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National Portrait Gallery Presents Major Exhibition “Every Eye Is Upon Me: First Ladies of the United States”
“Eleanor Roosevelt” by Yousuf Karsh, gelatin silver print, 1944. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; Gift of Estrellita Karsh, in memory of Yousuf Karsh. Copyright: Estate of Yousuf Karsh.
The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery has announced “Every Eye Is Upon Me: First Ladies of the United States,” the first major exhibition to explore the historical significance of this prominent position through the mode of portraiture. The exhibition will span nearly 250 years, from Martha Washington to Melania Trump, and will feature more than 60 portraits of the First Ladies, alongside related ephemera including iconic dresses. “Every Eye Is Upon Me: First Ladies of the United States” is one of 11 exhibitions dedicated to women presented by the Portrait Gallery over a five-year period (2018–2022), and is part of the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative, “Because of Her Story.” On view Nov. 13 through May 23, 2021, the exhibition is curated by Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw, the National Portrait Gallery’s senior historian and director of history, research, and scholarly programs. A virtual press preview with Shaw will be held over Zoom Nov. 12 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. ET. RSVP to duncanc@si.edu.
The exhibition’s title references a quote from an 1844 letter written by Julia Gardiner Tyler to her mother after she married President John Tyler. The Portrait Gallery’s presentation uses Tyler’s quote as a point of departure to examine the responsibilities and significance First Ladies have had since 1789, when Martha Washington became the first woman to fill the role. The exhibition will highlight the women who entered the White House through marriage alongside others who were relatives or family friends recruited into service such as Dolley Madison, who served as White House hostess for Thomas Jefferson before James Madison. Through portraiture, the exhibition will shed light on the stories and personalities of each sitter, focusing on the myriad of challenges they faced and their greatest accomplishments.
These remarkable women by and large set aside self-interest to devote themselves to the responsibilities of being ‘First Lady,’ a complicated, non-electable role that continues to adapt with each beholder,” Shaw said. “The portraits included in this exhibition visualize the difference between these women, revealing fascinating details about the worlds in which they moved and the historical moments in which they lived.”
Working closely with the White House and the National First Ladies’ Library, the Portrait Gallery exhibition will bring viewers closer to understanding the hardships and triumphs of the dozens of dynamic women who embraced, sometimes reluctantly, the duties of serving as hostess for the President of the United States. The selection of portraits and related ephemera will include paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures, engravings and a video installation of photographs by contemporary photographer Annie Leibovitz. The exhibition will also include items of clothing worn by Mary Todd Lincoln, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Nancy Regan and Michelle Obama.
In addition to displaying some of the most iconic images of First Ladies in the Portrait Gallery’s collection, “Every Eye Is Upon Me” will feature important loans from the White House, the National First Ladies’ Library, and the U.S. Department of State, as well as several presidential sites and libraries and private collections. This is the largest presentation of First Lady portraiture to take place outside of the White House.
The exhibition will be accompanied by robust educational programming, and the National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian Books will co-publish a richly illustrated book, First Ladies of the United States, which will serve as a companion for the exhibition along with the recent volume America’s Presidents (2017).
“Every Eye Is Upon Me: First Ladies of the United States” is made possible through the support of the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative, Morgan Stanley and the generosity of many other donors.
The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery tells the multifaceted story of the United States through the individuals who have shaped American culture. Spanning the visual arts, performing arts and new media, the Portrait Gallery portrays poets and presidents, visionaries and villains, actors and activists whose lives tell the American story.
The National Portrait Gallery is part of the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture at Eighth and G streets N.W., Washington, D.C. It is open Wednesday to Sunday, 11:30 a.m.–7 p.m. Visitors enter and exit through the G Street entrance. Smithsonian Information: (202) 633-1000. Connect with the museum at npg.si.edu and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
SI-119-2020
Media Only
Concetta Duncan
duncanc@si.edu
kellyb@si.edu
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News from the PCC meeting held 22 July 2019
Jane Preest, our Safeguarding Officer, and Jane Gray, HR Advisor, presented the updated Safeguarding Action Plan, reporting on good progress in relation to completion of DBS checks on PCC members, and with face to face safeguarding training now undertaken by all PCC members. With regard to the Safeguarding Handbook, it was now the intention to adopt the Church of England Parish Safeguarding Handbook, with St James’s Church bespoke Safeguarding Policy and Procedures Handbook as a companion/supplementary guidance to provide the St James’s context.
Reporting of Serious Incidents
The PCC approved new delegation arrangements for reporting of serious incidents. In line with new guidance, separate arrangements were agreed for safeguarding and non-safeguarding related incidents. Any of the former, should they arise, would now be reported in the first instance to the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor, whereas non-safeguarding incidents would be reported direct to the Charity Commission. The PCC formally delegated responsibility for reporting of serious incidents to a sub-group of trustees comprising the Rector and the Churchwardens and involving, as appropriate, St James’s Safeguarding Officer.
St James’s Business Plan
Guinevere Short, St James’s Business & Operations Director, presented an updated business plan, the purpose of which she explained was to steer and develop St James’s business activities in an appropriate way and to increase revenue. She explained that the Business Plan would remain a live document that would continue to be developed and updated. The PCC discussed and provided advice in relation to identified priorities relating to venue/room hire, tap donations and accounting. The Communications review, a further major priority, was subject to a separate discussion as below.
Communications Review
The PCC received an update from Hugh Valentine and Guinevere Short on the Communications review following completion of a recent survey by members of the congregation and others who visit St James’s. The results of the review will be reported to the PCC shortly, following completion of some analysis. The PCC noted that the review was not just concerned with the business side of St James’s activities, but also with the important question of what type of church community St James’s is and wishes to be seen as.
Proposal from Heart of London Business Alliance: installation of ‘bee friendly’ flower baskets or planters to railings on Church Place
The PCC endorsed a proposal for ‘bee friendly’ flower basket or planters to be installed to the railings along the East side of the St James’s site along Church Place and approved a resolution to apply to the Diocese for the required faculty permission.
Away Giving 2019
The PCC discussed St James’s Away Giving grants for 2019 following a process of due diligence and evaluation of the proposals by the Away Giving Group (comprising David McKinley, Fiona Notman and Pearl Willis). The PCC agreed a variation to the recommendation and approved the grants for payment. The PCC also agreed that for next year, the criteria against which proposals are evaluated should be reviewed, in order to add further clarification and flexibility of approach.
Management Accounts for the six months ended 30th June 2019
The PCC perused the management accounts for the six months to 30th June 2019, noting the satisfactory year to date performance and reasons for variances in individual areas of income and expenditure. It was noted that it was still too early, however, to form a view on the likely outcome for full year, which should become clearer over the next three months.
Common Fund contribution 2020
The PCC approved a contribution by St James’s to the Diocesan Common Fund of £108k for 2020, an increase of 3.84% on the £104k paid in 2019.
Wren Project
The PCC reviewed progress in relation to the Wren project, noting that a date had now been set for a consultation meeting with the Head of the Diocese Property Department and St James’s architect at the end of August. Copies of the latest version of the draft plans were also reviewed. A meeting for an update to the congregation would be set for a Sunday in the Autumn.
Feedback from 29th June PCC Away Day
The PCC received a summary of the initial feedback from the recent PCC away-day. A small working group comprising the Rector, PCC Lay Vice Chair and the churchwardens would meet prior to bringing back the issue for further discussion by the PCC, at which time it was expected that other PCC members would also take a lead in exploring some of the areas identified as requiring a more significant amount of strategic focus going forward.
‘Discerning our 2030 vision’ – Response to Diocese of London survey
The PCC noted the collated response from the recent ‘intentional coffee’ discussion by members of the congregation and which had subsequently been shared more widely with members of the St James’s community using iKnow Church. The PCC commended the views expressed as a collective response, which would now be submitted to the Diocese.
Sunday Gospel Music in the courtyard 2020
The PCC discussed and endorsed further planning towards a series of services in the courtyard on Sundays featuring Soul Sanctuary Gospel Choir. The services would involve using the outside pulpit, intentionally reaching out to attract people who are beyond the gates to Piccadilly. They would also not be Eucharistic, but would include music and words for an hour on social justice and theological themes. The PCC confirmed that it was comfortable with the approach outlined, as a form of St James’s ‘evangelism’, making use of the outdoor pulpit to communicate outside the church.
Feedback on Patronal Festival Sunday 21st July
The PCC noted that the Patronal Festival had gone well, due to a lot of careful planning and preparation. A particularly positive aspect had been the high level of participation by members of the congregation who had attended – including the drama and preparations for lunch. Thanks were expressed to Janie Bickersteth and her team for preparing the lunch. The verger team had also worked hard on the set up, and a sound system had been hired for the day. A significant number of the congregation had worn red, as had been encouraged, which had added to the festive atmosphere.
The Revd Lindsay Meader
The PCC noted that after 14 years at St James’s, the Revd Lindsay Meader would be leaving her post as Associate Rector during September in order to take up a full-time role with theatre chaplaincy as part of a three-year pilot project with the Diocese of London. Theatre chaplaincy has been a passion of Lindsay’s for some time and she was delighted and excited about her new role. A suitable occasion to celebrate her contribution to St James’s and to wish her well for the future will be organised.
The PCC noted that this would be David McKinley’s last PCC meeting as PCC Honorary Treasurer following his recent decision to step down. It was hoped that recruitment of a replacement for this voluntary role would be completed by mid-September in order to facilitate a smooth handover of responsibilities. The PCC expressed thanks to David for his valuable contribution to St James’s during his time in the role and wished him well for the future.
The minutes of Staff meetings of 5th June and 3rd July.
The minutes of the Health & Safety Committee meeting of 27th June 2019 and the appended latest guidelines for staff on Terror Attack Prevention and Action.
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It is your last will, or is it?
In the recent case of Ilott v Mitson the adult daughter of a deceased woman was awarded £164,000 from her mother’s estate even though there was no provision for her in the will and her mother had specifically stated that she did not want her daughter to inherit any of her money.
Heather Ilott was the only child of Mr & Mrs Jackson, born three months after her father was killed in an accident at work. Her father’s employer had made a substantial payment in compensation to her mother which she used to pay off the mortgage on the home. A large part of Mrs Jackson’s estate originated from this payment. When she was 17 years old Heather ran away from home to live with Mr Ilott, whom she later married and with whom she has five children. This led to an estrangement between mother and daughter lasting 26 years, although there were attempts at reconciliation.
The claim was brought under the Inheritance (Provision for Family & Dependants) Act 1975, which confers the right on, among others, a child of the deceased to apply for an order if the will of the deceased or the intestacy rules do not make reasonable provision for him/her. An award to a child will be limited to cover their maintenance needs alone and so it is difficult for an adult child living independently to establish a case. However the maintenance award does not have to be paid in income payments and can instead be rolled into a lump sum as happened in this case. The Court must take into account the circumstances set out in the Act.
In this case the Court was influenced by the lack of a connection between Mrs Jackson and any of the charities during her lifetime and by Mrs Jackson’s treatment of her daughter who in the Judge’s view “…had acted in an unreasonable, capricious and harsh way towards her only child”. However ultimately it was Mrs Ilott’s straitened circumstances which enabled her claim to succeed. She and her husband lived in a house rented from the housing association and relied on state benefits. At first instance the Judge awarded her a lump sum of £50,000. However this was overturned on appeal and she was awarded sufficient to enable her to buy the house she lived in under the right to buy scheme (thus assisting her maintenance as she would no longer have to pay rent) and provide her with £20,000 to provide a small amount of additional income.
This case serves to highlight the importance of legal expertise. Whether you wish to make a will or explore whether you have a claim in relation to someone else’s estate, seeking the right advice could make all the difference.
If you would like to discuss any issue relating to a dispute involving wills, trusts and estates, please call the author, Jacqui Forrest, on 01202 802807 or email us at office@solomonslaw.co.uk.
Why Relationships Break Down At Christmas
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Chapter 11 - Te Amo
Did you ever boil an egg at Easter and paint it? Well we did, in my family. I remember my dad making a full family of egg-heads. He had spent hours (probably) painstakingly hand painting each egg, and then we would smash them (roll them) into the ground. I’m sure somewhere in there is a religious association of a tombstone being rolled away … to me it was just an egg, and an opportunity to throw something as hard as I could. Somewhere my mother has this on film. Believe me, it’ll never be a box office hit.
Spanish Dan kind of reminded me of an egg. I just mean in his appearance; he was bald with a very particular beard. You know the type; it’s not really a beard, it’s more of a line of hair, which looks like it’s been drawn on with a permanent black marker pen. I’ll never understand this part of the male psyche, and I can only assume that they think it looks good. To me, it just looks like someone has drawn on their face with a permanent marker pen! Each to their own, though, and who’s to say it’s not attractive. I’m no super model after all, so the whole “looks” thing isn’t my main concern.
When I first started talking to Dan he seemed really nice. He told me he was originally from London, though of Spanish descent, and had only moved north of the border about a year ago. He worked in finance in the city, and didn’t really know anyone, so was looking to take it easy, as far as dating was concerned. Dan had two kids whom he saw every weekend, and because I was now trying new things (having already dated and lived with someone who had a kid previously; disaster), I was making a real effort not to tar all men “with the same brush”. Dan suggested that we spoke on the phone, as he preferred to get a feel for someone by speaking to them, and I agreed. The phone rang immediately! Eeek!
Dan, as it turned out, was a proper cockney! Apples n pears, aw-rite guvna, and all that jazz. If you thought Peggy Butcher in Eastenders was cockney, you 'ain’t ‘eard nuffin yet mate!'. The thing was he was also a Spaniard. He spoke fluent Spanish, and oh my goodness, when he proved to me he was fluent in Spanish, I turned into a quivering wreck!
Suddenly, Dan became all that more attractive. The fact that he was bi-lingual was a massive plus, in my book. He spilled all the tragic beans regarding the breakdown of the relationship between himself and the mother of his children, and I found myself reciprocating by spilling the beans of my tragic past. What the hell was I doing?! This was dating “no go” area. Nee Naw Nee Naw. NEVER talk about your ex, but Dan didn’t seem to mind. He was gentle, sympathetic, and really caring. Believe me when I tell you that my bullshit radar is now pretty switched on, and there was no hint of it as far as Dan was concerned.
I really, really wanted to fancy Dan. He had me in stitches; he did a wonderful impression of the “Juan sheet” advert for kitchen roll, and he was a genuinely nice guy. He listened to what I had to say, and told me how much he appreciated my spirit and zest for life. He wanted to meet me, but said that if there was no spark between us, he didn’t mind. He just thought I was pretty special, and I was flattered.
When I met Dan, he looked exactly like his picture. He acted exactly like the lovely guy I had spoken to on the phone, and he had the same sense of humour that had me in stitches. He spoke Spanish to me, and…. Nothing! Not a butterfly in sight! I was gutted. Maybe it was first date nerves, but the more I looked into his searching eyes, the more I knew the passion just wasn’t there.
I spent a good few hours with Dan; we went for tea/ coffee and chatted for ages. Then we walked about, and had lunch together. I really liked him, but I just didn’t fancy him. When we were saying our goodbyes, Dan said he would really like to see me again, but he knew that he didn’t float my boat. Gaaaah! Way to make a girl feel even worse. I said I would like to meet him again too, and I was a slow burner. He said he knew that, that I had been hurt in the past, and he didn’t hold it against me if we didn’t “click”. It was just one of those things. I wanted to cry.
Dan and I continued to keep in touch; he emailed me the works, telling me how he really liked me and my outlook on life, but he knew that he wasn’t what I was looking for. I didn’t lie to Dan; I agreed with what he said and expressed my interest in meeting him again, but for his own reasons, he declined. I don’t blame him; I know what it feels like to be in that situation. I didn’t see Dan again; he was one of the good guys, and he got away, but I’m sure that he’ll be making some other lucky woman very happy. It just wasn’t meant to be me.
continues next Saturday...
Saturday 19th December 2020 @ 6pm
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EPK Pro
A Special Case
Amarillo, Texas, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2016 | SELF
Amarillo, Texas, United States | SELF
Band Rock Hard Rock
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"A Special Case"
On the first cold evening of the season I made my way back to the Railhead to warm up with some good ol' rock n' brew.
A Special Case was the first band on stage of the evening and they warmed up the room something fierce. They're from Pampa, Texas, a small town in the middle of the flat and desolate plains of the Texas panhandle.
They have a great, rather classic hard rock style: the strong, almost James Hetfieldesk vocals, lead guitar's driving riffs and solos, melodic rhythm guitar and bass and the toe-tapping drums. Their song-writing style utilizes the 8-bar structure which is popular among blues, country and rock (namely southern, classic and rockabilly) which gives that familiar feel along with their unique flavor. It's the formula for a great Texas rock band and they cooked it perfectly.
They had a great set but two songs specifically reached out and grabbed me: The Devil Smokes Cigarettes (08:03) and their instrumental piece (14:24).
The Devil Smokes Cigarettes, what can I say, it's just a great song; especially performed live. It's one of those songs that just click. The raw riff, solo breaks and the subject matter all adds up to make a great song. Even though they were singing about cigarettes, alcohol was more of a focal importance while the song was being played; the vocalist made a bar run to get shots for the lot during a solo break. How great is that?
The instrumental piece: What can I say? I love instrumentals... Rush's YYZ and La Villa Strangiato, Metallica's To Live is to Die and Orion, Zappa...the list goes on, really. So yeah, instrumentals are freakin' great.
I appreciate A Special Case was willing to make the mind-numbingly boring drive over to our little Okie hangout and I hope to see them again some time.
Be sure to sample their ReverbNation page and keep an eye out for their upcoming EP. - Ear Bleed
A sensational hard rock anthem studded with elements of timeless blues, 'ICU' is the perfect introduction to A Special Case. Stream it today. - Broken 8 Records
2017 - A Special Case - "A Special Case"
2020 - A Special Case - "Volume 2"
2021 - A Special Case - (to be announced)
A Special Case is a high energy, hard rock/blues band based out of the Amarillo Texas area. With the initial release of the debut, self titled album in 2017 ASC saw airplay on many internet and FM radio stations. They have worked hard to present an amazing band atmosphere that promotes heavy tones and melodic riffs that pull you into the music. With the transition of members in 2018 ASC has taken their professionalism to the next level. The band is playing venues across the south continually. The bands members have shared stages with an amazing list of acts ranging from Crobot, Mushroom Head, Blacktop Mojo, Quiet Riot, Aranda, Sons of Texas, Locust Grove, Hed PE, Texas Hippie Coalition, Green Jelly, and Freakhouse to name a few. Upon releasing a second EP, "Volume 2" in 2020 the band has taken crowds by storm and are looking to head for the studio in mid January of 2021 to record yet anther amazing EP. Continual addition of new powerful songs shows that this band is a force to be reckoned with.
David Swafford
Matt Gutierrez
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Chris Denker
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Band Pop Singer/Songwriter
Share Chris Denker's EPK!
Chris Denker was born & raised in a small New Jersey town called Toms River. Growing up, Chris always had an overflowing passion for entertaining, and he was never shy about sharing that fact. He began his professional career as a backup dancer for many up and coming artists, which allowed him to gain valuable insight about the ins and outs of the entertainment industry.
From there, Chris would break onto the music scene when he
helped form the pop quartet Odysy. While part of the group, Chris
had the opportunity to open for many mainstream recording artists
including Boyz II Men, Danity Kane, Flo Rida, Cherish, and others.
The group also was featured on the second season of NBC’s
“America’s Got Talent”. Throughout his time with the group, Chris
was able to perform all over the country and garner an incredible
amount of performing experience.
In 2010, Chris decided it was time to venture off on his own. He
is currently in the studio working on his debut EP and his first
single “The Monster” is available now!
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Dustin Chapman
Whiteville, North Carolina, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2015 | SELF
Whiteville, North Carolina, United States | SELF
Solo Country Christian
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""Break Me Down" Dustin Chapman -Review"
Here is a new artist for us here at CML.
Dustin Chapman looks like he’s out there working on building his career. He has a new four-song EP out right now. It looks like it just came out last month.
That’s a great first step for a new artist. Put out some music and then get to work finding some live shows to play. Build that fanbase. Work with other artists.
Really just getting to work.
Let’s check out the first track from this new EP.
The first thing I kind of look for without even realizing it with new artists is their sound. And the first thought that kind of popped into my head on this one was Jason Aldean. I think it’s the sound. The guitars. The vocals touches as well. It comes off that way.
And obviously Jason is one of the biggest country stars right now. And probably one of the biggest stars in all of music. Jason is obviously having an influence on new artists.
For Dustin, this one shows promise. I’ve been listening a few times through to the lyrics. From what I’m gathering I think this is about a guy that’s struggling with a girl. It seems like he’s just looking for an answer to what’s going on with their relationship.
Is she ready to commit. Ready to jump in or should they just end things.
I’m not entirely sure if that’s what’s going on, though.
So be sure to let me know your thoughts on it.
CML Points: 84/100 - Country Music Life
"Young Man Will Leave You Breathless With Dazzling Medley Of Keith Whitley Hits"
Keith Whitley is undoubtably one of the most beloved singers in all of country music history. During his far-too-short career, Whitley charmed his way into the hearts of country fans with his soft, smooth voice and ability to pour emotion into his songs.
While he only released a handful of singles before his death in 1989, many of Whitley’s songs went to number one. Just a few of his most memorable hits include “I’m No Stranger to the Rain,” “I Wonder Do You Think of Me,” and “When You Saying Nothing at All.”
Decades after Whitley’s death, he remains a huge source of inspiration to up-and-coming artists, including one talented 19-year-old singer.
Many artists have served as an influence to 19-year-old Dustin Chapman, but no one more so than Whitley. Chapman, a sophomore Popular Music and Music Business Major at Catawba College in North Carolina, is shaping up for a successful music career. One video that he shared on his Facebook page proves the true depths of his talent.
On Saturday (January 7), Chapman shared a video of himself singing a medley of some of Whitley’s most iconic songs. The medley contained all of the fan-favorites, including “I Never Go Around Mirrors,” “I’m Over You,” and more. But which of Whitley’s songs is Chapman’s favorite?
“The first time I heard Don’t Close Your Eyes’ I was completely blown away,” he wrote in a caption to the video.
What makes this medley truly outstanding is the fact that it was completely arranged by Chapman himself. It’s one thing to sing well, but it’s a true sign of artistry when you can arrange an entire medley well! Did we mention Chapman is only 19?
Whitley’s influence can clearly be heard in Chapman’s voice, which is soft, smooth, and passionate. But Chapman’s voice is no imitation of Whitley’s. Rather, he has his own unique sound that has surely resulted from a combination of hard work and a natural-born talent.
Let Chapman take you on a musical trip through Whitley’s career with his dazzling medley. You can tune in to the clip below to check it out. If you’d like to keep up with Chapman, you can visit his Facebook page here.
We’re sure Whitley would be beyond proud and touched to hear his songs arranged in such a beautiful manner. He’s surely smiling down on Chapman right now.
We can’t wait to see what the future has in store for this talented young singer and musician! - Country Music Nation
"After overcoming rare disease, NC singer invited to ‘America’s Got Talent’"
Two years ago, Dustin Chapman, a singer from Whiteville and South Columbus High School, was battling Achalasia, a disease that affects just 1 in 100,000 people.
It took away his voice and put him on a feeding tube during his senior year.
Now, in one week, Chapman will audition for “America’s Got Talent.”
“I was very, very shocked,” said Chapman. It’s another step forward for the current Catawba College sophomore aspiring for a country music career.
Chapman’s music journey was nearly derailed last year by the disease, which affects the muscles in the esophagus, and renders eating and drinking impossible.
“As the disease progressed, the pain started going in my chest and neck when I tried to eat,” Chapman said.
Singing had always been a part of his life since he joined his middle school choir in 6th grade.
Doctors told his family a hernia was affecting his vocal chords. Surgery didn’t help – and over the course of nine months, he lost 50 pounds.
“This young boy that went from being healthy to wasting away to nothing,” said his mother, Sandi Chapman. “So it was devastating. Nothing you could do as a parent to help him.”
But then, a breakthrough from doctors at Duke University determined Chapman had not just a hernia, but also Achalasia. Surgery was successful. A few months later, Chapman was back.
A few weeks ago, Chapman posted a video of a Keith Whitley medley he had put together. It was soon shared by Country Music Nation, which was seen by a producer at “America’s Got Talent.” Chapman soon received a call with an invitation to audition.
“I was with a bunch of my friends at the time, and I was telling them and I was like – ‘Oh I’ve gotta call my momma!’ – she’s so excited you know.”
Whatever comes of the audition, Chapman is thankful for where he’s at, a sophomore majoring in Popular Music and Music Business – with a great opportunity ahead of him in Charleston next week.
“I’d love to make it to the next round, but ultimately just to get the experience, get the exposure, make the connections – things like that.” - CBS North Carolina
"Dustin Chapman shooting for America’s Got Talent shot"
Dustin Chapman of Whiteville will soon audition for America’s Got Talent.
A sophomore at Catawba College majoring in popular music and music business, Chapman said a producer for the show saw a video of his Keith Whitley medley, which Chapman arranged himself.
The producer called and offered him a front-of-the-line pass for the audition in Charleston on Feb. 1.
A real fan of Whitley’s music, Chapman said he would sing one of the popular musician’s songs for his audition.
Chapman said most of his college classes involve music and music business, and he had been writing songs, mostly country.
“I’d love to open for a well known artist like Scotty McQuerry or Chris Young,” he said. McQueery, a 23-year-old country singer from the Triangle area of North Carolina, won the 10th season American Idol music competition in 2011.
Two years ago there were questions about whether Chapman could fulfill his wishes to become a singer, or even if he could survive the life-threatening disease that prevented him from eating food the natural way his entire senior year in high school.
But prayers were answered and he persevered and overcame his illness.
Now he has high hopes of fulfilling his musical dreams, and with college training and a strong determination, it appears that Chapman is well on his way.
He is the son of Mark and Sandy Chapman.
Friends and fans and those who know him only through his social media musical videos are rooting for him.
They have recently left dozens of messages of congratulations and encouragement on his Facebook page.
“Thank you guys so much for sharing my videos and supporting me,” he wrote back. “I’m so thankful for all of your support and shares. Y’all are the reason awesome opportunities are coming! Keep sharing and let’s see what else God has lined up!” - The News Reporter
"Chapman’s got talent: Catawba student auditions for TV talent show"
When Catawba College sophomore Dustin Chapman of Whiteville auditioned for “America’s Got Talent” (AGT) on Feb. 1, he was channeling the late Keith Whitley, singing a medley of Whitley songs to get the attention of the judges.
Chapman was invited to the AGT auditions by one of its producers, who saw him performing a Keith Whitley medley Chapman had arranged in a video posted on his Facebook page. His page, shared by Country Music Nation’s site, was viewed by the AGT producer who contacted him and offered him a front of the line pass to auditions next week in Charleston, S.C.
Interviewed before the session, Chapman was at ease.
“I’m not nervous like I thought I would be,” he said, “or like I was when I auditioned for ‘American Idol.’ (‘America’s Got Talent’) contacted me and wanted me to go, so I feel good about it. Even if they don’t pick me, it’s the experience and the connections.”
Chapman said the producers told him what they wanted him to sing — the Keith Whitley medley. So he practiced playing and singing that.
Chapman auditioned for “American Idol” while he was in high school. He made it to the fourth round of the competition. He was a North Carolina state finalist in the Nash Next competition in 2016, but, he said, “Someone else was the winner and advanced to the final competition.”
However, through these experiences, he said, “I learned how to really market myself, pitch my name to other people, and use their likes to help me progress.”
Being social-media savvy in today’s music industry, he said, is a must.
“Social media is a big part of it. Many artists have gotten signed by just posting their music on social media, so I’m really trying to use it to promote my music.”
YouTube, Facebook and Instagram are the outlets the 19-year-old Chapman uses. And he is always pleasantly surprise at “just how willing everyone is to share my stuff and help get it out there.”
“I have a big following in my hometown of Whiteville. When I’m home, I can’t go anywhere without people asking me if I’m still doing my music and where I’m going. They’re big on helping me promote my music. They all tell me that once I start doing concerts that they all will get front row seats, and I think to myself ‘that it better be a big front row.’ ”
Growing up country
When asked why country music is his genre of choice, he explains: “It’s what I grew up with. My parents and grandparents were big country music fans. It’s a family tradition, and it has made me develop a love for it.”
When asked why he’ll perform music of Keith Whitley at his audition, he says, “I sat down and listened to his songs and I was really blown away.”
And for Chapman, he got that same feeling from listening to the music of Chris Young. “Our voices are similar, I suppose. I listen to his songs and I think ‘Man he’s so good.’ ”
Although he works to emulate the songs of famous country music artists, Chapman is also laboring to create songs that are all his own. He began songwriting when he came to Catawba, and to date he has authored or co-authored 12 songs. He admits his songwriting deviates from using the standard subject matter of many country music songs — “beer, trucks and girls.”
“I pull from old and new generations and use ideas from both to create a happy medium. I wrote a song, ‘Is That Human,’ about poverty in today’s society and how it’s still a big social issue. One of its lines is ‘How can we say that we’re one for all when we don’t stand tall and united as one?’
“A lot of my songs deal with relationships, but one of my friends, sophomore Mia Schuster, and I wrote a song called, ‘Through the Storm’ and it’s basically about God helping you through the rough times in life. ‘Through the storm You saved me…’ — that’s the end of the chorus for that one.”
When he is not working on promoting his music career, he is taking his academics very seriously as he pursues a double major in popular music and music business, and a minor in worship arts. He is covering all of the bases to make sure he’ll enjoy a career in music no matter which way he goes.
“I’ve made the dean’s list every semester since I’ve been here. I’ve only made one A-, and that has kept me from having a 4.0.”
Those who know Chapman well realize that the path he has traveled to arrive at this positive place has been fraught with setbacks. During his senior year of high school, he battled achalasia, a disease that affects just one in a 100,000 people. It temporarily stole his voice, caused him to lose 50 pounds, and required him to have a feeding tube. Today, while he still struggles with many aspects of the disease, he chooses not to let it hinder his music endeavors.
“That’s what I tell my mom, ‘I’ve gotten past that and I don’t want to be known as the kid who was sick and use that to progress my career.’ ”
At the same time, Chapman hopes to use his news-making opportunities, like the upcoming “America’s Got Talent” audition, to promote awareness of achalasia and possibly help those who suffer with it.
He is part of a Facebook group composed of people who have suffered from this disease, many of whom, like him, went through multiple misdiagnoses because achalasia cases are so rare.
As he wraps up the conversation about his Feb. 1 audition, he flashes a characteristic grin and says that he wants people to know “just how grateful I am for the support and opportunities that I’ve been blessed with.” - The Salisbury Post
"Whiteville native with rare disease gets wish to meet Scotty McCreery"
Dustin Chapman was diagnosed with a rare disease called achalasia three years ago.
This progressive disease with no known cure affects the esophagus, making it nearly impossible to eat and drink, and it affects only one in 100,000 people.
Chapman has only one wish to help make him feel better: Sing a song with Season 10 American Idol winner and North Carolina native Scotty McCreery.
Champman’s mom, Sandi, explained in a Facebook post that her son was diagnosed with achalasia when he was a senior in high school. He couldn’t eat or drink anything and lost over 50 pounds.
After being admitted to Duke University Hospital, Dustin had various surgeries to try to fix his esophagus muscle. In 2015 he had a 13-hour surgery and was finally able to eat and drink again.
Dustin and his mom were hoping the procedure would be a permanent fix, but in January, all of Dustin’s symptoms returned.
Earlier this month, Dustin went back to Duke for another surgery but unfortunately, the doctors were still not able to find a fix.
In the Facebook post, Sandi said on the way home from the hospital she wanted to do anything to make Dustin feel better so she asked him, “What can I do for you?”
She says Dustin, still under the effects of being put to sleep from the procedure, responded, “You can get me to sing a song with Scotty McCreery. That’ll cheer me up.”
Sandi made it her goal to make her son’s wish come true.
She posted this story on Facebook, tagged Scotty McCreery in it, and asked all her friends to share the post in hopes of it reaching McCreery and making her son’s dream come true.
Since she posted it on May 19, the post has gotten over 2,000 shares and counting.
On May 29, Scotty McCreery posted on his Facebook page that he had seen Sandi's post shortly after it was posted.
Dustin is a junior at Catawba College where he is triple majoring in music business, popular music and worship arts.
Dustin’s passion is music and his dream is to be a performer one day.
Unfortunately, Dustin’s dream is being threatened by his rare disease because it is also damaging his vocal cords.
The disease may be taking a toll on Dustin, but his dreams of singing with his idol are helping keep him alive. - WECT News
"How I'm Using My Talents to Raise Awareness for Achalasia"
Many people perceive one’s senior year of high school to be a time in which teenagers are creating memories that will last a lifetime with friends they’ve had for the majority of their life. However, I was an outlier in this situation. During my senior year of high school, I was lying in a hospital bed, constrained by a feeding tube, and it was unclear if I would ever make a full recovery. The doctors were unsure what was going on inside my body, and the plethora of problems continuously stacked on top of me, making me feel as if my body was deteriorating more and more by the minute. At this point in my life, there wasn’t any food or drink that was able to reach my stomach, my kidneys were failing and my intended career as a vocalist was in jeopardy.
Writing this now, it is clear for me to see how my body and mind were constantly in “fight-mode,” as if I had to convince myself to act like everything was fine and that my pain was tolerable. This is a trait that has been embedded in me, but there comes a point when the pain becomes so intolerable that the facade can’t be maintained any longer, and after enduring three intensive surgeries, dozens of procedures and hundreds of tests, I had reached that point.
There are many people in this world who find music therapeutic, myself included. I had always had a passion for singing since I joined choir in middle school, but never did I realize just how vital music was to my individuality. During my trials with sickness, I’d sing. When I felt anxious about an upcoming test or procedure, I’d sing. I learned that music had the ability to give me words when I felt as if I had nothing to say. It was during this time I had decided to pursue a career in music, thus generating yet another reason to force my body back into this “fight-mode.”
It took nine months for doctors to finally realize what I was up against. Achalasia – an esophageal motility disorder characterized by impaired esophageal peristalsis and a lack of lower esophageal sphincter relaxation during swallowing. This disorder only affects one in 100,000 people each year and is often misdiagnosed due to its rarity. Finally confirming the diagnosis, doctors informed me and my parents that the only solution to the issues I had been facing was a surgery they classified as “unpredictable.” Understanding the risks, I eventually had the surgery, called a Heller Myotomy, which lasted 11 hours and took weeks to recover from.
I’d love to be able to say it was smooth sailing from that point, but that wouldn’t be completely true. Now a sophomore at Catawba College triple majoring in Popular Music, Music Business and Worship Arts, music is helping me learn how to cope with the symptoms I continue to face. Songwriting is a key element in this, as it allows me to put my questions and doubts into words everyone can relate to. I wholeheartedly believe I was given my musical talents for a reason. At the same time, I feel as if I developed achalasia for a reason as well. Doctors predict this disease will ultimately harm my vocal cords, but I believe God has his hand around me and will continue to allow me to make music as long as I am glorifying his name. Recently I wrote a song called, “Set Me Free” to grow my relationship with God through trying times and hopefully help others grow closer to him.
pportunities have presented themselves to me, and I believe that as long as I am using my music for a higher purpose, they will continuously arise. An example of this was evident in early 2017: I posted a video on Facebook of a Keith Whitley medley I arranged, and it was soon shared by Country Music Nation, which was seen by a producer at “America’s Got Talent.” Shortly after, I received a call with an invitation to audition with a front-of-the-line pass. This eventually led to various media outlets picking up the story and showcasing achalasia to a multitude of individuals. Ultimately, I hope to continue to garner opportunities so I can consistently promote awareness of achalasia, and help others realize music can be a solace for them in their times of uncertainty as well.
At 17 years old, I was scared, weak and unsure about what my future would hold. At 19 years old, I’m gradually working on improving my well-being, while using music to create awareness for a community of individuals with a rare disease that has the ability to silence all who possess it. - The Mighty
"Teen with incurable disease to get wish to meet Scotty McCreery"
To sing with country music artist Scotty McCreery was 19-year-old Dustin Chapman's wish.
That wish will come true. Dustin Chapman has Achalasia, a progressive disease that affects the esophagus. There is no known cure and it affects one in 100,000 people.
Chapman’s mom wrote a Facebook post asking for people to share Chapman’s wish and that his dream of being a performer is being threatened by this rare disease.
“Dear Scotty McCreery, I am writing in hopes that this will get to you and that you can help me make a wish come true for my son, Dustin Chapman,“ the post read.
After countless numbers of people shared her post, Scotty McCreery responded with his own Facebook post:
“Thanks for keeping him in your thoughts and prayers. He sounds like an amazing guy and I am looking forward to our meeting. I'm so proud of all my fans for making sure I had heard about him.”
Dustin Chapman and Scotty McCreery will meet sometime this summer but details of this meeting will be kept private. Chapman reached out on Facebook and said, “Achalasia still needs to be showcased to the world, as this was the whole reason all of this ever began. Thanks, and much love to each of you!” - WMBF News
"Scotty McCreery Grants Duet Wish to Teen with Incurable Disease"
Big-hearted Scotty McCreery took time recently to grant a wish for a teenage fan in North Carolina who is afflicted with an incurable disease.
Nineteen-year-old Dustin Chapman suffers from a progressive disease called Achalasia that affects the esophagus, for which there is no known cure. According to local news station WMBF, his mother posted to Facebook saying his one wish was to sing with the former American Idol champion, who also hails from North Carolina. She encouraged people to share his story online to spread awareness of the disease, which threatens Chapman's desire to become a performer himself.
The "Five More Minutes" singer got wind of the request, and on Tuesday (June 13), he granted Chapman's wish. McCreery and his longtime girlfriend, Gabi Dugal, stopped by for a visit, and McCreery and Chapman got to jam.
Chapman sang one of his original songs for McCreery, and the pair then sang McCreery's hit "See You Tonight" together, with McCreery singing lead and accompanying them on acoustic guitar while Chaman supplied spot-on high harmonies. Chapman turned to Facebook afterward to share footage of the informal jam session, thanking the country star for making one of his biggest dreams come true.
"I have dreamed about it for years! Scotty was such a humbled, down-to-earth guy and was so kind to me and my mother. It felt amazing singing was Scotty!" Chapman tells Taste of Country. "That was the first take, everything was unrehearsed. It was just like two friends getting together for a jam session!"
"The feelings were indescribable, but it was one of the best experiences of my life!” - Taste of Country
"Kid Singing Country: Garth Brook's 'The Dance'"
Garth Brooks' "The Dance" is an iconic song, one of those special tracks that hits you right in the gut. Eighteen-year-old Dustin Chapman attempted to cover the popular song, and he succeeded in a touching way.
In what appears to be a bedroom, Chapman holds a vintage-looking stand up microphone as he begins "The Dance." It only takes a couple of lines to hear his similarities to Brooks and a maturity in his voice that is well beyond his 18 years. Backed by only a track, Chapman's voice has nowhere to hide and his rendition will take your breath away.
Chapman reveals he's "pursuing a career in country music," and we wouldn't be surprised if we heard him on the radio one day. He loves all forms of country music and his YouTube channel (and Facebook page) features covers from George Jones to Luke Bryan, but it's this Brooks cover where he truly shines. He also writes his own music, including a song called "Is That Human" about poverty in our society today. He even writes beyond his years!
Check out Chapman's amazing cover of Brooks' "The Dance" above and check out his YouTube channel while you're at it! - Taste of Country
"Scotty McCreery’s sweet duet with an ailing fan is one of our favorite moments of the year"
Scotty McCreery always goes above and beyond for his fans. Their relationship started when they voted him the “American Idol” champ in 2011, and it has only gotten stronger over the years thanks to Scotty’s very active social media habits. He’s constantly taking questions and sharing his random and hilarious thoughts about life via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
One moment that we’ll never forget is Scotty and his now-fiance, Gabi, surprising one of Scotty’s biggest fans with a lengthy visit at his house.
Young North Carolina man Dustin Chapman has been stricken with an incurable disease (achalasia) that affects the esophagus’ ability to carry food to the stomach. According to Wilmington’s WECT, Dustin has had multiple surgeries to remedy the issue, but to no avail.
Dustin’s mom, Sandi, asked him what she could do to help him feel better, and he told her he’d like to sing with Scotty McCreery. Mama swung into action and Scotty was soon knocking on Dustin’s door in Whiteville, North Carolina.
Scotty and his new pal sang together on the country stars’s 2013 Top 10 hit “See You Tonight,” and Dustin even performed an original song, “Break Me Down,” for Scotty. It was a sweet visit all captured on camera.
You, our Rare Country readers, had a huge reaction to this story when we posted it in June. Now, it’s one of our five nominees in the Rare Country Awards’ Fan Moment of the Year category!
It’s now up to you to decide the winner at RareCountryAwards.com. Voting begins Nov. 13 and goes until Dec. 13. Winners will be revealed during a livestreamed concert on Dec. 14. - Rare Country
"Dustin Chapman - Carolina Country Music Fest"
Dustin Chapman is a country music singer-songwriter from Whiteville, North Carolina. Described as an up-and-coming singer with a “soft, smooth, and passionate voice” by Miranda Raye of Country Music Nation, Chapman has a unique sound that has surely resulted from a combination of hard work and a natural-born talent. Currently a junior at Catawba College, Chapman is triple majoring in Popular Music, Music Business, and Worship Arts. Performing since the age of 14, Chapman has showcased his talents in various locations around the United States, including: Nashville, Tennessee, Baltimore, Maryland, Orlando, Florida, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and a myriad of venues across North Carolina. Chapman entered the country music scene in a big way during the summer of 2017 when he performed with American Idol winner Scotty McCreery. Since then, Chapman has performed on a variety of television and radio shows in the southern part of North Carolina. Coti Howell, publisher for Taste of Country, states “the maturity in Chapman’s voice is well beyond his 20 years.” Chapman recently released his debut EP and it charted #52 on the iTunes Top Country Albums Charts surpassing past albums by Taylor Swift, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, and Keith Urban just to name a few. Chapman has a rare disease called Achalasia, which only affects one-in-100,000 people. This disease has the ability to leave Chapman voiceless, but instead of focusing on the “what-ifs,” Chapman is using his music to create awareness for a community of individuals with a rare disease that has the ability to silence all who possess it. With Chapman’s social media following, songwriting abilities, and deep voice that shows influences from country legends such as Keith Whitley and Randy Travis, the future seems bright for the small-town Carolina boy with big dreams. - Carolina Country Music Festival
"Student Continues to Sing Despite Illness"
Dustin Chapman is a senior at Catawba College. He's a triple major with a GPA above most people.
However, his passion is behind the piano.
Dustin Chapman suffers from Achalasia which causes his esophagus muscles to not work.
He doesn't let the disease stop him from his dream of singing.
Chapman is a senior at Catawba College.
Chapman's professors admit his style of music is hard to pinpoint, somewhere between country and contemporary Christian, with always a solid backbone.
Chapman was well on his way of achieving his dream of performing under the bright lights for thousands of people but three years ago his goal of doing that got a lot harder.
"One doctor told me I would have an extremely difficult life," said Chapman.
Chapman has a rare disease called Achalasia which means his esophagus muscles don't work.
"Anytime I try to eat anything...I have intense pain in my neck and chest," Chapman said. "They say it's the fourth most painful death without a cure."
This summer the pain forced him into the hospital but during his stay he found a moment to escape. With an IV at his side, Chapman sang not for himself but for those going through similar pain around him.
The video has attracted nearly 200,000 viewers.
"I had so many people come up to me, crying, it was such a blessing for them and they really needed it," Chapman said.
Chapman is unsure out what the future has in store but those around him have figured out something.
"I think Dustin Chapman's music is Dustin Chapman's music," said Catawba College Music Dept. Associate Chair Phillip Burgess. "It comes from his heart."
A heart that will continue to give no matter what obstacles this Everyday Hero is forced to fight.
Chapman has received offers to audition for America's Got Talent and American Idol and he continues to perform. - Spectrum News
"Piano Playing Patient Inspires at Duke Hospital"
A hospital can seem like a sterile and sometimes gloomy place, but one patient is lifting the mood at Duke Hospital with his own music.
Music has taken the place of food for Dustin Chapman, 21, of Whiteville, because he hasn't been able to eat or drink normally for months.
Chapman has a rare disease called "achalasia," where the esophagus muscles basically quit functioning. To cope, Chapman is using his talent to encourage himself and countless others who listen. A video shared on Facebook of Chapman singing and playing the piano at Duke inspired more than 1,600 shares within a few days.
Three years ago, Chapman's condition required surgery on his esophagus. For 18 months, he could eat anything he wanted, but now Duke doctors are trying different things to enable him to be able to swallow food and liquids.
Piano playing patient inspires at Duke Hospital
Duke Health, music, piano
Posted July 30
Durham, N.C. — A hospital can seem like a sterile and sometimes gloomy place, but one patient is lifting the mood at Duke Hospital with his own music.
"In 2017, all my problems started coming back," said Chapman.
While he and his family wait for answers, Chapman found his best therapy was at one of the few pianos in the hospital.
William Dawson, Duke Hospital's musician in residence, oversees music programs for Duke patients – most of whom aren't brave enough for this stage.
"600 to 800 people an hour walk through the lobby of the hospital, so when someone is playing the piano in the hospital, it's like playing to a sold-out show," said Dawson.
Chapman's performance at the Duke Cancer Center this month got rave reviews.
"I had cancer patients coming up to me, and they were just crying, and they were like, 'That was probably therapeutic for you, but we needed that just as much as you did,'" said Chapman. "It was very rewarding."
Chapman is a music major student at Catawba College. He says he enjoys writing and performing his own gospel and country songs. - WRAL News
"Dustin Chapman inspires with his new single 'Lead The Way'"
Dustin Chapman hails from North Carolina. Dustin released his new inspirational single "Lead The Way" on all digital and streaming outlets today (April 30th 2019) which debuted at #82 on the Christian/Gospel Music Charts on iTunes. The original song was inspired by his journey living with a rare disease of the esophagus called Achalasia. He has had six surgeries along the way. A video of Dustin performing the song while hospitalized at Duke University's Cancer Center went viral over the summer. The song speaks of holding on to God's promise that He has a greater plan laid out for us than anything we can imagine and it is vitally important for us to trust that He is truly good even when our earthly situations are not.
There are many people in this world who find music therapeutic, Country/Christian singer/songwriter Dustin Chapman is included in this group of individuals. Though he has always had a passion for singing since joining choir in middle school, Chapman never did realized just how vital music was to his individuality. It was during his senior year in high school, when he first began experiencing issues due to a rare disease, Achalasia, that he truly discovered the power music possesses—the power it has to restore brokenness, encourage hopefulness, and breathe life into the lifeless. During trials with sickness, he'd sing. When he felt anxious about an upcoming test or procedure, he’d sing. Chapman learned that music had the ability to give him words when he felt as if there was nothing to say, and this is when he decided to pursue a career in music. After making this decision, the 21-year-old knew he had to enter a place of vulnerability that would allow his audience members to do the same. So, Chapman broke down emotional barriers and began showcasing music’s abilities to help him overcome, music’s abilities to help so many others overcome, and what he truly hope people see is that there is a beauty and power that music possesses that can help them overcome as well. With that in mind, the music major, who studies Popular Music at Catawba College, tries to write songs that balance various subjects, songs that express heartbreak and frustration, highlight joy and happiness, and tackle serious topics with feel-good melodies which ultimately showcase that there’s reason to search for ways to achieve prosperity through hardships. Though young, Chapman has experienced numerous hardships which he hold close to show the world that individuals set their own obstacles and we all have the power to achieve anything we set our mind to.
To Follow Dustin and to link to his social media click here. - Music Update Central
"Whiteville singer with rare disease drops inspiring single"
Dustin Chapman is making his voice heard while inspiring hundreds of thousands of people.
The Whiteville native has Achalasia, a disease that affects just 1 in 100,000 people. The disease impacts the muscles in the esophagus and renders eating and drinking impossible.
Chapman released a new single April 30. The song, “Lead the Way,” found itself on the Top Christian songs chart on iTunes within a number of hours of its release.
“[The song] has a religious theme throughout, like, trusting in God’s plan,” said Chapman. “I may not understand his plan but what he has in store is greater than anything I can imagine.”
He has been in and out of hospitals since the diagnosis but has been determined to keep singing.
“I’ve had to travel all the way to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland, Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola, New York, and I’ve spent weeks at a time at Duke University Hospital in Durham, North Carolina trying to obtain proper medical treatment," Chapman explained. "I’ve endured many medical procedures and attended so many appointments, my body has continued to get weaker and weaker, but my determination has only gotten stronger. I’ve used all of the odds that have been stacked against me to motivate myself to produce music that can help my fans overcome whatever situation they’re going through.”
A video of Chapman performing the song at Duke University Hospital’s Cancer Center during a 16-day hospital stay has inspired nearly 1,000,000 views on social media. - WECT News
"Catawba College student releases new music"
On Tuesday, Whiteville native and Catawba College senior Dustin Chapman will release a powerful new single titled “Lead the Way,” that combines spirituality, maturity, and sensibility.
In late 2017, Dustin Chapman released his debut, self-titled EP, which many people called “heartfelt, powerful, and extremely well-written.” The Carolina Country and Rare Country Awards nominee wrote every song on the EP while battling an extremely rare disease called Achalasia, which he accredits for helping him develop some of his most powerful songs.
Now, the young musician expands on his medical and religious journeys in his second release, which was recorded and produced by Brad Phillips at Studio 101 in Woodruff, South Carolina.
“[The song] has a religious theme throughout, like, trusting in God’s plan,” said Chapman. “I may not understand His plan, but what He has in store is greater than anything I can imagine.”
Since his debut release in 2017, the 21-year-old has experienced various circumstances that he says have not only shaped his music, but shaped him as an individual.
“I’ve had to travel all the way to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland, Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola, New York, and I’ve spent weeks at a time at Duke University Hospital in Durham, North Carolina, trying to obtain proper medical treatment. I’ve endured many medical procedures and attended so many appointments, my body has continued to get weaker and weaker, but my determination has only gotten stronger. I’ve used all of the odds that have been stacked against me to motivate myself to produce music that can help my fans overcome whatever situation they’re going through.”
In particular, his song, “Lead the Way,” has already inspired hundreds of thousands around the world. A video of Chapman performing the song at Duke University Hospital’s Cancer Center during a 16-day hospital stay has inspired nearly 1,000,000 views on social media and has been shared on NBC’s “Early Today Show,” “Nightly News with Lester Holt,” and various news outlets across the world, including The Washington Post.
By David Whisenant | April 27, 2019 at 6:56 AM EDT - Updated April 27 at 6:56 AM
SALISBURY, NC (WBTV) - From Catawba College: On Tuesday, Whiteville native and Catawba College senior Dustin Chapman will release a powerful new single titled “Lead the Way,” that combines spirituality, maturity, and sensibility.
The single is guaranteed to showcase a side of Chapman that has become a staple characteristic of his music, a state of emotional vulnerability and honesty. Considered to be “breath taking…” and “full of sincerity” by thousands around the world, his new EP is likely one to add a music lover’s collection as soon as possible. - WBTV News
"Despite heartbreaking prognosis from doctors, musician Dustin Chapman hits a high note with new career"
A singer with a rare medical disorder has received a heartbreaking update from his doctors. It came at the same time Whiteville’s Dustin Chapman hit a high note in his professional life.
We’ve followed Chapman’s story since his diagnosis five years ago with Achalasia, a disease of the esophagus that makes eating impossible.
Hundreds of thousands watched video of the Whiteville native’s uplifting performance at the Duke Cancer Institute.
By Ashlea Kosikowski | January 14, 2020 at 5:25 PM EST - Updated January 14 at 6:56 PM
ACME DELCO, N.C. (WECT) - A singer with a rare medical disorder has received a heartbreaking update from his doctors. It came at the same time Whiteville’s Dustin Chapman hit a high note in his professional life.
Doctors recently told Chapman they can’t operate on him again because of scar tissue from his past surgeries that didn’t work to fix his condition.
“You always hope someone is going to tell you we can make you better,” he said. "I know there are so many medical advancements that one day it could happen, but right now it is not in the plan. So, it was extremely tough.”
Despite the diagnosis, there is something lifting up his spirits.
In October, Columbus County Schools hired Chapman to work at Acme Delco and Hallsboro middle schools as a music instructor.
Chapman never considered a career in education. But now, teaching is music to his ears.
“This is something that I’m so passionate about – investing in these kids," he said. "The more we do, the more they are falling in love; there is nothing more rewarding.”
For someone who performed in front of thousands and alongside country stars like Scotty McCreery, his most rewarding experience wasn’t when he was in the spotlight, it was leading his 90 students at their winter concert last month.
“At the moment we got up there, it seemed like everything we’ve been over fell into place," he said. "It was the most satisfying and rewarding thing I think I’ve ever been a part of and if I can continue just seeing these little seeds that have been planted continue to grow, I can imagine doing that the rest of my life and I never thought about teaching.”
Chapman said his students don’t know the extent of his illness.
“I don’t go into full detail with them because one thing that I’m adamant about is I never want anyone feeling sorry for me," he said. "Just because I have a sickness doesn’t mean I can’t do what everybody else does.”
The district knew about his condition when it hired him.
When they called me about the job they were like, ‘We understand and we know there are going to be appointments and there are going to be days when you don’t feel well. We know that, but we’re going to work with that and we’re going to work with you and we’re gonna work with you to give these kids the best education they can get.’ So it’s been amazing,” Chapman said.
The students may not be fully aware of his diagnosis, but they do know about his musical talents and resume. He’s a hero in the classroom.
He said he is writing a song about giving back, inspired by his work in the classroom.
“Being thankful for the people that invested in you because now you are able to invest in others, that’s something I’m working hard to finish as a song that talks strongly about that,” he said.
Chapman also works with a nutritionist to try to maintain his weight; if he can’t, doctors will have to put in a permanent feeding tube.
For now, he just works to finish each day on a high note in the classroom. - WECT News
"Review: Dustin Chapman Set To Release The Brand New Single “Plus One”!"
Following on from the recent success of his self-titled EP & single “Lead The Way”, Upcoming country singer/songwriter Dustin Chapman is set to release his brand new single “Plus One” on August 31st 2019.
Speaking about his forthcoming release, Dustin said “This song talks about a relationship falling apart after one of the spouses has an affair. “The line chorus says“ you keep on laying your head on my pillow, turn and expect me to hold on to all of that past love that’s undone by you and your plus one and I’m supposed to be here okay, but it’s not that way.” Which basically speaks of the one who is having the affair expecting the other in the relationship to not have a problem with how thing have turned out, but obviously they do.”
This country ballad is packed full of mesmerising lyrics that feature a variety of heartfelt lyrics that perfectly symbolise the sincere quality behind the backing track.
Dustin delivers a warm & soulful vocal performance that brings the heartbreaking nature behind the lyrics to life, which allows you to connect with the song from the very first listen.
Overall, I believe that Dustin is set to release another musical gem that highlights his creativity as an artist. I don’t think it will be long before we are seeing this artist making huge waves in the country music scene.
You can pre-order “Plus One” by clicking here. - Fierce & Fabulous Revolution
"Review: Dustin Chapman – “Plus One” A masterfully crafted composition, Dustin Chapman’s “Plus One” deserves a”9 Plus” rating. (9.6) Featuring a well illustrated cover image, Dustin Chapman’s latest single “Plus One” is a true gem in the genre country mu"
Hyper Lynk
MUSIC.IS.LIFE
Review: Dustin Chapman – “Plus One”
A masterfully crafted composition, Dustin Chapman’s “Plus One” deserves a”9 Plus” rating.
Featuring a well illustrated cover image, Dustin Chapman’s latest single “Plus One” is a true gem in the genre country music. Exploring the seemingly cliche theme of a cheating lover, Dustin manages to convey heartfelt feelings in a truly unique way. Country music has been an effective tool for talking about one’s love affairs for quite some time. Dustin continues this tradition into 2019 and hopefully beyond.
The lush string arrangements in this short piece are sophisticated and otherworldly, as are the wavy and somber cries of the lap steel guitar ( a staple of country musicianship). Dustin’s voice is full of honesty and his lyrics convey mature and self reflexive attitudes typically reserved for more seasoned musicians of the genre.
With soothing and beautifully orchestrated arrangements, Plus One is evocative Jason Isbell, Ryan Adams and even old-school country legends like Johnny Cash and contemporary Philadelphia band, Shy Boyz.
Plus One earns its 9.6 score easily and with no reservations. Run, don’t walk to listen to Dustin Chapman’s latest. - Hyper Link
Dustin Chapman--EP: Released September 2017; Charted #52 on iTunes Top Country Albums Chart.
Single:
"Lead the Way;" Charted #82 on iTunes Top Christian SIngles Chart.
Dustin Chapman is a country music singer-songwriter from Whiteville, North Carolina. Described as an up-and-coming singer with a “soft, smooth, and passionate voice” by Miranda Raye of Country Music Nation, Chapman has a unique sound that has surely resulted from a combination of hard work and a natural-born talent. Chapman often says he “found his true calling” on a tiny high school stage singing “Kiss the Girl” from The Little Mermaid. Following that, this ambitious young singer would go all around the Carolinas performing at various venues, festivals, talent shows, and would eventually build his brand enough to carry his talents to multiple venues in several cities around the United States, including Nashville, Tennessee, Baltimore, Maryland, Orlando, Florida, Washington, D.C., and many more. Today, this young man continues to climb hills and enter valleys, as he is in the midst of a budding country music career, but also in the middle of an extreme medical battle with a disease called achalasia, that has left him unable to eat or drink and could potentially take his voice away. With a voice that possesses “maturity well beyond his 20 years” (Howell, Taste of Country), Chapman uses his talents to praise God and to uplift others who are fighting their own battles. A mixture of country, gospel, and blues comes together to create his signature soulful southern sound, and this is coupled with his lyrics that are crafted well beyond his 20 years. Writing about serious topics such as poverty, family, faith, and more, Dustin Chapman is showing that life is expelled through the moments when we take the biggest risks and to never truly discredit anyone’s ability to win a fight. Though young, this Carolina boy has experienced many hardships but he's holding those experiences within and carrying them with him far and wide to show the world that individuals set their own obstacles and limitations. A recent graduate from Catawba College in Salisbury, North Carolina, Chapman has a music degree with concentrations in Popular Music, Music Business, and Worship Arts, and he is continuously chasing opportunities to advance his career. Over the past couple of years, Chapman released his debut EP which charted #52 on the iTunes Country Charts and was nominated for various country and independent music awards. Moreover, he recently won the Carolina Country Music Festival's Battle of the Bands, which allowed him to open for acts such as Morgan Wallen and Luke Bryan at the festival. In 2019, Chapman released a song titled, "Lead the Way" which has garnered over 1,000,000 views on social media and charted on the Top Christian Singles Charts on iTunes. Chapman's overall goal is to show that his songs, lyrics, and musical ventures are not about him, but about the power of music—the power it has to restore brokenness, encourage hopefulness, and breathe life into the lifeless. By allowing himself to break down walls and enter a place of vulnerability, Chapman hopes that this will eventually result in his listeners doing the same.
dustinchapman26@yahoo.com
Angel Paez
Hannah Addair
Abraham Sagaon
dssmith16@catawba.edu
Dustin Chapman Music Website
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Tha Rookie
Band Hip Hop R&B
Share Tha Rookie's EPK!
2006 Wanted: Dead Or Alive Mixtape
2008 Live From MB Mixtape
2008 I Put It Down CD-Single
Never intended to be an artist he unexpectedly joined the movement of hip-hop as a rapper in 1993 because he got introduced to a producer who was a friend of his brother. Soon developed interest for producing and went for it. This “One Man Band” from The Netherlands is the full package. Listening to groups like Public Enemy, BDP, EPMD, Dr, Dre & Snoop. Even though Tha Rookie is from The Netherlands he automatically wrote English lyrics rather than Dutch ones.
“When you see Tha Rookie for the first time he is really calm, but when he gets on stage…it’s on!”
One time he did a show and the crowd was really skeptical about him. Once he started the show and showed that he didn't care whether or not they were joining in. He went all the way as if he was in a full stadium. 5 minutes later the crowd was joining is as if they already had his music in their playlist.
Hardheaded like an adolescent this rapper refuses to follow the mainstream. Doesn’t take no for an answer and always keep pushing the limit. Switching styles from melodically flowing to dropping punchlines.
Catchy hip-hop without the bubblegum sound.
With the single ‘I Put It Down’ out, which is receiving airtime on over 100 online radio stations, Tha Rookie is not satisfied until he is globally known.
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Under Way
Serving the needs of boats and boaters
It was late Sunday when we brought the 24-foot diesel-powered bass boat back to the dock. Darkness was rising fast. Steve Anderson, the boat’s proud papa, was waiting on the dock with a bucket and a mop. He was anxious to hear our reaction to hull No. 1 of his new day cruiser. We shared our feedback with Anderson as he dutifully cleaned her from stem to stern. Mind you, this is the boss.
“It’s my pride,” explains Anderson, a partner in J&J Marine, a relatively new, sprawling marine complex on the TauntonRiver in Somerset, Mass.
Later, walking through the yard to the office, he picked up a Styrofoam coffee cup laying on the ground without missing a beat in our conversation. A couple of small things, to be sure, but they highlight a certain pride of ownership and attention to detail that you like to see. They say it all starts at the top, and it’s not too hard to tell who sets the bar at J&J Marine.
Anderson and partner Jeff Botelho are part of a new generation of full-service boatyard owners — if you can even call them yards anymore. Housing a wide range of marine businesses and services, the boatyard of the early 21st century is becoming much more of a complex than, well, the small family boatyards many of us grew up with.
Like it or not, time marches on. Change is inevitable. And the transformation taking place in the service yards along the coast reflects, in large part, the changing nature of boating.
As boats get larger and more sophisticated, and owners become more hands-off, the skills, sophistication and breadth of services offered by the top yards and their workers also are expanding. You keep pace today, or you fall behind — or worse, the property gets turned into condos, and another yard is lost. The trend is described in a series of stories starting on Page 46.
With these changes have come promising signs that customer service finally is becoming a higher priority. I speak for many when I say, “It’s about time.” Service has long been the Achilles heel of the marine world. Survey after survey shows that customers generally give dealerships and repair facilities the kind of grades that would get your kids and mine grounded for a month if they brought them home on their report cards. It’s what drives boaters to pick up a damn putter.
Flat-out excellent service — the kind epitomized by such brands and companies as Lexus, FedEx and L.L. Bean — has been really difficult to find in boating. Those of us who have been around boats long enough have learned to work around it, but that’s hardly a solution. You know where to go to in order to get stuff done right the first time — and on time. More importantly, you know whom to stay away from. At some places, a promise of two weeks might easily turn into four. Or more. And with seasons as short as those in many parts of the country, that’s simply not acceptable.
Anderson and others we spoke to for our stories say they are committed to changing that. “This was an opportunity to take the bad name that typically goes with servicing boats and turn it into something good,” says Anderson, 52, a lifelong boater who left a successful career in residential and commercial development to follow his avocation. “We want to bring honesty, trust and integrity back to the service industry. One way or another, we’re going to make a difference in this business.”
(And yes, Anderson knows the old saw about the best way to make a million bucks in the marine industry. The punch line used to be, “Start with $2 million.” That figure has recently been revised upward to $5 million.)
Bootstrapping J&J Marine into existence on a 6.5-acre site that once housed a shellac factory has been no easy feat. Anderson and Botelho have more than $13 million and a ton of sweat equity invested in the business. And as complex as the industry has become, Anderson boils his service philosophy down to six words: “On time. On budget. Good workmanship.”
Is that really asking too much?
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Faces of health care workers on the frontlines of the Covid-19 fight
By Gray Moonen
“I still show up for work, hunny, every shift, believe in me.” — Veniece, janitorial services Gray Moonen
Health care workers are responding to the onslaught of the Covid-19 pandemic with professionalism and courage. Doctors and nurses have been, by far, the faces seen on nightly news videos or the voices quoted in news articles. Yet many other workers are involved in patient care and make it possible for hospital ecosystems to function properly — janitors, transport specialists, baristas, administrative clerks, dietitians, and more. They, however, tend to be invisible to the world outside of hospitals doors.
As the Covid-19 pandemic began to unfold, I noticed that people in the hospital where I work were generally worried. I noticed it in physicians, nurses, and allied health professionals doing direct patient care, but I also saw it in the barista who made my coffee most days. In the cleaning staff who took such great care sanitizing patient rooms, call rooms, and common areas. In the transport specialists who moved patients from one part of the hospital to the other.
As I made my rounds in the hospital, I asked people how they were feeling about the pandemic and how they were coping with it. And I realized — far too late — that these individuals are as much frontline workers as clinicians and are exposing themselves to the same risk for infection by SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, even if sometimes a bit more indirectly. But unlike nurses and doctors, they tend to be poorly paid, lack job security, don’t receive hazard pay, and, as you can see in the photos below, are often from minority groups.
To recognize these unsung heroes, I began asking them if I could take photographs of them and post them, along with quotes, on my Twitter feed.
I did this because I wanted everyone to be able to see the workers who are essential to the fight against Covid-19 but who tend to go unrecognized for their efforts. They remind me — and I hope they remind you, too — that we are all in this together and that we are stronger when we value everyone’s contributions to this devastating pandemic.
Gray Moonen, M.D., is a first-year resident in family medicine at the University of Toronto.
Gray Moonen
“I was hearing from nurses that their ears were hurting from wearing masks all day, so I’m making these caps! They’ve got little buttons on the sides for the straps, which make it a lot more comfortable”
Eva, Nurse Practitioner
“If it happens to me it happens, that’s just how I feel about it. I try not to focus on the negative. Other than that, I’m bored as hell! It’s so dead here …”
Mel, barista at hospital cafe
“We’re often forgotten members of the acute care team, but these Covid-19 patients in the hospital and ICU — they can’t eat. We manage all of their nutrition and work very hard to keep them alive.”
Linda, dietitian
“Young man, I’m a faith-believing person … keep the faith and this virus will soon be over.”
Carmen, Information Desk and Medical Records
“I’m not used to wearing a mask all day, so I can’t stop touching my face. I know I’m not supposed to, but my glasses don’t fit properly because of the mask … it’s a mess.”
Chantal, Administrative Assistant
“Nerves are starting to get to people, I won’t lie, but we are being more cautious. It’s a bit of a Catch-22 for the guys … we are still employed and make money, but are a bit worried to be here.”
Manrique, construction at the hospital
“We all have young children and figuring out what to do with kids … I don’t know. We’ll see how it goes. We are all in the same boat more or less.”
Katarina, Team Leader on a Nursing Floor, She worked through SARS.
“In a code situation … how fast can you respond to a heart not beating? If it takes me six minutes to get to a locked-up N95 … that person isn’t going to do very well.”
Becky, Emergency Department nurse
“I’m as concerned as everyone is, but I’m taking the necessary precautions. So I’m good … we’re good. I mean, it’s a few hours of my day, so I figure why not. Anything I can do to help.”
Nicole, volunteer screener. She asks people if they are symptomatic upon entering the hospital and ensures they use hand sanitizer.
@GrayMoonen
Cecelia Stefano says:
God watch over you all, may the Holy Spirit protect and give u all strength, the healing spirit works through you all ur gods soldiers in deed! ♥️♥️♥️
Diane Thornton says:
PRAYERS for the *Sick and *Their Nurses & *The Sick Nurses… …*God Bless You All!!!
As we endure the most unprecedented time of our lives, your article made my heart ache, as I thought about the lives these individuals touched – the patients in the hospital and their family members and significant others, as well as each others lives as hospital employees and within their own personal families. They are to be commended as brave, committed and compassionate individuals. As I ended the article, I paused. I realized that a medical social worker nor a social work or nurse case manager was pictured. Not pictured was a professional social worker who functions as a member of critical health care teams, who is charged with ensuring that discharge plans are coordinated and actualized; a social worker who works in the ER unit with the other members of emergency care teams; a social worker who finds a space for emotional support of other team members, in the midst of overwhelming circumstances. My observation is this: Though not often mentioned or highlighted, social workers’ living forward, executing historical roles and current functions in support of patients – while in an emergency unit, hospitalized or facing discharge from hospital settings – are critical team members, as well. If I have missed your highlight of social workers in a previous article, I thank you for taking the time to do so. If you have not, it is hoped that moving forth in this series, the often unmentioned team member – the medical/hospital social worker will be given the opportunity to share and will have the time to do so. Much Peace to Us All.
