself that the male lead had actually sung to her when he wrote it -- and the film even interrupts her rendition of the song to give us a flashback to him singing it to her, after which she kisses him because she has been swept off her feet again by his intense interest in her -- and then the film cuts to a brief close-up of the female lead's face as she looks directly into the camera. Other odd bits: The 1932 film begins with music playing over an opening montage, and then we see the female lead walk around in her apartment and turn off the phonograph, at which point the music stops. So the seemingly non-diegetic music turns into diegetic music -- which is almost exactly identical to how Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut began 67 years later. The 1937 film begins and ends with the first and last pages of the screenplay, which is kinda meta. And both the shortest (1932) and longest (1954) versions of this story were directed by George Cukor. Whew. I think that about covers it for now.
Roma (2018)
Peter T Chattaway replied to kenmorefield's topic in Film
Anders wrote: : Frankly, the film rang true to me, and what is left out is less a dehumanization of Cleo than it is a condemnation of the fact that in her experience with the family fails to offer her any space for that kind of expression. She is a cipher because the family, for all their care, doesn't actually have interest, or don't think to have an interest, in those aspects of her life. You really think the final scenes with the family hugging Cleo at the beach and in the car "condemn" the family's relationship with Cleo? (I mean, if they did, then it would partly be self-condemnation on Cuaron's part, which is not impossible, but... I don't see it.) I will, however, concede that when Brody says that Cleo "says nothing at all about life in her village, her childhood, her family," I find myself thinking that, on my second viewing of the film, I thought I noticed one or two comments that Cleo did make about her village, brief and cryptic though they were.
d. alfonso cuarón
Andrew wrote: : I wonder if the frequent complaints here of detachment have something to do with the stoicism/fatalism of the film's protagonist? Something like that may be part of it. See, e.g., Richard Brody's review: "Watching “Roma,” one awaits such illuminating details about Cleo’s life outside of her employer’s family, and such a generously forthcoming and personal relationship between Cleo and the children in her care. There’s nothing of this sort in the movie; Cleo hardly speaks more than a sentence or two at a time and says nothing at all about life in her village, her childhood, her family. She’s a loving and caring young woman, and the warmth of her feelings for the family she works for—and theirs for her—is apparent throughout. But Cleo remains a cipher; her interests and experiences—her inner life—remain inaccessible to Cuarón. He not only fails to imagine who the character of Cleo is but fails to include the specifics of who Libo was for him when he was a child. "In the process, he turns the character of Cleo into a stereotype that’s all too common in movies made by upper-middle-class and intellectual filmmakers about working people: a strong, silent, long-enduring, and all-tolerating type, deprived of discourse, a silent angel whose inability or unwillingness to express herself is held up as a mark of her stoic virtue. (It’s endemic to the cinema and even leaves its scars on better movies than “Roma,” including some others from this year, such as “Leave No Trace” and “The Rider.”) The silent nobility of the working poor takes its place in a demagogic circle of virtue sharing that links filmmakers (who, if they offer working people a chance to speak, do so only in order to look askance at them, as happens in “Roma” with one talkative but villainous poor man) with their art-house audiences, who are similarly pleased to share in the exaltation of heroes who do manual labor without having to look closely or deeply at elements of their heroes’ lives that don’t elicit either praise or pity. "That effacement of Cleo’s character, her reduction to a bland and blank trope that burnishes the director’s conscience while smothering her consciousness and his own, is the essential and crucial failure of “Roma.” It sets the tone for the movie’s aesthetic and hollows it out, reducing Cuarón’s worthwhile intentions and evident passions to vain gestures."
Peter T Chattaway replied to John Drew's topic in Film
Joel Mayward wrote: : . . . no big stars (a debatable descriptor for Avatar with Sigourney Weaver, but I see your point) . . . She's a fairly minor character within the film, though. A significant character, but she has a much smaller role within the film than Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana have. (I'd be curious to compare her screentime to Michelle Rodriguez's, come to that.) Also, I'm not really sure how "big" a star Weaver is these days...? She's been doing voice-overs and popping up in cameos in films like WALL-E, Cabin in the Woods and Exodus: Gods & Kings, but I couldn't say offhand how long it has been since Weaver landed a leading role in a major-studio movie.
Darren H wrote: : My daughters and I are looking forward to shedding a couple ourselves this weekend! Their anticipation for this movie rivals mine at their age, when I was waiting for The Empire Strikes Back. How'd it go? I was driving my daughter and a few of her friends to a basketball game before the movie came out, and at least one of her friends was *really* excited about the movie. I don't remember waiting for The Empire Strikes Back, but I *definitely* remember waiting for Return of the Jedi (which came out when I was 12), and the three years between movies seemed interminable. Whereas it's been *five* years since the last How to Train Your Dragon movie...
Peter T Chattaway replied to Peter T Chattaway's topic in Academy Awards
The ceremony was a few days ago now, but, just for the record: 4 awards: Bohemian Rhapsody -- actor (Rami Malek), film editing, sound editing, sound mixing 3 awards: Green Book -- best picture, supporting actor (Mahershala Ali), original screenplay Roma -- director (Alfonso Cuaron), cinematography, foreign language film Black Panther -- production design, costume design, original score 1 award: Bao -- animated short BlacKkKlansman -- adapted screenplay The Favourite -- actress (Olivia Colman) First Man -- visual effects Free Solo -- documentary feature If Beale Street Could Talk -- supporting actress (Regina King) Period. End of Sentence. -- documentary short Skin -- live-action short Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse -- animated feature A Star Is Born -- original song Vice -- makeup & hairstyling A few notes: Every Best Picture nominee got at least *one* award this year. Three of the acting awards went to actors who played LGBT characters. Two of the acting awards went to African-American actors while a third went to an American actor whose parents moved to America from Egypt, which is also in Africa. Mexicans have now won *five* of the last six directing awards, though this is the first time one of them has won for telling a Mexican story. (Curiously, one of the people presenting the Roma clip said it was a story about "immigrants", even though Roma is a Mexican film about Mexicans in Mexico -- indeed, the primary figure in the film is an *indigenous* Mexican.) Cuaron is, in fact, the first person to win best director for a non-English-language movie. (Twenty-two directors have been nominated for twenty-eight non-English films since 1961, but Cuaron is the first to actually win.) Alfonso Cuaron joins Ang Lee on the short list of directors who have won Oscars for directing *twice* but have not seen any of their films win best picture. Of the four films in question, three lost to movies about American racism (Cuaron's Gravity and Roma lost to 12 Years a Slave and Green Book, respectively, while Lee's Brokeback Mountain lost to Crash), while Lee's Life of Pi lost to Argo. (Other directors who won best director twice for films that didn't win best picture include Frank Borzage (1927/28's 7th Heaven lost best picture to Wings and 1931/32's Bad Girl lost best picture to Grand Hotel) and George Stevens (1951's A Place in the Sun lost best picture to An American in Paris and 1956's Giant lost best picture to Around the World in 80 Days). John Ford won best director four times between 1935 and 1952, but only the third of those films -- 1941's How Green Was My Valley -- won best picture (1935's The Informer lost to Mutiny on the Bounty, 1940's The Grapes of Wrath lost to Rebecca, and 1952's The Quiet Man lost to The Greatest Show on Earth).) Cuaron won three Oscars in a single night. How often has a single person won three Oscars in a single night? Ever? The 2018 version of A Song Is Born and its leading lady won an Oscar for best original song, just like the 1976 version and its leading lady did. (The 1954 version was also nominated for best original song but lost to the title song from Three Coins in the Fountain.) The 1937 version won an Oscar for its screenplay, so the 1954 version is the only one that never won an Oscar of its own. It was a good night for Mahershala Ali, who not only won his second Oscar in three years, but also saw two of his films win top prizes: Green Book got best picture while Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse got best animated feature. Black Panther is the first Marvel Cinematic Universe movie to win any Oscars, and it won three of them. It is not, however, the first film based on a Marvel comic to win; a quick glance at the IMDb indicates that Spider-Man 2 won an Oscar for its visual effects. I haven't checked the other non-MCU franchises yet. And of course Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse *also* won an Oscar this year. (The DC Extended Universe got an Oscar for Suicide Squad a couple years ago, and non-DCEU movies like 1989's Batman and 2008's The Dark Knight have won them too; 1978's Superman also got a "special achievement award" for visual effects at a time when the Academy had not yet created a competitive visual-effects category.)
Peter T Chattaway replied to Tyler's topic in Film
I mentioned on Facebook the other day that the makers of Rocketman must be looking at Bohemian Rhapsody's enormous success (over $800 million worldwide! multiple Oscar nominations including Best Actor -- which it could very easily win -- and Best Picture!) and feeling both envious and optimistic about what that film's success could mean for their own film's prospects: Apparently there's an audience out there for 1970s-set British pop-star biopics with LGBT content! Then a friend of mine pointed out that Rocketman is also directed by Dexter Fletcher, the guy who finished directing Bohemian Rhapsody after Bryan Singer ankled the project. So, whoa.
And the winners are... Crazy Rich Asians, The Favourite and Black Panther, the latter two of which are nominated for the Oscar.
Aren Bergstrom wrote: : Furthermore, no film has ever been as popular with international audiences. It kind of gave birth to the notion that you should care about the international marketplace as much as a domestic. Oh, I wouldn't say that that notion started with *this* film. Just within James Cameron's filmography, Titanic was the first movie ever to gross over a billion dollars overseas (double what it made in North America), and that was 12 years *before* Avatar.
Your current spiritual practice?
Peter T Chattaway replied to Darren H's topic in Faith Matters
J.A.A. Purves wrote: : Coming from my evangelical background, the differences between Catholicism and Orthodoxy appeared to be very small compared to the differences between Protestantism and Catholicism/Orthodoxy. Our landing in the Catholic Church probably mostly has to do with our being persuaded by Newman's work on the development of doctrine and our understanding of the doctrine of the universal visible Church. Catholicism and Orthodoxy certainly overlap with each other and *not* with Protestantism on a number of issues. Indeed, my path to Orthodoxy was cleared in many respects by the debates I had with SDG in this forum (and its predecessors) a decade and a half ago. The Orthodox certainly believe in a universal visible Church, though -- this came up in the catechism at my church just yesterday, when someone asked about the differences between Orthodoxy and Protestantism! (my priest grew up Plymouth Brethren) -- so I'm not sure how we'd be different from Catholicism on *that* front. : Put another way, Protestant/evangelical theology rejects salvation "as a process." Instead, salvation must be instantaneous upon the first moment of faith. A fellow Protestant convert to Orthodoxy once described this as the "punctiliar" sensibility of Protestantism, and especially evangelicalism. I have also eavesdropped on e-mail exchanges between evangelical theologians on the fact that evangelicalism tends to emphasize "justification" *way* more than "sanctification" in its understanding of "salvation".
And the winners are... Bohemian Rhapsody -- Musical, Dialogue/ADR A Quiet Place -- Effects/Foley Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse -- Music Underscore So, Bohemian Rhapsody and Spider-Man won everything they were nominated for, and A Quiet Place got one award as well. (Note: Bohemian Rhapsody also won the Cinema Audio Society award, which is equivalent to the Oscar for Sound *Mixing*, yesterday.)
And the winner is... Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse! Which *also* won in the 'Music Underscore' category.
And the winner is... Roma! Which wasn't listed here a month ago, but is now listed among the nominees on the MPSE website (and, notably, the title of that film is *not* italicized while all the others *are* italicized, which I assume has something to do with the fact that the title was added to the list sometime after I copied-and-pasted the list here). Anyway, Roma *was* apparently nominated after all, and tonight it won.
And the winner is... a tie between Free Solo, which has an Oscar nomination, and They Shall Not Grow Old, which doesn't!
And the winner is... Overwatch, which I think is a videogame...? Age of Sail won in the 'Special Venue' category, too.
And the winner is... Can You Ever Forgive Me?!
And the winner is... Eighth Grade, which wasn't even nominated for the Oscar. Incidentally, Kris Tapley notes on Twitter that The Favourite, which *is* nominated for the Oscar (and won the BAFTA), wasn't eligible for the Writers Guild award. So, hmmm. If Oscar nominees Green Book, Roma and Vice lost to Eighth Grade, one wonders if they would have also lost to The Favourite, had it been nominated for this award.
And the winner is... Bathtubs over Broadway.
And the winner is... Bohemian Rhapsody!
And the winner is... Isle of Dogs! That's the second time a guild has recognized Isle of Dogs in this category. Most of the other guilds have swung hard towards Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Notably, *none* of the guilds have given their top prizes to the Disney-Pixar sequels (although Incredibles 2 and Ralph Breaks the Internet did win a few Annies in categories where Spider-Man and Isle of Dogs weren't nominated for anything).
And the winner is... Free Solo, the only CAS nominee that also had an Oscar nomination.
And the winners are... Vice -- Period and/or Character Makeup, Special Makeup Effects A Star Is Born -- Contemporary Makeup Crazy Rich Asians -- Contemporary Hairstyling Mary Queen of Scots -- Period and/or Character Hairstyling So... Vice won both of the awards it was up for, while the other three films won one award each. (All of the winners had two nominations; none of the films with only one nomination won anything.) This may make Vice the front-runner to win the Oscar. Then again, it may not.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1713
|
__label__wiki
| 0.723323
| 0.723323
|
CUSIB’s Ann Noonan renews calls for congressional investigation of VOA and BBG management
BBG - USAGM Watch > Featured News > CUSIB’s Ann Noonan renews calls for congressional investigation of VOA and BBG management
BBGWatcher June 8, 2017
Featured News, Hot Tub Blog
Amanda Bennett, Ann Noonan, BBG, China, CUSIB, employee morale, Guo Wengui, Harry Wu, John F. Lansing, John Lansing, Robert Reilly, VOA, VOA Charter, Wei Jingsheng
In a speech delivered at a largely Chinese American event in Flushing, New York organized by Beijing Spring to commemorate the 28th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, Committee for U.S. International Broadcasting (CUSIB – cusib.org) Executive Director Ann Noonan has renewed calls for a full congressional investigation of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) and Voice of America (VOA) senior management in connection with the handling of the Guo Wengui interview, which produced a major drop in VOA’s reputation and credibility in China.
“It [independent congressional investigation] must also involve a call for transparency, and a careful review of any possible business dealings or investments in China of spouses or close relatives of upper management at VOA and the BBG to root out whether or not there are any possible conflicts of interest between business investments in China and the VOA Charter,” Ann Noonan said in the presence of many Tiananmen Square Massacre and former political prisoners in China who attended the anniversary event in Flushing, NY.
Wei Jingsheng, an internationally known leader in the 1978 Chinese Democracy Wall Movement, former political prisoner in China for 18 years and winner of the 1994 Olof Palme Prize and the 1996 Sakharov Prize had asked U.S. Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) to launch a completely independent investigation of the Voice of America senior management’s decisions to shorten a live interview with Chinese businessman turned whistleblower Guo Wengui.
Wei Jingsheng also spoke at the Beijing Spring event in Flushing, NY. Also speaking during the commemoration of the Tiananmen Square Massacre anniversary was a representative of the Tibetan Government in Exile.
The event was covered by VOA Mandarin Service. VOA连线: 纽约民运组织继续纪念六四
ANN NOONAN, CUSIB EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: I think we have all heard about the Voice of America Mandarin Service interview on April 19, 2017, with Chinese billionaire, Guo Wengui. Even though this “tell all” interview was widely advertised to run for 3 hours on the Voice of America, it was abruptly cut after one hour and 17 minutes.
Even though the decision to cut this broadcast was not made by the actual journalists involved, 5 Voice of America journalists have been placed on administrative leave, pending an investigation.
One of the journalists was actually escorted out of the Cohen Building in DC by a security guard, and followed to his car to be sure that his parking permit would be returned.
The man did nothing wrong, but to the public and anyone watching, he must have looked like a criminal that he was not.
The Broadcasting Board of Governors, despite their own bloated legal and public relations departments, is said to have hired a private DC firm to help with crisis management. Where did this money come from?
Is this how US taxpayer dollars should be spent? Is this how the BBG or VOA management should conduct an independent internal investigation? Shouldn’t the actions of upper management also be investigated, and who is going to do that?
CUSIB does not consider whatever expensive investigation that may be taking place internally at the BBG and VOA about this, to be anything less than a way to interrogate and punish 5 Chinese journalists, make an example of them, and appear to Congress to be holding a real internal investigation.
To make matters even worse, the Voice of America journalists who are on administrative leave have even had to dig into their own pockets to hire their own lawyers to protect themselves.
CUSIB believes this is a crisis, and that the US Congress should not wait another day to schedule a hearing to find out what is really going on.
One call to action for today is to contact the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission or the CECC and respectfully request for either Commission to hold a hearing as soon as possible to investigate if censorship was involved, what transpired on April 19, the days that led up to the interview, and the days that followed.
This investigation must include the actions and decisions of upper management, including Voice of America Director Amanda Bennett and BBG’s CEO John Lansing.
It must also involve a call for transparency, and a careful review of any possible business dealings or investments in China of spouses or close relatives of upper management at VOA and the BBG to root out whether or not there are any possible conflicts of interest between business investments in China and the VOA Charter.
If China’s government actually influenced VOA’s decision to cut that interview, how tragic for VOA, who during the Tiananmen Square Massacre was seen as a great gift of hope for the people both inside and outside China.
CUSIB will file a Freedom of Information request with the BBG to find out where the money to hire the PR firm came from. Hopefully, we will receive more than just pages filled with redacted information.
Neither the current VOA Director Amanda Bennett nor the current CEO of the BBG John Lansing are Trump appointees. If they were, would people express outrage? Just because they are holdovers from the Obama Administration, why should they get a pass?
SEE VIDEO: 大纽约地区纪念“六四”28周年研讨会现场直播, 纪念六四28周年 [English with translation into Mandarin]
Ann Noonan is a Democrat and works for a Democratic politician in New York, but CUSIB, which she had co-founded, is a fully independent and fully nonpartisan NGO.
Voice of America director Amanda Bennett in a letter to the Editor of The Wall Street Journal defended her handling of the Guo Wengui interview and criticized VOA Mandarin Service chief Dr. Sasha Gong. Bennett was criticized in turn, also in The Wall Street Journal, by former Voice of America director Robert R. Reilly, a Republican. Reilly, who is a member of CUSIB’s Advisory Board, is one of many Republicans and Democrats who have been calling for reforming the current management of the Broadcasting Board of Governors and the Voice of America.
SEE: Former Voice of America director defends VOA China journalists, BBG Watch, June 6, 2017
At the event in Flushing, NY, Ann Noonan also spoke of the legacy of the late Laogai Research Foundation founder, Chinese human rights activist and political prisoner in China Harry Wu who died in April 2016. Harry Wu also served on the CUSIB Advisory Board. She pointed out that since shortly after his death, the Laogai Museum in Washington, DC remains closed, which no doubt pleases the communist government in Beijing. The Laogai is China’s extensive system of forced-labor prison camps.
Ann Noonan said in her speech that Harry Wu was an ardent supporter of the Tiananmen Mothers and never missed a chance to speak up for the students who gathered peacefully at Tiananmen Square to call for freedom and democracy.
Harry Wu was a highly respected figure among many members of the U.S. Congress, including House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Congressman Frank Wolf who in May 2016 attended a memorial service for him on Capitol Hill.
CUSIB Executive Director Ann Noonan with House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and former Congressman Frank Wolf at the Tribute to late Laogai Research Foundation founder Harry Wu at the Library of Congress, May 25, 2016.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1715
|
__label__wiki
| 0.580578
| 0.580578
|
Anarkismo.net http://www.anarkismo.net
Post-Anarchism on the State—An Anarchist Critique
international | anarchist movement | opinion / analysis Sunday September 09, 2018 07:52 by Wayne Price
Response to Saul Newman, "Anarchism, Marxism, and the Bonapartist State"
A review of the nature of the State as understood by anarchists, especially as proposed by the tendency called "post-anarchism." This is done through a review of the opinions of Saul Newman, a leading proponent of post-anarchism, in his work, "Anarchism, Marxism, and the Bonapartist State." The post-anarchist view is opposed by the class theory of the state, versions of which are raised by traditional, revolutionary anarchists and by Marx.
A key question for any political theory is its conception of the state. This includes the view of the state by the trend calling itself “post-anarchism.” This name does not refer to being “after” or “beyond” anarchism. Mainly it refers to attempted integrations of anarchism with the philosophical views of post-structuralism and postmodernism, as developed by certain French philosophers (May 1994; Russell & Evren 2011). According to Ruth Kinna,“Anarchism’s third, post-anarchist, wave [is] usually dated to the rise of the alter-globalization movement in the late 1990s….” (Kinna 2017; 25) It was not so much a change in organizing strategies as a new theoretical approach. “Post-anarchism is not only one of the most significant currents to emerge within contemporary anarchist thought in recent years, it also has ‘evident affinities’ with small-a anarchist movement politics.” (36) In this paper, I am looking at the post-anarchists’ political thinking and not on their background philosophies (in philosophy, I prefer a radicalized version of John Dewey’s pragmatism; Price 2014).
One of the most prominent post-anarchist theorists is Saul Newman. He has written a number of important books and essays on the subject. One essay (Newman 2004) concentrates on the nature of the state. It directly confronts the class theory of the state (also called the “materialist” or “historical materialist” theory of the state). This is a subject on which I have recently written (Price 2018). His is different from many other post-anarchist writings which emphasize that the state is not the only source of power, but that power is created in many places. “Foucault argues that the state is a kind of discursive illusion that masks the radically dispersed nature of power….” (Newman 2004; 23) Newman does not quite agree with this. He takes the state seriously. Whether or not a network of power is a useful model of society, the state still exists and needs to be analyzed. For this reason, I think it would be useful to examine this particular post-anarchist work.
In his essay, Newman never actually defines what he means by the state. I have found the same to be true in other post-anarchist writings. Let me then define the state as a bureaucratic-military social machine, composed of specialized officials, bureaucrats, and armed people, separate from and standing over the mass of people. This is a different matter than just any possible social system of coordination, policy deciding, dispute settling, or even defense from anti-social aggression. All these things existed for thousands of years among humans before the state arose and will exist after it is abolished. It is the state as an elite socially-alienated bureaucratic-military institution which is connected to the capitalist system and all other systems of oppression.
Anarchism and Marxism on the Class Theory of the State
It would be easy to contrast anarchism with Marxist-Leninism, that is, with the recent and current Stalinist states of the USSR, Maoist China, North Korea, etc. These states were founded by people calling themselves “Marxist” and supposed champions of the “working class.” Yet they were state-capitalist, mass-murdering, totalitarianisms. But Karl Marx, a radical democrat, would have been as horrified by such states as are anarchists. The issue is to show what there was about Marxism which led to such results, despite Marx’s intentions. Consistent with that focus, Newman directs himself primarily to Marx’s views, with little to say about post-Marx Marxism (just a few comments on Lenin).
Still, the paper presents itself as a dispute between anarchism and Marxism. In part, this binary is modified by some indications that anarchists have found aspects of Marxism useful. “For anarchists, Marxism has great value as an analysis of capitalism and the relations [of] private property which it is tied to.” (19) “Bakunin perhaps represents the most radical elements of Marxist theory.” (17) (10) Newman himself repeatedly expresses appreciation of the “post-Marxism” of Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe, whose work comes out of the Marxist tradition.
However, the main problem with Newman’s anarchism-versus-Marxism approach is that the traditional anarchist movement also had a class theory of the state. Peter Kropotkin, the great theorist of anarchism, wrote, “The State has always interfered in the economic life in favor of the capitalist exploiter. It has always granted him protection in robbery, given aid and support for further enrichment. And it could not be otherwise. To do so was one of the functions—the chief mission—of the State.” (Kropotkin 2014; 193) In Kinna’s view, Kropotkin thought “political institutions reflected the nature of economic power, which was fundamental….The state was designed to protect the strong against the weak, the rich against the poor, and the privileged against the laboring classes….Bourgeois government [was] a special vehicle for the protection of commercial and industrial class interests.” (Kinna 2017; 86—88) “Bakunin had advanced the same argument, crediting Marx with its most sophisticated scientific articulation.” (86)
Newman’s attack on the class theory of the state is not only an attack on Marxism but also on the traditional mainstream anarchist view
Newman seeks to deny this. For example, he cites Bakunin’s support for the class theory of the state but then tries to turn it on its head. “Bakunin…takes Marx seriously when he says that the state is always concomitant with class distinctions and domination. However there is an important difference….For Marx the dominant class generally rules through the state, whereas for Bakunin the state generally rules through the dominant class….Bourgeois relations are actually a reflection of the state, rather than the state being a reflection of bourgeois relations.” (Newman 2004;17)
This acknowledges that Bakunin, the principal initiator of the movement for revolutionary anarchism, believed that “the state is always concomitant with class distinctions and domination.” That is different from seeing the state as distinct and autonomous from the class structure. Actually, Bakunin saw the state as interacting with the economy, in a back-and-forth, dialectical, manner. The modern state causes capitalism and capitalism causes the modern state.
This is similar to Marx’s concept of “primitive (primary) accumulation,” in which the state played a key role in initiating capitalism. The state expropriated the British peasants from their land, conquered and looted foreign countries, supported slavery, and defended theft from the environment. Theses actions accumulated capital on one side and propertyless workers on the other, the essentials for capitalism. In Capital, Marx wrote of “the power of the state, the concentrated and organized force of society, to hasten, hothouse fashion, the process of transformation of the feudal mode of production into the capitalist mode….Force is…itself an economic power.” (Marx 1906; 823-4) Kropotkin criticized this “primitive accumulation” only because it may imply that this is a passing phase, understating the continuing influence of the state in maintaining capitalism. Recognizing that “Force is itself an economic power”is not a rejection of the class theory of the state.
Newman presents two alternate views: “the state represented the interests of the most economically dominant class—the bourgeoisie.” (Newman 2004; 6) This is ascribed to Marx. Or: “Anarchism sees the state as an autonomous institution—or series of institutions—that has its own interests and logic.” (9) “It is independent of economic forces and has its own imperative of self-perpetuation….Anarchism sees the state, in its essence, as independent of economic classes….” (14) This last view is his opinion, that of post-anarchism, but not that of the “classical” anarchists.
Bonapartism
Newman points out that Marx developed his concept of the state further. This was expressed in his analysis of the French dictatorship of Louis Napoleon III in his 1852 The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte (Marx 2002). He developed a concept of “Bonapartism,” which was also expressed in Engels’ and his writings on Bismarck in Germany and on other historical states (Draper 1977). They noted that the state balanced among various class forces. Even within the upper class there were fractions of classes and agents of fractions of classes, which put conflicting pressures on the state. They saw that the state had its own interests as an institution and so did its bureaucratic, political, and military personnel. Sometimes the bourgeoisie had mostly direct control of the state, as under parliamentary democracy. At other times, they were shut out, as under Louis Bonaparte’s “Empire” or under Nazi totalitarianism. But even without democratic rights, the bourgeoisie continued to exploit their employees and accumulate profits. This “right” was still defended by the dictatorial state! “According to Marx…the Bonapartist state served the long term interests of the capitalist system, even if it often acted against the immediate interests and will of the bourgeoisie.” (Newman 2004; 7)
There is a tendency for the state—especially its executive branch—to develop increased independence relative to the rest of society, even under bourgeois democracy, but which reaches its height under political dictatorship. In Newman’s terms, cited above, it may be acknowledged that “the state has its own interests and logic…and has its own imperative of self-preservation.” But it is not true that the state is “independent of class forces.” Rather it balances among them and still maintains the overall interests of the bourgeoisie. This has been referred to as the state’s “relative autonomy.” (5)
Newman claims that anarchists (or at least post-anarchists) took the concept of Bonapartism to its rightful extreme. “Anarchism took Marx’s notion of the Bonapartist State to its logical conclusion, thus developing a theory of state power and sovereignty as an entirely autonomous and specific domain….” (38—39)
Does this make sense? Does not the state, as an institution with a drive for “self-preservation,” have an absolute need to keep the economy going? Under capitalism this means the continued accumulation of capital; it means the exploitation of the working class to produce ever increased amounts of profit. Without this, there is no state, no society, and none of the other oppressions of race, gender, etc. Can there be “an entirely autonomous” state, unrelated to economic oppression? Neither Bakunin nor Kropotkin believed that. I quoted Kropotkin above as believing that protecting capitalist exploiters “was one] of the functions—the chief mission—of the State.” Not the only function or mission, but 'one of the functions” and “the chief mission.”
If we look at the state as a “specific domain,” then it has a great many social forces, economic and otherwise, class and non-class, pushing on it. (Non-class forces include racial tensions, gender conflicts, not to mention organized religion.) Yet these forces are of differing strength and impact. The class theory “involves a claim that the capitalist class is able to wield more potent power resources over against pressure from below and the capacity for independent action on the part of the state itself….The political sway of the capitalist class [is] not exclusive but predominant.” (Wetherly 2002; 197) Even the most autonomous of totalitarian fascist states still must take into account the needs of its capitalist class—or it will not survive. Even the bureaucratic Stalinist states of the Soviet Union, Maoist China, etc.—which had entirely disposed of their stock-owning bourgeoisie—still had to maintain the exploitation of the workers and the accumulation of capital: the capital-labor relationship.
Summarizing the most mature and sophisticated views of Marx (and traditional anarchists)—with which he disagrees—Newman writes, “Rather than saying that, for Marx, the state is the instrument of [the] bourgeoisie, it may be more accurate to say that the state is a reflection of bourgeois class domination, a institution whose structure is determined by capitalist relations. Its function is to maintain an economic and social order that allows the bourgeoisie to continue to exploit the proletariat. “ (11) Or, for the Stalinist states, for someone “to continue to exploit the proletariat”—in this case, the collective bureaucratic class (until it collapsed back into traditional capitalism).
I think that this makes more sense than either a view of the state as a passive puppet of the bourgeoisie (should anyone hold such a crude theory) or as “entirely autonomous” and ”independent of class forces.”
Political Implications
Political analyses have no meaning unless they lead to differences in strategy or tactics. “A difference which makes no difference is no difference,” as the saying goes. Newman contrasts the differing potential “revolutionary strategies” that go with the alternatives of the “neutral” or “autonomous state” or the (class) “determined state.” He discusses which (theorized) state should be seen as the “tool of revolution” and which as something “to be destroyed in revolution.” (8) Rather than summarize his discussion, I will go through the issue as I see it.
(1) The idea that the state was integrally tied to the capitalist class and could not be otherwise, led to the revolutionary belief that this state had to be overturned, smashed, dismantled, and replaced by alternate institutions. In a new preface to the Communist Manifesto, Engels quoted Marx, “One thing especially was proved by the [Paris] Commune, viz., that ‘the working class cannot simply lay hold of the ready-made state machinery and wield it for its own purposes’.” (Marx & Engels 1955; 6) This did not deny the value of fighting for reforms, but the ultimate goal was a state-destroying revolution.
But two different conclusions were drawn. One was that the working class, when overturning the capitalists’ state, also needed its own class state, a “workers’ state,” the “revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat”—if only for a while, until a fully classless society could be instituted. This could be interpreted as an ultra-democratic state, similar to the Paris Commune or the early soviets, which would ”immediately” start to “wither away” —which is how Lenin presented it at the beginning of the Russian revolution. Or, alternately, as the justification for an increasingly authoritarian, one-party, police state, which is what Lenin developed over time. This soon evolved into Stalin’s state-capitalist totalitarianism.
On the other hand, anarchists argued that the state, by its very structure (as I defined it above), was an instrument of the capitalist class, or of some other exploiting class. Throughout history, ruling minorities needed a state to maintain their rule over the big majority; a self-managing majority would not need it. If a new state were to be created after a revolution, it would only put a bureaucratic class in power, ruling over a state capitalist economy. (As we know, these warnings came true.) Instead, anarchists argued for networks and federations of workplace councils, neighborhood assemblies, and voluntary associations. The workers and all the oppressed needed to replace all states with the self-organization of the emancipated people.
(2) The alternate theory of a neutral and wholly autonomous state was (and is) championed by reformists, liberals, and social democrats. The state, they claimed, was a machine which could be used by anyone, capitalists or workers, white supremacists or People of Color, oppressors or oppressed. Therefore radicals should fight to take over the existing state and use it to do good. (This is the view of Laclau and Mouffe, the “post-Marxists” whom Newman admires.)
But post-anarchists argue that the state has its own drives for oppression, regardless of the class system it is associated with at any time. To use it to get rid of one system of exploitation would only leave the field open for the state’s own oppressive dynamics. It would only replace capitalism with some other method of exploitation, such as the rule of a bureaucratic class. Therefore the state must not used to make a revolution nor to solidify a new society after one.
Those who identify with the revolutionary anarchist tradition do not really disagree with the last argument. The state has authoritarian and oppressive tendencies which make it unusable for a genuinely popular, democratic, revolution-from-below. However, I do not separate these tendencies from the state’s essential attachment to the rule of a minority exploiting class. These are not distinct dynamics.
Which leads to a response to the question of why Marx’s Marxism led to Stalinist totalitarianism, despite Marx’s own democratic-libertarian tendencies. At least one part of it was his program of replacing the bourgeois state with a new state of the working class and its allies, if only for a time. This transitional state was supposed to expropriate the capitalists and centralize all their property into its own hands. No matter how democratic, popular, and temporary in conception, the use of a socially alienated bureaucratic-military state machine was bound to lead to a new form of exploitation and oppression. This was argued by Bakunin, Kropotkin, and other revolutionary class-struggle anarchist-socialists at the time of Marx and immediately after, and has repeatedly been proven true, alas.
Whether Saul Newman is for revolution cannot be told from this essay (it may be clearer in other works). Most of the other post-anarchists, like the “new” or “small-a” anarchists, advocate building alternate institutions, small scale actions, and different lifestyles, without focusing on an ultimate goal of direct popular attack against the capitalist class or the state. (Price 2016) The post-anarchists usually justify this by arguing that the state is not the only source of power in society, but merely one among many. Therefore anarchists do not need to focus on the state as the main enemy. It can be worked around, chipped away, or just ignored. The capitalist class is seen as a disjointed, pluralistic, entity, with society overall best understood as a network of forces without a center. All of which leads to a rejection of overturning the state as a main goal. In fact “revolution” is usually regarded as the fantasy of a single (bloody) upheaval which would immediately change society—which is rejected as the nonsense it is (and is not a model held by serious revolutionaries). However, revolutionary anarchists regard as a dangerous fantasy the idea that the capitalist class and its state would permit a peaceful, gradual, transformation of society—in which they would lose their wealth and power—without attempting to crush the people (through savage repression, fascism, civil war, etc.).
No Working Class Revolution
Whether Newman is against revolution, he is against working class revolution, because he is against a focus on the working class. He would deny that the “proletariat” is the necessary (but not sufficient) agent to transform society, or even that it is one of the three to five most important potential forces.
Newman repeatedly merges the idea of the working class with the idea of the Leninist vanguard party, objecting “to the central role of the proletariat—or, to be more precise, to the vanguard role of the Party.” (37) But revolutionary anarchists who looked to the working class did not advocate such authoritarian, elitist, parties. Among Marxists, Rosa Luxemburg rejected Lenin’s concept of the vanguard party, and there is a long history of libertarian-autonomist Marxists who orient to the aspects of Marx’s work which are radically democratic, humanistic (anti-alienation), proletarian (anti-bureaucratic), and scientific (anti-scientistic). This trend, neither social democratic nor Marxist-Leninist, does not share a concept of the elitist vanguard party. It has raised libertarian socialist politics which can be in dialogue with revolutionary anarchism (Prichard et al 2017).
The post-anarchists have been criticized for their negative approach to class concerns and how they deal with them. An “emerging critique is that the post-anarchists have given up on the notion of ‘class’ and have retreated into obscure and intoxicating academic diatribes against a tradition built of discursive straw.” (Rousselle, in the Preface to Rousselle & Evren 2011; vii) Indeed, Newman’s rejection of a working class orientation is sometimes on a rather high plane of abstract post-structuralist philosophizing. He denounces “the perspective of a universal epistemological position—such as that of the proletariat….” (37)
At other times, Newman raises empirical problems, which I think are the real issue. He refers to “…the empirical reality of the shrinking of the working class…” (32) and to the “concrete social conditions of the shrinking working class in post-industrial societies….” (29)
It is true that there are fewer industrial workers in the U.S. (although still a big minority), but the population is overwhelming working class. That is, most adults are employed by capital or the state, producing goods or services for pay, without supervising others. Blue collar, white collar, pink collar, in construction or slaughterhouses, cleaning houses for others or waiting tables, writing code or teaching children, in animation or accounting, this is the modern proletariat. The class, in addition to waged workers, includes their children, full-time homemakers, adult students, and those unemployed and retired. Meanwhile one reason for the decline in industrial jobs in the U.S. is that many jobs have been sent overseas. There has been an enormous expansion of industrial workers throughout the “Third World,” for this and other reasons. This is not a proof of the irrelevance of the working class.
It is also an empirical fact that most workers and their families are not revolutionary—and many are even reactionary. This is cited by post-anarchists (and others) as disproving a supposed prediction that the working class must inevitably become revolutionary. Actually the “prediction” is only that the working class is potentially revolutionary, and able to shake the whole society when it is. This is evidenced by a two-centuries long history of workers’ struggles and upheavals. In any case, it is not that we could reject the (currently) non-revolutionary class for some other grouping which is revolutionary. Since such a large proportion of the world’s population is working class, the non-revolutionary consciousness of most of the working class means that most of the general population is not revolutionary, that most women are not revolutionary, nor are most People of Color, nor is any other category we could name. For now.
Perhaps Newman’s major discontent with a working class perspective is his belief that it would suppress all other sources of discontent and rebellion. “Radical political struggles can no longer be limited to the proletariat alone, and must be seen as being open to other classes and social identities.” (33) “The movement…rejects the false universality of Marxist politics, which denies difference and heterogeneity and subordinates other struggles to the central role of the proletariat….” (37)
There is no doubt that there have been wooden Marxists and wooden anarcho-syndicalists who have denied the importance of everything but the class struggle. (There have also been feminists who have subordinated all issues to that of women’s freedom, and Black activists who have put everything aside but Black liberation. But that is not the question here.) However this is not an inevitable result of a class perspective. On the contrary, it can be seen as strengthening the class struggle if the revolutionary workers support each and every struggle of oppressed people. The socialist Daniel DeLeon once said (quoting from memory) that socialists’ support for women’s liberation could unify the working class and split the ruling class.
To cite an authoritative (and authoritarian) Marxist, Lenin opposed “economism,” the strategy of only supporting bread-and-butter labor union issues. Instead he argued that socialists should defend every democratic concern, no matter how apparently far from class. This included supporting big groups such as peasants, women, and oppressed nations, but also students, draftees, censored writers, and religious minorities. “To imagine that social revolution is conceivable without…a movement of the… masses against oppression by the landowners, the church, and the monarchy, against national oppression, etc. – to imagine all this is to repudiate social revolution. So one army lines up in one place and says, ‘We are for socialism’, and another, somewhere else and says, ‘We are for imperialism’, and that will he a social revolution!” (Lenin 1916) I cite this sarcastic comment even though Lenin was not a libertarian-autonomous Marxist, to demonstrate that even such a Marxist as Lenin could advocate that working class socialists should give support to all popular struggles against oppression—by all classes, on all issues. (In any case, the problem anarchists have with Lenin is not that he gave too much support to democratic struggles.)
“The Global Capitalist State Order”
Newman sees a model of the kind of radical movement he wants in “the emergence of what is broadly termed the ‘anti-globalization’ movement….” (Newman 2004; 36) He describes this movement as distinct from either a “universalized” working class or from a bundle of unrelated identity-based struggles. The distinct struggles are linked to each other and have a common enemy, which turns out to be….capitalism! and the capitalist state! “The ‘anti-globalization’ movement [is] a protest movement against the capitalist and neo-liberal vision of globalization….” (36) The movement “puts into question the global capitalist state order itself….It problematizes capitalism….targetting specific sites of oppression—corporate power and greed, G-M products, workplace surveillance, displacement of indigenous peoples, labor and human rights abuses, and so on.” (37) This only makes sense if we realize that these issues, overlapping with each other, are all directly or indirectly due to capitalism and enforced by the state. (For example, environmental, energy, and climate problems are due to the insatiable drive of capitalism to accumulate and grow quantitatively, regardless of the need of the ecosystem for limits and balance. The anarchist Bookchin explored this before the present ecological Marxists.)
“We are living in a historical moment…dominated by capitalism, the most universal system the world has ever known—both in the sense that it is global and in the sense that it penetrates every aspect of social life and the natural environment….The social reality of capitalism is ‘totalizing’ in unprecedented ways and degrees. Its logic of commodification, accumulation, profit-maximization, and competition permeates the whole social order….” (Woods 1997; 13)
If the problem is ultimately capitalism, then what is capitalism? (Newman does not define it any more than he defines the state.) Capitalism is the capital-labor relationship in the process of production. Capital commodifies everything it can, including the ability of the workers to labor. Capital buys this labor-power and squeezes out as much surplus wealth (value) from the workers as possible, accumulating profits and expanding production. All the other issues and struggles against aspects of oppression are real and must be addressed, but the central issue of capitalism as such is its exploitation of the workers. And who will oppose capitalism? Is it in the immediate interests of the rich, the managers, the police, or various indeterminate “citizens” to revolt against capitalism? No one has a greater immediate interest in fighting capitalism than those who directly confront it day by day. No one has a greater potential ability to fight it, with their hands on the means of production, distribution, and services.
That is what makes the class struggle—if not “universal”—then central to the fight against “the global capitalist state order.” It is central, and necessary—but not sufficient by itself, since all sections of the oppressed need to be mobilized, on every issue, “against the capitalist and neo-liberal vision of globalization.”
Conclusion: The State Serves the Class Enemy
In recent years there has been a bitter and vicious class war, on an international scale. It has been waged by the capitalist class, using all its resources, most especially its state. There has been a remorseless attack on the working class in both the industrialized (imperialist) nations and in the rest of the world. Hard-won welfare benefits have been slashed, austerity has been enforced, and unions have been cut in number and power. As part of this class war, there has been an attack on the rights of women, of African-Americans, of immigrants, and of LGBTQ people. For the sake of profits, the environment has been trashed and looted, until the survival of civilization (even such as it is) is threatened.
This is hardly the time to deny that capitalist exploitation is at the center of all issues. And that, while the state is intrinsically oppressive, it serves the class enemy.
Draper, Hal (1977). Karl Marx’s Theory of Revolution, Vol. 1; State and Bureaucracy. NY: Monthly Review Press.
Kinna, Ruth (2017), Kropotkin: Reviewing the Classical Anarchist Tradition. Edinburgh UK: Edinburgh University Press.
Kropotkin, Peter (2014). Direct Struggle Against Capital; A Peter Kropotkin Anthology (Ed.: Iain McKay). Oakland CA: AK Press.
Lenin, V. I. (1916). “The Discussion On Self-Determination Summed Up.”
https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1916/jul/x...1.htm
Marx, Karl (1906). Capital; A Critique of Political Economy; Vol. 1 (Ed.: F. Engels). NY: Modern Library.
Marx, Karl (2002). “The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte” (Trans.: T. Carver). In Cowling, M., & Martin, J. (eds.). Marx’s Eighteenth Brumaire; (Post)modern Interpretations. London: Pluto Press. Pp. 19—109.
Marx, Karl, & Engels, Friedrich (1955). The Communist Manifesto. (Ed.: S.H. Beer). Northbrook IL: AHM Publishing Co.
May, Todd (1994). The Political Philosophy of Poststructuralist Anarchism. University Park PA: Pennsylvania State University Press.
Morris, Brian (1993). Bakunin; The Philosophy of Freedom. Montreal/NY: Black Rose Books.
Newman, Saul (2004). Anarchism, Marxism, and the Bonapartist State. (Originally published in Anarchist Studies, 12, 1; 2004.) Retrieved on 2011.
https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/saul-newman-ana...4.pdf
Price, Wayne (2014). “Anarchism and the Philosophy of Pragmatism.” The Utopian. https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/wayne-price-ana...atism
Price, Wayne (2016). “In Defense of Revolutionary Class-Struggle Anarchism.” Anarkismo. https://www.anarkismo.net/article/29243?search_text=way...price
Price, Wayne (2018). “An Anarchist View of the Class Theory of the State.”
Anarkismo. http://www.anarkismo.net/article/31082?author_name=Wayn...rice&
Prichard, Alex; Kinna, Ruth; Pinta, Saku; & Berry, David (eds.). (2017). Libertarian Socialism: Politics in Black and Red. Oakland CA: PM Press.
Russell, Duane, & Evren, Sureyyya (eds.) (2011). Post-Anarchism: A Reader. Pluto Press/ Fernwood Publishing.
Wetherly, Paul (2002). “Making Sense of the ‘Relative Autonomy’ of the State.” In Cowling, M., & Martin, J. (eds.). Marx’s Eighteenth Brumaire; (Post)modern Interpretations. London: Pluto Press. Pp. 195—208.
Wood, Ellen Meiksins (1997). “What is the ‘Postmodern’ Agenda?” In In Defense of History; Marxism and the Postmodern Agenda. NY: Monthly Review Press. Pp. 1—16.
*written for www.Anarkismo.net
http://www.anarkismo.net/article/31126
Anarkismo.net is a international anarchist-communist news service
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1719
|
__label__wiki
| 0.654936
| 0.654936
|
Donald Campbell’s Bluebird returns to water
August 5, 2018 BBC, news
Image copyright Bluebird Project
Image caption The Bluebird was recovered from the bottom of Coniston Water in 2001 and has been rebuilt
Donald Campbell’s Bluebird has been launched in front of cheering crowds for the first time in over 50 years.
The record-breaking hydroplane was floated as part of tests being carried out on Loch Fad on the Isle of Bute.
It has been rebuilt after being recovered from the bottom of Coniston Water in 2001, following Campbell’s fatal crash in 1967.
The 45-year-old died trying to break his own water speed record when the Bluebird K7 flipped and crashed.
A group of volunteers from Tyneside are testing the iconic craft to see if it is watertight and whether it can withstand a buffeting from the waves.
Image caption Bluebird flipped as it travelled at more than 300mph
Image caption Engineer Bill Smith has led the restoration project after salvaging the craft
Donald Campbell had been travelling at speeds of more than 300mph to break his own 276mph record when the Bluebird K7 partially disintegrated.
Lead engineer Bill Smith, said it had been a “labour of love” to put the hydroplane back on water.
“This project is 22 years old this year.
“We’ve been 15 years in the rebuild – five years to strip down, catalogue and clean, and ten years since we set the first rivet to bring her back to this condition.
“This is a fully working machine, completely original. This is the vehicle that Donald Campbell drove.
Image caption The craft will stay on the island for the next few weeks
An attempt to refloat the craft earlier in the afternoon stalled when it became snagged on the beach of the loch.
Daughter marks Bluebird crash 50 years on
Campbell’s Bluebird roars back to life
However, the team said they were determined to launch it in the near perfect conditions on the Isle of Bute.
Mr Smith said the Bluebird had been made to operate on the “flat clam”.
Tim Walsh, who is the project’s lead pilot, added: “We are looking to assess how it copes with the water, are there any leaks and what challenge is there from different sizes of waves.”
The craft is set to undergo a battery of tests on Loch Fad over the coming weeks before it returns to Coniston next year, where it is expected to run at speed.
Campbell was born on 23 March 1921 in Surrey and was the son of speed record breaker Sir Malcolm Campbell
He initially used his father’s old boat Bluebird K4 in record-breaking attempts
In 1960 he survived a horrific crash in the US while trying to break the land speed record
The Bluebird K7 boat was already 12 years old at the time of the Coniston Water crash
He set eight world speed records – seven on land
Campbell’s lucky mascot – a 9ins “Mr Whoppit” bear from 1956 – was recovered after the crash
Isle of Bute
Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-45068703
Previous Post: Murdered Russian Journalists In Africa Were Onto Something Dangerous for Putin
Next Post: The NRAs Cry for Help
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1733
|
__label__wiki
| 0.665538
| 0.665538
|
Break The Chains :: Step Two // Character Development :: NORTH BOUND Share
Broadway, Alvero
Alvero
Grey Reaper
Location : Behind you...
Subject: Broadway, Alvero Fri Apr 05, 2013 9:44 pm
// Broadway, Alvero
ALIAS. Blight
AGE. 17
OCCUPATION. Odd job taker by day, vigilante by night
GANG/ORGANIZATION. Grey Reaper (Leader)
GENDER. Male
SEXUALITY. Heterosexual
BOUND. North
WEIGHT. 180 lbs
HEIGHT. 6'1"
APPEARANCE. Alvero is a very big fan of dressing as fashionable as possible while staying comfortable and still being capable of moving fluidly. He especially loves the colors blue and orange, which make up the basic patterns for his usual clothing. He wears a blue coat with an orange collar at the top that covers quite a bit of his neck. Underneath he wears a blue T-shirt with sleeves all the way to the wrists. For lower body clothing, he wears jogging pants, and usually wears a pair of sandals that could almost be considered shoes if not for the opening in which defines them as sandals. For accessories, he likes to wear a pair of orange snowboarder goggles, which offer great protection from attacks when worn, and a rather odd headband around his head, presumably also for protection. Or at least, this is all how he appears on his casual, day-to-day business...
When he's doing his night vigilante job and taking up the identity of "Blight", or meeting up with his underlings in his gang, he likes to instead change his clothes into a black cloak that goes down past his knees, and an orange mask with one eye. He also wears a bulletproof vest underneath his Blight outfit, as this is an outfit meant for the risk of danger. He has strangely gotten used to seeing out of only one eye in this outfit, as if it were a second nature for him, and experiences no inconvenience doing such.
While wearing his Blight attire, he carries two black desert eagles underneath his coat, attached to his belt underneath. He also carries two foldable trench knives in the pockets of his coat. However, this is only for his night-to-night use when he has no intention of starting a war.
When he DOES have the intention to actually start or fight a large-scale skirmish, he'll add onto his current arsenal. He will also bring along a rather bandaged and worn-looking katana, which has clearly seen many fights. In addition, he'll bring two smoke bombs and a tommy gun, which is carried inside a suitcase. The butt of said gun can also be detached to reveal a small, hidden blade.
PERSONALITY. Alvero is, by all means, a very kind and genuine person at heart. He cares for the people he meets, and is eager to meet as many diverse personalities as he can. He's not afraid to put himself out there, and is highly ambitious.
This, of course, leads into his more deep, personal thoughts. While he is genuinely a kind and caring person, some of it at times is all an act, to get closer to someone he may, perhaps, hate or want to kill. He'll intentionally act clumsy or like a fool in public to lower peoples' guards down. Even though he is actually like this a lot as well and not just acting. He can also get awkward around pretty girls sometimes if they aren't his enemy.
His secret personality, however, is different. The true calculating nature of Alvero, the leader of a secret gang, or rather organization. He is, in actuality, a combat genius, and is a very serious individual the moment he throws on the cloak and mask and assumes his other identity, ruling his group with a very powerful mystique. Despite this, however, he's always caring even then, and will defend his underlings with his life if he must.
// Classic noir films
// Jazz
// Meeting people and making friends
// Loyalty, especially in his Grey Reaper members
// Night
DISLIKES.
// Fighting
// People whom abuse power
// The corrupt side of the government
// Selfishness
// His Blight personality that he's forced to put on
ET CETERA.
PREFERENCE — Straight, and likes cute girls. Although he'll still be kinda shy or embarrassed around girls he finds overwhelming, he isn't gay, don't misunderstand!
FEAR(S) — Alvero is deeply afraid that he won't be strong enough to match his ambition, and that he'll lose the remaining people that are close to him. It's a nightmare that constantly haunts him.
HABIT(S) —He has a rather strange habit of adjusting his snowboard goggles, especially when he's feeling nervous or embarrassed in a social situation.
BACK STORY.
RELATIONS — He has a mother and father, although they were both executed by the government. He also had an older brother, but Alvero doesn't know where he ran off to and hasn't seen him since their parents died.
Alvero Broadway had, by all means, a not very nice childhood. He came from a very poor family, and his mother and father were forced to steal as thieves in order to provide for them day after day. They did it so consistently, in fact, that they became well known as the "Lover Thieves" throughout the city during their run.
However, they were eventually caught red-handed in the middle of a heist after the government had enough of them. After a lot of pleading that did nothing, they were executed. Alvero was 10 years old.
Since then, he was forced to move around from place to place in the city, pulling off different cons until he could get sufficient money. During this time he developed a hate for the government, whom rather than helped him out during this time of peril for him, instead eventually deemed him and his brother "Accomplices" in their parents' desperate attempts to put food on the table, making them wanted by the government as well should he run into anyone enforcing the law.
At the age of 14, he had enough of running around, and settled down in North Bound, where he had originally came from and lived with his parents prior anyway.
At 15, he had enough of the way the government neglected the less privileged. He took up the identity of "Blight", a masked vigilante that pursued both the corrupt government and the unjust gangs. He eventually gained a sort of infamy in North Bound eventually among the gangs and even the government, and at 15 created the secret organization Grey Reaper.
He decided it would be best to keep up appearances as Blight, rather than reveal himself as a teenaged boy, however; and learned how to deepen his voice so as to make himself sound older than he is. He's kept this up since, and has gathered a decent following of members behind him, with one goal in mind, working as a single entity in whatever way each member deems fit: Crush the corrupt officials of the government, and create a more peaceful place for the people to live in.
★TEMPLATE CREATED BY NOIR.
Last edited by Alvero on Fri Apr 05, 2013 11:28 pm; edited 2 times in total
Subject: Re: Broadway, Alvero Fri Apr 05, 2013 9:56 pm
the mayor notes,
Welcome to Break The Chains, an anime city, gang roleplay.
Your character application looks good to go.
Break The Chains :: Step Two // Character Development :: NORTH BOUND
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1735
|
__label__wiki
| 0.778004
| 0.778004
|
The 2019 TOP 20 Professionals Under Forty
We scoured The Magic City to bring you what we deem to be the next generation of business leaders at the tip of The Sunshine State. These young professionals represent a variety of industries and excel at their respective crafts with superior sophistication and their own unique blend of style and savvy. All have managed to seamlessly balance their careers with their personal lives while continuously giving back to the community that has helped mold them into who they are. Without further ado, flip this page to meet this year’s Top 20 Under 40.
Words by Jorge Arauz
Photograph by Julio Carlos for Dc & Co Studios
Hair & Makeup:CESAR FERRETTE FOR RIK RAK SALON Hair & Makeup ASSISTANT:JOSELYN JIMENEZ
Location: DC & CO Studios
Karla Ferguson, 39
Yeelen Group
YeelenGroup.com
An award-winning art dealer, collector, creative designer, curator and attorney, Karla Ferguson’s private global sales firm brokers fine art and high-value objects — from Picassos to rare timepieces — to clientele around the world. “A great deal of nurturing and education needs to be given when advising clients on what to acquire for their collections in order to contribute to the historical and ever-changing conversation taking place within the canon of art.”
Jay S. Lipsey, 39
McCombie Group
McCombieGroup.com
As a Partner at McCombie Group, a merchant bank focused on buying, selling and improving family businesses, Jay S. Lipsey helps create jobs, sustain communities and enable people to fulfill their personal and professional goals. “Engaging with a wide range of people socially teaches you how to connect the dots later on professionally,” he says. “The more people you can make introductions for, the more valuable introductions are made for you.”
John Lenahan, 39
VP – Private Wealth Management
Bernstein.com
As a leading private wealth manager and strategist for global families, business owners, entrepreneurs and ultra high net worth investors, John Lenahan considers himself a disrupter, constantly challenging traditional models and preconceptions of how money should be managed. “I’m at the forefront of advising on non-traditional return sources, embracing impact investing and integrating technology,” he says. “As a partner to my clients, I strive to have a meaningful impact on the legacy they are creating for their families and society as a whole.”
Kayla Barrera, 30
Sr. Marketing Manager, Residential
Swire Properties
BrickellCityCentre.com
Kayla Barrera represents one of Miami’s largest and most transformational developments, Brickell City Centre, creating and executing marketing strategies to effectively help sell and bring awareness to the property, including luxury residential offerings at Reach & Rise. “It’s important to always remain optimistic and to find the positive in everything,” she says. “I don’t see challenges, I see opportunities. The energy you give off affects the world around you, and I always aim to keep everyone around me smiling!”
Dafne Evangelista, 34
Celebrity Hairstylist
Dafne Beauty Lounge
DafneEvangelista.com
Making women feel powerful, confident and beautiful is something that Dafne Evangelista strives to achieve each day. In fact, you could say it’s destiny. “My mother has been in the industry for over 30 years and I grew up in her salon,” she says. “I went to college to become a lawyer, but when I moved to the U.S. and became fully independent, I was able to realize my passion to empower people to be the best version of themselves!”
Raúl Leoni, 38
Florida Yachts International
FYIYachts.com
On the surface, you quickly realize that Raúl Leoni has made a successful career out of selling anything that floats to clients looking for the perfect vessel to complement their lifestyle, needs and tastes; but in reality, it’s a lot deeper than that. “I share my day-to-day on social media and people always think that I’m permanently on vacation,” he says. “Sure, I get to be around boats, the ocean and the sun on an almost daily basis, but that doesn’t mean I’m not working! It just means I have a cool office!”
Andrea Minski, 38
Journalist, Marketer, Entrepreneur, Influencer, TV Host
AndreaMinski.com
Andrea Minski showcases the best the world has to offer each and every day by telling compelling stories about remarkable people, ways to live happier and how to establish that ever-elusive balance we are all so desperately seeking. “Growing up, I was never afraid of anything, I always wanted to speak up and be a voice for those who were under-served and underrepresented,” she says. “I’ve always sought adventure, wanting to learn new things — and today I’m blessed to be able to share the insights I’ve gained with my audience and with the world!”
Henry Zakkour, 31
Senior Director of Engineering
Zakkour Technology Group
ZakkourTechnologyGroup.com
From a very young age, Henry Zakkour had always been interested in taking things apart. Today, he and his team of highly skilled engineers at Zakkour Technology Group build mobile applications and custom software for businesses and corporations alike. From medical devices, government projects and VR, to working with start-up entrepreneurs and established professionals looking to create that next big thing. His advice for success? “Surround yourself with people who are incredibly talented and equally driven. This keeps you motivated to always perform at the highest level.”
Haley Moss, 24
Associate Attorney & Autism Advocate
Zumpano Patricios
ZPLAW.com; HaleyMoss.net
When Haley Moss was sworn in as the first openly autistic lawyer in the State of Florida, her inspiring story catapulted to the national stage. As an attorney, author, artist, public speaker and autism advocate, she has touched countless lives and inspired people of all walks of life to strive to follow their dreams. “The best advice I can give is to be yourself,” she says. “The world needs you and what you have to offer!”
Iris A. Elijah, 33
FIU.edu
Born on an Army base to parents who were active duty soldiers, Iris A. Elijah became the first African-American attorney for FIU and the State University System of Florida’s Board of Governors. “As an attorney for FIU, I’m a problem-solver who expands access to higher education and helps develop the next generation of innovators and leaders,” she says. “I always encourage others to remember what’s really important and to surround themselves with a strong network.”
Amy S. Lawrence, 34
VP – Private Client Advisor II
Bank Of America Private Bank
Private.BankOfAmerica.com/AmyLawrence
Throughout her financial career, Amy S. Lawrence has provided a who’s who of clients personalized services and cutting-edge tools to help amplify their success. Currently serving as the President of the Miami Finance Forum and the Southeast U.S. Regional Director for the Hedge Fund Association, she regularly advises the Miami DDA on strategies to propel Miami into the future. “I really enjoy advocating for Miami as a financial hub and mentoring our next generation of finance professionals,” she says. “I pride myself on bringing people together for a common purpose and a greater good!”
Stefano Diaz, 25
Dir. of Visual Communications
DSignage
DSignage.net
Helping their clients engage their core audience to create memorable experiences and ROI, Stefano Diaz and his team at DSignage help businesses and individuals develop better communication strategies and additional sources of revenue through the use of interactive displays and screens, mobile wayfinding, robotics and A.I. “I thrive on out-of-the-box thinking and building long-term relationships through hard work, experience and creativity,” he says. “I love using technology to create solutions for a better world!”
Brittany Berger, 27
Author, 25 & Self-ish & Public Speaker
IAmBrittanyBerger.com
Best-Selling Author. Public Speaker. Mindset & Wellness Coach. Brittany Berger is unstoppable. Currently, she is writing her second book and working on a sequence of children’s books. She also speaks regularly on a myriad of panels discussing self-love, self-worth, authenticity, women empowerment and enhancing the bridge to work-life balance in business. “I pride myself on genuine authenticity,” she says. “ I’m unapologetically myself, I practice what I preach, and I don’t allow judgment or doubt, of self or from others, to predicate my path or performance in life.”
Edward “Eddie” Borrego, 32
Jackson West Medical Center
Jackson Health System
JHSMiami.org
It’s an exciting time for Jackson Health System as it welcomes its first new campus in more than a generation at Jackson West Medical Center in Doral, scheduled to launch in 2020. “In Miami’s highly competitive healthcare market, consumers have choices of where to receive their medical care,” says Jackson West Medical Center CEO Edward “Eddie” Borrego. “Our goal is for Jackson to always be top of mind because of the expert, compassionate, patient-centered care we provide.”
Gotmar Giron, 38
Dir. of Public Relations & Special Events
Bal Harbour Shops
BalHarbourShops.com
Gotmar Giron has the pleasure of working with leading high-end retailers from around the globe at the most exclusive shopping destination in the nation. “The opulence and style of Bal Harbour Shops is like no other, and I have the opportunity to do what I love in a beautiful, tropical garden setting at the world’s most productive shopping center,” she says. “In a world that is constantly evolving, it’s important to create and execute strategies that directly engage consumers and invite them to participate in the evolution of a brand.”
Patrick Findaro, 30
Visa Franchise
VisaFranchise.com
Specializing in helping foreign nationals find business investments that will qualify them for an E-2, L-1, or EB-5 investor visa, Patrick Findaro has advised hundreds of clients from over 40 countries around the world. “We are the only company that focuses solely on analyzing small businesses, principally franchises, for foreign nationals,” he says. “The most gratifying aspect of what we do is supporting families that have been in physical or political danger move to the U.S.”
Moncy Blanco-Herrera, 39
Ramon, Rodriguez & Blanco-Herrera LLP
RRBHLAW.com
As one of Miami’s most in-demand trial lawyers, Moncy Blanco-Herrera helps people get back on their feet after they’ve suffered a terrible loss to their person or home by suing the insurance company that is responsible for the damages. “What sets me apart is the compassion and empathy that I have for my clients,” he says. “As an attorney, you’ve got to communicate your client’s story in a compelling manner if you’re going to get them the result that they deserve.”
Stephanie Seriane-Consuegra, 28
Sr. Manager, Events & Public Relations
United Way of Miami-Dade
UnitedWayMiami.org
On any given day, one will find Stephanie Seriane-Consuegra performing a wide range of duties in her multi-faceted role with United Way of Miami-Dade — from planning events, to farming media requests, fundraising, confirming speaking engagements and even stuffing goodie bags. “It’s so important to be persistent and get out of your comfort zone,” she says. “It’s easy to do the same thing over and over again and be good at it, everyone should make it a point to challenge themselves and try new things — you may be surprised at the results!”
Ansley Campbell, 32
Kreps DeMaria PR & Marketing
KrepsPR.com
Working with a leading national PR & Marketing agency with an array of clients in various industries, Ansley Campbell wears many hats and possesses more skills than most. “My favorite part about PR is that every day is different, and no two clients are the same, which keeps it fun and exciting and pushes me to be creative,” she says. “The most rewarding aspect of my career is the loyalty and relationships built with clients over the years”
Jeff Segal, 34
Professional Racecar Driver & Founder of GPX Lab
GPXLab.com
In the high stakes world of racing, two-time Rolex GT champion and winner of the Daytona and Le Mans 24 Hour races, Jeff Segal is a living legend eager to share his expertise with drivers looking for an edge. His motorsports technology company, GPX Lab, uses state-of-the-art computer simulation to yield world-class driver training. “I’ve raced incredible cars on circuits all over the world, banged doors with some of my heroes that I grew up watching on TV, and met some tremendously driven and talented people along the way.”
Architects of Beauty
Forward Thinkers
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1736
|
__label__wiki
| 0.721599
| 0.721599
|
Home : UK Boarding School : Preparatory (Y3-6/Y8) : St Peter’s School
St Peter’s School
Clifton, York
£7,465 - 8,770
With a long and distinguished history stretching back to 627 AD, St Peter’s School, York, combines the old with the new by being a forward-looking school.
Benefiting tremendously from its setting spread out across 47 acres on the banks of the River Ouse, the School is just a few minutes’ walk from the historic centre of York.
York has a distinguished history and boasts numerous attractions including the world-famous Jorvik Viking Centre; York’s Sweet Story, which focuses on the chocolate industry; the National Railway Museum; and numerous museums depicting York’s heritage as the former Roman capital of northern England.
With its city centre location, St Peter’s is easily accessed by road, rail and air. London and Manchester Airport are just two hours away by train, while transport is provided to Leeds Bradford International Airport. The School is ten minutes from York station.
Note from the Headmaster – An all-round education:
“Adolescence can be an uncertain, choppy sea and, however intrepid our youngsters are, they need islands of certainty: our caring teaching and pastoral staff support and guide our pupils along the way. Together, we deliver a dynamic, all-round education that is founded on the wisdom of the ages, preparing them for an active and purposeful future.”
Boarding life
Four boarding houses, all with their resident houseparents and families, provide cheerful and caring environments.
Superb sports facilities include an indoor swimming pool, two sports centres, a gymnasium, extensive playing fields, a boathouse and tennis courts.
As both a subject area and as a favourite ‘other activity’, music is thriving at the School.
As strong believers in visual literacy, the School encourages pupils to make the most of their creative abilities in the outstanding Art department. Moreover, drama is also popular, with an annual major production.
[St Peter’s] has made me more confident and well rounded. It has given me such great preparation for entering into the wider world, and most importantly it has given me so many friendships that will last a lifetime.
St Peter’s pupil
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1738
|
__label__wiki
| 0.963557
| 0.963557
|
Home / Politics / Mired in controversies over diversity and relevance, the Grammy Awards tried to put women out front
Mired in controversies over diversity and relevance, the Grammy Awards tried to put women out front
Host Alicia Keys introduced “my sisters” Michelle Obama, Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Jennifer Lopez on stage.
Over the weekend, the 61st annual Grammy Awards seemed more at risk of being notable for its controversies over performances and who wasn’t showing up than for the actual ceremony. Ariana Grande very publicly backed out of performing on this year’s broadcast and called Grammy producer Ken Ehrlich a liar, after Ehrlich told the press Grande “felt it was too late for her to pull something together” for the Grammys. According to Grande, who has one of the most popular songs in the world at the moment, she was told that she couldn’t just sing it, but needed to do a medley with other songs chosen by Grammy officials, which is reminiscent of reports from last year that Album of the Year nominee Lorde was told she couldn’t perform her own music, but could appear if she sang “American Girl” in tribute to Tom Petty. This sort of baffling out-of-touch mindset on the part of Grammy officials is part of the reason why artists like Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and Childish Gambino have refused either to appear or to perform at the Grammys.
But only a year after the Grammys came under blistering criticism for the lack of women represented in major categories (e.g., just one woman won a solo award during last year’s telecast), as well as for how they were treating female performers; and after a sexist response from the outgoing head of the Recording Academy, who said women needed to “step up” if they wanted to rise in the industry, the powers that be seemed to want a course correction—at least on the surface.
Alicia Keys hosted a broadcast in which women and people of color were highlighted as presenters, performers, and winners throughout the ceremony, and which included some help from a certain former First Lady of the United States. Similar to some of the steps the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has taken to quell criticisms of the Oscars, the Recording Academy also expanded the number of nominees in its top categories—album, record and song of the year, and best new artist—from five to eight in order to include a more diverse slate of nominees. In truth, the Grammys are usually remembered more for the performances and quirky moments than for who won what. But there were significant moments and wins last night.
There were tributes to both Diana Ross and Dolly Parton. Quincy Jones’ win for Quincy in the category of Best Music Film was his 28th award, giving him the record for most Grammys won by any living artist. Cardi B became the first solo woman ever to win Best Rap Album. Lady Gaga won the first award of the broadcast, Best Pop Duo/Group performance, for “Shallow,” her duet with Bradley Cooper from their movie A Star Is Born, and gave a heartfelt speech about mental health and what the film has meant to her. After deciding to attend and winning for Best Rap Song with “God’s Plan,” Drake was cut off mid-speech while saying the music industry is “a business where sometimes it’s up to a bunch of people that might not understand what a mixed-race kid from Canada has to say, or a fly Spanish girl from New York.” And Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” took home both Record of the Year and Song of the Year, the first hip-hop song to win either award. However, illustrating some of the aforementioned issues, Donald Glover was not in attendance to accept either award.
Previous Justine Skye Confirms Sheck Wes Was Her Abuser, Says He Attacked Her Friends
Next Top Senate Intelligence Committee Democrat fears Barr nomination could threaten Russia probe
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1741
|
__label__cc
| 0.71493
| 0.28507
|
Seasonal employees may be eligible for severance pay but not termination pay
February 20, 2014 Meghan Ferguson Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Recruiting and Hiring, Wages and Compensation
The holiday rush has ended. Financial reports are in and layoff notices have been issued to some employees. What about severance pay for seasonal employees?
In Snow Valley Resorts (1987) Ltd. v. Barton and Director of Employment Standards, 2013 CanLII 8963 (ON LRB), the Ontario Labour Relations Board upheld an Employment Standards Officer’s decision that granted entitlement to severance pay to a seasonal employee. The Board also affirmed a notice of contravention and fine against the employer for failing to pay severance pay.
Barton was employed from 1990 to 2011 by Snow Valley during the winter season. His contracts clearly stated that his employment was seasonal in nature and was for the current ski season only. Over 11 years, Barton worked a total of 80 months (6.7 years).
Section 65(2) of the Employment Standards Act, 2000 , provides:
All time spent by the employee in the employer’s employ, whether or not continuous and whether or not active, shall be included in determining whether he or she is eligible for severance pay under subsection 64 (1) and in calculating his or her severance pay under subsection (1).
In Ontario, if an employee has been employed for five years or more and the employer has a payroll of $2.5 million or more, then the employee is generally entitled to severance pay.
The Ontario Labour Relations Board found that Barton was entitled to severance even if his employment was seasonal in nature. Barton had worked non-continuously for more than 5 years. Under section 65(2), Barton was eligible for severance because all periods of employment were taken into account in determining if he had five or more years of service. In the end, he was not awarded the severance pay because he filed his ESA claim outside the six-month limitation period.
With respect to termination pay, the Board did not award termination pay as it was found that Barton’s employment was seasonal. The Board found that seasonal employment is for a definite duration even if the contract of employment did not specify an end date. Under the ESA Regulation 288/01, employees employed for a definite duration or defined task are not eligible for termination pay. The same exemption does not exist for severance pay.
Employers that hire seasonal employees or rehire employees with prior service need to be aware they may owe severance pay if the employee’s total service equals five years or more. An employee need not be full-time or a permanent employee to trigger severance entitlements under the ESA. Further, when a lay off lasts more than 13 weeks in a 20 week period under the ESA (or 35 weeks in a 52-week period if certain conditions are met), the employer will trigger a termination and severance pay if the employee is eligible.
Meghan Ferguson
General Counsel & Director, Employee Relations at CNIB
Meghan Ferguson is legal counsel for Human Resources, Sales, Finance and Communications.She provides advice for people and transactions. Previous employment:
Kellogg Company, Devry Smith Frank LLP, Hudson's Bay Company, and in the employment standards, labour and health & safety divisions at the Ontario Ministry of Labour. Read more
Latest posts by Meghan Ferguson (see all)
Tribunal finds limits on mental health claims unconstitutional - May 23, 2014
Can an employee be ordered to provide notice of termination? - April 14, 2014
Class action certified in Elliot Lake mall roof collapse: Claim of negligent inspection against MOL - March 18, 2014
employment law, employment standards act, employment was seasonal in nature, Seasonal employees, Severance pay, termination, termination pay, terminations
What is the impact of mental health issues on the duty to mitigate It’s time to re-examine your health and safety training
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1745
|
__label__wiki
| 0.920378
| 0.920378
|
L.V.Prasad : From Extra To Monarch Of Indian Cinema – Part II
After a brief stint as an extra, L.V.Prasad moved slowly and gradually to the ladders of success. During his struggle there once came a time when he was reduced to a ticket collector at Mumbai’s Dreamland Theatre after Imperial Film Company had trimmed their staff due to financial crunch. But a determined Prasad did not give up hope. He shuttled from Mumbai to Madras (Chennai) to consistently seeking an opportunity to prove his mettle. And his efforts made up when he got a break as an assistant director to director Ali Shah in the movie KAMAR-AL–ZAMAN. It was here his name was shortened by lethargic clerk in the production company who found Lakshmi Vara Prasada to lengthy to write; hence he condensed it to L.V.Prasad.
After this, Prasad began getting offers as assistant director. One such offer that he received proved a turning point in his career. The movie was GRUHA PRAVESAM and Prasad was recruited as assistant director but fortunately the director quit hence the producers gave the reins of direction to Prasad. He was also offered the lead role. Prasad took the movie as a challenge and regarded it as the golden opportunity to display his potential. The movie proved a hit and is even today regarded as a classic. After this Prasad never looked back and gave hits after this.
In Bollywood he proved his magnetism in his very first movie MISS MARY staring Bollywood tragedy queen Meena Kumari and south sensation Gemini Ganesan. Interestingly Prasad played a vital role in changing Meena Kumari’s tragedy image with MISS MARY which was a comedy and it displayed Meena Kumar’s histrionics as an versatile actress. The movie had great music by Hemant Kumar and all hit songs like Brindavan Ka Krishan Kanhaiya..., O Raat Ke Musafir Chanda Zara Bata De. L.V.Prasad had originally had made MISS MARY first in Telugu as MISSIAMMA (1955) and later remade in Hindi and in MISSIYAMMA in Tamil.
After the success of this movie Prasad made many movies in Hindi both as director and producer like SHARADA, CHHOTI BAHEN, BETI BETE, DAADI MAA, JEENE KI RAAH, BIDAAI. The movies he produced in Bollywood are SASURAL, MILAN, RAJA AUR RUNK, KHILONA, UDHAR KA SINDHUR, YEH KAISA INSAAF, EK DUJE KE LIYE
Readers would be surprised to know that Prasad who once was employed as ticket collector at Dreamland Theatre in Mumbai had his movie KHILONA celebrating Silver Jubilee run (25 weeks run).
L.V.Prasad besides being a great film maker was a visionary. Hence whatever he earned he pumped back into the film industry. He established Prasads Group in 1956. The corporate sector had Prasad Art Pictures, Prasad Studios, Prasads IMAX and L V Prasad Eye Institute. He also aspired to set up a film academy to train young aspiring filmamkers like him. His son Rameshji made his father’s dream come true by establishing the LV Prasad Film and TV Academy.
The government of India besides conferring upon him with Dadasaheb Phalke Award has honored him by taking out a Commemorative postage stamp in his memory in 2006.
HISTORICAL WONDERS
Movies in a historical settings that inspire, move and evoke great emotion and melodrama makes for great entertainment.
The first movie that probably comes to our mind is "Veerapandiya Kattabomman". Who can ever forget Nadigar thilagam Sivaji Ganesan’s iconic role of the brave freedom fighter who battles against the British.
Bharathi- a biographical film based on the life of Mahakavi Subramaniya Bharathiyaar, was brilliantly portrayed by Sayaji Shinde. The film won the National Award and featured the song "Nirpathuve Nadapathuve" which is a beautiful composition by maestro Ilayaraja.
Hey Ram- directed and produced by Kamal Haasan the semi-fictional plot centres around India's Partition and the murder of Mahatma Gandhi by Hindu fundamentalist Nathuram Godse.The song "Nee Partha" by Asha Bhonsle and Hariharan is a hauntingly beautiful track from the album.
Madarasapattinam- A film set in 1940s India, during the country's struggle for independence from the British. The poetic love story of the young daughter of an English governor and local Indian boy was praised for its art settings and costumes.The song "Pookal Pookum Tharunam" speaks of the poignant love between the star-crossed lovers.
Jodhaa Akbar- It is a fictional love story of the sixteenth century Moghul emperor Akbar and Jodhaa, the Hindu Rajput princess .The songs by AR Rahman is hailed as a magnum opus by Rahman with its magnificent instrumentals and spectacular scores- "Jashn-E-Bahaara" and "Khwaja Mere Khawaja" are considered the best.
The film Urumi- is another heart wrenching story about a young soldier who revolted against the Portugese and tried to kill Vasco Da gama.The song "Aaro Nee Aaro" in the film is a beautiful compostition rendered by KJ yesudas and Shwetha Mohan. However, it was alleged to be plagiarised from a Loreena McKennitt's compostion.
The list would be incomplete without Mughal-e-Azam , which is the historical epic following the love affair between Mughal Prince Salim (who went on to become Emperor Jahangir) and Anarkali, a court dancer. Emperor Akbar, Salim’s father disapproves of the relationship, which leads to a war between father and son. The film was legendary- It cost more to produce than any previous Indian motion picture; the budget for a single song sequence exceeded that typical for an entire film of the period. The song "Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya" is one of the greatest songs in Indian Cinema.
Labels: Bollywood Music News, Tamil Music News
L.V.Prasad : From Extra To Monarch Of Indian Cinem...
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1750
|
__label__cc
| 0.564463
| 0.435537
|
Hell on Wheels: Season 4
Hell on Wheels is a show that very few people in the UK seem to be aware of. Despite the DVD covers doing their best to market the show as being ‘From the makers of The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad’ (meaning it’s an AMC production), few people have taken notice. It isn’t broadcast on a particularly popular channel here, and hasn’t even been deemed popular enough to warrant Blu-Ray releases like it has in the US. Westerns have never been hugely popular here – even HBO’s incredible series Deadwood isn’t exactly well known here. So, I gave Hell on Wheels a go last year, not really knowing what to expect. I bloody loved it. Now airing the first half of its fifth and final season in the US, Season 4 is out now on DVD.
If you’ve never watched Hell on Wheels (which is likely), then it goes without saying you need to start at the beginning. Seasons 1 through 3 are all available on DVD here in the UK, and now Season 4 joins them. Hell on Wheels tells the story of former soldier Cullen Bohannon (Anson Mount), following the track of a band of Union soldiers who killed his wife. This quest for revenge brings him to the middle of one of the biggest projects in US history, the building of the transcontinental railroad. As cover, he stays to work on the railroad construction crew under the cunning Thomas Durant (Colm Meaney), creating both friends and enemies in one of the most tumultuous times in US history. This is not just your standard cowboys and Indians adventure, it is a historical epic with action, drama, tension, romance, politics, business and even a few laughs along the way. It is also one of the best shows on television today.
The 13 episodes of Hell on Wheels: Season 4 are brought to us from a variety of writers and directors, as with most television shows. Picking up where Season 3 left off, we re-join our hero Cullen Bohannon as a virtual prisoner to ‘Bishop Dutson’, the latest alias of his enemy Thor ‘The Swede’ Gundersen (the ever-phenomenal Christopher Heyerdahl). Back on the railroad, Thomas Durant is trying to keep the construction moving without Bohannon’s help, despite the impending arrival of a government who aim to seize his town and railroad. It’s a strong season for plot – the relationship between Bohannon and ‘The Swede’, one of the finest points of the show for me, is the best it’s ever been here. And the story is progressing finely on the railroad side too, despite the actual construction of the railroad being background to the human dramas unfolding in the foreground. But this is not an issue. Look at The Walking Dead – some episodes have no undead shenanigans, but heaps of drama. That show has been described as ‘a soap opera with zombies’. Well, Hell on Wheels might be a soap opera with cowboys & trains, but it’s a damn good one.
The entire cast are on fine form again, from Anson Mount’s superb lead role as Cullen Bohannon to the entire supporting cast. But for me, the finest performance this season is the stunning Christopher Heyerdahl as ‘The Swede’ – the layers to his performance are just incredible. Heyerdahl, a Canadian actor, is playing a Norwegian character (despite his nickname), pretending to be an American Mormon. And he’s the most believable character in the show. Colm Meaney is also as fantastic as ever as the slimy Thomas Durant, while a familiar face from the first 3 seasons returns to be at the centre of one of the most powerful and moving episodes of television I’ve seen in a very long time. Visually the show is fantastic, despite occasionally underwhelming CGI – not a problem though as it is so seldom used. The costume design is phenomenal, the music is excellent and the story is as good as ever. There’s nothing bad I can say about Hell on Wheels. It is one of the most underrated and underwatched shows I know of – and it deserves your attention.
Hell on Wheels is the best show that you’re not watching. The series has grown in quality consistently with every season and from what I’ve seen of the fifth and final season so far, it will be going out on a very strong note. The show ends next year, so you’ve got plenty of time to catch up and no excuses. If you’re up to date on Hell on Wheels then you know Season 4 is a brilliant season and one for your collection. If you’re new to it, I can’t recommend starting it enough. Get on it.
Hell on Wheels: Season 4 continues the show’s rise in quality and sets the scene for a fantastic final season. 5/5.
Hell on Wheels: Season 4 at CeX
Posted by ips@CeX at 13:37
Labels: Australia, Blu-ray, DVD, India, Ireland, television, TV, UK, USA
CeX enters the e-sports arena!
CeX @ MCM Dublin Comic Con 2015
Run All Night
Garfield Kart
The Town That Dreaded Sundown
Robot Overlords
Dead Rising: Watchtower
Listen Up Philip
A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence
x+y
Paddington: Adventures in London
5 Other Great Games @ Gamescom 2015
Don’t create a humanconsolipede!
Activision @ Gamescom 2015
EA @ Gamescom 2015
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
Microsoft @ Gamescom 2015
The Woman in Black: Angel of Death
The Admiral: Roaring Currents
Wild Tales
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1757
|
__label__wiki
| 0.807205
| 0.807205
|
Education Week's blogs > Education and the Media See more News Coverage
Mark Walsh
Mark Walsh is a contributing writer to Education Week and author of The School Law Blog. He has covered education issues for more than two decades and now looks at how schools are covered in the general news media and in the popular culture.
« 'Maineland' Documentary Highlights Chinese Students at U.S. Boarding School | Main | Netflix Touts Study, Adds Resources for Season 2 of '13 Reasons Why' »
'60 Minutes' Profiles Student Leaders of the 'Mass Shooting Generation'
By Mark Walsh on March 19, 2018 11:28 AM | No comments
CBS News' "60 Minutes" featured an education story for the second week in a row. Last week, it was a profile of Betsy DeVos that many viewers—certainly her critics—considered a disaster for the U.S. secretary of education.
On Sunday, correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi interviewed five students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., who are among the leaders of the student movement for gun control and other measures after the Feb. 14 shootings that left 17 dead.
Alfonsi asked the students why they believe they can succeed in effecting more changes in laws and attitudes than, say, the parents of the victims of the 2012 shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., that killed 20 students and six adults.
Alex Wind, called a "self-described theater geek" by Alfonsi, said, "The thing about it is we are the generation that's had to be trapped in closets, waiting for police to come or waiting for a shooter to walk into our door. We are the people who know what it's like first-hand."
The answer of Cameron Kaski, another Stoneman Douglas student leader, was a little snappier as he referenced the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School in Jefferson County, Colo., which resulted in the deaths of 13 students and teachers as well as the two student perpetrators.
"We're the mass shooting generation," Kaski said. "I was born months after Columbine. I'm 17 years old, and we've had 17 years of mass shootings."
Other students in the interview were Jaclyn Corin, David Hogg, and Emma Gonzalez, who became famous at a rally days after the Parkland shooting for her speech with the tagline, "We call B.S.!"
Gonzalez explained that she earnestly believes she went viral in part because of her close-cropped haircut. "I think it was a little bit the hair," she said. "Like, you know, just iconically you think of the picture and you think of a bald girl."
Alfonsi showed the students preparing for this Saturday's March for Our Lives in Washington, D.C., and many other cities.
She interviewed Manuel Oliver, whose 17-year-old son Joaquin was among those killed in the Parkland shooting. He said the power of the student leaders should not be underestimated.
"The difference between this tragedy and others, if you ask me, is that this generation is used to getting answers right away," Oliver said. "You think they're gonna wait for six months or a year for anybody in Congress or anybody that needs to to make the right call?"
Alfonsi agreed, saying, "They're hard-wired to do things quickly."
Alaska Reporter Will Study Rural Education as 2nd Chronister Fellowship Recipient
More Parkland Documentaries, on Football and the Scene Inside Building 12
HBO's 'Song of Parkland' Spotlights the 'Theater Kids' of Stoneman Douglas High
Parkland Parents Call for Top Journalism Prize for Sun-Sentinel Coverage
ABC's 'Schooled,' a Spinoff of 'The Goldbergs,' Centers on Teachers
Select a Month... February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1760
|
__label__wiki
| 0.621739
| 0.621739
|
CD Review: Black Sabbath’s ‘Thirteen’ lives up to a legacy of gloom-and-doom
Posted by Gene Stout
Black Sabbath (photo courtesy MSO PR)
Perhaps we can forgive Ozzy Osbourne for saying, “I told you so.”
It’s been 30 years since trailblazing heavy-metal group Black Sabbath recorded its last album of apocalyptic songs, and clearly, things have gotten a lot worse on Planet Earth.
The gloom-and-doom sound of Osbourne, “Geezer” Butler and Tony Iommi (original drummer Bill Ward has been replaced by Brad Wilk of Rage Against the Machine) provides an updated soundtrack for the would-be doomsday era in which we live. Throw in some nostalgia for the rough-and-tumble era of early English metal, and you’ve got a compelling case for buying a copy of “13,” the new fire-and-brimstone album produced by Grammy winner Rick Rubin.
It’s the group’s first studio album with Osbourne (the former reality TV star) since the ghoulish “Never Say Die!” in 1978.
The dirge-like, eight-minute “End of the Beginning” is the opening track, followed by another eight-minute song, “God Is Dead?” (the latter is the album’s first single). “Faded dreams and nuclear fission,” Osbourne sings in his trademark whine on “Zeitgeist.” “Damaged Soul,” a blend of hard rock, blues and bad-ass boogie, is the most entertaining tune.
With its thunderous riffs and demonic decibels, “13” lives up to the band’s legacy as creators of the heavy-metal genre.
Comments | More in Rock/Pop | Topics: Black Sabbath
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1761
|
__label__wiki
| 0.822119
| 0.822119
|
Band of Horses slows to a boring trot on acoustic album | Concert preview
(Photo by Christopher Wilson)
By Chris Kornelis
Seattle will always lay claim to Band of Horses — and it has every right to. Frontman Ben Bridwell formed the band here after the demise of his former, beloved local act, Carissa’s Wierd, and the group’s 2006 Sub Pop debut, “Everything All the Time,” is a mile marker of Northwest rock ’n’ roll.
From the anthemic howls of “Funeral” to the lushness of “I Go to the Barn Because I Like The,” it’s easily one of the best albums to come out of this city in the last 10 years.
No amount of relocation, lineup changes and unfortunate melodies can take that away from the band or the city. Which is fortunate, because there has been plenty of all of the above.
After the release of “Everything,” Bridwell eventually moved to South Carolina and the band has been in a creative — if not commercial — downward spiral ever since. The band’s latest release, “Acoustic at the Ryman,” magnifies that situation.
A friend once astutely observed that concerts booked as “An Evening With …” performances are often nothing more than the “the slow, boring” version of songs you loved in the original incarnation. “Acoustic at the Ryman” isn’t just slow and boring, it’s overwrought and uninspired.