NANVAN says:
There’s NO WORDS THAT WE CAN EXPRESS THAT WILL/ARE ENOUGH!
Nancy Van says:
THANK YOU and thank God for these ‘BRAVEST OF THE BRAVE PEOPLE’. I am at a loss for words….just again, THANK YOU!!
francisco J Cervantes says:
These are really heroic times. I know that 1st year medical students in USA and at least in Spain are working shoulder to shoulder with their elder professionals at all levels. did the same in Monterrey, Mexico at the Red Cross Hospital and learned a lot and a lot of practice until I graduated. But what these students and everybody going through is out of this world. Never seeing it before by nobody ( unless you are > than 102 years old ). Whenever this pandemia is over they will remember very proudly of themselves their sacrifice, like soldiers defending their countries
Respiratory Therapists need to be recognized. They work exclusively with patients having lung problems and are essential to the medical team that intubates and manages respirators for critically ill patients. You can’t get any more “front lines” than that.
Beautiful photos of courageous and VERY loving people.
Thank you so much for giving all these amazing health care and support people a face for us to see.
We’ll be okay. xoxo Kate
Alden H. Cook says:
Super article, never enough recognition or appreciation for all the staff at the hospitals, especially the non-medical workers.
Hurray for the RD!
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2005 Suzuki GSX-R1000 - Added by Lorenzo.nospam.msn.com on 17-Sep-2020
Uploaded for: Lorenzo
More Information on the Suzuki GSX-R1000
The Suzuki GSX-R1000 is a sport bike from Suzuki's GSX-R series of motorcycles. It was introduced in 2001 to replace the GSX-R1100 and is powered by a liquid-cooled 999 cc (61.0 cu in) inline four-cylinder, four-stroke engine.
2001 (K1, K2)
For 2001, Suzuki introduced a new GSX-R model that replaced the largest and most powerful model of the GSX-R series sport bike, the GSX-R1100, with the all new GSX-R1000. As the model name revealed, the engine's cylinder displacement was roughly 1,000 cc (61 cu in), about 100 cc smaller than its predecessor. The GSX-R1000 was not just an enlarged version of the GSX-R750, although it shared many features with its little brother. The main frame is the same in both models, but the material used on the big brother was .5 mm (0.020 in) thicker. Suzuki claimed the torsional rigidity of the frame had increased 10% in comparison with the GSX-R750.
The GSX-R1000 engine was a redesigned GSX-R750 engine. The R1000 had a 1 mm (0.04 in) bigger bore and 13 mm (0.51 in) longer stroke, newly designed pistons with lower crown, and gear-driven counter balancer. The engine weighed 130 lb (59 kg) which was slightly heavier than the 750 engine but 31 lb (14 kg) lighter than the engine of the GSX1300R. The performance of the engine is a peak of 160 bhp (119 kW) at 9,500 rpm, as measured on the crank and 143 hp (107 kW), when measured on the rear wheel with small variations between different instances of the same model. The redline is set at 12,000 rpm. The maximum torque of the engine is 80 ft·lbf (108 N·m) at 8,000 rpm. Combined with a total (dry) weight of 374 lb (170 kg) this gives the GSX-R1000 a top speed of 173 mph (278 km/h), a 1/4 mile time of 10.1 seconds at 141.7 mph (228.0 km/h), and a 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) time of 3 seconds.
Using titanium for the exhaust down pipe (K1 model link pipe is black, K2 model link pipe is polished titanium) and the inside of the silencer, enabled the 1000s exhaust system to become 4 lb (1.8 kg) lighter than that of the 750. Titanium was also used in the front fork (titanium-nitride) to coat the stanchions. An exhaust tuning valve had been mounted inside the exhaust pipe. Using a servo the system dynamically adjusted the exhaust back pressure, according to engine speed, throttle position, and gear selection for increased torque, lower emissions, and decreased noise—the (stock) exhaust noise of the GSX-R1000 is notably lower than that of the GSX-R600.
With the 2001 model of the GSX-R1000, the 1998 Yamaha YZF-R1 was finally surpassed with the GSX-R being lighter and more powerful.
The 2001 model carried over to 2002 with minimal changes. 2002 introduced i.a. modifications to the fuel pump, clutch, front axle, torque link, mirrors, and luggage hooks. The manual fast-idle was replaced with a computer operated implementation (the "STV servo"). New colours, and new GSXR stickers.
After the GSX-R1000 had been three years on the roads and race tracks, Suzuki put out a new version of the model in late September 2002. Suzuki engineers had been working on the three things that made a fast bike faster; weight, power and handling. The 2003 year's GSX-R1000 was improved in all three counts. It weighed less, had more power/torque and handled better.
The physical dimensions of the bike were almost identical with the previous year's model. The seat height and the overall height were somewhat lower but the geometry of the bike was exactly the same as before. The already rigid aluminum alloy frame was newly designed and enforced with internal ribs, also there was an updated headlight and tail fairing. The frame as well as the wheels were now coated black.
The front brakes were also new. Suzuki decided to drop the six-piston calipers. The new radially mounted four-piston calipers weigh 30 grams less and grip smaller 300 mm (11.8 in) discs that save another 300 g (11 oz). Though smaller, Suzuki claimed that the new brakes provide better stopping and turn-in performance.
The headlights of the 2003 year's GSX-R1000 were mounted vertically to enable the ram-air intakes in the front to be placed 20 mm (0.79 in) nearer the bike's center line. The new design was very much inspired by the look of the Hayabusa. The instruments were also redesigned.
The cylinder displacement of the engine remained the same 988 cc (60.3 cu in), but more power/torque and better throttle response had been achieved by adding four ventilation holes between the cylinders to equalize crankcase pressure beneath the pistons, moving the air intake nearer to the centerline and upgrading the engine management system from a 16-bit to a 32-bit ECU. The entire exhaust system was now made of titanium to save an additional 1.32 lb (0.60 kg) and the tail light was replaced with LEDs.
The 2003 model carried over to 2004 without any significant improvements.
The 2005 model year GSX-R1000 had a redesigned engine and chassis. It had 4.4 lb (2.0 kg) lower weight than the previous model and the engine had an 11 cc (0.67 cu in) larger piston displacement. It had a totally new frame reducing the total length of the bike by 1.6 in (41 mm) but reducing its wheelbase only 0.02 in (0.51 mm). There were new brakes with radial mounted calipers and 310 mm (12.2 in) discs at the front. The new titanium silencer (catalytic in Europe) was said to be designed to reduce turbulence to minimum. This model weighs in at a mere 365 lbs dry, putting it towards the top of the power-to-weight ratio charts. This weight reduction came at a cost of durability issues with the 2005-2006 models experiencing frame cracking.
The 2005 model has a tested wet weight of 444 lb (201 kg). Power output is tested at 147.3 hp (109.8 kW) and peak torque is 75.4 ft·lbf (102.2 N·m) both at the rear wheel.
The 2005 model carried over to 2006 without any significant improvements other than a few appearance changes. The 2006 model had a measured top speed of 178 mph (286 km/h).
On September 22, 2006, Suzuki revealed a significantly updated GSX-R1000 for 2007 at the Paris motor show. The new bike gained 14 lb (6.4 kg) over the 2006 model which was due to its new exhaust system and new emissions regulations. To counter this weight increase, Suzuki claimed improved aerodynamics along with a faster revving engine and larger throttle body. Although not a completely new model, the engine and chassis have been updated. It also featured three different engine mapping configurations, selectable via two buttons located on the right handlebar. One up, and one down arrow to cycle between Mode A (unrestricted), Mode B (reduced power until 50% throttle is applied), and Mode C (reduced power throughout the rpm regardless of throttle application). It also received a hydraulic clutch.
2017 (L7)
The 2017 model, introduced to reporters at EICMA in late 2016, had a significantly redesigned engine the first since the last engine update on the 2009 model. This new engine has a higher RPM limit and no balancer shaft to quell vibration, also a mechanical variable valve timing used for ten years by Suzuki in MotoGP and drive by wire throttle. This model is the first to get the addition of traction control with a (IMU) inertial measuring unit measuring yaw, roll and pitch also all lighting is now LED. Another first for any GSX-R is the use of a fuel gauge on this model. Along with the new 2017 GSX-R1000 model, Suzuki has also released a up spec model GSX-R1000R; this R model comes with a Motion Track Brake System, Bi-directional quick shifter and launch control. Also on the R model, as reported by Sport Rider, are the same Showa Balance Free Front (BFF) fork and Balance Free Rear Cushion (BFRC Lite) shock that come standard on the 2016 Kawasaki ZX-10R. Specifications are 199 horsepower at 13,200 rpm (claimed) and 157.2 hp (117.2 kW) (rear wheel), 86 lb-ft torque at 10,000 rpm (claimed) and 76.3 lb·ft (103.4 N·m) (rear wheel); 76.0 mm x 55.1 mm bore x stroke, and 13.2:1 compression ratio.
Troy Corser won the 2005 Superbike World Championship season, and Alessandro Polita won the 2006 FIM Superstock 1000 Cup season. The bike was used by Yukio Kagayama and Kousuke Akiyoshi to win the Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race in 2007, with Kazuki Tokudome and Nobuatsu Aoki doing the same in 2009.
List of fastest production motorcycles by acceleration
GSX-R1000 at Global Suzuki website
Suzuki at Curlie
http://www.cycleworld.com/2017-suzuki-gsx-r1000-and-gsx-r1000r-superbike-technical-preview
http://www.mcnews.com/mcn/articles/2010JanIndex.pdf
http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/suzuki/2009-suzuki-gsxr1000-review-88180.html
http://www.motorcycledaily.com/2001/01/25jan01suzuki2001gsxr1000review2/
http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/performancedata/
http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/weight-barrier-motorcycles//
http://www.sportrider.com/2017-suzuki-gsx-r1000-first-look
http://www.sportrider.com/bikes/street_bike_dyno_charts
http://www.sportrider.com/sportbike-news/2012-literbikes-dyno?image=2//
http://www.sportrider.com/tech/sportbike-weights-and-measurements//
The photo 2005-Suzuki-GSX-R1000-589757-GP.jpg (2005 Suzuki GSX-R1000 - Uploaded for: Lorenzo
2005 Suzuki GSX-R1000) was uploaded by: Lorenzo.nospam@msn.com.
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THE GREEN PRESCRIPTION
Richard Survival Wisdom
Queens Commonwealth Canopy- Maya 2020 Belize
Two Cornish based companies are pioneering a new approach to conserving tropical rain forest in Belize. Survival Wisdom and Selvana Ltd, who are both based at Mount Edgcumbe on the Rame Peninsula have joined together with a Belizean charity, Friends for Conservation and Development (FCD), to help save over a quarter of a million hectares of tropical rain forest in the Maya mountains, known as the Chiquibul Forest.
Chris Minty MBE, Managing Director of Selvana said, “This rain forest is particularly important as it provides critical habitat for countless rare and endangered species, including tapir, scarlet macaw, howler monkey and the elusive jaguar. It also regulates local and regional climates and soaks up carbon gases from the atmosphere, an essential process to help combat global warming.”
According to The Nature Conservancy, a leading US conservation charity, the forest also harbours up to 400 species of resident birds, with several million individuals resting whilst migrating through the area during the North American winter periods. However, like so many areas around the world, the forest is coming under increasing pressure from illegal deforestation, particularly along its western border with Guatemala.
Chris warned, “If something is not done soon, the forest may be lost forever.”
The collaboration has developed a unique approach to halting the illegal activities within the forest. By using a range of remotely sensed imagery technics and ground-based acoustic technology, a global network of trained volunteer observers will monitor the forest in real-time from anywhere in the world – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This means that they can inform Friends for Conservation and Development in Belize quickly and effectively across the internet if they monitor any evidence of encroachment or deforestation, thus enabling FCD to respond quickly and effectively on the ground.
Executive Director for FCD, Rafael Manzanero OBE, said “we are delighted to be working with the Cornish team in the challenging task of protecting this forest. Modern technology, if used appropriately, will be a great addition to our strategic conservation management of the Chiquibul and greatly assist our park rangers in their day to day duties". Manzanero has been very instrumental in raising awareness internationally on the issue of illegal logging and poaching in the Chiquibul National Park for over 10 years now.
Managing Director of Survival Wisdom, Richard Pyshorn, who is helping to train the park rangers said, “The success of this campaign depends greatly on the quality and effectiveness of the ranger teams who patrol the area. It’s why we are teaching the team everything from jungle navigation to evidence gathering and protection of human rights. They will need to be experts in many areas including GPS tracking, satellite image interpretation as well as basic ‘know how’ on surviving in the impenetrable jungle for long periods of time.”
Richard first met Chris in the 1980s when they served together on an RAF Regiment Squadron in Germany. Chris left a few years later and went on to study at the Defence Academy in Shrivenham, followed by 25 years working in Belize, supporting many researchers, students and military units who have operated in the Chiquibul Forest. Richard remained in the Royal Air Force latterly worked at the Defence, Survival Evasion, Resistance, Extraction (SERE) Training Organisation (DSTO) at RAF St Mawgan, before retiring as a Warrant Officer and going on to form Survival Wisdom Ltd in 2012.
The project, called Maya 2020, has recently been endorsed by Her Majesty the Queen through the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy Initiative. It was launched at Buckingham Palace on 16th November 2016 and aims to set a new global standard in forest conservation whilst providing sustainable jobs for local people. http://queenscommonwealthcanopy.org/
Chris said: “we are not only dealing with the symptoms of deforestation but also the causes and getting to the heart of the problem. By supporting jobs such as tree planting and agro-forestry, tour guiding or conservation monitoring, we are fundamentally providing the economic incentive for local people to conserve the forest rather than destroy it.”
Maya 2020 is also endorsed by the Government of Belize, supported by the Ministry of Forestry, Fisheries and Sustainable Development, the Belize High Commission in London and Rainforest Concern, a UK charity helping to conserve rain forests. The project has also received support from the Tremough innovation centre in Falmouth, developing early project concepts and models.
Further details on the project can be obtained by visiting www.maya2020.co.uk
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Posted on January 5, 2021 by Swanton Enterprise
Plunging into 2021: Different dip into the Maumee goes on
Different dip into the Maumee goes on
By Sentinel-Tribune Staff
Revelers take a dip in the Maumee River near the Miltonville Fishing Access Friday afternoon.
J.D. Pooley | Sentinel-Tribune
Adam Freeman celebrates after wading into the Maumee River.
Revelers group together to stay warm before walking into the Maumee River.
WATERVILLE — Freezing temps, driving rain and a global pandemic couldn’t keep a small group of die-hard polar plungers away from the banks of the Maumee River Friday and carrying out a New Year’s Day tradition.
The Polar Bear Plunge stayed true to form, starting at 2:30 p.m. in honor of the late Herb Mericle, who began the plunge in remembrance of his wife. They were married at 2:30 p.m.
A group of 15 met at a public fishing area called Miltonville Fishing Access where they jumped into the river. Last year’s event had more than 200 participants jumping into 34-degree water.
“It’s obviously a little different this year,” said Adam Freeman, who organized the 2019 plunge and was among the hardy 15 to jump into the river on Friday.
“They weren’t going to allow it to happen in Waterville or Perrysburg Township, and I don’t fault them. But one way or the other, people are going to do this,” he said. “It’s a little bit different, but we made it happen.”
This was the 92nd year for the plunge, and the second consecutive year for a location change.
Last year’s was at Buttonwood Park in Perrysburg Township.
Construction on the new bridge had closed access to Waterville’s Memorial Park where the plunge had been held for many years. Memorial Park is still under construction.
Perrysburg Township officials declined to hold the plunge, due to coronavirus concerns, said Walt Celley, Perrysburg Township administrator.
“That type of gathering would violate coronavirus restrictions established by the governor and we would not allow that kind of event,” Celley said earlier this week.
After his dip on Friday, Rick Metzger of Monclova said the plunge is a tradition he just didn’t want to miss.
“I’ve been doing this since 1998 and it’s a great way to start out the new year,” he said.
Metzger estimated the water temperature at 33 degrees.
“It wasn’t bad at all,” he said.
Anthony Helfers of Delta has been plunging into the river on New Year’s Day for 10 years, and 2021 would be no different, he said.
“Some how, some way, we had to make it happen,” he said. “It was cold, but not nearly as cold as I’ve done in the past.”
This was the fifth year for Justin Taylor of Toledo to participate.
“It was very different,” he said. “But you know what? We made it. Adam made it happen and everybody came together as a family.
“Herb started this and we plan on continuing his legacy,” Taylor said. “This ain’t going to stop us, man.”
(Sentinel-Tribune multi-media journalist J.D. Pooley did the interviews for this story.)
https://www.swantonenterprise.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/web1_1_polar_Plunge_0703_CMYK.jpgRevelers take a dip in the Maumee River near the Miltonville Fishing Access Friday afternoon. J.D. Pooley | Sentinel-Tribune
https://www.swantonenterprise.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/web1_2_polar_Plunge_0723_CMYK.jpgAdam Freeman celebrates after wading into the Maumee River. J.D. Pooley | Sentinel-Tribune
https://www.swantonenterprise.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/web1_3_polar_Plunge_0667_CMYK.jpgRevelers group together to stay warm before walking into the Maumee River. J.D. Pooley | Sentinel-Tribune
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Countries »
USA captain Blaine Scully announces retirement from professional rugby
by The TRU Team Wednesday 11 March 2020
Blaine Scully has played 54 Tests for USA
©Steve Haag
USA international Joe Taufete'e to head Lyon next season
USA international Paul Lasike pens new Harlequins deal
USA captain Blaine Scully has announced his decision to retire from professional rugby with immediate effect.
Scully started his professional rugby career with the Tigers in 2013 and featured in 24 Premiership games for the Welford Road before joining Cardiff Blues in 2015. He scored the try of the season for the club in 2016/17 season and enjoyed Challenge Cup success with the club in 2018.
Having represented the USA Sevens between 2011 and 2013, the 32-year-old made his Test debut for the Eagles in 2011 and has gone on to play 54 games at the international level scoring 15 tries. He also represented USA in the 2011, 2015 and 2019 World Cup campaigns.
“It’s a difficult thing to say that I will no longer be a professional or international rugby player,” he said.
“What I loved so much about the game is how it challenged me in every imaginable way. Facing those challenges, not alone, but with a group; a team that you respect and trust, will be what I miss the most.
“The people have always been the best part of the journey. The opportunity to play rugby for a living and as a career was a gift.
“From Welford Road to the Cardiff Arms Park, I can honestly say that I poured everything I had into each jersey I wore, beyond proud to wear the badge for both Leicester Tigers and Cardiff Blues.
“My only goal was to be the best I could, compete with the top players in the world and positively impact the teams I was on. To the people of both clubs, you honoured and humbled me when you accepted me as your own, making my wife and I feel like we were never far from home.
“To Leicester and Cardiff – I’ve always believed that all a good man needs is a chance. Thank you for the opportunity to play professional rugby and a special mention to all of the supporters who never stopped chanting ‘USA’.”
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The changing face of college rugby with Colton Cariaga
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New York's Greg McWilliams on the continued improvement of rugby in the USA
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OneWeb’s first six global internet satellites are safely in orbit – TechCrunch
Update: Launch and deployment successful!
After four years and more than $2 billion in funding, OneWeb is ready to launch the first six satellites out of a planned constellation of 650 with which it plans to blanket the world in broadband. The Arianespace-operated Soyuz rocket will take off at 1:37 Pacific time from Guiana Space Center. You can watch it live at OneWeb’s site here.
OneWeb is one of several companies that aims to connect the world with a few hundred or thousand satellites, and certainly the most well-funded — SoftBank is the biggest investor, but Virgin Group, Coca-Cola, Bharti Group, Qualcomm and Airbus have all chipped in.
The company’s plan is to launch a total of 900 (650 at first) satellites to about a 1,100-kilometer low Earth orbit, from which it says it will be able to provide broadband to practically anywhere on Earth — anywhere you can put a base station, anyway. Much cheaper and better than existing satellite connectivity, which is expensive and slow.
Sound familiar? Of course, SpaceX’s side project, Starlink, has similar ambitions, with an even greater number of satellites planned, and Swarm is aiming for a smaller constellation of smaller satellites for low-cost access. And Ubiquitilink just announced this week that its unique technology will remove the need for base stations and beam satellite connections directly to ordinary phones. And they’ve all launched satellites already!
The launch vehicle fueling today at GSC.
OneWeb has faced numerous delays; the whole constellation was originally planned to be in place by the end of 2019, which is impossible at this point. But delays are the name of the game in ambitious space-based businesses, and OneWeb hasn’t been just procrastinating — it has been girding itself for mass production, raising funds to set up launch contracts and improving the satellites themselves. Its updated schedule, as it states in the mission summary: “OneWeb will begin customer demos in 2020 and provide global, 24-hour coverage to customers in 2021.”
At a reported cost of about a million dollars per satellite — twice the projected cost in 2015 — just building and testing the constellation will likely rub up against a billion dollars, and that’s not counting launch costs. But no one ever said it would be cheap. In fact, they probably said it would be unbelievably expensive. That’s why SoftBank and the other investors are “committing to a lot more capital,” as CEO Adrián Steckel told the Financial times last month.
The company also announced its first big deal with a telecom; Talia, which provides connectivity in Africa and the Middle East, signed on to use OneWeb’s services starting in 2021.
Soyuz launches could carry more than 30 of these satellites each, meaning it would take at least 20 to put the whole constellation in orbit. This first launch, however, only has six aboard; the other spots on board the mass launch system have dummy payloads to simulate how it should be going forward.
A OneWeb representative told me that this launch is meant to “verify the satellite design and validate the end to end system,” which is probably a good idea before sending up 600 more. That means OneWeb will be testing and tracking these six birds for the next few months and making sure the connection with ground stations and other aspects of the whole system are functioning properly.
Full payloads will start in the fall, after OneWeb opens its (much-delayed) production facility just outside Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
You can watch the launch at OneWeb’s site here.
The Shadow Ghost turns cloud gaming into a seamless experience – TechCrunch
Prototype prosthesis proffers proper proprioceptive properties – TechCrunch
Enlarge / The iPhone 12 and 12 Pro. The next iPhones aren’t expected to change looks very much.
Samuel Axon
This weekend, business publication Bloomberg ran a plethora of articles sharing details about various upcoming Apple products. We previously covered what Bloomberg’s sources said about the Mac lineup, but another report details upcoming iPhones.
According to “a person familiar with” Apple’s work, the 2021 iPhone will be a small, iterative update and may carry the “S” label, which Apple has used to denote smaller upgrades to the iPhone in the past (for example, iPhone 6S or iPhone XS). This is in part because the iPhone 12 lineup introduced last fall was particularly loaded with new features and design changes, but it was also because COVID-19 restrictions have slowed Apple’s engineers down, according to the report.
While the iPhone 13 wouldn’t have a radically new design, the report does describe one potential change of note that Apple is testing internally: the addition of an in-screen fingerprint reader.
In 2017, Apple introduced Face ID, a facial recognition authentication alternative to the fingerprint reader tech (Touch ID) that it had used in prior iPhones. The first generation of Face ID was a little slower and less consistent than Touch ID, but subsequent updates brought it up to par, and most users came to accept or appreciate the new method.
However, some people still prefer unlocking their phones with a fingerprint, and the need to wear masks during the pandemic has made logging in via face recognition far less attractive, even though Apple released a small update for iPhones to make the process of circumventing Face ID when wearing a mask a little snappier. Some competing Android phones already offer in-screen fingerprint readers.
This change would herald the return of Touch ID to flagship iPhones. In the current lineup, it’s only present in the low-cost iPhone SE model. Touch ID itself was introduced in an “S” update: the iPhone 5S was the first to include the technology. And like Face ID, it took iteration to improve Touch ID’s efficiency after it was first introduced.
Staying true to TrueDepth
Apple has no plans to axe the TrueDepth sensor array that facilitates Face ID, however, even if it does introduce in-screen Touch ID. This is because the array also assists with key photography and augmented reality features.
Bloomberg’s sources also say that Apple is “discussing” the removal of the iPhone’s physical charging port, since last year’s iPhones introduced MagSafe wireless chargers. But just because the company is discussing that as a possibility doesn’t mean it’s a sure thing.
Also to that effect, the report claims that Apple is actively testing folding iPhone designs, though these are not sure to come to market, and if they do, it will likely be a few years in the future. Don’t be surprised that Apple is at least testing foldables; the Android smartphone market has seen a few foldable phones, though we have generally found them to be compromised or poor user experiences. As with the removal of the charging port, the fact that Apple is testing this feature does not mean it will actually happen.
Finally, the report claims that Apple will finally release AirTags, its augmented reality Tile competitor. Bloomberg says that product was the only one Apple intended to ship by the end of 2020 that didn’t make it out the door.
Enlarge / Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman of Samsung, seen here leaving a court hearing in January 2017.
Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images
It’s back to jail for Samsung’s leader, Lee Jae-yong (aka Jay Y. Lee). Lee has been embroiled in a legal battle for his role in “Choigate,” a major 2016 South Korean political scandal that led to South Korean President Park Geun-hye being impeached and removed from office. The scandal is named for the president’s top aid, Choi Soon-sil, a member of a shamanistic cult that was found to be masterminding South Korean government policy via her influence over the president. It’s a long story, but Choi was sentenced to 20 years in prison for influence peddling, and Park was sentenced to 25 years.
Samsung’s part in this mess involves accusations that Lee bribed Choi for favorable rulings related to the merger of two Samsung affiliates. In 2017, Lee was sentenced to five years in jail after being found guilty of bribery, embezzlement, capital flight, and perjury charges. Six months after his sentencing, an appeals court cut Lee’s sentence in half and suspended the charges for bribery and embezzlement. Lee was released from prison while the appeals process continued. The case wound its way all the way up to the South Korean Supreme Court, which, in 2019, ordered a retrial.
Today’s ruling sentences Lee to 30 months in prison, and after having already served one year, Samsung’s leader should be spending the next year and a half behind bars.
“Samsung is above the law”
Lee’s initial conviction and the constant whittling down of punishment has been par for the course for Samsung executives accused of crimes in South Korea. Samsung is so large that it makes up anywhere from 10 to 20 percent of South Korea’s GDP, depending on the year, so there is a fear of what damaging the company would do to South Korea’s economy. Lee’s recently deceased father and the chairman of Samsung Group, Lee Kun-hee, was convicted of bribery in 1996 and of tax evasion in 2009 but was never arrested nor served jail time. Later, presidential pardons wiped out his criminal record. As one National Assembly member put it when Lee’s sentence was reduced in 2018, “We confirmed once again that Samsung is above the law and the court.”
Bloomberg’s report on the sentencing gives us an idea of how the “Pro-Samsung” faction of South Korea feels about the court ruling. The report quotes Shin Se-don, an emeritus professor of economics at Sookmyung Women’s University: “Lee might be able to manage the company from the jail, but there will be some setback. The jailing of Lee will give an emotional shock to the people. Samsung is a backbone of our economy and people will be upset about the result.”
Samsung Group is currently undergoing a major transition after the death of Lee’s father, Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee, in October. Lee Jae-yong has been the de facto leader of Samsung for years now, following Lee Kun-hee’s hospitalization in 2014 after a heart attack. Now Lee Jae-yong will have to properly ascend from “vice-chairman” to official Samsung chairman and deal with the financial challenge of paying South Korea’s 50 percent estate tax on the Samsung empire. Bloomberg reports that the transition is “likely” to be delayed until Lee gets out of prison.
Enlarge / The Mac App Store—the only place you can easily get iOS and iPadOS apps for Mac.
Apple has plugged a hole that allowed users to sideload iOS and iPad applications to M1 Macs that were never intended to run on desktop, 9to5Mac reports. The server-side change ensures that only applications that app developers have flagged as optimized for Mac will run.
Late last year, Apple launched its first Macs running on its own ARM-based custom CPU called the M1, as opposed to the Intel chips that have been used in Macs for several years. These new machines included the entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro, the MacBook Air, and the low-end Mac mini.
Since those machines now share an architecture with iPhones and iPads, which also have closely related ARM-based chips, it became possible to run iOS and iPadOS apps natively on Macs that were equipped with the M1 chip. Apple supported this by listing iPhone and iPad apps that passed an automated test on the Mac App Store, provided developers did not opt out of having the app listed.
However, many developers did opt out for any number of reasons: because they did not feel the app provided a good user experience on laptops or desktops; because they offer preferred alternative ways to access services or content on Macs; because they don’t have the time to support an additional platform; or any number of other reasons.
In those cases, the apps did not appear on the Mac App Store. But a couple of months ago, a Reddit user shared a way of sideloading those apps on M1 Macs by fetching the app’s IPA file from a connected iOS or iPadOS device using third-party software, like iMazing, for Macs.
According to 9to5Mac, though, Apple has now “flipped the necessary server-side switch” to block this method. The change already affects Macs running macOS Big Sur 11.1, and it also applies to Macs running the 11.2 beta. In fact, it even offers an error message on the latter: “This application cannot be installed because the developer did not intend for it to run on this platform.”
There are a number of reasons Apple may have introduced this change. For one, an alternate version of the IPA file method described above could also be used to sideload pirated versions of apps rather than files from versions legitimately and legally installed on iOS or iPadOS devices. Further, Apple and developers may feel that these applications provide a poor user experience on macOS, and they could be a support or security headache.
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École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
How to create more energy-efficient cruise ships
A Swiss researcher has developed a system based on fuel cells to reduce the carbon footprint and energy consumption of cruise ships.
Spending a few weeks sailing the seas on a luxury liner is an idea that appeals to a growing number of people, particularly in Asian countries. But cruise ships do not just sail from port to port: as veritable floating hotels accommodating several hundred passengers, they use a great deal of energy for heating, electricity, air conditioning and various other aspects of life on board. To make them more environmentally friendly, Francesco Baldi, a researcher in EPFL’s Industrial Process and Energy Systems Engineering Group (IPESE), has come up with a novel solution.
Reducing ships’ carbon footprint
“It’s easier to reduce the energy consumption of a merchant ship, because almost all of the energy is used for propulsion, unlike a cruise ship, which has various energy demands,” says Baldi. “My work focused on reducing CO2 emissions, initially by optimizing each of the ship’s systems and the design of the boat itself, to improve efficiency.” These first efforts produced a potential 6–10% reduction in CO2 emissions for a diesel-powered cruise ship.
Although promising, this was not enough for Baldi, so he considered alternatives to diesel engines. In a collaborative project with Aalto University in Finland, he looked at using fuel cells on a ship. This required him to address the special challenges that arise when sailing for thousands of kilometers at a time. “You need to store enough energy on board without taking up too much space. Hydrogen fuel cells are not suitable, because storing enough energy to travel long distances would take up a huge amount of space – around one third of the ship’s capacity – which is not realistic for a cruise ship,” Baldi says.
Storing surplus energy
Although they need high temperatures to work and take up to 20 hours to turn on, solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) turn out to be a good fit for ships. All that was needed was to find a use for the surplus energy resulting from having them in constant use, which is necessary given the long start-up times. This is where Baldi stepped in: his idea was to use a system developed at EPFL to transform unused energy into hydrogen, which is then stored. The resulting fuel cells, customized for ships, could thus generate either electricity to be consumed on board or hydrogen to be stored for later use. This concept is particularly well suited to cruise ships, according to Baldi.
One of the advantages of fuel cells is that they only produce CO2 and water, unlike a Diesel engine which also produces other pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. Fuel cell generate power though a chemical reaction. This makes them much more environmentally friendly than fossil fuels – and also more efficient: the fuel cells developed at EPFL have achieved 75% efficiency versus less than 50% for even the most efficient diesel engine.
The only downside is that the fuel cells cost ten times as much to produce as a traditional engine. “But prices will fall if demand increases. Also, the long-term cost is only 20–30% higher than that of a traditional engine, and opting for this cleaner type of fuel will enhance the image of the ships’ operators.” In the absence of regulations in this area, Baldi also sees the potential for Europe, where most cruise liners are built, to take on part of the cost in order to incentivize equipping ships with fuel cells. “This approach, which works for solar panels, could help cruise ships sharply cut their pollution in the future,” says Baldi.
(Sarah Aubort)
Using X-ray technology to clear up an archeological secret
Swiss researchers used X-ray scanning technology to unlock the mysteries of an extremely rare chainmail shirt dating from Roman times.
Examining the highly organized lives of long-distance commuters
A Swiss scientist took a look at the strategies commuting parents use for managing their time wisely and dealing with unexpected challenges.
INNOVATION. EXPLAINED.
Ⓒ 2019 LargeNetwork. All rights reserved.
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Taylor Made’s new electric car fleet
Taylor Made welcomes new electric cars to its fleet
Taylor Made has powered up its green credentials with the arrival of six brand-new electric cars.
On the 20th December 2017, Taylor Made welcomed six new BMWi3s to its fleet this week, marking its move towards electrifying its entire fleet.
Founder and Managing Director Nigel Taylor said: “The entire team was so excited about the arrival of the new electric cars and couldn’t wait to see them pull up outside the office. We’re well-known for our branded cars and can’t wait to get these new, greener vehicles, out on the road.”
With the Government planning to ban the sale of all new petrol and diesel cars from 2040, an increasing number of businesses are starting to switch to electric cars. Taylor Made prides itself on being an early adopter and has even installed three charging points to ensure the i3s are ready for action at any time.
The vehicles will be used as ‘pool cars’ for the company’s 115 employees, who need to be ready to dash out and help clients at a moment’s notice.
“Our customers span across the entire south of England, from Poole in the west to Brighton and London in the East,” Nigel said. “We’ll be able to use our chargers before we leave and top up with rapid charges on the road if necessary for longer journeys.”
Taylor Made has a fleet of nearly 50 vehicles and plans to transition the rest of its cars to electric in time.
Phil Page from Compass Leasing in Portsmouth, which helped Taylor Made make the switch, said: “We are seeing a real rise in demand for alternatively fuelled vehicles here in Hampshire. We’re only expecting that to rise as manufacturers start producing more and more electric vehicles, with greater range and battery capacity. It was our pleasure to help Taylor Made start its electric car journey and hope it’ll encourage other businesses to follow suit.”
Nigel Taylor concluded: “Our current vehicles have relatively low emissions but we’re keen to take our carbon footprint down even lower. Making a positive impact on the world around us is important to all of us here at Taylor Made.”
There are currently an estimated 126,000 electric vehicles on the UK’s roads. According to the latest figures from the SMMT, more than 41,000 new alternatively fuelled vehicles have been registered so far this year, up around a quarter on the same period last year.
New figures released by Go Ultra Low last week showed company car drivers could save £7,376 over three years by switching to a 100% electric car.
To find out more about Taylor Made visit www.tmcs.co.uk
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Tony Brown's Journal
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Tony Brown is an African-American journalist, academician and entrepreneur. He is best known as the commentator of Tony Brown's Journal, the long-running series on PBS, and a nationally syndicated television series.
James Earl Jones and Tony Brown
Q. Please describe yourself?
A. I am an African-American objectivist, loyal only to reasoning and logic. I am a journalist, university academic dean, author and entrepreneur. I’m best known as the host and commentator of the Emmy award-winning Tony Brown's Journal/Black Journal national television series for 40 years. I am also the founding dean and professor of the School of Communications at Howard University and the first dean and Dean Emeritus of the Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications at Hampton University. I am the coordinator of the largest civil rights march in history which was held in Detroit on June 23, 1963. It was led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Q. What do you love about being Black?
A. The inspiring opportunities that my heritage makes possible, which includes my ability to Educate, Inspire and help Equip Black people with the skills for Self-Empowerment and to help build a competitive community. My life's work continues to focus on encouraging African Americans to develop their economic and intellectual potential.
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A. Stream to the population of the planet, the entire digitally re-mastered Tony Brown’s Journal collection of nearly 1,000 historical and public affairs video and film content that I produced on national television for over 40 years (1968-2008). This iconic collection is now described by archivists as “the most complete and thoughtful record of African- American opinion.” This collection also includes a full-length movie, “The White Girl,” that was directed by Tony Brown and was released via commercial syndication in movie theaters in 1995.
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What Jobs Are Available in Medical Records?
As the healthcare field grows in complexity, jobs available in medical records will become more plentiful. Although people tend to think of direct care when they think of healthcare jobs, it's essential that well-trained and competent record keepers are available to keep track of patient data and other information that can aid in efficient healthcare delivery. If you're interested in healthcare and are especially comfortable with technology, there are several kinds of medical records jobs you might consider.
Health Information Technician
Health information technicians usually hold at least an associate's degree and may work in a doctor's office, hospital or any other facility where patient records are kept. Medical records or health information technicians manage the data regarding a patient's history and also do checks for quality on such information, according to Career Overview. All kinds of health information might be included in the kinds of records handled, from patient intake information to diagnosis and treatment notes or test results. Good computer skills are a must, but it's also helpful for a health information technician to have some understanding of medical terminology.
Electronic Health Records (EHR) Professional
In 2012, the government provided grants to a number of hospitals so they could convert to electronic health records (EHR). Since then, the need for technicians and consultants to help with that record keeping has grown. According to Fortune, big healthcare networks began actively looking for and training people to manage the software. Basically these technicians will take general templates and customize them for specific needs, such as building a requested patient's history. The data may be on an even larger scale, however, such a health profiles for a certain demographic. To do such work, it helps if you have a background in medicine already, perhaps as a medical assistant or nurse. Once you have this kind of software expertise, it's likely you can use it in a consulting capacity.
Medical Transcriptionist
Among the jobs available in medical records is the job of a medical transcriptionist. Fast, accurate typing and some familiarity with medical terminology are both helpful in this job. Some people in this field have an associate's degree, while others complete an approximately one-year program to gain the skills they need. Transcriptionists are what they sound like: people who transcribe doctor's notes, usually recorded, onto a computer. These notes get added to patient medical files and ensure that the doctor has accurate and legible notes to refer to when needed, which aids in a better quality of patient care. Medical transcriptionists can sometimes work from home or as independent contractors, which is an attractive feature for many job-seekers.
Related Resource: MBA in Healthcare Management
These are just a few of the medical record keeping jobs you can find in the current healthcare system. The list could also include such jobs as medical billing and coding. Although direct care for patients is important, quality support workers, such as medical record keepers, are also important. Care and accuracy in handling information and some familiarity with medical terminology and healthcare delivery are perhaps your biggest assets as you look into jobs available in medical records.
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terre des hommes schweiz cooperates with numerous national and international institutions and organisations.
A diverse network is an important part of the work of terre des hommes schweiz.
In these networks, exchange and dissemination of information takes place. Both synergies and specialisations of the individual organisations are used. Networking is central in order to give more weight to common interests. Some of the organisations and institutions also fulfil functions that terre des hommes schweiz cannot perform, but which we consider important.
Selected networks and institutions
The SDC coordinates Switzerland's development cooperation and plays a major role in its orientation. terre des hommes schweiz receives a contribution from the SDC to the programme work. This contribution is linked to the fulfilment of qualitative criteria which are regularly reviewed by the SDC. The SDC is in dialogue with Swiss NGOs in Switzerland and abroad, but also with organizations such as the UN or the World Bank.
Alliance brew
Alliance Sud is the joint development policy organisation of six Swiss aid agencies. terre des hommes schweiz is a partner of Alliance Sud. The organisation advocates a coherent Swiss policy towards poor countries.
International Federation Terre des Hommes
The International Federation is the network of the 10 terre des hommes organisations worldwide. At the international level, the Federation coordinates the exchange between the different terre des hommes organisations. It develops common international campaign themes and has consultative status with the UN, UNICEF, ILO (International Labour Organization) and the EU.
Cooperation Brazil (KoBra)
KoBra is a network of various actors with connections to Brazil. The network is committed to sustainable social, ecological and economic improvements in Brazil and makes the voices of Brazilian civil society audible here. terre des hommes schweiz is a member of KoBra. The association promotes the exchange of information among its members.
Swiss peacebuilding in Colombia
Numerous Swiss NGOs and the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs are involved in peacebuilding in Colombia. The aim is to promote peace in Colombia through political negotiations and the participation of civil society. Peace promotion and the prevention of violence are also priorities in the terre des hommes switzerland Colombia programme.
Center for Peacebuilding (KOFF)
KOFF is a platform for state and non-state actors in peacebuilding. The Center for Peacebuilding strengthens the competencies of Swiss organizations and their international partners in civil peacebuilding. For terre des hommes schweiz it offers the possibility of an exchange within the framework of the priority area of violence prevention and conflict transformation. terre des hommes schweiz is active in numerous post-conflict countries.
Ethos - Swiss Foundation for Sustainable Development
The foundation is committed to ensuring that ecological and social criteria are given weight in the investment practice and corporate governance of companies. Sustainability should be central as a guiding principle in investment and corporate governance. terre des hommes schweiz is a member of Ethos.
Working Group Tourism and Development (akte)
akte is the Swiss expert body that questions tourism from a development policy perspective and is committed to fair relations in tourism. akte also operates the portal fairunterwegs.orgterre des hommes schweiz was co-founder of the working group on tourism and development in 1977.
Aidsfocus.ch
aidsfocus.ch is the Swiss professional platform for HIV/AIDS and international cooperation and is a voluntary association of organisations that work in solidarity for people affected by HIV and AIDS.
Swiss Working Group of Youth Associations (SNYC)
The SNYC is the umbrella organization of youth organizations in Switzerland. It works to ensure that young people are strengthened in their competencies and can take on social responsibility. In 2010, SNYC launched the Speak out! project, which gives MNAs (Mineurs non-accompagnés - unaccompanied minor asylum seekers) the opportunity to participate in advocacy activities and develop their social skills.
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Working Against the Texas Death Penalty
Save Jeff Wood
Todd Willingham
Annual March
Former Illinois Governor Nominated Again for Nobel Peace Prize Jose Briseno’s Execution Was Stayed So Penpal Could Visit
Iran hanged 22 people in 2 Days
By Texas Moratorium Network On January 22, 2009 · Add Comment · In Uncategorized
TEHRAN — Iran hanged 22 convicted criminals in mass executions on Tuesday and Wednesday in Tehran and a few other cities, official news media reported.
Iran has the highest number of executions in the world after China. Crimes like murder, drug trafficking, armed robbery, rape and adultery are punished by execution.
The state-run television news reported Thursday that 10 men were hanged in Tehran’s Evin prison on Wednesday. The semi-official Fars news agency reported that an 11th man, scheduled to be executed in February, witnessed the hanging of the 10.
Texas Moratorium Network (TMN) is a non-profit organization with the primary goal of mobilizing statewide support for a moratorium on executions in Texas. Significant death penalty reform in Texas, including a moratorium on executions, is a viable goal if the public is educated on the death penalty system and is encouraged to contact their elected representatives to urge passage of moratorium legislation.
We hope that you will join us in this fight for fairness and social justice.Please join our email list and become one of the more than 20,000 people receiving information through our network.
Error 403: Your IP is being rate limited by Twitter. — stopexecutions
To make a one time online donation of any amount you choose, click the Donate button below. Your donation is greatly appreciated and helps us build support to stop executions.
To make a recurring monthly donation, choose an amount and click the Subscribe button.
Monthly Contribution Options
Level 1 : $10.00USD - monthly Level 2 : $25.00USD - monthly Level 3 : $50.00USD - monthly Level 4 : $100.00USD - monthly
You can also donate by sending a check to: Texas Moratorium Network 3616 Far West Blvd Suite 117,Box 251 Austin,Texas 78731 Donations to Texas Moratorium Network are not tax deductible because TMN is organized as a 501(c)4.
Texas Moratorium Network on Facebook
Execution Vigils
Huntsville - Corner of 12th Street and Avenue I (in front of the Walls Unit) at 5:00 p.m.
Austin - At the Texas Capitol on the sidewalk on 11th Street facing Congress Avenue from 5:30 to 6:30 PM.
Beaumont - Diocese of Beaumont, Diocesan Pastoral Office, 703 Archie St. @ 4:00 p.m. on the day of an execution.
College Station - 6 to 7 PM on execution days, corner of Texas Avenue and University Drive.
Corpus Christi - at 6 PM in front of Incarnate Word Convent at 2910 Alameda Street
Dallas - 6 pm, SMU Catholic Center, 3057 University Blvd (University Blvd. and Airline Rd)
Houston - To learn location or if a stay has been granted before you come out, call Burnham Terrell, 713/921-0948.
Lewisville - St. Philip the Apostle Catholic Church, 1897 W. Main Street. Peace & Justice Ministry conducts Vigils of Witness Against Capital Punishment at 6:00 pm on the day executions are scheduled in Texas.
McKinney - St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Community located at 110 St. Gabriel Way. We gather the last Sunday of the month, following the 11:00 Mass to pray for those men/women scheduled to be executed in the next month and to remember the victims, their families, and all lives touched, including us as a society.
San Antonio (Site 1) - Archdiocese of San Antonio, in the St. Joseph Chapel at the Chancery, 2718 W. Woodlawn Ave. (1 mile east of Bandera Rd.) at 11:30 a.m. on the day of execution. Broadcast on Catholic Television of San Antonio (Time-Warner cable channel 15) at 12:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on the day of execution.
San Antonio (Site 2) - Main Plaza across from Bexar County Courthouse and San Fernando Cathedral - Noon
Spring - Prayer Vigil at 6 PM on evenings of executions at St Edward Catholic Community, 2601 Spring Stuebner Rd for the murder victim, for family and friends of the murder victim, the prison guards and correctional officers, for the family of the condemn man/woman, for the man/woman to be executed and to an end to the death penalty.
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Dexter Learning relocating to bigger location, plans to open in August
by: Latoya Fondren
WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL)— Dexter Learning has announced it’s relocating to an iconic building in Wichita Falls.
The school will be moving to the Fain Presbyterian Church at 2201 Speedway.
The church stands at 31,000 square-feet, and features an Oxford-style library, fenced outdoor play area, and will serve as an education and community development center.
The new campus will feature the high-technology atmosphere Dexter is known for while preserving and maintaining the iconic structure that has sat largely unused for years.
School officials will host events throughout the year open that will be open to the community to encourage interest in science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics.
The campus is set to open in August 2020 and will kick off with a community open house.
If you’d like to learn more about Dexter Learning and apply for the Summer or Fall term you may visit www.dexter.school.
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Hand sanitizer recall: A new contaminant warning as more products added to the FDA list
The Food and Drug Administration continues to add hand sanitizers to a list of products that should be avoided after they tested positive for methanol and a dangerous new contaminant – 1-propanol – recently found in some products.
There are now a total of 165 hand sanitizers on the updated list of toxic products, some of which have already been recalled while others are being recommended for recalls.
The FDA says it has seen a spike in the number of hand sanitizer products labeled to contain ethanol but have tested positive for methanol, which can be toxic when absorbed through the skin or ingested.
The agency has also begun finding hand sanitizer containing 1-propanol, which is not an acceptable ingredient for hand sanitizer products marketed in the United States and can be toxic and life-threatening when ingested. 1-propanol should not be confused with 2-propanol/isopropanol/isopropyl alcohol, the agency says.
Young children who accidentally ingest 1-propanol products and those who drink them as an alcohol (ethanol) substitute are most at risk. 1-propanol can cause central nervous system (CNS) depression, which can result in death. Symptoms of exposure can include confusion, decreased consciousness, and slowed pulse and breathing.
Consumers who have been exposed to hand sanitizer containing 1-propanol and are experiencing symptoms should seek immediate care for treatment of 1-propanol poisoning. Skin or eye exposure to 1-propanol can result in irritation, and rare cases of allergic skin reactions have been reported.
The complete list can be found on the FDA’s site.
The FDA first warned consumers in June about nine hand sanitizer products to avoid due to the possible presence of methanol. Two weeks later, more brands that tested positive for methanol were added.
“Substantial methanol exposure can result in nausea, vomiting, headache, blurred vision, permanent blindness, seizures, coma, permanent damage to the nervous system or death,” according to the FDA.
If you have any of the listed hand sanitizer products, the FDA says to dispose of them immediately in appropriate hazardous waste containers. Do not flush or pour them down the drain.
by Sarah Doiron, Nexstar Media Wire / Jan 18, 2021
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Nestlé Prepared Foods is recalling more than 700,000 pounds of Hot Pockets because they may be contaminated with pieces of glass or hard plastic, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service.
The company said they've received four complaints of consumers finding glass and plastic pieces in their frozen, not-ready-to-eat pepperoni Hot Pockets. One of those complaints involved a "minor oral injury," according to the USDA.
Pro-Trump demonstrators, some armed, start descending on Michigan, Ohio and South Carolina statehouses
Police and National Guard troops stood sentry at newly fortified statehouses Sunday ahead of demonstrations planned for the leadup to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, as authorities worked to deter a repeat of the recent riot that overran the U.S. Capitol. A few protesters were starting to gather in some cities, but streets in many others remained empty.
About two dozen people, several carrying long guns, protested outside the Ohio Statehouse, observed by several of the dozens of state troopers positioned around the building. Several dozen people — some carrying American flags — gathered at South Carolina’s Statehouse. And at Michigan’s Capitol, a small group of demonstrators, some armed, stood near a chain-link fence surrounding the building as state police walked the grounds and National Guard vehicles were parked nearby.
by Mike Jimenez, Nexstar Media Wire / Jan 16, 2021
EDINBURG, Texas (KVEO) — Tax season is just around the corner and for those who received unemployment benefits, you could be in for a big surprise.
Those checks are taxable, so how much could you owe?
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Wharfedale Diamond 11.1 Loudspeaker
by Drew Kalbach
It’s been barely a year since I first listened to the Wharfedale Diamond 225. That was my very first review, and I still break out that pair every once in a while. Not out of nostalgia or anything like that, but because the Diamond 225s are a very solid reference speaker, especially for entry-level stand-mounts. They look good; they sound good. They do everything I want a speaker of that price point to do.
I’m mentioning the 225s because I was just sent Wharfedale’s new Diamond 11.1 bookshelf speaker ($499). It’s the middle level of the three available stand-mounts in the updated Diamond 11 line. Three new floorstanders and two new center speakers round out that series and run the gamut in terms of pricing, although they’re still incredibly reasonable by hi-fi standards. And I have to admit, I’m really excited to get to listen to the 11.1s, although I can’t get that past review of the 225s out of my head.
Wharfedale hit it out of the park with the 225s, so much so that I still really like them. I’ve gone through other speakers, other components, new music, a new house, all that life stuff. Changes have happened. Tastes have shifted. But the 225s are still in rotation—steadfast, loyal, pleasant. If there’s anything consistent in my life, it’s the Diamond 225.
OK, so maybe I’m exaggerating just a little bit. Maybe that degree of devotion on my part isn’t fair to the 11.1s or even to my actual family for that matter. I’m going to listen to these new speakers on their own terms, but let’s be honest here: You never forget your first love, goes the cliché. Well, you never forget your first review, and since I have prior Diamond experience, a lot of these listening notes are backed up by comparisons to the 225 pair. I don’t want to spoil anything from the outset, but I will say this: It turns out, my heart is capable of loving another.
The Wharfedale Diamond 11.1 looks very similar to previous Diamond stand-mounts, at least in their recent iterations. They feature a 1″ textile-dome tweeter overtop a 5″ woven Kevlar bass/mid driver with a glossy black baffle and silver shiny rings around the tweeter and the woofer. “Wharfedale” is etched so finely beneath the woofer that I can barely see it from across the room. They use the same slot-loaded bass-reflex port design seen on past Diamond speakers; it makes the speaker look like it’s standing on a tiny plinth. This feature lets you place them near a wall, where they can still deliver a decent amount of bass—or at least as much low-end output as these speakers are capable of producing.
Wharfedale rates the 11.1 nominally at 4 ohms, although the company notes that it’s 8 ohms compatible, with a moderate sensitivity of 87dB. I found them easy to drive using a few various amplifiers, including my First Watt J2, which doesn’t always do too well into anything less than 8 ohms, but it drove the 11.1s just fine. I also tried them with the Schiit Audio Vidar—a new addition to my system—and that 100Wpc amp provided more than enough power. I mainly stuck with my Cambridge Audio CXA80 for the bulk of my listening, and found it capably drove the 11.1s. I never felt the need to crank them up to Beyoncé-concert levels, but I suspect I could get them there if I really wanted to. Overall, I think the 11.1s would pair best with a moderately powerful amplifier, although they definitely don’t need something monstrous.
The most interesting and striking physical feature of the 11.1 is its curved body. It tapers backwards from the baffle, and looks almost wind-swept. It’s a very pretty effect, and may contribute to its overall natural and smooth sound, which I’ll touch on later. As objects though, they pass the living-room test: I put them in my living room, and I didn’t hate them. Let’s be honest, not every hi-fi component can pass this very basic test, but I’m pretty happy in this case. Wharfedale clearly hit on a winning design with the Diamond series, which is probably why it’s been relatively stable over the last couple of iterations.
Diving into listening, I fired up Amen Dunes’ album Freedom, which I’ve been playing on repeat almost obsessively these past few weeks. I started with the 11.1, and my initial impressions were overall pretty positive. Mids felt projected and effortless, polished in a really nice way. I keep wanting to use the word “natural” here, but that’s not exactly right. Your typical boxy bookshelf speaker can feel a little veiled or muted in the midrange, but the 11.1 avoids this problem. If you read the company’s marketing material, Wharfedale claims that it’s all about that curvy box, and maybe it is. Since I have no other theories, we’ll go with that. Wherever this effect comes from, I liked it, especially compared to the sound of my 225s. Both speakers benefit from a pleasant midrange, but the 11.1s had a bit less of that boxy veil.
In particular, “Skipping School” is a rolling groove anchored around Damon McMahon’s voice. It’s open and clear, even when he’s nearly whispering in the second half of the song. The reverb makes the quiet parts sound a little bit more concrete, filling them out, and when the background music starts to build, the 11.1 keeps everything in focus. That said, the more I listened, the more I noticed that the 11.1 does suffer a bit in the bass department. This isn’t exactly a surprise, given the small cabinet. But even compared to the similar 225, which admittedly does have a slightly larger woofer, the bass felt a little bit anemic at certain moments. For near-field listening, I think the 11.1s would be perfectly sufficient, but if you’re trying to fill a larger room and you love the bass, a subwoofer might be a good idea.
Moving on, I listened to Japanese Breakfast next. The album Soft Sounds from Another Planet is a little misleadingly titled. It’s not soft so much as a mix of synth-driven jams with a touch of funky beat followed by shimmering, almost electronica-fueled soundscapes. I love the acoustic guitar on “This House” in particular. It’s detailed all the way through its range, even and charming. When the piano comes in, the 11.1s do a good job of keeping the sound full without losing distinction between the two levels. Along those lines, the closing track on the album is a very short bell instrumental, undergirded by a low synth. The bells sound strong and concise, their attacks and decays lingering just long enough to give them a good sense of physical space. In the same way that the acoustic guitar was solid and grounded, the bells were pretty convincing.
If the 11.1 really slipped anywhere during my Japanese Breakfast listening, it was in rhythm and timing. That may be because the bass floor isn’t very deep, and so the drum kicks don’t hit very hard, but I found the 11.1s lacked a little excitement. Switching over to the 225s, a little bit of that excitement came back, especially during the track “Road Head.” Shimmering synth and fast-moving guitar were kept afloat by a loud, funky bass, and some hard drumming. I could feel the difference almost right away when I switched between the two speakers, with the 225s driving a bit more forcefully.
Finally, I put on Slowdive’s third album, Pygmalion, which my wife described as “that weird goth church music.” Not inaccurate, but anyway… It’s a very slow-moving, almost lackadaisical shoegaze sound, full of reverb, soft guitar, and gentle drums. I couldn’t help but notice how the lower end of the drumming was almost lost, which could’ve been caused by the deep mix, but the upper bass was still nice and taught. The cymbals on “Rutti” shimmered nicely and didn’t end up as just white noise. They had distinct patterns of attack and decay, somewhat muted but still evident.
As a study of the midrange, Pygmalion is perfect. Shoegaze tends to stick with the same noises, somewhat warped or echoed, but still recognizable and repeated. Through some speakers, this can get a little boring, especially if the subtle contrasts get lost in the overall noisescape. On “Crazy for You,” half of the song is a single phrase repeated over and over, edited and spliced and stretched until it’s an instrument in itself. The 11.1s did a good job of keeping this morass of noise and reflection balanced and coherent. I was engaged through multiple listens and able to pick out the little details that make this album shine.
On the whole, I’m a big fan of the Wharfedale Diamond series, especially its incredibly affordable bookshelf models. I think, in terms of price to sound, the 11.1 is easily on par with the 225. If you have a smaller apartment, or a smaller listening room, I wouldn’t hesitate to put the 11.1s on a very short list of possibilities. You might want to consider a subwoofer for larger spaces, however, if you really crave that deep, pounding bass. But that said, over a large range of musical styles, the Wharfedale Diamond 11.1s never failed to keep me engaged. They always did my favorite records justice. They just sounded simple and good. I can’t really ask more from a speaker of any price.
Driver complement: 5″ woven Kevlar cone, 1″ soft-dome tweeter
Frequency response: 55Hz–20kHz (+/- 3dB)
Impedance: 8 ohms compatible
Crossover: 2.4kHz
Loading: Bass-reflex
Finish: Black, white, walnut, rosewood
Dimensions: 12.2″ x 7.6″ x 11.2″
Price: $499/pr.
WHARFEDALE International Audio Group
Units 13/14 Glebe Road
St. Peters Industrial Estate
Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, PE29 7DL
(44) 01480 452561
wharfedale.co.uk
MoFi Distribution (U.S. Distributor)
1811 W Bryn Mawr Ave.
mofidistribution.com
I have a degree in English from Temple University and a Masters in Fine Arts with a specialty in poetry from the University of Notre Dame. I’m a full-time self-published author with over 100 books in both romance and men’s adventure fiction.
MQA Added to Powered by Napster Platform Service
Vimberg Appoints Wynn Audio as North American Distributor
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Home News Publishers succeed in getting Sci-Hub access blocked in Russia
Publishers succeed in getting Sci-Hub access blocked in Russia
Published December 11, 2018 by Benedicte Page
Pirate site Sci-Hub has been blocked in Russia after a group of publishers applied to the courts to get service providers to stop serving the...
Pirate site Sci-Hub has been blocked in Russia after a group of publishers applied to the courts to get service providers to stop serving the site.
Springer Nature and Elsevier have both confirmed they were among the publishers involved in the court action. As a result of the action, the state ISP (RKN) has blocked subscriber access to Sci-Hub, run by Kazakhstan-born Alexandra Elbakyan.
Springer Nature and Elsevier both said in a statement: "Sci-Hub infringes intellectual property rights on a massive scale. The site compromises the security of libraries and institutions around the world to gain unauthorised access to scientific databases and illegally harvest journal articles and e-books. The risks posed by Sci-Hub and other illegal sites are exacerbated by the way they operate: leveraging authentication technology, and reportedly using stolen user credentials and phishing attacks.
"Ultimately, Sci-Hub's illegal activities harm learned societies who are reliant on subscription income to support their important work; it is a threat to the scholarly communications ecosystem, the sustainability of high quality journals as well as the ability to invest in new journals and fields. Sci-Hub has no incentive to ensure the accuracy of the research articles being acessed and its continued operation poses a threat to the accuracy of the scientific record."
The publishers said they supported lawful sharing and scholarly collaboration and were taking this action "only after multiple requests for Sci-Hub to cease its infringing activity and operate within the law."
Elsevier and Springer Nature are among a larger group of publishers, not all of whom participated in the Russia court action, which have come together to explore how to address the problem posed by Sci-Hub to their businesses. Taylor & Francis, Cambridge University Press, Wiley, and US publishers including The American Chemical Society, are also among those involved in this group.
Sci-Hub, founded in 2011, describes itself as "the first pirate website in the world to provide mass and public access to tens of millions of research papers", saying: "A research paper is a special publication written by scientists to be read by other researchers. Papers are primary sources necessary for research – for example, they contain detailed description of new results and experiments....At this time the widest possible distribution of research papers, as well as of other scientific or educational sources, is artificially restricted by copyright laws. Such laws effectively slow down the development of science in human society. The Sci-Hub project, running from 5th September 2011, is challenging the status quo." More than 70 million papers are now held in the Sci-Hub library, the site claims.
Last year Elbakyan temporarily took the Sci-Hub site down in Russia following fierce criticism from Russian scientists.
Also in 2017, Elsevier was awarded $15m by a US court in damages for copyright infringements involving Sci-Hub, the Library of Genesis (LibGen) project, and related sites.
Sci-Hub has been approached for comment on the Russia court ruling.
Alexandra Elbakyan
Elbakyan pulls Sci-Hub from Russia
Elsevier awarded $15m from Sci-Hub in copyright case
Springer Nature blocks journal articles in China
Springer Nature launches 'Nano' research tool
Bol.com's Ropers to take Haank's role at Springer Nature
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Watership Down (Hardcover)
By Frank Cottrell-Boyce (Adapted by), Sophia O'Connor (Illustrator)
Discover the adventures of the beloved rabbits from Watership Down—the animated TV miniseries now streaming on Netflix—in this beautiful storybook by Frank Cottrell-Boyce adapted from the TV scripts based on the Carnegie Medal–winning novel and timeless classic by Richard Adams.
Set in the English countryside, Watership Down tells the tale of a small group of rabbits suddenly forced to abandon their warren and seek a safe home. As they set off to find a new place to live, they encounter all kinds of danger, from the landscape, from humans, and also from other rabbits! Will they find a new place to call home?
Watership Down © 2018 Watership Down Television Limited A Netflix Original Series All rights reserved.
Frank Cottrell-Boyce is an award-winning author and screenwriter. Millions, his debut children’s novel, won the CILIP Carnegie Medal. He is also the author of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again, Cosmic, Framed, and The Astounding Broccoli Boy. His books have been shortlisted for a multitude of prizes, including the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize, the Whitbread Children’s Fiction Award (now the Costa Book Awards) and the Roald Dahl Funny Prize. Sputnik’s Guide to Life on Earth was shortlisted for the 2017 CILIP Carnegie Medal.
Publication Date: December 10th, 2019
Juvenile Fiction / Classics
Juvenile Fiction / Animals / Rabbits
Juvenile Fiction / Media Tie-In
Kobo eBook (December 10th, 2019): $10.99
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WATCH: World's largest orgy fetish boat sets sail and holy hecka, it's a sight to behold
sex 27/06/2018
Germany's annual Torture Ship launched over the weekend with hundreds of fetish enthusiasts from around the world partying together on a huge barge.
It's hailed as the world's largest BDSM party to take place on water, taking place on the idyllic Lake Constance - which borders Austria and Switzerland - every June for the past 22 years.
Footage of this year's Torture Ship setting off from Friedrichshafen shows large crowds gathered to view the participants, who are dressed in full bondage gear including gimp masks, horse heads and revealing fishnet outfits.
This year, the turnout of about 500 passengers was a little smaller than other years, with organisers blaming the Germany-Sweden Football World Cup match.
Although the fetish fans still provide a spectacle, the Torture Ship is not quite as raunchy as it once was.
In 2015, it was forced to remove all beds, an orgy darkroom, and "separate facilities for sexual acts" due to the tightening of local regulations.
The move came after local unease about swinger ships operating on Lake Constance and saw Torture Ship categorised as a "dance ship".
Newshub.
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All Posts WWA Wakeboard World Championships to Hit Orlando Aug. 19-22
WWA Wakeboard World Championships to Hit Orlando Aug. 19-22
Orlando, Fla. — The top pro and amateur wake athletes from throughout the globe will once again battle it out on the waters of the Orlando Watersports Complex for world titles, as the ROCKSTAR WWA Wakeboard World Championships, presented by Supra returns to Orlando, Fla. on Aug. 19-22, 2010.
Top wakeboarders and wakeskaters from Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Korea, China, Columbia, Argentina, Sweden, France, Brazil, Mexico, Great Britain, Canada and the United States are expected to attend this year’s event to vie for world titles in 20 different divisions, separated by age and skill level.
Athletes compete by performing rail tricks and aerial stunts, while being towed on the water behind the official towboat of the 2010 Worlds, the Supra Launch 24V. Tricks are scored by a panel of judges, with only the top-scoring athletes advancing in each round of the contest until a winner is determined in the finals.
On land, fans will experience tons of great music and food, athlete autograph signings, chances to win freebies, and shopping at the most cutting-edge stores offering water-sports equipment, including boats, wakeboards, wakeskates, sunglasses and the latest in wakeboarding and surfing fashions.
For event information, including daily schedules, tickets, results, standings, photos, videos, athlete bios and more, please visit www.allisports.com.
The ROCKSTAR WWA Wakeboard World Championships, presented by Supra is organized by World Sports & Marketing of Orlando, Fla. The Worlds has the support of the following sponsors: Rockstar Energy Drink, Supra boats, Indmar, Billabong, Oakley, Hyperlite, CWB, Ronix, Liquid Force, WWA, FUEL TV and Allisports.com.
Supra is the official tow boat of the WWA Wakeboard World Championships. Celebrating more than 30 years of excellence in the marine industry, Supra pioneered rider-friendly boats that feature innovative hull designs, adjustable wakes and versatile seating with sleek and sexy styling.
The World Wakeboard Association (WWA) is a rider formed organization dedicated to promoting and growing wake sports worldwide. It is the leading source for riders, event organizers and competitive standards.
ROCKSTAR is the world’s most powerful energy drink. Enhanced with the potent herbal blend of Guarana, Ginkgo, Ginseng and Milk Thistle, ROCKSTAR is formulated to provide an incredible energy boost for those who lead active and exhausting lifestyles – from athletes to rock stars.ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK is available in eleven amazing flavors: Original, Sugar Free, Zero Carb, Juiced Mango Orange Passion Fruit, Juiced Guava, Juiced Pomegranate, Tropical Punched, Punched Citrus, Roasted Mocha, Roasted Latte, and Roasted Light Vanilla. ROCKSTAR ENERGY SHOTS are available in Wild Berry and Tropical Punch flavors.ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK is available at convenience and grocery retail outlets across the United States, Canada, Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, Ireland, New Zealand, Japan, Germany, Switzerland, Finland, Spain, The Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, and throughout the United Kingdom.
To catch all the high-flying, rail-sliding, water-sports action of the ROCKSTAR WWA Wakeboard World Championships, presented by Supra, tune in to FUEL TV – the official television partner of the Worlds. WakeBoarding, published by Bonnier Corp., is the official magazine of the Worlds. Read about all things wakeboarding, with expert coverage of professional instruction, gear, boats and news.
King of Wake
Viewed as the world’s elite pro wakeboarding circuit, the King of Wake series has attracted the sport’s top athletes from across the globe. Athletes compete during the course of the year to be named the “King of Wake” – an award based on points accumulated at each stop of the series. Events include the Wake Games, the WWA Wakeboard National Championships, the WWA Wakeboard World Championships and all five stops on the Pro Wakeboard Tour. The King of Wake is organized by World Sports & Marketing – the leading wake-events producer since 1988.
Alli, the Alliance of Action Sports
Alli, the Alliance of Action Sports, is a global business that encompasses national and international action sports tours and events, multimedia production, and a consumer-facing lifestyle brand. The Alliance includes: the Dew Tour, Winter Dew Tour, China Invitational, Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship, King of Wake series, and the Gatorade Free Flow Tour; Alli Productions, which creates original content, produces and presents content with partners, and distributes Alli content through a variety of channels. Alli is owned by NBC Sports and MTV Networks and represents a network of athletes, fans, brands and properties. Its mission is to facilitate the momentous growth of action sports, through competition and lifestyle, for a new generation of fans and athletes. More information can be found at www.allisports.com.
Associate Director, PR
460 N Orlando Ave., Ste. 200
Michael.Weiss@BonnierCorp.com
Inverted Tee $20.00 $16.00
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You are at:Home»Records»The Dark Side of a Beatle? John Lennon- Plastic Ono Band
The Dark Side of a Beatle? John Lennon- Plastic Ono Band
By Chris Dibsdall on November 5, 2010 Records, Rewind
We all know of John Lennon: he was the walrus, the cool Beatle murdered 30 years ago for no clear reason by a man who thought he was Holden Caufield, and who would have been 70 this month had he lived. His finest hour, even finer than Sgt Pepper’s, was a hymn for unilateral world peace ‘n’ love (a topic he felt so strongly about that he once stayed in bed for it!) and he was the poster boy for hippies both pre and post Altamont. He is a true icon for world peace and change…. at least, that’s the image most people see. Since his death, Lennon has taken on the role of a Jesus for the 21st century (he certainly had the long hair and beard for it) but this belies what a messed up, strange, cruel and cynical man he could be.