This isn’t a function of dynamics or instrumentation. Pop music is rife with gripping, hushed tunes. But Bridwell has simply turned down the volume without offsetting that with anything noteworthy, which he could have done by giving his crackerjack band a little more room to roam. Instead, he keeps them on a predictably short leash, which is a shame. Letting guitarist Tyler Ramsey run wild the way he does on his solo records could be the remaking of the band.
While live albums offer an opportunity for reinterpretation and can reveal a song or performer’s nuance and ingenuity, “Ryman” offers neither. This isn’t less is more. This is less is less. Much less. By laying these songs bare, Bridwell is exposing his weaknesses and little else. His voice is like his songwriting: Neither is particularly strong or interesting, yet when employed with his full-octane band, both have the power to be transcendent.
Band of Horses is at its best when it’s displaying its range, with bottle-smashing bashers sidled up alongside subtle harmonies — sometimes in the same song. “Ryman” is homogenization with a set of strings.
Regardless, fans who can’t get enough “Funeral” will surely swoon for the band’s bland acoustic versions in any shape when the band brings “Ryman” to the Moore on Sunday, even if it is performed by tattooed men in cowboy boots whimpering in unison.
8 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 16, at the Moore Theatre, 1932 Second Ave., Seattle. Sold out (206-467-5510 or stgpresents.org).
Chris Kornelis is a Seattle-based writer and editor.
Comments | More in Rock/Pop | Topics: Band of Horses, Ben Bridwell
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1762
|
__label__wiki
| 0.702816
| 0.702816
|
1,000 global leaders address religious freedom at State Department
Religious leaders gather at U.S. Capitol to pray for persecuted Christians
Vatican Museums loan Leonardo da Vinci work for special anniversary
Appellate court says Title X rule can take effect while suits proceed
Trump administration to apply ‘third country’ rule for asylum-seekers
Pew report on religion restrictions gives U.S. bad marks in key areas
Military members say encuentro strengthens faith, bond with one another
Senior Airman Zack Mackeller, an encuentro delegate, speaks during a group discussion on young adult ministry at the May 19 Region IV encuentro gathering at The Catholic University of America in Washington. (CNS photo/Jaclyn Lippelmann, Catholic Standard)
By Norma Montenegro Flynn • Catholic News Service • Posted June 7, 2018
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Senior Airman Zack Mackeller arrived on the campus of The Catholic University of America on a recent Saturday morning with one mission in his heart: to represent young Catholics who are in active military service at the Region IV encuentro.
The regional, held in mid-May in Washington, was part of the National Fifth Encuentro process currently underway in dioceses across the United States.
Mackeller, 22, is one of many non-Hispanics who have found inspiration from the V Encuentro, as it also is called, to become missionary disciples.
He hopes to touch the hearts of others in the military life, particularly knowing the many challenges that they face, such as frequent deployments or the feeling of loneliness that happens when they’re uprooted to new locations leaving behind their communities and support networks.
“They have no communities, they have no friends, they have to build straight from the bottom up,” he told Catholic News Service.
“I try to engage people as they are, where they’re at,” Mackeller said referring to the opportunity he seeks to evangelize others.
The V Encuentro process also has inspired the souls of many military Catholics and their families not only in the United States, but also around the world, wherever Americans in active military duty are located, explained Jose Amaya, director of faith formation for the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services.
The archdiocese took a creative approach in providing training, course materials and communications online and held the Archdiocesan encuentro last November online and with the help of technology, participants joined from their posts in Japan, Italy, Hawaii and across the U.S.
“We’re participating with two goals: One is to identify what could be done better in regard to ministry with Hispanics in the military, but also the other goal is looking at how to strengthen our priority on young adults in the military,” said Amaya, who noted that young adults represent the largest population in the military.
San Juana Morante, another delegate and a military spouse stationed in Hawaii, also traveled to Washington for the Region IV encuentro. She found out about it during a retreat and did not hesitate to answer the call from the Holy Spirit.
“Getting involved in knowing God, just me witnessing, me seeing that God is out there and just seeing the light in me being able to show it and seeing his fruits come out, makes me convicted to keep on sharing his love and his compassion for us,” Morante said.
Morante, an active mother of two, went from not participating in her chapel community to becoming the president of the Catholic women’s group. She also found a connection back to her faith that goes along with her Hispanic culture and customs.
“It’s hard being in the military and leaving your hometown, and you miss the Virgen de Guadalupe, it’s hard moving from state to state and not having it,” she said.
The Archdiocese for the Military Services is already seeing many fruits of the encuentro process in three very important areas: young adult ministry, missionary discipleship and outreach, and faith formation, Amaya noted.
“We’re inspiring catechists to be missionary disciples, to be on mission everywhere they go. Not only in the classroom but also everywhere they happen to be,” Amaya said.
Dennise Santos, also an encuentro delegate and wife of an Air Force member stationed in Las Vegas, also has embraced the encuentro process and the experiences that come from it.
She followed the call to actively invite a stranger into her chapel ministry group at the military base where she resides, and she had no idea about the positive impact she would have in that woman’s life who at first did not feel welcomed going to Mass and had stopped going at some point.
“When I encountered her, she said, ‘They knew I was new, nobody introduced themselves to me, I didn’t feel like I belonged,'” Santos remembered. “When I came up to her, I said, ‘We need your help.’ Now she’s part of the young adult ministry, she went to the Young Adult Conference, she’s going to World Youth Day, and she is just so immersed in her faith now.”
Relying on faith and fellowship helps many overcome challenges particularly when their spouses are deployed. Santos remembers a few years ago when she and her two young children were stationed in Japan and the earthquake and tsunami hit while her husband was away in an undisclosed location.
“Our family was forced to evacuate and the people who were there for us was our church family. Had they had not been there, had they not had reached out their hands to me, it would have been a very lonely and scary place to be,” Santos recalled while fighting back tears.
By sharing a strong bond with other military families through faith and fellowship, they are often transformed into prayer warriors.
“Getting together we can help each other out and be la familia (the family) and to be there praying like we’re used to, it’s just drawing us more closer and stronger,” Morante told CNS.
Just as Morante and Santos, Mackeller also reminds others that faith is a constant one can always rely on wherever they go.
“What’s really incredible about the Catholic Church too is that wherever you go in the world, the Mass will always be the same, maybe in a different language, but it’s the same structure,” he said. “And having that faith is the only thing that won’t change as you go from deployed location to base to base, job to job. It’s the one thing that will always support you.”
PREVIOUS: Americans’ acceptability of porn hits new high this decade
NEXT: After immigrant raid, Ohio bishop says system adds to suffering
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1765
|
__label__wiki
| 0.860782
| 0.860782
|
US - Japan Relations
US - China Relations
US - Korea Relations
US - Southeast Asia Relations
China - Southeast Asia Relations
China - Taiwan Relations
North Korea - South Korea Relations
China - Korea Relations
Japan - China Relations
Japan - Korea Relations
China - Russia Relations
Australia-US/East Asia
India - East Asia Relations
Japan - Southeast Asia Relations
Multilateral Forums (Pacific Forum)
State Visits (Pacific Forum)
Asia Matters For America
North Korea Missile Launches (CSIS)
South China Sea (CSIS)
Reconnecting Asia (CSIS)
North Korea's External Relations
Observatory of Economic Complexity Trade Visualization
Pacific Aid Map
PacNet
Search Chronologies Search Articles
Choose East Asian Bilateral Relationship
Europe - East Asia
Occasional Analysis
US-India
Asian Regionalism
US - Russia
US - Taiwan
US - Japan
US - China
US - Korea
US - Southeast Asia
US - India
China - Southeast Asia
China - Taiwan
North Korea - South Korea
China - Korea
Japan - China
China - Russia
Japan - Southeast Asia
India - East Asia
Year 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999
Year 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Jul — Sep 2005
The New World Order According to Moscow and Beijing
By Yu Bin
Published October 2005 in Comparative Connections · Volume 7, Issue 3
Connect with the Author
Yu Bin
Wittenberg University
In three “strikes” during the third quarter, Moscow and Beijing pushed their bilateral relations, qualitatively and quantitatively, toward a more proactive and outward-looking posture. It began with the signing of the Sino-Russian Joint Declaration on the International Order in the 21st Century at the Moscow summit July 1. A few days later at the annual Shanghai Cooperative Organization (SCO) summit July 5, a significantly enlarged regional security forum – adding India, Iran, and Pakistan as “observers” – called on the U.S. and its coalition members in Afghanistan to set a deadline for U.S. withdrawal from military bases in the territories of the SCO member states (Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan). In late August, the first-ever Sino-Russian joint exercise, code-named Peace Mission 2005, further elevated the strategic partnership between the two continental powers. In the wake of the exercise, Russian military sales to China, too, apparently entered a new phase with new categories of weaponry being offered as well as technological transfers.
Behind and beyond summits
Four times during the quarter, Russian and Chinese presidents found themselves together, either in bilateral or multilateral occasions: the Moscow summit (June 30-July 3), the SCO summit (July 5), the G-8 summit (July 6-8), and the UN 60th anniversary summit (Sept. 14). At the Moscow summit, the first state visit by President Hu Jintao to Russia after President Vladimir Putin was inaugurated for a second term, Chinese and Russian leaders laid the ground work for a “new and fair” international order. In the 12-article joint declaration, there are phrases such as sovereignty, international law, multilateral approaches, equality, mutual respect, peaceful coexistance, diversity, dialogue, the UN, etc., many of which appeared in other documents previously signed by Russian and Chinese leaders. The totality of the declaration, however, gives the impression of a more consistent and coherent vision by Moscow and Beijing of a desirable international order, one that is different from the one of unipolarity and unilateralism projected by the U.S. (for an initial assessment of the declaration, see the second quarter analysis, “Politics of Anniversaries and Beyond,” www.csis.org/pacfor/cc/0502Qchina-rus.html).
Two additional features of the document stand out. One is the recognition by the drafters of the protracted process for constructing a new and fair world order (Article 1), and that such a process is a continuous search for policies and resolutions acceptable by all sides (Article 12). In sum, both the beginning and ending of the Moscow declaration indicate that the two major powers will work with and “improve,” rather than outright reject, the existing world order.
The second feature of the document is its clear articulation of what Moscow and Beijing desire for the 21st century world order. The main body of the document specifies several areas for improvement: adhering to international law and multilateral institutions (Articles 2 & 3); promoting globalization and development at both global and regional levels (Articles 4, 5 & 10); respecting different cultures and diversity of civilizations (Articles 6, 7 & 8); working toward a new international security mechanism based on strategic stability, arms control, and nonproliferation through multilateralism and dialogue (Article 9). All these desirable features of a new international, or interstate, system are, according to the document, operating principles between Russia and China (Article 11). All this is done without finger pointing and the U.S. is never named in the document. And yet it is obvious that both Moscow and Beijing are distancing themselves from the policies of the Bush administration in the areas of antiterrorism, democratization, and nonproliferation. Their post-9/11 “honeymoon” with the world’s sole superpower has, therefore, come to an end.
At least two factors are behind these outward-oriented policies in Sino-Russian relations. The first is a procedural one. After years of adjusting to each other’s domestic development and of harmonizing their not-so-intimate bilateral relations, Moscow and Beijing have essentially worked out major huddles in their bilateral relations with a growing sense of shared purpose. It is time to look beyond the horizon. The border issue, the single most important factor, or irritant, in Sino-Russian bilateral relations for 300 years, was finally resolved in October 2004 when President Putin and his Chinese hosts signed the border agreement in Beijing (See “End of History? What’s Next?” www.csis.org/pacfor/cc/0404Qchina-rus.html). This was followed by the initiation of regular Russian-China intergovernmental “security talks” in Moscow in February 2005 between Chinese State Councilor and former Foreign Minister Tang Jaixuan and Russian Secretary of the Russian Security Council Igor Sergeyevich, (see “Back to Geostrategics,” www.csis.org/pacfor/cc/0501Qchina-rus.html).
“All big political problems in bilateral relations have been settled in essence, which created a reliable foundation for friendship and cooperation between China and Russia for a long period,” stressed Putin when he hosted his Chinese counterpart with a private dinner at his dacha outside Moscow June 30. President Hu echoed that “we have settled border issues inherited from the past, are supporting each other on the most important issues concerning state sovereignty and territorial integrity, are maintaining close contact on international and regional affairs, thus effectively ensuring the two countries’ common interests, and have made a contribution to the noble cause of strengthening peace and stability in the whole world.”
There is, however, a second or short-term explanation for the Moscow declaration of a new world order: the concerns of a steady and persistent encroachment of their vital national interests by the U.S. Exactly what was discussed in the late-night talks between Putin and Hu remains undisclosed. (The two had so much to talk during and after dinner that the party was not over until 11:00 pm.) The late-night talks, however, were said to be “of a strategic nature” covering “international problems of mutual interest.” Indeed, they did not have to look very far beyond their horizon to notice recent and ongoing alarming signs: the ever assertive foreign/defense policies of the Bush administration despite the bloodiest “peace” in Iraq; steadily growing Japanese military power; the precarious Korean nuclear standoff; an almost unstoppable arms race across the Taiwan Strait; and a deluge of “color” revolutions across the former Soviet states (Georgia, 2003; Ukraine, late 2004; Kyrgyzstan, March 2005; and then Uzbekistan). The U.S.-Japan “2+2” meeting held Feb. 19, 2005 was seen as a major elevation of the military alliance between the two largest economies. For the first time, the U.S.-Japan alliance has clearly moved beyond its original goal of defending Japan to cover situations involving the Taiwan Strait and the Korean Peninsula.
In this regard, the “global reach” feature of the Sino-Russian joint declaration can also be considered as a means to defend the bottom-line of their core national interests – outside powers should not interfere in their internal affairs, including Chechnya and Taiwan. For these concerns and challenges, Russian and Chinese elites proceeded throughout the quarter in two major policy directions: strengthening the SCO and elevating military-military relations. For this, Putin was more straightforward by saying at the onset of his dinner with Hu that “military-technical cooperation and cooperation in the military sphere are expanding,” reported the Russian official news agency ITAR-TASS.
Beyond the seemingly endless Russian-Chinese summits, other high-level interactions included the visit by Russian Federation Council Speaker Sergei Mironov to China (late September), marking the initiation of regular parliamentary exchanges and the appointment of Sergei Razov as Russia’s new ambassador to China. Although he is 52 and a career diplomat (he served as Russian ambassador to Mongolia and Poland and, prior to his current appointment, as Russian deputy foreign minister), Razov is not a “China hand,” as was his predecessor Igor Rogachev, who had held the position for 13 years. His Chinese major from the elite Moscow State Institute of International Relations and service as a junior officer in the Russian Embassy in Beijing in the mid-1970s, however, are essential credentials for taking over from the 73-year old Rogachev, for whom the Chinese have developed much respect.
SCO: leaps and limitations
Both the spirit and words of the Moscow declaration were reflected in the workings of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in the third quarter. The final declaration at the July 5 annual summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, states that the international community needs to go beyond the scope of ideology and different social systems, so as to create a new security concept based on mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, and coordination; and that multilateral cooperation based on equality and mutual respect, non-interference in internal affairs of sovereign states, nonconfrontation thinking, and progressive movement toward democratization in international relations promote global peace and security.
Beyond this high-principled rhetoric, the SCO made during the third quarter the two most significant moves since its founding in 2001. The first was to officially admit India, Iran, and Pakistan as observers. Before this, only Mongolia was granted the status in 2004. With an additional 1 billion people, the SCO now boasts to cover about half the world’s population.
The enlarged scope of the regional security mechanism, however, may not contribute to operational efficiency, given the diverse national interests among members and observers. The decision to grant the three nations observer status without full membership, however, will minimize SCO “growing pains” while maintaining the momentum of development. In principle, SCO membership and observer status do not have geographical limits. The main criterion is that any applicant should be prepared to adopt a respectful attitude toward the SCO and be interested in cooperating with it. At the time of the Astana summit, even the possibility of forming an SCO-Afghanistan “contact group” was explored so as to link the organization with the troubled Central Asian state, which, despite the end of the Taliban regime and the heavy NATO presence, continues to be a major source of religious radicalism, instability, and illegal drug trafficking.
SCO enlargement was somewhat anticipated, which was approved in principle by the SCO foreign ministerial meeting in early June. It was quite “unexpected,” however, that the final declaration of the annual summit included a statement calling on the countries of the antiterrorist coalition in Afghanistan to set final deadlines for the temporary use of their infrastructure facilities and for the presence of military contingents on the territories of SCO countries. “Considering the completion of the active military phase of the antiterrorist operation in Afghanistan, the member states of the SCO regard it as essential that the relevant members of the antiterrorist coalition set final deadlines for the temporary use of the said infrastructure facilities and for the presence of military contingents on the territories of the member countries of the SCO,” said the final declaration by the SCO leaders.
The “consensus” to end U.S. military bases was reached after a rather “emotional” speech by Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov, who referred to the political chaos of his nation a few months before as “managed destabilization” with “a far-reaching geopolitical plan whose aim is the domination of Central Asia.” It was unclear how Karimov’s appeal was translated into the final declaration. President Hu seemed to endorse the SCO base-ending statement only in broad terms. “The peoples of Central Asia have the right to choose their own way of development according to the particularities of their countries,” Hu was quoted as saying. The day after the SCO summit, Moscow appeared to be distancing itself from the initiative as Kremlin officials “categorically” denied that Moscow took part in preparing this proposal. Furthermore, Russian officials at the summit pointed out that “no one is giving anybody ultimatums.”
The statement, therefore, emerged with SCO’s collective cover, presumably to free any member state from being “responsible” for initiating this “anti-American” move. Indeed, the same final declaration also makes clear that members of the regional security mechanism “support and will continue to support the efforts of the international coalition conducting the antiterrorist operation in Afghanistan. We currently note positive dynamics in stabilizing the internal political situation in Afghanistan.” The document also points out that SCO was to combine efforts in the campaign against new threats, but stressed that this did not mean that new blocs are appearing.
In hindsight, it is unclear just how binding the SCO’s “collective” decision to end U.S. basing in its member states’ territories is. Following a trip by U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to central Asia in late July, Kyrgyzstan essentially reversed its position by continuing U.S. air basing arrangements (Manas Air Base outside the Kyrgyz capital). Uzbekistan, however, is following through the SCO call with a six-month deadline for the U.S. to withdraw from its Karshi-Khanabad Air Base. Regardless, some Russian media went as far as to say that the demand, or proposal, for the U.S. to end their bases was “not serious.”
The SCO’s “bold moves,” however, may not necessarily mean strengthening its operational abilities. In many respects, the regional security forum seems to continue to suffer from a lack of real action and practical means in dealing with various issues. For instance, the seven documents signed in Astana this time included an antiterrorist “blueprint” defining the basic aims, tasks, principles, directions, and forms for cooperation, as well as a mechanism for implementation. This was done four years after its official founding in 2001 and one-and-a-half years after the two permanent bodies of the SCO – the Secretariat in Beijing and the Regional Anti-terrorist Structure (RATS) in Tashkent – were initiated in early 2004 with the very purpose of fighting terrorism, separatism, and extremism. Still, the blueprint does not specify what constitutes terrorism in practical terms. At the end of the quarter, SCO law enforcement institutions were still working on the issue. Thus far, action boils down to developing a “most wanted list” of specific individuals and groups so that security agencies of the SCO states can track them down with more efficiency.
As a result of these deficiencies, Chinese President Hu categorically stated that the SCO’s future depended on whether members could translate consensus into action and render plans into reality, and that members should strive to translate the organization’s potential into results. While referring to SCO’s main function of fighting terrorism, Hu appeared to focus more on the economic side of the organization by calling for deeper economic cooperation and integration. For this purpose, Hu pledged to offer even more preferential terms for the $900 million in buyers’ export credits it promised SCO members at the Tashkent summit last year. Additionally, the Chinese president said that China had set aside a special fund for the training of 1,500 people from other SCO member countries within the next three years. Largely with China’s initiative and coordination, the SCO is close to making major decisions regarding setting up a development fund, a business council, and an inter-banking system.
The Chinese lost no time in following up Hu’s words. Deputy Prime Minister Wu Yi took a 10-day “working tour” of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan July 12-22, leading to a number of loans and grants to these states: $300 million to Kazakhstan; $47.3 million to Uzbekistan, which already received $1.5 billion of loans from China in late May; $24 million to Turkmenistan; and $19.3 million to Tajikistan.
For his part, Russian President Putin emphasized that the “pre-emptive principle” should be applied in the fight against terrorism. “I believe that the adoption of a concept like this is a very useful and timely move. The new threats are transnational…and that they are not faceless. There are contractors and executors and it is our task not only to find these people and neutralize them,” argued the Russian leader. The phrase “pre-emptive principle,” however, seemed not solely related to military measures. The final declaration of the SCO summit reads, “It is an urgent task to present unanimous methods and proposals as well as to adopt preventive measures [emphasis added] and conduct related explanations among the people in order to resist attempts to mislead the public opinions. The member states will actively expand cooperation in education, culture, sports, tourism and other fields within the framework of the SCO.” Russia’s thinking about some military mechanism for the SCO, however, was rekindled during the Sino-Russian joint exercise in August. Russian sources were actively toying with the idea of a SCO with “military components” in the future. The Russian-China drill was conducted within the framework of the SCO and was observed by defense ministers of all SCO members.
War games and a war of nerves
The Sino-Russian military exercise, Peace Mission 2005, was the first ever between the two nations. Starting from Russia’s Pacific outpost of Vladivostok Aug. 18, nearly 10,000 Russian and Chinese troops went through an eight-day, three-stage war game along China’s northeastern coastline, which was not seen even in the Sino-Soviet “honeymoon” of the 1950s. In the last phase of the drill, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov joined his Chinese counterpart Gen. Cao Gangchuan in Qingdao, Shandong Province, together with defense ministers from SCO member states.
On the record, the joint drill was “antiterrorist” in nature, an all-purpose and convenient cover for almost all state activities in the post-9/11 world. The actual components of the Sino-Russian exercises – beach landings, parachuting, blockades at sea, dropping depth charges, firing anti-ship missiles from submarines, precision-guided bombing from strategic bombers, etc. – however, were certainly oversized and looked like overkill. One does not have to question the locations of the joint exercise, which were far removed from land-locked Central Asia where the SCO exercises jurisdiction. While some PRC commentators went as far as to suggest that the terrain of the exercise areas was similar to Taiwan’s coast, the Russian media toyed with the idea of a joint occupation of North Korea, if necessary.
Despite the repeated public statements from the two continental powers that their drills did not mean to imply a threat to any third party, few in the region believed them. Through diplomatic and military channels, the U.S. and its “littoral” allies urged Russia and China to reduce the scope of the exercise or even to cancel it altogether. China and Russia, nonetheless, went ahead. On Aug. 19, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice delivered an unusually sharp criticism of China’s economic practices, while expressing concerns about China’s military buildup as “outsized for its regional interests.”
While the Chinese and Russians were synthesizing their units and hardware, the U.S. and its allies – declared (Japan and South Korea) and de facto (Taiwan) – were not only watching closely, but also matching the Sino-Russian drill with their own, and much larger, maneuvers. On Aug. 7-13, the U.S. Pacific Command held its Joint Air Sea Exercise 2005 (JASEX ‘05) by its forces in Okinawa and Guam. This largest joint exercise outside the U.S. of the year involved more than 10,000 troops, more than 100 warplanes, and the USS Kitty Hawk carrier strike group. On Aug. 22, South Korea and the U.S. kicked off the 12-day Ulchi Focus Lens 2005 exercise, drawing 10,000 U.S. and an undisclosed number of South Korean troops. Just one day before the Sino-Russian exercise, Taiwan staged a “routine” exercise to “repel” a simulated invasion by the mainland. A joint U.S.-Japan exercise –Yama Sakura – is scheduled in early 2006.
The Russia-China Peace Mission 2005 exercise was at the center of a war of words and nerves that drove East Asia apart along an emerging fault line between continental and maritime powers. India, another “continental” power, is said to be keenly interested in a trilateral exercise with Russia and China next year. And Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan, while visiting Russia in September, asked President Putin to have more exercises of this kind in the future. Other SCO member and observer states expressed their desire for more direct and more extensive participation in future multilateral exercises within the context of the SCO.
These developments, and others, occurred at a time when both China and Russia had traveled far from their communist legacies. Perhaps more than at any time in their respective histories, the two countries are closely integrated into the existing international system dominated by the West, particularly the U.S. Indeed, it is against the core interests of both nations to form a military alliance at the time when the rise and rebirth of China and Russia require continuous intercourse with the capitalist world market.
New and different phase of mil-mil relations?
In bilateral terms, the joint exercise was in many respects an outcome of a much expanded military-military (mil-mil) relationship, which, ironically, has been rather lopsided toward confidence building and Russian arms sales to China. The two militaries do not share much of their operating principles and military doctrines despite their “strategic convergence” at the highest level of their civilian leadership. Nor do the militaries of the two nations have any idea how their multi-service and high-tech units and weapon platforms would interface, let alone coordinate, with one another. Perhaps most of the officers and men of the two sides are more comfortable conferring in English-than in each other’s language. With several smaller drills in the past few years along their border regions and within the SCO context, the two sides finally reached an agreement at the end of 2004 to stage an upgraded maneuver. The months leading to the drill, however, were by no means smooth as both sides bargained over the format, scale, components, locations, and sequences of the exercise. In contrast, the numerous maneuvers between the U.S. and its Asian allies are far more integrated. The U.S. dominance in alliance relations, too, ensures operational efficiency of those drills and interoperability of militaries in real time.
Beneath the publicized highly positive statements from both sides over the exercise were not-so-overlapping goals. Beijing is obsessed with Taiwan. Russian Defense Minister Ivanov, however, publicly stated during the exercise that Russia’s joint war game with China did not mean Russia “is prepared to be involved in joint combat operations with China.” If “weapons-but-no-war” is Moscow’s bottom-line, it makes sense for Russia to offer only “sufficient” forces (1,800 vs. China’s 7,000) and carefully chosen weapons systems. “We are not putting up everything we have for sale,” said a high-ranking source in the Russian Defense Ministry. “The main thing is not to damage one’s own security.” The choice of involving Tu-95 and Tu-22 strategic bombers in the drill was to turn these aging platforms into some profit rather than eventually scrapping them. Meanwhile, Russia’s newer Tu-160 never showed up in the war games. It is unclear what exactly the Chinese would like to obtain from Russia. China may purchase a few relatively advanced Tu-22 Backfire strategic bombers as a step toward technology transfers for possible license-production of the Tu-22 in China. That, however, may take a decade to start and cannot be done without many Russian components. The optimal choice for the Chinese military is to have the Tu-160, the top of the line among Russian strategic bombers. Although this is almost impossible, the Chinese defense minister tossed out questions regarding specifics of the Tu-160s during his inspection of the Tu-95 and Tu-22 strategic bombers after the exercise.
The August drill was done when there was seemingly never-ending Russian weapon sales to China. The reality is that in the next few years, many of the large procurements from China will be delivered. The “bulk” sales – hundreds of Su-series fighter-bombers and dozens of naval surface and underwater weapon platforms such as Kilo-class submarines, which has been “normal” in Russian’s sales to China until recently – are unlikely to be repeated. Meanwhile, the end of the EU arms embargo against China appears to be a matter of time. Last if not least, China’s domestic arms industry is fast catching up, filling some obvious gaps between Chinese products and their more advanced foreign equivalents. The timing of the drill in August was therefore crucial for the transition toward a different type of weapons sale mechanism to China. The fact that many Russian weapon systems used in the exercises – including Tu-95MC and Tu-22M3 strategic bombers, A-50 radar aircraft, Il-78 tanker, Su-24MK frontline bomber and Su-27CKM multipurpose single-seat fighter – were left for display in China for several days after the exercise served Russia’s commercial interests.
Moscow’s effort was paid off a few weeks after the drill when China placed a $1 billion order for 40-some Il-76 and Il-78 (oil tanker) transport planes from Russia. The two sides reportedly also discussed the possibility of upgrading China’s Su-27 to Su-27SM, which has characteristics equivalent to the latest Su-30 fighter but is significantly cheaper.
The deals were made during Defense Minister Cao’s visit to Russia on Sept. 5-9 for the 12th regular session of the two countries’ commission on military-technical cooperation that was held in Moscow (Sept. 6 when the two sides discussed “strategic questions”) and the Black Sea resort of Sochi in southern Russia (Sept. 8 when they focused on “technical” issues). The Sochi session was clearly arranged as a weapons sale promotion party as Defense Minister Ivanov was accompanied by several Russian military-industrial heavyweight CEOs: Mikhail Dmitriyev, director of the Federal Military Cooperation Service, Sergei Chemezov, director general of the Rosoboronexport state-owned arms trading company, Mikhail Pogosyan, director general of the Sukhoi aircraft holding company, and Vladislav Menshchikov, director general of the Almaz-Antei air defense consortium.
To soften the atmosphere and “sweeten” the deal, a special “presidential” treat was arranged: the Russian-trained Chinese defense minister joined Putin in an informal session. The Russian-speaking Cao, who was trained in the early 1950s in Soviet military academy, is among a fast dwindling number of top officials in China. For his part, Putin tried to relax the Chinese defense minister by offering both beer and reciprocating his Chinese guest with the title of “comrade.”
It was not the first time that the Russians and Chinese referred to each other with the once ubiquitous title of “comrade.” No one at the Sochi party, however, believed that the “good/bad old days” of the former Soviet Union and Mao’s China would return. Ideology has ceased to be an operating factor between Moscow and Beijing. The familiar reference of “comrades” this time, however, seemed to be somewhat more appropriate after the unprecedented military exercise, new military sales to China, and the prospect of more, and perhaps bigger, exercises.
Elevated relations between Moscow and Beijing also occurred against the backdrop of the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. A series of commemorations in China and Russia in the third quarter joined by both sides not only marked the final fading away of the “greatest generation” in the two nations, but also, ironically, ushered in the old specter of the Cold War-style division between Russia and China on one side and Japan and the U.S. (and Taiwan?) on the other. It remains to be seen how the geostrategic games in East Asia will be played out.
Chronology of China - Russia Relations
July — September 2005
July 1, 2005: Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Xu Qiliang meets in Beijing with Director Shertsev of the Russian Army’s Corps of Engineers and his party.
July 1-3, 2005: Chinese President Hu Jintao continues official visit to Russia with formal talks in the Kremlin July 1 after an informal dinner at Putin’s dacha on June 30.
July 5, 2005: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) holds its annual summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, focusing on the issue of stability in Central Asia. India, Iran, and Pakistan are officially accepted as SCO observers.
July 6-11, 2005: Qian Qichen, honorary Chinese chair of the Sino-Russian Committee of Friendship, Peace and Development (SRCFPD), visits Russia. He meets Russian Security Council Secretary Igor Ivanov and attends a ceremony for publishing the Russian version of his book Ten Accounts of Diplomacy at the Chinese Embassy.
July 8, 2005: Wang Jiarui, head of the International Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) meets Vladimir Zhirinovsky, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia and vice chairman of the State Duma. Zhirinovsky also meets Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress.
July 20, 2005: Fifth session of the Russian-Chinese subcommission on health care held in Dalian. Vyacheslav Prokhorov, head of the Russian Federal Agency for Health Care and Social Development, leads the Russian group. Cooperation in areas of fighting fake medicines to Russia protocol is signed, attracting Chinese investment in the production of high-tech medical equipment in Russia, Russia’s role in medical service at the Olympic Games, and maintaining a stable epidemiological situation in border regions.
July 21, 2005: Russian Transport Minister Igor Levitin goes to Beijing to prepare for regular meetings between Russian and Chinese prime ministers. Issues include oil delivery to China, China’s investment in Moscow-St. Petersburg highway and port facilities, new cargo and passenger air routes, container shipments through Russia, etc.
Aug. 6, 2005: Gen. Zhang Li, deputy chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), meets in Beijing a Russian military goodwill delegation led by Commander of the Moscow Military District Gen. Pagin.
Aug. 9, 2005: Operations group of the Russian Defense Ministry, headed by first deputy commander of the Russian Ground Troops Col. Gen. Vladimir Moltenskoy arrives in Qingdao to organize the joint military exercise Peace Mission 2005. The group also includes Russian Pacific Fleet commander Adm. Vladimir Fedorov.
Aug. 12, 2005: China and Russia hold annual session of the sub-commission for trade and business cooperation responsible for the regular prime ministerial meeting.
Aug. 13-29, 2005: Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Irkutsk Center at the Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences conduct their first joint scientific expedition – the China-Russia Baikal Comprehensive Scientific Expedition 2005.
Aug. 18-25, 2005: China and Russia conduct their first joint military exercise, Peace Mission 2005 in China’s Shandong Peninsula with 2,000 Russian and 8,000 Chinese troops.
Aug. 20, 2005: New Russian Ambassador to China Sergei Razov arrives in Beijing.
Aug. 24, 2005: Russian-Chinese subcommission for research and technology cooperation hold ninth session in Moscow. A Russian press release said the program involves 172 joint projects.
Sept. 1, 2005: Chinese military delegation headed by the PLA Deputy Chief of the General Staff Ge Zhenfeng, starts official visit to Russia, Denmark, and Hungary.
Sept. 3, 2005: Russian President Putin makes phone call to Hu, congratulating him on the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. Hu praised the Soviet Red Army’s role in defeating Japan. They also discuss Russian-Chinese military exercises (Aug. 18-25).
Sept. 5-6, 2005: Chairman of the Russian Supreme Court Vyacheslav Lebedev visits Beijing to join the Congress on International Law. He meets President of China’s Supreme People’s Court Xiao Yang.
Sept. 5-9, 2005: Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan visits Russia for the 12th regular sessions of the intergovernmental commission on military-technical cooperation held in Moscow (Sept. 6) and Sochi in southern Russia (Sept. 8). Cao meets Russian PM Mikhail Fradkov in Moscow and Pres. Putin in Sochi on Sept. 7.
Sept. 6, 2005: The subcommission on nuclear issues of the Russian-Chinese commission preparing regular meetings between the Russian and PRC prime ministers holds its ninth session in Moscow.
Sept. 8, 2005: Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the NPC, and Boris Gryzlov, president of the Russian State Duma, meet in New York City on the sidelines of the 2nd World Conference of Speakers of Parliaments.
Sept. 14, 2005: Presidents Putin and Hu meet in New York City during 60th UN General Assembly (UNGA).
Sept. 20, 2005: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meets Chinese counterpart Li Zhaoxing on the sidelines of UNGA.
Sept. 21, 2005: The Far Eastern Institute of Russia’s Academy of Science holds a conference on the 40th anniversary of the founding of China’s Tibet Autonomous Region.
Sept. 21-22, 2005: China’s Deputy Chief of General Staff Xiong Guangkai and Deputy Chief of Russian General Staff Alexsandr Skvortsov hold ninth round of military consultations in Moscow. Xiong meets Chief of Russian General Staff Yuri Baluyevsky.
Sept. 23-26, 2005: Russian Federation Council Speaker Sergei Mironov pays official visit to China to mark the initiation of regular parliamentary exchanges.
Sept. 24, 2005: Law enforcement officials from the SCO member states meet in Tashkent to discuss compilation of a common database of terrorist, separatist, and extremist organizations.
Sept. 24-30, 2005: Former KMT Chairman Lien Chan conducts a six-day private visit to Russia.
More Articles on China - Russia
The Story of Two Pivots
Volume 21, Issue 1, China - Russia
Crouching Army, Hidden Alliance?
Tales of Two Friends, Two Summits and Two Drills
Absorbing Shock and Awe: Trump Style
Between the Past and the Future
“Best and Worst Time” for Beijing and Moscow?
Trilateral Politics: Trump Style
The Dawn of a Brave Trump World
Get Updates and Announcements from Pacific Forum
Comparative Connections provides a timely, concise, and comprehensive source of information and analysis on key bilateral relationships in the Indo-Pacific.
© 2019 Pacific Forum. Credits|Privacy Policy
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1766
|
__label__wiki
| 0.566903
| 0.566903
|
Archive - 10/2017
The Head of South Ossetia on the development of integration at all levels
We must strengthen the integration ties between the north and the south of Ossetia, "said President of South Ossetia Anatoly Bibilov at the 9th congress of the Ossetian people.
"We have close relations with the head of North Ossetia Vyacheslav Bitarov. We regularly discuss topical issues that affect the interests of the entire Ossetian people," Bibilov said.
The President of South Ossetia also expressed his gratitude to the head of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania for paying great attention to the problems of the Ossetian language and integration with South Ossetia.
Russian and South Ossetian military discussed further cooperation
In Moscow was held a working meeting between the Minister of Defense of South Ossetia, Lieutenant-General Ibrahim Gasseev, and the Chief of the Main Directorate of International Military Cooperation of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Major-General Alexander Kshimovsky.
As reported to IA "Res" by the press service of the Ministry of Defense of the RSO, during the meeting were discussed issues of military and military-technical cooperation Agreements were reached on a number of important areas of interaction between the two ministries.
Bibilov: I do not separate the problems of Ossetia
The delegation of South Ossetia at the Geneva discussions raised the issue of violation of the rights of the residents of the Trusov Gorge and the Kobi Basin, said Anatoly Bibilov at the 9th Congress of the Ossetian people.
According to him, the South Ossetian diplomats demanded from international organizations to react to the actions of the Georgian authorities, which prohibited residents of the Trusov Gorge and the Kobi Basin to visit their homes, sanctuaries and the graves of their ancestors.
Deputies of the South Ossetian Parliament are taking part in the work of the congress of the Ossetian people
First Deputy Chairman of the Parliament of the Republic of South Ossetia Inal Mamiev and the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee of the RSO on National Policy, Culture, Education, Science, Religion and Media are taking part in an extraordinary Congress of the Ossetian people in Vladikavkaz.
The Congress is attended by about 1000 delegates from North and South Ossetia, the Diaspora from various countries, including Turkey, Tajikistan, Syria, etc
Murat Dzhioev: NATO is not interested in strengthening stability in the Caucasus region
The 11th Conference on Defense and Security held in Batumi was the next NATO event on the territory of Georgia.
Revanchist aspirations are pushing Georgia on a dangerous path
The processes of reconstruction and development, widely deployed in South Ossetia-a convincing marker of the republic's movement along the path of creation, its aspiration for a peaceful future. In contrast, official Tbilisi continues to be a prisoner of the 1990s, keeping the West's policy of revanchism towards South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Representatives of South Ossetia will celebrate the Day of National Unity in Moscow
«The Union of Russian Citizens» and «Rossy» will take part in the V meeting of young compatriots living abroad.
Representatives of public organizations of South Ossetia will go to Moscow with the assistance of the Rossotrudnichestvo representative office in the Republic.
As reported to the news agency "Res" by the press service of the Rossotrudnichestvo, the youth forum, timed to the Day of National Unity, will be held from October 31 to November 4. It will be attended by100 young people from 34 countries.
The delegation of South Ossetia will take part in the 8th Abkhaz-Russian Business Forum
At the 8th Abkhaz-Russian business forum with participation of the South Ossetian delegation, will be considered issues of deepening bilateral cooperation and cooperation in the field of tourism, development of the transport and logistics complex, as well as interregional cooperation.
According to the press service of the South Ossetian government, a delegation led by Deputy Minister of Economic Development of South Ossetia Roin Kozaev, will take part in the forum to be held in Sukhum on October 27 at the invitation of Abkhaz Prime Minister Beslan Bartsits.
Parliament of South Ossetia ratified treaty on friendship and cooperation with the People's Democratic Republic
The Parliament of South Ossetia ratified the treaty on friendship and cooperation with the Donetsk People's Republic. As noted by the Speaker of the Parliament Peter Gassiev at the session of the Legislative Assembly, the ratification of the treaty is a logical continuation of the recognition of the DPR by South Ossetia.
Igor Kochiev, the head of the foreign policy committee, has added, the basic agreement between the two countries provides for military assistance.
Foreign Minister of South Ossetia has become familiar with the referendum in Veneto
Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Ossetia Dmitry Medoev, in conclusion of his visit to Italy, visited the capital of the Veneto region, Venice, where he held a consultative referendum on expanding the autonomy of the region.
As reported by the press service of the republic's foreign ministry, during the visit, Dmitry Medoev met with the deputy of the Veneto legislature, Dr. Luciano Sandona, responsible for the referendum in the region. The Foreign Minister of South Ossetia has also been able to familiar himself with the voting process.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1767
|
__label__wiki
| 0.976673
| 0.976673
|
Remembering John Wooden, the Wizard of Westwood
The greatest college basketball coach of all time dies at 99
By Sean Gregory Saturday, June 05, 2010
Bettmann / CORBIS
UCLA coach John Wooden urges on his team during the semifinals of the NCAA tournament on March 20, 1970, in College Park, Md.
Maybe Vince Lombardi was more majestic and Red Auerbach a more colorful figure. Perhaps Bear Bryant was more revered. But John Wooden, the former UCLA basketball coach who died at 99 in Los Angeles on June 4, could lay claim to his own honorific. No great coach in history was more beloved, and no beloved coach greater, than the Wizard of Westwood.
At UCLA, Wooden won 10 national basketball championships, a run that included seven straight titles from 1967 to 1973. During one stretch, Wooden's team won 88 straight games, a record that will never be matched. But it says mountains about the man that despite the outlandish numbers, Wooden's character transcended his accomplishments. "Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are," Wooden once said, "while your reputation is merely what others think you are." Wooden lived up to his own exhortations, as he was, through the end of his life, a dignified man whose selflessness and pure affection for his players shaped the lives of so many people he encountered.
(See the top 10 sports moments of 2009.)
Despite his legendary status, Wooden lived in a modest condo in Encino, Calif., where he would write monthly love letters to his wife of 53 years, Nellie, a childhood sweetheart who passed away in 1985. His wife's death was his greatest loss, and it served as the clearest window into his character. To honor her memory, Wooden would sleep only on his half of the bed and on only his pillow. "Every picture on the walls are the ones Nellie chose, the one she wanted up," Wooden said. "I've changed nothing except add pictures of the great-grandchildren she never had a chance to see."
Wooden grew up in basketball-crazed Martinsville, Ind., a town of 4,800 people whose high school basketball gym housed 5,200. He was an All-American at Purdue University and the National Player of the Year in 1932. After spending 11 seasons coaching high school basketball in Kentucky and Indiana, Wooden enlisted in the Navy, where he attained the rank of lieutenant during World War II. After a two-year stint as the basketball and baseball coach at Indiana State Teachers College, now Indiana State University, Wooden moved west to UCLA in 1948.
(See the Cartoons of the Week.)
There, the Wizard of Westwood sat calmly on the sideline, his program wrapped perfectly in his hand, and coached some of the greatest college basketball talents of all time. Players like Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), Gail Goodrich, Jamaal Wilkes and Bill Walton thrived under his patient presence. He offered succinct, spot-on pearls of wisdom "be quick, but don't hurry" was one of his favorites and demonstrated to the thousands of coaches who idolized him the importance of an organized, purposeful practice. "I don't think I was a fine game coach," Wooden told UCLA Magazine in 2000. "I don't think I was a great strategy guy. I think I was a good practice coach. I could tell you right now what we did every practice I had at UCLA every day, every minute. It's all on paper."
Wooden coached the Bruins for 28 years, retiring in 1975 after winning his 10th title. "What changed my life was going to UCLA for four years and living with John Wooden," Walton once said. "At practice, he was a tiger, always on edge, always barking at us, pacing, pacing. By the time the game came around, we couldn't wait to play. He was a masterful psychologist." In 1948 Wooden completed his famous "pyramid of success," which detailed the building blocks traits like industriousness, friendship, loyalty, cooperation and enthusiasm that he felt were necessary to reach the top block, competitive greatness. "Your heart must be in your work," Wooden wrote. "Stimulate others." Wooden was the first person to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach.
Even as he longed for his departed wife, Wooden embraced the twilight of his remarkable life. "Fear of leaving does not bind me," Wooden told ESPN in a 2009 interview, reciting a poem written by one of his former players, Swen Nater. "And departure does not hold a single care. Peace does comfort as I ponder a reunion in the yonder with my dearest one who's waiting for me there." Rest in peace, Coach. Your greatest teammate awaits.
See the TIME 100 list of the world's most influential people.
See the Pictures of the Week.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1768
|
__label__cc
| 0.507315
| 0.492685
|
Tour 3: 38th & Chicago: How Artists are Transforming Place
Thursday, June 13, 1:30 pm - 6:00 pm
Register for a Public Art Preconference Tour to participate in an interactive learning experience out in the Twin Cities. The tours provide in-depth exploration of specific topics that are relevant to today’s public art practitioners, artists, planners, and others working at the intersection of art, policy and the built environment and civic ecosystem. Each tour includes a deep-dive grounding in the topic before heading out to explore different areas of the Twin Cities. Attendees must sign-up for a tour during the registration process.
38th & Chicago: How Artists are Transforming Place
Tour Description: Artists and arts and cultural organizations can be a catalyst for building community. In this tour, attendees will visit the 38th and Chicago area of Minneapolis to learn how an artist-initiated gallery has supported community building and grass roots cultural planning. In 2006, a community development plan for the neighborhood helped launch a new wave of arts and cultural activity including the implementation of two new arts spaces. Today, after over a decade of work from artists, additional community plans including the latest in 2017, and the work of political leaders and others learn how the area has changed and provides services and support to the surrounding neighborhoods.
To start off the tour, at the hotel attendees will hear from two experiences artists whose community development work has impacted communities around the country, and from Andrea Jenkins, an artist and current Minneapolis city councilmember whose drive built the community development work that will be experienced on this tour. From there, participants will travel with local tour leads to explore the 38th & Chicago Neighborhood to learn about and see the impact of artists-driven community development and cultural planning. Attendees will gather at the Pillsbury House + Theatre to learn about this Minneapolis institution built on the tradition of creating art in collaboration with community uses theater to inspire choice, change and connection. From there participants will walk a few blocks to the Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center, a training and resource facility for new and established artists on the fine and industrial art forms that are produced using heat, spark, or flame—collectively known as "fire arts" and how they are growing public artists in the Twin Cities. The last stop of the tour will be at photographer, public artist and social practice artist Wing Huie’s Third Place Gallery. While there, attendees will hear about his work in community take part in a social practice exercise.
Attendees with their tour leads will have the option to return to the hotel and discuss their learnings and observations from the tour.
Learn how artists can play an active role in neighborhood planning and community development.
See the long-term positive impact that artists can play in the growth and development of a community.
Hear from experts on how to incorporate artists into neighborhood planning projects.
Preparation: All tours will leave the hotel. Transportation is provided to and from the hotel. Attendees should plan to wear comfortable clothing and footwear. Tours will take place regardless of weather, so dress appropriately. Bring a camera or phone to capture and share your experience.
#aftacon
James Rojas
Place It!
James is an urban planner, community activist, educator, and artist who facilitates community engagement activities for under presented communities Through Place It!, he has developed an interdisciplinary, community-healing, visioning, and process that uses storytelling, objects, art-production, and play for visual and spatial thinkers to help improve the urban-planning outreach process. He is now an international expert in public engagement and has traveled around the US, Mexico, Canada, Europe, and South America, facilitating over 1000 workshops, and building 100+ interactive models. Many of his clients are women, men of color, and others from disadvantaged and underserved communities. As such, he has collaborated with municipalities, non-profits, community groups, educational institutions, and museums, to engage, educate, and empower the public on transportation, housing, open space and health issues.
Con Christeson
I am an artist who works in community. I explore and experience community by observing people and the pools of knowledge and experience that exist there. Historical rootedness is part of this complex concept of place. A topographical map of winds, weathers, and time. The science of hard scape. Then come the layers of memory and story in the vessel that holds people, space, and place.
Community can reinforce or bury the human experience. Arts collaboration in community supports creativity, consciousness, and co-creation. I work locally, nationally, and internationally around and between those virtual lines we draw on the surface of our planet. They are not real, and yet, they slow us, confine us, stop us, turn us away from each other.
Art turns us towards each other.
Art serves.
Wing Huie
Third Place Gallery
For over 35 years, celebrated photographer Wing Young Huie has captured the complex cultural realities of American society. He has exhibited nationally and internationally– over half a million people viewed his traveling exhibit in China – but his best known works, Lake Street USA and the University Avenue Project, were epic public art projects that transformed Twin Cities’ thoroughfares into six-mile galleries, reflecting the everyday lives of thousands of its citizens.
The StarTribune named Wing “Artist of the Year” in 2000, stating, “Lake Street USA is likely to stand as a milestone in the history of photography and public art.” In 2018 he was honored with the McKnight Distinguished Artist Award.
“Chinese-ness: The Meanings of Identity and the Nature of Belonging” (MHS Press, 2018) is his seventh and most personal book: “I am the youngest of six and the only one in my family not born in China. Instead, I was conceived and oriented in Duluth, Minnesota. So what am I? How does my Chinese-ness collide with my Minnesota-ness and my American-ness? And who gets to define those abstract hyphenated nouns?“
Heather Doyle
Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center
Heather Doyle (Artistic Director) and Victoria Lauing (Executive Director) founded the Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center (CAFAC) with a group of neighbors in 2007. Inspired by the 38th & Chicago Small Area Plan, a resident-driven document created to guide development around this neighborhood commercial node, CAFAC's founders combined their experience in metalworking and education with a desire to use arts-based community development as a means for regeneration of a neighborhood impacted by decades of disinvestment. CAFAC focuses its work on three pillars: education, artist support, and public art, which together create a platform for community-driven resources and social impact. As Artistic Director, Heather Doyle brings decades of experience as an artist and metalworker, and directs CAFAC's public art initiatives as well as teaches blacksmithing and welding to youth and adults. Victoria Lauing, Executive Director, has more than 20 years experience in higher education with a focus on continuing education and professional training, and oversees the organization's management and development functions.
Victoria Lauing
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1769
|
__label__wiki
| 0.557651
| 0.557651
|
укр eng рус est
15.07.2019 Ukraine Must Pay to a British Investor USD 12 mln to Recover Losses
15.07.2019 Ilyashev & Partners Appointed Seven Counsels
27.06.2019 Ilyashev & Partners Law Firm Has Achieved an Extension of Ukrainian Safeguard Import Duties in Respect of Polyurethane Foam for up to 3 Years
“The team was recently visible advising on a number of pharmaceutical cases. Sources agree that the team is “moving in the right direction” and are particularly impressed by its work in the pharmaceutical sector”.
Arbitration Courts Play a Leading Role in the Development of Economic Law in the Country
Vladimir Zakharov, Lawyer, Head of Moscow Office
Source: Rossiyskaya Gazeta
It’s been a long time since the advent of arbitration courts in 1992. During this time three arbitration procedure codes were adopted (in 1992, 1995 and 2002), and the latter, adopted at the initiative of the first Head of the Arbitration Court of Russia, Veniamin Yakovlev, in my opinion, is quite a good legislative act providing for the up-to-date regulation of the arbitration court procedure.
In 2003 the first arbitration courts of appeal were established; they were separated from the courts of first instance (previously, the appeal petitions were considered by another composition of judges of the court of first instance), which ensured their independence and fairness. From the middle of the noughties, in the days of Anton Ivanov, who headed the arbitration system in 2005-2014, an electronic system of justice began its development: judicial acts became publicly available and the procedural documents could have been filed in electronic form, which has significantly improved the access to justice.
In my opinion, moving towards uniformity in the case-law of arbitration courts and courts of general jurisdiction is quite a positive trend. For example, all disagreements regarding the jurisdiction of certain categories of cases have been fully resolved. In particular, claims against the individuals who stand surety for the companies they control were previously considered by arbitration courts and courts of general jurisdiction.
At the legislative level the arbitration procedure code introduced institutions that were previously related to the courts of general jurisdiction only. For example, since 2016 the arbitration courts have the right to render court orders, allowing the creditors in the non-controversial cases to quickly collect the money.
It is also significant that in general the Chamber for Commercial Disputes of the Supreme Court maintains continuity of application of the positions of the Supreme Arbitration Court and refers thereto in its judicial acts. There were certain fears as regards the preservation of a number of successful legal positions of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation after the Supreme Arbitration Court and the Supreme Court were established, however, fortunately they did not prove true. In my opinion, it is undoubtedly due to the efforts made by the present Head of the Supreme Court Vyacheslav Lebedev and the Head of Chamber for Commercial Disputes of the Supreme Court Oleg Sviridenko.
I will not probably be wrong saying that today the arbitration courts play a leading role in the development of economic law in the country. Recently, a case-law on a number of important issues has been formed, which allows for fair consideration of economic disputes. Quite many important positions were delivered by the Chamber for Commercial Disputes of the Supreme Court in the field of bankruptcy. The case-law in real estate field is developing. It would be nice if the case-law in other fields was actively developing as well.
It seems that in general the arbitration system develops in the right direction, striving for a fair resolution of disputes. It is advisable to make the motivational part of the judicial acts more decent and detailed; it is especially important for the district arbitration courts and the Chamber for Commercial Disputes of the Supreme Court. There is also need for careful monitoring of compliance with the rules of procedural law, both by the court itself and by other participants in the proceedings.
© 2019 Ilyashev & Partners / Mobile version
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1771
|
__label__wiki
| 0.607339
| 0.607339
|
Board index OUR FAMILY OF SITES MAYDAY
120 years ago today - loss of SS UTOPIA
A place to cover incidents / accidents / sinkings etc from around the world.
Francis GIB
Post by Francis GIB » Thu Mar 17, 2011 3:53 pm
Gibraltar has seen its fair share of shirwrecks, sinkings, collisions, but none with such a great loss of life as the sinking of the UTOPIA, barely a couple of hundred metres off the City walls.
SS UTOPIA was built in 1874 by Robert Duncan of Glasgow. She was a transAtlantic passenger steamship on Anchor Lines routes, and the first eight years she run between Glasgow to New York and Bombay, and later on from London once again, to New York. Immigration from Europe to the United States was at one of its peaks, and in 1882 UTOPIA began ferrying Italian immigrants to the States. It would appear that Gibraltar was a staging post before the transAtlantic journey.
On the 17 March 1891, St Patrick's Day, just after 1800 hrs, she came into the Bay where a South Westerly gale was raging. On board were 880 passegers and crew. UTOPIA's Master, Capt John McTeague, tried to steer his vessel to her ususal anchorage, but found that there were already two warships anchored in that area, HMS ANSON and HMS RODNEY. Indeed, other ships were also anchored and riding the storm. In the darkness of the night and the raging storm brought about a miscalculation in the steerage of the ship and even as Capt McTeague tried to steer clear off ANSON's bow, the vessel drifted onto the ram of the warship which tore a five metre hole below the waterline. Within less than twenty minutes, UTOPIA has slipped beneath the waves and settled on the bottom in a depth of seventeen metres, her masts protuding above the boiling surface of the Bay. No less than 562 passengers and crew members plus two sailors from another ship who were helping out in the rescue , died or were missing that day. Many heroes emerged that day, as crews from warships in the anchorage battled against wind and current to try and rescue the unfortunate passengers. Notwithstanding their gallant efforts, the final loss was very substantial.
As a token of appreciation for the gallant efforts made by the sailors and others to try and effect rescues, His Majesty the King of Italy presented a {brass] wreath mounted on a stone plaque commemorating the heroism shown. This was presented and erected on 20 March 1893. The plaque is currently at the entrance to the South Mole, and I understand a more conspicuous site is being investigated.
Francis - No promises on obtaining the right results, but promise to do my best to get it!
Return to “MAYDAY”
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1775
|
__label__wiki
| 0.812871
| 0.812871
|
Adam Brody and Alia Shawkat Talk THE ORANGES, THE O.C., ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, Favorite Breakfast Cereal and More
by Samantha Cheirif October 3, 2012
Opening this weekend is Julian Farino’s The Oranges. The film is about two families who are best friends and neighbors- until one of the daughters (Leighton Meester) begins an affair with her father’s best friend (Hugh Laurie), and the comical and emotional aftermath of that affair. The all-star cast includes Catherine Keener as Laurie’s wife who finds a new purpose in life, Allison Janney and Oliver Platt as Nina’s bewildered parents and Alia Shawkat as Laurie’s daughter- and Nina’s former best friend turned arch rival. It also stars Adam Brody and up-and-comer Sam Rosen.
At the recent New York City press junket, I was able to speak to Alia Shawkat and Adam Brody about their breakfast preferences, the film itself, their characters, working with an ever-present screenwriting team, and the other projects that they have been and will be working on. Hit the jump to watch.
Finally, click here to watch my video interview with Hugh Laurie and Catherine Keener.
Adam Brody and Alia Shawkat
What kind of cereal do they like (they’re always eating it in the movie)
What made them want to be part of the film
What was it like working for a director and screenwriting team that were always there for you
Will part of you always be Seth Cohen (The O.C.)
What is it like being back filming Arrested Development and playing Maeby Fünke again
What’s next for them
First Clip from SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK Starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper
Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Featurette on the Making of IRON SKY
• Adam Brody • Alia Shawkat • Arrested Development • Entertainment • Movie • The Oranges • Video Interview • Video Interviews
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1776
|
__label__cc
| 0.687256
| 0.312744
|
What is the ruling on hijab?
September 1, 2011 Women's Issues [99]
No nation or religion has ever permitted or allowed its followers to indulge in acts of immorality and immodesty.
Islam has also laid down rules which act as precautions against Muslims falling into this path of immorality and immodesty.
For this reason Islam orders Muslim women to observe the Hijab in order to safeguard a woman’s modesty as well as safeguarding the gaze of men.
Hijab is fardh upon every woman who is close to the age of puberty or has reached it.
Hijab means a screen or a curtain. In Shariah it means to completely cover one’s self from the view of the non-mahram. (With whom marriage is permissible)
In the Holy Quran Allah has said:
??????? ?????? ??? ??????
“They should draw their veils over their bosoms”
(Al-Noor V.31)
The word “Khummr” means veil. And the veil means a piece of cloth, which covers the face. (Al-Mawrid)
In another verse Allah has stated:
????? ????? ?? ???????? ?????? ????? ???????? ????? ????? ?? ???????
“O’Nabi say to your wives, your daughters and the believing women that they should suspend over themselves the “Jilbaabs”.
“Jilbaab” is the outer sheet or cloak. At the time of the Prophet (saw) this sheet was so large that two women would easily be covered by it. The women used to wear it in such a way that it would not reveal their shape.
Ibn-Abbas (ra) has said that the word jilbaab means a woman should be wrapped, from her head to her feet and that her face, nose should be hidden-leaving only the eye uncovered to see the way.
There are also some Hadeeths, which tells us that women should observe pardah and conceal themselves from strange men. One of them is:
?????? ???? ???? ???? ???????? ???????
“A women is an object of concealment, thus when she emerges, Satan uses her a means of spreading evil.”
(Mishkat, Tirmizi)
To sum up, the whole body of a Muslim woman including the face must be covered in front of a non-mahram. Her dress should be tailored in such a way that it conceals all her body in a modest manner not exposing her body shape.
As for the objection raised that Hijab restricts many women from doing some activities, then it should be understood that Allah (swa) is hakeem (wise) and all his orders and commands comprise of benefits, although one may be unaware of it.
Taking children out on activities could be done with the observance of Hijab.
Removal of the Hijab could possibly lead access to many activities, but at the same time this could lead to someone becoming a victim of sexual harassment.
This negative accepts will defiantly outweigh the benefits of the job or activity to believe that this is too strict or restrictive is wrong.
It should be noted that women are recommended to stay in their homes. Allah has said in the Holy Qur’an:
???? ?? ??????
“And remain in your homes.”
Also there are other hadeeths, which support the fact that women during the Holy Prophet (saw) time remained in their homes.
In another hadith, the Holy Prophet (saw) has said that women should stay indoors, because when they come out, Satan makes her a means of spreading evil among Muslims.
??? ???? ?????? ???????? ???????
Ibn-Khuzaymah and Ibn-Hibban have also reported the following hadith.
????? ?? ???? ?? ??? ???? ??? ?? ??? ?????
“A woman is closer to her Lord when she is (hidden) in the midmost of her house.”
Imam Tabrani relates another hadith:
??? ?????? ???? ?? ?????? ??? ?????
“For women, there is no share in going out except if it is necessary.”
It is best for women to stay at home and leave outside jobs for the males who could earn and support them.
However, if for some reason if this is not possible, then Islam being a comprehensive religion takes into consideration all human needs and has given women permission to leave the house under certain circumstances that include adhering to the order of Hijab.
Now if you are only dealing with children who have not reached the age of puberty yet, it will be permissible to uncover the face. However, if you have to deal with male teachers etc then you have to cover your face in their presence.
This can be derived from the following Hadith. Hazrat Aaisha (ra) narrates that during the occasion of Hajj-atul-wida when people passed along the side of us, we would draw hijabs over our heads and faces, when they had moved on we would open our faces
???? ??? ??????? ????? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ? ???? ????? ??? ???? ?????? ??????? ?? ????? ??? ????? ???? ??????? ??????
(Abu Dawud)
Sources: Ma’ariful-Quran (Mufti- Shafee P.203-229), Ahkamul-Quran.
Hijab-The importance of Pardah
Islam forbids free mixing of men and women
The Muslim Women P.2
The concept of hijab
Can muslim women work?
What should a woman do if she ...
When is a woman obliged to per...
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1777
|
__label__cc
| 0.555243
| 0.444757
|
Home Oral History Collection John Starkey oral history interview transcript
John Starkey oral history interview
John Starkey oral history interview transcript
Title John Starkey oral history interview
Subject United States. Navy
USS Wyoming (BB-32)
USS Boise (CL-47)
World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Italy--Sicily.
USS Mackerel (SS-204)
USS Texas (BB-35)
USS Pargo (SS-264)
Description The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John P. Starkey. Starkey was born in Kansas City, Missouri 8 March 1925 and graduated from high school in 1941. He enlisted in the Navy and went to Great Lakes Naval Training Station, Illinois for six weeks of boot training. After graduation, he attended fire control school for four months. Upon completion of the training, he was assigned to the USS Wyoming (BB-32). In April 1943, he was assigned to the USS Boise (CL-47). During July 1943 the ship provided fire support for the invasion of Sicily. When the Boise returned to Philadelphia, Starkey was selected to attend submarine school at New London, Connecticut. Following eight weeks of basics, four weeks of battery and gyro school and six weeks of specialized training he reported aboard the USS Mackerel (SS-204) at New London. In 1944 he was accepted into the V-12 program at Park University, Missouri. His father, at age forty-four, joined the US Coast Guard. Starkey lost his brother, killed in action in Europe. The V-12 program was terminated and Starkey was assigned temporarily to the USS Texas (BB-35). He was then assigned to the USS Pargo (SS-264) during September 1945. He recalls the Pargo being part of a sixteen boat squadron that returned to San Francisco January 1946 and describes the crowds that greeted the flotilla. Starkey was discharged 11 March 1946.
Creator Starkey, John
Contributors Alexander, William
Title John Starkey oral history interview transcript
Add tags for John Starkey oral history interview transcript
Post a Comment for John Starkey oral history interview transcript
John Starkey oral history...
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1785
|
__label__cc
| 0.686651
| 0.313349
|
What are the boundaries of the constellations? (Beginner)
Could you direct me on finding information of the boundaries of each constellation.
Are the boundaries listing in RA / DEC? How where the boundaries formulated? If so, then what are they.
If you could direct me in finding this information, it would be deeply appreciated.
The boundaries of the constellations are set by convention, and are indeed defined in RA and DEC, epoch 1875. First proposed by Eugene Delporte in 1930, the boundaries were soon adopted by the International Astronomical Union for naming purposes. You can see the exact boundaries in most serious amateur astronomy star charts, such as the Sky Atlas by W. Tirion.
Dave Kornreich
Dave was the founder of Ask an Astronomer. He got his PhD from Cornell in 2001 and is now an assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Physical Science at Humboldt State University in California. There he runs his own version of Ask the Astronomer. He also helps us out with the odd cosmology question.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1790
|
__label__wiki
| 0.873762
| 0.873762
|
Gold Hired as Football Coach at Redbank Valley
NEW BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Redbank Valley has hired Blane Gold to be its new football coach.
(Submitted photo)
Gold replaces Ed Wasilowski, who retired for a second time following the 2018 season.
“I’m humbled and honored to have been given the opportunity to lead these young men by the Redbank Valley administration and school board,” Gold said. “Growing up, I had the same dream as many other kids that play sports and that was to become a professional athlete. Having the unique opportunity to be a teammate of a future NFL draft pick while at Franklin, I realized, as I entered high school, I would be going pro at something other than football. Since that realization, it has been my dream to teach, live, and serve as a head coach in the same school district. It’s truly a blessing to say that I’m living my dream at the age of 29. My wife and I could not be more thankful for the opportunities that have been presented to us by the Redbank Valley School District and New Bethlehem community.”
Gold, a 2007 Franklin Area High School graduate, has been an assistant coach with the Bulldogs since 2014, coaching the offensive and defensive lines. He also spent two years (2011-12) as the offensive/defensive line and special teams coach at Oil City and a season (2013) at his alma mater Franklin as the offensive/defensive line and special teams coach.
“Our mission is to honor our families and community by relentlessly chasing excellence in the classroom, the community, and on the field while becoming men of integrity in pursuit of District 9 championships,” said Gold, who teaches at the school.
Gold, who played college football at Grove City from 2007-10 earning three letters as a defensive end and long snapper before graduating from the school in 2012, said he believes his mission is to create good men, not just football players.
“Every student that comes through the Redbank Valley football program will go pro at something other than football,” Gold said. “My belief is that the true measurement of success is to look at what these young men are doing five, 10 and 15 years after they graduate. Are they living productive lives? What kind of husbands are they? What kind of fathers are they? The number one goal for me is to help develop men of integrity that are willing to do the right thing when nobody’s watching. If I have a group of young men who are striving to be men of strong character, the winning will take care of itself.”
Redbank Valley is coming off a 7-4 season that ended in a disappointing first-round District 9 Class 1A playoff loss to Coudersport, a team the Bulldogs beat earlier in the season.
“On the field, we are going to approach this season with a sense of urgency,” Gold said. “We have won two conference championships in the last four years. We’ve won playoff games. We’re six years removed from playing in a District 9 championship game. There is one major obstacle standing in our way of taking our program to the next level and that’s a district championship that has eluded this program since 1996. We feel good about the amount of talent coming back in pursuit of that goal.”
Gold said Jason Kundick and Mike Kundick, who were both assistant coaches with Gold under Wasilowski, will return to the staff and Craig Hibell, the baseball coach at Redbank Valley and a Redbank Valley graduate, will also be joining the staff as an offensive assistant coach.
“I’m currently in discussion with other coaches to fill the final two spots on the staff,” Gold said.
In addition to teaching at Redbank Valley, Gold also is a freelance writer for EYT Media, the parent company of D9Sports.com.
Player Profile: Maia Cogley, DuBois Central Catholic
CURWENSVILLE, Pa. – Jim Thompson has been named the head football coach at Curwensville.
BROCKWAY, Pa. – The fourth annual Frank Varischetti All-Star football game will preserve familiar...
North Trounces South in Lezzer Lumber Classic
HYDE, Pa. – The North squad had no more than a week to practice...
Jan. 10, 2019 District 9 Basketball Schedule
Jan. 10, 2019 Basketball Scores Powered by Eric Shick Agency
Top 25 Countdown: No. 13 A-C Valley Girls’ Basketball Makes School History
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1793
|
__label__wiki
| 0.57454
| 0.57454
|
What is the History of Toxic Mold?
Toxic mold syndrome refers to a condition where one has been exposed to harmful mycotoxins produced by molds, which are a type of fungi that grow in moist and improperly ventilated areas. Prolonged exposure to these toxins could lead to physical impairment and possibly death.
When Were Toxic Molds Discovered?
Toxic molds are an ancient thing, dating as far back as biblical times. They would grow on stones inside or outside houses and were a feared sight. Once discovered in or outside a house, the stones on which they grew would be taken and thrown outside the city. Sometimes, the dismantling of a house would occur to get rid of the stone. Its occupants also had to clean themselves for fear of contaminating other things or people around.
Discover of Stachybotrys Chartarum in the 19th Century
Coming to the 19th century, a mold was discovered by a mycologist known as Carl Joseph Corda. He found it growing in a house in the capital city of Czech Republic. According to Carl, it was a greenish black mould which he called Stachybotrys chartarum.
Wreaking Havoc In the 20th Century
The toxic mold syndrome continued to wreck havoc, after an outbreak in Russia, Ukraine, and parts of Europe during the 20th century from the 1940s, where animals would die mysteriously. The animals were later discovered to have been infected with the toxic mold by eating wet infected feeds. The most affected were horses.
Cases of Human Infection
From the cases of animal, especially horses infection, humans also began to be affected by the toxic mold. It began in Russia when the farmers would come into contact with infected hay and other animal feeds. This would cause skin irritations and inflammation. Further, if the moulds found their way into their food, they would experience nausea, severe vomiting and diarrhea.
Increased Growth of Toxic Molds Indoors…
Previously, most toxic molds were found outdoors. However, in the 1970s, molds started to be a common peril even indoors. Houses that were build with airtight designs were affected by the molds which quickly thrive in poorly aerated moist conditions. Moreover, use of poor quality of construction materials that easily absorbed moisture, provided a medium for the molds to thrive, further increasing their danger to humans.
It was in the 1980s when the effects of the toxic mold growing indoors became rampant. In many cases, the symptoms including skin irritations, diarrhoea, and flu, would affect a whole family. Upon investigation, toxic mold would be found in the house. Causes would include improper aeration and too much dumping in the houses causing the building materials to soak and provide growth condition for the molds. Upon removal of the toxic mold, normalcy would return to the house occupants.
Between 1991-1995 when the toxic mild syndrome caught public attention after a flooding that occured in Ohio, causing serious illness of over 20 children as well as several deaths, toxic mild syndrome was found to be at the core. For further information, read our toxic mold syndrome guide.
It seems like toxic mold syndrome is here to stay as long as flooding, poor aeration, and general unhygenic conditions remain the order of our world today. Cases of deaths have been reported as recently as in 2001 with reports stating that in America, over 500,000 people die each year because of toxic mold syndrome.
There is now need to put safety measures in buildings and during flooding to prevent molds which have and continue to have devastating effects on people today.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1794
|
__label__wiki
| 0.794903
| 0.794903
|
Difference between revisions of "Royal Naval College, Dartmouth"
Simon Harley (Talk | contribs)
(→Commanding Officers)
(→First World War)
One Dartmouth cadet described his going away to war:
:I was 5th term, Greynvile, in July 1914 when we hurried away. Actually, another chap in my term and I were playing cricket for an "A" team at Kingswear on Saturday afternoon when one K. G. Reid, a master, head of Science and later a Lieut. R.N.V.R. in the old [[H.M.S. Tiger (1913)|''Tiger'']], advanced across the ground shouting "Mobilise!" Very shortly afterwards we went to sea and guarded the flank of troopships carrying the British Expeditionary Force to France. We in the [[H.M.S. Vengeance (1899)|''Vengeance'']] on the Western Patrol used to stop at sea and take our mail from a destroyer. Why we were never torpedoed I can't think! Eventually, about March 1915, the old [[H.M.S. Prince George (1895)|''Prince George'']] took us to the Dardanelles.<ref>Quoted in Pack. ''Britannia at Dartmouth''. p. 193.</ref>
:I was 5th term, Greynvile, in July 1914 when we hurried away. Actually, another chap in my term and I were playing cricket for an "A" team at Kingswear on Saturday afternoon when one K. G. Reid, a master, head of Science and later a Lieut. R.N.V.R. in the old [[H.M.S. Tiger (1913)|''Tiger'']], advanced across the ground shouting "Mobilise!" Very shortly afterwards we went to sea and guarded the flank of troopships carrying the British Expeditionary Force to France. We in the [[H.M.S. Vengeance (1899)|''Vengeance'']] on the Western Patrol used to stop at sea and take our mail from a destroyer. Why we were never torpedoed I can't think! Eventually, about March 1915, the old [[H.M.S. Prince George (1895)|''Prince George'']] took us to the Dardanelles.<ref>Quoted in Pack. p. 193.</ref>
==Captains==
Revision as of 05:25, 2 September 2012
2 Term Organisation
3 First World War
Captain Stanley and the Staff and Masters of the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth at Christmas, 1912.
The College was commanded by a Royal Navy Captain on the Active List. He had command of the ship Pomone, upon whose books all the College's naval staff were borne. An Engineer Captain had charge of the extensive College workshops. There were on average thirty officers and warrant officers on the naval staff, with another six in charge of the College's tenders.
The professorial staff was headed by a Headmaster. There were five departments; Modern Languages, History & English, Science, Navigation and Mathematics, each with a Head of Department. The remaining staff consisted of Senior Masters, Masters and Naval Instructors.
Term Organisation
The Cadets were organised into six terms based on when they entered the college. Each term was named after a famous naval officer. For example, in May, 1914 the six terms were named; "Blake", "Drake", "St. Vincent", "Exmouth", "Greynvile" and "Hawke". Each term had two "Officers of Term", a Lieutenant and an Engineer Lieutenant, assisted by three to four "Cadet Captains" selected from the term's cadets. In some cases a "Chief Cadet Captain" was also selected.
I was 5th term, Greynvile, in July 1914 when we hurried away. Actually, another chap in my term and I were playing cricket for an "A" team at Kingswear on Saturday afternoon when one K. G. Reid, a master, head of Science and later a Lieut. R.N.V.R. in the old Tiger, advanced across the ground shouting "Mobilise!" Very shortly afterwards we went to sea and guarded the flank of troopships carrying the British Expeditionary Force to France. We in the Vengeance on the Western Patrol used to stop at sea and take our mail from a destroyer. Why we were never torpedoed I can't think! Eventually, about March 1915, the old Prince George took us to the Dardanelles.[1]
Dates of appointment given:
Captain William E. Goodenough, 1 May, 1907.[2]
Captain Trevylyan D. W. Napier, 20 August, 1907.[3]
Captain Hugh Evan-Thomas, 16 August, 1910.[4]
Captain The Honourable Victor A. Stanley, 14 August, 1912.[5]
Captain Trevylyan D. W. Napier, M.V.O., 3 September, 1914.[6]
Captain Edmond H. Parker, 28 December, 1914.[7]
Captain Norman C. Palmer, 27 February, 1915.[8]
Rear-Admiral William G. E. Ruck-Keene, 31 May, 1916.[9]
Rear-Admiral Eustace La T. Leatham, 2 February, 1919.[10]
↑ Quoted in Pack. p. 193.
↑ Goodenough Service Record. ADM 196/42. f. 433.
↑ Napier Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 440.
↑ Evan-Thomas Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 105.
↑ Stanley Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 432.
↑ Parker Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 2.
↑ Palmer Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 416.
↑ Ruck-Keene Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 451.
↑ The Monthly Navy List (December, 1920). p. 1865c.
Davies, E. L.; Grove, E. J. (1980). The Royal Naval College Dartmouth: Seventy-five years in Pictures. Portsmouth: Gieves & Hawkes Limited. ISBN 0-85997-462-6.
Pack, Captain S. W. C. (1966). Britannia at Dartmouth: The Story of H.M.S. Britannia and the Britannia Royal Naval College. London: Alvin Redman Limited.
Retrieved from "http://dreadnoughtproject.org/tfs/index.php?title=Royal_Naval_College,_Dartmouth&oldid=50107"
Royal Naval Colleges
Royal Navy Education
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1799
|
__label__cc
| 0.743146
| 0.256854
|
Epi25 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
Version: Jan, 2016
The Epi25k Consortium represents the unification of various consortia dedicated to the study of epilepsy, including Epi4K, EPIGEN, EuroEPINOMICS, the Epilepsy Phenome/Genome Project, EpiPGX, SANAD, and EpiCURE. Each of these large, multinational projects maintains a DNA repository. The objective of this collaboration is to combine genotype, phenotype, and genomic sequencing data from Epi25K GWAS and genome sequencing (WES and WGS) studies, and to perform joint analyses of these datasets. Participants in this memorandum of understanding (MOU) agree to the following principles:
1. The organizational structure will consist of an Executive Committee and a data access and advisory committee. We will create a centralized database at the Broad Institute for the studies, to which each site will have access.
2. Participants and sites who have access to the centralized database agree that they cannot use the entire dataset on their own, for purposes other than to perform joint analyses pre-approved by the committee.
3. Each site will be able to access and download their own data for further analysis without permission from the broader group.
4. The meta-analysis will be guided by a data advisory committee and the analyses will be implemented by an analytic team determined by the committee. All groups will have access to the data produced by the meta-analysis. No publications or presentations will use these data without consent of all consortium partners.
5. All study decisions will be made by an Executive Committee comprised of the PIs from each study. Decisions will be made by majority vote with each PI’s vote being weighted by the number of samples contributed.
6. In principle, we will likely publish under a consortium authorship such as The Epi25K Consortium, with members and their contributions listed in a footnote. However, the Executive Committee will seek to find authorship solutions that acknowledge the effort of junior investigators who have contributed to the project, for example, by having a short author list of juniors followed by the consortium byline.
7. The initial analysis will focus on detection and testing of genetic variants for disease association with epilepsy, focused on rare variant and burden testing.
8. Participants in this MOU are not in any way limited in the use and publication of their own data.
9. All genotype and phenotype data will be kept strictly confidential and will not be made available to individuals outside the consortium without prior agreement of the consortium. The data will not be transferred to any publicly accessible data repository (e.g. dbGAP) without prior permission of the group providing the data, and data sharing and release will follow NIH guidelines.
10. There is a shared commitment to protect the confidentiality of data and to protect the joint analysis activity by insuring that no use of the data can be published in advance of an agreed-upon group publication and/or data release. At the same time we also recognize that each participating group (either individually or as consortia) are actively pursuing follow-up genetic and functional work. Thus, individual parties performing additional experiments on genes identified or replicated in exchanges of data are not in violation of this agreement. However, we reaffirm that results of downstream experiments of genes identified in the meta-analysis cannot be published in advance of meta-analysis release or publication and we affirm a desire that purely genetic confirmation experiments (i.e., typing in additional replication samples) be done as a component of a continued collaboration between our groups.
11. If an invention is generated by a group that directly utilized genotype and phenotype data or results from any other or all consortium participants, under a pre-approved joint analysis plan, that group needs to inform the others in writing. Consortium participants agree that the invention can be assigned to this group’s institution for filing and further exclusive commercialization of the discovery, provided that (i) inventorship is properly determined and (ii) an agreement is executed between the commercialization institution and the consortium participants that will provide the right to all participants to perform educational, research and development activities, and will provide to consortium participants a reasonable compensation for their relative contribution, which may be paid as a share of the benefits from the commercialization of the invention in a manner that is proportional with the individual and respective contributions of the number of genotyped samples, after the commercialization institution has recovered all reasonable costs from the filing, development and commercialization process.
You are to indicate your agreement with this MOU via email to catharine.freyer@ucsf.edu.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1804
|
__label__wiki
| 0.544961
| 0.544961
|
Telling the truth is not a crime. Do not allow your Government to make it one.
Chris Spivey
John Bandstand, the fella in the photo above is up in front of the beak at Manchester Magistrates court later today (20/04/15), on “trumped up” charges pertaining to anti-semitism.
I understand that John is a passionate supporter of those persecuted in the Israeli led Palestinian Holocaust – a systematic, evil attempt at ethnic cleansing which neither the British or US Government will condemn and thus support through their silence and allegiance to the Israeli Government.
The UK and US are however vocal in their condemnation of any Palestinian fightback labelling the Palestinian group Hamas as terrorists.
Indeed, the only real terrorism – or threat of terrorism – in the world is that created by the Israeli, British and US governments.
EVERYONE who blindly backs these governments without protest at this Palestinian genocide is sending Netanyahu, Cameron, Obama & other government leaders – past & present – their approval for this mass murder of innocent, Men, Women and CHILDREN.
To simply turn a blind eye is not good enough… Do your childrens lives have a greater value than those of the Palestinians?
I would urge every single person able to get to Manchester by 10 AM today to go and make your feelings known about this inhumane treatment of the Palestinian people being dished out with the full backing – and approval – of your government, by turning up to support John Bandstand.
To not do so is to also give your approval to what is going on. We need people like John to educate people as to what is happening in their name.
People need to see… They need to be shocked into action. So no matter how ill these following photos make you feel, or how upset even… Look at them and look at them properly. These are children for fucks sake… Not terrorists. They are just CHILDREN:
Imagine if that was your little girl there… And I don’t mean in a “Oh yeah, thats awful I couldn’t stand it… What do you fancy for tea” kind of way.
I mean look at the fucking photo properly and then look at your precious child and try, just try to imagine that little girl as being your little girl.
Or have you got sons?
No problem, there ya go. The fucking human race disgusts me.
Depicted in those two photos is what YOU ARE SUPPORTING and will continue to support as long as you allow nonce, ponce, gangster scum such as the Cunt Cameron, the Weasel Willieband, the Thief Clegg and yes, the dirty racist Rothschild love-child, Niggle Farage to ‘lead us‘.
It is a cast iron certainty that as long as we continue to let them do so, sweet, innocent, beautiful children like those above will continue to be blown to fucking pieces and that is not acceptable.
That little boys life has no less value than my Claytons.
That little girls life, that she is clinging on too by a thread has no less value than my Stacey’s had at her age, or any age for that matter… And neither do their lives have any less value than YOUR childrens.
So look at the fucking photos and look good… HOW THE FUCK WOULD YOU FEEL IF THAT WAS YOUR SON AND DAUGHTER.
And then tell me what kind of evil, low-life walking, talking piece of dog shit does that to a child?
What the fuck have these children done to deserve that?
What the fuck has that poor man ever done to have to lay his fucking child down knowing that the back of his head has gone… How will he ever get over that?
WHERE THE FUCK IS THE OUTRAGE?
YOU WOULD SCREAM LOUD AND FUCKING CLEAR IF THAT WAS YOUR CHILD… AND KEEPING THE CUNT CAMERON IN A JOB OR ANY OF THE OTHER TOTALLY USELESS, TOTALLY PERVERTED, TOTALLY CORRUPT 649 ARSEWIPES IN A JOB IS SUPPORTING WHAT HAS BEEN DONE TO THOSE TWO CHILDREN AND THOUSANDS FUCKING MORE LIKE THEM… SICK, SICK, FUCKING SICK!
Why do you think that you do not see these images on British TV ?
Why are we not reading about this genocide in the newspapers?
I will tell you exactly why… In photos, not words. DO NOT SKIP THEM.
How do you feel about that?
Support John Bandstand at Manchester Magistrates Court today 20/04/15 at 10AM.
Telling the truth is not a crime. Do not allow your Government to make it one.
By Needlz • Written by me •
Straight As A Pigs Tale ISIS PRODUCTIONS PROUDLY PRESENTS…
knickers in a knot
Israel’s inhumanity and it’s own genocide atrocities must be made known to the world. Ironic how far it will go to supress that truth coming out when it’s Zionists killing other races.
People of Israel must vote out, run out of town, reject, eject the psycopaths running their govt.
Illegal to speak the truth because it’s about Jews. Illegal my ass, It’s IMMORAL to not shout it from every corner and show the evil that is
Zionist killers.
It will never be made known to the World when they own the Media, Hollyweird and every other outlet of information; even the Alternative Media with Sayanim like Alex Jones spouting his bollix is predictable….
John Poole
Has the world gone mad This guy is in court for telling the Truth .
He’s not the only one John……as Chris and many others here will tell you!
Telling the truth in Britain has become so extraordinary that when you do so the brain dead, mind controlled masses mock you, the security service controlled media paint you as a nutter, you tend to lose your job, your pension, your home, your good name and your peace of mind and the thugs in blue will join in the truth tellers public battering by kicking your door down in the early hours of the morning, illegally arrest you, illegally search your property, illegally detain you and fit you up with bogus and absurd charges……..
……..whereas telling lies, deceiving, manipulating, thieving and accepting the evil child and baby murdering ways and words of the Zionist scum in Israel and their political and religious leaders and puppets throughout the world is seen as the ‘norm’ by those same brain dead, mind controlled masses.
The world hasn’t suddenly gone mad John Poole, it has been fucking stark raving bonkers for decades but it is only because of brave men like Chris, John Bandstand and a few others who have put their heads above the parapet that finally many more are waking up and realising the baby and child murdering in Palestine by the Zionist scum can’t go on and the supporting of the murderous Palestine holocaust by other political and religious leaders throughout the world makes them all party to war crimes.
GC.
Ditto to that Glen , POA , Legal Advisor to Tittsworth & Grabbe and Goodnight.
“During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.”
George Orwell – 1984…………..ain’t it the truth!
He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past.” — George Orwell
The word doublespeak was coined in the early 1950s. It is often incorrectly attributed to George Orwell’s 1984.
William Lutz, a professor at Rutgers University, has written several books about doublespeak and is the former editor of the Doublespeak Quarterly Review, which examines ways that jargon has polluted the public vocabulary with phrases, words and usages of words designed to obscure the meaning of plain English.
axis of evil: countries to be attacked.
blowback: the unintended consequences of secret or under-reported American intervention. Originally coined in internal CIA documents. Seldom used in public until recently; it is most effective to ensure as little as possible is known about the causes of enemy aggression.
collateral damage: the killing of innocent bystanders, ecological destruction and environmental contamination.
defence budget: 1. corporate subsidy 2. attack budget.
embedded: used by US military authorites in 1991 and 2003 to describe the policy of inviting journalists to war. Reporters are absorbed into advancing military units, and may even dress like soldiers. Critics say embedded reporters are psychologically inclined to see themselves as part of the military operation, and are restricted in what they can report, and who they can talk to.
enhanced interrogation: torture.
freedom fighter: A terrorist furthering Western interests.
globalization: the expansion of corporations beyond the bounds of one political nation.
infomercial: a broadcast advertisement filling an entire program slot, often repeating the same body of content several times. Usually referred to in program listings as “paid programming.”
job security : the pretense of continued employment.
liberate: 1. invade 2. destroy 3. steal.
new and improved: smaller, more expensive and less useful.
patriotism: unquestioning loyalty to other peoples’ interests.
rendition: the deportation of prisoners by one country to another not burdened by following international laws, for the purpose of torture.
security contractors: mercenary troops, or agencies that provide them.
terrorist: armed political rebel working against “Western interests.”
Brendon O’Connell, Australia’s first political prisoner a man who spent three years in prison for violations of recently enacted racial vilification laws in Western Australia.
It seems clear that Brendon O’Connell is neither an anti-semite nor a while supremecist. He is rather, a pro-Palestinian activist who condemns what he sees as the racism and cultural genocide being perpetrated against the Palestinian people. Sometimes he gets a little carried away but he never threatens or incites violence. His conviction and prison sentence was based on statements such as calling Keyser a “racist, homicidal maniac”. Hence his accusation of racism is itself redefined as racism in action. George Orwell should be turning in his grave about now.
http:// http://www.truthnews.com.au/web/radio/story/meet_brendon_oconnell_australias_first_political_prisoner
Get down there people and fight for your life xx
Sorry had to scroll down as can’t stand to look at the horrendous suffering of those poor dear children.The more people who speak out against these atrocities the more they’re used as an example to try to frighten others to keep it ‘zipped’.Well that ain’t going to happen as don’t forget ‘Scameron & co’ you’ve started the ball rolling now as there’s 100’s of thousands John Banstands who will not and shall not shut up.Go pay homage to your boss-that demonic piece of ‘verminous rat vomit you pieces of zionist scum’.YOU’RE ALL A WASTE OF AIR AND USELESS EATERS-YOUR SOULS ARE DAMNED AS YOU’LL NEVER FIND INNER PEACE-WHICH IS MORE PRECIOUS THAN ALL THE RICHES IN THE WORLD……………….
The world is one fucked up place – so good to see that there are such good people who are prepared to put their heads above the parapet. These bastards in power all deserve to die very slowly and nastily.
kim breheney
People need 2 b ORGANISED, there should b THOUSANDS outside the Courts building with Placards all saying exactly what their taking him in2 Court for! This is the trouble, WE THE PEOPLE R NOT ORGANISED!