If, then, Imagine and the song from which it takes its name are reflections of the John who stayed in bed, the one in our heads, then Plastic Ono band is the dark flipside. This album is one of the starkly honest and profound expressions of someone’s demons, feelings and fears in the history of rock and roll. Its ugly, its brutal, it disparages everything from his former band, to God, to the working classes (sort of) and the hands that fed him. This is a Lennon directly post-Beatles, and the mythology surrounding him was about to be torn, unceremoniously down.
The album begins as it means to continue with the exceptionally bleak ‘Mother’, wherein Lennon, accompanied by only a drum, piano and bass sings about the mother who let his aunt raise him then died when he was 17, “Mother, you had me/But I didn’t have you.” The same damming indictment is brought against his father, who abandoned him as a young boy. Lennon is almost certainly pining more for the loss of his mother than any fault on her part, which makes the closing coda all the more heartbreaking. The last minutes of the song are Lennon repeating, “Mama don’t go! Daddy come home!” His voice becomes increasingly intense until it is little more than a guttural scream. It’s the most desperate plea for a parent’s love ever recorded and a truly shocking thing for a former Beatle to have done.
Another standout is ‘God’, where Lennon tears it all down. Everything. Not a single person or idea is left intact, “I don’t believe in Hitler/I don’t believe in Jesus/I don’t believe in Kennedy/I don’t believe in Mantra… I just believe in me.” This is a man stripping it all away and seeing what there is left to be sure of, seeing what matters underneath all the bullshit built up around his life over the preceding 8 years, “I was the walrus/Now I’m John.” The other song of great legend and repute in the album is ‘Working Class Hero’, which is positively savage, containing more hatred and vitriol than any punk song, all of it aimed at class divisions of his youth. The feelings of being a, let’s be honest (that’s what he was doing), lower class kid who will never truly be anything else no matter what they achieve, “You’re still f**king peasants as far as I can see.”
In summation, this album is a rare best in popular music. It has no desire to sound pretty or palatable or meet any sort of stylistic standard, it has no care for sound or sonics. Its only purpose is to provide catharsis for its troubled creator. John Lennon did a thing braver and bolder than getting his dick out on an album cover; he tore his own image to shreds. He wasn’t a happy hippy, a mischievous minstrel of trippy psychedelic rock songs or even a Beatle. He was himself and that was something he wanted everyone to know whether they liked it or not. He was a dark, angsty, fed up, embittered, isolated super star and this was his way of trying to shed at least some of those adjectives from his person. This was him trying to start afresh, sever the past and finally just be John.
Chris Dibsdall
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The Glass Castle - simple, effective story-telling
I watched my wife, Ciara, cry her way through Jeanette Walls' New York Times best-selling biography, The Glass Castle. I initially dismissed the book as chick-lit but was sufficiently intrigued by the trailer to want to see this movie. To be honest it was less the trailer and more the realisation that Brie Larson and Woody Harrelson were the stars. I'm fans of both actors and was curious. I'm glad I was.
The story is that of a young girl who comes of age in a dysfunctional family of nonconformist nomads with a mother (Naomi Watts) who's an eccentric artist and an alcoholic father (Harrelson) who stirs their children's imagination with hope as a distraction to their poverty. The focus of this hope is the titular glass castle, which is a folly.
I came to this film not knowing it was a biography and it was only during the end credits, where the real-life characters are shown, that I realised the events I had been watching was true. In a cinema schedule of comic book adaptations, re-telling of old tales, sequels and prequels, The Glass Castle is a refreshing piece of work. It joins this summer's stand-out mainstream films: Dunkirk, Baby Driver and Detroit as unique creations.
At times painful and uplifting, the film is replete with well-developed characters and a story that draws one in. We feel the pain, the anguish, the hope, the heart-break, the cruelty, the despair and the love present in this family. The story is told from the perspective of the author, Jeanette (Brie Larson) in flashbacks to her childhood from where she is today, engaged to a successful New York financier. Larson is spot on. Her portrayal captures the conflict she experiences and the dyadic love/hate relationship she has with her father. Harrelson will surely get an Oscar nomination for the life he breathes into the father. He is both villain and hero in his children's eyes.
This is family life, a slice of a particular family's life. The story-telling, the acting are all top-notch. I have read some indifferent reviews. For me the film is worth a second viewing, if only to dig deeper into the layers of the characters and their shared story.
Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton who also directed the critically acclaimed Short Term 12, this is a fine addition to his resumé and marks him out as a director to keep an eye on.
Definitely worth a look. Bring tissues.
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Posted in Features, Very British Gamer
Very British Gamer: Race, Creed, Country, and Controllers
While this column’s name of Very British Gamer is wholly accurate, it isn’t wholly divulging. Yes, I am a gamer and I am very British, but I would say I’m more English than British; in a very, very hypothetical World Cup final between England and Scotland, instead of being happy for the inevitable British victor, I’d be praying for the humiliating demise of those dirty, cheating Jocks. So why not go with Very English Gamer? Well, I felt that Americans (understandably) tend to think of the British as a single entity rather than the total of their individual nations, much in the same way that the British sometimes forget that the US is a collection of very different states – that and the acronym was VEG.
Being a shrewd kind of reader, you may have noted the discrepancy between my name and the column. Surely a more appropriate moniker for this column’s author would be Lester Tompkinson, Gerald Peabody, or Sir Arthur Huntingfoxes, right? Indeed, while I was born and raised in good ol’ London Town, my name’s roots lie beyond England’s shores in my parents’ birthplace of Iraq.
Just before Hussein came into power, my parents left Iraq to pursue careers as doctors in the UK, and both have lived there since. Despite an upsettingly large part of my family remaining in Iraq, I’ve never had the opportunity to visit them. Iraq is definitely an important part of my heritage, but I consider my home to be England. Of course this made events like the Gulf War and the Iraq war confusing and unsettling for me – I won’t delve into my political or religious beliefs as they are largely irrelevant to this discussion, but I simply wanted to underline the oddity of being a Brit with Iraqi heritage in the present political climate.
It’s a perspective that made Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare a strange game to play. CoD4 placed me in the role of an American soldier fighting against troops from an unnamed Middle Eastern country. Speculation suggested the country might be Saudi Arabia rather than Iraq, but the imagery on show was so reminiscent of TV footage from the Iraq War, and failing to name the country thus aided assumption of it being Iraq. The association was one I found troubling at first, but as the game wore on it became clear that what was on show was not even close to the events of the Iraq War. In my mind it wasn’t necessarily a glorification but more of a dramatic adaptation of the war that, as the failure to name Iraq suggested, wanted to keep its ties to reality as loose as possible but still highlight them occasionally for shock value, the gunship level being the perfect example. I could go on, but I think I would be retreading a lot of the ground Anthony Burch covered with his 2007 piece.
What occurred as I made my way through the game was that I was able to dissociate reality from the plot, from the murders on show and their personal relevance, just like I’d been able to with all my previous first-person shooter games, by focussing on the gameplay. I appreciated the shock moments for capturing the atrocity of war, but not the Iraq War. I embraced the dissociation from the Iraq War and simply enjoyed it as a game about war. Would I have been able to dissociate the game from the Iraq War if it had mirrored its events more closely? I wonder about that, just as I wonder about my own ability to disassociate from the game in the first place and how that reflects on me. In some ways my being able to play Call of Duty 4 underlined the dichotomy of my own perspective on the Iraq War, and in other ways it emphasised how easy it is to dissociate video games from reality and view them only as a tool of escapism.
Maybe the link wasn’t totally valid, but I cannot pretend that my thoughts on Call of Duty 4 didn’t come back to mind with the ongoing discussion on Resident Evil 5 and how it deals with race; the decision to set the game in a fictional African country mirrored the choice to not name the Middle Eastern country, just as the introduction of African co-op partner Sheva and more racial diversity to the zombies in the wake of the post-trailer controversy appeared to have been done to prevent a potential backlash – and yet, largely through Newsweek’s former Level Up author N’Gai Croal, the backlash has occurred.
I was lucky enough to be joined for this week’s episode of TGR podcast GameOn: Big Red Potion by Michael Abbott, the man behind The Brainy Gamer blog and podcast. We talked briefly about Resident Evil 5, and Michael touched on his own concerns about how the game handled race, concerns he had outlined in greater detail on his blog. In that post Michael was keen to point out his uncertainty on whether a game can even be racist or not, but he pointed out that Resident Evil 5’s “historically and socially charged imagery” made him feel uncomfortable. Has the game made me feel uncomfortable? Not yet, but that’s just me, just like Michael was keen to point out that his opinion was his own.
What concerns me about the discussion is the gravity and ignorance of some of the things being said on both sides. N’Gai Croal’s famous statement in response to the trailer that “clearly no one black worked on this game” was not just ignorant but unfounded, and of course dangerous since it implied racial discrimination on Capcom’s behalf. On the other hand, the response en masse of shooting down the core of N’Gai’s argument was just as ignorant. The issue here is perspective, as it always has been with racism or with any kind of discrimination. Images, text, and all forms of media hold different meanings for different people, and clearly what N’Gai saw offended him. That was his opinion.
If you read all of N’Gai’s thoughts in that interview with MTV Multiplayer regarding the first Resident Evil 5 trailer, you’ll see that he never actually accused Capcom or the game of racism. Maybe he will reflect on that famous first statement and regret it. As for the Resident Evil 5 discussion, I’m aware that a lot people are sick of it, but surely it’s more relevant now than ever before. As Americans continue to embrace their first African-American leader, as gaming pushes itself forward as the entertainment medium of the future, and as critics and the public start to consider it as more of an art form than a destructive hobby, it’s time we delved into issues like this rather than dismiss them. Again, I point to my own confusing experience with Call of Duty 4 — things are not always clear-cut. If people are sick of the Resident Evil 5 race discussion, they don’t have to read any more on it. However, I feel compelled to examine why N’Gai and all the other people concerned about Resident Evil 5’s imagery have said the things they have. I feel compelled to consider the reasoning and validity of Capcom’s decision to create a fictional country in Africa. I feel compelled to examine my own experience with Call of Duty 4, and how it relates to my own views and feelings on the Iraq War. At the end of the day, I feel compelled to accept that however escapist gaming is, its relationship with reality is not one to be dismissed.
Of course, that’s just my opinion.
Tagged 2009
Author: TGRStaff
Our hard(ly?) working team of inhouse writers and editors; and some orphaned articles are associated with this user.
← Bitmaps 71: How You Can Be Like Me
Daily News Roundup: March 25, 2009 →
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Sir Jack Hayward obituary
Businessman and philanthropist devoted to ‘all things British’ and especially Wolverhampton Wanderers
Sir Jack Hayward outside Wolves’ Molineux ground in 2002, not long before they were promoted to the Premier Division. Photograph: Nick Potts/PA
Martin Adeney
Not for nothing was Sir Jack Hayward, who has died aged 91, known as “union Jack”. The idiosyncratic Bahamas-based millionaire and philanthropist declared in his Who’s Who entry that his recreations were “keeping all things bright, beautiful and British”. His money brought the Great Britain steamship back to Britain and helped to restore her, bought Lundy Island for the nation and, for 17 years, kept his beloved Wolverhampton Wanderers football team afloat.
But his generosity to the Liberal party in the 1970s, a quixotic gesture from a man whose views were so rightwing that he insisted on calling the BBC World Service “the Empire Service”, ended in tears when he was dragged into the Jeremy Thorpe affair. Some of the money donated by him to the party appeared to have been creamed off for the attempts to silence Thorpe’s former lover, Norman Scott, and Hayward appeared as a witness at Thorpe’s trial.
Born in Wolverhampton, he was the only son of Sir Charles Hayward, an industrialist, and his wife Hilda (nee Arnold). His father, also born in Wolverhampton, had set up as a tool and pattern maker, and then diversified into making motorcycle sidecars and car bodies for manufacturers including Morris and Rootes. He later became a business financier and, after the war, built up an engineering and steel conglomerate called Firth Cleveland.
As a young man, Hayward was captivated by the noise and excitement of Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Molineux football ground a few hundred yards away from his home. At the age of six, he would wriggle under the turnstiles to watch matches.
He attended Stowe school, in Buckinghamshire, before volunteering for the RAF at 18. After training in Florida he flew Dakota transports on the dangerous mission to supply the 14th army in Burma. He said later: “We were more afraid of the monsoons than the Japanese.” He ended the war as a flight lieutenant and soon joined his father’s company selling agricultural equipment in South Africa for a subsidiary, Rotary Hoes. He married Jean Forder in 1948.
He was sent to the US in 1951 to oversee the expansion of Firth Cleveland, and in 1956 he moved the company’s administration to Nassau, in the Bahamas. There he met an American industrialist, Wallace Groves, who had a plan to turn swampland on Great Bahama Island into an industrial centre and deep-water port. Hayward persuaded his father to invest in the Freeport project. He was appointed vice president of the Grand Bahama Port Authority, living on the site and supervising clearance and construction, in primitive conditions.
Firth Cleveland was sold to GKN in 1974, and in 1976 Hayward bought Groves out in partnership with Edward St George, a former colonial officer. His fortune grew as Freeport’s tax advantages sucked in business and the tourist trade took off. A recent estimate of his net wealth put it at about £130m.
Hayward’s blimpish mannerisms often seemed like something out of a comedy sketch. He introduced black taxi cabs, double deckers and red telephone boxes into Grand Bahama, insisted on eating Colman’s mustard with almost everything and drank his tea from a union jack teapot. He even bought Del Boy Trotter’s yellow three-wheeler from the television series Only Fools and Horses. He had Kipling’s Rolls-Royce restored and presented to the family, declaring: “I was born British and I intend to keep saying that. To hell with people who think otherwise.”
He cultivated a rumpled appearance, with straggling white hair, scuffed suede shoes, a crumpled suit and an old car. “Money is important,” he said, “but I don’t spend much on myself. I like giving it away.”
He was knighted in 1986 for his charitable activities. They included gifts of £1m to restore the fire-damaged Falklands Islands hospital and a further £1m to dependants of those who had died in the fighting. He provided £100,000 to help raise the Mary Rose and £3m to the shortlived British Empire and Commonwealth Museum in Bristol.
His entanglement in the Thorpe affair began with his donation for the purchase of the Bristol Channel island of Lundy in 1969. It had been a project backed by Liberal MPs and at the celebration he met the charming Thorpe, then a Devon MP. Thorpe seized the opportunity and persuaded Hayward to pay off his party’s overdraft and contribute another £150,000. He and his wife stayed with Hayward in the Bahamas, and in 1974 he approached him again asking for a further £50,000.
But while £40,000 went to the Liberal election fund, £10,000 was to be paid to the Jersey account of a Thorpe friend, Nadir Dinshaw. Thorpe’s explanation was that this was to settle some of his personal election expenses, which fell into an “ambiguous category”. But the money, plus a subsequent £10,000, became an issue in Thorpe’s trial for conspiracy to murder in 1978 when it appeared that it had been used to buy potentially blackmailing letters from Scott and to pay a hitman for a “professional frightening job”.
Fortunately Hayward had kept Thorpe’s begging letters and at the trial he testified that in spite of repeated requests he had never had an explanation of how his money had been used. He had written to Thorpe, “It seems to me that I am being dragged into this sordid affair and I do not like it one bit. I have always been proud of my good name and integrity.” The judge described Hayward as “a nice, respectable witness”.
Hayward’s extensive UK interests included a 350-acre estate at Lydhurst in West Sussex, and a Scottish shooting estate. But his biggest investment was in his hometown football club.
In 1990 he fulfilled his childhood dream and bought the struggling Wolverhampton Wanderers for £2.1m. Over the next 17 years he spent more than £70m on the team and a new stadium. But he had only limited success in restoring the club to its former glories. Wolves won promotion to the Premier Division in 2003, but were relegated the following season.
Hayward’s ownership also laid bare family tensions. He sued his son Jonathan, who had chaired the club, for financial irregularities, later settling, and his sale of the club in 2007 to Steve Morgan for £10 – on the promise that Morgan would invest a further £30m – brought lawsuits from his other son, Richard, and daughter, Susan, as the club had been owned through a family trust.
His other great sporting enthusiasm was cricket, and he promoted and financed the first World Cup for female cricketers in 1973.
Hayward is survived by his wife, from whom he was separated, by Jonathan, Richard and Susan, and, the companion of his later years, Patti Bloom.
• Sir Jack Hayward, businessman, born 14 June 1923; died 13 January 2015
Business (Football)
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Home Mental Health Happiness
32 Secrets of People Who’ve Crossed Major Items Off Their Bucket List
Charlotte Hilton AndersenUpdated: Mar. 06, 2019
Ordinary people just, you know, doing extraordinary things. (And you can too!)
iStock/Poike
At just 27 years old, Daisy Jing, of Los Angeles, is already the owner of a multi-million dollar makeup company, Banish. But her success was not something she was always sure of, especially when she first took the leap to start her own company and got turned down by a roomful of powerful venture capitalists. But instead of feeling defeated, she realized she needed to focus on what made her and her business unique. “Now that social media is rampant, we get too caught up in other people’s lives. We compare ourselves with friends, families, and even celebrities but we forget that they’re only posting the best version of their lives, not their flaws,” she says. “Instead, focus on what you need to do and soon you’ll be proud of how far you’ve come instead of worrying about how far you have left to go. Stop comparing yourself to others; they have nothing to do with what you want to achieve.” (Related: Check out the weird effects social media can have on your brain.)
Banish the haters
Everyone who takes a risk is bound to meet someone who will tell them why it’s a bad idea. But if you truly want to achieve your goal, you have to surround yourself with positivity. “Determine what kind of people are best or worst for you,” Jing says. “I had to train myself to cut off negative people. I protect whatever goes in my mind because that will seriously affect what comes out.” Here’s how to develop a positive, can-do attitude that will help you tune out the haters.
iStock/BernardaSv
Schedule time every day to work toward your goal
Writing a book is a huge project and, like many aspiring authors, Jim Jacobs felt so overwhelmed by the work that he let his dream languish for 10 years. But after a chance meeting with a publishing coach, the 47-year-old licensed clinical social worker and marriage counselor in Denver, Colorado, decided to bump the project back to the front burner, and within a year, he had his book written and published. The difference this time around? “I scheduled time to work on it every day,” he says. “I didn’t worry about getting it perfect, either. I just made sure to write every day.” You can always go back and edit it later, he adds.
iStock/monkeybusinessimages
They can’t say “yes” if you don’t ask
Jacobs’ publisher wanted a big name to write the forward to Jacobs’ book, but there was one problem: “I made a list of all the famous, important people I know,” he says, “and it had exactly zero people on it.” But he didn’t let that stop him. Instead, Jacobs made a list of everyone he thought would be ideal and then started cold-calling them one at a time. “Most of them did not even respond but eventually one did. He is a New York Times best-selling author and one of my favorite writers. He was intrigued by my proposal and agreed to it.” It took a lot of courage but Jacobs says it was well worth it in the end.
iStock/opolja
Don’t “find” the time, make it
Getting a master’s degree was always on Kellie McFarland’s bucket list but life—a career, marriage, travel—kept getting in the way. Then, just when she’d decided to finally buckle down and go back to school, she got a surprise: She was pregnant. “I wanted to quit, and when my baby was born it would have been the perfect out, but I wasn’t giving up on my goal this time,” says the 36-year-old real estate strategist in St. Louis, Missouri. So McFarland teleconferenced into classes while bouncing her baby next the computer, and did her homework while the baby napped. It wasn’t easy but because it was a priority, she made it work. “I learned there’s no such thing as ‘not enough time,'” she says. “If you want it badly enough, you will give something else up to make the time.” (Related: If you think you’re over-scheduled, we’ve got tricks for making the most of your free time.)
iStock/Martin Dimitrov
Find something to be grateful for each day
In the cold, dreary winter of 2013, Sahar Aker was living in Ohio and fighting a battle against severe depression—and losing. She felt trapped in darkness but was afraid to reach out to others and didn’t know what else to do. At the suggestion of her therapist, the 53-year-old Hawaiian made a goal: To take a picture of one thing of beauty every day and post it on Instagram. It may sound like a small thing but according to her therapist, being grateful and looking for the good in small things could translate into a big mental change. So she did it, each day posting a picture of something that spoke to her, tagged #ichoosebeauty. Within a week, she started to feel better, and soon others struggling with mental illness joined in. Three years later she’s turned her private struggle into a public movement—and her depression is now a thing of the past. “Focus on just one day at a time, one moment at a time” Aker says. “It literally takes less than a minute each day to find something good in the world.” Don’t miss the ways that being grateful can boost your health by lowering blood pressure and improving your sleep.
iStock/Avosb
Make your goal a conscious choice
Making a choice to follow your dream may sound like an obvious tip, but too many people never take the day-to-day steps that would actually allow them to do it, Aker says. It’s even more effective if you make your choice public, so others can help hold you accountable. For Aker, this meant posting a beautiful picture online every single day, no matter how she was feeling. It wasn’t so much the picture that provided the benefits, she says, but rather the act of consciously choosing to do something positive every day that got her closer to her goal. “Choose to see what you want. Focus on anything you see, feel, hear, smell, taste, read, or remember that can help you,” she says. And then just do it!
iStock/michele princigalli
When Sarah Gore, 31, and her husband decided to move from Colorado to Germany, they knew it would be a big change, starting with the language. While her husband already spoke German, Gore knew she’d have to learn it if she wanted to fit in, besides that learning a new language was something she’d always wanted to do. Gore set an ambitious goal to learn the language in one year. As soon as they arrived in Germany, she started reading, writing, and listening as much as she could but even after several months, speaking still felt impossible. “I didn’t want to make mistakes and sound dumb,” she says. “But of course I made mistakes—lots of mistakes!” The key, she says, was learning to laugh at herself. And once she stopped being afraid of sounding silly she caught on quickly, realizing her goal. Within a year she was fluent in conversational German and had many great friends she otherwise never would have met.
iStock/anyaberkut
Work. Work hard. Then work some more.
Learning a new language is something lots of people have on their bucket list but few actually accomplish, and that’s because it takes a lot of hard work—something Gore understands. “I knew it would be challenging to learn German in one year, so as soon as we arrived I immersed myself in it 24/7, taking every opportunity to listen and to practice,” she says. It was incredibly difficult but her hard work paid off. Now when people say they could never do what she did she has a ready answer. “I honestly believe there are very few things that people ‘can’t’ do, you just have to be willing to do the hard work.”
iStock/daizuoxin
Farrah Whey, 28, had long dreamed of becoming a doctor, but when she went to apply to medical school she encountered an unexpected roadblock. She had to choose between two types of programs, one that was easier to get into but wasn’t what she really wanted, and a second that was in her desired field but very competitive. Oh, and there was a huge catch: If she applied to the second program and wasn’t accepted, she was out of medical school all together. Instead of playing it safe, she went straight for her dream program. Now Whey has graduated from that program and is working as a family medicine doctor in New Brunswick, New Jersey. “Don’t let anyone talk you out of your goal,” she says. “It’s easy for people to tell you what they think you should do but at the end of the day, they’re not the ones who have to live your life. You need to do what makes you happy, not necessarily what makes you feel safe.”
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Don’t let the bad days overshadow the good days
Getting accepted to her first-choice medical program wasn’t the end of Whey’s journey to her goal of becoming a doctor, it was just the beginning. What followed was years of agonizing work and self-doubt. “I think I only made it through medical school because I worked hard and simply refused to give up, even on the worst of days when I was doubting myself and wondering if I’d just somehow slipped through the cracks during the admissions process,” she says. “The road to where you want to be is seldom an easy journey, but it makes you appreciate it that much more when you finally make it there!”
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Focus on the payoff
Losing 150 pounds is an accomplishment all on its own, but for Genevieve Jerome, the real goal was to keep it off. The 30-year-old wedding photographer in Sacramento, California, had lost weight by eating a healthy diet, lifting weights, and giving up alcohol. Her new lifestyle changes didn’t go over so well with her social circle, however, and she lost a lot of friends. For a time she wavered, wondering if it was worth it. It was: Not only did sticking to her guns help her maintain her healthy lifestyle and keep the weight off, but it also showed her who her true friends were. “I’m happy with the choices I’ve made, and the people who were meant to stay in my life have stayed,” she says, adding that her life now is exactly how she wants it to be.
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Many people have weight loss on their bucket list but few accomplish it, often getting overwhelmed by all the changes they have to make and giving up. And make no mistake, losing more pounds than the average woman weighs was a daunting goal, but Jerome says she accomplished it by making small changes, one at a time. “I started by just finding free fitness videos on Youtube. Then I made a list of healthy foods I enjoyed and tried to buy a few (and eat them!) every week,” she says. “Eventually these things became habits and now it’s just the way I live my life and I really enjoy it!” (Related: Steal the secrets of women who manage to work out every day.)
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Make it about the journey, not the destination
Looking at marathoner Mindy Nienhouse today, you’d never guess that she’d once been overweight and terrified of exercise. But it’s true: The 33-year-old medical school program coordinator in Grand Rapids, Michigan, has long struggled with her health—and that’s something she wants people to know. “I didn’t get to 233 pounds because I preferred carrots over ice cream,” she says. “I tell people that I’m on a weight loss journey because it will never be over, there is no ‘finish line.’ It took a lot of hard work and determination to get where I am today, but without consistent dedication to my goals and to myself, I know that I could end up right back where I was.” It’s not something she’s overcome, she adds. Rather, it’s about making her health a priority every day. “Because I’m worth it!”
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Just start already
Crossing an item off your bucket list can feel like a big deal—and it is!—but starting it shouldn’t be. A lot of items stay permanently on the bucket list because people have no idea where or how to dig in. But you’re making it too hard, Nienhouse says. “Just start. Today. You’ll never reach your goals waiting for the ‘right’ time,” she says. “Now is the right time. You’ll learn as you go.” (Related: Find out the sneaky reasons you never finish your to-do list.)
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Practice mental toughness
With a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and a 26.2-mile run, an Ironman race is a serious physical challenge. But when it came to accomplishing it, Hannah Higgins, 39, a landscape architect in Chicago, discovered that the mental aspect would be the hardest part. “Training 14 or more hours a week, with all-day weekend workouts, by myself, was tough,” she says. “I felt so disconnected from everyone.” So she had to learn to rely on only herself to get through tough times and stay motivated. But it paid off big-time when she crossed the finish line. “The mental toughness I developed not only helped me on race day but in accomplishing other goals as well,” Higgins says.
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Doing an Ironman race is a solo experience, but just like most goals, getting there is a group effort. “I thought the best part would be crossing the finish line. And while it was an amazing moment, it was actually the outpouring of love and support that I have received since then that has been the best reward,” Higgins says. Even though she had to do all the training herself, she realized how much her family and friends had been supporting her in other ways. “My heart was so full that I struggle to describe how humbled and lucky and loved I felt! I couldn’t have done it without them,” she adds.
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Take the easier road (sometimes)
Getting an advanced college degree had long been a dream for Nadine Bonnet, 38, a mom of three in Denver, Colorado. As a mom she worried that the time to focus on her dreams had passed, but with her girls’ encouragement, she registered for classes at the local university. The key to balancing motherhood and full-time school, she says, is to set yourself up for success by staying organized with calendars, keeping supplies handy, and having back-ups. And don’t be afraid to take short-cuts. “It’s all about making things easy on yourself. As long as you’re getting it done, there is no rule that says you need to go about things the hard way,” she says. (Related: These heartwarming quotes about mothers will make you want to call yours today!)
Allow room for failure
It would have been easy for Bonnet to get discouraged. And balancing college and motherhood often meant some long nights and sad setbacks. “I had to take trigonometry twice and I had to drop physics,” she says. But instead of feeling like a failure, she learned to put it in perspective. “I learned from my failures. I had to be okay with letting go of things that were just not in my power,” she says. Don’t miss the ways to feel in control when everything’s going wrong.
It’s okay to be scared
When Catrina Vargas and Robert Cormell decided to turn their El Paso, Texas, restaurant into a non-profit safe house for troubled teens, they knew it would be a risk. How would they pay their bills? (They found side jobs.) How would they run a non-profit? (They learned.) How would they help teens with serious life problems? (With lots of love.) But even though they were scared, they didn’t let their fears stop them from providing a badly needed service. And now that the Wayside Teen Center has been going strong for 18 years and they’ve seen countless of their “kids” grow up to have beautiful families of their own, they know it was all worth it. “Doing something big is scary,” Vargas says. “Know that it’s going to be hard but you can do hard things.”
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No quitting
Owning a restaurant was always a dream of the Vargas-Cormells, but as soon as they started to get to know the kids flooding in their door from the local high school, they knew their dream needed to change. Shifting from small-business owners to non-profit managers (who do house renovations on the side) was hard, but once they committed, Vargas says they never looked back. “You have to just take the option of quitting off the table. Once you decide to go for it, go all in and don’t look back,” she says.
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Be optimistic, even when things aren’t looking up
Leaving high-powered city jobs for a peaceful rural life sounds like the ultimate dream to many people, but it’s a lot harder than it looks in the movies, as Liz Sedgwick, 38, can attest. When she and her husband decided a year ago to leave their stressful careers and start over in Logan, Utah, a small town in the Rocky Mountains, they had no idea how difficult it would be. But now that they’ve got their online custom jewelry business set up and are settled into country life with their two kids, they wouldn’t have it any other way. They key to making such a huge change? Attitude. “Be positive,” Sedgwick says. “You have to believe in yourself, even when no one else does. It’s the belief that your dream is possible that gets things done.” Adopt the simple habits optimists do every day to keep their outlook sunny.
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Admit when something (or someone) isn’t helping and cut the loss
Getting rid of lifelong friends isn’t a typical bucket list item, but for Lora Johnson, a 31-year-old marketer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, it was the key to achieving the healthy balanced life she wanted and needed. In her 20s she says let people take advantage of her, fearing she’d lose friendships if she didn’t do everything they wanted, but earlier this year she realized that those one-way friendships aren’t real friendships after all. “I had to say good-bye to people who’d known me for decades,” she says. “It was hard.” But when it was all said and done, ditching her toxic friends alleviated a lot of pressure. “You need to take a step back and evaluate the people and relationships you have in your life,” Johnson says. “There are those that are a symbiotic and make you feel good. There are others that make you feel exhausted and stressed—those are the ones you need to eliminate.” Check out these subtle signs that you may be in a toxic relationship.
Cultivate relationships with like-minded folks
It sounds obvious, but joining a community of people working toward the same goal as you can make or break your mission, Johnson says. Not only can those people give you helpful tips and tricks, but they understand the ups and downs you’re experiencing better than anyone else can. “Spend time with the people who lift you up and support and help you,” Johnson says. “As a bonus, it will also help you weed out the ‘emotional vampires‘ in your life.”
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Replace a negative habit with a positive one
Quitting a damaging habit, like smoking, is a great accomplishment, but it can be hard not to fall back into old habits, especially when things get tough. But Sue Gury, a 53-year-old forklift operator in Perry Hall, Maryland, has a great solution to that dilemma: Don’t just quit a bad habit—replace it. After smoking for 23 years, she knew she’d need something big to fill the void left by tobacco, so she took up running. At first she could barely run a mile but as she added on a little distance every day, she worked up to half-marathons, then marathons, and now this seasoned runner does ultra-marathons, running 100 miles at a stretch. And, she says, the high she gets crossing a finish line is so much better than any rush she ever got from smoking. Ready to quit the bad habit yourself? Check out these tips and tricks to help you stop smoking.
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Break a big goal into smaller goals
Nobody starts off running 100 miles at a time, even a seasoned ultra-marathoner like Gury. In fact, she says that when she was a smoker, she couldn’t even imagine cruising around the block. But she didn’t let her lack of experience or fitness hold her back. “I started by walking and slowly threw running into the mix. Each day I went just a little farther,” she says. Not only do these bite-size goals feel more doable but they help reduce the risk of burnout and injury, she adds.
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Jump in the deep end and swim
When Thea Ward Jorgensen, 31, of Bismark, North Dakota, left her job with benefits to follow her dream to open her own fitness studio, she had no idea how much she didn’t know about running a business. If she had, she says, she might never have made the leap. Instead, she spent the first year learning all the ins and outs of being an entrepreneur, all while juggling the daily things needed to keep her studio running. And she learned all these skills by simply doing them, sometimes over and over again, until she figured it out. “Don’t fear failure. You can’t. If you aren’t in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?” she says.
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Just do something, anything
As any small business owner can attest, there is always something that needs doing. All these little fires to put out can sometimes feel like an overwhelming bonfire, one you’ll never be able to manage. But rather than getting bogged down in figuring out what’s next, Jorgensen says the trick is just to pick something—anything—and just do it. Checking one thing off your to-do list, even if it’s tiny, will keep you moving forward. “Remember that inaction is not an option. Things at rest stay at rest while things in motion stay in motion,” she says. “So keep pushing, because relentless forward motion will help you achieve your goals.”
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Have a mission statement
Whether your goal is to start your dream business and be your own boss, like Jorgensen, or to climb Mt. Everest or write a novel, it’s not going to happen until you say it will. And this starts with asking yourself the most fundamental question. “You have to know your ‘why’,” Ward says. “Why are you doing what you are doing? What does it mean to you? How will it help you? What is your story?” Answering these questions (on paper, preferably) will remind you of your purpose and keep you going even when things get tough.
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Even though she’s just 20 years old, Ellen Slater, a student at the University of Chicago, may look like she’s already got life all figured out. She has looks, talent, and smarts. But she also has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), a debilitating genetic disorder that affects the body’s connective tissues, and she lives in chronic pain (about an eight out of 10, most days). When she was first diagnosed, doctors told her she’d need to be heavily medicated and possibly in a wheelchair, but she knew that wasn’t going to work with the rigorous major she’d chosen. And so she chose to trust herself, and instead of medications and bed rest, she uses exercise as her “drug.” Now she’s a yoga teacher, a runner, and a successful student living on her own. “You have to trust that you know what’s best for you,” she says. “I’ve learned to do my own thing and be okay with that.”
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Share your struggles, don’t hide them
Slater used to never talk about her pain and the other difficulties that come from living with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, but she says she’s learned there’s strength in sharing the hard stuff. “I don’t want to burden others with my pain, but I want them to understand that it really does make my situation feel so much harder,” she says. “I’ve also found that when I reach out, other people will share that they’re struggling with something that I didn’t know about. That always puts things in perspective for me. Then we can find a way to help each other.”
Be your own best friend, not your worst enemy
After trying every diet and fitness program out there, getting fit felt like an unreachable dream to Anna Raway, a 30-year-old special education teacher in Lakeville, Minnesota. That is, until she discovered boxing. She’d always wanted to try the sport but fears about her weight and her body held her back. “I’m a bigger girl and I’d used that as a reason not to try new things,” she says. But the boxing has taught her to see her body as her best asset, not an enemy. “I am finally putting myself and my health first,” she says. “It’s a happy bonus that I can work out whatever is stressing me out that day when I’m punching the bag.” These science-backed tricks can boost your confidence.
Originally Published: November 02, 2016
Originally Published in Reader's Digest
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Home Pain Management Back Pain
9 Signs Your Back Pain Is Actually an Emergency
Charlotte Hilton AndersenUpdated: Jun. 17, 2020
Medical experts reveal the signs and symptoms that indicate your back pain may actually be an emergency.
Back pain is more common than you think
Does your back hurt? You’re not alone. Over half of American adults report having back pain every year and it’s estimated that over 80 percent of people will experience a problem with back pain during their lives, according to the American Chiropractic Association. And we’re not just talking aches and pains, back issues can be serious. Low back pain is the single leading cause of disability worldwide and is the second most common reason for visits to the doctor’s office, outnumbered only by upper-respiratory infections, according to the most current Global Burden of Disease report published in The Lancet.
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The two types of back pain
But while back pain is very real and can be quite debilitating, the good news is that most cases of back pain are mechanical or non-organic—meaning they are not caused by serious conditions but rather things like a sports injury or bad posture. However, there are times when back pain can indicate an underlying issue that needs immediate attention, says Neel Anand, MD, professor of orthopaedic surgery and director of spine trauma at Cedars-Sinai Spine Center in Los Angeles. “It’s important to know the difference between ‘I overdid it at the gym’ pain and ‘bad’ pain,” he says. “Back pain that doesn’t go away or start to feel better after a few days, intensifies, or is excruciating is always a bad sign and needs to be taken seriously. Call your doctor right away.”
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You recently injured your back
If you are in a car accident or other serious event, it’s common practice to get your back and neck checked out but many people don’t realize they can sustain serious injuries from less drastic events. “If your pain is far more than you’d expect, if it feels worse over time instead of better, or is incredibly painful, get it checked out, even if you think it’s minor,” Dr. Anand says. Whenever you directly injure your back it’s possible to have a spinal injury. Another possibility is a “pathological fracture” where a tumor has weakened your spine and then it fractures during a relatively small event, he explains. “Sometimes this type of back pain is the way people learn they have cancer,” he adds. (Learn the 24 things pain doctors won’t tell you.)
stevecoleimages/Getty Images
You’re losing weight
Rapid, unexplained weight loss is never a good sign. And when it’s accompanied by back pain, it could be a sign of a tumor in the spine, says Neelima Denduluri, MD, a medical oncologist in Virginia, a clinical assistant professor at Georgetown University Medical Center, and the associate chair of The US Oncology Network Breast Committee. Cancerous tumors that press on the spine can also affect your stomach, making you lose your appetite, she says. Some tumors start in the spine, but more often they spread there from another location, such as the lung, breast, kidney, and prostate—which makes getting treatment fast even more crucial.
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You can’t control your bladder
Back pain combined with bladder or bowel incontinence, or a feeling of increasing weakness or numbness in the legs, pelvis, and hips, could be serious, says S. Adam Ramin, MD, a Los Angeles-based urologist, medical director of Urology Cancer Specialists, and assistant professor of surgery at City of Hope National Medical Center. These symptoms can indicate a variety of illnesses and conditions that need immediate attention including multiple sclerosis, some types of cancer, nerve damage, or an infection, he says. (Here are signs your upper back pain is something serious.)
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Your pain wakes you up at night
Back pain from overuse or a small injury should feel better when you lie down and rest, Dr. Anand says. But if you can’t find any comfortable position and/or you can’t sleep because of the pain you need to call your doctor, he says. “This could be from any number of conditions and diseases but it’s very serious,” he explains. “If your pain is combined with a loss of appetite, fever, or weakness or numbness, get seen immediately.” (Here are the 10 less urgent reasons you have back pain.)
You’ve got stomach pain too
Localized back pain will rarely migrate to the stomach. Stomach pain, however, can often be felt in the back, which means that your back pain could be originating from the abdomen, Dr. Anand says. Stomach pain accompanied by back pain can be caused by many different abdominal issues, including internal bleeding, cancer, or even an abdominal aortic aneurysm, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians. Acute lower back pain that does not follow an obvious trauma or movement associated with the onset of pain, can be a symptom of an enlargement of the aorta (large artery) in the abdomen, called an abdominal aortic aneurysm. If your pain is severe and continuous, get to the ER, says Dr. Anand.
Albina Glisic/Shutterstock
You’re also having pain while peeing
Intense—some call it “screaming”—back pain is a telltale sign of a kidney stone trying to make it’s way through your ureter, says Dr. Ramin. If your back pain occurs in spasms and/or you feel pain when trying to urinate or notice blood in your urine, you may need to head to the ER to be diagnosed and treated, he says. You’ll likely be given painkillers and an IV to help flush out the stone.
Richman Photo/Shutterstock
You have osteoporosis
If you have known osteoporosis and your back pain comes on suddenly, you could have fractured a vertebrae. “Osteoporotic fractures, also known as insufficiency fractures, are very common in the elderly,” Dr. Anand says. “They may not even feel the break when it happens but the pain becomes debilitating over time.” Common causes could be a recent fall, lifting something heavy, or even a violent cough. (In the meantime, try these 5 exercises that help relieve back pain. )
gpointstudio/Shutterstock
You’re experiencing numbness
If you’re experiencing back pain and numbness, especially in the legs, it may indicate an injury to one or more lumbar nerves, or spinal damage, Dr. Anand says. This can lead to paralysis if not treated in time. “Any neurological symptoms, like weakness or numbness, with back pain indicate something very serious and should never be ignored,” he says.
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You feel a lump in your breast or armpit
Back pain can be a lesser known symptom of breast cancer, says Dr. Denduluri. Breast cancer can spread before it’s caught, causing symptoms in body parts that have nothing to do with your breasts, she says, adding that while it’s more common in women, men can also get breast cancer.
American Chiropractic Association: "Back Pain Facts and Statistics"
The Lancet: “Global Burden of Disease”
Neel Anand, MD, professor of orthopaedic surgery and director of spine trauma at Cedars-Sinai Spine Center in Los Angeles
Neelima Denduluri, MD, a medical oncologist in Virginia, a clinical assistant professor at Georgetown University Medical Center, and the associate chair of The US Oncology Network Breast Committee
S. Adam Ramin, MD, a Los Angeles-based urologist, medical director of Urology Cancer Specialists, and assistant professor of surgery at City of Hope National Medical Center
American Academy of Family Physicians: "Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA)"
Originally Published: October 05, 2018
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The Patriot Eagle
Home Politics Alex Trebek: The Man Who Kept America’s Knowledge
Alex Trebek: The Man Who Kept America’s Knowledge
Derek Robertson
A jaunty, orchestrated theme is playing; the live studio audience is cheering; a nattily dressed, mustachioed man takes his place at the podium, bringing the game-show proceedings to order. That man, a sprightly Canadian named Alex Trebek, thanks the audience and … introduces his co-host, a nasally voiced, crudely drawn cartoon character, of all things, beaming out from a television screen that looks like a discarded prop from a groovy 1970s television series.
This, obviously, was not “Jeopardy!,” the beloved, long-running quiz show that would make Trebek an icon of American pop culture. It was “Malcolm,” one of the several ill-fated game show experiments Trebek anchored before joining the series where he would not only find his calling, but define one of America’s most singular cultural formats and its intellectual character.
The DNA that “Jeopardy!” shares with preposterous curios such as “Malcolm”—small-“d” democratic, crowd-pleasing, inescapably gimmicky—is just as core to its success as the occasionally high-brow trivia at its heart. As the show’s host, Trebek, who died this year of pancreatic cancer at age 80, made erudite knowledge accessible and fun for people who might not otherwise have cared about the Mikado, or the length of the Zambesi River, or the Hollywood blacklist. He straddled high and low culture with a skill for which today’s politicians would pay a kingly consulting fee, and he adjudicated “right” or “wrong” answers (well, questions) with an authority that now seems far beyond our epistemological reach.
Trebek was born in Sudbury, Ontario, in 1940, the son of a Ukrainian immigrant and a native Ontarian. He began working for the Canadian Broadcasting Company at just 21 and performed odd jobs and radio spots until 1966, when he landed his first gig hosting a game show, the high school quiz competition “Reach for the Top.” He would spend the rest of his life in the game show business.
After moving to the United States in the early 1970s, Trebek hosted a succession of goofy, short-lived series with names like “Battlestars,” the aforementioned “Malcolm” and “Pitfall,” an elaborate syndicated production for which he was infamously never paid. Fortuitously he happened to befriend Art Fleming, the classically dignified original host of “Jeopardy!,” which was already a hit with its reversed-polarity answer-and-question format, created in the mid-1960s as a response to a series of scandals famously depicted in Robert Redford’s film "Quiz Show."
Fleming, who by the 1980s had already begun to view “Jeopardy!” as debased after its move to Hollywood from its original filming location in New York, recommended Trebek as a successor. Trebek took the helm in 1984 and immediately became a cultural icon, appearing in cameos on the sitcom “Cheers,” Ron Shelton’s hit film White Men Can’t Jump and even “The X-Files.” He became a fixture in American households as much as any broadcast-era evening news anchor, hosting hours upon untold hours of daily television over the past 36 years. His final episode as the host of “Jeopardy!” is scheduled to air January 8.
From the dawn of their existence, quiz shows played a role in democratizing American intellectual life. Trebek was the perfect conduit for the leveling of access to the world’s trivia. He was a Canadian ex-pat and Francophone who drove a Dodge Ram and guzzled diet soda; he evangelized for the Home Depot while favoring East Yorkshire, the site of the Brontë family home, as a vacation spot. He was, above all else, a showman, working hard behind the scenes to make sure he nailed the pronunciation and diction of everything he announced to his guests, whether it was Tennyson or Kanye West.
He had come to America as an outsider, a man with a philosophy degree who aspired to become a Cronkite-style news broadcaster and ended up cajoled, if temporarily, into sharing hosting duties with a cartoon. But in a way that was markedly different from Cronkite, while still just as reliable, Trebek became the keeper of America’s knowledge. The subject matter of “Jeopardy!” spanned as wild and diverse as the country itself, giving any viewer, of any background, on any given night, a punter’s chance of providing the right question to Trebek’s answers—and feeling the thrill of beating the smarties to the punch.
Through his jocular, yet authoritative (and occasionally withering) screen presence, Trebek brought viewers into a world of knowledge without either condescending to them or seeming elitist. And he was famously compassionate behind the scenes as well, forming his own charitable foundation and spending a quarter-century hosting the National Geographic Bee for school-aged children. Decades of daily television appearances made him the most beloved and recognizable avatar for a quintessentially American art form. But his own generous, careful and earnest nature made him the perfect ambassador for a world of more democratic knowledge.
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What is Governing of Steam Turbine – Definition
Governing of steam turbine is the procedure of controlling the flow rate of steam to a steam turbine so as to maintain the speed of the turbine fairly constant irrespective of load on the turbine. Thermal Engineering
Governing of Steam Turbine
Governing of steam turbine is the procedure of controlling the flow rate of steam to a steam turbine so as to maintain the speed of the turbine fairly constant irrespective of load on the turbine. The typical main turbine in nuclear power plants, in which steam expands from pressures about 6 MPa to pressures about 0.008 MPa, operates at speeds about:
3000 RPM for 50 Hz systems for 2-pole generator (or 1500RPM for 4-pole generator),
1800 RPM for 60 Hz systems for 4-pole generator (or 3600 RPM for 2-pole generator).
The variation in load (power output) during the operation of a steam turbine can have a significant impact on its performance and its efficiency. Traditionally, nuclear power plants (NPPs) have been considered as baseload sources of electricity as they rely on a technology with high fixed costs and low variable costs. However, this simple state of affairs no longer applies in all countries. The share of nuclear power in the national electricity mix of some countries has become so large that the utilities have had to implement or to improve the manoeuvrability capabilities of their power plants in order to be able to adapt electricity supply to daily, seasonal or other variations in power demand. For example, this is the case in France where more than 75% of electricity is generated by NPPs, and where some nuclear reactors operate in load-following mode.
The primary objective in the steam turbine operation is to maintain a constant speed of rotation irrespective of the varying load. This can be achieved by means of governing in a steam turbine. The principal methods of governing which are used in steam turbines are:
Nozzle Governing. Source: wikipedia.org License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Throttle governing. The main parts of a simple throttle governing system are the throttle-stop valves and especially control valves between steam generators and main turbine. The primary aim of control valves is to reduce the steam flow rate. Incidental to reducing the mass rate of flow, the steam experiences an increasing pressure drop across the control valve, which is in fact an isenthalpic process. Although throttling is an isenthalpic process, the enthalpy drop available for work in the turbine is reduced, because this causes an increase in vapor quality of outlet steam.
Nozzle governing. In the nozzle control governing, the steam supply from the main valve is divided into two, three, or more lines. The flow rate of steam is regulated by opening and shutting of sets of nozzles rather than regulating its pressure.
Bypass governing. This is generally used for the overload valve which passes the steam directly into the latter stages of steam turbine. During such operation, bypass valves are opened and live steam is introduced into the later stages of the turbine. This generates more energy to satisfy the increased load.
Combination of 2 and 3.
Reactor Physics and Thermal Hydraulics:
Todreas Neil E., Kazimi Mujid S. Nuclear Systems Volume I: Thermal Hydraulic Fundamentals, Second Edition. CRC Press; 2 edition, 2012, ISBN: 978-0415802871
Zohuri B., McDaniel P. Thermodynamics in Nuclear Power Plant Systems. Springer; 2015, ISBN: 978-3-319-13419-2
Moran Michal J., Shapiro Howard N. Fundamentals of Engineering Thermodynamics, Fifth Edition, John Wiley & Sons, 2006, ISBN: 978-0-470-03037-0
Kleinstreuer C. Modern Fluid Dynamics. Springer, 2010, ISBN 978-1-4020-8670-0.
U.S. Department of Energy, THERMODYNAMICS, HEAT TRANSFER, AND FLUID FLOW. DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Volume 1, 2 and 3. June 1992.
U.S. NRC. NUREG-0800, Standard Review Plan for the Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants: LWR Edition
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Editorial‘Silent’ No More
‘Silent’ No More
The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department’s public outreach program includes profiles of those who help protect local water resources.
By Ted J. Rulseh
In My Words
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Mary Alfonso
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Mary Alfonso believes water and wastewater are the “silent utilities” in most communities, largely unnoticed and not appreciated until something goes wrong.
As public affairs manager for the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD), Alfonso is part of an effort launched 16 years ago to raise the profile of water and wastewater services in Detroit and in the surrounding communities and counties that are the department’s wholesale customers.
Alfonso is part of a Public Education Work Group that earned the 2012 Educational Professional of the Year Award from the Michigan Water Environment Association. It was the first time the MWEA gave the award to a group, rather than to one person.
The Public Education Work Group is part of a much larger public outreach effort that seeks to raise awareness of cooperation between the DWSD and its partners and of the contributions made by people in a variety of professions who take care of the wastewater and water systems. Alfonso talked about the outreach program in an interview with Treatment Plant Operator.
TPO: How did this public outreach program get started?
Alfonso: The collaborative approach started on the wastewater side in 1997, which was about 10 years before I got here. In 2003 we established a similar partnership on the water side. A main reason for forming those partnerships was to enable us to operate as more than an entity that delivered a bill. We wanted to build relationships with the people we served so that we could work together on common issues.
DWSD serves the City of Detroit but also wholesale customers, which are surrounding cities and counties. We realized that we all wanted the same thing: to provide excellent service to our customers in the most effective and efficient way we could. We all had a stake in the system, whether wholesale or retail customers.
In 1997, we decided to try to bring a group together as we were creating a long-term combined sewer overflow program. We formed the Wastewater Steering Committee. It started to enhance trust between customers and the DWSD.
TPO: What exactly is the Wastewater Steering Committee and what does it do?
Alfonso: The Wastewater Steering Committee consists of one representative each from the DWSD and three wholesale customers. It’s an umbrella under which we have smaller work groups. We have a Best Practices Work Group, a Rates Work Group and a Wet Weather Work Group. We also have a Public Education Work Group that straddles both the wastewater and water sides.
TPO: Why did DWSD and its partners launch a public education initiative?
Alfonso: There had been long-standing perceptions that it was a case of Detroit against the suburbs, or the suburbs against Detroit. That was really frustrating, because we had been collaborating on a lot of issues for years. We weren’t always successful in getting out the good stories about how we worked together.
Another reason we started this was that water and sewer are often the silent utilities. You turn your tap and water comes out; you flush your toilet and the waste goes away. People don’t think about where it goes and what has to be done to it, or what it takes to get the water to your tap. There are people who work 24/7 in many fields — engineers, scientists, the people who install and fix the pipes, the people who test the water to make sure it’s safe and meets all the government requirements, and the people who make sure wastewater meets effluent limits and is clean enough to return to the receiving water. So we decided to do some self-promotion and self-publishing and tell our side of the story.
TPO: What is the structure and function of the Public Education Work Group?
Alfonso: I serve as the lead representing the DWSD. There is also a member from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, as well as representatives from several wholesale customers. We meet six to eight times a year.
The main initiatives are keeping and developing relationships with all our retail and wholesale customers and working to develop solutions to shared challenges. Sometimes through the work group we get input or suggestions from customer communities that make us think about things differently. Sometimes that improves the way we approach the problems. It becomes a shared solution, as opposed to DWSD or the customer communities being on their own.
TPO: What channels do you use for connecting with your public?
Alfonso: We have an online Outreach Portal at www.dwsdoutreach.org. There is a public page and a registered user login. The registered user side is for people who are actually part of the outreach program. There we store meeting minutes and other documents so they’re accessible to all the people who are registered users of the system.
I also produce two newsletters. One is “In the Flow,” a quarterly newsletter we send to our wholesale customer base and to all the elected officials who live in the service territory where DWSD or our customers have a footprint.
Twice a year I also put out a “Detroit Residential Newsletter” for our retail customers. It’s more Detroit focused, but we still share the collaborative approach we’ve taken with our wholesale customers over the years, so people can see that we work together. We deliver that newsletter by email to neighborhood community organizations, block clubs and similar groups. We also attend many meetings of those groups, and I pass out copies of our publications to people there.
TPO: Tell us about the Operation Clean Water initiative. What does that encompass?
Alfonso: Operation Clean Water was an idea that came from Public Education Work Group. The aim was to put stories into mainstream media as well as local media in the communities we serve. Once a year in planning, we look at what we need to focus on. Generally, we try to push out three to four articles a year. The articles go onto the Outreach Portal. We’ve been fortunate to have the MWEA publish our articles on a pretty regular basis. And our wholesale customers can take the articles and reuse them, such as if they have newsletters in their communities.
One of our first articles was “Managing the Storm.” Detroit, like most older cities, has a combined system, as do many of our wholesale customers. The story is about how we work when we know there’s a storm coming. It’s really a team effort. It’s Detroit and our community partners monitoring the weather and in communication constantly making sure those flows are held so they can be treated before release to the environment.
TPO: What have you done to raise awareness of the people responsible for the collection and treatment systems?
Alfonso: We publish a series of Faces of Wastewater and Faces of Water profiles. We wanted to showcase people in the various positions. We did several series of profiles on the water side, and then we moved over to the wastewater side and have done two series there. The profiles also serve as an education tool to tell people about career opportunities in our industry.
TPO: What has been the reaction to the Faces profiles?
Alfonso: The first series was so successful that we immediately thought we were on to something and decided to keep going with it. Some of our customer communities have taken those stories and posted them on their websites.
TPO: What is the reaction to the Faces series from the people you profile?
Alfonso: They’re excited. They’ve never been involved in something like this before. Some of them were very shy in the beginning, but once they understood what we were trying to do, we had really good participation.
I was happy to showcase the work done by all the people who manage our systems. It brings a different perspective — suddenly people realized that we have committed, dedicated employees who work around the clock to make sure the system is safe and is working up to its potential. It’s a legacy to maintain it and operate it well for all those who come after us. Water is a pretty vital part of everyday life.
TPO: In the big picture, how would you describe the results of your outreach program and the Public Education Work Group?
Alfonso: I would say our communities are better informed and more knowledgeable. People are more engaged, and they know they have opportunities to air issues, raise concerns and bring a recommendation on how we can improve our relationships.
Four times a year we have meetings of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) on the water side with attendance of 60 to 80 people. The Wastewater Steering Committee meets two to three times a year, and those meetings are attended by DWSD and county representatives. We break into smaller groups and go through exercises that help us focus and plan for going forward: things we want to work on, things we may not have thought about, things that need attention. It’s a very open forum.
TPO: What advice would you give to other clean-water agencies about the importance of reaching out to the public?
Alfonso: People really need to know what you do. Whether you serve 20,000 people or millions, it’s important to make people aware of the vital service you provide and make sure they understand how important it is to protect and preserve it, and to support the people who show up every day and do the jobs they do.
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FTZ Act
U.S. Foreign-Trade Zones
Encouraging activity and investment in the U.S.
19 U.S.C. 81a-81u - Foreign-Trade Zones
§ 81a. Definitions
When used in this chapter -
•(a) The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of Commerce;
•(b) The term “Board” means the Board which is established to carry out the provisions of this chapter.The Board shall consist of the Secretary of Commerce, who shall be chairman and executive officer of the Board, and the Secretary of the Treasury;
•(c) The term “State” includes any State, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico;
•(d) The term “corporation” means a public corporation and a private corporation, as defined in this chapter;
•(e) The term “public corporation” means a State, political subdivision thereof, a municipality, a public agency of a State, political subdivision thereof, or municipality, or a corporate municipal instrumentality of one or more States;
•(f) The term “private corporation” means any corporation (other than a public corporation) which is organized for the purpose of establishing, operating, and maintaining a foreign-trade zone and which is chartered under special Act enacted after June 18, 1934, of the State or States within which it is to operate such zone;
•(g) The term “applicant” means a corporation applying for the right to establish, operate, and maintain a foreign-trade zone;
•(h) The term “grantee” means a corporation to which the privilege of establishing, operating, and maintaining a foreign-trade zone has been granted;
•(i) The term “zone” means a “foreign-trade zone” as provided in this chapter.
1996 - Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 104-201, Sec. 910(1), substituted “and the Secretary of the Treasury”for “the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary of War”.
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 104-201, Sec. 910(2), struck out “Alaska, Hawaii,” after “Columbia,”.
This chapter is popularly known as the “Foreign-Trade Zones Act”.
FLOOR STOCKS TAX TREATMENT OF ARTICLES IN FOREIGN-TRADE ZONES
Notwithstanding this chapter, articles located in a Foreign-trade zone on the effective date of increases in tax under specific amendments by Pub. L. 101-508 subject to floor stocks taxes under certain circumstances, see section 11218 of Pub. L. 101-508, set out as a note under section 5001 of Title 26, Internal Revenue Code.
§ 81b. Establishment of zones
•(a) Board authorization to grant zones
The Board is authorized, subject to the conditions and restrictions of this chapter and of the rules and regulations made thereunder, upon application as hereinafter provided, to grant to corporations the privilege of establishing, operating, and maintaining foreign-trade zones in or adjacent to ports of entry under the jurisdiction of the United States.
•(b) Number of zones per port of entry
Each port of entry shall be entitled to at least one zone, but when a port of entry is located within the confines of more than one State such port of entry shall be entitled to a zone in each of such States, and when two cities separated by water are embraced in one port of entry,a zone may be authorized in each of said cities or in territory adjacent thereto. Zones in addition to those to which a port of entry is entitled shall be authorized only if the Board finds that existing or authorized zones will not adequately serve the convenience of commerce.
•(c) Preference to public corporations
In granting applications preference shall be given to public corporations.
•(d) Ownership of harbor facilities by State
In case of any State in which harbor facilities of any port of entry are owned and controlled by the State and in which State harbor facilities of any other port of entry are owned and controlled by a municipality, the Board shall not grant an application by any public corporation for the establishment of any zone in such State, unless such application has been authorized by an Act of the legislature of such State (enacted after June 18, 1934).
§ 81c. Exemption from customs laws of merchandise brought into foreign trade zone
•(a) Handling of merchandise in zone; shipment of foreign merchandise into customs territory; appraisal; reshipment to zone Foreign and domestic merchandise of every description, except such as is prohibited by law, may, without being subject to the customs laws of the United States, except as otherwise provided in this chapter,be brought into a zone and may be stored, sold, exhibited, broken up, repacked, assembled,distributed, sorted, graded, cleaned, mixed with foreign or domestic merchandise, or otherwise manipulated, or be manufactured except as otherwise provided in this chapter,and be exported, destroyed, or sent into customs territory of the United States therefrom,in the original package or otherwise; but when foreign merchandise is so sent from a zone into customs territory of the United States it shall be subject to the laws and regulations of the United States affecting imported merchandise:
Provided, That whenever the privilege shall be requested and there has been no manipulation or manufacture effecting a change in tariff classification, the appropriate customs officer shall take under supervision any lot or part of a lot of foreign merchandise in a zone, cause it to be appraised and taxes determined and duties liquidated thereon. Merchandise so taken under supervision may be stored, manipulated, or manufactured under the supervision and regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, and whether mixed or manufactured with domestic merchandise or not may, under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, be exported or destroyed, or may be sent into customs territory upon the payment of such liquidated duties and determined taxes thereon. If merchandise so taken under supervision has been manipulated or manufactured, such duties and taxes shall be payable on the quantity of such foreign merchandise used in the manipulation or manufacture of the entered article. Allowance shall be made for recoverable and irrecoverable waste; and if recoverable waste is sent into customs territory, it shall be dutiable and taxable in its condition and quantity and at its weight at the time of entry. Where two or more products result from the manipulation or manufacture of merchandise in a zone the liquidated duties and determined taxes shall be distributed to the several products in accordance with their relative value at the time of separation with due allowance for waste as provided for above:
Provided further, That subject to such regulations respecting identity and the safeguarding of the revenue as the Secretary of the Treasury may deem necessary, articles, the growth, product, or manufacture of the United States, on which all internal-revenue taxes have been paid, if subject thereto, and articles previously imported on which duty and/or tax has been paid, or which have been admitted free of duty and tax, may be taken into a zone from the customs territory of the United States,placed under the supervision of the appropriate customs officer, and whether or not they have been combined with or made part, while in such zone, of other articles, may be brought back thereto free of quotas, duty, or tax:
Provided further, That if in the opinion of the Secretary of the Treasury their identity has been lost, such articles not entitled to free entry by reason of noncompliance with the requirements made hereunder by the Secretary of the Treasury shall be treated when they reenter customs territory of the United States as foreign merchandise under the provisions of the tariff and internal-revenue laws in force at that time:
Provided further, That under the rules and regulations of the controlling Federal agencies,articles which have been taken into a zone from customs territory for the sole purpose of exportation, destruction (except destruction of distilled spirits, wines, and fermented malt liquors), or storage shall be considered to be exported for the purpose of -
◦(1) the draw-back, warehousing, and bonding, or any other provisions of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, and the regulations thereunder; and
◦(2) the statutes and bonds exacted for the payment of draw-back, refund, or exemption from liability for internal-revenue taxes and for the purposes of the internal-revenue laws generally and the regulations thereunder. Such a transfer may also be considered an exportation for the purposes of other Federal laws insofar as Federal agencies charged with the enforcement of those laws deem it advisable. Such articles may not be returned to customs territory for domestic consumption except where the Foreign-Trade Zones Board deems such return to be in the public interest, in which event the articles shall be subject to the provisions of paragraph 1615(f)of section 1201 of this title:
Provided further, That no operation involving any foreign or domestic merchandise brought into a zone which operation would be subject to any provision or provisions of section 1807, chapter 15, chapter 16, chapter 17, chapter 21, chapter 23, chapter 24, chapter 25, chapter 26, or chapter 32 of the Internal Revenue Code if performed in customs territory, or involving the manufacture of any article provided for in paragraphs 367 or 368 of section 1001 of this title, shall be permitted in a zone except those operations (other than rectification of distilled spirits and wines, or the manufacture or production of alcoholic products unfit for beverage purposes) which were permissible under this chapter prior to July 1,1949:
Provided further, That articles produced or manufactured in a zone and exported therefrom shall on subsequent importation into the customs territory of the United States be subject to the import laws applicable to like articles manufactured in a foreign country, except that articles produced or manufactured in a zone exclusively with the use of domestic merchandise,the identity of which has been maintained in accordance with the second proviso of this section may, on such importation, be entered as American goods returned:
Provided, further, That no merchandise that consists of goods subject to NAFTA drawback, as defined in section 3333(a) of this title, that is manufactured or otherwise changed in condition shall be exported to a NAFTA country, as defined in section 3301(4) of this title, without an assessment of a duty on the merchandise in its condition and quantity, and at its weight, at the time of its exportation(or if the privilege in the first proviso to this subsection was requested, an assessment of a duty on the merchandise in its condition and quantity, and at its weight, at the time of its admission into the zone) and the payment of the assessed duty before the 61st day after the date of exportation of the article, except that upon the presentation, before such 61st day, of satisfactory evidence of the amount of any customs duties paid or owed to the NAFTA country on the article, the customs duty may be waived or reduced (subject to section 508(b)(2)(B)of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1508(b)(2)(B))) in an amount that does not exceed the lesser of(1) the total amount of customs duties paid or owed on the merchandise on importation into the United States, or (2) the total amount of customs duties paid on the article to the NAFTA country:
Provided, further, That, if Canada ceases to be a NAFTA country and the suspension of the operation of the United States-Canada Free-Trade Agreement thereafter terminates, with the exception of drawback eligible goods under section 204(a) of the United States-Canada Free-Trade Agreement Implementation Act of 1988, no article manufactured or otherwise changed in condition(except a change by cleaning, testing or repacking) shall be exported to Canada during the period such Agreement is in operation without the payment of a duty that shall be payable on the article in its condition and quantity, and at its weight, at the time of its exportation to Canada unless the privilege in the first proviso to this subsection was requested. (FOOTNOTE 1)
(FOOTNOTE 1) So in original.
•(b) Applicability to bicycle component parts
The exemption from the customs laws of the United States provided under subsection (a) of his section shall not be available on or before December 31, 1992, to bicycle component parts unless such parts are reexported from the United States, whether in the original package, as components of a completely assembled bicycle, or otherwise.
•(c) Articles manufactured or produced from denatured distilled spirits withdrawn free of tax from distilled spirits plant; products unfit for beverage purposes ◦(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of the fifth proviso of subsection (a) of this section,any article (within the meaning of section 5002(a)(14) of title 26) may be manufactured or produced from denatured distilled spirits which have been withdrawn free of tax from a distilled spirits plant (within the meaning of section 5002(a)(1) of title 26), and articles thereof, in a zone.
◦(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of the fifth proviso of subsection (a) of this section,distilled spirits which have been removed from a distilled spirits plant (as defined in section 5002(a)(1)of title 26) upon payment or determination of tax may be used in the manufacture or production of medicines, medicinal preparation, food products, flavors, or flavoring extracts, which are unfit for beverage purposes, in a zone. Such products will be eligible for drawback under the internal revenue laws under the same conditions applicable to similar manufacturing or production operations occurring in customs territory.
•(d) Foreign trade zones
In regard to the calculation of relative values in the operations of petroleum refineries ina foreign trade zone, the time of separation is defined as the entire manufacturing period. Theprice of products required for computing relative values shall be the average per unit value ofeach product for the manufacturing period. Definition and attribution of products to feedstocksfor pet roleum manufacturing may be either in accordance with Industry Standards of PotentialProduction on a Practical Operating Basis as verified and adopted by the Secretary of theTreasury (known as producibility) or such other inventory control method as approved by theSecretary of the Treasury that protects the revenue.
•(e) Production equipment
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if all applicable customs laws are complied with(except as otherwise provided in this subsection), merchandise which is admitted into a Foreign-trade zone for use within such zone as production equipment or as parts for such equipment, shall not be subject to duty until such merchandise is completely assembled,installed, tested, and used in the production for which it was admitted.
(2) Admission procedures
The person who admits the merchandise described in paragraph (1) into the zone shall, at the time of such admission, certify to the Customs Service that the merchandise is admitted into the zone pursuant to this subsection for use within the zone as production equipment or as parts for such equipment and that the merchandise will be entered and estimated duties deposited when use of the merchandise in production begins.
(3) Entry procedures
At the time use of the merchandise in production begins, the merchandise shall be entered,as provided for in section 484 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1484), and estimated duties shall be deposited with the Customs Service. The merchandise shall be subject to tariff classification according to its character, condition, and quantity, and at the rate of duty applicable, at the time use of the merchandise in production begins.
(4) Foreign-trade zone
For purposes of this subsection, the term “Foreign-trade zone” includes a subzone.
(June 18, 1934, ch. 590, Sec. 3, 48 Stat. 999; June 17, 1950, ch. 296, Sec. 1, 64 Stat. 246;June 2, 1970, Pub. L. 91-271, title III, Sec. 309, 84 Stat. 292; Oct. 30, 1984, Pub. L. 98-573,title II, Sec. 231(a)(2), 98 Stat. 2990; Oct. 22, 1986, Pub. L. 99-514, title XVIII, Sec.1894, 100 Stat. 2931; Aug. 23, 1988, Pub. L. 100-418, title I, Sec. 1783(f), 102 Stat. 1300;Sept. 28, 1988, Pub. L. 100-449, title II, Sec. 204(c)(5), 102 Stat. 1863; Nov. 10, 1988,Pub. L. 100-647, title IX, Sec. 9002, 102 Stat. 3808; Aug. 20, 1990, Pub. L. 101-382, title III,Sec. 481, 484F, 104 Stat. 706, 710; Dec. 8, 1993, Pub. L. 103-182, title II, Sec. 203(b)(5),107 Stat. 2091; Oct. 11, 1996, Pub. L. 104-295, Sec. 31(a), 110 Stat. 3536.)