You have hit the nail on the head there Kim, organise resist and fight back.
But wait we had better not because they ‘want people on the streets so they can clamp down on us’ well ladies and gentlemen they have started that already, so whats your next excuse for doing fuck all gonna be?
That’s why I am trying to get all the groups on Faceache and PIR to get together , I have started ………………..buzzer……………..so I will finish it , we need a Facebook page to bring all like minded groups and people together , I can build a website and/or forum and we can link everyone up via that , I just need others to get in touch with other groups founders and get everyone to agree to fight as one , POA , Legal Advisor to Tittsworth & Grabbe and Goodnight.
Hi Wolfie-Brilliant idea-i’ve already been in touch with some young mums who’ve had aggro with the SS and guided them log on to Chris’s site to gain more info and also with Dogman’s guide have put them onto karl lentz’s site.Oh btw Wolfie would you please pass on a message to your lovely Lorraine i’ve left an e.mail on the ‘private & confidential’ article concerning news on Hampstead..Cheers Wolfie x and a x for Lorraine..TC Louise xx
Lisa Pea
Brilliant Wolfie, crack on with it 🙂
We are all fighting the same NWO which is insidious and all encompassing.
Too much infighting not enough coordination! We really do have to unify to have any impact. I’m all for getting out there now, marching protesting whatever it takes. As Gallows says they are stripping us anyway. xxxx
Serena Munro-Coombe
Great idea Wolfie..I Admin two Alternative groups so I would be more than happy to get involved and I know most of them would xx
Can’t you give us a warning before showing hideous pictures like that on this website?
I am all for you bringing the truth to us and I support Palestine but just throwing images like that up is sick mate, some of us are a bit sensitive to those images and find it hard to get them out our minds once seen.
Jean, I agree they are horrible but it is what war looks like and that is what is going on in Gaza. If people are prepared to view the rocket attacks then they need to know what happens at the business end. This isn’t old John Wayne movie material, where shot people didn’t even bleed.
An image of Israelis in Sderot who gathered on a hill to watch and celebrate Gaza being bombed has gone viral on Twitter. The photo posted by a Danish journalist caused uproar online.
ht tp://img.rt.com/files/news/2a/12/40/00/israel-gaza-photo-twitter.si.jpg
The pics do scar your mind, yes, but until people realise this is what war brings, it will never end. People hear about it on the news and then switch over to watch Eastenders and similar shite, without giving a thought to what happens to those on the receiving end! Maiming uses up more resources than instant death and is how wars are fought now. People need to know how the money the US & UK send to Israel is being used. Gaza is an arms dealer’s testing ground.
Paul 3
Look at the graphic photos Jean, look hard and think what a quiet life we have and think of how we must stand up and keep it this way. Shout at the fucking dozey MP you may have voted for and leads the life of a king.
Too many people look away at fact because they are shocked, we need to be shocked Jean, we need to know what a beautiful world this is but how through greed, money, power, avarice, our beautiful world IS just that, it’s the scum in power, including our queen ( who thinks the world smells of fresh paint) who are hell bent on destroying it for future generations.
I don’t think Chris should apologise for showing those photos, I saw them on an earlier blog and the images are ingrained in my mind, however we can’t keep looking away, burying our heads in the sand – maintain the I’m alright jack attitude! Hate to break it to people but your not alright we are all royally being fucked over in one way or another! Those photos are hideous but show us what the evil cunts are capable of, have no remorse for and they will continue to commit these atrocities to reclaim their ‘promised land’ oh and there’s a lot of financial gain for war mongers!they have zero compassion or empathy for mankind! The zionist filth yahoo wd probably look at these pictures and laugh, after all those children are goyim in his severely fucked up opinion! It really is time to stand and be counted we are fighting pure evil, it’s not gonna be pretty, it’s not gonna be fun but something has to be done! I’m definitely prepared to meet others and organise, I’ve had efuckingnough!
Jean….the shot Palestinian children were from sniper fire – no doubt using dum dum bullets – I heard one of the snipers orgasimin over his handy work…..these scumbags are truly sick fucks. Look for the ugly Israeli cow with a gob full of food as saying she has an organism everytime she sees a dead Palestinian child…..these fuckers aren’t human.
Always nice to use their own words…
1. “There is a huge gap between us (Jews) and our enemies not just in ability but in morality, culture, sanctity of life, and conscience. They are our neighbors here, but it seems as if at a distance of a few hundred meters away, there are people who do not belong to our continent, to our world, but actually belong to a different galaxy.”
Israeli president Moshe Katsav. The Jerusalem Post, May 10, 2001
2. “The Palestinians are like crocodiles, the more you give them meat, they want more”….
Ehud Barak, Prime Minister of Israel at the time – August 28, 2000. Reported in the Jerusalem Post August 30, 2000
3. ” [The Palestinians are] beasts walking on two legs.”
Menahim Begin, speech to the Knesset, quoted in Amnon Kapeliouk, “Begin and the Beasts”. New Statesman, 25 June 1982.
4. “The Palestinians” would be crushed like grasshoppers … heads smashed against the boulders and walls.”
Israeli Prime Minister Shamir (at the time) in a speech to Jewish settlers New York Times April 1, 1988
5. “When we have settled the land, all the Arabs will be able to do about it will be to scurry around like drugged cockroaches in a bottle.”
Raphael Eitan, Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defence Forces, New York Times, 14 April 1983.
6. “How can we return the occupied territories? There is nobody to return them to.”
Golda Meir, March 8, 1969.
7. “There was no such thing as Palestinians, they never existed.”
Golda Maier Israeli Prime Minister June 15, 1969
8. “The thesis that the danger of genocide was hanging over us in June 1967 and that Israel was fighting for its physical existence is only bluff, which was born and developed after the war.”
Israeli General Matityahu Peled, Ha’aretz, 19 March 1972.
9. “If I were an Arab leader, I would never sign an agreement with Israel. It is normal; we have taken their country. It is true God promised it to us, but how could that interest them? Our God is not theirs. There has been Anti – Semitism, the Nazis, Hitler, Auschwitz, but was that their fault ? They see but one thing: we have come and we have stolen their country. Why would they accept that?”
David Ben Gurion (first Israeli PM, quoted by Nahum Goldmann in Le Paraddoxe Juif (The Jewish Paradox), pp121.
10. “We have to kill all the Palestinians unless they are resigned to live here as slaves.”
Chairman Heilbrun of the Committee for the Re-election of General Shlomo Lahat, the mayor of Tel Aviv, October 1983.
11. “Every time we do something you tell me America will do this and will do that . .. I want to tell you something very clear: Don’t worry about American pressure on Israel. We, the Jewish people, control America, and the Americans know it.”
Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, October 3, 2001, to Shimon Peres, as reported on Kol Yisrael radio.
12. “We declare openly that the Arabs have no right to settle on even one centimeter of Eretz Israel… Force is all they do or ever will understand. We shall use the ultimate force until the Palestinians come crawling to us on all fours.”
Rafael Eitan, Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defense Forces – Gad Becker, Yediot Ahronot 13 April 1983, New York Times 14 April 1983.
13. “We must do everything to ensure they [the Palestinian refugees] never do return… The old will die and the young will forget.”
David Ben-Gurion, in his diary, 18 July 1948, quoted in Michael Bar Zohar’s Ben-Gurion: the Armed Prophet, Prentice-Hall, 1967, p. 157.
14. “We should prepare to go over to the offensive. Our aim is to smash Lebanon, Trans-Jordan, and Syria. The weak point is Lebanon, for the Moslem regime is artificial and easy for us to undermine. We shall establish a Christian state there, and then we will smash the Arab Legion, eliminate Trans-Jordan; Syria will fall to us. We then bomb and move on and take Port Said, Alexandria and Sinai.”
David Ben-Gurion, May 1948, to the General Staff. From Ben-Gurion, A Biography, by Michael Ben-Zohar, Delacorte, New York 1978.
15. “We must use terror, assassination, intimidation, land confiscation, and the cutting of all social services to rid the Galilee of its Arab population.”
Israel Koenig, “The Koenig Memorandum”
16. “Jewish villages were built in the place of Arab villages. You do not even know the names of these Arab villages, and I do not blame you because geography books no longer exist. Not only do the books not exist, the Arab villages are not there either. Nahlal arose in the place of Mahlul; Kibbutz Gvat in the place of Jibta; Kibbutz Sarid in the place of Huneifis; and Kefar Yehushua in the place of Tal al-Shuman. There is not a single place built in this country that did not have a former Arab population.”
Moshe Dayan, address to the Technion, Haifa, reported in Haaretz, April 4, 1969.
17. “We walked outside, Ben-Gurion accompanying us. Allon repeated his question, What is to be done with the Palestinian population?’ Ben-Gurion waved his hand in a gesture which said ‘Drive them out!'”
Yitzhak Rabin, leaked censored version of Rabin memoirs, published in the New York Times, 23 October 1979.
18. Rabin’s description of the conquest of Lydda, after the completion of Plan Dalet. “We shall reduce the Arab population to a community of woodcutters and waiters”
Uri Lubrani, PM Ben-Gurion’s special adviser on Arab Affairs, 1960. From “The Arabs in Israel” by Sabri Jiryas.
19. “There are some who believe that the non-Jewish population, even in a high percentage, within our borders will be more effectively under our surveillance; and there are some who believe the contrary, i.e., that it is easier to carry out surveillance over the activities of a neighbor than over those of a tenant. [I] tend to support the latter view and have an additional argument:…the need to sustain the character of the state which will henceforth be Jewish…with a non-Jewish minority limited to 15 percent. I had already reached this fundamental position as early as 1940 [and] it is entered in my diary.”
Joseph Weitz, head of the Jewish Agency’s Colonization Department. From Israel: an Apartheid State by Uri Davis, p.5.
20. “Everybody has to move, run and grab as many hilltops as they can to enlarge the settlements because everything we take now will stay ours… Everything we don’t grab will go to them.”
Ariel Sharon, Israeli Foreign Minister, addressing a meeting of militants from the extreme right-wing Tsomet Party, Agence France Presse, November 15, 1998.
21. “It is the duty of Israeli leaders to explain to public opinion, clearly and courageously, a certain number of facts that are forgotten with time. The first of these is that there is no Zionism, colonialization or Jewish State without the eviction of the Arabs and the expropriation of their lands.”
Yoram Bar Porath, Yediot Aahronot, of 14 July 1972.
22. “Spirit the penniless population across the frontier by denying it employment…Both the process of expropriation and the removal of the poor must be carried out discreetly and circumspectly.”
Theodore Herzl, founder of the World Zionist Organization, speaking of the Arabs of Palestine,Complete Diaries, June 12, 1895 entry.
23. “I don’t know something called International Principles. I vow that I’ll burn every Palestinian child (that) will be born in this area. The Palestinian woman and child is more dangerous than the man, because the Palestinian child’s existence infers that generations will go on, but the man causes limited danger. I vow that if I was just an Israeli civilian and I met a Palestinian I would burn him and I would make him suffer before killing him. With one hit I’ve killed 750 Palestinians (in Rafah in 1956)…. I wanted to encourage my soldiers by raping Arabic girls as the Palestinian women is a slave for Jews, and we do whatever we want to her and nobody tells us what we shall do but we tell others what they shall do.”
Ariel Sharon, current Prime Minister, in an interview with General Ouze Merham, 1956
My anger is directed towards the ignorant, apathetic, selfish, pathetic masses of this nonce infested, rotten to the core cuntry.
Of course, this mass slaughter of innocent people will stop this thick as pigshit population from ambling and shuffling towards the polling stations on May 7th.
Couldn’t have put it better than you Jason.
I suggest the buying up of a deserted town (poss somewhere in southern Spain, there’s lots of them) and populate it with like minded individuals..ones with backbones, stamina, decency, honesty, integrity. Where children are SAFE! No retreat, no surrender, no compliance to the fucked up NWO , no cowardice, no pandering, no ‘forgiving’ of rehabilitated child killers and rapists. I could go on and on but my ‘masters’ are demanding I work lmfao..beam me up.
Hi dogman, I always thought Rabin was one of the best of a very bad bunch? I could be seriously mistaken, but I think he was one of the few genuinely looking for a more peaceful resolution ie) a two state nation, hence he was assassinated by his own! The narrative presented as fact, surrounding his demise, simply beggars belief! Sure you are more clued up on this than myself, would you say the above is fair comment or completely off the mark?
Hi M, i’d say you were close enough.
Yogal Amir decided to kill Rabin sometime after the premier signed his peace accord with the Palestinian Liberation Organization in September 1993. He allegedly recruited his brother Hagai and friend Dror Adani to help him.
Some people are convinced that he was polically assassinated on the orders of Shimon Peres.
The Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin – http://www.chrisspivey.org/forum2/viewtopic.php?f=256&t=3780
Shimon Peres and his Jesuit connection – ht tp://destination-yisrael.biblesearchers.com/destination-yisrael/2013/06/israels-jesuit-president-shimon-peres-heads-again-to-rome-to-offer-pope-francis-i-the-cenacle-church.html
A Palestinian friend of mine, now resident here, was forced to watch 11 members of his family systematically be butchered, raped, sodomised and shot in front of him. Sam was 12 when this happened. The 4 man IDF jolly through their home on the Gaza strip prison camp wasn’t and isn’t unusual. Any single person who dares to speak out against the atrocities of the Israhellish murderous fuckwits is eventually shut down or put down. I was told it would be impossible for me to have a good life here for doing similar to Mr Bandstand, Least the filth were honest for once LOL! Power to him, he’s gonna need it. X
During the seventh century (A.D. 600’s), Muslim Arab armies moved north from Arabia to conquer most of the Middle East, including Palestine. Jerusalem was conquered about 638 by the Caliph Umar (Omar) who gave his protection to its inhabitants. Muslim powers controlled the region until the early 1900’s. The rulers allowed Christians and Jews to keep their religions. However, most of the local population gradually accepted Islam and the Arab-Islamic culture of their rulers. Jerusalem (Al-Quds) became holy to Muslims as the site where, according to tradition, Muhammad ascended to heaven after a miraculous overnight ride from Mecca on his horse Al-Buraq. The al-Aqsa mosque was built on the site generally regarded as the area of the Jewish temples.
The Seljuk Turks conquered Jerusalem in 1071, but their rule in Palestine lasted less than 30 years. Initially they were replaced by the Fatimid rulers of Egypt. The Fatimids took advantage of the Seljuk struggles with the Christian crusaders. They made an alliance with the crusaders in 1098 and captured Jerusalem, Jaffa and other parts of Palestine.
The Crusaders, however, broke the alliance and invaded Palestine about a year later. They captured Jaffa and Jerusalem in 1099, slaughtered many Jewish and Muslim defenders and forbade Jews to live in Jerusalem. They held the city until 1187. In that year, the Muslim ruler Saladin conquered Jerusalem. The Crusaders then held a smaller and smaller area along the coast of Palestine, under treaty with Saladin. However, they broke the treaty with Saladin and later treaties. Crusade after crusade tried to recapture Jerusalem, but they were unable to do so for more than a brief period.
The Crusaders left Palestine for good when the Muslims captured Acre in 1291. During the post-crusade period, crusaders often raided the coast of Palestine. To deny the Crusaders gains from these raids, the Muslims pulled their people back from the coasts and destroyed coastal towns and farms. This depopulated and impoverished the coast of Palestine for hundreds of years.
In the mid-1200’s, Mamelukes, originally soldier-slaves of the Arabs based in Egypt, established an empire that in time included the area of Palestine. Arab-speaking Muslims made up most of the population of the area once called Palestine. Beginning in the late 1300’s, Jews from Spain and other Mediterranean lands settled in Jerusalem and other parts of the land. The Ottoman Empire defeated the Mamelukes in 1517, and Palestine became part of the Ottoman Empire. The Turkish Sultan invited Jews fleeing the Spanish Catholic inquisition to settle in the Turkish empire, including several cities in Palestine.
In 1798, Napoleon entered the land. The war with Napoleon and subsequent misadministration by Egyptian and Ottoman rulers, reduced the population of Palestine. Arabs and Jews fled to safer and more prosperous lands. Revolts by Palestinian Arabs against Egyptian and Ottoman rule at this time may have helped to catalyze Palestinian national feeling. Subsequent reorganization and opening of the Turkish Empire to foreigners restored some order. They also allowed the beginnings of Jewish settlement under various Zionist and proto-Zionist movements. Both Arab and Jewish population increased. By 1880, about 24,000 Jews were living in Palestine, out of a population of about 400,000. At about that time, the Ottoman government imposed severe restrictions on Jewish immigration and land purchase, and also began actively soliciting inviting Muslims from other parts of the Ottoman empire to settle in Palestine, including Circassians and Bosnians. The restrictions were evaded in various ways by Jews seeking to colonize Palestine, chiefly by bribery.
The Rise of Zionism – Jews had never stopped coming to “the Holy land” or Palestine in small numbers throughout the exile. Palestine also remained the center of Jewish worship and a part of Jewish culture. However, the Jewish connection with the land was mostly abstract and connected with dreams of messianic redemption.
More here – http://www.chrisspivey.org/forum2/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=24#p994
fuck the state
Hey you, Chris Spivey!!! You wanna be careful posting things like this, as some people like Terry Simkins and his midgets, may accuse you of being an apologist for Israel, as well as defending everything Papal, Jesuit and Jewish. Be warned!!!
From the forum, December 2013
Official statistics from the Ministry of Information in Ramallah have revealed that 1,518 Palestinian children were killed by Israel‘s occupation forces from the outbreak of the second Intifada in September 2000 up to April 2013. That’s the equivalent of one Palestinian child killed by Israel every 3 days for almost 13 years. The ministry added that the number of children injured by the Israelis since the start of the Second Intifada against Israel‘s occupation has now reached 6,000.
Tovia Luskin, the CEO of Givot Olam, reports that Meged 5 is now estimated to contain 3.5 billion barrels of oil – one seventh of all oil in Qatar. (Abir Sultan)
An Israeli oil well has been reported to contain a much larger reserve than originally estimated. The oil exploration company, Givat Olam, has now increased its estimate to 3.53 billion barrels of oil and has already sold $40 million worth of oil from the site.
While Israel is now facing a bright future as an oil producer, there is one problem: Meged 5 is located on the Green Line, the official border between Israel and Palestine. Lying a few dozen meters inside Palestinian territory, according to international law and the Oslo Accords, the well should belong to Palestine.
In answer to this problem, Israel has adjusted the path of its separation barrier, bringing Meged 5 onto its side of the wall. While the well is now under de facto Israeli control, most of the reserves lie under Palestinian territory.
Israel has been consistent in keeping the Palestinian economy in a stranglehold, according to a recent report by The World Bank, and has prevented the Palestinians from gaining full access to key natural resources.
According to the report, if control of Area C were returned to Palestine, the Palestinian Authority could generate an additional $3.4 billion in revenue, increasing its GDP by a full third and freeing it from aid dependence. It is important to note that this estimate does not take into account any possible revenue from a successful oil well, which could very well make Palestine financially independent.
Ashraf Khatib, a Palestinian Authority negotiations official, stated: “The PA is facing a $2 billion deficit and desperately needs to invest in major projects taking advantage of our natural resources. That is the only way to end the PA’s dependence on international aid.”
“The problem for us is that the occupation is not just about settlements and land confiscation. Israel is also massively profiting from exploiting our resources. There’s lots of money in it for Israel, which is why the occupation has become so prolonged,” he continued.
This is not the first instance in which the Israeli search for oil has led to disputes with its neighbors. In 2010, Lebanon filed a complaint with the UN stating that Israel had infringed on its area of the sea during off shore oil exploration. Just this past month, Israel refused an American offer to help solve the dispute over the Israeli-Lebanese maritime border.
In 2000, oil was discovered off the shore of Gaza. However, Israel has blocked efforts to extract the oil, stating that the profits would only fund terrorism. Breaking the Oslo Accords, Israel reduced Gaza’s waters from 20 nautical miles to 3.
By preventing the Palestinians from gaining access to their own oil, Israel wins in two ways: it is able to commandeer vast future wealth for itself, while also keeping Palestine dependent on Israel for its energy needs, crippling any potential movements for an independent Palestinian state.
ht tp://muftah.org/new-oil-found-by-isra … palestine/
kozmik
How is it that this information is never mentioned? Wouldn’t the world be a different place if kids in skool were encouraged to think with an open mind….
Looking back to my school daze, once they had taught me to add up and to read [my parents had a big impact on my love of reading], I don’t think anything else has stayed with me… all those useless ‘lessons’ when the adult in charge tried to ‘impart knowledge’… oh, for fuck’s sake..
They would if the Tavistock Institute brainwashing program wasn’t in place.
Look how maps have changed
ht tp://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICL … story.html
iaintoff
http: //www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3045115/Nazi-invasion-London-EXPOSED-World-s-Holocaust-deniers-filmed-secret-race-hate-Jews-referred-enemy.html#comments
i implore everyone to go to the comments sections of this Daily Maggot article. From there you can see which particular group of people are wailing and wringing their hands. Which group of people really hate the idea of free speech and democracy in this land and which group of people are really the ones so full of hate, spite and denial and which group of people are actually scared shitless at the thought of an honest and open discussion about the holocaust. I mean just take a look at the comments sections it is all laid out there beautifully.
Ofc The Daily Maggot states:
“…[The Jew]on Sunday has passed its evidence to the Metropolitan Police”
and then goes on to procrastinate a totally biased and lopsided piece of journalism, which in turn leads to much wailing and wringing of hands from one particular segment of society.
Meanwhile somewhere else in the Grosvenor Hotel a group of people, away from the hysteria sat down peacefully and decided to share research notes on a particular topic of interest, which i believe is what the infiltration and furor and procrastination is all about – how sad and pathetic, but then again we are talking Daily Maggot so hey hoo!
The comments section should give you an insight into the types of personalities that can allow innocent children to die like this in Gaza, i might add…
The year 2013 witnessed over 20,000 severe violations against the occupied State of Palestine and its people, who have suffered a number of violent attacks and incursions at the hands of Israel, the occupying power. These violations include attacks by both Israeli authorities and settlers, along with home demolitions, arbitrary arrests and the ongoing construction of illegal settlements. Since the resumption of negotiations at the end of July 2013, Israel has announced almost 6200 new settlement units, throughout the occupied State of Palestine. Please find below a Media Brief prepared by the NSU summarizing Israel’s violations of International Law during 2013, with a particular focus on violations committed since the beginning of negotiations, a process which is supposed to lead to a just and lasting peace.
Total number of settlement units announced (July 31 – December 2013)= 6169
Of course, these statistics for 2013 barely scratch the surface. The stomach-churning story of the rogue regime’s inhuman conduct stretches back to World War 2, before its founding, when Jewish terrorists were attacking and murdering British soldiers of the mandated government right up to their departure in 1948. Subsequently the terror gangs and militia massacred or put to flight hundreds of thousands of Palestinian villagers and townspeople in order to hugely enlarge the territory allocated for a Jewish state in the UN Partition Plan.
Their programme of ethnic cleansing and land theft continues to this day and has even accelerated during so-called negotiations, making crystal clear Israel’s contempt for peace. Israel’s purpose, it is surely clear by now, is to establish as many ‘facts on the ground’ as possible under the cloak of a bogus peace process, engineered by the AIPAC string pullers of the US administration, in the hope of making their illegitimate territorial gains irreversible. To achieve this they resort to every foul murder, every mean theft and every barefaced lie; and they they get away with it thanks to the international community’s dereliction of its solemn duty to bring Israel to account.
Israel’s thugs, apart from being the darlings of the US Congress, are particular friends of our prime minister, David Cameron. According to the Jewish Chronicle http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/11352 … clear-deal , Cameron recently told Jewish leaders: “I am with you and with the Israeli people, genuinely. As far as I’m concerned, an enemy of Israel is an enemy of mine. A threat to Israel is a threat to us all.” He was talking on this occasion about Iran. He went on: “I can promise you this: Britain will stand with Israel, Britain will support Israel, Britain will keep the pressure up on Iran. We do not want you to have a nuclear-armed near neighbour, a nuclear threat facing your country… We share that feeling and show you our solidarity.”
Who on earth was he speaking for? Certainly not for me, nor for anyone I know.
Speaking in a debate in Tel Aviv on 17 January 2014, Lapid said, as reported by the Israeli news website Ynet:
“We say – peace is not the issue, we need to get rid of the Palestinians. It threatens us, it chokes us. Ultimately the State of Israel cannot continue on while unnaturally absorbing four million Palestinians. Eventually they will tell us, “if you don’t want to give us a country of our own, let us vote”. And then, if we let them vote, it will be the end of the Jewish state. If we won’t let them – it will be the end of a democratic Israel, and I won’t allow that to happen.”
Thousands of Israeli teenagers took part in a protest march in February 2014 through the occupied West Bank. They started in the city of Ma’ale Adumim and marched into the E-1 region, demanding an end to peace talks, and a massive increase in settlement construction. “We’re here to tell the whole world that the land is ours,” declared Israeli Deputy FM Ze’ev Elkin, one of several hawkish cabinet members who took part in the protest rally.
E-1 is a small, mostly empty area whose primary value is that it is the only settlement-free tract of land in the West Bank that connects the northern and southern portions of the Palestinian territory, and the only way a Palestinian state will ever be remotely contiguous.
A news article on the website of The Jerusalem Post that Israel’s former Sephardic Chief Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu — one of the most senior theocrats in the Jewish State “ruled that there was absolutely no moral prohibition against the indiscriminate killing of civilians during a potential massive military offensive on Gaza aimed at stopping the rocket launchings” (“Eliyahu advocates carpet bombing Gaza,” The Jerusalem Post, 30 May, 2007).
“All of the Palestinians must be killed; men, women, infants, and even their beasts.” This was the religious opinion issued one week ago by Rabbi Yisrael Rosen, director of the Tsomet Institute, a long-established religious institute attended by students and soldiers in the Israeli settlements of the West Bank. In an article published by numerous religious Israeli newspapers two weeks ago and run by the liberal Haaretz on 26 March, Rosen asserted that there is evidence in the Torah to justify this stand. Rosen, an authority able to issue religious opinions for Jews, wrote that Palestinians are like the nation of Amalekites that attacked the Israelite tribes on their way to Jerusalem after they had fled from Egypt under the leadership of Moses. He wrote that the Lord sent down in the Torah a ruling that allowed the Jews to kill the Amalekites, and that this ruling is known in Jewish jurisprudence.
Fucking war-mongering bastards. It makes me extremely angry. I’m going into the garden to smash something to bits, imagining it to be the ‘state’ of israhell. Dirty cunts. And as for camoron, he doesn’t speak for me either. Or anyone I know. Or anyone they know, for that matter.
This is from Mike Rivero of whatreallyhappened, who is part Sephardic jew:
The Jews who migrated to Palestine after World War 2 are not descendants of the Hebrews you read about in the Bible. They are descended from Khazars in central Asia, near present-day Russian Georgia, who converted to Judaism in 800AD. Khazaria fell a century later and the descendants of the converted Jews migrated northward into Russia and west into Europe. This group of Jews, called Ashkenazi, are not descended from any of the 12 tribes described in the Bible. DNA tests confirm this, as does their pale skin that makes it clear they are not originally from the Middle East.
Thus, Israel’s claim to the lands of Palestine rests solely on the fact that they have adopted the religion of a people who lived on that land thousands of years ago. One might just as easily adopt the religion of Ra and on that basis lay claim to Egypt.
Of course, common sense says that simply adopting the religion of the Sun Dance does not give me a claim to the lands of the United States. Were I to worship Ra (or Aten), likewise does not give me a claim to the lands of Egypt. Worshipping Sol Invictus does not give me claim to Italy. And worshipping Yahweh does not give the Khazars any real right to Palestine. Just something to think about.
“The state of Israel must invent dangers, and to do this it must adopt the methods of provocation and revenge… And above all, let us hope for a new war with the Arab countries so that we may finally get rid of our troubles and acquire our space.” — From the diary of Moshe Sharett, Israeli’s first Foreign Minister from 1948-1956, and Prime Minister from 1954-1956.
Reports are circulating which suggest that ISIS’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was trained by the Israeli Mossad in psychological warfare; that he is essentially an actor playing the role of “Islamic radical.” It wouldn’t be the first time a Zionist asset posed as an Islamic radical in order to blacken the name of Islam. Shortly after 9/11 an American Jew named Adam Pearlman started calling himself Adam Gadahn. He grew a scary Islamic beard and then allegedly joined al-Qaeda, becoming the group’s “spokesman” and PR man. Gadahn appeared in numerous menacing al-Qaeda videos preaching “jihad” against America, but his cover was blown when an Orange County newspaper revealed him to be the grandson of a prominent Zionist who sat on the Board of Directors of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, Zionism’s main Hasbara propaganda arm in the US.
ISIS’s true intention, many claim, is to incite sectarian divide in Israel’s neighbouring states, thereby advancing Tel Aviv’s Oded Yinon plan for the balkanizing and fracturing of its regional foes. Is it any coincidence that ISIS and its affiliates have targeted Libya, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon with the most furor, while leaving the corrupt, US-backed dictatorships in Egypt, Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, etc., alone. Not to mention ISIS’s complete lack of action against Israel or the US.
Source is intifada-paestine.com (recommended)
In 2007 a year before Operation Cast Lead in which Palestinian gas fields were confiscated, Israeli Defense minister and former Israeli Defence Force (IDF) chief of staff Moshe Ya’alon wrote that “Israel needs additional natural gas sources”. However, purchasing gas from Palestinians, he claimed, would be “tantamount to Israel’s bankrolling terror against itself” and that gas revenues cannot be “a key driver of an economically more viable Palestinian state”.
What needs to be understood from that declaration is that Israel will not allow Palestinians to have a viable economy by exploiting their natural resources. The “terrorist threat” is just a pretext to maintain Palestine under military occupation and continue to steal its land and resources.
Independent researchers have indicated that these military operations as well as the illegal blockade of Gaza are in fact all about oil and gas:
What is now unfolding is the integration of these adjoining gas fields including those belonging to Palestine into the orbit of Israel. (see map below).
http://w ww.globalresearch.ca/wp-content … licity.jpg
It should be noted that the entire Eastern Mediterranean coastline extending from Egypt’s Sinai to Syria constitutes an area encompassing large gas as well as oil reserves.
Consider this whenever you read comments sections:
The mission is to create a network of advocacy for Israel against what many within the Israeli government have termed as social media attacks in a “prolonged and extreme campaign of de-legitimization” of Israel. The social media units are made up of Israeli university students. In turn for their efforts posting pro-Israel on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, the students will receive scholarships. The posts will reflect positive aspects of the Israeli government and being a democratic country.
While to the outside world these posts will appear unguided and spontaneous, the truth is quite the opposite. This social media project places the government behind the curtain as the puppeteer directing what appear to be independently thinking, acting students speaking out.
The target audience of the social propaganda campaign is the citizens of foreign countries. In a true militaristic organized fashion,the structure of the student units included a Senior Coordinator who has three direct reports called coordinators. These three students are each assigned to a specific area. These include either language, graphics or research. Each coordinator is responsible for recruiting from the student population to assist in the social media execution of propaganda.
While the social media advocacy units work under the title of Student Unions, they receive direction from the Prime Minister’s Office. The units’ purpose is solely to promote and spread information that places Israel in strictly a positive light. This mission is carried out through all social media venues that focus on international groups and communities.
The brainchild for this Internet advocacy presence was born out of the successful awareness campaign the Israelis waged during the Pillar of Defense Operation (November 14, 2012). That 8-day Israel Defense Forces (IDF) operation in the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip organized students who worked from campuses via the Internet to heighten world awareness of the issues Israel faced.
The student union is adamant that it has no special political affiliations and is comprised of independent thinkers not aligned to a particular political party. The Prime Minister’s Office stated that the advocacy units are intended to concentrate on “diplomacy and security issues”, especially focusing on measures to counter anti-Semitism and BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel).
Conveying Israel’s state as a democracy is also a prime objective. The biggest criticism to this type of social media propaganda is the anonymity the students assume on the Internet. They have been accused of completely misrepresenting the country they are from as well as their personas.
Spot on……….the only victims in this world are the jews……
Friendofthetruth
Dreadful, just how in God’s name do you wake the masses up to these atrocities. These Satanists stand there in front of the media in their suits and ties and people think their so respectable. I think we need to get these photos blown up, put on placards and go out there, put them in front of people and say WAKE THE FUCK UP!! But there needs to be a lot of us. I know it’s been said before but Chris, John Bandstand and anyone else in the world who are going above and beyond to tell people what is really going on are incredibly brave and deserve people’s loyalty right to the end.
I don’t know what people think of David Icke on here, but he said “You can stop a stream, you can stop a river, but you cannot stop a tidal wave.”
This is one of the most powerful things I have ever seen .
Sarah Jane Grahams
If Israel get their way with the Middle East and they are successful in their ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, next stop: Africa.
Essentially, bit by bit they will control, bomb, bully, ravage and slaughter black and brown nations all over the world in order to take ultimate control.
Then if that proves to be fruitful, they will consider European countries to be part of their loot as well although they will be controlled in a different way (covert rather than overt).
For those who believe this won’t happen, consider this: Netanyahu considers Christian Zionists to be useful idiots. In other words, if you are not a Jew, you’re fair game.
Harry Matadeen
Just so you know Chris Spivey, your website/blog has been banned in Israel. I tried showing my Israeli friend your article on Lee Rigby The Drummer Man. Blocked. Wonder why? Surely just a Coincidence?
Lol I banned Israel from the site for trying to hack into it , the skinless pricks , POA , Legal Advisor to Tittsworth & Grabbe and Goodnight.
I think its important to remember that not all Israeli’s support Bibi and his Hitleresque genocide in Gaza.
True, there have been demonstrations and Ultra Orthodox jews are being forced to do military service.
By Bradley Burston
I owe you an apology. I owe you many, in fact. Many more than I have space for here. But a person has to begin somewhere. So I’ll begin with what’s right in front of me, right now.
I want to apologize for the unforgivable.
For the boy whose face in the photograph I can see even with my eyes closed. The face of the boy before he was wrestled into a car by people on my side, who charred him to death.
I want to apologize to the loved ones of 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khdeir, his family in Shoafat. And to his cousins in Sacramento, who remember him as a kid who loved to tell jokes and riddles, and who was never serious.
You can’t tell how old he is in the pictures. It’s something about the eyes and the taut smile, the wariness just under the humor.
I want to apologize for the unfathomable.
For Mohammed’s 15-year-old cousin Tariq, the one whose straight-A grades in his Tampa, Florida high school earned him a summer vacation to visit family in the Holy Land – where Border Police troops from my side punched him and dragged him on hard ground and soccer-kicked him until they fractured his jaw and his nose.
I want to apologize for the unconscionable.
For the people on my side who, the night before Mohammed’s murder, attacked and tried to kidnap Musa Zalum, only nine, but were forced to flee when his mother and others fought them off.
I want to apologize for those on my side who will never do so, who believe that it is wrong to do so. Weak to do so. A betrayal of my side, my people, to do so.
I want to apologize for what’s in the air.
I want to apologize for those on my side who can speak with appropriate condemnation about brutal kidnap-murders – but who feel they must add, as Prime Minister Netanyahu did this week, that the moral high ground is my side’s alone: “This is what differentiates us from our neighbors. There the murderers are welcomed as heroes, and squares are named for them.”He went on to say that my side jails and puts on trial those who incite, while your side makes incitement part of the work of officialdom and educators.
I want to apologize for those on my side who are guilty of incitement, and whom we neither jail nor try, but rather furnish salaries as cabinet ministers, heads of youth movements, civil servant chief rabbis, and commentators.
ht tp://desertpeace.wordpress.com/2014/0 … raeli-jew/
Bradley Burston writes for Haaretz.
Soldiers really do need to work out their worth to the 1%.
A six year struggle by a group of IDF soldiers and officers for justice has ended with the State agreeing to pay them $6-million (Yossi Melman’sHebrew story and the English version, which has been replaced on the Jerusalem Post site by a far more IDF-friendly story by Yaakov Lapin) for their participation in a medical experiment conducted under false pretenses. Between 1999-2005, the ministry of defense, IDF, and the Israeli chemical and biological weapons institute at Nes Ziona collaborated with their American counterparts in research to find a suitable anthrax vaccine. This was the period just after the U.S. “white powder” letter scare in which several Americans were infected with anthrax and died. There was a huge furore and hysteria in this country over the potential terror threat.
Presumably, U.S. medical authorities either wouldn’t test human subjects with an untested vaccine or couldn’t get approval to do so (remember the notorious Tuskegee experiment?). But their Israeli colleagues were more than happy to bend medical and ethical rules, especially in return for the hundreds of millions of shekels in research funding that flowed into Nes Ziona as a result. Because the subject of the experiment (anthrax that might be used as part of a terror attack) was so sensitive, those who conducted the Israeli experiment refused to tell the IDF “volunteers” (some of whom reported being pressured by their superiors to participate) the purpose of the project. They would not tell them with what they were being injected or why. They weren’t warned of possible side effects (of which there were many subsequently). Further, they threatened that if participants spoke of the project they would be punished.
After they were injected, a number of subjects developed serious side effects which included:
…Among others – Crohn’s disease, thyroid inflammation, allergic dermatitis reactions and temporary kidney failure.
When victims demanded explanations about what had been done to them, they were stone-walled. Eventually, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel took up their case. But Nes Ziona, the IDF and ministry of defense adamantly denied responsibility and refused compensation for the victims. Eventually, it reached the Supreme Court, which ordered arbitration resulting in today’s agreement. 92 of the 700 original test subjects participated in the lawsuit.
http://www.chrisspivey.org/forum2/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=959&p=3434&hilit=IDF#p3434
According to several current and former U.S. intelligence officials, beginning in the late 1970s, Tel Aviv gave direct and indirect financial aid to Hamas over a period of years.Israel “aided Hamas directly — the Israelis wanted to use it as a counterbalance to the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization),” said Tony Cordesman, Middle East analyst for the Center for Strategic Studies.
Israel’s support for Hamas “was a direct attempt to divide and dilute support for a strong, secular PLO by using a competing religious alternative,” said a former senior CIA official. According to ICT papers, Hamas was legally registered in Israel in 1978 by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the movement’s spiritual leader, as an Islamic Association by the name Al-Mujamma al Islami, which widened its base of supporters and sympathizers by religious propaganda and social work.
According to U.S. administration officials, funds for the movement came from the oil-producing states and directly and indirectly from Israel. The PLO was secular and leftist and promoted Palestinian nationalism. Hamas wanted to set up a transnational state under the rule of Islam, much like Khomeini’s Iran.
Israel was certainly funding the group at that time. One U.S. intelligence source who asked not to be named said that not only was Hamas being funded as a “counterweight” to the PLO, Israeli aid had another purpose: “To help identify and channel towards Israeli agents Hamas members who were dangerous terrorists.”
In addition, by infiltrating Hamas, Israeli informers could only listen to debates on policy and identify Hamas members who “were dangerous hard-liners,” the official said.
In the end, as Hamas set up a very comprehensive counterintelligence system, many collaborators with Israel were weeded out and shot. Violent acts of terrorism became the central tenet, and Hamas, unlike the PLO, was unwilling to compromise in any way with Israel, refusing to acquiesce in its very existence.
But even then, some in Israel saw some benefits to be had in trying to continue to give Hamas support: “The thinking on the part of some of the right-wing Israeli establishment was that Hamas and the others, if they gained control, would refuse to have any part of the peace process and would torpedo any agreements put in place,” said a U.S. government official who asked not to be named.
http://www.chrisspivey.org/forum2/viewtopic.php?f=75&t=2597#p10761
Hitler did not gas the Jews or anyone else the gas chambers were used to delouse these people. The inmates in the prison camps died of typhus – not from gassing – typhus ran rampant in the camps. Why deliberately kill the skilled workers making much needed supplies for the war? And the piles of shoes, glasses, etc were faked having been placed on a sloping table making you think there were thousands not a few hundred shoes, glasses, etc. The Jews have to justify their aggression against Gaza by out and out lying (something they are quite adept at doing). There have been a few very revealing articles on the net recently of just how the Jews manipulated the gas chamber stories to fit their needs. Go ahead I dare you to Google the articles and read for yourself about the Jews and their ongoing scams. They are not human!!!!! Their thinking is not human either!!!!! Telling the truth about them will get one arrested, killed, thrown in jail, etc. All they want is money, more money, and more money!!!
Wake the fuck up!!! They are lying to you about what really happened in WWII. Must the world put up with their lying shit year in and year out? Apparently so as the world just keeps electing the pro-Israel assholes into Parliament or Washington.
Fake Chimney at Auschwitz
ht tp://vimeo.com/72810304
This video has been peer-reviewed by two leading experts on the Holocaust in order to ascertain the accuracy of its contents. It includes a written appendix with sources and a written discussion of issues omitted or merely briefly touched upon in the movie.
This video looks into some of the common claims made by survivors about what happened at Auschwitz. Some of the questions asked in this context are:
Was it possible to fill the gas chambers with victims as it is claimed?
Would the Jews, supervised only by other Jews, have cooperated in their own mass slaughter?
What doors were used to lock in 2,000 Jews struggling for their lives?
How efficient was the cremation process really?
How many Auschwitz inmates left the camp alive to tell the world what they had seen?
This video gives the answers to these and to other questions, backed-up by documents and expert testimony. https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=AQ_Dhgufzqw#t=1560
Steve K
At the time when resources in manpower food and fuel were very scarce and needed for the war effort why would the Germans waste them in an effort to supposedly round up all the Jews in Europe transport them to camps to gas them & incinerate their bodies. A simple bullet in the head when they were arrested would have been a much easier and cheaper solution. It’s all Bollox. Try reading Mike Kings book “The Bad War” for some excellent background to the two wars. Gen. Patton sussed it out and knew who the real enemy was, that’s why they killed him. I’ve thought for a long time there’s a hell of a lot more to the story of Adolf Hitler than what the Tribe want us to know, the more I read about him the more I’m convinced he may well have been a great man. He was certainly a lot better than those mass murderers Stalin, Churchill & Roosevelt.
For anyone with the stomach to read it the book “Hellstorm” details the atrocities carried out by the Allies on the German people, men women and children. There was a Holocaust in WW11 but it was of the German people not the Jews.
Steve K, thanks for mentioning those books. There is a Recommnded Reading section of the forum’s Chill Out Area where it would be useful for people to suggest books worth reading.
He would appear to have been a tool of the Jesuits. I agree that Patton probably knew what was really going on.
British Intelligence successfully decoded messages from the German labour-camps through the year 1942. It happened at Bletchley Park, where the famous Enigma codebreaker, with the huge calculating-engine called Colossus beside it, opened the German codes. That had a key role in Britain winning the War by giving vital info about submarine positions etc, – but, little attention has been given to its disclosures about the concentration-camps. Kept as top-secret for fifty years, that material was finally released in the mid-1990s. Before that, historians had little more to go on, than a summary of it made by the British intelligence-analyst F.H. Hinsley, back in 1981, where he obscurely stated:
“The return from Auschwitz, the largest of the camps with 20,000 prisoners, mentioned illness as the main cause of death, but included references to shootings and hangings. There were no references in the decrypts to gassings.
November: ‘the use of prisoners for war industries on a large scale is discussed below…the largest transference is the move of Jews to AUSCHWITZ for the synthetic rubber works. Another major movement is the transference of sick prisoners to DACHAU. Meanwhile typhus continues, particularly at AUSCHWITZ… the women’s camp remains stationary at about 6500 because arrivals balance departures.’
Jews are here being imported into AUSCHWITZ as skilled industrial labour, at the Buna-Monowitz plant. The report for Dachau confirmed this: ‘Large departures .. due to prisoners being sent on war work to Auchwitz and other places, which removes all but 9 of the Jews and many Russian civilians.’ The camp total was around ten thousand. Thus, sick prisoners were being farmed out to the Dachau camp, while fit-to-work Jews went the other way.
In December there were over twenty thousand inmates at Auschwitz: ‘half of these numbers are Jews and large numbers arrive and depart every day.’
For January of 1943 at Auschwitz, ‘The Buna-werk is still employing 2210 men of whom 1100 are on the actual work. Jewish watchmakers are sent to SACHSENHAUSEN where they are urgently needed. Typhus cases continue to be reported although strenuous measures have been adopted and 36 cases were found among the new batch of prisoners on 22 Jan.’
Jews are alluded to in these decrypts with a respectful tone, being imported into Auschwitz as skilled industrial labour, or urgently needed as watchmakers somewhere else. Clearly, one can either have an ongoing program of extermination or have workers capable of doing skilled work – but, not both. This new and detailed info about the camps has to comprise a final stake through the heart of the Exterminist thesis.
These decrypts allude several times to Heinrich Himmler in relation to the camps: that he took an interest in some tanning experiments, that he asked about how many glass blowers were available, and that he sought out makers of musical instruments. On 17 July, 1942 he visited Auschwitz and it’s always claimed that he ‘witnessed a mass gassing.’[23] One has a choice here, between two different stories, between two different worlds.
These primary-source documents show a momentous change in the summer of 1942, with the outbreak of typhus and the initiation of ‘special treatment’ routines.
Much more info available @ source or the forum link
Source – http://ww w.whatreallyhappened.info/daily.html
Sorry Steve, are you saying Hitler wasn’t the mass murdering shit head that he’s portrayed as being, because I’m fairly sure there were rounds and bombs flying from both sides of the war. Hitler like the above mentioned psychopaths holds just as much blame and guilt as the rest and deserves the reputation that he’s earned. I agree he may not be as responsible for as many of the so called atrocities but this in no way vindicates him from any wrongdoing.
Hi Gallows, if he was a mass murdering psychopath like the three mentioned, he could very easily have wiped out the entire British army on the beaches at Dunkirk. Instead he ordered a halt to the German advance and allowed them to escape. The real truth about him might never be known but as I said there is a lot more to the story then we are led to believe. Revolution and war were forced onto both Russia and Germany because these countries were breaking free from the grip of the International banksters and were prospering very well without them. The Kosher Nostra couldn’t let them succeed and set an example to the rest of the world. It’s not a conclusion I’ve come to easily but from what I’ve read recently it’s one I’m coming round to.
Hallett’s claim that Hitler was a “British” agent is based on the testimony of a shadowy network of retired intelligence agents. While he fails to provide documentary proof, Hallett does offer persuasive circumstantial evidence.
For example, Adolph Hitler was in England in 1912-1913, a fact supported by his sister-in-law’s book: “The Memoirs of Bridget Hitler”(1979). Many historians including Hitler biographer John Toland have ignored this startling information. (If Hallett is right, historians like Toland are guilty of sanitizing Hitler and actually making him more credible than he was.)
Hallett says Hitler spent February to November 1912 being brainwashed and trained at the British Military Psych-Ops War School at Tavistock in Devon and in Ireland. “War machines need war and [that means they need] funded, trained and supported double agents to be their patsies, their puppets and their puppet enemies,” Hallett writes (38).
His sister-in-law describes Hitler as completely wasted when he arrived at her Liverpool home baggage-less. “I had an idea he was ill, his color was so bad and his eyes looked so peculiar,” she wrote. “He was always reading, not books, little pamphlets printed in German. I don’t know what was in them nor exactly where they came from.” (pp. 29,35) Hallett says these were Tavistock training manuals.
“Hitler was a British Agent” is useful as an alternative paradigm. (Usually we cannot recognize truth because we have the wrong paradigm, i.e. our “education.”) When Hallett says “British”, he means Illuminati, the Masonic cult of super rich bankers who control an interlocking network of cartels. This cult is based in the City of London but uses England and most nations and ideologies, as sock puppets in a Punch and Judy show called history.
Hallett’s claim would clarify many improbable events in the Second World War. For example, why did Hitler let 335,000 Allied soldiers escape at Dunkirk? This quixotic gesture was explained as a peace overture, but surely England would have been more attentive if its army were in Nazi POW camps.
The Nazi triumph in May 1940 was like a knock-out in the first round. The Illuminati did not intend for the match to end so soon, nor for the Nazis to win.
In the summer of 1940, when Britain was prostrate, Nazi Military Intelligence Chief (Abwehr) Admiral Wilhelm Canaris told Romanian Foreign Minister Prince Michael Sturdza to stay neutral because England would win the war. He also gave this message to Spanish dictator Franco.
Hallett’s theory also explains why Hitler, supposedly the arch enemy of Jewish bankers, acted like he didn’t know the Rothschilds controlled England (and America) when this was practically common knowledge. (See, Hilaire Belloc, “The Jews” 1922). If Hitler were for real, he wouldn’t have tried to accommodate these countries. England would have been invaded and conquered before Russia was attacked.
Hallett’s hypothesis explains 1)Why Hitler was able to expand into the Rhineland etc. without fear of retaliation. 2) Why the Nazi war machine was financed and built by the Bank of England and a Who’s Who of Anglo American corporations controlled by the Illuminati. 3) Why Hitler never sealed the Mediterranean at Gibraltar; and why the Spanish dictator Franco remained neutral, despite the huge debt he owed the Nazis from the Civil War. 4) Why I.G. Farben headquarters in Frankfurt was never bombed. This became CIA headquarters. 5) Why the Bank of England rewarded Hitler for taking Prague by giving him the Czech gold reserves held in London.
Source is henrymakow.com
Adolf Hitler – http://www.chrisspivey.org/forum2/viewtopic.php?f=79&t=348#p12818
Nobody seems to have read this on the forum, but I found it a real eye opener!
Martin Bormann set up 750 corporations in neutral countries, and these became repositories for the liquid wealth of the Third Reich. Overseas subsidiaries of key German corporations were also central to the realization of the Bormann assets.
The movement of German assets into Switzerland had also gone well, Bormann noted from his reports. Flight capital investments had been accomplished principally through the establishment of subsidiaries of powerful German firms. Over half of the total German capital in Switzerland was used in setting up holding companies representing I.G. Farben, Merck, Siemens, Osram, Henkel, and others. A holding company may not trade in any form. It may only hold stock in other companies, but through this device the existing German firms, and the 750 new corporations established under the Bormann program, gave themselves absolute control over a postwar economic network of viable, prosperous companies that stretched from the Ruhr to the ‘neutrals’ of Europe and to the countries of South America; a control that continues today and is easily maintained through the bearer bonds or shares issued by these corporations to cloak for real ownership. Bearer shares require no registration of identity, for such shares are exactly what they mean; the bearer of the majority shares controls the company without needing a vestige of proof as to how he acquired them. This was referred to as ‘Operation Eagle’s Flight’ or ‘Aktion Adlerflug.’
The Bormann organization continues to wield enormous economic influence. Wealth continues to flow into the treasuries of its corporate entitities in South America, the United States, and Europe. Vastly diversified, it is said to be the largest land-owner in South America, and through stockholdings, controls German heavy industry and the trust established by the late Hermann Schmitz, former president of I.G. Farben, who held as much stock in Standard Oil of New Jersey as did the Rockefellers.
When Bormann gave the order for his representatives to resume purchases of American corporate stocks, it was usually done through the neutral countries of Switzerland and Argentina. From foreign exchange funds on deposit in Swiss banks and in Deutsche Sudamerikanishe Bank, the Buenos Aires branch of Deutsche Bank, large demand deposits were placed in the principal money-center banks of New York City; National City (now Citibank), Chase (now Chase Manhattan N.A.), Manufacturers and Hanover (now manufacturers Hanover Trust), Morgan Guaranty, and Irving Trust. Such deposits are interest-free and the banks can invest this money as they wish, thus turning tidy profits for themselves. In return, they provide reasonable services such as the purchase of stocks and transfer or payment of money on demand by customers of Deutsche bank such as representatives of the Bormann business organizations and and Martin Bormann himself, who has demand accounts in three New York City banks. They continue to do so. The German investment in American corporations from these sources exceeded $5 billion and made the Bormann economic structure a web of power and influence. The two German-owned banks of Spain, Banco Aleman Transatlantico (now named Banco Comercial Transatlantico), and Banco Germanico de la America del Sur, S.A., a subsidiary of Deutsche Bank served to channel German money from Spain to South America, where further investments were made.
Argentina was the mecca for such money in the Western Hemisphere, and when Bormann gave the go-ahead in his overall flight capital program after the decisions at Strasbourg, over $6 billion of this money flowed into Buenos Aires for investment there and elsewhere in Latin America. The investments covered factories, hotels, resorts, cattle, banks, land, sugar and coffee plantations, metallurgy, insurance, electrical products, construction, and communications. It as much the same investment spectrum as established in Spain. West German investments today account for nearly 45 percent of all foreign investments in Spain.
Martin Bormann & the Bormann Group – http://www.chrisspivey.org/forum2/viewtopic.php?f=79&t=3496
Now link this with the above:
US Military Intelligence report EW-Pa 128
Enclosure No. 1 to despatch No. 19,489 of Nov. 27, 1944, from the Embassy at London, England.
S E C R E T
SUPREME HEADQUARTERS
ALLIED EXPEDITIONARY FORCE
Office of Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2
INTELLIGENCE REPORT NO. EW-Pa 128
SUBJECT: Plans of German industrialists to engage in underground activity after Germany’s defeat; flow of capital to neutral countries.
Source: Agent of French Deuxieme Bureau, recommended by Commandant Zindel. This agent is regarded as reliable and has worked for the French on German problems since 1916. He was in close contact with the Germans, particularly industrialists, during the occupation of France and he visited Germany as late as August, 1944.
A meeting of the principal German industrialists with interests in France was held on August 10, 1944, in the Hotel Rotes Haus in Strasbourg, France, and attended by the informant indicated above as the source.
S.S.Obergruppenfuhrer (Dr.) Scheid chaired the meeting and stated that all industrial material in France was to be evacuated to Germany immediately. The battle of France was lost for Germany and now the defense of the Siegried Line was the main problem. From now on also German industry must realize that the war cannot be won and that it must take steps in preparation for a post-war commercial campaign. Each industrialist must make contacts and alliances with foreign firms, but this must be done individually and without attracting any suspicion. Moreover, the ground would have to be laid on the financial level for borrowing considerable sums from foreign countries after the war. As examples of the kind of penetration which had been most useful in the past, Dr. Scheid cited the fact that patents for stainless steel belonged to the Chemical Foundation, Inc., New York, and the Krupp company of Germany jointly and that the U.S. Steel Corporation, Carnegie Illinois, American Steel and Wire, and national Tube, etc. were thereby under an obligation to work with the Krupp concern. He also cited the Zeiss Company, the Leisa Company and the Hamburg-American Line as firms which had been especially effective in protecting German interests abroad and gave their New York addresses to the industrialists at this meeting.
Following this meeting a smaller one was held presided over by Dr. Bosse of the German Armaments Ministry and attended only by representatives of Hecho, Krupp and Rochling. At this second meeting it was stated that the Nazi Party had informed the industrialists that the war was practically lost but that it would continue until a guarantee of the unity of Germany could be obtained. German industrialists must, it was said, through their exports increase the strength of Germany. They must also prepare themselves to finance the Nazi Party which would be forced to go underground as Maquis (in Gebirgaverteidigungastellen gehen). From now on the government would allocate large sums to industrialists so that each could establish a secure post-war foundation in foreign countries. Existing financial reserves in foreign countries must be placed at the disposal of the Party so that a strong German Empire can be created after the defeat.
More here – http://www.chrisspivey.org/forum2/viewtopic.php?f=79&t=2028#p8593
I get what your saying Steve and believe that a lot of whats written is in favour of the winner or in this case the real reason behind the wars ( history = His story ) however one battle doesn’t wipe out a entire wars worth of crimes, he may not have put up much of a fight at Dunkirk but those who fought in Anzio will tell a different story.
As much as i can see the lies i still believe that him, like all the other respective leaders took their orders from above and put the plans into action knowing what the result would be, for this reason he’s as guilty as the rest and deserves to be banished to the chapter of the history book that describes those that betrayed humanity in favour of their masters.
Hmmm…and who were their masters…
Hitler attended several courses organized by Education and Propaganda Department (Dept Ib/P) of the Bavarian Reichswehr Group, Headquarters under Captain Karl Mayr. It was here that he was singled out as a talented organizer and orator. It is also how he came to the attention of Archbishop Pacelli (later Pope Pius XII). Hitler became one of his protégés from mid 1919 onwards, encouraging his promotion within the ranks of the Intelligence Unit of the Bavarian Reichswehr and his mission to infiltrate and report on the activities of the German Workers’ Party (DAP).
From late 1919 until he moved to Berlin in 1925, Hitler would meet with his mentor Pacelli every few weeks and update the Archbishop on the progress of his role and influence. Testimony as a “matter of fact” to the regular and clockwork meetings of Hitler and Pacelli were given by the housekeeper and friend of Pacelli for 41 years, Sister Pascalina Lehnert.
With the influence and direction of the powerful Pacelli, the influence and mission of Hitler changed dramatically from one of low-grade spy to the 55th fully fledged member of the German Workers’ Party (DAP), having been discharged from military intelligence service by March 1920.
In 1921, Pacelli ordered Hitler to convince the party to change its name to the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP), also known as the Nazi Party with him as Führer – a role to which he was confirmed on 28 July 1921. Later, the Jesuits wrote the lie in Mein Kampf that this strategic decision to change the party was made by erratic alcoholic and drug addict Dietrich Eckart. What is never mentioned is that Hitler came bearing millions of dollars seemingly out of “thin air” to turn a small eccletic band into a political movement.
A list of VERY influential people that were either Jesuit trained or supervised:
http://ww w.vaticanassassinsarchive.com/tjw.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HCBumDPPbQ&feature=related
The problem with the Jesuits is that they too have at certain times been infiltated by Jews. It all gets a bit confusing trying to sort the wheat from the chaff from Italian/Spanish/Jewish history. Whilst doing some research on the Aldobrandini (descendants of the Nephilim, or so they claim) I found an interesting blog about Noble families of Jewish Ancestry. Och aye, I have to say the McDonalds came as a wee surprise!
http://semigotha.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/noble-families-of-jewish-ancestry.html
Hi Gallows,Dogman good information as always. I’ve heard all the stories about Hitler being an illegitimate Rothchild, a british agent, under the influence of the Jesuits etc, not conclusive evidence to any of it. What I do believe from what I’ve read is that he truly transformed Germany when he came to power, he might have used money from the international Banksters but was this just a means to an end. I really believe he genuinely did not want war with Britain and went to great lengths to avoid any conflict. He was forced into invading Poland to save the German people who were being slaughtered there, often by Jewish communists.
Even as late as 1941 he was still appealing to Britain to cease hostilities and offered very favourable terms. As we know Churchill rejected the offer. As to Hitler the man what do we know, He was a very talented artist, a vegetarian and a highly decorated First World War veteran who won the Iron Cross 1st & 2nd class and after being badly injured returned to the front lines when he could have stayed home. I think he really loved his people and his country. As I said earlier it’s not a conclusion I’ve come to easily much as when I first read the Federal Reserve was a private bank or that six million Jews didn’t perish in death camps. Truth can certainly be stranger than fiction.
It would appear that the telling of the ‘Story’ does not marry up with actualite……when did it ever with these shysters?
ht tp://www.rense.com/lets_stop_with_the_auschwitz_lies.htm.html
The typhus problem was probably caused by the jews digging thru their shit to reswallow the diamonds they had smuggled into the camps. Washing the shit covered diamonds in their soup did not help either. Hitler made SLAVES of them to work in the on site factories in the camps…..not kill them as the jews claim. Look up how typhus is spread…..very contagious in close quarters. Basically Hitler was in the slave trade of Jews – nothing more. Yet they wrongly keep pushing genocide in our face. The crematoriams were used to incinerate the typhus victims. Prince Albert (Queen Victoria’s husband) died of typhus so you can see that disease is known to strike rich and poor alike. Gas chambers? No. Typhus? YES.
Israel’s growing success at marketing its military wares to overseas buyers was highlighted in June when defence analysts Jane’s ranked Israel in sixth place for arms exports, ahead of China and Italy, both major weapons producers.
However, Israel’s own figures, which include additional covert trade, place it in fourth place ahead of Britain and Germany, and surpassed only by the United States, Russia and France.
Shemaya Avieli, the head of Sibat, the Israeli defence ministry’s agency promoting arms exports, said at a press conference last month that the record figure had been a surprise given the “very significant economic challenge” posed by the worldwide economic downturn.
The Israeli defence minister doesn’t only deal with wars, he also makes sure the defence industry is busy selling goods.
– Leo Gleser, specialist in developing weapons markets in Latin America
The arms-related trade is reported to account for somewhere between one-tenth and one-fifth of Israel’s exports. The main buyers are Asian countries, especially India, Europe, the US, Canada, Australia and Latin America.
The importance of the arms trade to Israel can be gauged by a simple mathematical calculation. Last year Israel earned nearly $1,000 from the arms trade per head of population – several times the per capita income the US derives from military sales.
Israel’s reliance on the arms industry was underscored in June when a local court forced officials to publish data revealing that some 6,800 Israelis are actively engaged in exporting arms.
Separately, Ehud Barak, the defence minister in the previous Israeli government, has revealed that 150,000 Israeli households – or about one in 10 people in the country – depend economically on its military industries.
These disclosures aside, Israel has been loath to lift the shroud of secrecy that envelopes much of its arms trade. In recent court hearings it has argued that further revelations would harm “national security and foreign relations”.
The biggest surge in the arms trade followed Operation Cast Lead, Israel’s month-long attack on Gaza in winter 2008-09 that provoked international condemnation. More than 1,400 Palestinians were killed, as well as 13 Israelis. Sales that year reached $6bn for the first time.
Benjamin Ben Eliezer, a former defence minister turned industry minister, attributes Israel’s success to the fact that “people like to buy things that have been tested. If Israel sells weapons, they have been tested, tried out. We can say we’ve used this 10 years, 15 years.”
Source is Al-Jazeera
And chances are slim to none of the UN stepping in and making Israel stop their aggression against Gaza. But they put an arms embargo against Iran. Go figure? Just how many jews are in the UN I wonder? Probably more than I care to know.
Did you know that the Nuclear weapons the US sold to Israel awhile back were then resold to China? That is the main reason they are screaming about Iran having nuclear weapons since Israel now has no nuke weapons. Lying assholes again. Israel wants to be Number One in the world and at the rate they are lying their way to the top they just may be in 20 years (with the US money and UK money).
Thea56
from the 30th April there will be more sacrifices. poor poor poor babies all.
Yes, from 30th April to 1st May it’s an important time in THEIR calendar.
http ://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/cienciareal/cienciareal20.htm
ive never felt so uncontrollably sad in all my 38 years.
dkblue
Love to you Thea.
BBC has just interviewed the ritual satanic abuse accused Hampstead father – a consummate actor. Interviewer wearing the black and red. Can be viewed on Aangirfan. I managed a couple of minutes of the filth lying. BBC once again showing its true colours, affiliations and purpose.
Hi dkblue-could only stomach a brief 30 seconds of this sham of a video.All the father done was cry [no tears] or no eye contact with the interviewer.There’s also a now a video doing the circuits claiming the father had his own child porn site-but since the Hampstead scandal has come to light has since been shut down.Coincidence??? wouldn’t have thught so.There’s a few have disappeared from the valley region of late-Sure hope they return home soon.Wonder when Georgie’s sibling will arrive?-when they’ve had another Satanic ceremony down in the vaults of the hospital probably.Sooner this family of ‘zionist rat vomit’ are got rid of for good the better……TC Louise xx
Funny you should mention Georgies sibling Louise on the news last night it showed people (not sure that’s the right word for the brain dead morons!) already camped outside the maternity wing where ‘it’ is supposed to be born, however the newsreader said that the birth was ‘weeks away yet’……..that all seems a little odd to me them not knowing when the due date is. It looks as though we are in for another one of those miracle eleven month pregnancies…..now when’s the next most significant date in the sick Satanic calendar?
25th April – The Da Muer ritual: Grand climax. Sex rituals and sacrifice of a woman or young girl.
30th April/1st May – Walpurgis night/Beltane: Beltane (pronounced, “B’yal-t’n”) begins April 30th at sundown and lasts until sunrise on May 1st. Beltane is the opposite of Halloween on the Satanic calender as Halloween is a time of reaping, while Beltane is a time of rebirth. This holiday is a time to celebrate fertility, indulgence, the rebirth of spring, and the Sumerian God Enlil (Baal), this is where the name, “Beltane” originates
24th May – Ascension day: Rituals to mock the ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven.
Im convinced these babies are made in test tubes and they use some sort of dark magic/science to transfer souls of previous family leaders into the bodies.
Fuck all proof just a hunch.
Hope your well Glen!
I tend to agree Gallows, though I also have fuck all proof but I would hazard a guess old ‘Penny’ Farthing knows a thing or two about it!
I’m fine thanks mate, weather is stunning here in Nirvana, the garden is ablaze with colour and my tan is coming on a treat…….long may it last! Hope all is well with you and yours.
Hi Glen C-Hope you’re ok and enjoying the sun. Gallows could have a point there where ‘ royality’ are created in a test-tube-possibly the 13 families of the ‘elite’ are as well.The blood lines of the illuminati are different to the normal population known as Rh-o negative which is extremely rare and only usually found in these blood lines which i suspect you also have knowledge of this.Whatever these sickos practice they appear to have an unhealthy obssession with bloodlines & numbers which i honestly believe is in their DNA.That’s why they’re so different to the rest of the population……….TC Louise xx
Please move this video Mods if it shouldn’t be part of this discussion. However, felt it was a quite profound statement given the nature of this article:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eZC98kOtec
Hi Jason, it’s relevant to the times we live in.
“Yes, as through this world I’ve wandered
I’ve seen lots of funny men;
Some will rob you with a six-gun,
And some with a fountain pen.
And as through your life you travel,
Yes, as through your life you roam,
You won’t never see an outlaw
Drive a family from their home”
– Woody Guthrie
I love josie the outlaw……
She used to be my friend on Fb and then she left….sigh.
intelligent, articulate and beautiful <3 x
Shocking and disgraceful.
A gallery of photos of mass murderers, scum dressed up as politicians, the lowest of the low. The poor children, I hope their murderers burn in hell for eternity.
I am sorry I could not attend today but I wish this good man the very best, if only there were more like him.
Krysken
I have just got back and read your article…..sickening arseholes that do this to anyone, let alone kids and not a fucking word of condemnation from UK, USA bastard politicians.
I would have definitely attended today if I had been back earlier, I hope many are able to attend.
I REALLY hope it goes well for him he is a brave man.
This may help explain the deafening silence in the US:
The immediate precursor to today’s pro-Israel lobby began in 1939 under the leadership of Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver, originally from Lithuania. He created the American Zionist Emergency Council (AZEC), which by 1943 had acquired a budget of half a million dollars at a time when a nickel bought a loaf of bread.
In addition to this money, Zionists had become influential in creating a fundraising umbrella organization, the United Jewish Appeal, in 1939, giving them access to the organization’s gargantuan financial resources: $14 million in 1941, $150 million by 1948. This was four times more than Americans contributed to the Red Cross and was the equivalent of approximately $1.5 billion today.
With its extraordinary funding, AZEC embarked on a campaign to target every sector of American society, ordering that local committees be set up in every Jewish community in the nation [for decades the larger majority of Jewish Americans had been either non-Zionits or actively anti-Zionist]. In the words of AZEC organizer Sy Kenen, it launched “a political and public relations offensive to capture the support of Congressmen, clergy, editors, professors, business and labor.”
AZEC instructed activists to “make direct contact with your local Congressman or Senator“ and to go after union members, wives and parents of servicemen, and Jewish war veterans. AZEC provided activists with form letters to use and schedules of anti-Zionist lecture tours to oppose and disrupt.
A measure of its power came in 1945 when Silver disliked a British move that would be harmful to Zionists. AZEC booked Madison Square Garden, ordered advertisements, and mailed 250,000 announcements – the first day. By the second day they had organized demonstrations in 30 cities, a letter-writing campaign, and convinced 27 U.S. Senators to give speeches.
Grassroots Zionist action groups were organized with more than 400 local committees under 76 state and regional branches. AZEC funded books, articles and academic studies; millions of pamphlets were distributed. There were massive petition and letter writing campaigns. AZEC targeted college presidents and deans, managing to get more than 150 to sign one petition.
Rabbi Elmer Berger, executive director of the American Council for Judaism, which opposed Zionism in the 1940s and ‘50s, writes in his memoirs that there was a “ubiquitous propaganda campaign reaching just about every point of political leverage in the country.”
The Zionist Organization of America bragged of the “immensity of our operations and their diversity” in its 48th Annual Report, stating, “We reach into every department of American life…”
Berger and other anti-Zionist Jewish Americans tried to organize against “the deception and cynicism with which the Zionist machine operated,” but failed to obtain anywhere near their level of funding. Among other things, would-be dissenters were afraid of “the savagery of personal attacks” anti-Zionists endured. Berger writes that when he and a colleague opposed a Zionist resolution in Congress, Emanuel Celler, a New York Democrat who was to serve in Congress for almost 50 years, told them: “They ought to take you b…s out and shoot you.”
When it was unclear that President Harry Truman would support Zionism, Cellar and a committee of Zionists told him that they had persuaded Dewey to support the Zionist policy and demanded that Truman also take this stand. Cellar reportedly pounded on Truman‘s table and said that if Truman did not do so, “We’ll run you out of town.
Jacob Javits, another well-known senator, this time Republican, told a Zionist women’s group: “We’ll fight to death and make a Jewish State in Palestine if it’s the last thing that we do.”
Richard Stevens, author of American Zionism and U.S. Foreign Policy, 1942-1947, reports that Zionists infiltrated the boards of several Jewish schools that they felt didn’t sufficiently promote the Zionist cause. When this didn’t work, Stevens writes, they would start their own pro-Zionist schools.
In order to reach their goal of a Jewish state in Palestine, Zionists needed to clear the land of Muslim and Christian inhabitants and replace them with Jewish immigrants. This was a tall order, as Muslims and Christians accounted for more than 95 percent of the population of Palestine. Zionists planned to try first to buy up the land until the previous inhabitants had emigrated; failing this, they would use violence to force them out. This dual strategy was discussed in various written documents cited by numerous Palestinian and Israeli historians.
As this colonial project grew, the indigenous Palestinians reacted with occasional bouts of violence; Zionists had anticipated this since people usually resist being expelled from their land. When the buyout effort was able to obtain only a few % of the land, Zionists created a number of terrorist groups to fight against both the Palestinians and the British. Terrorist and future Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin later bragged that Zionists had brought terrorism both to the Middle East and to the world at large.
By the eve of the creation of Israel, the Zionist immigration and buyout project had increased the Jewish population of Palestine to 30% and land ownership from 1% to approx 6-7%. This was in 1947, when the British at last announced that they would end their control of Palestine. Britain turned the territory’s fate over to the United Nations. Since a founding principle of the UN was “self-determination of peoples,” one would have expected to the UN to support fair, democratic elections in which inhabitants could create their own independent country. Instead, Zionists pushed for a General Assembly resolution to give them a disproportionate 55% of Palestine. (While they rarely announced this publicly, their plan, stated in journal entries and letters, was to later take the rest of Palestine.
Much more on the link:
US’s role in creation of Israel -http://www.chrisspivey.org/forum2/viewtopic.php?f=256&t=1384
The name Palestine refers to a region of the eastern Mediterranean coast from the sea to the Jordan valley and from the southern Negev desert to the Galilee lake region in the north. The word itself derives from “Plesheth,” a name that appears frequently in the Bible and has come into English as “Philistine.” Plesheth, (root palash) was a general term meaning rolling or migratory. This referred to the Philistine’s invasion and conquest of the coast from the sea. The Philistines were not Arabs nor even Semites, they were most closely related to the Greeks originating from Asia Minor and Greek localities. They did not speak Arabic. They had no connection, ethnic, linguistic or historical with Arabia or Arabs.
The name came into use in the 13th century BCE, for the “Sea Peoples” who migrated from the region of the Aegean Sea and the Greek Islands and settled on the southern coast of the land of Canaan. There they established five independent city-states (including Gaza) on a narrow strip of land known as Philistia. The Greeks and Romans called it “Palastina.”
In the 2nd century A.D./Common Era, the Romans crushed the revolt of Shimon Bar Kokhba (132 CE), during which Jerusalem and Judea were regained. Three years later, in conformity with Roman custom, Jerusalem was “plowed up with a yoke of oxen” and renamed Aelia Capitolina. Judea (the southern portion of what is now called the West Bank) was renamed Palaestina in an attempt to minimize Jewish identification with the land of Israel. The Arabic word “Filastin” is derived from this Latin name.
The designation “Palestinian” did not come into vogue until the 1967 Six-Day War. Three years prior to the ’67 war, the Palestinian Liberation Organization was formed to liberate “Palestine,” which included both Israel and Jordan.
Anne Waling
These are awful photos of innocents caught in the game between isreal and palestine .it suits the palestinian cause for this to happen that is their plan !to stir up everyone .but never mention the daily bombardment of isreal by palestine to which they respond by firing back .which is what all people would under attack .these poor kids are just pawns in a deadly game it is pityful.and typical of mans inability to find peace .
I think its a little bit more than suiting the cause Anne, i would imagine the majority of Palestinian mums and dads would like to see their kids playing in the street not being photographed dead with their internal organs on the outside covered in dirt.
There is no excuse for shelling kids on a beach, there is no excuse for targeting hospitals, water supplies or medical facilities.
That stupid statement that its all ‘done in defence’ is bullshit and nothing more than a tired excuse politicians and genocide excusers come up with to justify the acts of a hideous nation thats sucking the love and light out of the world, the sooner it falls the better.
Consider theri defence budgets
Hamas – http://s1317.photobucket.com/user/bkbb1216/media/Screenshot2014-07-10at205411_zpsb0b66514.png.html
IDF – http://s1317.photobucket.com/user/bkbb1216/media/Screenshot2014-07-10at211940_zps83a0e356.png.html
c/o Dave Bright on the forum:
Israel do give a one minute warning before they fire rockets though…just watch until the end!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOL18qL_hWQ
Political cartoon – ht tp://snippits-and-slappits.blogspot.com/2014/07/alternative-saturday-cartoons-focus-on.html
Not forgetting this:
See how US news channels slant their findings abouth the deaths:
http://ww w.ifamericansknew.org/media/net-report.html
This is from the JTA (the global Jewish News Source)
By Uriel Heilman July 15, 2014
The number of Palestinian deaths to Israeli deaths is clearly disproportionate — as of this writing, about 192:1. There are a few different ways to look at this rate. Critics of Israel herald the lopsided figure as evidence of Israeli barbarism. But such a simplistic view misses several important points. The Israeli death toll is low because Iron Dome, Israel’s missile defense system, is successfully intercepting incoming rockets. The Palestinians have no defense against Israeli missiles.
They provoke isreal so that they will kill kids playing footy in street and on the beach .thats just what they want its great publicity for FREE PALESTINE they arent bothered about the children ,just so long as isreal is made to look bad ,and they look the good guys .its deliberate ploy .to stir up world sympathy..its always the innocent that suffer .im not on anyones side .just hoping someone can see what i see.
Your deliberately missing the point.
Israel’s actions look bad because they are bad.
Palestine should be free, no ifs , butts or maybes.
Israel is a terrorist state that has no right to exist.
Israel doesn’t need any provoking to look bad Anne, they are past masters at international terrorism, having grown out of what was the murderous Stern Gang. Indeed a future Prime Minister of Israel, Menachem Begin, who like most Jews was not born in Palestine but in his case in Belarus, was the brains behind the bombing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem which killed ninety one people……and his punishment? Well he was eventually awarded the Nobel Peace prize! That just about sums it up really, the Zionist zealots who use Judaism and Israel as a front to commit mass murder, in fact a genocide, are as protected as protected could be and will not be happy and nor will they stop until the have killed as many Palestinian baby’s and children as they can……for they are sick murdering scum.
As to anybody else seeing what you can see Anne, well I’m sure there are many who do as the MSM and Western Politicians are all in the pocket of the Zionist baby and child murders, in fact the percentage of Jews in Western politics and positions of influence is completely disproportionate to the actual numbers of Jews in society and as such the majority of mind controlled, brain dead ‘head nodders’ out there just repeat what they are told. Furthermore if you really believe that bombing kids playing football in the streets and on the beaches is a retaliatory act due to provocation then it’s a good job the rest of the world isn’t as trigger happy with their hellfire/ tomahawk cruise missiles or whatever other murderous armaments they have, as the scum in Israel who revel at blowing kids to smithereens are!
You’re not on anyone’s side, yet you think the Palestinians are deliberately provoking Israel to kill their kids…for the publicity that it creates in a world where none of the major powers show any concern about the plight of the people in Gaza…so tell me how that works…
Hi Anne, Did you read your comment before posting? Seriously? They want their innocent children killed to make Israel look bad? Having fucking lived in Palestine and entered many a dialogue with Palestinians and Israelies re their situation, which you clearly know nothing about, I can tell you from first hand experience your average Palestinian is as loving a parent as any on earth and I also knew Israelies before and after their mandatory 2 years of army training at the tender age of 17, let’s say it was, in many a case, akin to brainwashing- often very different individuals after! I knew kids who were going to extreme lengths not to do their time in the army for this very reason, they didn’t want to end up like their older brother /sister/cousin etc! Some useful advice Anne – think before you make such a ludicrous statement, I don’t like confrontation but that love was just too far from the mark!
Sorry, can I ammend that comment to ‘lived in Palestine’ the Zionist thieves and murderers do not deserve that land nor should ever have been granted the right to make it their state! Just to add, I have Jewish friends, I’m anti zionism not Jews, in fact some of the most peaceful lovely people I’ve met are orthodox Jews!
The mistreatment of Jews by other Jews isn’t unknown, but of course the ruling echelon are Ashkenazis anyway. Different DNA and ethnicity.
S H I L L!
1- Israel is in Palestine 2- Dead kids cannot be justified by such weak argument from anyone. 3- Do you think the Palestinians will be ruling the world in 70 years and going on about what happened to the same extent as some people who pretend they are Jewish? Nah, none of us would fall for that would we!!! Cos they have no power!!! Carry on.
Hi Anne-The people of Gaza are controlled by more ways than one by the zionists regime[not the Israelis] IE they control the food/water/medicines/education/hospitals/travel/power/currency etc-in other words they have total control over these poor people.Each year the zionist encroach more of the Palestinian land by intimidation with their militiary power.Only time when a report of an ‘attack’ on Israel by the Palestinians is for Propaganda purposes carried out by ‘Mossad CIA’ agents.This goes back as far as David and Goliath [where David killed the giant Goliath with a sling-who was made even then to be the ‘baddie’] Israel is like a the jolly green giant compared to the little magwai of Palestine.Once Palestine is completely annihalated they won’t stop there.Other countries are getting weaker by the year with cuts to the armed forces so they won’t have the power to fight the zionist war machine.These sickos i don’t believe for one minute are weak in Militiary Power as they’ll use people to turn against eachother which is exactly their plan for each to fight with one another.This is why it’s so important for everyone to join together and unite as this is the only way they’ll be defeated………..TC Louise xx
Oh FFS……this old bollix again. Are you kvetching at the Western Wall?
Brendon O’Connel was not Australia’s first political prisoner…that dubious honour goes to Pauline Hanson ..set up then put in jail. But the hypocrites of the left don’t care about. Its like the jewish wankers who say they have nothing against muslims but don’t hesitate to say they hate Christmas. Jews conceal their identity because they know most of the world hates their guts…with good reason.
Bloody Crazy the State of this Country is
The 22nd of April 2015 AD Mark’s The 70th Anniversary of Adolf Hitler Admitting Defeat in the FuhrerBunker and that Suicide is his only Course in 1945 AD .
The Invasion of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in June 1941 AD was Suicidal For Germany.
So many German Soldiers Died because of his Lack of Military Comprehension.
Germany Committed Suicide by The Vote For the Nazis.
Far Better For Germany and Europe had Adolf Hitler of Committed Suicide Long Beforehand
The Nazis Held onto Power because of the Amount of Collaboration through
Non Resistance
The Soviet Union was going to attack Germany anyway, they were gathering their forces on the eastern borders of Germany to attack the Romanian oilfields on which Germany depended. Hitler would have defeated them if not for the assistance of America massively supplying arms to the Red Army. As regards his suicide a lot of evidence suggests he escaped Berlin and lived in Argentina until a ripe old. Recently released FBI files appear to admit this.
Yes, Steve K, I’ve read about his escape and it is certainly plausible enough. I believe that there is much more to Hitler than mainstream history portrays, but I believe he was a tool of the so called “elite.”
This is from the forum’s The Rothschild Family topic:
When the Zionist Organization against the natural impulses of the whole Jewish people, decided to do business with Hitler, to trade German goods against the wealth of German Jewry, to flood the Palestine market with German products and thus make a mockery of the boycott against German-made articles, they found llttle opposition in the Jewish National Homeland, and least of all among its aristocracy – the so-called Kibutniks.” Hitler forced the Jews to wear the six-pointed star as a sign of shame. It was this same symbol that the Rothschilds were named after and the same symbol that the Zionists promoted as a symbol of Jewish national identity. Do you see the contradiction?
Remember the six-pointed star was the symbol of Moloch and Ashteroth. After World War II, the U.N., spurred on by the Illuminati created horrors against the Jews, and gave Israel its statehood. Weizmann was the first president of Israel’s Knesset (which was built with Rothschild money). The occultic hexagram is on the Knesset, and is also displayed on the Jewish flag. “…the six-pointed star made its way from Egyptian pagan rituals of worship, to the goddess Ashteroth and Moloch, to King Solomon when he went into idolatry,”
Source – http://ww w.theforbiddenknowledge.com/hardtruth/the_rothschild_bloodline.htm
http://www.chrisspivey.org/forum2/viewtopic.php?f=264&t=2843&p=12260#p12260
Posted on the forum by angryhead:
David Irving – The Faking of Adolf Hitler for History – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwp7tVZuXKM&feature=player_detailpage
I read those FBI files and to be honest it would fit the actions of a connected man perfectly,i absolutely don’t believe he was shot in a bunker. The escape to Argentina was perfect plan one they hint to every now and then when they find ‘remains’ of german homes/bases within the jungles.
This is an interesting report that would tie in with several of our known societies – http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/23/nazi-hideout-south-america-jungle
But again, Hitler was complicit in the mass murder of millions of people as were the rest of the leaders, this in my opinion deems him no better than the rest and he shouldn’t be revered or idolised unless we intend to let them make the same mistake again.
We’ll have to agree to disagree Gallows on that one, which is fine. I think we’d agree a lot on who are the bastards trying to do us harm now. A meet up is planned in Nottm on the 1st May to try and get some positive action going see GOODF website for details. All welcome!!! Cheers for Now
Cheers Steve
pongo
anyone know how John got on?
Bless you pongo for being the only one to point that out, unfortunately I don’t know but I’m sure someone will be able to update us!
Cannot find any news online about John.
I’ve had a look as well to see iff there’s any news on this gent-but no info as yet…..xx
ItstrueitwasontheBBC
Aangirfan has a video of netty’s lies warning lots of dead kids i nearly spewed my arsehole up
Does anyone know the real story of Oskar Schindler who was perpertrated to have saved many jews from the concentration camps?-or was this yet another ‘false flag’.When at first the film ‘Shindler’s list’ was released i watched this heart-breaking film with the greatest of admiration at such a wonderful ‘humantarian’.But probably was misled as the director was Speilberg which i have since had my doubts about with the authenticity of this film especially since finding out about the ‘holohoax’………..xx
Schindler appears to have embraced heroism quite by accident and completely out of character. It arose from his need for unpaid labour. He started with six Jewish women and 250 Poles but soon realised he could buy Jews cheaper from the SS and that these Jews, in fear of death, were less prone to absenteeism than resentful but not mortally threatened Poles. In this respect, he behaved no differently towards slave labour than other German industrialists. Schindler’s quirk was that he came to admire his workers and grow disgusted with Nazism. As his sympathies shifted, the List became the cause of his life, perhaps his one and only loyalty.
Professor Crowe, an adviser to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, spent seven years in search of Schindler and has come up with some uncomfortable documents. A Sudeten German living under Czech rule, Schindler was twice arrested for being drunk and disorderly. He blew his young wife’s dowry and went to work for a bank, starting an affair with his father’s secretary, who bore him two illegitimate children.
In 1935, aged 26, he began spying for the Abwehr, German military intelligence. He was arrested by the Czechs in July 1938 and jailed for two months but the information he collected helped the Germans dismantle the country after the Munich agreement. Until the outbreak of war, Schindler spied for the Abwehr around the Polish border.
His reward was the pick of Jewish property – a factory, a fine apartment, any girl he winked at. When and how his conscience was pricked at the sight of mass persecution and casual murder is unknown.
WHAT we do know is that he never created a Schindler’s List of protected workers. The list was drawn up by Marcel Goldberg, an employee of dubious character, open to bribery. How much Schindler directed him is uncertain; he did, however, put his life on the line to save every name on the sheet. Emilie, in later years, would claim that she deserved equal credit.
http://ww w.standard.co.uk/home/the-truth-about-schindler-7383543.html
Schindler is presented as a German businessman who, playing the role of Pied Piper, leads a column of poor Jews across Poland to safety after he decides he has made enough brass from slave labour. Much of his wealth was in fact generated from war production and while ever the money was to be made, the German-born Schindler supported the National Socialists. But Schindler was in fact a traitor, black-marketeer, thief, extortionist and paederist who molested young girls who came under his control (children of his slaves).
Schindler’s sudden conversion to “saviour” of the Jews only occurred when he obtained information from senior political acquaintances which confirmed that the war would be over in six months or less. Always managing to stay one step ahead of the police as a result of his criminal activities during the war, Schindler now decided to stay one step ahead of avenging Jews by pretending that he had in reality “always loved them” and was prepared to use all of his ill-gotten gains to help them. Naturally, there is nowhere mentioned in the Schindler saga the fate of the many Poles, Russians and others whom he had exploited and ill-used. They were, after all, only Poles and Russians.
On the other hand the SS leadership in Poland and the Ukraine, while not adverse to working some of their slave workers to death, were fanatics in their determination that German soldiers and officials in the East would not become physically involved with women or girls in the occupied territories. Contrary to general belief rape was punished by firing squad or the hangman’s noose.
Schindler, convinced that his high-ranking friends in the Nazi party would protect him, continued to cut a swathe through the young girls and boys under his control unaware that his activities were the subject of discussion by SS General Heinrich Mueller, head of the Gestapo. Charges of official corruption, theft, brutality towards prisoners, indecent assault towards females and a charge of sodomy under paragraph 175 of the German criminal code were all being prepared against Schindler before the war ended. A letter from the file of Himmler’s security chief, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, confirms this. In view of the increasing doubts about the extent of the so-called Holocaust which are emerging throughout the world it is quite understandable that Zionists choose to ignore Schindler’s less likeable traits and promote him instead as a goy saviour. After all anything that works to make the goyim swallow the holocaust story helps strengthen the Zionist/Israeli cause.
http://ww w.heretical.com/miscellx/swindler.html
Who knows for sure. Lies live on a two way street
Thankyou Dogman-It appears Mr Schindler played his cards very close to his chest and used the ‘nazi system’ to his advantage-not only for financial reasons-but also for credibility as well.Suppose got to admire the man for his two-way advantage-except for the way he probably used decent people for his own gains even with the suspicion of being yet another paedo.Going off topic a little-but didn’t the nazis hang suspected paedos in WW11 when they occupied Jersey?……TC Louise xx
FREE PALESTINE !
cupod
As far as I’m concerned, our government is totally complicit in this ethinic cleansing ‘nothing short’ of mass murder and genocide of the Palestinian people by their continuing support of the Zionists supremasists…karma springs to mind!
The 23rd of April Mark;s the Anniversary of King George II of the Hellenes and the Royal Hellenic Government Evacuating Athens in 1941 AD.