The customs laws, referred to in text, are classified generally to this title.The Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, referred to in subsec. (a)(1), is act June 17, 1930, ch. 497,46 Stat. 590, as amended, which is classified generally to chapter 4 (Sec. 1202 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables.
Sections 1001 and 1201 of this title, referred to in subsec. (a), which comprised the dutiable and free lists for articles imported into the United States, were repealed by Pub. L. 87-456,title I, Sec. 101(a), May 24, 1962, 76 Stat. 72, which act also revised the Tariff Schedules of the United States. The Tariff Schedules of the United States were replaced by the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States which is not set out in the Code. See Publication of Harmonized Tariff Schedule note set out under section 1202 of this title.
References in subsec. (a) to section and chapters of the Internal Revenue Code are references to section and chapters of the Internal Revenue Code, 1939, which was repealed by section 7851 of Title 26, I.R.C. 1954. The Internal Revenue Code of 1954 was redesignated the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 by Pub. L. 99-514, Sec. 2, Oct. 22, 1986, 100 Stat. 2095. Corresponding sections of I.R.C. 1986 to section and chapters of I.R.C. 1939 referred to in the text are set out below.For provision deeming a reference in other laws to a provision of I.R.C. 1939, also as a reference to corresponding provision of I.R.C. 1986, see section 7852(b) of Title 26, I.R.C. 1986.
I.R.C. 1939 I.R.C. 1986
Sec. 1807 Omitted
Chapter 15 Sec. 5701 et seq.
Chapter 16 Sec. 4591 et seq., Sec. 4811 et seq.
Chapter 21 Omitted
Chapter 25 Sec. 4181, 4182, and 5811 et seq.
Section 204 of the United States-Canada Free-Trade Agreement Implementation Act of 1988, referred to in subsec. (a), is section 204 of Pub. L. 100-449, which is set out in a note under section 2112 of this title.
The internal revenue laws, referred to in subsec. (c)(2), are classified generally to Title 26,Internal Revenue Code.
1999 - Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 106-36 struck out second period at end of last sentence.
1996 - Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 104-295 added subsec. (e).
1993 - Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103-182, in provisions following par. (2), inserted second proviso relating to goods subject to NAFTA drawback, and in last proviso inserted “, if Canada ceases to be a NAFTA country and the suspension of the operation of the United States-Canada Free-Trade Agreement thereafter terminates,” after “That” and substituted “during the period such Agreement is in operation” for “on or after January 1, 1994, or such later date as may be proclaimed by the President under section 204(b)(2)(B) of such Act of 1988,”.
1990 - Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 101-382, Sec. 481, substituted “on or before December 31, 1992” for”before January 1, 1991”.
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 101-382, Sec. 484F, designated existing provisions as par. (1), struck out”domestic” before “denatured distilled”, inserted provisions relating to withdrawal free of tax from a distilled spirits plant, and added par. (2).
1988 - Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 100-449 inserted provision directing that, “with the exception of drawback eligible goods under section 204(a) of the United States-Canada Free-Trade Agreement Implementation Act of 1988, no article manufactured or otherwise changed in condition (except a change by cleaning, testing or repacking) shall be exported to Canada on or after January 1,1994, or such later date as may be proclaimed by the President under section 204(b)(2)(B) ofsuch Act of 1988, without the payment of a duty that shall be payable on the article in its condition and quantity, and at its weight, at the time of its exportation to Canada unless the privilege in the first proviso to this subsection was requested.”
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 100-418 substituted “January 1, 1991” for “June 30, 1986”.
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 100-647 added subsec. (d).
1986 - Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 99-514 added subsec. (c).
1984 - Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 98-573 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a),
redesignated former pars. (a) and (b) as pars. (1) and (2), respectively, of subsec.(a), and added subsec. (b).
1970 - Pub. L. 91-271 substituted references to the appropriate customs officers for references to the collector of customs wherever appearing.
1950 - Act June 17, 1950, amended section generally to remove the prohibition against, and to authorize specifically, manufacture and exhibition within a zone.
Section 31(b) of Pub. L. 104-295 provided that: “The amendment made by this section (amending this section) shall apply with respect to merchandise admitted into a Foreign-trade zone after the date that is 15 days after the date of the enactment of this Act (Oct. 11, 1996).”
Amendment by Pub. L. 103-182 applicable (1) with respect to exports from the United States to Canada on Jan. 1, 1996, if Canada is a NAFTA country on that date and after such date for so long as Canada continues to be a NAFTA country and (2) with respect to exports from the United States to Mexico on Jan. 1, 2001, if Mexico is a NAFTA country on that date and after such date for so long as Mexico continues to be a NAFTA country, see section 213(c) of Pub. L. 103-182,set out as an Effective Date note under section 3331 of this title.
Section 485(a) of title III (Sec. 301-485) of Pub. L. 101-382 provided that: “Except as otherwise provided in this title, the amendments made by this title (amending this section and sections 1309,1313, 1466, and 1553 of this title and enacting provisions set out as notes under sections 1309,1466, and 1553 of this title), shall apply with respect to articles entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after October 1, 1990.”
EFFECTIVE AND TERMINATION DATES OF 1988 AMENDMENTS
Amendment by Pub. L. 100-449 effective on date the United States-Canada Free-Trade Agreement enters into force (Jan. 1, 1989), and to cease to have effect on date Agreement ceases to be in force, see section 501(a), (c) of Pub. L. 100-449, set out in a note under section 2112 of this title.
Amendment by section 1783(f) of Pub. L. 100-418 applicable with respect to articles entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, after Sept. 30, 1988, pursuant to section 1831(a) of Pub. L. 100-418.
Section 231(a)(3) of Pub. L. 98-573 provided that: “The amendments made by paragraph (2) (amending this section) shall take effect on the fifteenth day after the date of the enactment of this Act(Oct. 30, 1984).”
Amendment by Pub. L. 91-271 effective with respect to articles entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after Oct. 1, 1970, and such other articles entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption prior to such date, or with respect to which a protest has not been disallowed in whole or in part before Oct. 1, 1970, see section 203 of Pub. L. 91-271, set out as a note under section 1500 of this title.
All offices of collector of customs, comptroller of customs, surveyor of customs, and appraiser of merchandise in Bureau of Customs of Department of the Treasury to which appointments were required to be made by President with advice and consent of Senate ordered abolished with such offices to be terminated not later than December 31, 1966, by Reorg. Plan No. 1 of 1965, eff.May 25, 1965, 30 F.R. 7035, 79 Stat. 1317, set out as a note under section 1 of this title.All functions of offices eliminated were already vested in Secretary of the Treasury by Reorg.Plan No. 26 of 1950, eff. July 31, 1950, 15 F.R. 4935, 64 Stat. 1280, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.
PLAN AMENDMENTS NOT REQUIRED UNTIL JANUARY 1, 1989
For provisions directing that if any amendments made by subtitle A or subtitle C of title XI(Sec. 1101-1147 and 1171-1177) or title XVIII (Sec. 1801-1899A) of Pub. L. 99-514 require an amendment to any plan, such plan amendment shall not be required to be made before the first plan year beginning on or after Jan. 1, 1989, see section 1140 of Pub. L. 99-514, as amended,set out as a note under section 401 of Title 26, Internal Revenue Code.
SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS
This section is referred to in sections 58c, 1508 of this title; title 26 sections 5003, 5214.
§ 81d. Customs officers and guards
The Secretary of the Treasury shall assign to the zone the necessary customs officers and guards to protect the revenue and to provide for the admission of foreign merchandise into customs territory.
Functions of all officers of Department of the Treasury and functions of all agencies and employees of such Department transferred, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of the Treasury, with power vested in him to authorize their performance or performance of any of his functions, by any of such officers, agencies, and employees, by Reorg. Plan No. 26 of 1950, Sec. 1, 2, eff. July 31, 1950,15 F.R. 4935, 64 Stat. 1280, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.
§ 81e. Vessels entering or leaving zone; coastwise trade
Vessels entering or leaving a zone shall be subject to the operation of all the laws of the United States,except as otherwise provided in this chapter, and vessels leaving a zone and arriving in customs territory of the United States shall be subject to such regulations to protect the revenue as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed in any manner so as to permit vessels under foreign flags to carry goods or merchandise shipped from one foreign trade zone to another zone or port in the protected coastwise trade of the United States.
(June 18, 1934, ch. 590, Sec. 5, 48 Stat. 1000.)
§ 81f. Application for establishment and expansion of zone
•(a) Application for establishment; requirements
Each application shall state in detail -
◦(1) The location and qualifications of the area in which it is proposed to establish a zone, showing(A) the land and water or land or water area or land area alone if the application is for its establishment in or adjacent to an interior port; (B) the means of segregation from customs territory; (C) the fitness of the area for a zone; and (D) the possibilities of expansion of the zone area;
◦(2) The facilities and appurtenances which it is proposed to provide and the preliminary plans and estimate of the cost thereof, and the existing facilities and appurtenances which it is proposed to utilize;
◦(3) The time within which the applicant proposes to commence and complete the construction of the zone and facilities and appurtenances;
◦(4) The methods proposed to finance the undertaking;
◦(5) Such other information as the Board may require.
•(b) Amendment of application; expansion of zone
The Board may upon its own initiative or upon request permit the amendment of the application. Any expansion of the area of an established zone shall be made and approved in the same manner as an original application.
§ 81g. Granting of application
If the Board finds that the proposed plans and location are suitable for the accomplishment of the purpose of a foreign trade zone under this chapter, and that the facilities and appurtenances which it is proposed to provide are sufficient it shall make the grant.
81h. Rules and regulations
The Board shall prescribe such rules and regulations not inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter or the rules and regulations of the Secretary of the Treasury made hereunder and as may be necessary to carry out this chapter.
§ 81i. Cooperation of Board with other agencies
The Board shall cooperate with the State, subdivision, and municipality in which the zone is located in the exercise of their police, sanitary, and other powers in and in connection with the free zone. It shall also cooperate with the United States Customs Service, the United States Postal Service, the Public Health Service, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and such other Federal agencies as have jurisdiction in ports of entry described in section 81b of this title.
(Ex. Ord. No. 6166, Sec. 14, June 10, 1933; June 18, 1934, ch. 590, Sec. 9, 48 Stat. 1000;Aug. 12, 1970, Pub. L. 91-375, Sec. 4(a), 6(o), 84 Stat. 773, 783.)
“United States Postal Service” substituted in text for “Post Office Department” pursuant to Pub. L. 91-375, Sec. 4(a), 6(o), Aug. 12, 1970, 84 Stat. 773, 783, which are set out as notes preceding section 101 of Title 39, Postal Service, and under section 201 of Title 39, respectively,which abolished Post Office Department, transferred its functions to United States Postal Service,and provided that references in other laws to Post Office Department shall be considered a reference to United States Postal Service.
Functions of Public Health Service, Surgeon General of Public Health Service, and of all other officers and employees of Public Health Service, and functions of all agencies of or in Public Health Service transferred to Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare by Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1966, 31 F.R. 8855, 80 Stat. 1610, effective June 25, 1966, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare redesignated Secretary of Health and Human Services by section 509(b) of Pub. L. 96-88, title V, Oct. 17, 1979,93 Stat. 695, which is classified to section 3508(b) of Title 20, Education.
Functions of all other officers of Department of Justice and functions of all agencies and employees of such Department transferred, with a few exceptions, to Attorney General, with power vested in him to authorize their performance or performance of any of his functions by any of such officers, agencies,and employees, by former sections 1 and 2 of Reorg. Plan No. 2 of 1950, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3173,64 Stat. 1261, set out in the Appendix to Title 5. The Immigration and Naturalization Service, referred to in this section, is in Department of Justice.
Functions of all other officers of Department of the Treasury and functions of all agencies and employees of such Department transferred, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of the Treasury, with power vested in him to authorize their performance or performance of any of his functions, by any of such officers,agencies, and employees, by Reorg. Plan No. 26 of 1950, Sec. 1, 2, eff. July 31, 1950, 15 F.R. 4935,64 Stat. 1280, set out in the Appendix to Title 5. Customs Service is under Department of the Treasury.
Bureaus of Immigration and Naturalization consolidated as an Immigration and Naturalization Service by Ex. Ord. No. 6166, set out as a note under section 901 of Title 5.
§ 81j. Cooperation of other agencies with Board
For the purpose of facilitating the investigations of the Board and its work in the granting of the privilege,in the establishment, operation, and maintenance of a zone, the President may direct the executive departments and other establishments of the Government to cooperate with the Board, and for such purpose each of the several departments and establishments is authorized, upon direction of the President, to furnish to the Board such records, papers, and information in their possession as may be required by him, and temporarily to detail to the service of the Board such officers, experts, or engineers as may be necessary.
(June 18, 1934, ch. 590, Sec. 10, 48 Stat. 1001.)
§ 81k. Agreements as to use of property
If the title to or right of user of any of the property to be included in a zone is in the United States,an agreement to use such property for zone purposes may be entered into between the grantee and the department or officer of the United States having control of the same, under such conditions, approved by the Board and such department or officer, as may be agreed upon.
§ 81l. Facilities to be provided and maintained
Each grantee shall provide and maintain in connection with the zone -
•(a) Adequate slips, docks, wharves, warehouses, loading and unloading and mooring facilities where the zone is adjacent to water; or, in the case of an inland zone, adequate loading,unloading, and warehouse facilities;
•(b) Adequate transportation connections with the surrounding territory and with all parts of the United States, so arranged as to permit of proper guarding and inspection for the protection of the revenue;
•(c) Adequate facilities for coal or other fuel and for light and power;
•(d) Adequate water and sewer mains;
•(e) Adequate quarters and facilities for the officers and employees of the United States,State, and municipality whose duties may require their presence within the zone;
•(f) Adequate enclosures to segregate the zone from customs territory for protection of the revenue, together with suitable provisions for ingress and egress of persons, conveyances,vessels, and merchandise;
•(g) Such other facilities as may be required by the Board.
§ 81m. Permission to others to use zone
The grantee may, with the approval of the Board, and under reasonable and uniform regulations for like conditions and circumstances to be prescribed by it, permit other persons, firms,corporations, or associations to erect such buildings and other structures within the zone as will meet their particular requirements: Provided, That such permission shall not constitute a vested right as against the United States, nor interfere with the regulation of the grantee or the permittee by the United States, nor interfere with or complicate the revocation of the grant by the United States: And provided further, That in the event of the United States or the grantee desiring to acquire the property of the permittee no good will shall be considered as accruing from the privilege granted to the zone: And provided further, That such permits shall not be granted on terms that conflict with the public use of the zone as set forth in this chapter.
§ 81n. Operation of zone as public utility; cost of customs service
Each zone shall be operated as a public utility, and all rates and charges for all services or privileges within the zone shall be fair and reasonable, and the grantee shall afford to all who may apply for the use of the zone and its facilities and appurtenances uniform treatment under like conditions, subject to such treaties or commercial conventions as are now in force or may hereafter be made from time to time by the United States with foreign governments and the cost of maintaining the additional customs service required under this chapter shall be paid by the operator of the zone.
§ 81o. Residents of zone
•(a) Persons allowed to reside in zone
No person shall be allowed to reside within the zone except Federal, State, or municipal officers or agents whose resident presence is deemed necessary by the Board.
•(b) Rules and regulations for employees entering and leaving zone
The Board shall prescribe rules and regulations regarding employees and other persons entering and leaving the zone. All rules and regulations concerning the protection of the revenue shall be approved by the Secretary of the Treasury.
•(c) Exclusion from zone of goods or process of treatment
The Board may at any time order the exclusion from the zone of any goods or process of treatment that in its judgment is detrimental to the public interest, health, or safety.
•(d) Retail trade within zone
No retail trade shall be conducted within the zone except under permits issued by the grantee and approved by the Board. Such permit tees shall sell no goods except such domestic or duty-paid or duty-free goods as are brought into the zone from customs territory.
• (e) Exemption from State and local ad valorem taxation of tangible personal property
Tangible personal property imported from outside the United States and held in a zone for the purpose of storage, sale, exhibition, repackaging, assembly, distribution, sorting, grading,cleaning, mixing, display, manufacturing, or processing, and tangible personal property produced in the United States and held in a zone for exportation, either in its original form or as altered by any of the above processes, shall be exempt from State and local ad valorem taxation.
(June 18, 1934, ch. 590, Sec. 15, 48 Stat. 1002; Oct. 30, 1984, Pub. L. 98-573, title II, Sec. 231(b)(1), 98 Stat. 2991.)
1984 - Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 98-573 added subsec. (e).
Section 231(b)(2) of Pub. L. 98-573 provided that: “The amendment made by paragraph (1)(amending this section) shall take effect on January 1, 1983.”
§ 81p. Accounts and recordkeeping
•(a) Manner of keeping accounts
The form and manner of keeping the accounts of each zone shall be prescribed by the Board.
•(b) Annual report by grantee
Each grantee shall make to the Board annually, and at such other times as it may prescribe, reports on zone operations.
•(c) Report to Congress
The Board shall make a report to Congress annually containing a summary of zone operations.
(June 18, 1934, ch. 590, Sec. 16, 48 Stat. 1002; Dec. 28, 1980, Pub. L. 96-609, title II, Sec. 204,94 Stat. 3561; Aug. 22, 1986, Pub. L. 99-386, title II, Sec. 203(b), 100 Stat. 823.)
1986 - Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 99-386, Sec. 203(b)(1), substituted “reports on zone operations” for”reports containing a full statement of all the operations, receipts, and expenditures, and such other information as the Board may require”. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 99-386, Sec. 203(b)(2), added subsec. (c) and struck out former subsec. (c) which required the Board to make an annual report to Congress containing a summary of the operation and fiscal condition of each zone, and transmit copies of the annual report of each grantee. 1980 - Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 96-609 substituted “by April 1 of each year” for “on the first day of each regular session”.
§ 81q. Transfer of grant
The grant shall not be sold, conveyed, transferred, set over, or assigned.
§ 81r. Revocation of grants
•(a) Procedure for revocation
In the event of repeated willful violations of any of the provisions of this chapter by the grantee, the Board may revoke the grant after four months’ notice to the grantee and affording it an opportunity to be heard. The testimony taken before the Board shall be reduced to writing and filed in the records of the Board together with the decision reached thereon.
•(b) Attendance of witnesses and production of evidence
In the conduct of any proceeding under this section for the revocation of a grant the Board may compel the attendance of witnesses and the giving of testimony and the production of documentary evidence, and for such purpose may invoke the aid of the district courts of the United States.
•(c) Nature of order of revocation; appeal
An order under the provisions of this section revoking the grant issued by the Board shall be final and conclusive, unless within ninety days after its service the grantee appeals to the court of appeals for the circuit in which the zone is located by filing with the clerk of said court a written petition praying that the order of the Board be set aside. Such order shall be stayed pending the disposition of appellate proceedings by the court.The clerk of the court in which such a petition is filed shall immediately cause a copy thereof to be delivered to the Board and it shall thereupon file in the court the record in the proceedings held before it under this section, as provided in section 2112 of title 28. The testimony and evidence taken or submitted before the Board, duly certified and filed as a part of the record,shall be considered by the court as the evidence in the case.
(June 18, 1934, ch. 590, Sec. 18, 48 Stat. 1002; June 25, 1948, ch. 646, Sec. 32(a), 62 Stat. 991;May 24, 1949, ch. 139, Sec. 127, 63 Stat. 107; Aug. 28, 1958, Pub. L. 85-791, Sec. 11, 72 Stat. 945.)
1958 - Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 85-791 substituted “thereupon file in the court” for “forthwith prepare,certify, and file in the court a full and accurate transcript of” and “as provided in section 2112of title 28” for “the charges, the evidence, and the order revoking the grant” in third sentence.
Act June 25, 1948, eff. Sept. 1, 1948, as amended by act May 24, 1949, substituted “court of appeals”for “circuit court of appeals”.
§ 81s. Offenses
In case of a violation of this chapter, or any regulation under this chapter, by the grantee,any officer, agent or employee thereof responsible for or permitting any such violation shall be subject to a fine of not more than $1,000. Each day during which a violation continues shall constitute a separate offense.
§ 81t. Separability
If any provision of this chapter or the application of such provision to certain circumstances beheld invalid, the remainder of this chapter and the application of such provisions to circumstances other than those as to which it is held invalid shall not be affected thereby.
§ 81u. Right to alter, amend, or repeal chapter
The right to alter, amend, or repeal this chapter is reserved.
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Best Things to Do in Philly for Teenagers
» Best Things to Do in Philly for Teenagers
Teenagers generally love fun and adventure. Check out our article below for best things to do in Philly for teenagers in 2019!
Getting or finding fun activities, sites and spots that will be exciting and entertaining to these teenagers can be a challenging decision to make sometimes. The good news is that here in the city of Philadelphia, there are a handful of things to do for teenagers that will literally sweep them off their feet.
See a concert at Wells Fargo Center
Catch a movie at the IMAX theater at the Frankin Institute
Take pictures at the Liberty Bell
Take pictures at the Rocky Statue
Go to Spin Philly
Go to urban Axes Philly
Visit Cuba Libre
Whats cool for teenagers to do in Philly
One of the most elite venues in all of Philly
Source Uwishunu.com Enjoy a fun night of live entertainment
This is one place teenagers will find absolutely spectacular. Wells Fargo Center is located in Philadelphia and is a multi-use indoor sports ground. This is the Philadelphia Flyers’ local arena of the National Hockey League (NHL), the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Philadelphia Soul of the Arena Football League (AFL) and Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The arena is located at the south-west corner of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, which includes Lincoln Financial Field, Citizens Bank Park, and Xfinity Live!
On June 10, 2005, the Wachovia Center broke the record for participation in an indoor hockey game in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (20.103). The Philadelphia Phantoms won the fourth game of the 2005 Calder Cup final against the Chicago Wolves and won the Calder Cup. The attendance record was broken on June 9, 2010, as the Wachovia Center set another attendance record, with 20,327 participants in Game 6 of the 2010 Stanley Cup Final; the Flyers lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in overtime, giving Chicago its first Stanley Cup since 1961. On January 29, 2017, the Wells Fargo Center also broke the record for participation in a college basketball game in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, during which Villanova defeated Virginia in front of a crowd of 20,907.
The Wells Fargo Center is known for super amazing concerts. On August 13, 1996, a private concert by Ray Charles was the first event held at the CoreStates Center, with a crowd of nearly 12,000 people. Each spectator received a commemorative key acknowledging that he had helped to “open the arena”. The Wells Fargo Center has since held other concerts by famous artists. On December 6, 2002, hard rock band Guns N ‘Roses was scheduled to perform as part of its Chinese Democracy Tour. The opening CKY and Mix Master Mike bands played, but the main act, Guns N ‘Roses, never appeared, fueling a riot in the arena and causing about $ 30,000 to $ 40,000 worth of damage. No reason has ever been given for the non-appearance of Guns N ‘Roses, other than the public announcement of the illness of one of the members of the group.
Get Directions :
3601 S Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19148
Get Tickets :
Tickets vary by performer
Visit Website :
WellsFargoCenterPhilly.com
Box office hours; Monday – Friday, 12 PM-6 PM
Call Them View Tickets TripAdvisor
Feel like you're really there
Source Franklin Institute This theater is unmatched
The IMAX Theater at the Franklin Institute is a dome theater that is truly unique in many ways. Unlike conventional 180 ° dome theaters, IMAX® dome displays are also inclined at 30 degrees. The special seats place the spectators in the dome, completely involving them in the show. The dome is over 18 meters high and 4.5 story-high. In addition, an amplifier power of 20,000 watts and more than 50 speakers will make you feel part of the action. An IMAX dome cinema puts you in the center of the action. Teenagers will really enjoy catching a movie here.
222 N 20th St, Philadelphia, PA 19103
www.fi.edu
Open daily 9:30 AM-7 PM
Take a modern twist on American History
Source The Constitutional Walking Tour of Philadelphia Enjoy this American symbol with a photo
The Liberty Bell is one of the most recognizable symbols of freedom in the world. At the Liberty Bell Center, visitors enjoy a personal and intimate experience, where they can see a 360-degree view of the iconic relic. X-rays literally give an insider’s point of view on the crack and the wheels of the bell.
Other exhibitions show how the image of the bell adorns everything from ice cream molds to wind chimes. The rising glass walls offer spectacular and powerful views of the Liberty Bell, as well as Independence Hall, a few steps away, in the background. Other exhibitions at the Liberty Bell Center explore its impact on everything from ice cream molds to wind chimes.
Visiting the Liberty Bell does not require any tickets or fees, but be aware that queues can be long in high season. It does not make any noise, but the message of the Liberty bell rings loud and clear: “Proclaim liberty everywhere in the country to all its inhabitants”. This inscription on the powerful cracked but powerful bell is one of the reasons why it has become a symbol for abolitionists, suffragists and other people seeking freedom around the world. The bell, which is free all year long and does not require a ticket, encourages residents across the country to take a photo in front of the glass walls that dominate Independence Hall.
Market St, Philadelphia, PA 19106
Visit for free!
www.nps.gov/libertybell
Open daily 9 AM-7 PM
Call Them TripAdvisor
Meet Rocky Balboa!
Source Visit Philly Take a selfie worth sharing!
The Rocky statue and the “Rocky steps” are undeniably two of Philadelphia’s most popular attractions. Every day, an almost constant flow of people settles down to take a picture of the Rocky statue at the bottom of the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, then climb the grand staircase of the museum to try out the famous two-armed salute. Originally created for a scene in Rocky III, the sculpture is a real-life monument of a celluloid hero who remains the fictional favorite son of the City of Brotherly Love.
Visiting the statue, climbing the steps and taking a picture at the top, arms raised for victory is a must during any first visit to Philadelphia. Think of it as a rite of passage. Since Rocky’s first triumph on the big screen in 1976, the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s steps has become an international destination. Travelers from all over the world run up the stairs, fists in the air, while admiring the spectacular views of Benjamin Franklin Drive and the city.
To finish the experience, head down the stairs and take a picture with the Rocky Bronze statue. Taking a photo with the rocky statue and climbing the rocky steps is free. A ticket to the Philadelphia Museum of Art entitles guests to a two-day entrance to the museum, as well as the entrance to the Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman buildings, the Rodin Museum, and the Cedar Grove and Mount Pleasant historic houses.
2600 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy, Philadelphia, PA 19130
https://www.visitphilly.com/rockystatue
Open 24 hours for photos!
'Spin' yourself into a good time
Source Philly Voice Ping Pong fun for all
SPIN Philadelphia is a 12,000 SQ. FT. Ping Pong Social Club located in the city center. SPIN Philly has 17 ping-pong tables, a full bar, a fantastic shared menu, and a private dining room. SPIN is a chameleon that knows how to adapt to all ages, cities, countries: be it a birthday party, a corporate event, a dance contest or a ping-pong tournament, SPIN has come up with the perfect formula for organizing fun gatherings of all kinds. and it’s simple: unlimited ping-pong balls, good food, excellent drinks, and incredible people. Table tennis offers players of all ages and abilities, an element of accessibility to participate, capturing the contrast of the sport and the atmosphere of an evening in town. Spin Philly offer proficient Olympic ping pong tables, a full-service restaurant and a VIP private lounge. They also offer access to professional ping-pong players to enhance any event experience, organize tournaments or just for educational lessons.
211 S 15th St, Philadelphia, PA 19102
$9 for one hour
Wearespin.com
Open Monday-Wednesday, 4 PM-11 PM, Thursday, 4 PM-12 AM, Friday, 4 PM-2 AM, Saturday, 12 PM-2 AM, Sunday, 12 PM-8 PM
Throw your troubles away
Source Vimeo Where else can you throw axes safely?
Urban Axes is proud to bring the urban throw to the heart of your city. Teenagers will find this interesting. The sport of ax throwing was invented about 5 minutes after the creation of the first ax, but it was traditionally practiced in an outdoor environment, away from urban environments. Their goal is to prevent ax blows from being thrown into the woods and into the lights of the big city by presenting … Urban ax throwing! Want to see what everyone is talking about? We’ve set schedules at select locations where you can attend a one-hour walk-in session to hone your skills.
2019 E Boston St, Philadelphia, PA 19125
starting at $20/hour
Urbanaxes.com
Open daily, 11 AM-11 PM
Cuba in Philadelphia?
Source Twitter Feel like you're in Havana!
After dinner service, the Cuban restaurant has a floor for weekend nights devoted to tropical rhythms and refreshing rum drinks. The soundtrack here goes from Latino standards to new-school fusion. Sports shoes, work boots, baseball caps, shorts, and sportswear are not allowed. The Cuba Libre Restaurant & Rum Bar, located at 10 S. 2nd Street, in the Old City district, offers a free lunch for a whole year to a patron yearly.
If you’re feeling lucky, one person will win a free Eat-A-Frita hamburger every week for a year, paired with a Batido, or tropical milkshake. The open-air setting, tropical setting, vintage decor, lively Latin music, and Chef / Partner Concept, Guillermo Pernot’s delicious menu of classic and contemporary Cuban cuisine, make all their restaurants a must-see… A visit here will truly be a rewarding experience.
10 S 2nd St, Philadelphia, PA 19106
Dining options start at $12
Cubalibrerestaurant.com
Open Monday-Wednesday, 11:30 AM-10 PM, Thursday 11:30 AM-11 PM, Friday & Saturday, 11:30 AM-2 AM, Sunday, 10:30 AM-10 PM
Call Them Book on OpenTable TripAdvisor
1. See a concert at Wells Fargo Center
2. Catch a movie at the IMAX theater at the Frankin Institute
3. Take pictures at the Liberty Bell
4. Take pictures at the Rocky Statue
5. Go to Spin Philly
6. Go to urban Axes Philly
7. Visit Cuba Libre
By: William Zimmerman
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Home » News » FG to employ 13,000 unemployed youths ― Onu
FG to employ 13,000 unemployed youths ― Onu
On January 13, 2021 3:00 amIn Newsby Temisan Amoye
Ogbonnaya Onu
By Emmanuel Elebeke
The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu said that the Federal Government will empower 13,000 unemployed youths to participate in the maintenance of public works for the three tiers of government.
The Minister said this at the official flag-off of the extended special public works programme (ESPWP) in Abakaliki, Ebonyi state.
Dr Onu said the Special Programme is aimed at maintaining public works of the Local, State and Federal government, adding that a thousand youths each were picked from all Local government Areas in the country.
He further said the Special programme will ensure that all public work projects are well maintained.
“ The work to be done in each Local Government Area may be different, but on the whole, the aim is to ensure that public works are properly and adequately maintained,” he said.
The Minister urged the beneficiaries and relevant stakeholders of the program to show strong commitment in ensuring efficient implementation as the tools and equipment have been provided by the Federal Government.
ALSO READ: Court remands father in prison for impregnating 17-year-old daughter
Dr Onu further said that the programme will aid the participants to become sustainable and self-employed from the knowledge and skills they have acquired during the program.
He called on the Organized Private Sector (OPS) to show interest in employing the participants.
“I call on the Private Sector to show interest in employing these participants after they have acquired additional knowledge and skills in the process of implementing the programme”.
According to him, the Federal Government will closely monitor the implementation of the program, in order to ensure efficient use of both human and capital resources.
The Executive Governor of Ebonyi State, Engr. David Umahi, represented by the Secretary to the State Government Dr Kenneth Ugbala commended the concern of President Muhammadu Buhari for Ebonyi State and for showcasing his leadership style by providing palliatives such as this programme to ameliorate the effect of COVID-19 pandemic.
ALSO READ: NPFL: Lobi Stars tame Warri Wolves 3-0 in Makurdi
He further reiterated the commitment of the State government to collaborate with the Federal government and the steering committee in the state to make sure the beneficiaries of this programme will have a testimony that will change the story of our nation.
He also promised to set aside funds to empower the beneficiaries to start small scale businesses after the initial three months of engagement.
Chief Umahi believes that with 13,000 youths off the street and productively engaged, crime will be greatly reduced.
In a Goodwill message, the acting Director-General of National Directorate of Employment delivered by Director Rural Employment promotion, Dr Micheal Mbata emphasized the drive of the Federal Government through NDE to win the war against poverty and youth unemployment in Nigeria.
He assured the Federal Government that NDE will deliver the target and monitor the smooth implementation of the programme.
Vanguard News Nigeria
Temisan Amoye
View all posts by Temisan Amoye →
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Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre Standardizes on Varian Solution for Cancer Treatment Planning | Varian
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre Standardizes on Varian Solution for Cancer Treatment Planning
PALO ALTO, Calif., Dec. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Varian (NYSE: VAR) today announced the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (Peter Mac) in Melbourne, Australia has selected the Eclipse™ treatment planning system to replace its existing cancer treatment planning systems across all five Peter Mac sites. As the first Microsoft Azure-hosted system to be deployed in Australia, the Varian solution includes Eclipse as well as Velocity™ for adaptive radiotherapy.
"Peter Mac has been using three different treatment planning systems across our five sites, which has increased the level of resources required to maintain and commission multiple systems," said Peter Mac's director of Radiation Oncology, Professor Trevor Leong. "This also poses a challenge for staff as they move around our different centres and are required to learn different systems. Standardizing on the Eclipse treatment planning system will translate to increased efficiency, increased staff satisfaction and more time to concentrate on patient care."
Chris Cowley, managing director for Varian in Australia, said: "We are proud of our ongoing partnership with Peter Mac and its selection of the Varian solution to provide the most advanced adaptive treatment planning available from anywhere and at any time across the network of their sites. We look forward to collaborating with Peter Mac on the deployment of this solution and together helping create a world without the fear of cancer."
Eclipse software creates an optimized radiotherapy treatment plan based on a physician's dose instructions, and information about the size, shape, and location of the tumor to be treated with radiation. The Eclipse software incorporates unique features such as RapidPlan™ knowledge-based planning, and multi-criteria optimization (MCO). RapidPlan is designed to simplify and accelerate the planning process for sophisticated cancer treatments like stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT), intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), and RapidArc® radiotherapy. MCO allows clinicians to explore what happens when different clinical criteria are varied, such as the degree to which particular organs are spared versus coverage of the targeted tumor.
The Velocity system offers large-scale archival image storage and management and serves as a centralized repository for all diagnostic, planning and delivery information.
Varian booked the Peter Mac order in the fourth quarter of its fiscal year 2017.
About Varian
Varian focuses energy on saving lives and is the world's leading manufacturer of medical devices and software for treating and managing cancer. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Varian employs approximately 6,500 people around the world. For more information, visit http://www.varian.com and follow @VarianMedSys on Twitter.
About Peter Mac
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre is one of the world's leading cancer research, education and treatment centres globally and is Australia's only public hospital solely dedicated to caring for people affected by cancer. We have over 2,500 staff, including more than 580 laboratory and clinical researchers, all focused on providing better treatments, better care and potential cures for cancer.
Mark Plungy
mark.plungy@varian.com
SOURCE Varian
Corporate Communications Contact
Sr. Director, Global Brand and Marketing
VP, Treasurer and Investor Relations
Sign up to receive regular news from Varian.
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Varian (NYSE:VAR) is a leader in developing and delivering cancer care solutions and is focused on creating a world without fear of cancer. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Varian employs approximately 10,000 people around the world.
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67-Year-Old Morrell Wine Shop and Bar Reopen in Rockefeller Center
by Laura Shunk
Morrell Wine Bar via Facebook
Roberta Morrell’s parents first opened the Morrell (1 Rockefeller Plaza, 212-688-9370) wine shop in a 600-square-foot space on 49th Street in 1947, and in the 67 years since, the retailer has moved around Midtown, occupying addresses on 53rd Street and Madison Avenue before making its way back to its current location on 49th Street in Rockefeller Center 15 years ago.
“Our lease was up, and I was negotiating with my landlord,” Morrell says. “I got a call from Rockefeller Center, and they asked if I would be interested in moving. They wanted to bring New York companies to Rockefeller Center so they wouldn’t get only tourists.” Morrell couldn’t refuse the offer; the address gave her something she’d been seeking for years: two adjoining spaces. “We’d toyed with doing a wine bar, and we’d been contacted by many people,” she says. “Now we had an opportunity to do both.”
The business has changed a lot since the early years. “Petrus was $3.99 a bottle when my parents started selling,” she says. (It’s now more like $1500.) “We have the catalogs to prove it. In the last decade, more and more people are consuming wine — we’re now the biggest wine-consuming nation in the world. It’s part of the lifestyle, finally.”
And that prompted some changes to Morrell’s inventory: “In our wine shop, we’ve moved more and more into the higher end,” says the owner. “We’re not a neighborhood wine shop. There’s a lot of money around, and we get a lot of wealthy people from all over the world. We still carry a fair amount of extremely good medium and lower priced wines, but that’s not our focus.”
The wine bar followed in that vein, offering 120 wines by the glass from higher end bottles not often seen on lists. And 15 years into the lease — with 10 more to go, at least — Morrell decided both addresses needed a refresh. “The wine bar has done a million covers, and it was really falling apart,” she says. So both the bar and the shop closed for six weeks, re-emerging this week with a facelift.
The biggest change at the wine shop is the larger vault made of plexiglass, where Morrell will store its most expensive wines. The wine shop scaled up to 153 wines by the glass, which range in price from $10 per glass to $65 per glass. It’ll also pour rare wines by the ounce and half glass via its Coravin wine system, which allows drinkers to access wines without pulling the cork from the bottle. “It’s a wine-lover’s paradise,” says the owner. “Magnums, double magnums — everything sells.”
The menu’s also had a revamp thanks to chef Juan Carlos Mendoza, who’s been with the wine bar for 14 of its 15 years (though always as a sous chef until now); he’s installed of American fare to go with the list. “I had lunch today, and boy was it good,” says Morrell. She cites the mussels and cold soba noodles as highlights. “We’re not competing with three-star and four-star restaurants, but I’m very happy with it.”
The shop is open Monday through Saturday, and the wine bar is open for lunch daily and dinner Monday through Saturday.
More:OPENINGS
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Dump truck hits motorcycle and car, killing 2
On behalf of Walborsky Bradley & Fleming, PLLC | Sep 25, 2019 | Car Accidents
A dump truck in Florida was involved in a multi-vehicle wreck that left two people dead. One of the other vehicles was a motorcycle.
Per reports from the Florida Highway Patrol, the dump truck was out on U.S. 192, heading west. Behind the wheel was a 50-year-old man from Miami. He allegedly “failed to stop as he approached traffic.” The truck then went up over the median and entered the eastbound lanes in the wrong direction.
The motorcyclist was driving east and slammed into the back end of the truck. The rider was a 48-year-old man. Emergency crews responded, but he passed away at the scene.
The other vehicle was a Honda SUV. The dump truck hit the side of that vehicle. A 19-year-old girl was inside, and the impact killed her, as well.
The whole tragic turn of events happened right around 6:50 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 23.
The man who was driving the dump truck did not get injured in the crash. The police did say that he is facing charges, though, which are currently pending as the investigation continues.
Overhead pictures from the scene show a white dump truck sitting in the grass. There are multiple fire trucks and police cars parked in the street, blocking traffic as the emergency crews respond. It is difficult to make out the other vehicles, but a group of firefighters stands around the front of the truck.
Have you suffered serious injuries or lost a loved one in a car accident? You may be facing medical bills, lost wages, funeral costs and much more, so you need to know what legal options you have.
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Home>Recycling>Business
Massachusetts Voters Reject Bottle Bill
TAGS: Legislation & Regulation Glass Metals Plastics Business
Allan Gerlat | Nov 05, 2014
Massachusetts voters rejected an expansion of the state’s bottle bill.
Question 2 which would have required a 5-cent deposit for nearly all non-alcoholic, non-carbonated drinks, according to the state’s website. Nearly two-thirds of the voters rejected the issue, the Boston Globe reported.
“We’re clearly disappointed, and it’s obvious we didn’t make a strong enough case for the bottle bill,” said Janet Domenitz, executive director of the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group, which helped lead the campaign to expand the bottle law, according to the newspaper. “We’re going to regroup now and consider what we need to do to get Massachusetts to recycle 80 percent or higher of its containers.”
The Culver City, Calif.-based Container Recycling Institute (CRI) is a national proponent of bottle bills to increase recycling. The group was disappointed in the vote, said Executive Director Susan Collins, who pointed out that 80 percent of deposit bottles get recycled in the state, while the rate is only 23 percent for non-deposit bottles.
“We are also disappointed because expanding the law would have reduced beverage container litter in Massachusetts, which now continues to be a problem. CRI understands that industries tend to avoid accepting responsibility for pollution caused by their products, as it adds costs to their operations,” she said.
Nicole Giambusso, spokeswoman for No on Question 2: Stop Forced Deposits, said in an e-mail statement: “We are extremely pleased that voters statewide have seen the many flaws in adding to a costly, inefficient and outdated forced deposit system.Massachusetts families today have widespread access to community recycling programs, like curbside. With this vote, commonwealth residents sent a message that it’s time to move forward and expand convenient, comprehensive recycling programs, so that Massachusetts can become the recycling leader that it should be.”
The American Beverage Association fought against the bill. While not addressing the Massachusetts bill directly, it released a statement the day after the election: “People don’t support taxes and bans on common grocery items, like soft drinks. That’s why the public policy debate has largely moved on from taxes and bans.”
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2021 Bank Part-time Jobs in Sacramento, CA
One of the best part-time jobs a college student can hold is in banking. Banks that make a wonderful start when you’re looking for part-time jobs in banking include Bank of America, which currently has $2.2 trillion in assets; Citigroup, which follows close in line with its 1.8 trillion in assets; Wells Fargo ($1.4 trillion); Capital One Financial Group ($312.0 billion); and PNC Financial Services Group ($305.1 billion). Because banks’ success and vitality are determined mostly (but not entirely) by the assets they possess, the banks with higher assets tend to be “sure bets” when it comes to finding good, secure banking entry-level jobs. As to what sort of banking part-time jobs you can find within each of those companies, well it all depends on what you wish to do and where your skill sets lie. If you want to be a bank manager, for example, you could start out as a part-time teller and work your way up. Unfortunately, job opportunities in the banking field aren’t as prevalent as they used to be, with these positions only expected to grow about 9% between now and 2020 (a massive decrease compared to previous years). The good news, though, is that some growth is better than no growth or, worse yet, a decline.
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New Jersey Alimony Reform
Traditional alimony awards
For years, judges in New Jersey have awarded alimony to parties in a divorce to reimburse for economic and non-economic contributions to the marriage. Alimony was also often awarded to compensate for domestic services and to reflect the true idea of marriage as a partnership. Even today, some still believe that alimony payments are beneficial to help the dependent spouse maintain the same standard of living he or she is accustomed to from the marriage and also to compensate for the economic harm caused to the dependent spouse by the marriage as a result of choices made during the marriage, like having children. Yet, others believe that permanent alimony is oppressive and should outright be abolished in New Jersey.
What is New Jersey Alimony Reform?
New Jersey Alimony Reform is actually a group of New Jersey residents, both men and women, whose goal is to change the state’s antiquated and unfair alimony laws so that they are more reflective of current trends and household lifestyles. This group, called NJAR for short, believes that New Jersey’s alimony laws are brutal and repressive and that no resident of the state should be forced to pay a lifetime amount of alimony after only being married for a short period of time.
What recent polls reveal
A variety of sources, including NJ.com, TheLawTv, and NJ 101.5, recently polled samples of New Jersey residents and found the following:
Do Americans want to end permanent alimony? Yes: 88.5%, No: 11.5%
Should NJ change their alimony laws? Yes: 95.18%, No: 4.82%
Should permanent alimony be eliminated for New Jersey? Yes: 91.07%, No: 8.9%
Is alimony for life fair? No: 93.1%, Yes: 6.9%
What is the purpose of passing the alimony reform bill?
The alimony reform bill would get rid of permanent alimony awards and create new guidelines for the term of limited duration alimony based on the length of the marriage. Guidelines of the bill are as follows:
If the duration of the marriage is five years or less, the term of alimony would be a maximum of one-half the number of months of the marriage
If the duration of the marriage is 10 years or less but greater than five years, the term of alimony would be a maximum of 60 percent of the number of months of the marriage
If the duration of the marriage is 15 years or less but greater than 10 years, the term of alimony would be a maximum of 70 percent of the number of months of the marriage
If the duration of the marriage is greater than 20 years, the court would have discretion to award alimony for an indefinite length of time
What are the organization’s goals and objectives?
The main goals of NJAR are to change the alimony laws in New Jersey and to bring awareness to their cause. The following is a more detailed list of NJAR’s goals, which also can be found on the groups website at http://njalimonyreform.org:
To support self-sufficiency and independence for the lower-earning spouse through alimony payments, which continue over a transition period that is proportional to the length of the marriage. The objective of alimony should be to allow each party of the divorce to move-on with independent and productive lives
Alimony must be proportional to the length of the marriage. Why should someone be forced to pay lifetime alimony after only being married for a short period of time, like 10 years?
Limit the amount of alimony awards. NJAR believes there should be a reasonable limit, reasonable to both parties. Additionally, the organization believes there should be a reasonable limit to the amount of alimony awards, reasonable to both parties. Currently, alimony awarded by judges is haphazard and inconsistent across NJ. As a result, mediation on alimony between divorcing spouses is much more akin to legalized coercion than it is good faith negotiation. The outcome is increased litigation at the dire expense to both spouses; and a tremendous waste of the court system and judges.
Abolish “Double Dipping”—marital assets must be counted once and only once. If a retirement asset is equally split in a divorce, that asset must not be used additionally to pay alimony in retirement, or after job loss, or reduction in income. If alimony is paid the recipient must be viewed as having received their fair share of family income. What remains for the payer, the savings and capital gains derived from their income, must not be used to calculate the ability to pay alimony in retirement, or as a result of job loss, or income reduction.
Grant the right to retire for alimony payers—no less than the same rights enjoyed by all other citizens.
Provide equal and consistent treatment, where the outcome of an alimony case is not decided by the haphazard selection of the family court judge.
Reduce expensive legal battles that cost all NJ taxpayers.
Maintain appropriate judicial discretion to fairly judge unique circumstances where the lower-earning spouse is physically or mentally unable to work to gain self-sufficiency, permitting alimony payments only until no longer needed.
At the Law Offices of Edward R. Weinstein, we shall continue to monitor this red hot issue.
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About the Abbey / History / Stained Glass
Westminster Abbey has very little medieval glass now remaining but there are good examples of glass from the 18th century to the present day.
Medieval glass
Six panels of 13th century glass and some fragments of grisaille (shades of grey) glass are on display in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries. It is not known where in the Abbey they were originally situated. Three heraldic panels showing the coat of arms of Henry III, Richard of Cornwall and Provence, are set in the window of St Edmund’s chapel. These originally came from the apse windows. The large figures in the apse, including St Edward the Confessor and St John the Evangelist, incorporate some pieces of early glass.
In the windows at the west end of the aisles of the nave are composite figures made of fragments of early glass. These figures are thought to represent St Edward and Edward the "Black" Prince.
Around 30,000 small fragments of stained glass dating from between 1246 and 1520 were discovered in the vault pockets of the east triforium during work to install the new Galleries. Some of these are incorporated in the new donor windows there.
13th century panel depicting Pentecost
Tudor glass
Unfortunately the majority of the Tudor glass from the windows of Henry VII’s Lady Chapel has been lost, most recently during the Second World War. Some small quarries (diamond-shaped panels) which survived have been set in the windows of the side aisle. Small dragons form the initial H for Henry. In the modern lower Islip chapel window is placed a 16th century panel showing the rebus (pun on the name) of Abbot Islip.
Small Tudor panels from Henry VII's chapel
Glass from the 18th century
Sir James Thornhill designed the great west window of the nave which shows Abraham, Isaac and Jacob with the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Dating from 1735 it was made by William Price. The north transept rose window from 1722 is also a Thornhill design. This depicts Christ and the Apostles but was altered in the late 19th century when the feet of the figures were cut off.
West window of the nave, detail
J.R. Clayton and Alfred Bell executed several windows in the Abbey and in the Chapter House – to HMS Captain wrecked in 1870, to Abbey organist James Turle, to poets George Herbert and William Cowper and US diplomat James Russell Lowell. Also a small window showing Biblical poets in the east aisle of the south transept and glass in the Jerusalem Chamber.
In the nave is a window to engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel by Norman Shaw, to Richard Trevithick, Cornish engineer, by Burlison & Grylls and, now in the north quire aisle, is a window by William Wailes to engineer Robert Stephenson. Messrs Powell made glass for Infirmarer's Hall in the Little Cloister, Windows in memory of Sir William Siemens and Joseph Locke, engineers, were removed in the early 20th century in order to accommodate a new series of windows in the nave by J.N. Comper.
Several windows were destroyed by blast during the 1939-1945 war including those to Vincent Novello, the Ashanti war, the Indian Mutiny, Dean John Ireland, Geoffrey Chaucer, the Queen’s Westminster Rifles, Marie Hora and Lady Augusta Stanley. Fragments from some windows damaged in the war have been re-used in the lantern windows, above Henry V’s Chantry altar, in the top windows in the east cloister and in Cheyneygates, a private room in the precincts.
South rose window
The glass in the south rose window was filled with new glass in 1902, by Burlison & Grylls, replacing some dark 19th century glass. The YMCA war memorial window in the nave is by Dudley Forsyth. A memorial to the Royal Flying Corps 1914-1918, by Harry Grylls, is also in the nave. After war damage in 1940 much of the Chapter House glass had to be replaced by Joan Howson but she was able to salvage and re-set quite a lot of the 19th century panels in alternate windows between her new designs. She included small quarries showing war time scenes in the south west window here. Four figures of monarchs above the entrance survived the war. Brian Thomas designed six lancet windows in the north transept to replace war damaged glass. They depict acts of mercy with some brown monochrome figures. St Francis with the birds is shown in a small window, by Francis Skeat, in the Dark Cloister and forms a memorial to Canon Duckworth. Graham Jones designed a new window above Chaucer's tomb in Poets' Corner to allow memorials to poets and writers to be added to it. Currently these commemorate Alexander Pope, Robert Herrick, A.E. Housman, Oscar Wilde, Christopher Marlowe, Fanny Burney and Elizabeth Gaskell. Major donors to the Henry VII chapel restoration appeal in the 1990s have small windows around the chapel, by Alfred Fisher of Chapel Studios. The west window here contains coats of arms of other benefactors especially Sir John Templeton.
Windows designed by Sir J. Ninian Comper
Comper’s first window in the Abbey was installed in 1912 in memory of John Bunyan in the north transept. He was then asked to do a series for the north side of the nave depicting Kings and Abbots of Westminster. Most form memorials to engineers: Sir Henry Royce, Sir Charles Parsons, Sir John Wolfe Barry, Sir Benjamin Baker, Lord Strathcona and Lord Kelvin. The series also includes windows to the Royal Army Medical Corps and British Prisoners of War 1914-1918. After the last war his window depicting Lady Margaret Beaufort and Eleanor of Castile was inserted in the east triforium.
Windows designed by Hugh Easton
One of Easton's best windows is that to airmen of the Battle of Britain in the RAF chapel at the east end of Henry VII's chapel, unveiled in 1947. A memorial to the nursing services of Britain and the Commonwealth was installed in the Nurses' war memorial chapel. His window in the lower Islip chapel below this shows St Margaret of Antioch with Abbot Islip. The Citizens of the City of Westminster who died during the Second World War are remembered in a window in St Benedict’s chapel, with large figures of Saints Michael and George fighting a dragon. Two smaller windows, including one depicting ballerina Dame Margot Fonteyn, are in a private room in the precincts but the latter can be viewed from the cloister near the door to Cheyneygates.
Glass from the 21st century
The centre east window of Henry VII’s chapel was filled with glass depicting the Nativity in 2000. This was designed by Alan Younger and given by Lord and Lady Harris of Peckham. Two flanking windows in a blue and white design were added in 2013, designed by Hughie O’Donoghue and given by the same donors. In 2018 the new Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries were opened in the triforium. At the entrance can be seen windows with the names of major donors. These also incorporate fragments of glass of varying dates found during the conversion of the triforium. In September 2018 the new Queen's window in the north transept, designed by David Hockney, was unveiled. It celebrates the reign of Queen Elizabeth II with a Yorkshire country scene in vivid colours.
The oldest and best glass in the church is in the east window above the altar depicting the Crucifixion. Made of pre-Reformation Flemish glass, probably between 1515 and 1526, it was purchased for the church in 1758. It commemorates the marriage of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, whose kneeling images can be seen at the base. The original face of Catherine was taken out in 1906 and can be seen in the Queen’s Jubilee Galleries. The glass was removed during both world wars for safety.
The majority of the other stained glass was inserted in the 19th century when Frederic William Farrar was Rector. The west window was given by American donors in 1882 as a memorial to Sir Walter Raleigh, who is buried in the church. Glass in the west window of the north aisle was the gift of an American donor commemorating poet John Milton in 1888. He was married in the church. Both windows are by Clayton and Bell. The west window of the south aisle, by Henry Holiday, commemorates Lord Frederick Cavendish, murdered in Ireland in 1882. Three of Edward Frampton’s windows survived the last war in the north aisle, to Admiral Robert Blake, Edward Morris and Edward Lloyd. Only the lower parts of the Lloyd window remain, depicting William Caxton at his printing press. Two smaller windows by this artist are in the vestry area. The other remaining north aisle window commemorates W.H. Smith, M.P. with a depiction of Christ as the Light of the World, by J.P. Seddon. In the north porch is a memorial window to Sir George Bartley who died in 1910. Over the south east porch is a window to Speaker of the House of Commons Edward Fitzroy unveiled in 1946, replacing a war damaged window to William Caxton by Holiday.
All the stained glass in the south aisle of the church was destroyed by blast during the Second World War. These included memorials to Sir Goldsworthy Gurney, Lady Arbella Stuart, Lord and Lady Hatherley, the Trollope family, Sir Henry Arthur Hunt and Lord Farnborough. The windows now in this aisle were designed by John Piper and executed by Patrick Reyntiens and dedicated in 1967. Most form memorials to persons associated with the church – Canon William Carnegie, Peter Kemp-Welch, Clarence Fletcher and Richard Costain.
East window of St Margaret's Church
Stained glass of Westminster Abbey by Christine Reynolds, 2002
The Queen's window by David Hockney, co-ordinated by Susan Jenkins, 2020
Westminster Abbey Chapter House… edited by W. Rodwell and R. Mortimer, 2010 (see Chapter 13)
The glazing of Henry VII’s chapel by Richard Marks in The reign of Henry VII ed. B. Thompson, 1995
Medieval glazing in Westminster Abbey, new discoveries, by Richard Marks, Burlington Magazine Jan. 2019 vol.161
Re-appropriation of the Gothic in early 18th c. England – eastern apse windows, thesis by Emma Woolfrey, York, 2015
Account of the window…to Herbert and Cowper and window to Milton [gifts of G.W. Childs] within Story of the memorial fountain to Shakespeare…edited L. Clarke Davis, 1890
Glazing the clerestory: the east window of Henry VII chapel… by Alan Younger, in Journal of Stained Glass vol. XXIV, 2000
The east window of St Margaret’s Westminster by Hilary Wayment, Antiquaries Journal Vol. LXI, 1981
History and description of the windows of [St Margaret’s] by J.E. Sinclair, 1906
Paintings by Thornhill at Chinnor [north rose window] by June Cray, Burlington Magazine, V, 1990
Clayton and Bell, stained glass artists… by P. Larkworthy in The Ecclesiological Society, 1984
At different times of the day, or in different seasons, the light falling in the Abbey will light up something that you have walked past a million times and never seen before.
Vanessa, Head of Conservation
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'Chicago Med': Natalie and Crockett Are 'Faced With a Decision' About Their Romance, EPs Say (Exclusive)
Author: Philiana Ng
Spoiler alert! Do not proceed if you haven't watched Wednesday's winter return of Chicago Med.
Chicago Med tugged at the heartstrings in its winter return..
In Wednesday's episode, titled "Do You Know the Way Home?," Dr. Charles (Oliver Platt) and April (Yaya DaCosta), the latter ceremoniously pulled off the COVID ward, found themselves at the center of an emotional abduction case that resulted in a mother reuniting with her missing daughter after several years. Meanwhile, Dr. Halstead (Nick Gehlfuss) made a life-or-death decision for one of his trial patients, while morally questionable, ended up being for the betterment of the patient. And the arrival of an ex-girlfriend forced Dr. Marcel (Dominic Rains) to confront his playboy past and current complicated relationship with Dr. Manning (Torrey DeVitto).
Following the episode, co-showrunners Andy Schneider and Diane Frolov spoke to ET over the phone about Chicago Med's biggest developments and what to expect moving forward.
ET: How are you feeling creatively as you're now deep in the trenches this season on Chicago Med? (Chicago Med was temporarily shut down last fall over a positive COVID test.)
Andy Schneider: Creatively, there's this issue of trying to anticipate where the country may be five, six weeks ahead of when we're shooting. When we started our development process, we thought, "Is this going to be over by the time we start shooting?" and sadly it wasn't. It looks like, even with the vaccine, we're still going to have COVID with us for some time.
Diane Frolov: Yeah, for the writers, we start developing stories months ahead. It's been a challenge to try and anticipate what's going to happen.
What have you learned during the process of trying to look ahead, but also stay true to the signature Chicago Med stories that viewers are used to seeing?
Schneider: It's interesting that when we started the development back in June, we started speaking to our actual MD consultants. They were saying that even though they've learned how to basically deal with COVID, they were starting to see other regular cases. When there's COVID, it doesn't mean people aren't getting heart attacks and cancer. So they had to find a way that in the world of the pandemic to still treat the other serious conditions that would come into the hospital. Now, at least in Southern California, we're not doing elective surgeries. And they have been doing them again back in October. It's so bad right now here, they're actually doing almost battlefield triage with patients coming in. We're a medical show, so we have a world that exists but we're behind. It was just trying to anticipate... We were prepared to reshoot some things or change some things. We haven't had to sadly because the pandemic is still so serious.
Because this is a medical show and this is reflecting the real world, are we going to see these battlefield situations in the ED or do you not anticipate crossing that line necessarily?
Frolov: We continue to have those discussions, but we also are limited about how many people we can have in the ED. Just protocols. We can't see what is going on totally.
Schneider: In the first episode, they tell the patient up in the COVID [ward], they want to intubate because they're not allowed to do compressions if the patient is positive. We actually see the effect of that on our doctors who aren't able to do the treatment that the patient should have. That isn't triaged per se, but it's an effect of [it].
Frolov: We saw a triage in the first episode with the ECMO.
Schneider: But we will continue to have strained resources as a result of the pandemic.
Elizabeth Sisson/NBC
There were a lot of emotional beats in this episode. One of the doctors who gets pulled off of COVID and is affected by it is April. What is the mental, physical, emotional toll that she's feeling as a result of that?
Schneider: So many caregivers are overwhelmed. For April, it also presented a sense of purpose that she hadn't felt lately as a nurse. And so getting pulled off of that, the real blow was that she invested herself both emotionally and physically. And in that young woman. But the rest of the season is really about April's search for continued meaning as a caregiver. She'll become involved with Will and his trial. Both were anticipating that the COVID ward will have fewer patients as the vaccine spreads and the trial will also begin to wind down, and then we'll leave April looking for a new direction in her life as a caregiver.
How does this affect her ongoing relationship with Ethan?
Frolov: Noah comes back and there is a great deal of conflict around the story of Noah's return. She's put at odds with Ethan again because of what goes on with Noah.
Schneider: Ethan is a guy who has this tremendous sense of duty in this new position [as Chief of Surgery]. He tries not to let his personal relationships color what he has to do as the chief. But that will put him in conflict with people that he has much better relationships with. Particularly April, but also Will.
Frolov: Yes, it's a change in the hierarchy.
Speaking of Will, he was a little frustrating this episode, just in terms of presumptively signing up the patient for his clinical trial, which ended up being a good thing in the end.
Frolov: The decisions that he makes, they're always based on what he feels is best for the patient. But if you're looking at it from the outside, you might think, "Hmmm, you're out of line." But that's what he's driven by. So in that story, Maggie misinterprets it a little bit but she apologizes for it, and it certainly looks like he's putting the trial over the interest of the patient. But he's not.
I imagine he can only go so long before there are actual ramifications for Will. Are there going to be challenges for him if he keeps operating this way?
Schneider: Absolutely. Will has been known to bend the rules.
Frolov: And there will be consequences.
Schneider: He will do it in the trial, again, for what he perceives is the patient's needs. But these trials have very strict protocols and you're not supposed to break them. He will put his position in the trial at risk. He will put his relationship with Virani at risk because he will do some things he's not supposed to. For the good of the patient.
By the end of the episode, Natalie and Crockett's relationship is even more complicated than before. Where do they stand? Are they going to face their true feelings?
Frolov: Yes, yes. It's going to move forward. And in episode 3, Natalie is expressing that she really cares about him and he feels it. He gets that she does. That's changing the dynamic.
Schneider: Both of them are a little gun-shy about a new relationship. He's always been protecting himself from being vulnerable by avoiding deep relationships since his divorce. Natalie has had a couple of very unsuccessful relationships that we've seen over the last few years. She, too, will have this tendency to want to protect her heart. But their relationship will deepen.
Will they try making it official and seeing how they are as a couple?
Frolov: They are faced with a decision.
Schneider: Definitely. Their relationship will deepen.
Is there anything you want to preview in terms of what viewers can expect in the coming weeks?
Frolov: We'll see more of the Crockett-Natalie relationship, we'll find out a lot more about Crockett going forward.
Schneider: Maggie's continuing storyline with this little boy and liver failure will also help us reveal a lot about Maggie's past. We're going to learn more about who this woman is, and what's driven her throughout her life. And there will be these kind of side sessions between Charles and the staff, including Maggie, April. Crocket, you saw a little bit of. But yeah, that's a continuing story point going forward is his clinical relationship with the staff who were so overwhelmed by the pandemic.
Chicago Med returns Wednesday, Jan. 27 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. For more on the series, watch the video below.
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'Chicago Med' Team Previews Pandemic-Driven Season 6 and Romance
'Chicago Med' Production Halted Over Positive COVID-19 Test
'Chicago Med' Bosses Reveal Why They're 'Satisfied' With Unexpected Season 5 Finale (Exclusive)
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Mat Honan
Google's New Modular Phone May Be the Last You’ll Need to Buy
Google's Project Ara could reinvent the way we buy and upgrade our smartphones.
Photo: Norman Chan/Tested.com
At the Project Ara Developer's Conference in Santa Clara, California, the moment of unveiling was a bit of a letdown. When project lead Paul Eremenko got ready for the big reveal -- finally showing off Google's vision for a modular phone with working, user-interchangeable components -- he had to dampen expectations from the enthusiastic crowd. "You should temper your applause," he warned, explaining that the device had been damaged the previous day. "We did crack the screen, and the phone doesn’t quite boot." A disappointment, sure, but it did little to actually temper anything.
Project Ara is Google's attempt to reinvent the cellphone as we know it. Instead of a slab of glass and metal that you have no ability to upgrade, save for buying a new device, it's an attempt to launch a phone where all of the main components are interchangeable via modules that click in and out, attaching via electro-permanent magnets. Despite being highly customizable, it will only come in three main sizes, helping to eliminate the kind of device fragmentation that currently plagues Android. Google plans to roll out a "gray model," a very basic device that costs as little as $50, as well as higher-end handsets that could go for as much as $500 and up. The former will be released first -- around this time next year if all goes according to plan -- and will likely be a smaller, Wi-Fi-only version. This bare-bones model will be followed by the higher-end ones eventually. But Google's initial objective is to ramp up a hardware ecosystem that moves at the same pace as the software it runs.
It's ambitious, to say the least.
Image: Courtesy of Google
There's a certain prescience to the damaged prototype. It bears one of the most common injuries you'll see on a smartphone: a cracked screen. In theory, this is just the kind of issue Ara will solve. But because it came directly from Germany, and because there is no way to replace the module here in the United States, it's just another broken phone.
It also drives home another point: When Ara devices do hit the streets, they will only be as good as their support network. For the support to work, you've got to have a lot of modules, and a lot of access to those modules. Project Ara needs a network of retail stores where people can do things like pick up a new screen. It also needs enough developers making modules to sustain that kind of retail presence -- and it needs it globally.
Google is working to make things easy for programmers and hardware manufacturers to work with the Ara standards, but for many items -- anything that uses radio frequencies and thus requires FCC approval for example -- it's going to need buy-in from consumers too.
Google’s willingness to try something so ambitious in public is energizing, particularly in the era of the get-rich-quick smartphone app.
All of this makes for a heady and optimistic yet extremely uncertain future. Ara is a project from Google's ATAP (advances technology and projects) group. ATAP is philosophically and structurally based on DARPA; it was one of the few things Google kept from Motorola when it sold the company to Lenovo.
And honestly Ara, at least as a concept, is fantastic. Who wouldn't want the ability to some day print out new parts for their smartphone at home, expanding its life expectancy to six years and beyond? Google's willingness to try something so ambitious in public is energizing, particularly in the era of the get-rich-quick smartphone app. Project Ara's goals could transform the industry, give people greater control over their own devices, and free them from the annual cycles of obsolescence. It's flexible platform suitable for everyone, everywhere, from every walk of life.
Or, it could be a catastrophic and very public failure. A huge embarrassment. This is what Google does best. Its willingness to take big risks and make big bets knowing they may not pan out is a remarkable attribute in a publicly traded company.
The Project Ara conference is an important first step for the initiative. It's the first time Google is looping in developers and laying out the technical groundwork. There will be two more conferences this year, where presumably we'll see more modules and hopefully working prototypes. Whether or not Google can pull this off remains to be seen. But it will be one of the most exciting stories to watch in technology during the next year.
Mat Honan is a senior staff writer with WIRED. He lives in San Francisco.
Topicsgooglemodssmartphones
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Thoughts on the Women's Leadership Symposium
My interest in attending this year’s Women’s Leadership Symposium was for both personal and professional reasons; as the mother of a six-year-old, Principal Solicitor at my own immigration law firm and the Managing Director of my own company, I was keen to learn new tips for finding the holy-grail that is the elusive work-life balance.
As a seasoned attendee of conferences on business, feminism and leadership, part of me wondered if I would hear anything new at the conference, or whether we would be (yet again) asked the same questions. Fortunately a great number of new topics, ideas and perspectives were introduced and I found myself mesmerized by the discussion. I was scribbling notes furiously.
The symposium made me appreciate that the conversation had evolved. There was an acknowledgement of the complexity of the issues facing women in the workforce and a need for them to be considered on multiple levels.
Discussion took shape around topics such as: as a society, what do we need to do to facilitate a work-life balance for women, and men? What part should corporations and government play? On an individual level, how can we have a balanced life? We considered how to reach personal goals, whether they were related to time spent with family, time spent facilitating personal growth, re-entering the workforce, helping others or being a catalyst for change. But the biggest question related to the notion that, as women, what are the additional challenges we face with regard to career progression?
“The symposium made me appreciate that the conversation had evolved. There was an acknowledgement of the complexity of the issues facing women in the workforce and a need for them to be considered on multiple levels. “
Each presenter considered issues by telling their story and sharing what motivated and inspired them, how they built resilience and how their journey still continues. Interestingly, despite the differences in personal circumstances, all presenters delivered two universal messages: one was the importance of putting health and well-being first - a lesson that had been learned by some the hard way. The second was that the path to success did not need to be linear and could certainly incorporate failure.
It was inspiring to hear each presenter talk, not just about overcoming challenges such as ill health, financial set-backs, personal failures and just plain bad luck, but how these challenges were catalysts for positive change and growth.
I was impressed by the diversity of speakers and audience members who were made up of women from a vast cross-section of industries, covering senior executives, elite athletes, students, board members, those working in finance and banking, the not-for-profit sector and government, entrepreneurs, entertainers, media personalities, artists, academics and scientists. You name it.
Symposium facilitator Suzi Finkelstein
“Unlike some networking events which can be awkward or intimidating, the symposium was more like a relaxed community gathering. Participants were open and friendly, and it was easy to enter into conversations and exchange contact details.”
On a purely practical level, it was an incredibly well organised conference. The speakers were engaging and informative, entertaining and moving. The presentations were well paced and just long enough (around thirty-forty minutes). The schedule ran on time and was led by Suzi Finkelstein, a truly impressive communicator and conference facilitator.
One of the additional benefits of the symposium was that it provided ample opportunities for participants to mix and converse with each other and the speakers.
Attending this year’s Sydney Women’s Leadership Symposium was a wonderful opportunity. I have already recommended the event to many of my friends, colleagues and professional contacts as being a very worthwhile and beneficial experience and I am already looking forward to attending next year’s event.
Rita Chowdhury is a corporate immigration adviser and Principal Solicitor at Integrate Legal. She is also the co-founder and director of Career Catapult. For more about Rita, see: www.linkedin.com/in/richowdhury
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Olympic village welcomes sailors
Nearly 400 sailors from 62 countries are expected at the Olympic village in Beijing
The arrival of Olympic sailing teams reached its peak this week as sailors from 42 countries and regions had checked in to Qingdao Olympic sailing center on Monday – just ten days before the opening of the Beijing Olympics. According to Qingdao Olympic Sailing Committee, at least 295 sailors had arrived.
They added that a total of 400 sailors from 62 countries and regions – including Britain, China, Dominica, Uruguay, Hong Kong, Slovenia – had registered for the sailing events, making it one of the most eagerly anticipated.
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Planning decision moves world class public space around Clifford's Tower a step closer
Published Monday, 11 January 2021
A new world class public space around Clifford’s Tower and Eye of York to replace Castle Car Park is a step closer.
Planning committee approved the replacement car parking on St George’s Field last week (Thursday 7 January).
The approval of St George’s Field, and last month’s approval of the Castle Mills development, are major milestones in the delivery of the Castle Gateway masterplan.
The centre piece of the masterplan, approved in 2018 with cross-party political support, is the world class public space to replace Castle Car Park. Design work on this space is underway and planning applications due to be submitted later this year.
St George’s Field will provide the car parking that will allow Castle Car Park to close, replacing two large surface level car parks and concentrating them in to a modern efficient multi-storey car park that will be accessible in times of flood, and will move thousands of car journeys outside of the inner ring-road.
The smaller footprint of the multi-storey car park will allow the creation of a new public park next to Skeldergate Bridge and will also create a new cycle and pedestrian route in to the city from the south via a new crossing over the inner-ring road.
The decision follows last month’s approval of the former Castle Mills car park to create 106 new homes, including 20 new council homes, on the site of the old Castle Mills car park.
The scheme includes a new public square and a pedestrian/cycle bridge over the Foss which will link to the new St George’s Field cycle route and connect to Piccadilly and the wider cycle and walking routes to Castle Museum and the city centre.
Councillor Nigel Ayre, executive member for finance and performance, said
This is fantastic news and another important milestone in a bold plan to transform such an important part of our city.
“Castle Gateway will provide exactly what York needs to continue its economic recovery. It gives the space for businesses to grow and more affordable houses, while the new public spaces, cycle paths, walkways and modern parking will bring residents and visitors into the city.
“We remain committed to providing parking to replace the closure of Castle Car Park. We’ve also rightly given ourselves enough time to understand the impact of COVID, further engagement with blue badge holders and to develop the Local Transport Plan before we start building on St George’s Field.
“We’ve been able to deliver where decades of other proposals failed because we’ve placed quality public engagement at the heart of the proposals. I look forward to taking part in the next set of conversations as residents shape a world-class, family-friendly space which everyone can enjoy.”
The council can now launch the next phase of My Castle Gateway, a partnership with local group My Future York which puts residents at the heart of the regeneration. This will engage residents in the design of the new public space around some of the country’s most important heritage.
This will also allow for continued engagement and consultation over accessibility, and the development of the Local Transport Plan.
To see more of the plans visit www.york.gov.uk/CastleGatewayMasterPlanLatest
Sing up for the latest news and join the conversation at https://mycastlegateway.org/contact/
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Home > About > Office of the President > The President's Home
Period wallpaper and furniture, sparsely distributed but elegant; original portraits of Wofford’s early trustees, professors and presidents; soothing, mint-colored walls set off by white molding, bookshelves, and mantel; rich oak floors accented by thick Oriental rugs; a grand Steinway piano and rocking chairs on a wide, white-columned front porch. At first glance, the renovated President’s Home looks like a museum for 19th-century life at Wofford.
A closer investigation creates another impression, however. There’s a sunny, modern kitchen with space for work and entertainment, an enlarged front porch, central heat and air conditioning, cable TV and high-speed internet connections.
The house is much grander than it was when Professor Coleman B. Waller built it in 1911, but remains a perfect complement to the older structures on either side of it.
Dr. W.K. Greene became the first Wofford president to live there. Subsequently, presidents Gaines, Marsh, Hardin, Lesesne and Dunlap lived in the house, and now the Samhats have joined that illustrious tradition.
“We tried to make Wofford’s long history evident to anyone who visits the house,” says architect Glen Boggs of McMillan Smith & Partners. “Specific items, like the beautifully painted portrait of Dr. Snyder in the living room, are redolent of the college’s past.”
The renovations, requiring 10 months to carry out, were funded by friends of the college in honor of Joe and Ruth Lesesne upon their retirement in 2000.
Major funding for these essential renovations came from longtime Wofford friends Paula Black Baker and Marianna Black Habisreutinger of Spartanburg, in memory of their mother Anna Maybry Black. Trustee Roger Milliken also provided funding for the project, and Kindel Furniture Company of Grand Rapids, Mich. contributed many of the furnishings in the downstairs area.
Wofford’s 1854 President’s Mansion was home to William Wightman and A.M. Shipp, who were famous for their warm, often lavish, hospitality. Too close for comfort to Clinchfield Railroad coal trains, it was demolished in the mid-1920s. The site was close to the intersection of Memorial Drive and College Drive.
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Central America Monitor
Addressing the Root Causes of Migration
Tackling Insecurity, Corruption, and Impunity
Protecting Human Rights in Central America
The Colombian Peace Process
Human Rights in Colombia
U.S.–Cuba Relations
Reforms in Cuba
Human Rights in Mexico
Strengthening Rule of Law and Fighting Corruption
U.S.-Mexico Security Cooperation
Venezuelan Migrant and Refugee Rights
Addressing a Humanitarian Emergency
A Peaceful, Negotiated Solution
Fighting Corruption and Exposing Impunity
Enhancing Accountability: Police and Justice Reform
Drug Policy Debate and Reform in the Americas
Legal, Regulated Cannabis
Women, Drug Policies, and Incarceration in the Americas
Coca and Development in the Andes
Women and Incarceration
Migration & Border Security
Alternatives to a Costly Border Buildup
Due Process and Access to Justice for Migrants
Defense Oversight
WOLA In The News
The Beyond the Wall Campaign
The WOLA Human Rights Awards & Benefit Gala
The WOLA Partners’ Council
AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell
29 Jun 2017 | Publication
WOLA Report: Mexico’s Southern Border – Security, Central American Migration, and U.S. Policy
DOWNLOAD THE REPORT DOWNLOAD THE SUMMARY
Washington, DC—In a report released today, WOLA (the Washington Office on Latin America) examines Mexico’s immigration enforcement and its emerging role as an asylum destination. The report also analyzes U.S. assistance in Mexico’s southern border zone, and the on-the-ground impact of harsh U.S. rhetoric and enforcement policies. It finds that low levels of migrant apprehensions in Mexico and at the U.S. border during the first few months of 2017 are not sustainable. Significant migration is likely to continue, given ongoing violence and insecurity in Central America.
By May 2017, apprehensions at the U.S-Mexico border had begun to tiptoe back up. They increased by 31 percent over April, with apprehensions of unaccompanied minors jumping 50 percent.
“The Trump administration’s hard line inspired a wave of Central American migration before the inauguration, and a sharp drop afterward. But these decreased migration flows are not likely to last,” said Adam Isacson, WOLA Senior Associate for Defense Oversight. “The violence and misery in Central America that cause people to migrate—and often flee for their lives—have not changed,” he said.
READ THE KEY FINDINGS
Mexico recorded fewer apprehensions in the first four months of 2017. Still, migration enforcement remains steady, and crimes against migrants in transit continue unabated. In July 2014, the Mexican government launched its “Southern Border Program.” This plan purported to protect migrants’ rights and regulate Central American migration. It resulted in a dramatic increase in security operations, increasing apprehensions of northbound migrants by 85 percent during its first two years. Nearly three years since it was announced, apprehensions under the Program remain high but have begun to level off. This owes to limited government resources, migrants’ and smugglers’ ability to adjust, authorities’ corruption, and recent months’ drop in Central American migration.
U.S. support to address security at Mexico’s southern border has amounted to less than originally expected. Still, the State and Defense Departments are supporting an US$88 million program to help Mexican authorities collect and share information about who is crossing. Both departments are also funding a $75 million project to improve secure communications in the southern border zone. See the report for more information about these programs and the role of U.S. assistance.
Although overall apprehensions have dropped in recent months, the number of people seeking asylum in Mexico has increased dramatically. Between 2014 and 2016, there was a 311 percent increase in asylum requests in Mexico. In the first three months of 2017, Mexico received more asylum applications than during all of 2015. The UN Refugee Agency estimates that Mexico will receive up to 20,000 asylum requests in 2017.
“The number of migrants and asylum seekers who would like to stay in Mexico has increased sharply over the past year and a half. More Central Americans are looking to Mexico as a destination and a place to seek protection from violence,” said Maureen Meyer, WOLA Senior Associate for Mexico and Migrant Rights. “Both Mexico and the United States should protect vulnerable populations, instead of detaining and deporting them,” she added.
WOLA based its report on field research in the area surrounding Tenosique, Tabasco, along Mexico’s border with Guatemala. This route has seen a sharp increase in children and families fleeing violence in the Northern Triangle region. Between 2014 and 2016, the number of children (both accompanied and unaccompanied) apprehended in the state of Tabasco increased 60 percent. The majority of migrants traveling through this part of the border are from Honduras. In the 40 miles between the border and Tenosique alone, migrants are often robbed, kidnapped, and sexually assaulted. While the Mexican government has been successful in detaining and deporting migrants, authorities have done little to address widespread crimes and abuses against them.
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What New Official Data Tells Us About the Ongoing Tragedy at the U.S.-Mexico Border
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Southwest Word Cloud
Word Cloud > Southwest
Southwest Information
Southwest Asia Map
Find a helpful map of southwest Asia including the nations of the Middle East and the horn of Africa plus all or part of other southwest Asian nations.
www.map-of-asia.us/sw-asia.htm
Middle East Map
The intersection of Europe, Asia, and Africa, comprising the nations of southwest Asia and northeast Africa is referred to as the Middle East.
www.middle-east-map.com/
New Jersey is the 46th largest state in the United States. It is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, by Pennsylvania on the west, by New York State to the north, and by Delaware to the southwest.
www.new-jersey-map.org/
Catalina Island (Photograph)
Catalina Island is a small island located off the coast of southern California, 22 miles southwest of Los Angeles. It is just 21 miles long and 8 miles wide, and contains the quaint towns of Avalon and Two Harbors.
www.photo-album.us/catalina-island.htm
Scotland is one of four countries comprising the UK. It is bordered by England to the south, the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the northwest, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the southwest.
www.scotland-map.com/
Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem (Digital Image)
Sun reflects off the golden exterior of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. The city of Jerusalem, mentioned hundreds of times in the Bible, is one of the most popular destinations in the Middle East.
www.middle-east-map.com/search.htm
Freight train strikes semi in Plainfield near Main, Center streets
A freight train struck a semi-truck at a rail crossing in southwest suburban Plainfield Friday evening.
Wls. ABC News. Sat, 16 Jan 2021 00:52:23 +0000.
Airline Stocks Show an Upturn in Thursday's Trading: A Report
Shares of carriers like United Airlines (UAL), American Airlines (AAL) and Southwest Airlines (LUV) surge on Jan 14 following Delta's (DAL) Q4 report.
Maharathi Basu. Zacks. Fri, 15 Jan 2021 16:08:00 GMT.
Covid-19 Live Updates: Southwest Surge Helps Drive Record Death Toll in U.S.
The virus has recently claimed a life every eight minutes in Los Angeles County, as California and Arizona confront a growing caseload. A team from the World Health Organization arrived in China to study the source of the pandemic.
The New York Times. New York Times. Thu, 14 Jan 2021 18:37:18 +0000.
United, American And Delta Join Alaska Banning Emotional Support Animals; Will Southwest Hold Out?
American, Delta and United airlines have joined Alaska Airlines in banning emotional support animals; how long will Southwest hold out?
By Michael Goldstein, Contributor. Forbes. Tue, 12 Jan 2021 19:34:02 -0500.
Southwest Airlines Aircraft Undergoes Forced Landing After Suspicious Note Found
A suspicious note was found on a Southwest flight
Neil Shah. Daily Caller. Tue, 12 Jan 2021 16:13:27 +0000.
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Home » Focus on Iran
Focus on Iran
By Chris Lyddon
Iran has one of the most diverse climates of any country in the world, with a wide variation in farming conditions. It has been, as a customer, a big player in the grain market, particularly with regional partners, although it is now at, or near, self-sufficiency in wheat. Iranians are among the biggest consumers of bread in the world and the government manages the supply of wheat to ensure adequate supplies.
According to the International Grains Council (IGC), Iran’s total grains production in 2019-20 will come to 19 million tonnes, up from 18.5 million the year before. Of the total, wheat accounts for an unchanged 14.5 million tonnes. Barley production is forecast at 3.2 million tonnes in 2019-20, compared with 2.8 million the year before.
Iran’s total imports of grains in 2019-20 are forecast at 13.3 million tonnes, up from 12.5 million the previous year. Wheat imports are expected to be just 300,000 tonnes, up from 200,000 the year before. Maize imports in 2019-20 are put at 9.8 million tonnes, up from 9.2 million the prior year. Barley imports are forecast at 3.2 million tonnes in 2019-20. The IGC expects Iran to produce an unchanged 2 million tonnes of rice in 2019-20. It also will import 1.3 million tonnes of rice, up from 1.2 million in 2018-19.
Iran is forecast to import 2.2 million tonnes of soybeans in 2019-20, the same level as in the previous year. The IGC forecast for soymeal imports is also unchanged on the year at 2 million tonnes.
*Estimated -- **Projected -- Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture
The Iranian Ministry of Agriculture said in July that Iran would be self-sufficient in wheat for the fourth consecutive year. Esmael Esfandyari-Pour, an adviser to the minister who is responsible for the administration of wheat planning, said that since the beginning of harvest, more than 2 million tonnes of wheat had been purchased from farmers in the warmer regions of the country. At that point harvesting had just started in more temperate areas.
However, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) said in its Grain: World Markets and Trade report for September 2019 that Iran’s wheat import ban remains in place, with exceptions made if the wheat is used to re-export as flour.
“Iran’s imports and exports are both expected to be relatively small in 2019-20,” the FAS said.
The IGC in a report in June forecast Iranian exports of wheat flour in 2019-20 at 250,000 tonnes in grain equivalent, a level unchanged from 2018-19.
Iran also is aiming to become more self-sufficient in oilseeds. The farm ministry reported in May that the Minister of Jihad-Agriculture, Mahoud Hojjati, had called for revolutionary action to mobilize for the production of oil and rapeseed meal. He said there were 3 million to 4 million hectares of land used for wheat cultivation that could be considered for rapeseed. Cultivation of the crop has grown from less than 40,000 tonnes in 2014 to around 450,000 tonnes currently. The Minister stressed the need to reduce Iran’s dependence on other countries for oil and poultry feed.
Flour milling
There are around 350 flour mills in operation in Iran, according to information supplied to World Grain by the European Flour Millers Association. A delegation from the association visited the country in September 2018. The average Iranian consumes around 160 kilograms of bread a year. The production capacity of Iran’s milling industry is 24 million tonnes a year, compared with the country’s consumption of 11.5 million
Iranian millers buy the flour they need from the Government Trading Corporation of Iran (GTC). The GTC describes its role as “procuring, supplying, purchasing, storing and distributing essential commodities.” The basic goods it covers include wheat, rice, crude oil and raw sugar. It supervises the distribution of those goods.
The GTC carries out guaranteed purchasing of basic commodities such as wheat and rice to support the farmers and meet consumer needs. It uses cash markets and futures and options markets to maintain supplies and keep a strategic reserve equivalent to at least three months’ consumption.
GTC’s remit also includes carrying out policies designed to reform the production and consumption of wheat, flour and bread and supporting private facilities for the construction and expansion of bakeries, including grants for renovation.
Self-reliance program
An article by David Michel, senior research fellow at the Center for Climate and Security and published by the Atlantic Council on July 9, explains that “to foster national food security and agricultural self-reliance, Iran has deployed a multi-pronged program of subsidies and trade protection.”
“Farmers receive guaranteed price floors for some 20 crops, thereby boosting supply, while consumer subsidies for bread and grains ensure societal access to basic foodstuffs, bolstering demand,” the article said. “By the same token, Tehran shelters producers behind significant tariff barriers. Import weighted tariffs amount to 50% on wheat and 45% on rice.”
Michel also said Iran subsidizes farm inputs, including water, energy and fertilizers. He put the proportion of the cost of pumping water from its source to the field that is paid by farmers at under 2%.
“By these strategies, Iran has in fact enhanced food production and consumption alike,” he said. “Yet increased production has not kept pace with a growing population and mounting demand.”
He pointed out that subsidies have had a significant financial cost and “the subsidy regime subverts the economic signals to producers and consumers, skewing farm production and resource allocation.” Water use is wasteful and wheat production covers 60% of arable land, “extending through every one of its provinces, without regard for their diverse climatic and agro-ecologic conditions.”
“Iranian authorities recognize the nation’s challenges,” Michel said. “Former Agriculture Minister Issa Kalantari, now Minister of Environment, evokes the prospect that Iran could lose 70% of its farmland, while millions could be forced to migrate as the Iranian plateau becomes effectively uninhabitable due to drying rivers and dwindling groundwater.”
Tehran has taken some steps toward averting this grim scenario, he said.
“The 2010 Targeted Subsidies Reform Act sought gradually to raise electricity and water charges to cover full costs and replace food subsidies with cash transfers,” Michel said.
However, many of its changes have been suspended. Michel said more fundamental measures will be needed to ensure Iran’s food and water security, insisting that “continued subsidy reforms should further align water and fuel charges with their true cost to incentivize more efficient use.”
“Iran retains considerable agricultural potential,” he said. “With practicable policy reforms and increased political commitment, the Islamic Republic can realize a more sustainable future.”
The sanctions imposed on Iran do affect trade in grains from time to time. In July, two Iranian bulk carriers, transporting 110,000 tonnes of maize, got stuck in the Brazilian port of Paranagua because the oil company Petrobras would not supply them with fuel, believing it to be covered by U.S. sanctions that would make Petrobras liable to penalties. After a complaint from the Brazilian supplier of the grain, the country’s Supreme Federal Court ordered the oil company to refuel the vessels.
In August, Peiman Seadat, Iran’s Ambassador to the E.U., wrote to Members of European Parliament to complain about the effect of U.S. sanctions. In a letter published by the E.U. Observer website, he complained that “U.S. sanctions, and in particular banking restrictions, continue to constrain Iran’s ability to import food commodities. As such, delays in food delivery are more frequent,” citing the delayed grain ships in Brazil as an example.
Trends IGC - International Grains Council Commodities corn flour flour milling USDA report Trade
Focus on Argentina
Focus on Brazil
Focus on Ethiopia
Focus on Saudi Arabia
Focus on Poland
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Photo story: 2 of 10
Nature, 1st prize
Levees patched with sandbags. In the US Midwest heartland, weeks of solid rain coupled with insufficient precautions caused the worst flooding ever. Nine states were declared federal disaster areas and 100 million sandbags were bought to hold back the floods. When the water finally receded, 50 people had died and 70,000 had lost their homes. The total damage amounted to $12 billion. Communities up and down the Mississippi and Missouri rivers were swamped by the flood water.
In the US Midwest heartland, weeks of solid rain coupled with insufficient precautions caused the worst flooding ever. Nine states were declared federal disaster areas and 100 million sandbags were bought to hold back the floods. When the water finally receded, 50 people had died and 70,000 had lost their homes. The total damage amounted to $12 billion. Communities up and down the Mississippi and Missouri rivers were swamped by the flood water.
Furniture is raised above the floodwaters. In the US Midwest heartland, weeks of solid rain coupled with insufficient precautions caused the worst flooding ever. Nine states were declared federal disaster areas and 100 million sandbags were bought to hold back the floods. When the water finally receded, 50 people had died and 70,000 had lost their homes. The total damage amounted to $12 billion. Communities up and down the Mississippi and Missouri rivers were swamped by the flood water.
The elderly are coaxed into leaving their endangered homes. In the US Midwest heartland, weeks of solid rain coupled with insufficient precautions caused the worst flooding ever. Nine states were declared federal disaster areas and 100 million sandbags were bought to hold back the floods. When the water finally receded, 50 people had died and 70,000 had lost their homes. The total damage amounted to $12 billion. Communities up and down the Mississippi and Missouri rivers were swamped by the flood water.
When the mayor evacuated, he left the owner of this store in charge of his town. In the US Midwest heartland, weeks of solid rain coupled with insufficient precautions caused the worst flooding ever. Nine states were declared federal disaster areas and 100 million sandbags were bought to hold back the floods. When the water finally receded, 50 people had died and 70,000 had lost their homes. The total damage amounted to $12 billion. Communities up and down the Mississippi and Missouri rivers were swamped by the flood water.
Spot News,1st prize
1994 Photo Contest, Nature, Stories, 1st prize
Joco Znidarsic
Valery Koreshkov
John Reardon
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Daniel Craig to Bank £39M for Spectre
By ARN Radio
22nd March, 2018
Daniel Craig is set to bank £39 million for ‘Spectre’.
The 47-year-old actor has starred as James Bond for nine years and will secure his place as the highest paid Bond actor following the release of the 2015 film.
A source told The Sun newspaper: “Daniel’s deal means he’ll bank $24million (£15.66m) for acting, around $6million (£3.82m) for endorsements and $30million (£19.58m) if the financial projections are on course.
“Even taking inflation into account he is by far the highest paid Bond actor.”
Meanwhile, Daniel recently insisted he wanted to “move on” from the franchise but would consider staying for another film for money’s sake.
He said: “I’m over it at the moment. We’re done. All I want to do is move on. For at least a year or two, I just don’t want to think about it. If I did another Bond movie, it would only be for the money.
“Now? I’d rather break this glass and slash my wrists. No, not at the moment. Not at all. I don’t know what the next step is. I’ve no idea.”
The Hollywood hunk also offered advice to his successor.
He added: “Don’t listen to anybody else. Well, do listen to everybody, but you have to make the choice at the end of the day. It’s your bed to lie on.
“You’ve got to step up. People do not make movies like this anymore. This is really rare now.”
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Was That Troy's Parents Or Grandparents On MAFS?
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Lawmakers want more agents, better technology at border crossings
Officers are pulling double shifts while bureaucracy keeps new hires waiting for nearly a year
EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) –What will it take to stop drugs and criminals from coming across America’s borders? Better technology and more agents say two members of a House subcommittee that came to the border Monday pitching high-tech inspections of all private cars and commercial trucks at land ports of entry.
The Securing America’s Ports Act calls on the Department of Homeland Security to develop a budget and a timetable to implement non-intrusive inspection (NII) systems at border crossings and to carry out a one-year pilot program. Right now, CBP agents scan only 15 percent of the truck traffic and only 1 percent of the cars coming across the border. The rest are only subject to visual or physical inspections.
Bill cosponsors Xochitl Torres-Small, D-New Mexico, and Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, said Congress earlier this year approved $579 million for NII technology, some of which is already being spent on a pilot program in South Texas. More of that money should be spent once the program’s results are analyzed.
U.S. Rep. Xochitl Torres Small, D-New Mexico, and U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, lead a field hearing of a House subcommittee Monday in Santa Teresa, New Mexico. (photo by Julian Resendiz/Border Report)
The two lawmakers on Monday hosted a field hearing of the Oversight, Management and Accountability Subcommittee of the Homeland Security Committee, at the New Mexico Border Authority building next door to the Santa Teresa port of entry.
“As the frontline of defense against terrorists and traffickers, Customs and Border Protection has an incredibly important job and it’s our job as members of the Homeland Security Committee to ensure CBP has the resources it needs to do its job,” Crenshaw said.
NII technology allows CBP inspectors to “see” the inside of a vehicle as it enters the inspection area without actually touching it. This “non-intrusive” technology can cut individual inspection times from an eight-minute average to one minute, he said.
Both Crenshaw and Torres Small say most illicit drugs and contraband sent over from Mexico to American cities comes through established ports of entry, as opposed to remote areas with or without a border wall. That’s why they say the fight against the drug cartels and human smugglers must become more efficient at border land crossings.
Torres Small, who described herself as a “native of the border,” added that high-tech inspections will also benefit the U.S. economy by speeding up the entry of legitimate goods manufactured in Mexico — a multi-billion dollar industry on which many Fortune 500 companies have a stake.
However, both lawmakers stressed that technology alone won’t do the job. Torres Small pointed out to a shortage of border agents — 1,600 to 3,500, depending on the metrics used. “Although technology can be a great asset, it is no substitute for hard-working men and women,” she said.
The reason for the shortage is twofold: the current CBP workforce is doing more work than it should (agents often work double shifts) that the agency is having difficulty recruiting new agents, and the agency waits nearly a year to get them in a uniform and working, Crenshaw said.
“It’s hard to hire officers, either in the Border Patrol or the Customs side. It takes too long to get them processed even if you can recruit them. It’s a hard job and it can be a thankless job. You see that over and over in the media,” he said. “These people are being vilified for doing their job. We should take not of what kind of toll that takes on the men and women who serve on CBP and their families.”
Crenshaw was referring to how border agents were accused by activist organizations and some lawyers’ groups of neglect and cruelty at detention and processing centers during the height of the migrant surge earlier this year.
“They often work remote locations, many in areas where they’re not from. They go down there and do their jobs — that’s all they’re trying to do — and they get vilified in the media for that. … It’s no wonder that they’re hard to hire,” the lawmaker said.
And once the new border agent is recruited, the average wait time for the hiring to be completed is 300 days. He said he’s working on legislation to exempt former law-enforcement officers and veterans with previous access to classified information from some of the bureaucracy of becoming CBP officers, like a polygraph test that is much longer than that other agencies require.
Hector Mancha Jr., director of field operations in El Paso for CBP, said the migrant surge did force the agency to reassign officers from border crossings to migrant processing centers.
“I would tend to agree that there are certain applicants that already have been either in a law-enforcement position or coming from administrative and so forth that perhaps would give rise to giving them a waiver of that polygraph requirement. But I just find it very beneficial that we do the screening to make sure we have the right people coming in,” Mancha said at Monday’s field hearing.
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The Necessity of Human Rights as the Foundation for Covid-19 Response and Recovery
21 November 2020 | 05:19
The Covid-19 is not simply a public health crisis, the impact of the pandemic has been felt on every portion of the society and on every aspect of the nation’s social and economic life.
The pandemic has severely tested the national health care system, from infrastructure to human resources, but even more it has tested our collective ability to work together as a community, a nation, and a multilateral system.
There is not one person in the Republic of Moldova who has not been impacted, however, everyone has been affected differently due to age, ethnicity, gender, occupation, and social status. Every person faced limitations of their human rights during the pandemic – the right to freedom of movement, the right to education, and the right to work to mention a few. Yet, marginalized groups, who were already vulnerable to human rights violations prior to COVID-19, have become even more vulnerable, facing exacerbated difficulties in accessing their right to health, right to social protection, and right to participation among others.
People and their human rights must be put at the core of our COVID-19 response and recovery actions.
In September 2020, the United Nations Country Team has presented the updated joint UN Moldova – Government of the Republic of Moldova COVID-19 Socio-Economic Response and Recovery Plan. Based on five strategic pillars, it offers immediate and long-term support to the country to respond and recover from the COVID-19 in line with its development priorities. The Plan includes 99 projects and actions aiming at protecting the needs and human rights of people living under the effects of the pandemic, with a particular focus on the most vulnerable and marginalized groups and persons who risk being left behind.
In support of the COVID-19 response we must understand that the sustainability of results of interventions made, depends to a large extent on the employment of the human rights based approach principles of equality, participation and accountability. In this context the COVID-19 is giving us the opportunity to consider once again the benefits that the human rights based approach to policies, programme planning, and programme delivery can provide in addressing vulnerabilities that some marginalized people have. The approach which puts human beings, with their needs, choices and preferences at the centre of any intervention can contribute to preventing further exacerbations of vulnerabilities. It gives us the possibility to contribute to repairing the harm the pandemic has brought and to recover better through the development of more resilient systems.
COVID-19 has brought to the surface deeply rooted and sometimes overlooked inequalities.
We need to ensure that draft public policies undergo an inequality analysis, that persons affected by respective policies are consulted and have an opportunity to participate in respective decision-making processes, and that mechanisms are put in place to hold duty bearers to account.
We need to ensure that human rights based social protection measures represent a critical tool for facilitating access to health care, protecting people against poverty, and ensuring the satisfaction of basic economic, social and cultural, as well as civil and political rights.
More than ever, we need to join our efforts and work coordinately at all levels and sectors to ensure that not one group, or individual is left behind during the response to the COVID-19 crisis and planning of the post Covid-19 recovery.
We are all in this together and only together can we succeed in overpassing the pandemic and build a sustainable future compliant with fundamental human rights.
UN Resident Coordinator, Simon Springett
Disclaimer: This editorial is developed in the context of the Human Rights Awareness Campaign “Recover Better Together: Human Rights for All” launched by UN Moldova under the guidance of the UN Human Rights Office Moldova.
AUTHOR MAIL support@sens.media
The Number of Healthcare Workers Infected with SARS-CoV-2 Reached 2,600
The President’s Non-Traditional Family
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Original Xbox Backwards Compatibility Games List (Original Xbox)
Original Xbox games that will work on the Xbox One. (Live October 24, 2017)
(alphabetical)
Armed and Dangerous - (Released: December 2, 2003)
Black - (Released: February 27, 2006)
Blinx: The Time Sweeper - (Released: October 8, 2002)
BloodRayne 2 - (Released: October 13, 2004)
Breakdown - (Released: March 16, 2004)
Conker: Live and Reloaded - (Released: June 21, 2005)
Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge - (Released: October 14, 2003)
Dead to Rights - (Released: August 20, 2002)
Destroy All Humans - (Released: June 21, 2005)
Elder Scrolls III : Morrowind - (Released: June 4, 2002)
Full Spectrum Warrior - (Released: June 1, 2004)
Fuzion Frenzy - (Released: November 15, 2001)
Grabbed by the Ghoulies - (Released: October 12, 2003)
Hunter: The Reckoning - (Released: May 22, 2002)
Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb - (Released: February 18, 2003)
Jade Empire - (Released: April 13, 2005)
Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction - (Released: January 11, 2005)
MX Unleashed - (Released: February 17, 2004)
Ninja Gaiden Black - (Released: September 20, 2005)
Panzer Dragoon Orta - (Released: January 14, 2003)
Panzer Elite Action: Fields of Glory - (Released: June 2, 2006)
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - (Released: November 18, 2003)
Psychonauts - (Released: April 17, 2005)
Red Faction II - (Released: April 1, 2003)
Sid Meier's Pirates! - (Released: July 11, 2005)
Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy - (Released: November 10, 2003)
SSX 3 - (Released: October 20, 2003)
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy - (Released: November 18, 2003)
Star Wars: Battlefront - (Released: September 21, 2004)
Star Wars: Battlefront 2 - (Released: November 1, 2005)
Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter - (Released: May 14, 2002)
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - (Released: July 15, 2003)
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords - (Released: December 7, 2004)
Star Wars: Republic Commando - (Released: March 1, 2005)
The King of Fighters: Neowave - (Released: April 11, 2006)
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell - (Released: November 18, 2002)
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory - (Released: March 29, 2005)
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent - (Released: October 17, 2006)
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow - (Released: March 23, 2004)
Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict - (Released: April 19, 2005)
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Failing to Understand Diplomacy, Poland May Realize Value of Money
by Maria Slominska-Fabis and Projekt Polskaon April 24, 2020
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Ambroise Louis Garneray "The Taking of the 'Kent'" // Public domain
The conservative Law and Justice (PiS) government has conducted a calculated attack on the rule of law in Poland since it came into power in 2015, securing an overall majority in the Sejm, the lower house of the Parliament.
Its strategies have undermined the integrity of Poland’s democratic institutions, the separation of powers and independence of the media, in effect failing to fulfil its obligations under the EU law. All this while Poland, since joining in 2004, has consistently been the biggest net recipient of the EU.
In 2017, the EU triggered Article 7 of the Treaty of the European Union, a procedure resulting from breaches of the rule of law by a Member State, concerning Poland’s judicial reforms thought by the European Commission to be inconsistent with the separation of powers.
Nonetheless, PiS continues to ignore it and accuses the EU of infringing on Poland’s sovereignty, using the state-controlled media to broadcast misinformation about the legal jurisdiction of the EU.
In January 2020, Vera Jourova, the EU Values and Transparency Commissioner, visited Warsaw as s result of a growing concern over judicial independence and the rule of law in Poland.
She had hoped to begin a ‘new dialogue’ that would help improve the alignment of Poland’s domestic politics with the EU law. During the visit, she remained highly diplomatic and cautious with her words, allowing Poland the space to implement changes voluntarily. Still, PiS continued to show disregard for European opinion, claiming these to be purely ‘national’ matters’.
On April 8, the European Court of Justice issued a long-anticipated opinion:
“Poland must immediately suspend the application of the national provisions on the powers of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court with regard to disciplinary cases concerning judges”
In other words, by giving the Disciplinary Chamber powers to use disciplinary measures against judges, PiS is breaking the EU law. It continues,
“[…] although the organisation of justice in the Member States falls within the competence of those Member States, the fact remains that, when exercising that competence, the Member States are required to comply with their obligations deriving from EU law.”
Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court is made up of judges selected by the National Council of the Judiciary, of which 15 out of 25 members appoints Sejm, the PiS controlled lower house of Parliament. This politically appointed chamber can treat contents of judiciary decisions as disciplinary offences, in effect allowing a politically selected group to silence judges for court rulings unfavourable to the government.
The Court demands an immediate shutdown of the Disciplinary Chamber and will give an official verdict on the case in the second half of 2020, due to pandemic related delays.
However, despite the EU’s continued diplomatic intervention, PiS prevails to neglect its obligations under the EU law and continues to conduct politics in a way that is inconsistent with European values of liberalism and democracy.
If Poland does not change course, the verdict will mark the beginning of Warsaw’s exclusion from the European legal community. For business and international investors in Poland, this will mean severe financial consequences. It will likely result in a long-term fall in FDI and end Poland’s image as the EU’s economic success story
Poland Needs the EU
PiS may have their views and motivations, but one thing is sure – Poland’s economy is dependent on EU funding. Poland has been the largest net beneficiary of EU funding since it first joined in 2004. The total of EU investment funding allocated for Poland since its EU membership is EUR 175 billion.
The significance of this sum is apparent when one learns that Poland’s GDP per capita doubled over the period of 2003 and 2018, growing 22 percentage points compared to the EU average.
EU funding accounts for 56% of all public investment in Poland. It is EU funding that has ensured Poland’s economy stays afloat despite PiS’s irresponsible campaign of ‘cash for votes’.
The politically motivated policy of monthly allowances of 500PLN for each child to families regardless of their income, fails to effectively allocate resources where they are most needed. Such mismanagement of taxpayers’ money creates no investment, only consumption, leaving the EU to pick up the slack.
Poland would not be the economic success it is today had it not been for the EU. Joining the Union marked a symbolic (yet significant) final closure of the Soviet chapter. Membership was an invitation to unite with Western Europe’s old democracies in a joint mission founded on a shared belief in liberal democratic values.
And, indeed, Poland had made significant democratic strides in the years leading up to its official EU membership as new members were required to fulfil specific democratic standards.
At the time, no one could reasonably predict what consequences the 2004 enlargements would bring. But the gamble was necessary. One couldn’t reasonably imagine that the newly formed independent post-communist states would be left to fend for themselves when dealing with Russia.
Poland yet again appears as the top beneficiary of EU funds, this time in the fight against coronavirus. It set to receive EUR 1.13 billion from unused cohesion money and another EUR 6.39 billion in EU structural funds, payments quickly made available that would otherwise Poland would receive overtime.
Despite this, the claims of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki that the EU is not doing enough to support the Member States in the fight against coronavirus.
The Prime Ministers’ stance is a diplomatic disaster for Poland. As a country that has never been a net contributor to the shared budget, it is a profoundly ignorant stance to take.
EU’s emergency funds for Poland’s are almost three-fold those made available to Italy. At the moment Poland reported over 10,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 (although the actual numbers are believed to be significantly higher) compared to Italy’s 162,488 recorded cases.
While the EU Member States focus on fighting the pandemic together, with Denmark sending ventilators and a mobile hospital to support doctors in Italy, the Polish Prime Minister dares to complain that the EU is not doing enough – forgetting to include Poland in his grievances.
Poland in Economic Crisis
Poland’s economic circumstances are alarmingly dire. Its been a month since Poland closed its schools and all nonessential economic activity. First implementing emergency financial legislation could only cover 1.5% of GDP, which is far too little.
For a month, PiS left the economy shut and without adequate support, allowing businesses to go bankrupt and people to lose their jobs. Only after public outcry did they pass a more generous package that can make up for 4.5% of GDP, a lot better, but still not enough to make up for the lost time.
Poland will need to borrow heavily if it is to survive the economic downturn, but the government (and the opposition) are skeptical of increasing national debt.
The Polish Constitution states that national debt cannot be larger than 60% of GDP, which still gives the government enough legroom for much more generous emergency spending policy. The government’s policy of economic shutdown without adequate support for businesses is tremendously irresponsible and could lead to nationwide economic collapse.
Further, the government is without a sensible plan of how to ‘unfreeze’ the economy after lockdown. Poland’s COVID-19 testing capacity is limited, and many believe it is in the government’s interest not to expose the real scale of the problem before the May presidential elections, which PiS is unwilling to reschedule despite growing criticism.
Shutting off all nonessential economic activity is the most brute of tools the government has in its tool kit, testing is the least. Adequate mass testing and tracking of the virus are likely to be the most viable solutions to curbing the spread of the infection without destroying the economy, which is far from the ruling party’s current epidemic policy.
And as if to add salt to the wound, PiS government ministers were seen gathering on the 10th anniversary of the Smolensk air crash, openly breaking the same social distancing laws they expect citizens to abide.
What Can the EU Do?
Having exhausted its diplomatic patience, the EU signals it is willing to use monetary tools against Poland for its disregard for the EU law.
The EU’s emergency financial coronavirus response has given the EU an opportunity to add additional democratic spending conditions as the new budget will need to be decided, for which the negotiations will begin at the end of April.
“Now we have a chance, in the new budget negotiations, to keep the conditionality alive, and maybe now, we can see better than before why it’s important to have some financial instrument in hand,” says Vera Jourova, in response to Poland’s persistence to hold an election.
“To be blunt, I think that if somebody doesn’t understand our values, they should [at least] understand [the value of] money.”
So far Poland has felt confident in the EU’s inability to act due to Member States’ veto power and Poland’s friendship with the also problematic Hungry, meaning the two can always protect each other by vetoing proposals that are unfavourable to the other. While this is true, PiS should not underestimate the seriousness of the European Court of Justice ruling.
Having bailed Poland out during the coronavirus pandemic, the net contributing Member States’ patience will dwindle, as they began to demand more should she want to continue to benefit from their generosity. Replying on veto power alone won’t save her.
As was apparent in the Karlsruhe Higher Regional Court case, where Germany refused to extradite a Polish suspect wanted on a European Arrest Warrant because the Court cannot be sure the suspect will receive a fair trial in Poland.
It shows that other European Member States can, and are willing to, refuse cooperation with Poland. Frustrations may grow as post-pandemic Europe looks to rebuild its economy. Its success will be dependent on the reliability of its laws and the strength of the Union.
The rule of law is fundamental to the proper economic functioning of any country. Failing to ensure it, Poland will be excluded from Europe’s legal community, which will result in long term costs borne by its people.
Distrust in the legal system will drastically reduce Poland’s chance of economic recovery as investors, both domestic and international, take their money elsewhere, where they can trust the law to protect their investments.
Right now, in the midst of a pandemic outbreak, the future looks uncertain. Whether the European Union will survive this health and economic crisis remains to be seen. Its future will depend on the political will of its members.
By refusing to play by the rules, Poland is ultimately compromising its future safety and prosperity. Once there is no Union, there will be no payout.
This entry was posted in Politics and tagged alliance, cooperation, coronavirus, crisis, democracy, diplomacy, Disciplinary Chamber, economy, European Union, government, Law and Justice, money, parliament, PiS, Poland, politics, power, rule of law. Bookmark the permalink.
About Maria Slominska-Fabis
A graduate of the University of Cambridge in Human, Social and Political Sciences. Her fields of interest include European politics, nationalism, identity, feminism, and intersectionality. Currently, she is an Intern at .Nowoczesna
About Projekt Polska
The Projekt: Polska Association is a democratic, nationwide membership-based organization open to anyone, a decision-making environment composed of twenty-one local circles working to better their local communities, and over 300 activists cooperating for the achievement of common goals.
MPs under Public Control
2017 in the EU: The Force Awakens
Economy, Politics
The Turning Point of the Crisis
Article 7 against Hungary: Not-So-Complete Defeat of Viktor Orbán
Curse of Intergovernmentalist System Errors
Leo Klinkers/ April 27, 2020
COVID-19: Implications of Gangelt Infection Study
Justus Lenz/ April 22, 2020
Ukraine: Will Dictatorship Defeat Democracy?
When one follows the struggles of European leaders with Putin in the dispute about Ukraine, it begs the question whether cynical dictators will always beat...
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Our mission is to provide access to reasonably priced, high quality private education to all parents in the Northriding/Randburg area.
Bateleur College provides an excellent academic curriculum and tuition in a relaxed country environment.
Grades R to 9 are offered in our traditional classes in the main Foundation Phase and Intersen buildings.
We commit to the policy that there will be no more than 25 students per class.
Our Activity Areas offer an Art Studio, After Care, Extra mural activities, school hall, library, small sports fields as well as a small Media Centre.
Holiday camps are available for the holiday breaks (except December) to provide an affordable and safe option to parents that cannot afford to take time off work.
The location and set-up of the grounds and existing buildings provide a spacious, relaxed and tree-filled ambience that makes our College unique. There is plenty of room for future development without endangering this environment. Our 'country-style' College ethos includes the commitment to maintain this relaxed atmosphere and promote a healthy lifestyle including an organic vegetable garden and catering based on Jamie Oliver's School Lunch programme.
We offer an optional affordable Meal Plan consisting of a healthy lunch, two snacks and drinks to students per day.
The school has an official uniform. This is supplied by Student Schoolwear. Their garments insure quality and durability and are in keeping with their stringent standards. Payment will be made directly to the supplier.
We encourage family participation and promote Family Sports Days and Family Fun Days in keeping with this ethos. These are not fund-raising occasions and all refreshments and entertainments will be provided at cost. We strongly encourage you to attend these events with your whole family as an economical family outing and an opportunity to enjoy the unique atmosphere of Bateleur College.
We pride ourselves on transparancy !
All our fees are published on our web-site, what you see is what we charge.
There are no hidden expenses, no bake sales, civvie days, raffle tickets, fundraising events or sudden 'development' levies. Once a year you are asked to donate R 30-00 for a book for Literature Day that goes into our Library and on Spring Day you are asked to send a packet of seeds or tray of seedlings for students to plant in the playground gardens. We ask you to supply a basic neutral costume for the school play such as a black t-shirt and leggings. That is all we ask you for the entire year !
We do not increase any of our fees by more than 10% per annum (except for our Meal Plan and that is based on annual food increases).
We also publish our Debtor's Policy, Enrolment procedures, School Rules, Schedule of Responsibilities, ISASA Parent Contract and Application Form on our web-site so that you are free to read all of them before you sign acceptance.
We keep updated on the latest innovations and trends in Education and we apply those we believe are applicable to our school environment.
We are non-religious and multi-cultural.
We are proud to have children of every cultural and religious denomination attending Bateleur College. We encourage tolerance and respect between all of our students. We have no religious content other than that required as part of the GDE/CAPS curriculum, which provides an overview of all major religions from Grade 4. There are no prayers or hymns. We accept that we live in a multi-cultural environment in South Africa and celebrate eight cultural festivals each year as part of our school ethos. These cover each of the major religions and include Easter, Christmas, Holi, Diwali, Chinese New Year, Eid, Loi Krathong and Tu B'Shevat. The festivals have no religious content but celebrate the food and cultural imprtance of the events. All students participate in the events and are introduced to different cultures as part of our school ethos.
In 2010, 55 schools were approved for construction in Gauteng. None of these schools have been earmarked for the northern suburbs of Randburg/Roodepoort which has become an area of dire school shortage. This is a major concern to many parents residing in Randburg, Weltevreden Park, Allen’s Nek, Struben’s Valley, Radiokop, Little Falls and Honeydew. Many primary schools in these areas have 40 pupils per class. Currently many parents in these areas are having to send their children to schools in completely different areas such as Krugersdorp and central Johannesburg.
According to the Northside Chronicle, the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) spokesman, Nanalogo Leopeng, explains that the GDE is currently conducting surveys to identify areas in need of schools. “The area in question has been identified as one needing school facilities. The GDE’s budget to 2011/12 has aleady been committed and a school for the area is not on the GDE’s building plans.
One primary school should be allocated for every 1000 residential units and one secondary school for every 2000 units. The Councilor for Ward 97, Mike Tonkin, estimates that there are upward of 10 000 residential units in his ward alone. Local primary schools are grossly overcrowded with up to 40 pupils in a class.
Therefore educational standards of pupils who have working parents can be improved by providing them with an opportunity to attend a quality Independent/Private school in the northern suburbs of Randburg/Roodepoort. They would be under the tuition of qualified teachers in the mornings and under the supervision of qualified educators in the afternoons, if they so wish. There is a need for such supervision, particularly as many mothers are being forced to work due to the economic climate.
There is a demand amongst all communities in South Africa for pragmatic educational training, especially in the north of Randburg/Roodepoort where parents are pushing their children for success on an increasing basis. Certainly it is expensive to give private education to pupils using a system based on qualified educators, but the need for alternative private education demands special individual attention. The current chaotic system in State schools makes the establishment of a new interdenominational private school even more workable.
Update 2014 : Since Bateleur College was founded, the Department of Education has built two schools in Cosmo City (one Primary and one Secondary) and one Secondary school in Northriding/Douglasdale area.
Statement of Mission
Our mission is to provide access to reasonably priced, innovative, high quality private education.
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Oregon Catholic father of four killed trying to protect fellow passengers
Rick Best is pictured in an undated photo. (CNS photo/courtesy Best family)
By Ed Langlois • Catholic News Service • Posted May 30, 2017
PORTLAND, Ore. (CNS) — On a crowded Portland commuter train May 26, a selfless Catholic father of four stepped forward to calm a tense situation. He was that kind of guy.
Rick Best defended two women being accosted by a passenger yelling hate speech about Muslims and other groups. Best, a 53-year-old member of Christ the King Parish in Milwaukie, Oregon, would die for his noble deed.
In less than a minute, he and another defender were slain, slashed in the neck in front of horrified onlookers. A third man survived the knife attack.
Best’s funeral Mass is set for June 5 at Christ the King Church.
The accused killer, 35-year-old Jeremy Christian, had been on a racially charged rampage. With a history of police run-ins going back 15 years at least, he was caught on camera in April, draped in an American flag and repeatedly yelling bigoted epithets during a demonstration in Portland. On his Facebook page, he posted a photo of himself performing the Nazi salute and declared himself a white supremacist.
The day before the killings, Christian hurled a bottle at a black woman at another rail station.
On the unseasonably warm afternoon of May 26, one of the young women who became Christian’s focus on the packed train was wearing a hijab; the other was black.
When the bloodied train stopped at the next station, Christian escaped, but police captured him soon after. He remained in custody in Multnomah County Jail, indicted on two counts of aggravated murder, one count of attempted murder, two counts of intimidation and one count of being a felon in possession of a restricted weapon.
Best was pronounced dead at the scene. Taliesin Myrddin Namkai Meche, a 23-year-old graduate of Reed College in Portland, died later at the hospital. Injured in the attack and recovering was Micah David-Cole Fletcher, a 21-year-old student at Portland State University.
Best leaves a wife, Myhanh Duong Best, and four children: boys ages 19, 17 and 14, and a 12-year-old daughter.
A veteran who served in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan during a 23-year career in the Army, he had worked as a technician for the city of Portland’s Bureau of Development Services since 2015.
His supervisor, Kareen Perkins, told KGW-TV: “He was always the first person you would go to for help. I’ve talked to most of his co-workers today, and several of them said it’s just like Rick to step in and help somebody out.”
Best and his wife, who is from Vietnam, met at Portland Community College. He retired from the Army as a platoon sergeant in 2012. Living in the suburban town of Happy Valley, he decided the local government needed refreshing and in 2014 ran unsuccessfully for the Clackamas County commission, refusing to accept campaign donations.
In a prepared statement, Portland Archbishop Alexander K. Sample sought to comfort a city shocked by the brutal slayings. The metropolitan area of more than 1 million averages about 20 murders per year.
“Pray for those who may now feel unsafe in moving freely about a city that truly welcomes people of all cultures, faith traditions and walks of life,” Archbishop Sample said. “Pray for those whose hearts and minds may be hardened to the love of God and act out in such violent and hateful ways.”
He said “profound gratitude is owed to those who bravely stepped forward to protect the young women who were being vehemently harassed.”
During a Memorial Day homily at a cemetery not far from the Best home, Archbishop Sample told hundreds of worshippers May 29 that Best learned in the Army what it means to put one’s life on the line for others.
Best and Namkai Meche, the archbishop said, gave themselves in defense of the defenseless. In that, the archbishop said, the men closely followed Jesus.
Christ the King Parish is in shock, but has mobilized to support the Bests.
“This family is so faith filled,” Deacon Jim Pittman, who served for years at Christ the King, told the Catholic Sentinel, Portland’s archdiocesan newspaper. The Bests came to Sunday morning Mass May 28, just 40 hours after the killings.
Deacon Pittman has been meeting with the family. “I told the kids, ‘Your dad died in the way Christ told us to,'” he said. Eric, the oldest, told Deacon Pittman that he is not yet ready to forgive, but does not feel hate.
Deacon Pittman told Eric and the other children it is all right to cry. “That’s what our dad always told us,” responded Eric, who was taking a lead in making arrangements for his father’s funeral.
“They are just the nicest family ever,” said Evans Brackenbrough, a La Salle Prep student who attends Christ the King youth group with two of the Best children. “There is nothing bad in any of the kids.”
At the light rail station, a massive memorial has sprung up. Flowers, candles and chalked prayers cover the area. Citizens stand and weep, even if they did not know anyone involved. One visitor to the vigil site, Tami Soprani of St. Patrick Parish in Portland, tried to explain the feeling.
“You see someone stand up for what we all believe, and that is very powerful, very emotional,” Soprani said.
Langlois is editor of the Catholic Sentinel, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Portland.
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Mickey Kelly says:
Sainthood Now!!!!
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John Johnson Collection
The John Johnson Collection consists of 168 maps, surveys, and architectural drawings. The items included here represent every town in Chittenden County, as well as much of the rest of northwestern Vermont. The original items are in the Oversize Maps and Surveys series in the John Johson Papers,...
Show moreThe John Johnson Collection consists of 168 maps, surveys, and architectural drawings. The items included here represent every town in Chittenden County, as well as much of the rest of northwestern Vermont. The original items are in the Oversize Maps and Surveys series in the John Johson Papers, which also contain seven cartons of records divided into the following broad categories: correspondence; business papers; architectural plans and drawings; maps and surveys; bound manuscripts; and miscellaneous papers. More information about the John Johnson Papers is available here - http://scfindingaids.uvm.edu/repositories/2/resources/1249.
John Johnson -- surveyor, millwright, master builder, civil engineer -- was born in Canterbury, New Hampshire on December 2, 1771. He moved to north-western Vermont in 1790 and eventually settled in Essex, where he helped build a dam and several mills at Hubbells Falls on the Winooski River. Johnson's practical versatility soon made him the most prominent surveyor and engineer in northern Vermont and Lower Canada, and the growing demand for his services led him to move to Burlington in 1809. He was named Surveyor General of Vermont in 1813, and four years later received the appointment of superintendent of the survey of the United States-Canada border from the Bay of Fundy to the head of the Connecticut River. Although the survey was suspended after two years, Johnson's work along the Maine-New Brunswick line in 1818-19 served as a partial basis for the final settlement of the border under the Webster-Ashburton Treaty in 1842.
Johnson maintained his several careers in the 1820's and 1830's. He designed or constructed many of the finest residences and public buildings in Chittenden County, served as a consultant on engineering projects as far away as North Carolina and Illinois, and continued to run surveys throughout northern Vermont. He also served again as Surveyor General of the state in the 1830's, and worked throughout that decade as an inspector for the Vermont Mutual Fire Insurance Company. Johnson died of sudden attack of erysipelas fever on April 30, 1842 at the age of seventy.
City planning -- Vermont -- Burlington -- Maps. (1) + -
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Co-creating a culture of peace
Disciples of Yossarian
Following on the heels of his flirtation with violent “decisiveness” toward Pakistan, Barack Obama got twisted up even further in the conflicting loyalties that complicate the lives of Democratic presidential candidates and the people who vote for them. Pretty soon the other candidates were in there with him, like cats in the yarn.
After declaring in a speech last week that he might order military strikes on Pakistan border areas to take out suspected al-Qaida camps, he was asked by an AP reporter if he’d use nuclear weapons against al-Qaida in Pakistan.
I pause here a moment to ponder the insanity of this question, or what I might call the “Yossarian moment” it produces, referring, of course, to Joseph Heller’s notorious central character in the World War II novel “Catch-22,” whose everyman sanity stood in constant amazed contrast to the routine insanities of war, like people all the time trying to kill each other. This is a Yossarian moment on steroids, reporter to almighty-deity-in-chief wannabe: When killing thine enemies, sir, would you be inclined to take ’em out 50,000 at a swath? A hundred thousand? A million?
We’ve been thinking the unthinkable for 62 years now, so long that only a dazed disciple of Yossarian, apparently, stumbles today on the idea that “the button” is still — still! — within human reach. Otherwise, our horror over this, or at least the media’s horror, has worn down over the decades to a smooth sense of normalcy.
Yossarian’s . . . I mean Obama’s . . . response was illuminating — a burst of idealism, uncensored, unsophisticated, uncompromised. One might even suppose he spoke as “himself”: “I think it would be a profound mistake for us to use nuclear weapons in any circumstance,” he said.
Then, uh-oh, the Presidential Candidate took over, quickly adding the preposterous caveat: “… involving civilians.”
What? Non-civilian mass slaughter only? On its face, this is arguably the dumbest comment to date of the 2008 presidential campaign. But it’s also much more than that. It’s a sudden, stunning glimpse at the Truth About Presidential Campaigns: that the front-running candidates, the big-time players, the ones who might actually capture their party’s nomination, are only nominally running for president of the United States — president, that is, of that unruly mob of 300 million struggling, unpredictable and possibly peace-craving souls out there, including you and me.
In point of fact, they’re running for president of the Establishment — the power structure, the interlocking status quo of economic and geopolitical interests that knows what it wants and sets the parameters of policy: the war machine, in short; the military-industrial-media complex.
“Let me scratch that,” Obama went on. “There’s been no discussion of nuclear weapons. That’s not on the table.”
Close call! Idealism off the table.
But it didn’t end there. Not quite. The painfully “presidential” Hillary Clinton, who, we can be certain, has been sand-blasted free of every last embarrassing protrusion of “it takes a village” idealism over the last 15 years, was asked to weigh in. “Presidents should be very careful at all times in discussing the use or non-use of nuclear weapons,” she said, laying out the rules of the game.
“Presidents, since the Cold War, have used nuclear deterrence to keep the peace,” she went on. “And I don’t believe that any president should make any blanket statements with respect to the use or non-use of nuclear weapons.”
Joe Biden, a second-tier rival for the nomination, had to be more succinct. Channeling the invisible powers a U.S. president must serve, he pronounced Obama “naive,” the ultimate condemnation. Let’s move on, shall we?
Well, no, let’s not. This fleeting moment in the making of a presidential candidate is a sobering reality dunk for every last unreconstructed disciple of Yossarian in the bleachers, or for every disciple of Albert Einstein, who famously observed: “The unleashed power of the atom has changed everything save our modes of thinking and thus we drift toward unparalleled catastrophe.”
Those of us who believe in a genuinely peace-rooted, nuke-free, disarmed future — who believe that violence doesn’t work and see this confirmed almost daily in the headlines (190,000 AK-47s and other U.S.-distributed weapons missing in Iraq, many of which are almost certainly being used against us) — must take note. No leading U.S. politician is on our side or ever will be until we succeed at crashing the party.
The paradoxes of today’s violence may be strangling the future as we look on, but they’re so easily ignored by servants of the status quo, who will grab any irrelevant historical precedent (the Cold War is over, Hillary) to justify the continuation of the highly profitable myth that peace must gorge itself on blood.
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EXTRA LIFE is out today!
by Derek | Oct 13, 2015
Here’s a little piece I wrote for Booklist on switching genres from crime fiction to the crazy hybrid thing that EXTRA LIFE is: a young adult contemporary science fiction thriller.
Those familiar with my other books might be wondering where this one came from, and whether it’s up your alley. It’s still a thriller–in fact, even more of a fast-paced thriller than anything I’ve done before. I’m writing from the point of view of my protagonist for the first time, a sharp-tongued sixteen-year-old kid, but there’s an ageless obsession with the last few decades of movie culture, too.
I think it works for readers of all ages, kind of like READY PLAYER ONE did a few years back.
At its deepest level, EXTRA LIFE arises out of the same preoccupations I’m probably stuck with for good–what it means to be a self, what identity is, how time and circumstance and situation change who we are. It’s definitely a question young adults ask themselves, but I think it’s pertinent for all of us.
This time around, I’m attacking these questions directly, through the lens of science fiction. I’ve long been fascinated, for example, with the question of the “philosophical zombie.” If there were an exact replica made of you, would it share your consciousness? If not, is it “alive?” And therefore what does “alive” mean?
Or what if we were to actually invent teleportation. If your true self is evaporated and a copy is made, are you still “you” on the other end? Has your consciousness vanished? These are the questions that keep me up at night. In the end, they’re really questions about that unknown country, aren’t they?
So that’s what EXTRA LIFE is–a breakneck thriller and a twisty mind-bending foray into questions of what it means to be who we are. It’s also a love-letter to the movies and the movie-making business. Give it a try. Let me know what you think!
dereknikitas.com website launch
by Derek | Oct 6, 2015
Welcome to the brand new website for author Derek Nikitas. The new site coincides with the release of my third novel, EXTRA LIFE (which also happens to be my first novel for young adults).
EXTRA LIFE is a mind-bending science fiction thriller in the vein of Back to the Future, with a little Donnie Darko mixed in. Its official release date is October 13th, though it’s already available in hardcover most places. The e-book version will become available on the 13th.
It’s being released by Polis Books, and here’s a taste of what it’s about:
Russ has never been your typical teen. After being expelled, Russ has started to get his life back on track. He’s a pop culture junkie, and living in a town where the popular teen soap “Cape Twilight” is filmed, how could he not be? So when Russ decides to make his own short film, he recruits the (emotionally unhinged) star of “Cape Twilight” and his own motley crew to help out. Seems like a great idea…until the plan blows up in Russ’s face.
Just when everything seems to be falling apart, Russ receives a message on his cell phone — from himself. Recorded in the future, ‘future Russ’ informs him that the day can be fixed if he’s willing to use an app to leap twelve hours into the past. Russ is happy to oblige, figuring the day can’t get any worse. But he couldn’t be more wrong. Because as soon as Russ tampers with time and space, he introduces dangerous glitches he can’t control, including alternate of himself. And suddenly Russ’s sanity and the lives of everyone he cares about are at risk if he can’t find a way to regain control of his own life— past, present and future.
For more information about this book and my previous novels, please visit the new homepage at dereknikitas.com.
“By turns clever, surreal, and poignant, Derek Nikitas has achieved a rare thing with EXTRA LIFE – a high concept thriller with both smarts and heart. An inventive, memorable young adult debut.”
Gwenda Bond, author of Lois Lane: Fallout and Girl on a Wire
Designed by Wax Lily Design | © Derek Nikitas 2017
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Salvatore J. Durante, DDS
3 Articles on the American Dental Association
Americans with Disabilities Act: The Latest Assault on Rights & Update
Dentists as Public Servants: “The Fallacy and Danger of ‘Public Service’ “
HMOs, PPOs, and Managed Care: ‘Managed Competition’ and Other Lies”
Medical Savings Accounts: The Right Plan to Support
Medicare: What It Did for Medicine, It Can Do for Dentistry
National Healthcare: Prescription for a Fool’s Paradise
Dentists as Public Servants
“The Fallacy and Danger of ‘Public Service’ “
Copyright Salvatore J. Durante, DDS, FAGD, 1989. Printed in Journal of Dental Practice Administration, Oct.-Dec. 1989. Reprinted in Texas Dental Journal, September 1990, and GP: The Official Journal of the New York State Academy of General Dentistry, March 1991.
“[P]hysicians will never again be able to set their own prices and practice without outside restraints. Medicine is now a regulated industry, and HCFA, and others, are the regulators. Doctors who are upset by this kind of change will in the future become even more upset…”[Reference 1] So says William Roper, M.D., former head of the government’s Health Care Financing Administration. Such a statement would have been impossible only ten years ago, but, in the 1980’s, the brazenness of politicians and government bureaucrats has reached alarming levels. In contrast, professional organizations have become more accommodating, less vocal and less confident in their defense of a doctor’s autonomy. It is almost as if doctors have accepted the constant barrage of governmental interference as an unquestionable fact of nature.
In fact, some doctors directly aid the government as it seizes control of one aspect of a doctor’s practice after another. For example, Physicians for a National Health Program, a fringe group representing less than half of one-percent of all practicing physicians in the United States of America, recently announced its plan for a comprehensive national health program.[2] Under this plan all payments for health care would come from a single source: the federal government. As a direct consequence of this fact, the plan calls for drastic measures, including the following: doctors’ groups would have to negotiate fee schedules with the government and all doctors would be required to accept those fees as full payment; the government would cap the total reimbursement of individual doctors; entrepreneurial incentives would be minimized or eliminated; and new for-profit investment in health-care facilities would be outlawed, gradually making the government the only provider.
There are, however, consequences that these physicians do not emphasize or even mention, but that have invariably followed in countries with national health plans, such as England and Canada.[2, 3, 4, 5] All services would be rationed by the government: patients would have to petition politicians for their health care. Medical progress, for the most part, would become a thing of the past as innovators redirected their efforts to less regulated fields of endeavor. Those doctors who chose to remain in health care would have to resort periodically to slow-downs and strikes. This is where the once-proud and independent entrepreneur of American health care, the doctor, is headed.
What were the responses of respected professional leaders to the plan presented by Physicians for a National Health Program? The New England Journal of Medicine hailed the concept of “a comprehensive plan” as an idea whose “time has come.” The American Medical Association feebly labeled the idea “inappropriate,” but admitted that the Association does support the principle of “universal access.” [6, 7] (The AMA fails to state explicitly what it believes the government should force doctors and patients to do in order to achieve equality, or “universal access.”)
If a “comprehensive plan” consumes medicine in the United States, there can be no doubt that dentists will be affected. The PNHP proposal, which is based on Canada’s comprehensive plan, calls for the inclusion of dental care. Furthermore, the American Dental Association is on record as supporting the inclusion of dental benefits if a national health-care program is adopted in the United States. Unfortunately, there is a widespread belief among dental leaders that if organized medicine considers slavery through national health care an honor for physicians, then it should be good enough for dentists. (Why “slavery” is the correct term will be shown on the following pages.)
Doctors who value their independence and want less regulation of their lives realize that health care is in a sorry political state. Many physicians who sense that something is terribly wrong with the way they are treated today, and fear what is coming, are simply leaving the profession. Others do the best they can against bureaucrats armed with a seemingly endless supply of government edicts. But many, if not most, doctors are uncomfortable challenging politicians and bureaucrats, who claim to speak for “The Public.” They believe that it would be unprofessional, inappropriate and perhaps immoral to assert their interests as doctors too strongly.
What has led to the present situation? Why have physicians been unable or unwilling to defend themselves effectively against an encroaching government? Why are they unable to reject a call for “comprehensive health care” despite the evidence of its catastrophic effects elsewhere? What shared ideas guarantee that dentists would make the same political mistakes that physicians have?
As we will see, doctors are steadily losing control of their lives because they have accepted the notion that they are “public servants.” In the following pages we will examine the meaning and consequences of the public service principle; why it is a fallacy; and, most importantly, how we must proceed if we are to reverse the destructive government take-over of health care.
The Meaning of “Public Service”
Few doctors would object to being labeled “public servants.” Many even claim the label as a badge of virtue. Yet, their confusion about precisely what this label means is largely responsible for the ongoing political suicide of the medical and dental professions.
“Serving the public” can have two very different meanings. In a non-literal sense, doctors do serve members of the public. We provide a specific service to those who want it, on mutually acceptable terms, in exchange for others’ services, goods, or money. We offer a highly valued service, but we are still, in essence, traders–like anyone else in a free society. This is what we may refer to as the harmless, voluntary meaning of public service.
In such dealings between people who act as traders, no one’s natural rights are violated. By “natural rights” I mean only the legal sanction to pursue one’s life and happiness by acting on one’s own voluntary choice, so long as one does not interfere with another’s equal right to do the same. In the voluntary meaning of public service no one is forced to deal with anyone he would rather not deal with; each party in the transaction may deal with the other or not, as he sees fit. A trade is made only if each party receives something that he values more than what he is offering in exchange. In this sense, the term “public service” is harmless, but also useless. The term equally could apply to hairdressers, waiters, airline pilots, librarians, garage mechanics–to anyone engaged in economic activity in a free society.
However, “public service” also has a literal denotation, which is very different from voluntarily offering members of the public a service. The word “serve” derives from the Latin servire, meaning “to be a slave.” It denotes a relationship between a master and a slave in which the master is legally permitted to use force in controlling the slave, or servant, who must dutifully obey the commands of the master. The servant is permitted to act with the permission of his overseer, but he ultimately has no right to his own life and the pursuit of his own happiness. Rather, he is granted privileges at the master’s discretion. By extension, a public servant has no right to his own life, and he is obliged to dutifully obey “The Public”–or its spokesmen, the politicians. This is what I will call the public service principle. This involuntary meaning of “public servant” should never be applied to anyone in a free society.
What do organized medicine and dentistry say about public service?
A. “The dentist’s primary professional obligation shall be service to the public.” (American Dental Association Principles of Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct) [8]
B. “A dentist has the general obligation to provide care to those in need.” (Ibid.) [8]
C. “… we ought to be careful about how we represent our profession… we have to let the public know that dentistry has never stopped being a caring institution which places our patients’ needs and best interests at the forefront of all of our actions.” (Editor of a dental publication)[9]
D. “A pregnant physician has an obligation to treat patients infected with HIV. The justification for limiting her risk of HIV infection … is not concern for her health, family plans, or career …” (Medical ethicist at Harvard)[10]
E. “I respect the many outstanding physicians … and each of you for your selfless commitment in working on behalf of the health of the American people … we are not here to do battle with the government for our self-interests … we are here for one reason, and that is to take care of sick people …” (1987 President of the American Medical Association)[11]
F. “Dentists and physicians have chosen to ‘enter a moral practice’ and have committed themselves to caring for other people. Dentists aren’t like businessmen who can restrict their practices. ‘Those of us in the caring professions have an obligation derived from the fact that in assuming our occupation, we basically have committed ourselves to help. We have not primarily committed ourselves to making money, or to any other ideal, but to caring for other people. That’s what it means to be a physician and a dentist. The commitment to care for people comes first.’ ” (News article quoting the same Harvard ethicist as quoted in D above)[12]
In all these quotes, “public service,” whether advocated explicitly or implied, is meant to be understood in the literal, involuntary sense. In fact, the Harvard ethicist (in quote F) actually distinguishes between those who live as traders and doctors, who should not. He and the others contend that some members of society may specify what they require in exchange for the goods and services that they trade, but doctors are to offer their services selflessly. In short, doctors are to view themselves, and to be viewed, primarily and literally as public servants who take pride in sacrificing their own desires, goals and lives when so ordered by “The Public.”