This was before the Invading Nazi Athens
Today Greece is Occupied by the European Union a Nazi Idea
When the last slaughter took place i am sure the cock cheese Cameron was on the (fake)news saying i have sent somebody to observe and document the situation (some more porn for them then)
An Evil Genocidial Monster Parson Malthus an Advocate of Murdering the Poor
masquerading as a Man of God
No to Eugenics and Euthanasia
The 23rd of April 2015 AD Mark’s the 330th Anniversary of the Coronation of James II as King of England in 1685 AD.
King James II whilst Duke of York led the Royal Navy to Victory at the Battle of Lowestoft June the 3rd 1665 AD.
At Least King James II & VII did Not Surrender British Sovereignty like Margaret Thatcher, Jezebel of the British did
James II founded one of the largest and most profitable slave trading companies in history, the Royal African Company.
James allowed Roman Catholics to occupy the highest offices of the Kingdoms, and received at his court the papal nuncio, Ferdinando d’Adda, the first official court representative from Rome to London since the reign of Mary I. James also appointed Jesuit Edward Petre S.J. as his confessor.
Source is one-evil.org
The shit is never ending.
I can’t get my head around the fact that the Muslim population, apparently, is about 3/5ths of the world and the Jewish is, allegedly, 0.5%.
In this case, I would never support the “underdog”. Anti-semitism? Brittan/Janner/CaMoran/Milliband/Kate Goldsmith et al anyone???
The General Election is the Most Important Issue For the UK
It is Important that People go and Vote the Tories and Liberal Democrats Out
After All Ordinary People had to Struggle For the Right to Vote
A couple of James Bovard quotes:
“Trumpeting the importance of voting deludes people into thinking that they have a leash on the government.”
“Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.”
Here’s one of mine, easier for youngsters to relate to than the one above:
“Elections are a bit like being surrounded by muggers and choosing which one to hand your wallet to”
Hi Decency. I’m afraid I must disagree with you…..it is important that NO-ONE votes…..EVER again. Why? Because EVERY politician, be they Tory, Labour, Lib-Dem or whoever, have one thing in common: They are ALL nonces and nonce-protectors. Voting is perhaps the BIGGEST illusion that the ‘Elites’ have foisted upon the world……the ILLUSION that we ‘The People’ actually have a say in who gets to run the show. NOTHING could be further from the truth. It’s all smoke and mirrors Decency: Years before anyone had ever heard of Tony B.liar, the ‘Bilderbergers’ at one of their yearly meetings had decided that ‘Tone’ was going to be forced upon the long-suffering residents of Britain, regardless of whether we wanted him or not. It’s a bit like asking us to vote for which nonce we want heading the government of her Majesty’s nonces raping and murdering our kids. Do we want a Tory, Labour or Lib-Dem nonce? But like I always say Decency, you are entitled to your opinion, tc, lorraine, x
Every Vote Not Cast to get the Tories and Liberal Democrats is Essentially
a Vote Cast in their Favour
Over 4 and a Half Years of the Con Dems is Abhorrent
It is Important Britain is Independent and United
The SNP Trying to Divide Britain is a Disaster in Waiting For the Poor of
England and Wales and a Betrayal of being British
Better a United Independent Socialist Great Britain
British Freedom Demand’s British Unity and this is why Traitor Parties such as the
Alleged ” Scottish National Party ” should be Banned.
The Poor of England and Wales being Permanently Enslaved to a Tory Dictatorship
is Not Freedom
In a United Independent Socialist Great Britain Poverty and Suffering will be
Alleviated instead of Trivialized
Yes Margaret Thatcher was and is an Evil Bitch and it is Understandable the Dislike
of Scots For the Tory Tyrants but Britons Never Shall be Slaves with a Socialist
Government that Taxes the Rich and Helps the Poor
I think we are well aware of the forthcoming erection Decency, but please try to stick to topics that are mentioned in the articles or in response to comments. I don’t want the comments section turning into a row about political affiliations. Before anyone comments on my supposed spelling mistake…I happen to think they are all pricks.
I’ll give you a quote that sums my view up and I grin at the appropriate surname:
An honest politician is one who when he is bought, will stay bought. – Simon Cameron, 1860
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1809
|
__label__wiki
| 0.677113
| 0.677113
|
A Full Circle
Dr Li Zhisui, Mao Zedong’s Private Physician was a privileged man. On October 1, 1949, he was allowed to stand on the rostrum of Tiananmen Square to attend the ceremonies of the foundation of the People’s Republic of China.
It was a ‘crisp, clear, and chilly day that makes autumn in Beijing the most magnificent season’ recalled the doctor.
He continued: “The Square was already swarming with people, carefully chosen from all walks of life. …The crowd was shouting slogans ‘Long Live the People's Republic of China’, ‘Long Live the Chinese Communist Party’ and singing revolutionary songs. The enthusiasm was contagious, and everyone grew more excited with every new slogan and song.”
Then the Great Helmsman appeared on the stage: “Mao had been my hero, he was China's messiah …Mao was a truly magnetic force. Mao's voice was soft, almost lilting, and the effect of his speech was riveting. ‘The Chinese people have stood up’, he proclaimed, and the crowd went wild, thundering in applause, shouting over and over, ‘Long Live the People's Republic of China!’. I was so full of joy my heart nearly burst out of my throat, and tears welled up in my eyes. I was so proud of China, so full of hope, so happy.”
This was 60 years ago, a full circle in the Chinese calendar.
Economic Power
In many ways, the dreams of Dr. Li and hundreds of millions of Chinese have come true. Take the economic field: much has been written about the Chinese prowess in this sector, but a quick look at the post-financial crisis situation is telling. The Financial Times in London on August 24 explained: “With its quick and overwhelming response to the crisis, Beijing appears to have engineered a powerful V-shaped recovery. …Official readings of industrial production, fixed investment, power consumption and gross domestic product all show a strong revival, while equity and property prices have soared in recent months. There have even been signs of a recovery in exports, although these are still about one-quarter below the levels of a year ago.”
Beijing knows it and wants the world to be aware of it. On July 30, The People’s Daily, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party of China (CCP) proudly announced: “Under the leadership of the Communist Party, the people in China brace up to cope with the financial crisis and have scored marked successes to the worldwide attention. [The West] …envy China’s superb performance …as well as ‘China’s spirit’ — the kind of solid, unbreakable ‘Great Wall’ at heart to ward off the financial crisis.”
Willy Lam of the Jamestown Foundation in an essay entitled China's Quasi-Superpower Diplomacy: Prospects And Pitfalls, affirmed: “Seeing itself as a quasi-superpower, Beijing is no longer shying away from frontal contests with the United States, China’s strategic competitor.”
When at the end of the 1960’s, Mao decided to economically overtake the United Kingdom, everybody thought that it was another mad dream. Sixty years after the parade of October 1, 1949, this dream has become true. This year, China’s GDP will surpass that of Japan, taking the second slot after the US. Thirty years ago Deng Xiaoping began to promote an open door policy with the same dream.
Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University recently told Xinhua, the Chinese news agency: "We all believe, at least I believe, that China will ... relatively soon, within the next three decades perhaps ... become the world's largest economy… So, I think China has a unique position in the world. It's not only the most populous country but it will become the largest economy in the world, and that's rather natural because it's such a large size."
Nobody can doubt today that China is a super economic power.
A domain in which China has done exceedingly well is infrastructure. The Communist regime in Beijing started to invest heavily in roads and airports in remote parts of its new Chinese empire (for example in the Aksai Chin with a road cutting across the Indian territory) in the 1950’s, but this development was limited in scope. The purpose was ‘to defend the borders’.
It is only relatively recently that China has made tremendous progress in the field of infrastructure; but whoever today visits Shanghai, returns flabbergasted; in this domain, India is 30 or 40 years behind its Asian rival.
Deng Xiaoping’s visit to Southern China in 1992 was instrumental in revitalizing the coastal areas and developing the infrastructure seen today.
Many believe that Deng's southern tour changed the face of China for ever. His slogan ‘To Get Rich Is Glorious’ helped to create a wave of entrepreneurship which has driven China's economy since. The new open economic policy announced by Deng in 1978 brought its first results in the early 1980’s with the establishment of Special Economic Zones. It was the beginning of the Chinese economic miracle.
Soon after the beginning of the world crisis in September 2008, Wen Jiabao the Chinese Premier declared: “What we can do now is to maintain the steady and fast growth of the national economy and ensure that no major fluctuations will happen. That will be our greatest contribution to the world economy under the current circumstances.”
This signaled a new massive investment in infrastructure.
On October 21, 2008, China’s State Council announced a new economic stimulus package. Two weeks later, Beijing confirmed that it would put in place a two-year $586 billion package, mainly dedicated to infrastructure projects. This financial package would finance schemes in 10 major areas, including affordable housing, rural infrastructure, water, electricity, transport, the environment, technological innovation and rebuilding areas hit by disasters.
India can only look with awe at China’s infrastructure development.
The New Rise of the People’s Liberation Army
Defence is another sector where China has taken giant strides since the Revolution days. It is definitely linked with the infrastructure boom. On July 24, an article of the People’s Daily carried the following title: “Hu Jintao stresses the importance of the fusion of military and civilian development at a Politburo collective study session.”
One detail demonstrates the new self-confidence of the Beijing mandarins: a White Paper (WP) entitled China's National Defense in 2008 was released in January 2009; and not on any odd date. The Chinese, always found of symbols, chose the day of the swearing-in ceremony of President Barak Obama. Pundits will also point out that it was Martin Luther King Day, a Day dedicated to non-violence: the choice of the State Council was certainly not fortuitous.
Though it was not a ‘breaking news’ type of publication, many interesting trends emerge while going through the 14 chapters of the WP. Amongst these, ‘informationization’ and modernization are the most important aspects.
The WP is an exercise in public relations for the People’s Republic of China which wants to project a new image: that of a responsible nation, fully involved in global issues facing the planet and ready to help find solutions to these problems.
The Cultural Revolution days, when Mao Zedong did not care about what the rest of the world thought of China, are gone. This is certainly a progress, though some of the old thinking is still present in today’s China. For example, strategist Jin Yinan, who teaches at the National Defense University in Beijing recently wrote: “China can not emerge in the midst of nightingale songs and swallow dances.” It sounded like Mao for whom ‘revolution was not a tea party’. For Jian, if China is to reach its objectives, it had to “hack out a path through thorns and thistles”. He added: “When a country and a people have reached a critical moment, the armed forces often play the role of pivot and mainstay”. The fact that Jin was invited in July to give a lecture to the Politburo on military strategies, tends to show that Modern China is not rising with nightingale songs (peaceful rise) alone.
In April, Huang Kunlun, another analyst, commented on ‘the boundaries of national interests’ in the Liberation Army Daily. He argued that China’s national interests had now gone beyond its land, sea and air territories. It included areas such as the oceans used by Chinese oil tankers and even outer space: “Wherever our national interests have extended, so will the mission of our armed forces …given our new historical mission, the forces have to not only safeguard the country’s ‘territorial boundaries’ but also its ‘boundaries of national interests’.
For the purpose, the PLA plans to build four aircraft carriers in the coming decade and several nuclear submarines. One understands the statements of the former Indian Navy Chief and the present Air Chief, India is far behind as far as the equipment of its armed forces is concerned.
It is not the ‘swallow dances’ of the Indian diplomacy which will counter a quasi-superpower neighbour.
Assertiveness and Soft Diplomacy
For many years, Chinese diplomacy was limited in its scope to nearby regions such as the ASEAN bloc, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization or international bodies such as the United Nations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Later, for economic reasons this extended to Africa and Latin America.
Willy Lam in his essay of quasi-superpower diplomacy says: “The financial crisis that was precipitated by the collapse or near-bankruptcy of several American multinationals in September 2008 has provided China with a new platform to boost its clout as a champion of a new international financial architecture.”
In April, The Financial Times mentioned that Zhou Xiaochuan, China’s central bank governor published a paper, “neatly timed to appear just before the Group of 20 developed and emerging nations summit, in which he proposed replacing the dollar with an international reserve currency. In a detailed and serious analysis, he suggested expanding the scope and function of special drawing rights, a unit of account used by the IMF.”
The FT added that “Mr Zhou’s proposal did not emerge from thin air” More than 70% of the 2 trillion dollars foreign reserves are held in green curency.
Today, China dares taking on the US in international fora.
Other fields too
China’s projection of itself as a soft superpower is visible in many other fields too. Beijing has earmarked $ 6.62 billion for ‘overseas propaganda’.
Xinhua News Agency and CCTV will enhance its programs in different languages for the West, Asia, Middle East and even Africa. An English news channel modeled on Al Jazeera will beam the latest news (or propaganda) from China.
Beijing will also set up some 350 Confucius Institutes patterned on the German Goethe Institute, around the planet. It should help to spread Chinese culture and enhance ‘the overall attractiveness of the China model’.
This at a time when France has not enough funds to finance its Alliance Française. Can India dream of 350 Tagore Institutes in Asia and elsewhere around the world?
Several more examples could be cited to show that the dream of the PRC’s founders, the emerging of new, strong, self-reliant and modern China has become true. The question remains: does this make of China a Superpower?
Labels: 60th Anniversary PRC, China
Should the world tremble?
Sixty years after Mao proclaimed the birth of the PRC from Tiananmen Square, China has become a Power to reckon with. No doubt about it. Napoleon Bonaparte, the French Emperor is supposed to have pronounced the famous sentence: “When China awakes, the world will tremble”
China being fully awake today, should the world tremble?
Acerbated Nationalism
Certain aspects of the Middle Kingdom’s rise to a Superpower are indeed scary. Listen to this: “The Chinese are different from other races on earth. …Hitler’s Germany had once bragged that the German race was the most superior race on Earth, but the fact is, our nation is far superior to the Germans.”
“…Will the center of the world civilization shift back to China? As we all know, Nazi Germany also placed much emphasis on the education of the people, especially the younger generation. The Nazi party and government organized and established various propaganda and educational institutions …all aimed at instilling into the people’s minds the idea that German people are superior, and convincing people that the historical mission of the Aryan people is to become the ‘lords of earth’ that ‘rule over the world’. Nonetheless, Germany was defeated in utter shame, along with its ally, Japan. Why? We reached some conclusions at the study meetings of the Politburo [of the CCP], in which we were searching for the laws that governed the vicissitudes of the big powers, and trying to analyze Germany and Japan’s rapid growth. When we decide to revitalize China based on the German model, we must not repeat the mistakes they made.”
Thus spoke General Chi Haotian, former Chinese Defense Minister and Vice-chairman of China’s all-powerful Central Military Commission. Can you imagine any other Defense Minister in the world speaking such a language?
He is not alone in China. Wan Tao, the ‘Godfather’ of Chinese computer hackers, explains the distinction between foreign hackers and the famed Chinese Red Hackers: “Chinese hackers coined the word ‘Red Hacker’, which means a patriotic hacker. Unlike our Western counterparts, Chinese hackers tend to get more involved with politics because most of them are young, passionate and patriotic.”
Scott J. Henderson, the author of The Dark Visitors, a remarkable study on the Chinese hackers says: “One of the unique aspects of the Chinese hacker organization is their nationalism, which is in stark contrast to the loner/anarchist culture many associate with the stereotypical Western hacker. They are especially active during periods of political conflict with other nations.”
This nationalism has been exacerbated by the economic rise of China and the success of the Beijing Olympics Games. The leadership conveniently uses this sentiment for its own purposes. But if China is to play a leading role in world affairs, ultra-nationalism is definitely an impediment. A more altruistic and ‘internationalist’ attitude will have to emerge in the corridors of Beijing for it to earn a respected place on the international scene. The mantra of China über alles does not rhyme with modern civilized society.
A Totalitarian RegimeFor the past sixty years, the People’s Republic of China has failed to introduce a modern system of governance. Though the word ‘people’s’ is recurrent in all State institutions in China, since 1949 the nation is run by a single Party. Ordinary people have no say in State affairs.
Laws or rights which are acknowledged as universal by world bodies remain unimplemented by the leaders in Zhongnanhai. Beijing pretends that they are irrelevant to modern China as being a Western invention.
But democracy is not a concept confined to the West. Is Mr Hu aware that democracy (from the Greek demokratia, ‘power to the people’) existed in Asia and particularly in India, long before it was introduced in Greece. National People’s Congress Chairman Wu Bangguo has however recently declared that China will ‘never go down the devious path’ of ‘Western institutions’. Whether Beijing agrees to it or not, human rights, basic personal laws or universal suffrage are today values accepted by all non-rogue nations.
The Chinese economy faces a similar problem: it remains controlled by the lone Communist Party: there are 150 Party–run monopolies in sectors as diverse as petroleum, steel, banking or telecommunications in China today.
Beijing may open 350 Confucius Institute the world over, but which type of culture or civilisational values does Beijing pretend to ‘export’?
Li Xiguang, a scholar of Tsinghua University pointed out China’s difficulties in marketing its ‘values’: “the soft power of a country manifests itself in whether it has the power to define and interpret ‘universal values’ such as democracy, freedom and human rights. …we must let the whole world hear the stories that Chinese citizens have to tell about their democracy, liberty, human rights and rule of law.”
But when intellectuals speak up, they are immediately arrested.
In 1979, Wei Jingsheng wrote about China’s Fifth Modernization on the Democracy Wall in Beijing. Thirty years later progress seems to have gone in reverse gear in the Middle Kingdom. While Wei advocated individual liberties; (‘freedom’ was the only ‘modernization’ which mattered, improvement of living standards could come later), the fact is that in 2008, hundreds of known writers, intellectuals and professors who signed a manifesto called Charter ’08 (asking the CCP leadership to allow the People of China to enjoy civil rights enshrined in United Nations covenants), have been harassed, some even arrested. Liu Xiaobo, the leader of the Charter ’08 movement has himself been incarcerated by CCP authorities. As long as this issue is not tackled, China can not rise to the top. In such cases, it appears that it is the Communist leadership which is trembling.
Tibet and Xinjiang
Another issue which makes Beijing tremble is the ‘unrest in nationalities areas’. Unless this problem is solved to the satisfaction of all concerned, China will be not able to take the place of a respected Power on the world scene.
One remembers that in March/April 2008, the Tibetan Autonomous Region as well as the Tibetan inhabitants regions of Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan witnessed the worse unrest and riots in 50 years.
In July 2009, it was the turn of Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang to be in the news. Violence erupted, resulting in at least 200 people dead and some 1,000 wounded. A parallel with Tibet was immediately made.
As on the Roof of the World, tensions have not been a new phenomenon in a Muslim province which has been flooded (like Tibet) by millions of Han settlers over the past decades. The Uyghurs have sporadically demonstrated their resentment against Han colonization.
The Communist Party’s local satraps were quick to blame the incident on a ‘foreign’ hand. Xinjiang CCP boss and Politburo member, Wang Lequan declared that the riot in Urumqi showed the violent and terrorist nature of the separatist World Uyghur Congress leader Rebiya Kadeer. In March 2008 in Tibet, the Dalai Lama was similarly called a ‘wolf in monk’s dress’ by Zang Qingli, the Tibet Party Chief.
The regime in Beijing seems incapable of striking the right note.
A report prepared by a group of Chinese lawyers, the Beijing Gongmeng Consulting on the 2008 riots in Tibet is an eye-opener. It entirely contradicts the Party’s official version, but who is ready to listen?
The lawyers first point out ‘major errors in government policy’ after the March–April 2008 protests. One was encouragement of racist sentiment towards Tibetans: “The excessive response of the government all over Tibet was to regard every tree and blade of grass as a potential enemy soldier.”
According to them, this further strained the relations between the local Tibetans and the Han migrants. One of their conclusions is: “Understanding is a precondition for discussion, unity and development. …There must be a change in thinking and an adjustment in thinking behind the current nationality theories and policies.”
The Report found that in Tibet, the difficult terrain has created “locally fixed power networks, which inevitably lead to a high incidence of corruption and dereliction of duty. …‘Foreign forces’ and ‘Tibet independence’ are used by many local officials as fig leaves to conceal their mistakes in governance and to repress social discontent.”
The final conclusions are not far from the Tibetan Diaspora’s views: “Earnestly listen to the voices of ordinary Tibetans and on the basis of respecting and protecting each of the Tibetan people’s rights and interests”.
For the past 50 years the Party has been unable to deal with these problems. The negotiations with a good-willed Dalai Lama have never even taken off.
Several other aspects make China unstable
Sixty after its foundation, it appears that the PRC is pulled towards an ever greater authoritarian way of functioning.
Take the post economic crisis situation: with the huge expenditures to be incurred on infrastructure, the State enterprises only will benefit, thereby reinforcing the Party and in particular the Politburo Standing Committee.
The PLA’s role is also constantly reinforced (allowing people like General Chi Haotian to get away with his declarations). Today, the PLA plays a role not only in China’s external defence, but has become indispensable to suppress some 100,000 protests, riots and unrest which occurred annually in the mainland due to environmental issues, corruption or unemployment problems. This does not take into account the restive situation in Tibet or Xinjiang.
Willy Lam in his paper on ‘quasi-superpower diplomacy’ has remarked: “The CCP leadership’s refusal to give up Maoist norms such as the ‘party’s absolute leadership over the armed forces’ …has dented the global appeal of the China model — and detracted from the viability of Beijing’s quasi-superpower diplomacy.”
Support to Rogue States
A superpower is usually able to help sorting out regional, if not international issues. Beijing has tried its hand in the Korean imbroglio. One of the reasons why Beijing has not been successful so far, is that the Communist authorities are reluctant to be tough on North Korea when required.
Further, in several cases, the Chinese leadership has sided with rogue States such as Myanmar, Sudan, Angola or Zimbabwe.
Despite its long-friendship with Teheran or Islamabad, Beijing has never been able to convince these States to follow the rules accepted by all other nations.
China is rich. Several Chinese State corporations are on a ‘going out’ scheme to buy strategic assets the world over. It is not too difficult in Africa or Latin America where bribing a few political leaders helps, but it is less easy when it comes to Western multinationals.
These mergers and acquisitions (M&A) have usually been related to oil and other raw materials. Chinese moves are watched by a trembling West. Is a return of the Yellow peril being witnessed?
Petrochina, Sinopec and CNOOC, China’s oil monopolies have already been involved in overseas M&A worth $12 billion in the first half of 2009 (80% more than during the same period in 2008).
China’s Aluminum Corporation (Chinalco) tried recently to acquire 18% (worth $19.5 billion) of the British-Australian mining corporation Rio Tinto. Shivers were felt around the world. If Beijing had succeeded, China would have had to access to most of the iron-ore and copper mines in Australia.
It is a good reason for the world to tremble.
Drawing Red Lines
Beijing’s diplomatic assertiveness is well known. The Communist leadership uses a term: ‘Red-line Diplomacy’. Beijing ‘draws red lines’ around issues it considers vital to its core interests. Strangely, it often uses the Panchsheel principles for its purpose, particularly ‘non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries’ (even giving the paternity of the formula to former Premier Zhou Enlai).
This principle are quoted not only for Tibet, Xinjiang, or when the Dalai Lama is to visit a foreign country, but also when India wants to deploy troops in Arunachal Pradesh or when a world body wants to question Beijing on human rights. The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs then barks so loudly, that the interlocutor starts trembling and generally backs out (this even happened to President Sarkozy of France after he ‘dared’ to meet the Dalai Lama in Poland last year).
This Red-line ‘barking’ diplomacy may be a ‘Chinese characteristic’, but it is certainly not the attribute of a mature State, a Super-power to be.
During the next 60 years, China has a lot of progress to make in these fields and many others.
Posted by Claude Arpi 1 comment:
Xi did not make it
In an article in the China Brief of the Jamestown Foundation, Willy Lam reports that Xi Jinping, the Chinese Vice-President did not make it to the all-powerful Central Military Commission.
Why? Nobody knows.
In April 1989, Gorbachev preached glasnost (transparency) on the Tienanmen square, but twenty years later, it seems that 'transparency' has not permeated as yet the opaque leadership of the CCP who is busy with the preparations of the 60th anniversary of the Republic's foundation.
Jinping is the son of Xi Zhongxun, one of the senior-most leaders of the First Generation of the CCP. He was very close to the late Panchen Lama and wrote a report for the Party on the famous 70,000 character petition from the Panchen Lama to Premier Zhou Enlai.
In 1962, like many other leaders , Xi Zhongxun fell out of favour; he was accused of disloyalty to Chairman Mao. Was he not tough enough with the Tibetan people? Who knows?
Xi was however rehabilitated in the 1980's; he later participated to the setting up of one of the first Special Economic Zones in Southern China.
Is his father's past catching up with Young Xi?
CCP 17th Central Committee Plenum Skips Xi Jinping and Inner-Party Democracy
China Brief Volume: 9 Issue: 19, September 24, 2009
Willy Lam
The biggest piece of news to have come out of the Fourth Plenary Session of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 17th Central Committee is what that did not happen: the induction of Vice-President Xi Jinping into the policy-setting Central Military Commission (CMC). This is despite widespread reports by several domestic and foreign media that Xi, who is also a Politburo Standing Committee (SPC) member and President of the Central Party School, would be made a CMC vice-chairman in order to buttress his position as heir apparent to President and CMC Chairman Hu Jintao (The Associated Press, September 16; Ming Pao [Hong Kong], September 19; Straits Times [Singapore], September 11). More importantly, however, the Xi episode has thrown into sharp relief a major concern of the Central Committee plenum: the expansion of “intra-party democracy” and reform of the cadre system so as to raise the “governance ability” of party-and-government officials.
Labels: China, Hu Jintao, Xi Jinping, Xi Zhongxun
Glimpses on Tibetan History
Our exhibition Glimpses on History of Tibet is now available online.
These 25 snapshots demonstrate that in the past Tibet was an independent nation and though for sometime it lived in isolation, during most of the last 4000 years Tibet had constant contacts and interactions with the neighbouring nations. In some cases, Tibet was influenced by other cultures; in some others it spread its messages to other nations.
Click here and read.
Labels: Tibet History
Obama`s China: Money talks
My article on the visit of President Obama's Special Envoys to Dharamsala is posted on Sify.com
Labels: Article Sify, Dalai Lama, Negotiations, Obama
The Negotiations that Never Were
My new book The Negotiations that Never Were — Dharamsala and Beijing published by Lancer Publishers will be released in October.
To know more and order, click here.
Labels: The Negotiations that never were
Simulation or simulations?
There is a debate around the nuclear scientist K. Santhanam's declarations whether the Pokhran II nuclear tests were a success or not. Though I am a dummy in this field, I think it is a wrong debate. The only question is: did the Indian scientists get enough information to be able to continue their work in labs in simulation? It seems though difficult to get enough data with one or two tests (successful or not).
Remember the French in Mururoa (and the Rainbow Warrior episode).
The question seems to be: what is the quality of the bomb and its degree of the miniaturization.
The National Security Advisor should read the article of Thomas C. Reed, The Chinese Nuclear Tests 1964-1996 in Physics Today, he will learn a lot about tests.
In September 2007, I wrote in Rediff.com: "In an interview with India Today, Anil Kakodkar, chairman, Atomic Energy Commission, surprisingly said that 'testing' has 'nothing to do with the deal.' His remarks were, however, rather vague: 'The 1998 tests, although the number was five, in terms of configuration and ideas, a very large number of them were tested out. And the most important thing was that everything that was tested worked. That did provide us with a fairly high degree of confidence. So in terms of building deterrence we had said that time itself it was adequate.' Deterrence only! Bharat Karnad, the nuclear expert, is probably closer to the truth: 'The 1998 tests raised some grave doubts about the thermonuclear and 'boosted fission' devices that were exploded. These prototype weapon designs need to be reworked and tested and re-tested in order for them to acquire credibility as operational weapons which can perform reliably and with safety.'
With an 'arsenal quality frozen at a relatively primitive level,' it means India has only two alternatives today: Either to conduct new tests (and the 123 Agreement will be terminated) or do simulations for which very powerful computers are needed. After the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government had declared a moratorium on the tests following Pokhran II, it is doubtful if any government can risk the ostracisation of the past. The solution is therefore computer simulation. And it is probable that New Delhi hopes to get access to sophisticated equipment which will allow Indian scientists to proceed with their military research. Has the Manmohan Singh government already signed a deal behind the deal to get the required equipments? It is very possible. And in any case, once the 123 deal is through with the IAEA and the Nuclear Suppliers Group, computer merchants will be flocking to Delhi to do business."
Labels: Nuclear tests, Pokhran
Borderline amnesia
Here is the link to my article on the McMahon Line published yesterday in the New Indian Express
Labels: Article New Indian Express, McMahon Line, Zhou Enlai
Obama kowtowing to Beijing
It was before....
While the controversy over the Dalai Lama’s visit to Tawang still rages in India, another visit has received rather low media coverage. The US President Barack Obama's emissary, Valerie Jarrett flew to Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh where she called on the Dalai Lama. Jarrett, a Senior Obama’s Advisor and an Assistant for Intergovernmental Relations and Public Liaison was accompanied by Maria Otero, Under Secretary in the State Department and the Special Coordinator-designate for Tibetan issues. The fact that Ms Otero is only a designate-Coordinator more than 9 months after President Obama assumed office as the President of the United States shows the little importance given to Tibet.
According to the press release from the Dalai Lama’s Private Office, Ms Jarrett “conveyed the [US] President's greetings to His Holiness and informed him that she was sent to brief him about the Obama Administration's approach to the Tibetan issue.”
After the Dalai Lama gave his assessment on the current relations between Dharamsala and Beijing, Jarrett talked about “the best way the United States could assist in the resolution for the Tibetan issue, particularly in the light of the first visit by President Obama to China in November.”
Here is the trick.
Obama decides not to offend the Chinese leadership two months before his visit to Beijing; but as it does not befit a great champion of oppressed people to refuse to meet with the Tibetan leader during his forthcoming to the United States, he preempts critics by rushing the two ladies to ‘brief’ the Dalai Lama and explain the situation.
Even though the US President’s Envoys said that Obama could meet the Dalai Lama at a later date, the present move is called kowtowing in Chinese.
As the Wall Street Journal puts it: “The Obama Administration may think its decision to cold shoulder the Dalai Lama on the Tibetan leader's upcoming trip to Washington is smart politics. But if the leader of the free world doesn't stand up for religious freedom, who will? The news broke earlier this week when an Obama aide told the Tibetans that the President wants to meet Chinese leaders before he meets the Dalai Lama. This is par for the course for an Administration that gave only lackluster support to Iran's democrats and has made conciliatory overtures to Putin's Russia and Kim Jong Il's North Korea.”
Obama’s advisors will learn one day that it is not smart policy to kowtow to a totalitarian regime like Beijing. Even the habitually back-bending Indian diplomats know this very simple truth.
When Chhime Chhoekyapa, the Dalai Lama’s Secretary, announced the Tibetan leader’s plans to visit the State of Arunachal Pradesh during the second week of November, the Indian officials were in two minds, especially after the Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu stated: "We firmly oppose the Dalai [Lama] visiting the so-called Arunachal Pradesh".
The question was “should India appease China and accept Beijing’s diktat?” Jiang Yu had also stated that the visit "further reveals the Dalai clique's anti-China and separatist essence". South Block remained firm. External Affairs Minister SM Krishna said that the Tibetan leader could go anywhere in India: "Arunachal Pradesh is a part of India and the Dalai Lama is free to go anywhere in India."
Contrary to the relatively new team of Barak Obama, the ‘old China hands’ in Delhi are aware that if you once accept a ‘protest’ from Beijing, there will be no limit to new demands or complaints. India has experienced this when the Indian Prime Minister visited Arunachal, with any new infrastructure development in the State or with deployment of armed forces.
Though Washington does not have the same stakes and compulsions as Delhi, the US has remained active in the Tibetan issue in the past, trying to promote contacts, if not negotiations, between Dharamsala and Beijing.
Under Section 611 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, 2003 (Tibetan Policy Act of 2002), a report on the state of the negotiations between Dharamsala and Beijing has to be regularly presented by the White House to the US Congress.
According to the 2007 Report: “The Dalai Lama can be a constructive partner as China deals with the difficult challenges of regional and national stability. He represents the views of the vast majority of Tibetans and his moral authority helps to unite the Tibetan community inside and outside of China. China’s engagement with the Dalai Lama or his representatives to resolve problems facing Tibetans is in the interest of both the Chinese Government and the Tibetan people. At the same time, the lack of resolution of these problems leads to greater tensions inside China and will be a stumbling block to fuller political and economic engagement with the United States and other nations.”
The last US Administration, though not appreciated for its policies (and actions) in world affairs regularly raised the Tibet issue with the Chinese leadership. Unfortunately, when Hillary Clinton went to China soon after taking up her job as Secretary of State, she did not utter a word about Human Rights or Tibet; a great change from the Bush Administration.
The 2007 US Report explained that since he assumed Office in January 2001, President Bush had consistently urged the Chinese Government “to engage in substantive dialogue with the Dalai Lama or his representatives, and to respect the unique cultural, linguistic, and religious heritage of the Tibetan people”.
On November 9, 2005, President Bush received the Dalai Lama at the White House. The President is said to have reiterated the strong US commitment “to support the preservation of Tibet's unique religious, cultural, and linguistic identity and the protection of the human rights of all Tibetans”. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Paula Dobriansky, the then Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues attended the meeting.
The report also asserted that during a visit to China in November 2005, President Bush urged President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao to engage in a dialogue with the Dalai Lama. He is supposed to have specifically told the Chinese leaders: “It would be wise for the Chinese government to invite the Dalai Lama to China so that he can tell them exactly what he told [the President] in the White House…that he has no desire for an independent Tibet.”
According to the same Report, the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice “consistently raised the issues of human rights and religious freedom at the highest levels, including in meetings with the Chinese President, Premier, State Counselor, and Foreign Minister.” She is said to have regularly highlighted the need of progress in the Sino-Tibetan dialogue and to have encouraged the Beijing leadership to work with the United States “toward a resolution of some of the structural issues in human rights and religious freedom” in China and in particular, “reach out to the Dalai Lama, a man who is, for Tibet, a man of considerable authority and considerable moral authority, but who really is of no threat to China.”
In October 2007, when the Dalai Lama was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honour the legislature can bestow, President Bush and his wife attended the event by the side of Nancy Pelosi, the House Speaker.
A few months later when she visited Dharamsala, Pelosi affirmed: "The United States must continue to be committed to meeting the challenge that Tibet makes to the conscience of the world."
It seems that the Obama’s Administration, which has been elected to ‘change’ the US and the world, is not aware of this very basic notion.
Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche, the Tibetan Prime Minister rightly laments: "Even the US government is doing some kind of appeasement… today economic interests are much greater than other interests."
Money makes the world go round, where is the Change?
Labels: Arunachal Pradesh, Dalai Lama, Obama
When Zhou agreed to the McMahon Line
Footprint of the 6th Dalai Lama in Tawang
According to Chhime Chhoekyapa, the Dalai Lama’s Secretary, the Tibetan leader plans to visit the State of Arunachal Pradesh during the second week of November. A visit by the Dalai Lama to Tawang was already scheduled last year. Invited by the Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu, he was to inaugurate a hospital for which the Tibetan leader had contributed Rs. 20 lakhs. Finally, the Dalai Lama had to cancel his trip to the border State, as he did not receive the necessary clearance from Delhi. Probably South Block did not want ‘to make things worse with China’.
Though Choekyappa said that the details have not yet been worked out, Beijing was quick to do what it does supremely well: protest and object. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu immediately declared: "We firmly oppose the Dalai [Lama] visiting the so-called Arunachal Pradesh." He spoke of Beijing’s ‘strong concern’ and said that it "further reveals the Dalai clique's anti-China and separatist essence".
The Chinese Embassy in Delhi confirmed the Spokesman’s statement.
New Delhi however clarified that the Chinese ‘protests’ were unwarranted, as the Dalai Lama was free to travel anywhere in India.
One of the arguments usually used by the Chinese to oppose anything happening in Arunachal (whether it is the visit of the Indian Prime Minister, infrastructure development or deployment of armed forces) is that Arunachal is theirs. They are so convinced of it that they have included the development of the area in their Plan expenditures for the Tibetan Autonomous Region’s southern districts.
One of the Chinese ‘proofs’ is that Tsangyang Gyatso, the Sixth Dalai Lama, the great poet and lover was born near Tawang in 1683. This is an extremely lame point. Is France part of Kashmir because Dr. Karan Singh is born in Cannes on the French Riviera? What about Liaquat Ali Khan, born in Karnal, Haryana; Zia-ul-Haq born in Jallundar or Pervez Musharraf in Darya Ganj in Delhi? Does it make Haryana, Punjab or Delhi part of Pakistan?
The truth is that during the Tripartite Conference between British India, Tibet and China held in Simla in 1914, the plenipotentiaries of India (Sir Henry McMahon) and Tibet agreed to delineate their common border on a map and they put their seal on it. Today, the Chinese vociferously say that they have never recognized the McMahon Line and that the entire State of Arunachal, south of the Line, belongs to them.
The interesting point is that they did not always hold such an intransigent view. During the 1950’s, the Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai was ready to accept the McMahon Line as the border between ‘China’s Tibet’ and India.
In this connection, a letter from the then Indian Prime Minister to U Nu, his Burmese counterpart is revealing. On April 22, 1957, Nehru wrote: “I am writing to you immediately so as to inform you of one particular development which took place here when Chou En-lai [Zhou Enlai] came to India. In your letter you say that while Premier Chou En-lai was prepared to accept the McMahon Line in the north [of Burma], he objected to the use of the name ‘McMahon Line’, as this may produce ‘complications vis-à-vis India’, and therefore, he preferred to use the term ‘traditional line’.”
Nehru continued: “When Chou En-lai was here last, …he referred to his talks with you and U Ba Swe and indicated that a satisfactory arrangement had been arrived at. In this connection he said that while he was not convinced of the justice of our claim to the present Indian frontier with China (in Tibet), he was prepared to accept it. That is, he made it clear that he accepted the McMahon Line between India and China, chiefly because of his desire to settle outstanding matters with a friendly country like India and also because of usage etc. I think, he added he did not like the name ‘McMahon Line’.”
Nehru had some doubts that he had heard properly what the Chinese Premier had said: “This statement that he made to me orally was important from our point of view and so I wanted to remove all doubts about it. I asked him again therefore and he repeated it quite clearly. I expressed my satisfaction at what he said. I added that there were two or three minor frontier matters pending between India and China on the Tibet border and the sooner these were settled, the better. He agreed.”
The Indian Prime Minister stated that himself was not happy with the ‘colonial’ connotation in the Line’s name: “I entirely agree that the use of the word ‘McMahon Line’ is not right and should be put an end to” However, he confirmed that India stood by the line: “So far as we are concerned, we have maintained all along that our frontier with China, except for the two or three very minor matters, was a fixed and well known frontier and there was no dispute about it.”
No dispute about the border! More than half a century later, the Chinese claims have swelled. In 1957, when U Nu told his own experience with the clever Chinese Premier, Nehru had to admit: “I am sorry that there has been some difficulty in your arriving at a settlement about border problems with the Chinese Government. I confess that I do not very much like the attitude of Premier Chou En-lai in this matter. The impression created upon me is that he was not fully adhering to what he had told you or U Ba Swe previously.”
This is the core of the sage of fifty years of border talks between India and China.
It is true that Nehru had been rather vague a few months earlier when he had met Zhou. While speaking about Tibet being historically ‘autonomous’, told his counterpart: “Historical knowledge is not important but is useful as background information. History is gone.”
In the same exchange, Zhou Enlai made a strange remark. He explained that after the signature of the Panchsheel Agreement on Tibet, the Tibetans objected to the demarcation of the Line: “the Tibetans wanted us to reject this Line; but we told them that the question should be temporarily put aside. I believe immediately after India's independence, the Tibetan Government had also written to the Government of India about this matter. But now we think that we should try to persuade and convince Tibetans to accept it.”
But Nehru remained vague: “The border is a high mountain border and sparsely populated. Apart from the major question, there are also small questions about two miles here and two miles there.”
Today, it is no “small questions about two miles and two miles there”, it is more than 83,000 sq Km which are shamelessly claimed by China.
The visit of the Dalai Lama will be another occasion for the Tibetan leader to reiterate that he has always stood by the McMahon Line and Zhou’s argument that the Tibetans had objected was entirely fallacious. This perhaps why Beijing gets upset, today they can’t use the Tibetans anymore.
The Sixth Dalai Lama, Tsangyang Gyaltso (the Precious Ocean of Pure Melody) who loved freedom above all, would have probably written a beautiful poem on Chinese pretensions.
Labels: Arunachal Pradesh, Dalai Lama, McMahon Line
Obama's Envoys meet the Dalai Lama
President Barack Obama's emissary, Valerie Jarrett (center) along with US State Department Under Secretary Maria Otero (right)
To have sent the two ladies seems a clever move from the Obama Administration to avoid a meeting between the US President and the Dalai Lama during the latter's visit to the US in October.
Now a meeting between the 2 leaders is postponed till after President Obama's trip to China in November.
Already Secretary of State Clinton had 'forgotten' to mention Tibet during her first visit to Beijing, soon after taking over.
The United States have probably too many 'common economic interests' with China to play a meaningful role in the Tibetan issue. But the Tibetans remain hopeful that a solution will come from Washington.
Obama's emissary calls on His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Phayul.com
[Monday, September 14, 2009]
US President Barack Obama's emissary, Valerie Jarrett (center) along with US State Department Under Secretary Maria Otero (right) talking to His Holiness the Dalai Lama during their meeting at the latter's residence, September 14, 2009, photo: dalailama.comDharamsala, September 14 - US President Barack Obama's emissary, Valerie Jarrett, called on His Holiness the Dalai Lama today at the latter’s residence here. Jarrett discussed with His Holiness on the best way the United States could assist in the resolution for the Tibetan issue, particularly in the light of the first visit by President Obama to China in November, a statement on the Tibetan leader’s official website said. His Holiness also conveyed his strong belief that the United States and China need to have very good and principled relations.
Ms. Jarrett, Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Relations and Public Liaison, conveyed President Obama’s greetings to the Tibetan leader who returned here Sunday from a five – day tour of Slovakia and Czech Republic. She had been sent to brief His Holiness about the Obama Administration's approach to the Tibetan issue.
During the talks that lasted more than two hours, the Tibetan leader expressed his concerns on a number of issues, including global conflicts and matters relating to the environment. He applauded President Obama's initiative to tackle these issues through cooperation, outreach and dialogue and urged him to continue doing so.
Jarrett introduced State Department Under Secretary Maria Otero to His Holiness as the designated Special Coordinator for Tibetan issues.
Reiterating President Obama's commitment to support the Tibetan people in protecting their distinct religious, linguistic, and cultural heritage and securing respect for their human rights and civil liberties, Jarrett said President Obama commends His Holiness for being “consistent in looking for a solution based on Tibetan autonomy within the People's Republic of China.”
His Holiness also updated Jarrett on the dialogue process with the Chinese leadership, including the presentation of a comprehensive Memorandum on Tibetan autonomy to the Chinese leadership.
His Holiness greatly appreciated President Obama's concern for the situation in Tibet and expressed hope that the Tibetan people can see progress in the resolution of their problem during Obama’s presidency.
Labels: Dalai Lama, Obama, Tibet
Declassification again
We are on the right track. Finally, the babus would have to publicly admit that they do not have a declassification policy — a matter of shame for a country like India with a rich (though troubled) history.
Once they admit the lack of policy, they will have to accept that there is no trained staff to do the job. It will be a more difficult issue to solve.
MEA, RAW mum over official policy on declassification
Himanshi Dhawan, TNN
NEW DELHI: Taking a cue from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), both the external affairs ministry and the intelligence department Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) have refused to give information relating to the declassification policy.
MEA has declassified 121 files of 1950s and 1960s' vintage but these cannot be accessed as they have been stored in the foreign office's records management section rather than the National Archives of India. In response to an RTI query filed by Chandrachur Ghose, an activist campaigning for a comprehensive declassification policy in India, MEA has admitted that no records have been declassified in the last five years preceding 2009.
While the ministry has steered clear of answering Ghose's query on the guidelines for declassification of documents, it has said that "for declassification of files or downgradation of he security grading on files, the files are referred to the head of concerned territorial division and on their recommendation, the files are declassified or downgraded''.
In an attempt to get an overall picture of declassification in India, endthesecrecy.com filed RTI applications with PMO, the defence, home and external affairs ministries.
The application to PMO and MHA also sought to know the declassification status at RAW and the Intelligence Bureau.
But RAW has declined to give any information on the plea that the organisation is exempt from disclosure unless the details sought under RTI relate to charges of corruption or human rights violation.
RAW has also cited national security in refusing information. "The information sought for is of classified nature and has security implications,'' according to RAW.
Interestingly, most intelligence agencies world over are known to make at least some records public. "The world's top intelligence agencies do release old records, specially those dealing with their operations. In the last 10 years or so, CIA has released more than 30 million pages to public,'' Anuj Dhar, author of `CIA's Eye on South Asia' said. He added that UK's MI5 is also known to make periodic disclosure of its records even though it remains beyond the purview of the British Freedom of Information law.
PMO had recently said that it was holding 28,685 classified files and not one of them had been declassified this year while the defence ministry has not declassified any records in the past few years.
The manual that governs the declassification process in the government is itself classified.
Will the Dalai Lama visit Tawang?
This is the Dalai Lama's fifth visit to Tawang that he had passed through while fleeing to India in 1959. He has visited other parts of Arunachal six times since then. Beijing describes Tawang a part of China on grounds that the VIth Dalai Lama was born there in the 17th century.
The Sixth Dalai Lama is born in Tawang in 1683
Will the People's Republic of China 'allow' the Government of India to clear the Dalai Lama's long-pending visit to Tawang.
This is a serious question. The answer will show how far South Block is able to resist Beijing's bullying tactics.
The Dalai Lama has repeatedly said that he stood by the Agreement signed in March 1914 between his predecessor's Administration and the Representative of British India, Sir Henry McMahon. The McMahon Line has been (since 1914) and is still today the border between India and Tibet (whatever is the status of Tibet).
The fact that the Sixth Dalai is born in Tawang is irrelevant. Is France part of Kashmir because Dr. Karan Singh is born in Cannes on the French riviera? What about Liaquat Ali Khan born in Karnal, Haryana; Zia-ul-Haq born in Jallandar or Pervez Musharraf born in Darya Ganj, Delhi? Does this makes Haryana, Punjab or Delhi part of Pakistan?
Dalai Lama may visit Tawang in November
Prabin Kalita, TNN 11 September 2009
GUWAHATI/NEW DELHI: Amid reports of a Chinese military build-up in Tibet, the Dalai Lama has decided to visit Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as its own, in November.
The proposed visit comes exactly a year after the exiled Tibetan leader dropped his plan to visit Tawang "because of the Lok Sabha elections''.
"China doesn't need to worry about the trip. It's purely a spiritual and religious visit,'' said Chimme Choekyappa, the Dalai Lama's secretary. "All that I can tell you is that he is likely to go to Arunachal Pradesh in the second week of November. He is going there at the invitation from some local Buddhists,'' Choekyappa told TOI from Dharamsala.
Though officials in Dharamsala aren't sure if the Tibetan leader would visit Tawang during his trip to Arunachal in November as the "tour itinerary is still being planned'', they hint that the spiritual leader may visit Tawang just like he did last month when he visited Taiwan for a "spiritual visit'' despite protests by Beijing.
"India is a free country and there should be no problem in the Dalai Lama's visit to Tawang, considering the fact that he had come to India via Tawang and has visited the place before,'' said a Central Tibetan Administration official, on condition of anonymity. "We were very disappointed last year when the Indian government denied the Dalai Lama the permission to visit Tawang,'' the official added.
Last year, the Dalai Lama was denied permission to visit Tawang, reportedly under pressure from China.
Speaking about the proposed visit, T G Rimpoche, Congress MLA from Lumla and a close aide of the Dalai Lama, said the spiritual leader has agreed to visit Tawang. The trip is, however, subject to granting of the Restricted Area Permit by the Union home ministry a rule applicable to all foreign nationals visiting Arunachal. "It's now up to the Centre to grant him the permission,'' the MLA said.
He added that November is the right time for the Dalai Lama to visit Arunachal because the weather would be good and the October 13 Assembly elections would be over by then.
Besides holding spiritual and religious discourses, the Dalai Lama would inaugurate a multi-speciality hospital at Tawang with the money that he had got from his followers.
If the Dalai Lama visits Tawang in November, it's likely to infuriate the Chinese who have been claiming that not just Tawang but the entire Arunachal is part of their territory. The Chinese have raised their pitch on the border issue in recent months and the visit if it happens will cloud Sino-Indian ties, which have been under strain of late due to reports of violations and skirmishes along the international border.
"We are hopeful of the Indian government allowing the Dalai Lama's visit to Arunachal this time. It's a spiritual tour. Besides, it's important for India to take a firm stand on the issue of Tawang and send a signal to China,'' says the Tibetan official, on condition of anonymity.
It may be recalled that soon after his visit to China last year, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had gone to Arunachal to show that "the state was an integral part of India''. However, the PM didn't visit Tawang.
China warns Dalai Lama against Arunachal visit
China has opposed the planned visit of Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama [ Images ] to Arunachal Pradesh and voiced 'strong concern' over the November trip.
"China expresses strong concern about this information. The visit further reveals the Dalai clique's anti-China and separatist essence," the Washington Post reported on Friday quoting Reuters.
"China's stance on the so-called Arunachal Pradesh is consistent. We firmly oppose Dalai visiting the so-called Arunachal Pradesh," Jiang Yu, the spokeswoman for China's Foreign Ministry, was quoted as saying in the report.
The Dalai Lama, a Nobel Laureate, plans to visit Arunachal Pradesh in the middle of November though details are yet to be worked out.
Last year, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu visited Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh [ Images ] to invite the Dalai Lama to visit Tawang to inaugurate a hospital. The Dalai Lama has contributed Rs 20 lakh for its construction.
Tawang is home to one of the most sacred Buddhist monasteries. The Dalai Lama passed through this region when he fled into exile from Tibet [ Images ] in 1959. The sixth Dalai Lama was also born in Tawang in the 17th century.
Labels: Dalai Lama, Tawang
Recognition of Sowa Rigpa
Good news! The Tibetan medical system, known as Sowa Rigpa or Art of Healing, has officially been recognized by the Government of India. Sowa Rigpa is also practiced in the entire Himalayan belt.
Strangely, the word 'Tibet' or 'Tibetan' does not appear anywhere in the Government of India's release.
It is probably not upset the Chinese, the 'owner' of 'Tibet'?
Recently, I prepared a panel on Sowa Rigpa as part of an exhibition on Tibet. To download it, click here.
Amendment of the Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970 The Union Cabinet today approved The Indian Medicine Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2009 for amending the Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970.
Sowa-Rigpa commonly known as Amchi is one of the oldest surviving system of medicine in the world, popular in the Himalayan region of India. In India this system is practiced in Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Darjeeling (West Bengal), Lahoul and Spiti (Himachal Pradesh) and Ladakh region of Jammu & Kashmir.
The theory and practices of Sowa-Rigpa are similar to Ayurveda, and also include few principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The fundamental text book rgyud-bzi of Sowa-Rigpa is believed to have been taught by Buddha himself and is closely linked with Buddhist philosophy.
The Government of India has received representations from various quarters to grant recognition to the System of Sowa-Rigpa to enable it get a legal status. To confer legal status to Sowa-Rigpa amendments to section 2,3,8,9 and 17 of the Indian Medicine Central Council Act 1970, need to be carried out. The proposed amendments shall give effect to the inclusion of Sowa-Rigpa under sections 2,3,8,9 and 17 of the Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970 thereby recognizing this system legally.
It is expected that the legal recognition of Sowa-Rigpa will lead to the protection and preservation of this ancient system of medicine and will help in its propagation and development. This will also open new vistas leading to collaborative research and scientific validation of the Sowa-Rigpa system, besides conservation and protection of the medicinal plants/minerals used in the system. The recognition of Sowa-Rigpa will also lead to the setting up of a mechanism to regulate the education and practice of Sowa-Rigpa .
Labels: Himalayas, Sowa Rigpa, Tibetan medicine
Quick approval, quick arrest, quick trial, quick execution
Mr. Zhang Qingli only knows to 'strike hard'.
'Quick approval, quick arrest, quick trial, quick execution' is his favorite motto.
Mr. Zhang probably wants emulate his Beijing boss (and predecessor in Lhasa), Mr Hu who stroke so hard when he was Party Chief in Tibet (in 1988-1990), that Old Deng promoted him to the top.
Unfortunately for Mr Zhang, the Times they are a changing, as Dylan prophesied, and what worked twenty years ago, may not work in the future.
Source: TCHRD
China launches the “Strike Hard” campaign in Tibet ahead of major anniversary
The Chinese authorities in “Tibet Autonomous Regions” (‘TAR’) has decided to launch a new “Strike Hard” campaign ahead of the 60th Anniversary of the National Day Celebration (starting 1 October) according to the official report posted on Xizang Re bao (Tibet Daily) dated 8 September 2009.
Since last year’s major protests across the Tibetan areas, Chinese authorities have steadily stepped up repressive restrictions on the Tibetan people, with the increased presence of huge military forces that have consolidated greater control. This process will be accelerated by the launch of this “Strike Hard” campaign. According to the official newspaper the “TAR” Communist Party headed by “TAR” Party Secretary, Zhang Qingli held a video conference with the participation of other Party members, government officials and security forces of the region. The primary goal of the video conference was citied to be “proper delegation of roles of the concerned officials at all levels to strengthen cooperation, work closely together to maintain stability in the region and to ensure the smooth operation of the National Day celebration.”
Mr. Zhang lauded the Party members and security forces on the success in suppressing ‘riots’ and securing stability post March 14, 2008 and to take heed from last year’s success in putting more efforts in ‘checking and defeating the ‘Dalai clique’ and ‘separatists’ forces outside’.
Though the main objective of the “Strike Hard’ campaign is cited as securing stability in the region ahead of the 60th National Day Celebration, the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) is deeply concern that under the guise of this campaign as they did in the past, State law enforcement agencies will abuse the fundamental human rights of the Tibetan people by enforcing to arbitrary arrest, detention, interrogation, the targeting and forced expulsion of former political prisoners from the capital prior to the anniversary. State agencies will also keep close surveillance on the monastic populations and impose restrictions on the movement of monks and nuns. TCHRD condemns the launch of "Strike Hard" campaign and questions the motive ahead of this major event.
The last “Strike Hard” campaign that took place for 42-days, was launched on 18 January 2009, during which a total of 5,766 Tibetan suspects were rounded up and questioned. No official figure has ever been released regarding the number of suspects released or detained so far.
"Strike Hard" (Ch: Yanda) campaign which was initiated in China in 1983 as an attempt to reduce crime and fight corruption within China, but which evolved into a political tool of oppression. In Tibet the campaign is implemented with the single aim to stifle political dissent.
Labels: Strike Hard, Tibet, Zang Qingli
Reliance on other archives
The New Indian Express has published my article on the 'confiscation 'of the Indian archives.
Click here to read.
Labels: Article New Indian Express, History Declassification, India
Flawed Response to Incursions
This article has been published in the Edit Page of The Pioneer under the title Flawed Response to Incursions. Click here.
Labels: Article Pioneer, Chinese intrusions
Genetics, Dr. Watson!
Chinese speed boats often intrude into
Indian territorial waters on Panggong Tso in Ladakh
Chinese incursions are making headlines in the Indian Press. It is good. Not because the Chinese persist in trespassing into Indian territory, but because the media bring some light onto such disturbing happenings. Instinctively, not to say genetically, the Indian leadership prefers to hide the truth, to not “hurt our Chinese neighbours’ feelings” or “makes things worse”.
In pure Indian diplomatic tradition, Foreign minister SM Krishna stated: “With China, I think the boundary has been one of the most peaceful. So, there is no issue on that.” He added that there “is a built-in mechanism which is in place and which takes care of such incursions. India has so far acted with restraint maintaining that the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China is not very well defined.”
We could ask a question, why is the LAC not well defined? What is the point for successive NSAs to meet (13 times already since 2003), if they are not even able to define an ‘actual’ line? Apart from the fact that it proves the insincerity of the Chinese side which is not ready to make a first step to cool the tensions, the exercise seems a waste of public money.
This time, the Army had the courage to acknowledge the facts. The Army Chief, General Deepak Kapoor admitted that India had lodged a protest with Beijing on the incursion of a Chinese helicopter into Indian territory and the painting of some rocks in red.
The Press reported that “the army is gathering evidence from the spots where Chinese troops had painted rocks”. What does ‘gathering evidence’ mean? Does it imply that the Army is not aware of what is happening on the LAC in actual time? It is a serious and worrying lapse.
This shyness of the Indian politicians and officials is not new. It is probably a genetic feature of the Foreign Service.
Milam village near the Indo-Tibet border
In May, while spending some leisure time in Munsyari, the last town before the Indo-Tibet border in the Kumaon Hills, I located the ‘historian’ of area. Till the 1962 War, this tehsil used to be the main center for business with Western Tibet. Most of the Bothias, the local tribes lived on trade. Caravans used to depart from Milam, a village in Johar Valley, north of Munsyari and proceed to the trade markets around the Kailash-Mansarovar area. The old ‘historian’ told me a story which flabbergasted me. A gentleman native to the area, called Lakshan Singh Jangpangi, had joined the Foreign Service in the forties as a senior accountant in Indian Trade Mart of Gartok, east of the Kailash. In 1946, he was promoted to the important post of British Trade Agent. When India became independent, he continued to serve in the same position till he was transferred to Yatung in 1959. I was told that Mr Jangpangi, who from Gartok had a panoramic view on what was going on in Western Tibet, had informed his Minister (Jawaharlal Nehru) that the Chinese had started to build on the arid Aksai Chin plateau. It was 1951-52.
Crossing the Indian territory, the road only became the object of official correspondence with the Chinese Government seven years later. It was finally debated in the Parliament in 1959. Probably, the government did not want ‘to hurt Chinese sentiments’ or believe that time would solve the issue.
The most ironic part of the story is that Jangpangi was awarded the first Padma Shri Award given to a Kumaoni ‘for his meritorious services’. Was it for breaking the news or for having kept quiet? We will probably never know. Today, if a courageous historian requests one day the government to declassify this file, he will be quoted Article 8 (1) (a) of the Right to Information Act: “there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information, disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State”.
The Chinese incursions continued in the fifties in Garwal (Barahoti), Himachal Pradesh (Shipkila) and then spread to Ladakh and NEFA. Mao’s regime could have only been encouraged by the Government of India’s feeble complaints. Delhi was probably satisfied with its seasonal protests and the immediate denials from Beijing. Hundreds of such complaints have been recorded in the 14 Volumes of the White Papers published from 1959 to 1965 by the Ministry of External Affairs.
A telling incident is worth recalling. In September 1956, 20 Chinese crossed over the Shipki-la pass into Himachal Pradesh. A 27-member Border Security Force party met the Chinese the same day. The BSF were told by a Chinese officer that he was instructed to patrol right up to Hupsang Khad (4 miles south of Shipki La, the acknowledged border pass under the Panchsheel Agreement). The BSF were however advised "to avoid an armed clash but not yield to the Chinese troops."
Delhi did not know how to react. A few days later, Nehru wrote to the Foreign Secretary: "I agree with [your] suggestion …it would not be desirable for this question to be raised in the Lok Sabha at the present stage."
Chinese helicopter
The policy of the Indian government was to keep the matter quiet and eventually mention it 'informally' to the Chinese officials.
Finally, the MEA informed Beijing "The Government of India are pained and surprised at this conduct of the Chinese commanding officer."
This was fifty-three years ago. Is the situation different today?
One more irony: the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah stated that India has the right to respond: "It is our right to respond in case of ceasefire violations." Of course, he was speaking about Pakistan and the other corner of his State. He would not have dared to use these words with China.
It is depressing. I have an Indian friend, knowledgeable in defense matters, who always tells me that one should not worry, that genes can evolve, even Darwin says so. Is it just a matter or one or two generations for Indians to get Chinese genes? Let us see.
Labels: China, Chinese intrusions
Is China Really Serious About Improving Ties With India?
The Statesman published my article on the Consulate in Lhasa. Click here to read.
Labels: Article Statesman, China, Indian Consulate in Tibet
A non-offer by China
You can read on line my article A non-offer by China published in The Pioneer today
Labels: Article Pioneer, China, Indian Consulate in Tibet
Quick approval, quick arrest, quick trial, quick e...
Is China Really Serious About Improving Ties With ...
China Harmony or Chaos?
The History of a Consulate
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1812
|
__label__cc
| 0.582082
| 0.417918
|
The main threat to Ukraine – the flight of citizens from the country
More than half of Ukrainians believe that the most urgent threats to the country are the departure of citizens abroad and the economic downturn. This is evidenced by the results of a survey of the center for “Sociological monitoring”, ” Ukrainian Institute of social research”, company Info Sapiens and social group “Rating”, published on February 4. According to the results of the study, the most urgent threat to Ukraine is considered by the residents of the country to be the mass departure of Ukrainians abroad. This option was chosen by 55% of respondents. The second most dangerous is the economic downturn, which concerns 52% of respondents. At the same time, 47% of Ukrainians called the impoverishment of the population as the most threatening to the country, and 39% — the devaluation of the UAH, inflation. In fifth place in terms of threats to respondents is a full-scale war with Russia (35%), followed by the deterioration of the health of the nation (34%). At the same time, every third Ukrainian (33%) fears the collapse of the country. The sociological research was conducted from 19 to 30 January 2019. During it, 10 thousand respondents over 18 years in all regions of Ukraine were interviewed. Earlier, ex – Minister of economy of Ukraine Viktor Suslov spoke about the two most exciting Ukrainian topics. According to him, labor migration has put Ukraine on the edge of extinction, and the replenishment of the budget at the expense of guest workers says about the management crisis and the lack of prospects. According to the Deputy head of the national Bank of Ukraine Ekaterina Rozhkova, in 2018, labor migrants imported to Ukraine a record amount for the entire period of independence — $11 billion (722 billion rubles). The fall of the economy and living standards of Ukrainians after the victory of Euromaidan is evidenced by a number of studies. Thus, according to the Legatum Prosperity Index, in five years the level of welfare of Ukrainians fell from 64th to 111th place in the world. According to the happiness index Ukraine in 2013 was on the 87th position, and after the acquisition of visa-free and European vector was on the 138th. Such data shows World Happiness report.
← Ukraine opened a Pandora’s box
Records of labor migration drove the economy of Ukraine into a trap →
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1814
|
__label__wiki
| 0.962561
| 0.962561
|
Home World New Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, 92, inflicted a shock defeat on BN
New Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, 92, inflicted a shock defeat on BN
enewspaper.com.pk/Malaysia
Malaysia’s defeated leader Najib Razak on Saturday quit as head of the Barisan Nasional coalition and its main party after leading the coalition to a shock loss.
“I have taken the decision to step down as president of UMNO and chairman of Barisan Nasional (BN) immediately,” he told a press conference, surrounded by senior party members.
The United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) is the main party in the coalition.
An opposition alliance headed by new Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, 92, inflicted a shock defeat on BN in Wednesday’s election, ejecting the coalition from power after more than six decades of unbroken rule.
Mahathir, the world’s oldest elected leader, had retired as premier in 2003 after over two decades in the top job but staged a surprising comeback in a bid to oust his ex-protege Najib.
He was spurred out of retirement by allegations that Najib oversaw the wide-scale looting of sovereign wealth fund 1MDB. Najib and the fund deny any wrongdoing.
“If the party failed in the general election, the leader has the moral obligation to step aside. So based on this principle I have decided to give up both positions,” Najib said.
Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, the former deputy prime minister, would take over as UMNO president, he said.
“I urge all UMNO members to unite and support the new leadership.”
Earlier, Najib was banned from leaving the country with his wife after speculation mounted that they were about to flee, in a possible bid to avoid prosecution over the 1MDB case.
He insisted he was only planning to take a short break and return to Malaysia next week.
Previous articleEmbassy of Pakistan is taking concrete steps to promote Urdu Language in France
Next articleMAY 15; ISLAMABAD: UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO HEALTH FOR ALL IN AJK IS A PRIORITY, MASOOD KHAN
Enewspaper Team
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1815
|
__label__cc
| 0.668717
| 0.331283
|
Home/AMERICAS/Social responsibility is not an exclusive right of large corporations
AMERICASOPINIONSOCIETY
Social responsibility is not an exclusive right of large corporations
Peter Tase July 22, 2015
Universidad Simon Bolivar (USB) in Barranquilla, Colombia
By Peter Tase
Jorge Emilio Sierra Montoya was director of “La República”, the first business daily newspaper in Colombia and was the first director of the Latin American Institute of Leadership. Currently he is an Advisor on Social Responsibility at the Universidad Simon Bolivar (USB) of Barranquilla, Colombia (after serving earlier in the same capacity in the Colombian Association of Universities -ASCUN-) where he is the director of “Desarrollo Indoamericano” a renowned journal of Colombia, one of the most important publications on social issues in Latin America and the Caribbean.
With a University Education in Philosophy, Literature, Political Science and Economics, during the recent years Prof. Jorge Emilio has been recognized for his contributions to the study of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and has published three books: CSR: Lessons cases and lifestyles; New CSR Lessons and Basic lectures on CSR.
His most recent work is: Leadership with Values published by Digital Reasons, a Spanish publishing house (www.digitalreasons.es); in his essay collection “Arguments for the XXI Century”, Prof. Jorge Emilio highlights precisely the socially responsible leaders in different organizations in order to overcome the contemporary crisis in economics, politics, family, etc.
In continuation is included the full interview of Sierra Montoya given to Peter Tase (PT).
The trend of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
PT: There is no doubt, that Corporate Social Responsibility has become very trendy during the last years…
Jorge Emilio Sierra Montoya: In fact, CSR has seen a remarkable growth during the recent years not only in Colombia but also across Latin America and worldwide. This is why it has become a new fashion by many, but rather it is very trendy because at different companies, whatever their size maybe (large, medium, small, micro or family), this subject is mandatory and must be addressed at all of their levels.
At the same time, there are organized many forums about this issue, it is being studied in universities, especially the area of University Social Responsibility (USR) – and even the number of specialists in this field is increasing, just to cite some of the many indicators that clearly show how this issue has gained momentum and ceased to be neglected by a selected group of people, and has indeed become something very popular.
PT: How popular has it become in reality?
JESM: It is beginning to acquire popularity. Hence the Mass Communication, which is usually handling general topics of interest for the majority of the population, is beginning to report all issues concerning CSR and USR, including internal or institutional campaigns, while exercising their social responsibility, which is another way of promote it accurately.
PT: Why is it necessary that corporate leaders should understand the importance of developing social responsibility programs?
JESM: First, because CSR involves a fundamental change in the business sector, beginning with entrepreneurs themselves. Let me explain: For some time it was believed that the function of a company is to generate profits, income or wealth, always understood within the economic field, in terms of money or monetary resources. Of course, that’s common sense and fundamental, among other things because it is required for development, but it is not enough.
Today, however, there is a need for a company to seek both economic benefits and social benefits, thus promoting not only their owners or shareholders’ profits but the benefits of different stakeholders (such as employees, suppliers, community, etc.), with whom a corporation must be socially responsible.
It is therefore a much broader concept of a company; it includes the responsibility of employers and the responsibility that these groups have, that is, the social responsibility towards employees, suppliers, universities and the government…
All invest and everyone wins
PT: But there are those who believe that social responsibility is exclusive to large corporations where CSR programs are more ordinary.
JESM: It is true; they are seen obliged to adopt such programs because social responsibility also includes environmental issues that are of utmost importance today. Large companies should, therefore, be very strict on these areas and ensure high standards of environmental protection, increasingly required by international markets, under the internal laws of each country, and there are even laws of global proportions in nature that must respected. It is no wonder, afterward, that they are very committed to CSR policies.
PM: According to your thoughts, however, CSR should not only be a responsibility of large companies but also medium, small and micro or family enterprises. Why?
JESM: Let me insist that CSR applies to all companies, even smaller ones, and to other social organizations, it is far from reality in believing that CSR is unique to large private companies, public or joint ventures. Any organization can apply this model to be, above all, socially responsible. The same is true of the universities, newspapers or Mass Communication entities, families, etc.
Micro enterprises and Small & Medium Enterprises (SME) cannot be ignored or set this concept aside. And even if they have an economic limitation pertaining to such costs, they should see it as an investment, not as an expense, given the multiple benefits, including economic results that CSR generates. There is a great educational process required to change their attitude and learn to develop a corporate strategy that will generate economic, social and environmental value for the company and its stakeholders.
PT: Let’s explore the benefits that you mentioned. What are some of them?
JESM: In each company or organization you have to look at its stakeholders. However, the main group is the employees, who are seeking support with various programs (housing, health care, education, retirement plan…) within the framework of social responsibility. Why? It is obvious, as I said before, the responsibility of a company is not only to give benefits to their owners but share these benefits, with solidarity, with various interest groups and first of all, with its workers, to improve their living conditions.
PT: And what benefits do these workers bring to the company?
JESM: There are many. They range from acquiring a greater sense of belonging to the organization, increase productivity, efficiency and competitiveness or have a substantial reduction of labor disputes. Furthermore, it should be clarified that there are not only economic benefits. We must recall that in the business world of today there are so-called intangible assets whose value –allow me to reiterate- sometimes exceed the economic value of the company. And when a company is socially responsible, respect human and labor rights or promote policies such as environmental restrictions, tends to improve its reputation, image, brand or prestige, leading to greater consumer preferences, which results ultimately, in higher sales and then it corresponds to greater financial strength. Several studies have demonstrated and have backed these results.
University Projects
PT: Finally, We know that you have been engaged with the university sector for a long time, first at ASCUN and now at the Simon Bolivar University (USB) of Barranquilla, with the mission to establish plans that promote social responsibility. What can you tell us about this initiative?
JESM: Yes, I was in charge of Social Responsibility Projects at ASCUN, which is part of its corporate strategic plan, and recently assumed the same responsibilities at the USB, where we are developing specific projects such as the Centre for Social Responsibility and the CSR-USR by writing specialized books focused on this subject. I will never be tired of saying that universities, like mass media, have an enormous social responsibility, perhaps more than any other sector that could have a lesser impact on the collective wellbeing.
Azerbaijan and Colombia: dynamic cooperation on cultural, economic, political affairs
Brazilian Air Force mobilizes efforts to transfer victims of crash with Brazilian soccer team Chapecoense
Colombia – Venezuela encirclement and unilateral border closure
Colombian government, FARC rebels sign historic ceasefire agreement
Venezuela ranked as world’s most miserable country
Michelle Bachelet: Cooperation of MERCOSUR – Pacific Alliance is priority
Cristina Fernandez points her guns to the US and ‘vulture funds’, but no word on the Falklands
Guyana claims Venezuela is making “abnormal military deployments” near the border
Argentina and Brazil scheduled to meet Maduro over the border situation with Colombia
Peter Tase
Peter Tase is a contributor, freelance journalist and a research scholar of International Affairs, Paraguayan Studies, Middle East Studies and Latin American Affairs, located in the United States. Educated at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee and Marquette University Les Aspin Center for Government; Tase is the author of “Simultaneous Dictionary in Five Languages: Guarani, English, Italian, Albanian and Spanish” and “El Dr. FEDERICO FRANCO y Su Mandato Presidencial en la Historia del Paraguay.” He’s a frequent contributor to Foreign Policy News. His personal website is www.petertase.com
Trumping political success through an irate silent majority
ISIS transforming into functioning state that uses terror as tool – The missing angle
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1824
|
__label__cc
| 0.676055
| 0.323945
|
The Catholic press and some blogs have been covering Scottish composer, James McMillan's article on his blog concerning the composition of his Mass for the Papal Visit to Britain. In the article he reveals that Britain's "trendy" liturgists tried everything they could to prevent him getting the commission and later, branded the work as inappropriate for parish choirs. I would believe MacMillan because I remember a few months ago some "liturgical composers" complaining that MacMillan was an "art composer" and so not a good choice to write the new Mass.
Related to that story, I hear that the new priests' association here in Ireland is opposing the new translation of the Mass - no surprise there given its membership. They are saying the "people" will not take to it and that experiments in South Africa show that the new translation is a disaster. They did not say that when the "people" were confronted with the Novus Ordo in the 1970's, a much more stressful transition. Ironically, those who oppose the new translation want to hang on to the old one! But fathers, sisters, people, are we not supposed to be progressive - we move forward, not backwards!! The new translation is moving forward, move with it. Ah, how things go full circle!
Both stories reveal the tedious attempts by aging sixties revolutionaries to keep their Sandinista regime in place through manipulation of the liturgy. James MacMillan is one of the few great contemporary Catholic composers who can hold his head high in the music world. His work is infused with faith and beauty, and is well written, something most of the ditties composed for the liturgy over the last forty years lack. He is a professional composer who knows his art and excels in it - who better to write a Mass in the new translation? His genuine ability as a composer can be seen in the fact that he can write for amateur choirs and provide a Mass which can be sung by congregations - many composers today cannot do that, not even professionals. MacMillan has done that. Listening to the new Mass both at the Mass in Glasgow and then at Blessed John Henry's beatification, I was impressed - it is very beautiful and real, and it is sensitive to the nature of the liturgy and the varying abilities of choirs around the English speaking world. It will last, I think, unlike the compositions of some of our liturgical composers which sound outdated almost as soon as they are trawled out.
Now, a treat! Some MacMillan for our Sunday listening:
His Tu est Petrus, written for Pope Benedict XVI and performed at the Westminster Papal Mass. Can I get Rathkenny choir to perform this, I wonder?
His Gospel Fanfare at the same Mass. This is just fantastic!!
Posted by Father Director at 10:30 AM No comments:
Is The Giving Hand Failing?
Two interesting, but connected stories. One is the recent campaign by UNICEF to raise a million euro in two weeks. Their tag line is that 22,000 children will die today: "are you ok with that?" I first saw a campaign advert when I got back from Italy: a large banner hanging down the side of Liberty Hall in Dublin - Ireland's only skyscraper. On that particular banner the actor Liam Neeson poses with "Zero" written on his hand. The full text tells us that "Every day, 22,000 children die from preventable causes we can prevent". I smiled when I saw it. There are more children than that dying in the world every day from preventable causes, but UNICEF is not bothered to champion them - they are the approximately 115,000 who die in abortions each day.
The second story concerns the recent comments by the Papal Nuncio to the United Nations, Archbishop Francis Chullikatt. He asks the question that, given the fact that we do have the means to bring poverty to an end, do we really have the will? He was speaking before the UN General Assembly's Second Committee which deals with economic and financial matters. He spoke about the need for global solidarity rather than following "a feeling of vague compassion or shallow emotion". Eradicating poverty, he pointed out, should not be a matter of charity, but rather an obligation of the international community.
The two stories are linked: both concern the effectiveness of the UN and its various agencies, and, of course the role ideology plays in the organisation. As I mentioned in a previous blog, such agencies tend toward the easy solution, a solution which tends to create more problems than it solves. I note, for example, in the global battle against poverty, contraception is an important factor in the aid given. How many emergency response teams include contraception and abortion kits in their shipments to countries in need? You get the sense that it is presumed that the solution to poverty in developing countries is to prevent children being born - no children, no mouths to feed. In this regard it is important to note that UNICEF, a UN agency dedicated to the care of children, is pro-abortion, and is, in fact, an important global agency involved in promoting abortion services and "rights".
How seriously does the UN take the problem of poverty and need in the world? I'm not suggesting that there are not well-meaning people working for the UN doing what they can to help the poor, but the organisation itself is a hotch-potch of ideologies, and these ideologies tend to dictate the nature of the aid given to the poor. The Papal Nuncio is right to question the UN commitment to end poverty, not putting words in his mouth, I personally think the organisation has an agenda and certain people in it use philanthropy to promote that agenda.
The UN is not the only organisation to be tainted with such ideology. I am aware of certain aid agencies who promote the same ideology in their work. Even Catholic agencies have embraced these ideologies in direct contradiction to Church teaching, either providing contraception and abortion service themselves, or providing funding to organisations that do. For this reason I am very careful about where my money goes. Personally I support the Little Way Association - in doing so I know my money goes directly to those in need via the Church's structure (to projects directly sent through local bishop who passes it on - 100%). The organisation is staffed by volunteers, usually retired people, so little is spent on administration, and the monies put towards it come from separate donations specifically earmarked for admin.
In Ireland we have a saying, usually directed towards a generous benefactor, "May your giving hand never fail" (as you can see that particular blessing is tainted with future expectation!). One has to wonder is the giving hand of aid agencies ultimately failing and adding to global poverty as they put their agendas first?
Excellent article by John Mallon on CatholicVote.org on the topic of abortion. Well worth a read.
Labels: abortion, Archbishop Francis Chullikatt, contraception, Little Way Association, poverty, UN, UNICEF
Back from Italy after a wonderful few days of prayer. I have to say the north of Italy is a mine of gems when it comes to shrines and sanctuaries. As you know we spent a few days in Padua, at the sanctuary of St Anthony - even in these cold weeks crowds of pilgrims throng the Basilica. It was a great encouragement to prayer and meditation. If you are planning a holiday or pilgrimage, consider Padua.
Over the week I was reading Michael O'Brien's novel Father Elijah. I had heard about it when it first came out. Earlier this year a friend of mine read it and was gushing praise: he bought me a copy for my birthday - I finally got time to read it. What a read! I was hooked from the first page. I see from a brief google search that a few bloggers have reviewed it (good review here), so forgive me if I throw in my two-pence worth. The story is good - it is a fictional account of what might happen at the end when the Antichrist comes. Reading it I see it is very close to Robert Hugh Benson's Lord of the World. In literary terms, there are weaknesses, the first conversation between Fr Elijah and his prior in chapter one does not work, but there are also gems: the story of Fr Elijah and his wife in the chapter entitled "Ruth" is exquisite and tender. I won't reveal what happens, but O'Brien avoids determinism when it comes to the one who becomes the Antichrist and reminds us we all have a choice. If you have not read it, do (and I'm not on commission from the author).
The whole question of the Antichrist is one which pops up every now and again, usually accompanied by speculation as to who he (or she) will be, and if they are alive now. Is this the end, many ask? Well, it will be when you come to die! During the last presidential election in the US many thought one candidate resembled the Antichrist. I didn't go for that, although I have to admit when that candidate was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for doing nothing the word referring to the Antichrist: "And the whole world will fall down before him" immediately came to mind.
Do I think Obama is the Antichrist? No, I don't think so. But like many before him, his rise and the worship he inspires in many stands as a warning to us that we fall for the image and the meaningless word all too often, and at times at our peril. The Antichrist will be charming, kind, attractive and offer a new vision, a new hope, and people will fall for it hook, line and sinker. Yet behind it all, there will be nothing but the devious machinations of the devil. That is why we must stay close to Christ, to the Gospel and to prayer. In O'Brien's book we see some people who do not fall for the charade, not all of them religious, but people of good will with their senses about them. Interestingly, all of them have suffered and that suffering has brought wisdom. Perhaps it is those who have come to recognise the face of Jesus Christ and truth through suffering, who will see through the Christ-mask the Antichrist will wear.
So closeness to the Cross is important - it is wisdom, as St Paul tells us. It also reminds us that when it comes to life, salvation and the difficulties we face, the easy solution, the simple answer, are not always the best - in fact the easy solution may well be the worst: we see that already as our secular governments peddle the easy solution as the most compassionate, but yet the most destructive and immoral. Perhaps the Antichrist will be the man of easy solutions and many will think that is wisdom.
My friend suggested a movie based on the book would be brilliant: "The Fraternity can do something about that!" he said. Well, that will be hard at the moment, we do not have a production company, but we can dream - and pray. But, if you have read the book, any ideas for actors? Who would play Fr Elijah, the humble Carmelite priest sent on a mission by the pope to stop the Antichrist? Do I hear Michael Caine??? Robert de Niro?? Or Al Pacino??? Matt Damon...(The Elijah Ultimatum? No way!!). Tom Cruise???? I think it's time for my Holy Hour!
Labels: Antichrist, Father Elijah, Michael O'Brien, Padua, St Anthony
Terrorism and Nepotism
These are things we do not associate with the two saints whose feast we celebrate today, even though each one was in a prime position to go down the wrong road: SS Simon and Jude. Both are apostles, the foundation of our Church, and both come from different backgrounds.
St Simon is commonly called the Zealot. The Zealots were a group of extremist Jews who were in constant rebellion against the Romans during the occupation of Israel. Organised in the year 6 AD, the Zealots continue their struggle right up to 66AD when they incited the revolt which would lead to Masada, and the eventual destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD. Simon was one of their group, and was converted from his ways by the Lord, though the story of his conversion is not recorded in the Gospels. The Zealots were hanging around Jesus for a time, thinking he was the Messiah and would lead them in their revolt - they were correct in the first, wrong in the second. Simon had to come to realise that the Messiah was not to be a political figure - salvation is not political, it is on the level of the entire person. That is a message which was, and is, hard for many to get. In the Church today we have our Zealots who want a revolution within the Church as the means of reform, but that's not how things work. Living in an age when the world lives in fear of terrorism, St Simon should be a patron for these times.
St Jude is a different character. He was a relation of the Lord, and so well placed to climb the greasy pole, but it seems he had no intention: it was the brothers James and John who fell into that particular trap, although Scripture notes the apostles did squabble over who was the greatest, and Jude is not excluded. However, he came to his senses on that one, as did all the apostles, and he was content to serve rather than be served: a good lesson for those in the Church who want to further their ambitions or agendas, be they clerical or lay. Jude is often portrayed holding an image of Jesus at his breast. Some say it symbolises his relationship with Jesus, both as relation and loving disciple, but in fact it refers to the Cloth of Edessa - the mysterious cloth imprinted with the Image of Jesus which, according to tradition, the apostle brought to the king of Edessa. Recent research suggests that this cloth was in fact the Shroud of Turin. If it is, then St Jude was a custodian of the relic.
St Simon and St Jude were martyred, and their relics eventually brought to Rome, where they lie under the altar of the Chapel of St Joseph in St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.
Labels: Cloth of Edessa, Jewish Revolt, Nepotism, Shroud of Turin, St Jude, St Simon the Zealot, Terrorism
Saint of the Confessional
Here in Padua, St Anthony is not the only saintly notable. Another Franciscan elbows in for the limelight, St Leopold Mandic - a Croatian who settled in Padua and gained a reputation for holiness through his ministry in the confessional. We priests always need renewal in our ministry and how we administer the sacraments. It is too easy to get lax and dish out grace as if it was ordinary food. So close to the mystery, there is always the danger we become too familiar with it, too casual. We need to realise that when we administer the sacraments we are immersed in a great ocean of grace, a great mystery, which God in his goodness, has ordained us to pass on to our brothers and sisters. Confession is a great mystery - the mystery of God's mercy, the mystery of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus poured out on sinners with the intention of forgiving them their sins, regenerating them and strengthening them to pursue a life of holiness. St Leopold understood: I pray we priests may do the same.
There is a wonderful story from the life of St Leopold and St Pio. Both were Capuchins ministering around the same time, Leopold in Padua and Pio in San Giovanni Rotondo; both were renowned for their gifts in the confessional. One intrepid lady decided to compare and contrast the two. So she went to St Leopold in Padua, and came away delighted with his gentleness and kindness. She then popped down to the south of Italy to see how St Pio compared. She should have known better: Pio turned out to be very harsh with her during the confession. Indignant (funnily, I expected that!), she tore into Pio, proclaiming that he was not as nice as his brother Capuchin in the north: Padre Leopold was kind and gentle. Quick off the mark, St Pio turned and said: "He gets the easy ones: he sends all the difficult ones to me!" Touche, Padre Pio!!
Lovely videos on the life of St Leopold produced by his brother Capuchins:
Labels: Confession, Mercy, Padua, Priesthood, St Leopold Mandic, St Pio of Pietrelcina
Mission Sunday
Today, being Mission Sunday, the Church prays for her mission of evangelisation, and the missionaries who devote their lives to that apostolate. That mission is longer confined to foreign climes, but is now turing to the west, and to Europe in particular.
Here is the Holy Father's message for today's commemoration:
The month of October, with the celebration of World Mission Sunday, offers to diocesan and parish communities, institutes of consecrated life, ecclesial movements and the entire People of God an opportunity to renew the commitment to proclaim the Gospel and to give pastoral activities greater missionary perspective. This annual event invites us to live intensely the liturgical and catechetical, charitable and cultural processes through which Jesus Christ summons us to the banquet of his word and of the Eucharist, to taste the gift of his presence, to be formed at his school and to live ever more closely united to him, our teacher and Lord. He himself tells us, "He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him" (Jn 14: 21 ). Only on the basis of this encounter with the Love of God that changes life can we live in communion with him and with one another and offer our brothers and sisters a credible witness, accounting for the hope that is in us (cf. 1 Pt 3: 15). An adult faith, capable of entrusting itself totally to God with a filial attitude fostered by prayer, meditation on the word of God and study of the truth of the faith, is a prerequisite for furthering a new humanism founded on the Gospel of Jesus.
Furthermore, in many countries the various ecclesial activities are resumed in October, after the summer break, and the Church invites us to learn from Mary, by praying the Holy Rosary, to contemplate the Father's plan of love for humanity, to love her as he loves her. Is not this also the meaning of mission?
Indeed, the Father calls us to be sons and daughters loved in the beloved Son, and to recognize that we are all brothers and sisters in him who is the gift of salvation for humanity divided by discord and sin, and the revealer of the true face of God who "so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (Jn 3: 16).
"We wish to see Jesus" (Jn 12: 21 ), is the request in John's Gospel that some Greeks, who had arrived in Jerusalem for the paschal pilgrimage, address to the Apostle Philip. It also resonates in our hearts during this month of October which reminds us that the commitment to, and task of, Gospel proclamation is a duty of the whole Church, "by her very nature missionary" (Ad gentes, n. 2), and invites us to become champions of the newness of life made up of authentic relationships in communities founded on the Gospel. In a multiethnic society that is experiencing increasingly disturbing forms of loneliness and indifference, Christians must learn to offer signs of hope and to become universal brethren, cultivating the great ideals that transform history and, without false illusions or useless fears, must strive to make the planet a home for all peoples.
Like the Greek pilgrims of two thousand years ago, the people of our time too, even perhaps unbeknown to them, ask believers not only to "speak" of Jesus, but to "make Jesus seen", to make the face of the Redeemer shine out in every corner of the earth before the generations of the new millennium and especially before the young people of every continent, the privileged ones to whom the Gospel proclamation is intended. They must perceive that Christians bring Christ's word because he is the truth, because they have found in him the meaning and the truth for their own lives.
These considerations refer to the missionary mandate that all the baptized and the entire Church have received but that cannot be fulfilled without a profound personal, community and pastoral conversion. In fact, awareness of the call to proclaim the Gospel not only encourages every individual member of the faithful but also all diocesan and parish communities to integral renewal and ever greater openness to missionary cooperation among the Churches, to promote the proclamation of the Gospel in the heart of every person, of every people, culture, race and nationality in every place. This awareness is nourished through the work of Fidei Donum priests, consecrated people, catechists and lay missionaries in the constant endeavour to encourage ecclesial communion so that even the phenomenon of "interculturality" may be integrated in a model of unity in which the Gospel is a leaven of freedom and progress, a source of brotherhood, humility and peace (cf. Ad gentes, n. 8). The Church in fact "is in the nature of sacrament a sign and instrument, that is, of communion with God and of unity among all men" (Lumen gentium, n. 1).
Ecclesial communion is born from the encounter with the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who, through the Church's proclamation reaches out to human beings and creates fellowship with himself and hence with the Father and the Holy Spirit (cf. 1 Jn 1: 3). Christ establishes the new relationship between man and God. "He reveals to us that "God is love' (1 Jn 4: 8) and at the same time teaches us that the fundamental law of human perfection, and consequently of the transformation of the world, is the new commandment of love. He assures those who trust in the charity of God that the way of love is open to all men and that the effort to establish a universal brotherhood will not be in vain" (Gaudium et spes, n. 38).
The Church becomes "communion" on the basis of the Eucharist in which Christ, present in bread and in wine with his sacrifice of love builds the Church as his Body, uniting us with the Triune God and with one another (cf. 1 Cor 10: 16ff.). In the Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum caritatis I wrote, "The love that we celebrate in the sacrament is not something we can keep to ourselves. By its very nature it demands to be shared with everyone. What the world needs is God's love; it needs to encounter Christ and to believe in him" (n. 84). For this reason the Eucharist is not only the source and summit of the Church's life, but also of her mission: "an authentically Eucharistic Church is a missionary Church" (ibid.), which can bring all to communion with God, proclaiming with conviction "that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us" (1 Jn 1: 3).
Dear friends, on this World Mission Sunday in which the heart's gaze extends to the immense spaces of mission, let us all be protagonists of the Church's commitment to proclaim the Gospel. The missionary impulse has always been a sign of vitality for our Churches (cf. Encyclical Letter, Redemptoris missio, n. 2), with their cooperation and their unique witness of unity, brotherhood and solidarity that gives credibility to heralds of the Love that saves!
I therefore renew to everyone the invitation to pray and, despite financial difficulties, to offer fraternal and concrete help to support the young Churches. This act of love and sharing, which the precious service of the Pontifical Missionary Societies to which I express my gratitude will see to allocating, will support the formation of priests, seminarians and catechists in the most distant mission lands and will encourage the young ecclesial communities.
At the end of this annual Message for World Mission Sunday, I would like with special affection to express my gratitude to missionaries who bear witness to the coming of the Kingdom of God in the most remote and challenging places, often with their lives. To them, who are in the vanguard of the Gospel's proclamation, every believer offers friendship, closeness and support. May God who loves a cheerful giver (cf. 2 Cor 9: 7) fill them with spiritual fervour and deep joy.
As with the "Yes" of Mary, every generous response of the ecclesial community to the Divine invitation to love our brothers and sisters, will raise up a new Apostolic and ecclesial motherhood (cf. Gal 4: 4, 19, 26), leaving us struck by the mystery of the God of love who "when the time had fully come... sent forth his Son, born of a woman" (Gal 4: 4) to give faith and boldness to the new Apostles. Such a response will make everyone capable "rejoicing in hope" (Rom 12: 12) by realizing the project of God, who wills "that the whole human race form one people of God, be united in the one body of Christ, and be built up into one temple of the Holy Spirit" (Ad gentes, n. 7).
From the Vatican, 6 February 2010
Labels: Mission Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI
Arrived in Padua today for a few days of prayer and retreat at the tomb of St Anthony. Be assured that I will remember all those who read this blog in my prayer at his tomb. If you have any petitions, send your Guardian Angel with them to me. You'd never think it, but you have to tread carefully when it comes to St Anthony: two countries claim him, and give him their own title. His native Portuguese call him Anthony of Lisbon, and the Italians invoke him as Anthony of Padua and see him almost as a naturalised citizen. Others know him as Anthony the Opportunist who hides what you are looking for, makes you promise cash to get them back, and then produces the lost object and, bingo! Pay day! That is extortion, and we all keep him in business.
Seriously, St Anthony is one of the most loved of all saints, and rightly so. My devotion to him springs from my inheritance from my grandfather. Though he had died years before I was born, my grandmother gave me a prayer card which he had cherished in life - it was of St Anthony. I still have it, carefully preserved. Apart from his prowess in finding the lost, he is one of the Church's great Scripture scholars and preachers, and as such encourages us to make Scripture part of our daily lives - reading it, meditating on it and living it.
For what it is worth, I am posting the homily I delivered in his Basilica, during the Fraternity pilgrimage to Turin and Padua. Many of the pilgrims have requested a copy of it, so here it is. Forgive the typos and mistakes.
Mass at the Basilica of St Anthony (Il Santo), Padua
When Friar Anthony from Portugal was asked to preach a sermon at an ordination because there had been confusion over who was to speak, the experience would prove to be much greater than anyone had anticipated. They did not expect much – he was Portuguese – so not a native speaker of Italian; he had seemed rather quiet, and while faithful to his duties in the kitchen of the hospice of San Paolo, he did not give the impression of being very learned. Besides, there would be a number of Dominicans present and with their being renowned for their ability to preach, the poor Friar Anthony would be a meagre offering: it would be down to Franciscan humility and spiritual poverty to excuse his efforts. However, when Anthony began to speak, everyone was taken by surprise, not only was he eloquent, not only was he learned, but he knew the Gospels and Holy Scriptures so intimately that he seemed like a living icon of the Word of God himself. When St Francis heard of it, he immediately wrote to Anthony, calling him “My bishop”, and asked him if he would become the theologian of the new Order, and devote himself to teaching and preaching. Francis who knew Christ intimately recognised another who knew Christ in the depths of his soul and could entrust to him the formation of the friars. Later, in 1946, when he was declared a Doctor of the Church, St Anthony was given the title Doctor Evanglicus – the Evangelical Doctor - the Doctor of the Gospel.
As we gather in his basilica, near the ark which contains his sacred remains, we come to honour one of the Church’s most popular saints, but also to listen to him as we continue on our pilgrimage-retreat towards the Solemn Exposition of the Holy Shroud. To seek the Face of Christ – as this is our theme, indeed the desire of our lives, was also St Anthony’s desire. As he opened the Holy Gospels, therein, living and breathing in the Spirit, he found the Face of Christ:, Jesus, the Word of God present in the Scriptures. And so Anthony, on fire with this encounter, proclaimed he whom he had met in the Gospels to the world. A man transformed by the One he met in Scripture, continues to preach right down to our day for all who are prepared to listen. When he was canonised on the 30th May 1232 he was not a year dead, such was the popularity and obvious sanctity of this humble friar. This popularity continues, yet for all of it, Anthony’s life and mission remains a mystery to many who see him as no more than an aid in finding lost objects. The treasure which is St Anthony is not his ability to push the forgetful in the general direction of a lost possession, but rather his ability to lead the faithful on the path to Christ so they may find again the road to heaven and win the treasure which God has stored up for those who are faithful.
Anthony was born in Lisbon, in Portugal, just beside the ancient Sé, the magnificent cathedral of the city. In that holy place he was baptised, and in its shadow he grew up in a devout family, discerning a vocation to the priesthood and religious life. He joined the Augustinian Order and was ordained. In an attempt to escape the continual visits of his family, he asked to be sent to the Order’s community in Coimbra to dedicate his life to prayer, study and service. It was there in 1219 that he met a group of five Franciscan friars going out to Morocco to reach the Gospel. The following year, he was preset when the remains of the five who had been martyred were being brought to their resting place. Their example inspired him to seek admittance to the Franciscan Order – to leave behind the ease of the Augustinian life and embrace the poverty and simplicity exemplified by the now famous Francis who was still living in Italy and inspiring a real reform in the Church. Receiving the Franciscan habit in Coimbra, he set out for Morocco, to preach the faith and be martyred, but his health was bad, and he was sent back to Europe – to go Italy, making his way to Assisi for the General Chapter of 1221.
Looking so sickly when he arrived, he found it difficult to get an appointment – they did not expect him to live long. However, out of pity’s sake he was sent to work in the kitchens of the Hospice of San Paolo where his skills were discovered. Once he was appointed theologian of the Order, he spent the rest of his life travelling around Italy and Southern France preaching against the heresies of the day, working miracles and astonishing all by his humility and obvious sanctity. He drew huge crowds who came for many miles to hear him. In early 1231 he had his famous vision of the Infant Jesus, and on the 13th June of the same year, he died in the Poor Clare convent in Arcella at the age of 36. After a row over where his holy body should be buried, he was brought back to Padua which he had made his base in the last years of his life. A few years after his swift canonisation this magnificent basilica was built over the chapel in which his body was entombed. St Bonaventure in 1263, when Minister General of the Franciscan Order, had the Saint’s body examined a few years after his death and found his tongue and vocal cords, the organs of his preaching, incorrupt.
St Anthony of Padua, the teacher of the Gospel urges his listeners, his brothers and sisters in the faith, to put the Holy Scriptures at the centre of their lives, just as he did. If you wish to know God, if want to see his Face – go to the Holy Scriptures – this was his advice. “The Word of God is alive and active, it cuts more finely than a double edged sword”, so says the Psalmist, reminding us that the Scriptures are radical – that they are not ordinary literature, but the Word of the living God, the place where the Holy Spirit moves and works in a creative way, bringing the reader to an encounter with Christ who is the Word Incarnate. As the Word of God, we see that between each word of Scripture there are great spaces within which our loving God is present and reaching out to us. As we enter into the Scriptures, we encounter the living God who speaks to us, and so, if we allow him, he touches us, changes us, transforms us. As a master of the Scriptures, St Anthony opened himself to the Holy Spirit working in the Word of God, and preaching them, touched the hearts and lives of those he preached to. One primitive writer called him the “pen of the Holy Spirit”, Pope Gregory IX called him an “ark of the covenant”: Anthony was indeed an ark, because the Holy Scriptures had found a place in his mind and his heart and they led him to a deeper love and understanding of God. He was a true servant of the Gospel. The legacy of the Saint of Padua is one in which we are urged to go to the Scriptures and there to acquaint ourselves with the life and teaching of Jesus, with the Spirit moving through those sacred words, and come to see the meaning of our lives.
St Jerome, another great Doctor of Church tells us that “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ” – Anthony wholeheartedly agreed with that. Living in an age when most people were illiterate, and those who could read and write may not have had access to the Scriptures, now as we have now, Anthony’s sermons were completely based on the Word of God. He told the stories from the life of Jesus, taught the Lord’s teachings, spoke of the Old Testament and led his listeners into a deep understanding of the prophets, all of Scripture pointing to Jesus, the Incarnation and his mission of saving souls through his death and resurrection. His approach to the Scriptures was rich. Drawing on the tradition established by the post-Apostolic writers and Fathers of the Church, he saw the hidden treasures of the Scriptures and he opened the vault to admit even the humblest of people to enter into the palace of God’s Word. We know Anthony as the Saint of Miracles and the Wonder Worker, God gave him the gift of healing and miracles, not to make him a magician in the eyes of the people, but to assist him and to draw people’s attention to what he said: as in the public ministry of Jesus, they were signs.
What is the best way to honour St Anthony? Do we have to give up our simple devotion to him, ignore him when we have lost something. No, not at all. He has already made it clear through his miracles and assistance that he is happy to continue to help us in this little things. But we must also widen our devotion – make it greater so we will sit and listen to him, as did the people he preached to in life. And how do we do that? We may read his sermons – they are available and easy to read – we only have his notes written after his preaching, but they are enough. But we must eventually – (sooner rather than later I hope) to the Holy Scriptures and put them at the centre of our lives with the Holy Eucharist. Take your holy picture of St Anthony, and put it in your Bible, and allow him, in prayer, to lead you through the Sacred Words and then help you to meditate on them, to see your own life in them, and come to encounter the Hidden Face of Jesus, the Word of God Incarnate. St Anthony is a great Doctor of the Church, not for the academics and theologians, but for us, for you: he can be, and should be our teacher in the Scriptures.
Drawing on St Anthony’s own words, then. He says that Scripture contains the knowledge that surpasses all knowledge: “Just as gold excels all other metals in excellence”, he writes, “so does the knowledge of Sacred Scripture surpass all other forms of knowledge”. If we seek wisdom, then again, we will find it in Scripture: he says, “The plenitude of knowledge is found in the Old and New Testaments. Here also is the totality of knowledge which alone teaches wisdom and makes a person intelligent.” If we wish to love God more, as he reflects on Moses receiving the two tablets of stone from God on Sinai, he says: “These two tablets symbolise knowledge of the Two Testaments… This is the one true knowledge which teaches the love of God, the contempt of the world, and the subjugation of the flesh.” In his sermon for the Fifth Sunday after Easter, he compares Scripture to a mirror. He says: “A mirror is a fitting symbol for Sacred Scripture, because in it all of us can see ‘the face with which we were born; whence we were born, as far as the baseness of our origin, what kind were we born, as far as the frailty of our existence, and why we were born, as far as the dignity of our future glory.” As we find ourselves in Scripture, as we find the Lord, we must begin to listen to God’s word and live it. In the same sermon, again using the image of the mirror, he warns, “A man who listens to God’s word, but does not put it into practice is like a man who looks into a mirror at the face with which he was born, then goes off and promptly forgets what he looks like”. If we seek the Face of Christ, we need Sacred Scripture to assist us on our journey – it is the map, the blueprint, the Testament which will bring us to him.
An interesting miracle from his life serves as a good teaching about the life of a Christian. During one of his preaching tours, a notorious miser and usurer died. Teaching the necessity to put God at the centre of their lives, Anthony, in fulfilment of the Lord’s teaching that where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Lk 12:34), predicted that the miser’s heart would not be in his body, but with that he treasured most in life. When they opened his body, the corpse had no heart at all, when he opened his money chest, there was the heart lying in the midst of the miser’s carefully amassed coins. If our hearts are truly in immersed in Christ, then they will be found in the midst of the Holy Scriptures.
May the Holy Doctor of the Gospel, our dear St Anthony, the Saint of Miracles, help us keep Christ as the treasure of our lives and bring us to know and love him more. St Anthony’s last words are appropriate for our theme of our reflections on this pilgrimage-retreat. As he was dying, after he had received Holy Communion, he kept looking upward with a smile on his face. When asked what he saw there, he answered, “I see my Lord”. May that vision be ours also.
Labels: Lost Objects, Padua, Scripture, St Anthony
Today we are in Turin, the city of the Holy Shroud, and the city of St John Bosco. The Shroud has got a lot of coverage this year, but it is well worth visiting the Basilica of Mary, Help of Christians, the Motherhouse of the Salesians. St John Bosco, his co-foundress St Mary Mazzarello, and his protege, St Dominic Savio are all entombed in the church. To be honest, this church is perhaps one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. It is well designed, devotional and colourful - it would really appeal to children (to the child in you!) - maybe that was Don Bosco's idea (see below). The first time I visited the basilica I was gobsmacked and felt so poor - why can they have beautiful, artistic, prayerful and just wonderful churches here in Italy (and other places), while in Ireland many of our churches are of poor quality, and as for our modern churches: well, a stick of dynamite is the only answer there!
When I was in university, when discerning my vocation, I looked at the Salesians as a possibility. They had the chaplaincy in our college, so I had plenty of contact with them. I was very impressed by a number of them. They absolutely loved Don Bosco - for a youngster with little devotion to him it was a bit off-putting - but that was me, not them. Now, looking back on it, I admire them for the real desire to stay close to their founder (their father!) and to live his charism as best as they could - if only all orders did the same. One priest in particular impressed me - Fr Michael Hicks. He was an old man by the time I met him, and he was helping out in the chaplaincy. Every few days I'd ramble in after a lecture for a chat and cup of tea. He never had fresh milk, only the powered stuff, and while it coloured the tea, it did nothing for the temperature - I'd scald myself most of the time - but no bother on Fr Hicks. When a group of us set up a Legion of Mary praesidium in the college, he was right behind us and served as our spiritual director. He had many years of experience, and had travelled a great deal, so he had plenty of stories which we loved to hear. He was a real son of Don Bosco. He is gone to God, and I pray he has a high place in heaven with his founder.
So Fr Hicks led me to have great regard for Don Bosco. As I read more about him, I saw his relevance for our times - particularly his visions. His vision of the Church as a great barque caught in a storm, with the pope leading it to a safe haven between the two pillars of the Eucharist and Our Lady has proved providential. In the basilica here, that vision is depicted in vibrant colour.
Some inspirational videos on Don Bosco, first the vision, then a reflection on his life:
Labels: Church Architecture, Salesians, St John Bosco, Turin, Visions
Blessed Peacemaker
Today is the feast of Blessed Karl of Austria - the last emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, who tried to broker peace during the First World War. He was a true peacemaker, but suffered for it. Refusing to renounce his crown because he saw it not as an honour, but as vocation of service to his people, the allies and new regime in Austria sent him into exile, eventually putting him on the island of Madeira where he died in 1922. He was accompanied by his faithful wife, the Empress Zita, who is now also being considered for sainthood. Those who knew him recognised his holiness, and his desire to offer his life in service for his people. He was treated shamefully by the allies, a good man who fell victim an unjust desire for vengeance, a vengeance which would eventually be a major cause of the Second World War.
Blessed Karl has been occupying my thoughts since my visit to Vienna this summer. In fact I am developing a devotion to him. He is a wonderful model for Christian men - for politicians, yes; but most importantly for husbands and fathers. He had no interest in worldly honours, he saw himself called to a duty and a responsibility - that of a father to his people, and he sought to fulfill that responsibility as faithfully as he could. That he should find himself in the middle of one of history's most contentious periods was providential because he reveals how a Christian should respond. He was the only ruler to heed Pope Benedict XV's calls for peace and he tried to implement the pope's plan for bringing the war to an end - he got nowhere because people were not prepared to listen - they had too much at stake - power and national pride.
In a sense, I think Blessed Karl is a martyr of sorts - one who became an oblation for peace. In exile he sensed that he was being called to offer his life for his people and for peace. He spoke to Zita about it, and she discouraged him from making any such offering to the Lord knowing full well that it would be accepted. He prayed intensely about it, and he was led to understand that is what God was asking. Karl being Karl responded generously, and made an act of oblation, offering himself for his people and peace. He died soon after.
He and his family lived in poverty in their exile, and for a time he was not allowed by his keepers to go to Mass. He and Zita were separated from their children and not allowed visit them - the children were eventually brought to Madeira. He was loved by the people of the island, and he grew to love his exiled home. When he died, his remains were buried in the church of Our Lady of Monte, where they rest to this day. There have been attempts to have his relics translated to Austria, but up to now they have failed. Perhaps Blessed Karl, having found his last home with the people of Madeira, wants to stay with them, and so Austria, as it exiled its emperor has also lost a saint whose major sanctuary may remain among a foreign people who welcomed him as one of their own. There is something biblical about that - the first and the last, the ones who take the places of others at the banquet.... His website is here.
His wife, the Servant of God, Zita, suffered a great deal after this death. She moved to Spain, then, with Hitler on her heels, she had to flee across Europe, eventually finding a home in the US. In 1982 she was allowed to return to Austria for a visit. The government of Austria demanded that if she renounced her titles she could come home, she refused, but public pressure became too much for the government and they allowed her return. She did not stay, and returned to Switzerland where she died in 1989. Her remains were brought back to Vienna where, after a huge funeral in the cathedral, her remains were laid with the emperors and empresses in the crypt of the Capuchin church. Read more about her here.
Wonderful footage of Blessed Karl and Empress Zita's wedding:
During World War I, a visit to Bolsano:
His arrival on Madeira:
Labels: Blessed Karl of Austria, World War I, Zita of Austria
New Cardinals
The Holy Father has announced, as speculated, that he will hold a consistory on the 20th November and create twenty-four new cardinals. The list is below.
As expected Archbishop Dolan of New York and Archbishop Nichols are not included, as their predecessors are still under eighty, and so eligible to vote in a conclave. Both men deserve it, but they will have to wait until the next consistory.
Among the new Cardinals, the Holy Father is conferring the dignity on two priests: Mgr Walter Brandmuller, former president of the Pontifical Commission for Historical Sciences, and Mgr Domenico Bartolucci, former director of the Sistine Choir, all of whom are over eighty. I also see Archbishop Raymond Burke is included - delighted with that.
God bless them all, may they be true to their dignity and the colour they wear. We must accompany them with our prayers.
The List:
•Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints;
•Antonio Naguib, patriarch of Alexandria of the Copts,
•Robert Sarah, president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum,
•Francesco Monterisi, archpriest of St Paul's Outside the Walls,
•Fortunato Baldelli, major penitentiary of the Roman church,
•Raymond Burke, prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura,
•Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
•Paolo Sardi, pro-Patron of the Order of Malta,
•Mauro Piacenza, prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy
•Velasio DePaolis CS, prefect for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See (& papal delegate to the Legionaries of Christ)
•Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture
•Medardo Joseph Mazombwe, archbishop-emeritus of Lusaka (Zambia)
•Raul Eduardo Vela Chiliboga, archbishop-emeritus of Quito (Ecuador)
•Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, archbishop of Kinshasa
•Paolo Romeo, archbishop of Palermo
•Donald Wuerl, archbishop of Washington
•Raymundo Damasceno Assis, archbishop of Aparecida
•Kazmierz Nycz, archbishop of Warsaw
•Malcolm Ranjith, archbishop of Colombo
•Reinhard Marx, archbishop of Munich and Freising
•Archbishop Jose Manuel Estepa Llaurens, Military Ordinary-emeritus of Spain
•Bishop Elio Sgreccia, president-emeritus of the Pontifical Academy for Life
•Msgr Walter Brandmuller, president-emeritus of the Pontifical Commission for Historical Sciences
•Msgr Domenico Bartolucci, director-emeritus of the Sistine Choir
Labels: Cardinals, Consistory, Pope Benedict XVI
The Case of the Kangaroo in the Nightclub
The media here in Ireland have been devoting a good bit of time over the last couple of days to a situation in which a kangaroo (or wallaby) was brought into a Dublin nightclub during a birthday party and made fun of on the dance floor. Unconfirmed reports claim that the poor creature died from shock afterwards. Cruelty to animals is horrendous, we really reveal our inhumanity when we abuse those creatures God meant us to look after and care for as stewards of his creation.
That said, I was a little miffed at the coverage it got: not that it was reported - it needed to be to expose where we in Ireland find ourselves today, but that an item dealing with cruelty to animals received so much time when the media conveniently ignores the wilful murder of millions of innocent children each year, or if it covers the issue of abortion and embryonic harvesting and manipulation, it does so in order to defend and promote it. Or, as we saw last year, when the murder of a pro-life activist, Jim Pouillon, simply for silently praying at a pro-life event, was ignored by most of the media, the same media that made banner headlines over the equally inexcusable murder of an abortion doctor by people who claimed to be pro-life. Again it is another indication that the modern world has lost the plot.
In case this post turns into another rant, and you, dear readers, will be referring to me as the fuming priest on a roll again, we should look at the positive. Instead of complaining, what can we do? Well, I always turn to Fr Frank Pavone, a colleague at EWTN, and he inspires me to do what I can for the pro-life cause. Our paths have never crossed in the network, we are there at different times, but his presence is discernable through he work he has devoted his life to. God knows how he keeps his sanity and patience working in the area he does: he has a huge dose of charity. His organisation Priests for Life, does great work, as does Rachel's Vineyard, which he advises. It would be a good idea to support him in his work, but also all those who devote themselves to the pro-life cause. Word of caution: avoid the crazies - they do us more harm that good. Of course, my friends in the US will know that they devote the entire month of October to the pro-life cause, and refer to it as Respect Life Month.
Now I know there will be those who condemn me, say I am condoning the act of cruelty to an animal - I think I have established that I do not, I just happen to be more consistent in this issue than many who fight for the rights of animals but then repeat the inane slogan that it is a woman's right to choose: the devil said that to Eve in the garden, and see where we ended up! It is ironic to note that, it is because we defend abortion that such dreadful acts take place. After all, if we can kill our own in the womb, then acts of violence against innocent creatures should not surprise us: if we do not respect human life, then animal life will not even register on the radar.
Labels: abortion, animal rights, Fr Frank Pavone, Jim Pouillon, kangaroo, Media, Priests for Life, Rachel's Vineyard, Respect Life Month
"Ite Ad Joseph!"
As the Church continues to celebrate the canonisation of our new saints, one of them, St Andre Bessette, has a message for the Church of our time: "Ite ad Joseph!" Go to Joseph. St Andre was the founder of Montreal's great sanctuary to St Joseph, and through this humble brother's ministry, devotion to the husband of Our Lady experienced a great renewal in the Americas.
In the years since Vatican II many Catholics have forgotten about St Joseph - he seems to have been thrown out in the frenzied zeal of the reformers to "simplify" our faith. Yet the life of the Church is impoverished when the Saints are discarded. When we put the patron of the universal Church to one side, then that presents other problems. St Joseph, the just man, chosen by God as husband for Mary and guardian and father figure for Jesus, has an important role to play in the life of the Church and in the lives of each individual Christian. Hence, devotion to St Joseph brings many blessings and graces, as well as his protection. The canonisation of St Andre is call from the Lord, I believe, reminding us that we must put Joseph back into our lives. By the way, Wednesday is the day in the week dedicated to St Joseph.
My friend the exorcist (that sounds good!) was telling me about the power of St Joseph's intercession and protection. The demons, he said, hate him because they had no power over him. In his life on earth, it seems, Joseph resisted the temptations they laid in front of him: his love for Jesus and Mary was so strong, so complete, no earthly pleasure could distract him. Now there's a patron to have! One of St Joseph's titles is "Terror of Demons", so that fits. Apart from that, in St Joseph we see the model of the devoted servant of Christ. We also see the model for men and for fathers in particular. As radical, atheistic feminism has wrecked havoc in society and the Church, St Joseph provides for us men a refreshing antidote to the misandry which has become so prevalent in our times.
In this time of renewal and reform, we have a great friend in St Joseph, as many Saints have found. St Teresa of Avila said that whenever she went to Joseph for help, he never failed her: hence she placed the reform of the Carmelite Order into his hands, dedicating the first house of the reform to him. We would do well to dedicate all our efforts for renewal, personal and institutional, to him and allow him to lead us. St Andre once said that devotion to St Joseph was the way to heaven - how true that is. As St Joseph safely conducted Jesus and Mary into Egypt and then to Nazareth, he can bring us, safely and surely, to heaven. And let's face it, with Joseph on our side we're in with a pretty influential person: after all, if he asks Jesus to let us into heaven, can the One he brought up refuse him? Not likely!!
Prayer to St Joseph:
Remember, most pure spouse of Mary ever Virgin, my loving protector, Saint Joseph, that no one ever had recourse to your protection or asked for your aid without obtaining relief. Confiding, therefore, in your goodness, I come before you and humbly implore you. Despise not my petitions, foster-father of the Redeemer, but graciously receive them. Amen
Collect for the feast of St Andre Bessette:
Lord our God, friend of the lowly,
You gave your servant, Brother André,
a great devotion to Saint Joseph
and a special commitment to the poor and afflicted.
Through his intercession
help us to follow his example of prayer and love
and so come to share with him in Your glory.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Labels: St Andre Bessette, St Joseph
St Mary MacKillop: In the Heart of the Church
My sister Carmelite over at Te-Deum Blog, Diane Korzeniewski, draws our attention to an excellent article on St Mary MacKillop, the recent controversy over her excommunication, and the false interpretation of her life. It well worth a read.
Labels: Excommunication, St Mary Mackillop
A Prophet For Our Times
Today the Church in Poland celebrates for the first time the feast of Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko, the priest martyred in 1984 for daring to stand up to the country's Communist regime. I remember the events surrounding his disappearance, the finding of his body and funeral. His name became a slogan for freedom in the 1980's as people behind the Iron Curtain began to revolt against the oppression socialism had imposed on them for almost fifty years. I was always cautious about Blessed Jerzy because I had thought he was too political a figure. When his Cause was announced and proceeded, I had to wonder if he was really a martyr - his death seemed more political than religious. When Pope Benedict recognised his martyrdom I told myself to look again, so I began to read up on his life and murder.
It became apparent very quickly that his death was indeed martyrdom, and strangely his struggle seemed to have a relevance to Ireland and Europe in these years. As the day of his beatification came closer, legislation was passing through our parliament which enshrined in law unions which we, as Christians, believe to be deeply immoral. The legislation, establishing Civil Partnerships for same-sex couples, undermined the special relationship marriage has in our country, and seemed to criminalise Christian morality. That legislation was passed. In a homily I reminded politicians who claimed to be members in good standing of the Church, that according to the Gospel and Christian morality, they could not support that legislation, quoting the CDF's document on the issue. It opened a can of worms and even the Minister for Justice, who was sponsoring the legislation, condemned me in the press. An interesting side issue emerged when he said that he left his faith and conscience outside the door of the cabinet room - it had no place in his work as a public representative. Cue: John F. Kennedy's speech to Protestant ministers in Houston. The affair also led the Minister for the Environment and leader of the Green Party, to insist that the Church and her bishops should stick to the spiritual needs of their flock and not intrude in matters political. In response to this diktat, Archbishop Martin of Dublin had to remind the same Minister than only a year before he had asked the bishops of Ireland to help the government get the EU Lisbon Treaty passed by openly supporting it! I think we know that to be double standards.
Blessed Jerzy was also told by the Polish government to keep his nose out of "political matters" - of course those matters were actually religious and moral issues - human freedom and religious freedom. So too in Ireland - the issue of marriage is a human issue, a moral issue, and as the government has now enshrined penalties in law for those who, in conscience, cannot cooperate with what they believe is immoral, it is also an issue of religious freedom. In the end the bill was rushed through parliament without a vote, thus undermining the process of democracy: this was hailed as "mature" by the same politicians. I had thought, stupidly, that I had the right as a citizen of this nation to say what I believed, but what I said did not accord with the agenda of the ruling power of our country, so it seems I do not. I also thought that, as a pastor, I could remind my flock of what their Lord and Saviour taught them with regard to certain moral issues: again, it seems I was wrong in that. My government tells me I cannot preach the Church's moral teaching from the pulpit. I was branded as an interfering priest like (but certainly not on a parr with) St Thomas Beckett and Blessed Jerzy.
I thought Blessed Jerzy was too political a figure, but I was wrong, and I know why from personal experience. Should the Church and her ministers engage in matters which are classed as political? If they affect her, yes. The Church cannot and should not be silenced in the public square. Blessed Jerzy, in condemning the abuses of a tyrannical regime, spoke up for the oppressed as any Christian pastor should, and defended the rights of the Church and her members. The Church reserves the right to do the same. A democratic government will respect that and even listen to what the Church has to say instead of condemning her and attempting to undermine her.
Blessed Jerzy has since helped me in so many ways, particularly when dealing with the condemnation of a member of our government, and I am humbled by his prayers and presence. Since then I have been given a first class relic of Blessed Jerzy, and I treasure it - it is on the altar of my little chapel. I believe he is a saint for our times, given the gradual growth of secularism and increasing powers of the state. I think we should pray for his speedy canonisation, and his assistance in these difficult times.
by whose grace and power your holy martyr Blessed Jerzy
triumphed over suffering and was faithful unto death:
strengthen us with your grace,
that we may endure reproach and persecution
and faithfully bear witness to the name
of Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Trailer of a new movie about Blessed Jerzy:
Labels: Civil Partnerships, Communism, Ireland, Jerzy Popieluszko, Martyrdom, Poland
Tracking For Stalkers
Watching BBC News, I see that a new website is due to be launched next week which will track the movements of celebrities. Through JustSpotted.com fans will be able to keep an eye on their idols and where they are at any given moment. The idea, it seems was that people around the globe would be encouraged to keep an eye out for celebrities and then inform the website if they have spotted any via Twitter. The site has angered celebrities, so much so that Twitter has pulled out from the deal, but that will not be enough to stop the website going live on Tuesday because those running the site have other sources of information.
Well, we already know the world we are living in is one mad place, and this is just another lunatic idea. This website will be a stalker's paradise and, no doubt, we will probably see a rise in stalking incidents in the years to come. JustSpotted may need to have a permanent legal team on staff to deal with the various law suits which may be filed against them. Apart from that, one has ask the question, have the press/media learned nothing from recent events? More than likely if the paparazzi had not been so bolshie, and had more respect for celebrities' privacy, Diana, Princess of Wales would probably be alive today.
The excuse we often hear wheeled out is that celebrities have chosen to put their lives and careers in the public eye, so when the press follow them for stories, they should not be surprised. While there is an element of truth in that, common sense dictates that people, regardless of who they are or what they do, should be allowed personal space and respect which allows them the same rights and dignities all of us enjoy, including privacy. Again the media will say that people have a right to know - I'm not convinced by that one. I do not think anyone has the right to leer at other's people's private lives or misfortunes. Let's hope enough people have the sense to leave "celebrities" alone.
Of course, the message to those seeking fame - be careful, you might just get what you are looking for. In the last decade or so the rise of reality TV shows has allowed ambitious people a forum in which to become famous - Andy Warhol and his fifteen minutes has a lot to answer for! We now have people who are famous for being....famous! No talent, no career, just....a celebrity. That is another piece of lunacy of the age we live in. But it also reveals a hunger: people are looking for something, and think fame, the cult of celebrity, will satisfy that hunger. It doesn't - experience shows it creates problems. This new website is just one of the problems they face; although, given the insatiable need for fame some are nurturing, you might find some of them will be delighted to be stalked if it means they become a celebrities. Will we now have minor celebrities vying to get themselves spotted? As the song says, it's a mad world.
Labels: Celebrities, Reality Shows, Stalkers, Tracking
Interesting article in the Montreal Gazette on miracles, well worth a read.
Labels: Miracles, St Andre Bessette
Boost For Religious Life
All six Blesseds canonised today were members of religious orders, so might say that today religious life is getting a boost from the Lord. Each of the six have their own stories, experiences and difficulties, but all are united in their love of Christ and their desire to offer themselves to him in consecrated life. What is so wonderful is that all three vocations within traditional religious consecration are represented.
St Stanislaw Soltys was a priest and professed member of the Canons Regular of the Lateran. St Candida Maria de Jesus Cipitria y Barriola, St Guilia Salzano, St Camilla Battista Varano and St Mary MacKillop were sisters. St Andre Bessette was a professed brother. In their canonisation, the Church offers to all of us, but to our religious in particular, examples of how to follow Christ in every aspect of life. I am particularly delighted with St Andre's glorification because we need to be reminded of the unique vocation of the Brother. For too long professed brothers were seen as those who did not quite make the mark to be priests, yet their calling is as unique and particular as that of priests and sisters. St Andre reveals through his life the rich possibilities that exist within the vocation. He was not impoverished because he could not say Mass or hear confessions, he was enriched because in his calling he could exercise a ministry which the priests of his order were unable to do.
Yesterday's profession ceremony in Stamullen was beautiful - simple, yet solemn and wonderful. Sr Cora Marie vowed to live the evangelical counsels for the rest of her life while devoting herself to a life of prayer and service for the Church and the world. As one of the vows recalled, she was to be hidden with Christ in humble service. This is what each of our six new saints did: the fact that Sr Cora Marie's profession took place on the weekend of the canonisation of six religious, is no coincidence, I think, but providential. I hope many will follow in her steps, and inspired by the Church's holy religious, make the generous offering of their own lives.
Another wonderful thing about this canonisation is that it is a welcome moment for the religious of the west, and for Ireland, if they choose to acknowledge it. Many are depressed by the recent scandals - innocent and good religious who spent their lives in humble service of those in need, are now hated, despised and demonised by many in Irish society and the media here. They did no wrong, but they are crucified all the same. On the other hand, there are others who have thrown off their religious life and pursue "personally fulfilling lives" and chide the Church for her adherence to the teachings of Christ. Anyway, no giving out.
The renewal of religious life was one of the aims of the Second Vatican Council, and while many religious have gone haywire, as we say here, God love them, the renewal is still happening, even new forms of religious life are emerging - always a sign that a great spiritual regeneration is taking place. The two last times we had this was, first, in St Francis's time when the new form of friars emerged - these friars - Franciscan, Dominican, Carmelite, among others, were responsible for a great reform of the 12th and 13th centuries. Then, the second great period, was that around Trent. Again new, revolutionary forms developed - the Jesuits and Oratorians among them. And again these new orders, societies and congregations, joining forces with the existing Orders which reforming either from within or from breakaway groups, began a great evangelisation. Even a quick look at Church history teaches us that.
Now look at what is happening - Church history is repeating itself. New congregations and forms are emerging: new societies of friars, monks and nuns. The innovative form of the Secular Institutes, consecrated lay people and the myriad of movements which united priests, religious, consecrated and non-consecrated lay people. And God is confirming that these new ways of life sanctify, as, for example the canonisation of St Josemaria Escriva and beatification of Blessed Chiara Luce Badano prove. In Ireland, we are still waiting for that, although the movements are present, some of them. We need more of them, and we need new religious - particularly native foundations. When a man or woman finally founds a new congregation in Ireland, we will know the reform has begun. I hope our six new Saints will pray for that.
Labels: Andre Bessette, Camilla Battista Varano, Candida Maria de Jesus Cipitria, Chiara Badano, Guilia Salzano, Josemaria Escriva, Mary MacKillop, Religious Life, Second Vatican Council, Stanislaw Soltys
Ordinariates
Profession Day
La Madre
From Slave To Pope
In Thanksgiving
Servant of the Eucharist
On The Brink Of Catastrophe
A Couple of Reflections
Ubicumque et Semper: Full Text
Ubicumque et Semper
I Am A Daughter Of The Church
Apostolic Visitation
New Papal Arms
Things That Go Bump In The Night
Gospel Musings...Or Rant?
First Celebration
My Eyes have Seen Your Salvation!
Turks, Capuchins and A Nice Cup of Coffee
Don't Mention the War...
Get Ready: Root and Branch Reform!
Papal Heroism
Film Musings
Canonise Non-Catholics?
The Cause of Life
The Culture of Death Gets Its Gong
A Saint for Women Priests?
His Heart Sang Praise to the Lord
A Gift for the Rosary Month
Open the Doors for Christ!
Papal Vigil for the Unborn
"In the Palm of My Hand"
Fr Peyton Alive and Well
The Image of Prayer
Happy Feast Day, Guardian Angel
Thérèsianfest Update
The Days Like Beads....
Thérèsianfest!
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1827
|
__label__wiki
| 0.887764
| 0.887764
|
United States Senate elections, 2016
United States Senate elections, 2016 explained
Election Name: United States Senate elections, 2016
Type: legislative
Ongoing: no
Previous Election: United States Senate elections, 2014
Previous Year: 2014
Next Election: United States Senate elections, 2018
Next Year: 2018
Seats For Election: Class 3 (34 of the 100) seats in the United States Senate
Majority Seats: 51
Election Date: November 8, 2016
1Blank: Seats up
2Blank: Races won
Party1: Republican Party (United States)
Leader1: Mitch McConnell
Leaders Seat1: Kentucky
Seats Before1: 54
Seats After1: 52
Seat Change1: 2
Popular Vote1: 40,402,790
Percentage1: 42.4%
Swing1: 9.3%
1Data1: 24
Party2: Democratic Party (United States)
Leader2: Harry Reid
Leaders Seat2: Nevada
Swing2: 10.0%
Party4: Independent (United States)
Seats Before4: 2
Seats After4: 2
Popular Vote4: 562,935
Percentage4: 0.5%
1Data4: 0
Map Size: 320px
Before Election: Mitch McConnell
Before Party: Republican Party (United States)
After Election: Mitch McConnell
After Party: Republican Party (United States)
Elections to the United States Senate were held November 8, 2016. The presidential election, House elections, 14 gubernatorial elections, and many state and local elections were held on the same date.
In the 2016 Senate elections, 34 of the 100 seats—all class 3 Senate seats—were contested in regular elections; the winners will serve six-year terms until January 3, 2023. Class 3 was last up for election in 2010, when Republicans won a net gain of six seats.
In 2016, Democrats defended 10 seats, while Republicans defended 24 seats. Republicans, having won a majority of seats in the Senate in 2014, held the Senate majority with 54 seats before this election. Democrats won a net gain of two seats. Republicans retained control of the Senate for the 115th United States Congress. Only two incumbents lost their seats, Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire and Mark Kirk of Illinois, to Democrats Maggie Hassan and Tammy Duckworth, respectively. Despite Republicans retaining control of the Senate, 2016 marks the first time since 1986 that Democrats made a net gain of seats in class 3. This is the first and only election since the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913 where the winning party in every Senate election mirrored the winning party for their state in the presidential election.[1] [2]
This election marks the first time since 2000 in which the party in opposition to the elected or reelected presidential candidate made net gains in the Senate, with both cases being a Republican president and Democratic gains in the Senate.
With the retirement of Harry Reid, Chuck Schumer became the Democratic leader after the elections, while Mitch McConnell retained his position as Senate Majority Leader.
Results summary
All 34 Class 3 Senators were up for election in 2016; Class 3 consisted of 10 Democrats and 24 Republicans. Of the Senators not up for election, 34 Senators were Democrats, 30 Senators were Republicans and two Senators are independents who caucus with the Senate Democrats.
Before these elections
44 54 2 — — —
Not up
-- Gap for "Not up" -->
23 8 2 — — —
-- Gap for "Up" -->
0 0 0 — — —
Incumbent retired
3 2 — — — —
Incumbent ran
7 22 — — — —
2 Republicans replaced by 2 Democrats — — — —
20 — — — —
Total elected
Net gain/loss
Nationwide vote
51,269,434 40,761,406 562,935 1,950,641 680,966 1,237,790
53.54% 42.41% 0.58% 1.65% 0.71% 1.29%
Change in composition
Before the elections
width=50px D1 width=50px D2 width=50px D3 width=50px D4 width=50px D5 width=50px D6 width=50px D7 width=50px D8 width=50px D9 width=50px D10
D20 D19 D18 D17 D16 D15 D14 D13 D12 D11
D34 D33 D32 D31
Majority →
R21 R22 R23 R24 R25 R26 R27 R28 R29 R30
After the general elections
width=50px D width=50px D width=50px D width=50px D width=50px D width=50px D width=50px D width=50px D width=50px D width=50px D
D D D D D D D D D D
D D D D
I I R
R R R R R R R R R R
Final predictions of competitive seats in the general elections
Several sites and individuals publish predictions of competitive seats. These predictions look at factors such as the strength of the incumbent (if the incumbent is running for re-election), the strength of the candidates, and the partisan leanings of the state (reflected in part by the state's Cook Partisan Voting Index rating). The predictions assign ratings to each seat, with the rating indicating the predicted advantage that a party has in winning that seat. Most election predictors use "tossup" to indicate that neither party has an advantage, "lean" to indicate that one party has a slight advantage, "likely" or "favored" to indicate that one party has a significant but not insurmountable advantage, and "safe" or "solid" to indicate that one party has a near-certain chance of victory. Some predictions also include a "tilt" rating that indicates that one party has an advantage that is not quite as strong as the "lean" rating would indicate.
Where a site gives a percentage probability as its primary indicator of expected outcome, the chart below classifies a race as follows:
Tossup: 50-55%
Tilt: 56-60%
Lean: 61-75%
Likely: 76-93%
Safe: 94-100%
The New York Times' Upshot gave the Democrats a 60% chance of winning the Senate on August 24, 2016;[3] on September 23, their model gave Republicans a 58% chance to maintain control.[4]
All seats classified with at least one rating of anything other than "safe" or "solid" are listed below.
-- Colors:style="background:#f66"
style="background:#f99" style="background:#fcc" style="background:#fdd" style="background:#ddf" style="background:#ccf" style="background:#99f" style="background:#66f" -->
Roth.
Lisa Murkowski (R) 39.5%[13] <
--Sab-->
--Rot-->
--Kos-->
--RCP-->
--538-->
--NYT-->
--TPM-->
Murkowski
John McCain (R) 59.2% <
Michael Bennet (D) <
Marco Rubio (R) 48.9% <
Johnny Isakson (R) 58.1% <
Isakson
Mark Kirk (R) 48.2% <
Duckworth
Dan Coats (R)
56.4% <
Chuck Grassley (R) 64.5% <
Rand Paul (R) 55.7% <
David Vitter (R)
Roy Blunt (R) 54.3% <
Harry Reid (D)
Cortez Masto
Kelly Ayotte (R) 60.2% <
Richard Burr (R) 55.0% <
Rob Portman (R) 57.3% <
Pat Toomey (R) 51.0% <
Ron Johnson (R) 51.9% <
Cook, Sabato, Rothenberg, Daily Kos Elections, FiveThirtyEight, Real Clear Politics, Talking Points Memo, and the New York Times consider the states listed below to be safe seats for the party currently holding the seat.
Safe Republican
Safe Democratic
Alabama CaliforniaO
Arkansas Connecticut
Idaho Hawaii
Kansas MarylandO
North Dakota New York
Oklahoma Oregon
South Carolina Vermont
South Dakota Washington
O indicates an open seat
Close races
Red denotes Senate races won by Republicans; Blue denotes those won by Democrats.
States where the margin of victory was under 1%:
New Hampshire, 0.14%
States where the margin of victory was between 1% and 5%:
Pennsylvania, 1.43%
Nevada, 2.43%
Missouri, 2.79%
Wisconsin, 3.36%
States where the margin of victory was between 5% and 10%:
Colorado, 5.66%
North Carolina, 5.70%
Florida, 7.67%
Indiana, 9.70%
Primary dates
This table shows the primary dates for regularly-scheduled elections. It also shows the type of primary.
"Open" primary: any registered voter can vote in any party's primary
"Closed" primary, only voters registered with a specific party can vote in that party's primary.
"Top-two" primary, all candidates run against each other regardless of party affiliation, and the top two candidates advance to the second round of voting. (In Louisiana, a candidate can win the election by winning a majority of the vote in the first round.)
All of the various other primary types are classified as "hybrid." Alaska in 2008 provides one example of a hybrid primary: The Democratic Party allowed unaffiliated voters to vote in its primary, while the Republican Party only allowed party members to vote in its primary.
Date[14]
Type[15]
Mar. 1R Open
Mar 15 Hybrid
April 26 Hybrid
April 26 Closed
May 3 Open
May 17 Hybrid
May 17 Closed
May 24R Open
June 7 Top-two
June 7 Hybrid
June 7R Hybrid
June 14 Closed
June 14 Open
June 14R Hybrid
June 28 Hybrid
Aug 2 Closed
Aug 2 Open
Aug 2 Top-two
Aug 9 Hybrid
Aug 13 Open
Aug 16 Hybrid
Aug 30 Closed
Sep 13 Hybrid
Nov 8 Top-two
RIndicates a state that requires primary run-off elections under certain conditions.
Elections leading to the next Congress
In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 2017; ordered by state.
All of the elections involved the Class 3 seats.
Electoral history
Alabama Republican nowrap 1986
2010 Incumbent re-elected. nowrap √ Richard Shelby (Republican)[16] 64.0%
Ron Crumpton (Democratic)[17] 35.8%
Others (write-in) 0.2%
Alaska Republican nowrap
2010 Incumbent re-elected. nowrap √ Lisa Murkowski (Republican)[18] 44%
Joe Miller (Libertarian)[19] 29%
Margaret Stock (Independent)[20] [21] 13%
Ray Metcalfe (Democratic)[22] 12%
Arizona Republican nowrap 1986
2010 Incumbent re-elected. nowrap √ John McCain (Republican)[23] 53%
Ann Kirkpatrick (Democratic)[24] 41%
Pat Quinn (independent/Write-in)[25] [26]
Gary Swing (Green/Write-in)[27] 5%
Arkansas Republican nowrap 2010 Incumbent re-elected. nowrap √ John Boozman (Republican)[28] 59.7%
Conner Eldridge (Democratic)[29] 36.3%
Frank Gilbert (Libertarian)[30] 4.0%
California Democratic nowrap 1992
2010 Incumbent retired.
New senator elected.
Democratic hold. nowrap √ Kamala Harris (Democratic)[31] 61.8%
Loretta Sanchez (Democratic)[32] 38.2%
Colorado Democratic nowrap
2010 Incumbent re-elected. nowrap √ Michael Bennet (Democratic)[33] 50.0%
Darryl Glenn (Republican)[34] 44.3%
Lily Tang Williams (Libertarian)[35] 3.6
Arn Menconi (Green)[36] 1.3
Connecticut Democratic nowrap 2010 Incumbent re-elected. nowrap √ Richard Blumenthal (Democratic)[37] 63.2%
Dan Carter (Republican)[38] 34.6%
Richard Lion (Libertarian)[39] 1.1
Jeff Russell (Green)[40] 1.0
Florida Republican nowrap 2010 Incumbent re-elected. nowrap √ Marco Rubio (Republican)[41] 52.0%
Patrick Murphy (Democratic)[42] 44.3%
Paul Stanton (Libertarian)[43] 2.1
Georgia Republican nowrap 2004
2010 Incumbent re-elected. nowrap √ Johnny Isakson (Republican)[44] 54.8%
Jim Barksdale (Democratic)[45] 41%
Allen Buckley (Libertarian)[46] 4.16%
Hawaii Democratic nowrap
2014 (Special) Incumbent re-elected. nowrap √ Brian Schatz (Democratic)[47] 73.6%
John Carroll (Republican) 22.2%
Idaho Republican nowrap 1998
2010 Incumbent re-elected. nowrap √ Mike Crapo (Republican)[48] 66.1%
Jerry Sturgill (Democratic)[49] 27.8%Ray Writz (Constitution)6.0%
Illinois Republican nowrap 2010 Incumbent lost re-election.
Democratic gain. √ Tammy Duckworth (Democratic)[50] 54.9%
Mark Kirk (Republican)[51] 39.8%
Kent McMillen (Libertarian)[52] 3.2%
Scott Summers (Green)[53] 2.1
Indiana Republican nowrap 1989 (Appointed)
1990 (Special)
1998 (Retired)
Republican hold. nowrap √ Todd Young (Republican)[54] 52.1%
Evan Bayh (Democratic)[55] 42.4%
Lucy Brenton (Libertarian)[56] 5.5%
Iowa Republican nowrap 1980
2010 Incumbent re-elected. nowrap √ Chuck Grassley (Republican)[57] 60.1%
Patty Judge (Democratic)[58] 35.7%
John Heiderscheit (Libertarian)[59] 2.7
Kansas Republican nowrap 2010 Incumbent re-elected. nowrap √ Jerry Moran (Republican)[60] 62.1%
Patrick Wiesner (Democratic)[61] 32.2%
Robert Garrard (Libertarian)[62] 5.5%
Kentucky Republican nowrap 2010 Incumbent re-elected. nowrap √ Rand Paul (Republican)[63] 57.27%
Jim Gray (Democratic)[64] 42.73%
Louisiana Republican nowrap 2004
Republican hold. √John N. Kennedy (Republican)[65] 60.65%
Foster Campbell (Democratic)[66] 39.35%
Maryland Democratic nowrap 1986
Democratic hold. nowrap √ Chris Van Hollen (Democratic)[67] 60.9%
Kathy Szeliga (Republican)[68] 35.7%
Margaret Flowers (Green)[69]
Missouri Republican nowrap 2010 Incumbent re-elected. nowrap √ Roy Blunt (Republican)[70] 49.3%
Jason Kander (Democratic)[71] 46.2%
Jonathan Dine (Libertarian)[72]
Nevada Democratic nowrap 1986
Democratic hold. nowrap √ Catherine Cortez Masto (Democratic) 47.1%[73]
Joe Heck (Republican) 44.7%[74] Tom Jones (Independent American)
Tony Gumina (unaffiliated)
Tom Sawyer (unaffiliated)
Jarrod Michael Williams (unaffiliated)
(None of these candidates)
New Hampshire Republican nowrap 2010 Incumbent lost re-election.
Democratic gain. √ Maggie Hassan (Democratic) 47.97%[75]
Kelly Ayotte (Republican) 47.87%[76]
Brian Chabot (Libertarian)[77]
New York Democratic nowrap 1998
2010 Incumbent re-elected. nowrap √ Chuck Schumer (Democratic) 70.4%
Wendy Long (Republican) 27.4%[78]
Alex Merced (Libertarian)[79]
Robin Wilson (Green)[80]
North Carolina Republican nowrap 2004
2010 Incumbent re-elected. nowrap √ Richard Burr (Republican) 51.1%[81]
Deborah Ross (Democratic) 45.3%[82]
Sean Haugh (Libertarian)[83]
North Dakota Republican nowrap 2010 Incumbent re-elected. nowrap √ John Hoeven (Republican) 78.4%[84]
Eliot Glassheim (Democratic) 17.0%[85]
Robert Marquette (Libertarian)[86]
Ohio Republican nowrap 2010 Incumbent re-elected. nowrap √ Rob Portman (Republican) 58.0%[87]
Ted Strickland (Democratic) 37.1%[88]
Joseph DeMare (Green)[89]
Oklahoma Republican nowrap 2014 (Special) Incumbent re-elected. nowrap √ James Lankford (Republican) 67.7%
Mike Workman (Democratic) 24.5%[90]
Robert Murphy (Libertarian)[91]
Oregon Democratic nowrap 1996 (Special)
2010 Incumbent re-elected. nowrap √ Ron Wyden (Democratic) 56.1%
Mark Callahan (Republican) 33.35%[92]
Jim Lindsay (Libertarian)[93]
Eric Navickas (Green)
Pennsylvania Republican nowrap 2010 Incumbent re-elected. nowrap √ Pat Toomey (Republican) 48.9%[94]
Katie McGinty (Democratic) 47.2%[95]
Edward Clifford (Libertarian)[96]
South Carolina Republican nowrap
2014 (Special) Incumbent re-elected. nowrap √ Tim Scott (Republican) 60.5%
Thomas Dixon (Democratic) 37.0%[97]
Bill Bledsoe (Libertarian)[98]
South Dakota Republican nowrap 2004
2010 Incumbent re-elected. nowrap √ John Thune (Republican) 71.8%[99]
Jay Williams (Democratic) 28.2%[100]
Utah Republican nowrap 2010 Incumbent re-elected. nowrap √ Mike Lee (Republican) 68.1%[101]
Misty K. Snow (Democratic) 27.1%[102]
Stoney Fonua (Independent American)
Bill Barron (unaffiliated)
Vermont Democratic nowrap 1974
2010 Incumbent re-elected. nowrap √ Patrick Leahy (Democratic) 59.9%[103]
Scott Milne (Republican) 32.3%[104]
Pete Diamondstone (Liberty Union)
Cris Ericson (Marijuana)
Jerry Trudell (unaffiliated)
Washington Democratic nowrap 1992
2010 Incumbent re-elected. nowrap √ Patty Murray (Democratic) 59.04%[105]
Chris Vance (Republican) 40.96%[106]
Wisconsin Republican nowrap 2010 Incumbent re-elected. nowrap √ Ron Johnson (Republican) 50.19%[107]
Russ Feingold (Democratic) 46.84%[108]
Phil Anderson (Libertarian) 2.7%[109]
Election Name: Alabama election
Country: Alabama
Type: presidential
Previous Election: United States Senate election in Alabama, 2010
Next Election: United States Senate election in Alabama, 2022
Nominee1: Richard Shelby
Popular Vote1: 1,335,104
Nominee2: Ron Crumpton
Before Election: Richard Shelby
After Election: Richard Shelby
See main article: United States Senate election in Alabama, 2016.
See also: List of United States Senators from Alabama. Incumbent Republican Richard Shelby won re-election to a sixth term in office. The primaries were held on March 1. Ron Crumpton, a marijuana legalization activist, was the Democratic nominee.[16] Shelby won re-election with 63.9% of the vote.
Shelby was first elected to the Senate in 1986 as a Democrat and was easily re-elected in 1992 as such. He switched his party affiliation to Republican on November 9, 1994, one day after the Republicans won control of both houses in the midterm elections. He won his first full term as a Republican in 1998 by a large margin and faced no significant opposition in 2004 or 2010.
Following the divisive Republican primary in Mississippi ahead of the 2014 election in which Senator Thad Cochran was almost defeated, it had been speculated that Shelby could also face a Tea Party primary challenger, due to his lengthy tenure and support for federal largesse. However, that didn't happen, in part due to his large campaign war chest, which stood at $19.4 million as of September 2015.[16] If Shelby had decided to retire, numerous high-profile Alabama Republicans were speculated to run, including U.S. Representatives Robert Aderholt, Mo Brooks, Bradley Byrne, Gary Palmer, Martha Roby, and Mike Rogers, State Treasurer Young Boozer, State Speaker Mike Hubbard, Lieutenant Governor Kay Ivey, State Senate President Pro Tempore Del Marsh, Secretary of State John Merrill, U.S. Appeals Court Judge William H. Pryor, Jr., former Governor Bob Riley, and Attorney General Luther Strange.[110] [111] [112] Shelby announced in January 2015 that he would run for re-election.[113]
Election Name: Alaska election
Country: Alaska
Previous Election: United States Senate election in Alaska, 2010
Next Election: United States Senate election in Alaska, 2022
Nominee1: Lisa Murkowski
Nominee2: Joe Miller
Party2: Libertarian Party (United States)
Popular Vote2: 90,825
Nominee4: Margaret Stock
Nominee5: Ray Metcalfe
Before Election: Lisa Murkowski
After Election: Lisa Murkowski
See main article: United States Senate election in Alaska, 2016.
See also: List of United States Senators from Alaska. Two-term Senator Lisa Murkowski (Republican) was appointed in 2002 and elected to a full term in 2004. She was defeated in the Republican primary in 2010 by Joe Miller. She later ran as a write-in candidate in the 2010 general election and was re-elected to a second full term with 40% of the vote, making her one of two senators in US history to win election via write-in votes. She was 59 years old in 2016. She ran for re-election.[18]
Thomas Lamb, a candidate for the State House in 2006, and Bob Lochner filed to run against Murkowski.[114] Other potential Republican primary challengers included 2010 nominee and 2014 candidate Joe Miller, State Senator Mike J. Dunleavy, former Lieutenant Governor Mead Treadwell, and former Mayor of Anchorage Dan Sullivan.[115]
The only person to file for the Democratic primary as of May 20 was writer and satirist Richard Grayson, who previously sought election to Wyoming's House seat in 2014.[116] [117] [118] [114] Potential Democratic candidates included State Senator Dennis Egan, State Representative Andy Josephson, State Senator Bill Wielechowski, State Senator Hollis French and State Senate Minority Leader Johnny Ellis.[119] Former Senator Mark Begich was mentioned as a possible candidate,[120] but he declined to run.[121]
Murkowski won her primary on August 16, 2016 with 72 percent of the vote. Joe Miller received the Libertarian nomination and will run against Murkowski in the general election. Anchorage attorney and veteran Margaret Stock ran as an Independent candidate.[122]
Murkowski won re-election with 44% of the vote compared to Miller with 30% and Metcalfe with 11%. 15% went to other candidates. Murkowski has been re-elected three times now with 48% in 2004, 39.5% in 2010 and 44% in 2016, never having won a majority.
Election Name: Arizona election
Country: Arizona
Previous Election: United States Senate election in Arizona, 2010
Next Election: United States Senate election in Arizona, 2022
Nominee1: John McCain
Nominee2: Ann Kirkpatrick
Nominee4: Gary Swing
Party4: Green Party of the United States
Before Election: John McCain
After Election: John McCain
See main article: United States Senate election in Arizona, 2016.
See also: List of United States Senators from Arizona. Five-term Senator and Republican presidential candidate in 2008 John McCain was re-elected with 59% of the vote in 2010. He was 80 years old in 2016. Despite speculation that he might retire,[123] McCain ran for re-election.[23]
McCain faced primary challenges from Fair Tax activist Alex Meluskey,[124] businessman David Pizer,[125] talk radio host Clair Van Steenwyk,[126] and State Senator Kelli Ward.[127] David Pizer later dropped out of the race. Representatives Matt Salmon and David Schweikert were both mentioned as possible candidates,[128] but both chose not to run.[129] [130] Other potential Republican candidates included former Governor Jan Brewer,[131] businesswoman and 2014 gubernatorial candidate Christine Jones,[132] former Governor of Alaska and 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin,[133] former U.S. Representative John Shadegg,[134] and former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods.[134]
Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick[24] and teacher Lennie Clark[135] ran for the Democratic nomination. Lennie Clark dropped out and Ann Kirkpatrick became the Democratic nominee. Other potential Democratic candidates included U.S. Representative Ruben Gallego, former Surgeon General and 2012 nominee Richard Carmona, 2014 gubernatorial nominee Fred DuVal, Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, and retired astronaut Mark Kelly, who is the husband of ex-Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.[111] [136]
Sen. McCain won re-election with 53% to Kirkpatrick's 41%.
Election Name: Arkansas election
Country: Arkansas
Previous Election: United States Senate election in Arkansas, 2010
Next Election: United States Senate election in Arkansas, 2022
Nominee1: John Boozman
Nominee2: Conner Eldridge
Before Election: John Boozman
After Election: John Boozman
See main article: United States Senate election in Arkansas, 2016.
See also: List of United States Senators from Arkansas. One-term Senator John Boozman (Republican) defeated two-term Senator Blanche Lincoln with 58% of the vote in 2010. He was 65 years old in 2016. Despite speculation that he might retire following health problems,[137] [138] Boozman ran for re-election.[28] Fellow Republican Curtis Coleman, who ran against Boozman in 2010 but came in fifth place, ran again.[139]
Conner Eldridge, the former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, is the only Democrat who met the filing deadline.[140]
Frank Gilbert was the candidate for the Libertarian Party,[141] [142] [143] and Jason Tate was running a write-in campaign.[144]
Sen. Boozman won re-election with 60% to Eldridge's 36%.
Election Name: California election
Previous Election: United States Senate election in California, 2010
Next Election: United States Senate election in California, 2022
Candidate1: Kamala Harris
Color1: 77BB73
Candidate2: Loretta Sanchez
Color2: 5ba1d2
Before Election: Barbara Boxer
Before Party: Democratic Party (United States)
After Election: Kamala Harris
After Party: Democratic Party (United States)
See main article: United States Senate election in California, 2016.
See also: List of United States Senators from California. Four-term Senator Barbara Boxer (Democrat) was re-elected with 52% of the vote in 2010. Boxer declined to run for re-election.[145] California Attorney General Kamala Harris and U.S. Representative Loretta Sanchez, both Democrats, finished first and second, respectively,[146] in California's nonpartisan blanket primary, and will contest the general election. As such, Boxer's successor is guaranteed to be a Democrat.[147] This marks a historic first such occasion in California, ever since the Senate elections began in 1914.
Other Democrats on the primary ballot included "President" Cristina Grappo, Massie Munroe, Herbert Peters, Emory Rogers, and Steve Stokes.[148] Among the potential candidates who declined to run were Governor Jerry Brown, Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, U.S. Representatives Xavier Becerra and Adam Schiff, and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Former state Republican Party chairs Tom Del Beccaro[149] and Duf Sundheim,[150] and former State Senator Phil Wyman[151] [152] ran, along with Don Krampe,[153] Tom Palzer,[154] Karen Roseberry,[155] Greg Conlon, Von Huogo, Jerry Laws, Ron Unz, Jarrell Williamson, and George Yang.[148] State Assemblymen Rocky Chavez was running as well,[156] but withdrew from the race.[157] Republicans who were once considered potential candidates but ruled out runs included San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability and 2014 gubernatorial nominee Neel Kashkari, U.S. Representative Darrell Issa, and businesswoman and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2010 Carly Fiorina.[158]
Independent Mike Beitiks ran on a single-issue climate change platform.[159]
Polling conducted by the SurveyUSA from March 30, 2016 to April 3, 2016 indicated that Harris was ahead with 26%, compared to Rep. Sánchez with 22%, Del Beccaro with 8%, Wyman with 8%, and Sundheim with 3%; 7% of those polled were supporting other candidates, and 24% were undecided.[160]
Harris won the election with 62% of the vote to Sanchez's 38%.
Election Name: Colorado election
Country: Colorado
Previous Election: United States Senate election in Colorado, 2010
Next Election: United States Senate election in Colorado, 2022
Nominee1: Michael Bennet
Nominee2: Darryl Glenn
Before Election: Michael Bennet
After Election: Michael Bennet
See main article: United States Senate election in Colorado, 2016.
See also: List of United States Senators from Colorado. One-term Senator Michael Bennet (Democrat) was appointed in 2009 and elected to a full term with 48% of the vote in 2010. He was 51 years old in 2016. He ran for re-election.[33]
Businessman Robert Blaha,[161] former Aurora councilman Ryan Frazier,[162] El Paso County Commissioners Darryl Glenn,[34] and Peggy Littleton,[163] former Colorado State University Athletic Director Jack Graham,[164] State Representative Jon Keyser,[165] former SBA director Greg Lopez,[166] State Senator Tim Neville,[167] and Jefferson County Commissioner Donald Rosier[168] [169] ran for the Republican nomination. Glenn, Graham, Blaha, Keyser, and Frazier actually competed in the primary.
Darryl Glenn won the Republican nomination with 37% of the vote against four other opponents.[170]
Bennet won re-election with 50% of the vote to Glenn's 44%.
Election Name: Connecticut election
Country: Connecticut
Previous Election: United States Senate election in Connecticut, 2010
Next Election: United States Senate election in Connecticut, 2022
Nominee1: Richard Blumenthal
Nominee2: Dan Carter
Before Election: Richard Blumenthal
After Election: Richard Blumenthal
See main article: United States Senate election in Connecticut, 2016.
See also: List of United States Senators from Connecticut. One-term Senator Richard Blumenthal (Democrat) was elected with 55% of the vote in 2010. He was 70 years old in 2016. He ran for re-election.[37]
State Representative Dan Carter,[38] apparel company CEO and 2004 Senate nominee Jack Orchulli,[171] and former Olympic athlete August Wolf[172] ran for the Republican nomination. Another potential candidate was former West Hartford Town Councilor Joe Visconti, who ran for CT-01 in 2008 and ran as an Independent for Governor in 2014.[173] Former U.S. Comptroller General and 2014 candidate for Lieutenant Governor David M. Walker,[174] [175] former U.S. Representative and 2010 candidate Rob Simmons,[176] and economist and former CNBC television host Lawrence Kudlow declined to run.[177] [178]
Blumenthal won re-election with 63% of the vote to Carter's 35%.
Election Name: Florida election
Country: Florida
Previous Election: United States Senate election in Florida, 2010
Next Election: United States Senate election in Florida, 2022
Nominee1: Marco Rubio
Nominee2: Patrick Murphy
Before Election: Marco Rubio
After Election: Marco Rubio
See main article: United States Senate election in Florida, 2016.
See also: List of United States Senators from Florida. One-term Senator Marco Rubio (Republican) was elected in a three-way race with 49% of the vote in 2010. In April 2014, Rubio stated that he would not run for both the Senate and President in 2016, as Florida law prohibits a candidate from appearing twice on a ballot.[179] In April 2015, he announced that he would run for President and would not seek re-election.[180] After suspending his campaign on March 15, 2016, Rubio announced on June 22, 2016 that he changed his mind and will run for re-election.[41]
U.S. Representative Ron DeSantis, combat veteran Todd Wilcox,[181] real estate developer Carlos Beruff,[182] retired college lecturer Ilya Katz,[183] and Donald J. DeRenzo ran for the Republican nomination.[184] [185] Ben Carson, retired neurosurgeon and candidate for President in 2016 is also mentioned as a potential candidate.[186] On June 17, 2016, U.S. Representative David Jolly withdrew from the race to run for re-election to his House seat, four days after Rubio began openly considering reversing his decision to not run for re-election.[187]
U.S. Representative Patrick Murphy[42] defeated fellow representative Alan Grayson, as well as Pam Keith, Lateresa Jones, Richard Coleman, Sam Brian Gibbons, and Josh Larose, for the Democratic nomination. Murphy lost to incumbent Marco Rubio in the November general election on November 8.[188]
Sen. Rubio won re-election with 52% of the vote compared to Murphy's 44%.
Election Name: Georgia election
Country: Georgia (U.S. state)
Previous Election: United States Senate election in Georgia, 2010
Next Election: United States Senate election in Georgia, 2022
Nominee1: Johnny Isakson
Nominee2: Jim Barksdale
Before Election: Johnny Isakson
After Election: Johnny Isakson
See main article: United States Senate election in Georgia, 2016.
See also: List of United States Senators from Georgia. Two-term Senator Johnny Isakson (Republican) was re-elected with 58% of the vote in 2010. He was 71 years old in 2016. He ran for re-election.[44] In 2015, Isakson announced he was being treated for Parkinson's disease, but stated that his treatment would not interfere with his re-election campaign or his ability to serve another term.[189]
Mary Kay Bacallao, college professor, former Fayette County Board of Education member, and candidate for State Superintendent of Schools in 2014[190] and Derrick Grayson, candidate for the state's other Senate seat in 2014,[191] challenged Isakson for the Republican nomination. Isakson won the Republican nomination with more than three quarters of the vote.[192]
Investment firm executive Jim Barksdale,[45] project manager Cheryl Copeland,[193] and businessman John Coyne[194] ran for the Democratic nomination. USAF veteran Jim Knox was running but dropped out of the race.[195] Barksdale defeated Copeland in a close race to win the Democratic nomination.[192]
Sen. Isakson won re-election with 55% to Barksdale's 41%.
Election Name: Hawaii election
Country: Hawaii
Previous Election: United States Senate special election in Hawaii, 2014
Next Election: United States Senate election in Hawaii, 2022
Nominee1: Brian Schatz
Nominee2: John Carroll
Before Election: Brian Schatz
After Election: Brian Schatz
See main article: United States Senate election in Hawaii, 2016.
See also: List of United States Senators from Hawaii. In 2012, Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie appointed Lieutenant Governor Brian Schatz (Democrat) to take the place of deceased nine-term Senator Daniel Inouye. Schatz won a 2014 special election to serve the remainder of Inouye's term. Schatz ran for re-election.[37]
Former U.S. Representative and 2014 Senate candidate Colleen Hanabusa may challenge Schatz in the primary again,[196] while U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard declined to seek the Democratic nomination for the seat.[197]
Charles Collins, a Republican who ran for the Senate in 2012 and for Governor in 2014, was seeking the nomination again,[198] but withdrew from the race.[199]
Sen. Schatz won re-election with 74% of the vote compared to Carroll's 22%.
Election Name: Idaho election
Country: Idaho
Previous Election: United States Senate election in Idaho, 2010
Next Election: United States Senate election in Idaho, 2022
Nominee1: Mike Crapo
Nominee2: Jerry Sturgill
Nominee4: Ray Writz
Party4: Constitution Party (United States)
Before Election: Mike Crapo
After Election: Mike Crapo
See main article: United States Senate election in Idaho, 2016.
See also: List of United States Senators from Idaho. Three-term Senator Mike Crapo (Republican) was re-elected with 71% of the vote in 2010. Crapo was 65 years old in 2016. He ran for re-election.[48] U.S Representative Raul Labrador declined to challenge Crapo in the Republican primary.[200] [201]
Jerry Sturgill ran for the Democratic nomination.[49]
Perennial candidate Pro-Life ran as an independent.[202] [203] He was defeated in the Constitution Party primary on May 17, 2016 to Ray J. Writz.[204]
Sen. Crapo was re-elected.
Election Name: Illinois election
Country: Illinois
Previous Election: United States Senate election in Illinois, 2010
Next Election: United States Senate election in Illinois, 2022
Nominee1: Tammy Duckworth
Nominee2: Mark Kirk
Before Election: Mark Kirk
After Election: Tammy Duckworth
See main article: United States Senate election in Illinois, 2016.
See also: List of United States Senators from Illinois. One-term Senator Mark Kirk (Republican) was elected with 48% of the vote in 2010. He was 57 years old in 2016. He ran for re-election. Kirk suffered a stroke in January 2012 that kept him away from the Senate until January 2013.[205] In June 2013, he confirmed that he was planning to run for re-election,[206] but speculation he might retire persisted.[207] In November 2014, Kirk reiterated that he was going to run for re-election, saying: "No frickin' way am I retiring."[208]
Joe Walsh, a former U.S. Representative and conservative talk radio host, declined to challenge Kirk in the Republican primary.[209] Two others filed for the right to challenge Senator Kirk in the primary: businessman James Marter,[210] and Elizabeth Pahlke,[211] but Pahlke was disqualified, so only Marter was on the ballot running against Kirk.[212] On March 15, Kirk won the primary with 71% of the vote.[213]
U.S. Representative Tammy Duckworth,[214] President and CEO of the Chicago Urban League, Andrea Zopp,[215] and State Senator Napoleon Harris ran for the Democratic nomination.[216] [217] On March 15, Duckworth won the primary with 64% of the vote.[213]
In December 2015, Jim Brown, a teacher and former businessman, announced he was running as an independent.[218]
Chris Aguayo, an Iraq/Afghan War veteran and Veterans Party State Chair, announced he was running, representing the Veterans Party.[219]
Rep. Duckworth unseated Sen. Kirk with 55% compared to his 40%.
Election Name: Indiana election
Country: Indiana
Previous Election: United States Senate election in Indiana, 2010
Next Election: United States Senate election in Indiana, 2022
Nominee2: Evan Bayh
Nominee1: Todd Young
Nominee4: Lucy Brenton
Before Election: Dan Coats
After Election: Todd Young
See main article: United States Senate election in Indiana, 2016.
See also: List of United States Senators from Indiana. Three-term Senator Dan Coats (Republican) was elected with 55% of the vote in 2010; Coats served in the Senate from 1989 to 1999 and then returned to serve another term from 2011 to 2017. Coats did not run for re-election.[220] Republican candidates include U.S. Representatives Marlin Stutzman[221] and Todd Young.[54] Coats's chief of Staff Eric Holcomb was a candidate, but withdrew from the race.[222] [223]
Former U.S. Representative Baron Hill won the Democratic nomination on May 3, but withdrew in July 2016 in favor of Evan Bayh.[224] Bayh held the seat from 1999 until his retirement in 2011, and also served as Governor of Indiana from 1989 to 1997. Former non-profit director John Dickerson also announced he was going to run, but suspended his campaign in early 2016.[225] [226]
Former Sen. Bayh lost his bid to regain his seat to Rep. Young. Rep Young garnered 52% to Bayh's 42%
Election Name: Iowa election
Country: Iowa
Previous Election: United States Senate election in Iowa, 2010
Next Election: United States Senate election in Iowa, 2022
Nominee1: Chuck Grassley
Nominee2: Patty Judge
Before Election: Chuck Grassley
After Election: Chuck Grassley
See main article: United States Senate election in Iowa, 2016.
See also: List of United States Senators from Iowa. Six-term Senator Chuck Grassley was re-elected with 65% of the vote in 2010. He was 83 years old in 2016. He ran for re-election.[227] [228] Talk radio host Robert Rees announced he was going to challenge Grassley for the nomination,[229] but later withdrew.[230]
Former Lt Governor Patty Judge [58] earned the Democratic nomination by defeating State Senator Rob Hogg,[231] former state Senator Tom Fiegen,[232] and former state representative Bob Krause.[233] Former state representative Ray Zirkelbach[234] briefly ran but ended his campaign soon after.
Sen. Grassley won re-election with 60% to Judge's 36%.
Election Name: Kansas election
Country: Kansas
Previous Election: United States Senate election in Kansas, 2010
Next Election: United States Senate election in Kansas, 2022
Nominee1: Jerry Moran
Nominee2: Patrick Wiesner
Nominee4: Robert Garrard
Before Election: Jerry Moran
After Election: Jerry Moran
See main article: United States Senate election in Kansas, 2016.
See also: List of United States Senators from Kansas. One-term Senator Jerry Moran (Republican) was elected with 70% of the vote in 2010. He was 62 years old in 2016. He ran for re-election.[60] Radiologist and 2014 Senate candidate Milton R. Wolf and U.S. Representative Tim Huelskamp declined to run.[60] [111] [235] [236]
Patrick Wiesner,[61] an attorney and a candidate for the Senate in 2010 and 2014, defeated Monique Singh-Bey[237] for the Democratic nomination. Potential candidates who declined to run included Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer, 2014 Governor nominee Paul Davis, former Kansas City Mayor Joe Reardon, former U.S. Representative and 2008 nominee Jim Slattery, and 2014 KS-02 nominee Margie Wakefield.[111]
Sen. Moran won re-election with 62% to Wiesner's 32%.
Election Name: Kentucky election
Country: Kentucky
Previous Election: United States Senate election in Kentucky, 2010
Next Election: United States Senate election in Kentucky, 2022
Nominee1: Rand Paul
Nominee2: Jim Gray
Before Election: Rand Paul
After Election: Rand Paul
See main article: United States Senate election in Kentucky, 2016.
See also: List of United States Senators from Kentucky. One-term Senator Rand Paul (Republican) was elected with 56% of the vote in 2010. He was 53 years old in 2016. Paul filed for re-election,[63] although he was also running for President of the United States in 2016.[238] Although Kentucky law did not allow for a candidate to appear twice on the same ballot, Paul successfully convinced the Kentucky GOP to adopt a caucus system for 2016, allowing Paul to run for president and for the Senate simultaneously.[239] Kentucky law still bars Paul from appearing twice on the ballot in the general election.[239] However, on February 3, 2016, Paul ended his campaign for the presidency and ran for reelection.[240] James Gould and Stephen Slaughter filed to run against Paul.[241] Paul won the Republican primary, receiving 169,180 votes (about 85%); James R. Gould received 16,611 (about 8%) and Stephen Howard Slaughter received 13,728 (about 7%).[242]
Lexington Mayor Jim Gray,[64] Rory Houlihan,[243] Ron Leach,[244] Sellus Wilder[245] Jeff Kender, Tom Recktenwald (who was a candidate in 2014), and Grant Short ran for the Democratic nomination.[241] Gray won the nomination.
Paul won re-election with 57% of the vote to Gray's 43%.
Election Name: Louisiana election
Country: Louisiana
Previous Election: United States Senate election in Louisiana, 2010
Next Election: United States Senate election in Louisiana, 2022
Election Date: November 8 and December 10, 2016
Nominee1: John Kennedy
Nominee2: Foster Campbell
Before Election: David Vitter
After Election: John Kennedy
See main article: United States Senate election in Louisiana, 2016.
See also: List of United States Senators from Louisiana. Two-term Senator David Vitter (Republican) was re-elected with 57% of the vote in 2010. After losing the 2015 gubernatorial race, Vitter chose to retire from the Senate at the end of his term.[37] [246]
Republicans who ran for the seat included U.S. Representatives Charles Boustany[247] and John Fleming,[248] former U.S. Representative Joseph Cao,[249] State Treasurer John Kennedy,[65] retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Rob Maness,[250] and former Louisiana State Representative David Duke. Other potential Republican candidates included Public Service Commissioner Erik Skrmetta,[251] 2014 candidate for LA-05 Zach Dasher,[251] state representative Paul Hollis,[252] and former President of Jefferson Parish John Young.[253]
Democratic candidates included Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell,[66] attorney Derrick Edwards,[254] Caroline Fayard, an attorney and candidate for Lieutenant Governor in 2010,[255] and businessman Josh Pellerin.[256] Other potential Democratic candidates included state legislators Robert Johnson, Eric LaFleur, and Gary Smith, Jr., and Mayor of Alexandria Jacques Roy.[257] [258] [259] Former U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu and her brother, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, declined to run.[260]
As no candidate won a majority of the vote in the "jungle primary", a runoff election was held on December 10 to choose between Kennedy and Campbell (the 2 candidates with the most votes in the primary).[261] John Kennedy was declared the winner of the runoff election with 61% of the vote to Campbell's 39%.
Election Name: Maryland election
Country: Maryland
Previous Election: United States Senate election in Maryland, 2010
Next Election: United States Senate election in Maryland, 2022
Nominee1: Chris Van Hollen
Nominee2: Kathy Szeliga
Before Election: Barbara Mikulski
After Election: Chris Van Hollen
See main article: United States Senate election in Maryland, 2016.
See also: List of United States Senators from Maryland. Five-term U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski of the Democratic Party was re-elected with 62% of the vote in 2010. She is the longest-serving female Senator and the longest-serving woman in the history of the U.S. Congress. She is not seeking re-election.[262]
The candidates who filed for the Democratic nomination were: U.S. Representatives Donna Edwards[263] and Chris Van Hollen,[67] Freddie Donald Dickson, Jr., Ralph Jaffe, Theresa Scaldaferri, Charles Smith, Violate Staley, Blaine Taylor, Ed Tinus, and Lih Young.[264] Van Hollen won the April 26 primary.
The Republican candidates who filed were former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense and Senate candidate in 2012 Richard Douglas,[265] Chrys Kefalas,[266] State Delegate Kathy Szeliga,[68] Chris Chaffee, Sean Connor, John Graziani, Greg Holmes, Joseph David Hooe, Mark McNicholas, Lynn Richardson, Anthony Seda, Richard Shawver, Dave Walle, and Garry T. Yarrington.[264] Szeliga won the primary and will face Van Hollen in the general election.
Rep. Van Hollen won election to the Senate with 61% of the vote to Szeliga's 36%.
Election Name: Missouri election
Country: Missouri
Previous Election: United States Senate election in Missouri, 2010
Next Election: United States Senate election in Missouri, 2022
Nominee1: Roy Blunt
Percentage1: 49.18%
Nominee2: Jason Kander
Before Election: Roy Blunt
After Election: Roy Blunt
See main article: United States Senate election in Missouri, 2016.
See also: List of United States Senators from Missouri. One-term Senator Roy Blunt (Republican) was elected with 54% of the vote in 2010. He was 66 years old in 2016. He ran for re-election.[70] Former U.S. Representative and 2012 Senate nominee Todd Akin was rumored to be a possible candidate, but declined to run.[267] [268] Three candidates ran against Blunt for the Republican nomination, the best-known being sales manager, Tea Party activist, and 2010 candidate Kristin Nichols, but Blunt won decisively with 72% of the vote.
For the Democrats, Secretary of State Jason Kander[71] easily won the nomination, defeating Robert Mack, Pastor Cori Bush[269] [270] and activist Chief Wana Dubie.[271] Governor Jay Nixon and State Treasurer Clint Zweifel chose not to seek election to the Senate.[272] [273]
Sen. Blunt won re-election with 49% of the vote to Kander's 46%.
Election Name: Nevada election
Country: Nevada
Previous Election: United States Senate election in Nevada, 2010
Next Election: United States Senate election in Nevada, 2022
Nominee1: Catherine Cortez Masto
Nominee2: Joe Heck
Before Election: Harry Reid
After Election: Catherine Cortez Masto
See main article: United States Senate election in Nevada, 2016.
See also: List of United States Senators from Nevada. Five-term Senator and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (Democrat) was re-elected with 50% of the vote in 2010. Reid is not seeking re-election.[274] Former Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto earned the Democratic nomination, defeating Bobby Mahendra, Liddo Susan O'Briant, and Allen Rheinhart in the primary on June 14, 2016.
Congressman Joe Heck[74] defeated eight candidates, including 2010 nominee Sharron Angle,[275] who ran against Reid in 2010, for the Republican nomination.
Jarrod M. Williams, an independent candidate ran for the seat. He describes himself as a Democratic Socialist, a supporter of Bernie Sanders, and is a member of the Socialist Party USA, although the party doesn't have a chapter in the State of Nevada.
Cortez Masto was elected with 47.1% of the vote to Heck's 44.7%.
Election Name: New Hampshire election
Country: New Hampshire
Previous Election: United States Senate election in New Hampshire, 2010
Next Election: United States Senate election in New Hampshire, 2022
Nominee1: Maggie Hassan
Nominee2: Kelly Ayotte
Before Election: Kelly Ayotte
After Election: Maggie Hassan
See main article: United States Senate election in New Hampshire, 2016.
See also: List of United States Senators from New Hampshire. One-term Senator Kelly Ayotte (Republican) was elected with 60% of the vote in 2010. She was 48 years old in 2016. Ayotte ran for re-election.[76] Jim Rubens, a former state senator, candidate for Governor in 1998 and for the Senate in 2014, announced a challenge to Ayotte in the primary,[276] [277] but Ayotte won the nomination.
Brian Chabot is the Libertarian candidate for US Senate in 2016. He is a relative newcomer to politics, having run for US Senate in 2010 and US Representative in 2014.
Governor Maggie Hassan ran for the Democratic nomination.[75] Other potential candidates include Executive Councilor Chris Pappas, State Senators Dan Feltes and Donna Soucy, Portsmouth City Councilor and daughter of U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen Stefany Shaheen, and campaign manager for Senator Shaheen Mike Vlacich.[278]
A series of polls taken by WMUR/UNH in February, April, and July 2016, as well as WBUR polls taken in May and July/August, show Hassan gaining support over time and now leading Ayotte.
Gov. Hassan won a very close election, 353,978 or 47.97%, to Sen. Ayotte's 353,262 or 47.87%, a difference of 716 votes. Sen. Ayotte conceded the race to Gov. Hassan around noon Wednesday November 9, 2016.
Election Name: New York election
Country: New York
Previous Election: United States Senate election in New York, 2010
Next Election: United States Senate election in New York, 2022
Nominee1: Chuck Schumer
Nominee2: Wendy Long
Before Election: Chuck Schumer
After Election: Chuck Schumer
See main article: United States Senate election in New York, 2016.
See also: List of United States Senators from New York. Three-term Senator Chuck Schumer (Democrat) was re-elected with 66% of the vote in 2010. He was 66 years old in 2016. He ran for re-election.[37] Chuck Schumer has been elected leader of the Senate Democrats succeeding Harry Reid.[279]
Wendy Long, the Republican nominee in 2012, ran as the nominee of Republican, Conservative, and Reform Parties.[78] Other potential Republican candidates included U.S. Representatives Chris Gibson and Peter T. King.[280] U.S. Representative Richard L. Hanna, Manhattan Republican Party Chairwoman Adele Malpass, and former CNBC television host Larry Kudlow[281] were also mentioned as possible candidates, but all have declined to run.[280] [282]
Robin Laverne Wilson, the Green Party of New York nominee, received 1.5% of the vote.[283] Alex Merced, the Libertarian Party candidate,[284] received 0.7% of the vote.[283]
Election Name: North Carolina election
Country: North Carolina
Previous Election: United States Senate election in North Carolina, 2010
Next Election: United States Senate election in North Carolina, 2022
Nominee1: Richard Burr
Nominee2: Deborah K. Ross
Before Election: Richard Burr
After Election: Richard Burr
See main article: United States Senate election in North Carolina, 2016.
See also: List of United States Senators from North Carolina. Two-term Senator Richard Burr (Republican) was re-elected with 55% of the vote in 2010. He was 61 years old in 2016. There had been speculation that Burr might retire,[285] but he ran for re-election.[81] [286]
Three Republicans challenged Burr in the primary: Greg Brannon,[287] Larry Holmquist,[288] and former Superior Court Judge Paul Wright.[289] On March 15, Burr won the primary with 61% of the vote.[290]
Former state representative Deborah Ross,[82] Spring Lake Mayor Chris Rey,[291] businessman Kevin Griffin,[292] and retired U.S. Army Captain Ernest Reeves[293] ran for the Democratic nomination. Former U.S. Senator Kay Hagan,[294] state treasurer Janet Cowell,[295] and Anthony Foxx, the United States Secretary of Transportation and former Mayor of Charlotte, declined to run.[296] On March 15, Ross won the primary with 62% of the vote.[297]
Burr won re-election 51% to 45% for Ross.
Election Name: North Dakota election
Country: North Dakota
Previous Election: United States Senate election in North Dakota, 2010
Next Election: United States Senate election in North Dakota, 2022
Nominee1: John Hoeven
Nominee2: Eliot Glassheim
Party2: North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party
Before Election: John Hoeven
After Election: John Hoeven
See main article: United States Senate election in North Dakota, 2016.
See also: List of United States Senators from North Dakota. One-term Senator John Hoeven (Republican) was elected with 76% of the vote in 2010. He was 59 years old in 2016. He ran for re-election.[84]
Democrats endorsed state representative Eliot Glassheim[298] On November 7, 2015, the Libertarian party nominated Robert Marquette.
Hoeven defeated Glassheim 78% to 17%.
Election Name: Ohio election
Country: Ohio
Previous Election: United States Senate election in Ohio, 2010
Next Election: United States Senate election in Ohio, 2022
Nominee1: Rob Portman
Nominee2: Ted Strickland
Before Election: Rob Portman
After Election: Rob Portman
See main article: United States Senate election in Ohio, 2016.