In 1965, the doctor’s role as a public servant who must provide for the public’s “right to health care” was firmly established. That year, Congress enacted Medicare and Medicaid legislation. At the time many doctors fought the proposed legislation, warning that government funding and the necessary control of the professions that would follow would result in higher costs and a lower standard of care for everyone. [13]
Others pointed out that providing health care to any segment of the population as a matter of “right” would inevitably lead to total government control of the profession.[14] This is true, because unlike natural rights, which sanction an individual’s own effort and action in support of his life, a fictitious “right” such as the “right to health care” represents a congenital claim on the work provided by others. And since our government defends its citizens’ recognized rights, it must see to it that those who owe a service to others as a matter of right, do in fact provide the service. In short, if people have a “right” to a doctor’s labor, then that policy must eventually lead to governmental enslavement of doctors.
However, such economic and political arguments, though correct, had little persuasive effect, because organized medicine refused to defend itself against the charge that doctors would be shirking their moral responsibility to society by opposing Medicare. Doctors were accused of trying to place their own self-interest, their desire to be free, above the public’s need for their services; they were denounced as greedy. Given their professed self-image as selfless servants of the people, doctors had to capitulate. They could argue about the details of pending Medicare legislation; but having accepted their would-be enslaver’s fundamental point–that doctors have an obligation to “society” as selfless public servants–they could not argue for the absolute right of doctors to pursue their lives and form associations with their patients on an individual basis, free from government interference. They were reduced to compromising and pleading for input into the developing programs.
The last 24 years have seen a series of replays of this initial confrontation between the servants, doctors, and the master, the so-called public. As Medicare was expanded, government interference spread. Further demands from the public prompted politicians and bureaucrats to seize more and more control of doctors’ lives.[15, 16] Doctors were unable to stop the process. When Medicare legislation caused prices to spiral, hospitals and doctors could not refuse to submit to the government’s price-fixing schemes. Likewise, when the FDA told doctors that they could only use approved drugs for approved purposes, or when the FTC or OSHA issued their edicts, doctors were disarmed by their misguided sense of social duty.
Today, doctors must answer to an increasing multitude of governmental agencies and bureaucrats–many that directly influence treatment decisions. But because both sides agree on the fundamental nature of the doctor/public relationship and because organized health care actually embraces the idea that doctors are public servants, doctors still cannot argue effectively against politicians and government bureaucrats. After all, politicians speak for “The Public.”
As long as the destructive public service principle is sanctioned and advocated by its own victims, the government will continue to demand more sacrifices. For example, HIV infection is considered a “handicap” and so, on the basis of one’s “professional duty” to serve the public, it follows that a doctor must render treatment, even against his personal desires (see quote D above). When this question arose, the AMA and the ADA did not assert their members’ constitutional rights of association and contract. They offered inconsistent, half-hearted arguments, such as the claim that a dentist’s office is not a “public accommodation,” and is, therefore, exempt from anti-discrimination legislation. At the same time, however, they amended their codes of ethics to include the obligation to treat AIDS patients.
As other “handicaps”–mental, physical, social, economic–are discovered, and doctors eventually are told precisely whom they must and must not treat, doctors’ professional organizations presumably will attempt to appease the government by expanding their ethics codes’ official lists of social obligations.
Another recent development illustrates a corollary of the public service principle: namely, that doctors, being public servants, are immoral if they act in their own interests and if they benefit by their own actions. Efforts are being made to pass federal legislation that would make it illegal for a physician to refer patients to an entity in which he has a financial concern (Ethics in Patient Referrals Act). This means that if a doctor decides that his patient requires a certain test, for example, the doctor would be forbidden to refer the patient to a facility that he owned.
It would make no difference if the doctor actually judged his own facility to be the best for this particular test or patient. It would make no difference if the patient wanted to use that facility because it was nearby or because he trusted his doctor’s judgment. Why? Because, the authors of the pending legislation would maintain, a doctor’s ability to earn money with the referral clouds his sense of social obligation. Legislators incorrectly argue that selfishness or the profit motive–the idea that one should be the beneficiary of one’s own efforts–is incompatible with honesty and quality in health care. By this reasoning, doctors should not be paid at all. Or, at the very least, the government should dictate what services can be provided in any particular instance, and should dictate the doctor’s compensation.
That sort of all-encompassing, or “comprehensive,” regulation is exactly where acceptance of the public service principle is leading us. Medical economists have predicted that on our present government-guided course rationing of all health care will become necessary during the 1990’s. The machinery is already being created. As of April 1, 1989, certain surgical procedures (ranging from bunionectomies to coronary artery bypass grafts) to be performed on anyMedicare beneficiary must be preauthorized by the state’s Professional Review Organization (PRO), or Medicare will not cover those procedures. If authorization for the procedure is denied and the physician performs the surgery, he is forbidden to bill the patient. If he does, he will be barred from Medicare participation for up to five years and subject to civil monetary penalties. The penalties apply even if the patient grants informed consent and offers to pay personally for the procedure without Medicare reimbursement.
Fixing fees and denying services to Medicare patients is only the beginning. Both the State of Oregon and Alameda County in California are developing schemes for rationing health care for the poor. They hope that their plans will serve as models for federal rationing of care for the entire middle class.[17] There is also the recently unveiled, Congressionally sponsored Harvard-Hsiao study of physicians’ fees, which portends an expansion of governmental price-fixing schemes. Very soon, the bureaucratic means for totally controlling all services, fees, providers and patients will be in place.
Other frightening developments are on the horizon. For instance, the United States Selective Service System currently is working on a plan for conscripting physicians between the ages of 20 and 44.[18] Is there any indication that organized medicine or dentistry will even attempt to defend a doctor’s right to his own life–including his 21st to 45th years? Hardly.
In short, the public service principle as applied to, and advocated by, physicians is reaching its climax. It should be clear that physicians will remain impotent unless they learn why and how they must reject the label “public servant.”
What about us, dentists? The government has just recently discovered the dentist, due to HIV and hazardous waste. This is despite years of misguided efforts by organized dentistry, which has been actively seeking inclusion of dental benefits under Medicare and inclusion of dentistry in any comprehensive national health-care program. Organized dentistry firmly advocates the public service principle, as the quotes above indicate. Therefore, if politicians and bureaucrats decide to take further notice of us, we, like physicians before us, will be unable to defend ourselves against an advancing government.
Why Accept the Label “Public Servant”?
There are 2 main reasons why a doctor might accept the label “public servant.”
1. Equivocation on the meaning of “service”
Some doctors understand the term in the voluntary sense described above, and innocently believe that no one in the United States of America would use the term in any literal sense. When such a doctor hears that he is a public servant, he simply translates that into “one who provides a service to members of the public” according to the trader principle, discussed above.
Those who insist on using “public servant” in this voluntary sense, rather than using the neutral “health-care professional,” “health-care provider,” or “doctor,” should clearly define the term to avoid disastrous confusion. Many doctors, unaware of the equivocation, concede that they are “public servants,” and conclude that they therefore must agree with the ideas contained in the quotes above. The value of the equivocation, to those who knowingly make use of it, is that innocent doctors will agree that they are public servants on the basis of its voluntary meaning, without realizing that the defenders of “The Public”–politicians, bureaucrats and policy makers–intend to institute the consequences of the involuntary meaning.
2. A Tradeoff for Privileges
Another reason for accepting the label of “public servant” is the fact that many doctors accept the public-service principle. As a consequence, doctors have come to accept the notion that they practice medicine or dentistry only as a privilege granted by their master, the government. Social duty, obligation, self-sacrifice and obedience, i.e., literal public service, are merely seen as the price for this alleged privilege.
In today’s statist view, the doctor has no right to engage in his chosen career. He is permitted, through licensure, to provide health care only on certain conditions. This is the intellectual source of the repeated claim that the right to practice medicine or dentistry imposes certain duties and obligations. As a privileged group, doctors are expected to submit to the changing demands of the license issuer, who, supposedly, will make demands that are in the interest of “The Public.” A dissatisfied doctor–one who is unwilling to make the required sacrifices to “The Public”–must give up his career and not complain if he dislikes the changing rules and societal demands.
This idea that an individual must obtain the government’s permission before offering certain services to others reverses the relationship that an individual in a free society should have with his government. One should not live, provide for one’s life, and form associations–business or personal–with other free individuals as a privilege granted by the State. As the Founding Fathers declared in the 18th century and philosopher Ayn Rand clarified in the 20th, all people have the fundamental right to their own lives, and governments should be established to protect this right, not to interfere with it.[19, 20, 21]
The right to one’s own life includes the right to live and pursue one’s happiness by acting on one’s own voluntary choice and effort, and the right to keep the fruits of one’s effort (i.e., one’s property), so long as one does not violate the equal rights of others. The proper application of this principle to the doctor/patient relationship is essentially the same as in any other relationship between traders in a free society. A doctor offers a service, and a patient offers money, goods or services in exchange. A trade is made only if each party values what he is receiving more than what he is offering in the exchange.
The government properly has a role insofar as it must stand ready to defend the equal rights of the traders, in our case, doctor and patient. A simple example will illustrate the principle: If the patient pays the doctor with a check that bounces, the doctor has recourse to the government. He did not receive what the patient purported to offer in exchange for his services. The doctor was defrauded; had he known that the patient was offering a worthless piece of paper, he never would have entered into the exchange.
Likewise, the patient has the right to receive what he pays for. He pays for a specific service (not a specific result) to be rendered by someone who claims to have been trained in a specific manner. If the doctor misrepresents his training in order to enter into a trade with the patient, then he is guilty of fraud and the patient would have recourse to the government.
In order to protect patients from fraud, it might be argued, the government should certify the fact that one who uses the title “doctor” has completed a certain course of training. Under a certification system, a “doctor” would be able to produce, upon request, a certificate indicating that he had completed a certain course of training and had demonstrated a grasp of the relevant information. The patient would know what the title “doctor” signified.
Licensure: anti-fraud or anti-freedom?
The modern licensing system shares this feature with certification: its explicit goal is to protect patients from those who would misrepresent themselves. However, even without government licensing, patients would still be free to insist on some proof of a provider’s training. Professional schools and private associations such as the AMA and ADA could act as certifying agencies, as they did in the nineteenth century prior to government interference.
The important point is that the certification aspect of licensure does not imply that the legal ability to provide health care is a privilege and that doctors must, in return, live according to the public service principle. Rather, this aspect of licensure simply mitigates the possibility of fraud, and thereby serves to protect a patient’s legitimate right (to his own property).
Today, protecting the patient’s rights is one concern of licensure, but certainly not the only one. Licensing not only certifies that the bearer has a certain minimal education, it forcibly excludes all non-licensed practitioners from the field. It thereby transforms the right to provide health care into a de factoprivilege. Today, a non-licensed practitioner is a criminal–even if his patients know all the facts and still want to be treated by him. By this feature, modern licensure focuses on the doctor’s activities apart from the government’s desire to protect the patient from fraud. In fact, manipulating physicians has become the main use of licensure.
For example, in 1985, the state of Massachusetts linked licensure to acceptance of Medicare assignment. In that state, and two others to date, physicians either agree to the government’s arbitrary economic edicts–regardless of their technical competence–or they give up medicine as their chosen method of pursuing happiness.
If professional groups continue to maintain that providing health care is a privilege to be granted and denied by the government–and not an inalienable right–the requirements for this “privilege” will continue to be dictated by political whim.
How the tradeoff is supposed to work
Natural rights cannot be bargained for; privileges must be. Representatives of professional organizations understand this. They concede that doctors are public servants and use this as a bargaining tactic to preserve their privileges and to win the public’s favor. The current battles against denturists and hygienists are timely examples.
Organized dentistry believes that it serves its members’ interests by limiting competition. Furthermore, they see no danger in trying to maintain the privilege of providing certain phases of health care at the expense of other people’s natural right to conduct their lives and make choices as they deem proper. And here is where the alleged value of being regarded as a public servant comes in. Dentistry’s spokesmen can maintain that doctors are selfless public servants who could not possibly be suspected of having something as “evil” as a selfish motive. Organized dentistry paternally presents itself as a selfless defender of “The Public”: they claim to oppose freedom for denturists, hygienists and their would-be clients for “The Public’s” own good.
It is difficult to imagine that many people are fooled by such hypocritical positions. In fact, the danger is that some members of the public, especially politicians, will believe them, and force dentists to act on those righteous claims of selflessness. That is largely what happened to physicians during the last twenty-four years under Medicare. Physicians appealed and continue to appeal to the public service principle as the justification for their own existence.[11] Today, politicians are merely collecting the “public service” and sacrifices that physicians said they were so eager and privileged to provide.
The real tradeoff
This misguided policy–defending the alleged privilege to treat patients on the grounds that one is a public servant–has resulted in the loss of the one value physicians thought they were bargaining to keep: the right to treat patients. The results would be the same for dentists. The tradeoff is not “meaningless” support of the public service principle in exchange for the privilege of providing health care. The fact is, doctors have been trading their natural right to associate with their patients in exchange for public servitude.
What we must recognize is that political privileges are established at the expense of the rights of others. The denial of the rights of a non-privileged provider, such as an independent hygienist, is the denial of rights as such. If we are to defend effectively our legitimate right to enter into associations with our patients without government interference, then we must recognize the right of others to do the same, as long as they do so in an honest, non-fraudulent manner. Only a doctor legally should be allowed to call himself a “doctor,” but anyone should be allowed to offer health-care services in a non-deceptive manner.
A recent dental editorial neatly illustrates the disastrous consequences of adopting the public service principle and of confusing rights with privileges. A spokesman for organized dentistry wrote that “…as a profession we are well off financially and are perceived well by the public we serve … We enjoy…honor…and have been given an esteemed place in our society”(italics mine). He then guiltily cited the existence of homeless people, nursing homes and the poor, and stated that we have been given a “disproportionate blessing.” To assuage the guilt of success that he had tried so hard to induce, he assured readers that “there is much we all can do to repay the honor society gives us.”[22]
The implication is that doctors are a privileged group who live as they do by permission of society and the government. Furthermore, he implies that the service we provide is not worth what our patients pay us, and so we must continually try to repay a debt to “society” in general, apart from the people we actually treat. As we have seen, politicians who read and hear such statements know exactly what to do.
The Immediate Solution
If health-care professionals are to reverse the government takeover of their lives, certain steps must be taken immediately. Reversal will be much more difficult once the takeover is complete and doctors and patients have forgotten what it was they lost.
1. Doctors must entirely reject the notion that practicing medicine or dentistry is a privilege to be granted by the government. An individual has the fundamental natural right to his life and the pursuit of happiness. The pursuit of happiness includes offering health-care services, and doctors must assert this fact.
2. Those who would defend a doctor’s right to pursue happiness by freely and honestly trading health-care services with patients must be consistent. It is contradictory and self-defeating to argue in defense of doctors’ independence one day, and to argue against the independence of hygienists and lab technicians the next. Likewise, doctors cannot object to government regulation in their practices while urging Congress to increase the regulation of other businesses. (The ADA’s recent efforts to outlaw smokeless tobacco ads is an example.) This is hypocrisy, which undermines the proper, principled defense of a doctor’s right to independence.
3. Doctors must entirely reject the public service fallacy. We must refuse to be victimized as a result of having acquired our skills. A doctor goes through many, many years of excruciatingly long hours of study and training to acquire the knowledge necessary to combat disease. As a rule, he invests this time not because he thinks slavery is noble, but for selfish reasons: he loves the field and he loves the challenge of using his mind to fight disease and suffering. When an individual receives the title “doctor,” it is because he has earned it; that is, he has the knowledge and skill that the title signifies. He owes no debt to “society” or to anyone else (specific financial loans excluded, of course).
Doctors must reclaim their natural right to set the terms under which they will engage in an exchange. Striving to better oneself and then offering the benefit of one’s knowledge to one’s patients should not turn a person into a second-class citizen who must seek the permission of the government before acting. When a doctor does provide a service to a patient, he and the patient engage in a voluntary exchange. Neither the doctor nor the patient incurs any debt to “society” that politicians can collect as a result of the transaction.
The Long-Term Solution
Today it is taken for granted that a doctor’s moral worth can be gauged by his sense of social obligation and selflessness. The policies and statements of professional organizations and the words of the Harvard ethicist and others cited throughout this article make this point explicit. Professional organizations properly uphold the principles of honesty and integrity in their ethics codes, but they disastrously assume that self-sacrifice and public service are required for a moral practice. In fact, the public service fallacy is a fundamental tenet of the ethics codes of most, if not all, professional health-care organizations.
Therefore, consistently defending a doctor’s right to associate freely with his patients and publicly rejecting the public service fallacy are not enough. These necessary political steps will be half-hearted and will fail unless all traces of the public service fallacy are removed from professional ethics codes.
I am happy to be able to report that I know of several doctors in both medicine and dentistry, from diverse subspecialties, working alone and in groups, who presently are working on new ethics codes that are consistent with the principle of natural rights. Such professional codes of ethics would recognize a doctor’s absolute right to his own life, in contrast to the present codes that glorify self-sacrifice and self-destruction for society’s “benefit.” At some time in the future, organized health care may have ethics codes that doctors can live with.
1. Breo, DL. “William Roper, MD.” American Medical News 1988;31(5):3.
2. Himmelstein, DU et al. “A National Health Program for the United States: A Physicians’ Proposal.” The New England Journal of Medicine 1989; 320(2):102-108.
3. Evans, RG et al. “Controlling Health Expenditures–The Canadian Reality.” The New England Journal of Medicine 1989;320(9):571-7.
4. Frum, D. “Canada Puts Heat on ‘Coldhearted’ Doctors.” Wall Street Journal 1986; August 22:17.
5. Goodman, J. National Health Care in Great Britain: Lessons for the U.S.A. Dallas: Fisher Institute, 1980.
6. Relman, AS. “Universal Health Insurance: Its Time Has Come.” The New England Journal of Medicine 1989;320(2):117-118.
7. Ruffenach, G. “Physicians’ Group Proposes National Health Program.” Wall Street Journal 1989;January 12:B1.
8. “American Dental Association Principles of Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct.” Journal of the American Dental Association 1988;117(5):657.
9. Wasserman, B. “You Make a Difference.” ADA News 1988; 19(24):4.
10. Emanuel, EJ. Letter to the Editor. The New England Journal of Medicine 1989;320(2):121.
11. Hotchkiss, WS. “Doctor as Patient Advocate.” Journal of the American Medical Association 1987;258(7):947.
12. “Treating AIDS Patients ‘Part of Being Dentist’.” ADA News 1988;9(21):8.
13. Annis, ER. “Government Health Care: First the Aged, Then Everyone.” Current History 1963;45(264):104-9, 119.
14. Rand A, Peikoff L. “The Forgotten Man of Socialized Medicine: The Doctor.” Oceanside, CA: Second Renaissance Book Service, 1963.
15. Peikoff, L. “Medicine: The Death of a Profession.” New York, NY: The Objectivist Forum, 1985.
16. Durante, SJ. “Medicare: What It Did for Medicine, It Can Do for Dentistry.” Journal of Dental Practice Administration 1988; 3(5):92-98.
17. Gross, J. “What Medical Care the Poor Can Have: Lists Are Drawn Up.” The New York Times 1989;March 27:A1.
18. Halloran, R. “Selective Service Considering Plan To Draft Medical Workers Quickly.” The New York Times 1989;April 20:A18.
19. Cassara, E. The Enlightenment In America. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1988, pp. 76, 79.
20. Rand, A. “Man’s Rights.” The Virtue of Selfishness. New York, NY: The New American Library, 1964, pp. 92-100.
21. Rand, A. “The Nature of Government.” The Virtue of Selfishness. New York, NY: The New American Library, 1964, pp. 107-115.
22. Wathen, W. “Health.” The Journal of the American Dental Association 1989;118(5):672
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Monetizing as a Service
Despite the fervor about "monetized" domain names that consist of little else but links to ads, don't be deceived. That's not the best way to make money with your affiliate programs. The best way, at least at this point, still involves traffic -- traffic you've generated from the quality and intrinsic value of your site. Don't alienate your hard-earned traffic by surrounding them with distracting, chaotic banners, chicklets, and text links. Instead, use the tips below to carefully craft a plan that will optimize click-throughs and conversions to commission-bearing sales.
1. Avoid cognitive overload. Don't stick up random ads and try not to overdo the ads. Don't create a forest of virtual billboards. The result is clutter and an enormous distraction, which means that all will be ignored.
2. Understand your audience and their needs. Get to know where they want to be. Provide tools (or products) to help them get there.
3. Why are they here? What do they want? Understand what motivates your visitors to browse your website in the first place. What do they expect to gain by visiting? What do they expect to take away? What are the benefits, specifically, that they expect to derive from visiting your site.
4. Life is good -- and even better with the products you recommend. Make a list of life and work-enhancing products and services that relate directly to your readers. Connect them to your own ultimate mission and vision. This will help you align your own goals with the needs and desires of your readers. It can lead to an understanding of how to develop a sustainable site.
5. Don't throw away the past. Build on it and make it work for you! Develop ways to link the present with the past. Do not throw away what you've developed. Create archives. Create easy-to-follow indices. Then, find ways to identify the best product.
6. The future is golden - tell your visitors how. Anticipate the future. Envision the future with as much specificity as you can. Prepare yourself mentally and set the stage.
7. One-of-a-kind products, offered only by YOU. Develop unique products to market on your site. Do this after you fully understand the needs of your visitors, and the kind of readers you'd like to attract. Avoid getting into products that will simply place you in competition with others offering the same product but at a lower price. Focus on value-add, and customize in order to make your product differentiatable from others.
8. Integrity, quality, trust. It matters. Ethics and core values.
9. How, then, shall we affiliate? Affiliate relationships: direct? or, via an aggregator such as google adsense? How do you decide?
Posted by susan smith nash at 6:57 PM Links to this post
Hype? Fact? Helping Online Students Evaluate Websites
Developing the ability to distinguish website hype from reality is a critical skill, but one that tends to be overlooked in online courses. This article models how to develop writing assignments that give students an opportunity to examine websites' claims made about products, the use of logic, and the nature of the "evidence" used to support the claims. It also gives students a chance to look at two sides of the story, and to examine evidence through lenses colored by presuppositions, assumptions, beliefs, and values.
Let's step back for a moment and take a look at importance of the issue. Can you think of highly touted product that has been promoted on the Internet as a miracle cure? Do you believe all the claims? Some of the claims? Why? Why not?
Excellent examples of website hype can be found in herbal products and remedies. An example is a natural product that comes from the bark of a South American tree called "lapacho" in Argentina and Paraguay, and "Pau D'arco" in Brazil. All sorts of claims have been made for it, including that it is effective in fighting viruses, improving circulation, and killing cancer cells.
Does the bark of the Lapacho tree (pau d'arco) cure cancer? Is this product the Amazon rain forest's natural Viagra? The lapacho tree, which is native to Paraguay, Brazil, and northern Argentina, is known for its gorgeous flowers. The descendants of the Guaranis, the indigenous peoples of the Alto Parana area, claim the inner bark has curative powers. Recently, lapacho bark has been tested as a cure for cancer, as well as a "vitality enhancing" elixir and potent aphrodisiac.
Sample instructions for a paper assigned to English composition students: Here is an example that will help you hone your critical thinking skills and your ability to evaluate information and sources. You may write your paper on the bark of the lapacho tree, or on any other item that has been hyped. (Vioxx? Certain diets? Vitamin E? Rock and crystal healing? Stem cells for curing Parkinson's?)
Whether lapacho contains active ingredients capable of bringing about the health benefits is a critical question, and a portal to a deeper issue. Do herbal remedies work? Are there "secrets of the shamans" that could be used for the good of humanity? If so, what are they? How do we test them? Some believe herbal remedies are more effective than conventional medicines, and are more affordable and accessible. Others believe that it herbal remedies are nothing more than snake oil. At best, they're not harmful. At worst, they could actually destroy one's health.
Essay: Sample Structure
The Vivid Vision (Paragraph 1): A scene that depicts an array of herbal medicines (perhaps a scene from a health food store), perhaps an individual taking an herbal remedy.
Background and Definitions (Paragraph 2): What is the lapacho tree? Where is it found? Why is it considered medicinal? What part? Who used it? When? Why? The key is to brainstorm with appropriate questions, to help bring into focus the topic.
Who says so? Why? (Paragraph 3): This is a series of questions that are made to test the assumptions, beliefs, prejudices, and possible motives of the individuals who are saying things about the product.
What have people experienced? Testimonials. (Paragraphs 4 and 5). Are testimonials believable? Are they always legitimate? Find two or more and analyze them. Look for flaws in their arguments, or incomplete information.
What do you think? (Paragraph 6). Would you give lapacho bark a try? When? Where? Why? What do you think? What did you base your decision on? Please provide examples or personal testimonials.
Conclusion (Paragraph 7). Not completely necessary, if it has been covered earlier.
Useful Web Resources
Rain Forest Information: http://www.rain-tree.com/
Clinical Trials for Lapacho (Pau d'Arco)
http://www.rain-tree.com/clinic/clinicp.htm#PAU
Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center: Lapacho http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/11571.cfm?recordid=399
Purple Lapacho: Ancient Herb, Modern Miracle? http://www.oralchelation.com/taheebo/lapacho1.htm
Drug Digest: Lapacho. http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/DVH/HerbsWho/0,3923,552793%7CLapacho,00.html
What Is Lapacho Used For Today? http://www.womenandinfants.com/body.cfm?id=388&chunkiid=21797
Pau d'arco http://www.genhealth.com/pau_darco.htm
About Lapacho http://www.cantron.com/html/nutraceuticals/lapacho.html
Questions About Herbal Remedies
Quackwatch: Your Guide to Quackery, Health Fraud, and Intelligent Decisions. http://www.quackwatch.org/
Lies and Deceipt in Alternative Medicine: http://www.valleyskeptic.com/altmed.htm
For that Healthy Glow, Drink Radiation! Popular Science.
Heavy Metals in Ayurvedic Herbal Medicines. ScienceWeek. http://scienceweek.com/2005/sc050204-6.htm
Snake Oil -- The Wikipedia Entry. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_oil
Business Trends and E-Learning: Affiliates, Monetizing, Direct navigation
What does it take to achieve solid, fast-paced growth in an e-learning organization? It's not just about building courses, recruiting students, or containing costs. It's also about generating new revenue streams, which may include establishing affiliate relationships, monetizing websites through advertising and reciprocal relationships, and acquiring "valuable real estate" (domains) in order to monetize them, then sell as "type-in" direct navigation domains. Needless to say, it's important to be perceived as maintaining academic excellence as you build student and revenue bases. Nevertheless, there are exciting new ways that have been newly legitimized by investment banking firms for organizations (including e-learning organizations) to establish relationships and to market and promote products, services, and approaches.
Affiliate software has evolved tremendously since 2001, and during the last year, new programs and Internet capabilities have emerged that allow smaller institutions to harness the power of a whole new level of the Internet.
While the massive programs (Google Adsense, Yahoo Commission Junction, Amazon) still make sense, it's becoming easier to affiliate with small, independent, yet high-traffic sites. The end result is that the owners of medium and low-traffic weblogs, websites, and podcasts promote programs for a small fee based on clicks, leads, or commissions. Or, alternatively, there are new opportunities to affiliate with providers of the services your clients want and need and to receive commissions - all in a completely seamless manner.
Some individuals at educational institutions may cringe and say that this approach is really crass and tacky. However, they fail to keep in mind that state and private colleges and universities have been doing this for years, but in a way that is not usually acknowledged.
For example, stroll through the student union of an average college campus, look around you and observe what there is to purchase. You will see florists, travel agencies, fast food, copy centers, class rings, cell phone providers, credit card company sign-up tables, book stores, and branded clothing or gift items. The college will receive a percentage of sales from virtually ever transaction done. It is not viewed as selling out. Instead, this is a viable partnership.
What has not been perfected is how these commercial relationships and partnerships function best for online institutions. I would venture to say that it is different for each institution, and that it is important to not seek a generic solution, but to take the time to identify needs, constituencies, and products to align them in the most appropriate way.
Examples include the following:
Personal Affiliate Manager (PAM), developed by George Cain. (shareware)
http://www.sharewareconnection.com/personal-affiliate-manager.htm (from the website: Personal Affiliate Manager is all you need to organize, manage and report on all of your personal affiliate site subscriptions. Keep all of the your various affiliate site logins, URL link codes, commissions and profits all within one simple program.)
Affiliate Network Solution, developed by Pilot Group. Net. (shareware)
http://www.sharewareconnection.com/affiliate-network-solution.htm
PilotGroup.Net: http://www.pilotgroup.net/index.php
(from the website: The most effective marketing tool to earn money on-line. Simple and easy-to-set-up program. The design can be easily changed to suit you. Thousands of products, partners, and ads. A full-service advertising network. Affiliates can check their statistics and get ads through a special page. Includes detailed sales and click-through statistics. Fixed and non-fixed price products. Both automatic and manual sales approval. Powerful payout control. Comprise Owner Admin Area with many features. HTML Code Generator for affiliate setup. Powerful organization tool and business manager for your online business.)
Stats Remote, developed by Network 24/7 (shareware)
http://www.sharewareconnection.com/statsremote.htm
Statsremote home: http://www.statsremote.com/
This program has a "FOUR COWS" rating at 2cows.com, and is a 2004 XBiz Award winner. (from the website: StatsRemote is automatic stats-checking software for affiliates and pay-per-click search-engine webmasters. It checks the statistics of your affiliate programs and pay-per-click search engines automatically, with no need to manually log in to each stats area, as the software does it all for you. StatsRemote reads and displays your hits, sales, and money directly from the stats areas of the affiliate programs and PPC search engines, so you have all the numbers right in front of you. In addition, you can add custom income and expenses (server bills and traffic purchases, for example). StatsRemote can check your stats as often as every 15 minutes and displays all your numbers and a forecast for the current month, or daily, previous, or year-to-date stats, in one interface.)
Website Monetization.
I've also been investigating the opportunities that exist with monetizing websites, and domain sponsoring, in order to untangle hype from reality.
To be honest, I find the concept of filling a webpage with links to advertisers (without any real content) to be sort of repugnant. I know that I do not like landing on domain names filled with links when I misspell a domain name. For example, check out http://www.yahho.com/ and you'll see what I'm talking about.
One of the software solutions that helps individuals with domain sponsor businesses build links is Alstrasoft.com http://www.alstrasoft.com/domains.htm
Companies such as Chitika will help a person develop a monetized website for a share of the ad revenues. In this case, it is 60%. They also have a product, e-minimalls, which can help drive ad and referral revenue. Billed as the "leader in impulse marketing," chitika.com has (I am assuming) spent a great deal of time figuring out what makes people click. I think they have my number. https://chitika.com/index.php Actually, I know they have my number.
I personally question how often content-less sites get picked up by search engines, primarily google. On the other hand, generating traffic is a multi-dimensional art, which is all the more complicated by blogs, podcasts, and other syndicated content. I have seen blogs (particularly celebrity-based blogs) that seem to be little more than placeholders for affiliate-program ad links. I suppose it is a matter of degree. It could be viewed as a service to provide links to related products (I certainly have discovered new products and have purchased items this way). On the other hand, no one wants to be adrift on a sea of fluff and google adsense.
The Wall Street Journal had an interesting article in November 2005, in which they described some of the big players in the domain name monetization business. Domain aggregators have assembled venture capital to purchase domain names - to the tune of $250 million!
Along with the new surge in investment and ad revenue, a shift in attitudes has occurred:
"The business model has shifted," said Matt Bentley, chief executive of domain broker Sedo.com LLC, which managed the sale of website.com for $750,000 this year. "The fact that it is moving from individuals to larger corporations … represents a legitimization of the domain-name industry." For years, the industry had a less-than-rosy reputation because many domain owners dealt in "cyber-squatting," registering names associated with famous brands in hopes of selling them to a big company at a hefty price, which fueled legal squabbles. (Thanks to Web Ads, Some Find New Money in Domain Names, WSJ, 17 Nov. 2005)
The shift was a hot topic at a recent ICANN meeting, where the debate about parked domains continues. Joi Ito wrote an interesting post in in CircleID.com in December 2005 about the practice and some of the issues:
http://www.circleid.com/posts/the_parked_domain_monetization_business/
According to him, the "Parked Domain Monetization Business" is making it easier for squatters to operate, and more difficult for individuals and businesses to purchase the domain name they want. The analogy used these days is real estate. Hot "type-in" type domain names are viewed as valuable virtual real estate.
On the other hand, there are a number of nuances, and I still think that it is possible that monetization without content may go away sometime in the future, particularly if google and other search engines do not acknowledge pages that consist only of ads and links.
The other issue, the concept of "direct navigation" is very problematic to me. I suppose there is something to it, but my preliminary research into the subject is at odds with what the apologists claim. They describe direct navigation in the following way: "Simply put, Direct Navigation is finding the information you're looking for without using a search engine, a directory of sites, or clicking on a link from another site." http://www.directnavigationmarket.com/ According to the website, "type in traffic" is natural traffic, because there is an affinity to the product. To rely on search engines and search engine-driven traffic is ultimately futile, because conditions always change.
The implications for the e-learning organization are multiple. First, it means that there is more competition for sites you may wish to purchase. It also means that your bookstore will be competing with millions of other sites that will offer the same products, but possibly at a lower price. Eventually, courses and software could be sold in this way (not only products). Certainly many colleges (not just the University of Phoenix) have aggressively embraced affiliate marketing, which means, indirectly, they are participating in the direct navigation market and the parked domain monetization business, since their ads may show up there.
The issues are complex and worth exploring. For now, I'm content to explore and try to keep up with the trends.
Prestige and the Online Institution, Part II - The Digital Gold Standard
Podcast, Part 2
This is Part 2 of a two-part article which explores attributes and characteristics of prestigious universities, and evaluates how, when, and where the online institution is gaining cultural status and prestige ... and where the opportunities lie. (You might be surprised.)
Link to Part 1 of this article -- the article (not the podcast)
Here is where the paradox begins, in my opinion. After all, the idea of access presupposes a democratic ideal; the voices of all can be heard, their e-mails read. And yet, prestige often associates itself with exclusivity, to the point of secrecy. Could one have a Skull and Bones Club online? Instead of rituals and secret gatherings, the digital elite represent the "gold standard," the ideal to which others aspire. To continue from Part I, here are a few elements that characterize an elite college or university, and here is how they translate into the "digital gold standard."
*Collections of Rare Digital Resources
The university that enjoys prestige and high cultural status must have something unique that sets it apart from other colleges, universities, institutes, and think tanks. It should have at least one major collection of digital resources in which it exercises exclusive control and management. Obviously, there would be extensive sharing of the repository, and/or individuals would be able to subscribe. Examples could be an extensive collection of unique nature photos, scanned documents from a rare book collection, scanned images of historical manuscripts and journals, rare data collected from research, etc. The digital resources could also consist of software and cutting-edge programs.
Will sharing the resources detract from their status, and the belief that they are of high quality? Clearly, in some cases sharing, or making things available via open-source software actually enhances the status. Cases include the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's OpenCourseWare project (http://ocw.mit.edu/index.html) and Stanford's LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keeps Stuff Safe) program, which is a distributed digital archiving system http://www.diglib.org/preserve/stanfordfinal.html.
The common denominator is philanthropy, and the desire to be a leader in funding and implementing initiatives that provide access to educational technology and digital resources to at-risk populations. There are a few echoes of noblesse oblige, and this is, without a doubt, the digital equivalent of volunteerism and the "charity work" of the past. To state the obvious is not to be judgmental, simply to say that if it is not an update of a tried and true formula, the attempt probably will not work.
*Partnerships with solid, well-rounded organizations with depth and breadth
The online institution that aspires to achieve the level of "prestige" is cognizant of the fact that it cannot be done alone. Resource requirements are too steep. Further, to attempt to rise by means of solitary efforts is ultimately futile because success requires partners, not only in terms of resources but also in areas of expertise and technical know-how. Partnering also allows the sharing of infrastructure and informational resources.
*Endowments and scholarship funds
The university that enjoys prestige, status, and high cultural value is notable for the way that it inspires individuals to contribute to the shared vision, and to support the making of a better world via a unique education. Prestigious universities are distinguished by their devotees - passionate alumni and true believers who are willing to endow scholarships, research, travel for students as well as for faculty.
In addition to private university grants and endowments used to support distance education endeavors, the American Distance Education Consortium (ADEC) (http://www.adec.edu/) provides resources to support online program initiatives. Further, they publish lists of grantmakers, both federal and private, where competition is quite keen, and only high-quality proposals are awarded funding.
*Library
A robust digital library is an obvious requisite. It is important to possess not only subscriptions to databases, e-journals and indices, and other information products, but also digitized versions of rare books and statistical archives which can be used in research. Effective data-mining tools need to be in place as well, to help students and researchers effectively utilize the materials. Joining library and digital repository consortia when the materials truly enhance one's collection is an effective strategy. Working with government collections and having compatible systems is important, as is having well-trained staff who understand the nature of classification, intellectual property rights, etc. Learning object repositories are often useful components, but this area should be regarded with caution, since it is fairly easy to develop a repository of unusable, unmanageable, and unshareable digital objects without realizing it.
In addition to privately held digital repositories, or subscriptions to e-journals and databases, online programs may partner with independent virtual libraries such as Questia (http://www.questia.com/) and Highbeam (http://www.highbeam.com/). Such partnerships give the institution a distinct advantage over ones that do not have the same level of access to digital information.
*Foreign Dignitaries and Captains of Industry Faculty
The faculty who teach are experts in their fields. The highly prestigious university prides itself on offering courses taught by renowned luminaries in the field. In the past, teaching online was seen as lacking in status, and research by O'Quinn and Corry (2002) listed that as the main detractor. In 2006, perceptions have changed, and the ability to teach individuals who are distributed across the world is considered a way to gain prestige, as well as to share one's life experience with others (Universal Class, 2006).
For example, Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States, Ahmad Kamal, teaches "The United Nations and International Corporations" through DePaul University's School for New Learning (2005) (http://www.snl.info/index.asp). Conducted via video conferencing from the United Nations, the course features video conferencing and asynchronous interaction via e-mail.
*Self-Supporting Financially Viable Business Model
An online university that has achieved prestige within its social group does not have to rely on state support. It will have established profitable online enterprises that will be used to help support some of its programs.
*Program Design
Flexibility, multiple delivery modes, high levels of interaction and support (with faculty, administration, and fellow students), and high quality, up-to-date curriculum and instructional materials form a part of the program design. What differentiates a run-of-the-mill distance program from a prestige program has a great deal to do with the design. The program should be designed in a way that creates conditions in which students learn to think in new ways, apply their knowledge to demonstrate both competence and a deeper understanding by being able to synthesize, problem-solve, innovate, and develop clear, well-written papers. The program and the design are continually analyzed, reviewed, and updated.
*Committed Faculty and Faculty Support
Even online programs that use only adjunct, part-time faculty must eventually face the fact that in order to achieve and maintain high quality, it is important to have continuity. If this is achieved by means of a core governing faculty board, then it is necessary to meet more than once a year. Ideally, the governing faculty would have activities that keep them engaged with the institution on an ongoing basis. Contact should be made at least once a month, in the form of updates, e-mails, and action items. Discussion board areas should be available for posting ideas, discussing issues, proposing changes, and resolving conflicts.
*Residency options / flexible approach
The prestige distance education institution of the future may have a bricks and mortar component, although the buildings will be not necessarily be in a single place. Face-to-face residential instructional opportunities will take place throughout the world. Relations will be forged with the ministries of various countries so that, for example, a group could take a class from the prestige online institution on Mongolian yurts and horse culture. The Mongolian Ministry of the Exterior would host a reception and the course would be taken under the auspices of the joint venture - the prestige university and the government. Online components and resources would be offered before, during, and after the face-to-face elements.
*High-quality writingAn online university writing center with extensive resources is available for students. Individuals use it in order to become better writers and to obtain one-on-one mentoring, often available at a very reasonable price, since the writing tutors could be located overseas. In addition, remedial services are also be available.
*Career Placement Services
The prestige university partners with strong, brand-recognized employment search and mentoring firms. For example, the institution could partner with Monster.com and develop a unique, powerful partnership that would also provide career experience, job openings, and loyal, enthusiastic alumni.
*Internship opportunities
Virtual internships are available where needed. Payment to interns is made as needed, and students receive college credit for their work. The prestige university guides the internship endeavor, and maintains a mindset of partnership and collaboration with the companies and organizations it works with.
*Research - focus on innovation / virtual teams
The prestige university prides itself in high quality instruction, academic counseling and guidance. However, it realizes that the world is not a static place and it endeavors to adapt with the times. By encouraging research and creating the conditions that allow significant innovation to emerge, the run-of-the-mill institution, or, more pointedly, the institution that has been scrambling just to keep its head above waters of change, will pull ahead of the competition. The institution transforms itself into a leading-edge prestige university that is recognized the world over for its innovation, quality, and capacity for far-reaching, inclusive change.
*And finally, FOOTBALL.
It is my fondest hope that some day, the University of Phoenix buys the NFL team, the Arizona Cardinals, and then changes their name back -- no, not to the St. Louis Cardinals, but to the Phoenix Cardinals.
Imagine the possibilities. To associate a college with a pro team immediately connotes professionalism, focus, and success. "We're not amateurs doing this, we're pro's." Granted, one would be giving up the return to innocence on football Saturday, and the autumnal opportunity to revisit one's coming of age, which softens with nostalgia each time one takes that tailgate-weighted stroll down memory lane.
On the other hand, every jersey, every helmet, and every cut to the scoreboard would be a golden opportunity to burn the University of Phoenix's logo (accompanied by theme song or jingle) into the consciousness of a million viewers at a pop. With HDTV and satellite control, one could even be paid as an affiliate to run advertising on your television at home. Looking for a way to subsidize the chips and salsa for the guests? Run a few 15- and 30-second spots during commercial breaks. It's Google Adsense for television.
If the Phoenix Cardinals make it to the Super Bowl, imagine the pay-off for the University of Phoenix. That alone could be worth the price of the team.
anyway -- I'm interested in your thoughts.
Aboud, S. R. (2005). "Online Education Gets Accolades" Back to College. http://www.back2college.com/distancelearning.htm Accessed Jan 6, 2006.
Allen, I. E., & Seaman, J. (2004). Sizing the Opportunity: The Quality and Extent of Online Education in the United States, 2002 and 2003. Sloan Consortium. http://www.sloan-c.org/resources/sizing_opportunity.pdf accessed Jan 6, 2006.
American Distance Education Consortium (ADEC). (2005). http://www.adec.edu/ Accessed Jan 3, 2006.
Cornell University. (2005). eCornell. http://www.ecornell.com/ Accessed Jan 5, 2006.
DePaul University School for New Learning. (2005). "The United Nations and International Corporations, Ambassador Kamal." http://www.snl.info/kamal/snl/snlkamal.asp Accessed Jan 5, 2006.
Highbeam.com (2005). Highbeam Library Research. http://www.highbeam.com/Library/ Accessed Jan 6, 2006.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2005). MIT Open Courseware Project. http://ocw.mit.edu/index.html Accessed Jan 3, 2006.
O'Quinn, L. & Corry, M. (2004) "Factors the Deter Faculty from Participating in Distance Education" Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, Volume V, NumberIV, Winter 2002. http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/winter54/Quinn54.htm Accessed Jan. 6, 2006.
Questia.com. (2005). Resources. http://home.universalclass.com/myinterests/teachonline.htm Accessed Jan. 6, 2006.
Sloan Consortium. (2005). Growing by Degrees: Online Education in the United States, 2005. http://www.sloan-c.org/resources/growing_by_degrees.pdf. Accessed Jan 6, 2006.
Stanford University. (2005). LOCKKS Program.
http://www.diglib.org/preserve/stanfordfinal.html Accessed Jan. 4, 2006.
Thunderbird Garvin School of International Management. (2005). Master's Degree in International Management. http://www.thunderbird.edu/students/degree_prog/mbaim/ Accessed Jan 6, 2006.
UniversalClass. (2006). "How Do I Teach Online?" UniversalClass.com. http://home.universalclass.com/myinterests/teachonline.htm Accessed Jan. 6, 2006.
Webber, T. (2005). "http://www.chronicle.duke.edu/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/04/07/425512a814398 Accessed Jan 4, 2006.
Upward Mobility in the Distance Institution: Factors Influencing Prestige and Status in Online Programs
The college degree earned either partially or fully online has ascended in stature to solid respectability, as college administrators have come to believe that online courses as well as online master's programs can be more rigorous than face-to-face. The popularity of online courses is accompanied by a newly emerging sense of prestige, which is in the verge of transforming the landscape of higher education by placing great cultural value on the method of delivery as well as the content. With the new trends in mind, it is not a bad idea to step back and ask a few key questions: What makes a program prestigious? Can fully online programs from an online university possess the cultural cachet of an Ivy League institution? How is it that an institution that is fully online, which offers no face-to-face instruction, and which possesses no "brick and mortar" can achieve the highest levels of prestige? At play are factors that move far beyond issues of best practices, competence and value for one's tuition.
(This is Part I in a two-part series. Click here for Part II.)
In order to achieve prestige as an online institution of higher education, one must understand the inner workings of status production in a society, and what constitutes cultural value. Social class determinations must be kept in mind, as well as the reasons for social stratification, and beliefs about upward mobility. Having a clear understanding the relationship between education and social class has helped distance programs groom themselves to achieve higher levels of status. At the most basic level, however, the online program must contain a solid foundation of programs, as well as a coherent vision.
*A Vision That Begins and Ends with "Legacy"
Most institutions of higher learning have a vision statement that focuses principally on the here and now: what kind of classes, services, and experiences will the students have, and how will they prepare them for a useful working life within a respectable community?
In contrast, the institution of higher learning that has achieved high status and prestige in society will tend to spend more time envisioning the distant future, clearly implying that individuals who have earned degrees from their institution are imbued with sufficient power and influence to bring about tangible change in the world. Without the proper context, the assumptions and articulated views will seem unrealistic, even narcissistic.
However, when one realizes that a number of the graduating class will be influential policymakers and stakeholders within a specific social group, the underlying attitudes and assumptions seem less grandiose.
For the traditional high-prestige university, the academic year begins with a moment dedicated to envisioning the future: who will receive honorary doctorates, and who will be the perfect commencement speaker - one to communicate, almost as though by osmosis, that this is an institution that not only prepares its students for a successful future, but also for powerful friends and influential connections.
What does the culminating moment look like for an online institution that has gained prestige and cultural status? The graduation ceremony should be seen for what it is: a rite of passage, a "launching" of graduates into the world. The influential speaker is the embodiment of achievement, influence, and deeply cherished values. For Thunderbird Garvin School of International Management, the MBA in International Management (http://www.thunderbird.edu/students/degree_prog/mbaim/) is a degree program that prides itself in continuing relations. Even as the graduates are launched, they are encouraged to keep in touch and to open doors for each other. Before the advent of the Internet, Thunderbird graduates were well-received throughout the world. Their online program reinforces the notion that their perspective is truly global. The legacy is assumed to be a Thunderbird philosophy, an imprint on international business practices and policies, and a story of successful graduates.
For an online institution, the challenge is to communicate the same values and beliefs, but to do it in a visual manner. Careful attention must be paid to the visual details, with an eye to the semiotics - the coded non-verbal visual messages that convey complex messages.
*Tradition
While online programs have not existed for enough time to say that they are a part of a long tradition in and of themselves, it can be said that they are part of a continuum, and that the only difference is that of delivery method. For example, the University of Oklahoma has not offered an online graduate degree in museum studies for more than three or four years. On the other hand, two of the Southwest's largest and most prestigious museums -- the Sam Noble Natural History Museum and the Fred Jones Memorial Art Museum - have been mainstays of the university for decades. Thus, one can legitimately say that the online museum studies program is a part of a tradition. The fact that the courses are taught by University of Oklahoma curators and faculty also supports the case.
*Curriculum PLUS
In the new online universities, the curriculum is not only equivalent to traditional face-to-face programs, it exceeds it in terms of rigorous and regular review, and adherence to best practices. Online institutions take advantage of the distributed nature of course development and subject matter expertise, and bring together a collaboratively-created curriculum which incorporates elements from many sources, from many places. There is clear alignment with learner needs and desired outcomes.
The Sloan Consortium's report, Growing By Degrees, published in 2005 contains data that supports the growing perception that online education can be more rigorous and can contain more quality controls than face-to-face instruction. Despite the fact that most administrators believe that the quality of online instruction is more difficult to evaluate than face-to-face (2005), institutions continue to incorporate online instruction in their strategic plans. In 2005, fully 56% of responding institutions reported that online education was a critical component of their overall strategy (2005).
In the case of Cornell University, a decision was made to focus on professional and executive development certificate programs through a new arm, eCornell. The University leveraged its reputation to bolster the credibility of the online programs. After successful launches of the program, several large, nationally known entities such as YMCA of the USA and Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts selected eCornell for employee development. (http://www.ecornell.com/) Further, the programs have received national awards and commendations. Now it could even be said that the traditional part of Cornell University is benefiting from the reputation of eCornell.
*Instructional Materials in Multiple Formats
Instructional materials reflect the underlying values and defining vision of the institution. Instead of being dependent on the skill and passion of the face-to-face professor, the online institution dedicates resources to a team of developers who integrate content, vision, and values. The developers then adapt the material so that it can be delivered in a number of ways, which include text, audio, multimedia, and blended approaches.
To most effectively distribute the materials, the online program staff seek innovative ways to take advantage of the flexibility of the Internet, and develop materials that are deliverable at any time and at any place, using methods respected and recognized by others for their innovation. For example, online institutions can take advantage of mobile computing and have materials playable on portable mp3 players or video players, as well as readable on small devices including laptops, palms, handhelds, and enhanced phones. Delivery options should keep actual user needs in the forefront.
An example is Duke University, and its use of mobile computing and iPods to deliver content for students. While the iPods are used on campus and in hybrid settings where face-to-face instruction is blended with distance delivery, the audio files are also accessible for students in their online courses. The iPods are used to listen to lectures and to record shareable content. A Description can be found here.
Continue to Part II
Labels: elearning , evaluating online , masters , university of cincinnati
Pit Bull Brainstorming: A Writing and Research Activity
Brainstorming is an invention strategy for composition that can take many forms. While some find it useful to use diagrams, outlines, decision trees, and clusters, those tactics tend to focus on the "what" instead of the "how" and the "why." In order to approach deeper issues, and to trigger chains of thoughts, a very powerful technique is to develop series of questions. The brainstorming revolves around questions that trigger questions. It is a chain of questions, or, one could say a "great concatenation of questions."
This approach is extremely useful for causal essays, as well as basic argumentation. One topic that certainly helps illustrate the technique is that of the pit bull, which can encompass a number of breeds, including the American Pit Bull Terrier. It seems that attacks by pit bulls just keep increasing.
Cities such as Denver are banning them. Neighboring towns are fearful that they will become "pit bull dumping grounds" (which leads to all kinds of rather bizarre mental images, back yards packed shoulder-to-shoulder with pit bulls). Why is the pit bull phenomenon happening? What are we doing about it? Are some dog breeds being labeled "bad breeds"?
Audio: I listened to an interesting report on National Public Radio entitled, "Targeting Aggressive Dog Breeds in California." I accessed it through the National Public Radio website located here:
I was able to listen to the show using Real Player, which I had downloaded for free from the Internet. Alternatively, I could have listened to it using Windows Media Player.
Questions immediately came to mind. I thought about the general questions, and I found my questions were helping me narrow my topic.
The perplexing questions first:
Why do pit pulls attack people, and how can such a tiny dog be so dangerous?
Who says they're bad? Why are they saying it?
What do some people want to do? Where? Why?
History and background thoughts:
Why are pit bulls aggressive? Were they bred that way?
What is a pit bull, and what makes it so dangerous?
Who uses the ultra-aggressive pit bulls?
Who might need such an aggressive dog?
The other side of the coin:
What is good about a pit bull?
Why do some people say the breed is very loving?
Can pit bulls be friendly, happy dogs?
Let's get personal:
What do you think about the idea that people create hyper-aggressive dogs as a fashion statement, or to be "cool"?
What would I do if I had a pit bull?
Training, conditioning, behavior modification
Are there any business opportunities here?
Dog chow for ultra aggressive dogs (make them more aggressive) -- is there an ethical issue here?
Pacifying dog chow (calm down and tranquilize the dogs)
"Pit Bull Friendly" town (a business opportunity for small communities near Denver and other urban areas where the breed is banned)
Useful Websites for Information
Woman dies in Pontotoc County after being mauled by local dogs (not pit bulls)
http://newsok.com/article/3148404/1192504930
Towns Gird Against Influx of Pit Bulls. Denver Post, January 5, 2006
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_3372494?source=rss
Pit Bull Primer: There are two sides to the pit bull banning debate
San Francisco Chronicle, October 30, 2005
Pit Bull Attack Places Breed Ban in the Spotlight
Suburban Chicago News, November 20, 2005
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews
Pit Bull Apologists, Wake Up. San Francisco Chronicle, July 6, 2004.
Elmhurst Woman Mauled by Pit Bull, New York Daily News, November 23, 2005. http://nydailynews.com/front/story/368399p-313288c.html
Labels: brainstorming , dog fights , elearning , Michael Vick , pit bulls
Business Trends and E-Learning: Affiliates, Moneti...
Prestige and the Online Institution, Part II - The...
Upward Mobility in the Distance Institution: Facto...
Pit Bull Brainstorming: A Writing and Research Act...
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Hema Fresh opens its global headquarters in Lujiazui
The Lujiazui area of Pudong, Shanghai ramps up efforts to develop its headquarters economy, aiming to become a cluster for higher-level global headquarters. [Photo/Sipa]
Hema Fresh, a grocery chain backed by e-commerce giant Alibaba, opened its global headquarters in the Lujiazui area of Pudong, Shanghai on Dec 31.
Hema chose Lujiazui as its global headquarters due to its strong business environment and because the area is playing a leading role in new retail industry in China, said Yuan Ruofan, head of the industrial development center of Hema Fresh.
"Hema's new headquarters and industrial base in Pudong will inject the company with new growth momentum and drive the high-quality development of Pudong," Yuan added.
It is Pudong's most open and inclusive business environment, with its efforts in institutional innovation, that contributed to the settlement of Hema Fresh's global headquarters. The Shanghai-born fresh food chain has seen rapid growth since it first obtained its business license in 2016, and has opened more than 600 stores in 24 cities across the country.
"Shanghai has the largest group of consumers in China, and it is a testing area for new retail sales. The Lujiazui area in Shanghai is an important business district for high-end consumption in Shanghai, and leads the city in consumption trends," said Yuan.
Local authorities said that the settlement of its global headquarters in Lujiazui will promote the high-quality development of Hema, and will help Pudong grow into a new hub for the development of the online new economy.
Currently, Lujiazui is ramping up efforts to develop its headquarters economy, aiming to become a cluster for higher-level global headquarters.
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Global tourism market picks up, Fosun Travel Group benefits from recovery and releases long-term value
Fosun Travel has become the biggest winner in the recovery of the tourism industry.
Sudden public health incidents pressed the "pause button" for the global tourism industry in 2020. As the inflection point of health events overseas, especially in Europe, gradually emerges, in order to resume tourism as soon as possible, many countries have recently launched targeted measures to promote tourists' holiday consumption.
Under the environment of full-speed recovery at home and abroad, tourism leaders are usually the biggest beneficiaries. As a result, Fosun Lvwen (01992), a leading tourism company with multiple brands, has also become a rare target in this recovery boom.
Overseas situation improves, tourism accelerates recovery
Recently, the situation of public health incidents in some countries and regions has tended to ease. Many countries have taken actions to gradually relax restrictive measures, support the recovery of their tourism industry, and restart the economy. As a result, the global tourism industry is expected to gradually come out of the trough.
A few days ago, the European Commission issued a guidance suggesting that member states gradually lift travel restrictions, and member states with similar health incident prevention and control situations may adopt a phased approach to reopen the border. Most EU countries agreed to reopen the EU's internal borders before June 15th, and people can travel freely within the EU.
The German government announced that it will reopen Germany's borders with other Schengen countries as early as June 15th, allowing people to move freely. European airlines such as Lufthansa and Ryan also plan to resume flights in some regions from June to July.
The Italian government also said that all domestic and international flights at all airports can be reopened on June 3; in a total economic package of 55 billion euros, 4 billion euros will be invested to help the tourism industry.
Recently, Air France announced a timetable for the gradual recovery of flights. Its goal is to increase traffic to 15% by the end of June, and resume more than 100 destinations. In addition to Marseille, Nice and Toulouse, France will also reopen the routes of Biarritz, Brest, Montpellier or Lyon and Corsica. The frequency of overseas flights will also increase, especially flights to Southern Europe such as Greece, Spain and Portugal. Air France is currently preparing for the reopening of the EU’s internal borders on June 15.
It is worth noting that the French Health Agency announced the suspension of health events on the 6th-7th. This is the first time that public health events have been suspended in France. Public opinion believes that this indicates that the situation in France is under control.
In addition to the European region, Japan fully lifted the state of emergency on May 25, and plans to gradually relax its travel restrictions and implement a tourism stimulus plan by the end of July; and Hong Kong Airport will resume connecting services on June 1.
Various signs show that various industries that have been stagnant for months have gradually returned to their original rhythm, and tourism itself is also one of the pillar industries of many overseas countries. It will inevitably be the first to restart as the economic environment improves.
Resorts restart China region takes the lead in picking up
As the core division of Fosun Travel, ClubMed is the world's largest one-price all-inclusive resort group with a long history of operation. As of the end of 2019, Club Med operated a total of 66 resorts, including 38 resorts in Europe, Africa and the Middle East (including a cruise ship), 12 resorts in the Americas, and 16 resorts in the Asia-Pacific region (including those in China) 7 resorts).
Resorts in various regions are compatible with local resources and form complementary advantages. These resorts are located in 25 countries or regions. Among them, most of the resorts are mountain resorts in Europe and sunshine resorts in the Americas. Relying on the advantages of their own resources, they have opened various complementary resorts, greatly weakening the single season and single Regional impact on performance.
In 2019, Fosun Travel will continue to strengthen its globalization layout in a forward-looking manner, diversify regional business risks, and achieve good results in all three regions. Europe, Africa, the Middle East/Americas/Asia-Pacific region achieved revenue of 84.1/24.1/23.9 100 million yuan. Among them, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and Australia's 2018-19 performance growth was gratifying, and the two-year compound growth rate of revenue reached 15%/16.8%/22.5%.
In the first quarter of 2020, the first recovery of China's tourism market clearly gave Fosun Travel a glimmer of light in the industry's trough. In May, Club Med announced the gradual reopening of all Chinese resorts including the exquisite one-price all-inclusive series. From April to May, in addition to the reopened Club Med Joyview Anji Resort and Yanqing Resort, Club Med will also open Club Med exquisite one-price all-inclusive series Guilin Resort, Sanya Resort and Club Med Joyview Beidaihe Gold Coast Resort.
Zhitong Finance APP was informed that in terms of the performance of the "May Day" Mediterranean Club, Anji and Yanqing were sold out, and the occupancy rate in Guilin exceeded 50%. From this point of view, the status of Fosun Lvwen Kaicun Village and the recovery of operations are in line with market expectations, including indicators such as occupancy rate and room unit price recovery exceeding expectations.
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HomeYour CouncilOur News
Helping heal the earth
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Maunga magic for Brooke
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'Speak up' for Road Safety Week
Road Safety Week has kicked off again, with the theme ‘Save Lives #Speak Up’ – encouraging everyone to show leadership in road safety. Read more >>
Gladstone Road CBD upgrade: traffic and parking restrictions
Tairawhiti Roads advise motorists to expect road closures along Gladstone Road in the central business district (CBD) at times over the 2 week period 16 - 28 May. Roadworks commence to upgrade the road surface between Customhouse and Derby streets. Read more >>
Recycling changes from 1 June
From 1 June, plastics grades 3 to 7 can no longer be collected in kerbside recycling or dropped at transfer stations as a result of significant changes to the global recycling market. Read more >>
Cook statue moving to museum
The next chapter in the much deliberated story of the Cook replica statue will begin this week with work to move the statue from the Cook Plaza planned for Friday 3 May (weather dependent). Read more >>
Joint roading partnership disbanded
Gisborne District Council and the New Zealand Transport Agency have formally agreed to dissolve the Tairāwhiti Roads partnership. Read more >>
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The Moral Economy of the Peasant: Rebellion and Subsistence in Southeast Asia by Professor James C. Scott
Download The Moral Economy of the Peasant: Rebellion and Subsistence in Southeast Asia
The Moral Economy of the Peasant: Rebellion and Subsistence in Southeast Asia Professor James C. Scott ebook
Format: djvu
The Moral Economy of the Peasant: Rebellion and Subsistence in Southeast Asia | Books. His original interest was in peasants in the Kedah state of Malaysia. 1, 1971; and James Scott, The Moral Economy of the Peasant: Rebellion and Subsistence in Southeast Asia, New Haven, ct 1976. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988–1993. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1976. This is an insight that James Scott expressed a generation ago in The Moral Economy of the Peasant: Rebellion and Subsistence in Southeast Asia, and E. New Haven: Yale University Press. (1976) The Moral Economy of the Peasant: Rebellion and Subsistence in Southeast Asia. The Moral Economy of the Peasant: Rebellion and Subsistence in Southeast Asia · James C. If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it! Scott, The Moral Economy of the Peasant: Rebellion and Subsistence in Southeast Asia (New Haven, 1976), vii. The Moral Economy of the Peasant: Rebellion and Subsistence in Southeast Asia. During the Vietnam War, he took an interest in Vietnam and wrote The Moral Economy of the Peasant: Subsistence and Rebellion in Southeast Asia (1976). His original interest was in peasants in the Kedah state of Malaysia, and he wrote The Moral Economy of the Peasant: Subsistence and Rebellion in Southeast Asia (1976) about the ways peasant peoples resisted authority. This concept was first brought up by E. Thompson, and was further discussed by James C. Then there is Manning Nash's “Primitive and Peasant Economic Systems”, finally as my main source there is James C. The Western Apache (Albuquerque, 1996). Southeast Asia in the Age of Commerce, 1450–1680.
Interest Rate Markets: A Practical Approach to Fixed Income (Wiley Trading) ebook download
Wavelet methods for time series analysis book download
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Desert Sun: Mayes delivered the Republican votes Brown needed to extend climate change program
Posted by Joseph Turner
Sammy Roth, The Desert Sun
Published 3:51 p.m. PT March 12, 2018 | Updated 3:59 p.m. PT March 12, 2018
Last week I broke the story that Assemblyman Chad Mayes (R-Yucca Valley) was suing Attorney General Xavier Becerra over the ballot title and summary language of Proposition 70.
The Desert Sun is reporting that Mayes was successful in forcing the state to change the language to make it more fair. Additionally, it reported the following:
Mayes delivered the Republican votes Brown needed to extend his signature climate change program, cap and trade, until 2030.
Mayes has bizarrely become a “climate change” proselytizer over the last few months as he has fully embraced his inner RINO. Back in August, Mayes was caught on audio stating that he wasn’t even sure climate change was real.
The story can be read below:
State officials have rewritten a climate change measure that will appear on the ballot in June, in response to a lawsuit arguing the original language for Proposition 70 would have confused people into voting against it.
Prop 70 was the result of a compromise between Gov. Jerry Brown and Republican lawmaker Chad Mayes, who represents Palm Springs in the state Assembly. Mayes delivered the Republican votes Brown needed to extend his signature climate change program, cap and trade, until 2030. In exchange, Brown and Democratic lawmakers agreed to a ballot measure that could give Republicans some sway over how funds generated by the cap-and-trade program are spent, if voters approve the measure.
But when Mayes saw the ballot language written by the state’s Democratic attorney general, Xavier Becerra, he objected, saying it would undermine the grand bargain.
The voter information guide written by Becerra gave the following title for Prop 70: “Limits Legislature’s authority to use cap-and-trade revenue to reduce pollution.” That was false, Mayes argued in a lawsuit filed last week. The ballot measure would do nothing to limit the Legislature’s authority, and money generated by the climate program would still go toward reducing pollution, Mayes said. All Prop 70 would do is change the voting threshold for some of that spending from a simple majority to a two-thirds majority of the Legislature, meaning Republican votes might be needed for passage, Mayes said.
The two sides settled on Monday, with Becerra and California’s secretary of state, Alex Padilla, agreeing to change the language. The ballot measure will now be titled, “Requires legislative supermajority vote approving use of cap-and-trade-reserve fund.”
“I’m glad that the Attorney General agreed that Prop. 70 does not limit the Legislature’s authority to use revenues from the sale of greenhouse gas emission permits to reduce pollution, but instead requires a supermajority to approve a spending plan,” Mayes said in a statement. Becerra’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Filed under: Chad Mayes
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Previous editorials
December supplement
16 Ravensdene Park,
Belfast BT6 0DA,
Northern Ireland.
These are regular editorials produced alongside the corresponding issues on Nonviolent News.
Issue 141: June/July 2006
Also in this editorial:
Eco-Awareness: Larry Speight
Return to related issue of Nonviolent News
There’s violence and there’s violence
Iraqi insurgent leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was a violent man, prepared to kill anyone, behead anyone, be ruthless for the cause. But when we saw a framed photo of his head, killed by a US airstrike in Iaq, it was just like the medieval practise of putting a head on a spike; ‘here he is, we got him, let this be a warning to you’.
There are many different kinds of violence. The ruthless violence of insurgents in Iraq is one kind of violence. The ruthless violence of US and allied bombing in Iraq is another, or the destruction of a city like Falluja. In the case of the Haditha massacre it sounds like US troops may have been high on drugs and/or alcohol – more than shades of Vietnam. The difference between killing someone at close quarters or killing them from a gunship or fighter plane hundreds or thousands of metres away is only in the ease with which the perpetrators of the latter may be able to feel emotional distance; the effect, death and destruction, is the same, or possibly worse, comparable to no warning car or suicide bombs.
The western world needs to rethink its violence – which of course includes the passive violence of poverty, global injustice, global warming and so on – and how it relates to the rest of the world. Bush and Blair thought they were doing a noble, decent thing in going into a war in Iraq (despite what many people told them) and found themselves up to their knees in blood. They thought they were making another part of the world safe for democracy when what they were doing was allowing sectarianism to flourish.
The leading superpower or superpowers of the world have always, but always, had a misplaced notion of their role and how others see them (which leaves little excuse for Tony Blair to back Bush, beyond the faded trappings of Britain’s ‘white man’s burden’). But wealth could be used differently, not to impose military ‘solutions’ which are merely imposing more intransigent problems but to liberate humanity through clean drinking water, a halt to further causes of global warming, and support for justice of all kinds. With the UK set to spend £25 billion, or possibly more, on a replacement for their Trident nuclear weapons system this is not just a question for the USA. With a policy which looked to share with, rather than shaft, the world, the USA and UK would discover have true friends, rather than interests, all over the globe.
Last chance salon
Once more the Northern Ireland Assembly has a ‘last chance’ as it runs until November. As we have often said before, it is never the ‘last chance’ – there is always another one beyond. But, that said, the faster that an assembly is up and running the better for the North. The Good Friday Agreement system did not itself set up a brilliant piece of political infrastructure but it is good enough to be going on with, and hopefully in the fullness of time something which is more satisfactory for the long term can emerge.
The DUP is still playing hard ball and shows no sign of being willing to cooperate with others at this stage. This uncooperativeness is a mixture of principle and a desire to show who’s boss now. But while there is always another chance you can also miss the boat – and have to wait for another one to come in. And missing the boat is dangerous because others who have also missed the boat may decide to engage in other activities; there is, for example, no serious problem in people drifting from Sinn Féin to join republican groups not supporting ceasefires but it happens and it is not impossible that defections could prove problematic in the future, especially if Sinn Féin has nothing to show for its dedication to the Good Friday agreement. This is not a scenario unfolding at the moment but it is not impossible.