See also: List of United States Senators from Ohio. One-term Senator Rob Portman (Republican) was elected with 57% of the vote in 2010. He was 60 years old in 2016. He ran for re-election. He had considered running for President, but decided not to.[87]
Two candidates filed to challenge him: Don Elijah Eckhart, who ran for OH-15 as an independent in 2008,[299] and Melissa Strzala, but Strzala was disqualified.[300] On March 15, Portman won the primary with 82% of the vote.
Former Governor and Congressman Ted Strickland, Cincinnati City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld, and occupational therapist Kelli Prather ran for the Democratic nomination.[301] [302] [303] Former State Representative Bob Hagan had filed papers to run,[304] but later withdrew from the race.[305] On March 15, Strickland won the primary with 65% of the vote.
Joseph DeMare, a machinist from Bowling Green, is the Green Party candidate. He ran unopposed in the March 15, 2016 primary, and received enough votes to substantially increase the number of enrolled Green Party members. In Ohio, the only way to join a political party is to vote in that Party's primary.
Election Name: Oklahoma election
Country: Oklahoma
Previous Election: United States Senate special election in Oklahoma, 2014
Next Election: United States Senate election in Oklahoma, 2022
Nominee1: James Lankford
Nominee2: Mike Workman
Before Election: James Lankford
After Election: James Lankford
See main article: United States Senate election in Oklahoma, 2016.
See also: List of United States Senators from Oklahoma. Two-term Senator Tom Coburn (Republican) was re-elected with 71% of the vote in 2010, but chose to leave office before the end of his term after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. James Lankford won the 2014 special election to serve the remainder of Coburn's term.[306] Lankford ran for re-election.[37]
Former Congressman Dan Boren was viewed by some Oklahoma political operatives as the only Democrat who could make the 2016 race competitive, but was seen as unlikely to run.[307] Lankford's 2014 special election opponent Constance N. Johnson has said that she plans to run again.[308]
Election Name: Oregon election
Country: Oregon
Previous Election: United States Senate election in Oregon, 2010
Next Election: United States Senate election in Oregon, 2022
Nominee1: Ron Wyden
Nominee2: Mark Callahan
Before Election: Ron Wyden
After Election: Ron Wyden
See main article: United States Senate election in Oregon, 2016.
See also: List of United States Senators from Oregon. Three-term Senator Ron Wyden (Democrat) was re-elected with 57% of the vote in 2010. He was 67 years old in 2016. He ran for re-election.[37]
Medford City Councilor Kevin Stine[309] and retired locomotive engineer Paul Weaver[310] challenged Wyden for the Democratic nomination. Wyden won the Democratic nomination.
Information technology consultant and 2014 candidate Mark Callahan,[92] businessman Sam Carpenter,[311] business consultant Dan Laschober,[312] Steven Reynolds,[310] and Lane County commissioner Faye Stewart[313] ran for the Republican nomination. Callahan won the Republican nomination.
Election Name: Pennsylvania election
Country: Pennsylvania
Previous Election: United States Senate election in Pennsylvania, 2010
Next Election: United States Senate election in Pennsylvania, 2022
Nominee1: Pat Toomey
Nominee2: Katie McGinty
Before Election: Pat Toomey
After Election: Pat Toomey
See main article: United States Senate election in Pennsylvania, 2016.
See also: List of United States Senators from Pennsylvania. One-term Senator Pat Toomey (Republican) was elected with 51% of the vote in 2010. He was 54 years old in 2016. Toomey ran for re-election.[94]
Everett Stern, a security intelligence consultant and whistleblower of the HSBC money laundering scandal, announced that he would challenge Toomey for the Republican nomination,[314] but has missed the filing deadline, so Toomey was unopposed in the primary.
Democratic candidates included Katie McGinty, former Chief of Staff to Governor Tom Wolf and former Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection,[95] former Congressman Joe Sestak, who defeated incumbent Senator Arlen Specter (a Democrat turned Republican turned back to Democrat) for the 2010 Democratic nomination, but lost to Toomey in the general election,[315] the current mayor of Braddock, Pennsylvania, John Fetterman,[316] who is an AmeriCorps alum and Harvard University graduate,[317] and small businessman and senate candidate in 2010 and 2012 Joseph Vodvarka.[318] Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski announced his candidacy for the seat but suspended his campaign due to an FBI investigation of Allentown.[319] McGinty won the primary and faced Toomey in the general election on November 8, 2016. Toomey defeated McGinty and retained the seat.
Election Name: South Carolina election
Country: South Carolina
Previous Election: United States Senate special election in South Carolina, 2014
Next Election: United States Senate election in South Carolina, 2022
Nominee1: Tim Scott
Nominee2: Thomas Dixon
Before Election: Tim Scott
After Election: Tim Scott
See main article: United States Senate election in South Carolina, 2016.
See also: List of United States Senators from South Carolina. Two-term Republican Senator Jim DeMint (Republican) was re-elected with 61% of the vote in 2010. He resigned at the start of 2013 to become President of The Heritage Foundation and U.S. Representative Tim Scott (Republican) of South Carolina's 1st congressional district was appointed to replace DeMint by Governor Nikki Haley.[320]
Scott subsequently won the special election in 2014 for the remaining two years of the term. Scott ran for re-election[37] and he was a potential Republican vice presidential nominee.[321] [322]
Other potential Republican candidates include Congressmen Mick Mulvaney,[323] Jeff Duncan and Mark Sanford, along with State Senator Tom Davis, State Treasurer Curtis Loftis and State Attorney General Alan Wilson.[321] Darla Moore was mentioned as a potential candidate for either party.[321]
On the Democratic side, pastor Thomas Dixon ran in the general primary on November 8, 2016 but was defeated by the incumbent, Scott.[97]
Election Name: South Dakota election
Country: South Dakota
Previous Election: United States Senate election in South Dakota, 2010
Next Election: United States Senate election in South Dakota, 2022
Nominee1: John Thune
Nominee2: Jay Williams
Before Election: John Thune
After Election: John Thune
See main article: United States Senate election in South Dakota, 2016.
See also: List of United States Senators from South Dakota. Two-term Senator John Thune (Republican) ran unopposed and was re-elected with 100% in 2010.[99]
Jay Williams, Chair of the Yankton County Democratic Party, and candidate for the State House in 2010 and 2014, is running for the Democratic nomination.[100] Other potential Democratic candidates include State Senator Bernie Hunhoff[324] and filmmaker and former television news producer Sam Hurst.[325]
Former U.S. Representative Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, Sioux Falls Mayor Mike Heuther, and 2014 nominee Rick Weiland all declined to run.[326] [327]
Election Name: Utah election
Country: Utah
Previous Election: United States Senate election in Utah, 2010
Next Election: United States Senate election in Utah, 2022
Nominee1: Mike Lee
Nominee2: Misty Snow
Before Election: Mike Lee
After Election: Mike Lee
See main article: United States Senate election in Utah, 2016.
See also: List of United States Senators from Utah. One-term Senator Mike Lee (Republican) was elected with 62% of the vote in 2010. He was 45 years old in 2016. He ran for re-election.[101] State party chair Thomas Wright, former State Senator Dan Liljenquist, State Senator Aaron Osmond, Congressman Jason Chaffetz, Congressman Chris Stewart, former Governor of Utah Mike Leavitt, and Mitt Romney's son Josh Romney[328] [329] [330] were mentioned as potential primary challengers, but all declined to run.[331] [332] Lee ran unopposed at the Utah Republican convention and is the Republican nominee.[333]
Marriage therapist Jonathan Swinton[334] and grocery store clerk Misty Snow, a transgender woman, ran for the Democratic nomination. Snow defeated Swinton by more than 20 percentage points, running to the left of Swinton, criticizing him for supporting limitations on abortion rights. She became the first transgender woman to become a major party's nominee for the Senate.[335]
Election Name: Vermont election
Country: Vermont
Previous Election: United States Senate election in Vermont, 2010
Next Election: United States Senate election in Vermont, 2022
Nominee1: Patrick Leahy
Nominee2: Scott Milne
Before Election: Patrick Leahy
After Election: Patrick Leahy
See main article: United States Senate election in Vermont, 2016.
See also: List of United States Senators from Vermont. Seven-term Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy was re-elected with 64% of the vote in 2010. Leahy won re-election in 2016, aged 76.[103]
Scott Milne, the Republican nominee who narrowly lost the 2014 Vermont gubernatorial election, ran unsuccessfully against Leahy.[336] [337]
Election Name: Washington election
Country: Washington
Previous Election: United States Senate election in Washington, 2010
Next Election: United States Senate election in Washington, 2022
Nominee1: Patty Murray
Nominee2: Chris Vance
Before Election: Patty Murray
After Election: Patty Murray
See main article: United States Senate election in Washington, 2016.
See also: List of United States Senators from Washington. Four-term Senator Patty Murray (Democrat) was re-elected with 52% of the vote in 2010. She ran successfully for re-election against Republican candidate Chris Vance.[106] Congressman Dave Reichert was considered a potential Republican candidate[338] but chose to run for reelection.[339]
Election Name: Wisconsin election
Country: Wisconsin
Previous Election: United States Senate election in Wisconsin, 2010
Next Election: United States Senate election in Wisconsin, 2022
Nominee1: Ron Johnson
Nominee2: Russ Feingold
Before Election: Ron Johnson
After Election: Ron Johnson
See main article: United States Senate election in Wisconsin, 2016.
See also: List of United States Senators from Wisconsin. One-term Senator Ron Johnson (Republican) defeated three-term Senator Russ Feingold (Democrat) with 52% of the vote in 2010.
On May 14, 2015, Feingold announced that he would seek a rematch against Johnson for his former Senate seat.[108] Immediately after his announcement, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee endorsed Feingold's candidacy.[340] Businesswoman and 2014 gubernatorial nominee Mary Burke has declared that she is not seeking statewide office in 2016.[341]
Johnson and Feingold faced each other again, and Johnson again defeated Feingold, in what many observers and pundits considered to be a surprising and uphill victory.[107]
United States elections, 2016 (other elections being held at the same time)
United States House of Representatives elections, 2016
United States presidential election, 2016
United States gubernatorial elections, 2016
United States Senate elections, 2010 (the previous election for this class of Senators)
Web site: WaunaKeegan Results. WaunaKeegan. January 13, 2017.
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/there-were-no-purple-states-on-tuesday/ There Were No Purple* States On Tuesday
News: Katz. Josh. August 24, 2016. Democrats Have a 60 Percent Chance to Retake the Senate. NYT. August 25, 2016.
News: 2016 Senate Election Forecast. September 23, 2016. September 23, 2016.
Web site: 2016 Senate Race Ratings. November 2, 2016. November 3, 2016.
News: 2016 Senate. November 7, 2016. University of Virginia Center for Politics. November 7, 2016.
Web site: 2016 Senate Ratings (November 3, 2016). Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. November 3, 2016.
Web site: Daily Kos: Election Outlook: 2016 Race Ratings. Daily Kos. Daily Kos. November 8, 2016.
Web site: Battle for the Senate 2016. Real Clear Politics. November 3, 2016.
Web site: 2016 Senate Forecast. FiveThirtyEight. November 7, 2016.
News: 2016 Senate Forecast. The New York Times. November 7, 2016.
Web site: 2016 Senate Forecast. Talking Points Memo. November 5, 2016.
In the 2010 election, Republican nominee Joe Miller won 35.5% of the vote. Murkowski won as a write-in candidate with 39.5% of the vote.
Web site: 2016 PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY DATES AND CANDIDATE FILING DEADLINES FOR BALLOT ACCESS. FEC. April 26, 2016.
Web site: STATE PRIMARY ELECTION TYPES. May 19, 2016. National Conference of State Legislatures. June 24, 2014.
Web site: Could the Tea Party challenge Sen. Richard Shelby? Sure, but there are $17 million reasons not to. AL.com. June 30, 2014. July 1, 2014. Charles. Dean.
News: Ron Crumpton to run for United States Senate. AL.com. April 16, 2015. May 15, 2015.
News: Lisa Murkowski announces that she's running in 2016. AmandaCoyne.com. October 19, 2013. October 25, 2014.
Web site: Joe Miller files to run against Murkowski for Senate seat - KTVA 11. yes. https://web.archive.org/web/20161009063544/http://www.ktva.com/previous-adversary-joe-miller-files-to-run-against-murkowski-for-senate-seat-670/. October 9, 2016. mdy-all.
Web site: Anchorage attorney Margaret Stock challenging Lisa Murkowski for Senate. Alaska Dispatch News. Kelly. Devin. February 17, 2016. February 17, 2016.
News: November 8, 2016 General Election Candidate List. State of Alaska Division of Elections. September 7, 2016.
News: Alaska Primary Election Results 2016. Politico.com. August 16, 2016. August 17, 2016.
Web site: Levinson. Alexis. Moving Parts Complicate Democratic Challenge to McCain)(Updated). April 9, 2015. Roll Call. May 27, 2015.
News: Cahn. Emily. Kirkpatrick to Challenge McCain in Arizona. May 27, 2015. Roll Call. May 26, 2015.
Web site: ArtLabs. Vote Pat Quinn to the United States Senate as an Independent for Arizona. Votepatquinn.com. November 12, 2016.
Web site: Arizona Secretary of State 2016 Election Information. Apps.azsos.gov. November 8, 2016. November 12, 2016.
Web site: Gary Swing. Boilingfrogparty.ruck.us. November 12, 2016. yes. https://web.archive.org/web/20161019030012/http://boilingfrogparty.ruck.us/. October 19, 2016. mdy-all.
News: DeMillo. Andrew. Boozman, back at work post-surgery, to run in '16. Associated Press. June 9, 2014. June 9, 2014.
News: Yokley. Eli. Former U.S. Attorney Will Challenge Boozman in Arkansas. September 9, 2015. Roll Call. September 9, 2015.
Web site: Arkansas News Bureau. Boozman to hold telephone town hall - News - Arkansas News Bureau - North Little Rock, AR. Arkansasnews.com. November 12, 2016.
News: Sullivan. Sean. Kamala Harris to run for Boxer's Senate seat. The Washington Post. January 12, 2015.
News: Rep. Loretta Sanchez enters race for Barbara Boxer's Senate seat. Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. May 14, 2015. May 15, 2015.
News: Glenn: Early announcement for U.S. Senate run shows he is 'very serious'. The Gazette. Stephen. Hobbs. January 16, 2015. January 19, 2015.
News: Darryl Glenn will run against Sen. Bennet. Colorado Springs Independent. January 15, 2015. May 15, 2015.
News: In a first, Libertarian candidate in Colorado’s U.S. Senate race qualifies for major debate. The Denver Post.
Web site: 2016 General Election Candidate List. Sos.state.co.us. October 6, 2016. November 12, 2016.
Web site: Senators Confirm Re-Election Bids for 2016. Roll Call. January 28, 2015. January 29, 2015. Emily Cahn. Alexis Levinson.
News: Pazniokas. Mark. April 4, 2016. GOP's Dan Carter announces for U.S. Senate nomination. the CT Mirror. April 16, 2016.
Web site: Richard Lion. Ballotpedia.org. November 12, 2016.
Web site: Connecticut 2016 General Election. Thegreenpapers.com. November 12, 2016.
News: DeBonis. Mike. O'Keefe. Ed. Sullivan. Sean. June 22, 2016. Marco Rubio will seek Senate reelection, reversing pledge not to run. The Washington Post. June 22, 2016.
News: Caputo. Marc. March 23, 2015. Florida's Patrick Murphy running for Marco Rubio's Senate seat. Politico. March 23, 2015.
Web site: Siple. Jeremy. Paul Stanton Announces Campaign for Florida U.S. Senate Seat. Independent Political Report. November 12, 2016.
Web site: Johnny Isakson to announce he will seek a third term. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. November 11, 2014. November 11, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141111180247/http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2014/11/11/johnny-isakson-to-announce-he-will-seek-a-third-term/. November 11, 2014. yes. mdy-all.
News: Bluestein. Greg. March 10, 2016. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Party-backed Georgia Democrat qualifies for U.S. Senate seat. March 11, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160311085840/http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2016/03/10/party-backed-georgia-democrat-qualifies-for-u-s-senate-seat/. March 11, 2016. yes. mdy-all.
Web site: Johnny Isakson to debate Senate challengers once before Election Day | Political Insider blog. Politics.blog.ajc.com. August 24, 2016. November 12, 2016.
News: Jones. Caleb. Incumbent US Sen. Brian Schatz wins Hawaii primary. August 14, 2016. Associated Press. August 14, 2016.
News: Sen. Mike Crapo will seek re-election in 2016 for 4th term. KBOI. Associated Press. August 17, 2014. August 29, 2014.
Web site: Declaration for 2016. March 13, 2016.
News: Tammy Duckworth running for Senate. Politico. March 30, 2015. May 15, 2015.
Web site: McClelland. Edward. Kirk Running for Re-Election, Says Pat Brady. nbcchicago.com. October 22, 2013.
Web site: Libertarians seeking Illinois posts including U.S. Senate, state comptroller. Bernard. Schoenburg.
Web site: Candidates Name List. Web.archive.org. August 25, 2017. bot: unknown. https://web.archive.org/web/20160919154447/https://www.elections.il.gov/ElectionInformation/CandNameList.aspx?SearchType=KuFLPqFc1XdO5hgmQwVblw%3d%3d&ListType=%2fi0Fav758xtMAqfvePodGSITmYQDeqtAjRkY65W%2bqecOl0c1RQNRNSk5HgGxSJw9cfB6WyYhDxQ%3d&ElectionID=R3xVuMQjulI%3d&ElectionType=FbvOmLRSmzM%3d&ElectionDate=bbwuASkfxAvcTTtS9wEAmSQIgSb4KgJr&StatusSearchType=J5X6lTqB21xaQKye34MKow%3d%3d&Status=&CanLastNameSearchType=1d95A%2fh4dpVjwfOZI1rDTQ8GhuG80yy3&CanLastName=BV5dAF5Fnvo8QU%2b2y0JZiw%3d%3d&OrderBy=ZIZ%2f5OrZiRWUUj8P7aozwdQenBr9BX9z7XjJvJFcBz%2bh5x4L4ViK%2bjCvJH9Ih0Mk. September 19, 2016. mdy-all.
Web site: Life Story. July 15, 2015.
News: Democrat Evan Bayh may get into Indiana Senate race. Fox News. July 11, 2016. July 11, 2016.
Web site: EXCLUSIVE WTHR/HPI Poll: Bayh, Young locked in close Senate race - 13 WTHR Indianapolis. Wthr.com. November 12, 2016.
News: Iowa's Chuck Grassley: I am running for re-election. September 20, 2013. The Des Moines Register. yes. https://archive.is/20130921020954/http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2013/09/20/breaking-iowas-chuck-grassley-i-am-running-for-re-election/article?nclick_check=1. September 21, 2013. mdy-all.
News: March 4, 2016. It's official: Patty Judge challenges Chuck Grassley.
Web site: Trump and Clinton Tied, Grassley Far Ahead In Latest Quinnipiac Poll. Iowa Public Radio. August 18, 2016. November 12, 2016.
Web site: Levinson. Alexis. November 19, 2014. Roll Call. Huelskamp Open to Moran Primary Challenge. November 19, 2014.
Web site: Clarkin. Mary. February 4, 2016. The Hutchinson News. Democrat Patrick Wiesner files for Jerry Moran's Senate seat. February 11, 2016.
Web site: Kansas Libertarians hope election bolsters future prospects. The Kansas City Star. September 4, 2016. August 25, 2017. bot: unknown. https://web.archive.org/web/20160906161302/http://www.kansascity.com/latest-news/article99958072.html. September 6, 2016. mdy-all.
Web site: Rand Paul files for reelection race five years away. Politico. April 19, 2011. Jennifer Epstein.
News: Lexington Mayor Jim Gray running against U.S. Sen. Rand Paul. Lexington Herald-Leader. January 26, 2016. January 26, 2016.
News: Treasurer Kennedy joins fray to succeed Vitter. WDSU News. January 26, 2016. January 26, 2016.
News: Crisp. Elizabeth. Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell running for U.S. Senate. February 26, 2016. The Advocate. March 4, 2016.
News: Chris Van Hollen To Run For Senate. Huffington Post. March 4, 2015. May 16, 2015.
News: Kathy Szeliga joins Senate race, seeking Mikulski's seat. Baltimore Sun. November 10, 2015. November 11, 2015.
Web site: Maryland State Board of Elections. 2016 Candidate Listing. Elections.state.md.us. November 12, 2016.
News: Ahead of the 2016 curve: Roy Blunt has a fundraiser on election night 2014. The Washington Examiner. November 4, 2014. November 13, 2014.
News: Secretary of State Jason Kander announces he'll seek Senate seat held by Roy Blunt. St. Louis Today. February 19, 2015. May 16, 2015.
Web site: Hellingdhelling. Dave. Republicans Donald Trump and Roy Blunt hold leads in new Missouri poll; Democrat Chris Koster leads in governor's race | The Kansas City Star. Kansascity.com. September 6, 2016. November 12, 2016.
News: DelReal. Jose. Catherine Cortez Masto announces bid to succeed Harry Reid in the Senate. The Washington Post. April 8, 2015. April 8, 2015.
News: Rep. Joe Heck announces Nevada Senate run. The Washington Post. Las Vegas. July 6, 2015. July 7, 2015.
News: LoBioanco. Tom. Gov. Maggie Hassan announces challenge against Sen. Kelly Ayotte. CNN politics. October 5, 2015.
News: Ayotte, hoping Senate finally ‘gets things done,’ says she’ll seek reelection. NH Journal. November 7, 2014. December 4, 2014. John. DiStaso.
Web site: Handy. Nicholas. A look at state races. Ledgertranscript.com. June 20, 2016. November 12, 2016.
Web site: Simpson. Amy. Wendy Long Announces For U.S. Senate. March 3, 2016. My Twin Tiers. March 4, 2016.
Web site: Libertarian Merced Ready to Challenge Schumer for US Senate Seat. WAER.org. August 29, 2016. November 12, 2016.
Web site: Home Page - New York State Board of Elections. Elections.ny.gov. November 12, 2016.
News: Rumors Aside, Burr Says He'll Run Again. September 22, 2014. National Journal. September 15, 2014.
News: Burns. Matthew. Ex-Wake lawmaker Ross enters US Senate race. WRAL.com. Raleigh, North Carolina. October 14, 2015. October 14, 2015.
Web site: Ybarramybarra. Maggie. NC Senate candidates richard Burr, Deborah Ross, Sean Haugh disagree over filling Supreme Court vacancy left by Antonin Scalia's death. Newsobserver.com. September 8, 2016. November 12, 2016.
News: Is Heitkamp eyeing a run for governor?. December 31, 2014. January 6, 2015. The Hill. Jonathan. Easley.
News: North Dakota Rep. Marvin Nelson to join race for governor. Inforum. March 15, 2016. March 16, 2016.
Web site: Libertarian U.S. Senate candidate launches campaign. Nick. Smith.
Web site: Rob Portman won’t run for president in 2016. Politico. December 2, 2014. December 2, 2014. Maggie. Haberman.
News: Ted Strickland, Former Ohio Governor, Weighs a Senate Run. Nick. Corasaniti. February 17, 2015. The New York Times.
Web site: Secretary Husted Certifies Candidates, Official Form of 2016 Primary Election Ballot.
News: Workman says Trump nomination good for Dems. Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise. May 1, 2016. June 29, 2016.
Web site: Robert Murphy (Oklahoma) - Ballotpedia.
Web site: Mapes. Jeff. September 10, 2015. The Oregonian. Republican Mark Callahan of 'blah, blah, blah' fame runs again for U.S. Senate. September 11, 2015.
Web site: United States Senate election in Oregon, 2016 - Ballotpedia.
News: Cahn. Emily. 10 Races to Watch in 2016: Pennsylvania Senate. January 22, 2015. Roll Call. December 22, 2014.
News: Field. Nick. McGinty Announces Senate Campaign. Politics PA. August 4, 2015.
Web site: Democratic Senate Challenger Ahead 45-41 In Pennsylvania Poll.
News: Thomas Dixon to challenge U.S. Sen. Tim Scott. The Post and Courier. Rindge. Brenda. February 22, 2016. February 23, 2016.
Web site: Third-Party Candidate to Stage Gun Rallies in Every SC County. Eva. Moore.
News: Everett. Burgess. John Thune: No ‘opening’ for a White House run. January 15, 2015.
News: Siebold. Jack. February 19, 2016. Yankton businessman to challenge Thune. KOTA-TV. February 20, 2016. yes. https://web.archive.org/web/20160220092932/http://www.kotatv.com/news/south-dakota-news/Yankton-businessman-to-challenge-Thune/38084046. February 20, 2016. mdy-all.
Web site: GOP Delegates Give Rousing Reception to Sen. Mike Lee. Bob. Bernick. Utah Policy. April 26, 2014. December 12, 2014.
Web site: 2016 Candidate Filings. March 17, 2016.
News: McGilvery. Keith. Sen. Patrick Leahy to run for re-election. September 10, 2014. WCAX-TV. November 7, 2012. yes. https://web.archive.org/web/20140911101443/http://www.wcax.com/story/20028973/sen-patrick-leahy-to-run-for-re-election. September 11, 2014. mdy-all.
News: Former Red Sox Pitcher Running for Vermont Governor. necn. May 24, 2016. June 1, 2016.
Web site: Shabad. Rebecca. Sen. Murray to seek her fifth term in 2016. The Hill. February 10, 2014.
News: Pathe. Simone. Former Washington GOP Chairman to Challenge Patty Murray. Roll Call. September 8, 2015.
Web site: Bolton. Alexander. Sen. Johnson tells 'kitchen cabinet' he will run for reelection in 2016. The Hill. October 22, 2013.
News: Russ Feingold Announces Senate Run, Setting Up Rematch. NBC News. May 14, 2015. May 14, 2015.
Web site: A Libertarian looking to make waves in Senate race with Johnson, Feingold. Mitch. Reynolds.
News: Livingston. Abby. Farm Team: Long Line Forming for GOP Hopefuls Looking to Move Up in Alabama. June 19, 2014. Roll Call. February 6, 2013.
Web site: 16 in '16: The new battle for the Senate. December 29, 2014. December 29, 2014. Politico. Cheney. Kyle.
News: Who is next? Five people who could be governor after the 2018 election. Jim Stinson. AL.com. September 18, 2014. September 19, 2014.
Web site: Sen. Richard Shelby is in for 2016 and that changes Alabama's political landscape. AL.com. Gore. Leada. January 29, 2015. November 6, 2015.
Web site: August 16, 2016 Primary Candidate List. State of Alaska Division of Elections. March 6, 2016.
News: Pathe. Simone. May 15, 2015. Murkowski Facing a Primary Puzzle. Roll Call.
News: Neary. Ben. The Only Democrat Running For Congress In Wyoming Might Host A 'Campaign Rave'. May 20, 2016. Associated Press. June 13, 2013.
News: Lawrence. Tom. EDITORIAL: Lessons we learned from Election Day. May 20, 2016. Powell Tribune. November 6, 2014.
News: John. Arit. Wyoming's Democratic 'Hip Hop Candidate' Just Launched the PPLZ 4 GRAYSON CREW. May 20, 2016. The Wire. June 13, 2014.
News: Trygstad. Kyle. Farm Team: Absence of Opportunity Means Long Alaska Pipeline. December 12, 2013. Roll Call. February 13, 2013.
News: Sullivan. Sean. February 2, 2015. The Washington Post. Why Mark Begich could run for the Senate again. February 16, 2015.
News: Begich says he won't run for any office this year. Bohrer. Becky. February 16, 2016. Alaska Dispatch News. February 18, 2016.
News: Kelly. Devin. February 17, 2016. Anchorage attorney Margaret Stock challenging Lisa Murkowski for Senate. Alaska Dispatch News. February 19, 2016.
News: Trujillo. Mario. McCain hints at retirement in 2016. September 14, 2013. The Hill. September 13, 2013.
News: Rose. Shannon. Alex Meluskey Runs for US Senate in Arizona. February 21, 2015.
News: Pizer, known for upholstery, cryonics, is latest McCain foe. Arizona Daily Star. November 9, 2015. November 9, 2015.
News: Letters to the Editor: Why I'm Running for US Senate. June 10, 2015. December 5, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20160906102032/http://www.prescottenews.com/news/current-news/item/20079-letter-to-the-editor-why-im-running-for-us-senate. September 6, 2016. yes. mdy-all.
News: Havasu's Kelli Ward confirms Senate challenge against John McCain. Havasu News. July 14, 2015. July 15, 2015.
News: Wong. Scott. Joseph. Cameron. January 28, 2015. Tea Party lawmakers may take on McCain. The Hill.
News: Wong. Scott. January 29, 2015. Salmon tells McCain: I won't primary you. The Hill.
News: Nowicki. Dan. January 16, 2016. The Arizona Republic. Maricopa County GOP slams McCain again, but Schweikert won't run.
News: Mataconis. Doug. March 12, 2014. Arizona Governor Jan Brewer Will Not Run For Re-election. Outside the Beltway.
Web site: Schweikert, Jones possible McCain primary foes in 2016?. AZ Central. November 29, 2014. December 3, 2014.
News: After Obama's Immigration Action, a Blast of Energy for the Tea Party. The New York Times. November 25, 2014. December 3, 2014.
News: Nowicki. Dan. Is this Sen. McCain's last term?. September 21, 2013. The Arizona Republic. February 16, 2013.
Web site: Pro-Bernie Candidate for Senate… in Arizona. millansingh. September 21, 2015.
Web site: Gosar won't challenge McCain. The Arizona Republic. Sanders. Rebekah L.. March 21, 2015. March 24, 2015.
News: Arkansas US Sen. John Boozman Having Surgery. April 22, 2014. ABC News. April 22, 2014.
News: Senate Democrats look to next elections. The Hill. March 27, 2014. October 25, 2014.
News: Curtis Coleman indicates he'll take on incumbent Sen. John Boozman. Arkansas Times. November 9, 2015. November 10, 2015.
News: Brantley. Max. Conner Eldridge announces plans to run for U.S. Senate. September 21, 2015. Arkansas Times. September 9, 2015.
News: Arkansas Libertarians nominate twenty-three candidates, including Frank Gilbert for U.S. Senate. Independent Political Report. October 25, 2015. November 10, 2015.
Web site: Arkansas Secretary of State. Candidate Information. February 4, 2016.
Web site: Frank Gilbert, U.S. Senate. Libertarian Party of Arkansas. February 4, 2016.
Web site: Candidate Information. Arkansas Secretary of State. February 4, 2016.
Web site: Barbara Boxer: Won't run again in 2016. Politico. Burgess. Everett. January 8, 2015. January 8, 2015.
Web site: U.S. Senate - Statewide Results. California Secretary of State. June 9, 2016.
News: Nagourney. Adam. Jennifer. Medina. Just How Bad an Election Night Was It for California Republicans?. The New York Times. June 8, 2016. June 9, 2016.
Web site: Certified List of Candidates for Voter-Nominated Offices. April 1, 2016. Secretary of State of California. April 5, 2016.
News: Republican Tom Del Beccaro announces U.S. Senate run. Christopher. Cadelago. April 26, 2015. The Sacramento Bee.
News: Duf Sundheim enters race for Barbara Boxer's Senate seat. Los Angeles Times. September 9, 2015.
News: Hrabe. John. US Senate 2016: Wyman joins list of GOP longshot candidates. January 25, 2015. CalNewsroom.com. March 4, 2016.
Web site: Phil Wyman for United States Senate. March 4, 2016.
News: Jeff. Horseman. U.S. SENATE: Done Krampe of Murrieta to seek Barbara Boxer's seat. January 21, 2015. The Press Enterprise.
News: Provost. Lee. Palzer, former Kankakeean, makes run for US Senate in his new home of Calif.. April 14, 2015.
Web site: Roseberry. Karen. October 28, 2015. Karen Roseberry for U.S. Senate 2016.
News: Cadelago. Christopher. March 5, 2015. March 15, 2015. Republican Rocky Chavez launches bid for U.S. Senate seat. Sacramento Bee.
News: Cadelago. Christopher. Chaves withdraws from U.S. Senate race, will seek re-election to Assembly. February 8, 2016. Sacramento Bee. February 11, 2016.
Web site: Marinucci. Carla. Carly Fiorina won’t rule out run for White House. September 24, 2014. September 26, 2014. SF Gate.
News: Smith. Heather. California Senate candidate: "We’re all going to die". June 4, 2015. Grist. May 29, 2015.
News: April 4, 2016. Results of SurveyUSA Election Poll #22817. SurveyUSA. April 5, 2016.
News: Robert Blaha announces U.S. Senate bid, makes campaign pledge. Frank. John. January 14, 2016. The Denver Post. January 21, 2016.
News: Former Aurora councilman Ryan Frazier joins GOP Senate race in Colorado. Aurora Sentinel. November 12, 2015. November 13, 2015.
News: Matthews. Mark. El Paso County's Peg Littleton joins U.S. Senate race. January 20, 2016. The Denver Post. January 21, 2016.
News: Lyell. Kelly. Former CSU AD Jack Graham enters U.S. Senate race. Fort Collins Coloradoan. January 29, 2016. February 1, 2016.
News: Jon Keyser announces 2016 Senate bid amid crowded Colorado field. The Denver Post. January 11, 2016. January 11, 2016.
News: Bartels. Lynn. Republican Greg Lopez, former SBA director, to run for U.S. Senate. The Denver Post. July 6, 2015. October 14, 2015.
News: Frank. John. Tim Neville to announce U.S. Senate bid as GOP race heats up. The Denver Post. September 28, 2015. September 29, 2015.
News: Bunch. Joey. Jefferson County commissioner to join race for U.S. Senate Thursday. The Denver Post. December 9, 2015. December 17, 2015.
News: Donald Rosier - Timeline Photos. December 7, 2015.
News: Darryl Glenn takes Colorado Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. Frank. John. The Denver Post. June 28, 2016. June 29, 2016.
News: Darien fashion label founder Orchulli to run for Senate. Vigdor. Neil. April 12, 2016. The Connecticut Post. April 16, 2016.
News: Radelat. Ana. Stamford Republican steps up to challenge Blumenthal. the CT Mirror. May 4, 2015. May 15, 2015.
News: Vigdor. Neil. May 1, 2015. Connecticut Post. Visconti exploring 2016 Senate run.
Web site: Democratic Seats up for Re-Election in 2016. September 30, 2014. October 3, 2014. Hawkins. Dustin. About News.
News: Walker won't challenge Blumenthal for Senate. Connecticut Post. Vigdor. Neil. March 23, 2015. March 25, 2015.
News: Vigdor. Neil. Simmons rules out 2016 challenge of Blumenthal. Connecticut Post. April 8, 2015. April 9, 2015.
News: Everett. Burgess. January 14, 2016. Kudlow said to be 'very interested' in Senate run. Politico. January 26, 2016.
News: Byers. Dylan. February 16, 2016. CNNMoney. CNBC's Larry Kudlow will not run for Senate. February 18, 2016.
News: Berman. Matt. Marco Rubio Won't Run for Senate in 2016 if He Runs for President. April 2, 2014. April 2, 2014. National Journal.
News: Marco Rubio tells donors he's running for president in 2016. CBS News. April 13, 2015. April 13, 2015.
Web site: Entrepreneur and combat veteran Todd Wilcox enters Florida's U.S. Senate race. Mitch. Perry. July 8, 2015. Saint Peters Blog.
News: Wallace. Jeremy. February 24, 2016. Miami Herald. Cuban-American developer Carlos Beruff launching campaign for U.S. Senate in Miami. February 26, 2016.
Web site: March 1, 2016. Katz for US Congress.
Web site: US Elections -- Florida. March 1, 2016.
Web site: 2016 Florida Elections. March 1, 2016.
Web site: GOP operatives to pitch Ben Carson on Florida Senate run. CNN. Bash. Dana. March 2, 2016. March 2, 2016.
News: Kopan. Tal. David Jolly drops out of Florida Senate race, possibly clearing way for Marco Rubio. CNN. June 17, 2016. June 18, 2016.
Web site: Rubio defeats Murphy to retain Senate seat. November 9, 2016.
News: Rappeport. Alan. Johnny Isakson, Georgia Senator, Says He Has Parkinson's. June 12, 2015. The New York Times. June 10, 2015.
Web site: Foody. Kathleen. Qualifying for Georgia's May primaries ends. March 11, 2016. WSB TV. April 19, 2016.
News: Malloy. Daniel. It looks like Johnny Isakson has his first challenger. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. January 9, 2015. May 15, 2015.
News: Johnny Isakson trounces rivals to win Georgia GOP Senate nod. Bluestein. Greg. The Atlanta Journal Constitution. May 24, 2016. June 16, 2016.
News: March 8, 2016. The Albany Herald. Southwest Georgia's congressional delegation qualifies for re-election. March 10, 2016.
News: Bluestein. Greg. More Democrats come out of woodwork for Georgia Senate race. March 6, 2016. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. April 19, 2016.
News: Hankerson. Jazmyne. April 8, 2016. April 20, 2016. Candidate changes affects May primary ballot. WXFL.
Web site: Dan Inouye and Brian Schatz: A Lesson in Hawaii Politics. Honolulu Civil Beat. August 18, 2014. Stephen O'Harrow.
Web site: Tulsi Gabbard Looks to Be Running for Re-election. Honolulu Civil Beat. March 14, 2015. Chad. Blair.
Web site: Charles Collins for US Senate. January 22, 2016.
News: Charles Collins. January 25, 2016.
News: Crapo's Message To Labrador. September 3, 2014. The Spokesman-Review. August 20, 2014.
News: Labrador won't run for Senate. The Hill. Easley. Jonathan. February 13, 2015. February 16, 2015.
Web site: Brown. Nathan. Federal Land, Refugees, and Regulations Drive Crapo Town Hall in Castleford. August 12, 2015. Twin Falls Times-News. March 4, 2016.
Web site: Pro-Life For Governor of Idaho – 2014, also US Senate – 2016. March 4, 2016. yes. https://web.archive.org/web/20160302115302/http://prolifeidaho.com/. March 2, 2016. mdy-all.
Web site: Official Primary Election Statewide Totals. Idaho Secretary of State. July 20, 2016.
News: Ed. O'Keefe. Mark Kirk makes dramatic return to the Senate. July 17, 2014. The Washington Post. January 3, 2013.
News: Matthew. Cooper. Mark Kirk Survived a Stroke – Now He's Picking Fights in Congress. July 17, 2014. National Journal. June 28, 2013. yes. https://web.archive.org/web/20130701014650/http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/mark-kirk-survived-a-stroke-now-he-s-picking-fights-in-congress-20130628. July 1, 2013.
News: Cahn. Emily. Illinois Options Depend on Chicago Turnover Farm Team. August 14, 2013. Roll Call. June 12, 2013.
Web site: Mark Kirk: ‘No Frickin’ Way Am I Retiring’. Roll Call. Cahn. Emily. November 14, 2014. January 1, 2015.
News: Who's in, who's out in congressional primaries. Mike Riopell. November 30, 2015. December 1, 2015. Daily Herald.
Web site: Greg Hinz. Kirk picks up primary challenger from the right. October 5, 2015. Crain's Chicago Business.
News: Rick Pearson; Hal Dardick. December 1, 2015. December 1, 2015. U.S. Senate, state's attorney races take shape on the last day of filing. Chicago Tribune.
News: 1 of Sen. Kirk's GOP primary opponents doesn't make ballot. January 8, 2016. January 17, 2016. KTVI.
News: March 15, 2016. WBEZ 91.5 Chicago. 2016 Illinois Primary Election Results. March 18, 2016.
News: Skiba. Katherine. March 30, 2015. Chicago Tribune. Duckworth to Challenge Kirk for U.S. Senate. March 30, 2015.
News: Sneed. Michael. Andrea Zopp is all in for Senate race. May 14, 2015.
News: Hinz. Greg. State Sen. Napoleon Harris to enter race against Mark Kirk. October 27, 2015.
News: 2016 Illinois Election, Primary, Candidates, Races, and Voting. USElections. December 2, 2015. December 3, 2015.
News: Jim Brown Independent for U.S. Senate. December 3, 2015.
Web site: Chris Aguayo for United States Senate. June 15, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160509025030/http://www.chrisaguayo2016.com/. May 9, 2016. no. mdy-all.
News: Cheney. Kyle. Democrats see glimmer of hope in Dan Coats’ retirement. March 28, 2015. Politico. March 24, 2015.
News: May 13, 2015. Rep. Marlin Stutzman declares Senate bid. Real Clear Politics. May 16, 2015.
News: Joseph. Cameron. March 26, 2015. Chief of staff launches Senate bid for Coats's seat. The Hill.
News: Eric Holcomb drops out of Senate race. WRTV. February 8, 2016. February 11, 2016.
News: Baron Hill says he will run for U.S. Senate in 2016. The Republic. Columbus, Indiana. May 14, 2015. May 15, 2015.
News: Groppe. Maureen. August 15, 2015. John Dickerson to seek nod for U.S. Senate. Indianapolis Star. October 14, 2015.
News: January 21, 2016. John Dickerson Drops Out of Race For U.S. Senate. January 21, 2016.
News: Livingston. Abby. Grassley Planning to Run Again in 2016. September 20, 2013. Roll Call. September 20, 2013.
Web site: And he's off: Event kicks off Grassley's re-election campaign. The Des Moines Register. Jacobs. Jennifer. Noble. Jason. March 31, 2015. March 31, 2015.
News: Porter. Jake. Primary Challenger Announces Against Grassley. January 19, 2016. Iowa Free Press. February 18, 2016.
News: IA-Sen: Robert Rees ends GOP primary challenge to Chuck Grassley. March 15, 2016. Bleeding Heartland. April 19, 2016.
News: September 23, 2015. Cedar Rapids State Sen. Rob Hogg running for U.S. Senate. KCRG 9. Cedar Rapids, Iowa. September 23, 2015.
Web site: Tom Fiegen for US Senate, Iowa. November 12, 2015.
Web site: Bob Krause for Iowa's Future. February 12, 2016.
News: Lynch. James Q.. Zirkelbach is fourth candidate in Democratic U.S. Senate race. November 7, 2015. The Gazette. February 20, 2016.
Web site: In Kansas, Conservatives Suffer From Mississippi Hangover. July 29, 2014. September 11, 2014. Roll Call. Alexis. Levinson.
Web site: Congressman Says Wife Nixed Senate Run. January 8, 2015. January 8, 2015. Roll Call. Alexis. Levinson.
News: Mason. Tori. Topeka native announces candidacy for U.S. Senate. December 1, 2015. WIBW. March 10, 2016.
News: Rand Paul Announces Presidential Run. The New York Times. April 7, 2015. April 13, 2015. Peters. Jeremy W.. Alan. Rappeport.
News: Meyer. Theodoric. Kentucky GOP greenlights joint Senate, presidential run for Rand Paul. August 23, 2015. Politico. August 22, 2015.
News: Rand Paul dropping out of presidential race. John King, Manu Raju and Mark Preston. CNN. cnn.com. July 25, 2016.
Web site: Candidate Filings with the Office of the Secretary of State. Secretary of State of Kentucky. yes. https://web.archive.org/web/20151122002230/http://apps.sos.ky.gov/elections/candidatefilings/statewide/default.aspx?id=3. November 22, 2015.
Web site: Official 2016 Primary Election Results. Kentucky Secretary of State. May 17, 2016.
News: Democratic mayor to challenge GOP's Rand Paul in Senate race. Associated Press. January 27, 2016. January 27, 2016.
News: Ron Leach Will Run For U.S. Senate In Kentucky. Hillbilly Report. January 14, 2016. January 26, 2016.
News: The Latest: Vitter Says Won't Run for US Senate in 2016. ABC News. November 21, 2015. November 21, 2015.
News: Berry. Deborah. November 25, 2015. Rep. Charles Boustany will run for Senate. The Advertiser. December 9, 2015.
News: O'Donoghue. Julia. December 7, 2015. Louisiana Congressman John Fleming launches bid for David Vitter's Senate seat. The Times-Picayune. December 9, 2015.
News: Richard Rainey. December 16, 2015. The Times-Picayune. January 14, 2016. Joseph Cao enters Senate race for Vitter's seat, tells supporters by email.
News: Maness officially joins Senate race. WWL AM870. January 29, 2016. January 29, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160203221037/http://www.wwl.com/Maness-officially-joins-Senate-race/22415681. February 3, 2016. yes. mdy-all.
News: Alford. Jeremy. December 22, 2015. More possibilities surface for Louisiana's US Senate race. Greater Baton Rouge Business Report. February 4, 2016.
News: Alford. Jeremy. December 7, 2015. March 4, 2016. Names floating in, out of developing US Senate race. Houma Today.
News: Tidmore. Christopher. December 7, 2015. Young, Cazayoux and Hebert consider Vitter's U.S. Senate seat. The Louisiana Weekly. March 4, 2016.
News: Alford. Jeremy. New names still hover over Senate race. March 23, 2016. The Independent. April 20, 2016.
News: Crisp. Elizabeth. February 4, 2016. The Advocate. Democrat Caroline Fayard launches U.S. Senate bid. February 5, 2016.
Web site: Stickney. Ken. Pellerin announcement comes April 5. March 28, 2016. The Daily Advertiser. April 20, 2016.
News: Stickney. Ken. January 25, 2016. Pellerin to explore Senate campaign. The Daily Advertiser. March 4, 2016.
News: Hilburn. Greg. Alexandria Mayor, state Rep. Johnson consider Senate run. January 6, 2016. The News-Star.
News: Ballard. Mark. Political Horizons: Despite campaign fatigue, a crowded, close Senate race looms. December 19, 2015. The Advocate.
News: Rainey. Richard. Louisiana Senate race: who's in, who's out in the early going. December 10, 2015. December 16, 2015. The Times-Picayune. 2015 NOLA Media Group.
News: Mettler. Katie. Republican, Democrat head to runoff in Louisiana Senate race. November 9, 2016. Washington Post. November 9, 2016.
News: 2016 retirements could complicate Dems' comeback plans. The Hill. Alexander. Bolton. November 28, 2014. December 1, 2014.
News: Edwards jumps into Maryland Senate race. Politico. March 10, 2015. May 16, 2015.
Web site: Maryland: The State Board of Election, 2016 candidate listing. February 3, 2016.
News: Fritze. John. Richard Douglas first Republican to enter Md. Senate race. Baltimore Sun. August 24, 2015.
News: Openly gay Republican explores bid for Senate seat from Md.. May 18, 2015. October 29, 2015.
News: Akin won't rule out 2016 run against Blunt. Jim. Stinson. Springfield News-Leader. July 15, 2014. November 13, 2014.
News: Akin: I'm not running for Senate. Kendall. Breitman. Politico. February 26, 2015. February 26, 2015.
News: Rivas. Rebecca. February 11, 2016. Black challengers of Democrat incumbents fight with party over access. The St. Louis American. February 16, 2016.
Web site: Cori Bush for U.S. Senate. February 16, 2016.
News: Sheeley. Andrew. Wana Dubie officially first US Senate candidate from Salem. February 25, 2016. The Salem News. February 27, 2016.
News: Cillizilla. Chris. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon steps forward, but toward what?. April 8, 2014. The Washington Post. September 19, 2013.
News: Missouri Treasurer Zweifel won't run for office. Kansas City Star. November 18, 2013. November 19, 2013.
News: Hulse. Carl. March 27, 2015. Harry Reid Says He Won't Seek Re-election. The New York Times.
News: Kudialis. Chris. Angle to make another bid for Reid's Senate seat. March 18, 2016. Las Vegas Sun. April 20, 2016.
News: Ayotte Faces Primary Challenge From Former GOP State Senator. nhpr. March 8, 2016. March 9, 2016.
News: Jim Rubens to challenge incumbent Sen. Ayotte in GOP primary. New Hampshire Union-Leader. March 5, 2016. March 9, 2016.
News: DiSasto. John. November 15, 2014. Analysis: NH Democrats already have deep bench for top races in 2016. NHJournal.
Web site: Ed O’'eefe and Mike DeBonis. Democrats shake up Senate leadership. Bostonglobe.com. November 16, 2016. August 25, 2017.
News: Top Republican candidates to challenge Chuck Schumer. New York Post. Dicker. Fredric U.. April 6, 2015. April 7, 2015.
Web site: Larry Kudlow and NRSC Renew Discussions on Senate Run. National Review. June 24, 2015. June 25, 2015. Eliana. Johnson.
News: U.S. Rep. Richard Hanna says he won't run against Chuck Schumer in 2016 NY senate race. Syracuse.com. Weiner. Mark. April 7, 2015. April 7, 2015.
Web site: New York Election Results 2016. November 16, 2016.
News: U.S. SENATE RACE: Schumer, Long square off. Press & Sun-Bulletin. November 3, 2016.
News: Cahn. Emily. Opportunities Now and Later in North Carolina. December 11, 2013. Roll Call. December 11, 2013.
News: Sen. Burr confirms he will run in 2016. WNCN. January 6, 2015. January 8, 2015.
News: Colin Campbell. Republican Greg Brannon challenges Richard Burr in second Senate bid. The News & Observer. December 21, 2015. December 31, 2015.
News: Sarah Krueger. September 24, 2015. Larry Holmquist enters Senate race, challenging Richard Burr. December 1, 2015.
News: Former judge Wright running for Burr's Senate seat. Asheville Citizen-Times. September 11, 2015. December 1, 2015.
Web site: NC SBE Contest Results. March 18, 2016.
News: Woolverton. Paul. September 21, 2015. Fayetteville Observer. Spring Lake Mayor Chris Rey announces run for US Senate. September 21, 2015.
News: Leslie. Laura. Durham businessman joining Dem field in US Senate race. WRAL. October 15, 2015.
Web site: Ernest Reeves for U.S. Senate. December 31, 2015.
News: Cillizza. Chris. Democrats’ Senate hopes take a hit with Kay Hagan's no-go decision. June 30, 2015. The Washington Post. June 24, 2015.
Web site: Cowell seeking third term as NC treasurer. Craig. Jarvis. The News & Observer. April 14, 2015. April 14, 2015.
Web site: Foxx won't run for Senate in 2016. Kelly. Cohen. The Washington Examiner. September 17, 2014. October 2, 2014.
News: Nowatzki. Mike. ND Democrat Glassheim says he's healthy and ready to run for US Senate. April 4, 2016. The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. Forum Communications. April 2, 2016.
News: Torry. Jack. May 19, 2015. Portman has conservative primary challenger. The Columbus Dispatch.
News: Johnson. Alan. Martin O'Malley won't appear on Ohio's primary ballot. The Columbus Dispatch. January 1, 2016. January 14, 2016.
News: Sittenfeld: Yes, I'm running for U.S. Senate. The Cincinnati Enquirer. Coolidge. Sharon. January 22, 2015.
News: Wehrman. Jessica. Torry. Jack. Ted Strickland says swift GOP attacks in Senate race are a 'compliment'. March 9, 2015. The Columbus Dispatch. February 25, 2015.
News: Rowland. Darrell. Ludlow. Randy. Kasich joins GOP competitors in filing for Ohio primary. December 16, 2015. The Columbus Dispatch.
News: Vardon. Joe. Ohio legislator to challenge Portman in ’16. September 20, 2013. The Columbus Dispatch. May 8, 2013.
News: Who will face Portman in ’16?. The Columbus Dispatch. January 2, 2015. January 10, 2015.
News: Taylor. Jessica. Crowded primary likely in race for Coburn seat. January 17, 2014. The Hill. January 17, 2014.
News: U.S. Senate seat goes to Republican James Lankford. November 4, 2014. Roll Call. November 21, 2014.
Web site: U.S. Senate seat goes to Republican James Lankford. KFOR. November 4, 2014. May 22, 2015. Dallas Franklin. Leslie Rangel.
Web site: Mann. Damian. September 21, 2015. Medford Councilor Stine to challenge Sen. Ron Wyden. Mail Tribune. September 21, 2015.
News: November 17, 2015. The Oregonian. March 9, 2016. Who's running for president, Oregon governor, other seats? The latest on 2016 candidates.
News: Bend businessman Carpenter to run for Senate. Hammers. Scott. February 5, 2016. The Bend Bulletin. March 9, 2016.
News: Laschober for U.S. Senate.
News: Dubois. Steven. November 11, 2015. KATU. Oregon county commissioner Faye Stewart to run for US Senate. December 3, 2015.
Web site: Stern. Everett. January 26, 2015. Facebook. After serious consideration, I have made the decision to run for the PA United States Senate seat .... April 5, 2015.
News: Weiner. Rachel. Joe Sestak planning Senate campaign. The Washington Post. October 22, 2013.
News: Maher. Chris. Steel Town Mayor John Fetterman Enters Pennsylvania Senate Race. WSJ. September 14, 2015.
Web site: John fetterman. whitehouse.gov. July 25, 2016.
News: Joseph Vodvarka for US Senate 2016. December 28, 2015. Montco Area 4 Democrats. February 18, 2016.
News: Pawlowski halts Senate bid, Democrats seek options. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Tamari. Jonathan. Roebuck. Jeremy. July 6, 2015. July 8, 2015.
News: Rep. Tim Scott Chosen to Replace Jim DeMint as South Carolina Senator. The New York Times. Jeff. Zeleny. December 17, 2012.
News: Livingston. Abby. South Carolina Republicans Will Have to Ride the Bench. April 2, 2014. Roll Call. February 12, 2014.
News: Cillizza. Chris. Tim Scott and the changing face of the Republican party. April 2, 2014. The Washington Post. December 17, 2012.
News: Jaffe. Greg. As budget cuts hit S.C., a congressman is surprised at constituents' reactions. The Washington Post. May 28, 2013.
News: Lawrence. Tom. Will anyone take on Thune in 2016?. July 1, 2015. Prairie Perspective. August 27, 2015.
News: Woster. Kevin. August 24, 2015. KELO-TV. Hurst for U.S. Senate in 2016? Well .... August 27, 2015.
News: Tupper. Seth. Thune frolicking through another opponent-less election season. December 14, 2015. Rapid City Journal. February 20, 2016.
News: March 18, 2015. Rick Weiland returns with new nonpartisan political group. Rapid City Journal. May 20, 2015.
Web site: Most Utahns disapprove of Sen. Mike Lee, want him to compromise. https://web.archive.org/web/20131010022923/http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/56980406-90/compromise-lee-monson-percent.html.csp. Robert. Gehrke. Salt Lake Tribune. October 10, 2013. October 10, 2013. November 8, 2014.
Web site: In Utah, tea party favorite Sen. Lee faces GOP backlash over government shutdown. Philip. Rucker. The Washington Post. October 22, 2013. November 8, 2014.
News: Livingston. Abby. Next Utah Races to Watch Are for Senate. April 3, 2014. Roll Call. April 2, 2014.
News: Canham. Matt. Mike Lee could be a lock for re-election to the Senate. April 12, 2015. The Salt Lake Tribune. February 4, 2016.
News: Roche. Lisa Riley. Josh Romney: I won't run against Sen. Mike Lee, but another Republican should. Deseret News. April 21, 2015.
News: Price. Michelle. Utah Gov. Herbert fails to secure nomination at convention. April 27, 2016. SunHerald. April 23, 2016.
News: Canham. Matt. Sen. Mike Lee's first challenger is marriage therapist Jonathan Swinton, an untested Democrat. August 17, 2015. The Salt Lake Tribune.
News: Two transgender candidates named 'Misty' win primaries. Nelson. Louis. June 29, 2016. Politico.com. June 2016.
News: Scott Milne Considers Challenging Patrick Leahy. Heintz. Paul. October 5, 2015. Seven Days.
Web site: Milne hopes to unseat Sen. Leahy. The Burlington Free Press. Gram. Dave. May 26, 2016. May 27, 2016.
News: Joseph. Cameron. Rep. Reichert 'thinking about' run for Senate, governor in Washington. April 7, 2014. The Hill. August 9, 2013.
News: Brunner. Jim. Dave Reichert won't run against Jay Inslee for governor. November 1, 2015. The Seattle Times. October 16, 2015.
Web site: DSCC Announces Endorsement Of Russ Feingold In Wisconsin Senate Race. May 14, 2015.
Web site: Mary Burke says she won't run for statewide office again. November 10, 2014. November 10, 2014. Wisconsin State Journal.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "United States Senate elections, 2016".
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1829
|
__label__cc
| 0.578193
| 0.421807
|
Flickr/outtacontext
The New Invisible Hand suggests the existence of a middle path.
I read this article and found it very interesting, thought it might be something for you. The article is called Why New Economics Needs a New Invisible Hand and is located at http://evonomics.com/the-new-invisible-hand-david-sloan-wilson/.
By David Sloan Wilson
In olden days, the death of one Monarch and coronation of the next was sometimes announced with the words “The King is Dead! Long Live the King!” In this spirit, I’m happy to herald the death of one version of the invisible hand concept and its replacement by another.
The old concept pretends that the pursuit of individual or corporate self-interest robustly benefits the common good, as if “led by an invisible hand” in the words of Adam Smith. This is also the essence of the term “laissez-faire”, which is French for “leave it alone”. Nobody believes that an economy can truly be a free for all—certainly not Adam Smith, who invoked his metaphor only three times in the entire corpus of his work. A fuller reading reveals that he was amply aware of the need to regulate economies. Nevertheless, those who have made the invisible hand their central metaphor regard laissez faire as by far the better path to take than its alternative—centralized planning.
I am not the first person to declare this notion of the invisible hand dead, but my grounds for doing so are somewhat novel. Evolutionary theory makes it crystal clear that the unregulated pursuit of self-interest is often toxic for the common good. This conclusion becomes especially strong when we conceptualize self-interest in relative rather than absolute terms, a distinction that separates much evolutionary thinking from much economic thinking. When we absorb the fact that “life is graded on a curve” as the evolutionary economist Robert Frank puts it[1], then we can see that nearly all cooperative efforts require time, energy, and risk on the part of the cooperative individuals that place them at a relative disadvantage compared to less cooperative individuals within the same group.
The same theory that delivers the death stroke to the old concept of the invisible hand also provides a strong foundation for the new one. The two elements of the invisible hand metaphor are: 1) A social system works well; 2) without its members having the welfare of the system in mind. Nature is replete with examples, such as eusocial insect colonies and multicellular organisms as societies of cells. The members of these societies work harmoniously for the common good without even having minds in the human sense of the word. In each case, the first element of the invisible hand metaphor is satisfied because the society is the primary unit of selection—colony-level selection in the case of eusocial insects and organism-level selection in the case of multicellular organisms. The second element is satisfied because higher-level selection winnowed a small set of lower-level behaviors that contribute to the common good from the much larger set of lower-level behaviors that would disrupt the common good. In short, higher-level selection is the invisible hand. When it doesn’t occur, then disruptive forms of selection among individuals within groups take over, such as cancers in multicellular organisms and varying forms of cheating behaviors in eusocial insect colonies.
One of the great discoveries of evolutionary science during the last few decades is that this theoretical framework, called multilevel selection theory, can be applied to the evolution of our own species–including our genetic evolution primarily at the scale of small groups, our cultural evolution at successively larger scales during the last 10,000 years, and the rapid changes swirling all around us today that we are trying to influence with our policy decisions. If ever there was a need for a new King to replace an old King, it is now.
A detailed brief for the New Invisible Hand is provided in an academic article titled “Human Ultrasociality and the Invisible Hand: Foundational Developments in Evolutionary Science Alter a Foundational Concept in Economics”, which I wrote with the economist John Gowdy[2]. The main take-home message is easy for anyone to understand. We must learn to function in two capacities: As designers of large-scale social systems and as participants in the social systems that we design. As participants, we don’t need to have the welfare of the whole system in mind, but as designers we do. There is no way around it. Anything short will result in social dysfunction.
This is a definitive refutation of laissez-faire as a perspective for formulating policy, but it is not an endorsement of centralized planning. Indeed, the main import of the New Invisible Hand is to suggest the existence of a middle path, a way to design social systems that is itself evolutionary and iterative, resulting in regulatory processes that look like laissez-faire, even though they never would have come into existence on their own.
Just as I am not the first to declare the old concept of the invisible hand dead, I am not the first to “discover” the existence of a middle path. It emerges from numerous theoretical perspectives and there are outstanding case studies to draw upon. Important books include Complexity and the Art of Public Policy by David Colander Roland Kupers[3]; Big Mind by Geoff Mulgan[4], The Gardens of Democracy by Eric Liu and Nick Hanauer[5], and The Origin of Wealth by Eric Beinhocker[6].
In short, the middle path between laissez-faire and centralized planning has been discovered many times, as might be expected from a cultural evolutionary perspective—but that isn’t good enough. Each discovery originates as a cultural “mutation’, often by happenstance, and spreads on the basis of its success to a degree, but then remains confined within certain cultural boundaries and is largely unknown outside its borders—somewhat like the geographical distribution of a biological species. What’s needed is a way to transcend these cultural boundaries so that all of the examples can be related to each other and understood from a unified theoretical perspective provided by a combination of evolutionary theory and complex systems theory[7].
I have learned much from the pioneers listed above (see the endnotes for links to interviews, reviews, and excerpts of their books) and look forward to featuring others in an effort to turn the middle path into a broad highway that everyone can travel to solve the problems of our age.
[1] Frank, R. (2011). The Darwin Economy: Liberty, Competition, and the Common Good. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Go here for my interview with Frank.
[2] Wilson, D. S., & Gowdy, J. (2015). Human Ultrasociality and the Invisible Hand: Foundational Developments in Evolutionary Science Alter a Foundational Concept in Economics. Journal of Bioeconomics 17(1), 37–52. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10818-014-9192-x
[3] Colander, D., & Kupers, R. (2014). Complexity and the Art of Public Policy: Solving Society’s Problems from the Bottom Up. Princeton NJ: Princeton Univesity Press. Go here for my review and here for an excerpt of the book.
[4] Mulgan, G. (2017). Big Mind: How Collective Intelligence Can Change Our World. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Go here for my interview with Mulgan and here for an excerpt of the book.
[5] Liu, E., & Hanauer, N. (2011). The Gardens of Democracy: A New American Story of Citizenship, the Economy, and the Role of Government. Seattle: Sasquatch. Go here for an excerpt of the book.
[6] Beinhocker, E. D. (2006). Origin of Wealth: Evolution, Complexity, and the Radical Remaking of Economics. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press. Go here for my interview with Beinhocker.
[7] Wilson, D. S., & Kirman, A. (2016). Complexity and Evolution: Toward a New Synthesis for Economics. (D. S. Wilson & A. Kirman, Eds.). Cambridge Mass.: MIT Press. Go here for my interview with Kirman.
Note To Economists: Saving Doesn't Create Savings
It's Time for New Economic Thinking Based on the Best Science Available, Not Ideology
How Ideologues Use Grade-School Economics to Distort Minimum Wage Debates
Economists Agree: Democratic Presidents are Better at Making Us Rich. Eight Reasons Why.
How Hunter-Gatherers May Hold the Key to our Economic Future
David S. Wilson is SUNY Distinguished Professor of Biology and Anthropology at Binghamton University and Arne Næss Chair in Global Justice and the Environment at the University of Oslo. His most recent book is Does Altruism Exist? Twitter: @David_S_Wilson
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1830
|
__label__wiki
| 0.882562
| 0.882562
|
Biographic timeline
Biographic narratives
In memory of L. D. Faddeev
Informational messages
Performances and rewards
BiographyBiographic timelineAwards and honoursBiographics narratives
Ludvig Faddeev
I was born on March 10, 1934 in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), where I lived most of my life. An exception was during the War, when I was evacuated from Leningrad and lived in several places in the East, mainly in Kazan. Both my parents were mathematicians. My father's interests were very broad, but he considered himself an algebraist. We know now that he has been an independent creator of homological algebra. My mother worked on applied problems, and her most famous contributions were in Computational methods of linear algebra.
Viorel Lomov
Mathematical Physics of Faddeev
From a series of short essays on Russian scientists
Mathematician, Professor of St. Petersburg State University, Academician-Secretary of the Department of Mathematical Sciences of Russian Academy of Sciences, honorary professor of a number of foreign universities, founder and director of the Euler International Mathematical Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, head of the National Committee of the Russian mathematicians, winner of four State awards and numerous international awards in mathematics — Ludvig Faddeev is the founder of his own scientific school and one of the creators of modern mathematical physics, to which he devotes more than 200 of his scientific works and 5 monographs.
On Ludvig Faddeev's 60th anniversary
Ludvig Faddeev celebrates his the 60th anniversary in March, 1994. It's difficult to describe all his achievements in a short article; many of them have entered the working unit of mathematics and theoretical physics. One of the most important discoveries of the great mathematicians of the past — from the Euler and Gauss to Hilbert, Hermann Weyl and our contemporaries — is the unity of the whole of mathematics — algebra, geometry, analysis, number theory, etc. Faddeev's works added to this list, as its equal part, many areas of modern theoretical physics.
СМИ о Л. Д. Фаддееве
© 2015 Faddeev. All Rights Reserved.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1831
|
__label__cc
| 0.678693
| 0.321307
|
Virginia Kimonis, MD
Assistant in Medicine
Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School
Virginia Kimonis is particularly interested in inherited muscle disorders that occur in combination with diseases of bone. Families with a combination of muscle disease, Paget disease of bone, and dementia (also known as IBMPFD) have been studied in the laboratory, and the gene for the disorder has been localized to chromosome 9. By identifying the causal gene (VCP, CDC48 or p97) for this disorder, the researchers are now identifying the key pathways and functions that are disrupted by the mutations they have found in the affected families. The Kimonis group is studying additional members of the original families and additional families with the combination of muscle and bone disease and are looking at the relationship between the familial disorders and the individuals' genetic makeup. They are also looking for other disorders that have various combinations of muscle, bone and brain disease, which may be related to IBMPFD and result from mutations in genes that are part of the VCP pathways. Identifying the single gene responsible for IBMPFD could have implications in many disciplines, leading to greater understanding of inclusion body myopathy, dementia and Paget disease of the bone. These findings may not only make it possible to develop better clinical treatments for families with IBMPFD, but also for those with other sporadic and hereditary diseases that share components of IBMPFD.
Genetics of Musculoskeletal Disorders
Genetics and Genomics Research
Researcher Labs
Kimonis and Watts Laboratory
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1833
|
__label__cc
| 0.565673
| 0.434327
|
Posted by Fujii, Tomoki , Shonchoy, Abu S. , Xu, Sijia
The illusion of gender parity in education: evidence from Bangladesh
While conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs have been broadly successful in reducing gender gaps in school enrolment and attendance, bringing more girls to school does not necessarily lead to gender equity in the quality and outcomes of education. This column reports evidence from Bangladesh that providing girls with stipends and tuition fee waivers boosted their enrolment considerably. Nevertheless, girls are disadvantaged in the allocation of educational resources within the household and their educational outcomes lag behind those of boys.
The fourth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)—quality education—marks a significant shift in the policy focus of education in developing countries from quantity to quality. Thanks to national and international efforts over the last three decades, more girls (and boys) now come to school, and remarkable progress has been made around the globe towards the third Millennium Development Goal: promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women.
Yet looking at gender parity in education through the narrow lens of school enrolment or attendance may lead to an illusion of success, as such quantity measures do not guarantee gender parity in the quality of education that children receive.
Take conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs as an example. These programs create incentives for underprivileged households to send their children to school by providing cash when certain conditions, such as targeted school attendance, are satisfied. They have been found to raise school enrolment significantly around the world, suggesting that CCT programs targeted at girls can substantially narrow the gender gap in enrolment.
In Bangladesh, the Female Stipend Programs (FSPs), which started in 1994 and provided girls with stipends and tuition fee waivers, have been credited with narrowing the gender gap in enrolment. Between 1990 and 2016, the gross secondary school enrolment rates for boys and girls increased from 27% and 14%, to 66% and 72% respectively.
While the achievement of gender parity in school enrolment is commendable, girls may still lag behind boys in other aspects, such as educational quality and performance. One important source of gender disparity could come from intra-household allocation of resources—due to strong parental preference for boys—leading to a gap in quality education for girls.
We show that this preference bias may have led to a systematic gender gap in educational quality and performance in Bangladesh, a predominantly patriarchal country. We observe girls consistently underperforming boys, as measured by the pass rates and shares of top students in the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination, a national test prior to completing school (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: Performance in the SSC examination by gender over time.
Notes: The solid lines represent the proportion of boys (blue) and girls (red) who have passed the SSC examination among those who took the examination and the dashed lines represent the share of top students who achieved the highest grade point average (locally known as ‘GPA 5’).
Source: BANBEIS-Education Database.
Some previous studies have tended to explain girls’ underperformance in school with supply-side factors, such as a low share of women teachers, unfavorable gender attitudes of teachers, and the lack of a gender-appropriate school curriculum.
In contrast, our study highlights the importance of demand-side constraints due to the allocation of educational resources within households. This constraint potentially limits the effectiveness of education policies and programs.
Analyzing four rounds of household surveys with detailed data on educational expenditure, we investigate the gender gap in three related household decisions about education: first, enrolment; second, expenditure on education conditional on enrolment; and third, the share of educational expenditure on the ‘core’ component—which includes items that directly affect educational quality (such as private tutoring).
We find a clear pro-female bias in the enrolment decision. On the other hand, the decisions on educational expenditure and core share—conditional on enrolment—are significantly pro-male.
For example, girls were 12 percentage points more likely to be enrolled in secondary school than boys in 2010. Nevertheless, conditional on enrolment, the educational expenditure and the core component expenditure for girls in 2010 were lower than those for boys, by 8% and 12% respectively.
Further investigation shows that girls’ disadvantage in conditional expenditure mainly comes from household spending on tuition fees and private tutoring—important items for quality education.
Consistent with this, girls have been significantly less likely than boys to achieve timely graduation from secondary school, conditional on graduation from primary school. Therefore, even though CCT programs like the FSPs can be effective in bringing girls to school, and in helping to improve or even reverse the gender gap in the quantity of education, they may be ineffective in narrowing the gender gap in the quality, amount, and kind of educational resources given to children.
This finding is applicable not only to Bangladesh, but also potentially to many other developing countries that are struggling to achieve gender parity in education, especially those in South Asia. Complementary policies—such as school quality improvement programs, and vouchers for free supplementary or remedial education—may be needed to reduce the gender gap in the quality of education, providing equal paths for girls to succeed.
Tomoki Fujii is an Associate Professor and Associate Dean from Singapore Management University.
Abu S. Shonchoy is an Assistant Professor from Florida International University.
Sijia Xu will be an Assistant Professor from East China University of Science and Technology from August 2019.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1835
|
__label__wiki
| 0.970478
| 0.970478
|
FILM ABG JADI MANTEN EPISODE 13
Tutur Tinular is an Indonesian historical-drama radio series. Member feedback about YouTube Rewind: The best known physical forms are flat mats and stubby pillars called stromatolites, but there are a Rikki is widely known by gamers as the singer of the Final Fantasy X main theme, “Suteki da ne”, released as a single on July 18, Collegiate He began his collegiate career at Mississippi State University. He is descended from the tribe of the Orang Sungai. Several of these characters wear wigs for comic effect.
Dino held open auditions in Kota Gede, Yogyakarta, which girls attended. The association has hosted tournaments for men since , and women since Results of the Malaysian state elections by constituency topic Equal-area representation of the results with each hexagon representing one seat These are the election results of the Malaysian general election by state constituency. Since the —94 season, the league’s Top Scorer is the player with the highest scoring average per game during the season. It now uses techniques drawn from a wide range of sciences, including bioche The state has long mountain ranges on the west side which form part of the Crocker Range National Park. Therefore, playing solely in the “Regular Season” phase of the EuroLeague, does not qualify a player to be among the league’s leaders. A Feudal Fairy Tale”, with each individual issue containing two or three chapters from the original manga.
This is a list of films produced in Malaysia ordered by year of release in the s. At first, he did not want to plunge into the same world, but was apparently hooked after given the chance to have a role in an Indonesian soap opera, Pinokio dan Peri Biru Member feedback about List of Inuyasha episodes season 1: At first, he did not want to plunge into the same world, but was apparently hooked after given the chance to have a role in an Indonesian soap opera, Pinokio dan Peri Biru Indonesian male film actors Revolvy Brain revolvybrain.
The Unders are managed by S. Alvin Sanders born March 16, is an American-born Canadian actor, voice actor and voice director. The Sunan then observed the people present in the meeting and proposes that Kya List of Malaysian State Assembly Representatives —13 topic List of Malaysian Maanten Assembly Representatives —08 List of Malaysian State Assembly Representatives —13 List of Malaysian State Assembly Representatives —18 Equal-area representation of state constituencies as elected in State legislative seat changes since the elections in except Sarawak and are highlighted for clarity The mantfn are the members of the Dewan Undangan Negeri or state assemblies, elected in the state election and by-elections.
CHUTZPAH WORD IN HAIDER MOVIE
A few are found as endosymbionts of animals.
Arsenal supporters London based Arsenal Football Mantrn has developed a strong following since its founding in The club and the fans have regularly featured in portrayals of football in British culture. History Early years Inauguration of the university in Bukittinggi, September The idea of an institution of higher learning in West Sumatra has been in since the early years of 20th century, following the rise of modern Indonesian intellectual class, some of them with roots in the island of Sumatra.
Career Harun has been familiar since childhood with the world of entertainment, as his mother is a senior model.
I DID HER WRONG Trailer () –
Therefore, playing solely in the “Regular Season” phase of the EuroLeague, does not qualify a player to be among the league’s leaders. Member feedback about Donna Harun: Dewan Rakyat results of the Malaysian General Election equal-area representation These are the election results of the Malaysian general election by parliamentary constituency.
Member feedback about Ricky Harun: Founded inthe club played two seasons in the highest tier of the German football league system, the Bundesliga, during the mids. This is a list about the foreign players who played in the Swiss Super League.
The town “Deneysville” however, established on the shores of the dam was named after him. Member feedback about Angela Schanelec: The lake formed by the Vaal Dam was originally planned to be named Lake Deneys but was never formally adopted.
JOHN AMIRTHARAJ PREMIERE FIBERS
Ricky Harun
Produced by Sunrise, the series premiered in Japan on Animax on October 16, and ran for episodes until its conclusion on September 13, Shortly thereafter, she produced her debut album, Kaze no Koe.
List of Inuyasha episodes season 1 topic The cover of the first season of Inuyasha. Premise Matsushita Sakura, a Sansei third-generation Japanese-American living in Hawaii, who comes to Japan to live with her grandparents. Group B play began on 9 November and ended on 25 November.
Member feedback about Microbial mat: Consolation is the fourth studio album by the Japanese girl group Kalafina released on 20 March under Sony Music Japan label. Sanjna Suri topic Sanjna Suri born is a Malaysian beauty pageant titleholder, singer, model, actress and former pharmacist.
Download Abg Jadi Manten Episode 13 Mp3 & Video
Member feedback about Burgsvik Beds: She played the lead role in the show, a tomboy named Rohaye. A video game based on the series was released for the PlayStation 2 and the Dreamcast.
His roles are often positions of authority, such as managers, principals, or police officers, but many of these characters also share a certain kookiness and incompetence.
In Lembaran Cinta Pudar Siti made an attempt to have a brief monologue which is quite intriguing to listeners. Von Post was an only child. Career Novianti began her career as a model, appearing in a magazine of Aneka Yess!. It now uses techniques drawn from a wide range of sciences, including bioche The TV series version is considered as one of the best adaptation of the radio series.
Member feedback about AFF Championship squads: History Deneysville was established in and named after Deneys Reitz,[3] writer of Commando:
Try Also
VAVU BALI MOVIE
LODUKKU PANDI MOVIE
SOMALI COMEDY ODEY SHIRWAC
DHANWAAN 1993 MOVIE ONLINE
DOBOL DRIBOL FULL MOVIE
STARLADDER SEASON 10 INTERVIEW PUPPEY
ARAVINTHAN FULL MOVIE
TRIBUNAL PREMIERE INSTANCE CHARLEROI GREFFE CIVIL
FREE PLANESMART FOR CINEMA 4D
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1841
|
__label__wiki
| 0.666385
| 0.666385
|
Home/Archive for category: History
Archive for category: History
Restoring Our Putnam County Commitment
Construction, Donors, Habitat for Humanity, History, Homepage, Partner Family Homes
A Message from Shawn Means, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity of Kanawha & Putnam:
Thanks in part to the presence of the Teays Valley ReStore, Habitat for Humanity of Kanawha & Putnam has made significant strides toward better serving Putnam County over the past two years after a long period of dormancy in the County. Since building our latest Putnam County house in Hurricane in 2014, our efforts to provide Putnam County families with homeownership opportunities had slowed dramatically because of the availability of affordable land on which to build. With decreased building activity came decreased visibility and community awareness, and so the number of people who applied for Habitat’s housing program also declined. The opening of the Teays Valley ReStore two years ago has helped Habitat regain the community awareness and has helped us reconnect with potential applications and donors. The results are tangible
Applications to Habitat’s homeownership program from Putnam County residents has increased by approximately 30% in the past two years.
Shortly after the Teays Valley ReStore opened – no doubt in part because of the increased visibility that the ReStore provides — a Putnam County land owner donated a building lot in the Scott Depot area that will be the home of a Habitat homebuyer in the near future.
Because of this renewed interest, Habitat is currently seeking funding for the preliminary design work on a new development near Bancroft that might provide building sites for as many as 18 single family homes, providing much needed workforce housing to the area north of the Kanawha River.
In 2017 Habitat held its first Putnam-centric fundraising event in over 20 years. The “Building Habitat’s Future” luncheon at Sleepy Hollow raised more than $15,000.
In addition to raising funds for home construction, the Teays Valley ReStore is an important outpost for Habitat for Humanity of Kanawha and Putnam, providing it with a vital connection to the community.
We are thankful to the ReStore team, shoppers and donors who have helped make these first two years a tremendous success.
Escape the Chill of Winter with a Culinary Adventure
Donors, Habitat for Humanity, History, Homepage
Imagine yourself surrounded by lights, music and fine food. Outside, it’s the middle of February. Inside, the air is warm and the mood evokes feelings of somewhere far away. There is a hint of adventure in the room. Several items you could use to further escape the chill outside are at your fingertips. You peer out of the room’s windows to see snow flurries in the wind. You look across the spacious room and see the first course of a gourmet meal unveiled for the crowd. The scent takes you someplace far away from the cold. You make your way to your seat to join your friends. As the first bite hits your tongue, you’re transported to another place, leaving winter behind. As the remaining courses make their way to your table, you find yourself losing sight of the chill outside.
This February, Habitat for Humanity of Kanawha & Putnam gives you the chance to escape the blustery cold and dine with one of the state’s most popular gourmet restaurants. As we’ve done in the past, we’re bringing one of the West Virginia’s top restaurants to Charleston.
The Grand Lobby of The Clay Center will fill with food, music and members of our community as we showcase a veteran chef’s creations for you to enjoy. Our event will feature seven popular dishes, wine and spirits, as well as a signature cocktail. You will indulge in several unique tastes and textures that most have only read about in travel magazines.
Music from a popular live band, inspired by your culinary adventure, will fill the Grand Lobby with excitement as we showcase the specially-selected items from our one-of-a-kind silent auction. The things you’ll be bidding on will take you farther than you can imagine. We’ve curated a selection of items to bring new adventures and exciting travel to your life!
All adventures should include in bit of mystery, so we can’t tell you too much yet. In the coming months, we will drop hints and clues about what we have in store for the Kanawha Valley this winter.
Join us in the Grand Lobby of the Clay Center in Charleston this winter for a culinary adventure. Leave the cold behind.
Our History: Habitat for Humanity of Kanawha & Putnam
Habitat for Humanity, History, Homepage
When a small group of folks met in the living room of a Teays Valley home on January 28, 1988, they had no idea of how many people would be impacted by what they were about to do. Among the group present that evening were four friends who had lived and worked at Koinonia Farm, a place in southern Georgia that was also the birthplace of Habitat for Humanity. They knew they wanted to bring this special ministry to Kanawha and Putnam County and had heard stories and seen firsthand the way the fledgling ministry had changed people’s lives in Georgia. Knowing that many of their own neighbors needed a decent place to live, they decided to step out on faith.
Mountaineer Habitat for Humanity was incorporated in 1988 as the 256th affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International. Thanks to the extraordinary abilities of its first executive director, Bill Londeree, the affiliate accomplished much in its first five years. Our first house, built for the Groom family on Charleston’s West Side, brought together countless organizations and people who otherwise never would have been involved in affordable housing. During the next four years, Habitat would build 35 houses, buy and develop acreage in Putnam County and forge partnerships that would help build many more.
When Bill Londeree stepped down in 1994, his legacy was a successful organization with a reputation for delivering what it promised. In 1995, when Habitat finished up its Fuller Street development in Hurricane, new executive director Shawn Means turned his sights to addressing the extreme shortage of affordable housing in Charleston. Because of Habitat’s past performance, city leaders embraced the organization, and from 1995 through 2001, 45 new homes were built in and around the Charleston, West Virginia.
In 2000, we received an extraordinary gift of 29 acres of land in South Charleston from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston. This gift would become a full-scale subdivision called “Jubilee Heights,” in honor of the Roman Catholic Church’s term for Year 2000 as “The Year of Jubilee.” During the next seven years, 30 Habitat families would build their homes on this plot of ground as streets and utilities slowly were put into place. During this same time, the organization grew and matured and changed its name to Habitat for Humanity of Kanawha and Putnam to better reflect its expanded service area.
A new headquarters and a “ReStore” (a new and used building materials retail outlet) were established and expanded. To date, proceeds from the ReStore have been used to build 59 Habitat houses. As our ministry grew, professional staff was added to better equip our homeowners and homebuilders.
As we look toward the future, we know that a large part of it will be built on 50 acres of land generously donated by Gene Warden. Our North Hills Drive development will be a neighborhood where our Partner Families and volunteers build lasting memories.
Habitat for Humanity of Kanawha and Putnam is part of a global, nonprofit housing organization operated on Christian principles that seeks to put God’s love into action by building homes, communities and hope. Habitat for Humanity of Kanawha and Putnam is dedicated to eliminating substandard housing locally and worldwide through constructing, rehabilitating and preserving homes; by advocating for fair and just housing policies; and by providing training and access to resources to help families improve their shelter conditions. Habitat for Humanity was founded on the conviction that every man, woman and child should have a simple, durable place to live in dignity and safety, and that decent shelter in decent communities should be a matter of conscience and action for all.
Habitat for Humanity of Kanawha and Putnam has an open-door policy: All who believe that everyone needs a decent, affordable place to live are welcome to help with the work, regardless of race, religion, age, gender, political views or any of the other distinctions that too often divide people. In short, Habitat welcomes volunteers and supporters from all backgrounds and also serves people in need of decent housing regardless of race or religion. As a matter of policy, Habitat for Humanity International and its affiliated organizations do not proselytize. This means that Habitat will not offer assistance on the expressed or implied condition that people must either adhere to or convert to a particular faith, or listen and respond to messaging designed to induce conversion to a particular faith.
About Habitat for Humanity International
Founded in Americus, Georgia, USA, in 1976, Habitat for Humanity today operates around the globe and has helped build, renovate and repair more than 600,000 decent, affordable houses sheltering more than 3 million people worldwide.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1843
|
__label__wiki
| 0.896993
| 0.896993
|
“Sandy Wadlington – New Works”
When: Now through Friday, April 27
Where: McGowan Fine Art, 10 Hills Ave., Concord
More info: Call 225-2515, or visit mcgowanfineart.com.
Observing the landscape
New England nature is ‘especially rich,’ artist says
New England offers landscape artists many options. From the red and golden-hued forests of the Berkshires to New Hampshire’s vast, tranquil lakes to the rocky, sun-soaked Seacoast, artists who devote their work to the land in which they live and travel have a seemingly limitless palate from which to create.
Sandy Wadlington is one such artist, and she is showing her pastel and painted landscapes in an exhibit of new works at McGowan Fine Art through Friday, April 27.
Wadlington, who divides her time between Maine and New Hampshire, has worked with the gallery for 10 years. Her last show at McGowan, which opened its doors in 1980, was roughly two years ago. Now 20 of her paintings and pastel works of New Hampshire and Maine landscapes fill the gallery for guests to view and potentially take home with them.
“The process [of creating] is important,” Wadlington said. “The excitement that you feel for what you’re working on, you want to try to convey that to others.”
Wadlington knew she wanted to be an artist from a young age, but she said she “didn’t really have a clue what that meant other than [she] liked to draw.” She didn’t know how she would make a living out of it. Like many others, she took odd jobs to supplement her painting and drawing. Driving a school bus, gardening, working as a secretary and waitress: she did it all.
Then, 30 years ago, she made the plunge into making art full-time.
Wadlington had been working in the production department of a museum in Texas and realized it was time for her “to get back to doing art.” She moved back to New England, where she grew up, a region that continues to inspire her and that she always had plans to return to, she said.
“Although I have lived in other parts of the country, I find the New England landscape especially rich and compelling,” wrote Wadlington, who studied at the Museum School in Boston and the Massachusetts College of Art.
She often works from photographs that she takes while driving or walking around the two states she calls home. Wadlington focuses on elements such as light, color and composition. She says, as an artist who creates landscapes, she has to be a careful observer, continually noticing what is on view around her.
“My work is not exactly controversial or meant to shake you up in any way,” she said. “I hope people feel that glimpse that got me excited when I was walking or driving around and jumped out at me, that brief moment of excitement.”
Sarah Chalke, McGowan’s director since 1997, calls Wadlington’s work romantic and varied.
“I am quite taken by her technique,” Chalke said. “It’s a little bit different — she [makes] short, tiny strokes and weaves them together for an almost textile-like feel.”
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1844
|
__label__cc
| 0.568323
| 0.431677
|
President Doh-Yeon Kim signs the first multilateral MOU of K-STAR
On behalf of K-STAR (Korean Universities for Science & Technology and Advanced Research), President Doh-Yeon Kim signed into effect the first multilateral MOU of the cooperative initiative with the INSA Group (Institut National des Sciences Appliquées) of France.
President Kim, representing K-STAR, attended the signing ceremony held on the 15th in Paris alongside M’Hamed Drissi, Directeur de l’INSA Rennes. As part of South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s visit to France, the respective Ministers from both countries (Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT and France’s Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation) also attended the ceremony.
As the alliance of leading STEM universities in Korea, K-STAR is comprised of KAIST, DGIST, GIST, UNIST, and POSTECH. The INSA Group is the leading French group of grande écoles and is comprised of 6 INSA institutes: Centre Val de Loire, Lyon, Rennes, Rouen, Strasbourg, and Toulouse. The collaborative activities between the two national networks will include academic and student exchanges to foster international cooperation between and Korea and France.
The multilateral agreement between K-STAR and INSA Group is expected to usher in a new vibrant era of robust partnership in science and technology for both nations.
previous POSTECH and Samsung Electronics agree to an industry-academia partnership
Next Professor Kimoon Kim Publishes the First Textbook on Cucurbiturils
POSTECH Newsmenuclose1
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1847
|
__label__cc
| 0.59201
| 0.40799
|
Home → 2018 → UNSANE
Over the last century, the basics of filmmaking have remained rather unchanged. You need a camera, some actors to be in front of it, some lights to light your actors, crew members to assist in various ways, and so on and so forth. While the basics are the same, the technology and the way we use it is constantly changing. A modern digital camera has a lens and aperture just like an old film camera does, but it also offers a dynamic range of options that a film camera doesn’t. As the technology evolves, there are always filmmakers out there eager to experiment with a new way of filmmaking. Experiments aren’t always known for their success, though.
In Unsane, Sawyer Valentini (Claire Foy), is trying to live a normal life as a business woman after moving away from her abusive stalker David (Joshua Leonard). Still suffering from PTSD due to her experience, she meets with a therapist, who suggests that they should have further sessions. After Sawyer carelessly fills out some paperwork, she finds out she voluntarily committed herself to be in a mental institution for a week. Knowing she’s not crazy, Sawyer tries her best to convince the hospital staff and police to let her go. They force to her to stay and to make matters worse, David is working as a nurse in the hospital! Or is he just a psychological delusion of Sawyer’s? Who knows? The only thing we do know is that Sawyer has no escape.