The British government’s only attempted carrot to date has been a promise that if the Executive is back up and running at Stormont by November they and the Assembly can decide the fate of the North’s education system (the current plan is to get rid of post-11+ selection but the two large unionist parties are keen to retain it). However, until the DUP decides to work together with others, and that would still mean Ian Paisley coming out for power-sharing, the prospect is simply more direct rule from Britain for the North
Meanwhile public opinion has shown itself more for its silence and apathy than anything. The 1998 Good Friday Agreement emerged because for a brief while politicians felt the pressure from their supporters and ‘the public’ to make compromises for the common good. Unless public pressure builds up – including among DUP supporters who actually found local rule appealing when it operated – to support a resolution, Ian Paisley and the DUP are likely to sit on their political laurels for some time yet.
Eco-Awareness Eco-Awareness
Larry Speight brings us his monthly column:
I notice on my almost daily journeys through the Ulster countryside that except for crops grown in the occasional polyester tunnels, often set on a concrete base, little farming is taking place. One can travel for miles and see fields without crops growing in them, fields without grazing horses, donkeys, cattle or sheep. The occasional farmer that I do see during the summer months is in a machine cutting grass for hay. It would seem as if a pestilence has struck the land, that a disease has killed most of the people. Certainly a peasant farmer from a drought stricken country in Africa would be nothing less than amazed by the absence of farming on such green and fertile fields. Visual evidence would suggest that farming in Ulster, if not the whole island, is a declining occupation. One reason is the origin of most of the food on sale in shops. Our daily fare of lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, cabbage, cucumber, peas and potatoes, not to mention a whole range of fruit and herbs, are imported from abroad. It does not occur to most shoppers that this mass importation of food, while our fields lie fallow, is a sign that the international economic order is askew, and dangerously so.
While it is good for the health of the land that no chemicals are being spread, wild flowers are able to grow and insects multiply, for the Earth as a whole, the decline of farming in Ireland is an ecological disaster. Crops grown on an industrial scale in the poor countries of the world such as Brazil, Kenya and the Philippines, sustained by an array of toxic chemicals and mined water, then flown thousands of miles, transported hundreds more by road, is nothing less than an assault on our fragile planet, most especially in regard to the global warming emissions involved. The disaster that awaits us is that when this oil-based food is no longer available because of high oil prices and water shortages in the countries where it is grown, the skills necessary to farm our own food will have been lost. In my estimate this will happen within the coming fifteen years, which means that schools especially in rural areas, should be teaching children ecologically friendly farming skills, and a sense of love and affinity for the land.
In addition, farmers should be given every encouragement to farm in an ecologically sustainable way, not only so that the Earth is enriched and there is healthy locally produced ‘ensouled food’ on our table, but so that when the time comes when mass imported oil-based food is no longer economically feasible there will be a pool of farming skills that can be taught to others. What is really astounding about the decline of farming in Ireland is that the statutory authorities, and the general public, are unconcerned about what our food security situation will be like a few years from now. By way of contrast, the government spares no effort, or money, in pursuing the illusion of military security.
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Kwagga.com
Islamic Resources
To all the books I’ve read before.
SANCB Assistive Technology Centre
Tag: God-Consciousness
His Family New Muslims
Khadijah: The Faithful Wife & Companion
Post author By Hanif Kruger
Post date Tue 29-7-1441AH 24-3-2020AD
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Lady Khadijah, the Prophet’s wife, played a very critical role throughout the first years of revelation which were ridden with events, some extraordinary and others deeply painful.
Khadijah was a sign sent by the One to manifest His presence and His support to His Prophet.
She was the one who had first noticed and then chosen Muhammad for his honesty, his fairness, and the nobleness of his character.
Widely courted in Makkah because of her wealth, Lady Khadijah had been able to measure the disinterested and reserved attitude of that young man, who was nonetheless so enterprising and efficient.
And against usual practice, she had the courage to propose marriage to him through her friend Nufaysah.
Their union was to bring them their lot of happiness, sorrow, and grief: they lost their two sons, Qasim and `Abdullah, in infancy and only their four daughters survived. (They, daughters, all died when Muhammad was still alive, except for Fatimah, who died six months after him.)
Faithful Khadijah
This family destiny was difficult enough, but among the Arabs, the birth of a daughter was considered shameful; tradition reports how much, on the contrary, Muhammad and his wife surrounded their daughters with deep love and constant care, which they never hesitated to express in public.
When at the age of forty, Muhammad received the first Revelation, it was to his wife he immediately turned, and she was the first to stand by him and comfort him. During all the previous years, Lady Khadijah observed a man whose nobleness of character was a distinctive feature.
When he came back to her from the cave of Hira’, troubled and assailed with deep doubt as to what he was and what was happening to him, she wrapped him in her love, reminded him of his qualities, and restored his self-confidence.
The first Revelations were both an extraordinary gift and a terrible trial for a man who no longer knew whether he was possessed or the prey of devilish delirium. He was alone and confused: he turned to his wife, who immediately lent him comfort and support.
A Gift from God
From that moment on, there were two of them facing the trial, trying to understand its meaning and then, after the silence of Revelation had ended, answering God’s call and following the path of spiritual initiation.
In this respect, Khadijah is a sign of God’s presence at the heart of Muhammad’s trial; she is to the Prophet Muhammad’s spiritual experience what Ishmael and Hagar were to Abraham’s trial. Both women and the son were the signs sent by the One to manifest His presence and His support in their trial, so that they should never doubt Him.
Khadijah was to be the first to accept Islam, and throughout the first ten years of Muhammad’s mission, she was to remain at his side, an unfailingly faithful companion.
This woman’s role in the Prophet’s life was tremendous. She was, for twenty-five years, his only wife, whose presence alone protected the Prophet but who also underwent with him rejection by his kin, persecution, and isolation. She was the mother of all his children, except for Ibrahim, whom Muhammad had with the Copt Mariyah and who also died in infancy.
The Prophet’s Love for Khadijah
He loved her so much. This was so obvious that, many years after Khadijah’s death, `A’ishah -who later married the Prophet-was to say that Khadijah was the only woman of whom she had ever been jealous.
Khadijah received the good news of his election by God; she was a woman, independent, dignified, and respected, then a wife, strong, attentive, faithful, and confident; she was a pious Muslim, sincere, determined, and enduring.
Muhammad, the Last Prophet of the One, was not alone, and one of the dearest signs of God’s bounty and love for him was a woman in his life, his wife.
The article is an excerpt from the author’s book In the Footsteps of the Prophet: Lessons from the Life of Muhammad, Oxford University Press,2007.
Soucre Link
Tags aishah, characteristics of Muslim, Companions of the Prophet, conscience of believers, contentment, Copt Mariyah, dignity of women in Islam, early Muslims, exemplar of love and kindness, exemplar wife, faithful wife, Fatimah, first Muslims, forgiveness, gentleness, God remembrance, God-Consciousness, history of Islam, Honest, how the prophet treated women, human beings are not angels, hypocrisy, in the footsteps of the prophet, Islam is ease, khadijah, lessons from prophet, lessons from the life of Muhammad, life of muslim, love in islam, marriage union, mercy and kindness, Mercy to mankind, Moderation, Muhammad’s love and mercy, Muslim Women, nobleness, pious Muslim, practical islam, praise to God, Prayer, prophet as husband, Prophet Muhammad as a husband, Prophet Muhammad’s wives, Prophet supplications, prophet’s daughters, prophet’s honesty, prophet’s wife, reality of human nature, regret misdeeds, religion is easy, Repentance, respect for women, Ruqayyah, self control, solidarity, spiritual teaching, status of women in Islam, Tariq Ramadan, the prophet and new Muslims, the prophet’s care for new converts, the true face of Islam, tolerance, true image of Islam, trustworthy, Umm Kulthum
Prophet Muhammad: The Father of Fatimah
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Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) was all the way a message of true love and compassion. He taught and spread this love in all ways. His relationship with Fatimah, who also was a model of piety, generosity, and love, was a unique one. Learn how was the Prophet as a father…
The Prophet taught his people good manners, kindness, gentleness, respect for children, and regard for women.
The Father: Model of Modesty
The Prophet lived very modestly: his dwelling was particularly bare, and he often had nothing but a few dates left to eat. Yet he kept helping the destitute around him, especially Ahl As-Suffah (the people of the bench, who lived near his home).
When he received presents, he had them given out, and he immediately freed the slaves who were sometimes sent to him as gifts: he did so with the slave Abu Rafi, whom his uncle Al-`Abbas had sent him when he had returned to Makkah after his release.
In spite of his increasingly important role in Madinah society and of his many responsibilities, he kept this simplicity in his life and in the way he allowed the members of his community to approach him. He owned nothing, and he let himself be accosted by women, children, slaves, and the poorest people. He lived among them; he was one of them.
His daughter Fatimah (may God be pleased with her) was very close to her father. Married to `Ali ibn Abi TaIib (the Prophet’s cousin, may Allah be pleased with him), she had eventually moved near her father’s dwelling and she was most devoted to the cause of the poor, including Ahl As-Suffah.
When the Prophet was at home or in public and his daughter came to him or entered the room, he would stand up and greet her, publicly showing her great respect and tenderness. Both the people of Madinah and the Makkans were surprised at this behavior toward a daughter, who in their respective customs did not usually receive such treatment.
The Prophet would kiss his daughter, talk to her, confide in her, and have her sit by his side, without paying attention to the remarks or even the criticisms that his behavior could give rise to.
Once he kissed his grandson, Al-Hassan, Fatimah’s son, in front of a group of Bedouins, who were startled. One of them, Al-Aqra’ ibn Habis, expressed his shock and said: ”I have ten children and I have never kissed any of them!”
The Prophet answered: ”He who is not generous (loving, benevolent), God is not generous (loving, benevolent) to him.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
In the light of his silent example and his remarks, the Prophet taught his people good manners, kindness, gentleness, respect for children, and regard for and attentiveness toward women. He was later to say: “I have only been sent to perfect noble manners.” (Al-Bukhari)
Fatimah: The Wife
Fatimah received that love and the teachings of faith and tenderness from her father and spread them around her through her activities with the poor.
One day, however, she told her husband about her difficulties: like her father, they owned nothing, and she felt it increasingly difficult to manage her daily life, her family, and her children. Her husband advised her to go to her father and ask for his help; perhaps he might supply her with one of the slaves he had received as gifts. She went to see him, but she dared not express her request, so deep was her respect for her father.
Fatimah lived in the light of her father’s spiritual teachings; getting by on little, asking everything of the One, and giving everything of herself to others.
When she came back, silent and empty-handed, `Ali decided to go with her and ask for the Prophet’s help himself.
The Prophet listened to them and informed them that he could do nothing for them, that their situation was far better than that of the Ahl As-suffah, who urgently needed his help. They had to endure and be patient. They left, sad and disappointed, although they were the Prophet’s daughter and cousin, they could not claim any social privilege.
Late in the evening, the Prophet came to their door. They wanted to get up to receive him, but Muhammad entered and sat at their bedside. He whispered: ”Shall I offer you something better than what you asked me for?” They assented, and the Prophet told them: ”They are words Gabriel has taught me, and that you should repeat ten times after each prayer:
“Suban Allah (Glory to God)!”, then “Alhamdulillah (Praise be to God)”, then “Allahu Akbar (God is the Greatest). Before going to bed, you should repeat each of those phrases thirty-three times.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
True Love & Help
Sitting at his daughter’s bedside late at night, deeply attentive to her needs, he answered his daughter’s material request by granting her the privilege of a confidence from the divine: a spiritual teaching that has come down to us through the ages and each Muslim now adopts as his own at the heart of his daily life.
Fatimah, like her husband, `Ali, was a model of piety, generosity, and love. She lived in the light of her father’s spiritual teachings; getting by on little, asking everything of the One, and giving everything of herself to others.
Years later, by her dying father’s side, she was to weep intensely when he whispered in her ear that God was going to call him back to Him, that it was time for him to depart. She smiled happily when, a few minutes later, he told her in confidence – as loving confidence seems to reveal the essence of this father daughter relationship – that she was to be the first in her family to join him.
The article is an excerpt from the author’s book In the Footsteps of the Prophet: Lessons from the Life of Muhammad, Oxford University Press (2007).
Tags characteristics of Muslim, Companions of the Prophet, conscience of believers, contentment, dignity of women in Islam, early Muslims, exemplar of love and kindness, exemplar wife, Father of Fatimah, fatherhood in islam, Fatimah, FEATURED, fifth daughter of the prophet, first Muslims, forgiveness, gentle father, gentleness, God remembrance, God-Consciousness, history of Islam, how the prophet treated women, human beings are not angels, human desires, hypocrisy, in the footsteps of the prophet, Islam is ease, lessons from prophet, lessons from the life of Muhammad, life of muslim, love in islam, mercy and kindness, Mercy to mankind, Moderation, Muhammad’s love and mercy, Muslim Women, nobleness, practical islam, praise to God, Prayer, Prophet Muhammad as a father, Prophet Muhammad’s relationship with Fatimah, Prophet supplications, prophet’s daughter, reality of human nature, regret misdeeds, religion is easy, Repentance, respect for women, self control, solidarity, spiritual teaching, status of parents in Islam, status of women in Islam, Tariq Ramadan, the prophet and new Muslims, the prophet’s care for new converts, the true face of Islam, tolerance, true image of Islam
His Character New Muslims
Prophet Muhammad on the Elimination of all Forms of Racism
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In the sight of Allah, all people are equal.
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) upheld justice in his time and rejected the ignorant belief which considered some people superior to others because of their language, race, social status or ethnicity. That is because such discrimination is severely condemned in the Qur’an.
‘Racism,’ as defined in our day, is an idea Allah prohibits in the Qur’an, but which receives extensive support in ignorant societies. As mentioned in the Qur’an, one of the divine purposes in the creation of the different races is “that they should come to know each other”. (Al-Hujurat 49:13)
Humanity-based
In the sight of Allah, all people are equal, and the only superiority anyone can have over anyone else is his fear of Allah and faith in Him.
The Prophet Muhammad also declared to his people, who committed racism, that ethnic differences had no importance and that everyone was equal in the eyes of Allah.
He repeatedly underlined that all that mattered was having sincere faith. While summoning his people to have faith, the Prophet Muhammad commanded them not to discriminate in his last sermon:
“O people! Your Allah is One and your forefather (Adam) is one. An Arab is not better than a non-Arab and a non-Arab is not better than an Arab, and a red (i.e. white tinged with red) person is not better than a black person and a black person is not better than a red person, except in piety. Indeed the noblest among you is the one who is deeply conscious of Allah.” (Ahmad)
The Prophet Muhammad also told people that Allah created man from nothing, that everyone is created equal and that everyone will give account of his deeds all alone before Allah. For this reason, he added that it would be a great wrong to look for superiority in one’s descent.
The Prophet commanded thus:
“(All of) you are children of Adam, and Adam is from dust. Let some men cease to take pride in others.” (Ahmad and Abu Dawud)
He (peace be upon him) stated that no criteria except for heedfulness are acceptable:
“Your descent is nothing to be proud of. Nor does it bring you superiority. O people! All of you are the children of Adam. You are like equal wheat grains in a bowl … No one has any superiority over anyone else, except in religion and heedfulness. In order to consider someone a wicked person, it suffices that he humiliates other people, is mean with money, bad-tempered and exceeds the limits.” (Ahmad)
The Formula… the Qur’an
Throughout his life, the Prophet Muhammad advised his people to set aside their ignorant and perverse values and to live by the Qur’an. In the Qur’an, racist attitudes are defined as “fanatical rage,” and people’s ambitious attitudes are criticized. A related verse reads:
Those who disbelieve filled their hearts with fanatical rage- the fanatical rage of the Time of Ignorance- and Allah sent down serenity to His Messenger and to the believers, and obliged them to respect the formula of heedfulness which they had most right to and were most entitled to. Allah has knowledge of all things. (Al-Fath 48:26)
Muslims who obeyed Allah‘s call in the above verse led their lives in peace and security, both during the blessed period of the first community of Islam and in succeeding ages when just administrators reigned.
In the Period of the Prophet Muhammad, contracts signed with the People of the Book and the pagans secured justice in society.
After the migration of the Prophet from Makkah to Medina, he encountered many different communities. At that period, Jews, Christians and pagans who held power were all living together.
Under such circumstances, the Prophet Muhammad united the cosmopolitan structure to secure social unity and peace by making social agreements- either by sending letters or holding face-to-face meetings- with more than a hundred communities, and thus achieved social compromise.
Prof. Thomas Arnold stresses the importance of the social unity established by the Prophet Muhammad in these words: Arabia that had never before obeyed one prince, suddenly exhibits a political unity and swears allegiance to the will of an absolute ruler. Out of the numerous tribes, big and small, of a hundred different kinds that were incessantly at feud with one another, Muhammad’s word created a nation. (Thomas Arnold, The Spread of Islam in the World, Goodword Books)
Islam and Other Religions
As is related in many verses in the Qur’an, living in peace with people of other religions is perceived as good by Islam.
In one verse, Allah commands Muslims to believe in all the holy books revealed by Him and respect their beliefs:
So call and go straight as you have been ordered to. Do not follow their whims and desires but say, “I believe in whatever Allah has sent down (in the form) of a Book and I am ordered to be just between you. Allah is our Lord and your Lord. We have our actions and you have your actions.
There is no debate between us and you. Allah will gather us all together. He is our final destination. (Ash-Shura 42:15)
The above verse describes the relations a Muslim should establish with people of other religions. Muslims are also held responsible for adopting the morality of the Prophet and being compassionate and just towards other people. This person can be anyone, a Buddhist, a Jew, a Christian or even an atheist.
Such honest and just attitudes will make a very positive impact on their hearts, no matter what or who they believe in- or even if they have no beliefs at all- and they will become a means to make them feel closer to Islam.
The article is an excerpt from the author’s book “Justice and Compassion in the Qur’an”.
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Prophet Muhammad: A Morality Message for All Time
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A few months after his return to Medina, in the eleventh year of hijrah, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) decided to send an expedition to the north, near Mu’tah and Palestine, where a few years earlier Ja`far ibn Abi Talib, `Abdullah Ibn Rawahah, and Zayd ibn Harithah had been killed.
The Prophet had taught in various circumstances about warfare, respect for nature, or how to treat animals.
To everyone’s surprise, he gave the command to young Usamah, Zayd’s son, who was only twenty years old, though this three-thousand-strong army included such men as `Umar and other experienced Companions.
This choice gave rise to much criticism, but the Prophet reacted very promptly and put an end to all arguments when he proclaimed:
“You criticize the choice of Usamah to command the army as you had formerly criticized that of his father Zayd. Usamah is truly worthy of the command I entrust him with, as his father was before him.” (Ibn Hisham, As-Sirah an-Nabawiyyah)
Qualifications-based
In the past, some Muslims had reacted to the choice of Zayd because they still considered him as a slave, though he had been freed; now some opposed the choice of his son, perhaps because of his father, but mostly because of his young age.
By confirming his choice, Prophet Muhammad informed them that neither a man’s social origin nor his age should prevent him from exerting authority and power if he possessed the spiritual, intellectual, and moral qualities required. One had to show discernment by offering the most destitute in society real equality of opportunity and trusting the young so that everybody could express their skills and talents.
On a more general level, trust was a fine lesson in humility addressed to older Companions: they were to experience the inner, greater jihad of obeying a man who could have been their son, and in so doing remember that their time was limited, like any man’s.
By that choice, Prophet Muhammad taught them that time naturally erodes one’s energy, and one must be wise enough to learn to step aside, to delegate authority to those who are young and strong enough to create and build.
The Prophet gave young Usamah his recommendations and asked him to set out promptly. However, the Prophet’s sudden illness was to delay that departure, and the army waited near Medina during all those days of doubt about his condition.
Prophet Muhammad & War Ethics
A few weeks later, Abu Bakr was, according to the Prophet’s wish, to ask Usamah to carry out the expedition. He reminded him of the Prophet’s teachings concerning war ethics, for the latter had constantly insisted on the principles Muslims must respect when dealing with their enemies:
“Do not kill women, children, and old people,” Abu Bakr ordered him.
Literally, “Let the blood of women, children and old people never soil your hands.”
“Do not commit treacherous actions. Do not stray from the right path. Never mutilate. Do not destroy palm trees, do not burn houses and cornfields, do not cut down fruit trees, and do not kill livestock except when you are compelled to eat them …. As you move on, you will meet hermits who live in monasteries and serve God in seclusion. Leave them alone; do not kill them and do not destroy their monasteries.” (At-Tabari)
Those teachings were essential, and they were conveyed to Usamah in the light of what the Prophet had said in various circumstances about warfare, respect for nature, or how to treat animals.
In a few sentences, Abu Bakr was synthesizing the essence of the Messenger’s teachings in this respect.
Years before, at the end of the Battle of Hunayn, the Prophet had passed by a group of people standing around a woman who lay on the ground, and heard that she had been killed by Khalid ibn Al-Waleed (who was then a recent convert). He was deeply angered and asked that Ibn Al-Waleed be told: “God’s Messenger forbids killing children, women, and slaves.” (Ibn Hisham, As-Sirah an-Nabawiyyah)
The Prophet’s Mercy
He had also blamed him when he had killed men who had already surrendered after a battle. In both cases, then, the message was the same: one should fight only enemy soldiers, while sparing all those who did not directly take part in armed conflict or could no longer cause any harm.
The Prophet had clearly stated before sending the Mu’tah expedition:
“You shall not be treacherous, you shall not deceive, you shall not mutilate, you shall not kill children nor the inhabitants of hermitages (ashab as-sawami`).” (Ibn Hanbal)
War was never desirable, but when Muslims were compelled to it because they were attacked or because their survival was threatened, they had to keep strictly to what was needed to fight enemy forces who were armed and/ or determined to fight. If the latter wished for peace or surrendered, the war must be stopped, according to the Qur’anic injunction:
But if they incline toward peace, do you (also, in the same way) incline toward peace, and trust in God, for He is the One that hears and knows (all things). (Al-Anfal 8:61)
The article is an excerpt from Dr. Tariq Ramadan’s In the Footsteps of the Prophet: Lessons from the Life of Muhammad, Oxford University Press (2007).
Tags characteristics of Muslim, clemency, companions, conscience of believers, early Muslims, equality of opportunity, essence of islam, exemplar of love and kindness, Fasting, forbearance, forgiveness, gentleness, God remembrance, God-Consciousness, grow in faith, hijrah, human beings are not angels, human desires, hypocrisy, in the footsteps of the prophet, Islam is ease, justice, lessons from prophet, lessons from the life of Muhammad, life of muslim, love in islam, meditation, mercy and kindness of the prophet, Mercy to mankind, Moderation, Morality Message for All Time, Muhammad’s love and mercy, muslim community, needs, New Muslims, nobleness, peaceful coexistence, practical islam, Prayer, principles is a prayer, Prophet Muhammad, reality of human nature, regret misdeeds, Repentance, self control, solidarity, spiritual teaching, Tariq Ramadan, Tawbah, the prophet and new Muslims, the prophet’s care for new converts, the true face of Islam, tolerance, true image of Islam, war ethics, worship, Zayd ibn Harithah
Muhammad: The Exemplar of Coexistence and Moderation
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Most traditionists report that the Prophet entered Makkah on the twentieth or twenty-first of Ramadan of the eighth year of hijrah (630 CE).
The Day of Mercy
The Prophet taught his Companions not only to forgive, but also to always remember that nobody can be held responsible for someone else’s mistakes.
Muhammad (peace be upon him) had segmented his army into divisions that encircled the city (Makkah) and closed in on the center together. A few Quraish groups posted themselves on the hills, led by Suhayl, `lkrimah, and Safwan, but after the first confrontations, they realized that resisting was pointless.
Suhayl sought refuge in his home, and `Ikrimah and Safwan ran away. The Prophet had demanded that no fighting or battle should take place on that day, which he called “the day of mercy”. (Ibn Hisham, As-Sirah An-Nabawyyah)
Some eight years before, the Prophet had left Makkah secretly, but with dignity and with his head held high. The Prophet now came back to Makkah in broad daylight, victorious, but this time he prostrated himself on his mount in thankfulness to the One as he recited the verses from the Surat “AI-Fath” (The Victory):
Verily We have granted you a manifest victory, that God may forgive you your faults of the past and those to follow, fulfill His favor to you, and guide you on the straight path, and that God may aid you with powerful help. It is He Who sent down tranquility into the hearts of the believers, that they may add faith to their faith. (Al-Fath 48:1-4)
He entered Makkah expressing the deepest humility, and he required that the greatest kindness should be shown to the Muslims’ former foes. He performed the greater ablution and prayed eight cycles of voluntary ritual prayer before resting for a few hours.
After that, he mounted his camel, Qaswaa’, and went to the Ka`bah sanctuary, where he performed the seven rounds of circumambulation. Then, with his stick, he pulled down the idols and destroyed them while repeating the Qur’anic verse “Truth has arrived, and falsehood perished: for falsehood is bound to perish.” (Al-Israa’ 17:8 1)
He had the keys to the sanctuary brought to him and required that all religious images be obliterated, in order to reconcile the House of God with its essence, which was to celebrate the worship of the One, Who cannot be represented and must not be associated with any image:
There is nothing whatever like Him, and He is the One that hears and sees. (Ash-Shura 42:11)
This gesture of destruction by the Prophet was, in appearance, the exact antithesis of all that he had usually been doing since leaving Makkah, as he had had mosques (devoid of any image) built to mark the sacred space of worship of the One God.
On the level of the spiritual message, however, this gesture was exactly of the same essence, since by breaking the idols that lay inside and near the Ka`bah he was destroying what had, in the course of centuries, perverted the cult of the Transcendent.
With this act Muhammad turned the Ka`bah into a real mosque, in which henceforth only the One was to be worshiped.
The Quraish people were gradually coming out of their homes and gathering inside the sanctuary enclosure. After destroying the idols, the Prophet exclaimed: “There is no god but God, the One, Who has no partner.”
He has fulfilled His promise, supported His servant, and routed the enemy clans; He alone (has done that). (Ibn Hisham, As-Sirah An-Nabawyyah)
Then he turned toward the Quraish, told them about the rules of Islam, and recited this verse:
O humankind! He created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes that you may know each other. Verily the most honored among you in the sight of God is the most righteous of you (the most deeply aware of God’s presence). And God has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things). (Al-Hujurat 49:13)
After that, he asked them “how they thought he was going to deal with them. (Ibn Hisham, As-Sirah An-Nabawyyah) They replied that as “a noble brother, son of a noble brother,” he would certainly deal with them kindly. (Ibn Hisham, As-Sirah An-Nabawyyah)
Forgiveness and Moderation
At that point, the Prophet recited the verse that punctuates the story of Prophet Joseph (peace be upon him) when he was reunited with his brothers, who had wanted to kill him: “This day let no reproach be (cast) On you: God will forgive you, and He is the Most-merciful of then who show mercy.” (Yusuf 12:92). Then he exclaimed: “Go on, you are free!” (Ibn Hisham, As-Sirah An-Nabawyyah)
The Prophet granted his forgiveness to all the women and men who came to him or to a Companion. Wahshi ibn Harb, who had killed Hamzah, was also forgiven, but the Prophet asked him to refrain from appearing in his presence in the future.
Many Quraish converted to Islam on Mount As-Safa in front of `Umar; some years before, the Prophet had been called a liar on that same spot. When `Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl came to the Prophet, the latter warned his Companion: “`lkrimah, Abu Jahl’s son, is coming to you as a believer. Do not insult his father, for insulting the dead hurts the living without reaching the dead.”
He thus reminded them not only to forgive him but also to always remember that nobody can be held responsible for someone else’s mistakes. not even their father’s, according to the meaning of the Qur’anic verse “No bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another”. ( Al-Israa’ 17:15) Prudence was required, as well as nobleness of soul.
The Prophet stayed in Makkah for two weeks, and the situation been to settle down. He sent expeditions to make sure that his alliances with the nearby tribes were solid and that those who had announced they accepted Islam had given up all idol worship.
Khalid ibn Al-Waleed had been entrusted with such a mission among the Banu Jadhimah, who eventually surrendered, but Khalid decided, against Abd Ar-Rahman ibn `Awf advice, to execute the prisoners toward whom he harbored particular resentment.
After executing some of them, he stopped at Abd Ar-Rahman’s insistence, the latter having made it dear to him that his behavior was motivated by other intentions than faith in God and justice. The Prophet got very angry when he heard of Khalid’s behavior; he decided to pay blood money for all the dead, and he kept repeating aloud: “0 God, I am innocent of what Khalid ibn Al-Waleed has done”. (Ibn Hisham, As-Sirah An-Nabawyyah)
The article is an excerpt from the author’s In the Footsteps of the Prophet: Lessons from the Life of Muhammad, Oxford University Press (2007).
Tags characteristics of Muslim, clemency, companions, conscience of believers, early Muslims, equality, essence of islam, exemplar of love and kindness, Fasting, forbearance, forgiveness in Ilam, gentleness, God remembrance, God-Consciousness, grow in faith, hijrah, human beings are not angels, human desires, hypocrisy, in the footsteps of the prophet, Islam is ease, justice, lessons from prophet, lessons from the life of Muhammad, life of muslim, love in islam, meditation, mercy and kindness of the prophet, Mercy to mankind, moderate religion, Moderation, morality, Muhammad’s love and mercy, muslim community, needs, New Muslims, nobleness, peaceful coexistence, practical islam, Prayer, principles is a prayer, Prophet Muhammad, reality of human nature, religion of peace, Repentance, self control, solidarity, spiritual teaching, Tariq Ramadan, Tawbah, the prophet and new Muslims, tolerance, true image of Islam, war ethics, worship
Peas, Carrots and Lessons in Life (Peas and Carrots #4)
Hannah M. Lynn
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Pomerantz Law Firm Files a Securities Fraud Lawsuit Against Danske Bank Relating to Money Laundering Scheme
Friday, 27. December 2019 14:00
NEW YORK, Dec. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP announces that it has filed a securities fraud lawsuit on behalf of several dozen institutional investors in conjunction with the ISAF-Danske Coalition (International Securities Associations and Foundations Management Company for Damaged Danske Investors). The Writ is being filed today, December 27, 2019, in the District Court of Copenhagen, Denmark by Danish law firm Németh Sigetty Advokatpartnerselskab, the coalition’s counsel in Denmark. The coalition is further represented by a prominent group of leading American, German and Dutch securities litigation law firms along with top legal and financial services experts. In connection with the highly publicized money laundering scandal, the ISAF-Danske Coalition has received mandates to represent dozens of institutional investors that suffered approximately 1.5 billion DKK in losses in its initial filing.
Jeremy Lieberman, Managing Partner of Pomerantz LLP commented “the money laundering scandal at Danske has caused billions of dollars of investment losses to institutional investors. The overwhelming liability and damages to investors triggered by this $200 billion money laundering scheme demands a substantial monetary remedy. While an investor in the U.S. markets takes for granted a predictable mechanism of recovery for losses suffered due to securities fraud, the track record in Denmark and other countries in continental Europe is far less well-developed. We hope this lawsuit can serve as a paradigm for investors to secure relief from fraud impacting international markets, irrespective of the jurisdiction.”
The lawsuit is being filed on behalf of dozens of institutional investors who manage trillions of Euros in assets, including; state and government pension and treasury systems, insurance companies, asset and investment managers in the United States, Canada, Japan, Sweden, Luxembourg, Norway, Austria, Germany, France, Portugal, Spain, Australia and others.
Partner and head of Client Services, Jennifer Pafiti notes that “the action Pomerantz has organized and brought on behalf of its clients demonstrates our commitment to seek recoveries for clients wherever their loss is situated. This action is the first step for us to hold Danske Bank, Denmark’s largest bank, accountable for the unprecedented money laundering scheme that has caused hundreds of billions of dollars in losses for investors.”
The lawsuit details how Danske Bank violated Danish Capital Market Laws by failing to disclose that its financial income statements and retained earnings included significant earnings from known illegal high-risk money laundering activities.
The lawsuit addresses both the lack of disclosure of the fact that the bank’s financial performance was inflated by illegal sources of income and the further related risks of its continued questionable business activities. These included the risk of the negative business impact of regulatory intervention, significant regulatory fines, loss of reputation, loss of customers, deterioration of enterprise value and the elimination of a significant income component in the bank’s existing and future earnings.
Beginning in 2017, information about money laundering activities in Danske’s Estonian branch began to emerge. Revelations of the bank’s extensive money laundering activities, which is estimated to have exceeded $200 billion in unlawful transactions, were compounded by the failure of Danske Bank to disclose that it had received, ignored and concealed repeated warnings from regulators and whistleblowers. As a result, Danske Bank’s share price declined by more than 58% between September 2017 and May 2019, causing severe harm to investors. The lawsuit seeks the recovery of losses for investors who were damaged by Danske Bank’s failure to disclose financial and regulatory risks, as required by Danish Capital Market Law, in connection with its violation of International Banking and Treasury regulations.
Danske Bank shareholders and debtholders should contact Pomerantz LLP for more information on how to file a claim for damages. There is no cost or obligation to institutional investors for Pomerantz’s review of potential claims. Unlike a US securities class action, eligible investors that wish to participate in the collective lawsuit must proactively file a lawsuit in order to join the action. For more information, investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888-476-6529, ext. 9980.
The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com.
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In Re DOR
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In Re DOR Matt B 2017-08-15T16:47:42+00:00
642 S.E.2d 865 (2007)
283 Ga. App. 838
In the Interest of D.O.R., a child (two cases)
Nos. A07A1198, A07A1199.8.
Court of Appeals of Georgia.
John P. Rivers, Brunswick, for appellant (case no. A07A1198).
Clark & Williams, Jason R. Clark, Dorothy R. Avera, for appellant (case no. A07A1199).
Thurbert E. Baker, Attorney General, Shalen S. Nelson, Senior Assistant Attorney General, James A. Chamberlin, Jr., for appellee.
BARNES, Chief Judge.
The mother and father of D.O.R. appeal the termination of their parental rights, which we have consolidated for consideration. The father contends that the evidence does not clearly and convincingly establish that he was unfit or unable to care for the child. The mother contends that the evidence does not establish that the child’s deprivation would continue or that continued deprivation would harm the child, and also contends her rights to due process were violated. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the juvenile court’s decision to terminate the parental rights of both parents.
In considering the parents’ appeals, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the juvenile court’s disposition and determine whether any rational trier of fact could have found by clear and convincing evidence that the parents’ rights should have been terminated. We neither weigh the evidence nor determine the credibility of any witnesses, but instead defer to the juvenile court’s findings of fact. In the Interest of J.G.J.P., 268 Ga.App. 614, 602 S.E.2d 320 (2004).
So viewed, the evidence shows that the Department of Family and Children Services (DFACS) became involved with D.O.R.’s mother before he was born. In July 2003, DFACS worked with the mother to develop a safety or case plan regarding her first child, a daughter. When the mother became pregnant with D.O.R. in the summer of 2004, DFACS was still working with her. In August 2004 the mother was taken to the hospital after she tried to cut her wrists, where she reported increased depression during her pregnancy because she said D.O.R.’s father did not want the baby. In October 2004, when she was eight months pregnant, she reportedly got into a physical fight with the father who thought she was going to smoke a cigarette.
When D.O.R. was born, the caseworker visited the mother and father at the hospital and tried to convince the mother to enter into a social services safety plan with DFACS so that D.O.R. could stay with her, but the mother, then 19, was adamant about living with the father, then 20, and would not agree with the terms and conditions of the plan. DFACS obtained an emergency protective order to gain custody of D.O.R. On the day D.O.R. was to be discharged from the hospital into DFACS custody, hospital security was called because the father was angry.
The juvenile court issued a shelter care order, and subsequently an order finding the child deprived and directing DFACS to prepare a case plan for reunification. Both parents stipulated that the allegations in the deprivation petition were true. Three months later, DFACS moved the court to allow the plan to change to nonreunification, termination of parental rights, and adoption because the parents refused to work on the plan. After a hearing, the juvenile court made factual findings and concluded that reunification efforts should be terminated, noting that the parents would have to complete the elements of the plan sufficiently to remove the risk to the child before they could regain custody.
After a status conference in September 2005, the court denied the parents’ request for return of custody, finding that the causes and conditions of D.O.R.’s deprivation had not been remedied. The court also ordered the parents to submit to a drug screen, which they refused to do. In March 2006, DFACS petitioned the juvenile court to terminate both parents’ parental rights, and the court appointed a guardian ad litem to represent D.O.R.’s interest. Both parents answered and requested an additional six months to complete the plan goals. Following a hearing in May 2006, the juvenile court terminated the parental rights of D.O.R.’s mother and father.
The evidence supports the juvenile court’s findings that neither parent completed the goals of the reunification case plan. Neither maintained stable residences for six months, each having moved four or five times in the previous eighteen months, and neither had maintained a job for six months. The mother did not obtain a domestic violence assessment, although the record reflects a relationship with D.O.R.’s father which was always volatile and unhealthy, as well as mental and physical abuse. Relatives and counselors testified that the mother sought the protection of the local battered women’s shelter several times and other times called her aunt to come and pick her up. She did not follow up with counseling. The father never paid any support and the mother made only one payment of $30 two weeks before the hearing.
DFACS requested three drug screens and in September 2005 the court ordered the parents to undergo a drug screen, but neither complied. The father explained at the termination hearing that he would not take the court-ordered drug test because he was angry about the nonreunification plan. He did not begin his anger management classes until January 2006, and only attended three classes. He sought another six months to comply with the plan, testifying that he would stay in the job and house he obtained a month before the hearing, so that in six months he would have seven months of stability as required by his case plan. He also admitted signing termination papers in March 2005 which he rescinded within ten minutes. When asked why he had not completed the anger management classes in the past 18 months, he explained,
I figure as a father — I don’t even see why I was on the case plan. I didn’t know I was going to get a case plan by me signing legitimation — getting legitimation papers and stuff like that because I just thought it was for the mother. That’s one reason why I was looking at it as like the mother is the reason for the child being there [in DFACS custody] and I ain’t really no cause of nothing that’s in it but I’ve still got to follow the case plan, I guess.
The mother also sought an extension of six months to meet the goals in her original reunification plan but said she was not then ready to take the child. She testified that she would be ready in six months because she had a better-paying job, which she started two days before the hearing. She could not explain why she had refused to take a drug screen or failed to meet with the domestic violence assessor.
A juvenile court considers two issues in deciding whether a parent’s rights to his child should be terminated. OCGA § 15-11-94(a). First, it considers whether clear and convincing evidence establishes parental misconduct or inability, and in doing so considers four factors: (i) Is the child deprived? (ii) Did lack of proper parental care or control cause the deprivation? (iii) Is the cause of the deprivation likely to continue or unlikely to be remedied? and (iv) Would continued deprivation cause serious physical, mental, emotional, or moral harm? OCGA § 15-11-94(b)(4)(A) (i)-(iv).
If the court finds parental misconduct or inability after considering these four factors, then it must consider whether the termination of the parents’ rights would be in the child’s best interest, “considering the physical, mental, emotional, and moral condition and needs of the child …, including the need for a secure and stable home.” OCGA § 15-11-94(a); In the Interest of R.W., 248 Ga. App. 522, 523-524(1), 546 S.E.2d 882 (2001).
1. The father challenges the evidence as to each of the four factors establishing parental misconduct or inability; the mother challenges only the third and fourth, which are that the cause of the deprivation is likely to continue or unlikely to be remedied, and that continued deprivation would cause serious physical, mental, emotional, or moral harm. In this case, ample clear and convincing evidence of the four factors established parental misconduct or inability.
(i) Deprivation. The parents stipulated that the allegations set forth in the deprivation petition were true, and, as the mother concedes, they are bound by the juvenile court’s unappealed findings of fact contained in the order finding D.O.R. deprived. See In the Interest of M.H.W., 277 Ga.App. 318, 319(1)(a), 626 S.E.2d 515 (2006).
(ii) Cause of deprivation. The second factor to consider is whether the parents’ lack of care or control caused the child’s deprivation. While the mother does not argue this point, the father argues only that DFACS cannot prove he is unfit because he never had an opportunity to attempt to provide proper care and control for D.O.R., who has been in DFACS custody all of his life. In determining whether the child lacks proper parental care and control when the child is not in the parent’s custody, the court shall consider whether the parent without justifiable cause has significantly failed to provide for the child’s care and support for at least a year before the termination petition was filed or failed to comply with a court-ordered plan designed to reunite the child with the parent. OCGA § 15-11-94(b)(4)(C)(ii)-(iii).
In support of its previous adjudication that D.O.R. was deprived, the juvenile court found that the child “was without proper parental care or control” and the deprivation was caused by neglect, inadequate housing, and domestic violence. The parents’ failure to appeal the deprivation order also renders the juvenile court’s determination on this second factor binding. In the Interest of K.N., 272 Ga.App. 45, 52(a)(2), 611 S.E.2d 713 (2005). Additionally, both parents failed to pay even the minimal support required by their case plan, and neither substantially completed their plan goals.
(iii) Cause likely to continue. Third, in determining whether the child’s deprivation is likely to continue, the juvenile court may consider the parent’s past conduct. In the Interest of A.C., 234 Ga.App. 717, 719, 507 S.E.2d 549 (1998). The mother contends that “the un-rebutted testimony at the hearing” was that she had no more contact with the father, other than during visitation, and that all of her problems stemmed from her relationship with him. To the contrary, the mother rebutted her own testimony, explaining that she had to leave a relative’s home because she kept “running back and forth” to the father. The aunt testified that this happened a few weeks before the hearing.
The father contends that the record is void of any expert testimony that continuing his parental rights would be detrimental to the child, that his relationship with the child was harmful, or that he had abused the child in any way. The juvenile court need not give custody to the parent to determine current unfitness evidence. In the Interest of A.W., 240 Ga.App. 259, 263, 523 S.E.2d 88 (1999). The father failed to complete almost all of the goals in his case plan, and in fact did not consider the plan his responsibility because he thought all of the problems were caused by the mother. His complete failure to support his child is compelling evidence that he is not an able parent, In the Interest of T.B., 267 Ga.App. 484, 486-487(1), 600 S.E.2d 432 (2004), and his representation that he would complete all the goals if given another six months is belied by his inaction of the previous eighteen months.
(iv) Continued deprivation will harm the child. Considering the same evidence that the cause of the deprivation was likely to continue, the juvenile court was entitled to infer that the deprivation would seriously harm the child if either parent gained custody. In the Interest of B.S., 283 Ga.App. 724, 727(1)(d), 642 S.E.2d 408 (2007). Based on the parents’ past behavior and their unwillingness and inability to comply with significant requirements of their case plan, we find that a rational factfinder could have found by clear and convincing evidence that giving custody to either parent would seriously harm the child. The caseworker testified that neither parent appeared to have bonded with D.O.R., who did not seem to recognize them and cried throughout most of their visits.
2. After determining that clear and convincing evidence established the parents’ misconduct or inability, the trial court then determined that, “considering the physical, mental, emotional, and moral condition and needs of the child,” termination of parental rights was in the child’s best interest. The child had been in DFACS’s custody since November 23, 2004, the day after he was born. The statute itself provides that the court may consider the child’s “need for a secure and stable home,” OCGA § 15-11-94(a), something the parents clearly were unable to provide. The court may also consider “the detrimental effects of prolonged foster care.” (Citation omitted.) In the Interest of M.L., 227 Ga.App. 114, 117(2), 488 S.E.2d 702 (1997). Children without a permanent home and emotional stability are likely to suffer serious emotional problems, In the Interest of J.O.L., 235 Ga.App. 856, 858, 510 S.E.2d 613 (1998), and the caseworker testified that DFACS had a family ready to adopt D.O.R., who at his young age and good health had no barrier to overcome in being adopted. Additionally, the factors that show the parents’ inability to care for their child support the finding that termination of parental rights would be in the child’s best interest. Id.
3. Finally, the mother contends that under the facts of this particular case, terminating her parental rights would violate due process because, despite significant evidence of domestic violence, DFACS scheduled every visitation with both parents at the same time. Noting that the biggest obstacle to her reunification with D.O.R. was her abusive relationship with the father, she argues that she should have a chance to find stability in her life free from his influence. The record establishes that the mother had numerous opportunities to establish her life without the father. Her relatives took her in repeatedly but she kept returning to him. She went to a battered women’s shelter several times but returned to him. She would not undergo a domestic violence assessment which would have revealed whether she needed any other resources or counseling, despite the assessor’s offer to meet her in the same building before her scheduled visits with D.O.R. Considering the resources DFACS made available to the mother, her claim of a due process violation is meritless.
Accordingly, we affirm the order of the juvenile court terminating the parental rights of D.O.R.’s mother and father.
SMITH, P.J., and MILLER, J., concur.
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Overdrive (Marvel)
From Multiversal Omnipedia
Overdrive is a male comic supervillain who features in Marvel Comics.
2.1 Personality and attributes
4 In other media
4.2 Video games
James Beverley was an Africa-American male who was born in the modern age. (Amazing Spider-Man v5 #45) His father was a mechanic and instilled in him a love of cars though he came to become a big fan of superheroes and wanted to be like them. However, he lacked any powers and tried various means to attain them but none were successful. On occasion even saw himself being intentionally exposed to gamma rays but instead he was in a burn ward to recover for three months. He then reasoned that he would learn martial arts like the non-superpowered types but quickly learnt that he was not good at it. Eventually, he decided on the path set by his father by becoming a race car driver and participated in circuits to win thousands of dollars in terms of prizes. He won his fair share of races until one led to an accident where he was one again left in a burn ward for three months. During this time, he was visited by a man named Mister Negative who had need of a getaway driver. He told the man that he was too injured to drive a vehicle but the crime lord offered to give him superpowers that would help both in his recovery and his talent for driving. This involved an injection of nanobacteria where the nanites would allow him to supercharge any vehicle he drove. Initially, he thought to refuse the offer as it was clear that this was a crime boss offering him powers but he reasoned that some heroes started off as villains before becoming superheroes. Thus, he agreed and signed documents to inject him with the nanites where he reasoned that once Mister Negative was arrested that he could depart his service. Overdrive then believed that he would fight some heroes a couple of times before mending his ways and become accepted as a superhero himself. However, after Mister Negative's arrest, he received letters from a collection service stating that he was using the proprietary nanites without permission and needed to pay the licensing fees. Thus, Overdrive remained trapped in the life of being a criminal and had to settle his debt to Mister Negative. (The Superior Foes of Spider-Man v1 #14)
Forced to stay on the run, the panicked Overdrive ended up going through a crowded area and nearly ran people over in his desperation to escape Sin-Eater. Spider-Man managed to save the bystanders and went on the car to convince Overdrive to stop driving but James was too scared to stop. eventually, the Sin-Eater appeared before the car and caused it to crash with Spider-Man pulling Overdrive from the vehicle. He attempted to defend him against the now supernatural Sin-Eater but the spectral foe seemingly killed Overdrive with a gun shot to the chest. The body of James Beverley was taken to the morgue where he was examined Carlie Cooper when he awoken and was seemingly still alive. (Amazing Spider-Man v5 #45)
Personality and attributes
He was known for being an African male who was 32 years old. (Amazing Spider-Man v5 #45)
For as long as he could remember he was good with cars and his father dreamed of him becoming a race car driver. (The Superior Foes of Spider-Man v1 #14)
He was known to have had a love of superheroes and dreamed of becoming one. Overdrive loved them all ranging from the Avengers to the Fantastic Four but he was the biggest fan of Spider-Man. (The Superior Foes of Spider-Man v1 #14) James said he never wanted to be a supervillain and in fact actually wanted to be a hero like Spider-Man when he first started out. However, he struggled for money and engaged in heists though he made it a point to never hurt people. (Amazing Spider-Man v5 #45)
Originally, Overdrive had no superpowers despite attempts to gain them and even failed to learn martial arts. This was until Mister Negative made him a guinea pig for a special brand of nanobacteria that consisted of an injection of nanites. Once within his system, they allowed Overdrive to supercharge any vehicle he was using allowing him to reach incredible speeds in them in a short period of time. (The Superior Foes of Spider-Man v1 #14)
Overdrive was created by Dan Slott and Phil Jimenez where he made his first appearance in Free Comic Book Day Vol 2007 Spider-Man v1 (July, 2007).
In Amazing Spider-Man v5 #45 (2020), the character was given his real name as being James Beverley.
In Spider-Man, Overdrive appeared in the 2017 animated television series in the episode "Bring on the Bad Guys Pt. 1" where he was voiced by actor Ryan Blaney. He was shown as being a nanotechnology using supervillain that could transform any mechanical vehicle and customise it to his designs. Overdrive was among the supervillains that responded to the bounty placed on Spider-Man and attempted to capture or kill the Wall-Crawler.
Free Comic Book Day Vol 2007 Spider-Man v1: (2007)
Amazing Spider-Man:
Superior Foes of Spider-Man v1:
Amazing Spider-Man v5:
Marvel Database Entry
This article is a stub. You can help Multiversal Omnipedia by expanding it.
Retrieved from "http://moa.omnimulti.com/index.php?title=Overdrive_(Marvel)&oldid=80107"
Comic Characters
Henchmen and Henchwomen
African-American Supervillains
Marvel Comics Supervillains
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Mayor Murray marks 3-year anniversary of $15 minimum wage
Today, Mayor Ed Murray marked the 3-year anniversary of Seattle’s historic $15 per hour minimum wage ordinance by visiting local small businesses across the city. Since the passage of the minimum wage ordinance, Seattle’s economy continues to grow with job creation on the rise and workers taking home more income. The minimum wage hit $15 for the first time in 2017 for employees of Seattle’s largest businesses.
“When we passed the $15 minimum wage, we were warned the economy would tank, jobs would dry up, and employers would flee,” Mayor Ed Murray said. “Today, Seattle’s economy is the strongest it has ever been, unemployment is at a historically low rate, and employers are competing for employees. Raising the minimum wage was not just the right thing to do, but the smart thing to do. We still have work to do to address the affordability crisis and to ensure that working people and families can continue to call Seattle home in the years to come.”
Raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour was one step in a multi-pronged approach to close the affordability gap for low-wage workers. Mayor Murray has addressed housing affordability through the Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda and created the Seattle Preschool Program to provide high-quality, free education to Seattle families as part of his vision for a more equitable city. Mayor Murray also successfully passed a transportation levy that increased bus service to historic levels, helping workers connect to job centers throughout Seattle.
Seattle’s unemployment rate dropped to 2.6 percent over the last two years. Median household income increased during the same period to $80,349. Restaurants were among the fastest growing industries, employing over 33,000 people in 2016 alone.
Additionally, a study released today by the Center on Wage and Employment Dynamics at University of California Berkeley’s Institute for Research on Labor and Employment found that Seattle’s minimum wage ordinance has raised wages for low-paid workers, without any negative impact on employment.
“Seattle’s $15 per hour minimum wage is a great example of good labor policy working,” said Nicole Grant, Executive Secretary Treasurer of the Martin Luther King Jr. County Labor Council. “Wages are up, businesses are hiring, and our diverse economy is thriving. We are proud to have led the way.”
Mayor Murray visited Broadcast Coffee Roasters, Central Co-Op, and Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream to celebrate the $15 minimum wage and to hear from owners and workers on the economic benefits of the ordinance.
“With 23 employees and three locations in Seattle, Broadcast Coffee Roasters supported the minimum wage increase,” said Barry Faught, founder of Broadcast Coffee. “Not only is paying a higher wage the right thing to do, it also gives folks more money in their pocket, which boosts our local economy. Since the increase of the minimum wage, Broadcast has seen sales continue to grow and employee churn go down.”
Additionally, Mayor Murray and the Office of Economic Development are examining policies to address commercial affordability, especially for small businesses. The same market pressures driving up housing costs are putting pressure on small and minority owned businesses. Last year a Commercial Affordability Advisory Committee offered several suggestions to help small businesses thrive in Seattle, even as wages increase.
“A healthy economy is one where people who work in a city can afford to live in the city,” Brian Surratt, Director of the Office of Economic Development said. “Raising the minimum wage was an important step towards addressing the income gap in Seattle. I’m grateful the Seattle business community was at the table helping to raise the minimum wage. Seattle is lucky to have such progressive partners as we tackle these important issues.”
Filed Under: $15 Minimum Wage, Economy, Press Releases
About Office of the Mayor
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Whenever I think of a trip to New York City whether for a vacation or just a short one or…
Despite common misconceptions, it is quite possible to enjoy many of the great things that New York City has to…
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If you've never been to New York City, you can't claim to have gone unless you trek on out to the infamous boardwalks of Coney Island. It is important to understand first of all that Coney Island is only open seasonally so you have to plan your journey accordingly. The second thing that is important to understand about Coney Island is that it isn't one centrally owned operation. The vast majority of attractions at Coney Island close either immediately or very soon after Labor Day. The beach and the actual boardwalk are open to the public year round, some times…
Planning Your New York City Vacation
Whether you realize it or not, planning is the key to any successful vacation. You do not have to be a vacation tyrant that makes your family dread vacations and the boot camp they entail…
If you're planning to visit New York City it really pays to make the investment in The New York Pass. This pass will allow you free entrance into some of the biggest attractions that New…
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New York City has five boroughs. There is Manhattan which is where the NASDAQ and New York Stock Exchange reside. There is the Bronx, home of Yankee stadium and Rikers Island. You also have Brooklyn which is known for its luxury brownstones, Queens whose unofficial…
Best Places to See In New York: Part 2
When you are looking for places to visit in Manhattan, New York, you want to consider Rockefeller Center, Statue of Liberty, Madison Square Garden and the Empire State Building. There are also museums, shops and parks to see in Manhattan. The American Museum Of Natural…
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Some of the best things to do in New York are visiting Greenwich Village, World of Disney Store, see the Brooklyn Bridge, Chinatown, Lincoln Square and Carnegie Hall. The Bronx Zoo is something young and old enjoy. The sloths, sea lions, monkeys and lions along…
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April 2nd, 2015:
Three-colour recycle bins are window dressing and a sham
I refer to the letter by Wong Hon-meng, assistant director, Environmental Protection Department (“Promoting recycling and waste reduction are top priorities”, March 23).
He claims that by 2022, Hong Kong will reduce its per capita waste generated by 40 per cent.
How has the department come up with this percentage? Most likely it has simply copied statistics from Taipei and Seoul where a 40 per cent reduction was achieved after waste charging took effect. But those cities developed comprehensive measures to sort and separate waste before they implemented waste charging, as pointed out in my letter (“Waste charge futile without separation of rubbish at source”, February 24).
The three-colour recycling bins are window dressing and a sham: only 700 tonnes of recyclables are collected every year, less than 0.02 per cent of the waste produced in Hong Kong. Operated by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, a clear accounting is yet to be published on how the collected waste is being disposed.
The department still does not have correct data as to how much waste is being recycled, having admitted previous figures were wrong, double counting recycled waste shipped to the mainland with that in transit through Hong Kong from overseas.
The HK$1 billion Recycling Fund Wong mentions is more window dressing. It is 3.5 per cent of the HK$29 billion budget for the incinerator and landfills expansion.
The proposed community education and recycling centres to be built in the 18 districts are handouts to pro-government environmental groups and subsidies to companies that collect recycled waste and ship it to the mainland, where 90 per cent of Hong Kong’s recycled waste ends up.
Despite talking about “policy” and “campaign”, the department has no intention of truly pursuing a recycling policy as many countries have.
There is no policy to develop a sustainable indigenous recycling industry, no statutory requirement nor public education on how to separate waste at source. Despite the many so-called inspection trips overseas by senior officials, paid for by taxpayers’ money, no insight and plan were presented on how other countries promote and implement effective recycling.
Given the above, it is ironic that Hong Kong will be hosting an international conference on solid waste management in May. Environment Secretary Wong Kam-sing will be the keynote speaker. What is he going to say?
Tom Yam, Lantau
Source URL (modified on Apr 2nd 2015, 5:02pm): http://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/1754247/three-colour-recycle-bins-are-window-dressing-and-sham
Hong Kong struggling to breathe under weight of ‘maximum’ urban density, academic says
Hong Kong cannot cope with any more high-rise buildings, according to an academic, who says street-level airflow has become worryingly stagnant and unable to disperse heat and pollutants as urban density hits “maximum” level.
Though average wind speed levels measured at the Hong Kong Observatory’s remote Waglan Island weather station off the city’s southernmost island Po Toi have been stable over the last 50 years, average wind speed in the city has fallen as more tall buildings are built in higher density.
Wind measurements at the King’s Park urban weather station in Kowloon have dropped from 3.5 metres per second in 1965 to just 2 metres per second last year. The decrease in wind speed is in line with a 2 degrees Celsius rise in average air temperatures in the same period.
“I would say we are at maximum density, especially in built up areas … Future land reclamation may need to be more disciplined,” said Professor Li Yuguo, who heads the department of mechanical engineering at the University of Hong Kong.
Li said poor urban air ventilation could definitely be one of the factors behind days with very high air pollution readings.
Studies by Li’s team, which included wind tunnel and water channel modelling, have found that in the absence of wind, convective heat from individual buildings rises and forms a dome-shaped accumulation of warm air and pollutants above the city.
The phenomenon is called the “urban dome effect”.
“The worrying trend continues but there is no removal strategy for the urban dome,” said Li, adding that strong wind flows felt on some afternoons tend to be man-made “city winds” induced from the “urban heat island effect” rather than natural wind.
He urged secondary streets along the northern shore of Hong Kong Island to be kept “wide and short” to facilitate downslope wind flow from the hills.
More buildings could also provide basal openings of about 10 metres – such as the ground floor of HSBC headquarters in Central – to help improve low-level wind flow, he said.
“But of course, there are development challenges here,” he admitted. “The price to pay is not having a 7-Eleven on the ground floor of every building.”
Source URL (modified on Apr 2nd 2015, 9:04pm): http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1754189/hong-kong-struggling-breathe-under-weight-maximum-urban-density
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New book “What Did You Think Was Going to Happen?” by Clinton E. Galloway is released, a deep exploration of racism and institutional corruption in South Central Los Angeles
“What Did You Think Was Going to Happen?” by Clinton E. Galloway has been released worldwide. This 194-page nonfiction study examines over forty years of problematic socioeconomic and political history in South Central Los Angeles. The author uncovers numerous factors that helped create a corrupt city government and impoverished population, as well the abysmal pattern of civil rights for the area’s people of color. Unflinching, unapologetic, and extremely revealing, Galloway digs into essential questions about the events in South Central, and what continues to happen across the US today.
What Did You Think Was Going to Happen? (ISBN: 9781735707600) can be purchased through retailers worldwide, including barnesandnoble.com and Amazon. Wholesale orders are available through Ingram.
The Court Case You Never Heard of, and Why the Ruling Remains Relevant Today
In City of Los Angeles v. Preferred Communications, the US District Court, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the US Supreme Court all agreed that the City had violated the civil rights of half a million people for ten years and had refused to comply with a 9-0 decision by the Supreme Court of the United States.
Like a made-for-TV movie that’s all too real, this injustice to the Black community includes a corrupt big-city mayor, unethical city and country officials, and a dishonest federal judge who deprived the poorest citizens of Los Angeles the right to have cable television. And when the case was finally settled decades later, the side of right won and the author and his minority business investors were awarded a dollar in damages. A dollar.
Yet the true cost was the loss of the rights of free speech and free press (education and internet) to the impoverished citizens of South Central LA – as generations of injustice were perpetuated and continue to play out on the mean streets of one of America’s largest cities.
A dollar. Injustice. Black America. Media. Corruption at the highest levels of government. This is the case you never heard of – until now. What did you think was going to happen?
Clinton E. Galloway was born in Birmingham, Alabama, but moved shortly thereafter with his family to New York City. He attended Northern Arizona University with the assistance of a baseball scholarship. After getting his CPA license in the late 1970s, he relocated from a large international accounting firm in San Francisco to a major international investment banking firm in Beverly Hills.
Today, he is a Certified Public Accountant with a practice in Marina del Rey, California. He is also a registered securities principal and runs a registered securities broker-dealer licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
His first book is titled Anatomy of a Hustle: Cable Comes to South Central Los Angeles (2012). This is his second book.
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Engagement with the Government and the Public
Strenuous efforts are usually made by the branch to ensure that its voice is heard by the public throughout the year. To this end, the Chairman and other members of the Executive Committee have often participated in three radio programmes on the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria and the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State. They have also often made appearances on television programmes of the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS) and the Nigerian Television Authority (TNA), Ibadan. Topical issues relating to engineering practice in general and the welfare of Nigerian engineers are usually discussed during these programmes. Efforts have also been made, over the years, to continue to publish quarterly newsletters for free distribution to members in electronic and hard copy formats every year.
For years, the monthly meetings of the branch have always been publicized on the radio and television and in the daily newspapers. Also all special programmes and public lectures organized by the branch are usually covered by the print and electronic media. To maintain cordial relationships with some of the media houses, courtesy visits are usually paid to them from time to time.
Relationship with Other Professional Bodies
The Ibadan Branch of NSE has always maintained an excellent relationship with other professional bodies in Oyo State. The Chairman Vice-Chairman and the Secretary have, over the years, remained regular at the monthly meetings of the association of Professional Bodies in Nigeria (APBN). The Branch has always participated fully and actively in all APBN activities and remained up-to-date in its financial commitments to the Association. These, among other factors, culminated in the visit of the APBN Executive Committee to the branch during the monthly general meeting in January 2009 and the subsequent election of the Immediate past Chairman of the Branch, Engr. Dr. Ismaila as the Financial Secretary of the Association that same year. The branch has also continued to maintained very cordial and mutually beneficial relationship with other professional bodies including the Nigerian Institute of Builders (NIOB), Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), and the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA), among others.
The NSE Ibadan, over the years, continues to maintain an excellent relationship with Oyo State Government. Often times, the Chairman and other members of the Executive Committee pay courtesy visits to various top government functionaries including incumbent governors, Commissioners, the Head of Service in the State, and permanent secretaries in various ministries, particularly those that were engineers, etc. The branch has also had cause to advice the Government on various issues relating to engineers and engineering practice over the years. The government has reciprocated the kind gesture of the branch in various ways over the years. For example, a number of the members of the branch have been appointed into in to membership of different committees, and made commissioners and Directors of Government Agencies and Parastatals.
Two engineers have also occupied the office of the Governor at different times. These were Dr. Victor Omololu Olunloyo (1983) and Senator Rasidi Adewolu Ladoja, FNSE (2003-2007). A past Chairman of the Branch, Engr. C.S.O. Akande, rose to the position of Head of Service in the old Oyo State before his retirement. Many other engineers became permanent Secretaries and directors of government establishments and Parastatals were they served with distinction. Between 2010 and 2011alone, no less than six engineers who were strong members of the branch were appointed as permanent Secretaries to head various ministries in Oyo State. These include Engr. Braimoh K. Aderogba, Engr. Joe O. Olaniyan, Engr. Yunusa K. Adisa, Engr. Oluseye O. Laoye, Engr. Rauf A. Olaniyan, and Engr. A.A. Adeyemi. Apart from contributing to the growth and development of Oyo State, many of the branch members have, over the years, also rendered meritorious service to the nation through the various appointments held. For example, Engr. Prof. F.O. Aboaba, a former member of the Editorial Board of the Branch was the first Dean of the Faculty of Technology at its inception in 1975.
He later served as the Executive Secretary to the Committee of Vice-Chancellors after his retirement in 1993; Engr. Dr. Adeyeri, another former member of the Editorial Board of the Branch was the pioneer Rector of the Polytechnic, Owo, Ondo State (now known as Rufus Giwa Polytechnic); Engr. Pro. Layi Fagbenle, a past Secretary of the Branch served as the pioneer Rector of the Polytechnic Iree, Osun State in 1983 and later became the Chief Adviser on Energy to the Government of Botswana in 2005; Engr. Pro. Olusoji Ofi became the first engineer to hold the office of Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) in the University of Ibadan in the year 2000 and later became the Vice-President of COREN in 2007; Engr. Pro. Olufemi Bamiro became the first Engineer to served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan from 2005 to 2010, while Engr. Ademola Adesuyi, the current Chief Examiner of the Branch, is also the pioneer Rector of the polytechnic, Igbajo. On the international scene a past Chairman of the Branch and past President of NSE Engr. Ifedayo Akintunde was the first Nigerian and the only one to date to serve as the Vice-President of the World Federation of Engineering Organization.
More recent examples of some of the kind of gesture of Oyo State Government are the allocation of plots of land on two occasions (1995 and 2007 respectively) to the branch, waiver of part of the fees paid by the branch for two plots of land being developed for the building of the Branch Secretariat, and the hosting of a dinner by the State Government in honour of NSE President, Engr. (Chief) Olumuyiwa Ajibola, FNSE in January 2010.
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Home » Research » Propionibacterium acnes has disease protective properties: Swedish researchers
Propionibacterium acnes has disease protective properties: Swedish researchers
There are more and more examples of the ways in which we can benefit from our bacteria. According to researcher Rolf Lood from Lund University in Sweden, this is true for the skin as well. He has shown that the most common bacteria on human skin secrete a protein which protects us from the reactive oxygen species thought to contribute to several skin diseases. The protein has an equally strong effect on dangerous oxygen species as known antioxidants such as vitamin C and vitamin E.
Image/Matthias Mörgelin, Lund University
The skin bacterium is called Propionibacterium acnes.
“The name originates from the fact that the bacterium was first discovered on a patient with severe acne. But whether it causes acne is uncertain – it may have been present merely because it is so common”, says Rolf Lood at the Department of Clinical Sciences in Lund.
He has discovered that the “acne bacterium” secretes a protein called RoxP. This protein protects against what is known as oxidative stress, a condition in which reactive oxygen species damage cells. A common cause of oxidative stress on the skin is UV radiation from the sun.
“This protein is important for the bacterium’s very survival on our skin. The bacterium improves its living environment by secreting RoxP, but in doing so it also benefits us”, explains Rolf Lood.
Oxidative stress is considered to be a contributing factor in several skin diseases, including atopic dermatitis, psoriasis and skin cancer.
Since Propionibacterium acnes is so common, it is present in both healthy individuals and people with skin diseases. According to Rolf Lood, however, people have different amounts of the bacterium on their skin, and it can also produce more or less of the protective protein RoxP.
This will now be further investigated in both patients and laboratory animals by Lood and his team. The human study will compare patients with basal cell carcinoma, a pre-cancerous condition called actinic keratosis and a healthy control group. The study will be able to show whether there is any connection between the degree of illness and the amount of RoxP on the patient’s skin.
The study on laboratory animals will also examine whether RoxP also functions as protection. Here, mice who have been given RoxP and others who have not will be exposed to UV radiation. The researchers will then observe whether the RoxP mice have a better outcome than those who were not given the protective protein.
“If the study results are positive, they could lead to the inclusion of RoxP in sunscreens and its use in the treatment of psoriasis and atopic dermatitis”, hopes Rolf Lood. His research findings have recently been published in an article in the Nature journal Scientific Reports.
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Road to 2022: An Interview with Vijay Bharadwaj
The 2022 World Cup has already seen plenty of media coverage. We speak to Bayern Munich and Bengaluru FC fan, Vijay Bharadwaj who won a competition to @VisitQatar. We thank Vijay for taking the time out to share his experience.
Hi Vijay. Firstly give us a bit of background on your recent trip to Qatar please.
So, Sportskeeda had held this contest which was only for a small period of 3 days wherein we had to explain in 3 lines as to why we are loyal to FC Bayern Munich. My brother helped conceptualize the creative for it wherein I had to show that I was a patient in a mental asylum in for a mental disorder of Bayern addiction. And fate would have it that I would be the winner of the contest. I was in utter disbelief that I would actually get the opportunity to see my favourite club’s stars up close and personal. But to my surprise that isn’t the only thing that was planned for me and the other Super Bayern fans from Germany and Asia. We were taken across Doha to have an actual experience of their rich heritage, even spend time with the German Ambassador to Qatar and his fellow delegates, even visit the world famous ASPIRE Academy. The biggest surprise though, in my opinion was getting to visit the headquarters of the developers and organizers of the World Cup – Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy. They showed us their promotional video which would be out imminently and along with that their plans for the 2022 World Cup, both in terms of the football and fan facilities.
Anything of note from Guardiola’s tactical training sessions? Something that fans would find interesting?
Well, to be honest, it was my first ever time that I got to witness a live training session of any team in person, but it was a refreshing experience. One thing that I did notice though is that Pep Guardiola is immensely involved in his sessions and even his assistant trainers too. They know exactly what they want from the players during the training session, and if that doesn’t happen, they come there and demonstrate it themselves. There was this one instance when Pep literally halted a round of possession training because he wasn’t happy with how the ball was being held and he spent a good 30 odd seconds showing how the retention needs to be done and I was flabbergasted to see that much involvement from a head coach, because from what I’ve seen in videos online it’s that Head coach makes observations, takes notes and consults his fellow assistant coaches, and I have no shame in admitting that I might sound less observant or knowledgeable when I say that.