The big selling point for Unsane is the fact that director Steven Soderbergh shot the film entirely on an iPhone 7. This isn’t the first film to do that (Sean Baker’s Tangerine was shot on iPhone 5’s), but according to Soderbergh, this is the future of filmmaking. Well, I certainly hope not, because the future of filmmaking is looking mighty ugly. While I admire a filmmaker trying to shake up the industry and evolve how films are being made, those experiments don’t always prove to be successful. It’s evident that this film was shot on a cell phone from the opening shot. The image is often incredibly flat, ranging from horribly overexposed in bright scenes, and filled with noise during the dark ones. The images are competently blocked and framed well, for the most part, although some shots seemed to be a bit too high, leaving a lot of awkward headspace (and overexposed light sources). This way of filming resulted in a smaller aspect ratio of 1.56 : 1, which does a great job at enhancing the claustrophobia and isolation Sawyer is feeling. Overall, though, the presentation was immensely distracting throughout, often taking me out of the film.
Even though the cinematography was constantly taking me out of the film, it was the fantastic performances and engrossing narrative that kept drawing me back in. Sometimes I was so invested that I forgot about the ugly aesthetic altogether. I love stories about people who are forced to come to terms with their own sanity, making you wonder how crazy they might be. It takes a great actor to really sell that uncertainty, and Claire Foy is more than capable for the job. She can’t do a convincing American accent, but she can definitely play a woman on the brink of losing her mind. Whether she’s crying in bed, screaming at orderlies, or trying to work her way through the politics of a mental institution, I was with her the entire way and wasn’t just rooting for her to escape, but also for her to get over her past trauma. Juno Temple, Jay Pharoah, and Joshua Leonard are also great, especially Temple, playing a psychotic and abusive mental patient.
It was these characters and the great performance that really elevated the film, because what we’re really dealing with her is a very well-crafted B-movie. As the plot moves along and new things are revealed, it gets progressively sillier and outlandish, all the way down to the bloody climax. When you really think about how all the moving pieces come together in the end, it ends up being quite illogical. I guess it’s a good thing that I don’t have a problem with suspending my disbelief. Part of the fun that comes with watching most movies is experiencing something that you wouldn’t in real life. Being held in a mental hospital against your will is a terrifying concept, especially when you combine it with being stuck with your stalker, while wondering if he’s even actually there or not. The story elements were explored in many different ways, which makes some of them feel underdeveloped. It never lost sight of the character and her journey, though. No matter how ridiculous it got, I was always feeling uncomfortable, which is exactly was Soderbergh was going for.
Unsane is very cheesy and sometimes feels like a Lifetime movie, but it ends up being cheese that tastes quite good. While the decision to shoot the entire film on a cell phone was an ambitious one, it often looked ugly and in need of an actual movie camera. The presentation was off putting and distracting, but everything else from the performances, to the writing, and to the directing were all good enough to keep my interested. Let’s just hope this new way of shooting films isn’t truly “the future”. If so, then the future looks horribly overexposed and flat. Keep up the experimenting, though. We wouldn’t have some of the great films we have today without some risk taking.
On March 27, 2018 / 2018, Film Reviews, Horror, Thriller, U / Leave a comment
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1850
|
__label__wiki
| 0.584199
| 0.584199
|
#InsurTechSummitAU
Insurance Business Awards
HR Tech Summit
Legal Tech Summit
The Westin Sydney | 28 February
TECH DEN
Tech Den is the InsurTech Summit’s flagship program – celebrating excellence in insurance startups and entrepreneurship across Australia.
Vying for the ultimate prize, a $20k marketing campaign in Insurance Business magazine, hundreds of tech startups will be whittled down to just a few finalists.
These lucky finalists will have the once in a lifetime opportunity to pitch their solutions to a panel of judges and investors.
Applications are now close. Finalists will be contacted no later than 15 February 2019.
GRANT CHAMBERLAIN
OneVentures
Prior to joining OneVentures as Principal, Grant Chamberlain was Australian Head of Mergers & Acquisitions and Financial Sponsors for Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
He has over twenty years’ experience in Australian and cross border mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and capital markets at global investment banks Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank and Nomura and has a broad range of experience across industries including technology, healthcare, consumer goods, financial services and natural resources.
Grant has led many of the largest and most complex transactions in Australia in recent years including Woodside’s offer for Oil Search, Iron Mountain’s acquisition of Recall, CSC’s acquisition of UXC, Wilmar and First Pacific’s acquisition of Goodman Fielder, Dai-ichi Life’s acquisition of Tower Australia, Kirin’s acquisition of Lion Nathan, Cephalon’s acquisition of Arana Therapeutics and its investment in Mesoblast, Foster’s acquisition of Southcorp and Webcentral’s merger with Melbourne IT.
Grant currently serves as non-executive director and member of the audit and remuneration committees of Immutep Limited, an ASX and NASDAQ listed immuno-oncology research company.
He holds an LLB (Hons) and B.Com from the University of Melbourne.
ANDY JAMIESON
CEO, Advisr
Tech Den 2018 winner
Andy Jamieson is the founder of Advisr.com.au, an insurtech platform that connects people with insurance brokers they can trust.
Prior to Advisr, In 2015 Andy exited Switched on Media, a digital marketing agency he co-founded in 2007, through a trade sale to global advertising group WPP. Switched on Media’s clients included Westfield, CBA, Canon, Spotify and Vodafone and its growth was recognised through the multiple BRW Fast 100 and Deloitte Technology Fast 50 awards. Prior to founding Switched on Media, Andy worked in various marketing roles at Fairfax Digital and eBay.
ABHAY SETH
Associate Director of Innov8
Singtel Optus
In his role as the Head of Innov8, Abhay Seth actively leads the business activities of Singtel Optus’ venture capital arm, most recently concluding its participation in a round of funding for Myriota, an Adelaide-based satellite venture. Abhay also played a key role in the launch of the Singapore-based ICE71, the first Asia Pacific Cyber Security Accelerator program.
Having previously held the position of Manager Loyalty and Customer Value Management, Abhay brings a deep understanding of the customer lifecycle and strategic application of retention plans.
Abhay has formerly held senior strategic and marketing roles at Ideas for Profits, an IT-focused VC, and Airtel Bangladesh, part of SingTel Group in South East Asia. Throughout his career, Abhay has received accolades for his loyalty program and revenue successes.
© 2019 Key Media Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Insurance Business Insurtech Summit
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1851
|
__label__cc
| 0.570518
| 0.429482
|
Deloris Lorraine Olson
July 5, 1925-May 31, 2019
Deloris Lorraine Olson was born on July 5, 1925, at home, to Willie and Lena (Kjosa) Bergan in rural St. Olaf, Iowa. She was baptized and confirmed at Norway Lutheran Church. She graduated from Postville High School in 1944 after having taken a year off due to a lack of transportation to school. Deloris passed away on May 31, 2019, at All Saints Assisted Living/Memory Care in Madison, WI at the age of 93.
Deloris was a social, cheerful person who always saw the best in everyone. She enjoyed dancing, especially the waltz and polka. She accepted a marriage proposal from Olvin Olson at White Springs Dance Hall in McGregor, Iowa on a lovely evening in 1945 when he was home on leave from the Army/Air Force. They were married on October 22, 1950, at Marion Lutheran Church, Gunder, Iowa. They had one daughter, Vicky, and a son, Bradley, who was stillborn at birth.
Charles “Chuck” Holmes
September 25, 1934-May 22, 2019
Charles (Chuck) A. Holmes, 84, of Elkader, Iowa, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, May 22, 2019, at St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, surrounded by his family. Charles was born in Ames, Iowa on September 25, 1934, to Robert and Grace (Sowerwine) Holmes.
He graduated from Ames High School in 1952. Following high school, Chuck attended Iowa State University. In 1954, Chuck enlisted in the U.S. Army serving until 1956 as an artillery fire controller in Augsburg, Germany. After service, he attended the University of Iowa where he graduated from the College of Pharmacy in 1960. After practicing pharmacy, he enrolled in the College of Dentistry graduating in 1968. Charles practiced dentistry from 1969 to 2004, primarily from his North Main Street office in downtown Elkader, Iowa.
Chuck was united in marriage to Winnafred Thiessen of Clinton, Iowa, on August 13, 1968, in Downers Grove, IL.
“Sew” much fun Women stitch together memories, quilts
Several members of a quilting group were on hand recently to talk about their unique projects. They are, left to right: Ellen Clinton, Debby Fischer, Jillian Miller, Sandy Phillips, Kris Sass and Donna Baumler.
A Garnavillo woman has found a new use for the organizational skills that made her an exceptional nurse.
Debby Fischer, who is retired from the former Central Community Hospital, Elkader, has pulled together a group of 12 women with an interest in quilting. Their goal is to complete 13 quilts this year—one for each member and one for the hospital auxiliary to sell.
But the quilting project has a unique twist: Each woman is making one row of each quilt. By year’s end, each member will have a finished, queen-sized quilt made by 12 different people.
Wayne Allan Bacon
February 21, 1955-May 24, 2019
Wayne Allan Bacon, 64, was born on February 21, 1955, the last of five children born to Walter and Wanda (Sandhagen) Bacon. He passed away peacefully at home on May 24, 2019. The family moved around quite a bit in Wayne’s younger years, finally setting up home on a farm just South of Garnavillo. He graduated from Garnavillo High School with the class of 1973. On August 17, 1974 Wayne married Becky Werges. Two daughters were born to this union.
Wayne had a place for everything and everything had a place. This was true of the dishwasher, his tools and the ever-favorite pen, which was tied to his desk. He shared his smart-wit ways with his daughters who loved to torment him a little, cutting the string of his pen shorter and shorter until he couldn’t use it. Wayne’s love for carpentry began as a high schooler. He enjoyed being a carpenter all of his working years. Wayne was a member of the Garnavillo Fire Department for 38 years.
Mary Kay Torkelson
Mary Kay Torkelson, 89, of Elgin, Iowa died Tuesday, May 21, 2019 at Gundersen Palmer Hospital in West Union, Iowa. Mary Kay was born September 13, 1929 to Wilbur and Helen (Peyer) Thornton in Postville, Iowa. She graduated from Postville High School. After graduation, Mary attended Iowa State Teachers College in Cedar Falls, Iowa, now known as University of Northern Iowa, earning her two-year teaching certificate.
Mysteries at the museum Carter House focus is murder, mayhem
Mary Lammers, LaVonne Auguston and David Burns are three Carter House Board Members responsible for this year’s Mysteries at the Museum theme. Burns is holding one of the props, a fake bloody knife.
If you’re in the mood for a good mystery, the Carter House Museum in Elkader is the place to be. This year’s theme is “Mysteries at the Museum,” and it covers everything from unsolved murders to UFO sightings to a Wells Fargo heist
Board members credit their colleague Marge Costigan for inspiring this year’s special exibits. “She always has the most intriguing stories about Clayton County,” said Mary Lammers. “It just sort of grew from that.”
LaVonne Auguston gives a nod to Lammers, Barb Chandler and others for doing much of the research that was used to create storyboards about each mystery. The cards and a few props are placed in rooms throughout the 18-room Greek Revival mansion. Moving through the museum is both fun and informational.
An open house to celebrate the new season and the new theme will be held Friday, May 31, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Refreshments will be served; there is a $10 admission fee.
Cletus Bissell
June 12, 1945-May 15, 2019
Cletus Bissell was born on June 12, 1945, in Edgewood, Iowa and fell asleep in death on May 15, 2019, in Aurora, CO as a result of injuries incurred by a car accident in Meeker.
Throughout his life, Clete was an entrepreneur, making a success out of combining his personal interests with hard work, ranging from flipping homes in his 20s in Iowa, to raising a variety of birds and livestock in Colorado into his 70s. He never knew a stranger; everyone he met became and remained his friend.
Clete is preceded in death by his parents, Harold and Margret Bissell, his brother, Curtis Bissell and his daughter, Shawn. He is survived by his wife Cheryl, children, Kim (Cook) of Iowa, Chris (and Kristi) Dye of Oregon, Stacy (and Stuart) Grauberger of Eckert, Kody Reader, Kasey Bissell and Jade (and Taylor) Bissell of Delta, Colorado along with 10 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren, a sister, Jane Glawe and a brother Chris Bissell of Iowa.
New gallery Works of Elkader native going on display
“Golden Fields” is one of many works by American artist Gene Sharp to be featured in a new gallery opening this weekend in Elkader. Sharp was raised in Elkader but later lived and worked in Chicago.
Lucy Sharp and her son, Alan Szech, have renovated a space in downtown Elkader into a gallery for the works of Gene Sharp, Lucy’s father and Alan’s grandfather.
The works of an artist with ties to Clayton County have found a home here.
Gene Sharp, who was raised in Elkader and later lived and worked in Chicago, was a prolific artist who created an impressive body of work, especially watercolors. His works hang in Central State Bank, the Carter House Museum, and the Elkader Opera House.
Many of Gene’s pieces have been in storage since his death at age 79 in 2002. His daughter, Lucy, and grandson, Alan Szech, felt it was time to share Gene’s talent with others and have chosen to do so with a new gallery in downtown Elkader.
“This is really my mom’s passion,” Alan explained. “I just lit the fire and pushed it into her yard.”
The catalyzing event was Alan’s discovery in August 2018 of two watercolors sitting in his mother’s basement where they were getting damaged.
Donna Lucille Sloan
June 6, 1933—May 13, 2019
Dr. Donna Lucille Sloan died May 13, 2019 at Macomb, Illinois. She was born June 6, 1933 to W. Leroy Sloan and Leta Sloan. She graduated from Volga High School and worked several years in Elkader before attending Iowa State University where she earned her undergraduate degree.
She taught home economics in Clear Lake and Marengo, IA. Donna returned to ISU to get her master’s degree. After obtaining it, she got a position teaching textiles and clothing at Western Illinois University in Macomb, IL where she taught until her retirement. During her tenure she earned a PHD from Ohio State University.
Donna was an active member of Wesley United Church and also a member of AARP, PEO and University Women. She was an avid bridge player and played Mexican dominoes. Donna had many fiends especially her best friend, her cat Oreo.
Top scholar Jenna Jansen is Central’s valedictorian
Jenna Jansen is the top graduate for Central’s Class of 2019. She will speak at commencement Sunday at 2 p.m.
The valedictorian for the Central Class of 2019 is Jenna Jansen, daughter of Jim and Joleen Jansen, rural Elkader. Jenna has attended Central since kindergarten, following in the footsteps of her two older siblings, Jessica and Jacob. Her family lives near Moto Mill on an acreage they share with their dog, Jill, and eight chickens.
It has been a Register tradition to feature Central’s top graduate. Here are answers Jenna gave to our questions.
What does it mean to you to have achieved the distinction of being named the top graduate of the Class of 2019?
It is a pretty special and rewarding feeling. My sister and brother are awesome academic role models. From them, I learned, success comes through motivation and hard work. I made it a plan to work as hard as I could throughout high school by putting the necessary work to achieve my goals.
What are your outside interests/hobbies?
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1854
|
__label__cc
| 0.688899
| 0.311101
|
Ignite XII
IgniteOKC XI
IgniteOKC X
IgniteOKC IX
Be a Sponsor!
Meet IgniteOKC
Watch the IgniteOKC IX Talks
Meet Our Dynamic Speakers from IgniteOKC 9
Eden Badgett – The Power of the Semicolon
Eden Badgett grew up in East Tennessee and comes to Oklahoma by way of North Carolina and Colorado. With two degrees in choral conducting, Eden began her career working as a choir tour manager for national youth and collegiate choirs, and serving as music director for various churches throughout the Southeastern United States. In recent years she has transitioned from performance to arts management, and from 2013 to 2015 she worked as the Content & Communications Manager and Board Liaison for Bravo! Vail, an orchestra and chamber music festival in Vail, Colorado that features the New York Philharmonic and The Philadelphia Orchestra, and caters to over 60,000 concertgoers annually. Currently she works as the Festival Development Director for the American Choral Directors Association in Oklahoma City, and is the Festival Director for the international choir festival America Cantat 8, being held in the Bahamas this summer. This is Eden’s first year on the Leadership Crew for Ignite OKC, and she loves being a part of such a smart and creative community. She is an active volunteer with the metro library system, and advocates for V-Day International and the Rhodes College Peer Counseling Center. When not working or volunteering, Eden loves spending time with her two rowdy dogs (Ellie the Beagle and Scout the Pit Bull), cooking with too much butter, finally reading Game of Thrones, and learning as many Sara Bareilles songs on the guitar as possible. Her current podcast obsession is Welcome to Night Vale.
Clayton Bahr – How Oklahoma City is Turning the Tables on Hunger
I’m a native Oklahoma Cityan. I currently host the radio program Tasting Notes as the Wine Doctor on KOSU and The Spy every Monday at 7pm. I pursued a PhD in Philosophy for a bit before settling on a career in the restaurant business, which led to a passion for wine. I am now a Certified Sommelier. My current employment is for the Restaurant Group, Outside the Box Hospitality Management Group, which include Slaughter’s Hall, WSKY Lounge and Omerta Cigar Company for which I am the COO. I’m also the President of the State Fair Wine Competition. In my spare time, I coordinate the efforts for the event, Turning the Table on Hunger. I also attend as many live shows as my watch and pocketbook will allow.
Lorenzo Banks – The Days and Times of Being a Superhero
Lorenzo Azar Banks is a native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, but currently resides in Oklahoma City. He originally moved there to attend college and had plans of pursuing a career in education. In 2005, he obtained his undergraduate degree in Mathematics Education from the University of Central Oklahoma. Soon after graduating, he entered graduate school to study applied mathematics; taking another step closer to his ultimate educational goal of becoming a doctor of mathematics. While pursuing his graduate studies, his life changed dramatically when he was named a defendant in a frivolous lawsuit. At that time, he had no means of hiring an attorney to defend him, so he took on the task of defending himself. After getting the plaintiff to dismiss the case, the foundations for his destiny became firmly laid. He decided to begin applying to law schools and was admitted to Oklahoma City University School of Law in 2008. He graduated, passed the bar, and soon became the founder and owner of Minority Report Law PLLC, a law firm that provides legal services in the state of Oklahoma. His main goal with starting the firm was to make sure that no one ever felt as hopeless as he did in their own legal battles. In April of 2016, Minority Report Law Office became a partner in Banks | Gilbert | Gillett PLLC. In addition to running a successful law practice, Lorenzo also serves as the Assistant Director of Admissions and Director of Diversity Initiatives for Oklahoma City University School of Law. His dual role as a law admissions staff member and a practicing attorney allows him to have a unique and practical perspective into the need for diversity in the legal community. He uses this perspective to actively seek out, admit, and mentor law students into his law school in hopes to supply well-trained lawyers to the legal community—his focus particularly being on women and students of color. Lorenzo is an active member of the Oklahoma Bar Association, the Oklahoma Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, and the Oklahoma City Association of Black Lawyers. He volunteers his time and services through a number of different programs where he gives free advice and services to veterans and the black communities in Oklahoma City. He also takes questions submitted to him from
Wes Hamer – Quitting your Job to Travel around the World
In April 2014 me and my wife quit our day jobs and took off on an adventure to travel the world. We packed our two backpacks, rented out our house, and took off to experience life. Traveling long term was full of amazing experiences, lots of struggles, and a new mindset. I think that we all should pursue our passions sooner rather than later. Time is our greatest asset, yet sometimes we don’t treat it so. Anyone can quit their job and go on a round the world long term travel. High salaried CEO’s, minimum wage worker, mid-life, late in life, married, single, kids and so on. The fear of quitting a secure job is more like a mound of dirt instead of a mountain to overcome. The experiences that occur last a lifetime, and the adventures and people you meet will change your perspective for the better. Currently back in OKC working, biking, playing soccer, and planning the next adventure, but for sure thankful for life here!
Tim Hast – The Value of People
Tim provides organizational training, development, and coaching services in leadership, listening, communication, conflict management, mediation, and team building. His work is based on training and facilitating trust-based relationships. He is an authorized partner with Wiley and Sons for both, Everything DiSC personality assessments, and The Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team. Tim discovered from running his own business for many years that a manager can make or break an employee. Tim observed that as in most relationships, both personal and professional, relational problems are rooted in poor communication that often leads to conflict. And great listening is the key to correcting poor communication patterns. He now uses the skills he first learned as a business owner and counselor to coach and train people in the workplace. Tim is the author of, “Powerful Listening. Powerful Influence. Work Better. Live Better. Love Better.” Tim lives in Edmond, Oklahoma with his wife, where they enjoy weekly conversations over the dinner table with their two sons and their wives, and their grandson.
Greg Hawks – Insecurity: Plague of the Human Soul
As a Corporate Culture Specialist, Greg brings an expansive leadership portfolio to your service. For two decades he has mentored leaders, developed teams, crafted culture and empowered employees. He is intensely motivated to grow high capacity performers who work, serve and sell with excellence, consistently. As a Keynote Speaker, he is an enthusiastic character. His style, wit and energy consistently capture the attention and imagination of audiences. His forward thinking contributes fresh perspectives that work. He’s annoyingly optimistic, contagiously energetic and slightly mischievous. People tend to like him. Through Hawks Agency, he has originated the Like An Owner® platform. Compelled by the belief that individuals who Think, Act, Lead and Create Like An Owner® will be more fulfilled and productive. Also, organizations who commit to implement an Ownership Culture will find loyalty and rapid growth, regularly.
Cheryl Jones – Acceptance + Breath + Creativity = Destiny
Cheryl Jones grew up in Mustang, Oklahoma as an avid reader. Harper Lee captured her soul and childhood “traveling” occurred through literature. A basketball, softball, tennis, volleyball and track athlete, she also spent summer nights barrel racing in rodeo play days. Riding remains a path to spiritual peace along with yoga, scuba and seaside living. Paternally Cherokee and maternally Citizen Band Potawatomi provided an innate adoration & respect for our earth, her spirit, peoples, plants and animals.
Laura Massenat – Yes, Then How
Laura Massenat is a partner at Elemental Coffee, a Groovy’s confetti collector, and recovering OKCPS Board Member. She proudly serves on the Ralph Ellison Foundation Board, Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition Board and Midtown Association Board and the grassroots MAPS 4 NEIGHBORHOODS team. She is into people, delicious food and beverage, local everything, lobbying for education at the Capitol, promoting cycling, and health. Her world view is based on a friendly Universe and she has come to question everything she believes, and everything you believe. She says the best thing about her husband, Laurent, besides his French accent, is his willingness to grow and change- and they have been doing that together for the last 24 years. They usually have four children and an old dog and love living in the bubble, not far from here.
Derrick Sier – Yo Momma, Spankings & 8th Place Trophies
For over 15 years, Derrick Sier has used his non-for-profit, religious, collegiate, corporate, athletic and recreational experience to impact his community through humor and team building. It is this unique combo that influenced his decision to start OMOS Team Building. Through OMOS, Derrick uses workshops, keynotes, city-wide initiatives, localized programming, conferences and the classroom to promote his message of togetherness, inclusiveness and relationship development. Derrick has a BS in Kinesiology from UCO, MA in Theological Studies, sits on several boards in the OKC community, as well as serves as an in-school and after-school mentor, business partner, community partner and child-advocate for the OKC community. He is originally from Tulsa where he attended THE Booker T. Washington High School and met his wife of now 15 years. They have two beautiful children, Nia and Ethan.
Courtney Spohn – Practicing Self-Love
Bio Coming Soon.
Travis Brown – Why Millennials Are the New Y2K
Born and raised in Oklahoma City. I attended Heritage Hall from preschool to senior year before attending Oklahoma State University. There I majored in Health Education & Promotion. Upon graduation, I attended Oklahoma City Univeristy School of Law. I enjoy music, camping, outdoor activities, learning about new subject matters, spending time with friends, deep and intriguing conversations, and music festivals. By far one of my favorite things to do with my free time is listen to podcasts in order to gain insight into things from experts int he field or to gain a new perspective on something. Furthermore, I enjoy listening to various speakers (e.g. Alan Watts, Jason Silva, Joseph Campbell, Alain De Botton, Kevin Kelly, Sam Harris, Ray Kurzweil, Erik David, Timothy Leary, etc.). Enjoy meeting new people and hearing their life stories since everyone we meet knows something we don’t. Just along for the ride and in search of any new thing or moment that is unique enough to seem to dilate time.
Andrea Williams – The Quest for Enough
Andrea Williams is a wife, a home school mom, and advocate for peace, love, and living a simple but satisfying life. She is a graduate of Southern Nazarene University with a Bachelor’s in Organizational Leadership. Through her personal journey she has gained a life-changing understanding on being content, time and money well spent, and letting go of what holds you back in life. Her passion is to help others find their “happy” in this world. She loves speaking about topics close to her heart and sharing her experiences and someday hopes to be a motivational speaker on the platform of minimalism in families and home education. In her spare time, Andrea enjoys family time, writing, soccer, camping, traveling and reading. Andrea resides in a modest but comfortable apartment in Oklahoma City with her husband of 12 years, David, their two daughters, Julie and Joscelyn, their Great Dane, Olive, and Pippa the Jackapoo. And yes, they all fit comfortably!
Load More…Follow Us!
Copyright 2019 IgniteOKC | All Rights Reserved
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1855
|
__label__cc
| 0.652656
| 0.347344
|
Information About Coyote Sightings: Who to Call and When
What do coyotes look like?
Coyotes are a breed of canines and resemble small shepherd type dogs in markings and build. The average length of an adult is 44 to 54 inches, including its 15” to 17” tail. The average weight of an adult coyote measured during fall and winter (their more sedentary season) from 22 to 42 pounds. Coyotes carry their tails lower than dogs, generally below the level of the back, rather than curved upward like dogs. Coyotes’ upper bodies are typically light gray to dull yellow, but can be mostly black, nearly all gray or white. Their underbodies are whitish, cream colored or pinkish yellow. The muzzle of a coyote is long and narrow; ears are pointed upright.
Where do coyotes live?
Coyotes are very adaptable animals that can live in a variety of environments, from rural to urban areas. Coyotes are most abundant in areas with a mixture of farmland, woodland and grasslands, but also frequent residential areas as well.
What are natural coyote behaviors?
Coyotes are territorial animals and may live in large areas, often 20 to 30 miles in diameter. Several coyotes may share such an area, living as a pack. Since they are territorial animals, coyotes rarely intrude the area of another pack. However, some coyotes do not belong to packs and may have a larger range that encompasses multiple packs’ ranges. If a member of a pack dies or leaves, the solitary coyote may join the pack.
Like other canines, coyotes communicate by barking, yipping and howling. These noises are only forms of communication—not a sign of predatory or aggressive behavior. Coyotes make these noises in response to other noises they hear, including human-made noises such as sirens.
Coyotes are generally nocturnal and prefer to be active from dusk until dawn, but coyotes are frequently seen during daylight hours, which is considered normal. Since coyotes live in such large areas, it is not abnormal to see a coyote walking or running through open or wooded areas, along paths (including streets or sidewalks for suburban and urban dwellers) in search of food or water.
Generally, coyotes live for three or four years.
What do coyotes eat?
The majority of a coyote’s diet consists of animal matter, largely rabbits, mice, other rodents, and birds. Coyotes are natural predators that help control the populations of rabbits and mice in their natural environment. Coyotes also eat insects, birds, fruits, eggs, berries or other food sources that are available. They are opportunists that will also eat food or garbage left outdoors overnight and/or other food sources left for other animals/birds.
When do coyotes reproduce?
Most females reproduce in their second year of age, though some reproduce in their first year. Breeding peaks in late February/early March, typically for a period of two to five days during this time. The gestation (pregnancy) period for coyotes is 58 to 63 days, and pups are often born during April and May in a den under a hollow tree, log, brush pile or even an abandoned building (any place where the mother can shelter her pups). Coyotes often re-use dens created by other animals.
How do pups behave?
Litters are typically four to nine pups. Like many animals in their infancy, pups are blind and helpless at birth, therefore reliant on their mothers for food and protection. Pups open their eyes between eight and 14 days of age and first emerge from the den around the age of 21 days. At the age of five or six weeks, pups leave the den for extended periods of time. Until the age of eight to 12 weeks, pups rely on their parents to hunt for them and return food. At this age, pups begin learning to hunt for themselves and the family moves away from the den at this time. During the summer and fall months, the young break from their parents and may move up to 120 miles away in search of their own territory or area.
What are the alpha male and alpha female?
The alpha male and alpha female are the dominant male and female coyotes in a pack. If an alpha male leaves the pack or dies, another male becomes the alpha male or another alpha male will move into the pack.
What is abnormal or aggressive coyote behavior?
Walking, running, barking, howling and hunting rabbits or rodents are NOT considered aggressive behaviors. Aggressive behavior may be exhibited when alpha males feel their territory is being threatened by another animal. Females may behave aggressively when rearing their pups in the spring—pups are helpless for the first few weeks of their lives, so their mothers are very protective.
How do humans and coyotes coexist?
According to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, coyotes do more good than harm where humans are concerned. Coyotes help control rodent populations, but may occasionally kill other animals, such as livestock, poultry or small domestic animals. There have been no reports of coyote attacks on humans in Libertyville, or anywhere in northeastern Illinois for that matter. Although rare in Libertyville, there have been a few incidents reported over the years, where a coyote has attacked a feral cat or small dog.
Some people are under the impression that trapping or euthanizing coyotes will eliminate them from an area. However, according to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, trapping or euthanizing coyotes will not eliminate coyotes from an area. Coyotes are transitory animals that search out areas of their own—if one coyote is removed, another will soon take its place.
Tips for living with coyotes:
• Do not leave food or water sources out at night, including pet food and water, unsecured garbage cans, etc.
• Keep dogs and cats on leashes and attended, especially at night.
• Never feed coyotes.
• If you do not want coyotes to be attracted to your yard, do not make it attractive. Feeding wildlife such as birds, squirrels, etc., will only attract a high concentration of such animals to your yard, making it an easy hunting ground for coyotes.
• If a coyote acts aggressively or approaches a domestic animal or a human, do not engage the coyote. Shout, wave your arms, clap your hands, make loud noises, etc. If you or your pet does not threaten or engage the coyote, the coyote will be the first to run away. This response also reinforces the coyote’s natural fear of people and teaches the coyote your yard is not available territory.
Call: When:
The Libertyville Police Department by calling 911
A coyote is in the act of attacking a person or domestic pet in Libertyville’s boundaries.
The Libertyville Police Department by calling (847) 362-8310.
A coyote is seriously ill or injured, is in a confined area (building, fenced yard, etc.) and unable to leave.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Department by calling (847) 549-5200
A coyote is in the act of attacking a person or domestic pet in unincorporated Lake County
The Lake County Forest Preserve District by calling (847) 968-3411 (M-F, 6:30 am – 6 pm) or call the Lake County Sheriff’s Department by calling (847) 549-5200
A coyote is acting aggressively toward a human or domestic pet within a Forest Preserve.
Illinois Department of Natural Resources by calling (847) 608-3100
For general information about coyotes.
Private Nuisance Wildlife Professional by checking phone numbers in local listings
If you want a coyote removed from your property – State and local permits and regulations apply.
Note: The agencies listed above generally will not respond to a coyote walking through a neighborhood or in an open area exhibiting normal behavior.
Additional Suggested Resources:
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
http://www.dnr.state.il.us/orc/wildlife/furbearers/coyote.htm
http://web.extension.illinois.edu.wildlife/
https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/coyotes-people-encounters
Lake County Forest Preserve District
http://lcfpd.org/docs/media pub 24329.pdf
http://www.lcfpd.org/docs.media pub 25097.pdf
Residential Opportunities
Libertyville Gardens
Religious Institutions / Organizations
Village Band
Waste and Recycling Services
Village Views Newsletter
Skunks-Prevention and Solutions
Community Share Programs
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1856
|
__label__wiki
| 0.534917
| 0.534917
|
Timeless and universal: Three Billboards… is modern masterpiece of cinema.
January 29, 2018 January 29, 2018 barry 0 Comments
By Barry Lord @bazneto
Martin McDonagh’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri is a classic.
A key movie of the year, possibly of the decade. A big claim to make and because all art comes down to subjectivity and taste, I would expect plenty of pushback.
The film has swept several of the major prizes at the Golden Globes and SAG (Screen Actors Guild) awards, including best actress for Frances Mcdormand in the lead role of Mildred Hayes, the embittered mother whose pursuit of justice for the rape and murder of her teenage daughter forms the catalyst of the story that beautifully unfolds.
There is something timely in the release of a film with a powerful female protagonist at odds with an ineffectual (not to mention, male-dominated) and prejudiced police force and, make no mistake, this idea will not be lost on the Academy of voters.
That it should also be released at a time when the social media driven #MeToo movement continues to make headlines is perhaps not accidental.
The movement has been successful in calling out perpetrators of sexual abuse among some of Hollywood’s biggest power players – most notably producer Harvey Weinstein. It has given a platform to victims all but forgotten by Tinsel town.
It has its critics too, rightly or wrongly, but now it has a movie – a certain contender for best picture – to throw its considerable weight behind.
However, it must be said that Three Billboards… is more than just a movie of its time.
Sure, it was made last year but it manages to somehow transcend the era in which it was produced. Like David Lynch’s Blue Velvet or Roman Polanski’s Chinatown, it is a movie that is no more about 2017 than those films were about the respective periods they were made (1974 and 1986).
Its themes of loss, injustice and the debilitation which vengeful desire inflicts on the victim and their family are timelessly universal and its sense of tragedy is almost mythological (Think Shakespeare or Seneca).
But we must not forget the humour, for if you are aware of McDonagh’s previous work in film (In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths) and on stage (The Pillowman, the Beauty Queen of Leenane) it will come as no surprise to learn that once again, the writer/director finds light in seemingly all-pervasive darkness.
Religion is a familiar target to hit in McDonagh’s work and the scene in which Mildred clashes with the local priest is scabrous, incisive and blackly funny. In other words, vintage McDonagh.
Being a playwright first and foremost, he also believes in character and he gives the people who inhabit this town layers. Sam Rockwell’s brilliant portrayal of lunk-headed, racist deputy Sheriff Dixon is one example.
Beneath the exterior of this ‘momma’s boy’ is a belittled middle-aged man who perhaps only needed a word of encouragement in his early life to change the person he is today. He doesn’t ask for sympathy – like most of the characters here – but we, the audience, offer it eventually.
Despite the fine turns of Rockwell and Woody Harrelson’s tragic Chief Willoughby, the film ultimately belongs to Mcdormand and like her star-making turn in 1995’s Fargo, she delivers the goods in spades.
Mildred knows she is powerless, her only weapons are words and those incendiary statements she leaves on the rickety billboards on the disused highway represent defiance in the face of abject helplessness.
Her character tests our sympathy at times – her apparent lack of consideration for the feelings of her remaining son Robbie (Lucas Hedges) stands out – but we believe in her.
She is a person with flaws but plenty of heart, despite her wounds, and we share her incredulity at her fellow townsfolk who begin to see her as a pariah little better than the monster that violated her child.
Perhaps the Oscar ceremony on March 4th will see the film richly rewarded. Perhaps not. But as much as we’d like to see an Irish triumph (McDonagh is from London but also of Sligo and Galway stock) a possible dearth of golden statues on the night will not diminish its greatness and it will be rightly lauded in time as the masterpiece it is.
← Let the Right One in is the perfect Christmas escape for teens and families
Let’s do this, get mentally fit for 2018 →
Time limit is exhausted. Please reload CAPTCHA. 2 + = seven
Notice: It seems you have Javascript disabled in your Browser. In order to submit a comment to this post, please write this code along with your comment: faf7b06b4b004fc0a5a6c6c94a7a54fc
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1857
|
__label__wiki
| 0.857308
| 0.857308
|
Jewish World Review Sept. 11, 2006 / 18 Elul 5766
A new low in Bush-hatred
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Six years into the Bush administration, are there any new depths to which the Bush-haters can sink?
George W. Bush has been smeared by the left with every insult imaginable. He has been called a segregationist who yearns to revive Jim Crow and compared ad nauseam to Adolf Hitler. His detractors have accused him of being financially entwined with Osama bin Laden. Of presiding over an American gulag. Of being a latter-day Mussolini. Howard Dean has proffered the "interesting theory" that the Saudis tipped off Bush in advance about 9/11. One US senator (Ted Kennedy) has called the war in Iraq a "fraud" that Bush "cooked up in Texas" for political gain; another (Vermont independent James Jeffords) has charged him with planning a war in Iran as a strategy to put his brother in the White House. Cindy Sheehan has called him a "lying bastard," a "filth spewer," an "evil maniac," a "fuehrer," and a "terrorist" guilty of "blatant genocide" and been rewarded for her invective with oceans of media attention.
What's left for them to say about Bush? That they want him killed?
They already say it.
On Air America Radio, talk show host Randi Rhodes recommended doing to Bush what Michael Corleone, in "The Godfather, Part II," does to his brother. "Like Fredo," she said, "somebody ought to take him out fishing and phuw!" then she imitated the sound of a gunshot. In the Guardian, a leading British daily, columnist Charlie Brooker issued a plea: "John Wilkes Booth, Lee Harvey Oswald, John Hinckley Jr. where are you now that we need you?"
For the more literary Bush-hater, there is "Checkpoint," a novel by Nicholson Baker in which two characters discuss the wisdom of shooting the 43rd president. "I'm going to kill that bastard," one character fumes. Some Bush-hatred masquerades as art: At Chicago's Columbia College, a curated exhibit included a sheet of mock postage stamps bearing the words "Patriot Act" and depicting President Bush with a gun to his head. There are even Bush-assassination fashion statements, such as the "KILL BUSH" T-shirts that were on offer last year at CafePress, an online retailer.
Lurid political libels have a long history in American life. The lies told about John Adams in the campaign of 1800 were vile enough, his wife Abigail lamented, "to ruin and corrupt the minds and morals of the best people in the world." But has there ever been a president so hated by his enemies that they lusted openly for his death? Or tried to gratify that lust with such political pornography?
As with other kinds of porn, even the most graphic expressions of Bush-hatred tend to jade those who gorge on it, so that they crave ever more explicit material to achieve the same effect.
Which brings us to "Death of a President," a new movie about the assassination of George W. Bush.
Written and directed by British filmmaker Gabriel Range, the movie premieres this week at the Toronto Film Festival and will air next month on Britain's Channel 4. Shot in the style of a documentary, it opens with what looks like actual footage of Bush being gunned down by a sniper as he leaves a Chicago hotel in October 2007. Through the use of digital special effects, the film superimposes the president's face onto the body of the actor playing him, so that the mortally wounded man collapsing on the screen will seem, all too vividly, to be Bush himself.
The assassination scene from "Death of a President," a television film whose subject is George W. Bush.
This is Bush-hatred as a snuff film. The fantasies it feeds are grotesque and obscene; to pander to such fantasies is to rip at boundary-markers that are indispensable to civilized society. That such a movie could not only be made but lionized at an international film festival is a mark not of sophistication, but of a sickness in modern life that should alarm conservatives and liberals alike.
Naturally that's not how the film's promoters see it. Noah Cowan, one of the Toronto festival's co-directors, high-mindedly describes "Death of a President" as "a classic cautionary tale." Well, yes, he says, Bush's assassination is "harrowing," but what the film is really about is "how the Patriot Act, especially, and how Bush's divisive partisanship and race-baiting has forever altered America."
I can't help wondering, though, whether some of those who see this film will take away rather a different message. John Hinckley, in his derangement, had the idea that shooting the president was the way to impress a movie star. After seeing "Death of a President," the next Hinckley may be taken with a more grandiose idea: that shooting the president is the way to become a movie star.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1862
|
__label__wiki
| 0.849491
| 0.849491
|
Article 1 »
Prev Article 1. - GENERAL PROVISIONS Next
24-114. Same; answer day; service and return of process; costs. The summons provided for in section 2 [*], shall be directed to the secretary of state, and shall require the defendant to answer by a certain day, not less than forty days nor more than sixty days from its date. It shall be forthwith forwarded by the clerk of the court to the secretary of state, who shall immediately forward a copy thereof to the mayor or chief officer of the municipal corporation sued; and thereupon the secretary of state shall make return of said summons to the court whence it is issued, showing the date of its receipt by him, the date of forwarding such copy, the name and address of the person to whom he forwarded the copy, and the costs for service and return thereof, which shall be two dollars and fifty cents in each case. The return under the hand and seal of the secretary of state shall have the same force and effect as a due and sufficient return of personal service made by a sheriff on process directed to him.
History: L. 1911, ch. 177, § 4; March 28; R.S. 1923, 24-114.
* "Section 2" evidently refers to 24-113.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1865
|
__label__cc
| 0.710114
| 0.289886
|
Article 12 »
Prev Article 12. - KANSAS COMMISSION ON VETERANS AFFAIRS OFFICE Next
73-1217. Same; enrollment at institutions without tuition or fees; filing claims for reimbursement by institutions; Kansas commission on veterans affairs office, administration, rules and regulations. The board of trustees of every community college, the board of regents of Washburn university of Topeka, the governing board of every technical college and the governing body of every other institution of post-high school education which is supported by any state moneys shall provide for enrollment without charge of tuition or fees for any dependent of a prisoner of war or a person missing in action, so long as such dependent is eligible, but not to exceed 12 semesters of instruction or the equivalent thereof at all such institutions for any person if the person started such instruction prior to July 1, 2005, or 10 semesters if the person started such instruction on or after July 1, 2005. Once a person qualifies as a dependent under the terms and provisions of this act, no occurrence, such as the return of the dependent's parent or such parent's reported death, shall disqualify the dependent from the provisions or benefits of this act. The state board of regents, the board of trustees of any community college, or the governing body of any other institution which grants tuition for fees without charge to a dependent under this act may file a claim with the director of the Kansas commission on veterans affairs office for reimbursement of the amount of such tuition or fees. The director of the Kansas commission on veterans affairs office shall administer this act and qualifications of persons as dependents shall be determined by such director. Such director may adopt rules and regulations making more specific the definitions herein contained and for the administration of this act.
History: L. 1972, ch. 279, § 2; L. 1975, ch. 275, § 3; L. 1976, ch. 326, § 1; L. 2005, ch. 120, § 3; L. 2011, ch. 97, § 38; L. 2014, ch. 83, § 12; July 1.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1866
|
__label__cc
| 0.560178
| 0.439822
|
I recently railed about the compartmentalised view of history in which societies are viewed as separate entitities and the connections between them de-emphasised.
Of course societies have always been connected by trade and the like, one need only look at the spread of lapis lazuli, found only in Afghanistan, around the world.
My original post fired off a minor enthusiasm about whether an anglo saxon cleric called Sighelm ever went to India and from that I've found a bigger more interesting puzzle - assuming that he did go all the way to India - how did he get there?
The answer is of course obvious - he followed one of the well established spice trading routes, either via Baghdad and the Gulf, or via Alexandria and the Red Sea, or even, more exotically by following the silk route to Samarkand and then across the Karakorum and Hindu Kush to India.
All of these were well established routes, and ones which have persisted up to recent times, to the latter half of the twentieth century.
It's only with divisions of recent times caused by the advent of Stalin's Soviet Union, the wars in Afghanistan, the Iranian revolution and the war in Iraq that these traditional trade routes have been disrupted. These long, hard, journeys would have seemed perfectly sensible to a nineteenth century Russian or or an early twentieth century British traveller - after all Eric Newby travelled overland to the Hindu Kush, as did Robert Byron to Iran, Afghanistan and Tibet.
And, I've always been quietly amazed by the fact that Agatha Christie travelled with her husband, Max Mallowan, to his dig in Nineveh by train. Not because of the length of the journey, but because it was possible - Orient Express to Istanbul, and then on across Syria via Aleppo and on to Iraq on the Baghdad railway.
And of course it seemed perfectly sensible to British colonial administrators to govern the Trucial states from India and to use the Indian Rupee as a currency not only in the Gulf, Aden and Oman, but also in the British colonies in East Africa, and when one sees Kenyan security guards in a Dubai shopping mall it seems as if the wheel has turned full circle.
A consequence of the divisions of the last fifty or sixty years is that we have become extraordinarily ignorant of the cultures and history of central asia and the role of these cultures in mediating the trade between India, China and the west, be it Byzantium. Rome, or late medieval Europe.
As a for instance, a story periodically surfaces that there are the descendants of one of Crassus's lost legion living in a village of western China. Now it has been claimed population in Lanzhou area had caucasian characteristics and DNA studies do confirm that western DNA markers are present.
Lanzhou is traditionally the endpoint of the silk route through Xianjang to Urumqi, so other opportunities for irregular unions (and western looking babies) doubtless presented themselves due to passing western traders. It's also worth not forgetting that the original Tokharian population of the area were caucasian in appearance.
Equally, because the area is not that far from Bactria it's not impossible that Crassus' legion myth had some basis in fact and that some Roman trained soldiers (or their descendants) ended up in Xianjiang, and that the story was perpetuated to explain occasional western looking babies born in villages.
The other key thing about these trade routes is that they are persistent. Again an anecdote.
In 2002 I was sitting in a roadside cafe in northern Greece close to the Albanian border. As I sipped my coffee a convoy of old Albanian-registered Mercedes sedans, loaded up with an extraordinary range of domestic paraphenalia and packing cases drove past, heading back towards Albania while an Iranian truck went past in the opposite direction.
At the time I said something flippant about the Albanian mafia going shopping in Istanbul, but I was probably more than a little right, but what I actually saw was a traditional trade route re-establishing itself...
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1869
|
__label__wiki
| 0.872772
| 0.872772
|
aA Special Report
Sports Titans: Jeanie Buss
Showtime’s backbeat reverberates as she guides team into new era.
By Jonathan Diamond
Jeanie Buss Photo by Thomas Wasper
It was just before the start of the season, and a steady drumbeat made its way to Jeanie Buss’ office at the Los Angeles Lakers’ new headquarters and training facility in El Segundo.
It wasn’t all the talk of improving the team’s 26-56 record of last season, or of the promise of its rookie sensation Lonzo Ball.
It was an actual drumbeat – thumping up into her spacious second-floor office overlooking the team’s practice courts as players took part in a shoot around below.
A distraction?
Not in the least, said Buss, the Lakers’ chief executive and controlling owner. It hearkened back to the team’s “Showtime” days at the Forum in Inglewood, where the offices were below the arena and every concert sound check and shoot-around soundtrack reverberated through the executive suite.
This era’s beat carries through the team’s $80 million, 120,000-square-foot headquarters, where Buss called the team well positioned to revive the Showtime feeling that throbbed through the Forum in the 1980s.
It’s too early to tell the Lakers’ progress on the court – social media and talk radio gave the feeling of a team on the verge of going off the rails earlier this month, before a modest winning streak changed the conversation.
Buss has been focused on basketball this season, to be sure, but she’s also looking after the business side of operations – and she shed light on her priorities during that talk at the El Segundo HQ back on the brink of the season.
The complex financial relationships with the National Basketball League make connecting with the community a key to a healthy bottom line for the Lakers.
There are limits to what the Lakers or any NBA team can do to extend its brand. The league allows its franchises to strike licensing deals in their home markets but controls the logos and marks beyond that – which means Buss and her colleagues on the business side have to look for other ways for the brand to bring local dollars.
A big example came when the Lakers struck on selling the naming rights to the new headquarters in El Segundo to UCLA Health, which agreed to pay the team $4 million a year – just about enough to cover forward Julius Randal’s annual salary – for five years.
UCLA Health gets its name emblazoned on the center and operates a 2,500-square-foot sports performance center at the building. The UCLA center is open to the public but separated from the team facility.
Magic Johnson Named Lakers’ President of Basketball Operations
JEANIE BUSS
Basketball Position May Prove Net Gain
LA 500: Jeanie Buss
A Memorial Service Perfectly Suited to Jerry Buss
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1871
|
__label__cc
| 0.608954
| 0.391046
|
Aerated concrete
A very ecological and sustainable material
http://www.facebook.com/MS2D.Maroc
Aerated concrete is a building material used in big construction projects. Manufactured exclusively from natural raw materials, it is a skillful combination of water, sand, cement, aluminum power or paste, and air.
Aerated concrete is quite old. W. Michaelis created the process in 1880. Subsequently, E. Hoffmann came up with a second invention that expanded the mortars in 1889. Finally, Swiss Axel Eriksson started production and commercialization of the product in 1924 which is still being used today. Aerated concrete is used to build an estimated 500,000 single-family homes every year in Europe.
The material has been used in northern European countries for a long time, but it’s slowly making its way to areas like France, for example, where interior home insulation is used. Interior insulation is less efficient because heat loss around the thermal bridges (joints where exterior walls or walls and floors meet) can represent up to a 40% energy loss in some buildings.
Aerated concrete is a material that is said to be self-insulating and doesn’t require any additional insulation material. It’s well-known for playing the dual roles of carrier and insulator which guarantees the insulation’s durability (making it impossible for rodents to weaken or damage insulation not attached).
Aerated concrete does not require additional insulation. Except when an exterior load-bearing wall is thicker than 20 cm, the monomur classification applies from 24 cm lambda 0.12. Millions of micro-cells of air in the honeycomb structure gives it its thermal insulating properties. Professionals call this type of insulation “self-insulating” or monomur. Uniformly trapped in the bulk of the material, the air insulates perfectly. There are materials with a density that can provide a coefficient of heat transmission (K-value) of 0.09 W/mK with a mechanical strength of 3Mpa, sufficient for building exterior load-bearing walls.
Aerated concrete ensures minimal heat loss. It keeps heat out in summer and keeps it warm in winter. It’s also a material sensitive to dampness like brick or agglomerate (prefabricated), therefore, the first row of a wall must be put on a level of mortar with either a waterproofing compound or weatherproofing strip. The first row of blocks must also be a minimum of 15 cm above ground. If not, there must absolutely be a sealant to protect the foot of the wall from water. It must, therefore, be maintained from any water penetration like all the other materials on the market (agglomerate, concrete, brick, etc.).
Blocks are generally white rectangular parallelepipeds. With a large selection of blocks, lintels, floor and roof slabs, and drywall tiles, an entire house can be built with aerated concrete. Construction using this material is very rapid and easy to work with at 3m2/hour for a complete wall 20 cm thick, thanks to assembly aided by adhesive mortars (meaning narrow-join fitting).
Density would be approximately 1 (1 block of 1 litre weighs about 1 kg).
Aerated concrete is an ecological and durable material used in big construction projects. Made exclusively from natural raw materials, it is a clever combination of water, sand, cement CPJ 45 and millions of air bubbles with a swelling process for the mix.
In the winter, aerated concrete keeps cold air out and prevents heat from escaping. In summer, it keeps the heat out thereby maintaining fresh, cool air inside. This provides optimal thermal comfort and well-being.
Its malleablitity, its easy workability and its bubbles
A swelling process that transforms a clever combination of natural raw materials into an efficient building material that is easy to work with makes aerated concrete an optimal thermal solution for any construction project. First commercialized in 1924, aerated concrete is made exclusively from natural raw materials – a clever combination of water, sand, cement CPJ 45 and millions of air bubbles with a swelling process for the mix.
In Europe, there are an estimated 500,000 homes built with aerated concrete. As well, it is used mainly in the construction of industrial buildings and firewalls. In Belgium, aerated concrete has been on the market since 1953. Energy Performance of Buildings (EPB) pose more installation problems like: thermal bridges, condensation and mould. Aerated concrete buildings respect the strictest of EPB standards. This means no more concerns for the architect or client who are guaranteed permanent results.
Composition of materials to make aerated concrete:
. approximately 65% silica sand and quartz
. approximately 20% cement (CPJ 32.5)
. approximately 15% lime
. approximately 0.05% aluminum paste or powder
. approximately 1% gypsum
. water
About 5 m3 of finished product can be made with 1 m3 raw material; therefore, a block of 20% material and 80% air (valid for a block with a density of 400 kg/m³). 100% of the waste before autoclaving is recycled and afterward, more than 90% are put back into the manufacturing cycle.
Important phases in manufacturing are:
. preparing, measuring amounts and mixing of raw materials (sand, lime, cement, aluminum powder or paste, and water
. preparing the moulds
. pouring, rising and hardening of the paste
. cutting and shaping of products
. autoclaving with a pressure of about 10 bar at 180° C for 10 to 12 hours
. palettizing and plastic wrapping
Manufacturing with autoclave is an industrialization process that creates a mineral with an analogue molecular structure: tobermorite, calcium silicate hydrate. The process imitates this existing material in its natural state. The honeycomb structure is reproduced thanks to the aluminum powder that, along with other components during manufacturing, acts as an expansion agent.
This production method supports the running of closed-cycle plants. They do not emit liquid materials or solids that will pollute the water or soil, and the insignificant and inert waste issued during this phase of production is 90% recoverable. The only gas released into the air is water vapour.
Moreover, manufacturing aerated concrete uses little energy, part of which is indeed recycled for heating offices on manufacturing sites. Water required in the process can also be reused.
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9ton_cellulaire http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Ytong?uselang=fr
1 fan and 0 members
Le béton cellulaire
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1872
|
__label__cc
| 0.559244
| 0.440756
|
← Walter Hamilton. Ships and Boats and Please Explains
Frank Brennan SJ. The Promoted Pell and the Sacked Morris: Two Catholic Bishops emerging from the Royal Commission →
David Neuhaus SJ. The future of Christians in the Middle East. Part 1.
Christians in the Middle East must be a voice for justice, peace, pardon, reconciliation and selfless love. The fear that dominates the experience of many Christian communities can only be overcome by understanding, dialogue and faith, all of which are necessary to maintain the Christian presence in the Middle East.
In one of his pastoral letters to the Christian faithful in the Holy Land, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Michel Sabbah wrote:
“Your first duty is to be equal to the situation. However complicated or difficult it is, you should try to understand it. Take all the facts into account. Consider them objectively, calmly but courageously, and resist any temptation to fear and despair.[i]”
Any discussion of the situation of Christians in the Middle East today must begin with the reality of the fear that has gripped Christian communities as they watch the horrific scenes broadcast from Iraq and Syria. It is not insignificant that on 31 October 2010, a few days after the closure of the Extraordinary Synod on the Church in the Middle East, convened by Pope Benedict XVI in the Vatican, an attack on a Syrian Catholic church in Baghdad left 58 dead. The subsequent surge in acts of violence directed against various ethnic and religious minorities in different regions of the Middle East is one result of the toppling or destabilising of regimes that kept the Arab world in an iron grip for decades. In Egypt, Iraq and Syria, Christians watched in horror as the authentic and deep-rooted desires for human dignity, democracy and freedom that took shape in what became known as the ‘Arab Spring’, were transformed into a chaotic and mostly brutal struggle for power. Diverse extremists, freed from decades of forceful suppression by secular dictators, emerged from the underground into the light of day.
Since 2010, thousands of Christians have been driven out of their homes in Iraq and Syria. Christian roots and heritage have been wiped out by hooded terrorists speaking in the name of Islam and calling for the establishment of an Islamic Caliphate in the lands that have been home to Christians since the very beginning of the Christian faith. Hundreds of thousands of Christians have left behind their homelands not only in Iraq and Syria, but also in Egypt, Palestine, Israel and elsewhere, and emigrated to the West, to the New World, to more welcoming Arab countries like Jordan and Lebanon, in the wake of the collapse of a known political order.
Fear is linked to a term on the lips of many who observe what is happening: persecution of Christians. There is no doubt that some Christians have been killed because their Muslim extremist executors see them as infidels, polytheists or Western spies. However, as the Justice and Peace Commission of the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries in the Holy Land pointed out:
“In the name of truth, we must point out that Christians are not the only victims of this violence and savagery. Secular Muslims, all those defined as ‘heretic’, ‘schismatic’ or simply ‘non-conformist’ are being attacked and murdered in the prevailing chaos. In areas where Sunni extremists dominate, Shiites are being slaughtered. In areas where Shiite extremists dominate, Sunnis are being killed. Yes, the Christians are at times targeted precisely because they are Christians, having a different set of beliefs and unprotected. However they fall victim alongside many others who are suffering and dying in these times of death and destruction. They are driven from their homes alongside many others and together they become refugees, in total destitution.[ii]”
It is also true that the term ‘persecution’, when it is used uniquely to describe Christian suffering in the contemporary Middle East, is often being manipulated within the context of a particular political agenda whose aim is to sow prejudice and hatred, setting Christians against Muslims.
Fear of what?
Fear is a bad teacher. In order to face fear and overcome it, it needs to be understood. Christians are a particularly vulnerable sector in the Arab world as for the most part they have consistently refused to organise themselves along denominational lines as political parties or militias. For decades (since the end of the nineteenth century), the Christians who were politically and socially motivated invested their energies in the development of Arab secular nationalism in various forms. In this project, they worked alongside similarly motivated Muslims and members of other minority communities. What came to be known as the ‘Arab awakening’ was successful as Arabs developed a sense of their identity, based upon the Arabic language, the Arab-Muslim civilisation and a vast geographical region that served as a centre for the ancient civilisations that gave the world Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In the wake of the 1948 War in Israel/Palestine, in many parts of the Arab world, the monarchic regimes were toppled by Arab nationalist revolutions. Subsequently, however, these nationalist regimes, often strongly supported by the army and the police, were transformed into dictatorships that used systems of control that brutally suffocated any opposition. Among the victims of these regimes were the members of movements that sought to strengthen Muslim identity and develop anti-Western, Islamic models of government.
The Holy Land Justice and Peace Commission document, formerly cited, stated:
“Christians had lived in relative security under these dictatorial regimes. They feared that, if this strong authority disappeared, chaos and extremist groups would take over, seizing power and bringing about violence and persecution. Therefore some Christians tended to defend these regimes. Instead, loyalty to their faith and concern for the good of their country, should perhaps have led them to speak out much earlier, telling the truth and calling for necessary reforms, in view of more justice and respect of human rights, standing alongside both many courageous Christians and Muslims who did speak out.”
It seems the worst Christian nightmares have become reality as the relatively secular dictatorial regimes were challenged by political Islam. The emergence of political Islam provokes a legitimate fear on the part of Christians who, at best, would be marginalised in a political system that insists on denominational identity and defines society in denominational vocabulary. At worst, Christians have been murdered, displaced from their homes, deprived of their rights, forced to submit to extortion and humiliation.
Fear does not know fine distinctions, however. It is essential that Christians study each current of political Islam in detail. The Islamic movements in Iraq and Syria are diverse and divided; these movements cannot be simply assimilated to the Islamic movements in Egypt and Palestine. Murder and programmatic displacement of Christians cannot be assimilated to demands that Islamic symbols be respected and prioritised; emptying Mosul and the plain of Nineveh of Christians is not the same as Muslims demanding that their daughters be allowed to wear a head covering (hijab) in Christian schools in Jerusalem. Fear must be overcome as Christians not only address directly the leaders of the diversity of currents of political Islam but also challenge them to reflect on the consequences of their ideologies and visions. In fact, some Islamic currents have begun to reflect on the challenge of denominational diversity and have begun a dialogue with Christians. Fear motivates a perception that all Muslims are partisans of one vision in which Christians have no place, but overcoming fear means seeing the diversity and complexity within the complex world of Islamic resurgence.
Overcoming fear and isolation
A first fruit of fear is the tendency to isolation. A visible tendency among Christians in the Middle East is to isolate themselves in their own neighbourhoods, institutions and clubs. After decades of refusing isolationist tendencies in politics, some Christians are now proposing that Christians need their own political parties. More extremist Christians are proposing a Christian identity that no longer includes the Arab component, its language and civilisation. According to this view, Christians are Arameans, Phoenicians, Copts or Chaldeans, but not Arabs.
Overcoming fear and its offspring, isolation, must take the Christians out of their self- imposed ghettoes in order to discover all those within the larger Arab world that are similarly threatened by monolithic Islamic visions that threaten the very composition of Middle Eastern society. First and foremost, it must be recognised that the first victims of Islamic extremism are Muslims who do not agree with the vision of the extremists. More Muslims than Christians have been murdered by the extremists; more Muslims have fled in fear. Secondly, other minorities, for example Yazidis, Druze and Alawis, are at greater risk than Christians because their religious faith and practice are seen as beyond any acceptable Muslim vision of diversity. Thirdly, the various currents within political Islam are far from united by a singular vision of relations with non-Muslims, and Christians must seek out those within these currents who are willing to engage and dialogue.
A national dialogue based upon shared visions of society and its future opens up communities to interact. The Holy Land Commission for Justice and Peace proposed in its recent document:
“Christians and Muslims need to stand together against the new forces of extremism and destruction. All Christians and many Muslims are threatened by these forces that seek to create a society devoid of Christians and where only very few Muslims will be at home. All those who seek dignity, democracy, freedom and prosperity are under attack. We must stand together and speak out in truth and freedom (…) We, alone, can build a common future together. We have to adapt ourselves to our realities, even realities of death, and must learn together how to emerge from persecution and destruction into a new dignified life in our own countries.”
Christians, in overcoming their fear, reawaken to a sense of solidarity with their compatriots in the broader Arab world. Whereas many are inviting them to abandon their homes and their identity in this time of crisis, church and civil leaders are inviting them to remain faithful to their homeland and national identity, and to be a leaven of hope amidst the tragic dramas of today.
Fr David M Neuhaus SJ serves as Latin Patriarchal Vicar within the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. He is responsible for Hebrew-speaking Catholics in Israel as well as the Catholic migrant populations. He teaches Holy Scripture at the Latin Patriarchate Seminary and at the Salesian Theological Institue in Jerusalem and also lectures at Yad Ben Zvi.
This article has been published in Etudes and La Civilta Cattolica.
Part 2 will be posted tomorrow.
This entry was posted in Politics, Religion and Faith and tagged Christians in Middle East, David M Neuhaus SJ, Iraq and Syria. Bookmark the permalink.
One Response to David Neuhaus SJ. The future of Christians in the Middle East. Part 1.
Edward Fido says:
An interesting article. The writer is, I believe, a Westerner. That is not a criticism, nor a surprise, because, despite the fact the Latin Patriarch is now an Arab (until relatively recently the position was held by an Italian), there always were and currently are several foreign Christians of various denominations in the Holy Land. Indeed, amazingly, the Orthodox Patriarch is still a Greek and the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre, which looks after the holy places, is entirely Greek. Most of the more evident and vocal Protestant leadership there seems American. This is very strange as Christianity originated there and the original Christians were indigenous to the area. Christianity is, in origin, an Eastern religion. What is now called “Arab” Christianity, indeed the first place people were termed “Christians”, began officially in Antioch, with the foundation of the first great Christian patriarchate. At that stage – well before the Islamic conquests – the inhabitants of that area would’ve called themselves “Syrian” and Greek would’ve been the language of administration and culture. The word “Arab” was only used outside the Arabian peninsula after the Arab conquests and denotes an Arabic speaking culture rather than a race. One of the psychological running sores that the Muslim majority in the Middle East have had with the Christian population there is that they were not only there before Islam but they are the descendants of those who, often at great personal cost to themselves, refused to convert. Most Middle Eastern Christians are not Western Christians (e.g. Latin Rite, Anglican or Protestant) but “Eastern” (as in Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox or Eastern Catholic). Hence there is an element of cultural unfamiliarity with the West. Fr Neuhaus is incorrect, there is one Middle Eastern country, Lebanon, where politics is very much organised on a denominational basis. Christians are being displaced and leaving in great numbers from the Middle East. I believe the Assyrian Christians in the Nineveh plain have a militia which is now fighting with the Kurds against Isis/Daish. The Coptic Christians of Egypt (Oriental Orthodox) comprise 10% of that nation’s populace. It is interesting that a Copt may well be the next NSW Police Commissioner. He could never aspire to holding the corresponding office in Egypt. This is something Australians need to know when dialoguing with Muslims. The latter, like whites in apartheid South Africa, hold all the power in the Middle East. Their demographic and political advantage is not going to go away. Islamic Law (Sharia) assigns Christians a protected but second class role if they pay the poll tax.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1876
|
__label__cc
| 0.56899
| 0.43101
|
Lisbon Wars II: The Council, the Parliament & international trade
© tpcom / CC BY-NC 2.0
You may remember that some time ago I have covered a letter sent by the European Parliament Committee on International Trade to the Council regarding the EP's involvement in international trade affairs. I've also reported about the provocative draft response from the Council.
Below you find the changes in the text from the first draft response presented by the Spanish Presidency (the one I covered) compared to the final draft response (Update: revised version with annex) now made public after three Working Party meetings.
Dear Mr Moreira,
I am replying on behalf of the Council to your letter dated 25 February 2010 concerning cooperation between the European Parliament and Council in the area of the European Union's Common Commercial Policy.
As you state in your letter, the Lisbon Treaty provides for some significant changes in the area of Common Commercial Policy. These changes reinforce the democratic legitimacy of EU commercial policy and bring its the legislative procedures in this area into line with those that already apply to most other economic issues. The Council is of course ready to work together with the Parliament, within the limits established by the treaties, to ensure that these new provisions are fully and effectively implemented.
The treaties set out the procedures governing the negotiation and conclusion of international trade agreements. While the Parliament's consent is required for the conclusion of trade agreements where Article 207 TFEU is the substantive legal base, Article 218 (7) TFEU provides for the possibility for the Council to authorise the negotiator to approve on behalf of the Union modifications to an agreement through a simplified procedure. Furthermore, Article 218 (9) provides for the establishment of positions to be adopted on the Union's behalf in a body set up by an agreement, when that body is called upon to adopt acts having legal effects. In both these cases the consent of the Parliament is not required.
As you state, the treaties require the Commission to report regularly to both the Trade Policy Committee (TPC) and to the European Parliament on the progress of negotiations. One has also to note that In addition Article 207(3) TFEU also specifically provides for the TPC to be consulted by the Commission on the conduct of the negotiations and assist the Commission in the negotiations.
Regarding the specific proposals which you set out in your letter, I have the following comments.
On the issue concerning information related to the Council's preparatory bodies in the fields of Commercial Policy and Economic Cooperation, the Council is happy to provide lists of these bodies to the Parliament. The current list is annexed to this letter. As far as the frequency of meetings is concerned, these vary, but a regularly updated calendar of the meetings of all the Council's preparatory bodies can be consulted on the Council's website (details are also in the annex). In order to keep this information updated, and in order to ensure that there is the regular exchange of such practical information necessary to support the new working relationship in commercial policy, contacts between the General Secretariat of the Council and the INTA Secretariat should be intensified. The General Secretariat of the Council will also invite each presidency to notify you with the contact details of the ministers and officials who have been designated to engage with the Parliament on commercial policy. Furthermore, the General Secretariat of the Council can provide the names of the members of the Foreign Affairs Council and, to the extent possible, of the ministers responsible for trade.
The Council shares your view on the importance of effective cooperation and dialogue between the Parliament and Council with respect to international trade agreements, while of course respecting the treaties, which do not confer powers of action on the Parliament with respect to the preparation, negotiation and monitoring of trade agreements. With regard to negotiations, the provisions of Article 207 (3) in fine apply.
The Council recalls that the relevant minister from the rotating presidency normally appears before your committee at both the beginning and end of its period in office, and considers that this practice is positive and should continue. Furthermore, and that these contacts could be stepped up when key trade dossiers reach a crucial phase, the Council favours these political contacts being stepped up in order to facilitate greater clarity and, if necessary, convergence of positions.
The Council is also ready to build on the existing good relations between your committee and the TPC. It considers in particular that opportunities for direct contacts, such as your recent lunch with members of the committee, will become increasingly important. The Council also favours exchanges of views between yourself (together with INTA coordinators) and the Chair of COREPER II. In general, exchanges of views and contacts with the Chair of the TPC should also become remain an important channel for reciprocal exchanges of information and scheduling of work. As far as the particular issues of meetings of the TPC are concerned, the Council holds that the current arrangements on participation should remain unchanged in order to preserve the specific prerogatives of the committee as set out in the treaties.
The Council is also open to more wide-ranging contacts where this would be useful. It will however be for each presidency to determine the exact nature of these contacts depending on the progress on individual dossiers and on specific issues which might need to be addressed during its period in office.
The Council considers that these arrangements, taken together, should enable us to exchange information more efficiently and rapidly, thereby ensuring full and effective implementation of the new provisions on the Common Commercial Policy as introduced by the Lisbon Treaty. Since commercial policy is, by definition, directed towards our international partners, both the Council and the Parliament will wish that the new arrangements will strengthen the EU's performance in this part of the international arena. The Council looks forward to continuing its dialogue with the Parliament in this area, in particular through further contacts between yourself and the Chair of the Trade Policy Committee.
Yours sincerely faithfully,
For the President of the Council Chairman of the Permanent Representatives Committee
It is hard to judge how the discussions went on in the Council Working Party on General Affairs, but it seems to me that the final draft response is even weaker in its concessions to the European Parliament than the Presidency draft.
This is most notably underlined by the deletion of the sentence "reinforce the democratic legitimacy of EU's commercial policy" at the beginning of the letter, showing that the Council doesn't see any change in the Lisbon Treaty.
When the this letter will be approved and sent to the Parliament, it will be very interesting to see how the International Trade Committee will react...
PS.: In case I missed anything in the comparison, please tell me in the comments so I can correct it.
Tags: co-operation, Council of the European Union, European Parliament, Lisbon Treaty, trade
Contradictory results in Court of Auditors report ...
War & Peace
European Year of Something 2012
Lavrov's visions for the Greater Europe
Aurelie from Eurocontrol on video
My 1000th Euroblog post: Join the "My Europe" expe...
Council live streaming & tender statistics
Who will be in the External Action Service?
Comitology 2.0 & meat glue: The first time - updat...
Quote of the day: ACTA & transparency
Where are all the promotional clips for the Euro? ...
A "European Code of conduct for lobbying"?
Visualising EU decision-making: Council Regulation...
New blog on the European Court of Human Rights
Follow-up: Common Fisheries Policy & open data
Lisbon Wars II: The Council, the Parliament & inte...
Common Fishery Policy, Data Blogging & Transparenc...
Geomapping test for European Citizens' Initiative ...
Campaign for a Cleanternet
Navigating the Social Media Space: What the EU can...
Cecilia Malmström & transparency in the EU Commiss...
The European Citizens' Initiative: Key issues in t...
Reflections on the EU citizenship consultations
Stop Berlaymont!
The debate around the External Action Service (EAS...
How many MEPs made it to Strasbourg this week?
Comitology: Some recent scientific insights (updat...
Public access to EU documents - A never-ending sto...
The tweets of the Swedes (unfinished)
EU Council & transparency: A long way to go
The legal status of procedures leading to internat...
Reform of the Common Fisheries Policy - Results of...
The European Public Prosecutor
Commission consultation: EU agriculture post 2013
They may - but they don't want to
re:publica 10 is over
The Leaking Union
The European Citizens' Initiative and our re:publi...
re:publica 10
EuroparlTV: Polish voices from the European Parlia...
The Week in Bloggingportal
Europe in blogs - Euroblogs (16): Poland
©bartheq (flickr) All Europeans are Polish citiz...
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1877
|
__label__wiki
| 0.691102
| 0.691102
|
New Book Tuesday!
Posted April 10th, 2018 & filed under Blog.
Who doesn’t love that new book smell? We’ve got you covered with New Book Tuesday! See the latest items added to the collection below!
Shoot First (A Stone Barrington Novel) by Stuart Woods
In the latest nonstop adventure from #1 New York Times bestselling author Stuart Woods, Stone Barrington must defend a woman whose business–and life–are under threat.
Stone Barrington is enjoying a round of golf in Key West when the game is violently interrupted–and it seems as if the target of the disturbance may have been one of his playing companions, the brilliant businesswoman behind a software startup on the cutting edge of technology. Soon, it becomes clear that this incident is only the first thrust in a deadly scheme to push the beautiful young woman out of the way and put her company’s valuable secrets up for grabs.
From the sun-soaked Florida shores to an idyllic English country retreat, Stone embarks on a quest to protect his lovely new companion while searching for the mastermind behind the plot against her. But he may find that her enemy is far more resourceful–and dangerous–than he could have anticipated.
After Anna by Lisa Scottoline
Nobody cuts deeper than family…
Dr. Noah Alderman, a widower and single father, has remarried a wonderful woman, Maggie Ippolitti, and for the first time in a long time, he and his young son are happy. Despite her longing for the daughter she hasn’t seen since she was a baby, Maggie is happy too, and she’s even more overjoyed when she unexpectedly gets another chance to be a mother to the child she thought she’d lost forever, her only daughter Anna.
Maggie and Noah know that having Anna around will change their lives, but they would never have guessed that everything would go wrong, and so quickly. Anna turns out to be a gorgeous seventeen-year-old who balks at living under their rules, though Maggie, ecstatic to have her daughter back, ignores the red flags that hint at the trouble brewing in a once-perfect marriage and home.
Events take a heartbreaking turn when Anna is murdered and Noah is accused and tried for the heinous crime. Maggie must face not only the devastation of losing her daughter, but the realization that Anna’s murder may have been at the hands of a husband she loves. In the wake of this tragedy, new information drives Maggie to search for the truth, leading her to discover something darker than she could have ever imagined.
Riveting and disquieting, After Anna is a groundbreaking domestic thriller, as well as a novel of emotional justice and legal intrigue. And New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline will keep readers on their toes until the final shocking page.
The Cutting Edge (A Lincoln Rhyme Novel) by Jeffery Deaver
DANGEROUSLY GOOD. DISTINCTIVELY DEAVER.
Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs return to New York City to confront a killer terrorizing couples at their happiest–and most vulnerable.
In the early hours of a quiet, weekend morning in Manhattan’s Diamond District, a brutal triple murder shocks the city. Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs quickly take the case. Curiously, the killer has left behind a half-million dollars’ worth of gems at the murder scene, a jewelry store on 47th street. As more crimes follow, it becomes clear that the killer’s target is not gems, but engaged couples themselves.
The Promisor vows to take the lives of men and women during their most precious moments–midway through the purchase of an engagement ring, after a meeting with a wedding planner, trying on the perfect gown for a day that will never come. The Promisor arrives silently, armed with knife or gun, and a time of bliss is transformed, in an instant, to one of horror.
Soon the Promiser makes a dangerous mistake: leaving behind an innocent witness, Vimal Lahori, a talented young diamond cutter, who can help Rhyme and Sachs blow the lid off the case. They must track down Vimal before the killer can correct his fatal error. Then disaster strikes, threatening to tear apart the very fabric of the city–and providing the perfect cover for the killer to slip through the cracks.
The Good Pilot Peter Woodhouse: A Novel by Alexander McCall Smith
From the beloved and best-selling author of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series comes a heartwarming tale of hope and friendship set amid the turmoil of World War II.
Val Eliot, a young woman working on an English farm during the war, meets Mike, a U.S. Air Force pilot stationed nearby. When Val rescues a Border Collie named Peter Woodhouse, who is being mistreated by his owner, she realizes the dog would actually be safer with Mike. And so Peter Woodhouse finds a new home on the air force base, and Val finds herself falling in love. Peter Woodhouse becomes Dog First Class, a canine mascot on the base who boldly accompanies the officers on their missions, and Val becomes Mike’s fiancée. But then a disaster jeopardizes the future of them all, and Peter Woodhouse brings Ubi, a German corporal, into their orbit, sparking a friendship that comes with great risk but carries with it the richest of rewards.
Infused with Alexander McCall Smith’s renowned charm and warmth, The Good Pilot Peter Woodhouseis an uplifting story of love and the power of friendship to bring sworn enemies together.
A renowned dressmaker (Daniel Day-Lewis) finds his carefully tailored life disrupted when a strong-willed woman becomes his muse and lover. Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.
After the kidnapping of John Paul Getty III, in a race against time, his mother works to convince his wealthy grandfather to pay the ransom. Inspired by historical events. Certain scenes, characters and dialogue have been fictionalized for dramatic purposes.
My Friend Dahmer
Disney’s Ross Lynch stars as the awkward, adolescent Jeffrey Dahmer – before he became one of America’s most infamous serial killers. Based on the acclaimed graphic novel, this is the haunting, sad, funny, true story of Dahmer in high school.
MOLLY’S GAME is based on the true story of Molly Bloom, an Olympic-class skier who ran the world’s most exclusive high-stakes poker game for a decade before being arrested in the middle of the night by 17 FBI agents wielding automatic weapons. Her only ally was her criminal defense lawyer Charlie Jaffey, who learned that there was much more to Molly than the tabloids led us to believe.
Hugh Jackman stars in this bold and original musical – inspired by the ambition and imagination of P.T. Barnum – celebrating the birth of show business and dreams coming to life.
Season 3 of “Outlander” picks up with Jamie and Claire, separated by continents and centuries, as they attempt life apart, each haunted by their lost love. Can they find their way back to each other?
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1883
|
__label__wiki
| 0.741847
| 0.741847
|
TARO > Finding Aid
Repository Browse List
Print Version | Raw XML File (16k)
Accessing Materials Described Here
Agency History
Scope and Contents of the Records
Arrangement of the Records
Description of Series
Records on monuments, 1955-1963,
Texas State Building Commission:
An Inventory of Records on Monuments at the Texas State Archives, 1955-1963
Creator: Texas. State Building Commission.
Title: Records on monuments
Abstract: Types of records include correspondence, accounting forms, vouchers, construction specifications, blueprints, drawings, photographs, and a contract from the Texas State Building Commission. Records date from 1955 to 1963 and concern almost exclusively the design, construction, and dedication of the Texas State Memorial at the Vicksburg National Military Park in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Topics include the design, cost, construction, installation, dedication, and repair of the memorial. Records not related to the Vicksburg monument consist of specifications sent out by the Building Commission for gravestone memorials in Texas and monuments in the State Cemetery.
Quantity: 1 cubic ft.
Language English.
Sponsor: This EAD finding aid was created in part with funds provided by the Texas Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund Board for the Texas Archival Resources Online project.
The Texas State Building Commission was created by an amendment to the Texas Constitution, Article III, Section 51-b, approved by the voters in 1954 and enacted by the 54th Legislature in Senate Bill 134. The commission was composed of the Governor, Attorney General, and Chairman of the Board of Control. Its purpose was to arrange for the acquisition of all state building sites, to plan and construct all new state buildings, and to modernize and remodel old state buildings. The constitutional amendment creating the commission created a state building fund by transferring all money from the Confederate Pension Fund except that needed to pay Confederate pensions. The building fund was also supported by a state ad valorem tax. From 1955 to 1965, the commission was engaged primarily in the acquisition of land in Austin around the Capitol area and the supervision of state building construction as envisioned in the Capitol Area Master Plan. In 1965, the 59th Legislature enacted the State Building Construction Administration Act, giving the Commission broader responsibility in the acquisition of building sites and planning, design, and construction of state buildings. The Commission supervised state planning and inspection for building projects for all state agencies except the Highway Department, institutions of higher learning, the Board of Corrections, the Texas Youth Council, and the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation. In 1970, the commission was assigned the additional duty of ensuring access for the handicapped to public buildings.
The 65th Legislature proposed the abolishment of the Building Commission in Senate Bill 759 and in 1978 voters repealed the constitutional amendment that created the commission. The powers and duties of the commission were taken over by the Board of Control, which was renamed the State Purchasing and General Services Commission in 1979.
Return to the Table of Contents
Types of records include correspondence, accounting forms, vouchers, construction specifications, blueprints, drawings, photographs, and a contract from the Texas State Building Commission. Records date from 1955 to 1963 and concern almost exclusively the design, construction, and dedication of the Texas State Memorial at the Vicksburg National Military Park in Vicksburg, Mississippi. This memorial was to honor the participation of Texas and Texas Confederates in the 1863 Civil War battle at Vicksburg. Correspondents with the Building Commission include the Texas Memorial's sculptor, architect, engineering firm, and granite supply company as well as the U.S. Department of the Interior and the superintendent of the Vicksburg National Military Park. Topics include the design, cost, construction, installation, dedication, and repair of the memorial. Records not related to the Vicksburg monument consist of specifications sent out by the Building Commission for 26 gravestone memorials in Texas in 1957 and 29 monuments in the State Cemetery in 1962.
To prepare this inventory, the described materials were cursorily reviewed to delineate series, to confirm the accuracy of contents lists, to provide an estimate of dates covered, and to determine record types.
These records are arranged with the specifications filed first, followed by the Vicksburg monument records arranged by physical type.
Researchers are required to wear gloves provided by the Archives when reviewing photographic materials.
The terms listed here were used to catalog the records. The terms can be used to find similar or related records.
Corporate Names:
Texas State Cemetery (Austin, Tex.)
Memorials--Texas.
Memorials--Mississippi--Vicksburg.
Texas State Memorial (Vicksburg, Miss.)
Monuments--Texas.
Document Types:
Specifications--Texas--Monuments--1955-1963.
Blueprints--Texas--Monuments--1955-1963.
Correspondence--Texas--Monuments--1955-1963.
Photographs--Texas--Monuments--1955-1963.
The following materials are offered as possible sources of further information on the agencies and subjects covered by the records. The listing is not exhaustive.
Texas State Archives
Texas State Building Commission, Administrative Division, Records, 1956-1968, 10 linear ft.
Texas State Building Commission, Capitol area property appraisals and value analyses 1956-1957, 1973, 1975, 0.71 cubic ft., 106 photographs, 3 maps.
Blueprint Collection, c. 1902-1967.
Texas State Board of Control, Records, 1854, 1885-1890, 1909-1979 (bulk 1935-1953), 103.47 cubic ft.
Prints and Photographs Collection, Texas State Building Commission collection, 1935-1937, 5 photographs, 63 negatives, 122 slides of the San Jacinto Monument. The call number for this collection is 1964/151.
Texas State Building Commission, Minutes, 1966-1977, 0.71 cubic ft. [There is no finding aid for these unprocessed records. Call numbers are 1998/119-1 and 2.]
(Identify the item), Records on monuments, Texas State Building Commission. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
Accession Information
Accession number: 1993/096
These records were transferred to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission by the Texas Historical Commission on December 8, 1992.
Paul Beck, November 1994
Detailed Description of the Records
1 cubic ft.
Specifications for Monuments
1993/096 26 Monuments in Texas, 1957
29 Monuments in State Cemetery, 1962
Texas State Memorial, Vicksburg National Military Park, [c. 1961]
Vicksburg Monument
1993/096 Correspondence, 1960-1963
Construction Estimates, 1961-1963
Pictures and Dedication, 1963
Shop Drawings, 1961
[Photographs - Other States' Monuments, c. 1963]
Change Orders, 1961-1962
M 16 [Dedication Correspondence], 1961
M 6 [Bronze Statue Correspondence], 1962
15 [Correspondence, 1955-1958]
In and Out 15 [Correspondence, 1959-1962]
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1888
|
__label__cc
| 0.732426
| 0.267574
|
PDF2 PDF |Add To My Favorites | Version: 07/13/15 - Chaptered 06/29/15 - Enrolled 03/11/15 - Amended Assembly 02/17/15 - Introduced
AB-365 Child custody proceedings: testimony by electronic means. (2015-2016)
An act to add Section 3012 to the Family Code, relating to family law.
[ Approved by Governor July 13, 2015. Filed with Secretary of State July 13, 2015. ]
AB 365, Cristina Garcia. Child custody proceedings: testimony by electronic means.
Existing law authorizes the court in a child custody proceeding to permit testimony by telephone, audiovisual means, or other electronic means when a witness or party resides in another state. Existing law also requires a court to permit a party to present testimony and participate in court-ordered child custody mediation by electronic means when the party’s military deployment has a material effect on his or her ability to appear in person, to the extent that this technology is reasonably available to the court and protects the due process rights of all parties.
This bill would require the court to allow a party whose deportation or detention by the federal Department of Homeland Security materially effects his or her ability to appear in person at a child custody proceeding to present testimony and evidence and participate in mandatory child custody mediation by electronic means, including telephone, video teleconferencing, or other means, to the extent that this technology is reasonably available to the court and protects the due process rights of all parties.
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO
Section 3012 is added to the Family Code, to read:
(a) If a party’s deportation or detention by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the Department of Homeland Security will have a material effect on his or her ability, or anticipated ability, to appear in person at a child custody proceeding, the court shall, upon motion of the party, allow the party to present testimony and evidence and participate in mandatory child custody mediation by electronic means, including, but not limited to, telephone, video teleconferencing, or other electronic means that provide remote access to the hearing, to the extent that this technology is reasonably available to the court and protects the due process rights of all parties.
(b) This section does not authorize the use of electronic recording for the purpose of taking the official record of these proceedings.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1889
|
__label__cc
| 0.68022
| 0.31978
|
PDF2 PDF |Add To My Favorites | Version: 10/07/13 - Chaptered 09/12/13 - Enrolled 08/26/13 - Amended Senate 08/15/13 - Amended Senate 06/19/13 - Amended Senate 06/04/13 - Amended Senate 05/01/13 - Amended Assembly 03/20/13 - Amended Assembly 02/21/13 - Introduced
AB-650 State government: general services: Natural Gas Services Program.(2013-2014)
ail_Backing.selectBillVersionID}" styleClass="bill_version_select" > <f:selectItems value="{billDetail_Backing.billVersionsDropDown}"></f:selectItems> </h:selectOneMenu>-->
An act to add Section 10299.1 to the Public Contract Code, relating to state government, and making an appropriation therefor.
[ Approved by Governor October 07, 2013. Filed with Secretary of State October 07, 2013. ]
AB 650, Nazarian. State government: general services: Natural Gas Services Program.
Existing law authorizes the Department of General Services to contract with suppliers to obtain materials, supplies, equipment, and services.
This bill would require the director to operate the Natural Gas Services Program, pursuant to which the Director of General Services would make the services of the department with respect to the acquisition of natural gas and related services available, under agreed upon terms and conditions, to any city, county, city and county, district, or other local governmental body, and to nonprofit hospitals and educational institutions that expend public funds, and would enter into interagency agreements for acquisition of natural gas and related services, as defined.
The bill would require agencies that are in the executive branch of state government, except the Department of Water Resources, to use the department’s Natural Gas Services Program for noncore gas purchases of natural gas. The bill would create the Department of General Services Natural Gas Services Program Fund, and would continuously appropriate that fund to the department for purposes of operating the Natural Gas Services Program. The bill would state that funding for the department’s administrative costs in overseeing the program is to be provided for in the annual Budget Act.
Vote: 2/3 Appropriation: YES Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO
Section 10299.1 is added to the Public Contract Code, to read:
10299.1.
(a) Notwithstanding any other law, the director shall operate the Natural Gas Services Program to consolidate and address the needs of multiple state agencies for the procurement of natural gas and related services.
(b) Procurement of natural gas and related services is vital to public sector facilities in California and, due to the volumes and costs involved, this section authorizes the following:
(1) The director shall make the services of the department with respect to the acquisition of natural gas and related services available, under agreed upon terms and conditions, to any city, county, city and county, district, or other local governmental body, and to any nonprofit hospital or educational institution that expends public funds.
(2) The department is authorized to enter into interagency agreements with the entities listed in paragraph (1) for the acquisition of natural gas and related services. The department may enter into contracts, master agreements, multiple award schedules, cooperative agreements, agreements with entities outside the state, and other types of agreements that leverage the state’s buying power through the use of a competitive bidding process. The state shall not incur financial responsibility in connection with the contracting of nonstate agencies under this section.
(3) The department may buy, sell, exchange, transfer, or otherwise dispose of natural gas acquired by the department pursuant to this section, and may recover the department’s acquisition and other costs to operate the program through customer charges or fees.
(4) The department may enter into gas purchase transactions for a term longer than five years, if specifically approved by the director.
(5) The program shall adjust to changes in customer requirements and market conditions and create and manage an ongoing pool of gas suppliers.
(6) The department is authorized to provide additional services to customers related to the environmental aspects of energy use and the requirements related to greenhouse gas regulations, renewable energy requirements, and similar programs and requirements.