What are your thoughts on the ASPIRE academy?
I had no idea about what the ASPIRE academy was all about until I did some ground work when I received the itinerary of the 4 day dream trip. From what I had come across, I knew that it was a state of the art multi-sport training facility. It looked really impressive from the pictures online but when I actually got to see in person during the tour conducted by Bora Milutinovic (One of the only 2 men who’ve taken 5 different nations to the final tournament of the FIFA World Cup), only then did I actually realize what a marvel that facility truly is.
It has had some of the biggest sports teams and personalities in the world pay visit to either share a talk with the budding talent or just use the facilities for training and rejuvenation, such as Sir Alex Ferguson, Antonio Conte, Ronaldinho, Magnus Carlsen and even Emile Heskey! And some of the most well known teams in the world have used their facilities such as FC Bayern Munich, FC Schalke 04, Paris Saint-Germain and FC Zenit St Petersburg, to name a few.
In terms of football, they have an Indoor Stadium in the facility which can seat about 8000 people. In addition, there are 3 training pitches located adjacent to the Grand Heritage Hotel and Spa (which forms part of ASPIRE city where the academy is located) which is used by the football clubs during their training camps. For me, it is the best sports facility in the GCC territory and probably Asia from what I’ve read up and seen.
Does the ASPIRE academy have the potential to compete with the academies of European/South American football?
Well, it isn’t a pure football academy, It is a multi-sport facility where the Qatar Sports federations harness and develop talents in various sports ranging from Athletics, Gymnastics, Table Tennis, Track and Field, Football, Basketball, Swimming and even Karate. ASPIRE is basically the rebranded house of the 2006 Asian Games but they’ve maintained it incredibly well and to very high standards too. So much so that one of the Long Jump world champions was a graduate from that very academy.
In terms of facilities, they definitely have the means to compete. But the problem, for me, is that they only allow the local Qatari youth to use the facilities and not any expatriate youth. That is a bit of alienation in my opinion. And the fact that their talent pool is limited makes it both easy and hard for the talent scouts and coaches.
Is there World Cup fever already in Qatar?
Not yet, I guess the thought is yet to sink in. But there are many football crazy people over there. I remember catching the highlight show one night where Al Sadd SC played the Qatari Super League leaders Al Rayyan, which is one of the biggest fixtures in their league, and it was a sell out game. Very pleasing to see for me. Also I had the pleasure of being given a ticket to the opening fixture of the AFC U-23 Tournament which is basically the qualifiers for the 2020 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro for the continent, between Qatar and China at Lekhwiya Sports Club. For a weekday game, and a 20000 capacity stadium, the game drew approximately 6800 people, which included the locally based support for the away team too.
They have embraced football openly and they are a fast developing country so I can definitely see big things happening over time for them.
How are the preparations for the World Cup going on?
Depends on what sort of preparations you are looking at, whether on-field or off-field. On field, it’s already under way as some of the stadiums have already undergone refurbishment. And they mean serious business at that. When I had the opportunity to visit the HQ of the 2022 World Cup, I got a first hand view of their follow up procedures and how they survey everything. Even to the most minute of details, they can remotely survey anything and everything that happens from their office. The level of technology involved is amazing.
Even off-field there are already quite a few developments taking place. They have made an amazing plan to make the World Cup the most closely knit world cup ever. By that, I mean that the travelling time between stadiums wouldn’t take more than an hour, at most and that, if a fan has planned well enough, he can watch 3 full matches in one single day. To make travel this possible, they started the construction for a metro rail which is specifically for this purpose.
And they have made specific plans to cater to people travelling from all across the world to make the whole experience as pocket friendly as possible.
What information did the Assistant General Secretary of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy give?
The Assistant General of the Qatar Football Association (QFA) didn’t give as much information as any of the lucky few of us would have liked. But being a man of great stature, he is a very humble and amicable person whom I had the great pleasure of interacting with. He did mention 2 things that really stuck with me.
He had identified 2 target markets in the continent, which he expects will draw huge numbers during the World Cup month in late 2022. The first is China considering the massive influx of funds in various clubs and ability to attract players from both European Leagues and South American leagues. The 2nd is India, which isn’t really much of a surprise if you ask me. But I did inquire about the rationale behind the choice and he mentioned the most obvious answer of all, the Indian Super League, the commercially successful tournament in India having drawn huge numbers and bringing people to the stadium making it the fourth most attended league in the world (if you can even call it a league). Upon concluding the explanation, he mentioned that he had even received a special invite from IMG to one of the games, I think it was the one which Pele was invited to. Nevertheless, I immediately told him that ISL can get him the numbers, but if he wants real quality fans which can create amazing atmospheres in their numbers, irrespective of the size, he should also have a look at the I-League clubs because everyone in India can vouch for the amazing atmospheres created by the fans of Mohun Bagan AC, East Bengal FC and Bengaluru FC. Based on how that conversation went, I think the thought has struck him and I guess he may make a trip to see a game or 2.
Another thing is that after the tournament ends, they plan to donate a sizable number of the bucket seats to be installed in each of the host stadiums, to other sports facilities, stadiums in Asia which can’t afford the same. I found this extremely commendable and immediately made my appreciation towards the gesture and so did the rest of the lucky fans.
Any last thoughts about the whole experience?
I got the opportunity to see my favourite players live and meet a couple of them too. And to be able to get a peek at the plans for the 2022 World Cup is something that I’m sure I’ll tell my kids.
On Qatar being a host nation, I was initially wary about the alleged bribing and off-field related controversies that have plagued the tournament and the fact that it is going to be the first ever winter World Cup in history, something they have received quite a bit of flak for. But, after this whole trip, I can say that, I think giving Qatar a chance would definitely be a good choice.
My @RoadTo2022 has taken a temporary halt but that’s all that’s happened. I’ll certainly be booking my tickets to the 2022 World Cup.
Follow Vijay Bharadwaj on Twitter
In this article:ASPIRE Academy, Football, Qatar, World Cup 2022
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Building the Future of Learning: Construction starts at groundbreaking ceremony for North Middle School
the golden shovels are used to break ground on the site where the future North Middle School will stand.
Lily Antor, entertainment editor
The official groundbreaking ceremony, commencing the $144 million dollar renovation of Portage Public Schools, commenced on May 10th at the Portage Northern campus. This ceremony brought about many important community members, including a multitude of PPS administrators and officials, who gathered to thank the community and start digging in, literally, to the ground that will eventually become the new PN Middle School. Student representatives from the middle and high school, including the PNHS pep band, were also present at the event. A group of around fifty individuals listened as community leaders discussed how the bond proposal was formulated and how the district plans to use the money to maximize the capabilities of Portage Public Schools.
These golden shovels were used to break ground on the site where the future North Middle School will stand in the fall of 2019.
Portage Public Schools administrators were the first to dig into the ground of the future middle school.
Next, the student representatives had a good time digging up the ground.
A PPS Administrator addresses the crowd that gathered for the ceremony.
Lastly, the PN Pep Band that played for the ceremony took their turn at digging up the earth.
School Board President Randy VanAntwerp said during his brief speech, “For over fifty years, both buildings have served us well, but their time has come.” Therefore, the PPS administration started piecing together the bond proposal that was passed by voters in November of 2015. The initial idea to formulate the bond proposal occurred in 2012, after a review of McCamley field by an architecture firm. “Although we had built the new Portage Central High School and Middle School, more work was needed to improve our other facilities, such as McCamley,” said PPS Superintendent Mark Bielang.
Thus, the successful passage of the bond proposal was a significant achievement to everyone involved in producing it. “On November 3rd, 2015, this community voted to improve its learning facilities, it’s athletic and event facilities, and its technology,” said VanAntwerp, “and we owe a huge thank you to the community.” These aforementioned improvements include a new multi-purpose soccer complex which will be in use by the fall of 2017, a new student parking lot that will be put in place as soon as the hill is dug out, significant renovations to Curious Kids and PCEC to be complete by 2018, the new middle school, which will be open to students in the fall of 2019, and the much-needed new natatorium, which will be able to host swimmers in the summer of 2020. The mention of the new PNHS Stadium, though, which will be used in the fall of 2018, earned the most applause from the audience. “A stadium for this campus, that’s huge,” said Bielang, “it has been on people’s minds for fifty years now.”
Before introducing the architecture and construction firms behind this project, Superintendent Bielang took the time to extend his thanks to the Portage community, saying “I cannot thank the people of Portage enough.” After introducing the various companies involved, the administrators and representatives from the companies walked over to the pile of golden shovels and officially broke ground on construction. Following that, PPS student representatives took their turn to dig up the ground of the changing campus they will call home for the next few years. “Great communities contain great schools,” added Bielang in conclusion, “and great schools make great communities.”
DECA state competition takes place in Detroit
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Local Fine Gael Team
David Stanton Addresses 4th National Missing Persons Day Ceremony
Cork East Fine Gael TD and Minister of State at the Department of Justice & Equality, David Stanton welcomed families and friends of missing persons to the fourth National Missing Persons Day ceremony on 7th December. The event is held on the first Wednesday of December every year at Farmleigh.
“It was a privilege to participate in this event which gives the families and friends of missing persons an opportunity to commemorate their loved ones and share their experiences. National Missing Persons Day not only provides recognition for the ongoing suffering of people whose loved ones are missing but also provides an opportunity to raise public awareness of the numbers that go missing but also to highlight the support services available to people who have lost a loved one”, noted Minister Stanton.
“When I was Chairperson of the Oireachtas Justice Committee I visited Davis College to attend an event organised by students who had run a ‘Forget Me Not’ campaign to highlight the plight of families whose loved one had gone missing. Following this the Committee held a number of hearing and produced a report, for the former Minister for Justice and Equality, Alan Shatter TD, recommending the establishment of a National Missing Person’s Day. Since its establishment I have been pleased to attend the event in Farmleigh every year.
“This event was attended not just by families and friends of missing persons but also by a large number of voluntary organisations including National Missing Persons Helpline, Searching for the Missing, WAVE Trauma Centre, the Irish Coast Guard and many other whose hard work, support and dedication are invaluable to people trying to deal with the trauma of a missing loved one.
“The event was also an opportunity to thank the many members of An Garda Siochana who are involved in the investigation of missing person cases such as the Missing Persons Bureau, Family Liaison Officers, and local Gardaí. Forensic Science Ireland also contributed to the event and hope that the establishment of a National DNA Database will assist An Garda Siochana in missing persons’ cases.
“I am delighted that the National Missing Persons Day is such a well-attended and successful event each year. There is huge value in attendees sharing experiences with other families who have gone through similar trauma. It is also important for the wider community to remember those who are missing and the very difficult situation faced by family and friends missing loved ones”, concluded Minister Stanton.
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Rory Bremner
Jturner (Talk | contribs)
(→Biography)
Current revision as of 05:26, 16 January 2020 (view source)
Deselmes (Talk | contribs)
(Rory is currently signed to PBJ Management, along with many other funny celebs)
He was offered the role of [[Countdown]] host in 2008 after [[Des O'Connor]] announced his departure from the show, but turned it down.
== Contact ==
c/o [https://www.pbjmanagement.co.uk/artists/rory-bremner PBJ Management]
== Web links ==
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rory_Bremner Wikipedia entry]
[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0107115/ IMDB entry]
[[Category:People|Bremner, Rory]]
Face the Clock
Mock the Week (regular panellist)
The News Quiz (panellist and guest host)
Strictly Come Dancing (contestant)
They Think it's All Over (team captain, radio)
Impressionist and satirist who first came to public attention in 1985 when he had a novelty hit single, "N-N-Nineteen (Not Out)" under the name The Commentators (produced by John Sachs, pop triv fans!). The following year he was chosen to front the BBC comedy show Now, Something Else (which also provided Jeremy Hardy with his first big TV break) and he kept up a constant presence on our screens for over 20 years, most famously in Channel 4's Bremner, Bird and Fortune. Nowadays he's more likely to be found on Radio 4, where he has hosted the hybrid stand up / discussion shows Tonight with Rory Bremner and Rory Bremner's One Question Quiz (which isn't a quiz).
He was offered the role of Countdown host in 2008 after Des O'Connor announced his departure from the show, but turned it down.
c/o PBJ Management
IMDb entry
Retrieved from "http://ukgameshows.com/ukgs/Rory_Bremner"
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mike adams family
Mike Adams Obituary – Death | Professor Mike Adams Dead – Passed... Mike Adams Death | Professor Mike Adams Dead – Obituary, David Cliche Death | David Cliche Dead – Obituary, Samantha Huth Obituary – Death | Dead – Samantha Huth Passed Away, Jennifer Toscano Killed – Death | Dead – Jennifer Toscano Passed Away, William Evans Death – Dead | Officer William Evans Obituary – Passed Away.
He was 55 years old. Mike Adams and Family. Mike Adams Family images, similar and related articles aggregated throughout the Internet. Shut down the nonessential majors. Mike Adams’s mother’s name is unknown at this time and his father’s name is under review. Discover the real story, facts, and details of Mike Adams. [29] In 2011, the Fourth Circuit reversed "the district court's grant of summary judgment as to Adams' First Amendment claims of viewpoint discrimination and retaliation" and sent the case back to the district court. People of this zodiac sign like physical challenges, taking on leadership roles, individual sports and dislike inactivity, delays, and work that doesn't use one's talents. Discover what happened on this day. "[8], Harbor House published Adams' first book, Welcome to the Ivory Tower of Babel, in 2004. [6] He had also been a Christian convert from atheism since 2000,[31][7] switching his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican as a result.
We are still working on getting more details about the death, as family statement on the death is yet to be released. He then transferred to Mississippi State University, where he was a brother of Sigma Chi, to finish his BA.
Mike Adams Death – Dead: A great loss was made known to InsideEko.
In addition to these texts, Adams was a prolific creator of articles and commentary on conservative subjects. After the controversy, Adams was interviewed on national television by Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck, Megyn Kelly, and Pat Robertson.
He has also played for a number of other NFL teams including the San Francisco 49ers, the Cleveland Browns, and the Denver Broncos. Liste für alle gespeicherten Presets/FocusPaletten, mit den entsprechenden Channels und persönliche Infos. As part of his retirement, Adams received $504,702 from the university for lost salary and lost retirement benefits.
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Michael Allen "Mike" Adams (born 1967 in Lawrence, Kansas) is the founder and owner of Natural News; the domain name was registered in 2005 and began publishing articles in 2008. He established himself as a comparable player with the University of Delaware after he spent his earliest college career with Passaic County Technical Institute. [1] He was married in 2003 to Krysten Dyanne Scott,[32] a then student of UNCW, but they later divorced. “We can now share the update that after a discussion with Chancellor Sartarelli, Dr. Adams has decided to retire from UNCW, effective August 1, 2020.”.
NFL safety most well known as a member of the Indianapolis Colts. on Twitter and made another tweet which read "Don't shutdown the universities. Under the terms of the settlement, Adams was promoted to full professor and received seven years' back pay.
Wiki, Biography, Age, Fatally Shoots Toddler, Arrested, Investigation Report. Mike Adams Wiki – Biography. [28], The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina initially granted summary judgment in favor of university officials. Massa Cooper, let my people go!” his tweet came after the state moved into phase two of reopening and a few days after protests erupted over George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis. Having been raised under the mantra "follow your dreams" and being told they were special, they tend to be confident and tolerant of difference. After an exchange of emails, the student submitted a public records request for Adams' private emails. His ability to deliver important leading edge nutrition and healing information is unparalleled in all of journalism." More details have not been released about this death, and actual death age and date are yet to confirmed by us. Dr. Aisha Wiki, Age, Height, Husband, Family, Dead? Myles Mann $5 9 mos; Pat & Anne (sister) Walker $25 23 mos; Michael Dunfee $100 23 mos; Anonymous Anonymous $100 24 mos; Dorothy Crosby $50 24 mos; See all See top donations. He was an American conservative political columnist, writer, author, and professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW). In 2009, he as inducted into the Passaic Tech Hall of Fame and his jersey was retired the following year. The greatest overall compatibility with Aries is Libra and Leo. In general, they are very ambitious. Like Women’s Studies.” However, UNCW called Adams’ messages “vile and inexcusable.”. As friends and families of the deceased are mourning the passing of their loved and cherished Mike Adams. Ruling Planet: Mike Adams has a ruling planet of Mars and has a ruling planet of Mars and by astrological associations Tuesday is ruled by Mars. They seldom rely on other people in daily life, which can make them impatient when dealing with others. Mike Adams and Family.
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Like many famous people and celebrities, Mike Adams keeps his personal life private.
We will have no further comment on this matter at this time, but we plan to share an update later this week regarding how we hope to move forward as a university community.”.
“Over the past several weeks, many of you have inquired about the status of a UNCW faculty member, Dr. Mike Adams, in light of the public attention generated by comments he made on his personal social media channels,” Sartarelli said. Mike was found dead and alone in his home during a welfare check at about 2 p.m., Jerry Brewer, a public information officer with the sheriff’s department, told CNN. WILMINGTON -- Friends frantically pounded on Mike Adams' door calling "Mike! Learn more. CelebsMoney has recently updated Mike Adams’s net worth.
© 2020 Oview Digital. [1], In 2016, he was widely criticized by his colleagues for commenting on a student by name in a publication. It's hard to know Mike Adams birth time, but we do know his mother gave birth to his on a Tuesday. In 1993, UNCW hired Adams to teach in the criminal justice program. Mike Adams was born on the 24th of March, 1981. [13] Two Change.org petitions called for his removal. Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, American Association of University Professors, Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, "California school's Ferguson 'grief' sessions blasted by former regent", "UNCW, professor settling case seven years after lawsuit", "New Hanover Sheriff's Office investigating death of UNCW Professor Mike Adams", "Campus free speech debate ignites after professor writes about gay Muslim student", "Enough Is Enough: Calls for Mike Adams' dismissal grow louder from UNCW community", "Petition demands firing of NC professor for 'racist' tweets on George Floyd protesters", "Actor Orlando Jones lashes out at UNCW for failing to fire Mike Adams", "Hundreds of criminology professors, grad students join nationwide call for UNCW to fire Mike Adams", "University Paid $504,000 to Get Rid of Professor", "Message from Chancellor Sartarelli re: UNCW Statement July 2, 2020", "UNCW issues statement after professor tweets controversial statements", "Details sparse in death of UNCW professor Mike Adams", "University of North Carolina at Wilmington: Invasion of Professor's Privacy and Suppression of Speech", "Conservative professor embarrasses liberal critic with this epic response", "Fighting the Academic Persecution of Christians", "Adams v. University of North Carolina–Wilmington, 640 F.3d 550 (4th Cir. After being denied promotion to full professor in 2007, Adams sued UNCW for discrimination and after a seven-year court battle was granted promotion and back pay as part of a settlement. People have raised more money on GoFundMe than anywhere else. Mike Adams’s age is 39. His death comes less than a month after the university announced that he would retire following campus uproar over his tweets.
[1] He then transferred to Mississippi State University, where he was a member of Sigma Chi, to finish his Bachelor of Arts in 1987. The strengths of this sign are being courageous, determined, confident, enthusiastic, optimistic, while weaknesses can be to be impatient, moody, short-tempered, impulsive and aggressive. The University of North Carolina Wilmington responded with "These comments may be protected, but that is not an excuse for how vile they are. [15] Hundreds of criminology professors and graduate students from across the U.S. delivered a petition which, in part, stated, "Professor Adams hides behind the veil of 'free speech,' but through his rhetoric on Twitter and his column he has harassed, threatened, and spread hateful speech against students and faculty. The 1980s was the decade of big hair, big phones, pastel suits, Cabbage Patch Kids, Rubik’s cubes, Yuppies, Air Jordans, shoulder pads and Pac Man. Mike Adams’s birth sign is Aries and he has a ruling planet of Mars. Having heard about this great loss, the family of this individual is passing through pains, …
[33], On July 23, 2020, Adams was found dead at his home in Wilmington, North Carolina by police conducting a welfare check. [14] Actor Orlando Jones joined the calls to fire Adams. [20], Adams first came to prominence after the September 11 attacks, when a UNCW student emailed him requesting commentary on American policy errors in the Middle East.
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mike adams family 2020
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Previous portrait Dr. Denise Walsh
Associate Professor, Political Science
How can liberal democracies become more inclusive and just? The longer I study how democracy works in practice, the more I seek answers to this question, as I have found that even in the most celebrated of liberal democracies politics is far more exclusionary and unjust than most people, including scholars, realize.
My current project is When Rights Go Wrong: Multiculturalism Versus Women’s Rights. This book is a comparative study of multiculturalism and women’s rights, and investigates the so-called “burqa ban” in France, indigenous women’s rights to remain members of their tribe in Canada and polygamy in South Africa.
Many scholars believe that cultural practices like polygamy and the face veil are in conflict with women’s rights. As a result, policymakers, pundits and scholars have tried to find a way for liberal democracies to both respect cultural difference and women’s rights. I am finding that this effort is a lost cause. By studying policy conflicts over these conflicts, I have learned that liberal democratic politicians often deliberately pit multiculturalism against women’s rights to advance their own interests. I also am finding that the people who can defuse these conflicts are not policy actors in liberal democracies but minority women. Many of these women are working to reinterpret their culture; they honor it while at the same time adapting it to empower women.
Unfortunately, because liberal democratic politicians want to use conflicts between multiculturalism and women’s rights for their own purposes, they usually ignore the solutions that minority women offer. Worse, I am finding that politicians routinely use these conflicts to undermine democratic procedures like community hearings and parliamentary oversight committees. My research thus reveals that liberal democratic institutions are quite weak, and not only in newly democratic countries like South Africa, but also in exemplary ones like Canada.
While the results of my research have been sobering, they are also exciting, as sometimes they reveal the routes through which change is possible. My first book, Women’s Rights in Democratizing States (Cambridge University Press, 2010), explains how institutions critical to liberal democracy, like political parties, legislatures, and social movements, obstruct advances in women’s rights and what women can do to challenge that.
Through a comparison of Poland, Chile, and South Africa, I find that many of these institutions are not only male dominated, they also are masculinist, meaning that their formal and informal norms make it difficult for women to access these institutions, speak out, be heard, and challenge the status quo. This opposition to women’s participation is ubiquitous across countries and institutional sites, and comes in many forms, from men obstructing the doorways of committee meeting rooms and refusing women entry, to refusing to call on them in meetings, deriding their comments when they do speak, and tasking them with serving lunch and making tea. In these circumstances, women who fight back succeed by organizing among themselves within these institutions.
Transitions to democracy often provide women with the space to organize, as politics moves to the streets and the rules of the game are up for grabs. Where women organize and forge alliances across sectors, change can happen, as South Africa illustrates. Where they fail to organize and do not seize the opportunity that the transition offers, even a more democratic state may result in fewer opportunities in public life and policymaking for women, as happened in Poland. The lesson, then, is that women must organize and secure not only greater numbers in powerful institutions, but also the capacity to speak out and challenge the status quo.
Learn more about Dr. Walsh’s research and teaching. http://denisewalsh.weebly.com/
CONNECTING WITH INDIGENOUS WOMEN IN CANADA
I attended the annual celebration of National Aboriginal Day in Edmonton, Canada in 2012 when I was doing research on indigenous women in Canada who have lost their Indian status and right to remain in the tribe because they married non-native men. Native men do not lose their Indian status or right to remain in the tribe for marrying non-native women.
Video: https://www.edmonton.ca/attractions_events/schedule_festivals_events/national-aboriginal-day-video.aspx;
Photos: http://indigenous.alberta.ca/National-Aboriginal-Day.cfm
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Battle of the Bands Press Release
March 30th, 2011 by WLOY Staff
BALTIMORE, MD (March 30, 2011)- WLOY Radio to Host Battle of the Bands March 31st
WLOY, the non-profit, student-run radio station at Loyola University Maryland, will host its annual Battle of the Bands on Thursday, March 31. The free event begins at 9 p.m. in McGuire Hall on the University’s North Charles Street campus.
The show features four bands: Cold Star Fox, Nightsbridge, The Dialogue, and The Palace at 4 a.m. 5 judges will vote to determine the winning bands based on performance, songwriting, audience reaction, and overall energy. The judges will remain anonymous until the event, but have been selected for their backgrounds in the music industry, live performance, and recording. The winner of the battle will perform as an opening act at Loyolapalooza, Loyola’s free, outdoor spring concert on May 1st. At the Battle of the Bands, WLOY will also be giving away tickets for upcoming concerts at Rams Head Live and Pier Six Pavilion.
WLOY is Loyola University Maryland’s campus radio station. The student-run radio station has been operating year-round since March 2003. The station can be heard on 1620AM, and via the Internet. WLOY offers a variety of live shows of different genres. Shows are hosted by students and community members, and include weekend programs such as What Happens Next?, designed for Baltimore City school children. WLOY has received local and national awards for its programming and community outreach, including selection to the 2011 Top 25 College Radio Stations in the mtvU Woodie Awards. For more information regarding WLOY’s shows or fundraising efforts, please email wloy@loyola.edu or call 410-617-5349.
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Freedom Starts Today
Overcoming Struggles and Addictions One Day at a Time
by: John Elmore
You're about to take a huge step toward freedom
Porn, pills, food, money, alcohol, social media, body image, status, sex, anxiety. Whatever you're struggling with, John Elmore knows what it's like to be stuck and how to get free. In 2005, he put a loaded shotgun to his head and later had three doctors tell him he was going to die of alcoholism. More than fifteen sober years later, he leads the world's largest weekly recovery gathering, re:generation, where people journey toward healing in Christ.
In Freedom Starts Today, he makes a huge promise to the addicted: you can be free from your struggle, and much sooner than you may think. Through easily digestible readings grounded in Scripture and the practice of daily surrender, Elmore shows you how to break the cycle of addiction, make war against sin, and find your identity in who you are and not the shame of what you have done--one day at a time.
Leave behind struggles, addiction, and shame as you walk in the power of the Holy Spirit and in the love, mercy, and forgiveness of the God who is not only by your side but on your side.
"Revival is a hard thing to quantify, but it always includes a growing devotion to the Lord and repenting of sin. And that is the fire God will start in you as you live out what you'll read within the pages of this book."--Jennie Allen, New York Times bestselling author of Get Out of Your Head; founder and visionary of IF:Gathering
"John has walked the road of recovery and helped countless others do the same. I am thrilled that he has put a resource in our hands that can help all of us!"--Ben Stuart, pastor of Passion City Church DC; author of Single, Dating, Engaged, Married
"I've personally witnessed God use John Elmore to set prisoners free by the thousands. The methods in Freedom Starts Today are proven and effective at helping anyone walk in the abundant life that Jesus promises."--Jonathan Pokluda, bestselling author of Welcome to Adulting; host of Becoming Something podcast; pastor of Harris Creek in Waco, TX
John Elmore (ThM, Dallas Theological Seminary) is the senior director of pastoral care and director of re:generation, the world's largest weekly recovery program, at Watermark Community Church in Dallas, Texas (watermark.org). He lives with his wife and best friend, Laura, and their three children in Texas.
"It has been said, 'We often underestimate what we can do in a week and underestimate what we can do in a year.' In Freedom Starts Today, John Elmore dismisses long-range planning and big-dream visioning in favor of a focus on your next 24 hours. What can you do today? Whether you have a small struggle or an overwhelming addiction, John's daily entries will bring focus and freedom to your life day by day. Don't delay. Start today."
Kyle Idleman, author of Don't Give Up and Not a Fan; senior pastor of Southeast Christian Church
"Freedom Starts Today is a clarion call for believers succumbed by secret sin, from porn to pride and everything in between, to find the freedom and deep fellowship promised in Christ. This is a practical lifeline to freedom."
Josh McDowell, bestselling author of Evidence That Demands a Verdict, More Than a Carpenter, and more than 150 books
"I trust John Elmore. He lives and leads others by these words in our church. Revival is a hard thing to quantify, but it always includes a growing devotion to the Lord and repenting of sin. And that is the fire God will start in you as you live out what you'll read within the pages of this book. It's a fire our world is craving and I hope spreads to the ends of the earth. Churches must become hospitals. And John Elmore is the one to lead such a movement."
Jennie Allen, New York Times bestselling author of Get Out of Your Head; founder and visionary of IF:Gathering
"I am a John Elmore fan! Over the years I have been inspired by John's candor about his struggle with addiction and his journey to freedom. He has walked the road of recovery and helped countless others do the same. I am thrilled that he has put a resource in our hands that can help all of us!"
Ben Stuart, pastor of Passion City Church DC; author of Single, Dating, Engaged, Married
"Jesus is all we need. I sing it all the time. 'Who do I have in heaven but you?' And yet I fall way short! At times I crave and run after things of the world. And every once in a while, a book like this comes along and helps unpack how to take advantage of the resource that is ours in Christ. How to cash in the eternal chips of our inheritance. How to return to and enjoy our First Love over all things. I have had the privilege of walking in community with John over the last few years, and I can honestly say the freedom in Christ to which I have had a front-row seat is now also yours. Drink deep--one day at a time. Let's go!"
Shane Barnard, singer/songwriter for Shane & Shane and WorshipInitiative.com
"Over the past decade, I've had a front-row seat watching God use John Elmore to set prisoners free by the thousands. He is, quite literally, the best pastor I know. The methods in Freedom Starts Today are proven and effective at helping anyone walk in the abundant life that Jesus promises. If you are wondering if this book is for you, I assure you it will be an amazing journey you don't want to miss out on. Freedom, indeed, starts the second you begin reading."
Jonathan Pokluda, bestselling author of Welcome to Adulting; host of Becoming Something podcast; pastor of Harris Creek in Waco, TX
"Every year, John Elmore comes and teaches our young adults about the power of God over sin in their lives. The resulting fruit of the Spirit is sanctification seen in surrender, confession of sin, repentance, and freedom to live the full, abundant life Jesus promised. As I told John when he was just a couple of months sober, "The soil is most fertile in the valleys." Begin your journey with God through Freedom Starts Today, and your valley will soon become Christ's victory."
Dr. Joe White, president of Kanakuk Ministries; founder of Kids Across America; international speaker; and author of over twenty books
"Whether our issues are pain or shame, Freedom Starts Today is a reliable, ninety-day roadmap to real freedom in Christ. This book by John Elmore is refreshingly honest, personally convicting, creative, and engaging. The quotations and daily accountability exercises alone are worth the price. This is a book to read and then recommend."
Dr. Mark L. Bailey, chancellor and fifth president of Dallas Theological Seminary; senior professor of Bible Exposition; author; and pastor
"John Elmore is one of my favorite people. When he speaks, I listen. When he lives, I learn. When he writes, I read. You may not get to hear him or see him, but I am glad you can read what he has to share about the hope of Christ's transforming power and the life that awaits all who come weary and heavy-laden. Dive in, read well, and live free!"
Todd Wagner, pastor and elder of Watermark Community Church; author of Come and See
© Mo Sadjadpour
John Elmore
John Elmore (ThM, Dallas Theological Seminary) is the senior director of pastoral care and director of re:generation, the world's largest weekly recovery program, at Watermark Community Church in Dallas, Texas (watermark.org). He lives with his wife and...
Continue reading about John Elmore
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ABOUT US
Since being established in 1887 Barrow, Lane & Ballard has sourced edible nuts and dried fruits for a variety of processors, packers and food manufacturers around the world from our offices in London.
We exclusively procure our commodities from processors who best meet the quality, price and food safety criteria expected by our buyers. The product is inspected, shipped and delivered to customers’ premises or their nominated stores across five continents. We have no agency or other exclusivity agreement and we are completely free to seek out the best source of supply to meet our customers' requirements. Our experience over many years has shaped a depth of knowledge and understanding of origin, its suppliers and business practices as well as of inspection, storage and transit requirements which make us uniquely positioned to effectively meet our customers’ needs.
Making our customers’ interests identical with our own!
Originally the firm was founded in the City of London by Mr George Gray and Mr G.M. Barrow in 1864. Eventually Mr Samuel Barrow, Mr Samuel H. Lane and Mr G.H. Ballard were assumed partners in 1887 and Barrow, Lane & Ballard Ltd. was established.
Extract From Illustrated London -
Published by the London Printing & Engraving Co in 1893.
“This enterprising firm have developed an immense business, and must be reckoned among the leading concerns in the trade. They supply vast quantities of dried fruits and nuts of every variety to all the principal distributing houses throughout the United Kingdom, America, and the Continent.
The four principals take an active part in the administration of the business, which owes its prosperity and high standing to their united energies and sound commercial judgement. Personally, the partners are well known and highly esteemed in the City and provinces, and are regarded as four of the most capable and enterprising exponents of the great trade in which they are engaged. They stand high in the confidence of a most extensive and influential London and provincial connection, and have always adhered to the policy of making their customers' interests identical with their own”.
In 2010 Barrow, Lane & Ballard was acquired by the Stimler family and incorporated into their wider group together with Loudwater Trade & Finance in London, Intertrading International in South Africa and Atlantix Commodities in New York.
The new ownership is committed to growing the company further and expanding its worldwide operations whilst advocating its enduring reputation for excellence, honesty and reliability.
Contact us on +44 (0)20 8457 8120
Website Design: www.thedesignedge.co.uk
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Bob Cullen
Lake Presidential: One of Washington’s Best
Hitting from the 150-yard white tees at no. 9 on Lake Presidential
No president, as far as I know, has teed it up at Maryland’s Lake Presidential since it opened in 2008, despite the invitation inherent in the name. But the president, who can play pretty much wherever he wants, would find it a worthy challenge. Lake Presidential is one of the best daily fee courses in the Washington area.
The story behind Lake Presidential is a long one. Years ago, Greg Norman did a routing for the property, which lies about 2o miles east of the White House in the Prince George’s County seat of Upper Marlboro. A stream was dammed to create a 30-acre lake, and the lake was given a name calculated to appeal to home buyers.
It took a long time for some legal and financial complexities to get sorted out. By the time they were, Landmark Land, the developers of Kiawah Island and other properties, controlled the course. The design was completed by its in-house team of architects.
Whoever is ultimately responsible deserves a lot of credit. Lake Presidential is an imaginative and challenging golf course with tremendous variety in its 7,230 yards. It’s tough, too, with a slope of 141 from the tips. The U.S.G.A. picked it for an Open qualifier in 2011, and the course hosted the Maryland women’s amateur the same summer.
The approach to No. 7, with water on the right
Three of the most memorable holes play around the lake. No. 8 is a 570-yard par five with the lake flanking its right side. The green is build atop a small peninsula that juts into the water. Hitting the green is a challenge from 100 yards. Hitting it with your second shot would make for a career fairway wood.
No. 9 is another lakeside hole, a par three that can play anywhere from 225 to 120 yards. The shot to the green has to carry over the lake and it must not be sliced or pushed, since the lake also guards the right side of the green. But bailing out to the left doesn’t help much, because two pot bunkers wait to swallow up the supposedly safe shot, leaving an explosion to the green with the lake just beyond.
The lake is largely ornamental on No. 18, a closing par five that plays anywhere from 515 to 320 yards. It sits in front of the tee, but the carry is less demanding than it looks—maybe 180 yards from the back tees. The lake might come into play on a long, pulled second shot, but most golfers won’t notice it until their round is over.
Of course, it doesn’t take a genius to build picturesque holes around a lake. The quality of Lake Presidential shines through on some of the imaginative holes on the rest of the course. I liked No. 7, a par four that plays 445 yards from the back. A creek runs along the hole and splits the fairway. On the drive, most players need to stay right of it and on the second shot, they need to stay left. A truly long hitter can try to shorten the hole by blasting a 300-yard shot over the creek and the little cart bridge that crosses it, landing, he hopes, on the second segment of the fairway.
No. 11 is an ingenious, short par four with an uphill tee shot and bunkers in the middle of the line of play. It pays to challenge and carry them, because the green is set on a pedestal and it’s extremely shallow. If you pitch to it with any club longer than a wedge, it’s very hard to hold.
No. 17 is another short par four, with a green tucked in a dell defended by a couple of bunkers and some steep mounding. The second shot brings to mind some Scottish links courses where the best way to hit the green is to miss it and let the ball carom off a slope and roll onto the putting surface.
The 17th green invites a carom off the slope on the left
The only hole on the golf course whose design I question is No. 5, a long, dogleg left par four. The tee shot must be placed perfectly on the right side of the fairway, staying short of a creek that crosses about 280 yards out. You can hit the left side of the fairway, but you can’t see the green from there due to a woodland with towering trees that runs along the left side of the hole and impinges on the corner. Hitting the fairway and having to play a long draw to a green you can’t see may not strike most players as fair. But, of course, there is no rule that golf has to be fair.
There’s another element to Lake Presidential that might not be to every player’s taste: housing. When the course opened, there were houses visible on three or four holes. A few years later, they line several more. If the sound of trucks and bulldozers building new streets is any indication, they’ll soon line more.
But, hey. Houses line Pebble Beach, too. Lake Presidential has very reasonable green fees for a course of its caliber—never more than $100 and sometimes lower than half that, depending on the season, the day of the week and the time of day. There’s a range with grass tees and a spacious clubhouse. Using someone’s Palladian window as an aim point for the occasional tee shot isn’t so onerous when it’s part of such a bargain.
TOPICS: Courses and Travel, Golf Tags: Greg Norman, Lake Presidential, Landmark, Maryland, Prince George's County, Upper Marlboro, Washington
ABOUT: Bob Cullen
Bob Cullen is the co-author, with Dr. Bob Rotella, of Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect and other best-selling works on the mental game. A former contributing editor at Travel & Leisure Golf, he has reported on courses from datelines as diverse as Slovenia, Kazakhstan, Russia and Iran.
In Search of a Golf-Poker Parlay II: Foxwoods
How Much Longer Will Crowds Watch Golf?
Nags Head Golf Links–For the Strong-Minded
Biltmore: Donald Ross With a Checkered Past
The Machrie: Golf Pure and Simple
Remembering Ken Venturi
A Good Read by a Winter’s Fire
Crandon Golf–You’ve Been Warned
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A comeback for guarantees?
This Bloomberg piece on the state of the art market includes the following:
"Christie’s, along with Sotheby’s and Phillips de Pury & Co., abandoned guaranteeing minimum prices to sellers at the end of 2008. Many owners of high-value pieces, particularly contemporary works, turned to private transactions rather than risk high-value works at auction in a falling market. 'You will see guarantees coming back,' said [Christie's CEO Edward] Dolman. 'But it won’t be like the height of the market in 2007. We’ll be looking to share the risk much more. ...' Christie’s is currently discussing guarantees with certain sellers, Dolman said."
Tell me again about the "public trust" (a continuing series)
Carol Vogel's "Inside Art" column today reports that LACMA sold 16 works at Sotheby’s yesterday for $3.8 million (more than double the $1.7 million high estimate).
Remember: "once an object falls under the aegis of a museum, it is held in the public trust, to be accessible to present and future generations."
At the close of his September 2007 oral ruling granting Mass MoCA summary judgment in its lawsuit against artist Christoph Büchel, District Court Judge Michael Ponsor said: "I would just say, as an admonition, not to be overly comforted by my [decision], because I would imagine if this matter goes before the First Circuit, it will be scrutinized afresh, and only a reckless person would predict what the Court of Appeals is likely to do with the very complicated issues that this cases raises."
Well, he was right about that. Today the First Circuit reversed his decision, holding that "the record permits the inference that … Museum staff members were disregarding [Büchel's] instructions and intentionally modifying 'Training Ground' in a manner that he did not approve." (Longtime readers will recall that I was one of Büchel's lawyers at the District Court level. Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts kindly stepped in to handle the appeal, along with George Conway and his team at Wachtell, Rosen, Lipton & Katz, on a pro bono basis. As is obvious from the result, they did a terrific job on the appeal.) The Court forcefully held that VARA applies to unfinished works, and clearly rejected Mass MoCA's "contention … that the unfinished installation might constitute a joint work of Büchel and the Museum." A good day for artists' rights.
Bad to Worse
The LA Times reports: "Artist Shepard Fairey is facing a criminal investigation in connection with his admitted misconduct in the ongoing legal case with the Associated Press."
Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento says: "To what extent will this affect the merits of the 'fair use' argument is unknown." But, as Ben Shefner points out, "the civil copyright case may now be the least of his worries."
Hazardous (UPDATED)
I've been meaning to flag Michael Rushton's characteristically thoughtful response to my post last week on the moral hazard argument against deaccessioning. He helpfully marshals a lot of the academic commentary on agency problems generally, though concedes "the literature on nonprofits is not as deep." His bottom line:
"In the end ... I appreciate DZ's point that we just are not yet in a position to say with accuracy whether the costs of the moral hazard I worry about exceed the benefits from flexible access to funds through deaccessioning in times of crisis. But I will maintain the cost is there, even if, under new, relaxed norms governing deaccessions, the costs would not immediately be apparent."
One quick thought in response. We already have real-world experience we can draw on to assess the effects of a permissive deaccessioning regime on museum management. U.S. museums routinely deaccession to raise money to buy more art. Is there any evidence that that leads to poor management (in the area of acquisitions or otherwise)? Does it seem to encourage "pet projects and perquisites and risky schemes that are contrary to the interests of the organization"? My understanding is that most (or at least many) European museums do not deaccession at all (not even to buy more art). Do they seem better managed than their U.S. counterparts? It would make for a fascinating research project. In any case, it's interesting that you never hear about the moral hazards of acquisition-related deaccessioning.
UPDATE: Rushton responds.
A Tracey Emin forgery ring?
London's ICA could close by May.
"A woman taking an adult education class at the Metropolitan Museum of Art accidentally lost her balance and fell into 'The Actor,' a rare Rose Period Picasso, tearing the canvas about six inches along its lower right-hand corner." Good teaser headline from the NY Daily News here. The Art Market Monitor is surprised this sort of thing doesn't happen more often.
Revisiting the uncollectable artwork.
"The burden of concealing something really rips you open inside"
The LAT's Mike Boehm talks to Shepard Fairey, "who last fall admitted that he'd lied initially about which AP photo the 'Hope' poster was based on."
"Itself an exercise in spin"
More reviews of The Art of the Steal, the Barnes documentary which opens theatrically soon. Film Journal International says "claims of objectivity, made by the filmmakers at [the NY Film Festival], are an artful dodge: The title says it all. The filmmakers side with those who argue that the Barnes Collection has been stolen. ... If the filmmakers had simply explained why the audience should care, beyond the fact that an imperious, dead millionaire’s trust had been broken, The Art of the Steal would have served the interests it ostensibly represents—the people who care about art."
One who doesn't side with those who argue that the Barnes Collection has been stolen is Lee Rosenbaum. In a post today with more on her visit to the recent Art Commission hearing on the project, she says the following:
"I don't agree with characterizing the transfer to Philadelphia as a 'theft.' I think that the Pennsylvania and Philadelphia powers-that-be understandably wanted to lure that valuable cultural resource to the big city. The Barnes board, to my mind, wrongly capitulated to that pressure."
More anti-theftists here and here and a related post of mine here.
This one REALLY sells itself (UPDATED)
Felix Salmon on an artwork, by Caleb Larsen, that "is so commercial that it can’t be collected." The purchase contract apparently includes the following:
"Artist has created a work of art titled 'A Tool to Deceive and Slaughter (2009)' ('the Artwork') which consists of a black box that places itself for sale on the auction website 'eBay' (the 'Auction Venue') every seven (7) days. The Artwork consists of the combination of the black box or cube, the electronics contained therein, and the concept that such a physical object 'sells itself' every week."
At his own website, Larsen explains: "Every ten minutes the black box pings a server on the internet via the ethernet connection to check if it is for sale on the eBay. If its auction has ended or it has sold, it automatically creates a new auction of itself. If a person buys it on eBay, the current owner is required to send it to the new owner. The new owner must then plug it into ethernet, and the cycle repeats itself."
UPDATE: More from Regina Hackett.
"As jobs and exhibitions continue to plunge off museum cliffs due to the recession, is the AAMD deaf and blind to the obvious?"
The Deaccessioning Blog on the "breaking news" I mentioned yesterday.
"One of the most elaborate and difficult acquisitions we have ever made"
In this Sunday's NYT Magazine, Arthur Lubow had an interesting article on artist Tino Sehgal, who makes "ephemeral' "live-action" works, a show of which opens at the Guggenheim later this month. The whole thing is fascinating, but, from an art law perspective, this bit caught my eye:
"Since there can be no written contract, the sale of a Sehgal piece must be conducted orally, with a lawyer or a notary public on hand to witness it. The work is described; the right to install it for an unspecified number of times under the supervision of Sehgal or one of his representatives is stipulated; and the price is stated. The buyer agrees to certain restrictions, perhaps the most important being the ban on future documentation, which extends to any subsequent transfers of ownership. 'If the work gets resold, it has to be done in the same way it was acquired originally,' says Jan Mot, who is Sehgal’s dealer in Brussels. 'If it is not done according to the conditions of the first sale, one could debate whether it was an authentic sale. It’s like making a false Tino Sehgal, if you start making documentation and a certificate.'"
The AAMD agrees with itself.
Well, that settles it.
More on the Fresno Museum Closing
I've been meaning to mention this interesting story in the LA Times on the closing of the Fresno Metropolitan Museum.
First, the story confirms that the museum's entire art collection will now "be sold at auction."
So we've got a real-life reminder that if we're unwilling to let a financially-troubled museum sell one or two works, the result may well be that it ends up having to sell all its works.
Now, it's interesting to read that the whole collection here "has been appraised at a value of around $2.1 million." Given that the museum has debts of "between $4.4 million and $4.8 million," this probably wasn't a case where deaccessioning could have been of much help.
But in theory, it could have been, and it still seems silly to me to say that, no matter the circumstances, a museum may never sell work to keep from having to shut its doors. Suppose that, instead of $2 million, the museum's collection was worth $200 million, or more. Would we still rather it close (and thus have to sell its entire collection at auction) than sell one or two works and stay afloat?
Michael Rushton says the answer is yes, because, in the long run, that will lead to better museum management overall. Actually, that's not quite right. What he says is that, if we relax the norms against deaccessioning, "we could see an unwelcome shift in museum management" (my emphasis). Well, sure, we could see that. But maybe we wouldn't. Maybe if we removed the deaccessioning taboo, we'd find that it isn't doing very much work at all towards improving museum management. Maybe we'd find that museums continue to be managed about as well as they are now. Consider in this context the "good" kind of deaccessioning: deaccessioning to raise money to buy more art. (For example.) Do we think that leads to lax asset management by museums? Do they spend their acquisitions budgets unwisely because they know they can always just sell some more work (rip it right out of the "public trust") any time they'd like to acquire something? Does it make them less diligent about fundraising etc.? I don't know, but no one seems to worry about that in the area of acquisitions.
The larger point, though, is: even assuming the deaccessioning taboo leads to somewhat better museum management in general, how do we know how much that better management is worth and when do its costs get large enough that they outweigh those benefits? It's not so much a time inconsistency problem as one of balancing certain costs (today and in the future) against extremely hard to measure benefits (today and in the future). So, according to the LA Times story, Fresno is part of "a growing list of about 20 U.S. museums of various types and sizes that have folded in the last year." In addition to that, "dozens of other museums have been forced to trim budgets, cancel or postpone exhibitions and/or layoff staff." At what point do we decide that the (certain) costs of the no-deaccessioning rule outweigh the (possible) benefits? When the National Academy closes its doors? When we lose the Detroit Institute?
I think, before signing on to accept these very real costs, I'd like to see a lot more evidence that relaxing the norm against deaccessioning -- even very slightly, as in the Dobrzynski Proposal -- would have such grave consequences for museum management generally.
Perhaps they should try a bake sale instead
According to The St. Petersburg Times, the Salvador Dali Museum needs $6 million to complete construction on a new building. The president of the museum's board says they "will be forced to take out loans using art from the Dali collection as collateral if the tax dollars or new contributions don't come through soon."
I don't believe that would be permitted under the AAMD/AAM "ethics" rules.
Two-year federal prison sentence for attempting to sell stolen artworks.
Duveen was right! (Related post here.)
Lindsay Pollock on the rise of third-party guarantees.
Leibovitz-Lavazza suit settled.
How the Brooklyn Museum is putting its collection online.
Update on the Brodsky Bill (UPDATED)
The NYT's Robin Pogrebin reports on "a round-table meeting [this morning] billed as the first discussion of deaccessioning among state policymakers and museum professionals in a public setting." Brodsky's aim seems to be to "to make sure that we do not, in a crisis, see a massive privatization of art" -- so let me again just point out that the Ellis Rule would accomplish the same thing.
Some additional thoughts on the session from Judith Dobrzynski: "The Brodsky bill is in no way a done deal."
UPDATE: More from Lee Rosenbaum (with video): "Most of this, for me, was 'heard this, done that.'"
Update on the Hotel Drouot investigation.
"A 19th-century Impressionist artwork stolen off the wall of a French museum nearly three decades ago is going back to the scene of the crime."
"A Claude Monet painting stolen in 2000 from a museum in western Poland has been recovered."
"They didn't fit the theme of the current installation"
ARTINFO.com: "The New York Post reports that the Metropolitan Museum of Art has pulled images of the Prophet Mohammed from its galleries devoted to Islamic art and suggests that the move is the latest chapter in the museum’s 'history of dodging criticism.' Some Muslims believe that Islam forbids the delay of such images and have led protests in recent years objecting to their display in cartoons, most infamously in Denmark."
More on the Dobrzynski Proposal
Speaking of sensible reform proposals, there've been a number of interesting follow-ups to Judith Dobrzynski's deaccessioning op-ed in the NYT.
First, there were several letters to the editor in response, including one from the president and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust, but I liked the one from the Brandeis student best:
"Here’s a simpler, sounder system to guide deaccession: The bought can be sold. This system reserves the sanctity of donor intent, as well as that of artwork acquired under special circumstances. And it ignores the largely unjustified slippery-slope paranoia that if allowed to sell one piece of artwork in a time of need, then institutions would more easily part with others in the future. If the struggling institution purchased a piece of artwork free of restrictions preventing resale, then that institution should be permitted to sell it at will."
Dobrzynski responds to some of the responses here, including the following:
"Donors will not give art if they know it may some day sold. This is a canard: they already know (or should know) that their gifts may be sold to raise money for future acquisitions. Those who fear this put restrictions on their gifts."
I think that's quite right. Remember (and I know I've made this point a thousand times): we're not talking about moving from a world where works are never deaccessioned to one where suddenly it's okay to deaccession. We're talking about moving from a world where deaccessioning for one purpose (the purchase of more art) happens all the time to one where deaccessioning for other valuable purposes (e.g., preventing a museum from having to close its doors or, worse, move 4.6 miles away to Philadelphia to a brand-spanking new facility designed by Tod Williams and Billie Tsien) is, in the right circumstances, occasionally permitted.
Finally, Felix Salmon weighs in on Dobrzynski's proposal:
"Essentially, Dobrzynski here is taking the Kimmelman rule — that museums should get first dibs on any deaccessioning sale — and beefing it up with two extra layers: first arbitration, and second the option to buy in the wake of a public auction. Personally, I think that the Ellis rule is still the best option, since it puts the focus where it belongs — on the art, rather than on the museum. Both Dobrzynski and Kimmelman would let art disappear from a museum into private hands, never to be seen again; Ellis wouldn’t."
"Does it make sense to keep a large percentage of a museum’s art assets in storage, never to be seen, when the same museum is laying off curators?"
Andras Szanto has a long, interesting piece in The Art Newspaper on the situation facing US museums. The whole thing is worth reading, but, for obvious reasons, I found the following particularly interesting:
"According to current guidelines, museums can only sell art to buy other art, not to cover operations. Those rules exist for a good reason. But when finances are pushed to the brink, museums’ largest asset category—its art—is more likely to get a second look. 'Does it make sense to keep a large percentage of a museum’s art assets in storage, never to be seen, when the same museum is laying off curators?' asks a donor to several major American museums. 'How does one responsibly go to benefactors for more support?' Sensible reform proposals—for example, to allow sales when objects stay in the public domain—are already being floated."
"The Capital of Art Theft, Part 2"
The Art Market Monitor: "France’s density of museums, churches and private homes filled with art make it a cornucopia for crimes of opportunity, elaborate thefts and more nefarious activities."
Derek Fincham adds some thoughts: "What happens to these stolen works? The mundane objects are stored until they can be sold later. The rare and valuable works are exported abroad illegally. Yet the rate of recovery for many of these works is very low."
The Andrew Lloyd Webber Picasso lawsuit has settled. Terms not disclosed. Background posts here and here.
"A former public-relations consultant for the African American Museum in Philadelphia is suing its president for slander."
"Kahlo 'fakes' flood into Mexico." Related post here.
"L.A. art dealer accused of selling a phony Picasso."
Yale moves to dismiss Peru's Machu Picchu lawsuit.
The other day, I wondered about Richard Feigen's reference to "unrestricted paintings" at the Barnes. In response, Lee Rosenbaum emails a link to her 2004 NYT Barnes op-ed, which includes the following:
"[T]here are a number of steps the Barnes can take to make it possible to survive financially in Merion. .. The foundation could begin by selling unused or little-used assets. Chief among these: the foundation's 137-acre property in Chester County .... Auctioning off some of the foundation's ancillary collections -- some 5,200 objects and documents -- could also generate cash. ... While art museums are supposed to use sale proceeds solely for acquisitions, not operations, the Barnes considers itself an educational institution (and it doesn't acquire new works). In addition, legal strictures against selling the Barnes Foundation's holdings apply only to works on view in the galleries."
That's helpful, thanks. But is it me, or is Lee suggesting here (and Richard Feigen suggesting in his Art Newspaper piece) deaccessioning (if only just a smidgen) as a way to keep the Barnes from having to move?
"The move is not a 'theft' in any sense of the word but, instead, the legitimate result of a legal process"
The General Counsel of the Barnes responds to Richard Feigen's piece in the Art Newspaper, which I discussed a couple days ago here.
Carol Vogel's "Inside Art" column in today's New York Times is headlined: In Los Angeles, an Urge to Purge. It begins:
"For two years the Los Angeles County Museum of Art has been quietly buying paintings and publicly selling them. Readers of Sotheby’s latest auction catalog may have noticed a group of old master paintings coming up for sale on Jan. 28. It isn’t the first time the museum has sold works from its permanent collection. Last year, in January and June, Sotheby’s auctioned paintings by Joshua Reynolds, Lucas Cranach the Elder, Pieter de Hooch and others, raising more than $6 million for the museum."
Hmmm. I could have sworn that "once an object falls under the aegis of a museum, it is held in the public trust, to be accessible to present and future generations."
It's almost as if the anti-deaccessionists don't really believe the works are held in the public trust at all, but merely say so when it serves their purposes.
More case of the decade nominees
I linked the other day to Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento's post on the art law case of the decade. Daniel Grant, author of The Business of Being an Artist, emails his choices:
"My votes would be for the [Phillips] case in Boston, which goes to the heart of what is site-specific and whether or not the law covers that art world term, and the Daniel Moore case in Alabama, which may turn back a growing effort on the part of numerous colleges to claim anything associated with them as trademarked."
Estate Tax Changes
In my holiday weekend roundup earlier this week, I mentioned the "temporarily disappearing estate tax." On that topic, below is an advisory we are sending out to clients this week:
As you may have seen in the popular press, Congress adjourned last month without definitively addressing the transfer tax provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 applicable to years 2010 and beyond.
As we enter the new year, the result of this inaction is that Federal estate and generation-skipping transfer ("GST") taxes are repealed for the year 2010. In 2011, these taxes will be restored as they were in 2001; namely, with a top rate of 55%, an estate tax exemption of $1 million and an indexed GST exemption of $1.1 million. (By contrast, in 2009 each tax was levied at a flat 45% rate on transfers in excess of a $3.5 million exemption.)
The Federal gift tax will remain in effect in 2010 but at a maximum rate of 35% (as opposed to the 2009 top rate of 45%) and with a continued $1 million exemption. In 2011, the top gift tax rate will also revert to 55%, with a continued $1 million exemption.
Concomitant with the temporary repeal of the Federal estate tax, the automatic "step-up" in income tax basis for inherited property will no longer be available with respect to property received from decedents dying in 2010. Instead, heirs will receive a modified "carry-over" income tax basis in such property. In 2011, we will revert to the automatic "step-up" in basis regime.
The legislative debate over Federal transfer taxes is expected to continue after Congress returns from recess this month. We may also see debate in Albany as the New York legislature is asked to address important New York State estate tax issues raised by the temporary repeal of the Federal estate tax. It has been suggested that any state or Federal legislation passed this year may take effect retroactively, perhaps as of January 1, 2010.
While we hazard no guesses on the contours of any new law, be assured that we will be closely monitoring all developments.
"Yesterday's hearing, widely seen as a formality, was attended by perhaps two dozen quiet members of the public"
The Philadelphia Inquirer's Stephan Salisbury reports that "the Philadelphia Art Commission gave final approval yesterday to plans for the new Barnes Foundation gallery, clearing the way for the renowned collection of early modernist art to move from Merion to the Parkway in 2012 after years of impassioned controversy." Lee Rosenbaum has more, including a link to the design plans.
Kate Taylor has a story on the Barnes progress in the January Art Newspaper. In the same issue, art dealer Richard Feigen has a piece in the Barnes-was-stolen genre. He calls it "the biggest heist in history," a "kidnapping," an "abduction." I think the "theft" narrative is a little melodramatic -- Salisbury offers a persuasive counter-narrative here; see also here -- but, for the moment, I want to focus on two points in Feigen's essay:
1. As part of his argument why the Barnes could have stayed in Merion, he says that "shuttle-buses could run continuously from the Philadelphia Museum, a short 4.6 miles away." This point -- the closeness of the new location to the old -- is also emphasized in the Barnes documentary that's about to open, but doesn't it actually cut the other way? The new location is only 4.6 miles away. What's the big deal? Buses could continuously shuttle all the art lovers in Merion to the new museum!
As has been noted many times before, the works will be hung exactly as they were in the old space. The argument that the move -- a short 4.6 mile shuttle-bus ride away -- is a tragedy depends on the notion that, despite all of Tod Williams and Billie Tsien's good work, despite the fact that the galleries will be reproduced exactly as they were and the works will be hung exactly as they were, and despite the additional fact that many more people will get to see the works in the new location, something so valuable is lost in the move up the road that it justifies all the gnashing of teeth and rending of garments.
I just don't see it. A mistake? Perhaps. But I just don't see the tragedy. (And I suppose I should add here the usual caveat that I thought the museum should have stayed where it is.)
2. The other thing I wanted to mention was the following statement by Feigen: "Insufficient effort has been made to sell the redundant real estate of Barnes’s valuable farm, its 19th-century American pottery collection or unrestricted paintings in the offices, which have been appraised at more than $30m."
That's the first I've heard of any "unrestricted paintings." (Is the pottery collection also "unrestricted"?) Does anyone know what he's referring to?
And more importantly: would that be okay with the Deaccession Police?
Latest in the Park West Saga
From the Art Newspaper here. Some background here.
"We’re not saying President Obama endorses Weatherproof apparel"
Rebecca Tushnet flags a NYT piece on a garment company that has "installed a billboard in Times Square ... showing President Obama wearing one of its coats" and notes: "Obama might be the only prominent celebrity so unlikely to act against this type of use of his image that the publicity isn't accompanied by substantial risk."
What do you do if someone steals your idea?
Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento is thinking about the question. As a very modest contribution to the conversation, I'll just point out that copyright does not protect ideas.
"The Fresno Metropolitan Museum closed its doors for good Tuesday, its ambitious dreams crushed by unsustainable financial losses"
The Fresno Bee has the story here.
The Deaccessioning Blog: Am I Right? Or Am I Right?
I'll just add one quick point regarding the "moral hazard" argument against deaccessioning (which I alluded to Monday). I don't know to what extent, if any, sales of art could have solved the Fresno Museum's problems, but the logic of the "moral hazard" position is that we have to accept the loss of this museum (and, if The Deaccessioning Blog is right, perhaps as many as nine others in the near future) for the greater good of improving museum management generally (the argument being that, by taking the sale option off the table, the people who run our museums will be better motivated to properly manage them and, in the process, save their jobs; they can't just squander their resources and then look to sales of art to bail them out). That strikes me as a high cost to pay for the speculative benefits the no-deaccessioning regime is supposed to provide. We're losing something very real here. Are we confident that it's a price worth paying?
"Zabrin admitted conducting 280 sales of fraudulent art on eBay "
The AP: "A suburban Chicago man pleaded guilty Tuesday to swindling at least 250 people out of more than $1 million through the sale of counterfeit prints advertised as the work of Pablo Picasso and other major contemporary artists."
Top Art Theft Stories 2009
Plus what to watch for in 2010, from Art Theft Central's Mark Durney.
Mark also has some thoughts on Southern France's "rich history of art crime."
Still catching up on all the art law that happened over the long New Year's weekend:
Degas work stolen.
Art thefts rock France for second time in a week ("reminding the world of both the country's deep store of artistic treasures and lax security").
What's the top art law case of the decade?
An uncomfortable year for the museum world.
The temporarily disappearing estate tax.
Will your iPhone be able to authenticate paintings?
French painting sparks international brouhaha.
Property Outlaws.
CAA panel on authentication on Jan. 20.
Where were we (again)? (UPDATED)
We begin 2010 where we started in 2009 -- with the deaccessioning debate in the pages of the New York Times. Over the holiday weekend, Judith Dobrzynski had an op-ed piece arguing that "de-accessioning shouldn’t be impossible — just nearly so." She begins by pointing out that "already some respected figures — David Gordon, former head of the Milwaukee Art Museum, and Richard Armstrong, director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, for example — are saying that the rule against selling art for any purpose other than buying more art is wrong," and then moves on to neatly summarize the case against the anti-deaccessioning hysterics:
"Many people don’t understand the problem. If the choice is between allowing a museum to fail (or make crippling cutbacks) and selling some art, what’s the big deal? Sell art! Most museums, after all, hold many works they have no room to display and stuff them into back rooms and off-site storage facilities. If museums are allowed to cull their collections to raise money to buy more art, why can’t they sell those very same pieces to solve their financial problems?"
The answer, according to the "strict constructionists," is that "once selling art to cover operating costs is allowed, it will become the first resort in bad times, not the last," and Dobrzynski says "on that score, they may be right. It’s human nature to test the line and, having gotten away with something, to do it again." This is the slippery slope argument we've seen many times before, so I won't rehash the same old arguments against it, but I do want to just emphasize that this view concedes that there is nothing inherently wrong with, say, the National Academy selling off a couple of works to keep its doors open -- it's not Stalinesque, it's not repulsive. It's just an empirical claim -- which Dobrzynski has the honesty to admit "may" (and therefore may not) be true -- that if we allow Museum X to sell work as a last resort that will lead Museums Y and Z to sell work as a first resort. It's the-folks-in-charge-of-our-museums-are-naughty-schoolchildren argument. The only thing standing in the way of a wholesale liquidation of our cultural heritage is the heroic members of the AAMD.
Anyway, all of this is just prelude to Dobrzynski's real point, which is a proposal to "amend the unwritten sales ban, but not end it":
"What if a museum had to argue its case for de-accessioning art before an impartial arbitrator? This neutral party would need to be schooled in art, art law and nonprofit regulations. Moreover, the museum would need to open its financial books completely, so that the arbitrator could see that all other reasonable avenues of fund-raising, as well as cutbacks, had already been exhausted. And it would need to open its cataloguing records and storerooms, to show that the departure of the works in question would not irreparably damage the collection and that no donor agreements would be violated. Most important, as part of any deal permitting the sale of art, the de-accessioning museum would have to offer the works to other museums first. If it received no offers, it could sell the pieces via a public auction — and any American museum would then have the opportunity to match a winning bid if it promised to keep the work in a public collection."
I think this is obviously a step in the right direction -- among other things, it incorporates elements of the Ellis Rule and the Kimmelman Rule, which are good things -- but, having conceded, as Dobrzynski does, that our museums hold more works than they can display and that they "are allowed to cull their collections" for purpose x ("to raise money to buy more art'), I would permit the same culling for purposes y and z, without making them jump through the hoop of appearing before an arbitrator. In other words, I would trust the people who run our museums to responsibly exercise their fiduciary duties and do the right thing. (Though I promise to give some more thought to Michael Rushton's well-stated moral hazard arguments in the near future.)
Dobrzynski has an interesting follow-up at her blog, where she notes that she "expected to be flooded with complaints about violating sacred principles. Instead, all of the feedback I've received has been positive." "Maybe we are maturing," she says.
The Deaccessioning Blog thinks "this is actually the best solution put on the table so far, and to my delight (and self-serving position) something not too far from what I have argued here."
Lee Rosenbaum speaks up on behalf of (as Dobrzynski puts it) the "purists" who turn "purple with apoplexy" at the "mere mention of art sales for operating money": "Actually, we strict constructionists don't believe that such sales should be allowed at all, even as a last resort. The 'slippery slope' argument is just the kicker. In truth, there's no such thing as a single 'last resort.' Smarter management, intensified fundraising, improved marketing, innovative earned-income strategies, and (truly the last resort) temporary cuts of expenses and staff are the right ways to meet financial crises. Selling the art is a seductively easy way to raise cash for operations and debt reduction. But it's the wrong way: Art is the raison d'être of museums and the 'deaccession or die' argument is specious." As I've noted before, Lee, alone among the purple-faced apoplectics, believes that museums should not be selling work for any purpose, including buying more art. [CORRECTION: See "Update" below.] Curious, then, that she closes her response to Dobrzynski's piece with a prayer for the Brodsky Bill, which, in its most recent version, allows sales for "refinement of collections" -- essentially enshrining the (to my mind hypocritical) AAMD position into law.
UPDATE: Lee Rosenbaum emails that it’s inaccurate to say that she "believes that museums should not be selling work for any purpose, including buying more art." Her view is that works that are "inferior in condition, quality, etc." – "in other words, … works that don't belong at the museum in the first place, because they are not useful for exhibition or scholarship" – may be sold, and the sales proceeds used to buy more art. That’s fair enough, and I regret the error, but I would just note that that view strikes me as much tougher than either (1) current museum practice (under which deaccessioning is decidedly not limited to works "that don’t belong in the museum in the first place") and (2) what would be permitted under the Brodsky Bill (with its massive exception for "refinement of collections"). I'm also not sure why, if all we're talking about are works that "don't belong at the museum in the first place," use of the sales proceeds should be limited to the purchase of more art. Are we worried that museums would be tempted to get rid of . . . stuff that doesn't belong there in the first place?
Tell me again about the "public trust" (a continui...
"The burden of concealing something really rips yo...
"As jobs and exhibitions continue to plunge off mu...
"One of the most elaborate and difficult acquisiti...
"They didn't fit the theme of the current installa...
"Does it make sense to keep a large percentage of ...
"The move is not a 'theft' in any sense of the wor...
"Yesterday's hearing, widely seen as a formality, ...
"We’re not saying President Obama endorses Weather...
"The Fresno Metropolitan Museum closed its doors f...
"Zabrin admitted conducting 280 sales of fraudulen...
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Keep It In The Family
A family of treasure hunters have struck gold after discovering Spanish gold worth $1million off the Atlantic coast of Florida. It is the culmination of two decades of work for Rick and Lisa Schmitt and their two children Eric and Hillary which has seen them scour Florida’s coast for treasure. The hoard of Spanish gold was lost when a fleet of 11 ships got caught in a hurricane en route from Havana to Spain. All eleven ships sank off the coast of Florida with the loss of as many as 1,000 lives. Now 300 years later the Schmitts have recovered 51 gold coins, including a rare 1715 ‘royal’ that was intended for the then King of Spain, as well as a 40 foot gold chain. Ben Costello, a director of the 1715 Fleet Society, commented “To find a 1715 gold royal is incredible. There are only a handful that are even known”. For now, legal custody of the find is with a federal court in South Florida but it is expected Florida state will be assigned 20% of the treasure, which will be put on public display. The remaining 80% will be split between the Schmitts and the Queens Jewels, the salvage company that owns the rights to the 1715 site. Hillary Schmitt added “People live all along this Treasure Coast, and they don’t even know why it’s called the Treasure Coast…They don’t know that there’s 11 ships out there, six of which are still missing.” Sounds like the Schmitts won’t be sitting on their gold leafed laurels.
Categories:Finance
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A Grand Pair
Gold and cash found in school lockers
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