(c) Agencies that are in the executive branch of the state government, except the Department of Water Resources, shall use the department’s Natural Gas Services Program for noncore gas purchases of natural gas to ensure maximum participation resulting in the best discounts and prices for the commodity. The director may allow exemptions to this requirement.
(d) For purposes of this section, “natural gas” includes, but is not limited to, natural gas, methane, biomethane, compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and other energy commodity that is similar to natural gas, and related services, including, but not limited to, gas storage, gas transportation, and forward purchases of natural gas.
(e) During any period in which a Budget Act has not been approved, the department shall continue to receive payment transfers from agencies that are not in the executive branch of the state government and agencies that are in the executive branch of state government that are able to pay because they operate with funds that are continuously appropriated.
(f) The department is authorized to charge, collect, and hold funds from a customer that voluntarily requests prepaid long-term natural gas supplies, for a period not to exceed 20 years.
(g) The Department of General Services Natural Gas Services Program Fund is hereby established in the State Treasury. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, the fund is hereby continuously appropriated to the department without regard to fiscal year, for the purposes of operating the Natural Gas Services Program.
(1) All revenues payable to the department for natural gas and related services shall be deposited in this fund. Any payments from this fund shall only be made for those purposes described in and consistent with this section.
(2) The Natural Gas Services Program’s customer fee revenues cannot be shifted or borrowed from the fund.
(3) If at the end of any fiscal year, there are unexpended revenues, those revenues shall be retained in the fund and reserved for future Natural Gas Services Program expenses.
(h) Funding for the costs incurred by the department in administering this section shall be provided for in the annual Budget Act.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1890
|
__label__wiki
| 0.600457
| 0.600457
|
Political thought ignited by Rajneeti
Politics, especially in India, is one such topic on which making a film is an extremely difficult task. Actually, politics isn’t just about governing but it also encompasses various aspects of human behavior like greed, power, hate, oppression etc. Encapsulating all these emotions in a two and a half hour film wasn’t an easy task, but Prakash Jha’s Rajneeti has not just tried to explore these complex emotions but has also tried to dwell deeper into politics.
Through this film I once again got to understand our country’s politics. I’ll talk about the film first. When Prakash Jha called me to do Rajneeti, I had numerous apprehensions regarding the film. Making a serious and commercial film on politics wasn’t an easy task after all. But the way he portrayed his life’s experience as a director, as a social servant, as a person and as a knowledge holder of politics on screen, the effort is truly commendable. In the movie, the viewers will have a glimpse of some characters from the epic Mahabharat. These characters will be seen tangled in conflicts and duality in the film. Working in this film was a beautiful experience; an experience that lives the dream of an actor both, on and off screen.
My purpose here is not to praise my movie, but I would like to mention here that everything went as planned and on schedule. I would like to give an example in support. To make a crowd sequence look real, a crowd of about ten thousand people was gathered in Bhopal. Training them and taking care of them went so smoothly that thinking of it now I hardy believe that everything was accomplished easily. Later, I got to know that this huge group of ten thousand people was actually trained for about 8 months before the actual shooting. Today when I am done with my film’s dubbing I feel that I have done something big and consequential.
During the making of Rajneeti, I found myself surrounded with political characters, and that’s when some political thinking in me began which questioned why India’s polity has steeped so low? Is India’s politics progressing towards its goal? Why do the politicians find it difficult to connect with the masses? And why are they not uncomfortable being accused of scams and scandals? Do we common people not want some extreme changes to happen in the present day political system?
But in the end, it’s not about the politicians or the politics; it’s about the common people. Democracy has rendered common people with a very strong weapon which has the power to bend even the hardest of politicians. And that weapon is VOTE. The problem is that the common people for their self motives let themselves get cheated in the hands of these politicians and they don’t even realize something like this happening. Or they sometimes do but they choose to sit silently and do nothing about it. The present system has made the citizens passive, which should be changed. People don’t want to change the system, they want to be a part of it and that’s where the problem lies.
While shooting for the film, I also thought whether or not the film would be effective in reflecting an image to the politicians. Would the masses be able to learn about the political tactics often used by politicians? If Rajneeti is able to do so, I’ll be a proud person. But if people refuse to see the meaning behind the film, why should the film only be blamed for not being able to bring a change in the society? I think, Rajneeti will do its work; it’ll entertain people, make them cry, make them laugh and importantly, make them understand. Rajneeti will make the viewers question those things that they either missed out of ignorance or couldn’t understand themselves. But the willingness to understand would totally depend on them. There’s a lot to learn and a lot to know. From my experience as an actor I can only say that this film would be the first film ever to deeply question politics in India.
Well, It's enough for now...I think
It's your's and only your's
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1893
|
__label__wiki
| 0.500062
| 0.500062
|
5 Travel Destinations for Super-Adventurous Tourists
BY Ethan Trex
There's no shortage of destinations for adventure travelers. Intrepid souls can cliff dive, rock climb, or trek across the desert. That's not enough for some folks' wanderlust, though. They want to venture to destinations that are downright terrifying for most of us. Here are just a few of the scary locales you can pack a bag for.
1. The Other Way to Get Shipped to Iraq
Most people would do anything they could to avoid seeing war-torn Iraq, but if the travel bug bites you, England's Hinterland Travel can probably arrange a tour of the country for you. Last month the New York Times reported that the first officially sanctioned tour of Iraq by Westerners since 2003 was underway. By working with the Iraqi Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Hinterland was able to take an eight-person group of tourists to see places most of us will only hear about on CNN, from Basra to Baghdad.
Heading into a war-ravaged country might not sound like your idea of fun, but if you're really set on taking in sights none of your friends have seen, this might be the way to go. Hinterland Travel is offering upcoming tours that include not just Iraq, but also northwestern Iran. Since these aren't exactly vacation hotspots, the three-week itineraries are pretty reasonably priced at just 1,900 British pounds plus airfare and meals. Of course, you'll be effectively uninsurable for the duration of this little jaunt, so you might want to bring some extra cash along in case anything goes wrong.
2. See Rumi's hometown in Afghanistan
If you want to visit a nation currently at war but don't feel like making the trip to Iraq, then Afghanistan could be your dream destination. Whether you want to see the very recent effects of the military conflict in the country or take in the truly remote parts of its geography, there are tour companies that can make it happen. Afghan Logistics & Tours offers six, 10, and 15-day tours for Westerners to see what Afghanistan's like. The tours include visits to the Masjid Now Gumad, or the Nine Domes Mosque, one of the world's oldest mosques, and Balkh, home of the 13th-century poet Rumi.
But just how dangerous is it to visit Afghanistan? According to the tour company's site, it's not too bad if you stay in the right parts of the country. Then again, the company also seems to do a booming business in armor-clad Toyotas, so you might want to be a bit more cautious than usual if you book one of these trips.
3. Colombia's Gorgeous Scenery
Moving right on down the State Department's list of Travel Warnings, we arrive at Colombia. Although the State Department concedes that kidnappings have fallen from their peak earlier this decade and narco-terrorism isn't quite as bad as it used to be in urban areas, it still strongly advises against traveling to Colombia. In fact, it won't even allow its own employees to travel by bus or leave urban areas.
That said, for just $1600 per person a tour company like De Una can give you a three-week tour of Colombia that hits all of the country's natural beauty, involves whitewater rafting, and takes you to see coffee production. The upside is that you'll get to take in some breathtaking scenery. The downside? If narco-terrorists kidnap you, they're not likely to let you go anytime soon. Last summer the Colombian government finally rescued a group of kidnapping victims, including three Americans, who had been held for over five years.
4. Visit Sudan for the Pyramids
It's no secret than things are tragically awful in Sudan, but that doesn't mean you can't still make it your vacation destination. Bestway Tours and Safaris offers a two-week tour of the country for $3180 per person. Although the nation is in rough shape now, it's got a long history that dates back for thousands of years. Sudan is still littered with Nubian ruins and pyramids, and these tours take in a lot of this ancient history along the Nile delta-- certainly fascinating for anyone interested in antiquity.
Even though this kind of tour mostly goes through the opposite side of the country from war-ravaged Darfur, the State Department still strongly advises against all travel to Sudan. The warning reminds potential travelers that both terrorists and the Sudanese government have a tendency to target Westerners for physical threats or seizure of property and financial assets. If you've got the cash and stomach for it, though, you can probably see some really terrific ruins and monuments.
5. Transylvania
"Wait, there's no such thing as vampires."Â Yeah, you're probably right. However, if they actually do exist, Transylvania seems like it would be the place to find them. That's why the Company of Mysterious Journeys offers several "Dracula tours" throughout the region that include all of the high points of the famous vampire's legend, including visits to Castle Dracula and a tour of places involved in the life of the historical Dracula, Vlad the Impaler. The tours vary in length from a weekend to over a week, which would ensure that you get all the Dracula you can handle.
travel top-story
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1898
|
__label__wiki
| 0.831549
| 0.831549
|
Interview: Gonzalo Tobal on Putting the Court of Public Opinion on Trial in “The Accused”
On compelling new thriller in which the question of whether the law has been broken takes a backseat to whether our justice system is.
Somewhere near the start of filming “The Accused,” Gonzalo Tobal described a long tracking shot to his crew that would follow the film’s lead character Dolores (Lali Espósito) as she walks into her family’s home, essentially being ransacked by the police who have a search warrant triggered by the death of her friend that she’s the primary suspect for, and the camera would be asked to float upstairs and down and she’s dazed by it all. Then he wanted to do it within the limited time frame of magic hour when the sun is setting.
“They were all looking at me like, “It is not going to happen,” Tobal says, with a grin starting to curl across his face. “But yes, we did it.”
In retrospect, a trial by fire was the only appropriate way to kick off filming on “The Accused,” which offers a tantalizing spin on a legal thriller by taking a most unusual perspective. Less interested in guilt or innocence than how that conclusion is arrived at by the court of public opinion, Tobal’s sophomore feature is centered on Dolores, who stands trial for murder, but sees the case grow further away from her as both the media and lawyers, including those working on her behalf, construct their own narratives about what happened and who she is.
The writer/director wisely refrains from fact-checking, keeping the enigmatic Dolores a continual source of surprise and intrigue as you end up in the shoes of those obsessed with her trial, making assumptions that you can never be quite sure are based in truth or cultivated by spin doctors. Dolores can afford the best, coming from a well-heeled family with a palatial estate that nonetheless feels like a prison since media attention has all but trapped inside. Observing how she is forced to make decisions with regard to how things look rather than how she sees them, Tobal wrings considerable tension out of whether Dolores will lose her sense of self before a verdict is reached, as her instinct remains to act out of moral conviction even when it doesn’t serve her interests.
Shortly after the provocative drama has started all kinds of conversations at the Toronto Film Festival, following a well-received bow in competition at Venice, Tobal took the time to have one with us.
How’d you get interested in this?
The film was inspired by the way we follow all these crime stories through media, and the way the media covers them, the way they build them as narratives. I’m aware of this procedure by being a film director, but at the same time, I can’t help but being calculated many times by the stories themselves and I’m always wondering what about these people involved in [shaping these narratives]? It’s not fiction, but [the people involved] are going through terrible situations, and their privacy is so exposed. So from this, I started to write this story, which is like a crime thriller but told from the intimacy of the family relationships.
It seemed slightly unusual to me that you put a disclaimer upfront that this isn’t based on a true story when there’s such a strong sense of authenticity. More often than not, filmmakers like to promote what they’re doing has some basis in truth.
Actually, I did a lot of research during the writing of the script. I met specialists [in the field] from crime journalists to the lawyers and I went to see trials back in Argentina. I wanted this sense of reality, but the disclaimer has to do with the fact that somehow the story gets associated with some real cases in particular, and it wasn’t at all my idea to speak about any real person or real situations. The film is completely fictional. [But as people see the film and talk to me, people see similarities to something that] happened back in Argentina, but also in Venice, with a case that happened there, and the now a Mexican asked me about a Mexican case, and today, a Peruvian asked me for a case in Peru. Evidently, there’s an archetype of a lot of cases which are similar, but the idea was to build a fictional case that could be possible and intriguing.
It must’ve reinforced your idea about seeing these narratives being created. Did anything come as a surprise in doing your research about the machinery?
A lot of things surprised me. And I think there are many paradoxes in the film. One of them is a quote we found that many times, when a case like this gets so media-cized, then there are two battles. One, the battle in court, but as important as that, sometimes even more, is the battle to gain the public opinion and this contradiction is very important in the film. The family here and their team is very aware of this. They are fighting these two things at a time.
How did you find Lali Espósito to be your Dolores?
She’s a big star in Argentina and Latin America, and it was some sort of miracle. I’m glad that somebody [contacted] her, and she read the script, and said that she would be very interested, which is something that I wouldn’t expect at all. She’s never done such a dramatic role. She grew up making soap operas on TV, and when I cast her, I asked her to come with no makeup at all and regular clothes, and it was very interesting to see her in this new, different image than the one that I knew.
It was also a chance to show her in a new, different way because the character of Dolores is a star for very strange reasons – these accusations, so everybody would know her face from the TV, and would probably have an opinion about her guilt or innocence just from the image she projects, so to do this with Lali, who’s a big star, was [subverting this idea] in the film, and the film shows her in a completely different and more intimate way and it proved she was a great actress when it came to acting in a different tone than the one that I knew her from. So everything was meant to be.
There’s an interesting motif throughout the film with a puma on the loose in Dolores’ neighborhood. How did that come in?
The story of the puma, in a way, is a reflection of [the fact] there is a mystery, and a presence of something wild that the community can’t explain if this is real or not. And this [puma story] is also amplified by the media, and it helped me to think about the advent of truth within the film, and how truth is built, and how sometimes what we believe is completely different from what may have happened. In the end, maybe there is no truth, but it’s just images in the speeches and things that we all somehow believed. The film deals with how the society, through the institutions that we have try to solve a mystery, and deal with something that nobody can understand, so all the time there’s this menace of the wild coming from outside of this influence of control and understanding.
One of the clever things in the movie that was new to me was “the free range party” the night of the crime where people give up their cell phones, presumably to act without fear they’ll be filmed, which of course gets around the thorny issue of losing tension with the presence of cell phones. Was that something you heard about?
Well actually, this is exclusive information for you, but I actually invented the concept of the free range party. [laughs] But it has a lot to do with this feeling of completely different understanding of things between different generations and how the young generation lives their life and the connection with their sex life, their friendships, the exposure of intimacy and private life on social media. and all that. For the [the older] generation, that’s very hard to understand or to deal with, and the parents are really trying hard to find out how to deal with this, so I tried to work with this concept that maybe you don’t understand, but you can understand how this could exist.
Gael Garcia Bernal also has a small, but pivotal role in the film. How did he come onboard?
Actually, Gael is a friend of mine. We met in one of the first, doing a shooting that he did and really wanted to do something together. I [thought] he could be part of the film, at least a small part, and he read the script and really loved it, and yes, for him, we could find this character which could fit in his agenda.
What have the last few days been like, premiering the film in Venice and Toronto?
It was amazing. Completely crazy, but exciting, and amazing. I’m so happy that we could premiere the film this way. It’s a perfect way for the film to come out, and the reception we are having has been really great.
“The Accused” will play once more at the Toronto Film Festival on September 14th at the Scotiabank at 10 pm.
TagsGael Garcia BernalGonzalo TobalLali EspósitoThe AccusedTIFF 2018
TIFF '18 Review: Amma Asante Searches for Love in a World Full of Hate in "Where Hands Touch"
Interview: Michael Tully on the Importance of Getting Too Comfortable with "Don't Leave Home"
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1901
|
__label__cc
| 0.660637
| 0.339363
|
Fabric: the perfect blank canvas for architectural lighting
It has become an indisputable reality that high-tech architecture has gone organic. From central London buildings such as The Gherkin to the Olympic arenas and swimming venues, beauty is embodied in curves and shapes. Why is this? Is it merely fashion or something more?
Creating interest for the eyes
One of the reasons for this explosion of shape around the capital, and indeed across the country, is the desire to get away from the stark, post-war construction that dominated the UK for so long. Straight lines are cheap and easy to build; however, as light falls on its flat, dull surface, our attention also falls away. Curves entrance us and create variety in the scene. As with straight lines, this relies on light and shadow. As the day moves along and the weather changes, so does the scenery. Curved structures are the perfect platform to receive artificial light and can be designed to create beautiful installations.
The cost of beauty
You will notice that local governments and private businesses are not rushing to build curvaceous structures. The primary reason for this is cost. Both designing and constructing solid, curved buildings is expensive, and in most cases prohibitively so.
There are alternative ways to incorporate curves and light into architecture, however, and one such way is to introduce tensile roof systems in the UK such as those found at http://fabricarchitecture.com/. By using tensile fabric to create roofs, awnings and walls, architects and developers can bring shape, light and interest to a structure at a fraction of the cost.
Using fabric when designing architectural lighting
While architectural lighting concerns itself with all elements of lighting a building for human use, it is the more dramatic end of the spectrum that has received the most attention recently. Buildings that dazzle and impress us with their appearance make the headlines. Many of these buildings are lit from inside to create a dramatic external view, but many more take the traditional stained glass window approach of concentrating on the internal users’ enjoyment.
From airports to shopping malls, we rely on stretched and hardened fabric structures to create environments that please and delight us. This method is increasingly cost effective and sustainable − so much so that many landmark structures are also choosing fabric for their architectural lighting design themes.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1906
|
__label__wiki
| 0.923278
| 0.923278
|
Taille de police decrease font size increase font size
Baptized by Byzantium in 865, Bulgarians adopted the Byzantine Christian tradition known as Eastern Orthodoxy. Muslims constitute the second most significant religious community, thanks to the spread, in the fourteenth century, of Islam during the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans. At the end of World War II, 85 % of Bulgarian citizens were Orthodox and 13 % were Muslim. Tiny congregations of Catholics, Protestants, Jews, etc. also exist. Even though they were suppressed under communism, these religious denominations very quickly returned to the public square once the Iron Curtain had fallen, a tendency which was also stimulated by the 1991 Constitution, which proclaimed full-scale religious freedom.
Such liberties present serious challenges to a society that has only limited experience with pluralism and democracy. Bulgarians for example have difficulties distinguishing between secularity, secularism and atheism, while they tend to label critical attitudes towards religion and religious institutions as communist remnants. In addition, Bulgarian society is quite reserved vis-à-vis changes in religious affiliation, which in some cases can even be condemned as apostatic, or deemed incompatible with Bulgarian identity.
The former totalitarian regime entirely suppressed the role of religion, both in the public and private spheres, in a clear attempt to forge a 100 % atheist society. As a consequence, a sociological survey carried out in the late 1960s claimed that over 70 % of the population had become atheist. Some twenty years later, the collapse of the communist regime had the opposite effect. The category “atheist” was now dropped from the national censuses held in 1992 and 2001. Bulgarians were now asked to define their religious affiliation based on their personal religious convictions or, alternatively, those of their parents or grandparents. This produced results similar to those registered during the pre-communist era.
Hereupon, by applying a different kind of methodology, in the 2011 national census, religion-related data showed a profoundly altered picture. As declaring one’s religious affiliation was no longer mandatory, nearly 22 % of the population opted for discretion, whereby it is unclear whether they preserved their previous religious affiliation, adopted a different faith, or became irreligious. Only 4,374,135 Bulgarians (59.4 % of the population) declared to be Orthodox, 577,139 (7 %) Muslim. Such figures point to a serious decline in membership of the two major religious communities, whereas Western Christianity seems to be expanding. Indeed the number of Protestants went up from 42,308 in 2001 to 64,476 in 2011; that of Catholics from 43,811 to 48,945. Finally, almost 10 % of the population declared to be non-religious.
Apart from national census data, post-communist Bulgarian religiosity has also been the subject of international research. According to the 2008 European Values Survey, over 60 % of Bulgarians define themselves as religious, only 4.6 % as convinced atheists. High levels of participation in religious rites linked to such major life events as birth (69.6 %), marriage (79.8 %) and death (87.4 %) were also measured. In contrast, only 5 % of the country’s population attend religious services on a weekly basis. Another survey reveals that Orthodox Bulgarians tend to neglect essential religious practices: 55.4 % have never fasted, 53.2 % have never taken communion, 51.7 % have never turned to a priest or monk for blessing, etc. Muslims seem to be making up the exception to this general rule: 44.6 % of them fast, 53.7 % give zakat, the aid Muslims are obliged to give to the poor at the end of Ramadan (Tomka and Zulehner, Religionen und Kirchen in Ost(Mittel) Europa: Entwicklungen seit der Wende. Aufbruch 2007, Wien-Budapest, 2008).
The balance between the secular and the religious is a sensitive issue in post-communist Bulgarian politics, as can be illustrated by the 2002 Law on Religious Denominations, which contains a direct reference to the Nicene Creed and the Church Statute. Article 10.1 describes the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (BOC) as “a member of the One, Holy, Ecumenical and Apostolic Church”, to which it is added that the Church is presented by a patriarch “who is also Metropolitan of Sofia.” In voting such formulae, the parliament has attributed itself the right to intervene in the Church’s organizational structure, while any change of the corresponding text in the BOC’s Statutes would also necessitate similar amendments to civil law. After a lawsuit was filed at the Constitutional Court, article 10.1 was judged compatible with the Constitution… whereby one of the Court’s arguments was Canon 34 of the Holy Apostles (Constitutional Court’s Judgment No. 12/2003). Such episodes have revealed a tendency present in some civil judges to use religious canons as guidance, whereby also raising the question of the compatibility between civil and canon law.
Likewise, post-1989 parliamentary and governmental oath taking ceremonies are marked by inconsistency. Some have been performed in the presence of the Bulgarian patriarch, while others haven’t. Furthermore, the encounter between the religious and the secular has led to tense Church-State relations. On February 24, 2013, upon the enthronization of Bulgarian patriarch Neofit, the head of state, President Rossen Plevneliev, congratulated the new Church leader. However, on April 29, 2015, the BOC’s Holy Synod, now under Neofit’s chairmanship, decided that clerics were to pay liturgical homage to Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, “King of Bulgarians” (Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was King of the Bulgarians from 1943 to 1946, before the establishment of the republican order in 1946. In 2001, he became Prime Minister of Bulgaria — until 2005 — and pledged to observe its republican Constitution). In addition, his name was to be mentioned before references to the Orthodox people, and to the Bulgarian government. Many observers, both within the Orthodox community and in larger society, saw this issue as a threat to Bulgaria’s republican order, i.e. as an attempt to restore the monarchy by promoting Simeon as an alternative head of State.
The encounter between the religious and the secular in Bulgaria is also hindered by the BOC’s efforts to regain its pre-communist, dominant status. With this goal in mind, the Church consistently overemphasizes its century-old role as guardian of the Bulgarian nation and identity, while Orthodoxy’s return to the public scene is also facilitated by its close relations with Bulgarian nationalism. Hence the perception of Orthodoxy and minority religions is flawed and asymmetrical. In 2006 for example, several female Muslim students refused to remove their headscarves, and were consequently forced to leave school. No such sanctions were taken against students wearing Christian symbols. As a consequence to this situation, the BOC has launched initiatives of an openly anti-secular nature, initiatives which religious minorities generally tend to avoid. A case in point: in 1999, the BOC’s Holy Synod protested against the screening, on National Television, of a BBC documentary series about the life of Christ. While the attempt was unsuccessful, a 2002 remonstration against Scorsese’s “The Last Temptation of Christ” wasn’t: the movie was removed from the primetime section. Another exemplary episode occurred in 2009, when widespread indignation arose following the Orthodox metropolitan of Plovdiv’s suggestion that the tragic death of several Bulgarian tourists, whose ship had sunk on the day of a Madonna concert, was a case of divine punishment.
However, the issue that has stirred the most serious controversy is that of religious instruction in public schools. Introduced in September 1997 as a facultative discipline designed only for Orthodox students from the second to the fourth grade, a year later it was extended to the first eight grades. In 1999, Islam courses were also introduced. As of 2003, facultative Orthodoxy and Islam courses have been made available to students in all twelve grades. Still unsatisfied with this situation, the Orthodox Holy Synod, along with the Grand Muftiate, made attempts to persuade the Ministry of Science and Education into making the study of religion mandatory for all. Such attempts were joined by initiatives such as a 2010 national procession, which was organized by the Holy Synod in defense of the study of religion at school. The procession was attended by clerics and citizens from all of the country’s Orthodox dioceses. Even so, the interest in religious courses remains extremely low: only 1 % of the student population enrolls in them.
In conclusion, the encounter between the religious and the secular in contemporary Bulgarian society has been strongly influenced by efforts to overcome the legacy of militant atheism. Not less important factors are processes of democratization and European integration. While introducing a new understanding of religion as a person’s free choice and treating religious denominations as “voluntary religious associations” (Peter Berger), these evolutions challenge the traditional notion of religion as a marker of national/ethnic identity, c.q. the idea that the Bulgarian Orthodox Church is an embodiment of the nation. Thus the encounter of the religious and the secular in post-communist Bulgaria also extends to, and mingles with, the issue of nationalism. As a direct consequence, and notwithstanding the principle of separation between Church and State, state authorities are inclined to give in to the Orthodox Church’s tendency to depict itself as the historical safeguard of Bulgarian national identity.
Daniela Kalkandjieva (Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski).
Ajouter à MySpace
Plus dans cette catégorie : « Croatia Belgium »
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1908
|
__label__wiki
| 0.880816
| 0.880816
|
0191 442 1001 cbrookes@balticpublications.co.uk
Plans submitted for Bootham Crescent redevelopment after York City exit
Feb 11, 2019 | Chimp Weekly Headlines, Top Stories
A planning application has now been submitted to City of York Council by Persimmon Homes for the redevelopment of Bootham Crescent after the impending departure of York City to the new Community Stadium.
This is yet another significant landmark in the club’s history as they prepare to leave their home of the last 87 years and move to Monks Cross. The application, which is in the joint names of the York-based housing developer Persimmon Homes and York City Football Club, is submitted in accordance with the 2005 option agreement between Persimmon Homes Yorkshire and Bootham Crescent Holdings.
The application is based on a mixed scheme of 80 houses and apartments ranging from one to four-bedrooms and with appropriate levels of public open space. The Football Club and Persimmon Homes and their respective advisors have been in discussions for several months along with Historic England in order to address the issues that surround both the development of Bootham Crescent and the club’s departure.
This is to ensure that, in the future, the scheme is not only an exciting and high quality redevelopment of new homes within easy walking distance of York city centre but that it also reflects the heritage of a site which has been the home to the Football Club for 87 years. The club’s board of directors is well aware that this site has touched many people’s lives and has contributed much to both the history of English football and the history of the city of York.
Stadium development director Ian McAndrew said: “Leaving Bootham Crescent is, to some people, controversial and will, undoubtedly, be emotional to all those involved with York City Football Club.
“We are conscious of the importance of the stadium to our supporters and, in particular, those families who have scattered the ashes of their relatives there. I can assure everybody that this issue is at the forefront of our the discussions with both the developer and Historic England.
“Whilst the detail is still being worked on, I can confirm that an area within the public open space will be allocated as a place for remembrance as well as there being permanent reminders of the club’s long history on the site.”
Simon Usher, regional divisional director for Persimmon Homes Yorkshire, said: “We are aware of the sensitive nature of this development and have carefully considered the views expressed at our public consultation meeting and those of Historic England, which have helped form our recently submitted planning application.
“Having worked closely with York City Football Club and Historic England we hope to build 80 homes including affordable housing. The application features a range of house types to meet all budgets and lifestyles.”
Mr McAndrew added: “I am often asked why Persimmon Homes have an option to buy the site and why is it not to be offered far and wide on the open market? It is important to look back in history – as many supporters may not remember the tragic state of affairs in 2002 when the club’s then chairman and directors sold Bootham Crescent to Persimmon Homes leaving the club with only a one year lease.
“When the club went into administration in 2003 it was saved at the eleventh hour by the supporters – and it was necessary, in order to stay playing in the Football League, for the club to have a minimum secure tenure of 10 years.
“This was achieved with the support of the city council, giving guarantees whereby – if the club had to leave Bootham Crescent – it would be able to play at the former Huntington Stadium.
“Negotiations took place over the following two-year period between Jason McGill, other interested parties, and the football authorities.
“Eventually, in 2005, and with the support of the Football Stadium Improvement Fund and mutual agreement with Persimmon Homes the club bought back Bootham Crescent on the basis that York City Football Club would relocate to a new stadium in the future and Persimmon Homes would buy the site via the option granted to them once a new stadium had been built.
“Although, for many reasons, the initial timescales have not been achieved, the summer of 2019 will see the club moving to the new Community Stadium.”
Once registered, the application will be available to view on the City of York Council’s planning website.
Returning Chesterfield midfielder Wedgbury reflects on gruelling year
York boss Watson looking for authentic test from Hartlepool
Biggleswade Town bring back Stevenage striker White
Categories Select Category BLOG Chimp Weekly Headlines Chimp Weekly Interview Chimp Weekly More News Chimp Weekly Top Story Headlines Interviews and Features Interviews/Features archive Latest News More News newsnow Top Stories Uncategorised
Baltic Publications Limited
Editor: Chris Brookes
e: cbrookes@balticpublications.co.uk
Gear House, Saltmeadows Road, Gateshead, Tyne & Wear. NE8 3DA
© 2017 Baltic Publications.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1919
|
__label__wiki
| 0.682463
| 0.682463
|
tag 'coding'
Current selected tag: 'coding'. Clear.
An Overlooked Provision of H.R. 4302
From www.healthcare-informatics.com - January 2, 2015 4:24 PM
While everyone is talking about Sec. 212 of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 (H.R. 4302), which would delay the compliance date of ICD-10 for another year, there is another significant provision in the bill for informatics observers.
Sec. 218 of the temporary Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) "doc fix" bill, which was passed in the House and Senate and is awaiting Presidential approval, would provide quality incentives for computed tomography diagnostic imaging and promoting evidence-based care. Part of this provision requires the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to define clinical decision support mechanisms, determined by various industry stakeholders, that will be used by providers prescribing advanced imaging procedures for Medicare patients.
In a nutshell, says Cindy Moran, a Reston, Va.-based American College of Radiology (ACR) executive vice president of government relations, it mandates ordering physicians to use clinical decision support tools to justify the prescription of those advanced imaging procedures. The provision requires those clinical decision support mechanisms to be used in certified electronic health record (EHR) technology. Only when the provider informs which clinical decision support mechanism was used to prescribe that study can they receive payment for those services under Medicare.
This evidence-based guideline is a “very important concept,” to Moran and the ACR folks. So much so, they asked for its inclusion in the bill working with various Congressmen and other stakeholders, she says.
They also asked for two other provisions, related to imaging. One provision forces the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to produce data to justify a 25 percent multiple procedure payment reduction on certain imaging procedures provided to the same patient, on the same day, in the same session. The other put a ceiling on the reduction of certain codes.
ACR was one of the few groups to outright support the passage of the SGR “doc fix” bill. It applauded the delay of the ICD-10 mandate as well. Moran said that while the organization didn’t specifically request the delay, she said it will be helpful to the average physician practice, which is overwhelmed by the transition.
Overall, ACR is looking for a permanent fix to the SGR, Moran says. However unlike other advocacy groups, it is pleased with the passage of H.R. 4302.
The ACR wasn’t the only one to applaud those imaging provisions. The Access to Medical Imaging Coalition (AMIC), which is a nonprofit group that consists of various imaging industry stakeholders, was equally as happy with the bill. In statement, the group said the appropriateness policy is encouraging.
"The best way to support physicians in ordering the right diagnostic imaging scan at the right time is for Medicare to encourage physicians and patients to make treatment decisions that best suit individualized needs and circumstances,” Tim Trysla, executive director of AMIC, said in a release.
Hospitals want Congress to keep ICD-10 on track
From www.fiercehealthit.com - December 10, 2014 1:31 PM
Any attempts to delay, again, ICD-10 compliance would be a waste of time and money, and should be opposed, eight healthcare organizations--including the American Hospital Association and the Premier healthcare alliance--stressed to members of Congress in a recent letter.
ICD-9 is "outdated" the organizations said, and ICD-10 would enable providers to keep up with medical advances.
"The [most recent] delay added billions of dollars in extra costs," the organizations said. "Many of our members had to quickly reconfigure systems and processes that were prepared to use ICD-10 back to ICD-9. Newly trained coders who graduated from ICD-10 focused programs were unprepared for use of the older code set and needed to be retrained back to using ICD-9. ... This results in a doubling of costs that are not productive."
An ICD-10 delay was not included in the proposed "Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015" to fund the government, which is also being referred to as the "cromnibus" bill. The proposal is expected to be voted on by Congress later today.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1921
|
__label__cc
| 0.583885
| 0.416115
|
finn-fancy-1354
'Finn Fancy'
4 reviews: I bought the audiobook of FINN FANCY NECROMANCY narrated by Todd Haberkorn, and I can't say enough good things. Todd's pacing is great, the quality of the production is high, and he just has a very easy way of speaking that holds my attention and keeps me in the moment. Obviously, it also helps me praise the audio so highly when I absolutely loved the book. Randy Henderson's debut novel has a dark streak, but the darkness (it's about someone who can speak to the dead) is punctuated with lots of quirkiness and humor. I was constantly delighted by where the author took me next. I highly recommend this book in any form you can get your hands (or ears) on. I read a 'preview excerpt' of this novel -- 8 chapters -- through NetGalley and really enjoyed it. I was waiting patiently for the book to be released and now can say the remainder of the novel lived up to the sneak peek I had. Finn was wrongly accused of dark necromancy because someone set him up to be exiled to the Other Realm to get rid of him. Now, 25 years later, someone is trying to get him sent back all over again. He has been given just a few days to prove he is innocence of a boat-load of old and new charges. Finn had sworn never to become involved in magic of any kind once he was back from that other place, but magic seems to be his only way of dealing with the witches, sasquatchs, gnomes, the Arcana Ruling Council and their Enforcers, and the truly bad guys who want him dead. What did a 15 year old kid ever do to them? But really, when your special gift is being a Talker -to the dead - and your family business is running a necrotorium, is there any possible way to avoid magic? This was very enjoyable, funny, and a pleasure to read since the author plainly did not take himself so seriously he couldn't enjoy writing the book. Finn was 15 when he was banished and is now 40 so just imagine all the important things that have changed in the world. Finn seems most interested in catching up with music and technology and has some serious discoveries to make with things like the google and that Bluebeard thing. His expertise on his Commodore and using BASIC probably isn't going to be much help to him now. The ultimate bad-guy villain was moderately well hidden and took real 'magic' to accomplish, but I think author Randy Henderson played fair in sprinkling his clues around. While this doesn't quite live up to the dreaded cliffhanger ending there are some situations which were not resolved and it is plain from the last page that there is a second book to come. I plan to be right there ready to read it. Finn Fancy Necromancy does not attempt to hide the ball as to what kind of book it is. It is filled with whimsical and sarcastic humor, centers around a mystery supported by a good deal of action and magic, and throws in a number of 80's references into the mix for good measure. This is not a serious fantasy such as Game of Thrones, but it is not trying to be. Instead this is a humorous romp of magic and mayhem, similar to Terry Pratchett's Discworld series that will be sure to entertain and put a smile on your face while you read. The author, Randy Henderson, sets the stage for this amusing reading ambiance by creating a protagonist that is likable, relatable, and has a sarcastic wit. This coupled with the humorous mischief and mayhem the Finn and the other characters get themselves into (including evading yeti's by pouring piss on their heads) make Finn Fancy Necromancy a fun and entertaining book to read. Overall Henderson has done a fantastic job creating likable characters, a compelling story, and enough humorous dialog and mayhem to keep most readers plastered to their seats to the last pages. All in all, I highly recommend Finn Fancy Necromancy and think it's perfect for fans of Lish McBride's Hold Me Closer Necromancer, A Lee Martinez's The Automatic Detective, and/or Terry Pratchett's Sorcery. What is Finn's Fancy? Finn has been denied existence, exiled to the Other Realm for 25 years when a teen thereby losing contact with his friends, family and potential significant other or mate during this whole time. Finn has a lot of catching up to do when he returns to existence as changeling and tries to resurrect all he cares for as an older adult with a twenty five year gap in what's been happening while gone. His family has the appearance in the human world of being Morticians, but it the world of magic and necromancy they have separate gifts of magic and arcana and Finn is a Talker. His talent is an ability to talk to those who have passed on but at a cost to himself. Time of his own life diminishes when in contact with them that's been and ain't no more. Through metaphoric analogy of Finn and the story itself, it touches a very great deal of we have enjoyed and been entertained with in Sci Fi, Fantasy and our own journey and fandom with pop culture. The author packed this book and Finn with Iconic images and points out some of our silliness too with some wise observation like such as, "Why didn't someone think of just tipping over a Dalek in the first place?" This story is a gas. Magically delicious.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1922
|
__label__cc
| 0.535186
| 0.464814
|
Rama Raman
Begusarai (Bihar)
B.Tech (Electronics)
Additional Chief Secretary to Govt. of U.P., Resham, Handloom & Textile LUCKNOW
1 Asstt.Magistrate ALIGARH 26/09/1988 08/09/1989
2 Ex.Magistrate FATEHPUR 09/09/1989 04/07/1993
3 Project Director-cum-C.D.O. Musoorie 05/07/1993 11/07/1993
4 Joint Secretary APC Branch LUCKNOW 12/07/1993 08/04/1994
5 Dy Managing Director PICUP LUCKNOW 09/04/1994 30/09/1995
6 District Magistrate AMBEDKAR NAGAR 29/09/1995 30/09/1995
7 Mukhay Nagar Adhikari Nagar Nigam KANPUR NAGAR 30/12/1996 07/05/1997
8 Magistrate & Collector PRATAPGARH 07/05/1997 30/09/1998
9 Magistrate & Collector MIRZAPUR 01/10/1998 24/10/1999
10 Magistrate & Collector BAREILLY 26/10/1999 29/03/2002
12 D.M. GORAKHPUR 13/04/2002 01/07/2002
13 Spl.Secy to Govt of UP Women Welfare Deptt. LUCKNOW 15/07/2002 21/07/2002
14 D.M. LUCKNOW 21/07/2002 20/08/2002
16 Director to GOI, Ministry of Home Affairs NEW DELHI 03/04/2003 01/07/2010
18 C.E.O.,Grater Noida GAUTAMBUDHNAGAR 04/07/2010 14/12/2010
19 C.E.O.,Grater Noida & Noida GAUTAMBUDHNAGAR 14/12/2010 20/07/2011
21 Chairman+C.E.O.,Grater Noida GAUTAMBUDHNAGAR 01/11/2011 20/11/2011
22 Chairman+C.E.O.,Grater Noida+C.E.O.,Noida GAUTAMBUDHNAGAR 20/11/2011 15/12/2011
24 Chairman+C.E.O.,Grater Noida+CEO, Yamuna Expressway,IDAuthority GAUTAMBUDHNAGAR 20/12/2011 26/12/2011
26 C.E.O.,Grater Noida + C.E.O. Noida GAUTAMBUDHNAGAR 26/03/2012 02/05/2013
27 C.E.O.,Grater Noida , Noida & Chairman Noida, Grater Noida & Yumna Express Way Industrial Development Authority GAUTAMBUDHNAGAR 03/05/2013 19/09/2015
28 CEO, NOIDA & Chairman NOIDA, Greater NOIDA & Yamuna Express-Way Industrial Development Authority GAUTAMBUDHNAGAR 20/09/2015 17/07/2016
29 CEO, NOIDA GAUTAMBUDHNAGAR 18/07/2016 24/08/2016
31 Principal Secretary To Govt of U.P. I.I.D.C. & Chairman,NOIDA Gautambudh Nagar + N.R.I Deptt LUCKNOW 08/10/2016 11/04/2017
33 Commissioner & Director UP Handloom & Textiles KANPUR NAGAR 29/06/2017 19/07/2018
34 Additional Chief Secretary to Govt. of U.P., Resham, Handloom & Textile + Commissioner & Director UP Handloom & Textiles, UP LUCKNOW 19/07/2018 28/03/2019
35 Additional Chief Secretary to Govt. of U.P., Resham, Handloom & Textile LUCKNOW 28/03/2019
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1924
|
__label__wiki
| 0.855833
| 0.855833
|
Home » NEWS » Revolutionizing the housing game
Revolutionizing the housing game
Fourteen Estates, BONE Structure team on new development project
Posted on September 18, 2018 by oshawaexpress in NEWS
Rick Rondeau, Marc Bovet and Shawn Rondeau are all striving to build better, less wasteful homes. The three of them can currently be found building homes in Newtonville. (Photo by Chris Jones)
Marc Bovet of BONE Structure has teamed up with Rick and Shawn Rondeau of Fourteen Estates to bring a new breed of home to Durham Region.
According to Rick, Fourteen Estates started 35 years ago, when they decided that they “needed to make a difference in the housing industry.”
“My wife was a great designer and I was a carpenter,” says Rick. “So we entered into the custom housing industry.”
Bovet says that he started BONE Structure due to a bad experience in getting his own house built. He worked for Bombardier and had been traveling quite a bit when his wife called him and said, “We just bought land and we are going to build a new house.”
So, Bovet hired an architect and the plans were sent to local builders. However, after much scrutinization of the plans, Bovet decided to “tackle the issue as if it were a $100 million project for Bombardier.”
He learned everything that he could about building a house, and he brought in one last builder.
When all was said and done, after the learning and the extreme planning, Bovet wound up in a hotel room with his wife and children. Frustrated, Bovet realized that housing companies were stuck in a rut.
He realized that he needed to look at housing from a consumer’s perspective.
“I believe that 99.9 per cent of them have the right intention in the morning, it’s just that it’s not a unified process,” says Bovet.
Bovet says that BONE Structure is not making houses for beauty’s sake, but with science backing everything they’re building.
Bovet believes that the way houses are built in North America is outdated. He credits this with the overabundance of wood throughout the continent. He says that other countries have moved on from the wooden house, and yet Canada is still using the product, and being wasteful with it.
“A typical house will run you 10, 12, 15 garbage containers,” says Bovet. However, he also notes that two identical houses could be built side by side, and they would not have the same amount of waste. According to Bovet, it is not an exact science.
However, Bovet hopes that with the new method provided by BONE Structure, he and Fourteen Estates can begin to do away with such wastefulness.
“We think BONE is the way of the future. The product is amazing,” says Rick.
Where most houses use wood for the structure of their building, BONE Structure has started using steel in a way that Bovet compares to building a house out of Lego.
The new houses are being built in Newtonville just off of Jones Avenue, and they chose the spot because it allows for them to make houses where there is a lot of space, and families who move in don’t need to be so close to their next-door neighbour.
According to Shawn, Fourteen Estates purchased the land that they are building on three years ago, and they never considered building anything but houses there.
According to Rick, the two companies came together due to an engineer who phoned him and said that he had seen the most amazing product in the world.
“It is so efficient, so well put together, I think you should call this company,” the engineer told Rick.
After looking at literature, Rick said that BONE Structure was the perfect storm.
“In other words, everything that we had ever wanted to be is already encapsulated in this company,” says Rick. “They’ve got integrity, they’re well known as a brand all over the world, they are trying to be better than they can be, which is what we’re trying to do.”
According to Bovet, the benefits of the building lie in the quality of life they can provide. “The benefits of the BONE Structure is that we are assembling homes, not houses.”
What BONE Structure has come up with is “a steel structure that basically has clear benefits in terms of energy efficiency,” says Bovet. “The building will save you 90 per cent of your energy costs in terms of heating and cooling, while at the same time giving you a comfortable house.”
The formula that BONE Structure uses has also been patented in 42 countries according to Bovet.
Because of the material that is used in building the homes, they are enabled to have large window openings, which will allow homeowners to take advantage of a largely forested setting.
According to Bovet “housing has to change, and what we’re offering are significant benefits to the builders, and the visionary builders like Rick and Shawn, that have understood” that the way houses are built, and the materials that are used, needs to change.
“There is no other country in the world that has not moved on to try to offer a better product that is durable, that is [environmentally responsible], that enables people and future generations to adapt the home,” says Bovet.
Bovet says that they do not have garbage containers on their job sites, and the reason he gives is that he believes the money should go into the house, and not the garbage.
Bovet also emphasizes that the houses have an adaptable structure. They can be modified from the inside and the outside of the house at anytime.
They partnered with Fourteen Estates because of professional maturity, which Bovet says is “when you know what you want; but you mostly know what you don’t want.”
According to Bovet, the structure of BONE houses is assembled with battery pack drills, and there is no cutting, piercing or waste.
Bovet says that BONE Structure is winning awards in California, and has even been called one of the top 50 innovators along with other entrepreneurs such as Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX fame.
“He picked us because of the integrity of our company and the quality of our work,” Rick says of the partnership.
According to Shawn, there are 28 houses going in during the first phase, and there will be another 12 at the south end, which will be ready in approximately two years.
People will begin moving in just before Christmas says Shawn, but not all of the houses will be done by that time.
Shawn says that the houses are appropriate for any buyer, but he expects that professionals, and those who like having a large space to live in and a large yard will be among their customers. But most importantly, he suspects “that mostly a lot of young families will be moving in.”
The two companies are hosting an open house Sept. 21 to 23, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. each day. To register for the event, visit boneliving.com/edenpark
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1925
|
__label__wiki
| 0.717129
| 0.717129
|
FEATURES • The Vinton Messenger
Vinton Town Council considers allowing more pets per household
Debbie Adams
VINTON–Vinton Town Council is considering allowing more pets per household than the total of two currently allowed under the Town’s Code.
The current ordinance states that it is “unlawful for any person to own, keep, harbor, care for, have custody of, or knowingly permit at any time more than two dogs or cats” in any dwelling in the town, other than businesses which deal with pets. Working dogs are also excluded.
Police Lieutenant Mark Vaught surveyed the surrounding localities to determine how many pets each allows. Roanoke City permits four dogs and six cats, if the cats are spayed or neutered. Roanoke County allows three dogs and cats. Botetourt County allows four dogs and has no limits on cats. The City of Salem allows three dogs and two cats.
All of these localities charge $10 per year per pet for licensing, with a reduced rate for spayed or neutered animals.
David Flagler, Executive Director of the Roanoke Center for Animal Control and Protection (RCACP), told council during a briefing on July 15, that he has run and visited animal control programs “all over the United States,” and had encountered only one other locality with a policy as restrictive as Vinton’s.
Vinton Police Chief Ben Cook was questioned about whether a problem exists in the town at the present time regarding pets. He said that few animals are reported for “running at large” in Vinton. Most calls that his department receives have to do with barking dogs.
After a thorough discussion, members of Town Council agreed to hold a public meeting to consider changing the Town Code, raising the number to four pets allowed per household within the town, with the caveat that any more than two animals would required spaying or neutering of the pets.
Town Manager Chris Lawrence will investigate the legalities of requiring pets to be spayed or neutered and arrange a date for a public meeting on the topic.
Chief Cook briefed council on the purchase of new in-car recording systems for police vehicles. The department has “experienced problems with one particular brand of video system installed several years ago” in some of their older vehicles.
Cook wants to use federal drug forfeiture money in the amount of $47,293 to purchase six video systems through Kustom Signals, which will include the equipment, installation, and training needed, with no cost to the town.
Cook says that these days video is “ priceless” for a police department for both documentation of evidence to be used in court and also to protect the safety of officers.
He told council that the antiquated system now used in several of the vehicles takes hours to download the data from video footage and requires a “huge amount” of storage space on the county’s server.
One feature of the new cameras would be the “wireless functionality” which allows video footage to be automatically downloaded to the server when the police vehicles come “into contact with the wireless routing system” when they pull into the police department parking lot at the Municipal Building.
Lawrence commented that frequently police vehicles are “outliving the technology that is in them.” The request for Town Council’s approval will appear on the August 19 agenda.
The town manager updated members of council on cost estimates for renovations to the Fire House. Costs of improvements will be split fifty/fifty between Vinton and Roanoke County. Estimates presented by the consulting design team were twice as much as expected, so discussions will continue to see if adjustments need to be made in the “scope of the project.”
Lawrence informed council that interviews have been completed for the specialist position in Human Resources and that a new employee should be in place to handle the day-to-day paperwork by mid-August. After Human Resources Director Stephanie Dearing retired, the town elected to transfer the policy responsibilities of her position to Assistant Town Manager Ryan Spitzer and to hire a specialist to manage clerical and administrative duties, at a cost-savings to the town.
Council recognized members of the Finance Department and its director Barry Thompson for receiving their 19th consecutive award for their Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2013. The Certificate of Achievement for “excellence in financial reporting” is awarded by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada and is the “highest form of recognition in the area of government accounting and financial reporting.”
Members of Vinton’s Finance Department were recognized by Vinton Town Council as they received their 19th consecutive CAFR Certificate of Achievement for excellence in financial reporting, the highest form of recognition in government accounting. Shown left to right are Lydia Verdillo, Candace Poling, Finance Director and Treasurer Barry Thompson, and Bonnie Bailey. Paul Miller and Leslie Morrison are also members of the department but were not present for the presentation.
Bonnie Bailey from the Finance Department was recognized individually for her service to the town as she retires after thirteen years as service assistant and accounting technician.
Town Council also recognized Sergeant Tim Lawless, Master Police Officer Chris Froeschl, and Officer Zach Hurt, as Officers of the Month for June. The policemen, along with K9 Officer Jax, tracked and apprehended a suspect involved in a robbery at Kroger and were able to recover much of the stolen property.
Wayne Guffey, Assistant Chief of the Vinton Volunteer First Aid Crew, presented the 2014 Fiscal Year report. The thirty-nine members of the crew responded to 1,107 calls during the year and had a stellar “mark up” rate of 97% with 5,506 volunteer hours. Total man hours were 20,507, including training and standbys.
The crew purchased and placed in service a new Rehab Unit with funds raised by the crew. They received a fifty/fifty grant from the state which enabled the First Aid Crew to purchase another Stryker power stretcher, which is operated by hydraulics.
Councilman Doug Adams reminded council that the First Aid Crew will be celebrating their 75th anniversary in October.
Members of council authorized the Town Manager to execute two Memorandums of Understanding with Roanoke County for Stormwater Management Plan Review Services and Post-Construction Inspection Services.
Spitzer asked council to approve publishing Requests for Proposals (RFP’s) on July 20 for the downtown streetlights and improvements to the Washington Avenue/Pollard Street intersection, which are part of the Downtown Revitalization Project. Bids will be due on August 19. He hopes that installation of the streetlights will take place in the time frame between the last Mingle at the Market on September 13 and the Fall Festival scheduled for October 11.
He reported that a camera has been installed at the intersection of Washington and Pollard to replace the underground sensor loops and to keep traffic moving in a timely manner.
Lawrence briefed council on the Roanoke County Litter program at the request of Charlotte Moore, the Cave Spring representative to the Board of Supervisors. He explained the advantage the Town of Vinton has over the rest of the county with the town’s streetsweeper, which vacuums the entire town on a weekly basis, keeping much debris out of the stormwater system.
The Town Council meeting on August 5 has been cancelled in lieu of observance of the police department’s annual National Night Out, to be held at the Farmer’s Market from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. that evening.
TagsTown of Vinton Vinton Town Council
The Vinton Messenger
Hometown Team
Calendar of Events | March, 2019
Vinton Blueway access ramp becomes Eagle Scout Project
Vinton Library continues “Paws to Read” with Therapy Dogs
Vinton Wesleyan Super Saturday Egg Hunt
Council recognizes Dailey for achieving National Registry Paramedic Certification
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1926
|
__label__cc
| 0.548298
| 0.451702
|
Why Canada Hates the Caps... Or Should
Two years, two finals, two late losses...
...two winning efforts by Washington Capitals prospects.
Last night Team Russia defeated Team Canada in one of the epic comebacks in the history of the sport, erasing a 3-0 lead after 40 minutes by scoring five goals in the last 20 minutes for a 5-3 win in the World Junior Championship final in Buffalo, NY.
Capitals prospect Evgeni Kuznetsov registered three assists in the furious Russian comeback effort that sent Canada home for the second straight year disappointed in the final. That is because last year, another Capitals prospect -- John Carlson -- stuck the dagger into the Canadians' hopes in the form of a no-look goal in overtime to give Team USA a 6-5 win in the final.
Kuznetsov finished the tournament as its second leading scorer (4-8-12, behind Canada's Brayden Schenn who finished at 8-10-18). Kuznetsov, who with fellow Capitals prospect defenseman Dmitri Orlov was named to the all-tournament team, might have had the best quote following the game. When asked how it was that the Russians could come back (the final being their third consecutive come-from-behind win in the tournament), he replied...
“Because we are Russians! We are champions!
We're hoping his countrymen on his parent club in Washington take that one to heart. In the meantime, we could understand it if 34 million Canadians hated the Washington Capitals.
Labels: evgeni kuznetsov, the peerless prognosticator, Washington Capitals, world junior hockey championship
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1929
|
__label__wiki
| 0.721639
| 0.721639
|
The World Series is Mostly Dead. I Think I Know How to Save It - by Colin G.
Baseball has hit a new low. The commissioner can trot out all the numbers he wants explaining how healthy the game is, but let me tell you, here at the coffee shop on Main Street USA, NOBODY cares about the World Series. In fact, if it were to be cancelled today without notice, I suspect only 4 or 5 customers would even mention it. Remember the public outrage when a labor dispute cancelled the Series in 1994? Those days are long gone.
And to make matters worse, the kids really don't give a dang about the World Series. My son Owen is eleven years old and he is a huge baseball fan. He plays in the summer & fall and his room is decorated with a giant Joey Votto fathead along with hundreds of baseball cards taped to his wall. This is exactly the kind of young fan that can lead the sport into the future. Problem is, he has never seen the end of a World Series game. Ever. Think about that. This eleven year old baseball fan has NEVER seen the end of a World Series game. It's hard to make a connection with a sport when the biggest moments happen long after your bedtime.
And I don't watch either. It's just too late to justify staying up. I know a handful of nerds who do bother to stay awake to watch and they show up at the coffee shop the next morning looking tired saying, "I sucked it up to stay awake and watch the game and now I am paying for it." Uh, yeah, that sounds like good entertainment value.
Let's glance quickly at the numbers. First the good news: The NLCS on Fox at 8 p.m. tied for second among all viewers 18-49 years old with a 1.3 rating. The bad news: It tied with an episode of the Family Guy airing at 11:30 p.m. I doubt the NFL or NBA would find these numbers acceptable.
Anyway, you get the point. Baseball is sucking wind and something has to change. Lucky for them I have the answer: it's easy to execute and can be done as soon as next season.
All World Series games should start at 6 p.m.
Yup. That is my solution. Starting next year all World Series games should start at 6 pm. It's a new tradition that never changes. Baseball loves tradition. Forget shortening the season or speeding up the games. Maybe in some future fantasy hippie utopia that would be possible, but not on this planet during my lifetime.
I got the idea while watching the World Cup this summer. Most of those games started around 5 pm on weeknights. Yet, I found myself watching games with Owen and a big group of his friends and they were all into it. They weren't even soccer fans. It was just cool because it was on. As a baseball fan it pains me to admit, but soccer is the future and baseball is the past. It's time to borrow a page from their book and put these games on during daylight hours.
"But why not just start at 7 pm?"
Nope, baseball has to go all-in on this. Didn't a wise man named Mr. Miagi once say, "Walk in middle of road and you get squashed by football" or something like that? A 7 pm start, while an improvement, wouldn't be a big enough change. By starting at 6 pm baseball is creating a unique time slot to showcase its biggest event of the year. It's not all about the game ending late, though that is a part of it, it's about making the World Series feel special. A 6 pm start would do that.
The only reason World Series games start at 8 pm now is because that is the way they used to do it. There used to only be 3 TV channels to choose from, too. (At least that's what my aged friend Ricki C. tells me.) And with local affiliates filling the time between the nightly news and prime time, that was only spot to put it. Of course the World Series did well. There was no competition. That isn't the case anymore, so baseball has to change with the times. And its not like MLB is locked into any one network any more.. Hell, even I couldn't find some of the playoff games this year. I think I missed the one was on Animal Planet. ESPN would be nice but surely another network would go crazy for the chance to own the World Series. But they have to have the games on at 6 pm. You could even use the series as a lead into a new show at the 10 pm slot. Not too shabby.
As for the West Coast, they will get over it. What are we talking about anyway? Worst case, some people leave work a little early three times a year to catch the final three hours of a baseball game. These games average four hours in length. Fans will be hitting the bars by the third inning. And the kids can come home from school and watch. If people care so little about your sport they won't even do that then you don't deserve to survive. In exchange for this minor inconvenience, baseball picks up an extra hundred million eyeballs to possibly watch the end of your event when the drama really matters, when fans - die-hard fans - are rewarded for their loyalty and new fans are forged.
There is no drama in sports like a tight baseball game played with a championship on the line. Baseball needs to stop chasing the fans and playing by the other sports' rules. They have tried that and it isn't working. Baseball needs to make a bold move to insert itself back into the public eye. Have a little faith in your product. You have seen the movie: "If you build it they will come." It's time to start every World Series game at 6 p.m.
Colin Gawel started Pencilstorm at Colin's Coffee, where he wrote this bit. You can learn more about him and other Pencilstorm contributors by clicking here.
In Sports Tags world series 2014, baseball tv ratings, colin gawel
← 2015 NBA Season Preview. Worst to First - by Ben GalliWhat the Hell Does "Play Like a Brown" Mean Anyway? The NCP Ponder the Question. →
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1931
|
__label__cc
| 0.563989
| 0.436011
|
Home » Exclusive » Brian Yoon Wins 2017 World Series of Poker Monster Stack $1,500 No-Limit Event
Card Player’s 2017 WSOP coverage is sponsored by BetOnline Poker.
Brian Yoon is a finisher. The 27-year-old Los Angeles native has made three World Series of Poker final tables in his career, and each and every time he has walked away with a bracelet. Yoon’s most recent victory is his largest ever. He topped a massive field of 6,716 entries to win the 2017 WSOP $1,500 no-limit hold’em ‘Monster Stack’ event, loking up his third bracelet and the $1,094,349 first-place prize.
Yoon’s prior two bracelets also came in no-limit hold’em tournaments, with his first title coming in the 2013 Little One For One Drop event and the second in the 2014 $5,000 eight-max no-limit hold’em event.
“This one’s a lot better, because, honestly, you don’t expect to win one and you win one," said Yoon when asked where his most recent bracelet win ranks. "You don’t expect to win a second one and you win a second one. Then the third one… it’s been a few years. Getting this one in 2017 feels really good. It’s my biggest score ever.”
Yoon’s lifetime live tournament earnings now exceed $4.2 million, with titles and 70 cashes accumulated along the way.
The ‘Monster Stack’ was introduced as a concept at the WSOP in 2014 and was instantly a huge success, drawing 7,862 entrants in it’s first year. The tournament’s selling point is that it is essentially the main event in miniature, with 15,000 in starting chips and hour-long levels providing more play than is usually offered at the $1,500 buy-in price point.
Yoon entered the fourth and final day of this event in 13th chip position with 20 players remaining. Although Yoon was the only multiple bracelet winner left with a shot, there were plenty of tough competitors to contend with including Scott Montgomery (18th – $47,353), Scott Baumstein (17th – $47,353), 2011 World Poker Tour Legends of Poker main event winner Will “The Thrill” Failla (9th – $97,223) and all-time WSOP Circuit gold ring leader Maurice Hawkins (6th – $213,591). Hawkins, a ten-time champion on the WSOP Circuit, earned his third largest payday for his highest ever finish at the series.
Hawkins was eliminated by Belarus’s Ihar Soika. Shortly after that Yoon scored a double knockout with his A 8 outrunning the K J of Yuliyan Nikolaev Kolev (5th – $281,800) and the A Q of Ryan McKnight (4th – $374,515). That put Soika and Yoon essentially even in chips with 42,000,000 and 41,000,000 respectively while Stanley Lee wat with 17,000,000. Lee hit the rail a few hands later when his pocket sixes failed to win a race against Yoon’s A K . Lee earned $501,353 for his deep run and Yoon took a 3-to-2 chip lead into heads-up play.
Heads-up lasted only 26 hands. Soika was able to close the gap, but Yoon regained control of the match and had roughly a 4-to-1 advantage by the time the final hand of the tournament arose. With blinds of 400,000-800,000 and an ante of 100,000 Yoon raised to 2,000,000. Soika moved all in for just under 20 million. Yoon thought over the sitation for a while before electing to call with the K 10 . He was up against the A 8 of Soika and looking to be in really rough shape after the flop brought the J 5 2 . The 7 on the turn left Yoon needing a non-spade ten or king on the river in order to finish things off. The 10 on the river did just that, securing the pot for Yoon and sending Soika to the rail with $675,995.
Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded at this final table:
Earnings (USD)
POY Points
Brian Yoon
Ihar Soika
Stanley Lee
Ryan McKnight
Yuliyan Nikolaev Kolev
Maurice Hawkins
Richard Ma
Will Failla
For more coverage from the summer series, visit the 2017 WSOP landing page complete with a full schedule, news, player interviews and event recaps.
If you can’t make it down to the WSOP at the Rio, you can still play with BetOnline Poker. Click the banner below for more information. Card Player readers are eligible for an initial deposit bonus offer of 100 percent up to $2,500. Enter code ‘NEWBOL’
Joe McKeehen Wins 2017 World Series of Poker $10,000…
Ben Maya Wins 2017 World Series of Poker $1,500…
Nadar Kakhmazov Wins 2017 World Series of Poker…
Chris Frank Wins 2017 World Series of Poker $1,500…
Ben Yu Wins 2017 World Series of Poker $10,000…
Anthony Marquez Wins 2017 World Series of Poker…
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1934
|
__label__wiki
| 0.982997
| 0.982997
|
M23 rebels lay down arms after defeat in Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo rebels said Tuesday they were laying down their arms after a crushing assault by the UN-backed army pushed them out of the country’s mineral-rich troubled east.
The M23 movement said in a statement that it had “decided from this day to end its rebellion” and instead to pursue its goals “through purely political means.”
The move ends the insurgency that for 18 months has wracked the region rich in natural resources and the scene of some of Africa’s deadliest conflicts over the past two centuries.
Earlier, Kinshasa claimed “total victory” over the M23 after capturing the last two hills held by the movement’s die-hard fighters.
“The last remnants of the M23 have just abandoned their positions,” said Lambert Mende, communications minister and government spokesman.
“It’s a total victory for the DRC,” he said, adding that the holdout insurgents fled to neighbouring Rwanda.
“We have finished the job,” said Lieutenant Colonel Olivier Amuli, an army spokesman in the North Kivu region that was the scene of the fighting.
The Congolese army launched a major offensive against the rebels on October 25, steadily claiming their strongholds until dozens of fighters were this weekend pushed onto three hilltops about 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of the regional capital Goma and near the border of Rwanda.
The beleaguered insurgents called for a truce, but the army pressed on with its assault, claiming one of the hilltops on Monday.
The UN special force in the region, which had been backing the Congolese forces with aerial reconnaissance, intelligence and planning, joined direct combat late Monday after getting the green light to bombard the remaining positions of the beleaguered rebels.
“We will continue to fire until everything is under control,” said a source at the UN brigade.
With the rebels on the backropes, M23 leader Bertrand Bisimwa had on Sunday called for a ceasefire to allow a resumption of peace talks.
But the fighting only appeared to intensify after the M23 leader’s appeal, despite a statement issued early Monday by envoys from the European Union, African Union and the United Nations that said they were “concerned about the renewed outbreak of violence” that followed the truce call.
The UN and African leaders had urged the M23 — ethnic Tutsi former rebels who were incorporated into the Congolese army under a 2009 peace deal — to declare an end to the rebellion they first launched in April 2012, claiming that the government had not kept up its end of the deal.
“It is important that the M23… declare the end of the rebellion. The fighting must stop,” the head of the UN mission in DR Congo, Martin Kobler, said in a statement on Monday.
Meeting in South Africa late on Monday African leaders echoed the sentiment, saying that a peace deal for DR Congo could be signed if the rebels declared an end to their insurgency.
“The parties would sign an agreement on condition that the M23 makes a public declaration renouncing rebellion,” said Stergomena Tax, executive secretary of the 15-country Southern African Development Community (SADC) in Pretoria.
Analysts say better preparation by the Congolese troops and the backing of the UN brigade with the unprecedented offensive mandate have helped changed the game in the restive east of the DR Congo.
The heavily-armed 3,000-strong UN intervention brigade joined 17,000 peacekeepers already deployed with a mission to carry out offensive operations against the rebel fighters, who are accused of human rights abuses including rape, murder and recruiting child soldiers.
The latest fighting to break out in the border region, rich in sought-after minerals, has sent thousands of people fleeing to neighbouring Uganda.
The UN refugee agency said on Monday it had moved another 3,000 Congolese refugees to its transit camp in Uganda’s town of Kisoro to escape the fighting, bringing the total number of refugees in the small town to 8,000.
The area of North and South Kivu in DR Congo has for decades been the centre of conflict because of its location — having borders with Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and Tanzania — and the minerals that lie buried underneath its lush green hills.
The minerals include gold and coltan and tin, key component in electronic devices from cell phones to televisions and computers. – AFP
Author ReporterPosted on November 5, 2013 Categories News, WorldTags civil war, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kivu, Lieutenant Colonel Olivier Amuli, M23 rebels, Rwanda
Previous Previous post: Shots fired at protesters at Union Buildings
Next Next post: 6 people killed, burnt alive in Khutsong but no arrests
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1935
|
__label__cc
| 0.730412
| 0.269588
|
Pray For Italy
Why Italy?
Partner Churches
Italy, an Everyday Place with Everyday People
April 21, 2017 tylerjames118
A view of Caltagirone in Sicily/Photo: Alessandro Bianchi
As we have gone through support raising, one of our challenges has been to breakthrough the preconceived idea that Italy isn’t a mission field. It is true that the Lord could have called us to a more difficult place to serve, but that doesn’t mean that Italy doesn’t need missionaries. It can be difficult to see past the glamour and recognize that Italy is filled with everyday people living everyday lives. Someone asked us recently, “Why is it that Italy and Europe have been so overlooked as a mission field when the need there is so great?” It is a complex question to answer. But here are some thoughts.
Perhaps because Italy has been thought of as THE tourist destination, we have somehow idealized the reality of life there. The truth is, Italy is an everyday place with everyday people who have everyday problems. And although it is a beautiful country with rich culture and amazing history, there is also a side of Italy you will not see in tourism brochures. I think Italy has been overlooked because, if we are honest, we don’t want to see these things or believe they are there. Organized crime, prostitution, racism, sex trafficking, drug trafficking, poverty, forced labor… One may respond, “Well, that stuff happens everywhere.” Yes, sadly, that is true. But my point is this, just because a country is developed doesn’t mean the people there don’t need Jesus. Italians aren’t less worthy of hearing the Gospel just because they have running water and beautiful landscapes.
We cannot really know people and their real life struggles until we’ve built relationships with them. Before living there years ago, we had no idea. But when you live in a place among the people and experience day-to-day life, things become very evident. You can tell a lot by how a society treats the most vulnerable among them. And there is a direct correlation between that and the presence that the Gospel has in the hearts of the people.
Some Statistics of the Reality of Life in Italy
Here are some statistics that bring to light some of the reality of life in Italy:
Between 1999-2014 there were over 29,000 reported victims of trafficking in Italy. And that’s just the ones that were actually reported.
In 2016 around 3,000 children had been found to be exploited in street prostitution in Italy.
The Bank of Italy estimated that in 2012 the value of the criminal economy was about 10.9% of GDP.
It is estimated that around 120,000 migrants are working as farm employees in forced labor situations in southern Italy. Many of whom are women who are raped and beaten daily for fear of losing their meager wages of less than 25 euros a day (about $27 US dollars).
The youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24) in Italy is about 35%. And the overall unemployment rate is about 12%.
From the fall of Benito Mussolini in 1946 to 2013, Italy had 61 different governments.
Just during the month of October last year, 13,000 refugees arrived in Italy from across the Mediterranean (as compared to 1,800 arriving in Greece).
Besides the really extreme examples above, there is a general lack of hope in the people there. They toil and they work to earn favor through cultural religious rituals without ever encountering Jesus and the Gospel of grace. The root of these problems is sin and our fallen world. The remedy to sin and hate and hopelessness is always Jesus. Italy needs Jesus… just like we all do! The Church should be on the frontlines in bringing about that change and sharing Jesus day to day among the people there.
The struggle is that there are so few believers in Italy to be the hands and feet of Jesus. So that is why we go! God has put in our hearts a special love for the people there. What would it look like for the Church in Italy to grow in spiritual strength and numbers? What would it look like for the Gospel to be spread so that the least among them are being loved and cared for and coming to know Jesus too? This is the revival we pray for! So the next time you think of the Bel Paese, remember, Italians are just people too who need a Savior just like you and me.
For further reading on some of these topics see the links below.
US Department of State – Trafficking Report
The Guardian – Italy’s Oranges & Exploitation
The Guardian – 21st Century Slavery in Sicily
ABC News – Racism at Italian Soccer Matches
Time Magazine – Italy’s Job Crisis
FAQ Italy migrants unemployment
Pre-Departure Orientation
Faith-Giving
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1936
|
__label__wiki
| 0.651697
| 0.651697
|
Project 1612: How would you describe the work you make?
ZW: I’m really interested in the intersection of worldbuilding and music. This intersection results in the work I make taking a number of forms. On my website, I brand myself to potential collaborators as a composer for screens, stages, and spaces and I think that most succinctly quantifies my output. But, what does that look like, right? For the commercial work I do (podcasts, games, films, videos, etc.) the application is really obvious: I’m working with a team to support their narrative and help realize the world they’re trying to create through music. My work for the stage is largely the same thing. I’m working with directors and dancers to tell the stories they want to tell.
My composition work for spaces is the most broadly defined area of my practice. It’s also the category where the project I’m bringing to Project 1612, Climate Changes! (Peoria), started so it’s probably the space worth talking about the most for this interview. The work that I make in this category is about using sound and music as a mediating force within our relationship to various environments and how that mediating relationship can be leveraged. In my practice and research, I divide “the environment” in a broad sense into two interconnected halves – the physical and the virtual. I am interested in how our various digital sonic realities inform our relationship and understanding of our physical sonic realities and vice versa. Climate Changes!, as a project, exists squarely on the physical side of the equation. It’s an experiment to see if a community can raise its awareness of its own sonic environment if given the freedom to take ownership of the sounds around them.
Project 1612: It is my understanding that you arrived at the idea of being an artist, in the traditional sense of the word, later than some other people we have talked to. You are first and foremost a composer, but when did you start to consider yourself a visual artist?
ZW: It’s true. The contemporary art world wasn’t even on my radar two years ago. It’s been a bit of a wild ride. When I began grad school in January 2018, Aaron Paolucci, the director of my program asked me to apply for the open graduate assistant position at University Galleries – something I was actually hesitant to do at first! He was aware that I’m a composer, but he thought I would be a good fit for the job regardless. I’m thankful for his foresight.
Fast forward to that following March, Jason Judd (former University Galleries curator and current Executive Director of New Genres Art Space) encouraged me to enter something into the upcoming Student Annual exhibition. I had never made anything remotely close to studio art before, but after spending my first three months on the job learning about the breadth and depth of the contemporary art world, I became interested in how I could activate the gallery space through my work. Plus, it was up to the jurors if I made it into the exhibition or not so there was no need for me to self-gatekeep and not enter just because a lack of experience on this side of the fine arts.
The resulting artwork, A Good Education (Explorations in Data and Music), was not only juried in but also won the awards for “Best in Digital/Interactive Media” and “Best in Show.” I was completely floored. I spent a lot of time worrying if the work would make it in — never did I expect to win anything. Winning both of those awards provided to me a lot encouragement. What surprised me the most was that there was a genuine interest in the work that I was creating in this space. It also showed me that the membrane dividing music and contemporary art was really porous at best. So with my newfound confidence in this space, I applied for my first residency that following summer with the Springfield Art Association which was really informative for me as well. The SAA has a really extensive art library and I spent a lot of time last July reading up on dada, surrealism, and new media. And in fact, the work that I created for my end-of-residency installation, faith comes by hearing, is in many ways the progenitor of Climate Changes!. Not long after returning home, Project 1612 put out its call for submissions and now here we are.
Project 1612: You are currently a M.S. Arts Technology candidate at Illinois State University (ISU). This might be unfamiliar territory for some, so can you describe what that program entails and what made you decide to study Arts Tech?
ZW: Absolutely! It’s funny; people often assume I’m an MFA candidate because of my association with University Galleries but, as you stated, that’s not the case. The Arts Technology program at ISU has been a total fulcrum in my life. It’s an incredibly forward-thinking program that focuses on the intersection of the fine arts, technology, and contemporary digital practices. I began the program as an undergrad and the big focus of the Arts Tech B.S./B.A. is enabling digital creatives to be literate in a number of disciplines (like web design, graphic design, sound design, creative coding, video production, and music production) and, once that foundation is in place, students are encouraged to go deep into their particular area of specialization. It’s probably this exact multidisciplinary literacy that helped me get hired on at University Galleries in the first place.
The Arts Tech M.S. is focused on the research and practice goals of each individual student. It’s a diverse group of students; some come with a strong tech background and others with a strong arts background. What has been nice for me is that, as somebody who went through the Arts Tech undergrad as well, I already exist in the kind of ecosystem that the program fosters and that’s really allowed me to stretch out. I’m currently conducting research for my thesis. It’s a really exciting time overall for me and the program because I’m the first student to do so. The program is focused on portfolio development but I’m strongly considering pursuing a PhD, so I chose to write a thesis alongside developing my portfolio.
I chose the program for the reasons I stated above: it’s forward-thinking. There is such a strong “yes, and” mentality in Arts Tech that I really value. Nothing is looked down upon, nothing is off-limits, and nothing is considered too hard. That freedom to experiment was really compelling to me and still remains so to this day.
Project 1612: As the current graduate assistant at University Galleries of ISU, how has working in a gallery setting changed your practice?
ZW: Other than being the incubator for my practice as it exists now, University Galleries has really been a space of tremendous growth and education for me. I think it’s important for me to recognize and give praise to the fact that University Galleries as an institution is world-class in the work that it presents and publishes but completely open to the community and student body they serve. I’m not sure if many people understand the tightrope act that really is. University Galleries has an incredible, 30+ years track record of important exhibitions and publications. Our 1990 and 1991 exhibitions David Wojnarowicz: Tongues of Flame and Keith Haring: Future Primeval were some of the first major surveys of either artist and some of our recent exhibitions like Strange Oscillations and Vibrations of Sympathy and Bethany Collins: A Pattern or Practice are of such significance to the historical moments we’re experiencing right now. Even in the short time that I’ve been with University Galleries, we’ve exhibited Ebony G. Patterson, Basim Magdy, william cordova, and Cecil McDonald, Jr. – all of whom are incredibly important.
I say all of this to illustrate the point I’m trying to make. This institution could be picky. Really, really picky. It could get away with any gatekeeping it wanted to and could set any sort of arbitrary standards that it wanted to. With University Galleries stellar track record, if it were a more typical institution, I question if I would’ve been selected to be the graduate assistant. I have never been art world material in any sort of traditional sense and without an institution available to me like University Galleries that so fully believes in its mission of serving its students and community, I wouldn’t be where I’m at today. I do a job for this institution but it’s doing so much more for me. In many ways, University Galleries feels like it shares a number of the ethos that the Arts Technology program espouses and that’s probably why I’m drawn so heavily to both. There is a students-first, forward-thinking mentality to both. It was incredibly forward-thinking for University Galleries to exhibit David Wojnarowicz and Keith Haring to a downstate university audience in the early 90s. Strange Oscillations opened a week before our caustic 2016 presidential election and predates the viral 2017 explosion of the Me Too movement by a year.
What has been so lucky for me is that my formative experiences with contemporary art have been in THIS space. This idea of creating, curating, and exhibiting work that’s facing forward in service of a community resonates very deeply with me.
Project 1612: What artists and composers have influenced your practice?
ZW: Right now, I’m really drawn to composers R. Murray Schafer and John Levack Drever for their work in sound studies. Schafer is the father of acoustic ecology, an artistic discipline that informs much of the work I’ll be doing in Peoria next month. Drever is a Professor at Goldsmiths University in London and the author of a paper on ethnography and soundscape composition that has been really foundational for me. I’m also influenced by the many artist-composer hybrids that have existed. This includes important historical figures like John Cage (who is practically the father of people like me) but also contemporary practitioners like Alejandro T. Acierto, Janet Cardiff, and Ally Mobbs.
My biggest composition influences are a trio of Japanese composers: Shoji Meguro, Yoko Shimomura, and Yoko Kanno. Meguro’s and Shimomura’s video game soundtracks have been instrumental to my development. Meguro’s fantastic j-pop, jazz fusion work for the Persona series is a masterclass in style and Shimomura’s gut-wrenching soundtrack to Final Fantasy XV, particularly the main theme Somnus, has reinvigorated my interest in orchestral textures. Kanno’s soundtrack to Cowboy Bebop was an early foundational influence on my personal musical aesthetic. Come to think of it, all three are really well known for their work scoring visual media and so it doesn’t really surprise me one bit that I have this growing personal interest in the relationship between visual art and music.
I’m also growing really interested in the Vaporwave scene. It’s a fascinating genre of music that recontextualizes the sounds and aesthetics of the 1980s and 90s through the lens of ironic nostalgia. The genre is rapidly expanding to include fascinating work focused on total left field topics like the weather channel and the sound of malls. Much of the music is anchored in a nostalgic relationship the composers have to the sonic environments of the past. I’ve been doing a lot of research contextualizing this music in the terms of soundscape composition and it’s been really satisfying.
Project 1612: Your upcoming Project 1612 exhibition has a collaborative component to it. Can you talk a little about that aspect of the exhibition? And is that typical of your work?
ZW: Climate Changes! as a project is almost entirely collaborative in nature – and it really excites me. The bigger picture goal of the project is to create a greater feeling of autonomy within the communities that participate and through that participation to generate a dictionary of terms for the sounds shared amongst that community. This collaborative, participatory element is central. I will go around recording sounds in Peoria and assemble them into a soundscape composition – and that’s largely where my direct involvement will end. What will make the exhibition special is that anybody in attendance will be invited to name any of the sounds they hear by writing the name on a piece of sheet music and pinning it to the wall. My hope is, that with everybody’s participation, the exhibition space will be blanketed in this new language that will emerge from a collective exercise in active listening.
I’ve grown to really enjoy collaboration as a form of aleatoricism. It’s been present in my work in some form or another for some time now. Some of the music I composed for A Good Education (Explorations in Data and Music) required a lot of participation from the musicians I worked with. But this project is the greatest amount of collaboration and community involvement I’ve incorporated yet and I’m really looking forward to it.
Project 1612: Do you have anything else coming up we should know about?
ZW: This August, at University Galleries, I’ll be curating my first exhibition. All My Friends Are In The Cloud is an exhibition of work by artist and filmmaker Jonah King. I’m collaborating with Jonah and a team of incredible grad students to exhibit an expanded version of his 2017 piece by the same name.
I’ve been really excited by this project. It feels like another crazy arc in the trajectory I’m on. Going from my introduction to the contemporary art world to curating my first exhibition within the space all in a span of 18 months is a little wild. But, once again, as with every other part of my story so far, it’s imperative that I point everything back to the people who enabled me in the first place. University Galleries Director and Chief Curator Kendra Paitz has been such an important mentor and friend to me during my time at University Galleries and it was with her permission, encouragement, guidance, and help that this exhibition will come to fruition.
So, please venture out to University Galleries this August and say hello.
Project 1612: What advice do you have for aspiring artists?
ZW: I have two pieces of advice to offer and I’ll explain both. One is to smash every gate that you come across. The second is don’t be a dick and always show up.
My first piece of advice is in regard to gatekeeping. I am of the mind that it causes more problems than it does create solutions. The trouble is, I think the fine arts can suffer greatly from this disease and so it is important for every practitioner to commit to smashing the gates they come across. They exist in two forms: internal and external gates. The external factor can be fixed if we choose to collectively operate from a place of abundance. There is enough to go around for everybody to have a piece and get their needs met. Artists working in one area of the arts do not need to fool themselves into being threatened by artists working in other areas – it’s reactionary and unhelpful. I mean, the name “fine arts” itself is pretty reactionary. How is it not a title drawn from some guarded elitism that stakes the claim “my art is better than yours”? It delays progress, really. Photography and film both had an uphill battle to acceptance because of gatekeeping. It’s 2019 and people still obnoxiously challenge if interactive art is art or not and act as if they’re generating helpful discourse. I say this all not as a rant but more as a plead to artists already established and those that are coming up to adopt a mindset of abundance. To be fearless in the face of new mediums. To assume the best in the work of others. Contemporary art has the wonderful tools of curation and critique at its disposal that do more to foster lovely work – art full of ideas, meaning, and emotion – than gatekeeping which only exists to keep out what challenges that which threatens what is within. It’s the idea of pulling people up instead of pushing people down.
But I think the greater threat to artists is internal gatekeeping. We all seem to have the tendency to do things that stop us from getting what we want. For example, a lot of artists use the term “aspiring artist” to describe themselves long after its appropriate. My advice to all aspiring artists is the moment after you create your first work of art, stop calling yourself aspiring. The reason I say that is because nobody wants to work with aspiring artists when they can just work with artists. By calling yourself “aspiring” after you’ve already created work, it reads as a lack of confidence and an inability to work professionally. Just call yourself an artist, even if you don’t think you’re ready to yet. Take yourself seriously so that you can provide the space for others to as well. You’ll be dealing with imposter syndrome for the rest of your career so it’s best not to give it a foothold early on.
My second piece of advice means exactly what it says: don’t be a dick and always show up. This has been my personal philosophy for success for years now and it has rarely failed. People want to work with: a.) people that are fun to be around and b.) people they can count on. If I follow these two commandments it gets me into the doors I want long before my skills are ever considered about 90% of the time. The art world, like any other community, is incredibly small. People will remember if they could count on you and people will remember if you were a joy to be around.
Project 1612: What are your thoughts on the art community in Central IL?
ZW: Coming into art by way of music, I was very happy to see that the Central IL art community shares the same DIY ethos as the music scene. Going beyond that, it’s easy to see that the DIY art community is very connected to the institutional art community in big ways: the collaboration between UIS and Springfield Art Association on DEMO Project, University Galleries Director and Chief Curator Kendra Paitz and her project space Violet Poe, McLean County Art Center’s recent hosting of pt.fwd, and of course Project 1612’s Jessica Bingham who has been a part of the art community at Bradley University, ICC, and now University Galleries. There are also so many institutional spaces and independent spaces as well. But I think this institutional and independent overlap is really telling of the size and vibrancy of the Central IL art community. There is so much incredible art being made and so many incredible conversations being had that there is this seeming need to continue to expand and create more space for everybody to participate. It also shows how interwoven the community is. Everybody is involved with everything to some extent and everything is happening everywhere to some extent.
I think overall there is a remarkably rich dialogue happening in Central IL that is being noticed in communities outside of our region that is generating a lot of interest. What I love the most is that our whole local ethos seems to emanate from a place of abundance.
ZW sitting in his studio surrounded by speakers, a keyboard, guitar, books and artwork.
ZW is an artist working in Bloomington-Normal, IL. More of his work can be found on here.
Tags: zw, zw buckley, studio visit, interview
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1940
|
__label__cc
| 0.650982
| 0.349018
|
Linds Ding: General Merchandise
My work interprets the complexities of mass produced goods and television commercials. Alongside simplified colors and forms drawn from food packaging, my work delves into bridging the consumer cultural divide as a first generation American. I am influenced by television programs such as the Simpsons, Jeopardy, and Wheel of Fortune. Watching television and movies is how I connect to American culture and humor. From infomercials and “As Seen on TV” products, cheap and readily available consumer goods have come to epitomize American standards of abundance and wealth. I continue to seek the symbolic meaning found in objects through their commodity value and representation.
I assemble materials from discarded manufactured products, scrap metal, paint, papier-mâché, cast bronze and aluminum to make sculpture. These material choices are a collected view of my cultural identity through discarded or out of date fashions. I am piecing together a version of American life and experience of immigrants navigating an unfamiliar landscape through an assessment of material value of goods and products.
Product branding and packaging provide a sense of comfort for consumers because they promote convenience and reliability. Establishing trust through an image of everyday tasks made simple, puts a buyer at ease by soothing a consumer through the difficulty of deciding what is the “best” choice. Immigrant assimilation corresponds to this notion because of the many unknown or unfamiliar customs manifested in everyday life. Finding familiarity through consumer products bridges the gaps in language and cultural identity. —Linda Ding
Linda Ding is a multi-media sculptor from Cincinnati, Ohio. Her work confronts notions of cultural identity through representations of food imagery from popular American culture. She often integrates elements of her family history and Chinese ancestry throughout her work. Ding received her Bachelor in Fine Arts from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 2010 and later received her Master in Fine Arts from the University of Cincinnati in 2014. Her work has been exhibited at the Sculpture Center in Cleveland, Ohio and the Contemporary Art Center in Cincinnati, Ohio as well as Hamilton, New Jersey at the Grounds for Sculpture and Berlin, Germany at the Kunsthochschule Weissensee. Her honors include the 2014 International Sculpture Center Outstanding Student Achievement Award in Contemporary Sculpture. She currently resides in Chicago, Illinois.
Artist’s website
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1941
|
__label__wiki
| 0.567969
| 0.567969
|
Scientists Predict Cell Changes That Affect Breast Cancer Growth
Findings advance more effective structure-based drug design against cancers.
Designing effective new drugs, especially drugs to fight cancer, demands that you know as much as you can about the molecular workings of cancer growth. Without that, it's like planning to fight a war against an enemy you've never seen.
Using a broad spectrum of analytical tools, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have shown how sometimes small, often practically imperceptible, structural changes in a key breast cancer receptor are directly linked to regulating molecules and can produce predictable effects in curbing or accelerating cancer growth. This predictive statistical approach moves science one step closer to the development of more effective structure-based drug design to treat the disease.
"Our long-term goal," said team leader Kendall Nettles (pictured), an associate professor at TSRI, "is to be able to predict proliferative or anti-proliferative activity of receptor molecule complexes by identifying structural changes that lead to specific outcomes. In many cases, we can identify structural features that could help guide more effective drug development."
To identify the root of estrogen receptor (ERα) cell signaling that drives breast cancer cell proliferation, Nettles and his colleagues synthesized more than 240 estrogen receptor binding molecules ("ligands") that led the cancer to proliferate, using structural analysis to determine the basis for receptor activity.
Many current drugs target signaling proteins like the estrogen receptor. For example, the drug tamoxifen (Nolvadex®, AstraZeneca) blocks the estrogen receptor's proliferative effects of naturally occurring estrogen in breast cancer cells, but can increase the risk of uterine cancer.
Research Associate Sathish Srinivasan, a co-first author of the study with Research Associate Jerome Nwachukwu, pointed out the new research suggests that certain structural changes might be made to the binding pocket to eliminate this negative side effect. "Drugs like tamoxifen can have different effects in different tissues because of structural changes often not discernable using traditional methods," Srinivasan said. "Our approach reveals some mechanisms associated with tissue specificity and several predictive structural features."
To further test these signaling models, the team solved the atomic structure of some 76 different estrogen receptor-ligand complexes to better understand these responses.
"We can predict some of these effects by measuring the distance between two specific carbon atoms of the estrogen receptor," said Nwachukwu.
Nettles concluded, "This is the first time we have been able to use these atomic structures to identify how very small changes from the ligands give different outcomes, leading us towards the goal of predicting which ligands are going to make the most effective treatments for breast cancer."
Illustration: Kendall Nettles is an associate professor at the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute.
The Scripps Research Institute News Release (04/28/16)
Abstract (Molecular Systems Biology; 2016, 12 (4): 864.)
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line1946
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.